21

Food.

That was the only thought my brain was capable of producing even though we only did a handful of the games so far. For Edward and I, we aimed to play more crane games, but all of my luck seemed to have been used up on the bracelet. Most of the results ranged from the plush slipping out of the claw's grip, or the fact it was unable to lift the prize in spite of my 'perfect' strategy.

"Claw machines are rigged," Edward breathed. "They forced you to waste money until a certain limit."

Well, we all knew that, but we still played them anyway, ending up with a couple of small plushies all through Edward's directions. Oh well, it's not like I don't go home with empty hands.

My efforts on the other games... were not so praiseworthy either. We tried the basket shootout game in which the boys and Lynn unmistakably destroyed my single-digit-should be proud of that-score. The balls I had thrown didn't even bother entering the ring, and bounced back as if they jeered on my skills.

Despite everything, my chest warmed up watching Edward immersed with his bracelet; he kept playing with the gemstones. I'm really glad he loved it. It's the perfect score for me.

Meanwhile, Sam and Naomi's air hockey battle tied once more, and so was their another rematch. The girls scrambled over to Aly and demanded another round, but she yanked them away from the air hockey despite the girls' protests. Well, kids have been waiting on you both to be done...

But God, I need food so bad... As if on cue, my stomach let out a rather deep growl like it was trying to add more emphasis. Out of instinct, I rubbed my empty abdomen and sighed, but my spine crawled when Edward's attention shifted on me. And before I could respond, everyone quickly followed him, reducing me into a hot mess.

"Sorry, I-I'm so hungry..." I squeaked out, fidgeting my arms. Seriously, was my stomach really that loud?!

"Oh yeah, it's past 1," Aly announced as she folded her arms. "We're gonna have lunch now. Are you guys gonna join us?" She whirled towards Adelynn and the boys.

"Yeah, let's go!" Adelynn beamed without needing to contemplate. "We're already together, might as well hang out at this point. Besides, we've got a whole day to catch up!"

Silence desperately tried to seep in when my best friend said nothing. However, a couple of blinks later, it shattered apart when her frown morphed into a wide smile. "I guess you're right. It... felt like decades since."

Adelynn returned her grin and Seb twitched his mouth, while Edward gazed ahead.

My past self always thought, our childhood circle was like a pile of bricks we have tirelessly stacked for years, but was demolished with just that one single day. Then, it was completely abandoned and barely crossed our minds anymore... till the day I burst into that classroom.

Now, we were gathering those bricks again, and this time, I have to make sure, no one would tear it down anymore.

Sure... but there was still one person missing from here.

The sudden contemplation had my pace slowly ground to a halt. An enormous moment of epiphany subsequently struck against me like a lightning bolt. As if demanding its voice to be heard, the very familiar name of that boy barged into my memories.

Raphael.

Yes, him. How could I forget about him? We might not be close, but we chatted on certain occasions back then! Still, no one bothered mentioning or referencing him at all, as if he was... non-existent?

He was the short-statured boy who loved playing the flute and thin scarfs adorned his neck. He had always applauded Edward, calling him the coolest of us all. However, he was also... the one responsible in the accident that cost Edward's eye. Maybe that's why no one brings him up?

To add more, weeks following that tragedy, he and his family merely disappeared without a trace. No one had known where he had gone.

Where and what's he doing now? Why didn't he tell us he left?

"Rena?" Aly chased the ghost of the past away, and being back to the present meant I was met with my best friend's concerned gaze. "Are you okay?"

"Oh um... yeah, I'm fine!"

Hopefully Raphael's... doing okay wherever he is.

***

Mark was the mall's regular thanks to his friends, so he has been enthused over this one pizza and pasta restaurant that opened in place of the previous arcade. Samantha and Naomi gobbled pretty much everything, so their food decisions were a piece of cake.

Fortunately, everybody else also settled in with the pasta, but unfortunately...

"Ew, stay away from me, ya freak," scowled my best friend as she noticed Seb had been walking right next to her.

"Don't worry, I'm allergic to bitches," he snorted as he steered towards Edward.

"You're allergic to yourself?!" Aly gasped, and his face twitched. "Man, how are you still alive?"

"Because I'm not a bitch, duh," Seb retorted, while he scratched his arms. "Ugh, talking to you makes my skin itch more."

"There's nothing spicy there, right?" Edward butted straight into their imminent bickering, even standing between them. Rather than responding to him though, Mark shrivelled away at his presence.

