Daphne's POV:
Julian came strutting into my room like he owned it, neon fabric swinging from his hand like a trophy.
"I found it!" he announced. "Your highlighter pink bikini, straight from the vault of bad decisions."
Mason grinned like the devil himself. "Cass, baby—your dare is this: wear that bikini, do a little dance, and post it on your story."
Cassian raised a brow, completely unfazed. "Easy. Other than the fact Cameron's going to murder me."
"HEY!" I yelled, shooting up from the bed. "That's not fair! First of all, that's basically a war crime. Second, he's going to stretch it out! I haven't even worn it yet!"
Cassian held up his hands like he was innocent. "Blame the dare, not the player."
"And who the hell goes into a girl's closet without permission?" I added, turning to Julian with a glare sharp enough to decapitate.
Julian just laughed. "We've been using your closet to play hide and seek since forever. It's basically a communal hiding space."
I blinked. "Excuse me—what?!"
"And," he continued, holding the bikini up for inspection, "isn't this like four years old? I'm honestly surprised it still fits you."
I gasped. "JULIAN! Are you calling me fat?!"
"I—what—NO!" he backpedaled immediately, ducking behind Mason like I was about to launch a full-blown assault. "I didn't mean it like that! Chill! Also—you might want to slow down on those cookies…"
I stared at the half-eaten cookie in my hand.
Dead. Silence.
Then I launched the rest of it at his face. "YOU'RE DEAD TO ME."
Julian ducked, laughing so hard he nearly tripped over Mason. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't say you were fat, I swear! I was talking about the bikini's elastic lifespan, not your waistline!"
"You better run," I warned, standing up with full murder in my eyes. "Because if Cassian stretches my bikini and you call me fat in the same morning, I'm turning this pool party into a funeral."
Julian was still hiding behind Mason, grinning like a devil. "Okay, okay! No fat-shaming, no closet raids. Can we agree the dare is brilliant?"
"I'll agree when I get a written apology and a new bikini," I shot back.
"Drama queen," Mason teased. "It's just fabric, not an heirloom."
I glared. "It could have been."
Cami popped her head in. "Is this for real? He's actually doing it?"
Julian held up the bikini. "Operation Cassian Gets Cancelled is live."
Liv was already recording. "I'm here for the trauma footage."
As the chatter bounced around, I caught Leon leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching us with an amused smirk on his face. His eyes flicked to mine for a second—something warm behind them—and then back to the chaos.
I rolled my eyes. "Glad you're enjoying this."
He shrugged. "I live for these moments."
Before I could respond, Cassian's entrance cut through the noise.
He strolled into the room in my neon bikini, sunglasses on, towel thrown over one shoulder like he was the King of the Pool.
"Good morning," he said with a smirk, striking a pose. "Serving you confidence and zero shame."
Liv screamed. "Cass, you legend!"
Roman looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. "Someone get me bleach."
Julian clutched his chest. "I'm so proud."
I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing.
Cassian raised an eyebrow. "If it rips, it's because I'm serving too hard."
Leon chuckled from across the room, his gaze still locked on me.
And in the middle of all the noise, with everyone still cracking up, I caught the softest whisper from Leon.
"You look cute when you're happy."
My stomach flipped. I blinked, my laughter cutting off for a second. But when I looked at him again, his smirk was still there, and the moment passed like nothing happened.
Julian was still giggling when my phone buzzed in my hand.
I glanced at the screen and groaned.
"Of course," I muttered, swiping to answer. "Yes, hi—I'll be there in thirty. Can you send the location again?"
I hung up and turned to Julian. "Hey, genius, maybe try checking your work messages once in a while?"
Julian blinked. "What—oh crap. Was that the manager?"
"Yup. We have to sign some documents today. Like now."
He winced. "I thought that was next week…"
"Nope. Because you don't read," I said, already heading toward the door. "Go steal something from Roman's closet. Something that doesn't scream 'hangover Barbie.'"
Roman looked vaguely offended. "My closet is not a community center."
"Sorry, crisis," I called over my shoulder. "It's a shared wardrobe now."
"Anyone want lunch on the way back?"
"Get fries," Liv said instantly.
"Something sweet," Cami added.
"Sanity," Roman repeated dryly.
I pointed at Cassian, who was still lounging in the bikini like he was waiting for paparazzi. "And you—go change. You can keep it, I wouldn't want to wear it anymore anyway."
Cassian gave me an exaggerated curtsy. "An honor, your majesty."
I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the grin.
Leon's POV
We've been at the Lyrs' place for like two days now. And in case you're wondering—do our parents care? No. Not unless one of us ends up marrying someone, getting arrested, or, you know, dying. So yeah. Among all of us, only the Lyrs were kind of close—but even that's a stretch.
The truth is, we all have our own weird issues. But growing up, we took each other as family. Just like our parents did.
People think having everything means you're happy. It doesn't.
Anyway, it's only been a few hours since Daphne and Julian left. And yeah—I miss her. Imagine two years without her.
Mason groaned, stretching across the couch. "So… when are they getting back? I'm, like, super hungry."
