Out of Step

xiii. band picnic

(idk if this chapter deserves trigger warnings, but butter safe than sorry. So, slight trigger warning for the end of this chapter)

The sun was high in the sky when they left, Alana bouncing in the back seat as Alex and Owen whispered in the front seat.

"Does Eli need a ride?" Alex asked as they reached the stop sign at the end of their street. He already had his blinker on to turn towards her house instead of the way they needed to go. Checking her phone, Alana hummed.

"She said she might earlier, but I haven't heard from her since then," Alana said, quickly answering a text from Emmett. He was asking her questions about the band picnic: who she was going with, how long it would be, and why he couldn't come. "Hold up. I'll just call her."

Instead of sitting at the stop sign, Alex turned, heading towards Eli's house and Alana yelped just as the phone stopped ringing.

"Hello to you too?" Eli said and Alana could just imagine her raising an eyebrow in question. "What's up?"

"Oh!" Alana hopped in her seat, sticking her tongue out as he brother yelled at her to put on her seatbelt. "You never answered me when I asked if you needed a ride and Alex was all concerned about your maybe lacking a ride. Basically, we're in your driveway if you need a ride."

"Yeah, I can see that." There was quiet talking in the background. "Give me a sec and I'll be out."

"Okay," Alana said, but Eli had already hung up. She bounced in her seat, trying to see through the front windows for any movement. Minutes later, the front door was opening and Eli was walking out, her head turned as she shouted something back into the house.

Alana was still bouncing when Eli slid in next to her.

"Hi Eli!" She said, her phone buzzing again. She barely glanced at it before sending a one worded response back.

"Hey everyone," Eli said, Alex backing the car up while she buckled up.

"How's it going, Eli?" He asked, peering at her through the rearview mirror. Not bothering to open her mouth to respond, only smiled and shrugged at him.

The band picnic was held a few streets over. When you first pulled into the long, rocky driveway, you couldn't tell you were in the right place, it seemed to lead to a small house. But, if you kept going, you'd find yourself on a rather large field, surrounded by woods on three sides. There was a baseball field on one side, with a small playground and a rather large pavilion near the front.

Alex parked and Alana tumbled out, her phone falling onto the ground. She scooped up and made her way towards the pavilion, where the food was already being laid out.

"Hurry up guys! I wanna get the good food first." She yelled over her shoulder. Owen and Eli picked up their pace, Alex trailing after them. The past the directors and gave them a small wave.

"You're eager to eat?" Owen said as they got into line, each of them picking up a plate. Alana was already scooping chips onto her already half full plate.

"Well, I need to get up my strength to do amazing at volleyball?" She said, putting a couple of cookies on her plate. "Uh, duh."

"Oh right, right." He nodded, stealing a cookie from her plate. She didn't seem to notice, or if she didn't she choose not to say anything. "I forgot you were actually planning on playing today."

"You sound a little doubtful," she said, grinning at him. She reached the end of the table, glancing back down to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Once she was satisfied with what she had piled on her plate, she headed towards the playground, taking a seat on one of the steps that lead up to the slide. Owen nudged her over a bit, squeezing in so he could lean against the railing and not kick her. Eli sat down a few steps below her.