Chapter Seventeen: Family Dinner

PETER:

Peter, Ryan, Melody, and Adrianna walked across the grounds of the beach house making their way over to the porch with Peter looking through the window and not seeing anyone inside.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Peter asked his half-brother.

"It looks empty from this window too," Adrianna added as she looked in from the window on the other side of the porch.

"This is the address the guy gave me," Ryan answered.

"Well, we'll have some answers to give if the owners are home," Peter told then as he stood ready to break open the door however a look from Melody as she rolled her eyes at the teen, made him pause. "What?"

"Breaking the door open? How sexist and macho!" Melody responded.

"You have any other way to open that door?" Peter asked the blonde.

"Yeah, actually," Melody smirked as she took the hairpin out of her hair, letting the blonde’s locks free and fall behind her shoulders.

Melody then proceeded to kneel in front of the door and put the pin into the lock and after some resistance managed to unlock the door and looked over her shoulder at Peter and grinned.

"All the skills Jay Cavanaugh taught you, getting out handcuffs, how to fight... He never taught you how to pick a lock?" Adrianna laughed at Peter before telling Melody. "You have to teach me that."

"Sure thing," Melody agreed. "Comes in handy."

“Demi taught me how to pick a lock…” Peter grumbled.

"Can we just..." Ryan told his siblings while nodding in the direction of the door and the four Grayson siblings made their way into the beach house. "Not a bad place..." Ryan commented as they looked around.

"Reminds me of our family beach house in Everwood Bay," Adrianna admitted. "Oh! We should go! At the end of the year! All of us like we used to like when Dad and Mom were alive!" Adrianna said excitedly as she recalled the yearly family trips they used to take to their family beach house in Everwood Bay.

"Maybe if we manage to get through today's task," Melody responded.

"Oh, right." Adrianna sighed as she remembered why they were at the beach house.

Making their way further into the beach house until finally, they found the person they were looking for standing by the kitchen island holding a pot of coffee in his hand, a young teen of eighteen years of age and Peter’s brother, Magnus Grayson.

"Magnus!" Peter said happily as he made his way over to his younger brother to give him a hug but Magnus put down the coffee pot and stepped aside away from Peter.

"You don't get to do that! None of you get to do that!" Magnus shouted in anger. "None of you get to waltz in here and act like you didn't abandon me in that boarding school!"

"We didn't abandon you!" Jessica told her youngest adoptive sibling.

"Yeah you did," Magnus scoffed. "I chose to go back there but none of you called or visited. You spent your summers interning at magazines!" Magnus pointed at Adrianna. "She was off cracking cases!" Magnus directed at Melody. "He was too busy taking care of everyone else except his own brother!" Magnus directed at Ryan. "Jess, she was at college living her best life and you, the person who was supposed to get what I was going through the most," Magnus directed at Peter. "You disappeared."

"I was going through my own shit but I'm here now," Peter admitted.

"You're here now but I don't need you, any of you." Magnus scoffed.

"Cos you're doing fine, breaking in and living in someone else's home," Ryan commented. "They could come home any time."

"Pot meet kettle," Magnus shrugged. "You guys broke in too," Magnus reminded them. "Besides she's working in Rayton Heights and he's in Paris with his mistress."

"Look, we don't care about that, what we do care about is you," Jessica told her younger brother. "Come back home with us..."

"What home? It's burnt to a crisp!" Magnus fired back before responding. "Yeah, I saw the manor or what's left of it."

"We're staying at the Mirage Penthouse. Come there, be with your family..." Ryan added.

"Look, we can't **** you to come with us," Peter told the teen. "But how about family dinner, all of us, even Aria, she's at the Mirage too..." Peter suggested with Adrianna agreeing but Magnus simply stared at his older brother. "Come on guys, let's just go," Peter told his siblings, shaking his head before saying to Magnus. "We'll be there tonight. I hope you are too."

---

HOLLIE:

"Hey," Hollie said out to Sara as she and Asa entered Sara and Peter's bedroom to greet the still sick girl. "How are you feeling?"

"Still not too great but the medicine the doctor's gave me seem to be helping." Sara softly spoke as she sat up in bed and took a sip from her bottle of water.

"And where's Florence Nightingale?" Asa wondered as she looked around the bedroom for any sign of Peter who had refused to leave Sara's side once he learned Sara wasn't feeling too great and had been taking care of his girlfriend during her sickness.

"He went out. Ryan confirmed the place the guy told him Magnus was," Sara told them. "He didn't want to leave me but I made him go. He would have regretted it otherwise."

"Well, Asa and I don't have that many classes today, we can flake, give you some much-needed TLC," Hollie suggested.

"Yeah, totally," Asa agreed with her girlfriend. "It will be a laugh."

"No guys, I'll be fine. You should go to your classes..." Sara told the couple. "I'm gonna take my meds, get some rest, read some of those magazines AC brought me if I get bored..."

"You could do with some company..." Hollie tried to tell her. "And what if something happens?"

"I have my phone," Sara reminded the brunette. "Guys, seriously, I'll be fine... Go to your classes."

"Fine, we'll go but you better call us." Asa reluctantly agreed.

"And I'm texting you non-stop." Hollie smiled.

"Wouldn't have it any other way.' Sara said with a small smile.

