Mailboy (Wattys 2015 Winner)

25. The Love Club

merry early Christmas to those who celebrate it (I don't, since I'm Muslim), i'll wish you all a happy new year when I update next weekend. winkwink....wink.

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"We were a crooked love, in a straight line down. Makes you wanna run and hide, but it makes you turn right back around," Taylor Swift

Zoey Willow Hunter

IT seemed like horrible weather was contagious in North America; since my home country was drowning in showers. The airport glass didn't stop goose bumps from going up my arm. I dragged my suitcase behind me, searching the hall for my loved ones; my family.

I bit my teeth on the inside of my lips, seeing no one I knew in sight. Impatience for a hug from my mom was seeping through me; I would've given anything to collapse in her arms at the moment. The remedy to anything was one of her hugs. She was my comfort; my first love; my friend. This was the first convention where I longed to see anyone but my mail partner.

Possibly because the one I currently had was him.

A tiny figure moved her legs towards me at an impossible speed; "ZOEY!" she shouted. I went on my knees and hugged Julia, breaking into a huge grin of relief. She giggled, saying: "I bissed you this much!" She spread her arms.

Instantly worrying, I put my hand on her forehead, "Are you sick?"

"Baybe. I was playing in mud, 'cause it was raining. But Mommy got bad at be and said I was sick. So here I am," she sighed miserably, sniffling.

"Same here, bud. High sick five," I offered. She happily obliged. I glanced behind her for any sight of my mom and Skye, but none were in sight.

As soon as I started to say: "Where's Mom?" what felt like a bear jumped on me. Julia ran away, laughing. I fell to the ground, beneath an overly excited James, who hugged me and held on. And before I had even fully grasped the situation, eight teen bodies joined the break Zoey's body by jumping on/hugging her-at the same time plan.

I screamed, as all of my friends literally laid on top of each other, on me. They all had smiles on, except for Fred and Amir; whom I guessed were pushed by someone. Joel, James, Diana, Lucy, Skye and Aaron, on the other hand, seemed as comfortable as can be. This was the only time I'd be content with them like this; excluding the times when we watched movies and everyone always somehow ended sleeping on me.

"We missed you," sighed James, his breath brushing on my cheek. His head was wet; rendering my face moist.

Joel agreed childishly: "We really did."

Were they kids or soon-to-be adults? The truth would never be unveiled.

An crushing feeling of gratitude came over me. The amount of love I felt was suffocating-or maybe that was just the weight of eight bodies on top of mine. I squirmed and replied: "I love you guys too, but if you don't get off; I'll die and haunt your miserable Zoey-less lives for eternity."

They scrambled off; Amir helped me stand up. He hugged me, mumbling: "They're crazy." He was wearing brand new clothes and a bracelet with Arabic writing on it. I remembered that Ramadan ended during the weekend; that was probably why.

Tears gathered in my eyes; "I know."

James and Joel's simultaneously hug possibly cut off my circulation. They were saying a whole lot of gibberish about how "all we did this weekend was gather like witches and cry about how much we missed you"; which earned them both slaps on the arm. Diana pinched their ears to get them off, hugging me as well. Joel moaned about how his ear hurt; Diana replied: "man the fuck up, babe." I hadn't spent more than 24 hours with them since I was home yet, but I already noticed how compatible they were and how easy they glided from friends to girlfriend and boyfriend.