"You haven't been home much, Nolan. What's going on?" my mom asks in the middle of lunch.

I take a bite of the sandwich that was already to my mouth, savoring the taste of the salami and cheese. The turkey added in tasted really good too, and I would've enjoyed it so much more if my parents weren't staring down my neck. After taking a sip of water and swallowing everything down, I look up to meet their eyes.

"I've just been busy with school, and I hang out with my friends sometimes," I answer truthfully.

"Almost everyday, hun?" my mom questions, her eyes gazing at me from over her cup of coffee.

"Yeah," I say, carefully, "isn't that good?"

My mom nods slowly, obviously thinking. She's not used to me being out so much, at different places. It was always Madaline and I. At her house or at mine. Sometimes we'd go out, the skatepark being one of the places. Now that three other friends have been added, I've been out almost daily and everywhere. I'm barely home now and only make it back for dinner. Unless I'm staying at Maddie's of course.

Dad stands near the stove, waiting for his own coffee to finish brewing. He hasn't said anything yet and that keeps me relaxed, but also curious about what's on his mind. He didn't say much last night- just asked a couple of questions. It was mostly mom and I talking while making dinner and setting up the table. It continued like that during table talk. Mom and I talking while dad focused on his food. He entered the conversations once or twice when asked about his work, but that was really it.

I go back to eating my sandwich because it wouldn't be long before Scarlette got here to pick me up. My parents already know, and it may have been what sparked this conversation. Dad didn't say anything about who I was hanging out with either. He just nodded while mom told me it was okay.

"I just miss baking cookies, and you coming home to steal one or two. Or three," mom laughs while waving off the topic.

My phone buzzes and I turn it on to see it's a text from Scarlette, telling me that she's outside. I grin and hop off my chair with the rest of my sandwich in hand. I kiss my mom on the cheek with the promise to be back by dinner. I hesitate as my eyes accidentally land on my dad, but wave goodbye to him. He nods in acknowledgement and tells me to have fun. I turn around to leave while thinking about how my dad might've gone insane.

He told me to have fun. When has he ever done that? Oh right, never! I leave my house with my sandwich hanging from my mouth and my hands struggling with the zipper of my jacket. A loud horn beeps and I would've died on the spot if my body allowed it. Somehow, my turkey and salami sandwich stayed put instead of falling splat onto the ground.

I look up to see Scarlette leaning over her steering wheel, her shoulders shaking from laughter. She wipes a lone tear from under her eye and looks back to me, her body going into another fit of intense laughter. I put on my best upset facade and stomp up to the car. The front passenger seat is empty, so I slide in and close the door hard for extra impact.

"Hi, Nol!" Madaline yells from her spot behind me. Her knees dig into the back of my seat as she leans forward to wave at me.

"Dude, is that a salami sandwich? You gotta let me get a bite," Jackson leans over, his hand readily out. I laugh and break off the part that my mouth touched before giving him the rest.

"I forgot how easy you are to scare," Scarlette laughs out, her head leaning back on the headrest with one of her hands resting on her stomach, the other resting on the steering wheel.

"Shut up," I mumble in embarrassment while pulling at the seatbelt. "You guys are my worst nightmare."

My tormentor friends laugh in unison before going on a tangent about things they think I'll get scared of. I hear one less voice which makes me unhesitatingly look back. Julie sits in the middle of Madaline and Jackson because she's the smallest of the three. A nice smile sits comfortably on her face as she looks back and forth, engaged in the conversations that's going on. Our eyes meet and I give her a genuine smile that she returns with a small wave to match.

"So, where are we going?" I ask, turning back around to face the front, my parents house slowly disappearing from view.

"Bowling!" Madaline answers me.

I've never been bowling before and neither has Madaline, which is probably why she's shaking with excitement. It's something that's been on her 'teenage bucket list' for a while. The idea doesn't sound too bad and I know it'll be fun for the entire group. Us competing in weird shoes and laughing at whoever gets a gutter or not that many pins. It'd be a good experience for everyone. I just know it.

Madaline suggests that we play one word story. Somehow, no one knew what the game was until she explained it for five minutes of the ride. We play for twenty minutes, the story taking turns at every other word. It starts with a girl named Avery that is in a secret covenant of witches. She betrays her coven by getting powers from a source that isn't ancestral or directly from the earth. She kills off her entire coven to stay alive and adopts a pet alligator.

"Horse-" Madaline giggles out, this being her fifth time mentioning another animal.

"Maddy," we all groan, causing her giggles to intensify.

We complain about her lack of word choice when Scarlette says that we're two minutes away from the bowling alley. That gets us all sitting up in anticipation. Jackson is the more experienced of us all and his words were: Can't wait to crush you suckers with my muscles and skill. That got him a boo from the rest of us and he didn't say anything else like that for the rest of the ride.

"Wait, how much do we have to pay? I think I only brought enough money for snacks," Madaline speaks up as the building comes into full view.

"I'm paying," Scarlette answers her, nonchalantly, her focus on trying to find a good parking spot.

"You always pay, though," Madaline counters.

Scarlette doesn't say anything back and instead parks in a spot that's close to the entrance. We get our stuff together, which was just grabbing our phones and freeing ourselves from the seatbelts. When we all get out, Scarlette locks the door and motions for us to follow her.

