Disclaimer: I don't The Host. Even though I would love to, it belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

I can't even begin to express how sorry I am for not posting another chapter for over a year. I not gonna make an excuse for why I haven't posted anything, but I just wanna let you guys know that I'm not gonna go that long without making another chapter ever again. I'm back !

Thank you to everyone that reviewed. That means sarahelizabeth1993, jediahsokaroxx, sapphirenight12, stephgirl123, Wavetail(can't wait for your next chapter), 4-eva-bookworm, Thalia North, SaveSara(who has an amazing story, go check it out), adriana'elizabeeth'marie, kimberlystrovers, WritinGale, V.A. -11, xxmycookiemonsterxx(everyone, go check out her story, its absolutely amazing), CherryBlip, Kkitty96, xXblaahhXx, saravuk

I love you guys for sticking with me for this long.

Hope this makes up for the time that I was gone :)

Chapter Five: What's Up, Doc?

I spent the rest of the hour doing homework, and trying to figure out who answered Ian's phone. Was it his sister? No, he doesn't have one, or at least one that I don't know of. I don't think it was a girl he was seeing because why would she be at his house and answering his phone without him around? I was still trying to come up with ideas, when my cell phone buzzed. It was a text from Ian:

Hey. Just got home and was wondering if we could hang out later tonight. Not a date or anything, saving that for Friday ;)

How could I say no to that? Plus, I get a chance to ask him about who was at his house earlier, or still is. So I texted him back:

Name the time and place :) And can't wait for Friday.

I grabbed my phone and went to the stairs to tell my parents I was going out. Right before I got to them, Ian texted me back with the details:

Cool. How about the beach-park on Daleson at 5? And also, my friend is gonna come by at around 6 if that's alright. Btw, I can't wait for Friday either ;)

Good timing. At least that gives us about a half an hour alone.

Kk I'm on my way :)

If he's bringing someone with him than it only seems fair that I bring someone too. Or in this case, two someones.

"Mom, Dad," I yelled, "I'm going to the beach with Mel. I'll be back by 8!"

"Alright! Make sure you're on time for once," Mom yelled back.

At least they let me go. I went back to my room and called Mel and asked if she wanted to come with Jared at 6:00. She said yes and that they might come a little later than that. It's only 4:30, so that leaves me time to get ready and walk there. I changed into a blue tank top and my favourite jean shorts. I put my hair in a ponytail and was ready to go. I walked out of my room and who do I see? Lacey, of course.

"Hey, Wand. What are you up to?" Lacey asked.

"None of your business, and I thought I told you not to call me that anymore."

"Oh well, not that I care enough to find out." With that, she walked down the hall and into the guest room.

I'm so glad that she was leaving on Saturday. I can't deal with her anymore, she acts like she's above it all. I walked downstairs and out the door, hoping that I could get there before 5:00. While walking there, I saw Sharon and Heidi coming my way. Oh crap, why can't I frigging escape these annoying girls just once? First Lacey, now Sharon. My life can't get any better than this, right? I took the hair tie out of my hair and tried to hide my face with my hair, which, unfortunately, didn't work very well.

"Wanda Bennett. Walking by yourself? Figures..." Sharon said. Why does she have to bother me all the time? I'm so glad I didn't see her this summer.

"I'm going to meet someone, not that it's any of your business. And what do you mean 'figures'?."

"I just mean that I never see you with anybody."

"That's only because me and my friends go out of our way to avoid you. You're not exactly someone I'd want to see," I said, smiling.

"Whatever. Have fun with your 'friend'," she said, walking away.

It's not like I could tell her that I'm meeting up with Ian without her twisting it somehow. But at the same time, I would love to tell her just to rub it in her face. Doesn't matter, it's not like she's important. Hope I don't bump into anyone else I'd rather not see.

The whole walk there was really boring, considering that I was walking by myself with no one to talk to. At least I'll have Ian to talk to in a couple of minutes.

