Astrophile

paradise on earth

"If it isn't Olivia Madden finally making her way home." John B chuckled once he saw her step foot on the porch. "Glad you're here, JJ is definitely full of my shit by now."

"You undoubtedly need to start cleaning this house, John B, it's weirdly similar to how we left it." She observed her surroundings, it did look somewhat better than the last time she stepped foot in the Chateau, but it was obvious to her that Big John hadn't been home in a few days at least.

"You've been here for thirty seconds and you're already questioning the livability of the Chateau?"

"Yeah well, remember when your dad left for a trip like... two years ago and we were all tripping on your clothing and empty cans of beer for a week?" Olivia reminded, smiles on both of their faces.

"Fair point."

They both hugged and talked about life for a few minutes. It felt good to be home, as the familiar air filled Olivia's lungs, she began to feel more excited for the weeks to come. The art of doing absolutely nothing was something she was going to have to learn to do again. No worrying about school assignments, or group projects or even failing classes, just summer and good times.

"Did we tell you about hurricane Agatha?" John B asked, handing Olivia a beer can while they waited for Pope.

"No, I heard about it on the news a few months ago but that was about it. They said it didn't hit the island that hard."

"Didn't hit the island that hard." JJ mumbled back. "Not Figure Eight at least, the Cut was out of power for weeks. If it wasn't for S-"

JJ was cut off by John B who started coughing extremely loudly. Too loudly. He was obviously trying to stop his friend from finishing the sentence, but it was too late for that, Olivia was now even more interested in what he had to say.

"For whom?" She pressed.

Both boys exchanged glances, John B with a death stare that made JJ silently apologize. "Sarah. She uh-she got the Chateau a back-up generator."

"Sarah as in Sarah Cameron?" Olivia raised her eyebrow, trying to understand the situation. The boys nodded. "So what? She's your friend again?"

"Not really, she's still with Topper. It caught us off guard too." John B's face was a mix of terrified and curious at their friend's reaction.

"She sugar momma'd you basically." She rolled her eyes.

It's not like Olivia was mad at the boys for accepting the generator or mad at Sarah for buying it... she just had mixed feelings about the situation. Before anyone could reply, Pope busted through the front door, looking like he ran all the way there. The friends looked at him, not only startled but confused.

"Easy there, Dr. Spock." JJ laughed, watching as his friend took in their faces.

"Sorry I'm late, flight got delayed, then mom and dad wanted to spend time with me, it didn't seem like they were ever gonna let me leave."

"It's okay, Pope. No one's ever on time for the bonfire." Olivia assured, walking towards her friend to give him a hug. "How are you?"

They walked back to the Twinkie, which made John B the designated driver back home. Pope told them all about the weird things he had to do during his school year. The group didn't know if they wanted to hear more or stop the van to puke, but they ended up going with a third option, subtly changing subject.

Once they got to the bonfire, they could already see a crowd starting to form. Olivia felt excited, not only because she was back on the island with her friends but also because her social life could finally start blooming again. All four of them immediately grabbed themselves drinks from the bag they had brought, while also keeping an eye out in case Kiara showed up.