Dear Estella,

21. the roller coaster of death

It took me an embarrassing amount of time to choose an outfit for today.

I couldn't decide on anything. Whether to wear shorts, jeans, or leggings. I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear a t-shirt, a tank top, or a long-sleeve.

After making a complete mess of clothing options in my room, I finally decided on a light pink tank top. It's new; I ordered it online recently. I paired the top with black skinny jeans, which will probably forever be my go-to bottoms.

It's safe to say my mom would not approve of my choice of clothes one bit, but she's not here today, which works out perfectly for me.

I grab the last of my things and place them into the small black backpack Brooke got me for my birthday last year.

From the view outside of the front window, I see Asher's black car pulling up in front of my house.

I walk over to the front door, locking it behind me. As I near his car, I realize it's not Asher inside. It's Aaron.

"Hi," I say as I open the passenger door.

His mouth parts as his gaze switches from the large house he's parked in front of to me. I press my lips together, waiting for him to return my greeting.

"Hi." He smiles. "You look— you look good, Estella."

My face heats up at the unexpected compliment. I buckle my seatbelt, attempting to cover as much of my face as I can with my hair, which I decided to leave down for the occasion.

I clear my throat, meeting his eyes again. "I wasn't expecting you to pick me up... Where's Asher?"

"Still getting ready," he replies, left hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the center console. "He gave me his car keys and told me to pick you and Devin up."

"So we're going to Devin's house right now?" I ask.

"Yeah."

I nod, looking out of the window as we drive around my neighborhood. He hums to the song playing on the stereo.

"Do you like roller coasters?" I ask him as I turn my torso to face him.

"Come on, who do you think you're talking to?" He murmurs with a small grin. Glancing over at me, he adds, "Of course I like roller coasters."

I laugh, nodding my head. I already knew he would respond saying he did. Aaron doesn't strike me as someone with a fear of roller coasters.

"Do you?" He questions.

"I think so," I reply. "I guess we'll have to see when we get there."

A couple of minutes later, we're parked in front of a blue house. It's medium-sized, with a nice porch set and small plants lining the front of the house. The lawn looks freshly cut and the tree in the parkway does, too.

Aaron pulls out his phone, presumably sending Devin a text message letting her know he's waiting for her outside.

Less than a minute later, Devin, clad in a white tank top and a pair of light wash mom jeans opens the door, stepping outside and making her way over to Asher's car.

"Morning," she says as she opens the door to the backseat. Her distinct scent of vanilla spreads throughout the car as she sits in the middle seat.

"Hi, Devin."

"What's up, Dev," Aaron replies as he starts up the engine again. "You ready?"

"Hell yeah."

We arrive at Asher's house about ten minutes later. If I ever imagined what Asher's house would look like, it would be exactly as it is.