"Oh, you can't handle spicy food?" At Naomi's question, Edward's eye traveled into a certain spot where he could not see us.

"I blindly ordered something before, and-"

"...dude almost died and even had diarrhea!" Seb completed his friend's sentence before he could, even ending it with some kind of a devious smirk.

Edward ceased moving as his lips sealed shut. Without warning, he whirled his heels and stormed towards his chuckling best friend. Pinching both of his cheeks, he forcefully stretched them apart, turning all the laughs into a series of high-pitched yelps. If looks were tangible, Seb would have been impaled, but despite writhing in pain, his sharp chuckles never died down.

"Dude please, my cheeks are gonna be clumps of meat!" exclaimed Seb as Aly diverted all of the laughter back to him. Edward abruptly released his cheeks and shoved him back. Yeah, they're never gonna stop. Why am I hopeful for it...?

Edward rolled his eye before he continued with his dangling question. "So?"

"T-There's some spicy stuff but they'll tell you about it!" Mark stumbled upon his words, with his widened eyes more focused on Seb rather than Edward himself.

"Oh. That's good." He pulled down his hoodie before he strode off, leaving his best friend to tend himself. While Adelynn huffed and chewed the heck out of him, I decided to approach Seb, who was still rubbing his reddened cheeks.

"A-Are you okay, Seb?"

"Don't worry! Happens every time," he blurted out and ran his hand through his hair. "He's always like that."

Happens every time? I'm actually surprised they're not permanently swollen... While the group waited for us to catch up with them, Edward spared his best friend a rather merciful stare, specifically the 'I'll let you slide this time' type of mercy.

***

Considering the time, the pasta restaurant was packed with hungry customers as servers ran all over the place to serve them. Mark and Aly managed to secure two tables for the eight of us. Behind it were windows endowed with scarlet curtains, showing the streets and scenery outside.

There was one problem though. As the waiter was leading us to our spots, my group-including Aly-grinned their faces off and snickered at me, causing my chest to clench. Well, nothing screamed more mischief like these friends of mine.

What are they plotting? And why is Aly joining them too...

"W-" Not even I could utter a word, Aly gently pushed me to the table where Edward's group had assumed theirs. However, when I was directed to the seat on the edge, right beside him, I gulped hard. So this has been their plan all along?

"Go order what you like. You said you both wanna get along, right?" whispered my best friend, before she left me. "Have fun!"

Edward was scanning through the menu, and here I was, leering awkwardly at him because awkwardness was my only life support at this situation. Yeah, he was definitely going to notice me soon, so I grabbed the menu and flipped through the pages, skimming through the food.

Just act normal. Act normal-

"Um, Rena?" Adelynn called out. "Your menu's upside down."

I froze in my spot. That was right; all the photos and the words were inverted. There was no need for a comment right here; all I needed to do was to gently rotate the menu around and then act like nothing happened. I did just that and buried my hot face within it, but... why were they all still ogling at me?!

"You can be so funny." Seb chuckled.

"I mean, if you can read like that, I'll be impressed," she teased.

"Serena." Edward's voice nearly made me jump. "What are you gonna get?"

What a smooth change of topic, good job!

"I-I think I'm g-gonna order the same food as you." Was there a way I could punch myself right now? My stuttering grew more atrocious-and even that was an understatement.

"Are you sure? I'm getting spaghetti with meat sauce," he revealed. "There's a lot of other pastas here."

"Y-Yup, I'm good with it."

"How about drinks? I'm okay with water."

"Me too!" I tried to smile, but failed. When Adelynn called an available server from a distance, I hung my head with such tremendous shame. And here I wanted my friends to stop calling me a tomato, but then I kept acting like this...

"Hi there! How are you guys doing..." The amiable tone of our young, dirty blond server faded into oblivion and his crooked grin shrank when his attention gravitated over Seb. However, he drew his straightening lips into a forced smile. "My name's Rhys and I will be your server today. Have you..." His brow twitched. "...decide what you want?"

"Wow, it's Rhys of all people, and you're working here? Brilliant!" Seb simpered, lazily waving his hand. "How's Woodlands coping with all the loss?"

Woodlands? A memory flashed in my mind. Ah, he's from Edward's rival team.

The waiter scorned him with bared teeth, "Why are you here..."

"Because I can be in any place I wanna be." He shrugged.

"She and I will get two classic spaghettis," Edward did not hesitate in breaking off the strain between both of the guys, pointing his thumb at me. "And we're good with water."

