Absolutely nobody else knew the world had just changed upstairs.

 

Even surrounded by people, nobody had the slightest idea what had just happened.

Not that Marcela had turned down Joshua's proposal.

Or why the host of the party had mysteriously disappeared for so long.

Youn Jin, meanwhile, had far more important things to worry about.

Winning a game of Beer Pong.

She and Chad were up against Jennie and Matthew, who were just discovering a completely different side of her.

Wildly competitive.

Loud.

And surprisingly accurate.

Chad spent most of the game laughing.

Matthew wasn't doing much better.

Half because of her hysterical cheering.

The other half because her victory screams were somehow even louder.

If Youn Jin lost this game, it genuinely looked like she might pass out on the spot.

Matthew, on the other hand, had an entirely different reason to be nervous.

He wanted to impress Jennie.

Every single throw suddenly felt like it determined the fate of humanity.

Chad, meanwhile, was doing everything he could to keep Youn Jin's excitement alive. The two of them had surprisingly similar personalities.

Outgoing.

Social.

The only real difference was that Chad could speak without alerting the entire neighborhood.

The last ping pong ball left his hand.

It bounced once.

Twice.

And dropped into the final cup.

Silence.

For exactly half a second.

"I TOOOOOOOOOOOOLD YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Youn Jin immediately jumped into his arms.

"WE'RE THE PERFECT TEAM! WE WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER!"

To be fair...

Alcohol probably deserved at least half the credit for that sentence.

Chad just laughed.

Then looked over at Jennie with an expression that clearly asked,

"Is she always like this?"

Matthew burst out laughing and wrapped his arms around Jennie from behind.

She was much more sober now.

Sober enough to notice that Matthew looked a whole lot cuter than he had twenty minutes earlier.

Matthew, on the other hand...

After drinking for both himself and Jennie through almost the entire game...

Was starting to feel the world spin.

"I think somebody's about five minutes away from getting abducted by aliens."

Chad laughed as he handed Matthew a bottle of water.

"If you wanna crash here tonight, you're more than welcome to. I'll even get you a towel."

Chad and Youn Jin exchanged a glance at exactly the same time.

Then they both looked at Matthew, waiting for his answer.

"I'll stay... as long as I don't throw up."

He laughed before taking a sip of water.

"I'd rather my first night at your place not be me passed out and completely unable to move."

All four of them burst into laughter.

Honestly...

That was, by far, the most likely outcome.

Meanwhile...

Scott had finally worked up the courage to talk to Megan.

He took a deep breath like he was about to march into battle, thought of a conversation starter...

And somehow managed to pick the absolute worst one possible.

"Hey, Megan... did you know octopuses have three hearts?"

She smiled immediately.

"Is that why that coffee brand is called Three Hearts?"

Scott laughed.

In that moment...

He knew.

She was the one.

"Honestly? An octopus probably came up with the name."

She didn't miss a beat.

"Do you think they can love more, too?"

She paused dramatically.

"Does every octopus automatically become polyamorous with three wives?"

Scott burst out laughing.

Her kind of weird matched his perfectly.

Then a voice echoed across practically the entire backyard.

"SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTT!"

Scott closed his eyes.

He knew that voice.

"I NEED YOU! RIGHT NOW!"

He took a deep breath.

Looked back at Megan.

For the first time in a very long time...

The conversation was actually flowing.

"Megan..."

He smiled apologetically.

"I swear this happens way more often than it should."

He paused.

"And somehow... always at the worst possible moment."

She let out a warm laugh.

"Go save your Batman, Robin."

Scott laughed.

"The funny thing is..."

He sighed.

"...'save' is exactly the right word."

He pointed toward Joshua.

"Guess I'm saving the day... again."

He made his way up the hot tub steps toward the house.

The first thing he noticed...

Joshua was smiling.

They got back together.

That was his first thought.

It lasted less than a second.

Laura appeared at the top of the stairs.

Just as drunk as Joshua.

Her hair was a complete mess.

Her clothes looked hastily straightened.

And she wore the unmistakable smile of someone who had definitely done something she wasn't supposed to.

Scott looked at Joshua.

Then at Laura.

Laura caught his glance.

Quickly wiped the smile off her face.

Looked at Joshua.

Joshua looked at Scott.

Then back at Laura.

The two of them were trying way too hard to pretend absolutely nothing had happened.

The problem was...

Scott had known them for years.

Long enough to know he didn't need an explanation.

Something had happened.

And it hadn't been something small.

The only question was...

What?

Before he could come up with a single theory, his eyes drifted toward the dance floor.

Marcela.

Harry.

Holding each other.

Then...

A kiss.

Scott froze.

His brain immediately jumped to the most ridiculous conclusion possible.

Joshua proposed to Laura?

It was completely wrong.

But at that moment...

It made perfect sense to his panicked brain.

Their golden retriever friend remained unbelievably adorable.

And unbelievably clueless.

The real problem started when Joshua walked toward the sliding glass door.

Scott instinctively stepped to the side, trying to block his view of the dance floor.

It was a nice attempt.

A completely pointless one.

Laura saw it first.

Her eyes went wide.

Joshua followed her gaze.

And saw it.

Marcela.

Kissing Harry.

Right there.

In front of everyone.

He didn't say a word.

He just felt a chill run through his entire body.

Like every ounce of strength had suddenly left him.

She had every right.

He knew that.

But seeing it...

That was a different story.

Everything he'd said upstairs about emotional responsibility still stood.

Right up until this moment.

Anything beyond that...

Would've made him a hypocrite.

Scott rubbed a hand over his face.

He glanced toward Megan on the other side of the pool.

She gave him a small wave.

She'd seen everything too.

And now she understood exactly why Joshua had needed his best friend.

Scott sighed.

"I just wanted to ask that girl out."

He looked at Joshua.

"You owe me a family-sized stuffed crust pizza."

Then pointed at Joshua.

Then at Laura.

"You two..."

He took a deep breath.

"Upstairs."

They both looked at him in silence.

"I'm talking to both of you."

"Upstairs."

 

Bonus Scenes

Youn Jin & Chad

 

 

Joshua & Laura

 

 

 

 

Jennie & Matthew

 

 

 

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