Elise could totally understand just why Lucky was so nervous, it was a new school and he was about to be thrust into the middle of her friend group, which she knew was, by no stretch of the imagination, quite large. In reality, was the fault of Lexi, she herself could remember what I was like to be pulled into the older girl’s orbit when she had first come to Grand Valley. It had been entirely on accident, but it was like being sucked into a tornado, in the middle of it was calm and safe, but all around them, chaos reigned. By the virtue of being the new kid, she had been a target for bullying on the school ground, something none of the teachers seemed to care about helping her with. Lexi, however, hadn’t been afraid to step in, she hadn’t even feared reprimand for what she did, instead, she jumped right in and put the guy on his back like it was nothing. When she’d cried about it, Lexi had held her and after that, it was history, even as their friend group grew, Elise could always count on Lexi to be the confident older brother to them all.

She knew Lucky wasn’t going to have any problem fitting in with the rest of them, his personality and antics would settle right in with the group, as long as he allowed himself to open up. This was where the real struggle lay. Though things didn’t seem to be going as poorly as she had feared, even with his reservations, he and Destiny were getting along well, something that warmed her heart to see, she wanted Destiny to be a permanent figure in her family even though she was graduating soon and they would be spending less time together.

As they pulled into the parking lot at the school Lucky’s grip on her hand tightened, his whole body far more tense than it had been only moments before. Lexi pulled into her spot between Alec and Bryton’s cars. At the start of the school year those in the group that drove had chosen the spots in the far corner from the school where the trees hung over the cars, which helped with the unbearable summer heat they had, had over the last few years. In addition to the cars, on the corner of the lawn beside them, four picnic tables that Lexi had somehow convinced the administration to let her put in hid beneath the cloud covering. It was on those tables that everyone gathered in the mornings, afternoons, and sometimes even breaks.

On this occasion, all of the group was gathered, even those who didn’t usually show up until later or who didn’t have class first thing. They were sprawled over the tables like hooligans, and across the grass, it was quite a sight in the morning light, fog still lingering at the edges of the school grounds. There appeared to be a rather animated, passionate discussion happening between the members, which was not an uncommon occurrence despite the early hour. Even though they couldn’t hear what was actually being said, Elise was pretty sure she knew exactly what it was about.

Lexi’s words pulled her back to the present in the car and out of the contemplation she’d lost herself in while the others had talked around her. “Looks like they’re in arms about something…”

She clasped the shift, putting her baby into park, her cousin launching herself over Elise’s lap and between the seats so that she could get up in Lexi’s face. “Ten bucks says it’s about you!” Elise wished she could see the smirk and eye roll that Destiny undoubtedly performed rather than having to look anywhere but her best friend to avoid ogling her.

“This betting against me constantly thing really makes me feel like none of you have any respect for me, you know.” Ali handed off Lexi’s patch covered grey backpack to her as they readied to exit the car, the two in the front from their respective doors, while Destiny slid out the back.

Elise followed suit, slinging her own bag over one shoulder as she righted her clothing out from the way she’d been hauled up in the middle of the back seat. “Uh yeah, you feel that way because we don’t have any respect for you, Lex.” It was a teasing little dig at her friend, but it was enough to draw out that little flash of an expression on her face, it spoke of something Elise didn’t know but a lot of other people in their group seemed to. “Congrats, by the way, you fucking mongrel.”

It was all she would say on the matter, they hadn’t even bothered to tell her, which bugged her a little more than she knew it ought to, likely they were keeping it quiet for now and would have told her later. “You coming Lucky? Or are we going to have to crack a window so we can leave you in the bug like a puppy.”

His chest rose a fell with each anxious breath, it was pretty obvious he was fighting hyperventilation as he watched her friends wander off to join the group. The teens seemed to redistribute around Lex as she and Ali found their way to the middle, the smaller girl settled into Lex’s arms on her lap as easily and naturally as if they’d been married for years as people congratulated them. “These are really your friends huh? You uh… you actually know all of them well and spend regular time with them…”

“Yeah, duh, that would be why I call them my friends, dummy, I’ve known them all since they were dorky tweens with acne problems.” Elise was a little confused by her brother’s reaction, she knew he followed Lex on social media, but she wasn’t sure any of them were really all that popular. “They’re still just a bunch of weird dorks, why are you so nervous?”

