𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 ☆ ᴛ. ᴛᴜʀɴᴇʀ

𝟔𝟏. 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

trea got out of the car to meet the rest of the group.

"bryson what's on your shirt?" the girl on the other side of the car spoke, her fingers wiping against his crewneck, trying to get the stain out.

"i don't know" the blonde replied, looking down at his shirt.

"you're such a slob." she continued rubbing.

"hi trea!" hannah smiled waving at her brother.

"thank you for returning the car safely." bryce added, his face tugging at a smile.

"thank you for letting me borrow it." trea laughed a little.

"well i didn't really let you, you just did."

"sorry." he said with a shrug. "hi nat." he noticed the two in the back.

bryson looking up and waving like a puppy, "hey," nat said.

"where's ness?" bryce asked, looking around for the girl.

"she's coming. she needed a second in the car i guess, i don't know, i've stopped questioning her."

maybe he should've. she sat in the car with tears streaming down her face. maybe she was crazy, but she wasn't ready to go bowling without mookie. it sounded ridiculous, but with vanessa, one thing always led to another. those were some of her best memories in la. she couldn't just go out and rewrite them with completely new people. thats not how it worked, no matter how hard she tried to forget it all.

her shaking hands tried to wipe away the mascara that flushed her cheeks, but it only made it worse. she scrambled through her purse, she couldn't find what she was looking for.

she searched bryce's car, in his glove compartment was a small white lighter exactly what she needed.

she slipped down her nylons and lifted her skirt a bit. the cold hands contrasted the flame they held. and at that moment, all the emotions she had was concentrated into the select part of her leg. it was still the only way she could help herself, it was the only thing that worked.

after the pain was too much, she quickly put away the lighter and fixed her skirt. she lifted herself into the mirror, wiping away the mascara as best as she could, then scrambling out of the car.

her boots clicked against the pavement as she headed towards the group, her long hair bouncing up and down as she walked. she was composed perfectly.

the 5 waved at her as she approached them. she entered awfully close to trea, essentially pressing the front of her to his back, wrapping her arms around his left arm.

"sorry, i had to call my brother." she lied.

"everything okay?" bryce asked, noticing her behavior.

"yup!" she lied again.

the group went inside and got everything set up.

"han, bry, nes, tre, nat, and son. what a group." bryson laughed reading off the names as hannah finished typing. he reminded vanessa of cody and gavin. like if cody and gavin had a baby, that's bryson. he talked just like them. vanessa's eyes floated to trea, who pursed his lips at the comment. "sorry" he mouthed. natalie watched the two from across the couch, her eyebrows lifted in confusion. the two noticed and quickly replied with a smile.