𝑳𝑰𝑻𝑻𝑳𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺, jmrf

28 • my boyfriend

third person

august was approaching them and the days were going by quicker. aubrey now knew what everyone meant by summer flying by. in about one week kyle would be going off to college, the week after that jonah would start packing for california, and aubrey would be starting her junior year in september.

dan even started cleaning up the shed for the fall, putting his mustang away safely inside. tim was already driving back and forth from the lake house and the frantzich home as he started packing up jonah's room. as much as she didn't want it to happen, jonah moving was the inevitable.

"you cheated." esther narrowed her eyes at the carter boy opposite from her.

"i did not!" kyle exclaimed, tossing his cards onto the coffee table. "i'm just too good."

aubrey let out a laugh, "you definitely cheated."

"did not, but whatever."

jonah got up from the floor of the balcony to help svea carry out the lemonade she made before they all continued playing cards. since kyle was leaving soon, they decided to spend the day together before him, hayden, jonah, jeremy, alyssa, aubrey, and esther would go on an end-of-summer trip.

even if they still had a whole month left, alyssa, hayden, and kyle were all starting classes the last week of august and had to get packing and going for college. jeremy was going back to his town which was a few hours away from where aubrey lived, and he'd be a senior now, meaning only big things were to come for him.

the sun was going down and after spending the whole day together, the carter and frantzich kids went inside for dinner where carrie was setting the table. it had been a while since they all sat around the dinner table and ate a meal with everyone. especially this summer with everyone out of the house doing their own thing. it was the first time they all realized this could be the last summer where they'd all have each other's company everyday.

"well look at all of you," carrie laughed, "when'd you all grow up on me?"

esther and aubrey helped bring the food out while tim and dan came inside.

"oh look- everyone's here?" the older frantzich joked as he took his seat.

dan took the seat next to jonah and looked at him, "since when were you taller than me?"

the teen laughed while he pushed in his chair, aubrey sat across from him next to svea. "so where're you going tomorrow?" the girl asked jonah, getting her share of food.

him and kyle traded looks between each other then to aubrey and esther. "that's a good question svay." kyle answered for him, the two snickering.

carrie raised a brow at the boys as she took her seat, "i don't care where you plan on going, just be safe. how long will you be gone?"

"just 3 days." jonah informed his mom.

kyle nodded his head, "yup 3 nights and 2 days."

"3 days and 2 nights." esther corrected him, making aubrey break out into laughter among with the rest of them.

even though none of them said it enough or ever admitted it, they really were a family. they had inside jokes from years ago and stories they'd tell their kids one day. and though no one would say it now, once everyone started leaving, they'd notice how bad they'll miss each other.

after cleaning up after dinner, the 5 of them were found in the basement looking for a movie to watch before they'd go to bed. everything else was taken care of- snacks for the trip, the car was fueled up, and most of their belongings were packed.

it was hayden's idea to go to white bear lake, somewhere much closer to their actual houses. it was just 20 minutes from stillwater, so they decided they'd just sleep at jonah's house for the night. aubrey and kyle haven't been to the frantzich place in months, not since last christmas where carrie insisted they'd drive the 5 hours just so they wouldn't be alone.

alyssa, jeremy, and hayden on the other hand, have never even seen jonah's place or aubrey's for that matter. even if they've known them for a decent amount, it was only summer where they saw each other.

as the movie stared, esther who sat next to aubrey asked the group a question. "hey do you think alec can come over?"

jonah looked at his sister, his brows furrowed. aubrey on the other hand widened her eyes.

"alec? like alec alec?" esther nodded her head excitedly, causing aubrey to let out a loud squeal.

"wait who's alec?" ky asked the two.

"her boyfriend."

"my boyfriend."

"what?" jonah and kyle asked simultaneously. svea, who was knocked out asleep, threw a pillow that hit kyle right in the head as she told them to be quiet.

"what?" the carter boy whispered, rubbing the back of his head where the pillow hit him.

"since when did you have a boyfriend?"

"just a few weeks-ish," esther told them, "you haven't met him yet. but i've mentioned him before."

"yeah pay attention jonah." aubrey teased, folding her arms in a playfully bossy way, which only made him roll his eyes at her.

"so can he come?"

the boys looked at each other, coming up with a decision as they read each others' minds instead of actually talking. "yeah sure, why not?" kyle shrugged, a relieved exhale coming form esther.

"ew esther has a boyfriend." he teased.

"ew kyle's gonna be 7th wheeling for the next 3 days." she shot back. jonah and aubrey began to laugh at the two's bickering like old times.

"wait that's not true," aubrey said, making her brother slightly optimistic. "he'll have hayden." she said with an evil laugh, resulting in a pillow slapped to her face and back to the playful arguing and fighting the 4 of them always did growing up.

ˏ 𓏧 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓋒 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏲 𓏧 ˎ

a/n

filler chapter before their trip 🙈