𝒹𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⁱⁿ 𝐣𝐮𝐥𝐲

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟎.𝟐

𝒹𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝒿𝓊𝓁𝓎

Eleanor stirred awake, blinking groggily as she noticed Nick's phone camera hovering right in front of her face. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't lying on Chris anymore. Panic set in—if she wasn't still on the couch with him, that probably meant everyone had seen them napping together.

"Nick, get that thing out of my face," she groaned, swatting at his phone as she sat up.

The room erupted in laughter. Chris was laughing too, and that only made her glare at him.

"Why are you laughing, Chris?" Eleanor rubbed her eyes. "Weren't you the one who agreed to nap with me?"

"Yeah, Chris. Why are you laughing?" Nick chimed in, grinning mischievously.

"Because it's funny," Chris said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"Oh, you think it's funny?" Nick smirked. "Well, what I think is funny is that I have pictures of you two napping. And I could post them... right now."

"Nick, don't," Eleanor warned, standing up quickly.

Chris stepped toward Nick, his expression playful but serious. "Hand it over, dude. I'll delete them myself."

Nick backed up into the wall, holding his phone high. "Oops, my finger's hovering over the 'post' button. Guess it's going on my story!"

"Chris, grab his phone!" Eleanor shouted.

Chris lunged, snatching the phone out of Nick's hand before passing it to Eleanor. She grabbed it and bolted upstairs, locking herself in the bathroom.

Pulling up Nick's camera roll, she found four photos of her and Chris curled up on the couch. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling a little. After selecting all four, she airdropped them to herself and permanently deleted them from Nick's phone.

Satisfied, Eleanor unlocked the door and headed back downstairs. But as she reached the bottom step, the living room and kitchen were eerily empty. She frowned, walking cautiously toward the couch.

Suddenly, everyone jumped out from behind furniture, shouting all at once.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?" Eleanor shrieked, clutching her chest.

"You're such a baby, Ella," Nate teased, laughing so hard he had to lean on the wall for support.

Nick composed himself just enough to speak. "Alright, listen up. We're leaving for the party at 9:00, so everyone be ready!"

"And we're doing a buddy system," Matt added. "No one's going off alone."

Eleanor glanced at Angel, and they shared a knowing smile.

"Ella and I are partners!" Angel announced with a giggle, throwing an arm around Eleanor.

"I'm calling Matt," Nick said, raising a hand. "I don't want to deal with Chris talking my ear off all night or watching him make out with someone."

"YES, I GET NATE!" Chris exclaimed, practically leaping into Nate's arms.

"Calm down," Nate groaned, trying to pry Chris off him.

Matt crossed his arms, addressing the group. "If anything goes wrong, text the group chat. And if you're not in the car by 8:55, I'm leaving without you. I'm not waiting for your lazy asses."

With that, Matt headed upstairs, mumbling something about taking a nap.

The rest of them nodded and broke off to their rooms to start getting ready. Eleanor lingered for a moment, her excitement bubbling. Tonight was going to be unforgettable.