Sour Summers, hit just right.
Scorpius POV;
"Why's he here?"
"OH, you mean James? well, I'm not old enough to drive so ...."
.JAMES.
That's all I hear. everything else just becomes background noises. old memories. faltered reminiscences. blotted out recollections. undesired flashbacks. so so many things that made up who I am and my childhood.....the torment, the agony, the laughter, everything was and was because of... 'HIM'
things I do not want to remember but can't seem to forget, sounds of secluded chuckles to raging laughter all aimed at me. it somehow gets louder with every passing second...consuming me whole...
"Scorp! Scorp!" I feel Lily's voice pulling me back to reality, as I push all my thoughts back into the deep corners of my mind, I take in my surroundings seeing that he's still here,
"Scorp you kinda zoned out...' I hear Lily say, then I hear a familiar chuckle
" Still the same old Scorp I see...."
his voice reaches my ears after 3 years and yet it still sounds the same, with the same edge to it filled with ego and disregard for everyone around him. The voice that still tantalizes me, and what does he mean by the 'same old', who does he think he is to say such shit, what does he even know, seriously one glance at him and I'm already seething. with all sincerity the last 3 years of my life have been my toughest but I've pulled through stronger than ever. There is no old Scorpius. he's gone.
"James can you not... here Scorp, let me put your luggage in the jeep..." I do not even try to say anything I just hand her my bags
"Thanks, Lils I’m still a bit jet-lagged..." I tell her all the while not looking away from him, he’s staring straight ahead not even sparing me a glance. It's like nothing changed what did I even expect, anyway If I have to put up with him for Albus I will, I mean that’s the only reason I'm still here.
The jeep ride was less awkward than expected lily kept talking for most of the time pointing at different things and places like she was giving me a tour and James would add an occasional comment or two. All in all, it was decent, that was until Lily got off in the gas station to get Twizzlers for some random reason leaving me and James alone in the jeep, how nice...
It was like somehow the air in the jeep dampened, every passing second felt heavy and I couldn’t really determine if I was the only one experiencing this, I looked up at the internal rear-view mirror only to look at him already looking at me, reflexively I look back down at my phone sucking in a breath of salty air.
“So. Scorp…get any déjà vu or something? It's been almost a decade since you’ve been here”
James turns towards me facing me completely from the driver’s seat, smirking the right corner of his lip curving upwards with sarcasm.
“Oh, I didn’t know three years without me would feel like a decade to you”
I look up at him exaggeratedly batting my lashes, I could puke but he seems taken aback though. I’ll take that as a win. I try to catch some reaction out of him but he just looks at himself and chuckles shaking his head, but immediately looks back at me with a smirk
“You sound so certain, it almost seems as if you’ve been counting the days to meet me. Aww Scorpius I miss you too” he pouts with false sincerity
“I see you're still self-centered and misinterpreting everything happening around you…” I scoff
“that’s rich coming from you scorp, considering…”
“Can we not fucking do this right now…” the jeep door opens and Lily slides back into her seat
“ya’ll want some Twizzlers?” she looks at James and me with an open pack of Twizzlers in her hands, not having a clue what went down, James doesn’t pay her any mind and starts driving, and not even 500m down he opens his mouth signalling her to feed him some, lily just rolls her eyes and aggressively shoves 2 or 3 Twizzlers into his mouth and he starts coughing. I chuckle loudly now that his face is all red
“what the hell lils…”
“And you it’s not fucking funny” he glares at me and I continue to give him a wide smile
“my bad James, my bad “Lily adds and within a few minutes we’re in the driveway of the ever so beautiful beach house, built together by mine and Albus’s mum.
A wave of nostalgia hits me as I take in my surroundings, Lily just looks at me and smiles as she gets off to help me with the luggage, the driveway looks longer than I remember with green plants on both sides and two palm trees in the entry, lily stops at the point on the driveway where it splits into two paths one towards the house and the other towards the backyard and the pool.
