the last place you look; kellan.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

“No, people would still rag on you two and call you gay even if you lived on two different continents,” Kellan explained, absolutely certain and confident in her reasoning as if she’d given this some deep, meaningful, educational thought. “It’s because you get so upset and complain every time, that’s why. It’s funny to hear you defend yourself.”

She laughed at the fact that Eiji actually used the word ‘yuck’, but her expression turned sour immediately after. She didn’t even want to begin to think about the antics her boyfriend got up to whenever he spent time with Eiji and the rest of the boys. Sometimes he would start to tell her stories about what they had been up to the night before, but Kellan just told him she didn’t want to hear it. The way she saw it, what she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

“Ugh, I don’t even want to know the trouble that you get Ken into,” she complained, though they both knew perfectly well that Kenneth didn’t need Eiji or anyone else’s help to find trouble. “Just know that if my boyfriend, or any of you guys for that matter, get arrested, I’m not coming to bail you out. You can spend the night in jail and then you’ll really hear the gay jokes.”

Then Eiji put her in a tight spot. ‘You like her, right?’ How was she supposed to answer that question? She didn’t dislike Elliot. She never had, either. Kellan just didn’t think she could tell Eiji, the person she felt more comfortable talking to than anyone else she knew, how she felt about his girlfriend.

“Everyone likes her, Eiji. What’s not to like?” she shrugged. “She’s like the most gorgeous person that has ever lived. She’s got 40 bajillion friends and could look incredible if she wore a trash bag and slippers. She’s great, it’s just…” She couldn’t believe she was going to tell him this, but he asked and she was going to be honest. “I don’t know. I guess I feel… second-rate compared to her. Like I’m the silver to her gold or something. I know it's stupid.”

Plus, it didn’t help that she knew that something had been going on, as long ago and minor as it might have been, between Elliot and Kenneth when he and Kellan first started seeing each other. It was practically forever ago. It was before Eiji and it was before Ken and Kellan were even remotely serious or exclusive. It was another one of those things that Kellan would just rather not know or ask about to save herself some trouble. There were few things that really brought out her insecurities, but this was obviously one of them. Kellan had a feeling that Elliot could snatch her boyfriend away from her if she really wanted to, even though she didn’t think she actually ever would.

[Eiji Almasy.]

Eiji only scowled heavily at her reply. It didn't matter anyway, not even what Kellan said, (or Tristan, who's opinion he also treasured, just not when the other was making fun of the size of Draco's and Eiji's closets and the stupid belief that neither of them would ever come out from them), because gay jokes were actually beneath him, he'd come to discover, and next time, he'd just ride in the front to avoid any frivolous, immature untruths the blonde wanted to be involved in. When she mentioned Kenneth, he kind of threw a small bitch fit, obviously still upset about all the homo jibes he was, and would continue to receive.

"That we get him into!" he exclaimed, indignant like a teenage girl, "Oh My God, Kellan, don't even."
He made a scoffing noise and glared out the window in something akin to pompous, childish rage; so the pout was definitely in place before it occurred to him that she was probably riling him up. He would have been a little embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that he really didn't know how to touch on shame, but Kellan was used to his multiple personalities, always triggered by some form of alcoholic beverage that he just wasn't impoverished enough to say no to.

He turned his gaze back to her when she began babbling. He hadn't left her in cold silence, he was only perhaps a little moody after all the teasing, but he wasn't too bothered after the momentary annoyance and had simply sat back and let his attention wander. It wasn't even at the pause that he clued on, more like the first enunciation of everyone, and not herself.

"Kel," he said, because sometimes, that was all he was ever really good for; saying names in that sincere tone of voice and not much else, because certain things eluded him when the urge to fix it all was strong.

He wasn't speechless, more struggling because it actually broke his heart a little bit to realize that there was something wrong with the world.
"Kel," he started again, managing to look exceptionally taken and sad and focused, "I want to know if you like her because, because I dunno Kel, when she walks in the room it's just her. And when she's not there, it's still her, and you're one of my best friends. I kind of love you a little, only a little bit, you know? I'd do anything for the both of you and -," he ran a hand through his hair, and looked uncomfortably conflicted. Kellan was as gold as Elliot was, but he couldn't say that without saying other things, the type that just shouldn't be said within the enclosed space of a moving vehicle.