---

JEROME:

Jerome made his way off Oldtown Square that morning after a quick morning run and not wanting to overexert himself since he would also be hitting the gym that day. It was while he was walking to his car, the teen noticed his ex-girlfriend across the street with none other than Adrian, the pair talking amongst each other.

Sighing and thinking about how things ended between him and his ex-girlfriend and their admission to stay friends the other day, Jerome crossed the street and approached the pair.

"Hey, guys!" Jerome warmly greeted them.

"Jerome?" Zara said in a tone of surprise and confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Morning run," Jerome answered. "But I'm glad to run into you both," Jerome added before directing at Adrian. "Hey, man."

"Err... Hey..." Adrian said awkwardly since he wasn't sure how the other teen would react to him talking to his ex-girlfriend. "How's it going?"

"Not bad," Jerome answered. "Are you two going somewhere? I apologize if I'm interrupting I just wanted to apologize to you, Adrian. I know I wasn't the friendliest of guys to you and I do admit I was a little jealous of you and Zara and I'm sorry for using you as an excuse to act out when I should have talked to her." Jerome said as he looked over to Zara. "I'm saying sorry to you too for how things ended between us."

"It's okay," Zara told her ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah, man, water under the bridge," Adrian agreed with his friend. "I hate bad blood especially when I'm leaving town."

"You're leaving town?" Jerome said in surprise.

"My grandparents aren't too well so my parents are moving back to Everwood Bay, I'm moving back there to help out," Adrian admitted.

"Adrian just wanted to meet to say goodbye," Zara informed Jerome as to why she was meeting with him.

"Well, I guess I should leave you both to it but it was good to see you and clear the air," Jerome admitted.

"Likewise." Adrian agreed.

"I'll see you around," Jerome told him before taking his leave.

---

ELSA:

Elsa slid the plate onto the table and sat down next to her aunt so that she could join the rest of her family for breakfast that morning at the Mirage Penthouse.

"So, how are you feeling, Aunt Aria?" Elsa asked her aunt as watched her aunt take a sip of her tea.

"A lot better, the rest helped," Aria admitted. "Thank you for coming to rescue me, all of you."

"Of course, you're our mother," Jessica responded. "We had to help."

"Have the police found Chester yet?" Aria asked.

"Melody called Bellamy and John, they told her Chester was one of the few inmates that escaped from Shawshank a few weeks ago that the prison is trying to keep quiet," Jessica explained. "We let them know Chester targeted you and they'll keep an eye out and are searching for leads."

"Until then, you should stay here with us. The Mirage has the best security." Elsa suggested.

"She's right besides there isn't a manor for you to go back to," Carter told his twin sister. "And my apartment barely has room for me."

"Why isn't there a manor for me to go to?" Aria said in confusion.

"The Morgan one, Dad sold before he took off," Elsa informed her aunt. "The Grayson one, I'm sure Peter wouldn't mind you staying in if it wasn't a pile of ash."

"Do I want to know how that happened?" Aria asked her niece.

"Not really. It'll be a few months or a year until they reconstruct it." Elsa replied.

"I heard Adrianna really took to the re-design. Added in a few rooms and stuff." Jessica spoke.

"I hope you don't mind, I wouldn't want to impose." Aria quickly spoke.

"You're my Mom. Of course, it isn't an imposition." Jessica told her.

"Thank you, thank you a lot, Jessica." Aria beamed happily. "I know, I haven't been the best mother but thank you for all this."

"Of course, Mom." Jessica smiled back.

---

DEMI:

Demi made her way across the street, heading in the direction of Grub & Stuff Diner where she was supposed to meet her father. It was just as turned the corner however she bumped into a young adult and dropped her handbag on the floor while the adult's phone fell to the ground.

"Oh shit! Sorry, that was my bad!" The young adult spoke as he quickly grabbed Demi's bag from the ground, making sure nothing had fallen out before picking it up and handing it to the blonde before picking up his own phone.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry, I was so much in a hurry, I didn't look to see where I was walking," Demi told the handsome man before her.

"How about we both call it our faults before we start with the self-blame game." The man smiled.

"Sure." Demi agreed.

"I'm Jack Harrington by the way." The man introduced himself.

"Demi McNamara," Demi said with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you," Jack grinned. "Now, I'm sure you have somewhere to be but any chance I could buy a beautiful woman like you a coffee or something."

"Any other day, I might have taken you up on that but I'm supposed to meet my father." Demi revealed.

"Ah, then don't let me keep you waiting," Jack sighed. "A father always looks forward to seeing his daughter, trust me on that," Jack added. "Another time, perhaps?"

"Shouldn't you get my number then?" Demi said with a flirty smile.

"I'm Jack Harrington, I don't need it... I'll find you, Demi McNamara." Jack confidently said.

"Well then, until then," Demi told him before taking off down the path though she didn't have to go that far since she caught sight of her father who held two cups of coffee and seemed to be staring in the direction where Demi had just come from and Jack stood as he took one more look at Demi before walking off. "Uh, hey Dad, I thought I was meeting you at the..."

"It's a nice day, I thought we could have a walk and talk," John explained in a tone of confusion and surprise before pointing in the direction of where Jack once stood. "Was that Jack Harrington you were talking to?"

"Yeah, do you know him?" Demi asked her father curiously especially since Jack didn't give any indication of recognizing her or her last name.

"Jack, only by name. I had a run-in with his father a couple of years ago though," John admitted. "What did he want with you?"

