"What happened?" The blood had drained from Luca's face when I opened the door. His eyes fully opened as he let them wander around. He then noticed me and came rapidly to hold me in his arms.

I cried hard against his chest, panting as I tried to calm my breathing to no avail.

"I-I don't know, there's water coming from u-under the sink , the-"

"It's okay, shh." He rubbed my back cutting me off, seeing that it was difficult for me to talk. Luca gripped my shoulders and made me stare at him, lifting my chin up with two of his fingers. "We have to call your landlord and a plumber. Where's your phone? Let me take care of it."

After about an hour and a half, everything seemed to calm down. Luca achieved to close the water faucet before the plumber arrived, so the water stopped coming out. Now I had a bigger problem, they said because of the damage caused, they would have to do a lot of work in the apartment, resulting in me having to move out.

I couldn't live there anymore. The place that I learnt to love was now a mess.

My landlord apologized one hundred times and told me he would pay for a compensation so I could spend the nights somewhere until I found another place. No need to say, the lease contract was canceled.

Luca didn't let me even think about it as he said I would stay at his place. I was reluctant at first, but just a glance at my ruined apartment and the thought of having to find a place to sleep once again made me accept the offer. With his help, I packed my things and we got into his car heading to Luca's place.

When we arrived, I was a little calmer but some tears still fell down my cheeks when I remembered what happened.

"Hey!" Greeted Josh when he saw me. After seeing my expression though, his smile faded, his eyes softening. "What's wrong?"

"Hi, uhm, I had a problem in my apartment and I-"

"Why don't you go have a shower and change? I'll make something to eat, okay?" Luca rubbed the side of my arm gently. I nodded with a little smile and waved tiredly at Josh before walking towards Luca's room.

I heard them talk but blocked the sounds out, not wanting to hear the story all over again.

After I showered and changed into some comfy clothes, I sat on the couch eating the chicken wrap Luca made for me as I watched them play FIFA. I was silent for most of the time, laughing here and there at the boys' comments. I had to text Paul to apologize for standing him up. Honestly, I would have forgotten about it if it wasn't because I received several text messages from him.

Leo was far asleep since he arrived from the gym so I didn't see him.

Josh said he was tired too and went to his room after wishing me a good night and giving a kiss to the top of my head what made me jump slightly in my seat in surprise. It felt nice though, I was a very affectionate person and at that moment what I needed to know and feel was that I wasn't alone, that I had people here in the city who I could count on. And why not, a little of affection helped with my melancholic state at the moment.

"Are you okay?" Asked Luca coming to sit beside me on the other couch. He put a hand on my thigh, covered by some yoga pants. I bit my lips and everything came down my shoulders once again.

"My neighbor passed away." I managed to say.

"Margaret?" He asked.

I nodded. "When I arrived to my apartment after work, there were people there who I assumed was her family. There was also a hearse and a blonde woman was holding Theodore-"

"The cat?"

"Yeah." I nodded slowly. "They were talking about who was going to take care of him now and... I realized Margaret was the one who... I don't know, I feel like I lost a family member." I bit back a sob as I looked down. "It may sound stupid or childish but I grew fond of that woman. And then I went upstairs and well," I sighed a shaky breath, "you know the rest."

"I don't think it's stupid. If it is what you feel then so be it. You don't have to be ashamed of it." He stayed silent for a moment and grabbed my hand to play with the rings in my fingers. "I know it's sad, but what you have to think now is that you made the last days of her life a little better with your company. Just be grateful that you met her." He added with a little smile.

I gave him a smile of my own and reached forward to give him a hug. He held me tight for a while, none of us talking as I buried my head in his neck.

"Thank you so much, Luca. Seriously, I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You would've managed yourself, I'm pretty sure of it. You're strong." He said. "But really, it's no problem. It's my pleasure to help you. And hey," he said cheerfully pulling apart, "now we get to live some time together."

I laughed as I sniffed. "Yeah, well, I'll start looking for a place tomorrow, I promise."

"There's no rush, okay? You can stay as long as you want."

