The Awkward Adventures 1: The Revision

Chapter 1: The Party at Six Thirty

Zoë was a quiet girl. She was as well seen as an average girl. Brown hair with brown eyes and tons of freckles doesn't really see you as different. Being quiet though and loving reading will send you a bit far though. As well as she was taller and older than most of her friends. She didn't have alot though.
She had her friend Pepper and others here and there but that was it. She was content with 'it'. In 6th grade though, Pepper introduced Zoë to someone almost quite the opposite of her, Dixie. Even if they're different, they became good friends.
And there she was, two years later staring at a missing poster of her friend, Cruz.  His brown wavy hair, his brown eyes and rectangular glasses hit with deja vu, even though she already knew him. They didn't hang out much though. He was missing a while ago but now that's over.
Everything will be good again. Everyone will stop being awkwardly silent and will not always have misery on their face.
Zoë detached the poster from the lamp post and immediately threw it in a trash can outside of a bakery. She stood next to the bakery entrance leaning on the wall. She begged that Bree or Seth didn't see her looking like this. Zoë didn't have time to get ready before Pepper came to pick her up to get cupcakes. She said cupcakes would lighten the mood and be a good substitute for alcohol. Luckily, they are 8th graders so they don't drink alcohol.
It was nice outside, trees that covered the sun rays, birds you can hear chirping from the distance and barely any cars driving by. Zoë was happy they lived in a small town.
Pepper walked out of the bakery holding a batch of cupcakes with a loaf of bread. It made her body wobble as if she was gonna drop one of the items. Zoë being a good friend, carried the loaf of bread to help stable Pepper's balance. Pepper relieved a sigh.
"I thought we're only getting cupcakes?" Zoë said,
"Yeah I saw the bread and I was like, 'If I don't grab it, someone might take it and put it into a crusher for the Internet!'," Pepper explained in a faked scared manner,
"No one will- Who even thinks of that?!"
Pepper laughed, knowing she sounded insane. Zoë laughed along with her. "Okay bud, lets get these cupcakes back to your house, " Zoë said as she patted Pepper on the back.
As she walked with Pepper. She got excited, seeing the friend group back together again would be a good start before highschool. A good change. It's also a good start to find a lover. Zoë always said she needs someone for her.
"Midnight! Peps home!" Pepper yelled as she set the cupcakes on the counter top. The black dog glanced up from the couch as their tail wagged. Zoë has been to this house too many times, most neighbors thought Zoë lived there as a part-time roommate.
This time though, Pepper made some changes to the house for the reunion-like party. There was a banner strung across the living room, instead of something basic like 'Happy Birthday', it said, 'Welcome 9th graders!'. It was obviously an 8 before Pepper modified it into a 9. The house seemed clean and spotless like the grime just poofed and disappeared. The house, especially the living room, smelled like a sweet lemon. The party decorations put a smile on Zoë's face.
Pepper laid down on the couch exhausted and started petting Midnight. "Since I talked to that baker, you are letting the guests in bud," Pepper sighed. Before Zoë could bark back, the door bell ringed.
Zoë opened the door to see Molly and Bree. Bree's hair was in a slick braid and she was wearing a blue jacket and light blue and white striped shirt. Molly's hair was in a fluffy bun, she wore a yellow T with an anime character on it. Zoë knew both well but talked to Bree more often. The porch shade made Bree and Molly really dark compared to the bright light outside, somehow though it was already 6 pm.
As it came quickly to day, it switched to a cool tone near 6:20 when Ella and Seth showed up. The party was set at 6:30 so they came around early. Dixie showed up near 6:40 while Cruz hadn't showed up at all yet.
Ella was the most irritated by this.
"Wasn't this whole party for Cruz? He didn't even show up," Ella hissed as her curly hair followed her head,
"Hey! He might be off time. My friend would never leave us out!" Seth defended, he knew his friend wasn't some meanie,
"Oh, but he did.. He JUST did, "
To get Ella to stop complaining about being 'juked', Pepper got her phone and speaker and started to let people do karaoke. It was fun but Zoë didn't wanna sing, she wanted to swim with her friends. She wanted Cruz to be there. To be there hanging out with the friend group. She wanted to have that feeling that all the time Cruz was missing was over. Instead, a new thought came to her, what if.. his captors got him again? What if, what if, what if, were the words that she thought about. One after the other, she came up with another crazy explanation of why he wasn't here until...

Ding!

Even if the song was still playing in the background, everyone froze. Zoë thought everything stopped breathing for a second. Everyone just stared at the door waiting for someone to open. This resulted to the person knocking which snapped at least Pepper out of her weird trance.
She went over and opened the door. There was Cruz, his hair messy and glasses unsided, he apologized before running to the bathroom.