"Why're you comparing yourself to her anyway? I think you're more than wonderful, Kellan Callahan, and I'd hate to have to do something about it if you don't think that way too."

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan had know Eiji long enough and had spent enough pointless afternoons filled with even more pointless banter with him to know that he wouldn’t, and maybe couldn’t, stay mad at her for very long. He was like a temperamental little girl sometimes, but she had grown to accept this, and probably even embrace it. She mumbled a hardly recognizable ‘whatever’, wondering how long Eiji’s quasi-tantrum would last this time.

And of course, as expected, his complaining didn’t last long, but Kellan would have almost preferred his ignoring her to what he had to say instead. She should have known that he wouldn’t be satisfied with her answer to his all-important question, even if she had been completely and fully honest. Eiji would always be able to count on that – that she would always be, and always had been, honest with him.

She was going to interrupt Eiji and maybe try to explain herself a little better and make sure he knew that she really did like Elliot, but instead she let him keep going. Even from the time she was little, Kellan had never been able to take compliments well. She reacted better when people were pointing out her flaws than when they were speaking positively about her, so she most definitely blushed listening to what Eiji had to say. She looked away from her friend and chomped down on her bottom lip to keep from smiling.

She took a few moments to think of what to say, something that Kellan usually had no problem doing, but it was one of the rare times that she couldn’t just blab on and on. She took a deep breath and slowly looked over to Eiji wearing a shy smirk.

“I like her, Eiji. Cross my heart,” she promised, having to settle on that.

[Eiji Almasy.]

"Okay," he said, believing her because he knew she would never lie to him, or tell him what he wanted to hear, because she just wasn't that type of person. Kellan really was wonderful, and he wondered how he managed to have picked up a friend like her, especially when comparing her to the others, who were all certified idiots.

He shifted a little against his seat belt until he could look at her properly, grinning goofily to dispel the serious air and making a mental note to next time bring a car that wasn't so confining.

"That was deep," he commented, his countenance and everything about him giving nothing away as to whether he was just unable to deal with moments like the one they just had, or whether he was doing her a favor and moving on.
"Do you want to ask me if I like your boyfriend, because I'd be happy to answer, Kel," he told her, and to prove his point, he cleared his throat and proceeded to talk in a self-important voice.

"I like Kenneth Lorne very much. He makes me laugh and he drinks with me whenever I want. When he smiles he makes me see stars and he has nice dimples."
He quirked her that same grin, eyes clearer than when he first arrived but brighter yet. He rested his head against the head rest and considered her for an Eiji moment; where he didn't say anything at all and it was hard to discern what was going through his mind.

"I'm going to buy you a car, Callahan," he declared, more serious than when he'd been speaking about Kenneth, and just as earnest as all the times he'd said to her his reassurances.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan was just glad that Eiji didn’t ask her to elaborate. She had meant what she said about his girlfriend, even if it may not have seemed like it. As if it hadn’t been so darn obvious already, Eiji made it even more clear just how much Elliot meant to him and how crazy he was about her. She thought for a moment about what it would be like for him if she didn’t like Elliot, and she realized that the poor boy would probably feel so conflicted. Kellan didn’t ever want Eiji to have to feel like that, so she made a mental note to really throw in some extra effort the next time she and Elliot were together and honestly try to get to know the other girl, not just hang around in her shadow.

He asked her if she wanted to know what he thought about her boyfriend, but apparently it didn’t matter if she wanted him to tell her or not because it looked like he was going to tell her anyway. She did want to know, of course, and it was only fair that he tell her after the torture he just put her through asking about Elliot.

“He is pretty cute, isn’t he?” she joked, choosing to ignore Eiji’s comment about drinking with Kenneth because that was just such an important quality in a person, right? All jokes aside though, it really did mean a lot to her that Eiji approved of the boy that she thought so highly of. Kellan never thought in a million years that she would like someone as much as she liked Kenneth, and the fact that one of the most important people in her life liked him too just made everything so much better.

She watched Eiji curiously because he had developed one of those looks he got when he was so obviously thinking up some kind of plan. Kellan laughed when he eventually divulged what was going on in his brain. Buying her a car? Yeah right. She was going to joke that he could buy her a car only if he let her buy him a house on Oahu, but then she slowly began to realize that his tone hadn’t been a joking one at all, and that there was a posibility that he wasn't kidding at all.

