cherry flavoured

37

"How are you holding up? With him gone to camp." she asks, resting forward on her elbows.

"He's been gone a day Bel." I roll my eyes.

She looks at me knowingly and I huff.

"It fucking sucks."

At the start of the year, the soccer team goes to this training camp. Parker can't exactly play, but he's team captain and couldn't miss it. It's a couple days long, and he left on Monday night once we got back from the field trip. The house feels so empty without him and his ego around.

I look up at Bel and she's grinning at me.

"What?" I frown.

"You're so in love." she says admiringly.

Before she gets the chance to react I scoop up a little whipped cream on my finger, leaning forward and wiping it on my nose. Her jaw drops and I laugh as she does it back, getting my cheek. I'm about to go for it again when someone clears their throat beside us.

My mood plummets as I look at the red curls in front of me.

"Hey Elena," Mackenzie says sweetly, turning to Bel. "And Elena's friend."

Bela stares at her blankly. She has a strong hatred for this girl.

"I came here to meet a couple friends, but I saw you. Can I sit?" she says, all whilst smiling.

I scoff at the same time Bela says, "No."

Mackenzie raises her eyebrows, looking between us.

"And here I was, trying to be friendly. Whatever, I just wanted to check you were sticking to our agreement."

I'm getting seriously tired of this girl.

"We never made an agreement Mackenzie." I sigh.

"What?" she looks genuinely confused. Maybe she has amnesia.

"You threatened me." I remind her, and she looks around. "However, I don't particularly care about anything that leaves your mouth."

This is the first time since I've officially met Mackenzie that she genuinely looks stunned. She shakes it off quickly, laughing.

"You sound ridiculous Elena. We're in love."

My stomach flips. "You're obsessed, babe. Parker hates you."

I've clearly pushed a button, because Mackenzie leans down, slamming her hand against the table so hard that our drink topples. It spills across the table and on to my bare thighs, but I'm already too annoyed to care about how sticky my legs are gonna be.

Bel sits forward, ready to pounce if need be, but I give her a reassuring glance.

"Parker does not hate me." she says the word 'hate' in disgust. "We're. In. Love."

I scoff, shaking my head. "Whatever Mackenzie. I couldn't care less about your delusions. Just get out of my face."

Mackenzie genuinely looks shocked. She must be surprised because she actually stands back, eyeing me. We all stare at one another for seconds that feel like hours, before the door opens. I recognise her little minions as they approach.

"Kenz?" one of them says, snapping her out of her daze. "What's going on?"

She returns the usual smile on her face, flicking her hair. "Just catching up. Nice talk, Elena." she says, before walking off to find a booth, her pets close behind.

I turn to Bel, and her eyes are wide. "Where did that come from?"

"To be honest, I have no idea." I shrug. "She just knows exactly how to push the wrong buttons."

Bela smiles at me proudly, and then she frowns.

"Should we go, or would you rather sit here with whipped cream and chocolate milk on your thighs?" she asks.

I completely forgot, and I look at the puddle in my lap. We use a few napkins to soak majority of it up, but it's been there so long that my thighs are still unbearably sticky.

On the way out, Bela takes a sip of the milkshake she bought to-go.

She stops short.

"Bel?" I ask, turning around. "I don't want to rush you but-"

"Is that her car?"

I follow Bela's eye line to a red BMW parked in front of the diner. It's so completely and utterly her. The number plate reads 'K3NZI3', which is honestly just the cherry on top.

As I look back at Bel, I notice the glimmer in her eyes that I know all to well.

"Bela." I warn.

Before I can get another word in she walks over to the car, popping off the lid of her milkshake cup before tipping the entire contents across Mackenzie's windscreen. My jaw drops, mouth gaping as I stare at the brown liquid running down the glass.

"Oh. My. God." I manage as Bela walks back, taking my arm as she begins to run in the direction of her car.

"Come on El!" she laughs, unlocking it.

By the time we're safely pulling out of the car park, we're both laughing so hard that we can't breathe.

"You're such a bad influence." I shake my head, catching my breath.

"I know." Bel says proudly, glancing at me with a cheeky grin.