a/n writing this chapter had me squealing like a little bitch, it's a long one so get prepared, mwah x

Chapter 77 | Surprise, surprise

Isabella:

"Guys I can't hold it on anymore, I'm in love with Lucas!"

With a frustrated groan, the balloon pump in my hand drops to the ground abruptly and I rub my eyes exhaustedly as I fall back onto the bed with a thump.

Mia and Grace don't even falter in their steps at my sudden burst of exclamation.

Mia pauses for a fraction of a second before resuming with fixing Grace's hair and Grace barely even blinks.

"Ya, we know," she instead replies casually, both of their unbothered and calm demeanours a complete paradox to my almost hysterical one.

"I don't know what to do!" I wail dramatically, throwing my hands up into the air.

Mia stops fiddling with the bobby pins in Grace's hair and turns to glance at me. "How about telling him," she says pointedly after throwing me a dead look. "He said it himself that he has feelings for you."

"I've tried!" I splutter out in exclamation. "Four freaking times, but my mouth keeps betraying me!"

"Four times?" Mia repeats, raising her eyebrows in slight disbelief.

"Yes, four times!"

After the first time of trying to confess my feelings at the car wash, I had tried a second time on the drive home but had frozen up and instead had mumbled out something along the lines of "I really like your face" to which Lucas had replied with "same" and laughed like it had been the funniest joke on earth.

The third time had been a couple of days afterwards, we had been on the way to Target to pick up a couple of items abuela had needed for cooking and I had tried to blurt it out but had failed and then the fourth time had been yesterday, he had come over to my house after having a bad day and as we had just been hanging out I had again, tried to tell him but nothing would leave my mouth.

At this point I was considering just to simply text him the damn sentence seeing as how my body was betraying me.

"How about just writing him a note like he does to you?" Grace offers before yelping when Mia tugs harshly on a piece of her hair.

"I-" I open, then close my mouth and think over her suggestion for a second. "You know what," I begin slowly after a moment of thought, "that's not a half bad idea."

"Yeah, that's actually kind of cute," Mia adds. "Especially because notes are your little thing."

"That's true..."

Mia then presses a hand to her heart as I begin to contemplate actually doing Grace's idea.

"Ugh. You guys are so adorable it hurts," she cries, letting out a dramatic 'aw' and drawing my attention back onto her.

I make a face before sitting back up on the bed and patting down my hair. "Do you two by any chance have any paper?"

"I think there's an old receipt in my bag you can write behind," Grace offers, pointing a finger at her purse hanging on the door handle. "There might be a notebook or something inside too, I'm not sure but check."

I nod and lift myself from off the bed. "Okay, thanks."

I find an old, tattered mini notebook as well as a pen amongst the mess in Grace's bag. Making my way back to the bed, I sit cross legged on the duvet and open up the notebook to a fresh page.

Today was Aidan and Grace's joint birthday party so last minute preparations were undergo for the barbecue. Having birthdays only a day apart, the two had decided to conjoin their birthday party into one and celebrate it together and seeing as how the two had about a trillion cousins on each of their sides of their families, Zak (Aidan's cousin) had kindly offered to hold the party at his huge mansion.

The three of us girls were currently in the guest room of Zak's house getting ready after we had finished helping the guys set everything up for the party downstairs.

I had finished getting dressed a while back, as had Mia, and the two of us were now just helping Grace with her finishing touches.

It was quite warm outside as well as sunny so I had decided to put on a white sun dress with poofy arms and a ruched design at the bust. My hair was out and hung down my back in loose waves and I was wearing two silver bracelets on my arm, one of which was the bracelet Lucas had gotten me at Christmas; the one that had Mr Bellucas as a charm on it. It was the first I was wearing the bracelet and I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't worn it before, but I was now.

I adjust the skirt of my dress as I get comfortable and tap the pen against my chin in thought.

"What should I write exactly?" I say out loud as I think.

Both Mia and Grace turn to me and shoot me simultaneous blank looks.

"Um, how about I love you," Grace deadpans, pure sarcasm lacing her voice.

I scrunch up my nose. "Eh, that's too direct."

