"I don't think about getting through all the bad things as accomplishments, if I'm being honest."
"What do you mean?"
"The bad things are a side effect." He looked at me confused.
"A side effect? Of what?"
"Being human."
May and June finished out with us celebrating Kimmy going back to work. It was only part time, but after us not knowing if she would even live long enough to go back, it called for a family only party. She was so excited to have some kind of normal back to her life.
July disappeared faster than June did. Niall, of all people, made the decision that he wanted to celebrate the fourth of July. Harry thought he was outrageous, but I told him we were getting a little cabin near the coast. Then he was on board.
Kimmy and Dustin dropped the baby off at her parent's for the weekend and we brought way more alcohol than necessary. Most of it came from Niall and Kira, but we all pitched in. There was a little pond nearby with a rope swing too. The guys went crazy. Kira, Kimmy, and I did plenty of swimming while they threw themselves into the water. Niall roped Kira into trying it, who tried to rope me in too. I said no, but I succumbed to the peer pressure when Harry started pushing me to do it too. Kira and Harry were an unstoppable force. It almost wasn't fair.
"Don't be a pussy, Charlie. Just do it." Kira rolled her eyes as Harry started nudging me toward the rope gently.
I'll admit that I had fun.
Saturday was filled with drinking and cooking. They guys grilled while we did everything else. I didn't know it took three men to make some hamburgers, but it's fine. We were lucky enough to have gotten a firepit. We circled folding chairs around it. Kira made us a fire while everyone watched in amazement. Apparently I was the only one who knew she could make a fire.
When it got later and a little darker, Niall started setting up the fireworks. Once again, he'd gone overboard. He said he spent $200 on fireworks alone.
"What's the point of celebrating America if you're not gonna do it right?"
"Niall, you're not even American."
"Fuck off, Harry."
He had a whole show set up for us. But Harry hadn't been paying attention when Niall started to light them. The first one went off and he almost fell out of his chair and a stream of profanities flooded out of his mouth.
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Everyone laughed. Until he admitted that he was slightly scared of fireworks. He said they were pretty and he liked how they looked, but he didn't like how loud they were. He wasn't a fan of loud sounds that were a surprise. Then we all felt bad for laughing. I grabbed his headphones from inside though so he could listen to something other than than booms from the fireworks.
He watched them with a smile after that. He pulled me into his lap and refused to let me go anywhere.
"Just need a bit of extra comfort."
He had that damn dimple out, so I obviously had to stay.
He kept me there until the fireworks were done and the fire was almost out. We were the last ones to go to bed. We put away the food that hadn't been eaten and cleared away all the mess that had been left. He wasn't ready to go to bed though. He grabbed a blanket from inside the cabin and spread it out on the grass by the pond.