Rhys quietly scribbled our orders, before Seb immediately became his main focus. "And you? What do you want?"

"One carbonara for her and I will get the aglio olio," Seb announced before he surrendered the menu to him. "Make it extra spicy!"

"No worries, I'll make it so that you'll stay in the bathroom the entire day," said Rhys nonchalantly. "Your orders will take about 10-15 minutes, thank you."

"Looking forward to it!"

Adelynn nudged Seb's shoulder after our waiter left with hurried steps. "You and your provocations, seriously..."

"Heh, he's always acting like he's high and mighty, but can't do shit," he reasoned. "He deserves it."

"Sorry, Rena," she breathed out. "As you can already tell... our team has lots going on."

"T-That's okay!" I shook my hands.

Edward rested his arms on the table and was being himself as usual; I could already feel the intensity of his icy cold eye as it perforated through me. Moreover, his poker face was equally as potent. Meanwhile, Adelynn and Seb drowned themselves in their own convos, with Naomi and Sam hopping in from the other side too.

"So," he commenced, "I heard you wanted to talk about something."

No doubt, Aly must have told him earlier. She's trying to help out here...

An idea then flickered into light; I did not have his phone contact at all. Now that my friends were not in the range to pull my legs, I should get myself going and stop being an airhead for once.

"It's not much... but can I have your n-number?"

"Yeah, of course." Edward pulled out his phone from his pocket, while I had to rummage through my bag to get it. As we were exchanging numbers, I tried to keep my composure from crumbling under all the immense pressure pressing against me. Brushing my fingers against his callused ones, my heart thumped at his touch.

Well, this was an opportunity to further inspect his hands. As I had suspected from earlier, there were bandages covering up most of his fingers. Heck, there were more tiny cuts and scratches, although they have mostly closed up, and a couple of scars. No wonder he always hid them.

"These wounds, I kinda got them from my job," Edward unexpectedly said, as if he noticed my actions. "Remember when you accompanied me to work? It's like a small mechanic shop, but they allow teens like us to work there part-time. We don't handle the machine directly though."

This is great. Not only was he talking more than usual, but he was further opening up about his life.

"I see, b-but that's awfully a lot of wounds..." I stared at them. "Did you treat them well?"

"I did, but... there's kind of a mishap yesterday." He reverted back to his scarred fingers as his grown bangs blanketed his only eye. On the other hand, Rhys threw a dirty look at Seb-who gladly reciprocated-when he zoomed past our table with other people's dishes.

"W-What were you doing?"

"I messed up with one of the tools there... and yeah, this is the result," he sneered and winced at the same time. "It hurts like shit when I pinched Seb just now."

"You better learn your lesson." Somehow, Adelynn managed to sneak in to our conversation. "Don't screw around with those tools without your gloves."

"I know, I know," he scoffed before he turned towards me. "Also, thanks again for the bracelet. I really like it. Sorry... for rejecting it at first."

"It's f-fine."

Some minutes passed, and finally our food arrived. Both of our freshly cooked spaghettis were slowly put in front of us, while Seb's dish... was forcibly placed. Despite this, he maintained his broad smile at the rival server, but when his back was on him, he curled his lips and furrowed his brow. Geez...

Stirring the food, I twirled my fork and took a small bite. As soon as the sauce melted on my tongue, my taste buds promptly danced with glee. It was an on-point combination between grounded meat, the tanginess of the tomatoes, followed by a perfect kick from the spices. Moreover, the texture of the pasta was perfectly al dente, making me hum and sending me into some paradise.

Damn, this is so good!! It's on par with Dad's pasta! My appetite shot up the charts as I took another forkful of the pasta and swallowed it into my mouth.

Edward and the others were doing the same, but he devoured everything like he had not eaten for days. A few minutes passed, and his pasta was halfway finished. He took a spoon of sauce into his mouth and his expression brightened up.

"This is the most delicious pasta I've ever eaten," Edward commented.

"Right?! The sauce's so rich and creamy!" Adelynn exclaimed. "I tried making carbonara back at home, it's never this good..."

"No shit Sherlock... This is restaurant-level," Seb argued as he slurped in the pasta he had dumped with chili flakes. Isn't that a little too excessive...?

Regardless, I never anticipated hanging out with Edward and his friends this Saturday; everything happened impromptu. It was as if fate schemed this hangout from the beginning, but with that being said, there were no complaints.

In fact, I should be grateful for it.

***

A/N: The bricks analogy used in this story is based on the lyrics of a song that inspired me to write this book :D