𝖦𝖮𝖮𝖣𝖭𝖨𝖦𝖧𝖳 𝖭 𝖦𝖮 ❕RUDY PANKOW

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘

july 4th
maison's pov

    ɪ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ʟɪʟᴀʜ through an extremely crowded park. families and friends sat on blankets sprawled out against the dewey grass, coolers full of tinnies on full display while children ran around screaming and chasing each other with sparklers.

"is the fourth always like this?" i ask with wide eyes.

"depends on where you live." lilah admits.

that doesn't make me feel any better.

we arrive at the spot the cast has set up. it's mostly just some chairs in front of a few blankets while my friends idle around. there's a cooler off to the side, thankfully shut. there's two strips of duct tape, one on each side of the color. one reads 'mac + the littles' and the other says 'adults.'

lilah leaves me to talk to her dad so i head to the cooler. cooper is sitting beside it in the grass on what looks like snapchat.

"hey mac." he greets, holding his hand out. i dap him up per request. he taught me how to do it at the beginning of filming and now it's become our thing.

"anything good in here?" i ask, toeing the cooler.

he nods his head enthusiastically. "capri suns!"

i hum in response, opening the lid and reaching past the ice to grab one labeled fruit punch. i join cooper on the grass where we proceed to mess around with snapchat filters.

he's talking to some of his friends so he sends back pictures with me in them, causing an uproar amongst his friend group. apparently one of his friends is a huge marvel fan. cooper sent a video to him of me saying hi and his friend freaked.

"hey guys."

i glance upwards to see rudy towering over us. i smile, patting the grass next to me. "hey ru." i address his presence. cooper daps him up as well.

"why are we on the grass?" rudy asks, stretching his legs out as he leans against the side of the cooler.

"don't wanna be anywhere else." cooper mumbles.

"i was just sitting with him." i shrug.

rudy nods, drumming on his thighs.

"no drinking for you tonight?" i question, pulling my legs to my chest.

rudy laughs and shakes his head. "usually yes but someone has to be d.d. and you hate driving here so i volunteered."

my heart flutters at his considerateness. "thank you." i murmur, leaning over to give him a hug. he hugs me back and says it's no problem.

whoever this girl he likes is really lucky. he's an absolute sweetheart.

"fireworks are starting soon!" chase yells as he skips by. cooper, rudy, and i stare after him in confusion. he must've had one too many to drink already. goof.

"coop!" lilah yells. "come play!" she gestures to whatever's in jonathan's hands. cooper pops up from the grass and starts running towards her.

rudy's arm grazes mine as he stands. he brushes grass from his clothes before offering a hand to me. i take it without question but still raise an eyebrow.

"i know a place we can watch them without getting trampled."

shrugging, i tell him to lead the way. he keeps his grip on my hand as we weave through our friends and other people at the park. my stomach is churning nervously. i hope my hands aren't sweaty.