Secondhand Embarrassment

twenty seven: the bonfire

lennon || olivia || billy || noah

☼~☼~☼~☼~☼

by nine o'clock, the sun has fallen and left a path of radiant stars in its path. the moon's elusive whispers can't be heard over the sound of laughter and mindless drunken words. time is addictive, the need to hold onto every last second of an alternate universe away from reality rewiring their brains by the minute.

the diffusive scent of firewood and bright orange flames are the first things lennon notices as she steps onto the beach, her leather sandals sinking into the white sand. olivia stands right beside her with expensive perfume lingering on her neck. the energy of the swarm of college students engulfs them, pulling them closer to the ocean.

"what if he doesn't come?" lennon wonders, nervously fidgeting with the strap of her sundress. she's anxious, and she doesn't like the way her nerves are causing her to spiral out of control.

"then he's not worth your time anymore," olivia replies, scanning the landscape."it's simple, really. what kind of guy stands up a girl twice?""

"i don't know . . ." hesitation cascades throughout lennon's facial features, worry lines creasing her forehead. "maybe this was a bad idea."

"oh that's just cruel, lennon." olivia turns toward lennon, her body movements screaming skepticism. "you're not just going to stand noah up because he stood you up the first time, right?"

"no, it's not that," she refutes immediately, a small smile slipping across her glossed lips. "it's just, maybe i should've just said no when he asked. we only have two days left. what did i think was going to happen? long distance relationships almost never work out anyway."

"you're forgetting the part where noah is billy's best friend."

"i thought you said we weren't going to talk about him after yesterday."

"desperate times call for desperate measures, len," she says,"so maybe noah actually lives on the other side of the country, but i doubt that. who would leave california for delaware?"

"i actually met this guy the other day who was from was-"

"not my point," olivia cuts her off abruptly with a short laugh. "what i'm trying to say is what if noah goes to school with us, too? would you really consider a walk down mccarthy avenue a long distance relationship?"

"i consider anything more than the distance from my bed to the dining hall next door a long distance," she jokes,"but i guess you're right."

"plus, you're already here. you can't chicken out now. if you don't meet noah tonight, there's a bunch of other guys around who would love your attention."

suddenly, the sound of a text message breaks their conversation. lennon glances down at the phone in her hand.

"i bet that's noah right now. see, you had nothing to worry about."

and for the first time, olivia's actually right.

~~~~~

do you remember what i told you?

that you hate christmas??

you're never going to
get over that, are you?

never. it's almost a deal breaker