Chapter One: I Hereby Declare, War
Oh boy. Here we go again.
"MIA STEVENS! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU, YOU'RE A GIRL! BEHAVE LIKE ONE!"
I covered my ears instinctively with my hands as my housekeeper, Jules, screeched into my ears.
Don't get me wrong, Jules isn't one of those bossy, insensitive, snappy, housekeepers you usually read about in storybooks. On the contrary, I absolutely adored her. Jules was probably the youngest housekeeper I ever had; she was 25, and was only a few years older than me. You might be wondering why then, was she my family's housekeeper? Well, Jules' parents were actually really good friends with mine, but they passed away a few years back in a car accident. Although my parents offered to raise Jules up as though she was their very own, her strong pride refused that, and insisted on working to support herself and so that's how the story goes.
"Come on, Jules! I couldn't just watch them play football without me!" I smiled, giving her a hug as I stepped into the house.
"Look at you! You're all sweaty and urgh…" Jules wrinkled her nose as she stepped back to stare me down from head to toe.
"I'll take a bath now! I promise!" I said, raising my three fingers up.
"What will I do with you…?" Jules muttered under her breath, as she shook her head disapprovingly.
I stuck out my tongue at her and clattered up the stairs towards my room.
"Young lady! STOP RIGHT THERE!"
I turned back and realised that there was a trail of shoe prints following me up the carpeted stairs.
Oops.
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I never really asked to be a rich kid. Not that I'm complaining. But sometimes, I wish I wasn't. (Damn, I know I'll eat my words if my car, my room, my swimming pool and so on were taken away from me) BUTTT, I really hated how some people assumed I had everything I wanted. I mean come on. Anyone who knows me would know that I rarely asked my parents for money, and that I actually WORKED.
Which was what I was doing now.
I worked as a barista at a really fabulous café, Le Café just so that I could proudly and truthfully say that I did earn my keep. Not just that, but the owner of the café was a really great person, and the atmosphere and working environment made me want to stay even more.
Of course, the boys all thought I was crazy.
"M, I honestly don't understand why you continue to work here," Zach asked me, as he slid into one of the seats at the bar, Nat sitting next to him.
I groaned and rolled my eyes at him. This had to be the umpteenth time one of the boys was asking me to quit my job. Just as Zach was about to say something, the bells at the door chimed, and in came Seth, Connor, and well well, Ryan with his latest catch. No surprise there, I guess. I recognised her to be a girl from my Literature class and naturally, someone I totally disliked.
"Ry-ry, why did you bring me here?" I heard her whine in her snotty voice, as she surveyed the café, crinkling her (fake) nose, as though she smelt something bad.
Ry-ry?! HA! I'll never let him hear the end of this.
"My friend works here," Ryan said smoothly, as he came up to the bar, giving hi-fives to Nat and Zach.
Snotty-face gave a small "humph" as she glared at me and then cuddled up to Ryan as they took seats next to Nat and Zach.
ROLLS EYES. If she wasn't happy, she was more than welcome to leave. Honestly, Ryan has got to have the worst taste in girls. They're either sluttish, sluttish or sluttish. Sheesh. One day, I have to give him a pep-talk on how to choose girls. Not that I haven't tried. But it's always "Come on Mia, they satisfy my needs." Cues wiggle eyebrows. What a dickhead.
"The usual?" I asked the guys who all nodded in response, before continuing their conversation about football, basketball and the like. Snotty-face was desperately trying to catch Ryan's attention, but he seemed too engrossed in arguing with Zach about why Manchester United was better than Arsenal. I laughed inwardly as she continued to tug on his sleeve and he continued to shrug her off.
"Nat, Zach, Con, Seth and……..RY-RY," I said, placing great emphasis on Ryan's new nickname, giving him an innocent smile, as I slid the drinks across the bar to each of them. The rest of the guys sniggered and started poking him in the ribs, making fun of his nickname.
"Excuse me, only I can call him that," Snotty-face snapped at me, as she looped her arm through Ryan's, obviously oblivious to the fact that we were in truth, laughing at her.
"Whatever you say…" I shrugged, before turning to Ryan. "So…RY-RY, are you coming over for dinner tonight?" The rest of the guys burst into laughter and Seth gave me a thumbs-up sign, as though approving of what I had said.
"Ry-ry! She's bullying me! Do something!" Snotty-face pouted, scrunching up her overly made-up face. God, someone give me a paper-bag so that I can puke out my weeks' worth of food. Grosssss.
