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"I can't believe he's getting married in four days," I grumbled as I put my head in my best friend's lap and closed my eyes.

"I know right, what a toad." Blair mused as she gently laced her fingers through my hair making me hum in satisfaction. I missed these random gossip sessions we used to have almost daily, it was really hard jazzing each other about all the things happening in our lives when we were miles apart and didn't know who each other were talking about half the time.

"And I can't believe the other 'he' just ghosted me for, what? Three weeks now?" I huffed. Mason still hadn't replied to any of my messages or called me back ever since I came here. How does one just not talk his girlfriend for this long?
"I don't know Avery, maybe you just have a weird attraction to toads or something."

I groaned and rolled onto the white fur rug we were currently sitting on. "Honestly! Like what could Mason possibly be doing that he couldn't even just send me a text checking up on me, or even just letting me know that he's okay? He's such a selfish cow. You know he literally turned down the idea of him coming out to Gardenia to meet my parents? Apparently golf is much more important than his long term girlfriend."

"Can you blame him? His golfing is so bad he definitely needs the extra practice." Blair joked and I bit back a laugh. "But yeah I see where you're going here. Honestly? I'm with Myles on this, get rid of him."
I laughed; "The way you said that almost sounds like I'm going to go jump him with a club and stuff him into his golf bag,"
"What? Like that doesn't sound like a good idea?" Blair asked innocently, "Relax Hun, I'm just joking. But actually, I don't know why you put up with him."
"Because he's the only one that actually got me to forget about Aiden."
"Yeah and look how long that lasted."
"Hey in my defence I haven't seen him in a while okay, besides it happens to everyone; you go ages without seeing your ex and the feelings come back the moment you do."
"Oh please, bring Austin Baker here right now and watch how I shove him in front of a truck. Twelve years is not nearly long enough."
"That's different though. He was an actual ass who deserves to be thrown in front of a truck. Maybe even three. Besides he isn't even that good looking now, I stalked him on Facebook a while back so just think of it as life doing you a favour that he kissed Masie Andrews at prom." I laughed.

"True. Life isn't always a bitch I guess."

"No, to me it is. I'm twenty-eight, not married and not a vet. My teenage self would disown me."

Blair jeered and shook her head; "Don't be too harsh on yourself. Yes, maybe your life didn't turn out the way you planned it, but that doesn't mean it's not a good life."
"Okay I'm not complaining. I mean yeah, it's not anything like I expected it to be, but I still love it. I mean modelling, although tiring, is so much fun and I get to meet a lot of amazing people and go to amazing places but it's just not me, you know?" I explained, laying back down on the rug. Sure, I was excited to get scouted and stuff and I should be honoured and what not, but sometimes I just don't want to live that life. I want my old life back.

"Yeah I know Honey. Wait does that mean you want to quit modelling?"
"I don't know, B. I mean I know I can't just quit and move back and hope that everything returns to the way it was, plus I have that contract with the agency. But I know for sure when that ends, I am so not renewing it. I just have to pull through for another year and I can take a few classes on the side to recap everything from Uni, and that can't be too hard since I never stopped reading my notes from then."
"Wait what? You still you read your notes? What the heck Avery, you actual geek!"
I laughed because it was true. I am a geek. A geek who just wants to live a normal life and operate animals.

"He-llo!" Myla sung as she walked into the room with three mugs of hot chocolate, handed them to us before sitting down on the rug.

"Oooh thanks sis! This was very much needed. I genuinely forgot how cold Gardenia can get," I grinned as I took a sip and let the hot drink burn my tongue and instantly warm me up.

"I know right, I hope my baby doesn't feel too disturbed with all my shivering," Blair joked as she placed her mug on her swollen stomach.

"You better hope so, or he or she will take revenge on you when born,"
"I'm already dreading it," Blair jested, wincing slightly as she shifted to lean on the bed frame, "The contractions sound like a complete nightmare, not to mention the actual pushing,"
"But it'll all be worth it in the end." I pointed out, smiling at her stomach.
"I'll say! I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt!"
"And I can't believe Theo's going to be a dad!" I laughed.

