Song of the chapter: Hard Out Here - Lily Allen

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Katya.

"So I heard that Kira threw herself at that cute guy with the really cool club, Steven what's his face?" Min told, biting a large slice of the cheesy pizza.

"Giannopoulos. Isn't he dating Ireland?" I asked, sharing another slice with Ty.

We were seated cross-legged like innocents, messy buns perched on the top of their heads and clad in our significant others' clothing items. The food was laid out in front of us, with us picking at it like ferocious scavengers.

"I was getting there, babe. He and Ire have been together since high school right, and she is one of Kira's self-proclaimed best friends."

Apparently at the club on Saturday, when Ireland was at some funny organic spa getaway with Ty, notorious Kira was grinding up on him and making out with him (cue the 'OMGs').

Kira even told people that she and Cam were over for good this time (at the mention of his name Rae smiled softly).

"Which means that Cam is a free man, Rae. That bitch is finally out of our lives, thank god."

"Since I got sick that weekend, we had to come back here and Ire went over to his for the night. Guess who she found with her face in between Stevie's legs?" Ty added. "Poor Ireland had a not so minor seizure and had to remain in hospital for 3 days."

My eyes widened. "Oh god, is she okay? Argh, Kira could have killed her. What did Steven do?"

"That fucking bastard didn't even care that she almost died. He dragged his sorry ass to the hospital only to tell her that he was tired of her and needed something new," Min reported.

"He dumped her, Zoe, straight-up dumped her that night in the emergency room. She has to take Xanax like every hour now because a therapist told her she is suffering from some sort of PTSD. Steven is a total dick and I hope he has fun with his whore of a girlfriend."

Rae has been quiet during the whole conversation, silently devouring the greasy mains and staring into the distance, losing herself in the background music.

"Rae, what did you do this weekend?" I asked, bringing her mind back to the apartment.

"Yeah, where were you? You didn't answer my calls on Friday and Saturday. I kept getting your voicemail. I needed to get out of going to mom's benefit," Min reiterated. "That guy Lexi Nordstrom kept hitting on me, the poor boy. He's too pretty for me."

"Guys, I, uh, I was at home, with my parents. They just came back from my dad's," she stammered, looking down. "We just chilled and dad made us dinner."

"No, Rae. I saw your parents heading out with mine for a late dinner on Saturday," Min countered. "Oh no, you were with Cam, weren't you?"

"Okay, okay. Persistent much? We were together the whole time, on Friday night and Saturday. But my parents did come home and I introduced them to him," Rae blushed.

"Aw, Rae. Tell me more! OMG, this is good," I shrieked. This was gonna be one of my summer highlights, I mused.

"Erm, okay. He got back on Thursday and had Friday night free so he decided to come over. We just had so much take-out and played video games."

Cameron then decided he had to stay over just in case something happened to her, being the sweetheart, protective guy Rae was smitten over.

"We went to bed together and at first he insisted that he'd sleep on the window seat but I told him that I wanted to cuddle. That we did, and he kissed me until I fell asleep. And no, Min, he didn't sneak into my pants," she said, replying one of Min's inevitable questions.

"He got us breakfast from that Cuban place across the street, you know, the one with that lady that loves hitting on Zoe."

"Hey! She said she likes my skin, okay?" I cried, defending myself.

"Yeah. Keep telling yourself that, love. Anyways, we had a picnic on my bed and we caught up. When I was in the shower, he crept up behind me and started kissing my neck. I knew where that was going so I stopped him and then..."

"No, Rae! C'mon!" Min interrupted. "I was starting to like this story."

"Shut up and let me finish. As I was saying, he didn't stop and carried on and I had to give in. I'm not as strong as Zoe. I need some loving in my life (just had to stick my tongue out there)."

Her parents, bless them, showed up unexpectedly though - her mom walked in on them; however, she seemed to approve of Cameron. Not that any mother wouldn't.

"Yeah, so that happened and Dad didn't kill him. I guess that means he doesn't hate him, not yet anyways. So, no pun intended, that's what I did during the weekend," Rae confessed, biting her lip.

"Aw, I told you two were meant to be. I hope he didn't disappoint?" asked Ty, the resident matchmaker.

"I don't kiss and tell, babe. Let's just say all those yoga seshes really paid off," replied Rae with a smirk. There was a giddiness about her which radiated outwardly and gave her a gorgeous glow.

"Sex does you good, Rae. You're literally glowing and I'm proud that you finally let him in," said Min, pulling Rae into a hug.

We continued our binge fuelled night, sipping on the amazing cocktails and snacking like pigs, chocolate everything entering our lips and settling on our hips.

"I have a confession, you guys," revealed Ty all-of-a-sudden, breaking the bloated silence that had rested among us.

"Harry came over on Sunday and since Luke is in London, he stayed the night and I kinda made out with him after he made me chicken soup. I feel so bad because I love Luke, I do. But I was so vulnerable and lonely and I just wanted to be kissed by someone, you know?" she blurted out.

"Oh, Ty. You still have feelings for him, huh?" Rae guessed, sympathising with her current situation.

"Yeah, I kinda do. I mean, we were together for five years and we've been best friends since we were so little. We only broke up because we were apart for the first time ever and the long distance thing was really hard."

She grabbed the chocolate fondant and greedily forked one, straying from her diet.

"Did he kiss you back, babe? And if he did, what did he do afterwards?"

"He kissed me back but I quickly pulled away and I just pretended like nothing happened. He slept in the guest bedroom though which was understandable because usually we sleep with each other. We've always done that," Ty replied.

"Oh gosh, I feel like such a bitch. Do you think I should tell Luke? Or should I forget about the whole thing entirely? But I liked it, I liked it so much so that means I did cheat, right? I'm like freaking out you guys." The anxiety and stress were visible in her big brown eyes.

"Calm down, doll. I think the best thing for you to do is find out if Harry felt the same before outing yourself. It's obvious that you still want him and to be honest, I like him more than Luke. Luke is more Zoe's type," Min reassured, before downing all the alcohol. Did I mention she's a budding alcoholic?

"I'm good, thanks," I retorted.

We finished all the food and attempted to clean up Rae's to no avail, going to bed in the living room with all the lights on and music still streaming, echoing the many positives and negatives of our lives.