𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

07

❝When little worlds collide, I'm trapped inside my embryonic cell. ❞

68 days of summer remaining

"So . . ." Charlie trailed off, staring at the two older teens in front of him. "We're not ordering pizza?"

June sat cross-legged in a cheap plastic chair across from Charlie. To her left sat Jonathan, the three of them cowering away from the Burton heat, hidden in the sweet shade the porch roof provided. She sipped quietly on her tea, longing for one of the cold glasses of coke the boys sported, but refraining, knowing it would only worsen her nerves.

"I already ordered, should be here any minute now." Jonathan turns to face June. "Pizza good with you?"

June was barely able to muffle her snort as tea shot down her throat nearly sending her into a coughing fit. "Ugh . . . yeah, pizzas' fine." She got out between splutters.

Charlie distracted with a girl passing by failed to notice June as she grabbed a hold of his coke and took a swig, the cool liquid calming her flaming chest. With the bottle still in hand, she snuck away inside plopping herself into a chair and sighing. She hadn't expected to stay another day - how long would this go on before she was forced to go back home?

The doorbell rang pulling her from her thoughts. Grabbing her purse off the counter she made for the door. Paying for the pizza was the least she could do in exchange for their generosity. "This should be enough." June mumbled, eyes distracted while she pulled crumpled bills from her bag.

"June?"

Her head swung up at the sound of her name, letting out an internal sigh when she was met face to face with Daphne. "Daph, hey." Shit.

"I stopped by your house, your mom said you didn't come home from the drive-in . . . what are you doing here?" She pried, staring at the over-sized Deep Purple shirt June wore with great confusion. June didn't own any band tees and Daphne knew that for a fact.

June struggled to come up with an excuse, not yet ready to open herself vulnerably to another person so soon. "I, ugh--"

"I drove her." Jonathan squeezed between June and the door, opening it wider inviting Daphne in. "Charlie needed some help with summer school work and she ended passing out on the couch."

"We got pizza coming soon, make yourself at home. Charlie's out back." He continued, leading her to the backyard.

Daphne shot June a skeptical look as she passed but followed Jonathan anyways. June couldn't keep her eyes off Jonathan as he walked back inside, her mind still attempting to decipher what happened back at the front door. "What'd you do that for?" She asked once he was close enough.

His shoulders shrugged. "I saw you got yourself in a rut and I wasn't going to let you crash and burn. Charlie would have never let me hear the end of it, that kids' crushing hard." He laughed, easing the tension in the room.

"Trust me, I know." June felt herself relax the further they spoke. "Thank you by the way, that would've ended horribly." She followed him to the living room, the pair settling on opposite sides of the couch.

"It's no problem," He brushed off. "I'm not sure if this is intrusive or if we're past that point but I do have one question though."