Chapter Thirty-Nine
❝She never wanted a quiet, sensible sort of love.
She wanted to be devoured.❞
The lesser time they had, the more reckless they were.
To celebrate Zach qualifying for the finals, and to finally, truly experience the last few days of summer madness — without the brooding, teenage angst, and anyone working or competing — the four teenagers decided to do something different.
Zach tapped on the microphone awkwardly. "Uh," he cleared his throat. "Hello? Is this thing on? Guys, I think it's — "
Daisy smacked his head. "It's working just fine, you idiot."
The crowd in front of them murmured in laughter. The karaoke bar they'd picked was flattering enough: its seductive lights, the occasional corners of neon colours, the sound of glasses clinking against each other and the smell of spilled beer and cigarettes. The ambiance of the crowd was one of only slight intoxication.
It was only the four of them, though, since Jeff insisted he didn't want to go. Claiming that he didn't want to be a "fifth" wheel once Daisy announced she wasn't inviting Julian.
El understood that fair and square.
"When the sun shine, we shine togetha'!" Zach sang at the top of his lungs. "Told you I'll be here foreva'!"
"Said I'll always be your friend, took an oath, I'm a stick it right to the end!" El and Daisy followed after, borderline screaming.
The only one who didn't get a solo was Theo, who refused to subject himself to such humiliation. And even then, his singing voice would sound like a programmed robot. So El would only force him to sing if it was a grouped chorus.
"You can stay under my umbrella," Zach gestured to El, eyes sparkling with mischief. "You can stay under my umbrella, ella, ella, El, El — "
"Alright, stop serenading my girlfriend," Theo snapped.
Apparently that caught the mic, because the crowd did an ooohs and aaahs in response. The girls just giggled in response, knowing it was more annoyance than real jealousy. Zach just looked even more amused and held his hands up with an oh shit look on his face.
"Jealous, Theo?" Zach said to the open mic, and the crowd went wild.
"Says the guy who's not getting some," he smirked, and El's cheeks burned so bad she thought she might've exploded into a tomato.
Zach touched his heart. "That was cold, bro. But I'm proving you wrong." He turned to the shadowed audience and yelled: "Ladies, gents, who wants some of this?!"
Multiple girls — and El thought, guys — cheered in response, blowing whistles and mimicking the action of throwing money at him. Daisy threw her head back in laughter and almost doubled over, and Zach turned to her then, grinning at the blonde, like he was proud of it.
Then the song changed, and El screamed in joy.
"This is my favourite song!" she let out, gripping Theo's shoulders with pure enthusiasm. He chuckled down at her, his cheeks flushed from all the singing and alcohol.
"Summer loving, had me a blast," El and Daisy took centre stage, gripping on only one microphone. "Summer loving, happened so fast!"
"I met a girl crazy for me," Theo's deadpanned voice blasted through the speakers, and the others shrieked. "Met a boy cute as can be."
El's belly hurt from laughing too much.
Zach pulled Theo and the girls to him from both sides, and shouted to the mic, "Summer days drifting away to, oh, oh, the summer nights!"
It became hard to tell whether they were laughing like crazy because they were having that much fun or because they were getting drunk. Zach's hand was suddenly preoccupied with a martini as they continued their karaoke, appearing to be the popular group of the night.
But while Zach and Daisy were getting drunk on their martinis, El was drunk on Theo's sweet taste.
The boy wasn't at all ashamed to steal kisses in front of a crowd.
Then Zach tripped and toppled down the stage. The crowd gasped.
Daisy's audio mic suddenly amplified, the screeching noise enveloping the room for less than three seconds. Someone coughed.
"Uh," Daisy whispered, staring at their blond friend being still on the ground. "Let's get out of here before they kick us out."
Theo blinked. "Sounds about right."
El just hiccuped.
***
One am cravings were best served with only one restaurant: Amigos.
A Mexican diner deemed popular by the locals, it was truly a gift from the gods when they met the smell of burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and other edibles that made El's stomach growl.
"This place is sick," Daisy whistled low, looking around the place.
When El first caught sight of Amigos, she could immediately see its appeal — from the classic red booths to the view they got of the overcrowded District. But it was the little things that stuck to her: the ketchup stain on the window, the brazen writings on the wall. It was obvious the years had worn the diner out; the g in Amigos on the billboard sign was on the verge of falling.
But she loved it all the same.
