Work Text:
𓍙 solaris city, mizawa
Sharp air filled with the scent of pinecones and freshly mown grass billowed out over the suburbs, raising goosebumps. Winter came faintly in Mizawa, where the difference in temperature often paled in comparison to the price hikes of basic goods at the Target down the road. Today, at least, there was a chill in the air. It settled onto Sierra’s skin in waves, rippling over the baggy cloth draped over her form. Most of the time, she’d be embarrassed to come outside in such clothes. Pasta stains from the night before were left on the collar, making her crinkle her nose against the odor of marinara. But she didn’t have time to change. There was something that couldn’t wait.
Her call, one sent with so many spelling errors and with little explanation, was answered in a swiftness expected of the people she’s honored to call her best friends. Their presence was one anyone would be unable to ignore, whether they were on their own as individuals, or together as a pack, as they were today.
“Oh c’mon! You totally cheated!” Huddled up both for warmth and for visibility of their shared game, a trio of assorted persons waddled down the sidewalk of the rundown street. White hair and highlighted locks and heterochromatic eyes. Their distinct features are burned into brain. Battles and hangouts and random conversations together have taught her their every trait, and have led her to memorize every one.
Moss was sprouting out of the cracks of the street, the result of lengthy neglected by any form of competent government. A few dandelions of vibrant yellow popped out against the harsh, desaturated green. Their weak forms, barely holding themselves together against the light breeze of the evening, added hints of much needed color to the beige, tan, brown and grey neighborhood.
The youthful pink of the afternoon was now fading into the deepened orange of the approaching dusk. Summer fog faded, the mountains that surrounded Mizawa in the far distance were now clear to the average eye. Grand and gorgeous, they framed the city of angels into a cozied crib. Cotton candy clouds and skies of sewed fabric rolled over and encompassed.
“I think you just suck at this game,” chuckled a familiar voice. It reminded her of the creakiness of stools and the softness of brushes and the headache inducing smell of ramen. “I mean, you only got it yesterday. He’s been playing for… how long again?”
What little sunlight remained was already dissolving in the purple, the last hints of pink hanging underneath the growing lavender and twilight. Wind that brisked by lifted her messied hair off of her shoulders, swaying it gently in tune with the chilly winter breeze. Sierra only just managed to tame it in before the others reached the dehydrated lawn of the old house. She kinda looked like the dead wives in the flashbacks of Emma’s favorite shows that she was always persuaded to watch. The neighborhood, abandoned by tenants and filled by the ghosts of past vandalizers, stood in silent observatory for the meeting between teens.
“Not too long. Sie showed it to me a few months back,” replied the last in a level tone. Quiet in volume, it alerted the stationary girl to quickly wipe off the salty water still left on her face. The smile resting upon her face remained tinged with sadness still. All she could do was hope her best friends wouldn’t notice. What a silly idea. Of course they would. At least she knew they were smart enough, a fact most would never assume at first glance, to wait until they knew more before calling it out. Patience was a virtue she still practiced to better, but they knew it way more than her.
Almost in sync, the three paused in their steps and twisted their faces into different expressions. A bright smile, a reassuring look, a calm expression. All their unique ways of saying ‘hi’. Sometimes Sierra wondered if she had a certain look to her when she saw them. When thinking of it herself, she couldn’t tell. That’s just one of many things that you can’t know about yourself, just others. Just like how you never truly know how you look to others. Cameras distort. Mirrors flip. Reflections warble. Her history teacher this year, sophomore year now, told her that humans were never supposed to see their faces. The fact that it’s available at someone’s fingertips now causes great stress.
“HEY SIE!!!” A pumped voice called out, approaching at a much faster rate than the other two and stopping just before the brunette. Estrella’s undeniable energy could cheer anyone up from anything. Even when she wasn’t there in person, you could almost imagine some encouraging thing she would say… She just had that kind of effect on people. Almost immediately, Sierra could feel a genuine smile breaking through, replacing the less-than-sincere one quickly. The other two greeted in their own, calmer ways, catching up soon.
This initial joy ended as abruptly as it started. One with her arms crossed, both due to the slowly chilling weather and her natural body posture, raised her eyebrows. Yesenia was always the logical one in the group… well, most of the time. “So, what is it? The thing that’s so urgent that we had to rush over here as fast as we could?” Her words may be blunt, but they were spoken with that tone of kindness that was unique to just her.
