"Game night at Vanessa's?" I repeat back what Dean had said. We were walking towards the frozen food section, Dean pushing the cart while my eyes roamed every item. After coming home from work, we decided to pay the grocery store a visit.

"It could be fun," Dean shrugged. "And it'll take your mind off the examination results. That is, if you would like to go."

"What kind of games? Like truth or dare?"

Dean gave me an amused glance, reaching over and grabbing a few cartons of eggs before handing them to me so I could place them in the shopping cart.

"Not necessarily...however you can never know with Zayn playing. Last time he wanted us to have a seance, all in attempts at trying to get ahold of his grandma and ask her if she meant to not leave him anything in the will."

I paused, looking over at him. "Did it work?"

"What do you think?"

Letting out a defeated sound, I shrugged my shoulders, pretending to be upset. "And here I was thinking I could finally get a chance to say goodbye to my goldfish. I was told it was busy swimming in the big blue sea, but you don't flush a fish down a toilet and expect me to believe that."

"I'm sure it's living it's dream life down there, Sophia. Hey, grab a few of those please." I saw where he was pointing at and compiled, also adding them inside.

With a skip in my step I took over pushing the shopping cart, letting Dean take my place as his hand held onto the side of it so I wouldn't knock anyone over like I had accidently done the other week. He had the shopping list I had made in his hands, his eyes squinting while reading this.

"Okay," He sighed, showing it to me. "What does this even mean?"

"Um, obviously it's saying we need oil. Dean, maybe you should consider wearing your glasses full time."

He glared at me, shaking the list in his hand. "How the fuck was I supposed to get oil out of two stickers?"

"You can clearly see that they're opposites. So is oil and water. That's how."

He didn't say a word, smoothing a hand down his face and sighing heavily, not bothering to argue with the logic I had just provided.

"Alright, but seriously...what games will we be potentially playing?"

"Most likely some stupid silly ones like never have I ever that'll give us an excuse to get tipsy."

"Oh. What if I don't wanna drink...? I don't wanna ruin the fun. Should I just not go? I ruined last time for you and I want you to hang out with your friends worry free." I said, looking at him.

The aisle was clear so I wasn't worried about potentially blocking someone's way, and Dean walked over to me, taking a hold of my hand and doing that same soothing motion that he knew would calm down my nerves.

"You didn't ruin anything, Sweetheart. I promise. And don't worry about the drinking, Ayesha isn't allowed to so we try and keep it to a minimum to be respectful."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He reassured me before changing the subject. "Now, let's go find those frozen dumplings you told me about. Where were they located again?"

"Right next to the frozen spring rolls. They're really good, Dean! Though, I've only ever had them once back when I used to live with...him." I winced, not meaning to mention him at all. Sometimes I forget just how many years I spent with Devon, a good chunk of my adolescence was corrupted with the memories of living with him.

"Only once? I thought you said you really liked them."

I nodded, avoiding his gaze. "Devon wasn't really...respectful towards dishes he wasn't familiar with."

Dean's eyes blazed with slight anger as understanding dawned upon him. "He's the asshole who spit out your food."

"I didn't think you'd remember that. Anyway, It's alright. I mean, not everyone can like everything."

"Don't make excuses for him. There are respectful ways to decline food, especially food that's cultural. He could have easily told you he wasn't a fan of it. Spitting it out is fucked."

He was right, once again. People pleaser Sophia was coming back out to play, and I really needed to start understanding that I should be able to call out people for doing me dirty...even though I hated confrontation.

"You go to the frozen aisle, okay? I just need to grab some tomato paste."

I nodded at him and proceeded to walk the rest of the way towards the frozen section. I excitedly looked around for the dumplings I wanted when I bumped into someone, forgetting to look before I walked.

Shutting my eyes, I held back my yelp as my hand came up to rub at the aching spot on my forehead. When I remembered that it was someone I had bumped into, I immediately went to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's okay." A somewhat familiar voice spoke and I looked up, frowning once I saw who it was.

"Oh..." I said, trying to hide my disdain. "It's you."

"It's me." He replied, looking amused as if I had purposely wanted to bump into him. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings and not seeing Dean anywhere before my eyes caught onto the well known packaging.

