Date: July 5, 2020

✰

Jess 🤠: hopefully next year?

Rye 🍞: I really hope so, weve been planning this for a long time now and it'd suck not to follow thru :(

💡Hayden💡: Umm, excuse me, what do you mean "we"?

Rye 🍞: fine, YOUve been doing the planning, but we're still wanna go ;-;

Jess 🤠: yeah, but with everywhere being closed up it might be difficult to see each other

Rye 🍞: well that just shatters my heart 💔😩

💡Hayden💡: Georgie!! We need to know if your moms will let you come! Please~ respond :(.

Gogy: ..what is it now?

💡Hayden💡: Georgie we need to know if you're free for our Six Flags trip this Tuesday.

Jess 🤠: if it happens at all, I'm just sayin

Gogy: they might, but roller coasters aren't really my thing.

💡Hayden💡: Sweetie, I know, and if you don't want to go then that's perfectly alright, but I'll buy you all the funnel cake you want if you come along.

Gogy: really?

💡Hayden💡: Well, within reason, but yeah!

Gogy: fine, I'll rethink it

💡Hayden💡: Yay! I'm looking forward to it! ❤ 😍

Jess 🤠: ugh, barf. if you two are gonna flirt, at least do it in private

Rye 🍞: *cough* hypocrite

Jess 🤠: excuse me?

Rye 🍞: well on the last day of school before quarantining, you /did/ give me a kiss on the cheek

Jess 🤠: that was a purely platonic friend thing!

Jess 🤠: and plus, who knows when we'll see each other again? It might've been a "goodbye-see-you-at-the-end-of-the-world" type thing too!

Jess 🤠: i dunno

Rye 🍞: oh sure, excuses, excuses

Jess 🤠: shut it, bread boy

Gogy: is that all you needed me for?

💡Hayden💡: Well, technically yes. But we'd still just want to talk casually. 😄

Gogy: okay, then. You have my attention

✐

The group of friends continued on with spending time with one another in the ways they could, determined to not let the situation get the best of them.

And once it was over, and the world seemed to finally start to slow down, they were back together once again.

July 1, 2021

It was summer break, and Georgie had suggested hanging out at the pool near in their parents' backyard. And with the temperature being a scorching 90°F, they all eagerly agreed.

It wasn't anything big, just a few friends hanging out at the pool to beat the heat.

"Woo! Isn't this fun, guys?" Hayden exclaimed, splashing water at Ryan who swam around them, giggling.

Jessie sat on the edge of the pool, waving her feet around in the water.

"Ugh, I should've brought my parasol." Georgie scoffed, sitting on a beach chair behind Jessie. "I'll burn to a crisp in this weather."

She threw a bottle of sunscreen back at them.

"Here, if that'll help."

Ryan dove underneath the water, shooting up and spooking Jess, splashing her with water. She let out a yell in shock as he laughed boisterously.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, now covered in water. "Hah hah, how funny of you."

"Yep, I agree." he had the biggest, goofiest grin on his face.

Ryan propped himself up, sitting next to her.

"That's a nice shirt," he pointed out with a wink. "I like it."

She looked down at her orange tank top that had a green stegosaurus on the front.

"Oh, thanks, lover boy," she feigned swooning. "It would've looked better if you hadn't ruined it just now.

"But you forgive me, though, right?" he looked at her with puppy eyes and his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at how absolutely stupid he looked.

"Hmm, I'll think about it and get back to you in..." she looked down at her bare wrist. ".. about three to five business days."

"Ack! That's too long!" Ryan clenched his heart, falling forward and into the water.

Jess laughed.

"What a goof."

To make a long story short, they did keep their platonic relationship for a long time, staying good friends. Ryan's feelings stayed the same and Jessie felt something new developing between them, but it wasn't quite romantic.

At a certain point along the line, Jessie figured that they might be queerplatonics. It was the best for both of them, with how they both felt. And that was enough for them. Not quite friends, not quite dating.

It was the perfect middle ground.

And y'know what?

Hayden and Georgie (despite now being in a relationship themselves) were okay with that.

They were okay with that.

And they were happy.

× × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × ×

And that, folks, is the end.

I hope it didn't make you cringe the whole way through.

And I hope you enjoyed it. 👋

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