Vanilla And Cocoa

Chapter 36 "Catch Me Up"

"So, you mean to tell me, Justin and Merissa have officially moved into your home, Merissa donated all of her toys to an orphanage you all decided to volunteer at and then Justin gave away his house to said orphanage so they could have a better place to stay. Not to mention, you and Justin have this weird romance thing going on." Drew summed up.

"Yep."

"And all this happened in just a few weeks after Justin got out of the hospital."

"Yep."

"What the fuck?"

Izzy laughed. "That's an understatement."

Today was an half day at school but Justin had to stay after to take a test so we decided to wait for him. That's how I ended up telling our friends everything that's been going on.

"That's a lot to wrap my head around but, surprisingly, that's not the worst that could have happened in the past few weeks." Chris added with a sigh.

"Aint that the truth." Zay said with a grin.

"Okay but let's not skip over the whole weird romance thing. That's important." Orlan said and Izzy gave him a disapproving look.

"How is that interesting? That's obvious. I'm more interested in the whole orphanage affair."

"Merissa is a way more interesting subject. Just my opinion." Chris huffed.

Before anyone could say anything else, I spoke up. "Woah, okay. I'll tell all of it. Just calm down."

"Oh, Destiny is about to spill some tea." Zay teased.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Shut up. Anyway, regarding Merissa, she seems a lot happier now. I gave her a diary to write out her feelings in it and sometimes she gives it to Justin and I to read. She was so excited about showing all the kids from the orphanage all of her toys. We let her spend some time over there and she's making a lot of friends. Speaking of the orphanage, she threw a fit while we were there about how they didn't have the stuff she had so Justin and I made the unanimous decision to give away her toys but Justin threw in the house for a bonus, I guess. And Justin and I are a thing, kind of. He wants to wait until he's better, y'know?"

"Aw, that's so cute!" Izzy exclaimed but I wasn't really sure what topic she was talking about.

"Yeah, sure. But, on top of all of that, we're about to graduate, too. I don't know how you do it Destiny. I'm just worried about Justin and what I'm going to do after graduation." Drew said, with a furrow in his brows.

I shrugged. "We're all stressed and it's been hard but I'll be damned if I never got to know all of you."

They chorused their adoration and a smile bloomed across my face in retaliation. "Don't act surprised about it."

"You're so fucking cute." Chris cooed as he pulled me into a hug and I laughed.

"Well, well, well. Chris, I'd never thought I'd see the day. Are you trying to seduce my lady?" A voice so familiar spoke and my heart leapt in my throat.

"Justin!" Orlan yelled cheerily.

"Oh, please. Destiny might be adorable but that hunk is enough for me." Chris sighed dramatically as he gestured at Orlan.

Orlan blew a kiss and Chris went back to his side to give him a real one. Zay rolled his eyes and approached Justin. "How was the test?"

"I think I passed, which is amazing, seeing as I haven't been in school for a while." Justin grinned at him.

Drew lit up suddenly as he remembered something. "Guys, I forgot and you're probably not going to believe this but Ashley actually complimented Destiny three times today in the hallway."

Izzy's jaw dropped. "No way."

"That true?" I jumped as a weight was placed across my shoulders but soon relaxed. I didn't even notice when Justin had moved over to me.

I hummed. "We made up, I guess."

"When the hell did this happen?"

I pursed my lips. "Not too long ago."

"Evasive." Izzy commented.

"Short answers." Drew added.

"Thanks for the psychoanalysis."

My sarcastic answer only made them grin. Izzy cooed and I scowled. "Aw, you guys had a true heart to heart, didn't you?"

"You could say that." I muttered.

"Are you guys gonna get your hair done together?" Zay teased.

"You're pushing it."

"Stop teasing her and let's get something to eat." Justin said grouchily near my ear.

I patted his arm sympathetically and he pressed his temple against mine. "Sounds like a good idea."

Izzy groaned as she got up and Drew tapped the pit of her knee with his foot causing her nearly fall. Before Izzy could him, Orlan did the same thing to Drew, but this time, he actually fell. Everyone laughed as Drew groaned painfully on the ground. Izzy tried to help him up but he just pulled her down to the floor with him. "Too easy."

Something wet dripped onto my shoulder, startling me. I turned my head and Justin lifted his head away, rubbing at his eyes. "Ugh, I hate these symptoms."

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

"Nothing," He chuckled. "I just really love my family."

A grin split my face and I grabbed his hands. "We should go ahead and go get something to eat. Let's go guys."

"Where are we going to eat?" Chris asked.

"I don't know. Spin in a circle and point. It'll be more fun that way."

Our group dissolved into conversation and I sat back, watching. Yes, we were young and we've been through a lot but this was the beginning.

I stole a glance at Justin as we left the school. His eyes were unfocused like he was lost in thought but his jaw was set, signaling me that he was troubled by something. I squeezed his hand and watched as his eyes came back to life. He glanced at me then focused his gaze in front of him, inhaling shakily and squaring his shoulders.

Yeah, this was just the beginning.

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Oh man, oh man. Another chapter, two time skips, and the end? I'm not sure but I definitely think I should wrap this up soon :)