EDITED VERSION: Chapter Thirteen

It had been a few days since the tumultuous thoughts I had about Nathan in the bar and I hadn't really stopped overthinking Nathan's behaviour since. For whatever reason, it was really getting to me. Ever since Samara declared I was ready to date, he acted as if he were holding his breath and just waiting for something bad to happen, as if he were worried that my next relationship would be as dramatic as the last one. I sat at the island in the kitchen with Jude, having a cup of coffee, while Hayden and Nathan were sitting in the living room, playing some video game, where everyone was dying or shooting people when the door flew open.

Nathan immediately paused the game, jumping up in a protective stance, as if he were ready to clock whoever came inside right on the face.

"Behold humans, Alex has arrived!" My sister shouted, throwing up her hands in the air. She stood there, hands still in the air with a big smile on her face. She looked almost the exact same since I last had seen her. Her skin was a little bit more tanned and her blonde hair seemed slightly lighter. The only thing that hadn't changed was her eyes, they were still as blue as the forget-me-nots mom used to plant in our garden back home.

"What the actual fuck, Alex?" I yelled. My hand flew up to my heart as it continued to beat ridiculously fast. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Oh," Nathan grinned as he relaxed. "Princess, it's not nice to swear at your sister."

Hayden looked up at Nathan and scrunched his eyebrows. "You swear at Darian all the time."

Nathan rolled his eyes and smacked the top of his friend's head. "Shut up."

Alex looked between Nathan and Hayden, unsure how to respond.

I rolled my eyes at my sister and pulled her into the kitchen. "Just ignore them, that's what I do."

My sister laughed and continued to look at the boys on the couch. She studied them for a few moments before she whispered, "I didn't think when you broke up with Kieran, you'd replace him with two hotties." She caught sight of Jude who gave her a small salute as a greeting and she winked. "Make that three. Damn, my baby sister does good!"

Luckily, neither of the boys heard her - aside from Jude, as they were completely immersed back into their game of shooting people. I silently thanked the Lord for that as I gave my sister a pointed glare. "I am not dating any of them, but thanks for the approval."

"Can you give me and my sister a moment?" Alex asked Jude, who simply nodded his head and moved himself to the living room, watching the boys play their game. She gave me her signature mischievous smile. "But if you could, who would you want to date?"

"I can't choose!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "Samara is interested in Hayden, Jude is a friend, and Nathan is completely off-limits because he's Darian's brother."

My sister shrugged, causing her silky hair to fall off her shoulders. She stared at me intently, a stare I have always hated because it always felt like her eyes were staring into the depths of my soul. "Well, let's pretend for a few minutes that they aren't off-limits. Let's pretend that Hayden was someone that you bumped into on the way to one of your boring lectures, Jude was someone you met at the bookstore who helped you pick your next favourite book, and Nathan is someone you met at that local pub you always go to. Who would you choose?"

I sat there and pondered for a few minutes. If I don't think about this now, Alex will not let it go the whole time she's here, which could be a few hours or a few days, I have no clue when it comes to her anymore.

There really wasn't much to say about Hayden. He was nice, but he was also Sam's unofficially. I would never pull an Abigail and go pursue someone I knew my friend liked behind their back, that wouldn't be right. Plus, I didn't like him that way at all.

Jude was sweet and shy, but he also had a lot of the same interests as I do. He and I could just sit, not talking at all while reading a book for hours and neither of us would get bored. He was also incredibly easy to talk to, which was good when I needed to vent to someone. Samara was great to talk to, but sometimes she isn't good in a crisis, whereas Jude is. But the thing about Jude is, I never truly felt a romantic connection to him whatsoever. Although, I never bothered to look at him in that light until now.

And then there was Nathan... He was flirty when I had met him, which to me shows that it comes easy to him to make girls swoon. Not to mention his escapade of women coming in and out of our apartment. Even though it had completely was brought to a halt, doesn't mean it couldn't possibly start back up again. But just because Nathan hasn't slept around the last little while, doesn't mean he would ever go on a date with me, let alone be in a relationship with me. Darian even said he was incapable of love, so why would I date someone who couldn't possibly love me? However, I still couldn't push aside the blush that rose to my cheeks anytime he called me princess. At first, it was annoying, but for whatever reason, I found it cute now.

My sister was still staring at me when I looked up after my time of thinking. "I don't know. I guess technically speaking Jude would be the safest but..."

"But?" My sister urged, looking at me expectantly.

No, I thought, I couldn't say it or else it could make everything awkward for everyone. I shook my head and smiled meekly. "But nothing, never mind."

Alex nodded her head, sincerely. She looked genuinely pleased with herself about getting me to confess who I'd date. "Well, Audrey, go get him. 'Cause if you don't, I will."

"God," I said, rubbing my temples. "You sound so much like Samara."

My sister winked at me. "Samara sounds like a smart girl."

