The day of the festival dawned bright and sunny. I woke to a plethora of messages on the group chat, most of them from Daria (who had apparently woken up at 6:00am, judging by the time stamps on her texts) and Alex (who was always hyperactive on the group chat, and in general day-to-day life).

GANGBANG

5:58am

DARIA: FESTIVAL DAY

DARIA: I'M SO EXCITED GUYS

DARIA: TEXT ME WHEN YOU WAKE UP

7:01AM

DARIA: Are you guys up yet??

7:53AM

DARIA: How do you guys cope with so few hours in the day?

9:26AM

PENIS MAN: By being well rested

ME: And because we don't go to bed at 9:30

DARIA: My bedtime is 10:00 now!

12:44PM

THE STONER: every time is bedtime

Kaelin and I were on the train before anyone else, because my house was the furthest away. I lived in Toorak, a suburb near the beach for new-money multi-millionaires. The rest of the group was situated further away from the city. Cady lived ages away.

"So, what you're saying," said Kaelin, looking skeptical. "Is that you don't want Jace to come, but you had no choice to invite him. Also, he helped you get to class after lunch and was generally nice to you for the entirety of the day, and you know he's been possessed but you're not sure if you want to hire an exorcist?"

"That's exactly it."

The train pulled to a stop outside the next station, and Alex and Chance jumped on, greeting us with their usual contrasting styles. Chance's arms were flapping slightly with excitement and nerves.

Alex was grinning because he'd drawn a penis on Chance's cheek while he was asleep and his brother apparently hadn't noticed yet.

"G'day, Montez One and Two," said Alex, flopping down on the seat beside me. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Radiant," Kaelin replied. "Glamourous. Incredible. Sexy, but not like I'm trying too hard. Like, sure, I'm trying, but it's almost effortless."

Chance beside her. "You've seen that show too?"

"I've seen every show," Kaelin said. It was true.

Alex grinned cheekily as the train pulled out of the station. "So, what were you fine ladies talking about?"

Kaelin rolled her eyes. "Guess."

"Jace," said Alex and Chance in unison. They didn't even have to think about it, which was slightly insulting.

"Does she ever talk about anything else?" Kaelin muttered.

"Nope," said Alex.

"Oi!" I protested.

Chance looked sympathetic. "Lena, they're not wrong."

Alex looked gleeful. "Were you talking about the angry sparks?"

"She complained that you guys thought they had angry sparks," Kaelin said and she ruffled my hair teasingly when I pouted. "Aw, Wittle Wena isn't in touch with her feelings."

"I'm in touch with my feelings. Anger. All the anger and rage."

Alex coughed. "Horny."

"Ha ha."

When the train pulled into the following station, Daria jumped on, looking eager and alert. She was bouncing on the tips of her toes and wore the largest smile I'd ever seen. Jonah trailed behind her as if he was her shadow, looking tired and grumpy and in blatant awe of his sunny companion.

Daria raced to the seat beside Alex and threw herself into it. "Hi, guys! I'm so excited! I've been looking forward to this so much!" Every sentence was spoken with boundless enthusiasm.

"Hi, Daria!" I replied. Her energy was contagious. "Cute dress." She was wearing a little white sundress that I would definitely be ordering online tonight. I looked past her to Jonah, trudging slowly through the carriage. "Hey, Jonah."

He shot me a deadpan look as he fell beside Chance and immediately lay down, seemingly uncaring that he was half on top of both Kaelin and Chance. They didn't seem bothered. "I want to die."

"Jonah in a coma?"

"Sounds nice."

Alex slapped his knee. "I know what'll cheer you up. Talking about Lena and Jace."

Jonah raised an eyebrow and looking slightly more alert. "Oh, Montez, do us all a favour and just hook up with him already."

"What?" Daria said. "What did you just say?"

Daria had not been present for Cady's little speech. I wanted to join Jonah in his coma. At least temporarily. Daria pinned me beneath her shocked gaze, as if the thought of Lena and Jace hooking up was as foreign and surprising and disgusting to her as it was to me. Daria was Jace's best friend, attached-at-the-hip best friend. It was incredibly disconcerting to feel her eyes on me, as if casting judgement.

Alex didn't seem to take this into account. "Lena's in denial about the angry sparks between her and Hartley."

Kaelin grinned. "She would totally go there if she wasn't such a pig-headed idiot."

Daria's megawatt smile went supernova. "Really?" she exclaimed. "You would?"

"No!"

Daria was squirming in her seat with excitement. We pulled into the next stop, and I could see Jace through the window, waiting patiently for the train doors to open.

"I swear to every f god out there, if you mention this to Hartley, I will chop off enough fingers to make a bracelet," I threatened.

Five matching smiles of pure delight stared back at me.

Hartley waved at us as he approached. "Hey guys," he said.

"Heyyyyy," everyone said in unison, knowing expressions and nudges going around my five idiot friends. I knew I was glaring.

Jace looked very confused.

By the time we'd met up with Cady and walked to the festival, it was late in the afternoon. The awkwardness of the train had faded, and excitement was setting in. The festival was slightly gimmicky, perhaps, but the music and food and, most importantly, the rides, were pretty fun.

The repurposed oval was milling with people of all ages. Bright stalls decorated the outer area, with pavilions set up for food and small concerts. Children were running through the area, many racing to the playground on the outskirts of the festival. And then, the rides. They stood gloriously above everyone else, whirling screaming people through the air.

