“Okay, since everyone’s here, I would like to let you know what we have available.” Mrs. Moore announced with a clap, quickly getting the attention of all 11 of the hungry teens and preteens. “There are fully cooked fried eggs over here, bacon and sausages over there, some avocados in case we have any vegetarians in our midst, and there is a loaf of bread with butter and jam nearby, in case you guys want to make yourselves some toast.”

Mark was, surprisingly, the first person to yell out a loud “thank you, Mrs. Moore”. In the seconds that followed, just about every other person repeated the phrase, making the fancy resort room feel like a third grade classroom. Even Ethan repeated the phrase, grinning at the happy smile on the woman’s face.

Ethan grabbed everything but the avocado when he briefly heard that there was in fact a vegetarian in their midst and found where Meaghan and Aiden had found seats on the floor. Ethan stood in front of the chatting two, giving them a weird look.

Meaghan looked up at Ethan for a moment before giggling.

“What?”

“You guys do realize that there were--actually are--other seats still available?” Ethan asked them, gesturing his free hand to some of the empty spaces that weren’t just carpet on top of tile. Aiden’s eyes went a bit wide.

“Oh.” He mumbled, looking around himself. “I hadn’t noticed. I was just talking to Meaghan.”

Aiden and Ethan looked over to Meaghan who just shrugged at their silent question.

“I’d noticed but I just think that the floor is more fun.” She explained to them, completely unapologetic as usual. And, as usual, Ethan and Aiden just went along with it. That’s why the three of them spent their breakfast on the floor while three perfectly good seats remained empty behind them. 

Their conversation during the meal was pretty light and random, jumping from one topic to the other without a care in the world. But, as Meaghan was munching on her buttered toast, her eye caught Aaron’s form from across the room. At the sight of her older brother, she suddenly remembered a very pressing issue, his love life. 

To make a long story short, Scarlett Hale was having Meaghan’s brother pretend to be her boyfriend. She was a total babe and found turning down boys tedious. So, what better solution than to already be in a relationship? Aaron had agreed because, according to him, he hadn’t been looking for a relationship either. However, Meaghan found that hard to believe. Her brother was a hardcore romantic and she knew that he would much rather be with someone than alone. 

So, Meaghan dished up a plan. Aiden, adorable as he was, was interested in Aaron and Meaghan was positive that Aiden was just his type. So, Meaghan would do some of the classic Tyler female meddling and get Aaron so attracted to Aiden that he just had to act on it. Thus, getting her brother in a real relationship. Meaghan already had plans in motion to get the boys off of Scarlett’s butt when the time came, but for now, her main concern was being a matchmaker.

With all of this in mind, Meaghan turned to Aiden and Ethan, a wide grin on her lips. When Ethan saw that the look was aimed towards Aiden, he found that the grin showed up on his face as well. Ethan wasn’t actually sure about what Meaghan was smiling about. She could have been grinning about her evil plan to drop Ethan and Aiden from her life (which Ethan doubted because they were amazing) and Ethan would have no idea. But, Ethan had a feeling that he was going to enjoy whatever had Meaghan grinning so widely.

With both of them staring at him with identical looks, Aiden got a bit scared. 

“Uh, why are you guys staring at me like that?”

Meaghan tilted her head, that eerie smile not faltering for a second.

“Like what?” She asked.

“Like you have an evil plan.”

Meaghan didn’t immediately respond to that and Aiden shivered. Whatever they had planned, he wasn’t sure if he would like it very much. 

“We’ll talk about it later, after breakfast.” Ethan butted in, making the quick decision. Meaghan nodded in agreement and Aiden relaxed further into the ground. He may have something to worry about later, but at least he had some time to prepare himself before then. 

—————

“Sexy?” As Aiden repeated the word, he looked disbelievingly between two excited people in front of him. 

“Yes, you should totally try to look sexy in front of him. That will get his attention for sure.” Ethan told Aiden, smiling widely in excitement. But his excitement didn’t seem to rub off on Aiden. Aiden still had this uncertain look on his face as he wrung his hands together.

“Are you sure? Is there not, like, a more solid plan to, uh, seduce Aaron?” Aiden asked them, stumbling over the words that made him especially uncomfortable. 

Meaghan, always one for theatrics, walked over to where Aiden sat on his bed and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Aiden, sweetie,” She began, earning a small laugh from Ethan. “Acting sexier than usual is seduction.”

Aiden pursed his lips and Ethan saw that as him trying to ignore the fact that Meaghan was right. Aiden has been Ethan’s closest friend for a long time and Ethan knows how hesitant he could be when it came to putting himself out there. So, Ethan decided to throw his two cents out there, thinking that he might be able to better appeal to him.

“Aiden, I know I never say this, but you’re hot,” Ethan told him, earnestly. Aiden’s head shot up with a shocked expression. “It’s true, you’re really handsome and you probably never dated anybody because you were so focused on getting with Scarlett. So if you want Aaron and you make that clear to him, I doubt that anyone can stop you.”

Judging by the hopeful smile that had appeared on Aiden’s face, Ethan’s little speech worked. Ethan saw the way that Aiden sat up straighter, his confidence growing by the second.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Aiden stated firmly, smiling proudly. His smile then faltered as a thought came to mind. “But, I have no idea how to act sexy. So, you’ll have to show me what to do.”

Meaghan was about to speak, but Ethan raised his hand to silence her.

“Don’t worry, I know exactly what to do.”