"Bella!" Mia scowls. "You have to be direct or Lucas won't get it otherwise! You know how he is!"

"Right...I forgot he's slow."

"Silly girl." Mia tuts, before turning back to Grace and beginning to mutter under her breath about how extra I am.

Grace nods her head in agreement. "You guys literally are supposed to be at the stage where you are picking out what your future baby names should be, not you figuring out ways to tell him that you've been in love with him and have been for like over 10 years."

I scrunch up my nose knowing that she's sort of right and glance back down at the scrap of paper in my lap.

Ugh, here goes nothing.

I uncap the pen to begin writing.

My handwriting is barely legible as I scribble down a scrawly 'I love you' and the moment I have finished jotting down those three words, I flip the paper over and fold it closed promptly. Re-reading the note is bound to make me cringe and not want to give Lucas it and I can't let that happen again.

"When do you think I should give this to him?" I then ask the girls as I tuck the paper into my bra for safe keeping. I have no pockets.

"Now," Grace responds promptly.

"I can't do it now," I exclaim, eyebrows shooting up to meet my hairline. "It's your birthday, I don't wanna take attention away from you or Aidan!"

Grace rolls her eyes. "Puh-lease," she snorts as Mia finally finishes up with doing her hair. "I don't care. You two finally getting together would be the best birthday gift you could give Aidan and I, so go ahead and do it. Now please."

"I don't know..." I reply warily.

"Oh my God," Mia whines just as Grace groans out in frustration.

"Babe, if you're so worried about stealing my thunder or whatever, just confess now, like right now. The party hasn't started yet so technically you won't be taking any attention away from me."

Mia moves away from Grace and begins proceeding towards me, a menacing look crossing her features as she begins to slowly click each knuckle. "Bella if you don't do it, I'll reach into you bra, yank the note out and give it to him myself on your behalf."

She outstretches her hand towards my boobs and I stumble backwards, making an x with my arms in front of my chest protectively as I back away from her.

"Okay I'm going now! I'm doing it!"

***

"I can't do it!" I whisper-wail into the phone to Mia and Grace. "I'm not prepared. I don't even know how to execute this properly. Should I just chuck the note at him and then run?"

"First of all why are you calling us? We're standing like 2 feet behind you," Grace responds and sure enough, when I turn and look over my shoulder the two are there standing a little distance away beside the door leading from the kitchen into the garden.

"And second of all, don't chuck the note at him and then run!" Mia speaks up next, incredulously. "Just approach him calmly and collectively, don't do anything embarrassing, and hand him the note, wait for him to read it and then suck his mouth off and preferably his dick next."

"I'm hanging up."

"Kay bye," Mia sings, waving at me cheerily as Grace grins beside her.

I roll my eyes. "Where is Lucas anyways? I thought he'd be downstairs but he's not here."

"I don't know..." Grace returns, glancing around at her surroundings as Mia and I do the same. "He's supposed to be down here with the guys getting the food ready."

"Yeah, the last time I saw him he was in the kitchen," Mia adds.

"He's not here anymore," I reply, eyes scanning the vast space of Zak's extremely large kitchen. It's literally the size of the entire first floor of my house.

After a moment Grace pauses and points a finger in the slight distance to the left of her. "Is that him?" She questions and squints to get a better look.

Mia shakes her head, looking more closely also. "No, that's Leo."

"Oh," I frown into the phone. "Dammit. Where could he be?"

"I bet Lucas got lost in the house, there's like a bazillion rooms in this palace," Grace snorts, shaking her head amusedly.

"I know right," I reply. "This house is like 3 of my house in one."

"More like 60 of your house in one," Grace adds and I snicker in agreement.

"You know there are like 79 bathrooms here," I tell Grace excitedly and frankly in awe.

"I know!" She gushes. "I literally wouldn't know which bathroom to use-"

"Guys," Mia's voice carries through the phone, cutting off mine and Grace's conversation.

"Yeah?" Grace asks.

"Who invited Leo?"

"Leo?" I repeat.

"Yeah, Leo."

I stay confused for a moment until it registers in my mind that Mia had just spotted Leo and had mistaken him for Lucas about 5 seconds ago.

