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That morning was stifling.
Sabrina sat at the kitchen table, crunching on an apple and fanning herself with Aunt Zelda’s newspaper - it was polish today.
She wished Harvey would hurry up - she could just as easily teleport them to Sweetwater, probably, but he insisted he’d drive the gang over to Riverdale himself.
“We’ll make a day of it!” he’d said.
She was excited, of course. Who wouldn’t want to spend a nice hot day at the swimming hole, with her friends, and Aunt Hilda’s picnic basket?
But Sabrina was nervous too. It had been a while since she’d properly had a get-together with her mortal friends. She desperately missed, craved that contact, like ice cream in the sun.
It wasn’t long when she heard the honking horn, and she was grabbing her bag and kissing her aunties on the cheek. She jogged over to Harvey’s truck.
“Sabrina!” Her friends inside all grinned at her and her heart swooped when she saw them. She slid into the backseat beside Nick and clasped his hand, and a weight lifted off her shoulders. It was a tight fit, with only five seats, but they made it work by having Theo sit on Robin’s lap.
It was totally illegal, but at least it was cute.
“If we get arrested, Sabrina, it’s totally your fault,” Theo told her.
She grinned devilishly but said nothing. Harvey took off down the road out of town and her friends whooped and sang. She stayed quiet, listening to the sounds of birds outside and the idle chatter from her friends, occasionally contributing to the conversation when needed.
After Satan knew how long (she wasn’t counting), Harvey pulled up on the outskirts of Sweetwater River and they all clambered out of his truck. No cops!
Sabrina struggled a bit with the picnic basket, as it was rather large, until Robin grinned and grabbed one side of the handle and they held it together.
The sun beat down on bare neck and she felt the sweat beading on her forehead, but at least the wind was sweet and cool.
“I haven’t been here in forever!” Roz leapt down the hill and towards the water, grinning madly back at her friends.
“Please don’t trip!” Harvey worried at his lip and followed her. Sabrina smiled fondly and they made their way to a nice warm clearing, with soft green grass to lay their towels on. If they’d only brought tents, she thought. We could have camped out here, had marshmallows… Another day maybe.
“Theo, you should put on sunscreen,” Robin said, chasing a giggling Theo around their little clearing with Aunt Hilda’s homemade sunscreen in his hands.
“I thought you were supposed to be fast!” Theo remarked, eyebrow raised as he darted around, kicking up loose sand into their towels. It wasn’t long before Robin had caught him and they landed in the grass, laughing like kids again.
Sabrina sat down on a log. When had they grown up? It happened so quickly. What was being a kid like? She couldn’t really remember.
She glanced over to Nick, helping Harvey with his sunscreen, and sighed. She was grateful for him, of course. Her other friends were mortal, she’d eventually lose them but he would be beside her forever, if she could help it.
“Better make the most of it,” she whispered to herself.
With that thought in mind, she stood up and stripped down, earning a delighted cheer from Nick. She giggled, even though she was only in her swimsuit.
It was a cute affair, a red two piece with high waisted bottoms and bows. It had cost her a fortune, but shopping in the big city usually did that for you. Aunt Zelda had taken her there for her birthday.
She threw her bag down into the grass and made a beeline for the water, not even bothering to set up her towel. Plenty of time to do that later, after she was cool and exhausted from swimming.
Dipping her toes in the water, Sabrina shivered. “It’s colder than I thought!” she squeaked, and Roz bounded over, seizing her hand and pulling her into the water. Sabrina squealed as the water splashed and stirred all the way up to her stomach. It was icy cold, a stark difference between the scorching sun, but she quickly got used to it.
“Hurry up, the water’s amazing!” she called out to her friends up the hill and forced herself further out, reaching out and taking Roz’s hand. They made ‘eeeeee’ noises as the water covered them up to the shoulders. Roz’s hand slipped out of hers and Sabrina found herself missing it already.
She tread water, shutting her eyes and relaxing under the sun. “This is definitely what I needed, Roz.”
“Yeah? Me too. Everyone’s on my ass about homework, and college, and I so need a break.”
Roz groaned, submerging her head and leaving her hair soaked.
Sabrina thought about college, and the homework she was ignoring on her desk at home.
“I think college might kill me,” she admitted, glancing sideways at Roz.
She gave her a sympathetic look. “I know what you mean,” she said. “It’s honestly scary, but also exciting!”
“I thought everyone was on your ass about it?” Harvey bounded over to them, looking much like a labrador and Sabrina rolled her eyes fondly. He ran at full speed into the water and stirred up mud. “Rivers are so gross.”
“They’re on my ass, but I’m still excited. Also, rivers are entirely natural and so is mud!” Roz said, splashing Harvey in the face.
He shrieked, quickly retaliating with an even bigger splash that left Roz reeling, laughing. Sabrina shuffled out of the splash radius, watching with bright eyes.
On the beach, Nick sat on the log with a soda can. In front of him, Theo and Robin were busy applying sunscreen to each other, stealing chaste kisses whenever they could.
“Nick! Are you swimming or not?” Harvey asked, voice echoing. Nick gave a thumbs up and quickly ran behind a tree to get changed - he wasn’t modest, but he didn’t want to give his friends an eyeful - they might not survive!
Nick joined them in the water, going as carefully as Sabrina had, until she called him a wuss and he launched himself over to her, causing a mini tidal wave to crash over her. She shrieked, standing up on her tippy-toes in the mud. River water dripped down her face, and her hair was ruined.
She slowly looked up at Nick, a small smile on her face, her eyes twinkling. “I’ll get you back for that, Scratch!”
“Yeah, Spellman?”
“Yes,” Sabrina folded her arms, trying not to look like a pouty soaked mess, but failed miserably. “I’ll get you back, I just don’t know how yet.”
Nick raised an eyebrow at her, and smirked. “Alright then, if you say so.” He leaned onto his back, into the water and relaxed with a grateful sigh.
“This is life.”
“Tell me about it, man,” Harvey replied, doggy-paddling further out. “We’re going to be the only ones enjoying it.”
He nodded up the hill and Sabrina saw Theo and Robin slow-dancing in their swimsuits, to some invisible music only they could hear. The sight made Sabrina’s heart melt. They fitted together like puzzle pieces, she thought. If there were such things as soulmates…
“Oh, that won’t do,” Roz muttered, splashing her way up the river bank and towards their dancing friends. She seized Robin by the hand and dragged them both down to the water, cackling.
“You’re getting the freeze ray, you two!” she announced, shoving Robin forward into the water. He pulled Theo along, grinning and yelling as they fell backwards into the icy cold. Roz roared with laughter as Theo squealed and jumped into Robin’s arms.
Sabrina shut her eyes and dipped her ears under the waterline, muffling the sounds of her boisterous friends.
“I could get used to this.”
Dimly, she registered the sound of Harvey undoubtedly slapping mud onto Roz’s shoulders, and Roz’s furious yell.
“Harvey!”
“I thought you said it was natural!”
“Yeah,” she whispered to herself. “This is life.”