"Nothing, we just bumped into each other. Total accident." Demi said telling half the truth since she didn't want to admit to her father she flirted with him.

"Well, I know I'm going to sound judgemental when I say this because I'm your father but you would do well to stay away from him, Jack Harrington is very bad news," John warned. "Any Harrington is trouble, it's why they were driven out of this city, a long time ago," John added. "Trust me, you will do well to stay very far away from him..."

---

EDDIE:

Eddie stepped away from his car that morning, making his way towards his gym to open up however it was as he approached the door he noticed a familiar face waiting there, and upon seeing her, his face lit up and he smiled.

"You stopping by again is really becoming a habit..." Eddie told Alyssa as he unlocked the doors to the gym. "You stalking me or something?"

"Ha, you wish..." Alyssa smiled. "I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go out with me tonight?"

"Like on a date? Cos I just got out of a relationship and frankly, I don't want to lead you and just use you like a rebound..." Eddie tried to explain as he attempted to shoot the girl down gently.

"Oh right..." Alyssa shook her head.

"That's not to say I wouldn't..." Eddie tried to tell her.

"Yeah, I get it, so how about it as friends?" Alyssa suggested. "You saved my life from those Jackals and you're helping me out here," Alyssa said as she waved her arm out at the gym. "A night out as friends as a thank you. What do you think? We could be really good friends."

"Yeah, we could," Eddie agreed. "Alright, as friends."

"Great!" Alyssa happily spoke as she hugged Eddie before awkwardly pulling herself away and adding. "I'll text you the deets but I gotta run. Classes you know..."

---

PETER:

"Oh my God! He's actually here." Roxanne sarcastically spoke out loud as Bella, Roxanne, and Maya saw Peter and Hollie approach them outside their lecture hall that afternoon.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Peter nodded. "I haven't been at the last few meetings. I'm sorry, stuff came up."

"Stuff?" Maya asked curiously.

"It's a long story," Hollie spoke up in Peter's defence. "But he's here now."

"And I brought a gift," Peter said as he took out a folder and handed it to the girls.

"What is it?" Bella asked as they looked through it.

"Hollie told me, I got the economic side for our project. That's it," Peter told them. "Look I know I've been absent, my life is mad crazy but I will pull my weight, I promise."

"This is actually pretty good," Bella spoke as she gave the folder a quick flick through.

"Alright then, you're forgiven," Roxanne added. "For now."

"I'll take it." Peter chuckled.

"Hello, girls and Peter." A voice belonging to their professor Laurel spoke causing the group to look up and see the blonde along with another professor who Peter recognized as Dana.

"Hi." The group responded.

"Could we have a word, Peter?" Laurel asked Peter.

"Sure." Peter nodded in agreement as he realised what it may be about.

"Someone's in trouble!" Hollie teasingly called out as Peter stepped away to join Laurel and Dana.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Peter shook his head until he, Laurel and Dana were to the side and alone.

"I've noticed you were absent from my last few lectures, is there a particular reason as to why?" Laurel wondered.

"I had some personal stuff going on but I'm all done with that now." Peter admitted.

"Good because your team counts on you and this is college not high-school," Laurel reminded Peter. "You have to be on top of things and manage your time well."

"Which is what I wanted to talk to you about..." Dana interrupted. "Laurel's a friend and she told me about your absences and once we saw you today, I wanted to offer my services."

"Your services?" Peter said curiously.

"I may be teaching now but I am a trained therapist," Dana reminded the teen. "You've been through a lot. Lost a lot. Your parents, Hollie's parents. You disappeared for a year. If you ever need to talk about anything, my door is always open."

"Thank you and I will if I need to." Peter nodded in agreement.

"Come on we better go in, they'll be waiting." Laurel indicated towards the other students waiting outside the lecture hall.

"My students are too," Dana spoke before stepping away as well.

"One last thing, Peter," Laurel spoke. "I know you haven't been around much to know them well but I know enough about you to ask this," Laurel told him. "Could you keep an eye on Bella? Just make sure she's okay..."

"Sure..." Peter agreed. "Is there a reason why?"

"Just keep an eye on her," Laurel repeated before making her way into the lecture hall.

---

RYAN:

"Hey babe, how are you doing?" Amelia greeted Ryan as he stepped away from the car he just finished repairing.

"I'm fine, I wasn't expecting you though," Ryan admitted as he wiped his greasy hands clean.

"Well, I thought we could have lunch. You can leave the stuff you had Mrs Fawcett whip up for you for tomorrow. I ordered your favourite from Grub 'n' Stuff Diner." Amelia responded as she held up the takeaway bag in her hand.

"God, I love you," Ryan smiled as he made his way over to his girlfriend to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "Come on we can eat in my office," Ryan added as he led Amelia into the office, offering her a seat before taking one himself.

"Have you heard anything about Nico?" Amelia wondered about the man whose office Ryan now sat in.

"Not much. I think he’s just chasing down as many leads about Mara as he can. Especially after Zhang turned out actually didn’t know anything," Ryan informed her. "I haven't heard anything on the streets about him either."

"Well, just be careful. Nico might have left this place for you in the meantime but it doesn't mean he would have wanted you to make the same mistakes he did." Amelia warned.

"Trust me, I know." Ryan sighed.

"So, did you find Magnus?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, we did." Ryan answered.

"And..." Amelia said expectantly.

