it's just a crush

chapter 15 - november 2016

After the weekend in Blackpool, Meg and her friends went their separate ways and settled into life as university students. Meg moved back to Chatham, where she was joined by Chelsea and Shannon – Meg staying with her nan, the other girls living in the school dorms. Kassam and Hannah went to different schools in different towns, and rare were the weekends when the whole group was able to get together.

The only times Meg ever saw Bobby were when he came to Nan's for Sunday roast, or the occasional Saturday when she was back at home and he happened to be hanging out with Gary. Outside of their usual brief exchanges over the dinner table, they never spoke. She should've been used to it, but one conversation on a sunny afternoon in Blackpool had changed everything for her, giving her hope where there was none before, and it hurt more than ever that she went unnoticed.

In November, Meg and Shannon were dragged back to town in the middle of the week by Chelsea, who got it in her head that the annual Guy Fawkes Day bonfire was something they couldn't miss. The girls tried telling her that the one in Chatham would be better, but Chelsea was nothing if not sentimental, and she wanted to go to the same one she'd been going to since she was a child and see her old friends.

The bonfire was already in full swing when they arrived at the field just outside town where it was being held. Little kids ran around while adults stood in groups chatting and keeping one eye on their children, and teens formed small circles, trying not to be too obvious as they headed into the nearby forest to smoke weed and drink beer.

Chelsea linked her arms with the other girls' as they headed towards the group of older teens to look for anyone they knew, and Meg found herself searching the crowd for a glimpse of the familiar freckled cheeks and bright smile that always made her nervous. She knew Gary would be here, so Bobby was sure to be close by.

She didn't see either of them, so she figured they weren't there yet. For now, at least, she could relax and push him to the back of her mind.

They joined the throng of people, eating toffee apples, waving sparklers around, watching as the bright flames of the bonfire burned up the traditional Guy Fawkes effigy. There was music and dancing, drunken singing and laughing.

"I'm hungry," Chelsea said, mere moments after singing the last line of a Spice Girls song at the top of her lungs.

"You've eaten at least two toffee apples and had how much beer?" Shannon asked, raising her eyebrows.

The blonde giggled, hiccupped, then giggled again. "But something smells so good! Can't we at least check it out? Pweeeaaase?"

Meg rolled her eyes as she looked in the direction of the food van that had pulled up not long before. The crowd of patrons gathered around it earlier had dispersed, leaving only a few people waiting for their food.

"I just know you're gonna buy something and not finish it," she said. "And then you'll try to share it with us."

"Oh! Share! That's a good idea, let's do that!"

Chelsea grabbed each of their hands and tugged them along behind her towards the truck. Meg and Shannon knew well enough by now that Chelsea was determined, and there was no use arguing with her.

"Ooh, fish and chips! Yum!"

"We'll just wait here," Meg said, indicating a picnic table that was at that moment being vacated. She and Shannon sat down and watched as Chelsea marched up to the truck window, and a tanned man with copper curls leaned out of it with a lazy smile. He looked familiar, but Meg couldn't remember where she'd seen him before.

As they waited, she let her eyes wander, and spotted Gary, Noah, and Dicky walking towards them. As they passed by on their way to the food truck, she could hear Gary talking excitedly about a couple houses he was arranging to see. He had just gotten a raise and was looking to buy his own place, and he was hoping the other guys might be interested in renting from him.