Make My Way

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Stella's POV

Other than the huge shock of Aria and Blake's breakup, (the truly tragic death of Blaria) the rest of the week was fairly uneventful. On Saturday, Aria and I decided that the two of us would go see a movie because 'We don't need no men!' We were pretty much sold on the idea when we found out that Doctor Strange was playing for three reasons.
1. Benedict Cumberbatch
2. Marvel/Superheroes
3. Benedict Cumberbatch

During the matinée  of the movie, both of our phones vibrated. Blake had started a group text with the two of us, Aura, Willow, Merrick, Easton, Adrian, and Xavier.

Blake
Bonfire at my place at 7

I glanced at Aria, waiting for a response. We made eye contact and she shrugged. "Sure," she whispered, casually. We texted back to let him know we'd be there, but it would be at more like 7:30 since the movie got over at 7:10. The movie ended and neither of us were really hungry, since we had eaten a lot of popcorn. I texted my parents about where I was going and got into my car.

Aria directed me to his house. When we pulled up, we were surprised to see that there weren't any other cars there. We went up the steps to his doorway and rang the doorbell. Blake answered with a price of pizza on hand, wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

We went inside and sat down at his kitchen table. His little sisters Legos were set out so, of course, Aria and I immediately started playing with them. Not long after we came, Aura showed up. We messed around with the blocks and talked for almost twenty minutes before the doorbell rang and Laine and Everly came in.

We called Xavier and tried to convince him to come. He had said he was 'busy' but there was Mario Cart music playing in the background. We realized he probably didn't want to come because he thought Merrick was. He hated Merrick. We assure him that Merrick wasn't coming. It was true he was at a funeral. Xavier finally said he would come after at least seven calls and twelve voicemails.

Then, we all decided to go actually start the bonfire. Everly stayed in the kitchen just in case more people came. We made it down the stairs and outside before Aria and Laine decided they wanted to scale the fence and go prank Everly.

I heard a car drive up and a couple of Laine and Everly's friends that they had invited get out. When we knew for sure that Laine and Aria were inside the house, Blake looked between me and Aura mischievously. I grinned.

Aria's POV

Laine and I scaled the six and a half foot wooden fence and dropped down on the other side. We ran into the front yard and hid behind a garbage can. Laine went up first. We ding-dong-ditched them at least three times before Laine actually went inside. Then it was my turn. I ran up, but only ditched them twice before actually going in.

Inside was two of Laine and Everly's friends, Mara and Clarissa. I sat down and we talked for a while. I told them that Blake, Aura, and Stella were outside.

We heard a thump come from down the hall. Everly squealed in surprise and Laine picked up a skewer. "I have a pitchfork, guys," she told us, "I'll protect you."

We heard the sound again, more thumps this time. I rolled my eyes and peered down the hall. Everly and Mara stood up and went to investigate. I followed after them. The found the room it was coming from, but instead of going in, Mara paused.

"Well, maybe we shouldn't go in. It is a bedroom. We don't know what they're doing in there," Mara said. I laughed and Everly assured her it was fine. We pushed open the door and found ourselves on Blake's bedroom. It was empty.

The sound came again, from the window. Everly, Laine, and Mara slowly walked up to the window. I stood back and crossed my arms. I could tell that this was going to be good. Mara reached out and pulled the blinds up, revealing three blank faces pressed against the window. I laughed as Everly squealed in surprise, making Mara drop the blinds. I caught my breath and convinced them to let us through the door that led downstairs (they had locked it when we went down).

We went into the backyard and Mara, Clarissa. Everly, and Laine sat down. Stella, Aura, and I went back to the front to wait for Xavier. As we sat on the front porch, we talked, well, Aura talked. She talked and talked about Xavier and how perfect he was for almost half an hour before she decided to go get her phone (she had left it in the back) and call him. Stella and I shook our heads but let her.

Thirty seconds after she left, Xavier's car came around the corner. Stella and I looked at each other and took off running. Before he could even unbuckle, Stella was in the front seat and I had clambered into the back. Stella explained and we left. We went through the McDonalds drive through and Stella got a chocolate shake. Then, we drove around the block a few times before we saw Aura standing outside. Xavier slowed down the car so that she could see it was him and that we were in the car too, before taking off again.

When we finally came back, Aura was sitting on the front porch, pouting. We parked and went into the back with her. Xavier found a ukulele inside and attempted to tune it. When it was as close as it would get, he took it out and started playing "campfire songs."

We sat around the campfire, laughing and telling stories until about midnight. I was tired and so were a lot of the others so we decided to call it a night.