Liv rolled her eyes. "Then order something! What are we, in the middle of a zoo with no phones?"
Mason threw a cushion. "Yeah, so you can complain again? 'Ugh, it's too oily.' 'Oh my god, I can't eat cheese.' 'I'm vegan today.' And that one time—'I don't eat meat anymore, I only eat fish.'"
Cami giggled. "If it's not the food, it's: 'I hope this place has a five-star rating.' 'Did a Michelin chef make this?' Like any Michelin chef delivers to you in 30 minutes."
Liv shot back, "You're just too lazy to order. Admit it—you're missing Daphne and Julian. Even if you act like you're not talking to her."
Mason tossed another pillow. "Shut up, bitch."
Cami leaned in, more serious now. "But hey… why are you still ignoring her? She told me she tried talking to you. She thinks you don't want to talk to her anymore."
Mason sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not like that. I'm just… not cut out for emotional talks, okay? I was fine with her leaving. It just sucked not having anyone to talk to like before. I couldn't do it anymore."
Liv let out a nostalgic laugh. "I remember when you used to run crying to her every time someone picked on you. Or that time you begged your dad to push you up to our grade 'cause you didn't wanna be left behind."
"Oh my god," I muttered, shaking my head, smiling a little.
"Daphne had to convince your dad," Liv went on. "You were so annoying."
Mason huffed. "Yeah, well. Life's funny, huh? Look where we are now."
"You should talk to her," Liv said softly. "She misses you."
Before anyone could say more, Cassian strolled in like he was walking a runway—wearing one of Daphne's dresses, full makeup on, hair clipped back, and somehow not embarrassed at all.
"She sure has a lot of clothes," he declared, spinning around. "Ugh."
Cami gaped. "Mine's probably bigger, but—Cass, please tell me you didn't try all her clothes. And for the love of god, you're not commando, right? She's gonna kill you."
Cass just winked. "I leave a little mystery in every performance."
"When she walks in, she'll be like, 'That's my favorite dress!' But then Cass will say, 'Well, I found it in the donation box.'"
"Woohoo! You better change, because someone just pulled up in the driveway," I said to Cassian, flashing him a mischievous grin.
Julian walked in, arms loaded with bags of food. "Here I come, bearing food!"
Daphne couldn't help but laugh. "What are you, Santa Claus now, idiot?" She raised an eyebrow. "And Liv just so you know, it's not Michelin-star food, it's bar food. It's not oily, it's clean. Okay, so you can eat it without any tantrums." She glanced at Cassian and added, "And omg, Cass, I'm going to kill you. That's my favorite dress!"
Laughter erupted around the room.
JJ poked his head in. "Why is everyone laughing?"
I grinned. "Because Cass pulled it out of the donation box."
Daphne groaned. "Yeah, well, I wanted someone else to have my favorite dress. Stop laughing, okay?
"Okay, bye," Cass said dramatically, heading toward the hallway. "A man's gotta change out of this outfit."
I called after him, smirking, "You can keep it, FYI. I wore that dress when I hooked up with a European hottie. It's probably still got all his"—I air-quoted—"stuff on it. Never washed it."
Cass froze mid-step. "You what?!"
I twitched slightly but let it go… until Julian opened his big mouth.
"Wait, was it Luca?" he yelled. "Liv, let me tell you—he was so hot, like a freaking Greek god. I used to drool over him. Too bad he was into girls and, like, head over heels for Daphne. And—"
"I think that's too much information!" Daphne cut him off, red creeping up her cheeks.
But of course, Julian didn't stop. He kept going on and on about this Luca guy or whatever his name was, and it got on my nerves. I wanted to shut him up with duct tape.
"Ugh, hey Mason, pass me the wings!" Cass yelled, trying to shift the mood.
I grabbed a sandwich and stormed off. I needed air, space—anything but that conversation.
"Leo, hey! What's wrong?" Daphne called after me.
I turned around, my voice sharp. "Why do you care? Go back to talking about Luca or one of the thousand other guys you've been with."
She blinked, stunned. "Seriously? I'm not a slut, Leon. Am I not allowed to have relationships? You had your fair share too. I'm not calling you a whore, am I? And I thought we were cool."
"Sure," I snapped. "I didn't say that. Stop twisting my words."
I stormed off before I said something worse, dragging my frustration with me all the way to the garden swing, where I crashed down and let the silence speak for me.
I sat on the garden bench, arms folded, the half-eaten sandwich forgotten beside me.
I didn't mean to snap. Not like that.
But the moment Julian brought up Luca—perfect Luca with his poems and his damn Greek god face—I felt something burn in my chest. And when Daphne laughed? That was the worst part. Like she didn't mind being remembered like that. Wanted, chased.
It shouldn't matter. She's allowed her past. Hell, I have mine too.
But I couldn't stop picturing it. Someone else having parts of her that I never got close to.
I wasn't just annoyed. I was jealous. And maybe still a little hurt. Even after all this time.
I ran a hand through my hair and leaned back.
God, I was being stupid.
But I couldn't help it.
Not when it came to her.
And maybe, just maybe... I wasn't ready to lose her again.