"He wanted nothing to do with us. Not that I can blame him. We all should have done more for him after Dad died." Ryan admitted,

"A parent's loss is hard. You were all going through your own journeys and processing it in your own way, you shouldn't feel guilty about coming to terms with it yourself before helping him." Amelia reassured her boyfriend.

"I know but sometimes I do feel like I could have done more. Way more," Ryan agreed. "Maybe if he shows up for dinner tonight, I can finally help him."

"Dinner?" Amelia said curiously.

"Peter suggested family dinner to get him to come back." Ryan quickly explained.

"You think he will?" Amelia wondered.

"I dunno but maybe you can join us to find out?" Ryan suggested. "I'd love to have you by my side tonight."

"Of course, babe," Amelia agreed. "Anything I can do to help."

---

ADRIANNA:

Adrianna made her way into Aldridge House, heading up the stairs and into the bedroom she shared with Peter, dumping her bag onto the bed following the work she had done in the studio as part of her fashion course before stepping out of the bedroom to make her way across to Sara's room and knocked on the door before entering.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Adrianna asked the still sick brunette who slowly sat up as Adrianna entered the bedroom.

"A little better. I watched some TV, spoke to Claire briefly over the phone, she and her Mom are going to visit her Dad, and apparently Nathan ran into Lori Larimar," Sara said as she recalled her day. "And I had a nap which helped but I'm still feel like I got hit by a bus," Sara told the redhead.

"I've been there," Adrianna smiled.

"Pass me the water?" Sara asked and Adrianna handed the bottle over to Sara who took the medication the doctor had provided her with.

"My brother stop by?" Adrianna wondered.

"Came for lunch but he's focusing on his project team as a way to make it up to them," Sara informed her. "He's sent me a few texts to check in but I'm glad we're alone cos it gives us a chance to talk."

"Talk?" Adrianna said curiously.

"I may be sick but not enough that I wasn't able to answer the door. That came for you..." Sara spoke as she indicated to a parcel on Sara's desk.

Adrianna made her way over to the desk, opening up the parcel which had a stunning knee-length, red strapless dress that Adrianna took out of the box and held up, showcasing it to herself and Sara.

"Wow..." Sara gasped in awe as Adrianna also took out a matching pair of high-heels. "Who sent it?"

"One sec," Adrianna spoke as she carefully put the dress and heels aside to take out the card that was left in the box. "For a stunning and talented woman. I hope you accept this as a token of gratitude and persuade you to accept my offer. Your mentor, Christina Wayne."

"Christina Wayne sent you that?" Sara said out loud in a tone of surprise that made it seem as though Sara was completely fine. "Christina Wayne, the founder of Hall Magazine... Her dresses are... Oh my God..."

"Whoa, you're getting more worked up over this than me," Adrianna commented.

"Sorry, it's exciting," Sara admitted. "Wait... She sent that to convince you to take the job... Damn..."

"Damn, I know..." Adrianna said as she slumped herself down onto Sara's desk chair.

"Have you decided on what you're gonna do?"

"I'm so confused. I want to stay here and be with Peter but at the same time..." Adrianna admitted.

"You want to go," Sara realized. "You have to tell him."

"If I tell him, he'll want me to go. He’ll say something along the lines of this is an opportunity I can't miss." Adrianna said as she thought about what her brother might say.

"It is." Sara pointed out.

"Just keep it under wraps for a little longer, please?" Adrianna asked.

"Fine but you should probably figure out what it is you want sooner rather than later," Sara warned.

---

ASA:

Asa left the Hamilton Building following her lecture for the day and walked across the campus heading in the direction of the cafeteria so that she could get some lunch before heading back to Aldridge House and it was just as Asa turned the corner and found Jerome also heading to the cafeteria.

"Hey Asa, it's been a while." Jerome greeted the blonde.

"And whose fault is that? From what I'm hearing you've got a full plate these days, the fraternity, the Hawks, and whoever it is you're currently banging." Asa fired back at him. "You heading to the cafeteria?" Asa asked and Jerome nodded in agreement.

"You made a point by the way," Jerome chuckled as they walked together. "But, some of us haven't found our other half. And you can't blame me for sowing some wild oats, especially now that we're in college."

"I guess not," Asa agreed. "And I get we all find and live our own lives now that we're in college just make sure you don't forget about your friends."

"Of course, who else am I gonna introduce any potential girlfriends to first?" Jerome jokingly said.

"Speaking of potential, are you seeing anyone?" Asa wondered.

"No one yet. If I'm being honest, I'm still reeling from how I fucked things up with Zara," Jerome admitted. "I think I'm just trying to get her out of my system before I start seeing anyone serious, you know?"

"Avoid a rebound." Asa realized what Jerome was referring to.

"Exactly." Jerome nodded.

"Just don't close yourself up to love," Asa told him. "It's easy to just fuck around and lose yourself to that pleasure but love it balances us."

"Is it me or is this getting a bit too sappy?" Jerome sarcastically spoke.

"Of course, the macho man can't talk about feelings, huh?" Asa smiled.

"Something like that," Jerome responded. "Come on, I'll buy lunch."

---

ELSA:

Elsa stepped out of her bedroom that she had been sharing with Zara that afternoon after making sure that she hadn't forgotten anything now that she'd be moving into the Kappa Nu Sorority House and upon making her way into the living room she found Zara, Amelia, Demi, and Kira all making their way into the house.

