𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 𝐀. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 [𝟏]

➛⠀𝟬𝟯 | 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗪𝗔𝗬

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, and you wished the floor would swallow you whole. You don't feel a sense of belonging, so you clenched your teeth and attempted to breathe normally to keep your heart from racing.

"Yeah, if you guys don't like veggie, there's a pepperoni at the bottom." Alex broke the silence as he pointed at the pizza boxes. "There's a sausage under, and a pineapple, too."

"Or board games," Alex suggested again. You quietly placed the box of Twister down beside you as you hugged your legs, breathing heavily. Alex noticed the Twister beside you. "Ooh, yes, Twister!"

The others glanced at him as he pointed at the slender box. "Remember that we would always...?"

"We're not 12 anymore," Gert spoke up.

"Not even me." Molly scrunched her face as she moved towards you to sit beside you.

Alex nodded. "Good point. Okay, how about suggestions, then, just anything you guys..." He sat down on a chair until Molly spoke up. "What are you doing?" She scolded. "That was her chair."

You grabbed Molly's hand and held it tight, giving her a look. Nico shook her head. "Sit wherever you want." She stated. "She's gone." Alex gave her a sympathetic stare.

Another awkward silence filled the air until Chase spoke up. "This is too weird." He sighed. Karolina nodded. "Maybe we just don't work without her."

Chase stood up with a slight scoff. "Yeah. I'm outta here.

Alex stood up as well. "No, come on, guys!" He stopped Chase from leaving the guesthouse. "Listen, we can't blame Amy for the fact that we don't hang out anymore."

Chase shrugged. "Fine. I blame you." He scowled at Alex. "You didn't come to the funeral!"

"Everyone grieves in their own way." Karolina defended.

"At funerals with their friends." Chase retorted.

You decided to keep your mouth shut to not add more tension to the argument. Besides, there's nothing to say if you weren't part of their past.

"Right, (Y/n)?" Chase glanced at you, bringing you to the argument. Alex slightly widened his eyes, finally learning what's your name.

'Well, there goes that keeping myself away from them.'

Gert didn't let you answer, though, since she spoke up. "Yeah, who would ever do that, not show up when a friend is expecting them?" She was looking directly at Chase.

Chase looked at her shortly, realizing what she meant. "I'm just saying, Wilder not showing up was the first crack in the wall."

"That wall was always coming down," Karolina responded. "We were friends because our parents were friends. We were just kids. We were always gonna grow apart."

"Plus, it's kind of hard to stay friends with someone when all they care about is being the perfect church girl," Gert complained, directly hinting at her statement towards Karolina.

"Better than the insufferable social justice warrior."

"Or a dumb jock," Alex added, looking at Chase.

"Yeah, or Molly." Chase glanced at Molly, who gave him a look of incredulity while you raised your eyebrow, giving him a warning stare. "I've got nothing against you. You're really nice."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Alex shook his head. "Nico..."

"Whatever I am now, it's not Amy." Nico bit her inner cheek as she took a moment to breathe. "Sorry to let you all down." She glanced at you. "And I know (Y/n) can't replace Amy."