New Kid on the Block *h.s [completed]

Chapter 85

       

Today is the day after Disneyland, and we've decided to continue with our heartbreak cure adventures by spending the day in Hollywood and showing Harry all the sights to see.

We stand outside the entrance into the expensive, rich neighbourhood, a map held out in front of us. We opted to go with the cheaper option, and not go on an arranged tour, but Carter did manage to sneak a pamphlet and city map while the rest of us were talking with a tour guide.

"Let's see the Hollywood sign first." Harry recommends, pointing to the white spot on the map.

"And then the Walk of Fame." Maddie answers, pointing over his shoulder to the small drawing.

"And the Hollywood Museum." Ashton adds, taking the other side of the map from Harry and standing beside him.

"And Warner Brothers Studios." I finish, resting my elbow on Carter's shoulder.

He looks up at me from under the brim of his baseball cap with a smile, and I return the small gesture.

We find a bus taking tourists further into the neighbourhood to see the major attractions, and we claim the last two back seats for our group. Harry, Carter and I sit on one seat, with Maddie and Ashton just across the row from us.

I feel something brush against the side of my leg, and I turn my head from gazing out the window to stare at the tall, lanky boy beside me.

Harry's knee is violently bouncing up and down, his heel making a bass beat against the floor. I shift my eyes up to his face to see his lips fighting against a grin, and his eyes narrowed in the slightest.

"You good?" I ask, gesturing to his one energetic limb.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really excited." He spills out, pinching his bottom lip between his fingers as he lets the grin overtake his features.

"You're actually 2 years old." I laughs, pulling my foot up to rest on the cushion and hugging my knee to my chest.

"Give him some credit, he's 5 at least." Carter quips playfully from two seats over, earning a high five from Harry.

"Carter knows what's up." The older boy says, arching his eyebrows at me in a know-it-all attitude.

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After 15 minutes of me rolling my eyes and Carter and Harry cracking bad puns with each other, we finally get off at our stop.

Harry stares at the famous Hollywood sign for a few minutes, in pure amazement. The rest of us share knowing smiles with each other. We've all seen it several times before, so it's nothing new to us.

We take a few pictures of each other "holding up" the sign, which really means that the person crouches or sits on the pavement as close as possible to the trees secluding Hollywood in itself, and holds their hand out flat to the side of their head.

"Let's get a group picture with the sign in the background." Maddie announces cheerfully, skipping forward into position, her pony tail swishing around behind her head.

Ashton asks an elderly man and woman to take a picture with his phone, and they smile warmly at the 5 of us as they struggle to figure out where the "button you press" is. Ashton has to step out from our line to show them that you just have to tap the screen, and they look at each other in awe before focusing the phone on us.

I'm hit with a moment of deja vu from when Carter and I joined Harry, Jack, Jennifer and Amber in a snowball fight just before Christmas. I feel a pang in my heart from missing the Shaggy look-a-like, his younger sister, and the athletic, blue eyed hippie. I remind myself that I'll see them again soon, which in turn makes me realize that I'll have to say good bye to Maddie and Ashton...for the second time in less than a year.