But the answer that she wanted was not given. Sierra tucked a loose strand flapping around her face behind her ear, looking away to the homes across the street. Solaris City had a lot of abandoned buildings, the four of them knew it well. These were some that they had avoided thus far. She picked at the edge of her shirt. “How about we check it out together?”
“Like that’s not suspicious at all,” teased the white-haired one. “How can we be sure you’re not some skinwalker luring us to our deaths?” That brought giggles from all of them, and together they started along, compact in their group that lagged slightly behind the girl that had called them all here.
The street opened up into wide, branching paths. So many lives, so many memories left to be buried under dust. Facing a crossroad, Stray led them to the right, where a house that rose to three stories stood weathered and alone. Signs and pinups on the grass warned away solicitors and intruders and anything of the like, which did absolutely nothing to dissuade the teens. Though it was stiff and made weird cracking noises, it gave way with little effort from Eden. A puff of dust met the youth in a strange sort of welcoming, painting their faces a light shade of grey. Some coughs, sneezes, and accidental slapping from waving their hands to clear the cloud later, they slipped inside. The joy felt in that moment had to be similar to that of a miner stumbling upon an unending stretch of raw diamonds.
What little furniture that remained was already turned over, shoved off into a single corner of the room, backdropped by the torn curtains draped over the window. The air stank of chemicals and metal, no doubt infected this way by the grand pile of spray paint cans sitting in front of the door. The one they didn’t notice was there until the boy tripped over it and ate a faceful of grime and floor. That one definitely made the girls laugh themselves ‘till they were doubled over, with only one taking a pause to help him up, before quickly resuming. Red faced and grumbling, he grabbed one out of the now spread-out collection, tossing it to Yesenia. She caught it without ending her bout.
The empty walls were nothing but untouched canvases to breathe life into. Soon the sound of rattling filled the still house, followed by the sound of shouting and more laughter. Paintings now faded away were resaturated with strange color palettes, and ones deemed boring were completely redone. The clatter of caps falling to the floor mixed with the sound of sneakers hitting marble floor. It had been a while since their graffiti skills had been tested this much. With so many options of color to choose from, and a background so perfectly fit for decor, their combined efforts became even more fervent.
By the time they were done, the dulled walls had been completely transformed. Messages, letter art, animals, a few inappropriate symbols, and a whole lot of eyes covered every inch of bare space. The unrestrained stream of creativity had even pushed them to the floor, which now looked the walls of a child’s bedroom. A child with a talent for drawing cats, bats, dogs, and bunnies, at least.
Their “bright” idea of using the ground had eventually shoved them into the garage, which was connected (barely) by a door next to the foyer. It was hard to see in there, but luckily, one was able to fix that with ease. Yesenia led the way into the garage, which was huge. In the past, it surely would’ve stored a bunch of high-end luxury cars for the rich owner. Or well, that’s what they assumed. All the cars had been removed, leaving only imprints of tire and outlines of grime in their place. That was, until Estrella walked ahead of Yessie, right into the metal arms of a broken down car.
“This house really was a jackpot!”
For them, the stars really had aligned. Only just a week ago, Eden had gotten his drivers license. Not that it mattered. He would’ve driven without it anyway. But it’s nice to not have to worry about getting arrested for that.
Before they could hop in, they had to scour through both the car and the garage looking for the keys. Luckily, looking for things to nab was one of the groups’ many specialties, and it wasn’t long before one dug it up from behind the soot-covered seats. The car took some kicking and zaps from the boy to finally start up, but the fact that it even did was more than any of them really expected.
Unfortunately, they were not lucky enough to find the garage key during their search, meaning they had to do it themselves. That would’ve meant some annoying manual labor for any other group of mischievous teens. Not for them, though. With the simple power of Estrella’s amazing mind, as Sierra went on to praise, the door was held open, and they were able to slam on the gas and get the hell out of there.
The stench of old plastic and rotten fruit clung to the interior of the car, twisting everyone’s noses with disgust. Sticking your head out of the window did little to combat that, since the odor was so strong, merely seeping out of the mobile. Plus, the air outside wasn’t much better by comparison. After 10 minutes, the three girls were so desperate to get away from the smell that they forced Eden to pull over at the first thing he could find. The skatepark.
