A week later, things had somehow gotten worse. Not because Chase disappeared again. Not because the bikers showed up. Not because of another argument. Because now everyone knew each other. And nobody got along. The bikers had started visiting the mansion almost every day. Sometimes they came to hang out. Sometimes they came to work out in Chase's gym. Sometimes they just showed up uninvited. Chase didn't seem to mind. Everyone else absolutely minded. Especially Nick. At the moment, Chase was stretched out on one of the couches scrolling through his phone. The living room was packed. Adrean was reading. Nick was pretending to read. Several of Chase's friends were playing games. And three bikers were currently raiding the kitchen. It should have been peaceful. It wasn't. One biker walked back into the room carrying a bag of chips. "Your chefs are cool." "Thanks." "They gave me three sandwiches." "Nice." Nick looked up. "They gave you what?" "Three sandwiches." "Why?" The biker shrugged. "I asked." Nick looked like he was physically struggling not to say something. Chase started laughing. "You make that face a lot now." "I'm trying very hard." "To do what?" "Not start an argument." One of the bikers immediately pointed at him. "He's failing." "I know." Across the room, another biker was examining one of Chase's motorcycles through the garage window. "Dude." "What?" "How many motorcycles do you own?" Chase looked up. "Seven." The room went silent. "What?" "Seven?" Adrean asked. "Yeah." "Why?" "Because I like motorcycles." "That's not an answer." "It is to me." The biker near the window started laughing. Nick dropped his head into his hands. A few minutes later, Chase stood up. "I'm hungry." "You have chefs," one of Adrean's friends said. "Exactly." He immediately headed toward the private food court. Almost everyone followed. The chefs barely reacted. Apparently they were used to this by now. Within minutes, everyone was sitting around a huge table. Food covered almost every inch of it. One biker stared. "Every time I come here, I forget how rich you are." "Same," Adrean admitted. "Same," said one of Chase's friends. "Same," said Nick. Chase looked confused. "You guys act like this is weird." "It is weird." "Oh." One of the bikers pointed at Chase. "See? This is why he gets surprised when normal people react to stuff." "I don't get surprised." "You absolutely do." The entire table agreed. Chase looked betrayed. While everyone laughed at him, his phone buzzed. He glanced down. A grin immediately appeared. "Oh." Everyone noticed. Immediately. Nick narrowed his eyes. "What." "Nothing." "That's never a good sign." One of the bikers leaned over. "Who texted you?" "No one." "Chase." "What?" "Your screen is reflecting off the table." The entire table looked. Chase quickly flipped the phone over. Too late. Everyone had already seen the biker group chat. The room exploded. Again. "Oh, come on." "You text them every day?" Nick asked. "Maybe." "Every day?" Adrean repeated. "Maybe." One biker started laughing so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. Chase buried his face in his hands. A week later. And somehow everyone was still arguing about the bikers.
About an hour later, everyone had finally settled down. The bikers were scattered around the mansion. Some were in the kitchen. Some were outside. Everyone else was hanging out in the living room. For once, nobody was arguing. Chase was stretched across a couch, half paying attention to a movie. Then the front door opened. Nobody thought much of it at first. People came and went from the mansion all the time. But then Chase immediately sat up. "Oh." Everyone looked over. A guy walked inside like he already knew where he was going. He was around the same age as Chase. Dark hair. Black hoodie. And an expression that looked annoyed before he had even entered the room. The second he spotted Chase, his entire face changed. He immediately crossed the room. Ignored everyone. Ignored every biker. Ignored literally everything. And dropped onto the couch next to Chase. No. Practically on top of Chase. Everyone stared. The guy wrapped an arm around Chase and rested his head on his shoulder. "Hi." Chase laughed. "Hi." "You disappeared." "It was three days." "Too long." The room was completely silent. The guy looked around. His smile immediately vanished. "Oh." The room somehow got quieter. He looked at everyone. One by one. His expression became increasingly unimpressed. Then he looked at the bikers. "...You're okay." One biker looked offended. "Just okay?" "Don't push it." The biker started laughing. Everyone else was still staring. The guy looked back at Chase. "Why are there so many people here?" "They live here." "They can leave." "They cannot." The guy sighed dramatically. Then leaned against Chase again. Nick narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" The guy looked at him. Then looked back at Chase. "Do I have to answer that?" "Probably." "I don't want to." Nick looked like he was about two seconds away from exploding. The guy didn't seem concerned. At all. One of Adrean's friends pointed. "Wait." The room froze. The friend pointed between Chase and the guy. Then pointed again. Slowly. "...Wait." "Oh no," Chase muttered. Everyone immediately understood. The room erupted. "THAT'S YOUR BOYFRIEND?" The guy flinched. Then immediately grabbed Chase's arm. "Why are they yelling?" "They do that." "I don't like them." "I know." "They should stop." "I know." Nick looked horrified. "You have a boyfriend?" "Apparently." "You never told us!" The guy immediately spoke up. "I told him not to." The room looked at him. He looked right back. Unimpressed. "You people seem annoying." Several people gasped. One biker started choking on a drink from laughing. The boyfriend pointed at the biker. "You're annoying too." The biker looked even more amused. "Fair." The guy groaned and buried his face against Chase's shoulder. For someone who supposedly didn't like the bikers either, he was clearly tolerating them far more than everyone else. Chase patted his head. "You could at least try to be nice." "I am being nice." Everyone stared. "That was nice?" Adrean asked. The guy looked confused. "Yeah." The room collectively decided they did not want to know what his version of rude looked like. Meanwhile, Chase was trying very hard not to laugh. Because despite the chaos, despite the horrified looks from everyone else, and despite his boyfriend glaring at half the room— He looked completely comfortable. Like this was normal. Which somehow made everyone even more concerned.
