Chapter 7 - Bonfire Bonanza (And The Shenanigans That Came With It)

THE NEXT THING I knew, I was waking up with my face plastered against a shiny page of my textbook. I must have fallen asleep thinking about everything; who would have thought just thinking about social activities like bonfires could be tiring?

And just as I was making sure I hadn't, like, completely drooled over everything, I heard a tapping at my slightly closed door.

I ran a hand over my face hastily seconds before Jolene popped her head in, probably to check if I was even alive.

"Sorry, come in, Jolene," I said, frowning guiltily. "I'd fallen asleep. Sorry."

"Girl, what are you apologizing for?" she asked as she stepped in. She took a single glance at my work spread on my desk before looking up and raising her hands to the heavens. "Never mind. All that studying must be even a bit tiring, huh? Nucleic acid structure, inorganic ions, cell recognition, and what does that say? Shoot, I can't even read that," she snorted, pretending to look disappointed in herself, crossing her arms like a child as she sat on my bed with a huff. She then shot me a wink, and I grinned.

"It says electrophoresis," I laughed. "You might have learned about it in twelfth grade biology, if you took it? But anyway, it's like this process of—"

"Woah, woah, woah. Okay, I promise you can explain all the details to me after...but I came to ask...if you really wouldn't join us in the bonfire thing, hmm? Come with us, Cora, it'll be fun! Will you rethink it? What do you say?"

She was so sweet about it, and I couldn't refuse. I gave her a small smile. "Yeah, sure, I'll come with you guys to—"

"Atta girl!" Jolene cheered, getting off the bed to give me a quick hug. "I knew it, that you wouldn't let us down. Cora, we'll have a blast there, 'kay?"

I hugged her back and nodded, a pleased chuckle making its way up before a thought struck me. I coughed awkwardly. "I, um, I overheard my aunt talking with you guys. I'm sorry about that. I swear I don't need another trusted adult to arrange my schedule...usually." I laughed nervously, wondering what Jolene was thinking.

But she just shook her head as she walked to my door. "Trust me, Cora, we didn't mind a single bit. Of course not, girl; you're one of us now. And about Cheryl, I'm sure she just wanted you to go do something outside in this new town, you know. My hunch is that the electrophoresis stuff was making her head spin too." She crossed her eyes at me playfully.

I laughed then, my heart filling and overflowing at Jolene's words, especially the 'you're one of us now '.

"You've promised me that you'll lend your ears to listen to all the details about it," I said then, fake seriously, and Jolene's loud laugh filled the room.

"Can't wait for it," she grinned, and then paused by the door. "And, by the way, Cora..."

"Yeah?"

"I would have tried to convince you to come with us even if Cheryl didn't want us to. Just letting you know."

"Really?"

"Yup, you're stuck with us," she grinned, then fluttered her fingers at me in goodbye before she left for her room.

I sat there, curled up at my desk, for a while afterwards. I couldn't remember the last time I made a friend. Heck, I could barely even remember the last time I'd went out with my friends. It must have been in high school, sometime, when I'd went with my art club to an art gallery.

I sighed to myself quietly as I tapped my pencil against my notebook, thinking, maybe this whole making new friends, socializing, actually doing stuff thing wouldn't be too hard after all. A bonfire didn't sound all that bad, to be honest.

I snapped out of my thoughts, my fingers automatically reaching for my pocket, where the fortune message slip was. I traced the glitter outline with my fingers. I couldn't back out of the plans now, especially since Aunt Cheryl also wanted me to go out and have some fun.

Well, whatever 'having fun' meant nowadays.

But I knew I could trust Jolene and Finn and Renzo, so I steeled myself. I mean, I wasn't entering war or anything, sure. That didn't mean I wanted to deal with someone like the sub/dom girl at that frat party. I hoped that we would just tell stories and burn marshmallows on sticks or whatever.

...I was expecting something like a middle school slumber party, wasn't I?

I got up to go to my closet then, wondering what I should wear, wondering what would be appropriate for such acclaimed occasions. There was no specific dress code, or else Jolene would have mentioned it; but I knew that these types of things had an unspoken dress code. Didn't they? No one would show up in a business suit, or pajamas with bunny slippers, or in a tuxedo with a top hat. Elegance meets campfire chic, anyone?

So I opened the weather app on my phone, noticing that there would be strong wind gusts and some light rain later on in the evening.

