Chapter 70 | Remember when

Lucas:

"Bella, I was just on the phone with Sammy and he says Leo is coming down next week for spring break and he wants to know if you're free."

I almost swerve off the road.

"Jesus Christ," Isabella's hair flies around her head as she shoots me a 'what the hell' look and clutches onto her seatbelt for dear life.

"Sorry," I mumble. "Thought I saw a duck in the road."

Throwing me another incredulous look, she twists in her seat to look behind at Mia. "Um yeah I'm free, tell him to message me."

"Alright."

"What day is he coming down?"

"Next Saturday."

"Oh cool."

I clear my throat and side glance back at Isabella. "I thought you didn't do...flings."

"Flings?" She repeats, directing her attention to me. eyebrows furrowing together. "Who said anything about a fling, we're just going to hang out."

I scoff and try not to let any bitterness show through my voice. "You sure he knows you guys are just going to hang out?"

"Er yes," Mia chides from the back and when I meet her gaze in the review mirror, there's a humorous expression drawn across her features. "He's not interested in having a fling with Bella anymore, Sammy said he found someone else. He really just wants to hang out with her."

"See," Bella quips just as Mia sends me a knowing look, like she can see right through me. I roll my eyes and look back onto the road.

"I still don't trust that guy, there's something off about him."

"You're the only one who thinks that Luke."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not...Dylan doesn't like the guy either."

"Dylan hasn't even met Leo."

"Shut up."

Bella sticks her tongue out at me.

"You're so immature," I snort with a shake of my head, turning forward, waiting a second before turning back to face her and sticking my tongue out at her.

"You're so immature," she mimics, shoving me with her elbow.

"Guys," Mia sighs exasperatedly from the back in the midst of Bella and I's childish bickering.

"What?"

"Literally just make out already," she returns in a tired voice. "You two have your tongues out so you might as well."

Isabella immediately recoils and swivels around to glare at her friend. Mia simply sits back grinning innocently.

"Mia what's gotten into you today!" Bella scolds.

"Nothing," she shrugs her shoulders and pokes her head in between the two front seats. "It's just the sexual tension between you guys is making my hair go static and I just want that to end, I don't like having frizzy hair." She ends her sentence with an exaggerated pout, jutting her bottom lip out and giving us puppy dog eyes.

Isabella slaps Mia's forehead and pushes her back down into her seat via her face, the glare on Isabella's face only intensifying. She looks so adorably mad that I break out into laughter.

Bella snaps her attention onto me. "Stop laughing dickturd."

"Yeah Lucas, stop laughing dickturd," Mia copies, crossing her arms across her chest and narrowing her eyes at me. "This is a very serious matter. I'm not joking in the slightest." She directs her focus back to Isabella. "Did you tell him about my-I mean your fabulous idea yet?"

"No!"

"Why not?" Mia whines. "I want you two to bang. Lucas already does-"

"What?" I splutter and choke on my spit. "Where did you get that from?"

Mia merely blinks then slowly raises an eyebrow at me. She doesn't say anything else, just allows dead silence to fill the air as ahe shoots me that look.

My cheeks begin to heat and I immediately look away from her knowing look and try to ignore Isabella's curious gaze burning the side of my face.

As the silence continues, a flurry of lewd images begin to suddenly invade my mind.

The images that have been flickering in my mind all day but had momentarily come to a pause when I had been preoccupied with the coincidence and karma thing that was Landon and Imani.

It has me undoubtedly flushing pink all over and shuffling in my seat as I try to think of anything but Isabella and I getting it on.

Like I had just pointed out, my mind has been like this all day. I've had sex on the brain ever since leaving that fucking bookshop yesterday evening. I mean, I always have sex on the brain, but this time it's different; it's more intense because I kept thinking about her.

Did I take multiple cold showers yesterday night and today morning? Yes.

Did they work? No.

Hence why I've been staring at Izzy weird all day. I can't help it, it's like my view on her has suddenly shifted and I can't get the fucking dirty thoughts of her out of my head.

"See! I could electrocute myself with all this sexual tension in the car," Mia scoffs before lifting her finger in the air, making a zing sound and acting like she's burnt herself.