"Wait Leo? Why is Leo here?"

"That's what I'm asking."

"I didn't invite him," I return.

"I didn't either," Mia replies.

"Neither did I," Grace adds. "Did he come with Sammy or something?"

"No," Mia shakes her head. "Sammy came with me, remember."

"Oh." My eyebrows draw together confusedly. "Mi, are you sure it's him?"

"Yes," she nods her head vigorously. "I could never mistake that fluffy brown head of hair for anyone else. Look for yourselves if you wanna double check."

Grace leans forward in the direction Mia is pointing as if that would give her better leverage in verifying that the guy Mia had assumed was Leo, was actually Leo and I hang up the phone, tuck it into my boob and rush promptly over to Mia and Grace so that I could get a better look too.

"Right, that is Leo," I gasp in confirmation as I take a look for myself. Dressed in a basic white t-shirt and jeans, he's a couple of feet away, standing awkwardly to the side on his phon,  looking a tad out of place.

"Did Aidan invite him somehow?" I ask, causing Grace to shake her head no.

"No, Aidan barely knows the guy."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

"Then how comes he's here?..."

My question gets answered, barely 0.5 seconds after it leaves my mouth.

"Oh."

My mouth falls open in shock as I pretty much double take on what I'm currently looking at.

Oh. My. God.

"What?" Grace glances at me curiously before turning and getting an eyeful of what I'm seeing next.

"...Oh."

"What's up with you guys?" Mia questions after taking in mine and Grace's shocked states, eyes flitting back and forth between the two of us and the situation happening in front of us.

I ignore her. "Guys...didn't Dylan say he was bringing the guy he's been seeing to the party?" I ask pointedly, despite the sight of Dylan sidling up to Leo, handing him a drink and basically mauling him on the spot confirming just that.

"Oh my god." Grace brings a hand up to her mouth in shock. "Yes he did."

Yesterday night, Dylan had decided to inform us all last minute that he was going to bring the guy he was seeing to Aidan and Grace's party so that he could meet us all.

We had all therefore literally spent the entire night bombarding Dylan, trying to get him to spit the details out on who this guy was but Dylan, on seeing how desperate we all were, had decided to turn off his phone and withhold this information to purposely piss us all off.

Lucas and I had then gone on a separate call to stalk Dylan's instagram together to find out information for ourselves and after a deep search through Dylan's followers and followings, Lucas and I had narrowed it down to three guys that could possibly be who it was that Dylan was seeing.

Not a single one of those guys had been Leo.

"I'm so excited to meet him!" Mia perks up excitedly, relasiation still not dawning on her. "I wonder who it could be!"

I stay silent, just waiting for the ball to drop in her mind.

Mia glances back at the view ahead of us and blinks once.

"OH."

The three of us begin to run towards Dylan and Leo before Mia gets the chance to blink again.

"DYLAN YOU'RE SEXING LEO?" Mia screams with so much vigour and passion and so loudly that the two boys spring apart in shock like someone had just screamed bloody murder.

Leo spots the three of us running wildly towards them and takes a cautious step back, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping as recognition floods his features.

"Holy fucking moly, you guys are the same Mia, Isabella and Grace that are Dylan's friends?!" He splutters out in exclamation.

"You're the guy Dylan is seeing?!" I return enthusiastically.

"Dylan is the guy you're having a fling with?!" Mia squawks.

"You guys all know each other already!?" Dylan interjects, pointing a finger between the four of us.

"Yes."

"How?!"

"We all met before," Grace respond excitedly, a wide grin settling on her lips. "Remember that one time you were at your grandparents house or something and the rest of us all hung out at Millie's with Sammy and Sammy's friend and you were upset that you weren't there so ignored us all for 3 hours?"

"Yes..." Dylan responds cautiously before his eyes then widen in realisation. He slaps a hand over his mouth and points a finger back and forth between Leo and us. "Does that mean..."

My mouth curls up into a grin. "Yes, this is the Leo that Lucas hates."

"Oh my God."

"Did you say Lucas?" Leo repeats, his smile dropping instantly as he blinks in my direction.

"Yeah..."

"Your Lucas is Dylan's friend Lucas!?"

