Into My Own

Twenty-Four

We walked away from the Ferris Wheel and mounted the spinning cars at Oakley's insistence.

The rest of our afternoon was spent aimlessly walking around the crowded streets of Starton.

Kellan couldn't stomach too many more of the rides so we avoided those. Oakley pouted but of course found the positives.

"Ooh! Look how pretty!" She gushed over a necklace for the fifteenth time. "I want this one!"

"Oakley, you want all of them!" I giggled.

"They're all soooo pretty!" Her eyes lit up. "Let's go look at the leatherwork!"

Blake shook her head as we obediently trailed behind miss optimist. "She's somethin'..."

"No kidding," I chuckled.

"Coda!" Oakley screeched. "Look at these!"

She held up a detailed leather belt with a blank panel on the back. "I say we get ones with our names on them!"

"They're beautiful." I commented, touching the shining leather.

"C'mon. Let's do it!"

I hesitated.

"Please?! You need a belt anyway," she smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

She told the owner of the booth what our names were and we watched as they skillfully engraved the letters. In less than ten minutes, I was presented with my personalized leather belt. Forking over the extra thirty bucks for a ginormous buckle was painful, but Oakley and Blake convinced me it was worth it.

"Whew! You look amazing! Turn for me!" Oakley help up a finger and I did a quick spin. "Snazzy!"

I grinned like an idiot. "Thanks. I like it."

"Now you look more like a cowgirl." Kellan smirked. "Hat and all."

I reached up and ran my fingers along the brim of my newly acquired headwear. Another smile graced my face.

"Thanks."

"I want ice cream now," Blake demanded like a small child.

"Me too!" I agreed immediately.

Oakley surged forward to link our arms and proceeded to skip down the sidewalk.

"You coming, cowboy?" She called over her shoulder for the umpteenth time.

As per usual, he scratched the back of his neck and answered with a simple 'yeah'.

"Is it necessary to call him cowboy?" I asked quietly.

"You do it too. And yes." Oakley replied.

"True." I conceded.

"Poor baby is third wheeling back there..." She noticed with a motherly frown. "Go keep him company."

Before I knew how to react, my arm was released and I was being shoved towards the blonde haired boy.

"Uh, hi, third wheel," I said, feeling awkward.

"Hey, fourth wheel," he smirked. "Now it's even."

"Favorite kind of ice cream?" I changed the subject.

"Huckleberry."

"Mm, that sounds good. I love huckleberry and anything caramel or coffee flavored."

"That's quite the combination."

"Not together! That's disgusting!" I exclaimed, shoving him with my shoulder.