I've had the flu for the past few days. It really sucks.. I haven't had the stomach flu since like 2013 or something. I hope all of you are healthy and happy!

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Nova's POV

The day was rather uneventful. I gorged myself on the perfectly ripe, sweet fruit Blake and I had picked. The peaches explode with sticky juice when you bite into them which is why I found it better to cut them instead of eating them like apples. 

I was ignored by the others, they even seemed to enjoy the fruit. 

Taylor told me that he would be coming by later today to give my bike back. I was slightly nervous as he had told me that he made some changes to it. 

I didn't want to bother Blake, and we had been texting all day anyway. He seemed busy and surely had better things to do. That, and I wasn't ready for him to be sick of me just yet. 

My phone dings with a text, I know it's Blake because I set a special tone just for him so that I don't get disappointed when my phone goes off and it isn't him. Life hacks, amirite? 

"Whatcha doing?" he asks with his modified English.

"I think I'm gonna make lemonade with all the fruit we got," I reply. This fruit wasn't sprayed or anything, so it goes bad faster than normal fruit and I fear that we won't eat it all in time. I planned to make a simple syrup and make drinks and sweets with it. Susan likes the alcoholic beverages I make for her anyway.

"You should save me some," he messages back and I can imagine the smirk on his stupid face. 

You love that face though.

Shut up.. 

"I'll bring some over later, if you'd like," I say impulsively to which he approves almost immediately. 

To make fruit infused lemonade, cut up your desired fruit into small-ish pieces. I'm using peaches and strawberries but other good fruits could be berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries etc), dragon fruit, mango or other citrus fruit. Lemonade won't judge you for the fruit you infuse into it.

Put the fruit into a pot and put two parts sugar and one part water over it along with the juice of a lemon. Boil it until all the sugar dissolves and mash the fruit a little bit to release the fruitiness. 

The house starts to smell like the orchard we got the fruit from and I was transported to the memories that came with yesterday. The way he carried me on his back through the endless rows of trees, how I finally convinced him to race me to the top of the highest tree, how he let me win and kissed my cheek at the very top. 

Once the sugar dissolves, strain the deliciousness and chill the liquid. You can use the fruit in a pie or something if you so desire. 

Once it is chilled, you can add one part of it to another part of lemon juice to a part and a half or two parts of water depending on your preferences. (Booze is optional.) 

The girls came in and made some lemonade for themselves and seemed pleased. I made a drink for Susan and she actually said thank you; wow. 

Taylor knocks on the door and I answer. We went to his truck where he had my bike under a tarp. As much as I trusted him, I was anxious because I hardly ever changed stuff on my bike and he knew it too.

"What damage did you do now?" I asked and helped with the tarp, my jaw dropped at what I saw. 

"New wheels and rims, new kickstand, new paint job and I revamped some of the mechanics to fix the noise. The cam chain was loose, which was what made the noise. It's good that you caught it though," he continues but I can hardly focus because I just want to get on it. It looks so good.

"What do I owe you?" I ask, still dumbfounded as we get it down and I do another inspection, "the paint looks so good. How did you know?" I smile and look up at him with nothing but gratefulness in my eyes.

"Nothing, it's covered," he smiles and adds, "wild guess," to my second question. He knows me so well. 

I hug him, his built arms wrap around me in a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Taylor. You have no idea how much this means to me," I confessed into his chest since I was too short to reach any further. 

"Anytime. You know I'd move mountains for you," he says tenderly and smiles down at me. He has told me before that I am like the little sister he almost had. His mother had a baby, but she passed away at a year old when he was about ten. He loved that girl, they were inseparable until she died in her sleep. We met in middle school when he was in eighth grade and I was in sixth, he was pushed back a grade. He was angry and had a hard time displaying emotions besides that, so he took it out on the bullies that I was such an easy target for. He graduated early but made sure I knew that he was always there if I needed him. By then, he had taught me how to stand my ground so I was mostly okay, and now with Blake, I'm solid. 

We had talked about dating before, but both agreed that it was too awkward given the relationship we were already in.

I grin up at him and roll my bike into the garage.

"I just made lemonade, you should come in and have some," I offer and close the garage behind us as he nods and follows me in.

I mix some up for him and ask if he wants it alcoholic or not to which he responds yes. I put an ounce of whiskey over the top which creates a natural gradient between the amber, pink and red. To be extra, I even put a mint leaf on the top from the plant in the windowsill and slide it across the counter to him. 

"Wow, all professional," he chuckles and takes a swig. 

"I know right," I laugh and put some of the syrup in a container for him to take home with a sticky note that had instructions on it. 

He leaves shortly after but not before I test out my bike and fall in love all over again. When I speed back over to him, I am simply giddy, ecstatic and by the look on his face, he could see it. 

"You need to try this!" I said tumbling off the bike and offering him a go.

"I already did. Had to make sure it wasn't gonna like.. explode or something," he joked. 

"Mhmmm," I nudged him suggestively, "it was amazing wasn't it?" I jolt again, the excitement returning. 