It used to be a hotspot for Banyan students especially, but with the dropping temperatures, they much preferred to take their rulebreaking to more comfortable spots. Like the gym of the high school. The memory of the floors there was vomit-inducing. No wonder they were forced to clean it together… It got trashed again later that very night, so it didn’t matter, but it was understandable why.
A few others populated the area, but they seemed much less occupied with the actual skating part of the skate park, keeping to themselves near the road. Smoke trails from their cigarettes rose into the air, blending into the now growing dusk. Not yet had the moon peaked from the plumping horizon. They still had time.
Clanky car noises still echoing freshly in their minds, they strolled into the park, looking around for some poor, abandoned skateboards to borrow for the visit. Solaris City seemed to have a dwindling population of suckers, because looked as they did, they couldn’t find the belongings of a fool anywhere. “Ugh, they usually always have some boards here. I can’t believe they don’t have any the one time they’re actually wanted.”
“I agree! Where are we gonna get some?! I don’t have any cash on me right now… DO you Eddie? Wait! I’ve got it!” She bounded forwards, smiling sheepishly at Sierra. It had been a while since they had first gotten their kinesis’, and they’d all gotten pretty good at it. “Would you be so kind, Ms. Sie?” She, and the other girl, had already begun tying her hair back.
She grinned, giving a slight bow before pulling her arms inwards. “Why of course, M’lady.” There was a warm glow and, then, a few skateboards beneath them. Transparent, only marked by the slight yellow outline on the edges of each separate object. The other three moved towards their skateboards, but paused as Sierra raised a finger. “Wait!” She snapped her fingers, spawning molded helmets on top of their heads. “Safety first.”
“Always looking out for us,” giggled Yesenia, adjusting her new accessory and snapping it cleanly shut. “What would we do without you?” The others mirrored her actions before jumping onto their summoned planks and pushing off.
The hum of the magical wheels grinding against the pavement bounced off the basin of the park. They would bound off kickers, sparks flying off as they gained speed. Their figures became nothing but blurs eventually, with screaming voices faintly attached to their forms as they flew past one another. Words got lost, but their meanings didn’t.
“Watch this.”
“Get out of my way, you biggie!”
“Oh be quiet, you’re the one in my way.”
“Woah, Yessie, that was so cool!!”
“If you think that was cool, watch this.”
Expressions and syllables made up for consonants lost. Biting cold seeped through the gaps of their clothes as they moved, pricking at their nerves and only working to heighten their energy. The feeling of air rushing back their ears and under their necks was exhilarating. When was the last time they had come here, together?
Their crusades continued out of the bowl when Estrella pushed forward, out of the cavity. The others were quick to follow after her, trying their best to surpass. But no one could beat her at skating. Her holler flowed from her mouth with the kind of joy you could only find when someone’s in their element, so entirely synced in both head and body that they couldn’t help but exclaim. The others called after her, yipping and yapping and telling her to eat dirt in all forms of affectionate taunts.
She kicked up, plunging onto a railing. Balance was an afterthought, risk a candy sweet on her tongue. When she reached the end, rather than jumping down, she went up. And stayed up, pushing off of her board to flip backwards. Her body continued going downwards, and she gave a cheeky smile to her friends before spinning back over and landing as if nothing happened. I mean, even without her whole defying physics thing, no one can compete with her. It never hurts to give a little reminder, though.
Pulling off to the side, she allowed herself to slow and the others to gain some ground on her, if only for the thrill of having some sort of competition. Stray drifted through the bumps of kicks and launchers, easily gliding off the ramps and committing carves and 720s as if she knew the air like a personal friend. The jeers of the others fell flat on her ears. The only sound she heard was the wind blowing past her head.
Eventually she skidded to the stop, the wheels of her make-believe skateboard screeching with the leftover kinetic energy. The three followed after her, and as they all hopped off, their longboards and helmets dissipated. They knew Sierra could only keep it up for so long, so they hadn’t planned on staying long anyway. Estrella turned, hands on the back of her head as she turned to the losers. “Beat that.”
“Show off!”
“Am not!”
“Are too.”
“Oh quiet, you all.”
A smile tugged at Yesenia’s lips, parting to reflect the idea that just came to her mind. “I have an idea.”
𖤐 . * . ✦ .
Its time out in the open had diluted the smell to be kinda bearable, if bearable meant not being forced to pull over to get away from it. There was little conversation apart from Yesenia giving Eden the directions to her “secret surprise place”. Tried as they had, the others could not pry her plan from her cold, calculating head, and ultimately gave up.
