I'm immediately impressed by the large pool outside. People are littered around it and talking animatedly. The music is faint, making it a little more peaceful. I make my way around a group and my eyes are drawn to Dylan who is talking to two other guys near the edge of the pool. Seeing Dylan outside of class is odd. We aren't exactly friends, so I don't want to just walk up to him. Instead I sit down at a small patio table off to the side and pull my phone out. Scrolling through Twitter keeps me entertained until I hear a familiar voice. "Hey," Dylan says as he walks up to me, grinning. He's wearing a gray shirt and some black pants with his brown hair pushed back. "Hi," I say. I'm surprised he even comes up to me. He makes himself comfortable in a chair next to mine. "Do you often sit at parties alone?" "Parties aren't my thing, so no." "There must be a reason for you sitting here alone then." "My best friend is on a date and I'm here to make sure things don't turn sour," I tell him. I don't usually share my business so easily with someone, especially someone like Dylan, but there's something about him that I trust. He seems to understand. "A third wheel." "I am indeed a third wheel," I laugh. "Well, I wouldn't be a good host if I didn't offer you to join me and my friends," he says. My eyes widen at the realization. "Host? This is your house?" "Yes, it is," he smile. "I can't have you sitting here looking like a loner. People will start to think you're bored with my party." "But I'm not a loner." "Currently, you are," he shrugs then stands up. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to my friends." My stomach does a flip flop, but I agree. Why does he want me to hang out with him and his friends? Are they just like him? Or different? We walk to where he had just been and there are now three other guys instead of two. "Guys," Dylan says to them. "This is Lacey. Lacey, this is Carlos, Reece, and my cousin Anthony." Carlos has light sandy brown hair and high cheekbones. Reece has dirty blond hair, like Tyler's, and crazy blue eyes. For being cousins, Anthony looks strikingly like Dylan. All of them are intimidatingly hot. Anthony smiles at Dylan. "I didn't know you have a girlfriend." I open my mouth to say I'm not his girlfriend, but Dylan speaks up before me. "Not my girlfriend, but we do have English together." "Dylan has been my trusty partner in class," I say to them. "I wish I had a pretty girl like you as my partner," Carlos winks at me. Oh boy. I feel my cheeks warm so I take a deep breath to calm myself. Being around four attractive guys can take a toll on a girl. "Shut up, Carlos," Dylan tells him. He looks at me. "Ignore them if you want." "Except for me," Anthony smiles. "Any friend of Dylan's is a friend of mine." "Lacey was sitting alone so I thought she could hang out with us," Dylan explains. Reece steps forward and puts his arm around me. "Well, we'll take good care of you." "I was fine, really," I assure them. I want to check on Casey before she gets too engrossed in the party. I look at Dylan. "I should go check on my friend." He nods. "Okay." "It was nice meeting you guys," I wave to the others. They wave back and I turn around to go back into the house. Knowing it's Dylan's house makes it seem much more fascinating. I focus on finding Casey and Tyler once I'm inside. They haven't moved far from the kitchen, as they are standing in the corner of the living room, talking. Casey sees me, says something to Tyler, then walks over to me. "How's it going?" I ask. "Great," she gives me an excited grin. "I think we're really hitting it off." I feel happy for her. "That's great." I step closer to her. "This is Dylan Parker's house." Her mouth drops. "No way. Have you seen him?" "Yeah, I just ran into him outside." She opens her mouth to say something, but her eyes trail to something behind me. She then pull me closer to the wall. "I don't want you to be upset, but I just saw Jacob pass by." I blink, trying to process what she just says. She bites her lip before saying, "And he was walking with Lauren." My stomach drops and my chest feels heavy and I'm angry that this is my first reaction. I need to get over him. He's clearly over me and I can't torture myself any more. "I'm over him," I wave it off. "I'm not going to let him ruin my night." She doesn't look convinced. "I'm going back outside," I tell her. "Don't worry about me." I make a bee line for the glass door and open it. I bump into Dylan when I step out and I instinctively pull myself away from him. "Sorry," I tell him. "Don't worry about it. Though, I think you're starting to bump into me on purpose now," he smirks. I move away from the glass door and lean against the outside wall next to it. "Is your friend okay?" he asks. "Yeah, she's fine." Is Jacob really with Lauren? Is that why he was always bringing up the past in class? Just to hurt me? Are they a couple now? I become aware of Dylan watching me with a strange face. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Might as well tell him. "Remember that ex I told you about?" He nods slowly.