XIII

.𖥔 ݁ ˖𓂃.☘︎ ݁˖(episode 6 pt. 2 -  baggagebonfire day //second week of December 2023).𖥔 ݁ ˖𓂃.☘︎ ݁˖

Night came by, and the Jordan family (minus Amelia) were currently eating dinner. Seb hurriedly finished his food, his leg bouncing and spoon clanking at the plate each time he scooped. After swallowing the last remains of his food, he quickly got up and washed his plate at the sink.

"Hey, what's with all this rush young man?" Bennett asked his son. His attention might be on the documents in his hand but he sure has 6th sense.

"Uh, going somewhere?" Seb nervously laughed, already finished washing his utensils. Bea, who was still eating, rolled her eyes at her cousin. Of course, she knew where he's going.

"Bye dad! Bye Bea! Love you two!"

"Not so fast, Sebastian. Sit."

Seb froze at his tracks. He heaved a sigh and pulled out a chair besides Bea. Bennett put down the documents and stared at him.

"I know you're going to the bonfire."

"Dad –"

"Before anything else, no I'm not mad, -" Seb sighed in relief ."- but, I don't understand why you would not just tell me you're going there."

Bea watched Seb gulped, his eyes now wandering anywhere but his father's. Bennett turned to Bea, smirking. "He actually got drunk last year when I told him to not get drunk."

"Dad!" Seb stood up.

"Who said you could stand up? Sit down again."

Seb went back to his seat. Bea muttered an "oof" under her breath.

"Look, the reason why I allowed you to go these things is because I wanted you to have a little more fun," her uncle's voice softened. "But I don't see the reason why you would lie to me."

"I'm sorry, dad," Seb looked up to his father.

It was awkward for Bea to be some sort of barrier between the two, her eyes looking back and forth between Bennett and Seb. She put her legs up in the chair and hugged them, deciding if she should silently leave or stay there to witness this.

"You can go."

Her cousin whispered "yes" and stood up. "But, then again, don't have too much fun or you'll be grounded for the whole winter break. Take this as your last warning," his father reminded him.  Seb kissed his father at the top of his head, left the kitchen, and went upstairs. Bennett turned to Bea. "I thought you're going with him?"

"It's not my 'go-to-place', uncle."

Bennet only smiled. "You know Bea, I was the complete opposite from your aunt when I was your age. While she's out there in the Philippines hustling and studying, I was known as a party-goer."

"What? No way!"

"It is, and hey, I turned out to be fine," he chuckled. "But what I'm trying to say is, try to have fun while you're here."

Bea put down her legs, looking anywhere but her uncle.

What harm could be done if it's just only for a night, right?

_______________________

The setting in the bonfire was anything that Bea expected. A bonfire in the middle obviously, obnoxiously loud music, and a bunch of high schoolers laughing and joking with red cups in their hands.

"You sure Phoebe and Nathan are here? I don't see them anywhere," Seb sticked his head out from the car window as he turned off the engine.

"Only Nathan. Phoebe texted she's sick," Bea replied, rereading the last sent messages from her friends on their group chat. Seb nodded at her.

The two left the car and walked towards to the fiery pit of the night. The December night breeze chilled in the atmosphere, and Bea shivered, despite the protective layers she was wearing; a black puffer winter jacket with the same grandpa sweater she wore on the Thanksgiving underneath, the same flare jeans she wore on her performance, and her usual go-to-Doc Martens swapped into Uggs that she solely wore in the winters.

"Still no sign of Nathan. Just stick by my side for now."

"I know."

After they left the car, her eyes wandered around the area. A group of people were playing beer pongs on the side, another group of people drinking on the other. Some were just sitting on the logs, some were chatting. The car that parked besides Seb's started shaking.

"Oh god," Seb cursed under his breath, and urged Bea to walked faster towards the main area.

A group of guys, probably Seb's batchmates or their seniors, shouted his name, wanting him to come over and have a little fun. Bea nudged at her cousin, and puckered her lips at their direction.

"Just ignore them."

"Why? Aren't they your friends?"

Seb remained silent, his direction focused on their destination. Bea only looked at him, but didn't bother to asked him.

"Yow Bash!"

