Bonus Chapter....

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2 years later....

"You and Derek will be there right?" I placed my phone between my shoulder and ear as I struggled to wiggle my pants on.

"Yeah we'll be there. Lexi and Nico are coming too right?" Olivia asked, shuffling around on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah she texted me earlier saying they will be. Its been ages since we all were together."

And it has been. The last time all seven of us were together was eight months ago for the wedding of Olivia's dad and his new wife. We were all so busy with school and life it was hard to meet up like we use to but we were all lucky to not be too far from each other.

In the fall after graduation Olivia and Derek moved to Seattle to go to school. Liv got into a great nursing program there and Derek followed. They only went three hours away but for a group that spent almost everyday together it was far. But since it was only three hours away they came back home to visit when they could.

As for Lexi and Nico they moved to Portland and found an apartment together. It came as a surprise when Lexi decided to enroll in hair school although it shouldn't have. The fact that she was always dyeing her hair should have been a clue. And Nico was studying to be an architect. Over the summer after graduation Liv's dad somehow got to talking to Nico and next thing we know he was choosing his major.

It came as no surprise that Noah decided to move to Portland as well with Alex and I. The three of us finding an apartment to share as we went to the same university. There was no way Alex and Noah were going to be separated. Where one was the other was soon to follow.

The same went with school. Alex and Noah both went into business so they could take over the family business. I had learned a few months after Christmas that Alex's parents and Noah's had built their hotel company together. I literally had no clue that Alex was secretly rich, even if he couldn't touch the money until he was 21. His parents had left him everything.

Because of that Alex and Noah both decided together to go into business and take over when they got older. Alex wanted to follow in his parents footsteps which I couldn't be prouder of. I knew when the time came I knew he would make them proud. While the two of them were studying business I ended up going into teaching to become a school counselor. It seemed fitting after everything I went through.

Of course just to get Alex to go to college was hard. He didn't want to leave Harper. Hell I didn't want to leave her either. We were our own little family and the thought of leaving her was not an easy decision for either of us. The only reason Alex agreed was the fact that Noah's parents were going to take her in full-time.

They already considered Harper as their daughter and Ava wanted nothing more than to be around more for her. And honestly it was the best decision for everyone. Harper needed a steady home life. Ava and Mason could give that to her more than two college kids. It wouldn't be right to move her with us or to make Alex give up school to stay here for her.

So the two of us moved to Portland and spent almost every weekend back home in Astoria to be with Harper. Adding in daily face times we made it work. And during breaks and the summer we were back home.

Now we were all back in town to celebrate Harper's 8th birthday. She had been talking about this day for the past week nonstop. Literally every other word was about her birthday. It was cute how excited she was for everyone to be home to celebrate with her.

It should come as no surprise that Ava and Mason were going all out for her. They have spent all week getting things ready and set for tonight. With basically her entire 4th grade class coming tonight was going to be crazy.

"Just prepare yourselves for a ton of kids." I reminded her, moving around my room to find my shoes.

"Derek will fit right in then."

"I heard that." I heard Derek say in the background making me laugh. Even at 20 Derek still acted like a five year old. Sometimes Harper acted more mature than him. But we loved him for it.

"I better go Ava is expecting me to help set things up. I'll see you guys later tonight." The excitement of seeing my best friends for the first time in ages wanted to burst free but I knew it would be a few more hours until they were all here.

"See ya in a bit!"

"Bye Ri!" Grinning I said bye to both of them before hanging up. Finally getting my shoes I grabbed the rest of my stuff before leaving the house. Whenever we came back home we stay at Alex's parents house. We would stay at Ava and Mason's but it nice to have privacy and a place that felt like home.

As for my old house...I've only been back a few times since moving away. Even before graduation I pretty much lived at Alex's. The longest I spent there was two Christmas's ago when my brother came home for a few weeks. But after getting use to being in a house with Alex and Harper couldn't bring myself to go back to one that was empty.

