xiv.┊mad fire
06 x 1
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wRoNg━━zayn, kehlani

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Aoife came back to her two dearest friends after sharing a small talk with Olivia, starting to feel a bit tipsy, as she hold on to the cup in her hand for dear life.

And maybe that's why she didn't see the signs, between Grace and Dylan, and their little smiles when they noticed something behind her.

But in that moment she was too busy continuing her talking to notice, and prepare for what was coming.

Literally, coming her way.

"Okay, but why are you two so weird? It's not like you two ever were the one's to stay quiet, when I'm literally telling you about this juicy gossip I just heard!" Aoife threw her hands in the air, almost forgetting about the drink she was holding.

Skylar smiled at her and tried sending her a warning look, to which she raised her eyebrows in response.
"What?"

"Hey"

The Howard girl just then understood what was happening, but she didn't even have time to react as she froze in place, even her grin staying on her lips. But the look in her eyes said a whole different story.

Grace noticing her friend's sudden change, decided to step in and try to handle the situation. This was perfect for her idea.

"Hey, Isaac." She greeted him, a bit too enthusiasticly to Skylar's taste, the boy side eyeing her inmediately. But he knew what she was doing.

Aoife let out a bit shaky breath, realizing she probably looked dumber than she usually did. The girl almost forgot the circumstances she was in, because she was with her friends and Isaac all at once, after all.

She tried to not make this awkward, deciding to play nonchalant, when inside there was chaos in her mind. She couldn't believe how her sarcastic, carefree personality suddenly almost vanished with his arrival.

He really was changing her. And she wasn't sure if it was a good change.

So, Aoife finally looked at him. The wind was slightly blowing in his hair, but it still looked like the mess was intentional. He was also holding a cup in his hand, and probably only Skylar and Nathan noticed how tight his grip was.

Isaac was already looking at the girl, the corner of his lips curling up in a smirk, finally being able to see her. But could see the awkwardness in her eyes, which he didn't question, knowing their situation.

"Well, hello. I guess." Aoife answered him and looked away from him for a second, noticing her friend's eyes on her. Shit. This was awkward.

From the other side of the two teenagers, Nathan was glancing unsure at Skylar, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but with him. He was confused, knowing he gave him a song he made about the boy. But without a response.

He wanted to talk to him, but just then Kiley who was staring at Alex and Jackie kissing in the distance, asked out loud. "Who wants to play beerpong?"

She also interrupted the quiet moment Isaac and Aoife shared, while exchanging glances.

"Definitely me!" Grace exclaimed, trying to warm up the situation and ease the tension around. "How's your aim, guys?" She turned to Aoife and Isaac, pointing at the two.

"Mine's . . perfect" Isaac commented, tilting his head, as he looked at Aoife and waited for her answer.

And he didn't have to wait long for her remark to come out her lips.

"Yeah, don't be so confident, because you didn't see me play yet." She smiled wildly, knowing she was actually good at this game and pointed at him in a warning gesture. "Come on guys, you'll have the chance to watch the beer pong queen" The girl stepped back, as she announced it, Grace clapping her hands excitedly.

"Hey, just don't be too confident. It can ruin it for you, Howard" Isaac followed her to the table filled with cups and beers, not even noticing that they went alone, leaving Grace and Skylar behind them.

Grace watched them for a second before turning to her friend. "And that's how you do it!" She laughed and went to the table too.

It was the perfect occasion for Nathan and just as he opened his mouth to say something, Skylar sensed that and called Kiley over to play.

The boy was left alone watching the two walk away, wishing it could be different if he was as confident as Isaac, who was already having fun with the person he had on his aim. He didn't knew what he did wrong, when Skylar started to just ignore his whole existence. Not knowing the boy was just as confused as him, not knowing how to react or feel about the gesture.

It all felt a bit too quick for Skylar. A whole song about him? That was something new.

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Everyone played a few rounds, screaming at the top of their lungs, especially Aoife after scoring another time after another. Just like she said, she was truly the beer pong queen and everyone could see that, even Isaac who wasn't so happy about it when he lost.

But the game wasn't over and now the Howard girl stood in front of the table, holding the small ping pong ball in her hand, tension filling the air around her. She didn't even realize that there was a crowd of teenagers behind her, until she spinned around and widened her eyes slightly.

It was her final shot and the brunette sent Isaac a 'watch and learn' look, before focusing on the game. She threw it and . . . scored!

Everyone inmediately started cheering her up as she gasped in victory and shock, smiling widely in excitement and with a small jump she turned to her opponent. But she didn't even acknowledge the moment when she and Isaac landed in a hug a second later.

She was just so excited, right?

"I told you, loser!" She laughed, pulling back from him, but still standing quite close to the boy. He had a smirk on his lips, as his hand went to her hair, pulling a lost strand from her face. "Yeah, you told me."

"Aw, they're so cute. I can't." Grace commented, pretending to wipe away a tear from under her eye. Skylar laughed at her reaction, also watching the pair in happiness. "I didn't think I would ship someone more than I did JJ and Kiara*, but I guess I was wrong." The girl added in, her friend shaking his head at her.

