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Day 4/14

Why is it that you don't realize you're in the best years of your life until they're already over?

It's easy to sit back and enjoy moments when you remember to do so. For Iris, it's simple to let her mind rest silently and watch around her. It's easy to fall in love with her best friend's laughs or her sister's sarcasm. She knew that the possibility of now only being a memory was very soon, and she decided to cherish every second she had.

Last night, she had the best sleepover of her life. Iris, Blake, Nailea, and Kennedy do what all friends do in girlhood - they spent the night gossiping, snacking, cuddling, and talking. She was living out friendships with complete faith and trust.

Iris loved the way Kennedy was quick on her feet. She never missed a joke or the opportunity for a comeback. Despite her rough reputation she lets on, Kennedy is always there for Iris with open arms. Iris loved the way Kennedy loved - humans, animals, objects or places. Kennedy loved when it was hard to love. Iris loved the way Nai always knew what she wanted (even when that was Chris). She did what she believed was best and meant to be. Nai speaks life when it's nowhere to be found. Iris loved the way Blake was a listener, and a giver. Blake never let anyone walk all over her, and quite frankly she is the strongest person Iris has ever met. She loved the way that memories and fondness always rushes back just by a simple look at Blake.

Iris loved her friends deeply.
To think that this would no longer exist if she moved to Philadelphia hurt.

But, she knew that these had a fighting chance to be considered the best years. The best years that she will one day realize slowly became a faded memory with a rose colored lens.

"Earth to Iris? Are you actually dead right now or just delusional?" Blake laughs, snapping her fingers in front of her sister's face to grab her attention. Her brown eyes zoned back into reality as a embarrassed smile crept on her face

"What? Not gonna lie, I have not heard a single word anyone has said in the past ten minutes" Iris laughs, shaking her head

"What could you possibly be daydreaming about that's better than listening to Nai obsessively talk about Chris?" Kennedy sarcastically remarks "Probably literally anything else"

"Ew Nai" Iris shakes her head "The obsession is crazy"

"I don't wanna hear any of that bullshit from you" Nailea gasps with a laugh, grabbing the couch pillow next to her and tossing it at Iris's head. It hit her gently but was soon thrown back to its origins with greater force. "Figure things out with his brother and then come talk. Anyways! It's not an obsession. I have just, I don't know, never met someone like him"

"How about Nick or Matt? They're exactly like him. He is quite literally a triplet" Blake asks with a laugh

"You know what I meant" Nai responds "Besides, i'm not exactly Nicks type, and Matt was put on this earth made for Iris"

"Oh shut up" Iris laughs "He was not"

"Iris baby, denial is the first of the five stages of grief" Kennedy remarks "Just admit that you really fuck with Matt and we will stop harassing you"

Iris rolls her eyes and leaves from her present spot on the couch between Blake and Kennedy. She walks to the kitchen and grabs cleaned and sliced strawberries from the bottom shelf, eventually leaning against the counter and once more rolling her eyes at her friends. The three faces smirked at her from afar, as if to hide a secretive, yet very obvious sign of humor.

"Of course I really fuck with Matt. But I can't give him one hundred percent until I absolutely know that I know I can be there for him fully" Iris responds "But that doesn't have to stop whatever freaky delusions Nai has with Chris. As much as I hate to say it-" Iris jokingly sighs and holds her face in her strawberry scented hands "You have my blessing babe"

Nai smiles and pretends to have stars in her eyes as she cups her hearts, "I'm envisioning double dates and family barbecues" She jokes and sinks deeper into her spot on the couch "Sister cousins and family burial plots"

"You are fucking insane. I love you" Iris sighs

"On a real note, you don't have that much time left, Iris. What are you going to do? Are you sticking to the promise?" Blake asks "Don't break the promise. That's been your thing forever, you freaks"

"Of course i'm not breaking our promise. I promised I would let him know in two weeks, I still have ten days ,Blah. It's hard, you know? I can't stop thinking about who I might be if i do go to school, but the thought of never knowing who I could've been haunts me. But Matt... What if he is meant to be my husband or the father of my children?" Iris groans. She knew she needed to decide ,but how do you choose between the two things you want the most? At this point Iris was just sick of the pressure and guilt that constantly follows her.

"What's meant for you will always come back to you" Nailea says, rubbing Iris's shoulder with a small smile "If the universe wants you to be a big time artist, nothing can stop that. And if the universe decides you are meant to be with Matt, it will be. Let life be the wind you're craving"

For the rest of the time that her friends were over, Iris tried to live in the moment and focus on them rather than (what she perceived as) the impending doom to come in the next week and half.

