"so.. that Goldie..huh?" Nick asked Joe when he came back from the cafeteria after bidding bye to Natalie.

"What?" Joe tried to act offended, miserably failing to hide the tint of excitement in his eyes.

"Don't give me that look, bro. I know you got that hint" Nick winked at him while giving life to the vehicle.

"Come on. Nick. You know how we came here. It's Alex.."

"Yeah. And Alex is not going anywhere." Nick taunted his best friend. Joe rolled his eyes before shaking his head.

"Tell me one thing. why did she tag along with her friend too?" Nick asked curiously.

"I don't know. She asked if it was okay to bring her best friend along with her. I said okay. Why should I be bothered?" Joe asked himself.

"Of course, you should be bothered. She brought a friend on your first date!" Nick said dramatically. Joe rolled his eyes again.

"And I called you too," Joe said in a done tone.

"Uh..look.. already whipped," Nick said chuckling.

"Wha.."

"Plus, you didn't deny that it wasn't a date." Nick didn't allow him to complete it. Joe glared at him.

"Listen Nickolas, it's not a date. So I shouldn't be bothered if she brings someone along or not. It's completely her choice.."

"Very broadminded. She will definitely fall for you..but I am not falling for it." Nick is not gonna stop it too soon. He saw how his best friend's cheeks turned red when that 'browny' girl teased them.

Speaking of her, even though she wasn't presentable like Natalie, Nickolas was taken aback by her appearance. She looked exactly like those techy-girls in movies with a pretty face, especially pretty eyes. He was sure that her chocolate brown eyes held more than it showed. She wasn't curvy like Natalie but she has a good physique, a well-maintained one. And her attire and attitude matched her interest. Data science.

Gosh.

Even thinking about the subject, Nick felt nauseous. He was not interested in business or science. He was into dance. He took Arts as his major and dance as the second paper for graduation. Now he is doing a master's in contemporary dance. He wanted to open his dance academy in town. He has to work hard to get there.

"Thinking about brownie?" Joe asked with a smirk.

"Sorry?"

"Katherine.. you know..She is beautiful"

It's time for payback.

"Oh no. no. please. You know me." Nick said as fact.

"Oh yes. You don't have an interest in any girl. I just forgot about it." Joe said raising his hands in surrender. Sarcasm dripped in his tone.

"So. To the gym now?" Nick asked when they reached the traffic signal.

"Um. No. I want to deliver this.." Joe said looking at the envelope in his hand. A heavy sigh escaped from him. Nick nodded knowingly and took the right turn.

•••

Lily Anderson and David Anderson came back from their parents by afternoon. They were welcomed by the sight of their daughter lying upside down on the couch, counting God knows what on the ceiling. And the other one, their daughter-like daughter, was lost in the world of her racing game NFC, the huge headset on her crown shielded every noise from the surroundings.

"Lily.. Dad.." Natalie greeted her parents when they came to the living room with their warm smiles.

Natalie called her mom by name from her childhood. Katy and Alex followed her.

"Hey. Lovely ladies. Hope you are enjoying your holiday.." David asked while being comfortable with their couch.

"Indeed. My best friend is so busy with her online game and I am so bored. A splendid holiday it is." Natalie mocked looking at Katherine. Uncle and Lily chuckled hearing her and Katherine gave them a sheepish smile even though she can't hear them clearly.

"But you could have also done something," Lily said to her daughter, looking around the messy living room.

"I will do it later Lily," Natalie said with a sigh. Now she has to clean the mess. Katy muted her game for sometime.

"Have you had anything girls?" Lily asked while heading towards the kitchen.

"Yeah. We had our breakfast outside and came back home. And, by the way, your beloved son is missing from last night." Natalie informed them about Alex. Katherine looked at her with a done face. She knows Natalie purposefully picked the topic.

"He is a young man I see.." David said and started reading the newspaper. Natalie made an offended face. She expected more, Katherine too.

"Woah.. look who is here.." Natalie said with a clap. Of course, she is making fun of the coming one.

"Alex.. you okay?" David was worried when he saw the other one was struggling to maintain his steps steadily.

"Yeah. Yeah. I am fine uncle." The man plopped down on the couch spreading his legs tired, beside Natalie. She pushed him away in irritation but his head landed back on her shoulder. David chuckled while eyeing the young man and went back to reading.

Natalie gave him an amused look. Even though he was stinking by his stains, he was still looking freaking handsome. His sharp facial features gave him that godly man look. His brown hair was messy but didn't lessen his glory.

I can't believe God made him this handsome!

"Checking out your cousin is a punishable offense, Anderson," he said keeping his eyes closed.

"In your dreams" Natalie mocked him. He gave her a challenging look. Then only he saw Katherine sitting on the corner. A mischievous smile formed on his face.

"I didn't know Hacker Potter was here!" He stood up from the couch. He loves to annoy Katherine and she becomes irritated by seeing him himself.

"She will kill you, Alexander. She is in the last lap." Natalie already smelled what was coming and warned her cousin. But Alex was in a good mood to taunt someone.

"Hey Potter.." he waved his hand before Katherine, blocking her view of her screen. She looked up irritated and tried to push his hand. By then she lost the lead.

"Uhh.. Expecto Patronum.." being a great Harry Potter fan, she tried to shoo him away with a spell. Natalie rolled her eyes being fed up with her best friend's obsession with the HP series.

Alex became more energetic and tried to remove her headset. Katherine growled in annoyance and pushed him with one hand while the other hand controlled the game.

