12
Ky was over at Stiles's house again, watching TV together while he studied. "Won't it be distracting?" she'd asked earlier when he'd called, frowning.
"It's just exam review."
"Isn't that even more important?"
"C'mon, I'll ignore you the entire time."
"Oo, okay," she joked.
"Uh, that was quick," he retorted. She grinned, could almost see him rolling his eyes. "Or you can help me study."
"Mm, first one sounds better. Less work."
"Right, well, either one, then. Besides, we don't have much time before-" he added, before pausing and going quiet. "Well. You know." The unspoken words came through anyway: Ky was leaving soon, and while they had been spending pretty much every minute they could together, there was an unavoidable feeling that hung like a cloud over their heads; the fear that it would probably never feel like enough. It made her stomach twist to even think about it, so she mostly just tried not to.
"Fine. And I was kidding before, about not helping."
"I know. Good try, though. Sarcasm's improving."
"Guess someone's rubbing off on me."
So now, here they were, watching some weird underground movie from the 70s that was showing on cable. Ky had brought over some microwave popcorn and they were drinking pop.
Initially, Stiles had offered the discovery of fizzy water- they made mocktails with some fruit and the water. Upon trying it, they both immediately made faces.
"Euch, this is disgusting."
"Needs sugar or something," Ky agreed, taking another tentative sip and coughing immediately. It went down the wrong tube.
Stiles burst out laughing, before patting her on the back to try and help. "Why'd you go again when you knew it was-"
"I don't know, I thought maybe it's like, you need to-" She coughed again. His hand was warm on her back as he patted, trying to be helpful. "-acquire the taste," she finished, after recovering.
Stiles gave her shoulder a squeeze, trying hard not to laugh. "Was the taste acquired?" he asked, while opening the fridge and bending down to look around.
"... no." Quiet defeat.
"Oo, how about lemonade?"
"Yes, please."
They lined up the ingredients on the counter. "Very Masterchef of us," Ky said seriously.
Stiles nodded, equally serious.
"Should we look up a recipe? I don't know how to make lemonade."
"Nah, let's just eyeball it. How hard could it be?"
Five minutes later, the lemons were squeezed, the sugar and water (regular) were added, and Stiles had even found some colourful bendy straws and umbrellas.
"This is a tropical masterpiece."
"Truly our best work yet." They each took a glass, clinked in cheers, and sipped.
"... maybe two lemons was too many."
"Maybe it just needs more sugar-"
"Five spoons each is plenty of sugar, you pre-pre-diabetic-"
"Hey, I told you that in confidence!"
They sighed.
"Okay, let's give up on being fancy. Soda?"
"Soda."
Back on the couch, Stiles opened his math textbook and notes while Ky tried to figure out the movie, which they thought had started at the beginning but now it seemed like a bunch of key info was missing.
"Wait, isn't that her brother?" Stiles asked, about ten minutes in.
"That's what I thought- you don't make out with your brother like that, though."
"Ew."
And then "Oh my god," they both said, as the guy bit the girl on the neck.
"Hey- back to work."
"Yes, ma'am."
Stiles worked diligently and finished in time to watch the ending, Ky ending up snuggled in his arms and both of them jumping at the thrilling jump-scares and conclusion. As the credits rolled, they watched the screen in shock.
"That was terrible," Stiles said finally.
"Best terrible film I've ever seen," Ky agreed.
The title finally appeared at the end, which they'd been wondering the whole time. "Ooh," they murmured.
Ky went to sit up but Stiles playfully stayed put with his arm around her. She laughed. "Wha-"
"Wait. My arm's not even asleep yet."
"And… you want it to be…?"
He shrugged. "There's worse things."
Ky's cheeks warmed, so she gave in and settled. They stayed like that for a while.
"Done studying?"
"Yep, that was the last of it."
"When're exams?"
"Tomorrow morning, then Friday."
"Aah. You ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
"Hm. Want me to quiz you on English questions?"
He scrunched his nose up in a way that Ky found adorable. "I don't want that, no…"
Ky turned her head to look up at him, raising an eyebrow. He sighed. "But that's probably a good idea."
He made noises of dissent as Ky climbed out of his arms and into a cross-legged position. "Excellent."
After an hour of that, it was clear that Stiles was more prepared than he'd let on. Maybe he hadn't realized it either.
"Okay, that was the last of the questions."
"What? Really?" Stiles was frowning in disbelief as he took back the handout from Ky, looking over the content again.
"Mhm. You're going to ace this," Ky said with confidence.
"Honestly, maybe. Wait. Don't jinx it." Still in surprise. "Man. Oh, man! This is all thanks to you, you know."