"Maybe it's about time you went home," Ryan replied, obviously sick and tired of her whining. I wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes if I was him.
"B-but…you promised that…"
"As you heard, I already have a date tonight," Ryan cut her off, before giving me a sly wink. Playing along with him, I blew him a flying kiss.
"Y…you bitch!" Snotty-face screeched at me, before she stomped off in her 4-inch heels. Or at least tried to stomp.
Zach's face changed and he jumped out of his seat, starting towards the door after her.
"Cuz! It's alright! Do you really think I'll let that get to me?" I said, rolling my eyes, but at the same time, giving him a reassuring smile. Zach had always been protective of me. The other guys were too, but Zach was always the first one to defend and fight for me ever since we were born. Even if I didn't need defending.
"Ryan…I mean, RY-RY, you seriously need a brainwash and get a decent girl," Zach said, as he sat down again, a frown etched on his forehead.
"Hey, it's not my fault if they come voluntarily," Ryan replied, holding up his hands defensively.
"Where's Alex?" I questioned. I didn't bother asking about Edison because, well duh, that guy was probably in his bed right now, sleeping his life away. I swear he could just spend the rest of his life in his bed and be contented.
"He said he had something on, but we'll catch up with him later. Y'know…my precioussssss," Seth replied, wiggling his eyebrows.
"God. That has to be hundredth time we're watching Lord of the Rings! Do we honestly have to……" Connor sighed, shaking his head. We had weekly movie sessions at my house, and since this week, it was Seth's turn to pick a movie, we were watching Lord of the Rings. Again. That was like his all-time favourite movie. And even if it was ours before, it had definitely been struck off the list.
"Hey, Mia, Lil's here to replace you, so you can knock off now." I heard the owner of the café, Mrs. Woodsworth say from behind me.
"Alright!" I replied, smiling back warmly. I loved Mrs. Woodsworth. She had to be the best boss ever! She was like my second mum and really took care of me, especially since my parents weren't usually around.
"So what's for dinner tonight?" Nat asked.
The rest of the guys and I looked at each other before chiming together loudly, "PIZZA!"
Yum.
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"Shove off Phillips! This is my usual place!" I growled, trying to push Ryan off the couch. We were settled all in the living room with pizza boxes, Coke, vodka and beer around us, waiting for the movie to start.
"You can sit on me if you want," Ryan replied with a mischievous glint in his eye. Urgh. What a dick-head. He was obviously doing that on purpose.
Not planning to give up, I smiled innocently at him, before jumping right into his lap, knocking all the wind out of him.
"Oooooof." I heard a muffled sound come from underneath me.
"Your wish is my command," I said seriously, as I grabbed a slice of pizza.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHH. It's starting!" Seth hushed us, eyes focused on the screen. The rest of the guys, like Seth, didn't notice our "disagreement" and were all looking at the plasma TV screen.
Sheesh.
"Two can play at this game," I heard Ryan whisper into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. Damn, this guy doesn't know when to give up. I was feeling quite comfortable, so I didn't say anymore and just turned back to face the screen, hoping that he'll start to feel the weight after a while.
It took him about five minutes before he hissed in my ear, "Mia, you should honestly consider losing some weight."
I snorted and hissed back, "And you, Ryan, should honestly consider gaining some gentlemanly behaviour."
"Ooh, touché," Ryan replied, and I could still see him grinning even though the room was totally dark except for the light emitting from the television screen. I slapped his head and dug my elbow into his thigh with all the strength I could muster.
"FUCK!" Ryan shouted, leaping up, making me tumble onto the carpeted ground. I rolled on the floor laughing at his priceless expression while the rest of the guys turned to stare at us. Well, all except Seth of course, who was still engrossed in his movie and grabbed the remote control so that he could turn up the volume.
While Ryan was still fuming and glaring at me, I quickly pranced up and in a split-second, I was settled comfortably on the couch, Ryan muttering curses and vulgarities under his breath as he took a seat on one of the sleeping bags on the floor.
"Give it up R, she's got you this time," I could hear Zach say from a distance away.
Round 1 – Winner, Mia Stevens. I smiled to myself, although inside I knew, this "war" had just started.
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A/N: Yay chapter 1 is up! Finallyyyy. I was running my brain dry whats with exams coming up and stories to update. (: Hopefully I'll be able to post up more chapters asap! As long as you guys keep the reviews coming in. :P Hope you guys liked this chapter! Oh, and do check out the pictures of the characters in my profile. Love you guys muchies ; D Seeya soooooon!
(Thanks for the note AllSpark, chapter has been edited. (: )