Isabella blinks, removing her gaze from my face and immediately turns back to look at her friend. "We're not going to bang, so please stop trying to encourage that Mi."

"Why not?"

"Mia," she sighs exasperatedly. "Please."

The two go into a silent stare off for a moment and after a few seconds pass, Mia sighs.

"Alright," she murmurs. "I'll stop."

Bella sits back in her seat. "Thank you."

Her gaze for half a second flickers back into me before Isabella directs her eyes onto the window and begins staring intently outside.

I clear my throat. "So what time did Grace say her, Aidan and Dylan would be meeting at my house?" I ask, to try to change the subject to relieve some of the tension thick in the air.

"Erm 5:15," Isabella responds before glancing at the clock on the dashboard. "Damn, they're probably waiting for us outside, it's already 5:45, we are so late."

"And who's fault is that?" I raise an eyebrow, looking at the review mirror to catch Mia's attention.

Mia simply chuckles nervously. "Erm so not mine," she says, pulling a face and looking away from me. "Um, Bella why don't you put on the music, maybe it'll make the car go faster or something I don't know." She pauses to take a breather before perking up again. "Actually you know what, let's play my music today. Lucas can I plug my phone into the aux?"

"Go ahead," I answer, keeping one hand in the wheel and rummaging through the middle section for the aux wire before handing it back to Mia.

Only moments later, the melodic voice of SZA fills the air as Good days begins to play out of the speakers.

No one really speaks after the songs begins to play and for the remainder of the car journey back to my house from the elementary school is fairly silent. Isabella scrolls through Pinterest on her phone and Mia watches the view outside the window as the soft hum of music fills the quiet. It only takes another 10 minuets or so in our small towns 'rush hour' traffic to reach mine and Isabella's street.

After I've parked the car, the three of us peel out and begin ascending up the driveway to my front door.

We spot Grace, Aidan and Dylan, congregating outside, sitting on the porch steps looking bored out of their minds. Aidan is sprawled across the floor with Grace in his lap and Dylan looks like he wants to choke on a stone watching them act all lovey-dovey.

When he see's the three of us approaching them, Dylan snaps his head up towards us and relief floods through his features.

"You guys took your sweet time," he huffs, standing up from the steps and brushing his hands on his thighs.

"Sorry," Bella apologises, dropping her backpack onto the ground and rolling her shoulders. "Mia took like 300 years to finish up with her mentee."

"Hey!" Mia exclaims. "It's not my fault Skylar was very fun to talk to!"

"She's an 8 year old who complimented your new shoes and then immediately became your bestie," I deadpan in reply.

Mia grins. "She has amazing taste, can you even blame me?"

"Whatever," Dylan grumbles before shooting me a pleading look. "Can you please let us in Lulu, I need to raid your fridge."

I reach into my pocket and dangle my keys in front of his face before stepping over Grace and Aidan to get to my front door.

After unlocking it, Dylan shoves past me and makes a run for the kitchen, shortly followed by Mia.

Their pattering of footsteps echo throughout the whole house as the rest of us step inside. We take our shoes off and Izzy aligns all them so they're in an equal line which I laugh at and then laugh even harder when I notice how minisicule her shoes look in comparison to mine and Aidan's. Isabella jabs me in the ribs as a result.

The three of them follow me into the living room and Aidan and Grace take a seat one on couch whilst Bella and I take the other. I kick my legs up onto the coffee table to get comfortable and put my arm back on the back of the sofa behind Bella's head before grabbing the remote and turning on the Tv.

However, no one really pays attention to whatever show it is that's playing and it falls as merely background noise when the three of us drop into easy conversation about school and so on.

Dylan and Mia join in a moment later after they return, arms full of snacks. Dylan jumps onto the couch Bella and I are sitting on; laying across the two of us, stretching his legs over me  and resting his head on Isabella's lap. Mia on the other hand, takes a seat on the rug on the floor beside Grace.

"Do you know what I was suddenly reminded of today?" Dylan interjects into the conversation, munching on a pop tart.

"What?" Grace returns, reaching over and stealing a Hershey bar from the pile of snacks sitting by Mia on the floor.

