1.22 Friends...of course

"Please don't look at me like that," Ari tells me as she enters my room. She has my letter in her hand. As instructed, I wrote her a letter as soon as I got to the hotel room and snuck it under her hotel room door. "You're really mean," she observes as I continue to glare at her.

"No, you're mean. You tricked me again." I answer, referring to her plan to bring me on this island without my knowing.

"Oh, come on. I just thought you might need a break. David said you were really sad after visiting your Dad." Ari reports to me. "David really needs this too. He's been feeling stressed since Grandma fell ill. But not even Grandpa could convince him. It was only when we promised we'd make sure you go that he agreed."

I pause, suddenly self-conscious. I don't know what to think about David taking the initiative to cheer me up.

"Where is he now, by the way? I haven't seen him since--" I start to ask Ari, but I catch myself.

"He's at our favorite place here at the hotel, along with our other friends. In fact, I'm here to invite you to hang out with us. Wanna come?" she asks me, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.

I look at the mess around me as I consider her offer. I entered my hotel room earlier to find that the suitcases Mom had sent me were already on top of the king-sized bed. I haven't unpacked yet.

"It's going to be fine. I'll help you later." Ari announces as she takes my hand, dragging me out the door and into the hallways.

She skips ahead of me, passing by several doors before opening a massive, gilded one at the end of the hallway. " Ta-da!" she exclaims as she pushes into the room.

My mouth drops. The room is much like Richie's, the diner we ate in earlier. But even crazier. There's a pool table at the center, and almost half of the room is a video arcade. Colorful fluorescent lights illuminate the place, some so bright they hurt my eyes. The boys are lounging on the massive sofa and beanbags by the corner, arguing as usual.

"Here she is," Sebastian announces. He glances at David, spinning a basketball on his finger.

"Now, will you quit your frowning?"

David gives him a look, frowning even more. After a second, his gaze turns towards me. I look down, still unable to look him in the eyes.

"What is this place?" I ask Ari, trying to look unaffected.

"I told you, our favorite place." Ari answers. "No one is allowed here unless they're part of the student council and you, of course," she tells me, wagging her eyebrows. I roll my eyes at her, not feeling special at all.

"Great. This place is getting crowded by the second." Brad comments.

"Shut up. We talked about this. Dina's one of us, now." Ari says.

Brad scoffs, "Just because David has this silly cr--" he doesn't get to finish his sentence as Simon tackles him to the ground, covering his mouth firmly with one hand. The others look on without reaction as the two struggle on the floor. David, I've noticed, is suddenly busy with his cellphone.

"Bad news, guys. The kitchen is closed because a water pipe leaked or something. I already told everybody to eat outside. Maybe we should, too?" the blonde girl who verbally attacked me earlier says as she enters the room. Her eyes widen as she spots me, and she does a double-take.

"You," I tell her, venom dripping from my voice. I didn't appreciate her behavior towards me earlier, and I hoped I'd see her again to tell her off properly.

"Woah. Okay, I see some animosity right here, folks. Tell Sir Sebastian the problem?" Sebastian declares in his preposterous voice.

"Did you just call yourself 'Sir'?" I ask him, but he ignores me.

"Dina, this is Britanny. Britanny, Dina, as I'm sure you're already aware." Before turning to Britanny, Sebastian introduces the two of us, "By any chance, did you antagonize Dina about David? Is this why she looks like she's ready to kill you?"

"Okay," Ari says, grabbing Sebastian away from us. "Let's not dig into that, alright? Let's all just...cool off first. Now, Britanny, thank you for settling that problem about the caf. Please have a seat. David and Dina, why don't the two of you buy us some food, huh?"

"No way. Why do I have to go with him?" I complain. I thought this girl was some kind of mind-reader. Can't she see that I don't want to be alone with him? Unless.

I look at Ari, who smirks at me meaningfully. I don't want to be alone with David. That's precisely why she's doing this to me. This horrible girl. She's doing it again, hiding her evil plans underneath a cheerful and bright facade.

"Why them? I offered to go." Calvin pipes in from the corner of the room.

"Nope. David remembers our orders better than you do, and Dina has..." Sebastian answers, studying me seriously. "...monster strength and speed."

I scoff at him.

"Let's just go." David stands up, sighing. Maybe it's because he's asking, and I seem to be amenable to his requests these days. But I also drag myself out the door.

***

"Do you really remember all your friends' orders?" I ask David as he and I walk the few blocks from The Hotel to Richie's.

"No. They just want us to be alone," David tells me. So, he does notice it too.

"Tell me about it. Ari and Sebastian's way too obvious." I comment. I can't help but feel flattered that they're willing to welcome me into the group, though.

"Look--"

"Dav--"

The both of us pause as we realize our mistake.

"You go first," I tell him.

No, you first," he counters, ever the gentleman.

I take a deep breath. Here it goes. "Okay. Um...I just want to apologize for what happened at the haunted house. I shouldn't have done that. All the screaming, the swaying, and the anxiety just got to me, I guess." I know it's the poorest excuse in the universe, but I need to clear the air between us.

David raises his eyebrows at me. "It's alright. Let's just forget about it."

I gawk at him, not liking the sensation in my stomach as I thought of him rejecting me. "Yeah. Totally. Let's just put it behind us." I manage to say. Seriously, I need to get a grip. I can't think of David this way. Our relationship is messed up. I'm keeping way too many secrets from him.

"So...friends?" he suddenly asks, "I figured you'd be decided by now. About us being friends, I mean. You did just get invited to our secret hang-out place."

I want to ask him how it can be a secret room in the hotel with its gigantic doors, but I decide to let it go. "Friends. Of course." I tell him carefully. He definitely will not feel the same way once he figures out the truth. But for now, I need the win. I guess I'm a horrible person for it. But I never did claim otherwise.