“You ready, bud?”

Elliot nodded to me, pulling his wool hat further down his head. For a moment I surveyed his attire, determining whether or not he would be warm enough outside. He had an over-sized winter coat on, and just about ten pairs of pants. I was afraid someone on the street might accidentally mistake him for a walking marshmallow.

“Harley, wear this.”

Something warm wrapped around my neck, and I turned my head slightly to see Will hovering over me, holding the ends of a fluffy, grey scarf. I took it from him, wrapping it the rest of the way throat. “Thanks.”

He gave me a gentle smile. “Will you be okay today?”

“I’ll be—” My voice caught and I cleared it before continuing. “I’ll be fine…”

“Are you sure? You could always stay home and we could go through photo albums or something—”

I quickly shook my head. “No.”

Will frowned at me. “Harley, trying to forget won’t make things better. It’s better to celebrate their memory.”

My stomach twisted uncomfortably as a lump in my throat grew. “I don’t want to forget. I just don’t want to remember right now. I want to have fun today. I’m sure my mom and dad would rather see me having fun than see me crying.”

“That’s true,” Will chuckled, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Go have fun, kiddo.”

I shrugged away from his hand, giving him a quick grin. “That’s the idea.”

A knock on the front door signaled the arrival of Oliver, who had offered to pick Elliot and myself up. Elliot was pulling open the door before I even started towards it. I quickly looked at Will, making sure he was wearing pants. He was. Will raised an eyebrow at me, but I turned back to the door. Instead of Oliver standing in the doorway like I expected, Melissa, Zak, and Arden were there, wide smiles on their faces. Taken aback, I stared at the group for a minute, not sure of what to say.

“Harley! You made a girl friend?” Will cried excitedly, pushing past me. He went up to Melissa, scooping up her hand, and shaking it exclusively. “Hello lovely lady, what’s your name?”

Melissa sent me an amused look before smiling at Will. “I’m Melissa, Oliver’s sister.”

“Nice to meet you, Melissa. I’m Will,” he responded, finally dropper her hand. “It’s so nice to see Harley with a girl her a—”

I quickly flung myself at Will, clamping a hand over this mouth. He cried out in surprise, but my hand muffled the sound. “Ah ha ha, silly Will. Of course I have friends around here…”

Melissa laughed while Arden and Zak exchanged confused looks. Will furrowed his eyebrows, pulling my hand away from his face. “What?”

“Will this is Zak,” I said, gesturing towards Zak. “And you know Arden.”

“The want-to-be boyfriend,” Will stated with a nod. “Yes, I remember.”

Arden cracked a grin at him. “That’s me.”

“Oliver and Tucker are waiting in the van, so we should probably go,” Melissa advised. “We don’t want to put Oliver in a bad mood…”

“Who invited him anyway?” Arden muttered moodily.

I rolled my eyes at him. “I did. And you two are going to get along, right?”

Arden pursed his lips at me. “If I have to.”

“You have to.”

Will laughed, slapping me on the back none too gently. “You heard the pretty blonde girl, your friends are waiting in the van.”

“Don’t hit on my friends,” I scolded, jamming my elbow into his stomach. “Old man.”

“I’m not even that old!”

“Come on Elliot,” I said, gesturing my brother to come to me, and ignoring Will. “We’re leaving.”

Elliot gave me an excited grin as he waddled towards us, unaccustomed to walking in his fluffy clothing. “Okay, Pig!”

“Pig?” Melissa echoed.

Will grinned at her. “She eats a lot.”

“Shut up Will!”

“Shut up Will!” he mimicked, making his voice high-pitched.

Scowling, I ushered everyone out the door so I could slam it into Will’s face. When the door was shut, I could still hear Will laughing on the other side. Zak let out a little chuckle while Melissa stared at me in surprise.

“Isn’t that your apartment?” Arden questioned, raising an eyebrow at me.

I blinked at him. That was my apartment. When I yanked open the door again, Will was still standing in front of it, smirking. “Go home,” I ordered, pulling him out of my apartment, and shutting my door again.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Will responded, waving his hand. “Bye children.”

Elliot pulled on my hand excitedly. “Let’s go see Olive!”

“Olive?” Arden echoed.

Elliot’s head snapped up to stare at him. “Pig, who is this?”

“Arden,” I told him. “And that’s Melissa. Do you remember Zak?”

Elliot’s face pulled into a confused expression as he tried to remember him. Zak laughed, ruffling Elliot’s hair. “Build-A-Bear?”

