chapter 1

I read the address out one final time to my friend as we arrived to my destination. My friend pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. He definitely didn't want to bother the neighbors just yet. We had just parked on the driveway of our old friend's mansion. Since we had no place to crash in LA, he was kind enough to offer us a place to stay for the night until we found our own place. Thankfully, he's an extremely kind guy and is allowing us to spend as much time we need at his place.

"What a beauty," my friend, Keaton exclaimed. "Never knew Finn had such an amazing place to call home!"

"Same here," I said. "He never told us anything about all this wealth!"

"Don't get too comfy though. Remember we're only crashing until we get everything sorted."


"Yea, but I also wouldn't mind living here for... um... the rest of my life." Keaton glared in response to my remark. "I'm only joking, Keaton. Calm yourself," I smiled.

We headed toward the grand entrance of the mansion. The elegant looking door seemed to have a fresh coat of paint applied to it, along with the rest of the house. It looked sharp and pristine -- perfect, for a lack of a better word. Keaton and I lugged our luggage up the steps, breathing and panting heavily since our out-of-shape bodies couldn't handle the exercise. Not too mention the infamous LA weather had struck. It was blazing hot compared to how they were used to back home in Hawaii. Him and I didn't exactly have beach bodies, in fact it was the opposite. We were both quite chubby, not fat or anything, but we had quite a lot of meat on our bones.

I rung the doorbell and awaited a response. After a few moments, the door swung open, although it wasn't Finn who was on our opposite side. It was someone who appeared to be a butler.

"Hello, gentlemen," he stated. "You two must be Mr. Keaton Harring and Mr. Cole Atoian, am I correct?"


"Yes, that would be us," Keaton agreed.

The butler cleared his throat, stepped to the side, and pointed to what seemed to be a foyer. "Thank you, kind sir," I said and walked in. The mansion was decorated extravagantly. Everything seemed expensive and powerful. It was much different than apartment in Oahu.In my mind, I pictured all the great times I'd be having in the future in this mansion. But I quickly lost the thought for I didn't want to get too comfortable. I stepped into the foyer; Keaton followed. The room was decked out with sweets and snacks of all kinds. Fruit, chocolate, candies, popcorn, doughnuts, pies, and even more delicacies were placed around the room. "Please help yourself with any sweets," the butler said, luggage in hand. "Mr. Finn should be down any minute."

"Thank you," Keaton smiled. Upon the butler's departure from the foyer, he said: "Alright, let's dig in."


"Right ahead of ya."

Keaton and I grabbed a nearby plate and started to fill it up. Since I'm a huge fan of doughnuts, I placed three onto my plate with a side of strawberries, while Keaton stuffed an entire pie onto his plate, topping it off with blueberries. We started to stuff our faces silly, not caring or wondering where our host could be. Just as we were about to fill our plate with seconds, a familiar voice filled the room. "Keaton! Cole! It's been awhile!" Finn was standing near the entrance of the foyer. His dark tuxedo and dress shoes made Keaton and I feel a little self-conscious about our attire, which was a tank-top shorts combo. It was nice to see Finn after so long. He hadn't changed much. His physique was as slim as it once was, his face was shaven like always, and his hair styled to the left, The same old Finn except a lot richer! "I see you've already started on the appetizer I've prepared."

"You'd be correct, my friend," I smiled. Keaton and I hugged and shook hands with our old friend. We reminisced old memories and delights we shared over more sweets and delicacies. I had another doughnut, of course. The only thing keeping me from gorging down the entire box of doughnuts was the luxurious meal he said he would have prepared for us. "If the foyer is always gonna be like this, I think I'm gonna end up the size of a mammoth," Keaton joked.

"Well, looks like there's gonna be a mammoth in this place pretty soon," Finn laughed. "I have this room always jam-packed with food like this just in case anyone ever gets hungry or is ever in need of a snack. As a host, I need to make sure everyone is well fed and happy!"

"Yea, I don't think I'll ever starve under these conditions," I chuckled.

Finn laughed again and stated: "Well, don't stuff yourselves too much! We're going out tonight!"

"Where to?"

"The terrace on the fourth floor. Beautiful view of Hollywood. It's just gorgeous." Finn stood up. "Dinner will be served in about an a few hours. I do hope it's alright, but when we eat dinner, I do need everyone to wear formal, propper clothing. I didn't expect you guys to know, so I had a suit tailored for both of you. I do hope it's' the right size. I just assumed it from photos we've exchanged to each other over the years."

"That's alright," Keaton assured.

"Amazing! They're hung in each of your closets. Let me show you to your rooms." Finn led the way to our bedrooms. They were right across from each other, both located on the first floor. Just as Finn said, my suit was hanging in my closet. I dressed appropriately and headed to the terrace.