CHAPTER TWO JUNE 6, 2020   Jason stirred slightly in his sleep, gradually opening an eye as he stifled a yawn. Hearing muffled voices that sounded a lot like a few of the group members from outside, he reached for his phone at the side of his sleeping bag and glanced at the time. It was barely past four in the morning. Jason sighed and placed his phone down before covering his eyes with his forearm. Needless to say, he’d had a restless sleep as his mind was filled with certain jarring details of the previous night.   Scratching his head, Jason his side and sighed deeply. Leon’s words of how Chanel was a huge supporter of Amelie and Jonas becoming a couple constantly rang in his mind, rendering him both helpless and uneasy. He had known of Amelie’s little crush on the older Korean male who, like her, was also an exchange student from London, way before the road trip. Ever since he had started to develop good feelings for the Taiwanese girl mid-semester, he often noticed how she would openly gush about Jonas whenever the Korean male was absent. He noticed how her eyes lit up whenever Jonas was in the vicinity or whenever she finally managed to get a reply from the Korean male. Since he was trying to escape this harsh reality by ignoring the tell-tale signs of Amelie’s crush, the reminders from other people that Amelie liked Jonas seemed to hit him harder.   He had to admit, Jonas was a brilliant guy. Although he had barely interacted with the older male, since he viewed him as a competitor and hence had tried to distance himself from the Korean male as much as possible, Jason could still somewhat understand why girls might be attracted to Jonas. He was tall, mysterious, and aloof but also confident in himself and practically a jack-of-all-trades. In other words, Jonas was the domineering CEO figure in a typical Chinese drama.   On the other hand, Jason was the complete opposite. He was bright and cheerful, constantly wearing a smile on his face. Having a mellow personality, he thrived in taking care of people around him. That, unfortunately, made him the warmhearted second lead in that same drama. However, everyone knew that the overbearing CEO would get a happily-ever-after with the female lead in almost every single drama, leaving the affectionate second lead in the friend zone despite everything he had done for her.   Jason definitely didn’t want to be the second lead. Call him selfish, but he wanted to be the main lead too. He had naively thought that he and Amelie would be main characters of their own love story, but from the looks of it, it certainly wasn’t turning out the way he had envisioned. Instead, he had ended up appearing as a side character in Amelie and Jonas’s love story. It would be a lie to say that Jason wasn’t envious and jealous of the older male. How he wished that he were Jonas, the man who could get all of Amelie’s attention so easily. Their names were just a rearrangement of the same letters, but he still wasn’t Jonas and he could never become Jonas because they were fundamentally very different people to begin with.   Squeezing his eyes shut, the Taiwanese boy tried to push back all the distracting thoughts that were swimming in his head. Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, his tent was ped.   Russell poked his head in and said, “Time to wake up, guys! We gotta pack up and dismantle the tents before going to see the sunrise!”   Jason tossed in his sleeping bag and groaned out a muffled reply before Russell left. Yawning, he sat up and stared outside blankly through the open flap.   It was another new day, and he decided that he would continue to be the bright and friendly boy. Maybe the second lead would get a chance to be with the female lead this time. After all, a one-percent probability was still better than nothing. He just had to be hopeful and hold onto the hope that one day, his actions would bring about a favourable outcome.   So right after everyone was awake and packed to leave, Jason made sure to stick close to Amelie. He helpfully took her duffel bag and placed it into the trunk of the SUV while shooting the girl a bright smile. Amelie muttered a word of thanks, smiling back as she headed towards the driver’s seat. Feeling giddy at the little attention he received from his crush, Jason bounded after her towards the passenger seat.   After a short twelve-minute ride to the Cholla Cactus Garden, which was famous for being one of the best locations to view the sunrise and sunset, the group of young adults decided to camp in their respective cars as it was still quite early. Jason turned his head back and witnessed Ripley dozing off on Jeremy’s shoulders. Jeremy’s eyes were also starting to close until Lani’s voice rang out from the back.   “Jerry, when did y’all come back?” Lani wondered. “Y’all weren’t in the tent when we woke up.”   “We came back around the time Russ started to wake everyone up, so we didn’t catch a wink at all,” Jeremy sleepily muttered as he rested his head on Ripley who was already in dreamland.   “What did y’all even do last night?” Amelie asked from the front.   “Huh? Oh, we…” Jeremy trailed off as his eyes fell shut.   “Let them sleep,” Jonas said as he looked up from his phone. “You can ask them during breakfast.”   Amelie nodded with a small smile.   Approximately twenty minutes later, there were excited screams from the other cars as the sun began to slowly crawl up the sky. The first rays stretched across the horizon, wrapping the garden in a warm, radiant gold. The spines of the cacti glowed beautifully in a distance. Jason watched the more hyperactive boys jump out of their car and start running through the garden like elementary school kids.   Jason then watched with a tender smile as Amelie’s eyes lit up in amazement at the heavenly sight. He followed her quickly as she exited the car. “Isn’t this beautiful?” Jason asked softly as the two stopped by a railing for Amelie to snap pictures of the stunning sunrise.   “Yes, nature is amazing, which is also why I love to travel and see sights like this,” Amelie gushed with a cordial smile.   “Do you want a picture?” Jason offered kindly.   Amelie nodded feverishly. “I was about to ask you to help me take a few.”   Jason grinned as he took her phone and snapped some pictures of Amelie in different poses. “Do you want a photo together?” he carefully asked, looking hopeful as he returned her phone for the girl to check her photos.   Amelie laughed. “Sure, if you want.” She switched her phone camera to the selfie mode. “Come, you take it. Your arms are longer.”   Jason flushed with happiness as he took back her phone with shaky hands. He internally contemplated if he should put a hand around Amelie, but eventually decided against it. A picture with two of them was good enough. Jason put on his best smile and snapped a few selfies of the two together against the backdrop of the ascending sun and the cactus field.   “I’ll send them to you later,” Amelie said before skipping off to meet some of the girls who were already on the trail.   Wearing a silly smile on his face, Jason watched as the girl caught up with Bianca and Lucy. He leaned against the railing and marvelled the sight before him before a howl from the near distance caught his attention.   In the cactus field, Karter was hopping on the ground with a pained expression. Jason squinted his eyes and suppressed his laughter behind his fist when he noticed two cactus balls stuck to each of his cheeks. Alexander was doubled over in laughter, mocking Karter’s plight until he himself also ended up getting too close to the teddy bear cactus in the field. Jason let out a noisy laugh when Alex suddenly grew a tail on his as well. In order to get the spiky spines off, Leon somehow managed to find a sturdy branch on the ground, since no one was willing to use their bare hands. As if he were playing golf, Leon swung the branch and managed to hit the harmless-looking spines off their asses. The two goofballs yelped in pain and let out a string of curses in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, much to the amusement of the audience.   Deciding that they should leave before Karter and Alexander could somehow hurt themselves even more, everyone piled back into the SUVs and they drove off in search of breakfast. After exiting the national park, they soon spotted a breakfast diner called Crossroads Cafe and pulled into the parking lot.   Jason jumped out of the car at once and speedily walked around the front to the driver’s side, arriving just as Amelie stepped out as well. “After you,” he said, gesturing to the diner’s entrance with a slight bow and a bright grin.   Amelie smiled back at him and nodded before opening the door and walking into the diner.   The Taiwanese boy quickly followed her inside and managed to snag the seat to her right. He internally congratulated himself on a job well done, ecstatic that he had already scored two wins and it was barely seven in the morning. However, Jonas soon arrived and sat down in the empty seat to Amelie’s left, causing Jason’s expression to fall.   He did his best to engage Amelie in conversation, but she was more interested in hearing about Ripley and Jeremy’s late-night adventure.   “While we were exploring, we saw a shadowy figure creeping around and darting between the cacti,” Ripley zealously recounted as everyone else listened intently. “It left a bunch of broken branches and weird footprints in its path, so we were able to follow it pretty easily, even though it was so dark.”   Jeremy nodded wildly. “I’ve got the debris all captured on camera.”   “So did you find out what it was?” Bianca asked.   Ripley frowned deeply and replied, “The trail suddenly turned cold after about an hour. It was like it just vanished into thin air. The shadow disappeared and so did the weird footprints.”   Lucy smiled sympathetically. “That’s too bad. Maybe next time, na.”   The paranormal investigator huffed in irritation as she crossed her arms and leaned back into her seat. “We were so close to catching Bigfoot. That has to be what it was. There’s no other explanation, especially with the recent sightings of it at Joshua Tree. What else could’ve made those bizarre footprints?”   Russell raised an eyebrow after hearing her story and said, “Hate to break it to ya, but Bigfoot isn’t real.”   “There’s evidence that he is!” Ripley retorted hotly, slamming her hands onto the table.   “Whoa, easy there.” Russell’s eyes widened in surprise, since he hadn’t expected such a heated outburst from the sleep-deprived girl. “I’m just saying it’s unlikely that you saw him last night, especially since I’m pretty sure he doesn’t live in Joshua Tree.”   “Maybe he lives there now,” Ripley argued.   “Nah, I don’t think so,” Russell flippantly answered.   Beside him, Vanessa was nervously wringing her hands and her gaze was darting every which way. “Bigfoot might not live there, but Bill Ewasko does,” she fretted.   Both Ripley and Jeremy looked at her in confusion. “What are you even talking about?” the paranormal investigator asked. “Who the heck is Bill Ewasko?”   “Your worst nightmare,” Karter answered with a smirk while holding up his hands like claws. “You kiddos barely escaped with your lives.” He then lunged forward and snapped his jaws several times, as if he were a monster.   Vanessa let out a shrill scream before immediately clamping her hands over and sending a wordless apology to the waiter who glared in disgruntlement from the cash register.   “What the… You must be high on weed, Tsui,” Ripley said, clearly not amused with Karter’s antics. The paranormal investigator then yawned loudly and stood up. “I’m heading back to the car to sleep.”   Jeremy also stood up from his seat and yawned. “Me too.”   “Can I have the keys please, Chuang?” Ripley asked, already extending a hand out to the Taiwanese girl.   “Sure, have a good nap,” Amelie said, dropping the car keys into Ripley’s hand.   After watching Ripley and Jeremy leave, Jason began daydreaming about what it would be like if he and Amelie were to nap together one day. He’d be floating on cloud nine if an opportunity to do so ever came.   Just him and Amelie…happily alone together…with no Jonas to bother them…   That was the dream.       “Photo stop!” Lucy cheered as Elliot drove the SUV into the parking lot of Seven Magic Mountains. After another long drive, lasting almost three hours this time, they finally arrived at the picturesque art display.   True to its name, there were seven tall towers that were made of brightly colored boulders stacked on top of each other standing in the middle of the desert. The eye-catching structures could be seen from the parking lot and Lucy immediately hopped out of the passenger seat, excited to let her legs stretch after sitting for so long and to also take some beautiful pictures that she could later post on Instagram.   Bianca and Chanel had already jumped out of their SUV, and were dashing towards Seven Magic Mountains while raucously calling dibs on being first to take photos. The rest of them gradually began making their way to the colorful art installation, knowing that the two girls would take extra time for their photo shoot.   Swinging their hands between them as they walked, Lucy and Elliot hummed in tandem while admiring the rock towers. Each one looked like a mini rainbow due to how the boulders were arranged. “Ooh, I wanna get pictures with all of them, na!” Lucy exclaimed while skipping forward and pulling her boyfriend along.   He laughed and quickened his pace to keep up with the energetic Thai girl. “Sure, I’m down. Whatever you want, Ru.”   The couple managed to rope Estee into taking photos for them while Bianca finished snapping pictures for Chanel. They posed differently at each tower, ranging from Elliot carrying Lucy bridal-style to the pair cheesily making a heart with their arms to simply holding each other close while smiling brightly at the camera. When they arrived at the last tower, Lucy tip-toed and reached up to cup Elliot’s face while bringing him in for a deep kiss. He wrapped his arms around the Thai girl, holding her tight, and kissed her back just as fervently.   “You two are so adorable,” Estee gushed once they finished their photo shoot. She scrolled through the pictures to show the couple how they looked and Lucy’s heart felt wonderfully full as she gazed at the stunning photos.   “Can you send these to me later, na ka?” the Thai girl asked, already wanting to post them on Instagram.   “Of course! I’ll edit them tonight before sending them over,” Estee promised with a smile.   Lucy and Elliot then joined Russell in conversation as they waited for the rest of them to finish taking pictures. The Singaporean male spoke earnestly about the activities he had planned for the rest of the road trip and Lucy enthusiastically nodded along as she listened, ready to take on all of the adventures he proposed.   However, when it was time to take the group photo, Lucy made sure that she and Elliot were standing at the left end while Russell was stationed at the right. As much as she enjoyed the easygoing male’s company, his towering height made her feel even smaller than usual and she didn’t want to look tiny by standing next to him in any of the group pictures.   Afterwards, the crew walked back to the parking lot and everyone waved to each other before hopping into their respective SUVs. Once they were on the highway again, the Thai girl reached over to gently brush her boyfriend’s soft bangs to the side so that they weren’t covering his eyes and obstructing his view of the road.   “Thanks, Ru,” Elliot said before reaching out to grab her hand and placing chaste kisses on each of her knuckles.   “That tickles, Hoon,” she told him while giggling profusely.   Her boyfriend lightly chuckled. “What about my kisses?” he cheekily asked while holding up their interlocked hands towards Lucy so that it’d be easier for her to return the favor.   In the second row of the SUV, Karter and Alexander mimed barfing in their seats. “Get a room, you lovebirds,” Karter joked when the couple lowered their intertwined hands onto the armrest in between their seats. “You’re making us sick over here.”   “Then I’ll reroute our car to a hospital, so we can check you in and leave you there. Too bad you’ll miss out on partying with us in Vegas, na,” Lucy easily shot back. She was used to people complaining about her and Elliot constantly showing affection, but it wasn’t like they were jumping each other’s bones in front of everyone. They kept their public displays relatively mild unless asked to engage in more, like the dare they had been given during the campfire gathering at Joshua Tree National Park to make out with each other.   Karter dramatically gasped and collapsed against his seat, splaying his arms across the backrest. “I can’t believe you’d deprive the soon-to-be birthday boy of his well-deserved Vegas party. All I’m saying is that your PDA is making us sad, single people feel even lonelier.”   “Try harder to find yourself a girlfriend then, na,” Lucy playfully replied before pointedly leaning over to plant a kiss on Elliot’s cheek, causing the other two boys to make loud retching noises again.   “On the topic of couples, how are you and Dao, Alex?” Kallie eagerly asked, poking her head over the middle row so that it was easier to address the Chinese-American boy.   Alexander raised an eyebrow at her question. “Why do you ask?”   “No reason,” she innocently answered.   Karter snorted. “Don’t let her fool you, bro. She’s an absolute gremlin when it comes to gossip.”   “And you’re an absolute gremlin every second of the day,” Kallie retorted while reaching over to whack Karter’s shoulder.   Lucy giggled as she witnessed the entire exchange through the rearview mirror. She wholly agreed with Kallie’s statement and found Karter’s wild energy to be one of his many charms despite how silly that sounded. It was refreshing to see how outspoken and unapologetic he was, even with the chaos that inevitably followed him wherever he went.   Meanwhile, Alexander shrugged. “There’s honestly not much to tell. I don’t think it’ll be an interesting story to hear.”   “Every story is interesting,” Kallie stoutly declared. “And your story is the one I’ve been most interested in hearing, ever since Seth told me you were joining us. C’mon, Alex, please? Pretty please? With a cherry and some whipped cream on top?”   “I’d rather have chocolate syrup and chocolate chips as toppings,” Alexander deadpanned. “Mini Reese’s cups are pretty good too,” he added after a slight pause.   “Done!” Kallie immediately exclaimed. “You can have as many toppings as you want if we get ice cream on this trip and I’ll pay for it all,” she promised while sticking out her right pinky finger to showcase how serious she was.   