June 7th

“So when do you go back?” Arizona asked glumly.

“Two more days,” Breanna replied. She stroked Felix’s hair and pouted. “I don’t want to go, guys, I’ve been having too much fun. I definitely understand why you guys are all Felix talks about.”

LeeAnne laughed and pointed at Felix. “That’s okay, all HE ever talks about to us is YOU.”

“I’ve let my two worlds combine,” Felix agreed. “Now, when Cashus comes up here in a couple weeks, you’ll be fully integrated.”

Lee, Zone, Felix and Breanna were all sitting in LeeAnne’s room. After a week of hanging out with The Gang, Breanna seemed just as much a part of the crew as any of them. Arizona was the one who seemed the most down about her leaving, but it was probably LeeAnne who was going to miss her the most. The three girls had been more or less inseparable since the party at Rebecca’s.

Arizona giggled. “Isn’t Cashus the guy that you said Garland reminded you of?”

“Yeah. Moreso when I first met Gar though, they’re actually pretty different.” Felix glanced at Breanna. “What do you think?”

She was nodding with a smirk on her face. “They’re not twins, but they’re at least cousins.”

“Garland Two: The Monster takes Manhattan.” LeeAnne cracked up at her own joke and the other three readily joined her. Arizona glanced at her watch and sighed.

“I’m going to head back,” she announced. “I’ll see you tomorrow though, Breanna.” The two girls stood and hugged one another and then Arizona began heading for the door. “It’s not fair, you know. Kick-ass people need to live near me, not thousands of miles away.”

“Well, if she’s ever moving down here, it’s for me, not for you,” Felix informed her, feigning seriousness. “Becoming southern for her alpha-male.”

Breanna snorted. “Yeah, that’ll be the day.”

Arizona grinned and knocked twice on Lee’s doorframe. Then she was out of sight.

“When do you two need to split?” asked LeeAnne. She tried to cover the emotion in her voice – hanging out with Felix and Bre was great, because they were cool people and good friends. But it was also great because it helped keep Lee’s mind occupied.

Breanna read all that – more in Lee’s eyes than her voice. “Not for a little bit,” she assured Lee. “Until then, feel free to vent.”

LeeAnne sighed. “That obvious?”

“Entirely.” Felix crossed his arms. “You need to vent, actually. I’ve been waiting for it ever since it happened.”

The blue eyes closed, staying shut longer and tighter than a blink would require. When they opened again, there was a slight rimming of tears, but not much. “It’s just frustrating,” LeeAnne replied. “When we went over there for the meeting a couple nights ago, everything just felt so awkward. It was like, everyone was there and everyone was talking to everyone – except me and Sasha. Which is beyond weird.”

“Hasn’t he tried to call you a couple times?” asked Breanna. “Jake told me that Sash is stressing over it as much as you are.”

“He tried calling me, but I really don’t know what to say to him,” Lee answered. She laid back on the bed and shook her head at the ceiling. “Maybe I should just actually do what I told him I was going to do – find a replacement, some other guy to get to know and be into.”

Felix and Breanna exchanged a glance and Breanna nodded slightly. Carefully, Felix cleared his voice and said, “You know, Lee – maybe I could help you out there.”

She lifted her head and looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“We were just talking the other day,” Breanna explained, “about how when Cashus is around, Felix isn’t always going to be available . . . and we both thought that, um . . . ”

“That you guys would really get along.” Felix shrugged. “What can I say, you’re his type and he’s pretty cool . . . even if it didn’t have to go anywhere since he lives in New York and all, I think you’d have a good time hanging out.”

“And maybe it would help you with Sash,” Breanna added. “Just getting your mind used to other guys, you know?”

LeeAnne was nodding. She trusted Felix and Breanna’s judgment. “Sounds good to me,” she admitted. “Might be fun, anyway.”

Arizona walked home, truly enjoying the warmth of the air, the smell of cut grass, the picture-perfect Americana around her. Lee and Paige and Morgan lived in the next neighborhood over from her, and both were pretty quaint. Not quite the neighborhood out of Leave It To Beaver . . . but reasonably close.

The sky was almost completely clear. Arizona focused her eyes on one of the few clusters of puffy clouds. It was kind of shaped like a rabbit. Or maybe a really hunched-over guy with a top hat.

Suddenly Arizona went sprawling onto the sidewalk and she cried out in surprise. As she glanced back to see what she’d tripped over, male laughter reached her ears. She spotted him – there was a teenage guy sitting at the base of a tree. His legs were outstretched across the sidewalk. As though completely oblivious to the outdoor temperature, he was wearing black jeans and a long black coat.

Arizona promptly got to her feet, cheeks burning with embarrassment. “That’s not funny,” she spat at the guy. “What are you doing, just trying to make people fall?”

He held up a hand in defense, still chuckling. “Hey man, most people look where they’re going. Maybe next time you ought to watch your step.”

“But you saw me coming! You could have said something!”

The boy ran his fingers through his long brown hair and laughed harder. “Yeah . . . but it was funnier to watch you fall!”

“Jerk,” she muttered under her breath. Arizona brushed herself off and continued down the sidewalk, away from the unnamed guy who was taking such entertainment from her spill. Some people were just so completely rude. Black-coat weirdo.

Author’s Note:

Alright! So here comes the next story after a long dry spell. Thanks for the reviews and the encouragement in keeping the series running. I’d especially like to thank two people for their particularly motivating words, Sam and Josh. Who knew that extraordinary compliments combined with getting cussed at could be so effective? lol