Chapter 7: Calm before…

"Flora, for the last time, just wear your blue skirt." I say exhausted after trying to convince Flora for the umpteenth time.

"This isn't some ordinary party, Stella. I can't just go and wear old skirts!" Flora exclaims nervously. She gets really worked up over the smallest things sometimes. The party she is speaking of is the annual 4th of July Fireworks Show in Solaria. I go every year with my Dad out of duty, but this year I'm going with Brandon.

"Flora, relax." I sigh. "How about we go shopping today? Then you'll have something totally rocking for Helia tonight." I could practically hear her blush over the phone as I spoke of her two-day-old- sort-of boyfriend. When I say they hit it off, they hit it off fast. They left the party early Saturday for a date. She called me afterward and told me all about it.

"Really? Oh, you don't have to do that Stella. You probably already have plans." She said hurriedly.

"No really, I want to. I don't have any clothes to wear either. Besides, Brandon has work today." He works at the bookstore around the corner of his house for the summer. "Maybe we can stop by the bookstore on the way there." I say nonchalantly. I haven't had my dose of Brandon for the day.

She giggled. "I'm sure we can make time for that. Plus, I heard the checkout guy was pretty hot." She teased.

"If you think he's hot, you should see his brother." I laughed. We talked a little while longer and I agreed to meet her at the bookstore. I quickly put my shoes on and raced to the car so I can have a little time with Brandon before she came. My Dad was at work, so I didn't get any hassle for running through the house.

I park next to Brandon's truck in the parking lot and make my way into Books & Bargains. There weren't many people here. The ones that were here, were drinking coffee and chatting. I spotted Brandon pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number. Who is he calling now? I thought and found my answer when my phone cried out Brandon's special ring tone. It was very loud in the quiet shop so all heads turned in my direction, including Brandon's.

He smiled my smile and waved at me to come over. I turned my head in the others direction and mouthed 'sorry' before walking toward Brandon. "Hi handsome." I say brightly.

"What's up, gorgeous?" He responded. "I was just calling you, as you saw, to ask how your day was going so far."

I leaned over the counter. "Missing you mostly." I say as he meets me half way across the counter to peck me on the lips.

"I would have to say the same." He says gently. Brushing some of my hair behind my ear he says, "I was glad to get out of the house though. Helia was driving me insane talking about Flora. I wonder if that's what I was like when I first met you."

I giggled slightly. "Well, I know I thought about you all the time. Speaking of Flora, she is meeting me here so we can shop for tonight. He looked confused for a second and I laughed. "We're not shopping here Brandon. We're just meeting here." I laughed again at his slip of common sense.

"Oh. I knew that." He tries to play it off.

"Suuuuure you did."

The door jingles and Flora walks in. "Hey, Brandon. Hey, Stella." I give her a hug and Brandon waves form behind the counter. "Ready to go?" she asks. I nod and give Brandon another kiss before walking towards the door.

"Oh Flora," Brandon says. "Please text Helia sometime today. He looked like a lovesick puppy at the house when I left."

Flora blushes and laughed embarrassedly. "I'll be sure to do that." I blew one last kiss to Brandon before Flora dragged me out of the bookstore.

We drove our separate cars to the mall. Parked right next to one another, we proceeded into JC Penny's.

"So…where to first?" Flora questions. She must not shop a lot.

"Let's start with shirts and work our way down." I suggest as we walk toward the women's section.

"Hey, isn't your birthday coming up soon?" She inquires.

"Yeah. Actually, it's not until 3 weeks."

"I wonder what Brandon will get you."

"Me too." I say. I really do wonder what he'll get me.

"Oh, this one's cu-" Flora was interrupted by her cell phone chirping. She checked it out and laughed at her apparent text message.

"Helia?" I guess. She nods and texts back.

"Like I was saying, this shirt is adorable." She boasts the turquoise shirt with glitter designs. It was pretty cute.

"I think it's hideous. But that's no different from your regular wardrobe is it, Dora?" An unwelcome and familiar voice said. I turned around to see Bloom and he human servants flanking each side of her.

"Who the hell is Dora? It's Flora, dipstick. Get it right or don't say her name at all." I spat at her. She wasn't just going to talk to my friend like that.

I felt Flora pulling on my arm. "Let's just go Stella. She's not worth our time." I turn to Flora and see that she has a solemn look on her face.

"Oh, don't go yet Dora. I can help you with your dreadful search for clothes. Shopping for the party tonight?" she asks snottily. When we didn't offer an answer she said, "Well, you probably want my help instead of Ms. Fashion-not over here." She lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "You might want to go check out the salvation army, Dora. We all know you can't afford $20.00 shirts." She and her zombies laughed.

Flora's eyes started to water and my blood boiled even farther. Oh, hell no.

I turned to Bloom. "Look here, idiot. If you have nothing better to do then tease others, then you really need a life. What? Your boyfriend not giving you much attention lately." I mocked and her eyes flashed. Hmm, there's something going on there too. More ammo for me.

"He isn't is he?" I laughed and crossed my arms. "Karma's a bitch, huh?"

Bloom smiled tightly. "Stella, I don't have time for idiots like yourself." She looked at Flora again. "That shirt shows your fat, by the way." I almost swung on her but Flora stopped me.

"Come on, Stella." she begged. I gave in with one last dirty look at Bloom. She just smiled and said, "See you both tonight."

Flora was silent as we walked into the food court. "You okay?" I asked. Of course she's not. I hate it when people ask me that, too.

"I'll be fine." She sniffs. "I'm going to the bathroom real fast, okay? Hold my purse for me please." she says looking at the ground.

"Flora-"

"I'm fine." Her voice breaks and she shoves the purse at me. "Be right back." she mumbles as she darts off to the bathroom.

