" 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭"
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𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚. She hardly knew Lively and she didn't know any of the friends in her little group other than Louis, who she had a brief conversation with, but she wanted to make some new friends. It was lonely without someone there to do random stuff with.
There was no Gracie who baked using weird combinations, there was no Vicky who she would skateboard and surf with, there was no CJ that blasted music in her room and danced like crazy, there was no Lola to go study or shopping with and there was no Carrie to be at work with on the beach to laugh and throw small pieces of paper and ice at each other during duty. She had no one there other than herself and her mother.
So, it was an opportunity to make some new friends and, who knew, maybe they would become her new best friends.
" Mami?" She asked that night when she was watching a movie on the living room television and her mother was making dinner in the kitchen.
" Yes?"
" Is it okay if I go out tomorrow with some new friends?" Estelle asked, worried her mother might say no. " They're going to Hyde Park tomorrow at noon to hang out and drink some tea or something. It's five of them."
Ines listened, but she only hummed in response. She had wanted Estelle to make friends more than ever. Although she wasn't sure about letting her go out with some people she didn't know, it was better than her being cooped up in the apartment crying.
" Okay, you can go, but I want you home by nine and that's me being generous."
Estelle clapped her hands in excitement, " Thank you!"
Estelle was still jumping with happiness that her mom allowed her to go out with new friends and Ines couldn't help, but smile watching her daughter getting all bubbly. It had been a long time since she's seen her that way. She remembered the day that Estelle came home, completely sobbing and she didn't explain anything to her. The next day when she came downstairs to get breakfast, she looked like a mess. Ines hated seeing her that way, but now with her daughter was finally coming around, Ines knew she made the right decision with letting her go out.
" Be careful and don't do anything stupid. If I find out you did-"
" I won't, I promise."
" That's what you said last fourth of July."
" It wasn't my fault the police thought we were breaking into the lifeguard tower. We had keys and IDs and they nearly tackled us."
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Estelle wasn't sure about what to wear. She had learned from Lola that first impressions are one of the most important and although there are exceptions, you had to dress like yourself no matter what occasion when meeting someone new.
Twice Estelle had changed her outfit and each time she hated it. Her clothes were very summery and since summers were brutal in Clearwater, they were slightly revealing - nothing too serious though. It didn't matter in Clearwater since everyone was always dying from the heat, but she knew it would be uncomfortable wearing that in a big public setting in London.
She had decided to wearing long denim shorts and a white tank top with thicker straps. Feeling indecisive, she switched from shorts to denim jeans that fit nice and had blue monarch butterfly on the front pocket. She left her hair down, but tamed it with a brush and put on her white converses on.
I still look like I belong in Clearwater, but it's the best it's gonna get. I should probably sell some of my clothes and go shopping for newer ones.
One more look in the mirror and she was satisfied with herself. She didn't look dead and it was good enough for her.
She got a small bag for herself that could be slung on her shoulder just in case she didn't want to hold anything. She was on time as she stepped onto the bus to make it to Hyde Park. Lively texted her to say that she and Flora got there early and they were waiting on Wright, Will, Louis and I.
Ten minutes later, Estelle was at Hyde Park and made her way to the corner Lively said she was on. Her jitters came to haunt her, but she pushed it aside. It wasn't the time to get nervous and Estelle pushed her to become less anxious. She knew she could do it, but there were times she needed a little push.
Soon, she saw Lively in a similar purple top as her, tapping her foot next to another girl. The girl had wavy dark brown hair, possibly had freckles - from what Estelle could tell - and had a beautiful tan color on her. She was very pretty girl just like Lively.
" Estelle!" Lively cheered once she saw her new friend coming down the side walk. " Hi!"
Lively gave Estelle a quick, but big hug. Estelle was taken back, but she gladly hugged her back. It made both of the girls happy to know they both had a blossoming friendship. Lively took Estelle's hand and introduced her to Flora Ramirez.
Flora seemed very closed up and mean when you first saw her because her face was usually dull when it rested. To much surprise, instead of finding some mean girl, Estelle was greeted by a wonderful and friendly girl who complimented her jeans with the blue butterfly on it. Flora was shocked to see that Estelle was much more prettier than in her photos and she was much more smiley once they got her talking.
" Where are those idiots?" Flora sighed.