"Aidan's irrational fear of escalators."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Aidan immediately responds to his accusation. "I've never had a fear of escalators."

"Sure," I grin.

He narrows his eyes. "I'm not scared of escalators."

I cock my head to the side. "So it wasn't you who, in the third grade when we went on a field trip, got freaked out on the escalators."

"Nope."

"Oh," I nod my head slowly in nod understanding. "Okay so it wasn't you who then, after getting so freaked out,bwas late in getting off the last step which meant the bottom of you pant leg got stuck on the escalator and the whole escalator had to be stopped in order to get you out?"

"No," Aidan shakes his head. "Not me."

Grace snorts. "I remember that! Then you cried because when your pant leg got freed, the bottom of it was ripped off."

Aidan turns his glare onto his girlfriend. "Those were my favourite pants! And shut up Gray, you're afraid of geese."

"My fear of geese is rational unlike your fear," Grace shoots back, crossing her arms across her chest. "I got chased by a goose then it nipped my ass and gave me freaking trauma."

Aidan makes a face. "How does that make your fear any more rational than mine?"

"What's the reason that you're of escalators?"

"They're stairs that move!" Aidan splutters in exclamation. "There's nothing more scarier than that!"

"Christ," Grace mumbles. "I'm dating a ninny."

"You're the ninny," Aidan returns offendedly. "Ms-scared-of-geese."

"Shut up."

"Do you guys remember when Lucas peed his pants in school," Isabella interrupts Grace and Aidan's bickering with a chortle.

Both Aidan and Grace stop arguing and turn to Bella, immediately replying with 'No," in unison to the rest of us.

"How do you not! That was hilarious!"

"No sane person would remember that Izzy, because it happened in pre-school," I deadpan.

"Yeah, not all of us have a freakishly good memory like you Bella," Grace giggles. "You probably remember what it was like in your mom's womb."

"Oh my God," Dylan butts in once again, chucking the rest of his pop tart across the room at Grace's head to get our attention. "I don't know why talking about Valeria's womb reminded me of this but do you guys remember when we had costume day in the 3rd grade and Aidan cried because he had the same costume as that kid...Billy...I think that was his name."

Aidan makes a face. "What is this? Pick on Aidan day?" He rubs his head where the pop tart had hit him instead of Grace. "And the kids name was Daniel, not Billy and hey! I put effort into my costume, I thought it was creative and original!"

"You dressed up as Where's Wally."

Aidan opens his mouth then closes it again.

"Shut up Dylan, you came in that day dressed as a moose, who dresses up as a moose?"

"My moose costume was amazing, thank you very much. You looked like you came into school wearing your pjs."

"They were my pjs," Aidan grumbles under his breath and crosses his arms across his chest defensively.

"See!" Dylan exclaims. "Creative and original costume my ass."

"Whatever, go drown like you almost did when we were kids."

"Shit, I remember that!" I gasp in recollection, that memory flickering in my mind. "That was so funny!" I laugh, slapping Dylan's knee.

"I remember that too," Isabella adds with a nod of her head. "But I can't for the life of me remember how that even happened."

"We were all burying Dylan in the sand at the beach," Aidan answers. "And the tide was coming in and we all forgot about Dylan for a second because we ran off to get ice cream and he was stuck there."

"You guys are all fake for leaving me in the sand like that," Dylan nags a finger at all of us menacingly.

"Hey," I throw back. "I was the one who remembered that we left you there and went back to get you out before the tide washed over you."

"Ugh, you know what, I wish you had left me to drown," he whines dramatically. "Then I wouldn't have to do that freakin' algebra test tomorrow."

I push his legs off my lap. "Yeah, I wish you had drowned too then you wouldn't have been able to trip me at lunch and make me fall in front of everyone in the canteen."

"I said I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

"Whatever," I scowl. "I'm glad the freshman girls trampled over you when trying to see if I was okay."

"See," Dylan raises his hands up in surrender. "That makes us even."

"Hey guys," Grace speaks over Dylan and I to get our attention. She waits for us to all quieten down and nestles into Aidan.

"What is it?" Her boyfriend prompts when it's quiet and she has yet to say anything.

