Dedicated to mush004

Question of the day: "What's your all-time favorite memory?"

"Friendship is one mind in different bodies. "

****

"What're you doing?" Paste asks.

"Planting a seed."

"In a park? For God's sake, children play here."

"If children play here, then why are we here?" I look at her with raised eyebrows. She nods as if she gets my point and finally becomes quiet. When I dig the seed firmly in the ground, I water it from my flask. I want to come here after years when I'm old and see this seed turn into a small plant or tree and think, I did something that has helped the world. Many people do different things to help the world like donate to NGOs and campaign against cutting down of trees. Yet, they have both negative and positive effects. But my planting a normal plant has no negative to it. I just wish life was like that sometimes.

"Get out of your head." Talia says. "Enjoy your time with us." She came here on business yesterday. She works at a great marketing firm in New Jersey and is so busy, she hardly has time to come to town for a holiday.

I smile and lie down on the picnic mat. "How's your family?"

"Same old, same old." Talia says. "I am boring. How's your fam Paste?"

"Well. Dad is great. Lav is unconditionally in love-"

"I disagree. No one can be unconditionally in love. There's always something someone can do that makes the other person question their relationship."

"Will you not be a bitch for one second and let me continue, Zara?"

"Sure by all means. I just had to state my point."

Paste shoots daggers in my direction and Thalia gulps. "Calm your tits, both of you. Can't we enjoy a single day of our lives in peace and with no drama?"

"We could, but what's the fun in that?" My words cause Pastel to fire up.

"Okay. Enough. Intervention time." Both Talia and I look at her in question. "What? I have to know why Zara ditched us. Because look at us now. We're in pieces! We talk to each other, but it's as if we actually have better things to do. We look to each other, but barely. And come to think of it, we aren't even real friends anymore. The place that got us together after years was a funeral. Can you believe it? A funeral!"

"Thanks for downgrading my mother's funeral Paste."

Talia turns to me with a cold expression. "You know what? I agree. Tell us why you ditched us, Zara."

"Why would I do that?" Drama, drama, here we come.

"Because Paste's right. We're in pieces! You made a mockery out of our friendship!"

"Oh, yeah? That was me?" I say harshly. "My fault was that I went to my college of dreams to study. That was supposed to break my bond with you guys, true, since we all had previously planned to go to college together. But what about you three? My decision wasn't supposed to have an impact on your friendships!"

Paste tries to interject but I cut her off. "No. Let me finish. It's true I went off to NYU, but it's not my fault that you ditched their plans and went to WSU, Talia. You guys are blaming me and not seeing her fault in it too!"

"She went after you decided Zars."

"Really Pastel? So you're telling me since I ditched you guys that gave Talia a reason to follow in my footsteps, but she doesn't get the blame like I do?"

Both of them are quiet for a while but then Talia speaks. "It's not only both of our faults. Paste is guilty too."

"What?" Paste asks.

"Yeah." I reply, memories of past talks resurfacing. "You got angry with Naomi for getting a boyfriend in Austin. You two were still close after we left, but when she told you she's marrying Kai while still in college, you had a fight with her. If you wouldn't have blown up at her like that, you'd still be friends. You have a fault in it too."

"Oh, so, it's not Naomi's fault to be a love sick fool and hide it for me. But it's my fault for pointing it out and fighting with her for it?"

"You guys are fighting like teenagers?" Naomi's voice makes me gasp.

"I thought a ghost came up." Talia says. "Way to be sneaky sis.

"Sis? We are still fighting. For what it's worth, Nan can join us." I say.

"No, we should have a truce." Pastel says, her face contemplative. "Don't stand there like an actual ghost. Sit with us, Nan." She takes a seat beside me.

"Okay. So truce." Is Paste nervous? "Let's start from the beginning. All of this happened because we kept things from each other. Zara and Talia kept their ideas of college a secret from us, Naomi kept her boyfriend in secret from me and I kept the idea of not liking a boyfriend a secret. So what we can do is, we can be friends. Or," she says dramatically. "We can go back to high school-"

"We're not time traveling, for God's sake."

"-and be best friends like we used to. The perfect foursome," she says, ignoring my clever words. "For that we should have to have a truce. No more stupid fights. No more trying to ruin each other's moods." She looks sternly at me. "And most importantly, no more hiding anything from each other. We should be transparent as the glass to each other."

"Truce." Talia says. Me and Paste mimic her then we look at Naomi, who seems to be deep in thought. This is the time I think she's going to burst into tears and tell them about Kai. But I am surprised when she flashes a fake smile and says "Truce." Talia puts her hand forward and Paste puts her hand on top of it. Naomi does the same but when I put my hand over hers, I look at her in silent begging to spill her guts.

And she does. "I am pregnant." She says. OK not the way I meant.

"Wow, that's..." Talia says.

"Congratulations." Paste says an hugs her.

"OK let me say something crazy, too. To seal our truce, I mean. I slept with 100 guys in my life." I widen my eyes in shock. "Yeah, I counted."

"OK. My crazy thing is..." Paste says. "I don't know."

"There must be something."

"Hmm, well, Lav is forgetting stuff. Like, she's becoming forgetful."

"That's not crazy, that's old age!"

"Hey, my sister is young and wild. You tell us yours, Zars."

"Okay..." I think for a while. "I own a big business that needs work and I am going on a date with Nate."

"OMG, yes!" Talia says. I flush.

"Well, life has turned the right way around for someone." Naomi smiles. I smile back and then all four of us fall into lighter topics. I'm glad we solved our misunderstanding and are back on track, though some of us are not completely honest with each other. One doesn't really realize how much they need friends until they don't have them. I learned this lesson the hard way.

I don't know when the afternoon turns into the light twilight of the evening but it's soon time to go. As I get up I gasp when a hand wraps around Naomi's waist. I look up and see Kai. Nan and the others smile at him, but I scowl. He leans in to kiss her and I have to look away.

"What happened?" Talia asks.

"I can't stand the sight of an asshole." I say and begin to walk away.

"I heard that!" I hear Kai say.

I stop and turn around. "Do me a favor and please don't be anywhere near me." I say and flip him off.

"What's the deal with her?" Paste asks, but I don't stay around for whatever lie Nan tells them. So much for friends.

A/N: Hi! I am back! (just for the update, lol, my exams r still coming and i'll still be inactive till the 15th of oct. so no more updates till then. ig. u may nvr k, i may break my oath.)

anyways, abt the ch. tell me how u liked the ch.

Did u like Zara's bonding with her frnds?

Wht do u think abt Pastel, Talia and Naomi?

Have a nice day ahead and miss me! Happy reading!