I nodded with a little smile before tiredness engulfed my eyes and a yawn escaped my mouth.

"Are you tired? Go to my bed, I'll go get some sheets so I can sleep on the couch." He informed getting up and stretching himself out.

"What? No, you're not sleeping on the couch." I stated firmly. "I- I can sleep on the couch. Or if you don't mind it we can... we can sleep together just like the last time."

God, my cheeks were burning up and I didn't even know why. I didn't know I could ever make that kind of suggestion. Last time I was a little buzzed so I didn't really mind but now I was feeling a little self conscious.

"Okay." He smiled. "You barely move, although I might say you snort a little-"

"I don't!" I exclaimed hitting his chest embarrassed.

Luca tilted his head back and laugh. "I'm just joking, Riri. Come on." He began to walk and I followed him. A feeling of protection coming up my chest as I stared at him pulling back the covers to slip under them.

I liked his company, it made me feel safe. It also made me feel lots of things that I wasn't very sure of what they meant. He made me calm and nervous at the same time. I admired how he was always so full of life when he had suffered so much. He was a person I looked up to and I was glad I could call him my friend.

Luca's had the biggest heart and he wasn't ashamed of showing it.

"You coming or are you going to sleep standing up like a horse?" He chuckled amusedly as he stared at me.

I rolled my eyes with a little laugh as I tugged at my sweatshirt sleeves before crawling into bed with him.

I think I could get used to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, just look for the recipe and we'll start."

Three days had passed since I settled in Luca's place. Looking for a new place to live during this time of the year was harder than I thought. Tomorrow was Halloween already, Friday the first being holiday, so I was glad I could take a long weekend and search for an apartment more calmly. With the time spent at the hospital and working at the store, I barely had time to do it.

It was Wednesday night. I promised Luca I'd cook for him so we went grocery shopping and bought everything we needed to make a pumpkin pie. It wasn't exactly my idea of cooking for him but he told me his mom used to make it and he loved it.

"Hey Siri, how to make pumpkin pie."

I rolled my eyes at him and started to take everything out of the bags.

Luca started reading the recipe and frowned before glancing at me briefly.

"Hey Siri, how many fluid ounces are 350 ml."

I let out a big breath before a chuckle escaped my lips, seeing that we would get nowhere if we kept on like this. "Give me that." I started reading it. "The number of tablespoons are here, see?"

"A tablespoon is this, I supposed?" He asked taking a spoon out of the drawer.

"Yes."

"And what's this?"

"That's a teaspoon."

Luca narrowed his eyes before he smiled nodding his head. "You're so wise."

I laughed as I took the ingredients to make the dough. "Go preheat the oven, please. To 400 degrees."

"Fahrenheit." He asked turning his back to me towards the oven.

"Of course, Luca." I chuckled.

"Are you sure they're not Celsius?"

"Luca, that'll be too many Celsius. Trust me, okay? Do as I say." I grinned childishly.

"Okay... if we burn the-"

His phone went off and it actually scared the hell out of me since I was holding it. I gave it to him not before I glanced at the name -I couldn't resist from doing it- and it said Aiden.

"What's up." He asked animatedly.

I couldn't hear a thing from the other side so I started preparing the pie.

"Shit, I totally forgot." He paused and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'm here."

After a few minutes he hung up, and stared at me biting his lips.

"My cousin is currently coming up. I totally forgot he was staying a few days with me. His mother is my mom's sister." He explained. "We've always been really close until they moved to another city. He's a pain in the ass but I have no other choice than to love him." He chuckled.

I said nothing, nervously waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, I almost drop the bowl I was holding. Luca glanced at me weirdly before walking towards the door.

I wasn't good with meeting new people. I could have taken a few big steps according to my social skills but I still got nervous around people I didn't know.

"Lucky Luke!" A very deep voice exclaimed. I heard them hugging as they patted each other's back with enthusiasm. I kept my back towards them, trying to calm myself as I continued preparing the dough. "I can't believe you forgot about me, you piece of shit. Didn't my mom call you?"

"Dude, I'm busy and a lot of shit has happened lately. And no, she didn't call." He paused a moment. "I think."