“Bienvenido a casa! Scorpius!” she tells me and I smile genuinely before she launches herself at me, I wrap my arms around her, she’s got to be one of the most wholesome people I’ve ever known and I'm glad I met her.
“I missed you lils, you're the only other person except for Al that I care about in this house,” I tell her as I let go, this statement might not mean much to her but to me, it's huge, cause there’s only a handful of people I care about in this whole world. I guess you could say I'm like my dad in that aspect. Speaking of my dad he still hasn’t contacted me, which lowkey worries me because I think I might have made him a little too mad. Let's just hope he comes around.
“Ew, Lils please tell me you still don’t got that stupid crush on him” Both of us turn to look at James trudging towards us in his white tank top with the jeep’s keys jingling in one hand with some old keychain.
“Gosh. Scorp. just ignore that” Lily turns back to me
“Okay, so before we go in, I just want to let you know that Al’s not in one of his best places right now. Mentally and physically” I furrow my brows, worry filling the pits of my stomach.
“Aw yeah, Noah cheated on little Albie, and he’s been a crying wuss ever since, did Lily not tell you” James casually adds on with a small laugh. Shaking his head.
My eyes widen, mouth agape not being able to take in what I heard,
“Clearly she did not tell you..” James smirks look at me then at Lily and then back at me as if expecting a response.
“JAMES! Can you not be a Fucking sociopathic little shit for five fucking seconds! not everybody fucks around like you do!” Lily snarls at him
“Hey. Hey. Calm down I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?” James tries to tell her
“Are you telling me, Noah Al’s long-term girlfriend/ wifey/ his soulmate fucking cheated on him? Are you bullshitting me? I don’t think Noah’s the type to cheat…” I finally managed to speak up
“hell yeah it was cheating at its finest, they were caught red-handed even… all right never mind” James stops as Lily glares daggers at him.
Lily huffs as she lets out a long breath
“it's of no use hiding anything anymore, Al found out two days ago caught them at a club, she’d been seeing the other guy for a month or so, Al’s kinda got into a fight with the other guy and he came back home and threw a fit, he’s locked himself in his room ever since. He opened his door only to ask me to get you and to tell you he was sorry that he could not come.”
Shit, I feel completely shit for complaining now. I have to sort this out.
“Lils I’m going inside.” I let her know, making my way in, and leaving my luggage with her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Albus POV;
*2 DAYS AGO, *
Lately, life’s been good, almost perfect the kind of perfect that you are too scared that it might be ruined any time. One small spark and everything could go up in flames. So, I've been trying my best to live the best I can at this moment, try my best to extend this feeling, and lose the sense of fragility. But it won't go away, I don’t know why I try to convince myself everything is going to be all right and that it will stay the same, perfect life, perfect weather, perfect grades, a family that’s with me through thick and thin, a girl my parents love - my other half, parties every week, I even have the whole summer planned. This was almost as if it was the calm before the storm and my anxiety was getting the better of me telling me a storm was at bay. I didn’t like this one bit.
*ring ring*
**call from Noah**
Noah: hey babe! You called?
Al: oh, yea I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out today, go out for a bit as we planned, James said he’d lend his jeep which is rich coming from James, we could hit the outskirts, there this place I've been wanting to go to…it’s called...
Noah: babe I'm really really sorry but I'm going to have to stop you there, my mum and I have plans to go dress shopping for the debutante ball and make a few arrangements at the club. You know how she gets with the ball and now that she’s part of the organizing committee she’s been absolutely hysteric about even the smallest changes in her plan. I’m afraid I can't make it today…
Al: hey, it's all right we always have tomorrow you know. Anything for my pretty lady to have a pretty dress for the ball, we can reschedule all right don’t fret.
Noah: Al do you realize how amazing you are? I literally love you have I ever told you?!?
