The Way it Always Ends

Chapter 2: The Way the Clock Struck Twelve

After spending the next two hours at the party, standing in a corner with Nathan, making small talk one or two others who like us didn't want to be here, Penny finally announced the time and Nathan and I went sprinting out the door. All of us jumped in the car, Nat in the front this time, with Pen, Riley and I in the back. Instead of talking during the drive, we turned the radio up and starting belting it out at the top of our lungs. Nat pressed his head against the glass and slowly started head bobbing along to the vibrations. As we drove along, I saw a certain shop as we passed and leaned forward to whisper something to Paul. He swung the car around and parked in front of it, before the girls realised where we were.

"ICE CREAM!!!!" they both belted out, jumping out of the car and running to the door.

Ice cream is our addiction, not a very healthy one but it's better than drugs, so our parents don't mind too much. This ice cream shop is our go-to place, mostly because we spent so much time here in the summer they offered me a job. This means I can get us ice cream whenever we want, as long as we leave some money to pay for it. Quickly unlocking the door, I slipped in behind the counter and washed my hands.

"Just your usual?" I questioned, getting a unanimous yes back. Dishing them up quickly, I handed them out. Paul had his double scoop mint chocolate chip with whipped cream and sprinkles. Penny had double scoop orange chocolate chip with whipped cream and sprinkles. Riley had the shop's speciality, the triple scoop chocolate sundae with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry. Nathan had the simplest order, a plain cone with cookie dough on the bottom and berry sorbet on the top. Finally I served myself, a double scoop of strawberry with real strawberry sauce. Though our whole group loved ice cream with a passion, we could never agree on what the best flavour is. Riley and I were always arguing over strawberry or chocolate, while the twins argued over mint or orange. Nathan would sit through all of these arguments, sometimes reading our lips, but most of the time just slowly eating his ice cream until we stopped.

Tonight it was decided we are not allowed to argue over ice cream. We all wanted to leave the year on a good note, no fighting between us, no matter the topic. Sitting around for a while, we talked about everything your average group of teens would talk about, and then a bunch of other stuff. When the ice cream is finished, and we realise how close to midnight it is, we finally head to the car after placing some money in the till. Once I lock up, we head to my place.

Last time I spoke with my parents, they were leaving for a business trip down south and wouldn't be back for a few days. So not surprisingly, they weren't home. Since Katie had gone to her friend's place earlier today for a day or two, the house was all ours. Of course, this was a common occurrence, with my parents often on business trips at one place or other. Because my older brother has been away at University for the past year, and my parents don't trust me to look after Katie for more than a day or two at a time, she would often spend a couple of days at our grandparents or a friend's house. So with the house to myself a common thing, it became the perfect place for sleepovers. We have a huge kitchen, a living room shaped just right for us to lie in a circle with our sleeping bags, and a deck big enough for us to lay on in summer and star gaze.

Walking inside, I made sure that everything was relatively clean. I sent the guys into the living room to set up the sleeping bags for us and get changed, while Riley, Penny, and I headed up to my room so we could do a quick clean up of the mess we left behind and get into our pjs. By the time we tumbled downstairs, it was 11:45. After voting on whether to stay inside for the last 15 minutes of this year, or going outside and looking at the stars, we all grabbed the fluffiest blankets we could find and walked out to the deck. As we headed out, I saw the light of my phone go off. Letting everyone go ahead, I went to grab my phone and check it.

Ashy pie pony: Happy almost New Year! I have big news!!

Chuckling to myself at the name that hasn't changed since the day I got my phone, I start typing a reply. Though we did drift apart for a bit after last summer, we went back to normal. Well, kinda normal. We still talk often, but not in the same way we used to. The conversations don't go on for days in the same way.

Mac (without the cheese): Happy almost but not quite New Years! What's the big news?

Throwing my phone in my pocket, I meet everyone on the deck and jump on top of their legs, earning a collective groan of pain. Wiggling in between Nathan and Riley, I look up to see a blanket of sparkling lights. I sigh in content, before realising Riley is watching me with an expectant look on her face. My face counters with a questioning look, before she gives me those eyes that say she knows something is up.

"Why did you come out after the rest of us? You started walking out here with us so what came up?"

"I'll tell you when I find out." I reply, knowing there is no point telling her what happened with Ash until I knew the big news myself. Riley would start coming up with all these random hypothetical situations, driving us all batty. Laying back down, I check my phone for a reply, but see none. As I go to put my phone back in my pocket, I realise that it is 1 minute till New Years. We all quickly think about our resolution, not that we keep them, before starting the countdown.

"10... 9.... 8.... 7.... 6.... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEARS!!" We all scream at the top of our lungs before launching into silence again. Feeling a vibration in my pocket, I pull out my phone and check the message.

Ashy pie pony: HAPPY ACTUAL NEW YEAR! As of this evening, I am moving to Auckland and going to your school this year!

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Second chapter down! I'm so excited about this book, even though I have literally 2 readers right now.

The next few chapters won't be major, just introducing the characters a bit more and stuff. Hopefully y'all like it!

~Meli xxx