Ivy

Chapter Five: Emma

School finished quickly, and soon everyone was out at the front of the building. I don't know what Noah said to Ivy, but she told me she still wanted to hang out with us, and that she would go wherever I wanted after school. I was about to burst with excitement when I introduced the place I wanted to visit.

"We should go to Mint Chip!" I giggled, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

My friends and I didn't normally go to Mint Chip just for fun, it was usually reserved for special occasions like birthdays and end-of-year parties. But I made an exception for today, since I really wanted Ivy to have some fun. She was always so grumpy.

"What in the hell is that? Sounds like some weird indie band," Ivy said with a frown.

Everyone laughed at Ivy's confusion.

"It's an ice cream shop," Zoe chuckled, "We absolutely love that place."

Ivy simply nodded, seeming indifferent about the whole endeavor. Everyone's giggles soon died down and we all walked over to the school's parking lot. Behind me, I heard people talking, and I turned to see that everyone was telling Ivy about Mint Chip. Well, everyone except Payton, who was scowling and rolling his eyes every time Ivy spoke.

"Once you've had Mint Chip ice cream, you'll never want to eat another store bought ice cream again," Landon said dreamily.

Ivy's face scrunched up in a mixture of confusion and amusement. Everyone else laughed again, and I felt myself smile. They were getting along. I knew that Ivy just needed friends.

"Aren't you being slightly dramatic?" Ivy snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"If you think that's dramatic then you should see Miranda after a character in one of her books dies," Kaylie joked, nudging Miranda with her shoulder.

Miranda put her hand over her heart, feigning hurt.

"They always die so young," she sniffed.

When we finally reached the parking lot, we found Zoe's grey minivan. The car was actually her mother's, so we could not mess with it or we would lose our heads. Zoe pulled out her keys and tossed them to Kaylie. Zoe didn't really like to drive, but Kaylie loved to. So, Zoe only drove when necessary, like how she drives to school every morning. But if she didn't have to, she would gladly let Kaylie take the wheel.

We all piled into the minivan, and when we all got in, Ivy swung the door shut. None of us had realized that Payton's hand was still in the doorway, and it would've gotten crushed if he hadn't yanked it away so fast.

"Watch it, moron," he hissed at Ivy, clutching his nearly-broken hand.

"Well someone's in a bad mood," I said to Payton, raising my eyebrows.

He gave Ivy a pointed look, as if this was all her fault.

"He just doesn't like me," Ivy stated, putting on her seatbelt.

Everyone else followed suit, and once Kaylie made sure all passengers were strapped in she started the engine and drove off. Payton was grumbling all kinds of insults at Ivy, and before I could intervene, she snapped.

"What have I done to you, honestly?" Ivy inquired, jabbing her finger in Payton's face. "From the moment I met you, all you've done is send me evil looks and insult me! What did I do, huh?"

Payton ground his teeth together and grabbed Ivy's wrist to stop her from pointing at him. All of us gasped, unsure of what was going to happen. He touched her, and definitely not in a friendly way.

"As you said before, I don't like you, Ivy," Payton sneered, still clutching Ivy's wrist.

Ivy's eyes travelled from her wrist to Payton's face. Her expression remained blank, and that kind of scared me.

"Let go," she commanded, looking him in the eye.

He didn't. He just sat there, staring daggers at Ivy. Everyone held their breath and watched the scene unfold.

"Payton, if you don't let me go I'll-"

Ivy was cut off by the shrill ringing of a cell phone. She yanked her hand out of Payton's grasp and pulled a scratched-up flip phone out of her pocket. She looked at the caller I.D. and scowled before pressing 'Ignore'. Ivy turned to threaten Payton again, but before she could, her phone rang once more. Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Just answer it, hothead," Payton mumbled, crossing his arms. He had a challenging expression on his face, a mixture between, 'I bet you won't,' and, 'Let's finish our argument.'

Ivy gave him a not-so-nice hand gesture, but did end up answering her phone.

"Hi, mom."

Everyone visibly relaxed when we knew there wasn't going to be a fight in the backseat of the minivan. Kaylie turned up the radio a little, and quiet chatter arose. Ivy wasn't saying much into the phone, just 'yeah' and 'no' every few seconds.

After a little while, Ivy hung up her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. I was about to ask her if she was alright, but then a familiar tune came blasting through the speakers. Kaylie turned the radio all the way up this time, and as if it was on cue, everyone in the van began to sing. Well, everyone except for Ivy.

"Oh, baby, baby, how was I supposed to know, that something wasn't right here?" Zoe sang, then pointed to Noah.

"Oh baby, baby, I shouldn't have let you go," Noah belted, "And now you're out of sight, yeah!"

"Show me how you want it to be," I yelled, deciding to join in. "Tell me, baby, 'cause I need to know now, oh, because..."

And that's when everyone decided to join in to sing the chorus. Well, again, everyone except Ivy, who was now too busy holding her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

"My loneliness is killing me," we all shouted. "I must confess, I still believe, when I'm not with you I lose my mind. Give me a sign, hit me, baby, one more time!"

The bunch of us sounded like a group of dying donkeys, but it was totally fun. It eased the tension that was in the minivan no more than ten minutes ago. It was good to just let it all go.

A few minutes later, we arrived at Mint Chip.

I stood up and got out of the minivan, beckoning excitedly for everyone else to do the same. They followed in my footsteps, and I smiled when Ivy immediately came to my side after getting out of the car. Landon rushed forward and held open the door for us, and we all entered the ice cream parlor.

We were immediately greeted with the smiling employees and bright colors of the shop. I loved it here, everyone was so nice and the ice cream was to die for.

"Oh, hey Emma! Who's birthday is it today?" Michael, the guy who works the cashier, asked.

The group and I had known Michael for quite some time, seeing as he'd worked at the ice cream parlor for as long as I could remember. I also knew him particularly well because he sat next to me in Spanish class. Michael was super nice and extremely childish even though he was a senior, which meant he was a grade above me. In fact, everything about Michael was childish, from his tousled sandy blond hair to his hazel eyes that always seemed to have a mischievous glint in them. He even had these cute little dimples that popped up when he smiled.

"No ones, actually. Today we're just here to show our new friend Ivy a good time," I replied.

Michael glanced over at Ivy and grinned, and Ivy sent back her signature half-smile.

"Always nice to see a fresh face in town. So, what can I get you guys?"