I heard the game stop in the living room and the boys began to approach us in the kitchen. Alex and I were leaning on the counter closest to the fridge, whereas they sat across from us, on the stools that Darian and I had bought on a whim when we went to Ikea.

Nathan gave us a cocky smile and pointed to Hayden with his thumb. "I just kicked his ass. What have you been up to?"

"Noth-" I began but I was overpowered by my sister's voice.

"Oh, just got Audrey to admit who she wants to date, it's Jude, by the way," she smiled at me triumphantly.

I smacked my hand on my head and stayed there for a few moments. She wonders why I barely talk to her. Taking a deep breath, I looked up to see Hayden looking like he was trying to hold in a laugh, probably dying from secondhand embarrassment, whereas Jude looked a little taken aback, but ultimately pleased with himself, and Nathan giving me an unreadable expression.

I felt sick. I don't know why I bother telling Alex anything, now she made a mess of things and I didn't even give her an honest answer, which made a bigger mess of things. I was an idiot and my sister was a cockroach. Turning to my sister, I said, "When are you leaving again?"

"Audrey," Nathan said through clenched teeth, his jaw looking extremely tight as he did so. "That's no way to talk to your sister."

My sister only laughed at Nathan's response, her blue eyes looking even brighter, if that were possible. "Don't worry, little sis, I have an early train in the morning."

I let out a sigh of relief, thank God for that or else she no doubts would make an even bigger mess of things.

Luckily, the awkward silence was replaced by Darian and Justin bursting through the door with boxes of pizza.

"Ladies and gentlemen the pi-" Darian announced, looking around the room but stopping short at Alex standing beside me. He slammed the pizzas down and turned to Nathan, looking unimpressed. "Seriously dude? What happened to keep your women in your room."

Alex looked taken aback, Nathan looked annoyed although he already wore that expression before his brother came into the mix, meanwhile, Jude and Hayden attempted to make themselves look busy in efforts to abandon the awkwardness. When no one said anything, I let out a laugh. "Darian, this is my sister," I emphasized the word. "Her name is Alex."

Darian's jaw dropped and Justin looked like he was trying to desperately hold in his laughter. "Way to go, babe."

"So, I'm assuming you're the other roommate?" Alex questioned, attitude dripping from her voice. I mentally shook my head, I could tell she wasn't a fan of Darian's comment, nor a fan of Darian.

"Yeah..." my roommate sighed, he scratched his head awkwardly. "My bad."

Nathan shook his head and had a sarcastic smirk on his face. "You always know how to make an entrance, little brother. Did Audrey tell you the good news?"

My head snapped in Nathan's direction and I could see he was trying so desperately not to look at me. "Nate, let's not start another-"

"What?" He said, feigning innocence. He was mad, but I didn't know why. Was it because of what Darian had said? I had no clue. With him, I never did.

I was about to say something else but Jude interrupted. "I just got a text from my roommate, he forgot his key, so I'm gonna head out."

Nathan rolled his eyes and Darian looked like he missed something. Ignoring the two of them, I nodded my head. "That's okay, let me know when you get home."

Jude offered me a kind smile as he grabbed his jacket and left the apartment. Once he was gone, Darian narrowed his eyes. "Did I miss something?"

"Not really," Alex shrugged, causing everyone to look back at her, looking baffled. Of course, she would create drama and wouldn't even recognize it. Just when I thought she was done for the night, she adds. "Only that Audrey's new boyfriend just walked out of the door."

I let out a frustrated groan as I rubbed my hands down my face. "You are such a bitch!"

"What?" She asked just as innocently as Nathan. Her blue eyes glared at me, clearly not appreciating the insult. "I'm just repeating what you said!"

"Just because I said it doesn't mean I want it repeated!" I argued back. Crossing my arms, utterly annoyed with my sister.

The four boys kept darting their heads in the direction of whoever was speaking as if they were watching a game of ping pong.

"Well sorry for trying to give you more of an incentive, to tell the truth!" Alex yelled, throwing her hands up into the air.

I took a step back, nearly hitting the refrigerator as I did so. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Alex licked her lips before she shook her head with an amused smile. "You're lying to yourself and you know it."

Not wanting to look at Alex, I looked to my right. Nathan stood there, his originally pissed-off stance, turned into a new one of wonder and confusion. Sighing, I turned back to my sister. "Can we just forget about this? Quite frankly, I'm starving and I don't want to be arguing with you in the short time that you're here."

"Fine," my sister responded, not sounding all too enthusiastic about dropping the subject.

Silently, Darian grabbed some plates and Justin laid the boxes of pizza open on the counter. Hayden whispered something to Nathan and he just nodded his head, but not bothering to say anything.

"Well, this is sufficiently awkward," Darian stated as he handed each of us our plates. Justin shot him a look that said, you're not making it much better. As a result, Darian held up his hands. "I'm just stating the obvious."

"Hey, Darian?" Nathan piped up, plopping a slice of meat lovers on his plate. His brother gave Nathan a quizzical look before he added, "Shut up."