Two Birds [S.Uris]

XVI. Invitation

"Art, you can't just force me to stay away from them. What else am I supposed to do this summer?" Fleur begins in an angry tone, glaring at her brother, who had his eyes kept on the road.

"Stay inside. Not only did you go against what I said, but you lied." Arthur replies calmly, gripping the wheel tightly. "I don't necessarily like
your friends either.. but I don't go around forcing you to stay away." Fleur mutters under her breath, rolling her eyes and leaning her head on the car door.

"Look, Fleur. You know I love you, right? I just don't want you getting bullied either." He sighs, pulling into the driveway of their home. "I know, Art." The blonde replies, thinking back to the losers. How they had become so close over the past few days. She's never made friends in such a short amount of time.

Exiting the car, she began thinking about Stanley, causing her eyes to quickly tear up. Why was he the only one who made her feel? More importantly, what was she feeling? She wasn't quite sure.

••••

As she lies down in her room, looking up at the ceiling, she thinks back to all the moments her and Stanley had. Anything that could explain why he made her heart flutter. Maybe it was his smile, or the fact that he shared his passion with her. Maybe it boosted when their faces were so close and she could count every freckle on his face.

Then it hit her as she quickly sat up. "Holy shit, I like Stanley Uris." She widens her eyes, beginning to panic. She gets off the bed, running over to the phone and dialing Adelia's number, hoping she would answer.

"Hello? Bloom residence, Adelia speaking." The girl on the other line says in a soft voice. "Addy, it's Fleur. It's been a while." Fleur chuckles. "Holy shit, yeah. What has it been? A week? I don't know. I've never been away from you for so long."

Fleur smiles, thinking to herself for a moment. "Are you free today? I know you've got volleyball and all that. Can you come over?" The blonde asks. "I thought you'd never ask. I'll be over in fifteen minutes." Adelia says excitedly, hanging up the phone.

Fleur runs down the steps, finding her brother smoking a cigarette as he watches TV. "Hey, Addy's coming over. She'll be over in a bit." Fleur bites her lip anxiously, waiting for a response. "Is it really Addy this time?" Arthur raises an eyebrow.

Fleur nods, then runs upstairs, waiting until the girl would arrive. After a few minutes, the doorbell rings and Fleur rushes back down the steps, throwing the front door open. "Addy." She smiles, hugging the girl. Adelia has beautiful brown curly locks and dimples whenever she smiled. Her eyes were an exquisite shade of hazel and green combined.

"Addy, hey!" Arthur smiles, also giving the girl a hug. "Hey Arthritis." Adelia chuckles. It was a nickname she'd given the boy. "Alright, AIDS." Arthur returns, snickering as he walks off to the living room.

"I've got lots to tell you." Fleur grabs Adelia's arm, pulling the brunette up the stairs and into the room. "Alright, So before i start, how has you summer been so far?" Fleur asks, anxious to start telling her all about what happened this past week.

"Oh well it's actually pretty go-" Fleur cuts her off, not being able to hold it in anymore. "Okay so since I got paired with the three boys in the English project, I've been hanging out with them and their friend Stanley. And then Beverly, Ben, and Mike joined in. Then we started trying to figure out why all these kids are going missing and-"

"Woah, slow down. What the hell are you talking about?" Addy smiles in confusion, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. Fleur sighs, flopping  back onto her bed. "I think I like someone."

"Ooh. Who?" Adelia smirks, looking down at the blue eyed girl. "Stanley Uris from school. He's friends with a Richie, Eddie, and Bill, So we started talking too. I've been spending this whole week with them." Fleur smiles to herself, her eyes sparkling.

"Does he like you back?" Addy asks, genuinely interested. Fleur has never been the type to crush on someone. At least not without acting on it right away. "I don't know." Fleur lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, remember Lucas in grade 5? You liked him and you didn't hesitate even once to tell him. What happened to that confidence?" Adelia asks, pulling the blonde up by her arms and making sure they're facing each other. "Stanley's different. Anyways, Arthur won't let me see him anymore. Or any of the losers." Fleur looks down at her hands, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"How come?" The brunette asks, looking to the girl with a sad expression. "He says he doesn't want me to look like a loser. But what I say is that if being loser means to be as brave as Bill, as lovely as Eddie, as loyal as Ben, as caring as a Richie, as patient as Mike, as strong as Beverly, and as adorable as Stanley Uris, then I am a loser." Fleur says confidently, smiling when she mentioned Stanley.

"Shit. That was inspirational as fuck." A voice coming from outside the window speaks up. It sounded quite familiar to Fleur. "Richie? What the fuck?" Fleur whispers, looking down at the boy who was holding onto the window ledge for dear life.

"Didn't you hear my brother? He said he's gonna kill you." Fleur adds, glaring at him. "Yeah, but Stanley's too much of a wuss to come here himself. And I owe him." Richie says, pulling himself in and hitting the floor. "Wow, Adelia Bloom. It's really you. I'm a big fan. You're hot as fuck." Richie smirks, winking to the brunette.

Adelia scrunches up her face in confusion and looks to Fleur, who simply shrugs. "Rich, you gotta go before Arthur comes up." Fleur warns. "I'm not here for long. But like I said, Stanley's a fucking wuss so.. He wanted me to give you this." Richie shuffles in his pocket, pulling out a small card.

"What is this?" Fleur asks, slowly opening the card. "It's an invitation to his Bar Mitzvah. Please be there, don't break the poor guy's heart. Dress nice."
Fleur smiles down at the card, closing it. "Thanks rich."

"No problem. Your total will be 2.25 and a kiss on the lips." Fleur chuckles, shaking her head. "How about no?"
Richie shrugs, beginning to back away towards the window. "Worth a shot. See you there, Fleur."

With one last wink, Richie exits via window, then bikes off at full speed. Right as he's fully gone, Adelia let's out a scream. "Fleur! This is your chance!" She squeals, jumping around. "I know!" Fleur joins in, holding her friend's hands and jumping around with her.

A few moments later, Arthur barges in, startling the two. "Is everyone alright? I heard screaming." He asks in concern, watching the two, large smiles plastered on their faces. Fleur was holding the card close to her chest.

"Nope. All good here. Right, Addy?" Fleur smiles innocently. Adelia quickly nods. "Alright then. Quiet down please. I can barely hear the TV at full volume." Arthur chuckles, then shuts the door once again.

As soon as he's gone, the girls break out into a fit of laughter.