*Bee*

"Thanks for the ride, Jin," I said, stepping out of her van. Jet had cancelled last minute, shock of all shocks. He'd said something about hanging out with the guys. So we'd all piled into the junior's old green- and brown-painted van and had a very loud ride – not just because of the bad engine.

"No problem," she said, smiling and taking the keys out. "Besides, Honey said she'd buy me some. Song never lets me keep ice cream in the dorm."

"Why not?" I asked, closing the door and walking around.

She walked over and shrugged. "Something about it getting on the carpet."

"She's such a neat freak, it's hard to believe she grew up on a farm," I said, chuckling lightly as we walked into the shop.

Honey waved us over to where she was looking at the menu hanging on the wall, not turning to look at us. Granyt, Jewels, Whistle, Lace, Mouse, The Duke, Tails, and Melody were clustered around her.

"Bee, do you wanna split something with me?" Honey asked, glancing over for just a second. "Cinnamon won't."

I looked over and saw the burn victim in question holding a table. She waved briefly, looking bored, before mouthing something somewhere along the lines of 'dragged against my will'.

I turned back to Honey. "Sure. Order whatever you want, I'll pay half." I walked over to Cinnamon and sat next to her. "How can you be dragged against your will to an ice cream shop?"

"I wanted to finish my movie," she explained, sounding a bit bitter. "But she threatened to leave me."

I laughed as Jin sat next to me. "So overprotective," I said, rolling my eyes. "What were you watching, anyway?"

"Spirited Away," the waterbender said, taking a notebook out from beside her chair and a pencil from behind her ear. She leaned the notebook on the edge of the table and started sketching the main character.

"Oh, I love that movie!" Jin said, pushing one of her braids behind her shoulder. She leaned over so she could see what Cinnamon was doing. "You draw?"

Cinnamon nodded, glancing up for just a second. "It's kinda my thing. Honey's the singer; I'm the artist."

"You should see her folder," I said, leaning back and smiling. I tried to ignore the 'Honey's the singer' line.

"Don't even start on that," Cinnamon said, not looking up. But I could see a trace of a smile.

I grinned. "Apparently it's Honey's–" I was cut off by Cinnamon jabbing her eraser into my lip.

"Shhh," she said, moving it in circles and taking the left side of my mouth with it.

"What. Are you doing?" I asked, trying not to laugh, my words muffled by the angle she had my mouth in.

"Getting you to shhh," she said, stopping the circles but not removing the eraser.

"You're turning into your sister," I observed.

Her eyes widened and she quickly clutched her pencil to her chest. "Shut up," she muttered.

I burst out laughing. Jin giggled.

Honey walked over. "Why are you laughing?" she asked, giggling and setting a container in front of Jin.

"Cinnamon's being a dork," I said, still smiling.

"Shut up," Cinnamon muttered again, going back to her sketching.

Honey giggled again and sat down between me and her sister. She put a container and two spoons in front of me.

"Oh, yeah," I said, remembering I was paying half. I set my purse on my lap. "How much do I owe you?" I asked, pulling out my wallet.

She waved it away. "Nothing. The fact that I make more money than you because I actually have a job means you don't have to pay."

I rolled my eyes. "You sell soap and bracelets, Honey. No one considers that a job." I put my wallet back in my purse, which I set on the floor.

"I still make more money than you," she pointed out, opening the container, picking up a spoon, and sticking it in.

I picked the other one up. "'Cause the boys refuse to let me get one." I took a bite. "Mm, what is this?" I asked, taking the spoon out of my mouth.

"Raspberry with chocolate chips," Honey said through a mouthful of it.

I laughed at the way her cheeks puffed out, making her face look even rounder than usual, and had another bite.

"Longshot pretty much funds my reading and music, anyway," I said, swallowing. "I don't really need much else."

Cinnamon smirked, Jin smiled, and Honey giggled.

"What?" I asked, staring blankly.

Cinnamon shook her head. "You're so–"

She was cut off by Whistle half-skipping over, dragging Lace behind her.

"Hi!" the younger girl said happily. The older broke free, walked over to the chair next to Cinnamon, sat down, and patted her lap. Whistle grinned, set a container on the table, and sat, wrapping her arms around the other girl's neck.

"What did we miss?" Lace asked, expressionless as she opened their container.

