“Sophie put some nice clothes on. No sweatpants!” Mom calls up the stairs. I huff and roll out of my bed, away from netflix. I go to my closet and pull out some nice pants and a white top. I do my hair again because, looking at it now, I look a bit hoboish. Seeing a big zit on my cheek, I decide to redo my makeup as well. It is actually quite relaxing.
I go downstairs and see mum has laid out the dining table for nine people.
“Mom what is going on?” I say but she ignores me again.
“You look nice sweetie.” She says and I go back upstairs. What a waste of time.
DING DONG! The bell rings for some unapparent reason and I peek from behind my curtains to see who it is. All I see is a mans back, turned towards a very familiar car. He seems to be calling at the car. I sprint down the stairs to see who it is. When I reach the hall I spot Elizabeth and Skylynn Grier, talking to mom.
“Sophie darlin'! How are you?” She asks. I see Elizabeth all the time so I am not surprised they are round.
“I'm good And how are you Sky?” I ask, happy to see her again.
“I got... two hundred horseys for a present.” She tells me. I see Mr Grier at the door. Beside him is a face I have longed to see.
“NASH!” I shout and I run to him.
“Hey chicklet. How you been?” He laughs and I squeeze him. Then, over his shoulder, I spot him standing on the garden path. I pull away from Nash who laughs at me as I jump off the porch and dash to him.
“Hayes!” I shout and his face lights up when he sees me.
“Soph!” He yells and runs in my direction. I lunge at him and he picks me up, spinning me in circles.
“I missed you so much Hay-Hay.” I say, using his nickname I made for him.
“I missed you too Soph!” He says into my hair. I feel the tears prick in my eyes and when he puts me down I stare into his.
“Don't cry.” He says and wipes my eyes.
“I'm not.” I say crossly but I laugh, not taking myself seriously.
“We will leave you two then.” Nash says and strides in with Mr Grier. I look back at Hayes then grab his hand.
“Come on.” I grin and we go round the side of the house and into the garden. We go to the swing set at the end and sit side by side.
“ How was the tour?” I ask and his grins.
“It was amazing!” He said then sees my expression. “I mean... I missed you loads. How was school anyway?” He asks.
“Boring without you. The football team isn't doing that good. You better make the team next semester.” I tell him. “I can't believe I didn't know you were coming home.”
“Well we kept that secret pretty well, huh?” He smirks and I smile. I missed his blue eyes so much. “You don't understand how much I missed you, Soph.” He says and I smile.
“Stop, you're making me nervous.” I say, imitating WeeklyChris from vine. As I hoped, he laughs and I grin back at him.
“Seriously though, it isn't the same messaging. And being with just the boys kills me.” He pushes a hand through his dark hair and I bite my lip.
“Look!” I shout. I see little lights flitting past our faces in the evening light and realise they are fireflies.
“Quick get up.” I shout with glee. We used to do this all the time when we were younger. Chase the fireflies. Hayes grabs my hands and we jog around the grass, trying to catch the pretty lights that tease us. Soon I am out of breath so I collapse on the grass and stare up at the summer sky. Hayes flops down beside me and breathes out heavily.
“I missed Carolina so much.” He breathes. I smile to myself, to tired to reply. Soon my eyelids begin to get heavy and fatigue washes over me like an ocean wave. I fall asleep in the soft grass to the sounds of crickets chirping and Hayes' deep breathing.
…
“Sophie, Hayes dinner is ready!” Mom's shouts wake me up with a start. I sit bolt upright and realise what happened. Hayes is sitting by me, gazing at me.
“What?” I say, an eyebrow raised.
“Nothing...”
“How long was I asleep?”
“Not long; ten minutes maybe. You're cute when you sleep..” He says and then laughs when he sees my expression.
“That's code for 'you look like a pig' isn't it?” I joke as we get up and trail back into the house.
“There they are!” Nash call from the dinner table, his plate already full. “Hurry I wanna eat!” He goes back to conversing with Molly. Like, Hayes and I, they are best friends. They are both two grades above us and they are how our two families became so close. It started when Nash helped my sister up after a bully pushed her over when they were in, like, third grade. They have been besties ever since.
I slide into the seat beside Nash and Hayes sits opposite. We pile our plates with Mom's delicious food and, when the others get to the table, we dig in.
Soon enough we are all stuffed and once the table is clear Hayes, Molly, Nash and I go back outside.
“Trampoline?” I say and they all nod in unison. I clamber on with Molly and we start doing skills from cheerleading. My sister and I started cheerleading when I was seven and, when I turned twelve, we joined a competitive level five team. I throw a couple of whip doubles and layouts to impress the boys and soon their jaws have hit the floor.
“Woah Soph you need to teach me how to do that.” Nash says, grinning as he gets on the trampoline. He does a couple of forward rolls then gives up. “Nope I am not cut out for the cheerleading lifestyle.”
“One day Nash!” I laugh and go back to doing my flips.
Mom calls us in a bit later and tells us that Elizabeth is taking Skylynn home.
“She fell asleep in front of the tv. Bless her.” Mom says and look into the living room to see her knocked out on the sofa.
“Aww.” I say and go in and flick off the tv so mom doesn't have to.
“Oh Sophie, Elizabeth asked you to go baby sit next week.”
“But what about Hayes? Won't he be in? And Nash?”
“Well Nash has got some of his tour buddies coming here. But maybe Hayes wanted to spend a bit of time with you. You are best friends after all.”
“Yeah, won't Hayes go and meet with the guys from tour though?”
“I can always say you don't wan to you know!” Mom says.
“What no, I was just confused.”
“Stop asking so many questions then!” She says and boops my nose.
“We had better be off then!” Elizabeth appears beside us with a snoozing Sky in her arms.
“See you soon!” Mom calls as they walk down the drive. I give Nash and Hayes one last hug each. As I hug Hayes he whispers in my ear, “ Meet me soon.” I whisper back yes and then wave as he strolls down the driveway to the car. I press my nose up on the glass of the door, making a pig face and smile when I see him laugh at me. I turn to go back upstairs and see Dad coming down towards me.
“You look happy?” He says and I smile dreamily. When I reach my room I look out of the window and see him on the drive, waiting to get in the car. He turns round, sees me staring and winks, making my heart skip a beat...