Amber's pov:

"Uno!!!" Luke shouts excitedly, clutching his last card to his chest.

"Cheater." Gianna mutters under her breath making me giggle, being the only one who heard her side comment.

Well, I guess you can already assume what game we are playing.

We were all playing uno, waiting for Jake, Ashton, and Zander to arrive.

Julie said that Ashton would probably get here first, and if he followed the speed limit...

Which she is really doubtful of...

He should be here in ten minutes.

I was sitting between Damien and Gianna while we were all in a big circle on the floor of the living room.

Glancing down at my own cards, I had about ten thanks to Damien who kept throwing plus two's my way.

Speaking of the devil...

"Plus two... again." Damien smirks, observing my slightly annoyed expression.

"How in the world do you have so many of those?!" I whine, picking up two cards.

"Well I-..."

"Reverse!!" Gianna winks at me, and getting the hint, I flick my head towards Damien, a sly grin grazing my lips as he gulps nervously.

"Okay Amber, let's think about this for a second." He says, throwing his hands up in defense.

But I only shake my head, pulling out the card I've been wanting to use for a while now.

"Plus four... blue." I couldn't help but feel victorious as picks up four cards from the stack.

"Blue...Seriously??!" Luke groans when it was his turn, continuously picking up cards until he had one that would pass.

By the end, he had about the same as me, which again, is quite a lot.

I feel Gianna nudge me so I turn towards her, and in the corner of my eye, I find her hand out for a secret high five. Grinning, I touch the palm of my hand with hers, trying to go unnoticed.

"I saw that!" Luke snaps, glaring at Gianna who only gives him an innocent smile.

"Saw what?" She asks, tilting her head, which only provoked him even more.

"You guys high-..." he wasn't able to finish his sentence because of the sound of a door being opened.

"Guess who." A voice says, appearing from the door frame. I look up to see Ashton, whose eyes quickly scanned the room before they fell on Julie, sitting on the floor criss crossed with a wide smile on her face.

Before any of us could react, he quickly pounces on her like a tiger, tackling her down to a laying position and hugging her from on top of her.

"Ashton!!!" She giggles, burying her embarrassed face into his neck as he squeezes her tighter to his chest.

"Ahhh here we go again." Gianna says, rolling her eyes at the two, but nonetheless smiling at the pair as Ashton kisses Julie all over her face before pulling away, keeping an arm around her waist while sitting up.

"You literally saw each other like a week ago." Luke says matter of factly, earning a smack in the arm from Ella.

"And it's been a hell of a long week..." Ashton says back, before taking a second to really scan the room, pausing on Liam and I.

"You guys must be who Julie was telling me about... Liam and Amber, right?" He asks.

We both nod our heads before sharing a look with one another.

Not going to lie, even though I've only heard nice things about him and he just hugged his girlfriend like a koala...

His stare was kinda intimidating.

But I was already kinda aware that it would probably be since he always looked intimidating to others while walking through the halls last year. No wonder no one bothered to mess with him.

"She also mentioned that Liam, you're on the boxing team. I've seen you at a match before and for it only being your first year, I gotta say you're pretty good." Ashton praises him, holding his hand out for a fist bump.

I could almost SEE the sparkle in Liam's eyes as he fist pumps him, a small smile dancing on his lips.

"T-thank you." He stutters.

I couldn't contain my smile as I look at Liam, knowing how much those words must have meant to him.

Ashton claps his hands together before looking at the cards, "Wait a minute... you guys started playing uno WITHOUT ME?!"

He turns towards Julie, who only gives him a guilty look, before hiding her face behind her cards.

"Mhhm... maybe?" Julie stumbles out, mouthing a small "help" to Ella, who was sitting right next to her.

We all laugh as Ashton pulls her closer to him, smirking as she nervously blushes from all the stares.

"You know, I'm really loving this lovely dovey stuff, but I got ass to kick and it ain't gonna be pretty." Gianna says all of a sudden, using her foot to kick Ashton out of the middle of the circle.

I had to keep my jaw from DROPPING at the scene, watching as she easily kicked him without a single thought nor hesitation.

I mean... it's Ashton.

ASHTON!!!

But to my surprise, he just completely ignores it.

And instead, he lays between Julie's legs, his head rested on her chest, so he was able to see Julie's card and watch the game.

Cute.

And just like that, we were back to the game. It lasted pretty long because every time someone got close to winning, they either didn't have the card to get in, got skipped, or they had to draw cards.

It wasn't until Ella finally took the win. Everyone congratulated her except Gianna and Luke, who only demanded another game, their competitiveness getting in the way.