Jackson matches her strides, throwing his arm around her shoulder and purposely leaning into her. Madaline, Julie, and I stay behind, watching their interactions in amusement. Madaline stands in the middle of us three and holds her arms out. I link arms with her and Julie gets the hint to do the same.

"You guys excited?" Madaline asks.

"I've never bowled before," Julie admits, her voice fighting with the sudden gust of wind.

"Me neither," I tell her, "I'm scared I won't hit any pins."

We all laugh at this and decide to pick up our pace to catch our friends that already made it inside the building. The sound of pins falling down hit my ears first when we enter, then a loud chorus of screams. It sends a tingle through my body, and I take it for excitement. Jackson walks over to us, asking for our shoe sizes. We remind him and he walks back over to Scarlette who's handing over a small stack of money.

"Does anyone else feel bad? I mean, she always pays," Madaline speaks up from between us.

"I feel that way all the time," I admit, my eyes now settled on Scarlette. Her eyes get a little smaller as she smiles at the guy behind the counter. "But, she does it on her own."

Julie nods in agreement and we all make a silent plan to bring more money when we go out and ambush Scarlette. She's being a good friend, but I hope she doesn't feel obligated to pay for us. That'd make me feel worse about her paying for everything and the fact that we didn't try harder to pay.

Jackson comes back with Scarlette at his side and he gives us our ugly bowling shoes. Scarlette tells us what lane we're in and says that we can put our shoes on once over there. We walk through groups of people that are really into the sport of bowling, their tongues poking out as they focus on aiming for the middle of their lane. I sit down in a booth and switch my shoes out before getting up, so Madaline can do the same. Scarlette changes her shoes while standing up and Jackson follows in her footsteps.

"Who's teaming up?" Jackson asks, looking around at the odd amount of people.

"Me and Jackson against Scarlette and Madaline. After that round, it can be Scarlette and Julie," I suggest.

"Sounds good," Scarlette dismisses, too busy looking down at the new shoes on her feet.

"Okay," Julie agrees.

We enter our names in the system for the first round and the bowling balls roll out of the slot. Jackson and I are up, and I decide to go first. Just in case I embarrass myself, Jackson can fix that with a hopeful strike. I pick up a ball that's heavy on my fingers, but I make it to the lane and try to angle my shot. Counting to three, I take two steps and roll the ball down the lane. The anticipation is real as I cross my fingers for it to hit at least one ball. The ball hits straight in the middle, knocking down every pin but one.

"Whoa!" I turn around to see if my friends saw the same thing I did, "I did it!"

"Now you need to knock down the last one. It's called a spare, Nol," Scarlette says from her spot in the booth, her face rested in her hand with her eyes locked on me.

I nod and grab another ball from the slot. I do the same thing as last time, but miss the last pin. My friends chorus a 'better luck next time', then it's Madaline and Scarlette that steps up. More pins get set back down, and it's Scarlette that grabs a ball from the slot. She kisses it for dramatic effect and instead of taking two steps, she steps back then steps up, swinging her arm and letting go of the ball. She lands a perfect strike.

"It's on," Jackson says with a competitive grin settled on his face.

That's how our competitive game of bowling starts and we're at it for a couple of hours. Scarlette and Madaline win the first round, then Jackson and I, then Jackson and I again. We're on our fourth round and Julie rolls the deciding ball. She gets a strike and Scarlette grabs her hands, giving her a weird high five.

"Julie, you never said you were a bowling beast!" she dramatizes, looking at Julie with true amazement.

"I think it's just luck," Julie answers, a shy smile protruding her face.

Jackson groans, throwing a Cheeto their way, saying we'll get them next time. Madaline joins Scarlette and Julie, saying she needs lessons before thinking about bowling again. I sit quiet while finishing up my small bag of Doritos. After the small amount of commotion, we squeeze together in the booth to take a break.

"We need more snacks," Scarlette brings up after stealing Jackson's last chip. He smacks it out of her hand and grins when she looks betrayed.

"I can get some," I say, already sliding out of the booth, "I brought enough money."

"I'll pay," Scarlette says, moving past Jackson to join me.

I pretend like I don't hear her and walk over to the snack station. Scarlette trails after me, digging in her pockets for her money. I get mine out and speak up before she gets the chance to. Getting five bags of chips, three packs of candy, and five drinks; I quickly hand the money over to the girl and tell her to keep the change. I turn around to smile at Scarlette who looks distraught by the fact that I paid.

"Don't look at me like that, we have to pay sometimes too," I tell her, "come on."

With the snacks in our hands, I go to walk back when Scarlette stops me.

"Hey, Nolan."

"Yes?"

"Will you go on a date with me? Ever since the last one, I've been wanting to do it again."

"Oh," I say, shocked about the question.

"Hanging with our friends is more than cool, but I want to be with you. Just you."

"Yeah," I say, processing her words, "yeah okay. I'll go on a date with you."

"Cool," she answers before walking past me, bumping into my shoulder lightly. I smile to myself before following after her with nothing but her words replaying in my mind.

I think hanging out with our friends is cool too, but I also want to be with you. Just you.