love it if we made it ✔

Wannabe.

Sam.

          Izzy sipped from the water bottle full of Vodka and OJ we had smuggled into the carnival, winced, and offered it to Corey.

          Corey wiped her hands on her denim shorts, and traded Izzy the bucket of pink fairy floss she held. "Babe," she was saying, licking her fingers as the sugar melted on her tongue, "I love you, but fuck you're dumb."

          Izzy rolled her eyes and laid back against the grass. The light summer breeze rustled her long curls, gently spreading them over her face.

        "Your negativity is not helping," I murmured, tearing pieces of fairy floss from the bucket.

          Corey sipped from the bottle and grinned. "I'm not the one who screwed —"

          Izzy jolted upright and pointed a finger in Corey's direction. "I didn't screw him."

          "Oh sorry," Corey gasped, grasping her chest in faux sincerity. "She sucked his dick."

          I leaned back on my elbows and closed my eyes, listening to Corey and Izzy bicker. Fuck, I think, I've missed this.

           Izzy's parents sending her away for the summer was horrible. We had only just lost Reed — I bit down on my lip, hard, to keep my mind from going there.

           Elated screams filled the air, as the rollercoaster reached its peak on the tracks and began its descent. I smiled, and squinted, trying to spot Ella's white blonde hair in one of the carriages.

           Izzy fiddled with the pack of smokes we had given her as a welcome home present, and pinched one between her lips. Corey reached over for one, and Izzy slapped at her hands.

            "Get your own."

           "It was my brother who bought them on our behalf, therefore, we are entitled to some."

           "You guys haven't helped at all. Do I tell Joel?"

           Corey frowned in thought, resting her chin on her palm. "Do you tell Joel if you screwed his friend —"

           "Gave him head," Izzy corrected quickly. She gnawed on her broken thumb nail, absent-mindedly snapping off blades of grass between her fingers.

         I scooted closer to her, and she rested her head on my shoulder, wiping her face.

          Corey's violet eyes softened, and she gently nudged Izzy with her elbow. "Yes, Izzy. You tell him."

         "Tell who what?" Sloane Mawson interjected, standing above us. Her willowy figure blocked the sun, and I gazed up, trying to spot who she had come with.

          Sloane bent down, flicking her long, mousey brown hair over her shoulder, and grabbed Izzy's smokes.

          "Tell your mum about all the smokes you steal from me," Izzy said, her voice muffled by the unlit cigarette between her lips.

           Sloane smiled down at her. "I'm glad you're back."

          "So am I."

          Izzy jumped up, and Joel pulled her into his arms. Corey and I shared a concealed glance.

          I did a quick inventory of who was here; Sloane, Joel, Vinnie Abrams had come with Georgie and Bodhi, shooting looks at Bodhi hoping she'd notice and Drew Fontaine seemed out of place without his older brother Sean at his side. EJ Vance poked his tongue out at Izzy, before sweeping her into a hug, mumbling about how his nicotine dependency had suffered without her.