Sour Sweet sat at the edge of her bed. In her lap she held a large scrapbook and couldn't help but smile as she turned the pages. As she flipped through the collection of photos, a particular image struck her. It was a photograph of her standing next to her best friend with an arm around her shoulder, and beneath it read, 'Sugarcoat + Sour Sweet, 6th Grade.' The girl on the left had icy white hair done up in high pigtails, glasses too big for her face, and a gaze far too fierce for her age. The freckled girl next to her sported a cute magenta ponytail with a green stripe running through, and she smiled widely despite her large braces sparkling in the sunlight.

We've changed so much since then. I can't believe we're graduating next year... she thought. She ran her finger over the photo and sighed, then turned to the next page. The entire page was dedicated to a single photo. Sour and Sugarcoat were slightly older, and in between them was a third girl. The three smiled together and appeared to be very close friends, their cheeks touching.

"Moondancer..." Sour muttered before forcefully shutting the scrapbook.

She placed the book on the nightstand next to her bed and walked up to the mirror around the corner. She leaned on the sink and stared at herself, noting the freckles on her cheeks mostly hidden by the foundation she wore. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face, then dried herself with a hand towel. Suddenly her freckles were much more visible, and she lowered her eyes. She then headed back to her bed, where she fell onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"What a way to spend a Friday night," she muttered to herself.

Glancing to her left, she spotted the picture of Sugarcoat that sat atop her nightstand. Her heart skipped a beat and she bit down on her thumbnail. I wonder if you think about me even half as much as I think about you...

The sound of the doorknob jiggling stole her attention and she sat upright. As the door opened, her roommate stumbled in, an array of clutter and garbage instantly spilling from her arms.

"Oh my god Lemon, really? What is all that junk?" Sour asked as she tightly crossed her arms.

Lemon Zest spread her arms wide and dropped the rest of the many opened packages she was holding onto the floor. She held up her thumb and winked behind her long messy green bangs. "Dude, these are glow-sticks. Duh."

Sour lowered her eyebrows as she noticed the glowing rings around her arms and neck. "Okay? So why are you dropping them all over the floor? And... just why in general?!"

"Me and Vinyl are going to have a rave tonight at Moondancer's house and she asked me if I could buy some. I wanted to try them out so I opened some of them up. So what?" Lemon tossed an uncracked stick to her roommate.

Sour caught the stick and eyed it for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "Whatever. I honestly don't care. Just clean this mess up before you go, got it?"

"Yes mom." Lemon teased. "You know, you should totally come with us. I bet you'd have some fun there."

Sour flinched and grimaced. "No way."

"Oh come on," Lemon pleaded as she scooped her remaining sticks off of the floor and into her backpack. "I'll feel bad if you just sit here sulking by yourself all night."

"I'm not sulking! I'm just... Don't worry about me, okay?" Sour looked away and grabbed her phone. "I have no interest in spending time with Moondancer. I'll find something to do on my own."

Lemon frowned and tossed her backpack over her shoulder. "Okay sure. But the offer's still on the table if you change your mind. You know, I bet Moondancer would really like to be friends with you again. Wink wink."

"Noted." Sour rolled her eyes and scrolled through her contacts list, an empty pit in her stomach forming as she failed to find someone to message.

Lemon placed a hand on the doorknob, then looked back. "Come on, Double S, Sugarcoat isn't coming back until Sunday, so you may as well try and enjoy yourself without her. Just come hang out for a bit. If you end up having a bad time I'll drive you back here whenever you want. Cool?"

"Uhm, first of all, never call me that again." Sour locked her phone's screen and dropped it into her lap, then looked away with a huff. "Secondly, I really doubt Moondancer wants me anywhere near her right now. In case you forgot, we weren't exactly amicable when she was over here earlier today."

"Dude, Moonie was just feeling a little awkward and lashed out. That's how she is, you know." Lemon chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "Look, honestly, I just think you'll have a good time hanging out with me and Vinyl. If you end up chatting with Moondancer then that's a bonus. It'll just be the four of us."

Sour crossed her legs and skeptically shook her head. "Why are you doing this? It's so out of the blue. And what exactly is a 'rave' anyway? It doesn't sound to me like something Moondancer would be interested in."

"That's just the thing, right? You don't really know Moonie anymore, so you don't know what she does or doesn't like. A rave is just a party with EDM and... I guess glow-sticks. I don't really know how to describe it, but I do know Vinyl's raves are always lots of fun!" Lemon grinned and raised her eyebrows. "Give it a chance and maybe she'll keep surprising you. Worst case scenario I'll just end up driving you back here and calling it a night early. I think you'll have a good time though. I really do."

Sour rubbed her forehead and smiled. "Alright then, I'll go, if only to see this all turn out to be a miserable mess for Moondancer. But you better drive me back the second I decide I want to leave, got it?"

"You got it, buddy." Lemon grabbed Sour's hand and tugged her towards her closet. "Let's get a cool rave-y outfit picked out for you."

Sour squinted and frowned. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Lemon rubbed her chin and looked her friend over, then snatched up a couple articles of clothing. "I think you'll look really hot in this outfit. You really can't go wrong with denim shorts and a black tank-top. Now we just need to brighten you up a bit. I know! Put on those black and white striped thigh-highs, then we'll add color with these rad glow-sticks."

Sour giggled and crossed her legs. "Really? You're sure I won't look stupid?"

"Nah, it'll be sexy. Trust me," Lemon said as she dug through her backpack for a pair of black fingerless gloves. "The white stripes will glow in the black-light and look freakin' awesome. Put these on and some glow-sticks and boom! You're ready to rave!"

