My phone vibrated, and I opened the text message I received. It was from Kevin, saying he was here. I smiled widely, and jumped up with excitement. I don't think any of my other house members realized that this was acting.

"He's outside," I told them all excitedly. "I should go." I got up and walked towards the door of the house.

"Have fun!" Amber called out from behind me, and I turned back to her and winked- a very Eddie-like gesture.

Alfie must have caught onto my wink and shouted, "Bring him back after, yeah?"

"You got it," I yelled in reply, and grinned. I grasped the door knob and turned it quickly, swinging out the door and walking out. I purposefully slammed the door shut and walked out to the pavement, where Kevin sat casually in the driver's seat, front windows rolled down.

He noticed me coming down the path and his eyes widened. A smile crept on his face as I reached the car.

"What? Never seen a girl dressed up before?" I joked, as I opened the door to the passenger seat. I buckled in and shut the door.

He chuckled and waited for me to get settled before speaking in an over the top British accent, saying, "You look wonderfully exquisite today, madam."

I rolled my eyes and turned up the volume of the radio as Kevin started driving out of the paved road. A song by Lily Allen came on and I looked outside, watching the English countryside pass by.

"So…" Kevin trailed off and I turned to him. I could tell he was racking his brain for something to talk about. An idea popped into his head and he asked, "Are you ready for the competition next week?"

"I guess. Diane's going to be busting me up because of my solo. I don't think I'm ready but she's really pushing me," I confessed. "What about you?"

"We haven't been to a ShineDance competition before, so I'm excited. Only the best go there," he said. "Diane emailed the dance parents a few days ago. She said that almost everyone will get to solo or duet since our group is pretty small."

"That's cool," I said. We continued to drive to Starbucks, chatting about little things here and there. Kevin parked the car and hopped out, as did I.

The cozy coffee shop was quite small, so small that there were only a few tables and chairs that customers could sit on. The lighting was low, and the seats made of beautiful brown leather. I claimed an empty table and watched as Kevin stood in line, waiting to order for both of us. I took my phone out of my pocket and looked through some old photos and videos I had on the phone to pass the time. I came across a favorite of mine.

It was taken last semester, days after the prom had finished. Everyone was packed up, and suitcases and trunks sat awkwardly in the hall, waiting to be taken home by their owners. The nine of sat around the common room, scattered on various chairs and sofas. Trudy came down excitedly and desperately wanted to take a photo, being the house mother she was. We all had gathered on one side of the room with the large couch and two chairs on either side. Jerome sat on the leather chair on the left, with Mara perched on the arm. Then, Mick stood behind the couch along with Alfie. Nina, Amber and Fabian sat on the couch in that order, smiling brightly. Joy and I squeezed into the other arm chair, laughing. We all looked so happy and carefree- so unlike this term.

I scrolled to the next media file, which was a photo that I was unfamiliar with. The phone told me it was taken about a week ago and I took a closer look at it. It was at breakfast, with all of the house members sitting at the table. I assumed the normal chatter was buzzing, and cereal, baked beans, and fruit sat on the table, with everyone diving in. However, the picture was focused on Eddie and me. We both sat next to each other, with Eddie at the head of the table. We both had food on our plates, but it lay forgotten in the moment the picture was taken. I had an ear bud in my ear that connected to Eddie's iPod, which sat on the table. I was smiling genuinely at Eddie with a hint of surprise on my face. Eddie had the other ear bud, and was sport an 'I-told-you-so' look.

I remembered that morning clearly, though I had no idea someone had taken a photo. Eddie wanted to show me a song from a fresh, new band that played the same rock/metal style we both loved. He showed me the song and I immediately fell in love with the booming bass and pounding drums. He told me he knew I would like it. Of course, I did. He also said that they were going to come and play in concert in a month or so, and I accepted his offer to go together.

"Here you go," Kevin said as he approached, and set down a caramel macchiato in front of me. I closed my phone quickly and thanked him and watched him sit down across from me. He took a sip of his drink, which I wasn't sure what it consisted of, and had a somewhat worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sipping into my delicious beverage. He took in a small breath.

"I was thinking…" he said, staring at his coffee cup.

"About?" I asked, taking in another sip.

