His Flower [DISCONTINUED]

13: Bonfire

"It's so cold," I shivered and zipped up my sweater. "Are you sure we should even go to this thing?"

"We already drove all this way. Just zip up your hoodie," Romano casually drawled.

I stared at him through slits. "I just did."

"I didn't see," he stated.

"Of course you couldn't, through this giant sunglasses of your's," I teased. "What are you doing wearing shades at night, anyways?"

"Fashion, baby," he replied with a grin.

From beside us, Lily chuckled. Suddenly, Romano latched onto our wrists and tugged us along in the direction of the bonfire. Romano wasn't at all lying when he'd said there weren't going to be many people. In fact, I'd spoken to most of these people before. They all went to my school.

Some were playing volleyball, others surrounded the bonfire with drinks in hand. A few were even clad in swimsuits and splashed about in the water. Though, I couldn't fathom going for a night swim in this weather. As Romano dragged us through the beach, I planted my feet in the sand and came to an abrupt stop.

"Why are you stopping?" Romano asked. Lily looked confused as well.

"Wait." I squinted my eyes and suddenly gasped, giving Romano a traitorous look. "You didn't tell me Benny was going to be here!"

He nervously giggled. "Well if I told you, you wouldn't come."

I gave him an indignant look. "The whole point of this trip is to forget about him. How can I do that if he's here?"

"Relax, Ro. He won't do anything," Romano reassured me.

I cautiously glanced in Benny's direction. He wore a backwards hat and baggy clothing. A lazy expression adorned his face as he smoked with... was that Antonio beside him? With his tousled hair and loose clothing, he too had an apathetic look to him.

"Alright, I'll stay," I said.

Lily and Romano cheered. As we approached the bonfire, a number of people greeted us, especially Romano. He was quite popular in this town, though with that personality, I wasn't exactly surprised.

"Hey Romano, Rose," a douchey jock jerked his head at us. "Lily."

Lily almost melted, clutching onto my arm. "He called me Lily!" She whispered frantically.

"So what?" I asked in confusion.

"That's Marcus Jones, captain of the Burnsley High football team. He's the one who gave me the nickname Lonely Lily."

"Oh," I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "What a jerk."

"Who cares? He called me Lily!" She squealed.

I laughed at her excitement. After seeing Lily become friends with Romano and me, the other kids in town were realizing that she was actually... normal. It was certainly a good thing, although it made me sad to think that she'd ever been mistreated in the first place.

As more people greeted us, I peeked in Antonio's direction. He and his group of friends hovered near the bonfire. The smokers, troublemakers, and overall bad boys. Half of them wore leather or jean jackets—not him though. No, he simply wore a black tee that paraded his tanned, muscular arms, almost as if to say, I'm too cool for a jacket.

When I glanced at him, I realized that he was already looking at me. A subtle smirk danced across his lips as we exchanged secret glances. We hadn't spoken to each other since the night he'd shown me the spot.

"Hey, Ro," I nudged his shoulder as a realization hit me. "I think I left my phone in your car. Can I have your keys?"

"Here." He offhandedly tossed me his car keys, before resuming his conversation with Lily and two other kids from school.