...And It's Blue

15

We reached Aiden's place quickly, where everyone was already gathered on the porch. I spotted the boy I'd wanted to meet for ages and immediately ran towards him, unnoticed.

"Jayce!" I called out as I hugged him. "I missed you so much! Why didn't you meet me even once?" I pouted as I let go of him.

"I'm so sorry. I've been meaning to meet you, but college has been kicking my ass. Look at you! You haven't changed at all, except that you're now really short. Did you stop growing at 12, Lace?" he teased, ruffling my hair.

The last time I'd seen him, I was taller. We were sure he'd always be shorter than me, but I stopped growing at 15, and now I was a whole head shorter than him. Ava and Jay had gotten lucky with height; they were both taller than me now.

"Shut up. I was taller than you before," I pouted again, lightly smacking his arm.

"Does that mean you're the shrimp now?" he laughed heartily at the nickname I used to tease him with.

"No, you'll always be my shrimp. It'll never be the other way around." I huffed, causing him to laugh again. "Oh right! Jay, this is Aiden-"

"I know him. We go to the same college."

"No way," I turned to Aiden, who was now looking at me. "And you never bothered to tell me you knew him?!" I exclaimed.

"I didn't know you guys knew each other. You seem very close too. Childhood friends?" he asked, his tone evasive.

"Yeah, he's Ava's brother."

"And her best friend," Jay threw his arm around my shoulder and grinned.

"That's nice," but he didn't sound like he meant it. Before I could ask him what was wrong, someone called out my name.

"Lacey?"

I turned around to face someone I couldn't quite place. "Hi, uh," I stuttered, unable to respond properly.

"It's me, Jason."

Jason.

"Oh my god! Hi, it's been so long since we last saw each other. How are you? How are uncle and aunt?"

"I'm doing great. My parents are good too. They miss you, so come visit us sometime soon, yeah?"

I nodded. "I will. When did you return from Japan?" I asked. He had changed since the last time I saw him at my parents' funeral. He was thinner, and his face was softer. I couldn't believe I failed to recognize my cousin, but to be fair, we had barely talked. Despite being related, we were never close and always resorted to keeping silent if we were alone together.

"I returned a few months ago. I finished my internship there and now I'm hoping I can get a job here. It's difficult to make it in this industry," he chuckled. I remembered he was into music, but I wasn't sure what exactly he did.

"Shut up, Jason. You're literally one of the best producers compared to people our age. You'll make it big," Aiden reassured him.

"You go to the same college as them?" I asked Jason, confused about how they all knew each other.

"No, I dropped out from college long back. These guys make music, and I help them with producing and all that stuff."

"You guys make music?!" I yelled in surprise, and they simply laughed.

"Yeah. Ashton's a great singer, y'know. We don't want any wasted potential here," Aiden chuckled. From what I had seen so far, he seemed like such a supportive person. I had seen him cheering up Ashton on multiple occasions, and he was always there for me whenever I was sick. He never complained, and I wondered how one person could be so selfless. "You should come to our practice someday."