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SIXTEEN MIDSUMMERS REVELATIONS
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Norman thankfully hadn't spoken to John B since the day before and he was avoiding him at all costs. He had received a text the day before from Kiara mentioning something about JJ getting arrested and asking if he could help out so of course, Norman offered up his lawyer if needed because even though he was mad at John B, he had a soft spot for Kie. Now, JJ was out on bail and Norman hoped everything was going to be okay. He had just been starting to like JJ, too. It seemed things had gotten fairly out of hand ever since he last was in contact with the group, but as long as everything worked itself out he was going to have to be fine with it. He just couldn't deal with John B right now. Not with so much of his own stuff to work out.
"Can you zip me up?" Alisha asked as she walked over to where Norman was staring out the window, a glass of water hanging precariously in his hand as his gaze remained steady on the waves. "Jesus, who do you think you are? Jay Gatsby? Gimme a hand."
"I just have a lot of shit on my mind, leave me alone," Norman sighed as he placed the glass down and helped Alisha with her dress. She looked gorgeous, as always. Not to mention she was utterly glowing at the fact that she was able to go to this party with Lila at her side. He was happy for her, he really was. It just stung to know he was alone. However, at least he still had Gemma and James.
As the girl slipped on her heels, Norman found his suit jacket that had been tossed over the back of his chair and pulled it on, looking at himself in the mirror with a satisfied sigh. Hopefully, there wasn't going to be even a trace of John B at Midsummer tonight so he could just get a break. Sometimes, he just needed to be surrounded by rich people whose only problems were that their cold coins weren't shiny enough. The superficial lifestyle was rarely a comforting one, but sometimes he needed to live in his own bubble where the world didn't exist outside of it.
"Are you okay?" Alisha asked as she walked over and placed a careful hand on Norman's shoulder in an act of comfort. Without a word, he placed his hand over hers and it said all he needed to say. The word no was clear as day in his mind, but the more important part was that he would be.
"I'm done."
"Getting ready?"
He shook his head, "I'm done with boys, romance, all that shit. There's no point to it -- we're just kids, it's not like anything we do now is going to be built to last. So, what's the point?"
Alisha sighed, "You shouldn't give up just because one thing didn't go your way, Rocky. I promise you, for every heartbreak, there will be someone new that will care about you the way you care about them."
He didn't even notice at first, but a tear had slipped down his cheek. "The problem is that I don't want someone new."
"I know, baby," she spoke gently, her voice compassionate and understanding as her eyes met his in their reflection, "I know. Come on, let's get going or else we'll be more late than fashionable. Let's just get through tonight, totally surrounded by stuck up Kooks without a care in the world. It'll be fun, I promise."