They eventually went home, including Blake who went to an influencer party, leaving Iris alone in silence. The silence came to an end when there was a knock at the front door.

Iris wasn't expecting any visitors, especially at this hour of night, so she quietly and slowly looked out the window near the front door to see Matt with his hands in his pants pockets, staring at the door waiting for it to be opened.

"I know it's cheesy, and I know I saw you yesterday but" Matt starts with a little laugh "I guess I missed you. On my way here I planned a whole cute speech for you, but I uh-" Matt softly chuckles with embarrassment, his cheeks heating up at the mere sight of Iris. He found it funny how he has known her more than half of his life, and sure he has always found her beautiful, but there is something so special about recently. No more unrequited love or unreciprocated feelings, just purely seeing each other through and a burning desire for things to work. Matt knew it was hard on Iris having to choose between him or school, but his heart thumped harder and faster whenever thinking about planning a life together. "I guess I forgot" He finished

"Matt, you dork. That's so cute. Come here" Iris grins, her cheeks covering her squinted eyes as she wraps her left arm around his neck, her right arm meeting the side of his face gently as she brings his figure down to meet her eye to eye. His arms wrap around her lower back, closing the gap that both desired to depart from. The welcoming and familiar smell of spearmint and cologne fill her nose as his breath creates goosebumps on her neck. She connects their lips in a moment of passion and purity, moving in synchronized fulfilled happiness.

She again found herself thinking,
Why is it that you don't realize you're in the best years of your life until they're already over?

Iris never wanted this moment with Matt to be over. She loved the way Matt was perfectly imperfect. He had scars, but she loved the way they each held shared memories from their childhood. His hair was not always in the right place, but she loved the way it always fell to the side of his sculpted face. He did not have a quiet laugh, but she loved the way his laugh was always for her. Matt was not perfect, but he was always himself.

It's hard to determine which years to consider the best.

Ideally the best years would be when Iris graduated high school, or whenever she heard her baby cousins laugh for the first time. Maybe the best years should be summers at her grandparents house, or winning art competitions in school. The best years could've been when she still had her mom here to read her bedtime stories. Maybe they were the best years.

But, to Iris, the best years are right now.
The best years will be here in the moment with the perfectly imperfect boy in front of her.

@IRISLILLY made a new post!

@IRISLILLY:  c0zy d3y!
liked by @matthew.sturniolo, @naileadevora, and 5500 others
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@naileadevora: i watched you take this!
↳ irislilly: hehe

@blakely: slay tbh!
↳kennedyclairewalsh: ^^^^^

@user: The hair is crazy

@matthew.sturniolo: drooling btw
  ↳irislilly: MATTHEW

@christophersturniolo: brush your hair
↳irislilly: have a boy best friend, they said. he will be nice to you, they said.

@user2: Womp x2

@nicolassturniolo: ur so cute
↳irislilly: kissies

@user3: Happy friday!!
 
@user4: it's serving cuntyyyyy

@matthew.sturniolo just made a new post!

tagged ;; @nicolassturniolo, @christophersturniolo, @nathandoe8

@MATTHEW.STURNIOLO:  this is how you actually do a cozy day btw
liked by @irislilly, @nathandoe8 and 644,750 others
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@irislilly: wrong but okay
  ↳ matthew.sturniolo: wrong but okay🤓🤓

@christophersturniolo: bro went to the archives just to post
↳ ilovepepsi: had to blow the dust off

@user:  instant nut
↳ user2: EXCUSE ME?

@user3:  The way he posted this exactly after Iris did lmaooooo

@nicolassturniolo: real men are cozy
↳ matthew.sturniolo: the coziest of men

@nathandoe8: snuggle bugs tbh?
↳ matthew.sturniolo: me when im a bug

@IRIZZ made a new post

@IRIZZ: me blocking out the h8rs 😎
liked by @nicktootired, @ilovepepsi, and 430 others
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@nicktootired:  OMFG
↳irizz: i have tears coming out my eyes rn

@undercovertrip:  HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET THIS PHOTO OF ME
↳ irizz:  don't worry about it, just keep blocking out the haters bbg
↳undercovertrip: IRIS?????

@user: goodbye 😭

@ilovepepsi: too sunny to see the haters
↳irizz: it's blinding :/
↳undercovertrip: you both have a bounty on your head as of rn

@user2: is this actually matt???

@user3:  New wallpaper alert