All Along | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Four

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"You're that part of me I'll always need."

- unknown

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Luna's POV

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"Laney, what the hell am I supposed to wear to this thing?"

"It's a bar, Luna. Just go casual. Maybe a dressy top."

I groan, falling forward to face plant on my bed. "I haven't seen these guys in ten years! What do I do?"

"What do you mean, Luney? You act like yourself, as always." Alana laughs, clearly at my expense.

I roll over onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. "But these are his best friends from high school. They used to be my friends too. I haven't seen them in over ten years! They're thirty now!"

"And you're twenty-six," Alana laughs, "It's not that scary, just be yourself."

"Ugh, that's the worst advice ever," I sit up a little to look at her, my brows raised, "What does that even mean?"

She rolls her eyes at me and spins on her heel to walk over to my closet as she speaks, "It means you're going to walk in there looking hot as fúck like you always do with your hair done and your make up looking bomb. And you're going to be your usual hilarious, smart and kind self. Just like I'm sure you were back when you last saw them at 13 years old. You've always been you, Luna. And they're going to love you now just as they did then."

I stare at her for a moment. "You're really good at pep talks."

Her lips lift into a grin, "I know. Now get up and put on a cute little shirt that makes your boobs look good and let's find you some pants. These cream ones make your áss look phenomenal." She murmurs to herself, pulling said pants out from my closet and holding them up for inspection.

I stand up to walk over to her. "I'm meeting some friends, Laney. The goal isn't to look hot."

She stares at me as if I've grown two heads. "The goal is always to look hot, babe." She shrugs, pointedly moving her gaze away from mine, "Besides, that best friend of yours is single, so..."

"Oh, no, no, no, don't even go there." I quickly shut that down, shaking my head. "Best friends for eighteen years, five-year age gap... Not a chance."

"It's under five years, actually. And you haven't properly seen each other since you were a kid. For long amounts of time, at least. Who knows what could happen?"

"Not that." I continue to shake my head adamantly. "Not with us."

She looks me dead in the eye and tells me, "I know you had a crush on him, Luney."

I hate the way my cheeks heat up. "That was years ago. I was in middle school."

Her brow raises challengingly, "Tell that to nineteen-year-old Luna. She seemed pretty upset when she found out about little miss model Georgia."

"It wasn't because he was dating someone, it was because he didn't tell me." I argue.

"Right," she deadpans, "So the whole Jackson thing right after was just a coincidence?"

"He asked me out!" Even I know that's a weak argument. He may have asked me out earlier that day, but I'm the one who called him after I spoke to Oli.

"Yeah, several times, actually. And you turned him down at every single one. Until the night you found out about Oli and Georgia." She tells me pointedly. A smirk lifts her lips as if she knows she's won.