Incoherent

0.39 - Pastry Party

"Surprise!"

Once my mom opened the front door, all my old friends greeted me with that cliche surprise party.

Austin, Ryder, James, Xavier, and Xavier's boyfriend..?

He had his arm wrapped tightly around Xavier's hip and was smiling at me politely. I laughed a bit and shook my head. "It's been way too long," I mumbled, smiling at them.

"I'd say," Ryder said, grinning at me and pulling me into a hug. His hair had grown out and was styled more to the side now. It looked like he had gotten taller too.

Austin has her hair curled, and I could see she got some low lights in her hair. She seemed to be wearing a bit more makeup than usual.

And Xavier, well Xavier just looked happy. I smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up when he caught my gaze.

"Go away," he mumbled with a bright blush clear on his cheeks. I laughed and shook my head.

And James, well, James hasn't changed one bit.

"I've missed you guys so much!" I pulled them all into a group hug and giggled quietly.

"I dunno about you Lilly," Ryder said. "But I'm hungry. Look! We made it all ourselves!" He moved to the side and gestured to the kitchen table which held an assortment of parties and foods and desserts.

"Whoa.." I mumbled, breaking away from the hug to grab a cookie. "You guys made all of this?" I asked. "And you didn't burn any of it?"

"Well..." Austin laughed nervously and rocked on her heels a bit. "That might've been the third or fourth batch."

I grinned and rolled my eyes at how obvious that should have been. I know James can't cook to save his life! The rest of them apparently weren't any better.

"Let's just eat," I suggested with a small smile. "I'm actually really hungry."

To be quite frank, I was hungry almost all the time.

"Same," Austin sat down and grabbed herself a Pote, filling it up to the brim with several pastries and other goods they had made.

"So tell us, how was the insane asylum?" Ryder looked up at me with curiosity.

I paused and bit my lip. "It was actually really nice."

By now I had caught my mom's attention and she came over to the table. She smiled sweetly at me and grabbed herself a plate for food as well, but I knew better. She just wanted to listen in.

"I made some friends and they were honestly amazing." I said with a smile. "There were the twins, who were honestly the best." I smiled thinking about them and looked at all my old friends. "Then there was Michael and Loraine. They were the cutest thing ever."

"Why were they in the asylum?" Austin asked.

"Loraine was anorexic. I never found out why Michael was there, but the twins..." I veered off for a moment. "Well their story was complicated."

James laughed and shook his head. "What could those pansies have done? Murder someone?" He laughed and I bit my lip to hold back my smile.

"No.." he murmured when he finally caught on. "Who? How many people?!"

I smile innocently but that soon turned to a grin. "Can't say."

"Holy shit!" Ryder exclaimed with a laugh. "Lilly hung out with murderers!"

My mom grew stiff next to me but I really couldn't care less. I loved the twins just as much as I loved my normal friends.

"They were really nice," I said in their defense.

"Nice till they slit your throats!" He laughed, shaking his head.

I frowned and shook my head at him. "That's mean. Stop making fun of them Ryder."

"Oh c'mon Lilly," he pouted. "You're not really defending these guys are you?"

I frowned and looked down at my plate filled with cookies and tarts.

Ryder sighed and gave up but now it was Xavier who tried to save his ass. "He's just shocked that's all. To be an ass is his defense mechanism."

I smiled a bit and changed the topic.

"So tell me about you guys. How have you been?" It was a general question, but I was looking right at Xavier. I wanted to learn more about this boy of his.

"Well.. this is Benedict." He smiled and held his hand tightly as he peered up at the taller boy. He was tan, tall, and his hair was pitch black and styled like Harry Styles' hair was back in 2013.

"Nice to meet you Benedict," I said politely.

"And you as well," he had a thicker accent than the rest of us did, and I couldn't tell where he was from. It was a lot more posh. "The countryside." He answered for me. "Moved from Central London to the country side. You'd imagine how quickly an accent polishes when you move."

I smiled at him and nodded my head. "That's cool. I've always wanted to go to London." I nudged my mom with a grin and she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe one day," she said with a grin.

I quietly cheered and Austin laughed at how enthusiastic I was being. I giggled a bit and brushed my hair back.

"So is that what you usually wore?" Austin asked.

I looked down and touched the fabric softly with a nod. "Yeah. Same jeans every day, just different tops."

"What if you got cold?" Xavier asked, poking my bare shoulder.

"They have blankets." I said. I suddenly remembered the day that I was cuddled up with the twins near the fire, all drinking hot cocoa and enjoying life. I smiled to myself and looked at everyone else.

"That's cool," Xavier said and went back to eating. He had conversations with Benedict on the side and I smiled. They were just too cute.

"Well I'd say this party was a success," James said and slung an arm around my shoulders. He smiled at me and I blushed softly.

"Yeah," Austin piped up with a nod.

There was a chorus of yeahs and people agreeing and I leaned against James a bit more.

I missed this. I missed how warm and familiar this was.

For the first time since leaving, I was finally glad to be back home.

-

Hi guys log time no see.

Only a few more left before it's all over. I promise this time.

All the love,

Mercay