Al: trust me you have TOLD me, quite a lot of times
Noah: but Al I’m like seriously sorry, I promise I’ll make it up to you…
Al: Ooh, charming, and how would that be….
Noah: well…. wouldn't you like to know…
Al: Save it for tomorrow?
Noah: huh! Quite straightforward, aren’t you? What happened to the shy Al I fell in love with? AH, Okay babe I really gotta go now, my mum’s screaming her lungs out downstairs. Bye! Love ya!
**Call hangs up**
“Well then Love you too” I smirk to myself, as I jump into my bed lying on my back.
There’s a bang on my door then the voice
“Yo, I'm coming in, tidy yourself if you were going at it” I roll my eyes and James lets himself in and somehow lands on my bed crushing my sheets with a loud thud
“Okay so I'm going to hit the club with the boys, the girls are going too, I’ll leave the jeep’s keys with Lils, don’t get too dirty in there, but enjoy the ride little Albie” James smirks at me raising his eyebrows up and down continuously.
“Dude, you got to filter out what you say, that’s disgusting I would never do it in your car, I can't even imagine the crap you have pulled in there?!?”
“What can I say, brother, you know me well.” I roll my eyes at his response
“Anyway, you can keep your jeep with yourself, Noah’s not free today. Can I take it out later on in the week?”
“mhm…sure thing Lil Albie, oh wait I did hear Roxx say Noah was going out with Polly”
“Out with Polly?” okay that’s news
“Yeah, I'm fairly certain that’s what Roxy said about why they won't be coming tonight, so no biggie.”
“Okay, James be real with me for a quick second...” I mutter in a low tone, and James at once looks up from his phone shedding that carefree attitude, which is something he does only when he’s around people he gives a shit about.
“It's nothing serious it's just that Noah told me she’s going out with her mom and….” James interrupts me
“Aw hell naw, Albie she lied to ya?”
“Wait that’s not what I mean… I just... it's just that she… I'm not calling her a liar...goshhh…I don’t know James, all I know is that….I trust her and love her…”I finish
“And then that’s all that’s necessary Albie…” James tells me sincerely
“Shit... James you’re fucking useful for once” I chuckle and he laughs too
“Thank me later brother! And Noah’s a nice gal, doesn’t flirt around as that Polly does, that one’s kinda crazy, do you know...”
“Shut up James, you sound like an asshole” he sticks his tongue out in response and gets up from my bed
“Soo…you wanna hit the club with us?” he asks as he looks around my room
“no,” I say without putting much thought into it, I’m not one to go out every week not that I am repulsed by it or anything, it's just a lot of unwanted attention and I hate hangovers. But I don’t know what comes over me, “No, James wait I’ll tag along today.” I tell him, he stops at my doorway and says “Well, that’s the spirit Albie!”
“Get outta here.” I scoff, slamming the door on him
“Be ready by 8!” I hear him call out from the hallway.
It's 8.30 in the evening and the fresh Roatan land breeze cuts past my face reddening my cheeks as James speeds up, I’m squished in the backseat along with Freddie, Louis, and Dominique. Maddy who is James’s… say on and off girl..friend? the girl James has been in a relationship for the longest? is sitting in the front. James’s hand has been on her thigh ever since she got in and I could literally gag let's say they have been doing quite a few pre-clubbing activities and trust me we haven’t even gotten halfway down.
“We aren’t going to the usual place?” I hear Freddie ask James
“Nah, Mads and Roxx wanted to hit this new place, the reviews are nice, Brent’s been there, so it's approved! Plus, I’m kinda sick of hooking up with the same Ol’ peeps” James tells him, who even says ‘peeps’ anymore somehow if James says it, it's accepted, and it's honestly customary for James to say such shit while he's with his girl, or whatever. I’m already regretting my decision.