"Well..." I awkwardly said. "If you could please move, I need to get that." I pointed towards the dumplings that were covered almost fully by his body. He seemed to shift his stance to almost look bigger, wanting to either intimidate or impress I honestly couldn't give a fuck.

"I'll move on one condition."

"No."

"You didn't even hear what it was?"

"I don't wanna hear what it is. I just want to get dumplings."

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said at the party. I was a little buzzed and you were sitting there so hot that I didn't know how to approach you."

"I was sitting there so hot," I deadpanned, repeating what he said in a monotone voice. "So you decided to go the asshole route?" I mused, raising an eyebrow.

"Fuck, yeah, I'm sorry. Look, if you give me another chance I promise I won't do the same shit again."

"I just came here to get dumplings..." I scowled.

"We can get dumplings for dinner, if that's what you're suggesting." He offered.

"I thought I was suggesting for you to back off."

"Give me a chance. Let me prove it, babe." Babe. The word made me sick. He walked closer to me, his hand coming up to play with my hair. My scowl deepened, an unsettling feeling forming in my stomach.

"Please don't call me babe." I took a step back, his hand falling limp beside him. "I'm not interested."

"Why not? I'll get to call you whatever I want after our date."

"I said I wasn't interested." I repeated, trying to stay calm. "Can you fuck off? I just came to get dumplings."

"Christ, no need to be a bitch about it."

"A bitch?" I laughed, incredulity. "Just because someone rejects you, it doesn't make them a bitch."

"You didn't even give me a chance."

"I don't owe you a fucking chance."

He stepped closer again, caging me against the cold glass fridge and I hurriedly looked around for someone, anyone. Where the fuck was Dean?

"Let me prove it to you, babe." There was that word again, mixing it with his breath fanning over my face made me still, holding my breath. Flashes of the past entered my mind and I cursed myself for freezing up now, begging my head to just get myself out of there but it was fruitless.

"Please get off of me." I whispered desperately, my palms pressing against the cold glass as I tried to put as much distance between us as possible. I guess I felt intimidated now, his body almost consuming mine as he smiled like what he was doing to me at this moment was a game. All fun and flirty.

"All you have to do is say yes." His hand was about to play with Dean's necklace when he froze, a voice interrupting us.

"What the fuck is going on?" The sound of Dean's voice was like heaven to my ears, my body instantly going lax as I shoved the guy off of me, running over to Dean. He collected me in his arms protectively, glaring at the guy.

"Nothing man, we were just having a friendly talk." He raised his arms up in surrender. "I didn't know she was taken. I'll fuck off now." He shook his head in disbelief, walking away.

Only when he was finally out of our eyesight did Dean turn towards me, his eyes shining with concern. "He didn't touch you, did he?"

I shook my head, hand coming up to grab onto my necklace to calm the tremors. "He kept touching my hair...and I can still feel his breath on my face. Dean, I need to take a shower. I need to get his touch off."

He was quiet for a moment, analyzing me. "Would it help if I replaced his touch with mine?"

Without thinking, I stepped into his hold, wrapping my arms around his waist as I shoved my face in his chest. He didn't say anything, just stroked my back until I was ready to leave my safe space. When I tried to move back, however, Dean gently held my chin, moving my head up so I could look at him.

"You feeling better now, Soph?"

When I nodded, he pressed a kiss to my cheek, pulling away to speak to me. "Come on, let's get those dumplings and get out of here."

"Do you want to recreate Ocean's Eight with me?" I changed the subject, yanking the freezer  open and grabbed a packet, dumping it into the cart.

"You wanna steal millions of dollars worth of jewelry with James Corden?" He raised his eyebrows, amused. I winced, shaking my head at the thought of teaming up with that karaoke wannabe.

"Maybe Good Girl's is a better option. They actually robbed a grocery store."

Dean laughed softly, pushing the cart towards the self checkout area. "You know...everytime you run off to Alex's you seem to want to incorporate me in another heist."

"You did call yourself a genius, didn't you, pretty boy?" I huffed, starting to scan our items one by one. "Unless you'd rather me take the lead. I am pretty creative when it comes to escape plans, you know."