Hopefully, we would be done with the bonfire stuff by then. I didn't know if I would look even half-civilized after the wind has tossed my hair like a chef tossing schezwan noodles, complete with sticks and leaves and perhaps even a bird's nest.

I ended up choosing a pair of skinny jeans and a silky purple t-shirt that has swinging slit-like cuts on either side of my hips. The only thing was that the jeans were pretty dated, but you could only tell which decade they were from because of the sequined heart designs embellished on the back pockets. I hoped no one would notice.

I stepped out of my room then, wondering if waiting in front of Jolene's room until she was ready would be considered a good (and normal) next step, when Jolene herself appeared before me, ready to go. She was dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a bandana-folded crop top. Her brown hair, which now had red streaks instead of black ones, was done as a pretty braided half-up. It made me want to do something to my own hair, for which I'd just put a headband in and called it a day.

"You look amazing, Jolene," I blurted, and she spun around once, laughing.

"Why, thank you, babe. You look so cute yourself. Oof, you know what? Both of us combined, we might be hotter than the bonfire itself," she said conspiratorially, leaning in and all. I couldn't help but laugh giddily. "Let's go?" Jolene smiled, linking my arm with hers, and I nodded, grinning back.

We said bye to Aunt Cheryl before we left (and she actually looked kind of proud of me; what?!), and when we stepped outside, Finn was waiting for us in the driveway. There was a black jeep parked there, which Finn had been wiping down the windshield of with a cloth.

The corner of his mouth slightly quirked up as he caught sight of Jolene and I walking down the driveway arm in arm (okay, more like Jolene skipping and me getting dragged along down the driveway arm in arm, bit still).

"You joining us, Cora?" he asked, walking around and tossing the cloth onto the dashboard through the open window of the jeep.

"I've convinced her," Jolene said proudly, "No one can resist this face." I nodded, tamping down a smile as Finn's eyes flitted warmly to Jolene's beaming face before landing back on mine.

We clambered in, Finn agreeing to drive and Jolene taking shotgun. I sat in the back, and after we all buckled in, we left. I'd brought one of my favourite cardigans with me, and I sat with it folded in my lap.

We were on the main road then, and I must have been daydreaming or something, when all at once, the jeep rolled almost to a stop but not quite yet, a familiar colourful shirt was seen through the window, and then, while the car was still moving, Renzo opened the door and hopped into the car.

I startled and shifted over, eyes wide and my jaw practically hitting the floor as Renzo settled in with a whoop and casually buckled his seat belt as if (1) he did this everyday, and (2) as if this little safety precaution could possibly, in some way, cancel out the dangerousness of what he just did.

"Wassup, Cora?"

My mouth opened and closed like a fish, lost for words, while Jolene sitting at the front let out a whoop of her own, holding her hand back for a high five from Renzo.

The car sped up then, back to normal speed, and then, as if Renzo didn't just turn into an A-level stunt master for a minute there, he was just showing me a Taylor Swift edit on his phone (apparently he was a huge fan). So him jumping into a moving vehicle seemed to be normal for the three of them, but for me, the whiplash was real. And no, I'm not talking about the actual whiplash I got when Finn suddenly braked, and I fell forward (no one else even flinched), and when I looked up to glare at him in the rearview mirror, his eyes were already on mine, mouth slightly twisted in a smirk like he was holding back a laugh, and was that a slight dimple I saw...? Oof. I mean, whatever. Duh. Whatever.

I huffed and moved myself out of the view of the mirror. To my surprise, Finn casually reached up and adjusted the mirror, and when I looked into it, my hassled frown stared back at me again. My jaw dropped again, almost involuntarily, and then Finn was smiling, looking out his window like he was trying to hold it in. And I wasn't aware we had an audience until Renzo elbowed me, all smiles, eyebrows moving up and down as he purposely glanced at Finn. I rolled my eyes and shook my head as if to say 'Finn's just crazy like that', but even though Renzo nodded, his teasing smile wouldn't leave. Sigh.

We finally got to the beach, where we found an empty spot in the parking lot before we climbed out of the vehicle. And then the first person I saw was dressed in a two-piece bikini with a sheer covering on top, and I thought, well, maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.

I glanced over at Finn, who was wearing dark wash jeans, a plain white tee under a black leather bomber jacket, a leather bracelet on his wrist, with his hair tousled in a way that matched his carefree attitude. I shuffled beside him, feeling like I a middle schooler going to the first day of school. Sigh.

