Flynn - a kissing booth fan fiction

Nights

Of course Vivian's the valedictorian for their class. That girl has been angling for that job since the start of her sophomore year. I remember her as a goody-two-shoes pain in the ass from my time at Country Day, but even I have to give her credit for taking the opportunity to use a not so school-appropriate quote to end her speech. Joining the rest of the crowd, I get to my feet, clapping, as the craziness starts, students throwing their caps in the air (only to have to track them down almost instantly for fear of being yelled at by the administration). Then there's the almost endless rounds of photos, our parents shuffling us into every possible combination until even Lee is over being the center of attention.

Finally, it's just the four of us; me, Elle, Lee and Rachel, heading through the parking lot. Laughing, I grab Elle's graduation cap and try it on, admiring my reflection in a nearby car window. She giggles, taking it back as Lee slows to a stop, spinning to face Elle and voicing the question I've been holding back from asking her myself.

"Oh! So have you heard from Berkeley yet?"

Elle pauses, swallowing. "Yeah."

"Aaannd?" I prompt, unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Umm.." Elle hedges. "No, no no. Lee first."

Lee pauses for effect before shouting, "I got in!"

"Oh, my God!" Elle starts jumping up and down, which sets my brother off, the two of them going crazy and hugging each other while still jumping in place.

Rachel, like me, just smiles and shakes her head.

"That's my boy!" Elle chirps as they separate. "I knew you would."

I high-five Lee my congratulations. "All right, bro."

"So?" Lee turns back to Elle. "What about you?"

"Um... I, uh... I got waitlisted. Everywhere," Elle admits. "Berkeley." Her eyes flick to mine before lowering again. "And Harvard."

And now I understand why she's seemed a little off these past few days. Pulling her into a hug, I say the only thing I can offer right now. "I'm sorry, Shell."

She's fitted underneath my chin as she  whispers, "Thanks, babe."

Elle lets me comfort her for a second before pulling away slightly, but I keep my arm around her, holding her to my side.

"Anyway, it's fine," she says quietly, trying to put a brave face on it.

"Yeah," Rachel soothes, reaching out to squeeze Elle's arm. "It'll all work out."

"I'm sure one of them will pan out," Lee says sympathetically.

"No, I know. You're right," Elle nods.

"Don't worry," Lee adds.

"Yeah," Elle agrees before shaking it off. "Let's just forget about that right now. I wanna do something fun," she says, leaning into me and wrapping both her arms around my waist. "Just the four of us."

"Yeah?" I smile down at her, glad that she still wants to celebrate, even if her plans for next year remain uncertain. "What do you want to do?"

Elle's expression turns mischievous, and I don't know whether to chuckle or groan, because an entire lifetime spent around Lee and Elle has trained me to both fear and long for their crazy ideas. And that's how we end up on the PCH two days later, heading north on a road trip to San Francisco. Me and Elle on my bike, Lee and Rachel in his Mustang. I mean, they try to race us, but it's no competition.

We let them get a head start, but Elle and I catch up in no time. When the familiar lines of the 'Stang come into view around a bend outside of Malibu, Elle urges me on.