𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚-𝑻𝒘𝒐 | b. rodriguez

the sabotage

We stepped out into the sun, leaving the coolness of the mall. With her bags slung around her wrists, Kate nudged me, too harsh.

"Take it back," she growled.

"What?" I asked, surprised this bothered her so much.

"Take it back. Ham doesn't like me anymore. We hate each other–"

"Pff–" I began before she gripped my wrist. I laughed because at first her touch tickled. "–Oh, come on," I started. "He still likes you, and you lik– Ow!"

Her grip had tightened and she was now staring me down, too close for comfort.

I sighed.

"Fine. Sheesh. Whatever. You both haaate each other.."

"I don't like your attitude, missy."

"Too bad," I said, wriggling my wrist out of her grip.

I shook my wrist in the air to allow the circulation back into my hand. I glanced back at Kate who all of a sudden looked a bit sad.

Does she really think Ham hates her?

"Hey," I said, lightening up. "No more.. boy talk, okay?"

I offered my hand as a sign of peace, but Kate just smiled at me, softly. Ignoring my hand, she slung her bag down her arm and hugged me instead.

"Okay."

After she let go of me, her face brightened. "Who's up for some ice cream?"

✱ ✱ ✱ ✱

I giggled as Kate tried licking her nose. A small bit of ice cream was on the tip of it, and we'd neglected to get napkins from the ice cream booth near the theater.

"Is it gone?"

"Nope," I smirked.

We were going to see a movie after we finished our cones, and it was around five thirty at that time. We planned to see "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

"How about now?"

At that moment she stumbled off the curb and nearly fell in the road, laughing. There were no cars around so naturally I cracked up as she saved herself from falling down.

"Shu–" she started before giggling at the ice cream that was dripping down her hand out of the crushed cone. "Shut up. It's not funny," she lied, furrowing her brows in feigned annoyance.

"Yea–" she pushed me and I stumbled towards the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. "It kinda is!"

Her laughter kept peeking through her fake attitude and eventually we made our way to the front of the theater, smiling friends once again. Eventually we finished our ice cream cones, hardly managing to keep them from melting in our hands.

As we headed west down the street towards the movie theater the sun was still high in the sky. A thin layer of sweat was forming on my forehead, and my messy, pulled back hair clung to my neck, the flyaways on my face.

Just before we got to the doors of the cinema, someone's witchy voice caught our attention, barely loud enough, but still heard.