“Oh yeah!” Elliot cried. “I remember!”

Melissa pulled on my hand. “Come on, Oliver’s waiting.”

Snow was flurrying to the ground when we finally emerged from the apartment building. Melissa hurried through the parking lot, leading us to the van that was idling near the back. She climbed into the driver’s side, while the rest of us piled into the back. Tucker was in passenger, while Oliver sat at the way back, staring out the window. Elliot scrambled over the seats to get to him.

“Olive!”

Oliver’s head snapped in Elliot’s direction, the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smile. Elliot tackle-hugged Oliver, clinging onto him like his life depended on it. I laughed at them, climbing onto the edge of the van. My foot slipped on the wet metal, and I fell forwards, smacking my head on Arden’s knee. There was a shout of pain behind me as my flailing foot made contact with a part of Zak.

I pushed myself off Arden, flushing in embarrassment. “Sorry,” I muttered, squatting to avoid hitting my head on the ceiling.

“No problem, Harley.”

“No apology for me, Ms. Allen?” Zak demanded, rubbing his nose with a pained expression. “You almost broke my nose!”

I turned to give him an apologetic look. “Sorry, Zak. And call me Harley outside of class.”

“Okay, Ms. All— er, Harley.”

“Get buckled, we’re leaving,” Melissa ordered, giving us an impatient look through the rear-view window. “Harley, sit in back with your brother and Oliver.”

Obeying Melissa’s command, I dropped into the seat next to my brother. “El, make sure you buckle up good. There’s no booster seat in here.”

“Okay, Pig!”

Oliver smirked, giving me an amused look. “Still Pig, huh?”

I blushed, shooting a glare at him. “Shut up.”

“Olive,” Elliot started, pulling on Oliver’s jacket. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“I finally beat all the races for Mario Cart!”

“Really?”

Elliot nodded excitedly. “It took forever, but I got it!”

“Oh? Then this is for you.” Oliver reached a hand into his pocket, producing a Tootsie Pop. He gave it to Elliot, who was grinning wildly.

“Thanks, Olive!”

For a split-second Oliver smiled at Elliot, but when he noticed I was watching, he immediately dropped it. After giving me a moody look, he turned to the window. Elliot happily unwrapped his lollipop, wasting no time before popping it into his mouth.

“Oliver, if you keep giving Elliot candy when you see him, he’s going to get cavities,” I warned him.

He kept his back to me, staring out the window. “Whatever.”

“You could always sell that fancy necklace of yours to pay for the costs,” Zak joked, turning around in his seat. “It’d sell for big bucks.”

My hand automatically went up to my chest where the emerald pendent lay. “No way!”

Arden sent me a secretive smile from his seat. “That is a pretty necklace. Where’d you get it?”

“I got it from you—” I cut myself off, realizing that it wouldn’t be a smart idea to let everyone know he had given it to me. “Y-you know, the jewelry store at the mall…”

“Which store?”

“The one by um, the videogame store…”

Arden raised an eyebrow. “Which mall are you talking about?”

“The, uh, the—”

“The only mall around here, Arden,” Oliver interjected in a bored tone. “Leave it alone.”

Arden pursed his lips at Oliver. Zak shifted in his seat so he could turn and grin at me. “Or is it from a secret lover?”

Arden snorted while I turned bright red. “I don’t have a secret lover!”

“Ms. Allen—”

“Harley,” I corrected him.

He rolled his eyes. “Harley, it’s totally okay if you have a boyfriend. You’re twenty-one. I’d be worried if you didn’t.”

Oliver snorted. I shot him a quick glare. “I’m not… Er, interested in dating anyone right now.”

“Take a left here,” I heard Tucker instruct to Melissa, “and keep going until you get to the gas station. Then take a left.”

“Gotcha,” Melissa responded, turning the wheel to the left.

I looked up in the front curiously. “Melissa, where are we going?”

She glanced at me through the rear-view window, a grin slipping onto her face. “Bowling.”

“Bowling?”

“Bowling!” Elliot squealed, his eyes widening in excitement. “We’re going bowling! Pig! Remember when mom took us almost every weekend?”

Immediately Oliver’s and Arden’s heads snapped towards me, Arden’s expression turning to worry. I stared at Elliot incredulously, ignoring the other two boys. “You remember that?”

Elliot nodded quickly. “Yeah! I love bowling!”

“Is bowling bad…?” Melissa gave me a worried look. “We can go somewhere else—”

“No, no! Bowling is fine,” I responded quickly, waving my hands in front of me. “It’s actually a really good idea.”

