Plant New Seeds | H.S.| AU

Chapter Twenty-Six - Friendsgiving

N I A

So, this is what a living room looked like when you actually had other humans to entertain other than your former drug-addict mother.

It was such a striking difference to see his friends dressed in normal clothing and not in clever, detail-oriented costumes. Much like Harry, they were all very stylish and had that sort of casually-expensive look going on.

Thank Gods I was wearing Harry's sweater, otherwise I would've felt even more out of my zone.

With the music blasting and the way that hadn't even noticed we entered the room in the middle of their good times, it looked like a scene straight out of a Hallmark movie. Wished it was possible to skip straight to the part when we're all besties and learned a cheesy lesson along the way.

"There she is!"

The boisterous greeting from Jules—coated in her distinguishable jersey accent—was like an abnormally-welcoming slap to the face. My eyes widened at her surprising excitement and I smiled as she got up from the couch and pulled me in for a tight, warm hug.

Over Jules' shoulder, the rest of the Barbie Dreamhouse crew had all gotten up from their seats and formed a line behind her to wait their turns.

Wait their turns? Fuck, maybe I really was Megan Markle.

"For fuck's sake, Jules!" I heard Harry call out from behind me. "Let Nee go before you cut her circulation off!"

"Language, Harry Bear!" Jules shot back tauntingly, reminding us all that a little person was in our presence for the night.

Harry's groan from her use of our insider-nickname I accidentally slipped out on Halloween almost made me choke on imaginary water. I really fucked him over with that one, huh?

I had one solid moment of fresh breathing air when she finally let me go, kissing either side of my face to seal it off. However—my lungs were robbed of their oxygen supply once again when Aaron grabbed me in his strong arms next, his hug just as tight as his wife's.

It was still sort of strange getting used to the constant affection from Harry. Just imagine how fucking odd it was to feel so loved on by a group of actual strangers.

But the strangest thing of all was that I actually started to like it. A compliment came with each hug, and murmurs about how happy they were to see me again followed, too. Just like Harry, his friends had a way of making you feel safe and wanted.

Their hugs were all distinct, it was hard not to note all their beautiful differences:

Jules was aggressively-adorable. Aaron was like hugging a domesticated grizzly bear. Scott's was refreshing like the first bite of a clementine. And Mariana's hug was warmly-familiar, like meeting up with an old girlfriend for tea time.

"It's nice to see y'all again," I said with a smile once we were all re-acquainted with each other.

The Halloween incident still loomed over my mind, no matter how hard I tried to forget about it. So far, no one had brought it up and I wanted it to stay that way. But whenever anyone looked me directly in the eye, I swore I felt them judge me.

Where did she go that night? What kind of weirdo leaves with no explanation? She's the reason Harry drank himself silly that night.

Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.

Fuck. Enough. I had to stop.

"There's someone else who wants to meet you, Nee," Harry cooed softly from behind me, followed by the precious giggle of a small child.