Disclaimer: I own nothing involved with the television series "Lie to Me" and I won't pretend to.

Author's Note: Woah, guys. I literally just finished up my last fanfic today and here I am starting a new one. O_O I either have no life, or I just write too much... Anyway, here's the first chapter; hope you enjoy! Oh, and please review! Please, oh please, oh please! .

"Another finished case, just for you, Lightman." Eli sighed, slapping the folder on Cal's desk. Cal peered up from a book he was reading, almost looking like he was staring at something he couldn't quite understand. Eli squirmed under his boss's gaze. Sure, he was an oddity with his personality and radical honesty, but he wasn't that strange, right?

"Uh, right, good." Cal replied, returning to his book. Eli wasn't really sure if he was dismissed or not, so he lingered in front of the desk for awhile.

"Loker?" said a female voice behind him. He turned his head to see the secretary peeking her head in. Cal also glanced up to observe the situation.

"Yeah?"

"There are three men here to see you." she informed him, then abandoned the doorframe to return to her desk. Eli turned to his boss, who was looking at him with that "what are you?" sort of look again. Loker shrugged and raised his eyebrows, as though he had to tell Lightman that he didn't know what was going on.

"Right...I'll see you later." Eli said in farewell and left the office. He could hear Lightman following behind and it didn't surprise him. Cal was a curious guy and he wasn't afraid to let people know it.

Eli sighed as he turned the corner, looking at the floor. He shifted his gaze upwards and immediately stopped amid his shuffle, a delayed grin spreading over his face. Lightman watched behind him as Loker stared happily at the three men by the front desk. It was obvious Eli knew them.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Loker chuckled as the boys collided together in a tight group hug.

"Did you get skinnier?" one of the guys inquired, looking Loker up and down as they broke their embrace. "How could you possibly get skinnier than when you were in college?"

"College was the pits, man. All we ate was instant noodles." laughed another. Cal cocked his head to the side as he studied this reunion Loker was having. Close friends?

"Oh, uh, Lightman, these are my old college buddies." Eli confessed, gesturing to the three guys before the British man. "Guys, this is my boss, Dr. Lightman."

"Nice to meet you." said one boy with a nod. Cal continued to stare at them with the look that made Eli uncomfortable.

"Does he always stare at you like that?" the light brown-haired man whispered to Eli. Eli sighed as he smirked.

"Yeah, basically." he muttered. "Why don't we go somewhere...more private?" Eli led the small team of buddies into the conference room and closed the door behind him. Lightman was still standing in the same spot, staring after them with a curious look on his face. Loker snickered as he watched Gillian come up behind his boss and start talking to him, which resulted in Cal's response and pointing in the general direction of Loker and his pals.

"He's kinda quirky." the blonde, Evin, said, still peering out of the glass at Cal with his bright blue eyes.

"Like you should talk..." Josh snorted, sweeping his light brunette waves from his face to reveal chocolaty brown eyes.

"What are you guys doing here?" Eli asked with a smile as he sat down in one of the chairs. He hadn't seen his friends since they graduated college and he'd been too busy at The Lightman Group to regularly pick up the phone for a chat.

"Aw, dude, hecka long story." Evin sighed, shaking his head.

"I mean, it wasn't, but...then it was, and...you know, now it is." Dave explained. He was the pal that Eli was never really sure if he was on drugs or if he simply acted that way when he was sober.

"But, to sum it all up, we were coming down to see you when a whole lot of crap happened." Josh stated, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "So, now we're here to ask for your help too."

"Help? What kind of help?" Loker inquired, instantly concerned. The last time Josh asked for help, he owed someone a whopping five thousand dollars through a strange conglomeration of events. If it was the same sort of situation, Eli knew he couldn't assist his buddy; he just didn't have that kind of money right now.

"Somebody stole my car." Josh answered, clear signs of contempt showing on his features.

"Oh, come on, Josh. That thing was a piece of junk." Eli chuckled, using his hands to accentuate the fact.

"I know, but that car has sentimental value!" his pal whined, his expression changing to a plea. "You've got to remember those ridiculous spring break vacations we went on in that thing. Dave's obnoxious singing...Evin's attempt at clever traveling word games... Sure, it was a crap car, but it was still worth something to me!" Eli smirked as college memories flooded back to him of all those stupid road trips the guys took in the rusty, orange car. Yeah, the metal frame was more than just a piece of the car to all of them, but how could he help Josh find it?

"Look, I know I'm probably not going to get that hunk of scrap metal back, but there was something fishy going on. I just want to know if there's something more to this than car theft." Josh informed Eli darkly. Now Loker was suspicious. He trusted Josh and he basically had no reason not to believe him; if Josh thought something was a little strange, then something was probably a little strange.

"Why do you think there's more to it?" Eli muttered, leaning in closer to his buddies.

"Oh, dude, Josh totally parked the car right in front of the store; there was no way you could've missed it." Dave swore, his eyes wide with honesty.