He could barely contain the awkward little chuckle, almost disbelieving of how casual she was about the situation. “It’s… It’s overwhelming… I follow most of these people on social media. I never thought I’d ever meet them in real life?”

She could see the way his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed his anxiety and she shifted, leaning back against the car, facing her friends, an eyebrow raised in curiosity and surprise. “Like who? I mean, I know Lex and Al have fairly big followings, and like Ana, surprisingly, but then she does cute vintage outfits of the day… but who else could you possibly be afraid of meeting?” When he didn’t readily volunteer names, she decided to continue talking until it calmed him down or they had to go to class. “They don’t bite, I promise. Well… Serena might snap at you, but that’s just a joke?” She hoped that the joke about her friend’s temper would comfort him about the regular-ass people she was friends with.

The look he gave her, she could only classify as a little wild at the edges, running his fingers through his hair and giving a little tug at it, his hair showing off his anxiety then. “I think the better questions is who don’t I follow… I’ve been following most of them for the like year that I’ve had social media… and there’s so much to their lives... I could never be as cool as them.”

“They’re just normal people, with their own lives and drama you know? They go to school every day just like the rest of us, well most of them… some of them skip more than others.” Elise glanced towards the group, genuinely surprised to see everyone there, it was a nice sight that she was only blessed with on special occasions.

Lucky did his best to tame his cotton candy hair as he tried to settle his nerves with her words, looking them over as he thought about the things he knew. “Their own drama like crushes and jealousy and that? Like the way Silas always makes dumb jokes about he and Wilbur on his Instagram all the time?”

The boys sat together on the Picnic tables, they always sat together. Silas, with his legs crossed, leaning back as he sat on the table with his feet on the bench like so many others. His long black hair braided back, hanging down along the green of the main body of the Grand Valley Football letter jacket he wore over his usual dark, witchy style clothing. Wilbur sat by the paler boy’s feet, his curly hair shorn close to his head the kind a teenage boy gives himself with a razor. He was more what anyone would expect from a jock, broad shoulders, thick arms, sitting like a guard dog by his more androgynous counterpart. Though he hung by Silas like a lost dog, he was watching the blonde girl on the other side of the crowd with the look of a man enthralled, while his best friend watched him. “That whole relationship is too much, Wilbur is dumb as hell, and Silas is hopeless, and I just can’t even with them.” She shook her head with a sense of long-suffering frustration with members of her friend group “They have three brain cells combined and Silas always has at least two of them”

The struggle he was having was separating the gossip from the reality, the things he read in gossip rags and online forums, even things from comments on posts, if he didn’t do it though he was going to make a fool of himself. “The difference is, to you they’re just people, but to me, they’re like… they’re like celebrities.” His words were careful, almost too much so as he picked them, she felt like he was hiding something, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

“Celebrities or not, they’re still people, they’re still my friends, and I know for a fact that they will love you.” She could see the lack of confidence on his face as she pulled away from the car again, taking a few steps backward, watching him resign himself to getting out of the car. “Come on, trust me, whatever you’ve read online, it’s way messier in person. You have no idea. You have any other gossip you’d like confirmed? I can give you the exclusive?” She was doing her best to get him to relax and laugh, maybe open up a little more before they made their way across the space.

He considered her question as he finally made his way out of the car, closing the door behind him as he took the steps to follow her across the asphalt and to the grass. “Maybe we could talk about it later? I’m going to be busy with schoolwork this week, but, maybe next week?”

“Make a list when you’re taking breaks, I can get you caught up on the gossip at the very least.” As much as she loved Olive and had loved Simon, it was exciting to have a sibling that was closer in age with her for once, someone to talk shit with and share gossip.

Lucky rolled his eyes at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he finally caught up with her. “You’re just excited to have someone to gossip with.” The little accusation just another joke between them as they laughed. “Fine, I’ll gossip with you all you want as long as you promise to tell me all about what’s going on with Desi.”

The expression he gave her was a proper accusation and she had to duck her head to try to hide the embarrassment that he’d actually noticed her reaction to her best friend in the car. “Later.” She said it almost threateningly, not wanting him to bring up that topic in public.