"Us… you know, you and me," he said. I arched my eyebrows at him, as if to say, 'What do you mean?'

"Everyone on the team thinks about us as a couple… you know what I mean?" He said, slowly bringing his gaze up to mine. "And I think you know that I really, really like you."

I nodded to answer his statement and waited for him to continue.

"But I really want to know what you think. Because if there's someone else, I don't want to waste my time," he confessed.

"What makes you think there's someone else?" I asked, tilting my head to one side.

"Well, the picture you were looking at, for starters."

I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "Eddie's just an acquaintance. A friend, on good days," I smiled sadly to myself. I hoped he didn't suspect anything. "Besides, he has a girlfriend."

"Oh," Kevin said, sighing in relief.

"My turn to ask a question. Is this a date?" I asked, smiling. He was surprised with my frankness and chuckled.

"I should've known you'd ask that. It is if you want it to be," Kevin said with hopeful eyes.

"It is, then," I smiled. My hand lay on the table and Kevin smiled brightly, bringing his hand to place on top of mine. I tried to ignore how wrong this felt. There were butterflies swirling in my stomach, but not in a good way- not at all.

I pretended to feel my phone vibrate and quickly slid my hand out from under his. I pulled out my phone and hit talk, hoping Kevin would buy my act that someone had called me. I held the phone up to my ear in one hand and held my coffee cup in the other.

"Hello?" I said and paused. "Yeah, it's okay. He won't mind. Bye."

"Who was that?" he asked curiously.

"Joy, one of my housemates. She has to go for a job interview soon but really wants to meet you. Can we go?" I asked, silently praying that the story would be fine.

Kevin nodded and got up, out of his seat and pulled out his keys. I followed him out of the shop and to the car, where we got in and drove back to the house. We chatted again, but I avoided the topic of my other housemates and Eddie, especially. I also texted Joy about her 'call' and told her to play along, which she happily agreed to.

We pulled into the parking lot and parked, and walked together briskly to Anubis house.

"Just be yourself," I told Kevin, because he looked quite nervous. I grabbed his hand, ignoring how rough and sweaty they were and the terrible feeling I got. I opened the door to find all of my housemates scattered in the common room, kitchen and dining room.

Alfie saw me and stated loudly, "Trixie and Kevin are here!"

There was an immediate shuffling on feet as my friends came to the common room, bringing chairs from the dining table so everyone would fit. They left us a couch, which I sat down in along with Kevin.

"So this is Kevin…" I introduced. "And this is Nina, Fabian, Mara, Joy, Amber, Jerome, Alfie, Eddie and Ally, Eddie's girlfriend." I pointed to each and said their names. They all gave warm smiles or waves to Kevin which he returned, except for Eddie, who stayed silent. I ignored the fact that Eddie's arm was around Ally's.

"Nice to meet you all," he said. Joy and Amber immediately raided him with questions, such as 'Where did you both meet?' and 'When did you start like Patricia?' He answered them, making witty comments that practically everyone chuckled at.

Soon, fifteen minutes passed and I gave Joy a look to say that she had her 'job interview'.

"Well, I'll best be going. I'll walk out to the parking lot with you, Kevin," Joy offered and got up, walking to the door. Kevin said goodbye to everyone and winked at me, before leaving with Joy. The house stayed silent until the door was heard, signaling he left.

"Well?" I asked, hoping to get some positive response.

"I don't like him at all," Jerome said. Fabian nodded as did a few others- Amber, Alfie, Eddie and .

"Is he really that bad?" I asked, surprised at the response.

"He's fake!" Eddie said, and after seeing many others agree, he continued on. "You shouldn't go out with him. He'll use you." Ally looked at him, slightly surprised. She noticed the others in the room were not and didn't say anything.

"Whatever," I grumbled and got up. "I'll be in my room."

Was Kevin really that bad? What is he hiding? I thought to myself as I walked upstairs.

Little did I know, I made a huge mistake.

What is Kevin hiding? Why was Eddie acting so strangely? These questions will have to wait till next time! Thoughts on the chapter? Review!

Thanks to chey1235, MiaAndOak, mbj2323, and B and B are back for your awesome reviews to chapter 2!