"Yeah, and we were all getting a slushy, not paying any attention, when we heard squealing tires." Evin added with a nod.

"We turn back around, and my car is gone." Josh finished. "The clerk was standing there the entire time and she claims she saw and heard nothing."

"That is a little weird..." Eli admitted, scratching his stubble. It's not as if the clerk didn't notice; there were squealing tires, people would stare at that. Either, she was reluctant to give information, or she was part of it all. But, it must've been an amateur group of criminals if it was so blatant she was fibbing.

"That's what I thought! She's got to be lying." Josh observed, folding his arms. "So, you're in the business of seeing if people are telling the truth, right? I thought that maybe you could question her and see if you could dig something up out of it." Eli thought about it, coming to a partial conclusion; he had one more question to ask.

"Why are you so worked up about all this?" Eli mumbled, his choice teetering between two possibilities.

"Come on, Eli. It's my car we're talking about here! I just want to know what happened to it, even if it ended up being blown up or somethin'." Josh ranted, shaking his head as he finished. He was mad, frustrated and he probably felt betrayed. Josh hated when he was lied to, even if it was a little white lie. That's why he took to Eli so quick. Loker could remember one of the first memories he had with Josh.

"Is this shirt okay?" Josh had asked him as he was prepping for a date. Back then, he was only a roommate, but they were well on their way to being friends. Eli had examined the taxi yellow t-shirt and thought out his answer carefully. Josh was menacing; Eli didn't want to get beat up over a shirt.

"If you...want to be found in a crowd." Eli remembered telling him. Luckily, Josh let out a grin just before taking off the shirt.

"I like you, man. You're honest!" Okay, so Josh accepted his radical honesty. Dave was just too lax and too...stoned-like to really let anything bother him, and Evin was much too nice to take a harsh comment badly. Eli fit in with them, more so than he did at The Lightman Group. They would always be his close buddies, since they pulled all-nighters together; graduated together; and they'd even shared a few scuffles between themselves. Torres couldn't top that, even if she tried.

"Alright, I'll help you." Eli finally decided. Smiles spread over his pals' faces, relieved that their fourth musketeer was willing to help. "I'll see if I can get off work early so we can go grab a bite to eat."

"But...I thought you had a second job." Josh responded, thinking back to a past phone call.

"Yeah, yeah, but if I can leave now, I'll have time to get dinner with you guys." Eli chuckled. "I'll ask Lightman if I can have a day off tomorrow, but I don't have to work at my second job tomorrow night."

"Alright, man, awesome." Dave laughed, nodding.

"Unfortunately...you guys have to pay." Eli muttered, looking apologetic.

"Hey, that's alright; you're helping us out with this crazy situation anyway." Evin laughed, waving a hand as if he were shooing away Eli's guilt and embarrassment.

"Great, a free meal." Loker chimed.

"What do you want, Loker?" Lightman sighed, even before Eli had come to a halt before his desk.

"Mercy." Eli stated simply. Cal looked at him intently, though still managing an irritated expression.

"What did you do this time?" he mumbled.

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Eli laughed. "I was just wondering if I could have a day off tomorrow, seeing as we just closed up a case and my college buddies just came in town..." Cal exhaled loudly as he thought it over. "It's not like you have to pay me or anything either."

"Fine." he answered.

"Oh, great, thanks!" Loker chuckled graciously. "And, uh...can I maybe...you know...leave work early?" Cal shot a look at him that basically said no, causing Eli's shoulders to slump. Lightman caught the disappointed action and glanced away.

"Ugh, do whatever you bloody want, I don't care." he grumbled, flipping over a folder to read. Eli's guise lit up in pure joy and he almost skipped out of the office with excitement.

"Thanks, Lightman!" he called back as he left the room, eager to leave.

"Where are you going?" Ria asked loudly as he quickly walked past her.

"I'm, uh, leaving." he answered, turning in his step to face her.

"But, your shift isn't over." she observed, flickering a warning glance at Lightman's office. Of course, if Cal hadn't been at work, they would've definitely left work early. They just finished a case after all: there wasn't anything else for them to do.

"Ah, but I got special permission from the big cheese himself." he corrected, wagging a finger. "I'll see you Thursday." He spun on his heel to head back to the lobby.

"Thursday? What about tomorrow? Where will you be?" Ria inquired, now getting a little annoyed that he was granted such privileges.

"I'll be gone!" he called back as he strode away. "Have a great Wednesday!" Ria shook her head as she watched him go, then tugged the door open into the analysis room.

"Lucky..." she murmured, slipping through the door.

"Who was that?" Josh asked, a whistle following.

"Ria Torres, my coworker." Eli chuckled. "She's way out of your league, man."

"Ouch, your honesty hurts sometimes." his buddy laughed, taking it in good humor.

"Come on, guys, I'm starved." Dave whined, flicking Eli's arm.