Inevitable Moments ☑

29 | Baby

"Say cheese!" my mother says as she takes our group picture.

"Pizza!" I yell back, causing everyone to laugh.

Tonight is going to be our first official group date. Jaden, Olivia, Hudson, Elea, Axel, and I are all going to the fair tonight. Olivia's been planning this since I can remember. She's always wanted me to have a boyfriend and now that I do, it means group dates.

I hug my mom and dad, squeezing them tightly. "Bye, I love y'all!" I say to them.

My dad smiles back. "Be safe tonight and have fun!"

"We will!"

Axel grabs my hand and leads me to his car since we'll be riding in his. Hudson's driving Elea, Jaden, and Olivia, not leaving enough room for Axel and me. To be honest, I don't mind riding alone with Axel. One of my favorite things to do with him is just driving in his car, listening to music.

My parents stand in the doorway, waving at all of us as we leave. Hudson drives off first with Axel driving right behind him.

Grinning, I lean towards Axel. "Can I pick the music?"

He playfully smirks and rolls his eyes when he sees my pleading expression. "Fine, go ahead."

Still keeping his eyes on the road, he takes his phone from the cup holder and gives it to me. I scroll through the different songs, but decide on choosing a song that would never be on one of his playlists. Clicking on it, the song starts to play.

Axel furrows his eyebrows. "Conley."

He knows.

"What song is this?"

He's playing dumb. Everyone knows this song.

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly. "Oh you know. Just a song."

The light ahead of us flashes red as he comes to a stop. He looks over at me and raises an eyebrow. "Don't do it."

But I do.

"Like baby, baby, baby oooh. I thought you'd always be mine!" I sing at the top of my lungs.

"Vienna! Turn it off!" He yells, but laughs.

I'm laughing hysterically by the time Axel turns into the parking lot for the fair. I'd somehow accidentally put 'Baby' by Justin Bieber on repeat for the entire ride. He couldn't reach the phone. That wasn't my problem.

Axel looks over at me with a blank expression as he shuts the car door. "My ears are bleeding. I'm never letting you pick the music again."

"V! Axel!" Olivia yells a little ways from us. They must've gotten a closer parking spot. "Over here!"

"Coming!" I wave back and grab Axel's hand as we walk towards them. "You think Jared will be here tonight?"

Axel looks down at me, tugging me closer and then wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "He probably will be," he says, chuckling. "But I'll try to keep you out of trouble."

"Ha ha," I retort.

Olivia's grinning ear to ear as she watches Axel and me walk up. She winks at me and grabs Jaden's hand. "Who's ready to ride some rides and play some games!"

*****

A couple hours later, the six of us are sitting down at a picnic table watching a local band play. Elea has her head leaning against Hudson's shoulders with their hands intertwined. I smile, glad that they find happiness with each other.

Olivia on the other hand seems to be itching to dance. She hasn't been able to sit still since we sat down. Jaden also seems to notice and finally pulls her up, leading her to go dance.