"I wasn't heartbroken!" Kendall snapped.

Gabrielle snorted. "So why'd you spend a week in your room alone?"

"I was working... on a project," Kendall tried to defend herself. She then turned back to her dad. "It doesn't matter, though. I'm over it,"

Jordan opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind. He didn't have the words yet to comfort his child.

Estelle turned back to the boys, leaning forward on her elbows and smiling sweetly. "Now that you've had some time to process that none of you end up with Naomi, how do you feel?"

"Estelle!"

"What I'm just stating what we already know,"

"Well, you don't have to put it like that,"

"Whatever,"

Bennett leaned forward, matching her pose and her smile. "Sure it comes as a slight surprise, but I'm sure we'll all be delighted with our future wives, so no harm no foul,"

Estelle's smile dropped as she stared down at her father. Bennett just smiled in return. He has a feeling this will be their relationship in the future.

"Estelle's not entirely wrong, but she's not right either," Gabrielle said, coming into the conversation. "Who knows, one of you might date her now and then just end up as friends."

Jordan fist-pumped the air. "Yesss! So there's a cha-"

"But don't get your hopes up," Kendall cut in, cutting Jordan's celebration short.

"Aunt Naomi is pretty cool. Our favourite topic to talk about with her is you guys,"

"He's so cute! He's got these beautiful baby blue eyes and the most adorable laugh," Gabrielle gushed to her Aunt Naomi.

Naomi listened intently to Gabrielle fawning over her crush. Kendall and Estelle were also there in the room, both of them preoccupied. Estelle texting on her phone and Kendall painting her nails. It was a girls night in, and they hadn't seen their Aunt Naomi in ages. She munched on popcorn as she heard the time Gabrielle bumped into him in the hall.

"I swear it was like love at first sight,"

"I can only imagine. What does your dad think about him?"

"Oh, I haven't told my dad about him. Dad wouldn't approve, you know, with him being a bad boy and all," Gabrielle said offhandedly.

Naomi tilted her head to the side. "What type of bad boy is he?"

"Oh, nothing bad, I mean, he's in school, and he's got good grades, but I guess he just doesn't have much respect for authority,"

Naomi laughed. "You know, your dads were considered bad boys back in high school,"

Kendall and Estelle looked up. The three of them stared at Naomi before bursting out into laughter.

"Don't be ridiculous. Dad was never cool,"

"My dad? A bad boy? That's too funny,"

"What did they do? Not hand their homework in on time?"

Naomi laughed with them but then told the girls. "No seriously, they were considered bad boys, staying out late, getting into fights and drag races,"

Estelle looked at her incredulously. "My dad? The same guy who's in bed by 10 pm every night?"

"Yes,"

Kendall shook her head, disbelieving what she was hearing. "My dad? The guy who cried last night watching a children's movie?"

"Yup,"

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows in doubt. "My dad? The guy wearing all those fuzzy sweaters?"

"Yeah,"

They burst out laughing again.

"You know, girls. Many even considered them handsome," Naomi said with a coy smile.

"Ew, please don't go there,"

"Okay, but point being, they were certified, bad boys,"

"No offence Aunt Naomi but didn't you all refer to yourselves as the four Musketeers?"

"We did, but it was cool,"

Estelle snorted. "Yeah, because it's so cool referring to yourselves as Musketeers,"

Gabrielle finally stopped laughing. "Sure they were cool, back in those days, but they've definitely changed since then,"

"Yeah, they're not remotely as cool now," Estelle said.

"Could you imagine our dads doing that kind of stuff now," Kendall asked.

The fours girls laughed.

"Hey! We are bad boys," Jordan protested before meeting Bennett's stern look. "I mean, we are cool!"

"Sure you are,"

Jordan turned to his friends, "They don't believe me!" he wailed.

"We have a friend like Aunt Naomi, though," Kendall stated, laughing to herself.

"Yeah, but I suppose there's one difference between the four of us and the four of you," Gabrielle continued.

"And what is that?" Bennett enquired.

"None of us like him," Estelle deadpanned.

The girls all chuckled at their fathers' puzzled faces.

"That's not funny," Jordan puffed out.

"Oh, but it is. How did you manage to get into that situation? Did any of you think to communicate with one another?" Estelle mocked.

"Anyway, James is just a friend,"

Declan leaned forward, squinting his eyes at his daughter. "Just a friend, eh?"

"Yeah, Dad, just a friend," Gabrielle rolled her eyes. She then turned to her friends. "I feel like we have to explain that to everyone."

They nodded in agreement.

Chelsea Baker was making her way to their table. Estelle spotted her and rolled her eyes. "Oh bloody hell, here we go again,"

"Girls! It's me!" Chelsea came over and sat down in front of the three.

Chelsea was a bit of an air-head, but the girls couldn't deny she could be entertaining at times.

"So, the Winter Formal is coming up, you girls excited?"

Gabrielle smiled. "Yeah, we are, but I still need a dress,"

Estelle snorted. "Don't you find it a bit much? I mean, spending all that money just to hang with classmates we don't even like?"

Chelsea sighed. "Yeah, I suppose it can be a bit expensive. You have to pay for the tickets, the dress, the ride, the shoes, the pre-party, the after-party" she looked at Kendall. "And in your case, bail."

Kendall snorted but didn't say anything. 

"But forgetting that, who are you going to the dance with," she leaned forward, hoping to get a little bit of gossip.

"We don't know yet?"

"We haven't really thought about that sort of thing,"

"I don't think there are any boys left to ask,"

"Oh, but there are girls!" Chelsea exclaimed. "What about James?" she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Kendall snorted again. "James is a boy?"

The three snorted at that. They can already imagine James' whining at the comment.

"We don't really see him like that," Estelle explained.

Chelsea leaned on one arm. She examined Estelle, trying to figure out if she was hiding something. "Why not? I mean, he's a pretty cool guy, and you're all already friends with him. At least you know you get along,"

The thought this over, knowing this much was true.

Chelsea smirked. It would be entertaining to watch the three fight over James, but then Estelle leaned forward.

"Yeah, you're right; he is pretty cool, but I know exactly who I am, what I want, who my friends are and what they mean to me. James is nothing more than a friend. I can personally say nothing will ever happen between us,"

Chelsea cringed at the seemingly harsh rejection. She then turned to Gabrielle. "What about you, Red?"

"I mean, James is a pretty good looking guy; I'm not an idiot. He has a great personality, and any girl would be lucky enough to have him. But he's not for me. Even if anything were to happen in the future, I wouldn't be pushing to change it," Gabrielle replied, satisfied with wiping the smirk off Chelsea's face.

She then turned to Kendall. "What about you, don't you flirt with him?"

Kendall snorted again. "I flirt with everyone." They all nodded, knowing this much was true. Kendall then continued. "I think sometimes people fall in love with the idea of a relationship rather than the person. Do I want to go on cute dates, be loved and loved back? Yes. Do I necessarily want those things with James? Not really."

Chelsea leaned back, pondering this over for a moment. "Oh, okay," She had nothing more to ask them. "Well, then see you guys at the dance!" She stood up and started walking away before stopping to say. "Oh and Estelle, tell your dad my mom says hi,"

"That's not to say something great can't come out of a relationship that was a friendship first," Gabrielle finished.

The boys all thought this over before agreeing. Never say never.