When I got to the park, I could see that Ian wasn't there, so I sat down at a bench to wait for him. Across from the beach park, though, I saw that he was getting out of a car. Kyle was in the driver's seat. I'm guessing he convinced Kyle to drive him here. Ian turned around, searching for me. When he spotted me, he smiled and waved. I blushed, yet again, waved, and looked down trying to hide my face. I hate how I blush so easily. Just then, I noticed someone walking Ian's way. It was Lacey! How did she even get here? Did she follow me or something? Ugh, how is this happening? "Lacey? Is that you? Its been a long time." Ian looks surprised and hesitant. He knows her?

She hugged him, and he looked so uncomfortable. "I know, right? And yes I still live in Chicago. How many years has it been? Three? Four?" Lacey replied.

"Oh, Wanda, this is-" Ian started to say, but I interrupted him.

"Lacey Whitmore, I know. She's my cousin. How do you two know each other, though?" I asked.

"Wow, I never would have thought. Lacey and I went to the same school in Chicago. Are you visiting or something?" Ian asked her, looking hopeful. Hopeful for what? That she was only visiting, or that she'd be moving here?

"Yeah, I'm staying at Wanda's place until Saturday. It's nice to see you again, Ian. Never thought I would. Well, I have to go meet someone, see ya later, guys." She walked past him, turning around to wave goodbye. Who was that? 'Cause that definitely wasn't the Lacey I've been sharing a house with for the past couple of days. The only reason she would be that nice to someone is if she really likes them, or she's trying to show off. Oh well, at least she's gone. Now I have time to talk to Ian.

"I never expected that you would know her," I said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it's a small world. Are you guys close?" he said, skeptically.

"Not really. To tell you the truth, she annoys the hell out of me. Sorry if you and her were friends, but I just can't possibly like her," I admitted. I wanted Ian to know how she really is, even if she is my cousin.

"Really? She was a friend of mine back in Chicago. I guess she's changed, though she didn't seem that bad a few minutes ago."

"Oh sorry. I guess I was exaggerating. But I just thought she was being nice because she liked you; all the girls do, you know," I teased him.

"So I've been told. But not all the girls, right?" he asked, suggestively. Nice try, but I don't give in that easily.

"Maybe, maybe not. Seems like it, though. Or are you telling me that the girls at our school flirt with you just to be nice?"

"Like I said, not all the girls do. Like you, for instance. No wait, your flirting with me right now."

What did he just say? That I was flirting with him? Okay, maybe I was a little, but he shouldn't count that as liking him, even though I do. I blushed right then, but tried to quickly compose myself.

"So what if I flirt with you? It doesn't mean more than that," I replied. His confidence, however, was not derailed.

"If that's what you want me to think, I guess I should believe it, although I don't." He grinned at me. Damn, why does he have to be so observant?

"Well, you should because it's true. But my question to you is, do you like me?" I can't believe I just asked him that! I mean, I guess I already know the answer considering that he asked me out already, but still.

"Tell you what, I'll answer that question at the end of this day," he countered.

"Fine. But I bet I know what your answer will be."

"We'll have to just wait and see." I don't know why, but that reminded me of when I called him.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered, did you get that message about me calling you? This girl answered the phone, I didn't know who it was."

"Yeah I did. And it was Jodi who answered, Kyle's girlfriend," he answered.

"Oh," was all I could say. I was kinda glad that it wasn't someone else.

"So, did you invite anyone else? 'Cause I think my friend will be here in about forty-five minutes," he said, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah. I invited Melanie and Jared, if that's alright," I said, nervously. I didn't know if he would be alright with this.

"No, no, that's fine. The more the better. Plus, I want to get to know them better; they seem like really cool people," Ian said. Okay, I guess he's better than alright with this.

"Good. They should be here around the same time as your friend."

"In that case, I have time to beat you to the swings," he said, with a mischievous grin on his face.