We reached the club in about thirty minutes and the place was worth the hype, it was bougee, warm, and classy at the same time all the things I suppose I like. Not many times have I taken a liking towards clubs but this one really is a vibe and I’m inclined to do whatever we were going to do tonight, without dreading it. James informs us that Roxx and Rose would be waiting at our table, too bad Noah would have loved this place. I’ve totally got to bring her here sometime, I smile at that thought as I take a seat at the table, which is awfully close to the dance floor. James is already missing which I guess is good for him but not so good for Maddy, who seems ready to throw a fit anytime.
“Oh my god is it me or does Al look happy in a club” Rose teases
“Right back at ya Rosie! Seeing you here is just as surprising!” I tease right back
“Oh! Someone seems to be in a quite good mood!” Roxx chimes and I just shake my head at her
“Your friend, Miss Noah has been treating Lil Al in all the right ways” Freddie adds patting my shoulder. To this everyone at the table burst laughing, but it was short-lived as Maddy decided to make conversation with me.
“Al, why can't your brother be a bit more like you, you treat Noah so well I would give anything for that kind of Love, like Noah is not even here and you don’t even look at any other girl not even a glance” I just smile at her not knowing how to react is she calling me a good boyfriend? Maddy takes a large gulp of her drink and continues
“and even though I’m literally right here, James is somewhere probably already down some bitches’ throat!”
“Woah! All right, that’s enough! Mads you are not taking another sip!” Roxx mutters as she snatches her drink
“Okay now I can't unsee James inside someone’s throat” Freddie shudders
“That's not the mental image that I needed, oh gosh that’s gross,” I tell him,
“Someone change the goddamn subject!” Rose suggests
“You think I could take that brunette home tonight?” Dominique points his glass towards a pretty brown-haired girl in the corner of the dancefloor who has been eyeing him for quite a while.
“Well, if you're not I'm going to!” Freddie tells him for which, Dom rolls his eyes but gets up and walks towards the brunette making his actions quite clear and we just chuckle at the silliness.
“Okay, I'm going to grab the next round anything new to add?” Freddie asks to which we shake our heads. Roxx, Rose, and I chat for a bit until Maddy who is completely drunk now, suddenly bangs the table with a thud stands up and announces “I’m going to find James!” and vigorously starts walking away.
Roxx immediately stands up pulling Rose up with her, me and Louis just stare at the girls
“bad idea! A very very bad idea!?” Roxx tells Rose making us stand up, she immediately calls Fred
“Freddie Code red; Maddy on rampage” and without missing a beat Freddie makes his way to the table “Which way, let's go already! Don’t you remember what happened last time” Roxx points towards the direction where Maddy left and then makes a beeline towards that direction, I follow them with Louis and Rose hot on my trail.
Within seconds we stumble upon a pale and frozen Maddy eyes widened with terror, “Maddy please don’t puke!” Roxx rushes to yank her towards the toilet stall but she stops right in her tracks and lets out a shrill scream, Freddie, Louis and I rush to her to see what happened.
My heart stops right in my chest, my eyes widen with disbelief and betrayal at what I was seeing right now. is that really my Noah? tears threaten to fall, and the air around me is clearly not enough as I am suffocating. I calm down for a second, take in a deep breath, and try to become composed and gain my logical thinking but everything goes sideways and I let my anger take over me.
Everything is muffled noises, and a mix of hands and a few punches here and there, I hear everyone call out my name, I hear Freddie say how this was fucking insane and he never expected lil Al to go full savage,
I hear Maddy mutter how fucking hot it was every time my fist pummelled through Alex. Fucking. holland’s face.
I feel James’s hand wrap around my bicep, yanking me away from a bloodied Holland lying on the floor and Louis also grabs me for good measure. I let out uneven breaths, not being able to hold on any longer, I removed myself from their grip and stormed outta there, I couldn’t bring myself to avert my gaze from the floor even an accidental glance at Noah would leave me further broken. I was hurting everywhere; I didn’t stop running until I didn’t even know where I was.
I guess the storms’ hit the bay...