"Okay guys, the next game is mine and Jackie's!" Alex's words cut through everyone's talking as he came by and even smiled seeing his brother and Aoife together.

Not one single person on the beach knew it was just the beginning, when Alex stumbled into Cole along his way.

But Aoife didn't see that, as she was caught up in the moment, finally being able to talk to Isaac. The two were left all alone, as everyone walked away, but they didn't even notice.

"Look, Aoife . . I'm not the best in this stuff, but I just wanted to tell you that . ." Isaac started talking, looking a bit, or a bit more than nervous at the moment, as Aoife stared at him and squinted her eyes at him. But she knew what he meant. She wasn't good in talking either, and she knew it, a smile grewing on her lips.

But she was also Aoife Howard and she liked watching people get nervous. Oh well.

"The time we spent together since . . that moment on thanksgiving, well, it just feels weird." The boy fixed his hair while talking and looked between Aoife and the surroundings, suddenly looking like he wasn't the chill sarcastic guy he always was. "I guess I just wanted to say, that it's exhausting to keep this going like this . ."

Wait, what?

Aoife suddenly hearing his words looked at him with furrowed brows and a slightly confused face, understanding his words. But the wrong way . . .

"What do you mean?" She asked cutting his yapping off, Isaac turning his gaze to her, scanning her visibly confused face. "You could just say you want to stop seeing me, instead of all this bullshit, you know?"

Isaac stared blankly at her for a few seconds, realizing what she meant. And why she said it. Shit. He knew it was his fault, after what he said, but it wasn't what he wanted to say. It was the opposite of that.

"What? No, no, that's not what I meant. Aoife . ."

"Hey, Aoife. Got a minute?"

Isaac was cut off by Jacob Wilder appearing right next to them, bringing Aoife's attention to him.

"Fuck, perfect timing, really." Isaac whispered as he saw the girl in front of him suddenly change her expression to a smile. He knew what she was doing, putting a mask on, when she was feeling a bit too much.

"Actually . . I do have a minute, Jacob." Aoife smiled at him, seeing his face lighten up at her answer. But before she walked away with the Wilder boy, she once again turned back to Isaac. It was something she didn't want to say, but she truly did not know what to do or say at the moment, except. "Bye, Isaac."

Isaac Garcia watched Aoife walk away, laughing at something with Jacob Wilder a moment later. Not even knowing how she truly felt or who was actually on her mind.

She actually thought that the boy she spent so many time with didn't want to see her anymore, turning back to her careless old self. For Aoife there wasn't anything worse than showing her true emotions at the moment, knowing it would be truly pathetic to see. So she pretented, like she always did.

Grace and Skylar were the first one's to realize what happened, their face's inmediately changing after seeing Aoife talk to someone who wasn't Isaac.

"What the fuck happened?" Grace freaked out walking up to him, seeing his blank face, while he stared in the distance at the two teenagers having fun talking to eachother.

He shrugged after a few seconds. "I fucked up."

In the meantime, something else was going on, Alex looking up at his brother Cole with an angry expression. "Just because you're jealous . ."

"You think I'm jealous . . of you?" Cole asked with an amused look in his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"You know what, Cole?" Alex suddenly spoke up louder, knowing the people around would hear him, and that was exactly the point. "Why don't you just run back to Erin, Paige . . or Olivia, and leave me and Jackie out of it, okay?"

Erin turned in shock to her supposed 'best' friend. "Olivia?"

But she didn't even get an answer, Cole still talking.

"Yeah, I don't think I will. In a matter of fact I think I don't need to do anything, because . . . If I just wait long enough, they will come to me anyway, right?"

And that was the turning point, when Alex hit his brother, the loud punch to be heard even through the talking. The attention turned to Cole lying on the ground, as he hit the wood, a bloody wound on his face.

"Jesus christ. Not even a single night without drama." Aoife commented in a bored tone, looking at Jackie who ran away, Alex following her behind.

But she still felt sorry for Erin, knowing that the betrayal of her bestfriend hurt more than anything. And with Olivia? The girl she met a while ago, with whom she felt a friendly bond with?

"Erin . ." Cole mumbled, seeing the girl approach him. "I don't wanna hear it, Cole. I spent all this time worrying about you and Jackie, how much time you spend together, about how you seem to like her . ."

"It doesn't matter, she's with Alex!"

"Yeah, I know that, do you?" Erin looked at him in disabelief, walking away after a few seconds. "I'm done with both of you!"

Paige left too, Olivia standing and staring in the distance, Danny being the one to help Cole stand up and take him home.

Aoife probably for the first time in her life felt the way she did, deep inside. So she used the very rest of her energy left to smile and say goodbye to her friends, before leaving.

The flames of the mad fire cracking in the back.

All she wanted, was to go back home and sleep.

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*jj and kiara from outer banks if someone doesn't know somehow!! go watch it rn.

yeah well, aoife girl let the poor boy finish talking!!

finally an update, so sorry it took sooo long guys
nyx xx ily