"Excuse you, I'll make a wonderful father."

We all turned to the door to see the devil himself walking in with a pout plastered across his face. "Of course you will sweetheart."
"Well we'll see for ourselves in three months," I winked at him as he threw himself on my bed and wrapped his arms around Blair's neck.

"I'm getting hella impatient though," He grumbled causing Blair to roll her eyes.

"Well you better be because I don't want my niece or nephew to be born premature. It'll be way too painful to watch him or her suffer like that," I sighed, staring at my cup. Myla squeezed my shoulder and gave me a small smile.

"Don't worry SHE is going to be a warrior no matter what," Myla said proudly and Theo nodded enthusiastically.
"How do you know it's a she?" I asked her, narrowing my eyes at Blair, silently asking if she knew the gender of her baby and didn't tell me.

"Well I don't. But here's hoping,"
"Well stop hoping, not that I really mind, but I want a son," Theo said causing Blair to shoot him a withering look.

"What? I'm a guy! I know what guys think. I don't want our daughter to have to go through my over-protectiveness," Theo defended himself and all three of us females winced seeing as we all suffered Theo's vigilant demeanour growing up. He had a point; their daughter would be bound to gain a lot of attention from the male population seeing as both their parents are complete heartthrobs.

"So...are you going to go to Aiden's wedding?" Myla asked, steering the conversation towards me.
"Like hell am I going. Why on Earth would I go to his wedding? That would be SO awkward." I cringed just thinking about it.

"Why not? He asked you, didn't he?"
"Yeah out of courtesy! We both know the last person he wants at his wedding is me. Besides Brooke would have my head on a stick if I actually came,"
"Who the hell cares about that dramatic pigeon," Theo muttered before taking a sip from his wife's mug.

I burst out laughing and soon all four of us were rolling around in tears.

"WHAT is a dramatic pigeon?!" Myla croaked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"It's literally not that hard, Myla. It's what it says it is," Theo stated as Myla rolled her eyes.

"Yep, you're going to be an excellent dad, you've already mastered the lame dad jokes,"
"Actually I think our child is in for a shock because Blair's the one with the bad jokes,"
"That's a lie! My jokes are hilarious!"
"Blair I love you and everything, but your jokes make me want to smother you with a pillow."
"How can you threaten a pregnant woman? Have you no shame?" Blair huffed and pouted.

"I mean it's not really that hard you just have to-"
"Theo no, please just don't." I groaned, already knowing how his sentence was going to end. Sometimes it was painful talking to my cousin.

"You know what I'm craving right now?" Blair hummed rubbing her stomach as it grumbled quite loudly; "Salt and vinegar crisps."
"But you hate those." Theo said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah but right now I could sit here and eat them until I've acid burned off every taste bud in my mouth."

"We are NOT putting acid of any sort anywhere near my baby," Theo grimaced causing Blair to grumble under her breath about how he was being selfish.

"Maybe we should go and get something to eat. Something that has a reasonable pH level." I laughed getting up before helping my pregnant best friend up too. "I may not be pregnant, but I am so craving a stack of pancakes right now."
"What kind of creature craves pancakes at six pm?" Myla asked as she walked to my dressing table and redid her hair.

"You see I don't understand who decided breakfast foods could only be eaten in the morning." I sighed, walking into my closet and returning with a black oversized sweatshirt.

"I mean I think that's the whole point of it being breakfast. It has a specific time for it and that is the morning. It's like having dinner for breakfast, who does that?" Myla explained and I wanted to throw a pillow at her. How dare she oppose me on an argument as important as breakfast?

"Okay so who gets to decide what the difference is between lunch and dinner, since it happens at two different times in a day." I argued, refusing to be the first to back down. "I eat pizza for lunch but I also eat pizza for dinner, so?"

"I –"
"This conversation is SO irrelevant, can we go already?" Blair whined gesturing to the door.

Theo chuckled; "I don't know why or who blessed me with you three women in my life, but I can't complain. Listening to you three banter is like watching a really bad sitcom."