They kept on talking and insulting one another until they approached the kitchen.

"Who's this pretty young lady?" Aiden asked.

I turned around trying to put a little smile on my face. He was a bit taller than Luca, but they were strangely familiar. His eyes were also brown but slightly lighter. However, a messy mop of dirty blond hair covered his head, making him carry a surfer style. He was also way more muscular than Luca. The latter was leaner. And more handsome if I may add.

"Wow. I said pretty because I wanted to be polite, but now that you turned around, damn you're beautiful." He exclaimed after studying my face.

One thing that the two of them had in common, they were blunt. What came to their minds, they said it. No filters. I remembered the day I met Luca, he said something similar, just a little less enthusiastic. Luca's eyes stared at me astonishingly, but Aiden's eyes were devouring me.

I pretty much blushed like crazy as I averted my gaze. Luca noticed my uncomfortableness and came to put a hand behind my neck as he stood beside me. He rubbed it gently with his thumb. "Aiden, this is my friend Riley."

He sighed in relief and extended his hand forward. "I thought you were gonna introduce her as your girlfriend. Today's my lucky day. A pleasure to meet you, Riley."

"Nice meeting you too." I said with a little smile, almost in a whisper.

Aiden smiled broadly and Luca groaned a little under his breath. "Aiden, stop it."

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, you know very well what you're doing." Luca added rolling his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said letting his eyes wander around the place. "Well, dear cousin. Where do I sleep?"

"Couch." Luca informed nonchalantly with a shrug.

"What? Why? Can't I sleep with you in your bed?" He protested like a little kid.

"Because Riley is crashing a few days here until she finds a new place." Luca explained calmly before walking towards Aiden's ruffle bag.

"We're the guests, you should be the one sleeping in the couch!" Aiden yelled at his cousin.

Oh no, boy. No way. Just the thought about sleeping with Aiden made my knees tremble. I much rather sleep on the couch, even on the floor.

He then came towards me and rested an arm around my shoulders, making my heart pound hard in my chest.

"You guys are sleeping together? Is there something I need to know between you guys? Are you fuck buddies or something?" He wiggled his eyebrows as a smirk crossed his lips.

God, this guy was straightforward. Just not like Luca. Luca was gentle. This guy right here only achieved to make me nervous. These kind of personalities muted mine. I didn't know how to act, nor what to say.

"N-no."

When Luca came back, he explained to his relative that we were making a pumpkin pie and before he added anything else, Josh and Leo came out of their rooms.

"Dude, I heard your voice and I thought I was going crazy." Said Leo with a laugh, coming to hug Aiden.

They all seemed to know each other and get on really well. They went to play FIFA -I swear it seemed like it was the only game they owned- and let Luca and I alone for a while.

"I know he's a little too much, but he's a nice guy." Luca said after we finished. Now we just had to wait for the oven to finish and for it to cool down. We would probably have to eat it tomorrow, seeing that it was past dinner time.

"Thanks for doing this with me." He smiled and gave me a bear hug. "It means a lot."

"I'm glad to do it." I muttered against his chest.

"Now, Riri." He chuckled. "It's a bit late and I think my master chef session of the day has been great, but I'm a little tired. Chinese?"

I laughed and nodded. "I love Chinese."

They all decided to join us. The guys ate animatedly, talking about what had been new in their lives. Aiden was an advertising executive, which I thought complimented him perfectly. He surely could sell you anything he set his mind to.

He kept asking me questions, and after a while, I accepted that he just wanted to know a little bit of me. That was his personality, and I came to learn that he wasn't that bad. He seemed interested in everything that I said.

Luca beside me, threw me weird looks here and there that I didn't know what they meant. Which was weird, since he was an open book and I normally didn't have any difficulties reading him.

"So, Riley." Aiden breathed out letting the fork on the table as he leaned back on the armchair, rubbing his stomach. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

My cheeks grew fiery as Luca threw him a pillow, making Josh and Leo laugh.

Oh, boy.

Forget everything I said about him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! Double update this week ❤️

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