In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

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 He put his arm around me, and we watched the stream of people pile through the back gate. Some were coming through the house, but just the close friends. I saw Elias, then Jake and Tara. I guess they were back from Kansas. Then Smokee, and a few more of Corey's friends that I didn't know by name. It still blew my mind that I was actually hanging out with these people that I use to only know through videos. Elton came with his girlfriend, Ginger, along with Corbin. Andrea Russet, and a few other YouTuber faces that I recognized. People came over to say hi to Colby, and while he always introduced me, the conversation was never something I could join in on, since it was usually influencer related. I began to miss my friends. Jake and Tara eventually made their way over, and hugged me. "You look like you're feeling better! Actually, you look fucking HOT!" I blushed again, and looked down at my feet. "Devyn did my makeup. She's a miracle worker," I replied. Tara smacked her teeth. "Bitch, whatever, you're hot. Own that shit." "I keep trying to tell her that," Colby said, from behind me. I guess he finally broke away from whatever influencer he had been talking too. "So, what's up? What's with all these people at our house?" Jake asked, looking around. "Are we having a party no one told me about? I hate it when you guys do that." Colby laughed. "Just a small get together brother. Like maybe fifty to seventy five of our closest friends." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, until he glanced my way and winked. "Corey's filming I think. For his video this coming up week," I added. "Ohh, okay, it makes sense then," Jake replied, nodding. "Water balloons," he added. "Huh?" I asked, following his gaze to the side of the pool. There were two baby pools that I had somehow missed earlier. They were both filled to the brim with water balloons. "Oh," I answered, a little shocked at just how many there were. "Yeesss," Jake said, rubbing his hands together. Tara rolled her eyes and looked at Colby. "I take it we're having a massive water balloon fight for this video." He nodded, with a wicked grin. "And a lot of fun." They joined us around the fire pit, and we just talked shit and caught up on their weekend in Kansas. Apparently, Tara turned the farmland into an amazing photo shoot. "There really is something about the sunset there," she said, sighing as she looked at a particularly beautiful shot that had the colors of the sky melting together, into an amazing view. "There really is," Colby sighed. "I miss it. I'm gonna need to go see Ma sometime soon." "I'm sure she'd love that," I said, smiling softly at him. I didn't say anything else, because I didn't know if we were at the 'meet your mother' stage. I wasn't sure if I even wanted him to meet my parents. We talked until the sun started setting, giving the sky an orange glow. It was pretty amazing here in LA too. Corey and Devyn came over and chilled for a little while, along with Elias, Elton, and the rest. "What's up BITCHES?! The party can now commence!" I knew that voice. I looked up and saw Sarah and Brennen walking out the backdoor, followed by Denise and Kenzie. I let out a loud squeal and jumped up, almost running towards them, but someone grabbed my wrist. I looked down and saw a lot of rings on that beautiful hand holding my wrist. "Don't run. You'll hurt yourself," he said sternly. I cocked an eyebrow at him, and pulled my wrist away. "Yes sir," I said, then made a face at him, sticking out my tongue. I didn't have to run to them, because they ran to me. People probably thought we were crazy, because of the way we were acting. You would think that we hadn't seen each other in months, rather than a couple of days. It was just that we hadn't been away from each other for 3 years. Yes, sometimes at least one or two of us would leave but there would always be two of us here. This was the first time that all three of my friends had been gone, and I had missed them. They all hugged me at the same time, while Brennen nodded at me with a smile, and walked on by to talk to Colby. "So, how was home?" I asked. "Hot as hell, as usual," Denise said. "Fucking feels like you're walking through a damn sheet of sweat. Gross. But the graduation was amazing. You can't imagine the sense of pride Kenzie and I felt watching them walk the stage. OH! and guess what?!" "What?" I asked. "They're dating! Our fucking siblings are DATING! How cool is that?!" Kenzie spoke up. "Oh my God, really? Makes sense though," I said, thinking about it. "Maybe you guys will kind of be related soon." "Let's not go that far just yet," Neece said. Elias walked up to us then, and Denise automatically went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She raised up onto her tip toes to kiss him. "God, I missed you," he said. "I missed you too," she replied. I heard Kenzie scream, and my gaze shot in her direction, only to see that Kevin had picked her up from behind and was planting kisses into the crook of her neck, making her laugh. I felt my heart warm from seeing my friends so happy. The entire group followed me back to where Colby, Jake, and Tara were sitting. "Sam is about to come through," he said, as I sat down next to him. "Aw, that's so sweet. You missed your other half," I said, poking him in his side. He jerked, and pursed his lips at me. "Shut up," was all I got back. I laughed, and lay my head over on his shoulder. True to word, Sam and Kat walked through the backdoor a few moments later.