"Luke, shouldn't you be the one of all people congratulating your girlfriend?" Damien snickers, causing Luke to shrug his shoulders, his eyes focused as he shuffles the cards.

"She got lucky." He mumbles.

Ella scoffs while hitting his shoulder... again.

"Ow... ABUSE!!!"

"I'll show you abuse in the next five seconds." She says under her breath, causing everyone to laugh, well except Luke, who only hugs her side and kisses her shoulder a few times for forgiveness.

"Okay, how about we get some food before the next round?" Julie suggests.

Everyone agrees before standing up, a few us even stretching after sitting for who knows how long.

I couldn't help but let out a small yawn while stretching my own arms over my head.

"Tired?" Damien asks, grabbing my arms and continuing to stretch for me.

"Just a little bit, but I'll be okay."

"If you say so, I don't want you falling asleep on me now." He jokes, before letting go of my arms and removing a strand of hair out of my face.

"I'll do my best."

He nods his head, "Are you hungry? I can get you something if you want..." he asks, grabbing a hold of my hand and dragging me to the kitchen where everyone else was, snacking on from what Julie and I got from the store.

"Jake will be here shortly, so we have to find a spot to put these where he will never think of but the rest of us can access at any time." Julie says, holding a jar of cookies in her hand while searching for hiding spots in her kitchen.

I give Damien a confused look but he only grins while mouthing "It's a long story."

"Baby, you know how he always ends up finding it. Plus, I think he learned from last time when you hit him-..."

"We must NOT take any changes." She interrupts him as she puts the jar of cookies behind the curtain of the window.

"That might work this time." Ella says, stealing a spoonful of ice cream that was in Ally's hand.

"I agree, he always checks the cabinets first, then maybe, if he's that desperate, he'll check the other rooms with cabinets where we tried to hide them a few other times." Gianna says, swinging her legs back and forth while sitting on the counter.

"Okay, so as long as we are all careful and don't make it obvious, I think we will all finally have a hangout where Jake doesn't eat all the cookies before anyone else can get to them." Julie says, a grin forming on her face before looking at Liam and I, who only stare at her, confused.

"Do I even want to know..." Liam asks, voicing my exact thoughts.

"You'll find out-... speak of the devil."

The sound of the front being opened can be heard, instantly gaining all of our attention.

We all file out of the kitchen and back into the leaving room to indeed see Jake, a goofy smile on his face as he opens his arms wide.

Before we could even speak a word, Gianna quickly jumps into his embrace, locking her lips with his.

"Hey hey HEY!! Keep it pg 13 kids." Luke playfully scolds the two. Gianna pulls her arm away from being wrapped around Jake's waist to holding it out towards Luke, putting up the middle finger.

"Julie, she symboled a bad word." Luke whines, tattling like a five year old a recess.

"Let them have their moment Luke, unlike you it's been a while." Ella says, watching Jake and Gianna as they kiss for a few more seconds before pulling away.

He places her back on her two feet before the pair turns towards us, cheeky grins on each of their faces. But everyone else already seemed used to seeing their affection.

"You seem to have something here." Ashton smirks, pointing to his lips as Jake quickly gets the hint, wiping away the lip stick that was smudged across his lips.

"Sorry Jakey." Gianna grins, interlocking her arm with his before dragging him to the couch.

We all follow along as we sit around the living room.

Again, there were introductions with Liam and I before we all start to talk.

And I've got to admit, it was really nice.

I don't know how many times I must have said this, too many to count, but again, it's really nice to be part of a group.

"So Amber, any hobbies?" Ashton asks, pulling me into a side conversation as everyone else was broken into different conversations already.

"Well, not many actually. If you count helping out at the children's hospital, I really like that." I answer.

He nods his head, "I know Damien helps there too, is that how you guys met?" He asks.

I pause, thinking for a second, "Kinda... we really didn't get to know each other until a fight one day when Luke and Damien almost go kicked off the team."

Ashton thinks for a second before nodding his head, having it click, "You know what, I do recall Julie telling me something about that. I was pissed off to hear that my boys almost got kicked off because of that dumb excuse of a fight, but I'm really glad that you stepped in and saved their asses. So thank you for that."

I give him a small smile, "Really, it's nothing. I knew I couldn't just sit around a watch while they got in trouble for something that they didn't do. Plus, it was pretty easy to come up with a lie since my dad is the coach and all."