I couldn't wait.

"How early in the day is it acceptable to get dinner?" Kaelin queried.

"Well, what is it, three o'clock?" I said and checked my phone to confirm. "Let's get dinner number one at four and then get another one at six."

"Let's get another one at eight," Cady said. "You know, keep the pattern going."

"You're all going to end up fat," said Alex. "Like, heart attack at thirty fat. I hope someone told you that."

"Does eating food make you fat?" I said, gasping in mock horror. "Oh, why did no one ever tell me? Alex, you are a genius of health and fitness, how may I ever repay you?"

"Cake," he said cheerfully.

"That will make you fat, you know," Cady said.

I gasped and slapped Jace in the arm. "Oh, oh! I love that ride!" I yelled. It was called the Freestyle, and it was the biggest, scariest and fastest ride at the Mordi festival. It only seated eight people at once, and the line was huge, but I knew it would be worth it. "First one to puke is a fucking loser!"

"Hold up pukey," said Jace.

"Oi, I wouldn't be the one to puke," I muttered.

"You can't go on that," he said, steering me away from the ride.

"What?" I demanded. "Why not?"

"You are, as you keep reminding us, currently crippled."

"And you're a fun sponge, what's your point?"

"They don't let cripples go on death wheels," said Jace. "I've seen the signs. You can't go on it if you're on crutches."

The group looked at me sympathetically as I felt my face fall. "Oh," I said.

"We don't have to go on it," Daria said cautiously. The rest of the group nodded in agreement, (except Kaelin, who I heard saying "fuck that" to Alex. Since we were related, I didn't take it too hard), but I could see the apprehensive looks on their faces.

"That's sweet, but I'll just watch," I said. But when I glanced at the line, winding and swelling with the number of people, I realized that I would be watching for ages. "Thanks, guys."

I could feel a lump of disappointment and anger in my throat. Not at my friends, whose sympathetic frowns only elicited a small, sympathetic smile. No, I was angry at my leg. At the car. At the accident. It had already taken so much away from me; the months I had sat in my bedroom, feeling like Bella in New Moon, watching as the months passed me by and I couldn't do anything. The insatiable feeling that I was missing out, missing out on my friends, my family. It seemed like that—the missing out—wasn't over yet.

"I'll wait with her," said Jace. The others looked relieved and gave him appreciative looks. I knew that they would wait—even Kaelin—if I'd asked, but I also knew that they were desperate to sail far above the crowds, squealing and laughing. I knew because I wanted it to, so badly I could barely breathe. What I wanted even more was to not be forced into hanging out with Jace Hartley.

"No, thanks," I said anyway. "I love alone time. I'm the most interesting person here and my own company is the best I could ever have."

Jace shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm not going to go on the ride, so I may as well hang out with you."

I tilted my head, a challenge in my narrowed eyes. "Why, you scared?"

Jace was smirking when he said, "Terrified."

"I love that and we'll definitely come back to it," I said, gleefully. A scared Jace Hartley? But he certainly didn't look scared; just amused and pleasant, as if everything in the world was just a joke to him. "But it's a big place, so I don't really see why you need to hang out with me."

"Well, you are the most interesting person here."

The rest of the group, Jonah and Kaelin exempted, were watching us, clearly amused. They loved our arguments, which was good, given they were relentless and frequent.

Kaelin said, "Look, you guys can continue this argument while you 'hang out,' but I really wanna go on the ride and I don't want to wait until the line is even longer."

Jonah looked bored. "And it's not like their arguments are a novelty."

Chance patted my shoulder. "We'll come to save you soon, I promise."

They walked towards the gigantic ride, laughing and chatting in between nervous glances back towards Jace and me, likely checking for bodily injuries.

I couldn't help the small kernel of jealousy that festered within me. I'd been missing out on everything for weeks, and yet again, I was forced to miss out. Especially when I was missing out on something I loved so dearly; being hurtled through the air at a hundred kilometers an hour. And especially when the person who was staying with me was Jace Hartley.

"Let's wait at the bottom of the ride," I said. "To watch them, uh, go on it."

Jace was unamused. Apparently, my tactic to spend as little time alone with him as possible had not gone unnoticed. "Don't be ridiculous, Elle. The festival's massive, and besides, I want to know how many days I have until you kill me in my sleep."

I scrunched my nose. "Two. If you're lucky. But what do you mean by that?"

"I don't trust you, and I'd like a reliable second opinion," he said. He pointed to a pop-up building, coloured in bright, clashing oranges and pinks and blues. It was decorated with tacky beads, feathers and dreamcatchers. The wooden sign haphazardly nailed into the wall was freshly painted a fire-engine red and large yellow letters declared that this was the location of "BECCY SHAW: PSYCHIC."

"No," I said.

"Why not?" said Jace.

"So many reasons," I replied.

"List them."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Well, first of all, the colours of that thing hurt my eyeballs. Secondly, it's a waste of money because I don't believe in psychics. Thirdly, I fear that any glimpse of my future might reveal your presence in it, and I don't think that kind of news is good for my disposition at this time of day."

Jace pouted. It wasn't cute on him at all. "Come on, Lena."

"Nope."

"Put it this way, if we're listening to fortune reader, I'll talk less."

I slapped his back good-naturedly. "Should've put it that way before. What an excellent idea, Hartley!"