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"Go fish" Grayson says.

I groan and take a card out of the pile, picking up a four of diamonds.

I have an odd feeling that the little twat sitting in front of me is cheating. You see Grayson Dalton doesn't 'play cards'; well not by the rules. He has never lost a game in his life. There is a reason for that.

"Do you have a four of spades?" he asks. I look down at my cards, I glance over the and see one four of spades sitting right there. I shake my head, " No, go fish" I say, keeping my voice to a minium.

He scoffs, "Your bluffing. I know you. Cheater" he says, setting his cards on the coffee table in front of us.

"What? No..." I defend myself. He laughs and reach out to my cheeks and pinches them roughly between his fingers.

"Awe, look at you Vena. You think your a good enough liar to pass me" he lets go. I rub my cheeks and glare at him.

"Ass" I mumble.

He laughs loudly.

Suddenly I feel the pressence of my roommate. Don't ask me how I know, you just know when the most abnoxious, irritating person is in the room.

James clears his throat and I turn and look at him, knowing he's trying to get my attention.

"What's your deal, dude?" I ask smoothly.

His mouth turns into a forced, tight smile. He turns and looks at Grayson, who looks a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry to ruin your--", he looks at the coffee table, "--game" he looks back at me, "But I need to make supper. Grayson would you like to stay?" he says like it was the one thing he was absolutely dreading.

I stiffle a chuckle at his pain. "Mm. I suppose so" Grayson replies, smirking at James.

I notice James's hand clench into a fist, "I swear to god, Grayson" he threatens.

"You'll what?" he pushes his further.

James steps closer to Grayson, standing above his sitting figure. "I think you know exactly what I will do" he says.

What is that supposed to mean? What did Grayson do to get at James so bad? Grayson had never told me anything about the conflict between him and James.

Grayson looks away from James and looks at me.

Pain, desperation and defeat shows in his eyes.

I hadn't noticed that James had gone off to the kitchen to start dinner. The banging of pans, pots and shuffling around the kitchen shows that he is trying to work fast.

"What is your problem?" I ask Grayson. He looks at me with a bit of sadness. "What are you hiding from me?" I push further.

He lets out a exasperated sigh, "I'm sorry, Vena" he stands up and walks out the door before I can say anything.

I stare at the door at the door in shock for a moment. I hesitatly stand up and walk into the kitchen. I sit down on the bar stool and watch as James stirs something on the stove top.

"Darling, would you stop staring at me?" he asks, not looking away from the stove.

"How did you--"

"There's a mirror" he nods to the mirror behind the stove. I sigh and pull out my phone and check my messages.

One Unread Message

I click it.

Hey Ven, Wanna go for coffee tomorrow?

It was from my brother, Orlando. I reply a quick sure and call me later and turn off my phone.

I look up and see James looking at me, "What?" I ask.

"Nothing, I just thought maybe you would like some dinner" he sets the plate he was holding in front of me and turns and turns off the stovetop.

He grabs his plate from the other counter and sits across from me. I pick up my fork and twirl a piece of spaghetti around it. It tasted like spaghetti that you get a at a fancy italian resturant. I really need to stop praising James's meal preperation skills.

"So, do you like it?" he asks.

I look up at him and see him waiting for an answer ."Eh, I've tasted better" Lies.

"Oh have you now?" he asks, setting his fork down on his plate and raises an eyebrow.

I set down my fork as well and look at him straight in the eye. "Yes, I have" I reply.

"Where?" he pushes further.

What do I say? There is no other spegetti that is better than his. I groan and pick up my fork and continue eating, not saying anything to James.

"Ah, I get it. there is no other spegetti better than mine" he smirks.

Bingo.

I roll my eyes in response.

I finish my meal and put my dish in the dishwasher without rinsing it because I seriously cleaned that plate.

"Wow, you really liked that" James commented, rinsing his plate.

I leave the kitchen, not saying a word, not helping clean up. I walk into the living room and plop down on the couch. I turn on the TV and watch ABC Spark.

Twenty minutes later James came into the room and sat down in the chair beside me, letting out a tired sigh.

Suddenly I feel the vibration of my phone in my pocket. I take it out and it shows Orlando's name in bold letters.

I hit accept and bring the phone up to my ear.

"Hey" I say first. I glance over at James, who is staring at the TV screen.

"Hey, Ven. How are you?" he ask.

Well actually I'm in a bit of a pickle. I made a deal with my roommate, James Henderson. The dude who you hated in high school and and I'm obligated to sleep next to him every night.

"Good"

"Good, now where and when do you want to meet tomorrow?" he asks.

"How about Starbucks at ten AM?" I ask.

"That would be great. I'll meet you there. I go to go" he says, "I'll talk to you later" he finishes.

I nod to myself, "Okay talk to you then" I reply.

"Bye"

"Bye" I hang up.

"Who was that?" James mumbles.

I look at him, "Why?" I ask.

He shrugs, "Curious" he replies.

"Well, if you must know: it was my brother, Orlando" I say, looking away from him.

