✸ ANYONE ELSE chapter twenty-five ━━ great boardwalk showdown
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JUST WHEN JULIE'S mood had been lifted, she found it falling again as their aunt and cousin arrived to the house.
Julia arrived with a bright smile on her face, telling them all how they had an open house later that day.
That made everything crash down upon their heads as it seemed that they suddenly realised that the house was up for sale.
Julie wouldn't do anything purposely against the customers, but she still found herself fighting a bright smile when, for some reason, the open house was cancelled last minute because of the air conditioning breaking down.
That, however, meant that the small group of teenagers needed to get out of the house. And what brilliant idea did Isabel get? That they went to the boardwalk that they hadn't been to since they were little kids fighting over everything.
Julie couldn't remember the last time they had been on the boardwalk; it had probably been abut four years.
"You should come with us, Skye," Belly smiled at the short haired girl, hoping she would agree.
"Oh, um, sounds very state fair," They answered. "And I guess I should just stay with you, right?" Their eyes drifted towards their mother.
"No," Julie smiled at her daughter. "It wasn't my favourite, but you might like it. You should go with them,"
Skye looked at their cousins, searching for a sign that they actually wanted them there, and when they caught the reassuring smile on Julie's face, they smiled and answered. "Guess I'm coming with you guys, then!"
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THE BOARDWALK WAS exactly like Julie remembered it. A rollercoaster, a ferris wheel, and about 20 other rides, all decorated in bright colours stood between food stands that all adorned big signs with decorated letters and drawings of all kinds of foods.
The seven teenagers quickly decided to buy ice cream before doing anything else, and as they walked through the crowd, their small cups in their hands, Julie couldn't help but smile. That place gave her a nice sense of déjà vu.
"This place is so fun," Belly smiled at Skye as the younger girl tried to assure them.
"Fun?" Jeremiah laughed. "I remember last time you were here. You were crying,"
The others let out a laugh at the memory while Jeremiah explained to Taylor and Skye: "Belly was twelve. Conrad beat her at Shoot Your Shot and her penalty was to ride The Tower of Terror."
"Belly you were so scared," Conrad laughed.
"I was sick!" Belly defended herself from the teasing.
"Sick with fear," Julie commented, making Belly playfully glare at her. "My mum had to throw out your clothes and carry you home in a caftan!"
"Ha ha." Belly smiled dryly at the older girl. "As if you weren't scared of it,"
"I wasn't!" Julie exclaimed.
"Now that's a lie," Steven chimed. "I had to hold your hand to stop you from crying up there,"
Now it was Julie's time to playfully glare at the boy. "You were the one who insisted on going with me up!"
"Because you were a little kid! You needed an adult to comfort you,"
Conrad snickered at Steven's words and Jeremiah and Belly tried to hold in the big smiles threatening to break into their faces. This was a discussion that they had had millions of times.
"You're half a year older then me!" She defended herself.
"You're still a baby!"
Julie pulled a face at him and the others let their laughter run loose.
Before they knew it, their ice cream was melting and they reached the outskirt of the boardwalk. Nobody said anything as they just walked in a comforting silence for a while.
Julie was picking at her nail polish, a nervous habit of hers that she was desperately trying to get rid of, when Skye spoke.
"Susannah used to force my mum to come here all the time when they were kids," They looked around, smiling slightly. "My mum always hated it, but Susannah loved it so much, so..."
"Do you know what else my mum loved?" Conrad snapped, interrupting them mid sentence. "The beach house."
Skye sighed, stopping in their track as they glanced their cousin. "My mum's not evil, Conrad,"
They all stopped to look at the girl, wondering how they would defend their mother.
"And your mum wasn't a saint." Skye finished, making all three Fisher siblings glare at them.
"She was pretty damn close to one." Steven defended the woman in a heartbeat, not even thinking before laying his hand on Julie's shoulder. It was natural for him to do so, but he was scared that she would brush him of like she had formed a habit of doing.
She didn't. Instead, she seemed to relax at his touch and remove the harsh glare from her cousin and instead lower it to the ground.
It was only silent for a second before Isabel decided to break it. "Skye," She smiled, seemingly unfazed by the words. "Have you ever played Shoot Your Shot?"
"No, and I'm fine keeping it that way," They answered with a shake of their head.
"Well, do you want to watch me beat Conrad's ass?" She asked, successfully lightening the mood.
"I wouldn't hate watching that," Skye responded, causing Belly to send a smirk towards Conrad.
He replied by sending her an you're-totally-on look to which Steven quickly shook his head.
"Okay, no, please, not another Great Boardwalk Showdown!" He exclaimed.
"Why not?" Belly asked.
"It could be fun," Conrad backed her up. "Are you on? Jules? Jere?" He questioned his younger siblings.
"Hell yeah!" Jeremiah cheered. "Let's do it!"
Julie only laughed and shrugged in response, but her agreement made Steven whoop in victory. "Yes!" He shouted.
✸ author's note ✸ i just want to say that i named julie before i knew that they had an aunt called julia.
