It was a Friday night, and everyone had decided to spend the evening at Elijah's house. Calling it a house was honestly an understatement. His family lived in an enormous modern mansion, complete with huge glass windows, marble floors, a massive kitchen, a swimming pool and a living room that looked like something straight out of a luxury magazine. There was more than enough room for everyone, although somehow, all eight of you had ended up crowded into the living room.

The television was playing in the background, a few takeaway containers were scattered across the coffee table, and everyone's conversations seemed to overlap.

Amy and Allie were sitting on the floor with a collection of nail polishes spread between them. Amy was carefully painting your nails while Allie leaned over, occasionally interrupting to share some new piece of gossip.

"Girl, I'm telling you, he definitely likes her," Allie whispered, glancing towards the boys.

Amy giggled. "You say that about literally everyone."

"Because I'm usually right."

Nearby, Molly was curled up on one of the enormous sofas, sketchbook resting against her knees. Dan, her boyfriend, was sitting beside her, occasionally leaning over to see what she was drawing and making little comments just to annoy her.

"That's actually really good," he said, looking over her shoulder.

"Don't distract me," Molly replied, pushing his face away with her hand.

Across the room, Cole, Allie's boyfriend, was talking with Owen and Dan about football. The three of them had somehow turned a casual conversation into a heated debate, with Cole insisting that he was right about absolutely everything.

Vicki was completely asleep, her head resting comfortably on Owen's lap. Every now and then, Owen would glance down at her and gently move a strand of hair away from her face before returning to the conversation.

On the other side of the living room, Harvey and Elijah were playing video games. Harvey was sitting upright, intensely focused on the screen, while Elijah was sprawled across the sofa with his head resting comfortably in Himari's lap.

"Bro, you're actually terrible at this," Harvey laughed.

Elijah scoffed without even looking away from the television. "You're literally losing."

"Because you're cheating."

"You're just embarrassing yourself."

Despite his attention supposedly being on the game, Elijah seemed far more interested in Himari. His arm was loosely wrapped around her waist, and every so often, he'd absentmindedly play with the sleeve of her shirt or trace little patterns against her side.

"Mamii," he suddenly mumbled, tilting his head back to look up at her.

"What?"

"Nothing." He grinned. "Just wanted your attention."

Harvey immediately groaned.

"Oh my God, can you two get a room?"

Elijah casually raised his middle finger at him.

"Jealous?"

"Of what? Having a human pillow?"

Elijah laughed, turning his attention back to the game. However, when Himari shifted slightly, he reached up and gently caught her hand.

"Where are you going, Mamas?"

"Nowhere, Elijah."

"Good."

Harvey stared at him.

"You're actually obsessed."

"Shut up and play."

From the floor, Allie exchanged a knowing look with Amy. Both girls were trying very hard not to laugh. They knew exactly how Elijah felt about Himari, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend they hadn't noticed.

Dan and Harvey knew about Elijah's crush, too, and neither of them planned on letting him live it down.

"Oi, Elijah," Dan called from the other sofa. "You know there's another twenty cushions in this house, right? You don't have to use Himari."

Elijah didn't even look at him.

"She's more comfortable."

The entire room erupted into laughter.

Elijah simply smiled, completely unbothered, and settled his head more comfortably in Himari's lap.

"Anyway, Mamii, what colour are you getting on your nails?"