"Shouting 'run' isn't an escape plan, Sophia."

"Fine, ruin all the fun, why don't you?"

"Anyway," Dean spoke, starting to fill up our reusable bags with the items we had just bought. "Would you still like to go to Vanessa's tonight? If you still feel overwhelmed, we don't have to."

"If I still feel overwhelmed, you should go. They're your friends, Dean. I don't want you not going because of me."

"I want you there," He glanced over, giving me a sincere look. "And I want you to know that you don't just have me, but you have them too."

"They don't hate me because of the party?"

"Of course not," He shook his head. "You were drugged up and hurt. It'd be fucked up if they got mad."

I went quiet, thinking about it as I tapped my card on the machine in order to pay. "And they don't mind me coming?"

"Vanessa and Ayesha practically begged me to bring you along. And so did Zayn." His disdain was clear when he said Zayn's name, making me laugh. He picked up one of the filled bags, letting me pick up the other as we walked out of the store. I could tell he had given me the lighter one, putting the majority of the heavy items in his bag.

"Someone's jealous," I teased.

"Of course I'm jealous, Sweetheart. I don't want you leaving me for him."

"I would never," I placed a hand over his. "I might leave you for Alex though."

"Fucking Alex," He shook his head. "I don't need any more competition."

"I'm kidding. It's only you, pretty boy. Don't forget that."

"I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing." He gave me a warm look, placing our bags in the trunk of his car before shutting it. "Come on, Soph. We need to get home in time to change for Vanessa's."

- - -

"Look who the fuck decided to show up!" Brandon called out, opening the door wider to let us both in. He had a wide smile on his face, sending me a 'hey' before looking at Dean and starting up a conversation.

I nervously looked around, seeing the rest of Dean's friends in the living room talking and eating.

"Sophia!" Vanessa jumped up, crashing into me. "Are you okay? Are you still hurting? Tell mommy what's going on." I laughed, gently pushing her off of me.

"I'm okay, truly. It wasn't that big of a deal, I promise. Dean has been..." My eyes followed to where he was, looking up at him with a small smile as I watched his features relax while engaging with his friend. "Really helpful."

"Honestly?" Vanessa said, lowering her voice. "I thought you would have said he was rude."

I shake my head, the word rude and Dean don't even correlate in my head. "I know that some people might look at Dean and think he's this mean guy but he really isn't. I don't know..." I shrugged, playing with my necklace. "I guess people aren't really used to others not being as erratic as them and automatically pair that with them not wanting them around. Well actually..." I frowned. "Dean did say he didn't want me around so I guess I can call him rude if I wished."

Vanessa smiled, finding no heat behind my last few words and hugged me again, her eyes shining. "I'm really glad you're okay." She said with a soft smile. "You really freaked us out at the party, Sophia."

My face warmed with shame. "I'm so sorry about that. I know you guys were looking forward to hanging out with him and I kind of shit on your plans."

"Are you kidding?" She exclaims, her head shaking. "No, you've got it all wrong. We wanted to hang out with the both of you, not just Dean. Honestly? I'm surprised he even came. Dean isn't really big on going to parties unless something really awful happened and he wanted to get drunk. He isn't one to share his feelings with other people and believes he should suffer on his own."

I frowned at that. I met Dean at a party...did that mean something bad had happened that day as well? And what about the following days where he went missing? What happened then?

I gave a quick glance back at Dean, my chest constricting. With all of my shit going on, I never thought to ask Dean any important questions. It's been about me all of this time and fuck, did I feel so selfish.

"Nothing really bad happened the day of the party...I don't think." My frown deepened, getting lost in my thoughts. Or did it? Did something bad happen to Dean but I was just too oblivious to see the shift in his mood?

"That was kind of different, actually." Vanessa said. "He was there for you."

My heart went full at that, and I let my mouth upturn for a fraction of a second before getting lost into my thoughts again about Dean. He did seem a bit more harsh for a day or two when he came back, but overall I chalked that down to normal behavior.

Fuck, I felt like the worst friend-and-maybe-something-more-person ever.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Zayn's voice as he called us over to where the rest of them were sitting. "Hey, sore losers! Get your asses over here!"