I glance at him, "Mm. Okay" he says with a bright smile on his face. I don't know what his deal his with my brother, but intend to find out soon.

~

"Do you have a morning class tomorrow?" I ask.

He nods his head, "9:00" he responds.

I glance at the clock on the wall. 10:36 PM.

"I'm gonna go to bed" I say and stand up, stretching my arms.

"Alright, you go ahead. I'll be in your room in a few minutes" I let my arms fall limp to my sides.

I didn't understancd what he meant by he would be in my room in a few minutes. Then it hit me. The Agreement. Dammit.

I groan and walk off the my room, getting into my pajamas before James decides to appear.

I turn off the light and climb into my bed, turning on the the lamp and grabbing my book off my shelf and opening it.

After a half hour of reading my book the words started to scramble into mixed up letters. My eye lids begin to feel heavy. James still hadn't came so I assumed that he fell asleep in the chair. I put my bookmark in and close the book, setting it on the night stand. I turn off my lamp and lie my head down on my pillow. After minutes of tossing and turning, I had finally felt my body drift away.

~

I find myself waking up as I feel a dip in the bed. I feel someone behind me come closer to me and wrap their arm around me and tossing a leg over my own.

"James" I whisper.

"Mm?"

"What time is it?" I ask.

I knew it was still late, maybe 2:00.

"Time to go to sleep" he replies.

I groan and turn around and face him and sit up on my elbows.

"What happened to a few minutes?" I ask.

He opens his eyes and then closes them again and smiles a smirk. "Why? Did you miss me?" he asks.

"Not a chance" I assure him.

He pats the spot beside him. I groan and lie down.

He lies on his back with his head turned to me, looking at me. I know what he wants and he isn't going to go to sleep until he gets.

Now I know what your thinking: An 19 year old boy would want something more than sleeping, but for all I know, the only thing he wants is to sleep.

I move closer to him and get half on top of him, lying my head down on his chest. I can feel as his chest rises and falls and for once he is actually wearing a shirt. Thank lord, it was seriously staring to piss me off.

He wraps his arm around me and hold me in place. I turn my head and look up at James and see that his eyes are closed and his breathing is at a balanced pace.

~

I wake up to James's breathing on the back of my neck. I sit up and look at him and see that his hand had fallen from my side and into my lap. I get up and walk to my dresser and find something to wear to lunch with Orlando.

I take one more look behind me to see if James is still sleeping and when I see he is, I turn away and take off my tanktop and put my blouse in order to put it on.

"Mm. What a wonderful view" I hear James's husky voice comment.

I quickly put the shirt over my head and turn and look at him, "I will kill you" I threaten.

Of course it wasn't a real threat. None of them were.

He laughs, "Your so modest" he says and stands up and walks towards the door.

As he walks out as he pulls off his shirt in one swift movement. I notice some peaking out of my waist band of sweatpants on his back.

I peer around the corner as he walks off to his room. Before he shut his door, I got one last look and realized that it was a tattoo of words.

Why would James get a tattoo of words and not something more manly? Like come on the words were in a fancy handwritten font.

I push that thought away for now and finish getting ready for coffee.

Once I finish I glance at the clock and it's 9:36 AM. James had already left an hour ago for his 9:00 class, so I decide that I will just leave now. I pick up my phone and dial Grayson's number. After three rings, he picks up.

"Hey" he answers.

"Hi. Can you drive me to Starbucks?" I ask.

"Your really that desperate?" he asks, mockingly.

"Ha ha, your so hilaroius" I say sarcastically.

"And yes, I can drive you, when do you want to leave?"

"Now. I'll be downstairs" I hang up.

I grab my bag and throw my phone in and leave the apartment, locking it behind me. I walk over to elevator instead of the stairs. I press the button and it opens and I walk in. I wait unpatiently as the it goes down.

It dings and opens.

I step out and see Grayson standing there with his Raybans covering his eyes. I walk past him and out the lobby to his car. I wait as he unlocks it. I get into the passenger seat and buckle my seatbelt.

He puts the key in the ignition and puts it in drive. He pulls out the parking lot.

The whole ride was silent do to the frustration I still had towards him for keeping specific things from me.

Once we pull up to parking lot of Starbucks I unbuckle me searbelt,, getting ready for a quick getaway. Grayson suddenly grabs ahold of my forearm.

"Vena, I'm sorry" he says sincerly.

I roll my eyes and rip my arm out of his grasp, "I'm sure" I say sarcastically.

I get of his car and shut the door behind me. I walk up to the building and glance behind me and see as Grayson drives off. I enter the building and glance around for my brother. My eyes finally find a pair of familiar green ones. I walk over to the table in the corner. I sit down across from him and set my bag and by me feet.

"How are you?" he asks immediatly.

Orlando was always the type to be proper and wear expensive clothes. Just to clarrify: Orlando is as striaght as a metal pole.

"Good, You?" I ask.

Suddenly a young woman appraoches us, flashing Orlando a bright smile. I am assuming she wants my brother's number. Gross.

"Hello, I will be your waitress this morning" she sets menus on the table.