" Ah...THERE!" Lively pointed across the street and a group of three boys came down the sidewalk - two were on skateboards.
They crossed the street and stopped right in front of them. Based on the small convenience store bag clinging to one of their arms, it was clear why they were late. Flora gave them a look and they all muttered a sorry for being late. Lively was quick to introduce Estelle to the group. Wright Carmen had curly black hair and a wicked sense of humor while William had bright blue eyes and calm attitude.
Of course, she already knew Louis and he was so pretty. It stuck to her mind and she couldn't help but notice it every time. Who could deny it? Not only was he pretty, he was respectful and greeted her kindly.
Lively urged them into the park to get to eating since she hadn't eaten breakfast that day.
" So, where are you from, Estelle?" Will asked.
" I'm surprise you don't know considering Lively and Louis stalked me." Once it left her mouth, Estelle got nervous that she wasn't at that level of friendship with them to be making jokes, but she was proven wrong when they all laughed.
" We know you're from some sunny state, but we don't know what." Wright laughed.
" I'm from Florida. Clearwater, to be specific." She told them.
" So, what do you exactly do there?" Lively smiled at her, trying to get her talk more.
" We surf a lot there, we hang out at the arcade and we had bonfires. Ooh, we also had days were we would go to the movies and watch movies back to back because we had friends who worked there. But there were days I could only go for a few movies since I had shifts at the lifeguard stand."
" You were a lifeguard?" Flora shifted the picnic basket she had with her around to her other hands, trying to make it weight less.
" Yeah, I worked with a lot of my friends and it was a lot of fun."
The four kept Estelle talking and all of them looked at each other knowing that they all liked her and wanted her as a friend. They could tell that Estelle was slightly nervous and made it a point to make her comfortable and never touch upon a subject that seemed sensitive.
Eventually, they found a spot underneath a tree and Wright helped Flora put down a blanket. They were shaded by the large tree and Lively had packed the picnic basket that morning. Lively had an assortment of sandwiches, fruits and vegetables and a few sweets for afterward. Wright was so ready to dig in, but Flora stopped him.
Flora took out some hand sanitizer and handed some to everyone. She was big on cleanliness no matter where she was - a very good practice to have. They all ate and talked about each other and what they liked to do, but the main focus was on Estelle.
" I have to say, picnics are on the list for " best first time meets". Am I right or am I right?" Lively finished up chewing on a strawberry.
" You're right." Louis agreed before glancing over at Estelle.
Just as Estelle had thought, Louis believed Estelle to be very beautiful. Very, very beautiful. It wasn't a crime to think that way. Louis had always believed there was more than looks when it came to liking someone, but he couldn't deny her attractiveness. There was something more to Estelle and he knew it. He didn't want to sound arrogant, but he was rather likable, but when he met Estelle she was all closed up. Too closed up for that matter.
He believed that it could have been that she wasn't use to meeting new people or that she was nervous around new people, but based on what she had told him and his friend group, she was as social as anyone could get in Clearwater. She was the leader of the beach clean up crew, part of the lifeguard crew and knew every teenager in Clearwater since she was a little kid.
So, why was she holding back? It was clear with the way she kept herself from laughing too loud or opening her mouth before closing it. Lively noticed, Flora noticed and so did Wright, Will and Louis.
Knowing exactly how to get her to loosen more up, Lively took her first chance to take Estelle to get some tea and treats at " Greenery Tea" for all of them. Lively was more than determined to get Estelle to stop holding herself back. Lively saw that Estelle was so much more comfortable in a less crowded environment. Estelle was just as energetic as Lively and Lively was so happy to finally have someone with the same energy as her.
" Okay, where was all this energy back there?" Lively asked Estelle.
Estelle shrugged, " I don't know."
" Well, just know that you are in safe place with us. No judgement zone here, I promise you."
" I know. You all are so sweet and non-judgmental. Sorry if I'm a little closed up. I'm just new and cautious about who I meet considering I'm new in the area and back in Clearwater, I knew everyone unlike here."
" No need to apologize, I get it, but don't be afraid of us." Lively laughed. " Except Flora and Will when they are both angry. It doesn't happen often, but when they become mad, run."
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nova speaks - It's a long chapter and kind of boring, but it's just to show friendship growing into the group and to give some description to the side characters. Hope you all enjoyed.
with love - nova