“Jesus Christ Eiji, you’re serious, aren’t you?” she accused, looking at him like he just told her he’d be buying her a supply of heroin or something equally addicting and disgusting and evil. “You will do no such thing, do you understand me? You can’t just go around buying people cars! Who does that?”

[Eiji Almasy.]

"Yeah," Eiji agreed, sounding distracted, but he had only molded himself into his seat, looking lethargic and careless and entirely too comfortable given their topic of conversation and what he had just stated, "he got us banned from a bar downtown, but I don't mind, cos he got us like, $800 in tips that night, and now if we ever need to hire those contortionists from Cirque du Soleil, we can get them for free."

His words sounded perfectly natural to him. Unlike most people, Eiji didn't pause to consider before rattling off names, locations or events; he expected people to know what he was talking about or simply assumed that it'd make sense to them at some point or another. Kellan was lucky enough to at least know the people he was mentioning, and he was lucky that she'd probably never ask him to explain himself; she probably wouldn't be happy with the things they'd gotten up to.

Her reaction was just as he expected and he couldn't help but break into small giggles as she started scolding him, ending up curled around his seat belt in full blown laughter at her last exclamation; he wondered what she'd do exactly if he gave into every single one of his whims, such as buying her a theme park or worse, starting a foundation in her name. She'd be too mortified probably, which was why at their young age, he was still sticking to the small deeds.

Eiji looked a bit like an idiot, grin wide and expression no good at all, and he didn't look like he was going to wisen up and be sensible any time soon either. He glanced up at her, just shy off smirking.
"But I want to," he told her easily, like that made all the difference, "and I will. You're okay with gold but I can't buy you scraps of metal? That's just dumb, Kel."

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Eight-hundred dollars in tips? Contortionists? Hiring fancy circus performers? Eiji was right – Kellan kept her mouth shut and didn’t bother asking him for details of whatever wild night those boys had. The less she knew, the less she had to complain about, and she really didn’t want to become a nagger. Plus, more than anything, she really didn't want to have to picture what exactly those idiots had done to receive almost a grand in tips.

She wasn’t going to bug him about his reckless nights out or ask him if he thought he would enjoy prison, she could let that go, but she wasn’t going to drop the car talk. Kellan rolled her eyes when Eiji laughed at her reaction, annoyed that he thought this was all one big joke, or rather the opposite. She might not have been so upset if anyone else had made the suggestion, but this was Eiji, and if the idiot said he was going to do something then you could bet he was going to do it.

“It’s different, Eiji,” she pointed out. “Like thousands of dollars different. Those scraps of metal all come together like a Transformer to make something huge. See the difference between a motor vehicle and a bracelet?”

And as soon as the last word left her mouth, Kellan immediately shut up. She had been lucky for a long time that Eiji hadn’t asked why she didn’t wear the bracelet he bought her for her seventeenth birthday anymore. She had worn it every day and then all of a sudden just stopped. She had been dreading telling him why for so long, but if she was ever going to do it, this seemed like the right time.

“Here’s another deep, dark, ugly moment for you,” Kellan began, her regret apparent from her expression. “I um, I kind of maybe sort of… lost your bracelet some time around Christmas. The last place I remember having it was in the library and I don’t know what happened after that. I looked everywhere. Behind every single book in the library, in all my drawers, under my bed, even in the kitchen. Everywhere. I wanted to tell you a long time ago but I didn’t want you to get mad. I’m really, really sorry, Eiji.”

Little did Kellan know, Kara Belova, the Academy’s resident thief and freak, had swiped the bracelet from her when she fell asleep in the library and was probably wearing it as they spoke.

[Eiji Almasy.]

When she mentioned a Transformer, his eyes narrowed a little, that deep thinking look on his face like he was actually considering if it was possible to manufacture a giant alien robot in Japan; he was, but fortunately giant robots were still a feat not even he could manage yet. He barely noticed the way she quieted, intent on getting her to at least accept the fact dollar signs weren't an issue with him toward people like her; people he cared about.