What is this? Waitress? Huh? When did Starbucks turn into a resturant?

"Um, Excuse me" the lady turns around and smiles at me.

"Yes?" she asks politely.

"Since when did Starbucks become a resurant?" I ask.

"Oh, that was a month ago" she states.

"Okay thanks" she nods and walks away.

I glance over at the menu and it looks just like the menu did on the board a month ago. I'm not sure if I like this whole 'Starbucks Resturant' thing.

Once I decide to get my usaual I set my menu down on the table. Orlando does the same.

"So, how has school been" he asks. Typical Oralndo, always asking about my academics.

"It's good. I mean I've only had one day of classes, but I'm sure I will like it" I state. As soon as I finish my sentance I hear my phone to begin to ring.

I hold a finger up to my brother, telling him one minute and he nods. I press accept on the screen and bring the phone my ear, not checking who was calling.

"Hello?" I say.

"Hello Darling" I hear a familiar voice say louder than it should had been.

James knew I was going to be with my brother and he just wanted to tick me off.

"Good bye" I say and hear a chuckle at the other end. I hang up the phone.

"Who was that?" Orlando asks. I start to panic. I can't tell him that I'm roommates with James, he'd tell my parents and my other brothers and they would come for James.

Ooh maybe I should tell him.

"Grayson" I lie.

"Mm."

There was a moment a silence between us, I decide to break it.

"Do you hate James Henderson?" I ask.

He looks at me suddenly, his eyes stare at me with shock and realization, "Is he your boyfrined?" he asks finally.

I let out a sarcastic laugh, "Hah, that's funny. I wouldn't date that guy even if my life depended on it" I state.

"Good, I don't want you near that guy" he looks down at the table.

"Answer my question, Orlando" I say sternly.

He looks up at me with the slightest amout of humor shining through his eyes. "Wow, you really haven't changed" he chuckles, "And to answer your question: I don't hate him. Sure, he has done some things in his high school years, but that's past us. I'm his friend, Vena" he finishes.

I think about this for a second. What kind of friends are they? Like, do they hang out alot? Or is it just a mutual friendship? This is going to rack my brian until I find out.

"Why do you ask?' he asks.

Suddenly the waitress rounds the corner and comes up the table, making it so I don't have to answer his questiion.

She takes our order and walks away. Orlando turns and looks at me. uh oh, he's still waiting for an answer.

Just play it cool, Vena.

"Curious, he was a real ass in high school and I was just wondering if he ever did end up working at McDonalds as a career" I say casually.

He looks at me suspiciously. I pray that he doesn't notice my nervousness.

He shrugs, "Alright, well he's actually going to your college at the moment, so if he tries to bother you, call me and I will deal with it" he says.

What if he tries to make me his distration every night and suceeds? What then?

The waitress rounds the corner with a platter of drinks, Orlando stands up and puts on his coat. "Where are you going?" I ask.

He gives me sympathetic look, "I'm really sorry Vena, but they need me at the office" he says, taking his drink off the platter, "I got to go, but call me when you get the chance" he says.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a twenty dollar bill and tosses it on the platter that the waitress is holding, "Keep the change" he says.

He waves me bye and I return it.

This actually really sucks, I was looking fowards to having coffee with my brother. He never seems to have time for anyone esle, I mean with his job as a architect in all, I understand how it is.

The waitress sets my drink down on the table, "Have a good day" she says and walks away.

I reach into my bag and grab my phone and dial James's number. It looks like I am going to have to call him to come pick me up because there is no way I want to face Grayson after our little dispute this morning.

"Hey, can you come pick me?" I ask before he can say anything.

"Do I have to? Can't Lover Boy Grayson do it?" he whines. He can be such a toddler sometimes.

"No, I'm at Starbucks, the one a few blocks away from the building" I say.

"I'll be there in ten" he says and hangs up.

I walk out the building and wait on the sidewalk until James comes.

Suddenly the sound of loud music in blaring behind me. I automatically think it is James, but I think the exact oppisite when I see a black Corvette.

The tinted widow rolls down and shows a handsome blonde guy with black Raybans covering his eyes. I somewhat reconize this person.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A Vena, I can see" he says, laughter twisted in his voice.

He removes his sunglsses from his eyes. Grant Johnson. Dammit.

"Hey Grant" I say.

He holds up a finger and drives past me and parks his car across the street and jogs across the road to me.

"Hi, what are you doing here all alone?" he asks as a smirk forms on his lips.

"Waiting for my roommate" I say, glancing down the now busy street. New York was weird like that.

It's all quiet in some places and then BOOM! It's loud again.

"Good ole James" he says, smirking at me. How on earth did he find out?

I look away from him and over his shoulder and notice a tall, muscular, brown haired boy appraoching Grant and I.

In other words: it was James.

Grant turns around to where I am looking and James's eyes light up.

Once they get into eachother reach they pull eachother into this weird guy hug. It's weird.

Wait this means they are friends. This means that Grant hangs out with James. It looks like I am going to be seeing a lot of Grant than I thought I would. I guess this means that I am going to have get a friend as well, prefferally a female.

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