Evening was creeping in at an increasing rate. Luckily, the car was faster.
It had become obvious when they all saw the big, giant screen in the distance, and the full parking lot that sat in front of it. “Drive in Theatre” had always been a place they’d wanted to visit together, but they could never find a day, movie, or moment that fit for all of them. Especially because of the awesome catering they offered at the place. They had almost done it, but Sierra hadn’t seen the first movie that they wanted to see the sequel to, so they had to cancel. Actually, that same sequel was showing today. Maybe that’s what they were going to see?
Before Eden had a chance to switch lanes towards the movie showing, he was stopped. “Turn left here.” Of course he was confused, but Yesenia wasn’t the type of person you argued with. Especially not about silly stuff like this. He still remembered the makeup incident…
Across from the drive-in was a gas station where they ended up parking. All grateful for the escape from the stench they became used to, they strolled into the empty area. Stickers with curses and ads for vapes and other lovely things lined the pillars and walls. Good deals, honestly.
“So, why did you have us pull off all the way over here? Y’know, if we’re just gonna walk back. I think the skatepark was enough exercise for today!” Yessie led the way through the oil-stinged air, walking with effortless confidence that didn’t really suit the danky background they found themselves in. The question stayed unanswered, and all the teens could do was exchange confused glances and follow after.
As they reached the crosswalk, she paused, turning with a demure smile. “To commit a heist.”
That of course, was the magic phrase that got all of them pumped up. Of course, the details were important! They were never the type of group to do anything sloppily. There was a reason the number of arrests under their collective belt was so low. But the specifics could always be figured out on the way. That was more their style.
The showing had yet to begin, and most people were wandering between cars, setting things up, or arguing with other watchers about stolen spots or whatever. Their ultimate goal was simple: steal enough popcorn to stuff their faces until the sun rose tomorrow, maybe grab some churros or candy bars, and swipe some sickly sweet soda to wash it all down. Vendors lined the sides, aromas persuading them to come, take a bite, there's no need to wait… Wills steadfast, they resisted. Barely.
They creeped along the edges of cars full of distracted families. It had been hard to get past the car lines without getting spotted by the employees or the customers, but anything was possible with a little bit of well timed wayward flashes of light. No hurt, no foul!
Their victims of choice were a distinctively sour family currently stuck in a fight with another tired group, located in the farthest spot possible from their point of entrance. Everyone with eyes to see could spot the alluring glow on that expensive car, and anyone with a nose could smell the wafting scent of salty, fatty, buttered popcorn.
As a united group, they approached, forming a circle around Sierra and settling into their roles.
Eden and Yesenia positioned themselves in front of the other two, facing outwards but still addressing each other to look engaged in conversation and totally not suspicious. Behind their backs, Estrella was crouched down, the final climbing onto her shoulders.. The car’s opulence meant that the owners had also created a fence around the bed made of blankets and buffers that they couldn't confidently get over without causing a stir.
“One, two, three..” She raised and pushed Sierra over the barricade, who landed with a soft thump. Without pausing, she reached out her hand, pulling Stray up, and they repeated that motion once more to pull Yesenia and Eden.. A little dazed from the effortlessness of their plan, they sat still within the bed of the mobile. Surrounding them was a goldmine of snacks. Things that most of them would’ve never even reached their vicinity had they not met this night.
It was a race to grab as many good things as they could. Sierra was quick, and grabbed a lot of the best stuff before the others had a chance to move. While grappling with Eden for a box of sweets, Estrella sneakily floated some things behind him towards her, grabbing both those and the box of sweets for herself. She spared no time in opening a pack for all of them to gouge on while their battle continued.
Ultimately, they stood no chance against the master of thieving. She was smart enough to avoid most of the fighting and snag what she could from others while they were distracted. When their energy tired out, she rose out as the one with the greatest hoard. The others sulked a little and then continued to feast on a few of their steals, making sure to spill as many crumbs and smear as many pastes onto the bedding as they could.
A sharp voice pierced the air, the same one that had been caught in an argument only a few seconds ago. This time it was directed towards them.
“Shit.” Eden was the first to jump out of the car, followed swiftly by the girls. Their stash of stolen snacks wobbled in his arms, nearly dropping straight onto the floor. Luckily, Eden knows his priorities, and let himself crash into another poor, innocent soul in order to keep them steady. He barely had time to mutter an apology before chasing after the others, who were leaving him in the dust.
