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𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡
"𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 soon?" stuart questioned impatiently, tapping his foot on the space of lawn between ivy and paul's houses. john stood opposite him with george and gwen, staring to paul despite his absolute lack of control over the situation. they all knew the service for kenneth had been ivy's idea, yet she was standing in the distance, occupied.
ivy smiled at pete from her place on the sidewalk, leaning through the passenger side window of his car. pete had told ivy outright that he wanted to see again, arriving because she hadn't given him her telephone number on the night of paul's birthday party. "sure i can come, but this is.. more important. could you wait?" she gestured behind her, to the impatient group.
pete accepted, stepping out of the car and following her across the lawn. he greeted john and stuart and while his back was turned, paul shot her a glare.
"what? you're friends, aren't you?" she asked him quietly, frowning at his newfound annoyance. paul turned away, his face twisting stubbornly. he didn't know if he cared what ivy did in her spare time, but he did know that he didn't want pete crashing their service for kenneth. paul was abruptly shaken from his thoughts by a set of beautifully-manicured nails poking into his stomach and sides. "quit being a bitch, you haven't got anything to worry about. let's start this." it could have been the harshness of her words or her lame grin, but he smiled back.
paul stepped in front of the group of six. "hello and thank you all for coming. we are gathered here today to witness the departure of kenneth mccartney."
"from this world." john smiled at ivy.
"no," paul answered, "from the mccartney residence. we have taken care of this rat for the past two weeks under the delusion ivy has fabricated, that she is his mother. all was well until kenneth became suddenly hostile. because he's a wild rat. consequently, we are forced to release him back into nature, where he belongs."
the confused group exchanged glances, completely unsure of what was going on, but went quiet when ivy started sniffling. paul motioned forward, holding his arms out to her. she walked slowly to him and he set his arm around her, glancing unmistakably to pete, who was staring up into the sky, not caring whatsoever.
"george." paul pointed a finger at kenneth's house. they shared a meaningful look before george opened the door, setting kenneth free. they all watched as he darted through the grass, past their feet, and down into the nearby sewer. paul wrinkled his nose, "uh, okay, i guess that concludes the service."
john and stuart left together almost immediately, leaving pete to turn to ivy expectantly. "you wanna get out of here?" he asked. she nodded, thinking of kenneth, of how much she already missed him.
pete set a heavy hand on her shoulder and turned, smirking, to paul. he winked at the younger boy and walked with ivy to his car, opening the door for her.
"bitch," george murmured. he pushed his hands into his pants pockets, his mood changing instantly as he looked from paul to gwen. "think we can head back to mine now? the ceremony was nice and all, but i'm hungry."
gwen watched distractedly, worriedly, as pete's car sputtered on the street and disappeared from sight. she sighed. "i've got to stay with my sisters." gwen watched george's face fall and she offered him a shy smile, "there's food at my house, too, george."
he brightened at the statement and headed with her toward the peterson house, their shoes crunching in the green summer grass. the pair stopped, however, once they realized paul wasn't behind them, that he was staring at the sewer. gwen cast a glance at george before she reached for paul's hand, leading him inside with mild embarrassment.
