ᴛʜᴇ sᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏғ sᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ // mcyt apply fic // ᶜˡᵒˢᵉᵈ

━ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧

𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤:  Je te Laisserai des Mots - Patrick Watson

MUSIC PUMPED OUT of the speakers as the car idled at a red light. The roof was missing off the shiny robin's egg blue convertible and the gang was jamming. The song faded and Daisy started up, causing June to whoop.

"FUCK A PRINCESS, I'M A KING," The girls shouted along to the song. "BOW DOWN AND KISS ON MY RING," Marshalls' head tilted back and he laughed, hard. "BEING A BITCH IS MY KINK, WHAT THE FUCK ELSE DID YOU THINK?"

June laughed and threw an arm into the air, whooping, as Marshall cranked up the volume even more from the passenger seat. A mother pushing a stroller with a few children trailing behind on the sidewalk shot them a dirty look, to which Angie waved and stuck her tongue out.

Just as the song ended, June turned onto a long street lined with large houses, a spare palm tree leaning over the road and offering a second's shade to passerby.

"We're here," June said, pulling in front of a large marble house and turning off google maps.

"Daaaaamn," Angie said as they slid out of the car, admiring the property.

"Front door?" Mars asked, heading up the stone path towards the front.

Scarlett shook her head, "He said to just go in through the back gate,"

June led the way, creaking the white fence gate open to reveal a large grassy backyard. Nick was manning the grill, flipping burgers and rolling hotdogs while Alex and Karl sat on the patio to keep him company. George was carrying plates and plastic cups and whining while Clay followed, laughing at whatever he said.

"Clay! How am I supposed to know how to do that? I'm British, not American," He groaned.

"I don't know, just figure it out," Clay chuckled. "Oh!" He said as he spotted the band. "Hey, guys, we're just setting up for lunch, you can sit,"

The group dropped into the padded chairs around the patio tables. Clay chose the empty seat next to Scarlett, smiling. George placed the plastic cups at every seat and then slid the plates next to the grill for Nick. He turned around to sit and his heart dropped into his stomach.

The only seat left was directly next to - yup, you guessed it - June. Fucking. Artemis.

He ran a hand through his thick waves, he really did need a haircut, or at least a trim. June still hadn't noticed him, chatting with Marshall and Val. As he dragged his feet across the smooth river stones, she looked up and met his eyes.

They sparkled slightly in the sun, searching his face for a split second. Her smile never left, though it changed, the genuine grin falling slightly to a fake expression. She was good at acting, but he knew her too well. He could see right through her thick facade.

He sat down next to her, greeting the table and fighting off yet another buried memory.

"Okay, but I just want a cat named Arnold," Marshall shrugged.

"Arnold?" June snorted. "And I thought Rutabaga was bad enough,"

"Hey!" Val cried. "Ruta is an amazing name for a cat! At least it's not Arnold," She defended, mocking Marshall's choice in pet names.

"Please, June said she wanted to name her dog Saskia," Mars grinned, shifting the attention off of him.

George felt a twang in his heart. Saskia was his cat's name growing up, and June knew that. June winced, knowing George had heard and felt embarrassed.

"Yeah, but I didn't," She clarified. "Her name is Gale!"

"See this is why Karl and I don't have any pets, they're a hassle," Alex shrugged.