They were hot on their tail, yelling about prices and high quality snacks that took them forever to find, which only made them grip the goods they had taken more tightly. What little they had eaten had already gotten them hooked, and if it was as extravagant as the family was painting it to be, it was likely that they’d never get to taste it ever again..
Complaints trailed after them, people whining about the interruptions when the movie was just about to start. Most of them muddled together to create a song of… well, bitching. Like come on, we were in your way for like 3 seconds, do you really need to moan about that? Plus, the show hadn’t even started. The three in the know were trying to make sure they would be out of there before it would.
Once again at the front, Yesenia weaved fluidly throughout the automobiles and still wandering people. She somehow managed to keep all of her goodies in her arms, avoid tripping or ramming into people, and manage to figure out the best path towards the exit where they came from. That would’ve been a wonderful thing to do, if one important detail hadn’t changed. The vendors were here. They were here, and they were blocking every path!
Her abrupt stop led Sierra to crash into her back, and then Estrella into Sierra’s. Chips nearly tumbled out of the freshly popped bags, and the two had to scramble to make sure (most) of the stuff stayed intact. “Hey! Why’d you stop?” The brunette peeked her head around the stationary girl, expression scrunching with annoyance. “Man..” Just their luck. The family, causing even more chaos than the four had, were quickly advancing on the group. If only they wouldn’t get a bunch of detentions for getting caught using their kinesis’ out in the open!
She tapped her foot, absently rearranging the objects in her hands as she thought. Just as suddenly as she had halted, she shoved items into the arms of the others, and began to approach the advancing individual. Only one had been so determined to chase them this far, which made it a whole lot easier. To the side, the screen began to flicker to life with previews that cast soft pulses of light across the lot. Voices quieted, giving hers even more weight. Before a light bender, she is a diplomat.
Her fingers curled behind her back, bending waves around the piles in her friends arms to obscure. “I’m very sorry for the trouble we’ve caused, but I think you misunderstood. We didn’t take anything from you guys, we were just checking out your adorable pillows and cushions. Very lovely set up, by the way.” The words came out bright and airy, tone of her sentences level. If they didn’t look or listen too closely, they would get away. She was good at hiding things, but completely stifling her laugh was beyond her capabilities.
“Oh let up, kid, we literally saw you…” They squinted past her, at the curled arms that should be cradling the well earned supplies they had picked out, seeing only slightly blurry shirts of cool graphics. Flashes alerted the beginning of the showing, further messing with their perception of the teenagers before them. “Well.. Why did you run then? Makin’ me get all exasperated for no reason… No, that doesn’t make sense, I literally saw it in your arms a few seconds ago. Did you really think hiding it would fool me?”
The person tried to push past her to look under the tires of the intrigued bystander’s cars for the stashes, threatening to utterly ruin her plan! A sigh escaped from her crumb covered, glossed lips, as she relaxed her fingers and let the illusion fall. They perked up, about to go on about accusing, before her hands reached forward instead.
A burst of light shot forth in palpitating rhythm. Short , bright, lasers sent in direct parts of their eyes. Fireworks exploded in their mind, folded over themselves, and combusted once more. Thoughts converged into the display of the corneas, slipping from the hold of their minds and into the exhibit right before them. Quickly enough, their anger had decayed into the air, and all forms of intelligence had been scattered to the wind. Yesenia walked back smugly, proud that she had pulled that off, picking out her treats with pompous character. Her prominent dimples radiated with satisfaction. That was, until her face was broken…
“Did you seriously just hypnotize someone for food?”
The words struck right through her loser heart…
“No… Maybe… Whatever, I saved your sorry ass.”
“Mine, or yours?”
Another cadence quickly interrupted them. “Oh hey, is that guy dead?”
Three very, very regretful heads turned to the projection, where a man laid in a puddle of blood. A man who was very much alive at the end of the last film.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Sierra tried her best to comfort them on their sullen walk back.
Time and the aroma of well earned food had erased the pungency of the car, allowing them to settle in and relax without having to worry about suppressing the urge to throw up. Still sulking, most were quiet. But that was okay, since it was now her turn to talk. “Eddie, do you know how to get to the boardwalk?” She hummed, leaning over with her phone in hand, just in case.