"Eleanor," a familiar voice materialised behind her, and she turned around. "Is that you, little dove?"
El shrieked and stood up, racing towards the old woman in the apron for a tight hug. The latter was caught with surprise, but chuckled anyway at the girl's enthusiasm.
"Rosie! Hi! It's so good to see you!"
"Likewise, mi amor," the woman replied. Her warm eyes made its way to others by the booth. "I see you've brought some new friends."
Daisy raised her hand. "I'm hurt that you don't remember me, Rose."
"High-five." Zach proceeded to do that exact thing.
Theo stared at him. "How many martinis did you drink?"
Zach frowned and looked down at his fingers, but it seemed that he forgot how to count.
"A giant bottle of water for him, then," the old woman chuckled, getting her notepad. "And what will it be for you, kids, hm?"
Fifteen minutes later, hot plates of sizzling fried food stood in front of them, and it was probably one of the best nights El had in this entire summer. She even let her hair loose, pulling her ponytail down, and she caught Theo staring at her, his eyes turning dark with desire.
But what was interesting was that, on the other side of the booth, the same kind of tension was taking place. Zach had a smudge of salsa near his mouth, and Daisy wiped it off with one finger and sucked it right there, maintaining eye contact. Zach's smile faltered.
"I bet you twenty bucks that they're going to get together by the end of this summer," El whispered.
Theo scoffed. "Bullshit," he muttered. I know Zach. And you know Daisy. She's not going to give up that Julian guy, and Zach's too proud to admit he'd like someone that way."
"You're so full of optimism, Theodore."
He pecked her nose. "You know it, love."
Since they were all technically still in a tourist area, a few salesmen and saleswomen came in the diner, which was not unheard of. They brought good humour along so they usually didn't pose a threat. Maybe that's why El liked local vendors so much — she was one herself.
She ended up with turquoise ocean earrings and a Mexican flag.
One man stopped in front of their booth, took one look at Daisy and Zach and said in a thick Spanish accent: "You make lovely couple."
"Oh, no, we're not — "
"You've made a mistake — "
"I never make mistake," the man smiled and shook his head in a comical manner before leaving. "Goodbye."
The group of friends shared a look before bursting into a laugh. But El wasn't the only one who noticed that Daisy and Zach's laughs were more filtered. More self-conscious than usual.
"So," Daisy cleared her throat. "You're nervous for finals, Zach?"
Zach blinked, not even meeting her gaze as he focused at the table. "A little bit. More like a lot. It's mostly because the real competition is... well, not your new boy toy."
"My new boy toy?" she said incredulously. "Nice choice of words."
El couldn't exactly tell if she was offended by the term.
"So will you be cheering for Zach or Julian?" Theo raised his eyebrows. Clearly he knew the answer and just wanted to stir up some trouble. El elbowed him on the side and he glared at her.
Daisy examined her nails. "Depends."
They were all aware that they were purposely avoiding one name, for El's sake. For everyone's sake. Every person on that table has had their worst with him. But she was tired already. Even though she'd already moved on, it wasn't like she just forgot about him altogether.
"Have you heard anything about Travis?" she asked quietly.
Obviously none of them were expecting that question to come out of her mouth. But they should.
Daisy hesitated. "It's only bad things," she murmured. "I heard he's all over the place. Getting drunk with his friends, smoking all the time, leaving STDs — I mean, there's a lot of rumours of one-night stands." She cringed, as if she was scared that it'd hurt El.
El didn't blink an eye. But she was disappointed, and maybe even slightly concerned.
Travis didn't sound like Travis anymore.
"But that's his life, Len," Theo nudged her softly. "He does what he likes. He's not your responsibility anymore."
He was right.
When El walked herself home that night — or morning, since it was around three at that point — her mind was still on him. It sounded weird, that she was thinking of her ex. But Travis wasn't just an ex. He was most of her adolescence. Three years. He was someone important.
Passing Bond Beach, she thought she saw him. She drew closer, uncertain, squinting at the figure. The built of his body matched and the messy dark hair was familiar, but... he was alone.
No friends. No girls. Just him and a bottle of unfinished booze. He was walking idly, head to the ground, as if he didn't know where to go.
El blinked repeatedly, shaking her head. It was too dark; she probably mistook someone else for him. It just couldn't be Travis. But if it was...
He's not your responsibility anymore.
A/N:
This looks like a filler chapter. It's not. My babies deserve some summer bliss.
Some local vendors can be a real bitch though.