"Yes, it was and who do we thank?" he says with a smirk unraveling over his face.

"All hail the perfect mechanic that a lowly mortal like myself only refers to as Taylor," I mock and release the laughter I was holding in.

Trying to be serious was hard. 

"Thank you, underling," he strokes the growing stubble on his chin eventually breaking his half-serious demeanor and hugging me again before informing me of upcoming races and leaving. 

I looked at my watch. Shit. 

I told Blake I'd be there and it was getting later in the day and I still had stuff to do. 

I was still in pajama-y clothes so I changed into something more modest.

Blake's house was about a ten minute skate distance away from me so I put about half of the vibrant red liquid into a glass container and set off. 

I forgot how much I loved to skate. It took me a few pushes to find my balance on the board, but once I did, the second nature feeling came back. I was dependent on skating for transportation and release in general before I could legally ride a motorcycle. 

I knocked on his door and to my disappointment, it wasn't Blake who answered. It was the flirty dude from before. Shirtless.

"Blake didn't tell us to expect an angel," he said innocently as the guy I was looking for shoves him away. 

"I brought you something," I smile, happy to see him as he pulled an arm around my waist and closed the door behind us. I went to the kitchen to start on the lemonade he wanted me to save for him. 

"Nova," he pokes my hip.

"Mmm?" I responded but he continued to poke me and repeat my name until I fell into him. 

"What's taking so long?" he asks and continues to poke me. 

I groan and toss water off my fingers at him.

I hand him the glass I filled. He finished in silence and lead to his room. I crash onto his bed and snuggled into one of his soft pillows with one eye still looking at him.

"You realize that we have like two and a half weeks of school left, right?" he inquires as he sits beside me. 

"I know, I've started packing already," I say turning to meet his eyes.

"I don't even know where to start," he sighs and lays back.

"I didn't know either. I have a bag of basic clothes and necessities so far. I have enough packed for while, I don't know how this is gonna work..." I trailed off. 

"We are gonna stop at other packs on the way for resources and information on our families," he says softly. "I know this is scary, and I'm sorry it's so sudden."

"It's okay, I'm kind of excited, it's just the things I don't know for certain that scare me," I say as he gets up.

I start to get up and offer to help him. My worry has mostly faded away, though some still remains. I knew it would be back when I started thinking again, but I was confident that he could talk me down.

"If you wanted me to stay for a while and get you started on packing, I'd be delighted to assist," I beam.

"I'll just call you later and bug you about it," he laughs, "you should probably be getting home anyway before it gets too dark."

He did have a point. I left shortly after that and went home.

***

Prom was in a week and I had looked around on the good old internet for dresses but not much else. I had narrowed it down to three, so I finally went up to my room and opened my laptop to make the final decision. 

I'd probably never wear this dress again if it was too extravagant. I wanted to have something nice, for special special occasions but not something I'd spend all this money on and it would only be worn once and be passed down to my nonexistent children. 

And then something caught my eye, woah. It was beautiful. I didn't shop for dresses or anything nice most of the time, but this was glorious. It fit the masquerade theme beautifully and according to the site, there was only one left. In my size.

It's destiny. 

I tend to overthink when it comes to things like this, but for once I think my id was right.

For once?

3...2...1 I count down in my head to prepare myself and then...

Click. 

Purchase complete. 

Five hundred and seventy-five dollars for a dress. Will I ever waste money on a more stupid thing? Probably not.

Why is the phone making phone sounds?

It's Blake, he called me before I called him I guess...

"What's up, buttercup?" he greets me and I giggle.

"I think I just made an expensive mistake," I wince and lay into my pillow, twirling my hair around my fingers mindlessly.

"How expensive?" 

"Five hundred and seventy-five," I squeak.

"For what?!" he blurts.

"The dress." 

"Oh. Are you gonna give me a sneak peek?" his surprise seems to be gone and I am able to hear the smirk in his voice. 

"Nope, you'll just have to wait," I declare and he whines.

"I still feel like I made a mistake," I mutter into the phone.

"I'm sure you're gonna look beautiful, Nova. I'm so excited to see it," he assures me sweetly and then goes back to, "so you're really not gonna let me see it?" 

"No, Blake I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you," I roll my eyes.

This is probably the first and last time he's gonna see me in a dress. 
Hint: I do not  wear dresses.

"You're no fun," he groans.

Around 3:45 AM, we had a full game plan for our adventure, both for prom and for the road trip thing. 

All systems are a go. Why is the bottomless pit of anxiety in my gut back again?

~~~~

I'm so excited to reveal their prom outfits! I'm not going to prom personally, but that doesn't mean I can't make my characters go and enjoy it vicariously through them.

If you enjoyed it, let me know by clicking that little star on your screen. It makes my day to see you loving on my work.

P.S. In case anyone hasn't told you today: 

Good morning! (Or afternoon, or evening.)
You are BEAUTIFUL
Drink some water, stay hydrated.
Stay positive, ya nerd.