Lower Manhattan - Beach

Seth frowned. Jake was giving off a weird vibe. "No! There's enough sluts around. I meant, you of all people have complained enough times she's too prudish! Wouldn't you agree you've wanted her for too long now?"

Ashton quirked an eyebrow, watching Jake curiously. This was a new development.

Jake turned to face Seth again, because he felt stupid talking to him this way. "I mean yes okay she's prudish but what do you want? I mean if she changes she's gotta do it herself, and none of my "charm" will help in that. So yeah I want her but she's not gonna want me back its end of story we're friends now." Jake said with some sort of final tone hoping again if said out loud that his heart would recognize it.

Seth sighed and shook his head. "Then explain what we saw earlier, huh?" He shrugged. "Just saying, you can have a little fun out of it before all hell breaks loose. Hey Red!" he piped up suddenly and Evelyn looked up.

Seth grinned at her. "How well do you know your biology?"

"Excuse me?" Evelyn asked, baffled. Ashton choked on the water he was drinking.

Seth smiled wider. "Jake was just saying he wishes you'd kept that baggy thing you're wearing off."

Evelyn's face turned bright pink and Ashton stifled more laughter in his hand.

Jake's jaw dropped and he reached over and smacked Seth across the head. "Don't listen to Seth, he's stupid." Jake said glaring at him what was it with everyone?!

Seth rubbed his head. "Fine, Jake will take over the biology lesson. I tried!"

Ashton lost it and burst out laughing at this point. Evelyn stared at Jake and Seth in confusion, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"What're you talking about?" she asked, feeling like she was missing some inside joke. "What's with the biology crap?"

"Nothing, the only thing biological I'm interested in doing is dissecting an annoying toad." Jake scowled at Seth.

"Oh, come on, Jake!" Seth exclaimed. "Quit brooding! This is why sexual tension is never good for you!"

Evelyn felt her stomach drop. Oh no. She glared at them openly now. "I'll take a pass on bio, thanks!"

Carrie and Ashton were watching with poorly hidden laughter.

"God, Lyn, you might actually come off better with one," Carrie commented. She winked at the boys. "She's way too wound up."

Antonio was laughing not even bothering to try and cover it up.

Jake sat silently not sure what to say or do anymore without stuff getting turned into some joke with everyone.

"I am not wound up!" Evelyn defended herself. She frowned at Jake, the only silent person in this conversation. "Am I?! I've been pretty relaxed lately!"

Jacob cringed and he glanced over at Evelyn pretending to be stunned. "Uhh are you asking me?"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "Yes! Don't act stupider than you can help it!" She ignored the laughter around them.

"Wellll...." Jake said rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah you can be kind of uptight, but whatever." He shrugged.

Seth chuckled at this and Evelyn frowned. "What - how am I uptight?!" she demanded. "What do you want me to do, streak around the place?"

"I mean well... I wouldn't be opposed to it...." Jake's voice trailed off.

The reaction to this comment was comical. Ashton, Seth and Carrie all broke into hysterical laughter at the sheepish look on Jake's face while Evelyn's cheeks proceeded to bypass red and went maroon as she blushed.

She attempted to speak, failed and stammered, "You - oh my God." Seth, chortling, clapped Jake on the back in approval and Evelyn huffed angrily.

"It was rhetorical, for your information," she said irritably. "I wasn't really offering to!"

"You should be," Seth commented, nudging Jake.

Jacob had to stifle a laugh, he straightened looking at Evelyn. "Listen here Jigglypuff, we're not saying you run around naked but you can try and not freak out like a fourth grader whenever someone mentions sex." Jake suggested to her.

"I don't freak out," Evelyn said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "See, you mentioned it and even had a conversation filled with innuendos with me and Seth and I didn't freak."

Ashton coughed.

"And don't call me that," Evelyn added as an afterthought.

"You still get all jumpy and whatever whenever someone does mention something even closely related to sex, and you blush like you're a schoolgirl. Just saying, also you're a grown girl its okay to show some skin once in awhile. Don't gotta be a prude all the time." Jake added although he knew none of this was really gonna stick to Evelyn.

Seth was somewhat amused and a bit horrified at the blunt way Jake was saying all of this to an angry Evelyn.

"I do not - " She paused there, probably realizing she was, in fact, blushing hotly. Evelyn narrowed her eyes at Jake. "Well, it's cold. I don't want to die of pneumonia so I figure it's better than sitting around half-naked."

Which was only half true. She only ever wore sports bras at home. So the crop top was definitely out.

Evelyn paused a moment though, annoyed by the boys' allegations. She scowled. "But since it's clearly bothering everyone, I'll risk hypothermia anyway." She reached down and yanked her cardigan off, shivering in the stupidly short crop top that barely covered her ribs as a cool wind tickled her bare legs and stomach. She stuffed her cardigan in her tote as Carrie shook her head in amusement. It was not the weather for crop tops anyway.

After she was done putting the cardi away, Evelyn glared at Jake again, crossing her arms over her chest as protection from the cold. "Happy? You can pay for my funeral."

Ashton stifled a laugh yet again.

Jake stared at her stomach for a moment and then let his eyes go back up to her's where he shrugged. "Sorry remember I'm too cheap?" Jake smirked. Although he didn't mean for her to get naked in the cold, but whatever.

"So are we gonna sit out here all night or what... I'm hungry." Jake said, he hadn't really eaten much today.

Seth, who had lain back down on his towel, shrugged. "I want a shower. Let's get cleaned up and head out."

Evelyn, who had noticed Jake's wandering eyes, decided she would ignore him for the remainder of that evening, so she said nothing at all, simply stuffing her flip-flops into her bag. Carrie followed and Ashton nodded at Seth, getting up to grab his clothes and head for the shower rooms down the beach.

Everyone had gone to shower and change after waiting they all came out and started heading for the parking lot.

They all decided on their way back to the dorm they'd stop somewhere on their way home and grab a bite to eat.

"So do you guys feel like stopping and eating somewhere or do you just wanna hit the drive thru?" Jake asked everyone.

"I want some real food, motherfucker," Seth exclaimed. "It's our last night in freedom! Tomorrow we're back to being caged!"

Evelyn smiled, amused as she walked behind the boys, using their builds to shield herself from the cold wind.

She glared at the back of Jake's head, suddenly remembering she was annoyed at him. Again. "Hey, I have an idea, let's go to Sevilla," she said, voice cheerfully as she grinned. Seth turned to shoot her a wide-eyed look, before shooting Lola a confused glance.

Lola shrugged and looked up at Jake. Jacob almost stopped in his tracks, like hell he was going there. Because all he could think about was how he first realized he had started to like Evelyn more than a friend there. He wasn't going there. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore." He muttered to himself.

Ashton, oblivious, said, "I've been there before, it's pretty good."

Carrie nodded. "Oh yeah, they have awesome food there! Remember, Lyn, when we went there with Joel and Taylor - "

"They have nice dessert," Evelyn said, hastily cutting her off as her stomach swooped sickeningly.