My relationship with my parents was pretty much nonexistent. We talked on the phone once every few months but even then it was mostly three words here and there. I loved my parents and I still do but they weren't really my parents. They were never around to care about anything that had to do with me or Trent. Sending money here and there was not parenting.

The final straw for me was my graduation. They couldn't be bothered to show up. Instead they sent some flowers along with some money as a congratulations. Thats it. They didn't show up the ceremony. My own brother managed to get leave again to come. He literally flew thousands of miles to be there but my own parents wouldn't drive the three hours. Even Nicholas, my brothers best friend, came.

I was beyond hurt. I thought they would at least show up but I shouldn't have been surprised when they didn't. But the two people that were there cheering alongside my brother when my name was called, were Ava and Mason. They yelled for me like they did Noah and Alex.

Ava and Mason became the parents I always wanted. They treated me like one of their own. I don't think I could ever pay them back for everything have done for me and for Trent.

I made the quick drive to Noah's house. The party was suppose to start in about three hours which meant there was probably a shit ton to do beforehand. Knowing Ava as soon as I walk in I'll be put to work.

As soon as I pulled in my phone started ringing through the car. Hitting answer I slowly pulled up and around some big trucks in the driveway.

"Hello?"

"Hey freckles." The sound of Alex's voice filled my car instantly making me smile. The nickname still making my heart flutter.

"Hey babe. Are you guys close?" A few hours ago Alex and Noah left to go to the next town over to pick up Harper's present since ours here didn't have it in stock.

"Yeah we are only a few minutes away. Can you make sure Harper doesn't see us?"

"Like she wont notice the giant princess playhouse in the back of the truck." Noah added.

"I'll make sure she's busy and away from any windows." I laughed. "I'm pulling up now so I'll go distract her before you guys pull in."

"Sounds good. See you in a bit."

"Love you." Even though I couldn't see his face I knew he was smiling.

"Love you too." It was Alex and I's thing to always say 'I love you' before leaving the house or getting off the phone. One night when it was super late Alex admitted to me that the last thing his mom ever said to him was 'I love you'. He didn't want a single day or conversation to end without saying those three words.

"Love you too Ri!" Noah yelled back making me laugh and shake my head.

"See you two soon."

Hanging up I quickly made my way inside the house. As soon as I walked in I was met with balloons upon balloons. It almost looked like Partyland threw up in here.

"Ava?" I called out, dodging some people walking through the house carrying weird looking items.

"In here!" I heard her voice coming from the kitchen. Walking in I found her and Harper in the middle of making cupcakes. Harper had flour all over her face and hair but she had the biggest grin on her face.

"Riley!" She dropped what she was doing and ran over to me. She jumped into my arms making me stumble back with a grunt. Hard to believe she's 8.

"Happy Birthday sweet girl!" I placed a kiss on her cheek. She spent the night here last night so we haven't had a chance to say happy birthday until now.

"I'm eight!" I grinned.

"Yeah you are. Stop growing will you." I put her down and tickled her sides making her giggle. "What are we doing here?" I followed her back towards the counter. Littering the counter was sugar, flour, cupcake tins, and already done cupcakes.

"Just making some snacks for the kids." Ava smiled at me.

"They look great."

"I did these ones." Harper pointed at a few already decorated off to the side. They were covered with sprinkles, not a single inch of the frosting showing.

"Beautiful." I kissed the top of her head as I came up to her side. "What can I help with?" I looked at Ava waiting for instructions.

"How about the two of you start frosting as I put this last batch in the oven." She suggested. I gave a nod and grabbed the tin of frosting. Coming up with a system of me frosting while Harper decorates, we got to work.

It wasn't long after we started that I glanced out the back window and saw Noah and Alex in the backyard. I had to fight the laughter from bubbling out of my lips at the sight of them. The two of them trying to carry this huge princess play house and clearly struggling.