Suddenly, he took off running past me toward the swings. I wasn't exactly the best runner around, and with him having a head start, I was sure to lose. I ran in his direction, and when I got there, he was already sitting on one of the swings.

"Told you I'd beat you," Ian said with a smile.

"Only because you had a head start. And you play soccer; you practice running all the time." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Excuses, excuses. I still won."

"Fine. But we're so having a rematch later."

"Oh, you're on." We laughed together while swinging on the swings.

"You know, I saw Sharon when I was walking here," I said.

"Really? Did you tell her that we were hanging out?" I couldn't decipher his tone.

"No, did you want me to?" I asked, unsure. I was worried that he actually wanted her here.

"Well, obviously not. I mean if you did, then she'd be over here right now, annoying as hell," he responded.

"That's why I didn't. I'm hoping that I won't have to see her again. But with my luck, I'm probably going to see her all the time now."

"Yeah. I'm so glad she doesn't go to our school now. Imagine that," he said. And by the look on his face, I think he was doing that himself.

"I'd rather not, but I'm glad too," I said with a smile.

Ian and I ended up talking about everything. I mean I knew some things about him, but that was only from the seventh grade. He told me about his family, I told him about mine. We talked about our expectations of the future, what we wanted to do, where we might want to go. Literally everything.

"Hey, Ian!" someone called from a distance. I turned to see where the voice came from. Ian got off the swing and motioned for me to follow. I'm guessing that this was his friend; was it 6:00 already? This guy was really tall, thin, and had dark blond hair.

"What's up, Doc?" Ian said, laughing. Doc? That must've been some kind of a nickname.

"I haven't seen you in so long, man," Doc exclaimed.

"I know. This is Wanda, by the way," Ian said, looking down at me. "Wanda, this is one of my oldest friends, Doc. Our families are really close, and he moved here about a year ago."

"Nice to meet you, Doc. Is that your real name?" It couldn't be, could it?

"I get that a lot," he chuckled. "No, my real name is Eustace, it's a family name. My parents hate me," he explained, smiling. I smiled with him.

Well, that made more sense. He seemed genuinely nice, and I instantly felt comfortable around him, like he was an old friend or something. He was one of those people who you just couldn't seem to hate, no matter how hard you tried.

"So, how did you get the nickname?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Kyle and I started calling him that because he's too smart not to be a doctor," Ian interjected. "When we were younger, while me and Kyle used to play-fight all the time, Doc here was already practically a pre-med."

"And I'd much rather have people call me that," Doc added.

"You're way too nice to possibly be Ian's friend, how did that happen?" I teased.

"I could say the same thing about you," he countered.

"What are you guys talking about, I'm a joy to be around," Ian retorted.

Doc and I just laughed.

"So where did you move from, and how come I haven't seen you around?" I asked, starting up a conversation.

"I used to live back in Chicago with Ian, and I go to West Detroit High."

"Wait, isn't that Sharon's school?" I asked Ian.

"How do you guys know Sharon?" Doc asked, surprised. Did Ian not tell him about her?

"She used to go to our elementary school," I said, not sure that Ian would want me to tell him anymore than that.

"Yeah," Ian agreed. I guess he really didn't want Doc knowing about it.

"Oh, you never told me you knew Sharon," Doc said. That's weird, why would it matter if Ian knew her or not? That must have meant that he's mentioned her before.

"Are you good friends with her?" I asked, before Ian could respond to his remark.

"I'd say I'm a little more that; she's my girlfriend," Doc replied.

"Oh." I really couldn't think of anything else to say about that. Well, I couldn't think of anything nice to say about that.

Tell me he did not just say Sharon was his girlfriend. Why did everyone I know, know each other? Oh, man I can't wait until Mel and Jared get here and hear this. Speaking of Mel and Jared, where were they? I checked my phone to see what time it was. 6:08. They did say that they were gonna be a little late, but oh well, they'll be here soon enough.

