Frankie fidgeted in her seat, probably annoying the lady in the row in front of her with her persistent leg shaking. She grinned again as she imagined the faces of the SOCs as she suddenly appeared at the sleepover tonight. The fasten seatbelt sign turned on above her head and Frankie hurriedly clipped the pieces together as if that would help the plane land sooner. It felt like years since she'd last seen the SOCs, but in reality it hadn't even been a year since they'd visited her in Perth. They'd skyped every sleepover since Frankie moved during the middle of year 8 for her parents' work, and after a while, when Frankie had made other friends in Perth, she didn't feel as left out as she had in the first couple of months. She couldn't share the food, or do some of the challenges, and often the SOCs didn't realise that the camera was facing the wrong way; but it was alright – it made the times that she was there extra special.
As she sat in the taxi headed for the Beach Hut Café, Frankie went through the plan in her head. Everybody's parents were involved to make sure that all of the SOCs would all be there that night, and Rosie's dad had organised from them to go to the new aquarium while Frankie set up.
She wrapped a scarf around her head and donned some large glasses as a precaution. If anyone recognised her at the café, the whole plan would be ruined. It was midday now, so the SOCs would just be leaving Rosie's house to have lunch at the aquarium. Even with the disguise, Mr S recognised her instantly, "Fran-". She quickly cut him off, shushing him and waving her hands out in front of her. "I'm going to surprise the SOCs. Don't tell anyone that you saw me," Frankie whispered to him.
"Ahh very sneaky." He handed her a mango smoothie, "on the house."
"Thanks Mr S! C'ya later!"
Frankie wandered around the shop as she drank the smoothie. Some of the pictures hanging on the wall had been replaced since she last visited, but the café was basically the same as she remembered. It was weird looking at the images, seeing them from higher up than she was used to. As she neared the end of her smoothie and the end of the wall, Frankie noticed a picture of the SOCs hung up next to the door. It was taken on the day that she left, and they were all clinging together tightly as if they could stop the inevitable move. She smiled fondly and touched the frame.
Frankie waved goodbye to Mr S and stepped around the side of the shop. She decided that she probably wouldn't see anybody on the walk to Rosie's house, and that it was too hot and dark to wear the disguise. She stuffed them into her bag and walked down the poorly lit alley. A boy about her age passed on her left, wiping floury hands on a towel tied about his waist. Frankie was almost at the end of the alley when she whipped her head around. Matt? At the same time he turned back as well. "Frankie?"
Oh my gosh, I didn't even recognise him.
Momentarily forgetting her plan, Frankie walked towards him, struggling to see his face in the dark alley. "Matt? Is that you." He laughed and it was a familiar sound, just deeper.
"Aww forgot me already, Frankie?"
"How could I forget you, Matthew? You made my life miserable for who knows how many years."
They stopped under a light and he peered down at her, looking a bit guilty. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that." He took a breath. "You know, I don't think I've seen you since you left in year 8. I'm surprised I recognised you. You look so different."
Frankie laughed, "is that a good thing?"
Matt's cheeks flushed, "yeah, of course." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "How long are you here for? Oh, I think the SOCs are at the aquarium if you want to join them."
"No, no this is a surprise visit. You can't tell anyone I'm here! At least not until tomorrow. Oh and I'm here for five days; until next Friday." He nodded thoughtfully and Frankie continued; "Are you working at the bakery?"
"Yeah, for a few years now." Frankie leant forward and read his badge.
"Wow, 'Trainor' – you must be good." Frankie eyed him up and down. "You seem much more mature. And I haven't heard about any of your tricks recently. Probably not since year 9."
"Ah well, when you left all the fun from teasing you girls disappeared." He laughed awkwardly and seemed to make up his mind. "I think I sorta missed you," he said, rubbing his neck again.
"Missed my overreactions and retaliation? I-"
"No, I think I missed your attitude and determination and I don't know..." he hesitated again. "I just missed…you."
Frankie blushed and looked away. Her heart beat fast and she realised that her legs had gone numb. Seeing Matt and talking to him had actually made her feel happy, rather than draining and exhausting her. Frankie raised her face and looked Matt in the eye. "You know, I think I actually missed you too." They stood for a moment, just looking at each other. A gust of sea breeze found its way into the alley and pushed a lock of Frankie's hair out from behind her ear. Before her hand reached her face, Matt gently brushed the hair back into position, and his hand moved around to gently touch Frankie's cheek. "I really did miss you," Matt whispered. Then, he leant in, pressed his lips gently against hers. After a moment of shock, Frankie closed her eyes and pushed her lips back against his. Her heart beat so loud and fast that the was sure Matt could hear it. Matt, who she could barely stand for so many years, who was now standing before her with his lips pressed against hers. They pulled back, struggling to contain their smiles. "Looks like you really did miss me too," he said with a wink. She softly hit arm, breaking eye contact to look shyly at the ground, unsure what to say. "The unsilencable Frankie is finally lost for words. I should have tried that years ago."