To make sure Harper didn't seem them I kept her busy with decorating which wasn't that hard considering there was a shit ton of cupcakes to do. Apparently Ava wanted to feed a small army or something.

By time we were getting to the last of the batches Alex and Noah walked through the door. Immediately I was abandoned as Harper ran towards her brother. The sight of him lifting her up and swinging her around made my heart almost explode.

While she talked animately to the boys I finished up the cupcakes on my own. Ava came up behind me with two huge plates. By time we were almost done putting them on the plate Harper came back over with the boys in tow.

"And I decorated." I caught the last of her sentence. Noah's hand reached out to grab one only for Ava to smack it away.

"These are for the guests." She scolded her son.

"But I am a guest." Noah pouted.

"You can have one later." She shook her head and turned to the sink. While her back was turned he swiped his finger across the frosting on one of them. Harper giggle at him as he did so.

"Hey babe." Alex came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, placing a kiss on the side of my neck. I briefly closed my eyes trying to ignore the shiver that ran down my spine. He never failed to make me feel like every inch of my skin was on fire.

Knowing we were surrounded by people I opened my eyes and pushed the dirty thoughts out of my head. Now was not the time.

"Hey." I greeted, tilting my head back to smile up at him. The clapping of hands brought my gaze back down.

"The guests are going to arrive in an hour and a half. Harper you need to clean up and get changed and so do I. Which leaves you three," Ava pointed at Noah, Alex and I. "to clean this mess up. I want it spotless when I get back." Her tone left no room for argument.

"Lets get you in your party outfit." She beamed down at Harper who eagerly nodded. As the two of them left the kitchen Noah groaned beside me.

"Of course we get stuck with clean up duty."

"Its not that bad." Ava had already started cleaning up a bit so it wasn't as big of a mess as when I walked in. "How about you two start the dishes and I'll put stuff away?" I suggested.

"But why." Noah whined but went over to the sink. Alec chuckled against my back before letting me go to help him. Shaking my head at tho theatrics as I got to work on cleaning up the items littering the counter.

"So you got the present." I said after a minute.

"Yeah took a bit for the guy to find it in the back of the store and then to load it." Alex answered as he dried dishes.

"That thing is so damn heavy." Noah added.

"What happened to those arm muscles?" I teased the two.

"Don't be jealous of these arms Ri." Noah flexed.

"Jealous of those little stick arms." I made a point of looking closely at his arms. We both knew I was lying, there was nothing little about his arms or even Alex's.

In the last two years both Noah and Alex have gotten bigger and more muscular. They hit the gym everyday together. Once in awhile I would join but working out with the two of them was insane. You would almost think they were Navy Seals with their workouts. The few times I have joined I would end up laying on the ground for more than half the workout.

"Hey these arms get all the ladies." Alex and I shared a look at his words. In the last two years I've seen Noah with one person and that only lasted about a month. I've tried to get him to date but he never would. There was something stopping him and no matter how many times I asked he wouldn't tell me. I haven't given up but I've learned to give him his space about it as well.

We quickly finished up the last of the dishes just as the sound of the front door opening as well as a familiar voice.

"Hello!" At the voice a giant grin spread across my face. I dropped the towel I was holding and practically ran out of the kitchen. I came around the corner and launched myself at the first person I saw.

"Liv!" I threw my arms around her small frame and crushed her to me. She hugged me back squealing into my ear as we bounced around. It felt like ages since I last saw her.

"What about me?" Derek asked standing off to the side. I rolled my eyes but let go of Liv to give him a hug.

"You guys are here." I beamed at the two of them.

"Like we would miss Harps 8th birthday. Speaking of which where is the birthday girl?"

"She's upstairs getting dressed. Everyone should be showing up soon." I lead Liv into the kitchen as the boys caught up behind us.

"Geez Ava and Mason went all out didn't they." Liv breathed staring out at the backyard. There was a bouncy castle, tables filled with food and what looked liked games scattered around. Even the pool was all set for kids if they wanted to swim.

