The Reality of Growing Up//Wattys 2k16

△luke△

The bonfire was supposed to fix everything.

Before Maeryn and Brandy's little dispute, everything had been going fairly well. Not counting the incident with Nico, of course.

Right after the thing with Nico, things had been fine. A couple of the kids had brought a whole fancy sound system and played a couple of songs that instantly relaxed me. I finally felt like I was home.

Cora was right next to me, sipping from a cup of soda. Blake was helping manage the sound system, so we were alone.

"This feels really good," she suddenly said, turning to me.

I turned to look at her, too. Her blonde hair looked red with the fire's light dancing off of it. I could clearly see some of the freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. They reminded me of the sky above us. "Yeah," I agreed.

For a moment, I felt something. Yes, I admit that maybe in those short few seconds I saw Cora as someone different than a sister.

But then in the distance, I spotted Maeryn's dark hair and instantly forgot about Cora, which I did feel a little guilty about.

I tried not to groan aloud. She was with Parker, just sitting around and doing nothing. That part shouldn't have bothered me but it did. The fact that after a week they seemed like they had known each other for years the way that we did. Why did it seem like I had to work my way to get close with her while Parker could just waltz into Kendall and steal my girl?

My mom had often made comments on how she expected me and Maerynto end up together. Of course after years of hearing that, I started to believe her. What if we actually did end up getting married? Blake would be the best man and Cora would be in the bridal party. It sounds stupid but it's the image that's engraved into my mind.

Cora suddenly shook my arm and then I'm looking back at her. "Let's dance," she suggests.

First I'm a little confused. When has Cora ever danced with anyone? But then, maybe it's just the soft guitar or the warmth of the fire or the hypnotic waves but I agree and then we're out near the fire together.

It's awkward at first. I don't know where to put my arms. How close should I hold her? Is she comfortable?

Over the course of the song, I start to relax a bit. It's just dancing, something I wasn't too awful, like Blake was.

My hands are on her hips and hers are on my shoulders. My heart is beating rapidly. Her eyes are staring into mine and they suddenly seem like the ocean. Like home.

Our silence is a little unnerving. I get used to it, over time. Making myself relax was a little hard, but I did it. And I enjoyed it.

We swayed to the soft tune that was playing loudly. Other pairs were doing different dances, twirling each other around, just dancing, or simply holding one another. It's nice and for a while it feels like the first time we were all ever allowed to even attend the bonfire.

The first time we went to the bonfire was when we were all fifteen. It was after our freshman year of high school, so we were all transitioning into sophomores. By then, my Maeryn crush was in full swing. I had first started noticing girls during seventh grade. Tenth grade? I was a pro.

Anyways, the first time we were invited, it was obviously exciting for us. I think Maeryn was the most thrilled about finally being recognized as a Kendall teenager. Back then, she was always acting like an adult, sharing with us the knowledge she had learned about life from her friends at school.

We met up at the Simmon's house. Maeryn and Cora got ready together while Blake and I stayed in the den and played video games.

That was the first time I had ever really thought she looked beautiful. There were obviously time where I thought she looked pretty or I thought her smile was especially big. But when she was wearing that long sleeved maroon dress I felt like I was seeing my bride in her wedding dress for the first time. She was stunning and she knew it. That might've been the best part. She loved being pretty and she loved being the pretty, popular one of our group. I liked it, too. No, I liked how well we all fit together like pieces in a puzzle. It was like a second nature. Our roles were just part of who we were.