i grab the plastic wrapped popcorn bag out of the cabinet and place it on the counter, peeling the plastic off of it and placing it in the microwave. as i start the popcorn, i walk around the kitchen and look for a bowl. after searching and searching for one, i give up. "MADYYYY!" i yell, hoping my best friend would hear me from her bedroom. "WHATT?!" she screams back, and i sigh of relief. "WHERE ARE THE BOWLS?!" i scream, still searching for the piece of tupperware. "IN THE CABINET ABOVE THE COUNTER." i open the cabinet as told and there sits the bowls. "THANK YOU." i watch the popcorn timer tick and beep, and pour the popcorn out of the bag into the bowl, the smell of butter filling my nose. i run up the stairs and walk down the hallway and walk into mady's room. the room smells of honey and lavender (and now butter) and the walls are painted such a light purple it looks white. the bedspread is white, with purple throw pillows to accent the wall. when i was 2 years old this used to be my favorite place in the world. "jeez how hard was it to find the bowls." mady snaps me out of my thoughts with sarcasm. "sorry, i forgot where you guys put them." she rolls her eyes. "you forget everytime we make popcorn." i raise an eyebrow. "nuh uh." i fight back, sticking out my tongue and she just shakes her head. "you are really something." she says and i laugh. "yeah something you love." i shoot back, and she laughs. "can you guys shut up and hug already." sophia says and laughs at us, putting her concentration back on her phone. "so did you understand the math homework?" i ask and she shrugs. "i already finished it." i huff at her. "pleaseeeee help meee." i wine and she gives in. "so for tis one you need to use your formula we learned. it should be in yo-"
"who's having popcorn without me?" all three of our heads snap up in unison, as my mouth forms a smile.
joey.
i squeal and run up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "i missed you." i whisper into his hoodie, and i can feel his heartbeat against my chest. "i missed you more." he whispers and i smile. i get off of him and let his sisters hug him, and i end up getting pulled into the group hug.
we sit in a circle. "so all we're missing is ch-"
"THATS ME LADIES AND GENTS!!" charles runs in mady's room yelling so laid the carpet shakes, and we laugh. "you're late." i point at him and he clutches his chest, pretending to be offended. "i had to pee, bella." he scoffs, and we all die of laughter.
"i vote truth or dare." sophia pops up and we all nod and agree. we sit in a circle, knees touching. meanwhile i'm squished between mady and sophia, charles is beside mady and joey is beside him. as we start, joey decides to go first. he looks around the circle and his eyes meet mine, and he winks. "bella." i grunt. oh no. "truth or dare?" he dares me, mouth formed into a smirk, and his eyebrows raised as if to say, "i dare you.".
"truth." joey rolls his eyes. "whimp." he whispers, but throws a smirk at me. "who do you have a crush on." he says, and i laugh. "that's easy, no one." i admit. he raises his eyebrows. "are you sure?" i roll my eyes. "i'm pretty darn sure joseph." i tease, using his full name. "watch it." he mouths to me as i laugh. as sophia asks charles a dare, my phone buzzes from under my thigh and i pick it up. i read the home screen and my lips curve into a smile.
joey🤧:
i missed u
me:
i missed u 2:)
he grabs his phone and smiles at me as i watch him. my phone buzzes again.
joey🤧:
mwah kisses;)
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oops joey is my new stan