Both of them turned around and saw Cole and Danny ran towards their best friend, their faces lighting up. Besides them were Alex and Jackie holding hands, Nathan who was gripping the strap of his guitar case, and Isaac, who was flipping his hair.

Of course, she should've expected his presence here.

"Hey! You're here!" Nathan beamed, jogging towards Bea's direction. The two then embraced a hug.

"I thought you're not coming?"

"Well— "

"She knows I'm here."

Isaac followed behind Nathan, with his usual grin in his face as he stared at Bea.

"In your face, Garcia."

She noticed the trio was already far from them, drinks already in their hands except for Seb.

Alex called them over, telling them that they should go with Kiley, who was sitting alone in a foldable chair. They went to her and Nathan immediately sat on an empty chair besides Kiley. As Bea situated herself on another empty chair besides Kiley, Isaac quickly occupied the log beside Bea. He looked up and down at her.

"What?"

"Really? The same grandpa sweater from the Thanksgiving?"

"Do you have a problem with my grandpa sweater, Garcia?"

Isaac just chuckled at her. Bea nudged his shoulder too hard that he almost fell down from the log.

"Deserved," she smirked.

"Kiles, you're here alone?" Alex asked.

"I'm with Skylar and Grace," she pointed where they were. A group of people were shouting around a curly haired girl, who was smiling and shouting also. That must be Grace, Bea thought. Meanwhile, Skylar was standing beside them, looking uninterested as he sipped down his drink. Nathan shifted in his seat, unzipping the case and pulling out his guitar. Alex and Jackie soon excused themselves, leaving the other four behind.

"Yo guys, want some drink?" Isaac stood up, stretching his arms.

"I'm good," Kiley held up her red cup.

"I don't feel like drinking," Nathan strummed his guitar.

"How about you, Bee?" Isaac tilted his head.

His offer was tempting. No guardians on sight, her father was literally on the other side of the state, and her cousin was with his friends.

"I share the same sentiment as them," Bea shrugged.

But she wanted her first drinking experience to not be here.

Gladly, Isaac didn't budge her and went towards the area where drinks were distributed.

"Bea, should I..." Nathan's voice halted.

"I think not now," she mouthed at him.

She knew what he meant. Nathan may be strumming his guitar, but his eyes wandered on his crush, whose vibe was the same as before. Isaac came back, a drink in his hand, and went to his seat.

"Hey Nate, let's play a song! I was thinking about one of Olivia Rodrigo's newest songs. Have you tried listening to it?"

"I'm not really into mainstream, Bea."

Bea understood, except for the tone of his voice — the kind of tone from a person that wasn't clearly interested in continuing the conversation. Nathan's gaze was still lingering on Skylar, who was now drinking with Grace, a smile on his face.

"Nathan-"

"Yo, do you think he's listened to the song yet?" Nathan asked, but his attention was in Isaac. "I think I should ask him. Do you think I should ask him?"

"Dude, just chill," Isaac replied. "Like if you're really into him, just plant the seed and it will come to you."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Nathan heaved a sigh.

Bea turned to Isaac, shocked.

"What's up with that metaphor?"

"Guess I learned something from Mr. Wellbein's class, huh?" he chuckled. "I know you're impressed, Bee."

"Never."

"Bee, watch me."

Isaac suddenly stood up, and walked towards Grace's and Skylar's direction. Nathan seemed to noticed, as he stopped strumming his guitar.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Nathan whispered.

"Planting the seed."

Nathan clicked his tongue and looked at Bea, his eyes pleading and contemplating whether he should follow his cousin or not. Bea only shrugged her shoulders. The musician only sighed and followed his cousin.

Bea (and Kiley) watched as the scene unfolded in front of them — Isaac asking Grace if he and Nathan could join them, Nathan standing beside Isaac awkwardly, and Skylar suddenly acting all unimpressed.

Kiley just chuckled at them. "Isaac really out there 'planting a seed'-"she air-quoted. "-for his cousin."

"Since when did Isaac became a match-maker?"

"Since now, I guess?"

Kiley stood up and stretched her body. "Who wants to play beer pong?"

"Definitely me!" Grace exclaimed. "Isaac, how's your aim?"