Just as I was starting to get busy second-guessing myself, Jolene had grabbed my arm. "You'll be fine," she said with a reassuring smile, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. And then I remembered that I had people with me, on my side. I glanced over again at Finn and Renzo this time, who were discussing whether hot dogs count as sandwiches (or something). They were so lucky to have a friend like Jolene. And then I thought, they were lucky to have each other. And then I thought, I was lucky to have even met a group of friends like them. Sigh.

Feeling slightly better (okay, like, much better; I turned happy if someone even smiled back at me on the sidewalk, my smile-o-meter wasn't too high maintenance), I followed Jolene and the guys towards the bonfire. As we approached it, a tall, tanned guy with a broad smile walked up to us.

"Hey Jolene, Renzo, Finn," he nodded to the guys, gaze then lingering on Jolene before landing on mine. "And who's this new face?"

"This is Cora," Jolene introduced, beaming. "Cheryl's niece. She just moved in with us."

"Nice to meet you, Cora. I'm Kyle," he said, extending his hand, which I shook, smiling back. "Come on, everyone's over by the fire."

As we walked, Kyle leaned closer to Jolene, flashing her a mischievous grin. "You clean up nice, Jolene. Almost too nice for a beach bonfire."

Jolene tilted her head, her smile turning devilish. "Oh, but I always dress for the occasion. Besides... I like a little heat."

Since I was still attached to Jolene's arm, I could hear their conversation. And the funny thing was, they didn't seem to mind if anyone heard them or not. This confidence made my gut almost hurt because I was suffering from a lack thereof.

"Ah, Jolene," Kyle continued, lightly shaking his head. "Not you positively glowing tonight. Did you plan on setting the beach on fire?"

Jolene's voice was low and sultry, but she tilted her innocently. "Only if you're brave enough to join me, Kyle." At this point, I quietly untangled my arm from hers, feeling like I shouldn't listen anymore, even if they didn't care. I was slightly taken aback by Jolene's boldness. I couldn't help but admire how effortlessly Jolene commanded attention and turned the tables on Kyle's flirting.

Kyle chuckled, clearly enjoying the banter. He leaned in again, murmuring something that made her laugh and playfully smack his arm. We then reached the bonfire and settled onto the rocks surrounding it. The heat from the fire was comforting, and the sound of waves crashing in the distance made me relax, just a bit.

Then I noticed a girl with long, curly hair sit down beside Finn. She leaned in close, whispering something in his ear that made him chuckle. He turned towards her, flashing that charming smile that I'd come to recognize. I felt a twinge of something, probably at the pure familiarity of his smile in the midst of this unfamiliar place. But I quickly shoved all thoughts of him and his naturally flirty nature away.

Jolene and I got up so she could introduce me to people in the circle, before we sat back down again. Even though I could only remember half of their names afterward, I could tell that this crowd definitely loved to party. I wondered if they could tell that I didn't.

A tattooed guy carrying a tray of drinks made his way around the circle. "Drink?" he offered, holding the tray out to me.

I started reaching out of habit (being polite seemed to be ingrained in me sometimes) before I shoved my hand back down. I cleared my throat. "I- sorry. I don't, um, drink alcohol."

"That's alright. These drinks here," he tilted the tray a bit so the ones on the left were facing me, "have basically none in them. Kind of like those liquor chocolates."

"Well..."

"Come on, just one won't hurt," he insisted, his eyes twinkling.

I hesitated, then took a cup politely. As I did, I caught Finn's gaze. He raised his own cup in a silent toast, giving me an encouraging nod. I smiled back, taking a small sip from my cup. The drink was surprisingly refreshing, a mix of fruit juices with just a hint of something stronger.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Alright, everyone, gather around! The games are about to begin!"

The crowd around the fire whooped and cheered, and I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. Jolene gave me another reassuring smile, and Finn caught my eye once more, this time with a wink.

"What kind of games will there be?" I asked, trying to mask my apprehension.

"You'll see," Renzo said with a grin. "Just go with the flow, Cora-bean. You'll love it!"

I smiled at the nickname, but then I bit my lip, wondering if there was any way to back out of this and politely cartwheel my way back home.

"Cora," Finn said, voice lower as he spoke to me. "It'll be fun. Trust me." His eyes, filled with their usual energy, met mine almost conspiratorially, and I nodded, slightly dazed.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

The first game was called 'Who's Most Likely To?', and we had to kind of vote on who was most likely to have done various activities. Well, that was doable, right?

