Forever and Always

Chapter Six

Today was the homecoming game. It was a nice Friday afternoon and the school day was filled with fun and pictures. Lots of pictures. The school's homecoming tradition was a parade after school and then a football game after.

Katrina's friend Rebecca made tutus for everybody that wanted them. She made one for herself, Aubrey, Katrina, Kylie, and Jess. That makes it 5 tutus to go around.

At the beginning of the day, a bunch of boys grabbed them and wore them because they thought it was funny. It actually made them look cuter than usual.

Today wasn't just homecoming. It was also Aubrey's birthday. After school, Aubrey invited her best friend Katrina, Jess, Kylie, and Sabrina to go get some food after school. Sabrina was definitely a part of their friend group but she isn't very social.

They all walked up to their local diner and sat down in a big booth. They all ordered their drinks and started looking at their menus.

Because it was Aubrey's birthday, Kelsey and Sabrina brought her birthday gift to the diner while Kylie and Katrina gave theirs to her later.

Before they arrived at the diner, Jess told Katrina what was inside the gift bag, which was a LOT of candy. Katrina made sure to get the whole interaction on video.

Aubrey is a sucker for candy and although she eats a lot of it, she is still pretty fit. As Aubrey took out all of the candy, her eyes lit up and she stated freaking out. The video was so cute that she just had to post it.

As they were eating, they brought up boys. That's just always how it is with teenage girls. Every single time two girls are together, the topic of boys comes up at least once.

So of course somebody had to ask who everybody's crush was.

The last time anybody had checked, Aubrey, Katrina, and Jess had a crush on Zach, Kylie had a crush on Jackson, and Sabrina had a crush on Sam.

As they went around the table, everybody still stood in the same place for crushes. When it reached Katrina, she was too nervous so she made them guess. And of course, Kylie being very observative, she guessed it right on the first try.

A look of revelation washed over Aubrey's face as Katrina confirmed what Kylie had said.

"I should've known that," Aubrey said after a moment of silence. "You guys were sitting so close to each other at the game the other day. You were literally inches away from touching."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Aubrey asked. "I mean, you obviously told Stacy and Katherine considering you've been talking to them so much." She was jealous.

"I don't know," said Katrina. "I guess I was just nervous to. I just thought that it would be weird considering you liked him too, Kylie."

"It's not weird." Kylie said. "You, Jess, and Aubrey have liked the same guy before."

"But that's different," Katrina said with a bit of embarrassment in her voice. "I think this is real. Like a real crush. I don't know why or how but this time it feels different than the others."

Aubrey went to speak up but then the bell on the door went off, signaling that somebody had walked in.

"Hey mom." Aubrey said, making everybody tense up, not wanting her to hear their conversation.

"Am I interrupting something?" Bethany asked. "You guys all look tense."

"We were just talking about who Kat has a crush on," said Aubrey while smirking towards her. This is like her way of getting back at Kat for not telling her sooner.

Bethany breathed in sharply. "Who is it? I won't tell" she said, while Katrina gave Aubrey a glare that said "Wow, thanks" sarcastly.

"It's Jackson" said Katrina, sharply. "I like Jackson Stryker"

Time skip to the parade.

Katrina and her friends were waiting for the parade to start when her phone went off.

"Oh my god, Jackson texted me."

"You have his number?" Said Aubrey

"No, but I have his Snapchat"

"He has Snapchat?" Aubrey asked questionly

"I know right? I didn't even know until he gave it to me."

Katrina opened her Snapchat and saw that he was commenting on her post about Aubrey and her candy.

The text read, "Ha, we got two large pizzas and I know you couldn't top that"

He must be referring to the place we are eating at.

Katrina answered with "Do you really think two large pizzas are better than a GIANT bag of candy?"

An answer came in right away

"Bruh, I meant the food. Not the candy. And btw that's a lot of candy"

Katrina didn't know what to say back. This was so nerve wracking for her

"Well we weren't all that hungry. Most of us got chicken fingers. And that's all Aubrey's btw. And she doesn't usually share"

Was that too long? Did I need to mention what we ordered? God, I'm so stupid.

"I wouldn't expect her to" Jackson answered with.

And that was the end of that conversation.

"What's his Snapchat?" Aubrey asked. "I want to add him"

"Oh. It's J-stryker2023"

Kylie, Jess, and Aubrey all added him

At the parade, the girls got a lot of candy which just added on the Aubrey's collection.

They went to the football game and of course, didn't watch much of it. Everybody took pictures and had a fun time.

The home team ended up winning which was really cool considering they haven't won homecoming in a long time.

Once the game was over everybody gathered around the area where the players ran off of the field so the crowd could congratulate them.

Aubrey, Katrina and Jackson were standing around together while waiting for their parents to show up at the exit. Once Bethany and Katrina's mom showed up to get Aubrey and her, Aubrey asked Katrina for a hug before she left. And then Aubrey asked Jackson for one.

Being the kind of guy that he is, he agreed and wished her a happy birthday in the middle of it.

That pushed Kat's buttons. Aubrey knew she liked him and she still did that. It doesn't seem like a big deal but Katrina lets every small detail get to her.

"Wait, I want a hug!" Kat said, hoping Jackson would catch on.

Jackson heard what she said and spoke up. "I'll give you a hug, come here."

Kat stepped closer to him and before she could comprehend what she just got herself into, Jackson already had his hands around her waist.

This was the best hug Katrina had ever received. He was taller than her so she buried her head into his chest while her arms went around his neck.

"Happy Birth- Nope it's not your birthday" Jackson stopped, correcting himself.

Katrina laughed and pulled away.

"Give it a month and you can wish me a proper Happy Birthday," Katrina said blushing.

"Yeah I'll make sure to"

He never did

A/N. Hey guys. It's past Midnight right now so I technically didn't post yesterday but that just means I will post twice today. That's confusing. Just forget that. Anyway, this whole chapter is real. Every single thing that happened in this chapter was real except for the last line that Jackson said. I'm not sure what he said after that hug. Uh yeah so thinking back on that night made me cry considering what happens afterwards, which none of you know yet. Except for the irl Stacy. Stacy is the only one reading this that is actually in the story and knows what happens next so that's that. And Stacy, I need a hug.