"You all packed up?" Kira asked the redhead as the group slumped down on the couches.

"Not that there wasn't much to pack," Elsa commented as she recalled how she hadn't unpacked much when she initially moved into the apartment with her friends just in case she did manage to make it into the sorority.

"So, how was the sorority party last night?" Zara curiously asked.

"It was... Fun..." Elsa commented as her mind drifted to the events of last night.

"Just fun, you're losing your storytelling touch," Amelia told her friend. "Or maybe something happened..."

"Nothing happened," Elsa said rather quickly forcing the redhead to cower and reluctantly surrender to her friends' stares. "Fine but this stays between us."

"Of course." Kira and the others quickly agreed.

"Peter and AC were at the party last night," Elsa told them, which only increased the looks of curiosity at Elsa. "I heard enough comments during the party to learn that my president put a bounty on Peter."

"Bounty?" Zara said confused.

"Sorority competition, right?" Demi spoke and Elsa agreed.

"First sister to fuck Peter won." Elsa clarified for them.

"And?" Amelia pushed as she knew there was more to the story.

"So, once I learned what was going on, I figured I should let Peter in on what was going on..." Elsa told them.

"Like a good little sister?" Kira teased.

"Little? We're the same age!" Elsa reminded the blonde.

"He's older by a few weeks, remember? That makes you his little sister." Demi fired back.

"Anyways, did you find him?" Amelia wondered.

"Yeah, outside of my president's bedroom but before I could say anything he went in," Elsa informed them.

"Then what happened?" Zara asked.

"Turns out he and AC planned to get a little payback on the president if you get my drift..." Elsa softly spoke as she recalled the sight she had seen last night when she peeked into the room.

"You mean they..." Kira realized what her friend was referring to.

"And with some of Ariana's friends," Elsa added.

"I wonder how they explained them being intimate with one another," Amelia spoke up about Peter and Adrianna's sibling relationship.

"I dunno. They didn't fuck each other in front of them so I don't think anyone was really questioning it..." Elsa muttered. "They were just lost in each other's pleasure."

"Elsa..." Kira shook her head as she thought about what she was about to ask. "After that first peek, where were you?"

"I... I... Stayed and watched..." Elsa slowly admitted.

"You did what?" Zara said out loud.

"I didn't mean to but it was hot seeing him in action..." Elsa confessed. “Especially after so long ago…”

"You liked it, didn't you?" Demi said in realization.

"Look before everything last year, Peter was my cousin. We're both sexual beings and even before I found out he was my half-brother, we had hooked-up," Elsa added. “And I dunno…”

"I get it. I really do." Amelia spoke up about her ex-boyfriend. "Peter was my first and he knew exactly what he was doing and what buttons to push to get you over the edge."

"I know exactly what she's talking about," Demi agreed. "Kelsey taught him well."

"That may be true but you're his sister now not cousin." Zara reminded the redhead. “That changes everything.”

"So's AC," Elsa argued.

"Adoptive, there's no actual blood shared between them. You two share a father," Zara told her. "Peter and Sara even AC, they might have figured out their relationship and the openness of it but they don't need you fucking things up for them."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Elsa softly agreed.

---

EDDIE:

"Hey, are you alright to take a break?" Tommy asked Eddie as he and Yelena entered Eddie's office in his gym that afternoon.

"I brought food," Yelena added as she held up a takeaway bag.

"She's feeling daring, brought takeaway into a gym." Tommy quipped.

"Well, we have to work something off, don't we?" Eddie chuckled as he offered them seats on the couch.

"I'm not complaining. I could do with some of these fries." Tommy shrugged as he helped Yelena take the food out of the bag and put it out onto the coffee table.

"So, what's going on with you today?" Yelena asked Eddie. "You've spent most of the day held up in here most of the day when you usually spend your time out there on the ground," Yelena nodded in the direction of the gym. "Something happen?"

"You know apart from getting dumped," Tommy commented as he grabbed some fries only to be met by stares from Eddie and Yelena. "Sorry, I'll shut up."

"If you must know, that girl, Alyssa she stopped by. Asked me out on a date..." Eddie informed her.

"And you said no." Yelena realised.

"I didn't want to pick her up on the rebound," Eddie admitted. "Then she agreed for it to be just as friends. She seems sweet and nice... Maybe I should just cancel... I just don't want to lead her on or anything..."

"Eddie, it's okay you don't have to rush anything," Yelena said in comfort, putting her hand on his. "Alyssa's a big girl she'll understand."

"I know," Eddie sighed. "I just feel so guilty about it."

"Then maybe you should go out with her tonight as friends," Tommy commented. "I mean Friendships have been started from worse and we can all use friends."

"He's right about that." Yelena agreed much to the guys' surprise. "Maybe all you and Alyssa need to be are friends. You did save her life from the Jackals. Perhaps you both need each other."

---

PETER:

Peter stood by Adrianna as he inspected the dining table, making sure everything was perfect for the dinner that they were hosting. Noticing the nervousness on her brother's face, Adrianna took his hand into hers and said. "It's fine. Everything's gonna be okay."

"Yeah, I know," Peter shook his head. "Mr and Mrs Fawcett made sure everything was sorted but I just want Magnus to come home."

"It will be, man," Ryan said as he and Amelia made their way over to them. "Now quit worrying."