"Kel," he said, like he was arguing that the sky was blue, "if I wanted to be a prick, I'd buy you an airplane. I'd take you to Italy and rub it in Hailey's face. We'd go skiing right now," he ignored how he had wanted to do just that less than an hour ago. It became evident that he was probably talking bull and simply running his mouth off, but he really was trying to explain why buying her a car was a perfectly acceptable present.

"Buying you a car is like, it's like, well it's not nothing and I wouldn't do it for just anybody. Kellan, you're my b.f.f.l don't you get it? Nothing's too good for you. I'd walk the runways for you myself if you decided to be a girl suddenly, you know, those skimpy Dolce underwear?" His expression was teasing and he imitated a model walk, hands on his hips, still seated and completely oblivious to the blonde's words, looking entirely too stupid.

"Maybe a pair of wings like from Victoria's Secret - what?"
He was used to babbling around Kellan; she was the only person he respected nearly enough to act without the usual constraints, and usually, she babbled right alongside him. The girl had been on her own tangent and he hadn't realized until the small part of his brain that always paid attention alerted him to what her last apology was for.

"You lost the bracelet?"
He didn't sound hurt, not exactly, because, well, he wasn't that sort of person; easily rocked or affected or likely to express it, but there was something there that suggested maybe it wouldn't be the same if he bought her another one.
"Okay," he said, the teasing light gone from his eyes and he looked straight at her, almost unequivocal, before the light returned, too brilliant, like a switch flicked on hastily. He grinned at her.
"Now I have to buy you that car, Kel, and you know I'm not going to change my mind. I'd apologize, but it's for your birthday and you can't say you won't need one after you get your license."

He leaned forward to quietly order Rupert to take the front drive instead of the basement parking before he sat back, adjusting his seat belt and facing forward.
"So it's settled?" he asked her, glancing in her direction, in another rendition of a question when he already knew what he was going to do.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan couldn’t believe him. If it were at all possible, she would have hated him so much in that moment. Luckily for Eiji, it would have been easier for her to admit that she cried during A Walk to Remember than to actually will herself to hate the impossible boy beside her. One of her biggest oppositions to the whole ordeal was that she knew she would never in her whole entire life be able to buy Eiji something as ridiculous and spectacular as a car. She knew that price tags meant far less to him than they did to most people, but she still couldn’t shrug it off like seemed so comfortable doing.

“No, it’s not settled!” she protested. “I just told you that I lost something special that you gave me and you’re still insisting on buying me a car. Why aren’t you mad? I’d be furious if I were you. I’d be like, ‘God Kellan, you’re so irresponsible. I’m never buying you anything again, especially a car!’ That’s what I would say.”

The frustrated girl crossed her arms over her chest and let out a huff. She knew that it didn’t matter what she said or how much she argued with Eiji; he was still going to do whatever the heck he wanted to do. She rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention to the scenery outside the car window. She was dead set on ignoring him for the rest of their trip, but then some of his words really started to get to her. She snapped her attention back toward Eiji.

“And what do you mean if I suddenly decide to become a girl? I am a girl, you jerk!” Kellan revved a fist back before she punched him hard in the arm. “Just because I’m not one of the like… sixty-thousand girls on the planet who want to have your babies doesn’t mean I’m not a girl! I’m soooo glad that you think I’m one of your stupid boyfriends.”

Though she couldn’t hate him, if looks could kill, Eiji Almasy would be a dead man.

[Eiji Almasy.]

"Good thing you're not me!" Eiji snapped in reply, a scowl on his face as he rubbed the spot on his arm that he was sure was going to bruise. She punched awfully hard for someone who insisted they were a girl, and he would have snarked at her about it if not for the bigger issue at hand.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked her, a little demanding, the previously neutral face he wore twisted into equal frustration. He had an elbow into the back rest, turned on his side a bit to stare at her even as she glared at him.
"That I am mad at you?"
There was a pause after that, a silent admission that he was angry at her about the same amount that she hated him. Almost everybody had clued in on the fact that he was partial to her, and on some occasions where Elliot wasn't available, they often begged her to deliver whatever bad news he needed to be aware of. They would yell now, mostly because he was being obstinate in an area he knew she wasn't comfortable with, but he hoped to smooth it over soon; not yet though.