"That Honey makes more money than Bee," Jin said, taking another bite and still smiling.

Lace raised an eyebrow, but Whistle moved one hand to pick up a spoon and brutally stab into their container with a cheerful, "Well, we knew that!", making Lace nod.

I rolled my eyes and took another bite. Behold, why I never felt like the oldest.

Granyt and Jewels walked over and I felt myself sink down in my seat before silently cursing myself for not trusting them.

Jewels saw that there wasn't a chair left and gently pulled Granyt over to the closest table.

"So, what's up?" Granyt asked, sitting.

I looked over at her. "Not much. They're just making me feel even smaller."

"That's possible?"

I stiffened at the voice before recognizing it and turning around, scowling.

Mouse flinched. "I was kidding, Spirits!" He pouted and went to sit with Granyt and Jewels. The Duke followed, laughing his head off.

The latter sat down to their left and looked over at Honey, who smiled at him. He smiled back. I tried to hide my grin at their subtle flirting, while Mouse rolled his eyes.

I heard a loud clatter and turned around to see Tails half-sprawled on the ground and blinking in surprise. Melody knelt down next to her, looking partially concerned and partially amused, and offered her hand. Tails took it, picked herself up, and brushed herself off.

"I, um, I'm… okay," she said, still sounding confused.

Melody let go of her hand and checked her over one more time before smiling a bit and sitting in the last spot, in between the boys.

Tails noticed there wasn't another chair available, pulled one over, and sat between Mouse and Melody. She smiled at Mouse, but he was staring determinedly at the table, his jaw clenched. She frowned, looking hurt, and half-stabbed her ice cream with her spoon. Melody turned to them, but I couldn't see her expression.

"I know it's been like this for a while," I said quietly, leaning towards Honey, "but what's up with Tails and Mouse? You can feel the awkward."

Honey opened her mouth to say something, but Cinnamon cut her off with a shake of her head.

"Not our story to tell," the older girl whispered, still sketching.

Honey bit her lip slightly, but nodded. Lace did, too, making Whistle look at her, confused.

"Don't worry about it," Lace said quietly, wrapping an arm around the younger girl's waist. Whistle shrugged it off and had another bite before feeding Lace one, making the older girl smile just a bit.

I raised an eyebrow at how quiet everything had gotten so quickly, but went back to eating. By the time everyone had finished, there was a small conversation between Granyt and Jewels, who had gotten up and were now standing next to our table, and another between Whistle and Lace. The Duke was sitting on the floor between Honey and Cinnamon and was talking quietly to the former and Melody was looking over Cinnamon's shoulder and commenting on her sketch, leaving Mouse and Tails alone at the other table.

"What do you think happened between those two?" I whispered to Jin, watching the increasing awkwardness at the other table and remembering how they used to be best friends.

She shrugged. "He probably did something stupid and doesn't want her finding out, so she feels hurt that he's avoiding her." She stood up before I could respond. "Hey, you guys ready to go?"

Mouse literally jumped out of his seat. Tails flinched, then stared down at the ground, looking depressed. Mouse glanced back and there was a flicker of guilt on his face before he bit his lip, clenched his fists, and stormed out the door.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Melody sighed. "I'll go talk to him." She straightened her ponytail and sped out, her flats lightly taping against the tile.

There was a moment of quiet before Jin asked, "Should we leave them alone for a minute?"

Honey, Cinnamon, Granyt, Jewels, The Duke, and Lace – presumably the ones who knew about all of this – nodded.

Lace lifted Whistle off of her lap and the two of the started getting all of the trash together.

No one said anything. Tails was still sitting in the same spot, staring at the ground, hands clasped in her lap.

"I'll go check on them," Cinnamon said after a minute. She walked over to the door and poked her head outside. A moment later she pulled back in, nodded at us, and ducked out.

Everyone stared leaving. I drifted over to Tails, who was finally getting up.

"You okay?" I asked, resisting the urge to put an arm around her shoulders.

She looked up at me, her startlingly green eyes wide, and frowned, biting her lip slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said quietly. She pulled her jacket tighter around herself and practically ran out the door, a small stumble ruining the drama.

I followed her, slower, and climbed into the passenger side of Jin's van.

The ride back was noticeably quieter than the one there.