Call it Fate, Call it Karma

Fireworks

The next morning, Julian and I couldn't stop sharing longing glances at eachother from across the kitchen counter as we sipped on our coffee. Every time Julian would look at me, he'd smile and I'd blush, resulting in a soft chuckle from him, and then a giggle from me. It was like we were crushing all over again for the first time and it was very strange...but it felt good.

"What's so funny?" Fab startled me, as he'd just appeared behind me and tapped my shoulder.

I choked on a mouthful of coffee, and once I'd managed to swallow it, I squeaked, "N-Nothing."

Fab looked at me skeptically with a raised eyebrow and chose not to question me any further while he skipped into the kitchen to raid the cabinets, like he always did.

Nick, Nikolai and Albert were on the couch, fighting over the remote. I knew it was getting deadly when I turned around to see Nick pinning Albert down on the floor, the remote raised high above his head with his free hand and a menacing laugh. Just before Nick could truly celebrate his victory, the remote was snatched from his hand and Nikolai smiled contently as he sat back down and turned on the TV.

"Yeah, Niko!" I cheered, raising my cup in the air.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Nick whined.

Albert pushed him off and rose to his feet with a scowl. "It's what you deserve."

"Why are you so smug? I don't see you with the remote either!" Nick playfully slapped him.

"This reminds me of when my brother and I would battle it out for the remote," I said in a raised voice so everyone could hear. "...I was seven."

Nick poked his tongue out at me, and I returned the gesture, causing us both to laugh.

"So...what's everyone's plans for the day?" I asked no one in particular.

"Studio." Julian said.

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Please tell me you're not planning on  pulling another late night."

He put his empty cup in the sink and began to walk out of the room with a smirk. "Can't promise anything."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed in response.

"Don't worry," Albert spoke up. "...I'll make sure we're back at a reasonable time." He finished with a yawn, obviously still tired from the night before.

"Are you coming with us, Jade?" Fab asked me through a mouthful of whatever he'd managed to steal from the fridge. "We're gonna go this afternoon."

"I've gotta go to work—long shift today, but I might stop in afterwards." I said, passing my cup to Fab so he could put it in the sink. "I'll see you guys later!"

"Bye!" They all said in unison.

As I was pulling on a jacket by the door, someone's lips planted themselves on mine. Slightly taken aback, I stumbled back and almost tripped over some shoes on the floor. I looked over at Julian and mouthed a curse word at him, before giving him a quick peck on the lips and disappearing out the door as my heart raced a mile a minute.

"Jade!" Adam greeted me at the door of the record store. He was on opening duty and I had to wait in the cold for fifteen minutes because naturally, he was late.

I greeted him back with a frown and pushed past him once he unlocked the door. "What's your excuse today, Green?" I asked, hissing his surname. "I know we were all up late last night, but I was here on time!"

"My alarm didn't go off!"

"Totally haven't heard that one before." I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Wow!" I gasped, spying a cup in his hands. "You even found the time to get yourself some coffee!"

"I'm sorry, J-"

"I'm joking, man!" I let out a laugh. "I don't care, really. You better give me a sip though!"

"Sure." He handed me his cup with a grin. "Don't mention any of this to the boss, okay? I'm literally so close to getting fired it's not funny."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I walked away with the cup.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Not anymore!" I called back to him. "Anyways, I need your help with something."

Adam sat at the counter and propped his head up with his elbows. "What's up?"

"So it's Albert's birthday next week and I don't know what to do..."

"Killer party, duh!"

"Well, obviously...but I was thinking we should do something else, too because Albert's sick of partying." I sorted through boxes of records as I explained. "Like, the party would have absolutely everyone any of us know there, but this other thing should just be our little group and a couple other people, like you and Kimya, Ryan...maybe Karen, 'cos I've been talking to her on the phone a lot recently—anyways...you get me?"

"Yeah! Something special, I get 'ya." Adam went silent for a moment as he thought to himself.

When I was almost finished with one box, I almost fell over, completely startled because Adam had screamed out, "I've got it!"

"Jeez, Adam! You scared me half to fucking death!" I scolded him, recollecting myself. "What is it?!"

"We could go camping!" he exclaimed, then looking as if he was thinking again. "...with drugs."

I rolled my eyes at the last part. "Camping..?" I tapped my finger to my chin as I contemplated his suggestion. "Yeah...that could be fun! Good one, Adam."

"Why are you asking me for help, anyways? Aren't there four other freaks that could assist you?"

"Well yeah, but they're around Albert twenty-four seven, and I want this to be a surprise, so..."

Adam nodded, laughing. "That's probably wise then."

"Yep, so keep your mouth shut or I'll be stealing your coffee every morning!" I said, throwing the empty cup to him. He caught it, shaking his head with a smile and we got back go work.

But surely enough, I was startled again 10 minutes later...

"Fireworks!" Adam yelped, excitedly popping up from behind the counter to await my response.

I hit my head on a shelf and groaned, rubbing the sore spot as I turned to look at him with a scowl.

"We could get fireworks, too!"