Karter chuckled while shaking his head in mock exasperation. “You just never stop, do you, Kale.”   “I’m nothing if not persistent,” she replied while beaming brightly at Alexander.   The Chinese-American boy also chuckled, amused by Kallie’s refusal to back down. “I guess if you really wanna know, I can tell you guys about it,” he relented while hooking his pinky with hers and stamping their thumbs together to seal the deal. “But don’t say that I didn’t warn you if it ends up being boring.”   “Any stories, boring or not, will be great to pass the time, na,” Lucy blithely said while gesturing to the dozens of cars surrounding them on the I-15. “It’ll probably take us a while to get out of this traffic, right, El?”   Her boyfriend nodded. “Traffic is always worse when you’re entering or exiting a major city like Vegas or LA.”   “So we’ve got plenty of time to sit back and listen to your story, na ka,” Lucy continued, smiling widely. Her interest in Alexander’s relationship history with Dao, whoever that was, had also been piqued when Kallie first brought it up. The Thai girl didn’t know much about Alexander, having officially met him for the first time yesterday, although she had seen him at several parties over the years. He usually hung out with a different crowd, so they hadn’t mingled very much until now, and Lucy was curious to learn more about the Chinese-American boy.   Not to mention, his story would take her mind off of the annoyingly slow traffic that they were currently stuck in. The Thai girl was beginning to fidget in her seat, since she absolutely detested waiting in long lines, and she was itching to leave the SUV. If she had been the one behind the wheel, she would’ve already stepped on the gas and sped her way through the tightly packed lanes. Luckily, her incredible boyfriend noticed her agitation and he soothingly rubbed circles against the back of her hand with his thumb while sending Lucy an understanding smile.   God, she loved Elliot so, so much.   Alexander leaned back in his seat with a pensive expression on his face as he said, “Well, Dao is an exchange student, so I actually haven’t known her for that long. I think we met at a party—not sure which one, since I was crossed—and she’s pretty cute, so she caught my eye. After we talked for a bit, we ended up hooking up somewhere since we were both feeling it and we got pretty close after that.”   “Where’d you hook up?” Kallie immediately asked.   “You really wanna know that?” Alexander looked at her in mild surprise, clearly not expecting the relatively conservative girl to ask such a question.   “Told you she’s a gremlin,” Karter interjected while snickering loudly.   Without an ounce of shame and a slight shrug of her shoulders, Kallie replied, “I’m just curious. You never know, it might become important information later.”   The Thai girl wasn’t sure that the knowledge of Alexander’s hook-up locations would ever need to be referenced later on. But Kallie seemed to be bent on squeezing out every last drop of information about his relationship with Dao and Lucy figured it wouldn’t hurt to let the Chinese-American girl have her fun.   “I honestly don’t remember where we first had ,” Alexander said, smiling again in amusement when Kallie let out a high-pitched whine after. “Like I said, I was crossed outta my mind. It was probably somewhere around the house, since we were too lazy to go back to either of our places.” He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to recall the hazy memory, clouded completely by the copious amounts of alcohol and weed he had consumed that night. “Maybe in one of the bedrooms or a bathroom. Or maybe on a couch in the living room or the kitchen counter. It’s even possible we did it outside on the lawn or in the backyard by the pool. I really don’t remember.”   “Ooh, ,” Karter commented with a sly grin.   Alexander devilishly grinned back. “No place is off-limits for me. I can give you some recommendations if you want. Public can be very fun with the right people in the right place.”   “You can have your locker room talk elsewhere,” Kallie cut in before Karter could respond, seeing that Chloe was looking increasingly more uncomfortable as the conversation continued.   Having also caught sight of the Korean-American girl’s obvious discomfort, Lucy quickly added, “Okay, so you and Dao hooked up somewhere at the party. What happened after that, na?”   “We just casually hooked up whenever we felt like it,” Alexander answered nonchalantly. “No strings attached.”   “That’s interesting,” Kallie said with a thoughtful expression. “I heard something different from the grapevine.”   Alexander instantly groaned, causing the others to look at him curiously. “She keeps trying to convince me to be in a relationship with her. But I keep telling her it’s best to stay casual, especially since she’s only an exchange student. I’m not trying to do long-distance, ya feel?”   “So if she stayed at USC instead, would you consider dating her?” Kallie asked, eyes shining brightly in anticipation for Alexander’s answer.   “Dunno,” the Chinese-American boy answered with an indifferent shrug. “I don’t think I really vibed with her on a deeper level, but I also wasn’t trying to get to know her like that. It was just fun to have with her.”   Kallie loudly clucked her tongue while shaking her head. “You should’ve made that clear when you first started hooking up with her.”   “I thought it was very clear that we’d only be having ,” Alexander said, shrugging again. “It’s not like I ever tried to be her boyfriend. I don’t even remember what she looks like with clothes on.”   “Oh my god.” Kallie slapped her hand against her forehead in exasperation. “You’re an absolute idiot, Alex. You probably led the poor girl on by sleeping with her so often. Some girls take physical intimacy very seriously.”   Alexander grinned wolfishly at the Chinese-American girl. “Like you?”   “Yes, like me, you dummy,” she answered while crossing her arms in front of her chest. “So you better keep away.”   “I can’t make any promises,” he said, purposely his lips and then bursting out into laughter when Kallie reached over to punch his shoulder while muttering something in Mandarin.   As Lucy watched the others through the rearview mirror, to her surprise, she noticed that Karter had gone mute and was no longer joking around with them. Instead, his lips were pressed together in a straight line and his eyes seemed to be looking off into the distance.   The Thai girl silently wondered why Karter now wore such a grim expression after hearing Alexander’s story. She hoped it wasn’t because he had also hooked up with Dao during the semester, which would lead to a very messy three-way affair if that were the case. The crew was already dealing with one in some capacity through Amelie vying for Jonas while Jason desperately followed her around, trying his best but utterly failing to capture his crush’s attention in any way that he possibly could.   She felt sorry for the Taiwanese boy, since she had also known him prior to the road trip through one of her housemates, Shuhua, who was close friends with Amelie and had introduced the London exchange student to Jason. He was a nice guy and very friendly to everyone he met, so Lucy didn’t think he would ever treat Amelie badly on the off-chance that they did get together.   It was just unlucky that he had chosen to fall for a girl whose heart was already taken and although Lucy wasn’t completely sure if Jonas liked Amelie back, since he never let his poker face slip and rarely reacted to anything, she was always going to support her friend first and foremost. And that meant helping the other girls set up the two Londoners together during this road trip, since they would be returning to the U.K. soon after and Lucy wanted Amelie to be happy in a relationship like she was with Elliot.   As for Karter, Lucy decided not to verbally comment on his noticeable mood change, since she didn’t think he would appreciate being called out so suddenly in regards to a seemingly personal matter. Relationships were tricky and not everyone was as lucky as she was to have someone like Elliot by her side.   But she would definitely keep an eye on Karter later to make sure he was okay, just in case.       “Psst! Psst!” Chanel jabbed her finger towards the sleeping couple in the second row, trying hard to contain her squeals from the passenger seat.   “What? What?” Bianca curiously asked, trying to continue keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her.   “Look at Nessie and Leon!” Chanel gushed surreptitiously as she cupped her face with a dreamy look.   “I’m driving, sis. I can’t see. They’re seated in my blind spot,” Bianca clucked, a frown creasing her forehead.   “They’re resting on each other,” Chanel sighed in delight.   The corners of Bianca’s mouth hitched upwards as she tapped on the steering wheel with a thoughtful smirk. Beside her, Chanel had whipped out her phone and was currently snapping a dozen photos of the duo. Vanessa was in a peaceful slumber with her head comfortably nestled on Leon’s shoulder. Leon had also fallen asleep sometime along the way, his head gently resting against Vanessa’s. Proud of her shots, Chanel proceeded to send those pictures to the group chat, not forgetting to change the group icon as well with a carefully selected picture that was edited to perfection. Soon, she received a voice message from Kallie. Upon opening the message, her shrill voice rang throughout the car.   “Oh-em-gee! I knew it! I knew it! I knew something was going on between them during the campfire. Ahh, I totally ship them!”   The second voice message came seconds later.   “Dang it, we should have switched cars, Nellie! They look so cute together!”   “Next time, I’ll throw them in your car, so you can spazz all day long,” Chanel joked cherubically before pressing the send button.   Leon stirred slightly at the sudden series of sharp voices. He groggily looked around his surroundings before his eyes caught sight of Chanel’s playful, knowing smile. Frowning at her growing grin, he leaned back against the headrest and was about to shut his eyes again when Chanel’s sugary voice spoke.   “Aww, Nessie didn’t manage to sleep well last night. But look at her sleeping so soundly on your shoulder,” Chanel commented, adopting an overly-saccharine voice and cooing happily.   Leon merely shut his eyes.   “Quit sleeping! We’ve reached Vegas! We’re now in the one and only Sin City!” Chanel raised her voice in excitement when they passed the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.   Vanessa was roused from her nap due to the commotion and she slowly lifted up her head.   “Did you have a nice rest, Nessie?” Chanel beamed with a meaningful glint in her eyes.   Vanessa nodded slowly in response, still laced with the remnants of sleep, as she stretched her arms forward. A small giggle escaped Chanel’s lips before she faced forward with a stupid-looking grin plastered on her face. She then high-fived Bianca with a good laugh. Vanessa raised a brow in bewilderment as she glanced around, feeling slightly unsettled by the little glances that both Bianca and Chanel were sending her. Chanel only whistled a happy tune when Vanessa shot her a perplexed look.   Once the crew had checked into NoMad Las Vegas where they would be staying for the upcoming two nights, they decided to explore the Strip first at Bianca’s suggestion. Thanks to Kallie’s and Vanessa’s detailed planning, they had managed to snag some pretty decent deals for the glamorous hotel. NoMad Las Vegas was a classic European-inspired beauty with a sprinkle of playfulness and located within the Park MGM. After a refreshing toilet break, the group hit the sunny streets of the Strip, lined by upscale hotels and casinos, pausing along the way for photo stops.   “Bianca, your purse is so small,” Vanessa pointed out in curiosity as she trailed behind the older girl, taking note of her super mini Gucci handbag in a pretty bubblegum pink shade. “It can barely contain anything.”   “Fashion, darling. It’s called fashion,” Bianca explained, animatedly gesturing towards big couture brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Fendi, and Tom Ford with their massive logos, that were all part of the collection at The Shops at Crystals. “Damn it, I wanna shop so badly right now.”   “But it definitely can store your ability to stay awake in class,” Russell mused and patted Vanessa’s shoulder as he walked past the girl.   Leon snorted and Chanel choked with laughter. “, Rusty, I’m screaming.”   Vanessa, upon hearing Russell’s casual insult, charged forward. Seeing the small girl hurtling towards him, Russell also took to his heels, successfully distancing himself away from the younger girl with his long legs.   “Wait, guys, lemme go in for a quick photo. I’ll be back,” Bianca stated as she pranced into the lobby of the Bellagio, dragging along Chanel, who just happened to be the closest around.   “We’re not even staying here and you’re acting like we’re gonna check in,” Chanel muttered as she looked around her surroundings before bending lower to get a few shots of the fashionista posing elegantly in the hotel lobby.   “You gotta fake it ‘til you make it,” Bianca said simply as she swiped through the photos and favorited some that she liked.   Shaking her head with a loud guffaw, Chanel pulled Bianca out to join the rest.   A joyous mood blanketed the group as they continued their way down the street. Alexander's “veni, vidi, vici” imitation of the great Julius Caesar in his deepest voice possible, caused the group to roar with amusement as they passed by Caesars Palace, a Roman-themed resort.   “Guys, let’s go take a look inside there,” Lucy suggested, pointing at The Venetian Las Vegas. “I heard the interior is beautiful.”   “They have the famous Gondola Rides too,” Estee chimed in with a smile.   “Ooh, yes, yes! Then we should definitely go in,” Chanel winked slyly at Bianca who nodded mischievously in agreement.   “C’mon! Let’s get to the rides before the queue gets long,” Chanel exclaimed, hurrying the rest.   “No one would take this overpriced ,” Rowan grumbled out loud as she felt herself getting herded like cattle towards the man-made canal.   “Shut up, Uchi! You don’t know .” Chanel slapped Rowan’s arm in a light-hearted manner.   “Babe, I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Lani comforted, shooting his friend a cheesy wink.   Chanel and Bianca, the two excited girls, reached the ticket counter first and they started browsing through the different ride packages.   “Amelie, why don’t you share a ride with Jonas?” Chanel wriggled her brows and swung an arm around the younger girl once she reached the counter. “Oh, and don’t worry about the price. Bianca will pay,” Chanel added.   “No, no, we’ll split the cost between the eighteen of us instead.” Bianca smiled brightly.   A faint blush stained her cheeks instantly as Amelie tried her best to shush the two loud and obvious girls when Jonas drew close with Leon. “Stop it, guys! He’s coming. Don’t be suspicious, you two!”   Chanel let out a wicked chuckle as she purposely beckoned Jonas over in a sing-song voice, just to spite the growing red-faced girl. “Jonas! Come join us in a cozy little boat ride!”   “Chanel, stop making it so obvious! Plus I’m not getting in a boat with just the two of us,” Amelie hissed warningly under her breath.   “Why not? We’re creating chances for you to have alone time with him. How cute would it be for you two to canoodle under the bridge?” Chanel teasingly poked her ribs.   She watched in amusement at how embarrassed Amelie became after her comment. The Amelie she knew was a quiet ball of chaos. But seeing Amelie break character and get awfully shy with any mention of her obvious crush on Jonas was very entertaining to Chanel.   The tips of Amelie’s ears turned dark red as she started to sneak glances at the poker-faced male, wondering if he had overheard their conversation, which wasn’t very discreet in her opinion. Seeing Amelie’s soft, adoring stares at the Korean male, Chanel nudged Amelie in the ribs with a lopsided grin, causing the girl to glare daggers at the Hong Konger’s antics.   When it was their turn to ride, Chanel pushed both Amelie and Jonas towards the gondola. Amelie almost tripped against the wooden step, but luckily, Jonas reached out to hold her upper arm, stabilizing the girl. She reddened considerably and muttered a word of thanks shyly as she stepped into the gondola with the help of Jonas. Chanel cheered inwardly as a wide grin appeared on her face. From the corners of her eyes, she noticed that Jason was moving towards the gondola as well. Grabbing Karter’s arm since he happened to be right next to her, she jumped into the gondola, filling up the remaining two seats.   A look of disappointment washed over Jason’s features as he glumly watched the gondola sail away. Poor Jason. Chanel winced a little at the sight, but she wasn’t going to be soft-hearted and let her favorite ship sink because of an utterly infatuated boy. In her eyes, Amelie and Jonas were the couple meant to be, in comparison to Amelie and Jason. Besides, Amelie had good feelings for Jonas, not Jason, so she was definitely going to side with her female friend and become the best wing-woman for her. Chicks before .   “Sir,” Chanel started, turning her attention to the gondolier who was rowing the boat for them with a smile, “it’s my birthday today. Can I request a song, please?” Chanel fluttered her eyelashes expectantly at the man.   The gondolier grinned and answered, “Sure, young lady. What song would you like me to sing?”   “I Like Me Better by Lauv,” Chanel said almost immediately. “I want to dedicate this song to this cute couple in front of me.”   Amelie choked at her words and her face grew hot. Scowling at the girl who seemed to be having tremendous fun teasing her, Amelie inhaled deeply so that she wouldn’t lash out at Chanel, thus marring her image in front of her crush.   The acapella started and Chanel made it a point to change all the “New York City” lyrics to “London City.” Amelie rubbed her temples and tried her very best to keep her face neutral, not daring to even sneak a glance at Jonas as she felt the embarrassment crawl under her skin. Chanel pressed her lips watching Jonas’s ever calm face. He looked perfectly tranquil, looking around at the artificial scenery without uttering a word. Pursing her lips together, it looked like she had to try even harder to evoke a reaction from that block of wood.   The gondolier spoke up wh