I leave Nico's side to go find Remi. I can't believe she called him to come here knowing where Nico and I currently stand. She's mopping the kitchen floor when I find her.

"Do I want to know?" I ask her of the liquid that she's currently cleaning up.

"No, I don't think so," she tells me, and I shut my eyes. Why did I agree to this? Why?

I have to change the subject before I scream. "So, want to explain to me what exactly you were thinking when you called Nico? Seriously, I'm curious to know what was going on in your brain."

She stops mopping and looks at me with a frozen expression. "You said to do whatever it takes to get everyone out of your house."

I shake my head in astonishment. "You know better than that, Rem."

"What did you want me to do, Bella? Nothing was working."

"And you think having Nico here is going to help?"

"Uh, yes," she states matter-of-factly. "One word from him and problem solved. You don't know the kind of power Nico has over this town."

"Don't pretend like you know him better than me, 'kay?"

I'm not trying to be bitter, but I'm mad at Remi. I'm mad that she convinced me to throw this party, I'm mad that she let it get out of control, and I'm the most mad that she dialed Nico's number to get it back in control. I get that she was just trying to make matters better, but I wish that she had asked me first.

"Look, I get that you're upset with me, but you don't have to give me attitude. I'm just trying to help. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry that we have to deal with this, but you bitching at me is not helping anyone. Yes, I called Nico, and yes, I should have confronted you first before doing so, but I panicked. I apologize for letting you down, and I will make it up to you, but for now, let's focus on just getting everyone out of here before your mom gets home."

Remi's right. I'm still mad at her, but we have bigger fish to fry. And unless I want to spend the rest of my summer staring at the four walls in my bedroom, then we've got to get a move on getting everyone out of this house.

I sigh. "Okay, you're right. Let's find Nico."

Remi and I pass through crowds of people, who I'm convinced don't even know that this is my house. When we finally make it through, we see Nico surrounded by a few guys.

"Ah, there you are," he says once I meet his stance. "BC, meet James, Beck, and Marshall," Nico says, gesturing to three brawly guys wearing Miller Prep football blazers. "James has nominated himself to clean the entire living room, while Beck and Marshall will take care of the kitchen."

"I did?" James asks, but Beck slaps him on the stomach. "Right, I did," James says, rubbing at the spot.

"Thank you, guys," I tell them, and then turn to Nico. "Thanks," I whisper before nodding my head at the room. "What about everyone else?"

"Oh, right, that," he says, holding up his finger. "Give me 20 seconds."

Not knowing what he means – not wanting to know what he means – I look at him quizzically, and he covers the sides of his mouth with his hands. "Listen up," he shouts so loudly that I think the whole room just shook. "Everyone has 20 seconds to get the fuck out of this house. If you know what's good for you, then you won't make me wait longer than that."

I watch in amazement as everyone immediately scrambles for their things and runs out of the house. I turn to look at Remi, whose jaw is basically on the floor. She was right; Nico's power over this town is something else.

Before I know it, the floors are clean and the house is empty. The only people over at this point are Remi, Nico, and Danny.

I'm walking Danny to the door while Nico and Remi talk on the couch. But when I look away from Danny for a second, I notice Nico's eyes on me.

"You sure you don't need help with anything else?" Danny asks as I open the front door.

"I'm good," I smile. "I think Nico scared everyone away."

"Yeah," he chuckles lightly. But by the looks of the fake smirk on his face right now, I'm guessing that he doesn't find my comment all that funny. "Hey, I was thinking we could catch an early movie tomorrow night and then grab dinner afterwards. What do you say?"

"Ah, tomorrow's no good. It's Grandma Ruby's birthday. How about this weekend?"

He frowns. "That's like 5 days from now."

"Yeah, but we work together, remember?"

"I don't know about you, but that doesn't count as a date in my book."

I don't know why I said that, nor do I know why I'm avoiding hanging out with Danny. "You're right," I admit. "How about Thursday night?"

"Thursday night it is," he grins, then pecks me on the lips and takes off.

I watch Danny walk to his car, and then close the door shut. I stand there for a while, thinking about where my feelings for him fall. In the beginning, I felt this excitement, this rush, when it came to Danny, and I had assumed that with time, those feelings would escalate even more. But for some reason, my heart isn't cooperating. If anything, I'm feeling my feelings weaken.

Not wanting to think about it any longer, I make my way over to Remi and Nico, and take a seat besides Remi.

"Nico, I still don't know how you did it, but thank you again for your help tonight," I say.

He smiles at me. "I think you underestimate my reputation in this town, BC."

"I just can't believe that it's still kicking. You'd think that someone else would take over by now."

"Yeah, well when it comes to you, I don't want anyone else taking over."

"Awwww!" I hear Remi blurt out, and I scrunch my forehead at her. "Sorry, B, but you gotta admit, that was cute."

"Rem...," I shake my head at her.

"I'm with Remi on that one, BC. That was pretty cute," Nico remarks.

"Of course you do, the words came out of your mouth!"

"Call me biased, then," he smirks and says, his dimples reminding me of the reasons why my heart still beats for him after all these years.