"Oh right," she giggles before tapping her chin in thought. "What's your favourite memory of us from when we were children?"

"From when we were children?" I repeat with a raise of my eyebrows. "There are so many, how can I pick?" I respond truthfully.

"I know," she agrees. "But if you could choose just one what would it be?"

It's quiet for a beat as everyone thinks.

"Um, you know, it's probably all those times we played in the treehouse," Isabella replies first, twirling a strand of Dylan's hair around her index finger. "It's not really one memory, but it's a group of them."

"You know what, yeah," I nod in agreement. "Me too. We had some pretty...creative games." I shake my head as I reminisce. "Do you guys remember that family game we used to play where Mia always wanted to be the baby and we used to push her around in abuela's wheelbarrow?"

"Yeah," Aidan laughs. "And all of those fake wedding games we used to play. I swear we're all married to each other at one point."

"Who was the best person you guys were married to," I perk up before pointing to the living room door. "If you don't say me, you can get out my house."

"Isabella."

"Grace."

"Aidan."

"Mia."

"Fuck all of you guys."

"Okay shut up now Lulu, you can sulk later, I just thought of my favourite memory," Dylan clasps just hands together. "My favourite memory of all of us has got to be when we went to that theme park just outside town when we were 9 and Lucas, Aidan and I were finally tall enough for the scary rides and I threw up all over Mia after the really spiny ride," Dylan laughs before sighing wistfully. "What a day."

"Oh my God, I liked that day too!" Grace nods excitedly. "But not because of the throwing up." She waves her hand dismissively. "But because of the storm that came which meant we couldn't drive back home so we we had to stay overnight in a hotel and that evening where we all cramped into Isabella's room and ate tacos together whilst watching cartoons on the TV then went night swimming in the hotel pool with our families."

"I miss those huge family day outs," I add with a frown. "Even though my dad would never show up to them and sometimes my mom never came," I mumble under my breath with a shake of my head. "But they were always so fun because there were so many people and Dylan's mom always made the best packed lunches for us kids."

"Mama O'Grady's packed lunches were everything," Aidan groans. "Especially all of those croissants and donuts and muffins and cinnamon rolls and baked treats she would make for us."

"Don't forget her banana bread," I make a chefs kisses gesture. "I don't even like banana's that much but her banana bread was everything."

"Oh my God, that reminds me," Bella gasps before glancing down at Dylan on her lap. "Dyl I need to visit your mom again. I've only seen her once since I've been back." She shakes her head disappointedly. "I'll definitely pop round the bakery sometime next week, I miss her."

"Okay," Dylan nods. "She always asks about you."

"Aw," Isabella smiles and a presses a hand to her chest. "Your mom is the sweetest."

He grins in reply. "Just like me."

"Guys I just thought of my favourite memory of us." Aidan sits up in his seat and draws all of our attentions. "It's pretty basic...but it's got to be us getting ice cream after school in the summer together, either from Millie's or that ice cream parlour near school."

"Oh my God yeah," Isabella nods. "Especially the days we would ride our bikes there."

"Do you guys remember my purple bike with all those tassels?" She adds as an afterthought. "I loved that bike."

"Yeah," I smirk. "You had training wheels on them up until you were like 10."

"Training wheels are perfectly fine to have at the age of 10."

"No it's not," Mia snorts, the first words shes uttered in a while. She looks up from the chocolate bar she had been munching.

Isabella's face scrunches up as she meets her friends gaze and is on the verge of arguing back to Mia but barely gets to open her mouth before Mia suddenly breaks out into peals of laughter, cutting Bella off as her chuckles ringing throughout the room.

My eyes widen and the rest of us all immediately stare at her worriedly seeing as she's barely said a word since stepping inside the house and now she's laughing like crazy, slapping the floor and thumping her chest when she chokes on her spit mid laugh. It has me thinking that I'm not the only one in the room that thinks Mia has suddenly turned psycho.

"Um Mi...are you okay?" Isabella asks warily, eyeing her friend with curiosity.

Mia raises her finger to tell all of us to wait a moment. She halts her laughing and takes deep breaths before beginning to speak again when she's composed.

"No," she giggles. "I just remembered my favourite memory of us as children," she informs us