From my words, a shocked expression takes its place on Ashton's face, "Are you serious?! I didn't know Coach had a daughter, or any children for that matter. He keeps his personal life so hidden, I never would have guessed."

"Yeah, a lot of people aren't aware actually, he just likes to keep it that way. But by the way, I'm an only child, so there aren't any more."

He laughs at my statement, "That would have been funny if he secretly had like 10 kids and none of us knew anything."

"Yeah, that-..."

"GUESS WHOSE BACK BIATCHES!!!" The front door suddenly slams open, in walking talk figure, holding their hands up in the air with a wild look on his face. I didn't have to take a second glance to recognize it as Zander.

Instantly, everyone shoots up from their seats to hug him, whereas Liam and I stay back, watching.

"What took you so long?!" Luke asks, patting his back as Zander groans.

"TRAFFIC, and it never pissed me the f*ck off more in my LIFE!!! I missed so many Jashton moments already!!!" He says, causing Julie and Ashton to glance at each other before turning into a blushing mess.

"He tackled her to the ground as soon as he got here and then he-..." Gianna begins to spit fire, but Julie quickly covers her mouth with her hand before she could continue, looking at Zander as if he was a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

Ashton sighs before holding up three fingers, "Three... two... one..."

"GOD DA-..." the words got caught in his throat as his eyes land on Liam and I, who were quietly watching from behind.

Instantly, a huge grin takes up his face, "Ahhh!!! You must be the oh so famous Amber and Liam I've been hearing so much about." He says, walking toward us.

And before we could react, he pulls both of us into a hug.

"Zander!!! Don't suffocate-... I-... actually, nevermind." Julie sighs, leaning back into Ashton's embrace as he wraps his arms around her from behind, kissing her temple.

I laugh at Julie's words while Zander continues to squeeze us in his embrace before letting go.

He looks at us again, the same grin on his face...

But I couldn't help but notice how when he looked at us, his eyes lingered on Liam just a little longer.

"Liam, you seem awfully familiar... you're new to the boxing team, right?" Zander asks him.

Liam bites his lip nervously before answering, "Y-yes I am actually."

"I knew it! You've got some mad skills, we should get together sometime and I'll show you some pointers."

Liam nods his head excitedly, "I would LOV-... I mean like... I would like that a lot... thank you."

Zander gives him a grin before Julie begins to ask, "Now that everyone is here, do we want to order the pizza now or-..."

"YES! NOW!" Jake interrupts her, pushing her towards her phone as she rolls her eyes.

"Why did I even bother to ask." She mumbles under her breath, going to grab her phone.

"I'll help." Ashton calls out from behind her, following her into the kitchen.

Watching them leaving, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up to see Damien, who had his eyes on me.

"Hey."

"Hi." I couldn't help but laugh, realizing how often we start off our conversations like this, even though we've talked like five minutes ago and there is no need for greetings.

But this weird way of starting our conversations wasn't able to stop the butterflies in my stomach.

"I'm bored."

I nudge him, "All your friends are here and you're bored?"

He nods his head cutely, causing a giggle to escape from my lips, "What do you want to do then?"

He shrugs his shoulders before pulling me to the couch.

"Can I play that game on your phone?" He asks, his doe eyes staring into mine as he tries to grab a hold of my phone.

Yesterday at lunch, he saw me playing a game on my phone that's really addicting, and since then, he's been trying to beat my high score.

I swat his hands away, trying not to give into his antics, "Hey! How many times do I have to tell you that no matter how many times you play, you won't be able to beat me. I've been playing this game for years."

He pouts, scrunching is nose in the process while looking at me, "But I want too~..." he whines like a baby, trying to take my phone.

But this only makes me move my phone farther away from him.

"Amber~... you aren't being fair. I can't beat your high score if you don't even let me play." He continues to pout, which I swear, will be the death of me.

"And maybe that's the point. Plus, if I let you start playing again, you will become addicted just like you did at lunch and won't listen to any of the conversations happening around you. You should enjoy this time with your friends since you don't get to see them that often."

He looks at me for a few seconds, pondering my words before finally nodding his head.

"I guess you're right." He mumbles under his breath.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that, can you say it again?"

He squints his eyes at my words, "I know you heard me."

"Did I?"

"Yes."

"I don't recall, please repeat, por favor."

"Spanish isn't gonna work on me missy."

"...Was it at least a good attempt?"

"Nope."

"Dang it."

Hey guys!!!

How did you like this chapter!!

Another group chapter coming your way <3

Oh, and I'm now starting to become more active on short stories so if you haven't been keeping up, that is something to look at.

Love you!!!

~juls