Best Friends

"Is she doing it right now?" AJ shook her head, standing with Lyla and Becca in the coffee shop which had just closed for the night, all three of them looking outside where Shiv was standing with Finn having a serious-looking conversation.

"Who wants to bet she'll have a boyfriend within one week of her being at college?" Becca asked, eating one of the cakes which hadn't sold during the day.

"I just don't think she likes being alone." Lyla said, "She's an only child and she grew up with parents who are always working and out of town. Not to mention her friends bailed on her. I think she just likes the company more than actually having a boyfriend."

"You're like a therapist." Becca nodded as Lyla rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and eat your cake." Lyla said.

"They're hugging." AJ noticed, "That's good."

"That is good." Lyla nodded, "He was probably expecting it because she's going off to college."

"Probably." AJ nodded, watching as Shiv walked back into the coffee shop after embracing Finn.

"How'd it go?" Becca asked.

"Uh… he broke up with me." Shiv said with surprise, "He basically said all the things that I was going to say to him."

"Oh." Lyla said, "Well… that's kinda good, right? Makes it easier that you're both on the same page?"

"Yeah." Shiv nodded, "It was… way easier than I thought." Shiv admitted.

"And you hugged." AJ pointed out.

"Yeah, he was annoyingly nice." Shiv nodded, "I worked myself up for nothing." She scoffed, taking a slice of the leftover cake and grabbing a fork to eat it with.

"That looked pretty civil to me. That's a good thing, Shiv." AJ nodded.

"Yeah, it is." Shiv agreed, turning around when she heard the door open, all four of them staring at Punk as he walked into the shop.

"Hey." Punk said a little nervously. He'd expected only AJ to be there but instead was faced with the three others staring at him.

"Hello, best friend. What can we do for you?" Becca asked as Punk smiled nervously.

Truth be told, he wasn't all that familiar with AJ's friends yet, even though he'd been spending so much time with her. He felt a little awkward being in their presence, merely because he knew AJ probably talked to them about him.

"Just… wanted to know if you wanted some pizza? I'm going to pick one up to take home." Punk looked over to AJ with a smile.

"Yeah, sure." AJ nodded with a smile, "I should be done here in about half an hour."

"I'd like pizza." Shiv turned to Punk.

"I, too, am also hungry." Becca nodded in agreement as AJ looked at them unhappily.

"I can pick one up for you guys and drop it in." Punk shrugged.

"Or you could stay and eat with us?" Lyla suggested with a reassuring smile, "We don't bite." She nodded, "Well, Becca does."

"Uh… ok." Punk nodded, turning to AJ who just shrugged. Putting up a fight would be mean, and she supposed the girls had to get to know the man she was spending all her free time with.

"You can pay since you're the oldest." Shiv nodded to him.

"Shiv." AJ scolded.

"I got it." Punk laughed a little, "What's the request?"

"Pepperoni. Extra cheese." Becca nodded.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "I'll be as quick as I can." He told them, walking out of the coffee shop to go get the pizzas, which they were now apparently eating together.

"That was fun." Becca smiled, "He looked like he wanted to die. Does he hate us?" She turned to AJ.

"No, he doesn't hate you. But you didn't need to put him on the spot like that." AJ shook her head.

"It would be nice to get to know him a little better." Lyla said sincerely to AJ who turned to her, "You're spending all this time with him and none of us have even had a proper conversation with him."

"You could have given me the heads up, though." AJ scoffed.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lyla smiled, nudging AJ's hip with her own playfully as AJ couldn't help smiling. The idea of the people she liked the most all being together was a nice one.

Punk eventually got back to the coffee shop with the pizzas, sitting them down on the table where the girls were already sitting at, laughing and talking together. He didn't know if he'd ever come across a girl group of friends who genuinely looked like the cared for one another. He'd always hear Sophie bitch and moan about her close friends. The Brewberry girls just seemed different.

"I got breadsticks in case the pizza wasn't enough." He said, pulling up a seat beside AJ and trying his best not to feel nervous.

"You've charmed me already." Becca nodded.

"Invite Daryl and Finn over and we could get this silly little staff meeting over with." Lyla said.

"It's 8pm. Daryl is probably in bed." Punk said, knowing the young boy's routine pretty well by now.

"Finn just broke up with Shiv." Becca announced to Punk who nodded slowly and turned to Shiv.

"You alright?" He asked her.

"I'm fine. I was going to break up with him." Shiv made clear.

"So it all worked out?" Punk figured, "Maybe it's because you're going to college."

"That's what he said." Shiv said suspiciously, "Those little dweebs tell you everything, don't they?" She realised.

"Pretty much." Punk nodded, "You guys know how it is. Spending every day, all day together. Stuff comes out." He said.

"I have a question." Becca announced as Punk turned to her, "Are you a Scorpio?" She asked.

"Yeah." Punk said.

"You are?!" Becca yelled as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." Punk laughed a little, "How did you know?"

"You're giving Scorpio energy." Becca nodded, "I am also a Scorpio."

"You are so annoying." Lyla told her.

"I have a gift." Becca corrected her.

"A gift at being annoying." Lyla nodded.