"Take that back right now."
"I can't take back something I already said," Theo hummed as he began descending down the stairs.

"Ew, when did you get so...that?" I asked, scrunching up my face in mock disgust.

"Perhaps around the time you left. Your stupidity wasn't influencing me anymore,"
"Excuse you!" I yelled causing him to jump and run down the remaining stairs two at a time.

...

"Oh my God Theo take it easy," I warned as I watched my brother reappear with yet another brown paper bag.

"Leave him, he's just fat." Blair said dismissing the amused expression her husband just shot her.

"Really? You're on your third hot dog and I'm the fat one?" Theo questioned raising his eyebrow as the blonde took a huge bite out of her frank.

"I'm eating for two people, what's your excuse?"
"My wife doesn't feed me enough,"
"Wrong, you're just fat."
"I can't with this woman." Theo whined as he unwrapped his own hot dog and did it mercy.

"You married her, you deal with her," Myla grinned as she took a sip of her Sprite and then smacking her lips. I glared at her and she smiled innocently.

"No regrets." Theo whispered, kissing his wife on the cheek before standing up to collect all the empty wrappers. Aw bless, mum raised him well.

Just then Myla's phone began to ring and a picture of her and Iker appeared on the screen. I watched as her whole face lit up and she dropped everything to answer the call.

Even though I felt a pang of jealousy as it dawned on me that all three of them were in a strong, committed relationship with partners that loved them and didn't ghost them or have trust issues; I couldn't help but smirk. I couldn't be happier for them.

My brother was married to my best friend and hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Myla and Iker got married by the end of the year with the way things were looking for them. It was almost sickening how cute they were together, almost. Nope, it was definitely sickening.

"Okay, see you! I love you too!" Myla hummed before ending the call and turning back to us.

"So, what did lover boy say?" Theo teased causing her cheeks to turn pink. Aw, barf.

"To meet him at Rico's in half an hour,"
"You two have the weirdest date plans, you know that, right? Who goes to a garage to make out,"
"Ew gross, don't talk about making out to your sister," Blair scolded causing Theo to snicker and Myla to gag.

"What, she's twenty-five. This is what grown-ups talk about,"
"I don't know what kind of grown-up you're aspiring to be, but that is so rank." I laughed. Theo was right though; Myla and Iker do have the most bizarre dates. But we were all used to it by now. In fact, it was quite cute. Myla told me this story of when Iker told her he loved her for the first time at Walmart. He said, and I quote, 'It's funny how even though you're in your sweats with bed hair and no makeup, I am so in love with you and all we're doing is buying socks for my granddad.' and despite being my potential brother-in-law, I swooned so hard I could have cried.

"Well anyway, maybe we could just drop the conversation about my love life so you can finish off your food and I can go get ready before my boyfriend thinks I stood him up on our three-year anniversary."

I chocked on my Sprite. "What? Three years? When did that happen? Oh my God it can't have been that long!"
Myla laughed, "I know right! Time flies so fast!"
"Why the hell are you spending your anniversary at a junk yard?" Theo asked. And then there's Theo...

"Shush babe, I think it's cute. It's not cliché and it's so original,"
"Yeah exactly, and besides, that's where we first met."
"You met at Rico's junk yard?"
"Yes! Gosh it was so romantic."
"The, the junk yard?"
"Yep."
"Okay I need to give this man some pointers," Theo said, raising a brow at Myla who rolled her eyes at him. Right, cause he's just Mr. Romantic now, huh?

"No thanks, he's perfect just the way he is," She sighed, her eyes glassing up and she looked at her phone's lock screen.
"Okay gag me now,"
"Theo leave her alone, at least he remembers their anniversary,"
"I remember our anniversary!"
"Yeah now you do, but whenever it comes you're dumb as a doorknob,"
I snorted; "Trouble in paradise huh?"
"You shush, at least I've got my paradise," Theo teased causing me to mock offence and kick him in the shin.

"Let's goo," Myla whined kicking his other shin. I laughed as Theo scowled at the both of us.

"I take it back, you two are not a blessing to any life."

"That's so rude! Take that back!"

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