"That I could take you to Tiffany's right now to pick out a new one but I know you wont go for it? That, yeah, it sucks and I wish you still had it? What good is that gonna do, Kel?"
He didn't sound like any shade of almost angry anymore, in fact, he didn't sound nearly as angry as either of them want him to be, only like some kind of defeated for things he couldn't change.
"It's sixty-thousand and one," he corrected, in somewhat a mumble, the scowl still buried in his expression, "you're forgetting Elliot." He shifted and sat correctly again, but not facing forward, instead staring rather broodingly out the window.

There was a beat, and then he said quietly without looking at her; "I didn't choose to be 'loaded.'"
He said the last word with a little bit of distaste, and glanced at her after that. Kellan had to know it wasn't something he was comfortable with inwardly; on the exterior he wore his money like second skin, or a closet full of suits, but it still wasn't something he was at peace with most days.
"What's wrong with doing something nice about it?"

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

It took a while for Kellan to say anything. She wasn’t used to being mad at Eiji. They didn’t fight – not like this anyway. This was different from their Lucky Charms vs. Capn’ Crunch debate from the previous month. Kellan was the kind of girl who, for the most part, said exactly what was on her mind, especially when she was mad, and she didn’t want to say anything that she would later regret to one of the most influential people in her life. So she kept her mouth shut.

She listened to what Eiji said without interruption. This was her friend. The boy who had never been anything but wonderful to her, and here she was faulting him for trying to be just as sweet as he had always been to her. Kellan’s frustrated expression slowly softened until she resembled a child who feared that they disappointed their parents.

“I’m sorry,” she eventually said, speaking softly. “It’s just… I don’t know. You’re always so nice to me, Eiji. You’re like the coolest person I know and I guess it’s just weird to me that you’d want to waste your money on me. Especially for a car. You know that I’d never be able to make it up to you right? I’d feel like I was in your debt forever.”

She didn’t want to fight with him any more. It was stupid and it was pointless and it was ruining their afternoon. Kellan was willing to let it all go for now. Well, almost all of it.

“And for the record, I am a girl,” she added as an afterthought. “I’ve got the bras and lip gloss to prove it.”

[Eiji Almasy.]

He took to her afterthought like it was a lifeline. Almost right after she'd said it, his expression twisted into something of mild discomfort, and he let immaturity roll off him like waves.
"Ew," he said, with the correct face pull, "don't mention your bras unless you plan on letting me go through them."

Because firstly he was her friend, in that weird stage of being so close that sometimes it was too close, like a brother, but so evidently not at the same time; because she often forgot that after that, he was still a boy, and that she was very noticeably a girl, despite the way he would tease her otherwise. But mostly, it was because he wasn't used to being so bare around her, so open, honest, sensitive and nice, in the respect that she got to see him outside his comfort zone. So he said something intentionally perverted to maybe break the moment, to stop her from apologizing again because she'd said it more times in the past hour than he could remember in the past six months. Maybe she'd hit him again, but it would be enough for him to grin like it had been nothing, and he'd crack another joke or do something equally stupid until the argument was completely behind them.

Eiji couldn't find anything to follow up with, though, and however unlike him it was, he couldn't help but descend into awkward silence again. He wanted to make an allowance for her, because it was apparent she was letting the subject drop, and he wanted be able to do something similar but the only thing that came to mind was conceding to her wishes and not buying her a car. He couldn't do that though, not because he really was going to buy her one, but because he would always feel like she deserved better; more than him being an ass just because sometimes, he could be emotionally stunted.

"Hey," he started, faint, preparing, "I'm gonna apologize now for the swearing, because I can't do this kind of thing and not feel like a wuss, but I'm like the hottest fucking Santa ever, and you don't owe me anything. I don't want you to look at something I buy you and be constantly thinking that you need to make it up to me. I just want you to be happy, Kellan, that's all."

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan rolled her eyes at Eiji’s comment about her bras. He was such a boy.

“Ugh, you are so dumb,” she complained, but by the end of her sentence, her lips curled into the smile that she usually wore around Eiji, not the unfamiliar look of frustration she had worn throughout their uncharacteristic argument.

And it was that easy. Just one stupid joke and it was as if there had been no fighting, no frustrations, and no awkward moments at all. They really were more like siblings than friends; you didn’t always have to like your brother or sister, but you would always love them no matter how much you wanted to kill them.