"Oh man this place is going to be crawling with hyper kids." I threaded my arm through hers.

"Welcome to the jungle."

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

True to Liv's words an hour and half later the house and backyard were filled with little kids running around screaming, and there were more still trickling in. All the kids were in seventh heaven at everything Ava and Mason did for Harper's party.

A huge bouncy castle was filled with kids, a cotton candy machine and a snow cone machine were off to the side. Somehow there were bubbles being blown everywhere.

I had lost count of how many kids there were and I haven't seen Harper since she came down in her cute princess outfit for her party. We all became pretty nonexistent to her as soon as Layla and Rina showed up first. Not even Lexi and Nico showing up caught her attention as she talked animately with her friends.

So while all the kids were running around having fun the seven of us sat off to the side staying out of the way.

"And this dumb ass decided to walk in like he was taking the class and literally bullshitted his way through the test." Liv shook her head as she told us the story but she was smiling. That sounded like something Derek would do.

"Did you pass?" Alex laughed, his hand squeezing my thigh.

"Got a whooping 78!" Derek said it with such pride it made us all laugh. It was actually a great score for not taking any sort of medical classes.

"I mean thats not bad." Nico shrugged.

"I know I'm tempted to join the nursing program." Derek boasted but we all knew he was kidding. He loved doing computer stuff and he was good at it.

"How about you guys?" Liv gestured to Alex, Noah and I.

"Good. Don't mind the classes." Noah said with a shrug.

"During the summer we are going to intern at the company to get a feel for it." Alex elaborated. Since they both decided to take over after Ava and Mason at some point they wanted to get a head start. When they asked both of them if they could intern over the summer they both instantly said yes. I think Mason was more excited about finally talking business with both guys.

"That's great!" Liv beamed. Next she turned her eyes on me.

"Things are going good. Finals are coming up so that will be fun." There really wasn't much to tell, plus she already knew most of it since we texted and called every other day.

"Don't even get me started on Finals." Liv groaned. I couldn't even begin to imagine what her finals were like. Nursing was not an easy major to go into and poor Liv has been working her ass off.

"Your still okay to be my helper for my final?" Lexi asked a moment later.

"Of course." I nodded. For Lexi's final hair exam to get her license she needed someone to be there in person as her professor watched. When she called me up asking I didn't even hesitate in saying yes. I mean who would say no to getting their hair done for free. Plus I could use a change. My only no for her was dying it some bright color.

"Try not to make my girlfriend look like a carrot top or something." Alex teased.

"Maybe I will." She shot back. I had the slight fear that if someone were to piss her off she'd purposely dye their hair a horrible color.

The sound of a really loud yell caused all of our heads to the snap to the side. Beside me Alex stood up recognizing his little sisters yell. My eyes darted around trying to find out what was wrong only to relax.

I watched as Harper ran towards the figure who was walking through the door. I smiled at the sight of my older brother swooping her up in his arms. My brother was on leave for a few days which worked out perfect for Harper's birthday.

Ever since the two of them met Harper has become really attached to Trent. Whenever I was on the phone with him she would demand he talk to her too. Whenever he was home on leave she was attached to his hip which was honestly so cute.

My eyes looked away from Trent and Harper to land on the other person walking through the doorway. A grin spread across my face at the sight of him. My brothers best friend Nicholas grabbed Harper from my brothers arms and swung her around. Even from here we could hear her giggles.

The moment Harper met Nicholas she loved him just as much as Trent. I don't know what it was but she was just drawn to the both of them. Almost like she could see something inside of them the rest of us couldn't.

After the two of them set Harper down and she ran off they made their way towards us. I pulled out of Alex's hold and jumped up to hug my brother. I hadn't seen my brother since the day he FaceTimed me to tell me he was re-enlisting over a month ago.

I had been so angry and hurt. It was only a few months before that I got a call saying my brother had a close call out on a mission. Thankfully he wasn't

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