I looked to Vanessa for an explanation as she took my hand and dragged us over to the couches. She had rolled her eyes, sighing. "He wins at UNO once and believes he is the smartest man alive."

She sits me down beside Ayesha before taking her respective seat beside Alyan, him looking at her far longer than I expect one friend would to another. The couches in this living room consisted of two triple seaters and two single seaters, arranged to form a rectangle in the living room followed by a coffee table in the middle. Dean sat on the single seater closest to me, giving me a look of reassurance when my eyes caught onto his. Though because of what was revealed to me seconds earlier I looked away, ridden with guilt.

It was littered with games, UNO amongst them as Zayn threw his hands up in the air in a cheer, most likely winning again. Ayesha threw her body back against the couch with a sigh, her eyes closing as Zayn basked in his glory.

"God, is he infuriating sometimes." She groaned, though there was no heat behind her words.

"Does he win a lot?" I asked her, tucking hair away from my face.

She turns to me with a smirk, looking back over at him. "Never, actually...that does seem awfully weird to you too, doesn't it?"

Before I could say anything, Ayesha threw a pillow at Zayn's face making him let out a yelp, looking at Ayesha with a betrayed expression.

"Ayesha..." he said, so sadly. "Does my poor, precious life mean nothing to you at all? Is this what I'm reduced to? Someone you can throw pillows at?"

"Stop being so dramatic Zayn and maybe if you stepped outside of your ego filled bubble, you'd see that Sophia is about to report your crazy ass to the cops."

Zayn then turns to me, looking even more betrayed. "Is that true, Sophia? I really did think you two were my friends but I guess I should have known better. I'm going to get myself another drink and celebrate my win with my real friends. Hey, Brandon? Do you wanna congratulate me on another fantastic win?"

"No."

"Oh..."

"Congrats, Zayn." I tell him, laughter in my tone. "Go get yourself that drink."

He drops his dramatic act, grinning as he stands up and nods at me. "Hi there, Sophia. I'm glad you could come and cheer me on." With that, he walks over to the kitchen, opening the fridge and slipping out three water bottles. Before I can question why, Ayesha speaks.

"Don't mind him, he's usually like this. You'll get used to it soon enough. And hi, Sophia. It really is nice to see you again. I'm glad you're feeling better." Ayesha said genuinely.

"It's nice to see you too! I'm literally in love with your dress." I shook my head in disbelief on how someone could look that good. "I'm in need of some new sundresses for this summer. I only own jeans and t-shirts." I frowned.

She was wearing a light pink hijab that matched her maxi dress, along with some baby doll white heels.

"Sophia, I know this may be sudden but...do you wanna marry me? We should definitely go shopping together soon— actually let's make it a girls trip with me, you, and Vanessa. If that's alright with you, of course."

I beamed, happy. "Yes, let's do that! I'm free on Saturday at five? I have work before then."

"I'll text you the details—"

"Okay!" Zayn stood up, rubbing his hands together. "It's time to play some games now that everyone has arrived. Oh, by the way, Sophia I got you and Dean some water. I know you guys don't want to drink tonight and Ayesha can also get you some soda if that's what you would like."

I thanked him, taking both bottles from his hands and handing one of them to Dean, still avoiding his gaze.

"Oh no," Ayesha groaned, leaning back on the sofa. "I do not think I can handle another one of Zayn's games."

"Lighten up Ayesha, this won't be anything like last time."

"Last time, my mother almost married me to you." She deadpanned, and everyone let out a small laugh.

"And what's wrong with that? I'd be happy to marry you!" Zayn huffed.

"That makes one of us," Ayesha muttered, shooting Dean a pleading look. He only smiled at her, turning to Zayn.

"She's right, Zayn. You got your shit rocked last time."

"Okay, but this time is completely different. I've actually matured, believe it or not." He said with a firm nod, looking around the room.
I noticed everyone's smile widening, one of my own blooming as well. No matter how much people pretended to be annoyed at Zayn, I knew they loved him with their entire soul. Their warmth towards each other was very prominent and once again, I was forever glad that Dean had friends as kind and loving as them.

"How about we stick to something easy?" Brandon offered, yanking Zayn's hand so he sat down. "Since Sophia's new she can go