"Yeah." Peter nodded.

"Besides even if he doesn't show up, we can still enjoy ourselves," Jessica added.

"Yeah, thank God for booze," Melody said as she poured herself another glass of wine.

"I always knew you were my favourite niece," Carter grinned as he held out his glass for Melody to fill. "Want some sis, a little booze never hurt, right?'

"But it is a temptful device, I'd prefer to keep away from such things," Aria responded.

"Good for you, Aunt Aria!" Elsa encouraged the blonde.

"Look who's here..." Jessica announced as she joined her family followed by Magnus.

"Magnus." Peter smiled.

"Don't get your hopes. I'm only here to eat something that didn't come out of a takeaway box." Magnus replied.

"Well, Mrs Fawcett's made sure Luna has done a great job like always," Ryan said as he offered everyone a seat at the table.

Peter found himself sitting at the head of the table with Adrianna on his right and Elsa on his left. Sat next to Adrianna was Magnus followed around the table by Ryan, Amelia, Jessica, Melody, Aria, and Carter, all of whom began to fill their plates up with the food that had been cooked for them.

"This is nice," Jessica said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"It is, sweetie," Aria agreed with her daughter. "Lord knows the rarity of the times we had family dinner like this."

"It was never. Good old Bernard Morgan was too busy working and Momma Francesca was already chained down by her kids, so why should she have spent more time with them?" Carter scoffed.

"Mom at least tried, Carter." Aria tried to remind her brother.

"She tried but it doesn't mean she cared." Carter fired back.

"Seems familiar," Magnus commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter questioned.

"Nothing, just that it seems to be a Grayson thing. A family of appearances. Their parents, the Harrington's, our family..."

"Our family wasn't appearances," Peter replied.

"Wasn't it? Or are you forgetting what you and Mom were arguing about the night she died?" Magnus said from across the table.

"What's he talking about?" Melody questioned Peter.

"I caught Dad cheating on Mom at the Fallons party, a couple of years back," Peter sighed. "I argued with Mom at the party we went to the night she died... I mentioned it. She already knew..."

"Appearances," Magnus told them.

"Mom always did say, once a cheater, always a cheater," Aria commented.

"How did you know?" Ryan curiously asked.

"I suspected for a while. Dad and Mom rarely spent time together, they only really talked when it was about the kids and Mom was always alone except for when she had us around,” Magnus said. “From what I could tell they were practically separated,”

“They were.” Adrianna revealed, much to everyone’s surprised. “Mom confessed to me a while back. I didn’t think she meant to but I think she just needed someone to offload to.”

“I don’t believe it,” Peter shook his head in surprise.

“Probably because for a long time you didn’t want to,” Adrianna told her brother. “You always had a blindspot for those you really care about. I guess, you couldn’t bring yourself to accept Mom and Dad were separated.”

“That’s probably why he was so argumentative at the party," Magnus told them. "But why are we not surprised? This was so Dad! He had her!" Magnus pointed at Elsa. "When he was supposed to be divorcing her and in love with our Mom!" Magnus added while nodding in the direction of Aria. "And Ryan with a woman we hardly see. All in the same year! This family's joke. We haven't been together in the same room for nearly a year and you want to act like everything's normal and that we care about each other."

"We do care." Adrianna piped up.

"Do you? What are you doing here? You're not Grayson by blood. I mean, you had a chance to get out when Mom and Dad died. To rid yourself of this toxic family of lies but then again you are boning our brother so maybe that's why you stayed." Magnus fired at Adrianna. "Yeah, I know about you two. Found out when I went to see where you ended up after the fire at the manor."

"That's enough!" Jessica shouted as she stood up from the table. "This was supposed to be about us, moving on as a family! If you can't get behind that, then maybe you should go!"

"Gladly," Magnus said as he stood up from the table to leave. "I don't even know why I came here anyways."

Peter watched as Magnus made his way to the elevator to leave the penthouse and Peter got up to follow however Adrianna grabbed him by the arm to stop him from leaving. "Let him go, Peter. He needs time to figure stuff out. Us pushing him isn't gonna help. He needs to figure out his own path."

---

SARA:

Sara climbed out of bed that evening, feeling a little better and making her way downstairs where she grabbed some soup to eat at the dining table when the front door opened and in stepped her younger sister, Anne along with her best friends, Natalie and Heidi.

"Hey Anne, what are you doing here?" Sara softly asked.

"You said we could drop by anytime and Mom said you weren't feeling too well, so I thought I'd come check in on you." Anne explained.

"And we just wanted to come along," Heidi added. "Where's my sister?"

"She and Asa planned to go out, I didn't want them to ignore their plans just cos I wasn't feeling well." Sara admitted.

"And Peter?" Natalie wondered as she looked around for Sara's boyfriend.

"He and Adrianna are at a family dinner. They managed to convince Magnus to come talk to them." Sara responded.

"Good, this makes what we're gonna ask a lot more easier." Anne replied.

"So, you didn't just come to see your big sister? I knew it." Sara smiled.

"We have something important to ask of you." Natalie told her.

"And you can totally say no..." Heidi quickly added. "But it is important to us..."

"What is it?" Sara curiously asked.

"We were wondering... If... You know..." Anne awkwardly spoke before groaning. "God! I can't believe I'm actually about to say this out loud. We were hoping that with our eighteenth birthday coming up that perhaps… Since you and Peter are open that Peter would be our first..."