Melissa and Arden gave me another uneasy look, but I ignored it. Just because my mom used to take me bowling didn’t mean I didn’t want to do it anymore because she wasn’t around. In fact, I was more excited to go bowling because of it. It would almost be like old times.

The bowling was all but empty when we arrived. Two groups of people were at the last two lanes at the far right, and one group in the middle. Music played popular songs from the radio overhead as the seven of us ambled towards the main counter to get our bowling shoes. When we all had the correct size shoes, we headed to the far left of the bowling ally, getting the last two lanes.

“Okay,” Melissa said, sliding onto one of the benches by the lanes. “Let’s have one lane be Arden, Oliver, Harley, and Elliot and the other will be me, Zak, and Tucker.”

“I’m not bowling,” Oliver stated stubbornly.

Melissa gave him a flat look. “Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are!”

“You can’t tell me what to do, Mel,” Oliver shot at her.

Arden smirked. “Aw, you gave your sister a nickname? That’s cute, Oli.”

Oliver turned to glare at Arden. “You want a nickname too, Arden?”

“Sure.”

“How about d—”

“Alright!” I cried, lightly slapping Oliver on the back. “Here’s an idea! Let’s all get along and have fun!”

Arden shot me an amused look. “I’m in.”

“You are such a suck up,” Tucker muttered. He was standing by the bowling ball rack, leaning against it with his arms crossed.

“Hmm, and you’re not?”

Tucker’s face flushed and he ducked his head. “I’m not.”

There was suddenly a loud thunk behind me, followed by a cry of surprise. I twirled around, seeing Elliot standing by another bowling rack, a twelve-pound ball at his feet. He looked up at me with a sheepish grin. “I want to bowl.”

“Then let’s start,” Melissa responded, clapping her hands together. “Oliver, set up your team and I’ll do mine.”

Five minutes later, Oliver had everyone on our team’s initials up on the electronic board above the lane. Elliot was up first, then me, then Arden, and finally Oliver. Against Arden’s many protests, we had the bumpers set up to make it easier for Elliot.

“Do you want me to help you roll it, El?” I called, watching my little brother stagger towards the lane with a seven-pound ball in hand.

He shook his head, holding his back as straight as he could. “I can do it, Pig.”

“Yeah, Pig,” Arden threw in. “He can do it.”

I rolled my eyes at Arden, elbowing him in the side. “Go sit down and wait for your turn.”

Elliot walked right up to the end of the lane, his arms shaking with effort from holding up the ball. He brought his arms between his legs, swinging them back, and bringing them forwards, letting go of the ball. It went straight for about ten feet before it went into the left bumper, making it roll slowly in a diagonal direction. The ending result was three pins down. Elliot got pretty excited.

“Pig did you see that?”

I laughed at his elation. “I did.”

“Olive?”

“Yeah,” Oliver responded, watching Elliot with his arms crossed. “Can you knock the rest down?”

Elliot bobbed his head, running to the ball rack instead of waiting for the first ball he used to come down the belt. He trudged back to the lane and sent the bowl down again. I almost laughed when it hit the bumper, doing the exact same thing as it did the first time. When his ball didn’t strike any pins, he turned around with a horrified expression.

“Better luck next time, kiddo,” Arden commented, smiling in amusement at Elliot’s reaction.

Elliot narrowed his eyes at Arden. “Shut up, Ardy.”

Oliver snorted while my jaw dropped. “Eli!”

Elliot looked up at me innocently. “What?”

“Don’t say that!” I scolded him, glancing at Arden. Arden’s shocked expression threw me off guard, and a small laugh escaped my lips before I quickly stifled it with a hand.

Elliot pouted at me, slinking off to the seat besides Oliver. Oliver ruffled Elliot’s hair, smirking. Arden was still staring at Elliot, his face blank.

“You’re up,” Oliver informed me, nodding his head towards the screen.

I glanced over at the lane over to see Tucker going up as well. He happened to be looking over at my lane at the same time. As soon as our gazes met he looked away, swinging his arm back quickly. However, he let the ball go too early, and it was backwards instead of forwards. Melissa screamed in surprise, narrowly missing a bowling bowl to the leg.

“I’m sorry!” Tucker apologized in a rush, quickly going after his bowling ball.

I laughed loudly, grabbing Elliot’s ball off the belt. “Tucker, let me show you how a pro does it.”