"Uhh. shit!" She stood up angrily when she lost to second place. Alex stood in front with a naughty smirk.

"Loser Potter.. loser Potter.." Alex sang and flickered her nose, adding more fuel. Katherine glared at him angrily before pulling his hair with all her energy. Natalie facepalmed herself and opened her Instagram to see some reels. It wasn't new to her.

"I will kill you, idiot. you are the loser here.." Katherine yelled while pulling his hair.

"Potter is a loser. Potter is a loser.." Alex sang. He wasn't affected by the shooting pain on the roots of his hair.

"I was going to win. You piece of shit came and ruined everything." Katherine had forgotten about David sitting nearby. He looked up at the pair for a second and went back to his paper.

"I am not a loser. I am a fucking rockstar Potter" Alex tried to free his hair from her hold.

"Gosh!! What's going on here? " Lily came from the kitchen and asked.

Katherine stopped her actions and huffed.

"Lily.. Potter is a loser.. she lost in the race." Alex said while sitting on the couch.

"Bloody rockstar " Katherine mumbled and settled beside Natalie.

Natalie eyed her best friend. She always noticed how Katy behaved around Alex. She wasn't close with any other boys in school or university. But with Alex, she acted all childish. Like he was her father in a past life!

Alex also treated Katy differently. He was a flirt for everyone else. But for Katy, he was more like a brother who loved to annoy her to the core and cared for her secretly.

What's their deal?

"Come on guys. Grow up!" Natalie said to her friends but immediately zipped her lips seeing her friends' warning face.

"I bet they will end up together in the end," Lily whispered to her husband. She was always amused by the duo's behavior together.

"You guys remind me of my childhood. Me and my sister always fight like cats and dogs, just like you two." David said ignoring his wife's comment. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Aunt Lilith?" Alex and Natalie asked in unison. David nodded to them with a grin.

"No way uncle. Katy is better than her." Alex said offended. Natalie also nodded agreeing.

Her aunt was a bitch!

"Enough of this fighting. Granny had sent some lasagna for you. Have it guys." Lily said while setting the table.

"Woah"

"Lasagna"

"Gosh. I am starving."

The three immediately gathered around the table.

"You met Joe?" When Lily went to the kitchen, Alex whispered to Natalie. She nodded with a mouth full of lasagna.

"She became flattered" Katherine commented to tease her friend.

"Oh. You were here?" Alex asked surprised.

"No. We went out to meet him." Natalie said like it wasn't a big deal.

"Sorry?"

"I told him to meet out. The house was a mess. I didn't clean it yesterday."

"Gosh, Nate. You know how to take advantage of a situation." Alex said in disbelief.

"Of course, she knows. Don't you remember that your cousin has a muscle kink" Katherine winked at him.

"Gosh, I shouldn't have done that. He is a poor innocent soul." Alex said dramatically looking up.

"So dramatic!" Natalie shook her head.

"Let's pray for his peaceful death, Katy" Alex said grinning. Katherine laughed and high-fived him.

"Gosh. Will you guys stop it, please? We just met." Natalie was pissed. The other two laughed harder.

The three continued their chattering and teasing. Don't know when that lasagna finished in between.

"Drop me in the dorm," Katherine said when she saw Alex was going out with his car key.

"Bye uncle, bye Lily" she waved at them and went out with Alex.

"Grab a cab Potter"

"I didn't ask you. I said drop me." Katherine glared at him and hopped in the passenger seat.

"This girl!" Alex huffed and got in the car.

When he pulled up in front of the front gate of the dorm building, girls peeked through the windows and doors. They were accustomed to seeing Alex dropping Katherine in the dorm. Everyone knows that they are friends. So to be on Alex's good list, girls never pissed Katherine. And that was a good relief for her. She was away from most of the chaos at university.

Like in every other university, here also some heartthrobs, who have good looks, hot bodies and are good at games. Alex was one of them. The most popular hot guy in university who has a rock band. Girls and boys were ready to throw them upon him. From their point of view, Natalie wasn't a threat since she was his direct cousin. And neither was Katherine since she was a nerd. Just a techy girl who talks less.

"So, why did you do that?" Katherine asked unbuckling her seatbelt.

"You know me well," Alex shrugged his shoulders, he doesn't need to explain himself to Katherine.

"You should have seen her. She was a blushing mess. Is he worth that much?" She asked curiously.

"Oh trust me. They will rewrite the couple standards" Alex winked at her.

"Confident much! We will see then"

"Don't worry, Potter. You just go and sleep well. I will handle everything. He is not what he is portraying outside."

"If you say so" Katherine said honestly. Natalie and Alex were her closest friends, who knew everything about her.

"What do you think? She got that I did it on purpose?" Alex asked her.

"Uh. I don't think so. Your cousin is not that much of a genius even though she is a Hermione when it comes to archaeology" Katherine opened the door to get out.

"Saved!" Alex tapped his temple like clicking and saving in his brain.

"Hey Alex" a bitch from the economics department just passed by them and waved at him seductively.

"Hey pretty lady" he also waved back with equal enthusiasm.

"Duck off already. Such a big flirt you are I see." Katherine made a disgusting face.

"Uhh. How badly I want to stay here." Alex said looking around with dreamy eyes.

"Gosh. Get a brain Brown."

"You are jealous, Potter!" Alex teased her.

"In your dreams. Now take this monster away." She said tapping on his G wagon.

"Bye loser" he said while peddling the accelerator.

"Uhhh" Katherine groaned irritated looking at his car moving away. She stomped once and went inside. She needs a good sleep!
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Chapter two is here guys!