"Sorry about this." AJ said to Punk quietly beside her, "I didn't know they were going to-"

"It's ok." He turned to her with a smile, "Relax." He laughed a little, leaning in a kissing her cheek as AJ smiled. He could see she was uptight, and he didn't want her to be. He had no issues with spending some time with her friends. He figured he had to meet them properly at some point. He knew they were such a huge part of AJ's life, and therefore that meant something to him too.

"So, honestly, tell us what you think about this place?" Lyla asked Punk in a more serious manner as they all chowed down on the pizza.

"Honestly? I think it's great." Punk nodded, "It's like nowhere I've ever been before. Sometimes it does feel a little dystopian but… I like the quiet compared to the city."

"You were born in the city?" Shiv asked.

"Yeah, born and raised." Punk said.

"And this place just caught your eye?" Lyla asked.

"It did but honestly it was the cheapest place to rent, that sort of sealed the deal for me." He nodded, "I know you two aren't from here." He nodded to AJ and Lyla, "And I know you're definitely from here." He looked to Shiv, "What about you?" He asked Becca.

"I'm from here." Becca nodded, "Grew up saying that I was going to leave this place as soon as I could but… can't seem to do it."

"Because you love it so much?" Punk asked her.

"No, more because it's easy and simple. I like waking up and going to a job I genuinely enjoy. If I moved away, I'd probably end up at a job I hated." Becca said.

"You guys love this place, huh?" He said, looking around the coffee shop. He could understand why, the place was extremely quirky and inviting.

"We love AJ." Becca corrected seriously, as serious as she'd ever spoken before.

"Which means we got our eyes on you." Shiv added.

"Always." Lyla inserted.

"I… already knew that." Punk assured them.

Meanwhile AJ wanted the ground to swallow her up, "Ok, moving on." She emphasised loudly as Punk just smiled to her, "I spoke to Manny on the phone this morning and he's agreed to giving us a bigger stall because we're joining up the coffee shops." She told them.

"Who is Manny?" Punk asked.

"Manny the Mayor." Lyla told him.

"There's a mayor here?" Punk shook his head.

"Unofficial Mayor." AJ made clear, "Everyone just calls him that. He basically organises all the events for the town. He's actually just an English teacher at the school." She said.

"But he's Manny the Mayor to us." Shiv nodded.

"Didn't you speak to him to get your stall at the Spring Fair?" Lyla asked him.

"No, I asked Linda to sort that out for me." He admitted sheepishly.

"Don't get me started on that old hag." Becca shook her head, taking a bite of her pizza.

"Be careful. Phil is very protective of Linda." AJ nodded to them all.

"Why? She's a mean old lady." Shiv said.

"She's been great to me. And really helpful." Punk shrugged, "I think she just has a little bit of envy since this used to be where her bakery was."

"Doesn't mean she can be horrible." Lyla said.

"That's what I said." AJ agreed.

"I know it doesn't mean she can be horrible, but I can see where she's coming from." Punk nodded, "Maybe at the Summer Fair you guys will have the opportunity to talk to her and squash things."

"I have nothing to say to her." AJ said, "I've always been nothing but kind whenever I see her, and she throws it back in my face."

"Maybe I can talk to her about it then." Punk said.

"What are you doing?" Becca asked Shiv who was scrolling through her phone.

"Checking for any resale Taylor Swift tickets." Shiv nodded, "The cheapest is seven hundred bucks right now." She huffed.

"Don't you dare buy them." Lyla warned.

"Please, like I have a spare seven hundred bucks in my bank account." Shiv shook her head.

"You like Taylor Swift?" Punk asked Shiv. He genuinely wanted to know more about the girls. AJ filled him in on some stuff, but he wanted them to feel comfortable around him too if he was going to be spending so much time with AJ.

"I love her." Shiv said, "She is my queen." She sighed as Punk looked at her with confusion, turning to AJ for some help in translating the language. AJ just shook her head and smiled, suggesting he just ignore Shiv.

"And you couldn't get tickets to see her?" Punk asked.

"No. I was in the queue all day and I still couldn't get any." Shiv shook her head with disappointment.

"I'm sure she'll tour again." Punk shrugged.

"You don't understand." Shiv whined, "She won't tour for another few years and this is the tour of all tours." She said.

"Don't encourage her." AJ told Punk.

"Do you like Taylor Swift?" Lyla asked Punk with a grin whilst Shiv looked at him.

"She's… not really my kind of music." Punk nodded.

"Really? You look like a Taylor Swift guy." Becca nodded sarcastically.

"My mom is calling me. I'll be back." Shiv announced, leaving the coffee shop and walking outside to take the phone call whilst Punk noticed AJ, Lyla and Becca grinning together.

"What?" Punk shook his head.

"We've got her the tickets." AJ smiled deviously, "We're going to give her them at her leaving party."

"I can't wait." Becca clapped excitedly.

"When is her leaving party?" Punk asked.

"Beginning of August. Just before she goes off to college." AJ told him, "We're going to have it here in the coffee shop and invite everyone she knows."

"So, the whole town?" Punk asked.

"Pretty much." Lyla laughed, "And then we can give her the tickets." She grinned, reaching for another slice of pizza.

"You guys are really good friends." Punk nodded. It was hard not to feel the love radiate between all of the girls. It was nice to be in the company of people who genuinely cared for each other.

"Don't you ruin our surprise." Becca warned him.

"I won't." Punk put his hands up in defence as AJ just smiled, "So when should we have this staff meeting for the Fair?" He asked them.