After making sure Tucker was watching, I went up to the wooden floor, keeping my eyes on the ten pins at the end of it. I took a deep breath, weighing the ball in my hand. Arden bid me good luck from his seat while Elliot cheered me on. Without any more hesitation I bolted forward, swinging my arm as hard as I could. Before I could blink I was flat on my back, staring at the ceiling above me.

Laughter erupted from those surrounding me. Tucker snorted something I couldn’t quite make out, but I knew it was sarcastic. Suddenly Zak’s face entered my field of vision, and then his hand. “Need help?” he questioned with a grin.

Blushing, I took his hand and he quickly pulled me to my feet. When I looked down the lane, my eyes widened in delight when I realized I had gotten a strike. Elliot tackle-hugged me from behind, almost sending me to the ground again.

“Good job, Pig!” he cried.

“Maybe you should try her… unique technique, Elliot,” Oliver commented in a casual tone.

I pursed my lips at him. “You’re just jealous I got a strike. I bet you can’t even hit six of the pins.”

Oliver shrugged. “We’ll find out. Arden’s up.”

Arden stood up and headed over to the bowling rack, picking up a ten-pound ball. He held it in front of me as he walked by. “Watch and learn, Harley.”

“I got a strike!”

“Lucky hit,” Melissa called from the other lane.

I turned to giver her a sarcastic look. “Keep your eyes on your own lane!”

She laughed, but followed my orders. I returned my attention to Arden, who was still sauntering towards the lane line. He stopped just before it, tossing a smug look over his shoulder at me. In one swift movement he sent the ball down the lane in a perfect line. It hit the front pin, which in turn knocked down all ten of them.

“Strike!” he cried, pumping his fist. “And I didn’t fall!”

“Haha,” I responded with a frown. I turned to Oliver. “Well, Oliver. Now if you don’t get a strike you’ll be even more embarrassed.”

Oliver didn’t comment. He simply stood up, not even bothering to look at the weight of the ball he grabbed. As soon as the pins were set up, he smoothly sent the ball down the lane as if he wasn’t putting any effort into the swing at all.

“Strike,” he commented smoothly, returning to his seat as the sound of all ten pins following to the ground echoed around us.

“It’s on,” I returned, narrowing my eyes at him.

Five turns later, I was dead last. Even behind Elliot. Arden and Oliver were tied for first, both having perfect scores. Arden gave me a smug look as he sat down from his seventh strike in a row. Oliver passed by me next, using his aloof attitude as usual. I figured he was probably celebrating on the inside but was too cool to show it. However this time the ball slipped from his hands before he was ready. He swore quietly as the ball bounced against a bumper. But then, much to everyone’s surprise, it magically returned to the middle and ended up knocking down all the pins.

“What?” I gasped.

“Awesome!” Arden cried, leaping up from his seat. “Oliver, that was amazing!”

Oliver turned with a grin, reaching out a hand to slap Arden five. However, instead of just slapping Arden five, they did a fancy high-five routine— it kind of reminded me of a hand clapping game I played when I was younger. When they finished, you could feel the surprise in the air. Zak and Tucker shared a bewildered look while Oliver stared at his hand. Arden was also staring at his hand. Then he turned to Oliver, his eyes wide.

“Dude,” he started slowly, lowering his hand. “I can not believe you remember that!”

Oliver looked embarrassed. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“What? Why wouldn’t I? That was our handshake!” Arden responded, sounding slightly offended. “We did that at least twenty times a day.”

Zak suddenly laughed. “Do you remember that time in History when you guys decided to see how many times you could do it before being yelled at?”

“That was with the substitute, right?” Tucker added in a thoughtful tone. “The one who thought you two were mute and communicated by clapping hands.”

Arden burst out laughing, waving his hand at Tucker. “Oh my god! Yeah! And then when Oliver said bye to her, she had a heart attack!”

I turned to Oliver, my mouth gaping. Oliver was chuckling quietly, throwing me even more off guard. I briefly wondered if this was what a person who won a small fortune in a lottery felt. All the boys, Oliver and Arden particularly, were getting along. They were reminiscing about the past together— the past from when they were friends!

“So your sub thought you two were mute?” I asked, not wanting their conversation to drop.

Arden nodded, turning to me. “Yeah. That was our thing.”

“We always pretended we were mute,” Oliver explained, smirking slightly. “It was really a bombshell for people when they realized not only was I not mute, but I was also British.”

“That’s mostly the reason they never got in trouble,” Tucker added, rolling his eyes. “Everyone would swoon over the Brit.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “That’s not true.”