Sorry, I Love You.

3.18

"Listen up, everyone! Gather around!" Zoe announced as she pulled Teddy in front of the car, grabbing Fisher when he got close enough.

Fisher was holding hands with Howl while Zoe had Fisher and Teddy in hand, which meant the only people not holding hands were Howl and Teddy. Zoe looked up at her boyfriend and motioned toward Howl with a nod, silently demanding he close their little circle. Teddy frowned at Zoe and yanked his hand away when Howl tried to grab it. Howl reached for him again and Teddy slapped him away until they were in a childish fight of flailing hands.

"Hold his hand, Teddy! Come on! We've got a party to go to!" Zoe cried.

"Fine!" Teddy snatched Howl's hand, crashing their fingers in awkward positions. He snarled at Howl. "Don't be weird."

"I'm in love with you," Howl immediately replied, smirking.

Teddy tried to yank his hand away again, causing Howl and Teddy to fight like children again. Zoe and Fisher signed and groaned. When they both finally settled and were stood in their little circle, Zoe moved on.

"Okay, I just wanted to say..." Zoe looked from Teddy to Howl to Fisher. "We don't do well at parties. Like, collectively, we have a very bad track record. And I'm only bringing this up because there is a party on the beach, fifty feet away, and this is the last time we're all gonna be together for a few months. We gotta make this one count."

"My track record is fine. I don't know what you're talking," Fisher argued.

"Not true..." Zoe cringed, squeezing Fisher's hand. "You made out with that guy you didn't even know at that Halloween party, Howl caught you, and then you cried in the tub for a half hour. Not to mention, Howl caught you again, with Jonah, at another party. Not a very good track record."

Fisher shrugged. "That's fair. If those moments count, then I guess I have to count catching Howl and Brett making out in the bathroom at Joseph's party."

"You didn't catch me, Fish. I was being assaulted. That was a one sided attack," Howl argued.

"My point is—" Zoe interjected.

"You're the only one with a good track record." Teddy's eyes narrowed as he looked down at Zoe. "You're very... suspiciously perfect."

"Well, parties are my job, Teddy. I make money by hosting at parties. If I wasn't good, I'd be poor."

"You also model though, so you wouldn't be poor. Also, your parents are filthy, stupid rich."

"My point is—!" Zoe shouted into the circle, attempting to haul this train back onto the tracks. "We are going to a party, and we are not good at parties, so let's all watch each other's back. Teddy and I are gonna be gone for the whole summer so we have to do this one right."

"What if Fisher and I wanna go make out somewhere?" Howl asked, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows. Fisher responded by kicking Howl's shin.

"If you wanna go make out, go make out. Teddy and I will only step in if there's conflict of some sort," Zoe said.

Teddy shook his head. "I didn't agree to that. I hate all of these people. If you want me to step into conflict, we might as well give up on redeeming our terrible record now and go home."

Zoe sighed and hung her head. This little circle meeting was a bad idea.

"Fine. Let's just go. Just.. nobody die, okay?" Zoe pouted and dropped Teddy's and Fisher's hands.

"No dying!" Howl jokingly cheered as he thrusts his fists in the air. When Zoe rolled her eyes, Howl snickered and tucked Fisher under his arm to head toward the beach with him.