"You mean..." Sara said in realisation. "And you want it on your eighteenth birthday?"

"We've all had a crush on him at some point or another and we were hoping... We figured turning eighteen is supposed to be special so... You would be okay if we..." Natalie added on.

"And you guys want to do it together?" Sara said curiously.

"We've done everything together, why not this too?" Heidi shrugged and Sara nodded recalling how her sister and her best friends were always together and even celebrated their birthdays together since they were all born within the same week.

"Okay." Sara said out loud.

"I mean you don't have to..." Anne quickly spoke. "Wait... What?"

"I'm okay with it. Obviously I'll have to run by it with Peter but I'm okay with it." Sara sighed.

"Really?" Natalie said in surprise and Sara nodded.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The three girls shouted happily hugging Sara.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Sara said as she pulled away from them. "Okay, now you got what you came for, are you actually gonna hang out or..."

"Of course," Anne smirked. "We even brought a movie."

---

EDDIE:

Eddie sat at the bar in Crimson, taking another sip of his beer and shaking his head at the thought of being stood up by Alyssa who still hadn't shown up at the nightclub where they were supposed to meet.

"Eddie Swift, all alone. Now there's a sight I didn't think I'd see." Hollie called out as she and Asa approached the bar.

"I was supposed to meet a friend. They never showed." Eddie responded as he eyed the couple who looked incredible he thought, Asa, dressed in a black sequined mini-dress, and Hollie in a long-sleeve high-neck mini-dress.

"How about you replace them with two then?" Hollie suggested.

"We haven't seen you around in a while," Asa commented.

"Been busy." Eddie shrugged.

"I'll say. That gym has got you looking hotter." Asa eyed the young adult causing Hollie to smirk.

"Seriously though, you should come by more. I know you and Peter are friends but you did spend a lot of time with my family after the whole Kai Russell stuff." Hollie reminded him.

"Yeah, you're right." Eddie agreed.

"Good, now that we've got that out of the way, come dance with us. Show us what your date is missing out on." Asa excitedly spoke.

"Nah, I'm good. You two should go though." Eddie replied.

"Nope, not an option!" Hollie said as she and Asa both took one of Eddie's hands and pulled him up from his seat. "Besides you never know where the night might lead."

Eddie let Asa and Hollie into his apartment, guiding the two incredibly hot girls towards his bedroom as the trio let the teasing, grinding from the dancing and the **** fuel their pleasure as they quickly discarded their clothes and made their way over to Eddie’s bed.

With a bit of planning, Eddie managed to get Asa laying on her back on a bed, with her head hanging over the side a bit while Hollie climbed on top of her girlfriend in a sixty-nine position and her ass pointed up due to her knees being raised on the bed allowing Eddie to see her pussy in front of him.

Eddie quickly brought his now rock-hard cock to Hollie who began to work it into her mouth while Asa began to eat her girlfriend out. Watching Hollie suck his dick for a few minutes, Eddie then stared in awe as both Hollie and Asa adjusted on the bed so that the two girls could tease and suck on his dick.

Unable to hold back and unsure on where the excitement of the night would take them, Eddie got up and knelt between Asa’s slender legs and holding his slick erection in his hand, Asa however took hold of cock and brought it towards her sodden snatch.

"Fuck me," Asa moaned rubbing the tip of his cock up and down her pussy lips.

Eddie quickly pushed his hips forward and sank the full length of his shaft into her tight pussy. Eddie then hooked the underside of her knees with his forearms to keep her legs spread apart wide and rested his hands at her sides so he could hover over her while he started thrusting, allowing him to watch her gorgeous face contort with pleasure.

"Oh, God!" Asa began to moan to the rhythm of his balls slapping her butt cheeks.

Eddie summoned all of his willpower not to cum and grabbed her legs and threw them over his shoulders and lean forward, squishing her tits against his chest and raising her ass up to give him a better angle of penetration and an even better view of his cock slamming in and out of her pussy.

Asa glanced over at Hollie, watching her girlfriend, play with her pussy while watching the young, muscular teen fuck her girlfriend. "Keep fucking me, Eddie!" Asa whispered with a smil and Eddie accelerated his thrusts, causing his balls to loudly slap against her puckered asshole.

"Oh, God! Oh, fuckin’ hell! God, I'm... Cum..." Asa moaned as her orgasm washed over her and coated Eddie’s dick with her juices.

"My turn!" Hollie giggled standing over Eddie to give him an amazing view of her large breasts and wet hole.

Hollie grinned at Eddie as she lowered herself down onto his awaiting erection, resting her hands on his well-built chest and squishing her ample bosom together with her arms.

"Fuck, yeah…" Hollie moaned as she grinded her groin against his.

"That’s it, baby,” Asa encouraged. “Fuck him harder, Hol!"

Hollie started bouncing up and down his cock upon encouragement from her girlfriend who watched in excitement as her girlfriend whose pussy was being fucked by Eddie’s thick shaft.

"Holy shit..." Eddie muttered reaching up to cup her large breasts.

"I’m close…" Hollie whispered.

"Me too..." Eddie grunt as he felt her pussy tightening around his cock.

"Ooooh, fuck yeah..." Hollie sighed as she began to orgasm on his dick and Eddie who could last much longer found himself succumbing too and fired his load into the bisexual beauty before pulling out collapsing onto the bed.

