It was just about sunset as the seven teens walked up the gravelly driveway of Crab Apple Farm, a comfortable silence enveloping the air as they made their way past the parked cars and towards the front of the house.
As they walked, Trixie's mind was spinning into a murky daze. She couldn't help but notice that as they walked, Jim's hand brushed hers ever so slightly. It tingled whenever it made contact with his; she just didn't know why.
She tried not to think about the possibility that in fact she did know why, but was just refusing to believe it. She decided that it was just natural; he was a boy outside of her family; that's why it felt... strange. No other reason, whatsoever.
Brian broke the thick layer of silence that they were previously in, successfully snapping Trixie out of her muddled trance.
"What exactly are we doing?" he asked as they came to a stop in front of the house. A few shrugs went around.
"It's really a lovely sunset, don't you think?" Honey asked the group, turning around slightly to gaze at the purple and orange strips painted against the golden sky. "It'd be a shame to stay inside and miss it."
A unanimous agreement passed through the group.
"Where do you guys want to go to watch it?" Di asked.
"We could always go to the lake," suggested Mart, sweeping his girlfriend into his arms.
"Nah, it's too far," Jim said. "Our parent's won't like it."
In the end, all of them ended up lying on the freshly cut Manor House lawn, relaxingly staring up at the dropping sun, no one daring to break the silence.
They were all assembled strangely, heads by feet, feet beside heads, limbs scattered everywhere.
Of course, two of the Bob-Whites were very close in proximity compared to everyone else. Mart and Di lay staring up at the sky, arms wrapped around each other, Di's head in the crook of Mart's neck as they stared up at the falling sun.
Dan sat beside Jim; not too close, mind you; he wanted to give Frayne some… space. The fact that Trixie happened to be on Jim's other side might have affected Dan's decision too. Just a little bit. He grinned at the thought as he looked up at the sky.
Keeping an innocent distance away from one another, Brian and Honey also laid beside each other, Honey at Trixie's side, and Brian a respectable distance from Mart's. (Nobody went even within three meters of the couple for fear of public affection.)
As they all gazed up at the warm colours plastered across the sky, some peoples' thoughts were elsewhere.
For instance, Jim couldn't keep his mind off of the events of the evening. Would something as simple as a bracelet ruin his friendship with Trixie?
Slowly, his hand crept across the grass to lie beside hers. After a moment of hesitation, he placed it on top, feeling the soft warm skin come to rest under his callused hand.
Trixie's head darted in Jim's direction, glancing slightly at his hand on top of hers. A warm, tingling feeling spread from her hand to the rest of her. She looked at his head, but he wasn't looking at her; instead looking up at the sky with a smile plastered on his face.
For some reason, she kept looking at him; his face, his relaxed, easy expression, his hair, and finally, his hand on hers; his large and rough compared to hers, delicate, small, and soft.
Slowly, he turned his head to look at her, and found her staring back at him, a small smile adorning her face. Still looking at her, his thumb moved up to graze the bracelet on her wrist, feeling his name encrusted in the metal. He felt her shiver a little at his touch, but her fingers twined around his nonetheless.
She rubbed circles on his hand, feeling the tingling feeling that spread through her at his touch.
And they lay there, hand in hand, with their seemingly oblivious friends, watching the remaining colours fade out of the sky and be replaced by bright, glimmering spots plastered onto an inky, dark blue blanket.
Even as the sun had gone down, the club stayed on the lawn, seemingly hypnotized by the serenity. It was only when Di yelped and swatted her arm, successfully squashing a mosquito in the process, when they realized that it might be a good idea to leave.
"I think the bugs are starting to bite," commented Dan, sitting up. He cast an amused glance at Trixie and Jim's entwined fingers (which immediately sprung apart) and got up, brushing himself off. The others followed suit, some maybe a bit more reluctant than others.
"What time is it?" asked Trixie, trying to keep her eyes averted from Dan's knowing grin.
"Quarter to nine," supplied Jim, coming to stand beside the blonde as the group made their way back to farmhouse.
The lights were on around the house, and it had a warm, inviting feel to it as they arrived, the air thick with humidity and small swarms of bugs going around the light bulbs. The group made their way around the house to the back porch, where, strangely, everyone was still sitting.
The teens exchanged looks as they got closer. The laughter was loud, and the words jumbled. The dinner had been cleaned off the table and dessert laid out, but something was obviously… off.
Regan, who was sunken low in his seat and looking around uncomfortably, saw the group arrive and breathed a large sigh of relief. He excused himself from the table, and of course, the rambunctious adults didn't spare him a glance as they continued their slur.
He sighed heavily as he reached the group, backing them away from the porch and around the side of the house, just out of the table's view.
"I'm glad you finally arrived," he told the group, a tinge of disparity to his voice.
Di couldn't help giggling. "So you're the only one of them not drunk like a skunk?"
Regan frowned at her and the rest of them as they suppressed their laughter at his expression. "Laugh all you want, but this isn't funny," he said, though it was clear a smile was creeping its way onto his face.
Finally, when unable to contain it any longer, the group burst out into laughter.
"How did this even happen in the first place?" Brian finally asked through the laughter.
"I don't know, actually," said Regan as the laughter subsided. "We were having dessert, and then Mrs. Belden brought out a bottle of wine, and then… well, that happened," he said, gesturing to the group of drunken parents.
Still smiling, Jim interjected "I'm no expert, but is it possible for all of them to get drunk over one bottle of wine?"
There were some voices of agreement.
"Oh, it wasn't just one bottle," Regan stated matter-of-factly. "And it wasn't just wine," he added mysteriously.
Honey groaned. "Please tell me daddy didn't bring a bottle of that whiskey he loves," she groaned. Regan smiled at her apologetically.
"You kids are just lucky that I'm responsible enough not to have gotten into that state," Regan said. "What would you ever do if all of us were filled with the happy juice?"
Dan's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Well…." he started, "We could have started by jacking the keys to all of your cars," he suggested in a helpful tone.
"Then we would sneak out to the Manor House or clubhouse to protect ourselves from your alcohol-induced stupors," added Trixie with a giggle.
"And we'd be sure to smuggle the kids away somehow," added Honey.
"Speaking of the devils," started Di, and all eyes immediately went to Regan in question.
"Don't worry about them," Regan said reassuringly. "They're passed out in Bobby's room; they had quite an energetic evening."
"Thanks, Regan," said Brian appreciatively. "We can always count on you."
"Yeah," said Jim, hiding a smile. "We can always trust you to keep hating Dad's whiskey," he said, knowing the red-headed groom's distaste for alcoholic beverages.
Regan grunted. "Yeah, laugh all you want," he muttered, not truly angry.
And so they did laugh, and laugh, and then peeked a look at their parents squabbling loudly and laughed again. And they continued laughing, even as they bid Regan good-bye and walked clumsily into the warm, homey furnishing of the Belden homestead. They continued laughing, even though it hardly seemed funny anymore; the more they laughed, the more they laughed, and then the more they laughed, so it was almost as if they were drunk themselves.