Project Smile

Four

After the game, Pete and I run to my car as quickly as we can, hoping that Nathaniel and his friends don't catch up to us. Once we make it inside the car, Pete whips off his beanie, making his hair fluffy. I reach over to fix it, but he jerks back.

   "Cass, what are you doing?" he asks, horrified.

   "You're turning fluffy, Pete. I'm fixing you." He leans closer to me slowly, allowing me to touch his hair. I begin combing my fingers through it, making it a little better. Pete just smiles and closes his eyes, leaning a little closer. "What are you doing?" I ask, looking down at him with my eyebrows knitting together.

   "It feels good," he murmurs. "Kinda wish you'd do this all the time." I roll my eyes, laughing.

   "You are so weird."

   "But that's why you love me," he grins, opening his eyes and looking up at me. "Right?" I don't reply, just roll my eyes again so he can see it before grinning. I'm just thankful that Erin and Audrey aren't here with us right now. They'd take Pete's last couple of sentences and twist them, taking their meaning as literal. "Thinking of Audrey and Erin?" asks Pete, making me jump.

   "Yeah," I say. "Why?"

   "Speak of the devil," he mutters, and I turn to see both of them staring at us through the window. And they say that I stalk Gabriel. At least it isn't this near-distance.

   "Aww," says Erin when I roll down the window to see what they want. She clasps her hands together, grinning. "You basically just admitted you loved each other." Pete's face turns bright red, and I'm sure that mine is a matching shade.

   "Not surprising," says Audrey. "Cassidy gets all the guys."

   "Okay. I am officially setting both of you up with someone over the weekend, whether it's on a dating website or in person so you can focus on your own men and not focus on my non-existent love life," I laugh.

   "How does a profile on FarmersOnly.com sound?" Pete chimes in, leaning forward so he can see the girls. They roll their eyes before turning back to me.

   "Just remember that we want all of the details when you guys go out on dates and have your first kiss," says Erin.

   "Curfew!" I shout, looking at the clock and trying to get them off of my back. They try to say something else, but I say even louder, "I have one hour and I have to get going now! Maybe we can find you a nice farmer this weekend!" Then I roll the window up and start the car. When they're finally gone, I begin to back out of my parking spot. Though I technically don't have a curfew at home, our county says anyone under eighteen isn't allowed to be out past eleven.

   While I concentrate on getting to the main road, Pete turns on the radio and begins flipping through the stations. He gives up on finding anything and lands on a station. I suddenly hear the first guitar chords of "Amnesia" by 5 Seconds Of Summer playing. A small smile makes its way onto my face. Though they're not my favorite band, I like quite a bit of their stuff. But then I realize how it relates to today, and the situation that caused it two years ago.

   Just like the song says, I wish that I could wake up with amnesia. Or, even better, wake up with Zach alive.

   When it's over, Pete takes control over the radio again. "What side of the war are you on?" he asks suddenly, turning towards me.

   "What war?"

   "The 'define what genre 5 Seconds Of Summer is' war."

   "I'm neutral. I think some of their older stuff has a pop-punk vibe to it, but their new stuff is more pop."