"How's perfect?" Isaac grinned.

"All right, let's go!" Grace motioned him to come with her, but Isaac walked towards Bea. He stood in front of her as he arrived.

"You forgot something?"

"You." Isaac pointed at her. "You should play beer pong with us."

"And if I don't want to?"

"You're missing out, Bee. Beer pong is literally one of the highlights here." Isaac sipped his drink.

"I'm not in the mood, really."

Isaac, his expression now shifted to a concerned one, looked at her. "You sure? You're okay being alone? All of us are playing, you know."

Isaac slightly moved to the side, and Bea saw Nathan standing alone, before following Kiley and Skylar silently.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she assured him.

"Alright." Isaac took a step back, but stopped. "Just.. call any of us if you need anything. We'll be right there." Soon, he left and joined Grace, who was waiting for him.

Bea, who was now alone in her seat, clutched her puffer jacket as the cold winter breeze passed. Her eyes wandered to where they are. Seb was now with Cole, Alex with Jackie, and the others were in the beer pong area, and her eyes fixated her on her friends. While Isaac and Grace were still playing in the designated area, Skylar was founded with Nathan. Bea felt something happened — a tension stirred between the two of them.

Everyone was in literally in their own world. Who they're hanging out with and what they're doing is just the way things usually settled here in Silver Falls.

Maybe she'll have fun on her own while she's still here.

"Hello, Bea!"

Bea turned her back. A group of 4 girls were approaching him, one hand on their puffer jackets pocket and the other hand bringing cups. The redhead in the group was bringing a bottle of beer, and beside her was the girl with the familiar green eyes that she saw at Monty's and in front of the faculty's room.

"Uh, hi?"

The girls immediately occupied the vacant seats and an empty log, with the redhead sat on the log and the green-eyed girl on Kiley's seat.

"You're not playing with them?" the redhead asked.

"Playing with who-"

"Hey, have you tried drinking?"

Beside her was a short haired brunette, snatching the bottle from her friend's hands and opened the bottle.

"No."

"Girl, have a little fun!" She poured the beer onto her cup. "You should-"

"Chloe, stop."

They turned to Bea's seatmate, her eyes piercing on Chloe. Chloe just rolled her eyes and chugged down the drink. The redhead and the other one just laughed.

"Hi Bea, I'm Tasha."

Tasha's stare was the same as how she looked at Chloe , but her voice was the complete opposite — soft, almost like a whisper. Bea smiled at her.

"I keep seeing you and Isaac hanging out. Are you guys together?"

Strange for a person who asked that kind of question to another person they just met. Bea bet Tasha's one of Isaac's fangirls at school.

"No!" She quickly answered.

"Tch. No way girl. Keep seeing you and him in school." Chloe said, drinking her 2nd cup for the night,

"We don't always hang out."

Bea could've sworn the girls were eyeing at Tasha, a mischievous grin plastered on their faces, whereas Tasha seemed unbothered, drinking her own cup.

"Where's your other friend?" Chloe asked again. "You know, the crazy—"

"Phoebe!" Tasha interrupted. "She meant Phoebe, Bea."

"She's sick. She can't come today."

"Uh huh...." Chloe hummed.

Bea fiddled her hands. It's probably 3 minutes had passed, but it felt time was running longer than that. Chloe then stood up and started pouring each other's cups, including Tasha's. She stopped at Bea's direction.

"Come on, one drink?"

Bea shook her head. Chloe laughed at her reply, and went back to her seat.

Bea just bit her cheeks. If only she could leave here as soon as possible, she would've. But something held her there.

"Don't let her get to you, Bea", Tasha said. "But she's right. It's only one drink."

Bea stared at her, searching Tasha's face for a joke that wasn't there. She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again. Chloe and their other friends felt like it was leaning in on her, waiting for her to take action.

"Okay, one drink," she boldly grabbed Tasha's drink and drank in one gulp. While Chloe and the rest of the gang were cheering her up, the alcohol burned inside her throat.

But why does she want it more?

Soon enough, Chloe poured down shot after shot, the whole group cheering her on as she jugged cup after cup. The bitterness of the drink finally get to her, and soon enough, her head then started to feel heavy, her vision getting blurry. Despite this, Bea managed to still hear her surrounding – especially with Chloe's bombarded question about this certain Garcia boy.

