(One year later.)
(Y/N)
Has a crush on Josh.
Practical. Determined. Aggressive.
Sam and I sat togther on the bus, which wasn't even planned. I got in, and she called me over to sit with her. I awkardly took a seat.
"You look different."
"Yeah. I guess I changed my style up a bit."
Sam smiled. "I'm enjoying the whole grunge vibe."
I nodded and smiled softly.
"Did you see Josh's video?"
"Hmm?"
"Here, look." She turned her phone on and pulled up a video.
"Welll hello, friends and fans! Alright, let's do that again. Alright! Well hello friends and fans! It's beyond awesome to have you guys all back this year. First off, I gotta say I am super excited to welcome all my pal to the annual Blackwood winter getaway!" He paused for a moment, and his voice softened. So, um... Let me just let you know, let's take a moment to ddress the "Elephant in the room" for a second. I know you're all probably worried about me and I know it's gonna be tough on all of us going back after what happened last year. But, just want you all to know... it means so much to me that we're doing this. And I know it would mean so much to Hannah and Beth that we're all still here together, thinking of them. I really want to spend some quality time with each and every one of you and share some moments that we'll never forget, for the sake of my sisters, you know? Okay... so! Let's party like we're fucking porn stars, okay? And make this one a trip we will never forget, alright? Yes!"
She turned her phone off.
"He seems...okay."
"Yeah. I'm really glad. I was so worried about him over this past year," Sam said, looking down at her lap. "I tried to reach out to him a few times. He never answered." An awkward silence fell between us until the bus stopped.
"Here's your stop ladies," he smiled at us, a pervy grin spread across his face.
We stood. As we walked to the front, he still hadn't opened the doors. "Uh, thank you." He continued to look at us with that same weird expression.
I looked him up and down. "Do you need something?"
"Are either of you free anytime soon?"
Sam grabbed my hand. "No, sorry. We are up here for our 2 year anniversary. Isn't that right, babe?" She smiled at me. I stared at our hands for a second. "Uh, yeah." He looked disappointed as he opened the door and wished us a good night. We glanced at each other before hauling our bags off the bus and stepping onto the snowy ground.
We watched the bus drive away before we began to laugh. "What a fucking fossil dude!"
"I know." I said. "That was pretty smart of you back there."
"Aw, don't mention it. It works 70% of the time, depending on the guy," she paused and looked towards the trail above us. "We should probably get moving shouldn't we?" I nodded. I adjusted the strap of my duffle bag on my shoulder and we began to walk towards the big gate that opened the entrance to the way to the cable car. We made small talk, talking about Sam's job at the animal shelter and the daycare. I didn't tell her about how my year went.
After a few minutes of walking, we made it to the gate. A white sheet of printer paper with the words 'please open' underlined in bold was taped to the lock. I unfolded it and read it. "Shit."
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, looking over my shoulder at the note.
"The gates busted. We have to climb over the wall."
"Oh," she shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard."
"I can try." Sam gestured at me to give her my bag. I handed it to her and watched her throw my bag over the stone wall, and then her backpack. She sighed. "Alright. I'll boost you up, c'mere."
She cupped her hands and I stepped up, using her force as a boost. I was able to sit on top of the wall and jump down. "Alright Sam, come on over." A few moments later, her head appeared on the top of the wall and she elegantly jumped down, landing perfectly on her feet.
"That was impressive."
She smiled. "Been in sports since elemantry, remember?"
"Yeah, of course." We picked up our bags and continued down the trail to the station. I took in the scenic view and the woody, piney smell of the forest. The sound of our boots crunching the snow took over the quiet. I could hear birds in the trees. Not too long after, we reached the station. My eyes landed on a backpack sitting up against the bench. It was vibrating? We walked closer to check it out. "Oh, Chris must be here?"
"He's got a message."
"He'll see it later."
"We could always take a sneak peek." She eyed me.
"Yeah, I don't think so."
She shrugged "Alright. Chris, you here?"
I could hear his footsteps behind us."You guys made it!"
I turned around with a small smile. He walked over to us and put an arm around my shoulder, giving me a awkward side hug. "How've you been Chris? Is Ashley here?"
He shook his head. "I haven't seen her yet. I was waiting for the cable car to get here and I found something pretty cool." Me and Sam looked at each other but followed him around the side of the station. "What is a shooting range doing back here?"
"Josh's parents are rich, they could put whatever they want back here. Not to mention, have you met his dad? He's crazy about this stuff!" Chris said excitedly. He picked up a BB gun. "How do I look guys?" He posed with the gun.