---

DEMI:

"Hi, Mrs Rose." Demi greeted the mother with a warm smile as she stepped into Rachel's where she made her way over to the bar and found the owner and Sara's mother, Monica stood behind the bar.

"Hi Demi and how many time do I have to say, it's Monica." Monica told the blonde.

"Sorry." Demi apologised.

"Do you want the usual?" Monica asked.

"Sure." Demi agreed and waited as Monica poured her usual vodka tonic.

"So, how's university for you? Sara told me how much she enjoys her course. What about you?" Monica curiously asked.

"I..." Demi was about to answer, however another bartender showed up, informing Monica that someone wanted to see her and so with a quick apology to Demi, Monica stepped away.

"Twice in one day, I must be lucky..." A voice called out as a man approached the bar and revealed himself to Demi as Jack.

"Jack Harrington." Demi responded.

"You remembered?" Jack said in surprise.

"It's hard to forget a man whose father warned her to stay away from." Demi fired back at him.

"Well, I don't have the best reputation. Your father's not the first to warn his daughter to stay away from me. He probably won't be the last," Jack grinned before telling the bartender. "A bottle of your finest whisky, sweetheart and whatever the lovely lady would like." Jack said, indicating to Demi with his head.

"No thanks." Demi told the bartender, holding up her glass of vodka tonic which had barely been drunken.

"Do you mind if I keep you company?" Jack asked Demi.

"It's a free country." Demi shrugged. "So, what brings you back to Redwater?"

"Business." Jack answered.

"What kind of business?" Demi said curiously.

"A little bit of everything, my family have been resourceful like that," Jack answered. "Why you asking?"

"Just trying to figure out what kind of a man you are and why my Dad had to warned me to stay away from you?" Demi responded.

"Do you really care? Something tells you don't really care what daddy thinks..." Jack said as he took a sip of his whisky.

"I don't." Demi agreed.

"How about we get out of here and you show me?" Jack suggested.

Demi followed Jack into large house he was staying in, her hand in his and upon slamming the door shut, found herself wrapping her hand around his head and bringing her lips to his to treat him to a hungry kiss causing Jack to grab her by her legs and lift her up, allowing the blonde to wrap her legs around his waist and be carried upstairs to his bedroom where she was thrown flat on the bed.

Quickly using the opportunity to get rid of her clothes, Demi then found Jack had also undressed and eyed his cock hungrily. With a grin, she pushed her hair to one side of her head and opened her mouth and slowly took the head of his cock into her mouth.

"Mmm..." Demi moaned as she slowly took more and more of his large, thick cock inside her mouth while her fingers moved to caress your balls.

Demi then began to bob her mouth up and down, sucking on his dick as sexily as she could while his hand trailed down to the back of her head and he slowly followed the movements of her head.

"Mmm..." Demi moaned again and, instead of pulling away, she pushed her mouth deeper onto Jack, trying to take even more of his shaft into her mouth than before.

Demi even gave her ass a little wiggle and she begins to moan some more, sending more vibrations through his member however before she could continue, Jack stopped her and leaned in to kiss her and she responded feverously, pressing her naked breasts against his.

Demi then started grinding against Jack who groaned deeply as he pushed her down on the flat, letting her lie flat on the bed and positioned the head of his dick at her pussy and rubbed it against her clit and thank to her wet hole and slide right down between the folds of her vaginal lips.

However before Jack could thrust inside, Demi pushed Jack back onto the bed so he was lying flat, climbed on top of Jack and plunged his dick deep inside her. Jack groaned at the sudden warmth of Demi’s pussy engulfing his cock.

“Oh fuck!” Demi screamed as Jack filled her out and she found herself almost orgasming from the pleasure.

After a few moments to get used to Jack’s girth, Demi began to move, grinding against him once again and bit her lower lip and slowly sped up, wanting more and more of him inside of her.

“Mmmm!!! This feels incredible!” Jack told her.

As she moved her head back further, Jack took the opportunity to kiss her neck again. In response, she picks up her pace slightly and he can feel her vaginal muscles contracting around his cock like a vice. Jack slowly moved down from her neck to her left breast and suck gently on it, which brings another vocal response from Demi.

“Mhhm!!!” Demi moaned.

“Ooooo, fuuuuck!” Demi cried as her orgasm slowly starts building as Jack matched her movements and slammed his cock in and out of her snatch.

“Demi, I’m cumming!!!” Jack grunted as he released his load inside of her pussy.

“OHHH YEAH!!!” Demi screamed as she too felt her orgasm wash over her.

---

BELLA:

Bella stepped into the cold, dark alleyway, glad that she put a jacket on before she did and quickly enjoyed the breath of fresh air she needed. It was while she took her much-needed break AND she stood in the alleyway a woman she didn't recognise stepped forward approaching Bella who eyed the girl suspiciously.

"I haven't seen you around here before, you must be new." The woman told Bella.

"So what if I am?" Bella shot back.

"Do you know who you're working for? What kind of man Tyrone Wilson is?" The woman warned.

"I'm not under any illusion that he's a saint, I mean look at where we are." Bella responded by waving her arms at the strip club.

"Good because you need to be careful around him. Trust me, you cannot trust Tyrone Wilson." The woman told her before turning to leave.

"Wait, who even are you?" Bella called out.

"I'm Alyssa Watson." The woman introduced herself.