"Yes..."

"I thought that was just another coincidence." He shuts his eyes and groans. "Jeez. You're telling me I have to deal with Lucas? Again?"

"Um yeah..." I wince slightly on his behalf and nod my head solemnly.

"Oh man." Leo flails his hands in the air, wailing sadly. "WHY?"

Mia snickers. "Sorry dude."

"It'll be okay," Dylan snorts as well, consoling Leo by patting him comfortingly on the arm.

A grimace draws its way onto Leo's face. "I think I'm just gonna-" he points a thumb over his shoulder before slowly retreating backwards. "Leave." He turns around completely but before he can break off into a sprint, Dylan grabs his arm to halt him.

"Nuh uh, you're staying," Dylan says with a raise of my eyebrows. "I'll get him to not bother you, you'll be fine."

"The guy wants to light me on fire and then stomp on my ashes...I'm not going to be fine."

It's at that exact same moment when two large shadows darken over our little group. Leo closes his eyes again and heaves an exasperated breath as I turn around to be met with Lucas' broad chest.

"S'cuse me Izzy," Lucas grumbles, keeping his eyes narrowed and trained towards Leo as he uses his palm to grab my face and use his hold to effectively move me to the side to make space for him and Aidan to move closer to Dylan and Leo.

My poor makeup.

He clears his throat and crosses his arms defensively, but not before wacking Aidan on the back to get him to stand up straighter, look more intimidating and puff out his chest.

"Leonard-" Lucas begins but cuts off with a yelp when I stomp on his feet to get him to stop the teasing.

Lucas clears his throat and starts up again. "Leo." He says curtly.

"Hi Lucas," Leo sighs tiredly.

"Hello Leo," Aidan greets next, sizing up Leo but in a less intimidating manner in comparison to Lucas who looks like he's shooting laser beams through Leo's skull using just his eyes. "I see that you're the secret guy Dylan is dating."

"Yes."

"Hm."

Lucas' eyes narrow into little slits. "Dylan is our little brother," he states firmly, pointing a thumb to his own chest and then to Aidan's.

"Okay."

"Yeah, so you better not break his heart," Aidan threatens next.

"Guys," Dylan hisses. "What the hell are you doing? You're making him uncomfortable."

"Shut up Dylan," Grace jabs Dylan in the ribs with her elbow. "This is funny watching them act all macho and intimidating."

"I agree," Mia interjects.

Grace pauses to grin. "Yeah, especially since Aidan cried whilst watching Barbie and the diamond castle yesterday."

Grace says this and Aidan stiffens from beside her from being exposed. I watch as his rigid, intimidating demeanour wobbles a little bit and how he stops speaking immediately and allows Lucas to continue with scaring Leo on his behalf.

Dylan's head on the other hand, swivels around immediately to face Grace. "No way." He responds with absolute glee.

Grace giggles loudly. "Yeah! At the bit where Alexa and Liana stop being friends, A was in tears."

"Well to be fair, that part is quite sad," Dylan points out.

Aidan subtly nods in agreement as Grace responds.

"Yeah, but they make it up by the end of the movie so it's alright."

"True-"

"Dude shut up!" Mia cuts them off with a growl. "I'm trying to watch this!"

"Oh right, I forgot this weird showdown was happening."

Our attentions draw back onto Aidan and Lucas and Leo to catch the last part of their conversation. Aidan straightens up again and glares at Leo as Lucas continues speaking.

"You hurt Dylan," Lucas cocks his head to the side and waves a hand in the general area of Leo's face. "And I'll hurt your face!"

"Okay." Leo draws his lips into his mouth and nods his head slowly, trying to hide his amusement but fails miserably. "I won't hurt Dylan."

"Good."

"Good."

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay."

Awkward silence blooms in the air.

Aidan clears his throat and shuffles on the spot awkwardly and Lucas plays with the buttons on his sleeve. Leo merely stands there and tries not to look like he wants to die.

The rest of us just stare at the three of them, waiting for something else to occur.

When nothing happens and no one begins to speak, after a beat of quiet, Mia clears her throat to break the weird tension.

"Alright, if you guys are all done threatening poor