What's the relationship between him and her?

When and how did they become close?

Is Isaac dating anybody?

Bea's mouth moved before her mind does, answering each question. But before she get to answer the last one, she spotted Tasha interfering their conversation. Soon, both Tasha and Chloe's voices clashed one another.

With their now loud voices irritated her mind, she stood up and left the scene. She stumbled along the way, but eventually stood up, barely.

She started to wander her friends' whereabouts. But the only person she spotted was the certain midnight black haired guy in the beer pong area, smiling and high fiving people around him. Despite her throat burning and her vision started getting hazier, she called out his name.

But after calling him, she met face to face with the ground.

Bea groaned in pain. Before she could processed what happened, a familiar blonde figure stumbled down in front of her. She couldn't pint point who that is. There were too many blondes in her new school anyways. Or was that in her old school in the city?

Next thing she knew, everything went black. 

_______________

What could've been one of the best bonfire nights for Isaac turned out to be the most short-lived one.

He had tasted beer for the first time in a while, won beer pingpong with Grace, and basically had the time of his life.

But would that really matter if something happened in front of his eyes?

Isaac's smile faded the moment he saw her lying there on the ground. The laughter, the fire, and the music of the night blurred into nothing. Before he could process, everything went in flash for that night — Bash picking up Bea and left early, and Danny picking up Cole from the ground because apparently, Alex punched him for god knows whatever the reason is. And the next thing he knew, they're all inside the car, with Danny as the driver for the night. The whole drive was silent he could hear a pin drop. And he wouldn't dare to crack a joke or two.

Cole entered the house first. Isaac heard his aunt asking him about the scar on his face

"You should see the other guy," Cole smirked and went to the bathroom on the ground floor.

"Hang on, hang on!" Katherine stopped them. "What happened to your brother?"

Silence filled inside the kitchen. No one dared to move. Even Alex looked down on his feet. Anyone looked anywhere but Katherine, who then asked again the same question.

"Uh, I plead twin," Danny said.

"I plead no snitching," Isaac awkwardly smiled.

Clearly, Katherine wasn't satisfied of this. Everyone obviously knew the no snitching rule, but perhaps Katherine wouldn't give a damn about that rule when she saw her son's face with a scar. Eventually, George walked into the scene, excusing them out of the kitchen.

"Hey Isaac, do you think Bea will be okay?" Jackie asked as they ascended to the stairs.

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

Jackie smiled bitterly at his response.

"Yeah, I hope so. I'll call her right—"

"I think it's best if you call her tomorrow, Nate. Maybe she's resting right now. And you should too."

Nathan nodded. As they reached the second floor, they went on to their separate rooms.

Removing his jacket and shoes, Isaac immediately plopped down to his bed and closed his eyes, trying to get sleep.

But his mind wandered to Bea.

Not wanting to sleep with unanswered questions, he decided to text her cousin.

bash 😎(+1) (***) (***-****)Today. 11:00 PM.

hey bash u up?

if you're asking for bea, she was actually drunkand i'm cleaning her mess as we speak.

"Bea" and "drunk" in one sentence is something that Isaac didn't expect. One minute she didn't want a drink, and the next thing everyone knew, she's lying on the ground.

lmao what

yeah i'll be talking to her tomorrow.gtg now, she's puking again

oh godaight manread. 11:03 pm.

Isaac then headed to Bea's contact. He  chuckled at her new nickname in their chat.

He knows what he'll be doing right now is breaking their rules again. But right now, he's really concerned about her, as this experience was completely new to her.

bee 🐝(+1) (***) (***-****)Today. 11:07 PM.

hey beeheard from ur cousin that u were drunkdidn't expect your first drinking experience would be todayanyway i hope you'll get better hangover's the worst lolgood nightDelivered. 11:07 PM

________________hey guys! advance happy new year! hope ya'll have a wonderful and prosperous time as we welcome another year :)

thank you all so much for taking ur time to read, to comment, and to vote my story :)

manifesting for the trailer of my life with the walter boys season 3 to come out🙏🏼