We walked back to the park benches, and all the while Ian and Doc were catching up. They seemed like brothers based on the way they would make fun of each other and stuff. It was kinda like how Ian and Kyle were yesterday, back at the coffee shop.

When we sat down I said, "So, Doc, are you actually intending on becoming a doctor one day?"

Before he could answer my question, Ian interrupted, "Hey, isn't that Jared and Melanie over there?"

I looked in the direction that Ian was pointing to, and sure enough, Jared and Mel were coming this way. I got up from the bench and Doc and Ian followed in suit. As soon as Jared spotted us, he had an amused look on his face, and it seemed like he was holding back laughter. Confused as I was, I knew not to ask questions because whenever Jared had that look on his face, it was never good. When we met halfway in the middle of the park field, I was the first to speak.

"Hey, guys, glad you made it," I said to Jared and Mel, "This is Doc, one of Ian's friends."

Then I turned to Doc, "Doc, these are two of my closest friends, Melanie and Jared."

"Hey, man," Jared said to him. Melanie smiled and said "hey".

"Hey, nice to meet you guys," Doc replied.

The rest of the time went really smoothly. Jared, Mel, and Doc seemed to really hit it off, and I was beginning to see the formation of a new little group. I was really happy to see that our plans worked out, and to be honest, I was really happy to be spending more time with Ian. Whenever I'm around him I just kinda forget about everything else and just enjoy the moment. I can be myself around him. I knew that sounded weird because I was only just starting to like him but that's just how I felt. Even if things between us don't work out I knew that we could still be friends. I was glad that my friends were so accepting of him, knowing how they are, I wasn't too sure that they were going to be.

"Doc you never answered my question from before," I said, remembering the conversation we were having right before Mel and Jared showed up.

"What are you talking about?" Doc asked.

"I asked you if you were actually planning on becoming a doctor, you know, 'cause of your nickname and all that."

Doc was about answer when he got interrupted for the second time. "Wait, 'Doc' is your nickname?" Jared said.

"Yeah, it's an old nickname that Ian and his brother gave me a while back. And to finally answer your question Wanda, yes, I do plan on becoming a doctor. Neurosurgeon, actually." Doc answered.

"Neurosurgeon, huh? Are you gonna forget about all us little people when you start living the rich life?" Melanie asked, feigning concern.

"Of course I will," Doc said. We all started laughing after that.

Just then we heard a phone ring. We all went to check whose it was and it turned out to be Melanie's. Her parents called telling her that she needed to come home and watch Jamie because they were going out. Melanie's parents are way too overprotective of their kids. Jamie was turning 13 in 2 months, they needed to lighten up a bit. It was starting to get dark so Mel asked me if I wanted a drive home. I said yes and we started to say our goodbyes to Doc and Ian. I asked them how they were getting home and Ian said that Doc's car was pulled up on the side of the road. Just as I was turning to leave, Ian grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the group.

"Did you not remember what I promised to do when the day was over?" Ian said, smiling.

I had completely forgot all about that. "Yeah, actually," I admitted, blushing.

"Well the answer is yes."

Before I had time to respond, he kissed me. Ian kissed me. He kissed me in front of Doc and Mel and Jared. I didn't know how to react at first because he totally caught me off-guard. He grabbed the back of head and held it in place. Right when I got over the initial shock and started to get into it, he stopped.

"You should probably go. Don't wanna keep Mel and Jared waiting." Ian said, chuckling.

I turned around and saw all the others staring at us. I don't think I've blushed so hard in my life. I said my final goodbye to Ian and Doc , and made my way over to Jared's car with Melanie and Jared beside me. This car ride was going to be a long one.

What'd you guys think? I reeeeeeally hope you liked it, and I made sure that this chapter was longer that the others cause I know that people were complaining about the other chapters being too short. I am never ever ever ever ever ever leaving for that long ever again, I promise ! Please please please review, I really need the feedback from you guys :)