I sigh. Flora is too nice and sensitive to be teased like that. I hate Bloom so much right now. Does she have any type of life?

Flora's phone rings in her purse. I take it out to see that it's Helia. Should I answer? Probably not. But maybe he can calm Flora down.

"Hi Helia, it's Stella." I say trying for cheerfulness.

"Hey, Stella. Is Flora around?" He asks a little confused. Probably because I'm answering her phone.

"Well…she's kind of upset right now. We had a slight encounter with this bitch from school and she was really mean to her. Flora is really sensitive sometimes." I explained.

"What? Is she okay now?" He asked concerned and a little angry. Hmmm. I think I'm going to like this guy for her.

"She's fine now, I think." As I say this, Flora emerges from the bathroom. "Maybe you can talk to her?" I propose. Flora is in front of me know. She mouths to me, "Who are you talking to?"

"Yeah. Let me speak with her please." He says. I hand the phone over to her and mouth back to her 'Helia'. Her red-rimmed eyes widen and she takes the phone.

"I'll go order some food." I say as she begins her conversation with Helia. I order some burgers and fries from Kyle's, and stand by the counter to wait.

As I bring the food to the table, Flora bounces over. "Thanks for the food. How much was it?" She asks, pulling out her wallet.

"Oh, no. I've got you. I don't need any money back." I say, sitting down.

She frowns slightly. "I don't need charity, Stella."

"I know that," I say, surprised. "I just don't need you to pay me back. Can't I spot my friend once." I joked. She looked at e warily but thanked me and sat down to eat.

"Helia cheer you up some?" I ask knowingly. She flushes and looks down. "He tends to do that for me." I just smile and nod.

The next hour was spent trying to find clothes and dodge Bloom. Flora found a very pretty pink sundress to wear. I found an orange top and white skirt to match. What can I say, I gotta have my orange.

We drove back to my house and watched TV for a couple of hours. Just to pass time. The event didn't start until 7. I heard a car drive up and, thinking it was Brandon, I jumped up to open the door. It was just my Dad though.

"Oh. Hey, Dad. How was work?" I asked.

"Don't sound more excited." Dad chuckled. "It was well I suppose. Glad we're going to that firework show again. Some good old Father-Daughter bonding time." He nudged my shoulder and walked into the den to greet Flora.

Crap. I didn't tell him I was going with Brandon yet. I was hoping he would assume I was, but apparently he didn't. "Umm, Dad?" I called out. He turned around. "I was actually going to go wi-" I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Crap.

"I'll get it!" Flora bounces to the door and in comes Brandon and Helia.

I look at my dad apologetically, hoping he would understand. He looked disappointed and looked away from me. "I…understand Stella. Go ahead. I'll see you there." He said gruffly and nodded at Brandon and Helia, before walking back out of the door.

Guilt gnawed at me like never before. We did do this every year together. I'm not meaning to push him away, I just… I don't know. I'll make it up to him somehow.

Brandon walks up and looks down at me. "You sure you want to go with us? I'll understand if you want to-"

"No, no ,no. I'm going with you. I'll deal with my Dad later." I say, wrapping my arms around his waist and hugging him tight. How could I possibly miss him so much in just a few hours?

He hugged me back and kissed the top of my head. "We should probably be getting to the show."

I pulled back and grinned. "Right."

We turned toward the door to see Helia and Flora wrapped in a passionate kiss. Brandon cleared his throat as I giggled. Flora pulled away with a bright red face. Helia was in a daze and grinning like an idiot before he shook his head once as if to clear it. "Um…you guys ready?"


The event was in full blast by the time we got there. People were dancing, sitting, running around, and eating all over the large park.

"Let's find a spot to watch the show!" Flora says over the music. I brought two blankets to share between the four of us. Flora and Helia took one and laid it horizontally so they could sit side by side. Helia wrapped an arm around her and spoke to her in that gentle tone of his. I smiled to myself. You go, Flora.

Brandon laid our blanket vertically. I looked at him suspiciously as he motioned for me to sit down. When I sat, he sat as well, putting his legs on either side of me and allowing me to lean my back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and I sighed contently.

"So what do you want for your birthday?" He asked in my ear.

I shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't matter to me that much. As long as it's from the heart."

"I should've known that's what you would say." He chuckled lowly. I smiled.

"Hey, how old is Helia?"

"He turned twenty in March. Why?" He asked.

"Just curious about he and Flora's age difference. She's eighteen so it's not that much of one." I wonder how long this fling is going to last between them. And if it isn't a fling, then how in the hell are they going to make a long-distance relationship like that work.

"Well, technically, you're still under aged." He said. I looked back at him and saw he was teasing me.

"Only two more weeks to go, buddy. Then we'll be the same age." I turn back around and played with his fingers.

Brandon gave me a small squeeze and helped me stand up. "Look up."

The fireworks were beautiful. They are practically the same every year, but this time they seemed even more glamorous. The reds and blues and whites and yellows of the sparks were mesmerizing. Here, with Brandon's arms wrapped securely around me, I felt really peaceful. Stress free really. I look across the yard to see Bloom and Sky arguing quietly. Figures. I'm beyond caring about that know though.

I turn in Brandon's arms and he kisses me soundlessly. Like it was just a normal thing to do. I think it was meant as a peck but it deepened quickly. As we stood there under the fireworks and night sky, I thought to myself for the first time, Things can't get any better than this.


A/N: So not my best chapter, but it's just a little more calm before the storm. Expect some drama next chapter. Well, not just some…a lot. Well, not a lot… just… just read the next chapter. Lol!

Thanks for reading and reviewing to those who read and review. It makes me want to write more when I know people actually want more.

A special shout-out to cheekymonkey2106. She gave me an idea for the next chapter and it was a great help. Thanks , girl!

So… Review!