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โโโโโโ.ห แกฃ๐ญฉ .๐ฅหโโโโโโ
PAUL LAHOTE: A CERTIFIED
PAIN IN THE ASS
THE ICE CREAM SHACK NEAR THE LA PUSH BEACH WAS ALWAYS A HOT SPOT FOR THE REZ KIDS.
Despite the fact that there were only ever a steady rotation of six flavours, the ice cream shack was a staple. All the picnic benches were sprawled onto the green surrounding it, and directly behind it was the central trail down to the beach and its adjacent carpark.
Nelly slid her old bike into the bike rack, dusting off a bit of dirt on her denim shorts that had kicked up onto her from the ride over. Someone had freshly painted the door a bright yellow, but other than that, it remained unchanged since the last time she'd seen it. Familiarity, and that was precisely what Nelly was looking for.
She'd heard Akira Fuller before she saw her, a pitched squeal escaping the girl standing next to Kim by the yellow door. Nelly met her halfway, the girls wrapping their arms around one another with a small sway. "Let me take a look at you!" the black haired girl said, gripping her friend's chin and inspecting her face. "What, no access to SPF up there? I love you, but you'll look like a prune when you're twenty five."
"Nice to see you too, Kiki," Nelly scoffed jokingly, bonking her head against Akira's affectionately. She looped their arms together, following Kim inside the shack where they ordered their ice cream.
Nelly got the mint chip every time, and every time Akira would pretend to choke on her own tongue in mock disgust. "You like eating toothpaste, is that it?" she joked, sliding a bill onto the counter that would cover all three individual scoops.
"I have the tastebuds of a fucking champion," Nelly smirked, shoving the bill she'd brought along into the tip jar. Kim followed suit, knowing the next time they'd get ice cream, they would switch duties.
They were exiting the shack, rounding towards a nearby picnic bench that had their three initials engraved secretly underneath. "I think she just called you a peasant," Kim whispered to Akira with a laugh, scooping up a bit of her own vanilla ice cream into her mouth.
The Fuller girl gasped. "Did your manners disappear at your dad's, Nell?"
"Nope, just my will to live," was Nelly's rebuttal, earning twin howls of laughter from the girls seated across from her. "No but seriously; we need to have the best summer ever... my fucking will to live depends on it."
Kim nodded affirmatively. "Totally agree," she responded, eyes drifting around the vicinity around them. "We should take it week by weekโ like next week, what could we do?"
Growing up in La Push, you really had to get creative when it came down to fun things to do. Or, if you weren't the creative type, you'd most likely find something fun to do down in Forks. It was a bit of a drive, but nothing the girls couldn't handle.
"Movie next Friday?" Nelly proposed. "I could probably take my mom's car if we really wanted to see that new Adam Sandler movie."
Akira smacked her hand against the table place. "Ooโ is that the one where the five childhood friends rent a cottage with their families?!" she asked, leaning forward in Nelly's direction. Upon receiving a nod in conformation, she cheered. "Literally book me in, I'm sold!"
"Me too," Kim nodded along, swallowing around her plastic spoon for a minute while she paused. "Maybe a beach day? There's gonna be a sliver of sun on Wednesday morning."
"I work at eleven thirty, but if we do an earlier thing in the morning then I can be there," Akira mentioned.
Nelly hummed. "Like a morning beach bonfire sort of vibe?" she reiterated, already picturing the scene in her head.
"Absolutely!" Akira exclaimed, and suddenly the girls were very excited for the week aheadโ because really, even having two official things to do was more than plenty. "We'll plan more as the week goes on, too."
They descended into conversation about everything else; like if Nelly met any cute boys out on the Lummi reservation, whether or not Akira was liking her new job at Forks' public library, and whether or not Akira and Nelly were going to do another joint birthday party this year.
The two younger members of the trio shared the exact same birthday, and it always fell on the last real day of summer before the school year would start up again. In hindsight, it was perfect now considering Nelly wanted to celebrate here, and not at her father's.
Suddenly, Kim's eyes widened as she spotted something over Nelly's head. "Get under the table!" she urged out in a hushed whisper, kicking the girl's shin impatiently.
Nelly sputtered out a, "huh?" before she saw the way Akira's face morphed into a grimace. Her own eyes seemed to widen when she heard footsteps approach behind her, and the girl didn't even have time to spin around before a mass of body heat was plopping themselves down, right next to her.
"Welcome back, Nell. You're looking good."
Turning her body, she was met with a sight of someone she hadn't expected to see so soonโ much less see so soon without a damn shirt. She rolled her eyes at his comment, though; he hadn't changed one bit. "Wish I could say the same to you, Paul."
Paul hissed jokingly, a hand to his bare chest. "Ouch. Seems like Lummi didn't change you that much."
It wasn't that Nelly disliked Paul Lahote; she really didn't, and she was sure that under that cocky, hotheaded exterior that he was probably a nice guy. But he was one of Sam Uley's so-called cronies with cropped haircuts, and you know who else was one now? Yeah, he who shall not be named.
"Paul, don't be an ass," Kim scolded him, and there was a glint in her eye that Nelly couldn't quite decipher. "Nell's trying to keep her comeback under wraps, yeah?"
A smirk rose onto his face like lightning. "Why? Don't wanna see lover boy just yet?" he teased, and the brunette didn't have to be a genius to figure out who he was referring to.
She bristled nonetheless. "Tell him all you want, I don't care," she scoffed, and to her two friends across from her, it was obvious that her words were all for show, like a mock sort of confidence she'd been crafting since she left. "In fact, you can tell him that he's actually dead to me. Got it?"
No one said anything for a seat, and the Lahote boy merely looking at her like he was trying to figure something outโ like he was trying to figure out where this anger that was rolling off of her in waves was coming from.
Though secretly, Nelly was hoping that he wouldn't tell a soul. She didn't want him knowing she was back, and sure as hell didn't want any shitty ass apologies from him either.
But, she wouldn't be getting what she wanted it seemed, as Paul stood from the picnic bench. He mindlessly collected their empty ice cream cups, muttering something about throwing them out on his way before turning to Nelly one last chance. "Call's been a mess since you left... just so you know."
And with that, the three girls watched Paul toss the cups into a nearby garbage bin before jogging out of view. Akira was the first one to break the silence, groaning into her hands. "If I didn't think he was hot, I would've called him an idiot right to his face," she mumbled, rubbing her temple.
Kim and Nelly exchanged a fond eye roll amongst one another before the latter shook her head. "He was going to find out sooner or later," she said, albeit a little bitterly. "La Push is small... unfortunately."
Kim reached across the table, taking her friend's hand in hers. "Don't sweat it, I'm sure he won't even reach out that soon," she told the Sequoia girl with a comforting smile.
And despite Nelly believing her friend, none of the girls gathered actually knew that Paul had jogged right to the Uley residence where he knew Embry would be, revealing the news not even an hour after he made his discovery.
Nelly fucking Sequoia was back.
โ.ห แกฃ๐ญฉ .๐ฅหโ
[ wyn's note ]
bronwyn "try not to write a book without adding some paul realness" challenge: impossible.
thanks for all the love on this so far you guys!! so happy you guys are enjoying it :)) till the next one xx
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