Right in Front of You

Chapter Eleven

I woke up the next morning at nine. I hardly remembered getting home. I just remembered that it was really late, and Avery walked with me. He even kissed me before I jumped back into my window. I pinched myself a few times as I walked around my room, getting ready for my breakfast date with the twins. I couldn't believe that last night was real. It felt too good to be true.
For the first time in awhile, I put on my thick glasses and straightened my hair. Not because I needed to. Just because I wanted to. I slid into a yellow flowery dress that Grams had bought me for special events and stared at myself in the mirror. Did I look tan? I never got a tan! I guess I had been spending more time outside than usual.
I heard the honking of Aurora's car, and I knew that it was time to go. I ran past the living room, and Grams called after me.
"Have fun on your date! Tell Avery that he's welcome to come over for dinner anytime. His sister too." She didn't look up from her magazine, but I knew that she was smiling.
"Will do, Grams." I laughed, opening the front door.
I walked towards the car, and the twins both beamed at me.
"Look at that beautiful lady!" Avery whistled as I walked towards him. "Hi you." He said, planting a kiss on my cheek.
"And I'm officially the third wheel." Aurora laughed. "Hey, Pais. You ready?" I nodded and jumped in the backseat. Aurora popped in her Fall Out Boy playlist, and we all jammed out all the way to the breakfast diner. On the way over, we talked loudly over the music like we always did. It was the hottest day of summer, so we decided that swimming at some point was totally necessary.
"No way! Are you serious?" Avery laughed, nearly choking on his waffles. "Say it exactly how you said it."
I laughed and rolled my eyes but obliged anyway.
"You're going to die alone just like your phone!" I imitated throwing Jacob's phone into his pool.
"Then what happened?" He laughed, eyes dancing with enjoyment. He took a long gulp of his orange juice then looked at me impatiently.
"Then we pushed him in the pool...in his brand new khakis." Aurora whispered like it was the world's biggest crime. We both burst into laughter at the memory. I wiped tears from my eyes then jabbed my fork into Avery's chocolate chip waffles and stole a bite. I think that was my favorite part of now having a boyfriend. I could steal his food whenever I wanted to, and he was morally obligated to let me! It was amazing! I should have gotten a boyfriend years ago.
"Paisley, I crown you the most awesome girl that has ever walked this planet." Avery laughed, placing a cardboard crown on my head.
"Ave, I'm pretty sure that these are for the five year olds."
"Shhh. Life is what you make it." He whispered. I rolled my eyes, and he did the same, mocking me.
"So are we still going to swim?" Aurora asked.
"Oh, shoot!" I replied.
"What is it?" Avery asked.
"I forgot. I have an orthodontist appointment today. I'm getting my braces tightened or something." I sighed.
"That sounds painful." Aurora replied.
"I'm definitely not jealous." Avery laughed.
"Yeah, it's not exactly my favorite day of the month, but I want straight teeth like you guys, so this is the price I pay. Well, I mean, the price that Grams and mom pay. Can you believe braces are so expensive? They're literally a piece of metal that cause me pain!" The twins shook their heads in agreement.
"I kinda like you with braces," Avery confessed. "Will you keep them forever? For me?"
"Um, no." I smiled. "But I will let you have them once they pull them out of my mouth in three months.
"That's so gross!" Aurora shrieked, dropped her fork onto her french toast.
"That is awesome!" Avery laughed. "But I'll have to pass. Way too creepy for my taste. Maybe you could give them to Jacob. Then he could have an actual reason to think you're weird."
I nodded like I was contemplating this, but then we all laughed. It was hard to believe that I had only been friends with these two for a month. I felt like I'd known them for my entire life.
The twins brought me home, and Grams took me to the orthodontist.
"Hello Paisley!" Dr. Linden exclaimed. "Are you ready to get your braces tightened?"
I gave him a sarcastic look.
"When am I not ready, Doc?"
Moments later, he was pulling on things, checking up on things, and tightening my braces to the tightest possible setting. I tried not to squeak in pain, but this definitely didn't feel good. It never did. I hated the orthodontist.
"Now, I'm assuming that you want to keep your braces blue or pink like usual?" He asked, already walking away to grab my papers.
"Actually, no." I said firmly. "I would like a rainbow, please."
He looked at me like I was kidding, and I flashed him a broad smile to prove that I wasn't. The old Paisley hated things that weren't perfect and matchy matchy, but the new Paisley wanted to try something new.
"If you're sure." He laughed, grabbing the color chart from the side of his table. "Pick seven colors."
After Doc was done, I returned to the waiting room where Grams was sitting, playing Suduko. When she saw me, she jumped to her feet and walked towards me.
"Let me see those beautiful teeth!" She smiled. She asked to see my teeth every time that we came. I never really understood why, but I smiled anyway. Grams gasped in delight and leaned in to get a closer look at my mouth.
"Is that a rainbow that I see?" She asked.
"It is." I replied happily.
"I like that you're really mixing things up nowadays. You really are growing up, Paisley." She smiled.
When I got home, I logged onto my online messenger and started a group message. I added Avery, Aurora, Amanda, and James to the group.