I laughed. "Like an idiot."
He put on a fake frown. "Damn." Sam rolled her eyes jokingly. "Why don't you go ahead and show it to us since you said it was so cool." "Hey, don't be a hater! It is cool," he said as he adjusted the BB gun in his arms into a shooting position.
"Well, while you guys play with this thing, I'm gonna head to back to the station."
"Alright (Y/N). Yell for us if it comes."
"Gotcha."
10 or so minutes later I could hear the cable car approaching. "Hey! Our ride is here!" As they walked back I could hear them talking about how weird it feels to be back. At least I wasn't alone on that. When they reached the door, I went to open it. "That's weird."
"What is it," Sam asked.
"It's locked. Chris?"
"Yeah. Josh wanted us to keep it locked. He's trying to keep people out." "Keep people out?"
"I guess he found people sleeping in here before," he pulled a key out of his pocket. "But you need not worry ladies." He unlocked the door, kicking it open. Holding his arms out he said, "After you."
"What a gentleman!" Sam said sarcastically. We stepped inside the station and I was disappointed to discover it was no warmer in here than it was out there,
Luckily the car arrived just in time. "Finally," Sam exhaled. "You coming?" I nodded before stepping inside and taking a seat. The door shut and the car started.
We arrived at the other cable car station after a painful 30 minutes. I liked Sam and I liked Chris. But I didn't really know what to say. Out of three of us, I was the reason we were honoring this anniversary. Chris and Sam chatted the whole time, Chris talked a little bit about he met Josh, and Sam mentioned how she met him as well. They asked me as well, but I just shrugged and said I didn't remember and turned back to look out the window.
I did remember.
It was in the 2nd grade. Our moms were friends from some church club or something. Since me and his sisters were about the same age, they got us together at the Washington's house for a playdate.
Josh was there. Afterwards, I came over a lot more often. I was embarassed to have them at my house, given the differences in our financial stabilty. My mom worked two jobs. My dad was always the one home when I got off the bus from school. Me and my dad were never really that close. He had always wanted a boy. He loved me though, and I knew that. So most of the time, I would just go home with Josh and the twins and would spend the day there until my mom got home.
I considered Hannah my best friend until about 5th or 6th grade.
It was then I decided I hated her more than anything.
I realized I had zoned off when I heard Sam shout my name. "Oh, sorry. What?" "We're here," she looked at me with concern and suspicion. I nodded and the three of us exited the cable car. The this station wasn't much different than the other one. Just a little smaller. When I tried to open the door, the door was once again, locked. "Are you serious," I muttered. Sam looked around. "Hold on, I think this switch here unlocks it." She pushed the green button and I heard the lock click. I pushed it open and was hit in the face with a cold, shocking freeze.
"Hey guys!"
I looked over and saw Jessica. We used to best friends, but I wasn't sure where we stood now. She seemed happy to see me, which was a relief. I waved to her. "(Y/N)! How have you been? You never talk to me anymore!" She wrapped her arms around me in a short hug before pulling back to look at me. "And you changed! Wow, you look great."
I smiled at her. "Thanks." Our conversation was cut off by Chris snatching the evenlope she was holding out of her hands. She went to grab it. "Chris!"
"Chris, come on," I said with a frustrated tone.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
"Chris, stop," Jess exclaimed.
"My goodness. Seems like someone has a little crush on our good friend and class president Micheal Munroe." She glanced at me. I guess she recognized the confusion on my face. Without looking at me or losing her confidence she said, "Mike and Em split. We're together now." I was even more confused. I guess that's one thing to expect when you delete social media. You never know what's going on. Chris whistled. "Whoa, harsh Jess."
I shrugged. "Not really." Jess seemed to be relieved when I piped in. There was no reason to be angry with her. Me and Mike were never a true couple. I always cared about him, and I always will. But nothing more than a friend. I wasn't too suprised about Emily either. There was a beat of silence. "We should probably head up there. I'm getting pretty cold," I said. I hated awkward situations. "Jess, are you coming?" She shook her head.
"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna wait here for a bit and see who is coming."
"You mean Mike?" Chris said in a mocking voice.
"Oh shut up. I'll see you later, okay (Y/N)? We have some serious catching up to do," she smiled at me before walking to the bench. Even if we aren't the same people anymore, it was nice to know she still thought about me. I didn't realize I had been missing her until we left her at the cable car.