1
Saturday
Gavin leaned in close to whisper, “You’re doing that wrong.”
Lila whirled around, her long hair nearly smacking him in the face. “What are you doing here?”
“Wow, nice to see you too, Weston.” He took a step around her to sit at the picnic table she’d been setting up. Grabbing the vase from the center, he spread the confetti around with his free hand before sitting the flowers back down on top.
“Seriously, why are you here? You weren’t invited.” Lila leaned against the end of the table with arms crossed.
Gavin had removed his graduation gown the second he and his mother got in the car after the ceremony. Ironically, the girl who worked so hard to get away from their small town still stood in hers with it hanging open, revealing a pink summer dress beneath.
He turned to face her, straddling the bench and meeting her glare with a smirk. “I live twenty feet away, do you really expect me to just hide out in my room all night?”
“Yes.” Her lack of hesitation stung, but he didn’t drop his smile.
She looked around, but they were alone in the shared backyard; he’d made sure before approaching her. Her mom stood in the kitchen, finishing up the food, and her father walked back and forth on the phone. Through the windows, Gavin saw Mr. Weston waving his arms around—no doubt speaking with another attorney in his firm. He had a habit of talking with his hands when frustrated.
“This is my graduation party. Not yours. Not ours. Just mine.” She sighed when he didn’t respond. “That was my gift from my parents and yours, remember? I don’t have to share.”
Gavin picked up a piece of metallic blue confetti. He twisted it, not sure what to say. She was right. As much as he hated it, his mother told him months earlier they’d have separate parties.
Tossing the confetti, Gavin stood. “Fine, but it’s going to be really boring then.”
She stared at him, not backing down, and narrowed her eyes. “No, it won’t.”
“Really?” He huffed and took a step closer. “You think people from school are going to show up after you spent the last several years ignoring them and acting as if you’re better than all of us?”
Her face reddened as her jaw clenched. “Maybe if you didn’t act so immature—”
“Me?” He shook his head. She was the one who’d shut him out for no reason. They were inseparable growing up, then one day she just decided she was done with him. Their eleventh birthday was the last time they’d spent together as friends.
“Go away, Gavin.” She stomped past him, and though he wanted to reach out and stop her, he let her go.
He watched as she started setting up the next table. Swiping a hand over his face, he turned and headed toward his house as he pulled out his phone. He’d show her immature. He texted his best friend, Dylan, while walking into his garage. Together, they’d bring her party to life.
Bright red sparks showered across the evening sky. Lila scowled up at the fireworks then to her neighbor laughing near the invisible property line. She stormed across the yard. “You ruined my party!”
Gavin laughed harder. “Weston, you need to relax.”
“How can I relax when you’re ruining everything like always?” she yelled.
He grabbed Lila by the shoulder and turned back toward the party. “Look around!” His hand shot out past her head, pointing to the people gathered in the backyard. They all smiled up at the colors exploding above them. “Your party was boring, just as I said it would be. Now, people are having fun.”
She couldn’t deny that they all looked happy. Most of the partygoers had moved to sit in the grass and stare up at the sky. A handful of kids ran around with sparklers near the far treeline.
Music played from the speaker Dylan brought with him. She still couldn’t believe Gavin invited his best friend. Not that she had a problem with Dylan. He was always the nicer one in that friendship. At least toward her. But Gavin didn’t have any right to invite people when he wasn’t even supposed to be there himself.
Rolling her eyes, she twisted back to face Gavin. “Your party is in two weeks, why couldn’t you just wait until then to do whatever you wanted?”
“Because I was bored.”
She wanted to smack the smirk off his face, but their parents watched from nearby. She could almost feel her mother’s glare burning into the back of her head. Their parents had given up on forcing them together to mend their friendship, but they’d made them promise to keep the fighting to a minimum in public. As if Lila and Gavin were misbehaved children.
“Besides, you know I love that face you make when your surprise turns to anger,” he said. “That little crease between your brows lets me know I’ve done my job well.”
Lila shrugged his hand from her shoulder and walked away, refusing to indulge him any longer.
“You’re welcome!” he hollered after her.
She stuck her tongue out at him over her shoulder but continued walking. Her mom called her name in warning, and Lila gave her an innocent smile. Fine, maybe they were misbehaved children around one another.
“I’m going to kill him.” Lila flopped down on the swing bench beside her best friend.
Beth Ann draped an arm around her. “Oh, come on. Fireworks are awesome. Everyone loves them and seems to be having a good time. Just pretend it was all part of the plan. Take his credit.”
Lila snorted. “Yeah, right. Who would believe that?”
A loud boom echoed around them, and she watched as the sky glowed bright green and blue. Living outside of town, the Westons had a large backyard. With the Millers living next door, the two families shared the land, making the joined area even more spacious.
Lila’s dad and Mrs. Miller grew up together—best friends their entire lives. When he went off to college, they grew apart. For years, they only saw each other during holidays and summer breaks. When he moved back to Summersville with Lila’s mom, the three became near inseparable.
It was a story Lila knew well. Her father told it to her over and over as he explained the importance of friendship, trying to smooth things over between Lila and Gavin. She was sure Gavin had heard it just as much. They eventually stopped telling the story. She felt as if they’d given up just as much as Gavin. It had been a couple years since she last heard it.
A group of Gavin’s cousins laughed and ran by. Lila reached out and snatched up Emily before she could get away. The little girl squealed as Lila pulled her into her lap. “What are you doing, little monster?”
“Yi-ya, put me down!” Emily giggled.
The four year old’s mispronunciation of her name made Lila forget all her anger. She gave Emily a kiss on the cheek, squeezing her to her chest, then let go. The little girl skipped away, yelling to one of her older brothers. He stopped and squatted down so she could climb on his back. With her arms around his neck, he lifted her and ran after the others.
Lila couldn’t help but smile. Despite her strong dislike of Gavin, she loved his family. The Millers’ relatives visited often, and there were a lot of them. Lila’s father had one sister who lived on the other side of the country, whom they only saw a few times over the years. Her mom didn’t have any siblings, neither did Lila, so she always enjoyed having the extended-Millers around.