The Royal Crush

11

We went to the airport to pick Alexa and George. It did help that the airport wasn't too far away and they were arriving in the evening so we went after school. Vivi, Cedric, Dylan and I waited anxiously while Keith just looked bored. Vivi and I wanted to bring big placards that said "WELCOME HOME DOUBLE TROUBLE!!" but the other two idiots didn't let us. Whatever.

A few minutes later, the twins and their family came out, obviously not expecting us. Alexa spotted us first, she screamed and ran over to us, George at her heels.

"Oh you guys!" Alexa squealed.

"You didn't tell us!" George said as we had a big group hug.

"Yea, that's the whole point of a surprise," Dylan said.

"Aww I missed you guys! Especially you," she said, punching Keith's arm.

"Likewise," Keith said and smiled at her. Her jaw literally dropped.

"He- he actually," George stuttered.

"Yea, Chloe mysteriously broke his ice," Vivi said.

"Oh my god!" Alexa said and hugged Keith. He awkwardly patted her back and I laughed. Alexa was very squealy today.

We ended up going to a nice Greek restaurant named Elia. We had come in Vivi's limo, not to be flashy but so that we could ride together. We didn't want to take separate cars.

We didn't always go to very fancy restaurants because we always found it very hard to maintain decorum and because they gave ridiculously little food for ridiculous rates. But today we decided to go to Elia because the food there is really good.

The plan was in action. In the limo Alexa, George, Vivi, Cedric, Dylan, I, and Keith sat in that order. Dylan and I made sure we were very visible to the twins. We occasionally pretended to joke, laugh and whisper but the twins didn't seem to find it weird.

"Dude this isn't working," I whispered.

"I know. Maybe we should step it up a notch," he whispered back. He did the classic move where he pretended to stretch and put an arm around my shoulder. I giggled. That got Alexa's attention because I'm not exactly the giggly type.

"Alexa watching," I whispered, smiling so it seems like I'm telling him something funny. Dylan laughed, playing along. He then leaned really close to me, his lips touching my ear, and whispered "Pretend I'm telling something funny. And blush."

I giggled and thought about Caleb. It worked. Alexa was now watching us intently, looking really confused. This caught George's attention and she whispered something to him. He said something that sounded like 'no way'. Alexa just shrugged.

We reached the fancy Greek place, Elia, and got off. We already had a reservation so we settled in and placed our orders.

"So, how have you guys been?" George asked.

"Well Chloe definitely had and interesting week," Alexa said. 

I shuddered. "Oh god, yes. It was awful."

"Yea, isn't it funny? People thinking you and Dylan might be together?" she said.

The table fell quiet and Vivi and Cedric smirked. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Yea, it's funny. Isn't it, Dylan?" I asked, bumping shoulders with him.

"Hilarious," he replied, looking into my eyes. I stared back at him, holding his gaze for longer than necessary. I was sure my face was red from holding laughter in because oh god, I swear I would've laughed at the smallest trigger. When we broke eye contact, I saw a look of horrified shock on Alexa's and George's faces. It was priceless. I saw Cedric sneakily take a picture. Good.

"Excuse me, I need to use the washroom," Dylan said and got up. The asshole was probably going to laugh it off while I had to hold my laughter in. I accidentally caught Vivi's eye and tried very very hard not to laugh. I felt like I would burst.

Vivi dropped a fork and tried to reach it, but couldn't.

"Chloe, it's under your chair, can you get it for me?" she asked.

I nodded and ducked under the table. And then I sat there, silently shaking with laughter. When I composed myself, I grabbed the fork and resurfaced, giving her a grateful look.

The food arrived and it smelled delicious. I took mine and was about to dig in, when Cedric spoke.

"Chloe, where's your chocolate boy?"

George spit out his drink. "Her what?"

I shrugged. "Some girls call him that. You know, because of the brown hair and brown eyes and skin and all that."

"Yes, but that's normally girls who like him. You know, like like him."

"I'll just text hi- ah, there he is," I said as Dylan sat beside me again.

"Sorry I took time, ran into someone I know," he said.

"Oooh, who?" Vivi asked.

"Levi," Dylan said.

"Who is that?" George asked.

"His friend from André Academy. We met him during the dinner," Cedric explained.

"Wow. A hell lot happened when we were away, huh? Alexa said, looking at Dylan and I.

"Yea, I guess so," I said, shoving food into my mouth. Damn, it was heavenly.

"Mahn the food here is totally worth the price," I said.

"Or maybe you just really like food," Vivi said laughing.

"True. Can I try that?" I asked Dylan, looking at the asparagus on his plate.

"Sure," he said and pierced a piece on his fork and fed it to me. The twins' eyes nearly popped out.

"Okay, I need to know something before I go crazy," Alexa said, putting her fork down. Ah, here it goes.

"What is it?" Vivian asked innocently.

"What the hell is going on between Dylan and Chloe?!"

"Between us? Nothing," I said.

"Yea, why?" Dylan asked in a confused tone.

"Because you guys seem very, er, I don't know, close?" George said.

"Of course we're close, we're all best friends aren't we?" Dylan said.

"That's not what I meant. The, um, dating kind of close," George said.

"What! We're not dating!" I said.

"Oh come on, you two have been flirting and acting all coupley all night!" Alexa exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Vivian said.

"Yea, I would've noticed," Cedric said.

"But- but... aargh! Ok, ok fine. Never mind," she said. I shrugged and went back to my food, trying not to smirk.