“It doesn’t really matter what I say, does it?” she asked him, already knowing the answer. She sighed, which was accompanied by a look of defeat. “Because you’re not going to listen to me, are you? You’re going to do what you want to do. But that’s just who you are, Eiji, and since you’re my friend I guess that means I’m forced to take the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Not that Eiji could be ugly if he tried. Kellan delivered another smile, waving her white flag, and looked out the window once again. This time it wasn’t to avoid Eiji’s eyes, but to see where they were. She hadn’t paid attention the majority of the car ride.

“Are we almost there? You know I can’t sit still for too long,” Kellan complained, shifting in her seat.

[Eiji Almasy.]

More than all the things he got up to with Draco, because that could actually be attributed to sheer stupidity or boredom, or any of his other friendships; his and Kellan's was decidedly the most ridiculous. He actually had a sizable penguin plushy around the house that no one else was allowed to touch because it was his 'Kellan penguin~penguin Kellan.' He'd given her a dinosaur for Christmas, and while it never left her room, she did stuff it underneath pillows or blankets whenever she was changing, cos just it was a dinosaur didn't mean it didn't remind her of him. He would have hugged her, simply because that was what normal people did, but he didn't, mostly because it was him, and instead scoffed, like she really didn't know him that well; drama queen, like always.

"Like I'm going to buy you a Ferrari, or a truck, or you know, a Hummer," he said in response to what she'd left unsaid; those silent reservations that he'd go over the top.

He made a small noise, like he couldn't really believe himself to do that either; because why would he be so ostentatious just for the sake of seeing the expression on her face the first time she looked upon the horrors he'd put his money on. Nah, like he'd be so juvenile and annoying; although he could probably give the Ferrari, truck or Hummer to his younger cousin like he did with his Maserati, and simply buy Kellan another, smaller car. She'd probably kill him if she knew what he was thinking about.

"Yes, I'm aware of your A.D.D." he confirmed, serious like he was telling the truth and unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do about it, "aaaaand, it's just coming up now." He leaned forward again, resting against the back of the driver's seat in a way that was entirely unsafe, so he could peer through the front windscreen. The front of the apartment looked like the Baxter Building, and it was just like him to live in a place that would make people wonder whether it was real, intentional or all coincidence.

The car pulled to a stop, the curb on her side, and he got out, completely disregarding the traffic on his side; he missed Rupert rolling his eyes.
"Okay, two things," he told her as he opened her door, "try not to look at Andrew in the eyes if he's home. People tend to die after that. Okay, no I'm kidding, but he's actually crazy about keeping the kitchen clean, so, you know, try not to break eggs on the floor or anything."
Because that was something else normal people didn't do, so he really couldn't put it passed them to do just that, even if accidentally on her part, and plain intentionally on his.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan simply ignored Eiji at the mention of Ferraris and Hummers. This boy was clearly out of his mind and she didn’t understand why she was friends with him, except that she utterly adored him. He was lucky that she liked him so much, otherwise she would have asked Rupert to take her back to the school five miles ago. She hoped that maybe if she didn’t say anything else about the whole ‘I’m going to be stupid and buy you a car’ thing, Eiji might forget about it. Unlikely, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

Eiji reminded her of a little boy as he was peering over the front seats, and it was the first time since the beginning of the ride that she remembered that they weren’t alone in the car. She instantly felt bad that Eiji’s driver had to listen to their stupid argument. It was embarrassing, and Kellan hoped that Rupert didn’t think that she was that uptight all the time.

She waited until Eiji got out of the car before she apologized to the old man. Her apology was accompanied with a promise they he would never have to deal with their pointless bickering again, mostly because she didn’t want to have to deal with it either. Once she was out of the car herself, Kellan shook her head at Eiji’s warning about one of the other members of the billionaire boys club.

“Come on, he’s not that bad,” she assured him of his roommate. “You know, he made me a sandwich one time.” And the entire way into the building, Kellan told Eiji the story of that one time in Missouri when she’d gone to see him and he wasn’t home yet or was in the shower or something, and Andrew had insisted on playing host so she wasn’t just sitting on the couch, twiddling her thumbs, waiting for the boy who had grown to become one of her best friends.