As Luke and Avery had their moment, the rest of the group stood outside, patiently awaiting to hear something that was worth their eavesdropping. Calum and Brooklyn stood on their tip toes, Ashton, Michael, and Stella hunched over below them, all of their ears pressed lightly to the door that separated them from the conversation going on inside. "What did he just say?" Stella whispered to the rest of the group. "Shut up, dumbass, there's only a door separating us from them," Michael hissed. Stella rolled her eyes and stood up, away from the door, "Let me know if something good happens," she muttered as she made her way to the den. "Probably won't," Ashton and Brooklyn said in unison, high fiving after realizing their synchronization.
They returned to their positions against the door, minus Stella. Their eavesdropping proved to be practically useless, considering they hadn't heard much more than shuffling and mumbles. Calum stepped away from the door, "This is pointless. I'm sure one of them will eventually tell us what's happening in there anyways. Let's go, Brookie." Brooklyn backed away from the door, smiling halfheartedly at the remaining two spies.
Michael and Ashton stood up, no longer having to crouch below Calum and Brooklyn. They stood there silently for a moment before realizing that the wait was, in fact, not worth much. They shrugged at each other before parting ways into their separate rooms. Once the two men had closed their doors, Brooklyn and Calum sneaked back to the door, pressing their ears against it one more. They hated to admit it to the others, but they loved the drama. They loved the rush of it; and it helped that they lived with five other young adults who all had small crushes and fantasies with another member of their group.
They shared hungry looks for knowledge on what was happening on the opposite side of the door. "Can you hear any-" "Hush!" Calum was interrupted by his cheeky girlfriend. Her smile grew as she nodded slowly, the side of her head still pressed to the painted wood.
Her mouth formed an "o" shape as her expression showed fear, "Move, move, move," she whisper-yelled at Calum, shooing him down the hall. Not quick enough to ask questions, Calum was pushed toward the den by his much-smaller-than-himself girl. He went along with it, and was soon glad that he did so. Avery came out of Luke's room just a few seconds after. He tried to act natural, but knew she could sense that they were intentionally walking away from her.
"Hey assholes, I need my phone," she called out to them. Brooklyn swiveled around in her place and looked at her friend. She walked up to Calum's door, opening it and reaching in to the table immediately to the left of the door, retrieving Avery's phone and handing it to her. "Thanks," she said, adding, "Why don't you guys go see a movie or something. Luke and I are cool." Brooklyn and Calum nodded, heading toward the den once more. "Dumbasses," Avery muttered under her breath before returning to Luke's room.
~
Once Luke was asleep, Avery positioned herself more comfortably, still allowing his head to rest on her chest and stomach area. She smiled as she removed the headphone from his ear as lightly as possible, shutting off the music that was still softly rumbling. She set her phone on the nightstand beside her and closed her eyes.
Little did she know this would be the last normal night they'd spend in the same bed.
~
Since the day Stella's plane landed in Australia, she had been single. It wasn't that her standards were too high. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with someone, or that she hadn't met a potential lover. It wasn't that she was unattractive, she was gorgeous.
Standing at five-feet-seven-inches or so, with over half of her height being shown in her legs, she was taller than her other two girl friends. Her short, cherry red hair reaching her shoulders shining in the light and bringing out her beautiful, almost clear, blue-green eyes. Her body always caught the attention of many in public settings, even in the house she didn't live in but called her home. her small waist fit perfectly with her wide hips, giving her the perfect hourglass shape.
Since her early years as a teen, her and her family knew that she'd grab attention easily. She didn't mind, as long as the attention didn't consist of catcalls and degrading names. Those things happened, but she attempted to brush it off, though some times were more difficult than others.
Stella had at first enjoyed the company Ashton had provided her, but soon switched her preference to Luke. She liked the way he thought, the things he would point out in the sky and on the road; the lyrics he thought were worth repeating. They shared a similar taste in music and food, and held burping contests on the regular. But once Stella had noticed Avery's clear interest in Luke, she backed off. She knew that her and Luke could be a fling, but that it wouldn't last. Avery and Luke, however, Stella figured could become something.
Therefore, Stella backed away. She began to spend more of her time with Michael, who shared her strong passion for video games and sleep. Soon, she began to grow feelings for Michael. She had no clue what kind of feelings they were or how strong they would become, but she knew she was attached to him.
Calum and Brooklyn had gone out to dinner, considering it was their anniversary. Luke, Avery, and Ashton were in the den watching some bad horror film that Stella and Michael had no interest in. They decided to retreat to his room and scrounge for a good movie on Netflix. They decided they'd watch some old film that they had never heard of; mostly so they could make fun of it.
Halfway into the movie, Stella nudged her head into Michael's chest, "Mike, this is excruciatingly boring." He laughed, "Thank God, I thought you'd make me sit through this whole thing."
She sat up and smiled cheekily. "Aw, that was cute," Michael said, then made a face that read wait why did I just say that? He bit his lip and cleared his throat as Stella repositioned. They sat in silence for a few minutes before making eye contact once more. But this time, it was different than any other time they had looked at each other. This time they were searching for something within one another.