"Give yourself some credit."
"And me, of course. I guess. Wow. But I think you explained everything way better than the teachers do. I finally get Shakespeare. Shakespeare! Can you believe it?"
Ky laughed. "We should celebrate."
Stiles snapped his fingers. "Yes. Ice cream."
"I meant after your exams."
"That's too far away," he said, waving his hand. "Besides, Kira's thing is on Friday."
"Oh, yea." Ky had forgotten about that.
"Mhm. End of summer." He pronounced each word shortly, letting them pierce the air. The mood went glum as they thought about the coming weeks. The last two.
"So. Ice cream, you say?" Ky asked, tilting her head.
"Absolutely. Let's go." With that, they were back, on this day and this late afternoon. Stiles jumped up and put his books on the table, then they left the house and were soon on the road.
Ky gasped at a sudden memory. "Is Sally's still open?" It was a parlor just outside of town. Less popular since it was farther, with unique flavors and a dog named Rascal who would guard the door. "With Rascal?"
"Yes, and I don't know. I haven't been there in forever." He frowned as they changed course toward the right road. "Man, sometimes I forget you used to live here."
"Me, too," Ky agreed. "And then weird, random flashbacks attack me."
"Oh?"
"Yea. Like, I learned to bike over there," she said, pointing to the block past their house. "And little league happened at that park. I kinda always wanted to play."
"No way, I was in that! You probably biked past while I was there."
"I did! During practice."
"Saturday afternoons?"
"Saturday afternoons!"
Even though it was hot, the store was mostly quiet besides a few friends and an older couple. They got ice cream and then Ky spotted the rooftop patio poster. She asked the cashier if it was open.
"Uh…"
"Yea, but there's a line since we share it with the restaurant beside us," a different worker said, back turned. "You can wait over there, though." He looked familiar, but was hard to place.
"Wait, Mason?" Stiles asked. Oh, Ky realized. The drunk guy from the party.
The worker stopped what he was doing, which actually looked a lot like not very much, and slowly turned around with a grimace. "Hey, Stiles and friend. Wait, you look familiar."
"We met at that party- you puked in the bushes."
"Oh, right! Liam said something about that. There was the whole… thing," he said carefully, wide-eyed as if he'd said too much.
"Don't worry, she's cool," Stiles assured, as Ky grinned before taking a lick of her orange-sicle inspired cone. "I didn't know you worked here," he continued.
"And somehow, no one else does either. So, if you kept this a secret?"
"I mean, I'll try."
"And I don't know anyone," Ky added helpfully, when Mason turned his fearful gaze on her.
Stiles and Mason disagreed. "You know us now," Mason said. "You know. The gang. The team. Especially if you know about… the thing." His hushed excitement was clear. Ky couldn't help but compare it to the tiredness and almost… disdain, that Stiles had adapted. He'd been so energetic as a kid, so it was easy to imagine how pumped he might have been while first discovering this entire world of mythological creatures… especially in comparison to now.
"We better get in line," Stiles said, saving her from a reply as he laced his hand in hers. Mason's eyes flickered there and then back at them. "See ya, Mason."
"Wait- okay, don't let anyone see you, but if you take the back stairs, there's still a good view. No line. Employee's secret, if you will."
Ky and Stiles thanked him for the info.
"No problem. Enjoy!"
"See you later!"
With that, they followed his directions and indeed found a quieter, blocked off roof area. "Liam's friend, right?" Ky asked, as they climbed the stairs.
"Mhm. Best."
The view was amazing, considering the building was only three stories- you could see the rooftops of the whole town and the surrounding suburbia. Further off to the west was dense forest area, and to the east were fields and more sparse housing. Farmland. Windmills.
They finished their cones in relative silence, enjoying the scene. It was enough to be beside each other. After, they talked about nothing in particular, avoiding anything serious. He pointed something out on the horizon, but Ky couldn't see it.
"Hey, look at that."
"What is it?"
"Oh, nevermind, just airplane trails. Thought it was something else for a second. They're dipping down now."
"Aw."
He glanced at her, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Maybe if you were taller."
"Okay, rude."
"No, I mean-" He gestured to his back. Ky lit up in excitement.
"Oh, piggyback ride?"
"Kinda cheesy, but…"
"Very cliche," she agreed, laughing as he bent down and she hopped on, arms loose around his neck. "Wow, the view really is great from up here. You see this all the time?"
"No, only on good days," he said jokingly. "Can you see the trails?"
"Oh, right."
"That's the whole point!"
"I don't… oh, I see them!"
It was a very good day.