"I don't think 'unsilencable' is a word, Matt." She teased. An alarm on Frankie's watch blared at them, notifying her that it was time to go and set up. "Um, I gotta go," she told Matt. Neither of them moved, unwilling to let the relationship end there but unsure how to proceed. "Oh, I know!" Frankie said. Matt raised an eyebrow and she held out her hand. "Phone," she demanded with that tone he was so used to. Frankie quickly entered in her number and handed it back to the waiting boy. "Call me", she said, starting to back away. "But don't you dare leave it till the last day!" When she got to the end of the alley Frankie turned and jogged off, her face burning and her still thundering in her chest.
Frankie only stopped jogging when she arrived at Rosie's house. She peered in through the windows to check that the SOCs weren't home, then rinsed her face under the tap. Rosie's dad must have heard the water and came to open to door. "Frankie! The food and decorations are- Did you run all the way here?"
"Uh, yeah. I felt like a run."
"Oh, alright then. I'll leave you to set up."
A few hours later, laughter from the street carried in through Rosie's window. Frankie slid into Rosie's bed, carefully cushioned to hide the fact that she was in there. She could still recognise each of their voices and laughter, and smiled in delight. They stomped upstairs to Rosie's room and their chatter abruptly ended as the door opened and they observed the decorations. Streamers and balloons filled the room, and colourful party food occupied a table in the corner. When Rosie started to call downstairs, "Dad did you-", Frankie pushed back the cover and shouted "surprise!"
Fliss screamed and Kenny yelled, probably because Fliss had released the piercing sound right next to her ear. They ran to the bed and piled upon Frankie, ignoring that they were all 18 and much heavier than they had been in the past.
Matt's POV
When the sound of Frankie's running steps subsided, Matt leant against the wall, breathing hard. He'd realised not long after Frankie left, that he felt somewhat incomplete without Frankie countering everything that he said. Her group seemed sadder, and even when got used to Frankie not being there, they were still no fun to prank. He'd begun to miss the headstrong girl, thinking back to all the times that he'd intentionally push her to get a reaction, or the days where he would refuse to believe what she was saying, just because it was Frankie that was telling him. Most of all, his thoughts returned to the night of the dance, when they won the competition and shared a hug. It played over and over in his head.
And now he'd kissed her. He could still feel his lips on hers, and the returning pressure upon his own lips she kissed him back. It was everything he'd hoped it would be. She'd put her number in his phone, so obviously Frankie felt the same way. Matt tried to hide his grin as he stepped inside the bakery, putting the towel back on a shelf as he clocked off. Michael skidded to a halt outside the bakery as Matt stepped out. "Someone's in a good mood. Anyway, I just found out something. We gotta go and get ready."
"What? For what? What did you find out?"
"I'll tell you later. We haven't had a chance to prank in a while, so let's just do it one more time. Find Marcus, and meet me here in an hour with black clothes." Michael ran off again, leaving Matt with a sneaking suspicion.
Frankie's POV
At 10:30 as the movie finished, the SOCs found themselves sitting in a circle in the sleeping bags. Lyndz had recommended 'Truth or Dare', and they all laughed as Fliss tried to work herself out of her sleeping bag with no hands. Finally free, she took a few gulping breathes and turned to Frankie. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth," Frankie decided.
"Alright. Hmm... do you… have a boyfriend?"
Frankie blushed and they all screamed at her; "You do?", "you didn't tell us!", "who?', "who is it, Frankie?"
"Um I don't know if you could say he's my boyfriend."
Kenny leant forward, "have you kissed?"
"Well, yeah."
The SOCs screamed again.
"Who? When? Why haven't you told us?"
"Hey, it only happened a few hours ago!"
Fliss gawked at Frankie, and whispered, "someone here? Who was it?"
Frankie turned away and they screamed at her yet again with a synchronised "who?!"
Preoccupied, the girls didn't notice the three figures that had snuck through Rosie's window.
"Fine, fine! I kissed Matt!"
Everyone froze. Marco and Michael gasped and the girls screamed as they recognised their presence for the first time. Michael ripped off his mask, "no I don't believe that! She's lying!" Matt pulled off his balaclava and found Frankie's eyes as she grimaced in the corner. "Sorry lads, it's true."
"Aw come on, I don't believe this for a second." Kenny stood up and opened her arms wide. "They're kidding guys. C'mon. When have we ever seen them in a room together without tearing the other's hair out?" Everyone mumbled in agreement. Matt raised his eyebrow at Frankie and she shrugged, climbing from her sleeping bag and across the bed, smoothly throwing her arms around his neck to plant a long kiss on his lips. Marco and Michael made terrified vomiting sounds, Kenny and Lyndz's voices mingled in a loud "AHHHH!" and Fliss looked as if she was about to faint. They pulled back, Matt's hands on her waist and their foreheads still touching. The pair smiled broadly and Matt whispered, "they took that better than I'd imagined."