"Who's more likely to get kicked out of a bar?"

Everyone shouted the name of someone named, "Josh!"

"Who's most likely to drunk dial an ex?"

Everyone shouted the name of someone named, "Sandra!"

"Who's most likely to get a ridiculous tattoo while drunk?"

Everyone shouted, "Renzo!" and he just grinned sheepishly.

"Who's most likely to laugh at the wrong moment?"

Everyone shouted, "Jolene!" and she just winked.

"Who's most likely to get arrested for a prank gone wrong?"

"Finn!" everyone shouted, and I laughed.

Then the question was: "Who is most likely to alphabetize their spice rack and go viral for it?"

And there was a small pause, some murmuring, before the crowd was smiling and laughing and suddenly turning to me.

Me.

"Cora!" they shouted, and I startled out of my shock, politely laughed, because it was true that I would alphabetize my spice rack. I would totally do something like that.

But then, it struck me, that it was so mundane compared to the other ones. Then I realized that people had definitely noticed that I wasn't really the life-of-the-party, shave-my-head-on-a-dare- type of gal. How were they able to pick that up so quickly?

The game continued on for a while, and it was actually pretty funny, before the next one started. It was called 'Memory Jar', and it was basically Never Have I Ever, except someone just kept pulling the prompts out of a jar that had been previously filled by people who'd showed up early to the beach. We were all handed drinks in these cute dark blue cups, which were filled to the brim.

The dude pulled the slips out one by one, and it was pretty funny, especially because the guy doing it was hilariously making fun of the messy handwriting. And what people had written was pretty funny to listen too.

"Never have I ever... gone skinny dipping."

"...Participated in a flash mob."

"...Snuck into a concert."

"...Slapped someone across the face."

"...Cheated on a test."

"...Dreamt about having a threesome."

"...Liked someone way older than me or way younger than me."

"...Flirted with someone else to make someone jealous."

And it went on and on like this, but the only thing that made me freeze was that my cup remained full till the end, the drink slightly sloshing as I startled out of my trance. Everyone else's was at least half empty. I suddenly wondered if I should just spill a bit of my drink onto the ground so I could somewhat match with everyone else.

It was when I was contemplating this decision, trying not to look suspicious, that the wind picked up, and I was reminded of the forecast that I'd seen before I got dressed: strong wind gusts and some light rain.

It seemed Jolene was talking to Kyle about something, and Renzo was talking to another girl who he'd immediately taken a liking to because of her crop top with a graphic of Pikachu dressed as Harry Potter.

So I turned to Finn, noticing that the girl he was talking with had paused her chatting to finish her drink. I decided it wouldn't be impolite if I interrupted and said something to him now, so I tapped his shoulder.

He turned to me. "It's going to rain soon," I told him, watching him as he looked up at the sky.

"Are you using some ancient technique to predict the weather or something, Miss Almond?" I squinted, jaw dropping at the nickname. "Because it doesn't look like it's about to rain at all," Finn remarked, squinting at the sky before looking back at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Yup. It's an ancient technique called 'checking the weather on your phone'. From, you know, the weather app. Ever heard of one? Or do you still wait every morning for the posh weather-woman to explain it in detail on TV?"

His amused eyes were then trained on mine like he's figuring something out, but he played along, tsking in faux dejection. "I don't know of this weather app magic you speak of, madame. But I also don't know what other sorcery someone named Almond Baba could conjure up."

I broke my stance at that, laughing. "Please, not the Almond Baba," I begged, huffing when Finn just tugged his bottom lip between his teeth, hiding a smile, and shook his head. "Will you ever let that go?" I whined, crossing my arms and glaring at him, which earned a chuckle from him.

"I don't think I can, even if I tried, Miss A.B."

I opened my mouth to give a fitting reply when the wind picked up again, and I felt the tiniest rain droplet ever land on my lip.

A/N: Writing this scene took so long because I kept procrastinating >.<  In fact, it was supposed to be longer, covering the next rain scene as well, but it would be quite long so I chopped it off ✂️💃

Writing this scene was fun though, especially the dynamics between characters. All of their friendship, Cora's internal struggles, and Finn's natural charm all play into the larger story I'm excited to share with you. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. Did any moment stand out to you? Are you rooting for Cora to find her place with her new friends? Let me know in the comments- your thoughts and feedback mean so much.

Stay tuned! <3