"Oops," I said, grimacing at his shirt.

The other Kabra stared in shock at me. "Oops?"

"It was an accident, and I'm truly sorry," I continued, frowning in concern and repentance.

The other Kabra remained silent, gazing at his obviously designer shirt in horror.

I set my plate aside, and grabbed a bunch of napkins. I held them up in front of them.

He only looked at them, then gazed at me with a hint of a snarl in his lips.

It was then I realized how the party mood around us had completely disappeared. Everybody was staring at us —every eye was on us, every feeling of shock was aimed at us... and two giggles erupted nearby. From the corner of my eye, I could see Madison and Natalie muffling laughs. Close to them, Theo and Nellie were observing us. Theo was gazing at his brother, trying not to chuckle, and Nellie had simply blown up air into her cheeks.

And then I saw Aunt Beatrice.

Two things quickly made me leave the scene that time. One was the fact that I could feel the barbecue sticking onto my skin. Don't get me wrong, I love barbecue sauce. But when it's on food I eat.

And two, Aunt Beatrice's wide and proud smile. She definitely thought that had been a tactic, and soon, people could think that too. And I did not want to stoop to Sinead's level of desperation to get a boyfriend.

I glanced at the hallway leading to the bathroom, and pointed at it. "Once again, I'm so sorry. And if you'll excuse me, I need to go and take this barbecue sauce off me."

He looked even more disgusted. But what else did he want me to do? Beg on my knees for his forgiveness?

I quickly got there, and tied my reddish-brown hair up in a ponytail before splashing my shirt with cold water. The lightning of the bathroom made the freckles on my button shaped nose stand out more, making me look much more younger than my twenty-three years. People usually told me I looked sixteen, actually. Not that I cared. The less old, the better right?

Madeleine entered, smiling at me. "That was awesome."

"It was not a tactic, if you're wondering," I clarified, shaking my head at the thought.

"Oh, I know you too well to think of that," Madeleine replied, leaning against the bathroom sink. She crossed her arms in front of her sleeveless peplum shirt. "I was just saying Ian needed that splash of barbecue sauce. I could tell from the look of his eyes he was too proud of that Ralph Lauren shirt."

I pursed my lips in a small 'o', glancing at her in uncertainty.

"I think he had more, don't worry," Madeleine told me.

After helping me dry my shirt the most it could, we both walked out of the bathroom.

"Look, I gotta go... it's seven p.m. already, and my mom had actually told me we'd be leaving an hour earlier. How's that job search, by the way?" she asked, getting out her phone.

"There's actually a new preschool downtown that seemed interested when I called them. I'm supposed to go on an interview next week," I told her.

Madeleine grinned. "Now that's awesome. Also, don't forget we are both enrolling Japanese lessons. So you need to tell me what'll be your work schedule so I can arrange the classes."

"What makes you so sure I'll get the job?" I asked, smiling.

"Because even though it doesn't look like it," she told me. "You're great with kids, and are a very responsible person. Now, see ya!"

"Bye," I replied, waving.

Before she had even left, my nose picked up a very distinguishable smell. Snapping my head to the right, my suspicions were confirmed. The Starlings's famous brownie cake had been brought out. And I was not about to let the Holts steal the cake like they did last time. Grabbing a nearby plate, I got there as quickly as possible. However, as soon as I was picking out my slice, I heard a pleading statement.

"Don't jeopardize your brother's happiness just because of an accident... it was not even Nellie, it was her sister," a blonde girl told Ian.

That was definitely about me. I set the plate down, straining my ear to listen.

"If her sister is an airhead, Cheyenne, then the Nellie girl must be too. And I don't want Theo associating with people like that dimwit who got barbecue sauce all over my shirt!" Ian hissed.

I did not even care he had called a straight A student a dimwit or airhead. What bothered me was the fact he had the courage to even think Nellie could be an airhead.

"It was an accident," Cheyenne urged. "And that's just one of your million Ralph Lauren shirts!"

"Look, I know that you talked to the Nellie girl for five seconds, and therefore must know her 'well'," Ian said, glaring at Cheyenne. "But one can tell a lot from one's family. And that girl who ruined my shirt was nothing but an attention-seeker with no common sense at all, who probably acts like that crazy aunt of hers-"

Only I could call Aunt Beatrice crazy, by the way. So I was not pleased with that statement.

"And spends time around good-looking rich boys as a hobby," Ian finished.

My mouth dropped wide open.

Ian turned around to set his plate on the table, and I quickly ducked, hiding underneath the table. I'm still not sure why I did that, but it definitely had to do with the fact that he had just trash-talked me in a way that wasn't even close to what my personality is like.

But then...

"Oh, Amy!" Aunt Beatrice exclaimed. "What are you doing underneath the table?"

Just my luck.

I stood up, hoping that Cheyenne and Ian had not even noticed. But they were right across from the table. Cheyenne gasped, and Ian looked down, pursing his lips. I quickly grabbed one of my diamond studs and let it slip to the ground.

"I lost one of my earrings," I told her, biting my lower lip. "And you know those hold a sentimental value, since they belonged to my mom."

Aunt Beatrice pointed to the diamond stud. "Oh, isn't that it?"

"Yes, it is!" I exclaimed, grinning. "You're my new hero."

"Oh," Aunt Beatrice breathed out, giggling.

I quickly bent down and picked it up. As soon as I got up, I smiled at the Kabra siblings. Trying to make them feel as if there were no hard feelings for the comments (far from true, actually), I chuckled. "My hobbies don't really include boys. My hobby is more along the lines of staying at home every night watching series from my laptop."

And then I realized how not friendly that could've been heard. I chuckled and grabbed my cake, leaving the scene as quickly as possible.

Now outside, I sat on the steps, and bit a chunk off my brownie.

"Way to go," I whispered, glaring at the dark streets in front of me. I could spot my house from there, and wished more than anything else to be there.

"Aren't you the girl who got barbecue sauce all over my cousin?" a youthful voice asked next to me.

I turned to look at my right, where an olive-colored skin five-year-old was staring up at me with wide eyes.

"That's right... and I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to," I replied, handing him a piece of my brownie. "Want some?"

He gladly grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth. "Well, it would've been better if it had been on purpose. Ian is stupid."

I suddenly remembered all the things he said about me without even knowing me.

"Yeah, he is."

See, like Amy in this story, I am one of those students who's part of every club and participates on every event (I also want to be a teacher :P). So not only was I really busy this week preparing for an upcoming event (and still am), but we also had midterms :/ So I did not have time to write the next chapter! However... I'm back :D Now, to answer some questions:

1. ChicaKabraLuvsU: This takes place on 2013, it definitely is Amian (I'm a huge shipper), and yes, Theo from Beyond the Grave has made his comeback hahahaha :P

2. Fanficlover1413: Yup, he's British!

3. The Gone Angel vs Slender Man: Yours was not a question, but I actually would like to reply LOL. I gave up reading P&P because I was confused, until I watched the movie (don't kill me for this). Once I did, I could relate the events from the book to the ones from the movie and therefore, understood what was going on hahahaha.

Well, that's it. Hopefully, I'll update soon :P Now, I'll go continue my nap...