More Than Friends

Chapter 25

Since apparently everyone here thinks I'm not incredibly single, and that this is a party, I grab my friends and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. Hopping onto our respective bikes, we all pedal further into the woods, making sure not to get injured. DJ would never let us out of the house again without her overseeing and that doesn't exactly seem that appealing to me.

It's getting unseasonably warm for early April, so when we stop at the skateboard graveyard, I tie my plaid shirt around my waist, only in my jeans and cropped tank top. No one really notices besides me, which makes sense, since I read somewhere that we are the harshest judgers of ourselves. "Now, Ramona, why are we here instead of the rock?" Nev asks, braiding her now dark blue and bright purple streaked hair.

"I'm sick of getting stared at, so here we are, my favorite spot in this area of the city: skateboard graveyard. It's fun and no one really knows about it, so no one will find us here and aggravate us while we're hanging out. Of course, there are better hiding places, but this is the best in this area of town," I reply, pulling my hair into a quick messy bun.

"So, basically, you're an introverted child who doesn't want to deal with things so she runs away to an area of the woods with broken skateboards stapled to trees that could fall at any minute?" Rowan simplifies, laughing quietly at me with Nev.

Rolling his eyes, Ben replies, "I thought you pulled us over here for something important, like Jamona! I'm missing the drama!"

"How many times do we have to say it, we're not ever going to be dating, nor are we today. Sorry for the disappointment, Ben," I reply to the brunette boy. He's probably my second closest guy friend.

Aria elbows her boyfriend, "I told you that we should just tell them what's happening today."

"What's happening?" Jax and I ask at the same time, sitting on my favorite rock. It's long, so I'm lying down with my head in his lap as he sits up comfortably.

"Well, some kids are going to make Tik Toks in a mass group for clout. We knew y'all would never agree to it otherwise, so we had to trick you into coming here. You two know how to make them and the dances, so we dragged you here," Rowan explains, playing with her pink streaked hair.

I roll my eyes and say, "I'm not leaving this rock until we go to the park. No one's going to find us here unless we want to be found, and I know the exact way to the park from here. We'll be there in half the time."

"Why do you know this town so well, Mona?" Sky asks, bleached blonde hair in a high ponytail.

"I used to go exploring with my old friends at my old school after doing my homework. There's a ton of good hiding spots, and we could also get to the pool or mall from here quickly," I explain to the eager ears of my friends.

The blue-gray eyes of Jax light up, "That's a lie. We used to play in the woods when we were kids, with my dad. He'd let us go all around town, so long as we promised to hang out and be civil. It was a pretty good way to do that, even if we did hate each other."

"Oh yeah, you'd come over to my place and we'd hang out for a few hours," Alex remembers fondly.

"I forgot all about that. The girls would go to my place for a little while because it was only a three second walk," Sky smiles, remembering how she lives next door to him, and has her entire life, as far as I know.

We just reminisce for a few hours until bike tires come into our hearing range.

"Shit."

🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨

2021, toilet paper is the new currency, I'm telling y'all.

Later loves,

~Ry