He nodded in response, a little bit of a smile perking onto his face, which was a huge win for her considering how devastated he was at his favorite water prince getting murked so quickly. What made it even worse that he didn’t know why, or how! Whether he even wanted to know was a different subject.
A different kind of silence filled the vehicle as they drove. One of uncomfortability rarely seen in the group. No one spoke for the first few minutes of the drive, but the beach was a long ways away. Eventually, a chuckle broke through, catching the attention of the passengers of the car. What did he have to laugh about? “Aha.. Let’s put on some music.” Almost like he’d done this a million times before, he naturally found his way to the radio of the car, switching it on. Usually, rickity songs that no one really liked would play, but today they were lucky enough to stumble upon a pleasant tune.
“///All you ever hear me say,///”
Melody drifted and dispersed into the confines. Slowly, and then all at once.
“///Is how I picture me with you.///”
The sunset was in full swing, its round form sinking beneath the weak waves shielding it and glow refracting into a quivering path down the reddening water. Such a fleeting sheen that was sure to be burned within their brains for the rest of times. Here, the colors split into a patchworks of warm goldens and oranges, murky and uneven in the blending from saturation to saturation.
“///That’s all you’d ever hear me say.///”
All other sounds disappeared from their senses when a smooth voice drowned out the crackled one of the transmission.
. . .
“///But si—///”
“Since you been gone! I can breathe for the first time!”
The warmth shone down on his lightless expression favorably. It reflected in his smile, in the highlights of his hair, and in the dark blue of his eyes that usually looked bottomless and cold. It’s the Eden they were most familiar with, the one who sometimes lets himself loosen into relaxation. A carefree day, captured in the way he recklessly closed his eyes and hung his arm on the side of car. Held on the lines that appeared between his brows and above the curves of his lips.
As compared to the radio barely croaking out a resemblance of the song, the boy sang at an irresistibly soothing level that easily convinced the others to join in. He always outdid the others whenever he joined in for karaoke. You could really only describe the way he caroled as golden and hypnotic. Really, it was almost against their wills on how they joined into his mesmerizing inflection. Not to the same quality, but with the same spirit.
“I’m so moving on, yeah, yeah!”
A tenacious harmony rose from the vehicle, threatening to burst through the walls with the energy of 4 uncontained teens. Each lyric bumped up the volume of their shouts until they were all eventually screaming their lungs out. They had no choice but to roll the windows down. The feeling of the harsh winter air slamming into them only encouraged them to go louder.
Sierra leaned her head out of the speeding mobile. The fresh smell radiating from the salty sea flooded her nostrils. Glimmering waves of orange mixing with the sheen of the water was blinding. Wind assaulted her hair wildly, doing nothing to deter her from belting out from the depths of her stomach. Yellow bulbs of lit lamp posts flickered in and out of her vision, tires screeched against the old concrete with rising speed, and the revving of the engine growing and melting into the “symphony”.
And throughout it all, his voice pierced through alone.
𖤐 . * . ✦ .
Four distinct sets of feet echoed against the weathered planks of the boardwalk. Though it was not needed, the area exists year round, though businesses and activities were not. Here, the smooth purples of the sky melted into the dimming water below them. It was unbelievably quiet here; The only sound that filled the waiting air was that of their mix of voices. Their adventures that day had brought a kind of weariness on them all, but when they were together, how could they ever feel tired? There was always so much to talk about with each other. They forgot and they remembered and they created new things together.
Arguments over the best type of ice cream faded to a conclusion as they reached the end of the creaking ridge. Dribbling desserts in hand, they settled into their seats at the edge, trying not to lose their sweet treats to the hungry basin.
The expanse of the sea felt endless, like it could swallow anything up in one big bite and not even burp afterwards. Gentle waves curved and fell without as much of a sound. Behind them, the full moon was rising over the hills and mountains, white opulence pronounced against the light purple of the growing twilight.
There’s no telling how long the four of them rested here. It could’ve been eternity or it could’ve been five minutes. All felt the same when they found themselves with each other.
Savoring a lick from her crazy pistachio ice cream, Yesenia turned her head towards the brunette on the side. “So, are you gonna tell us or what? Don’t think I forgot.”
A blush warmed against her fair cheeks, and she averted her green eyes from the curious three. They could still see her sheepish grin.
“I just missed you guys.”