┏━━━━⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆━━━━┓

MORNINGS IN LA PUSH

OF COURSE NELLY HAD SEEN EMBRY CALL FUCKING SPYING ON HER THAT MORNING.

It was hard not too; those chunky ass binoculars could've been seen from space, much less Nelly's own living room window.

Her body seemed to kick into high gear, still eager on her own promise of avoiding him, that she took off on her bike far faster than normal. She came to the realization that yeah, Paul must've said something to make Embry realize she was back. Word always travelled fast on the reservation, and Nelly was foolish to think she and her business would be exempt from that.

Though, she was somewhat thankful he hadn't outright showed up on her doorstep because if he did, she had no doubt in her mind that her grandmother would happily let him in. Tabitha Greene always played favourites, and Embry had long since been claimed as her favourite friend of Nelly's.

Before she knew it, her bike skid to a stop in front of the Fuller residence, doing well on her promise to get Akira so they could bike down to the beach together. Kim would likely be getting a ride from Jared on the other side of La Push, having spent another night at his house, so they'd simply meet in the middle.

She waited at the edge of the gravelled driveway, and was surprised that she didn't see Akira pop out first. No— the youngest Fuller sibling bounded out of the door and was headed right towards her. Standing next to her bike, she was glad she'd climbed off of it because she soon got an arm full of Brady.

"Hey, shorty," she greeted with a light laugh, ruffling the younger boy's hair.

He let go of her and swatted at her hand. "Tate didn't tell me you guys were back," he frowned.

Nelly's eyebrows furrowed on their own, because that was a little worrisome. The Sequoia siblings had been back for a few days, and although their reappearance on the reservation was sudden, there was no reason for Tate to have not reached out to Brady yet. They'd been best friends for ages, and Nelly herself was under the impression that they already had been in touch.

"He's probably just trying to settle back in," she told Brady honestly, watching as Akira began walking her bike towards them from the garage. "I'll talk to him. Promise."

Brady took that answer, nodding before he all but rushed back towards the house where he'd left the front door ajar in his hurry. Nelly caught Akira's eye roll as she stopped just before her, obviously hearing the discussion.

"Please talk to your brother," she all but begged as the two girls climbed atop their bikes, ready for the rest of their journey to the beach. "All I hear is 'Tate this...' and 'Tate that...' It's getting absurd."

And it was officially safe to say that Nelly definitely was going to have a little chat with her brother later in the day.

˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚

"Your boyfriend's best friend is a damn snitch."

"Well good morning to you too, sunshine."

Nelly and Akira let their bikes fall to the sand, already approaching the stray logs that were gathered around the bonfire Kim had already started up. It was still a bit nippy, the wind picking up only slightly by the water, so in hindsight the fire was a good idea.

The Sequoia girl merely huffed as she plopped onto the log next to Kim, putting her head on the older girl's shoulder blade. "Call was spying on me this morning..."

"Jare might've mentioned something about Paul telling the p— boys," she grimaced, coughing slightly at the phonetic slip up that Nelly didn't pay too much attention to, "all about your homecoming, and what you told him at the ice cream shack..."

Said girl shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it now," she said, Akira nodding in support from the log across from them, "but what I can do is avoid him like the plague this summer."

She couldn't see the frown on Kim's face. "You're gonna avoid him all summer?" she questioned. "The Rez is small, Nell. You can't avoid him forever."

Nelly's head perked up at him, shooting a sly grin in her friend's direction. "Is that a bet?" she asked, nudging her knee against Kim's. "Because we all know how seriously I take bets."

"Nelly, let's not be hasty, though—"

"I say we stick it to the man!" Akira cheered, a fist raised in the air as she took Nelly's stance on the ordeal at hand. "Let's not forget how royally fucked up he treated you. If I were you, I'd publicly strangle him for what he put you through."

Nelly gestured to the Fuller girl. "Thank you!" she applauded, and Akira merely stood up and gave a funny little bow at her friend's gratitude. "A little cold shoulder is the least he deserves."

"Amen to that, sister," Akira agreed, nodding her head.

Both girls turned to look at Kim, her sudden silence coming under minor scrutiny from them both. She offered them a weak, lopsided smile. "I'm sure he definitely regrets what he did," she tried, watching Nelly's face contort into one of confusion. "You guys were best friends... surely that has to amount for something."

Kim Connweller was a logical girl, and that trait came with being the self-proclaimed mother of the trio. But now, as she watched a guarded look phase onto her friend's face, she internally wished she kept her mouth shut.

"It used to amount for something," Nelly responded, swallowing around nothing before her gaze turned to Akira's. "Have you seen the reviews for the movie on Friday?"

Akira seemed to let out a breath she'd been holding in, smiling wildly. "Of course I have— I haven't seen anything below a four star rating yet, so I'm thinking we still go."

And just like that, the topic was effortlessly switched into discussing the movie they were going to see on Friday. Nelly knew Kim was just playing devil's advocate, and nonchalantly placed her head back on the girl's shoulder as a sign that she wasn't mad. I'm sorry.

Kim took the sign and ran with it, squeezing the shorter girl's knee comfortingly. Me too.

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆

[ wyn's note ]

bit of a shorter chap because im writing this note at the airport LOL

i've scheduled chaps to be published for this week since I won't have service and am travelling loads, so bear with me!! thanks for 1K :))

all my love xx