Sour pulled up her striped socks and eyed the gloves that were dropped on the bed next to her. She picked them up and slipped her fingers through, then wiggled them around. "I feel stupid."

"Okay, lose the gloves and let's go. You look great, alright?" Lemon winked and tugged Sour to her feet.

"Fine I'm coming." Sour rolled her eyes and grinned. "You seem pretty excited about this."

"I just don't want us to be late," Lemon explained. "Plus, I always get excited when I'm gonna hang out with my girlfriend."

Sour glanced away and dropped her smile, clutching her phone tightly.

Lemon recoiled and waved her hands in front of herself. "Oh, sorry dude. I know you miss Sugarcoat. There's no way she'd come to this rave with us though."

Sour shrugged and nodded. "That's true, especially not at Moondancer's house, but if she were here I wouldn't want to go in the first place."

Lemon scoffed and nudged Sour through the front door. "Don't pretend you aren't totally stoked about this. It's gonna be awesome and you know it!"

"We'll see about that..." Sour muttered. "Just don't forget our deal."

"I won't, but it doesn't matter. Once we get there you'll never wanna come back home!" Lemon chuckled as they headed down the empty hallway, then she stopped by the courtesy desk at the main entrance to the dormitory.

"You're as hopelessly optimistic as ever," Sour muttered.

"Best way to live, you know." Lemon winked as she scribbled with a faulty pen until it began to write.

Sour stood behind Lemon as she signed herself out, then did the same. She paused when considering what to write down for the estimated time of return. "What time should I say we'll be back?"

"The party don't stop til the sun comes up." Lemon laughed. "So just write sunrise or something."

Sour inspected her friend's line, then sighed. "All you did was write your name down and the word rave..."

"Eh." Lemon shrugged and held open the front door, nodding outside. "Let's roll, baby."

Sour groaned and smacked the pen against the desk. "You know, you're gonna get us in trouble if you're not careful. Also, I don't think rave is an acceptable excuse for leaving campus after hours."

"That's weird," Lemon said as she searched her pockets. "I can't find it."

Sour tilted her head. "Can't find what?"

"The fuck I'm supposed to give. Now let's go before we're late!" Lemon laughed and walked outside, then unlocked her car via remote.

Sour rubbed her temples and shook her head as she followed her friend to her car. She glanced back at the large school building, then took one last look at her phone. No new messages. She took a deep breath and tucked the device away, then climbed into the car.

Lemon looked over to see Sour sitting tall with wide, confident eyes. "Oh hey, you didn't cover your freckles. Nice!"

Sour flinched and touched her cheeks, then forcefully pulled down the car's visor and examined herself in its mirror. "Wait! Crap I forgot I washed my foundation off. I didn't plan on leaving the room again. I have to run back inside for a second."

"Nope! We're already gonna be late as it is. Just roll with it, you look freakin' cute with those freckles anyway." Lemon reached over and pinched her cheek as she backed out of the parking lot.

"Don't." Sour smacked her hand away. "You know, this is just going to increase my chances of feeling awkward and wanting to leave."

"Oh come on. Since when are you so embarrassed about them?" Lemon asked, her eyes on the road.

Sour looked down and huffed. "I'm not, really. I just think they make me look younger."

"They do, and that's a good thing." Lemon glanced down at her phone and followed the directions indicated by her GPS. "It'll be too dark to see them there anyway. No worries, girl."

"I hope you're right." Sour covered her cheeks with her hands, then dragged them down with a deep sigh.

Lemon reached over and touched Sour's thigh. "Relax, okay?"

Sour stared at her friend's hand and blushed. "Okay."

Lemon smiled and pulled her hand away. "Good girl."

Sour chuckled and shook her head. "I don't know why I let you talk me into these random things."

"When Moondancer said there was absolutely no way I'd get you to come, I told her that you and I are super ultra BFF's and that you'd do anything for me." Lemon winked and elbowed her friend. "I couldn't let her be right, you know."

Sour scoffed and shook her head. "If you told me she said that earlier then you would have had a much easier time getting me to come along."

Lemon rested her arm on the open window as she cruised through the city. "So it's like a twenty minute drive to Moondancer's house. Mind if we talk about something on the way?"

Sour shrugged. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Moondancer," Lemon said with a smug smile. "And you."

"I'm guessing you guys talked about me earlier and she made me seem like the most awful person in existence, right?" Sour averted her gaze and stared out the window, watching the endless string of streetlights passing her by.

"Pretty much, but I'm not buying it. I know there's two sides to that story, so I'm asking you, as a friend, please fill me in." Lemon spoke softly, but held conviction in her tone.

Sour tapped her fingers on the center console's arm rest and lowered her eyes. "I screwed her over. I accept that, but she crossed some lines herself. After the things she did and said to me, I won't forgive her."

"So I know this all revolves around you two having crushes on Sugarcoat. What happened back in the ninth grade?" Lemon asked.

"Right, that's where it all began to fall apart. We were pretty close before that, but after I told Moondancer about my crush on Sugarcoat, she changed. As you know, it turned out she had a crush on her too, and even though we agreed that neither of us would act on it, she never treated me the same again." Sour gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. "We grew apart over the course of that school year to the point that we weren't even talking anymore at all. It wasn't my choice, either. She just felt cold and distant anytime we tried to hang out without Sugarcoat, and eventually she just starting making excuses as to why she couldn't see me anymore. And when the three of us were together, it was almost like I didn't even exist to her. She hardly even acknowledged me when I spoke, and having a conversation that included all three of us was near impossible. I could tell that she was trying to make me seem like an outcast so that Sugarcoat would want it to be just the two of them."

Lemon slowly nodded. "This is making a little more sense already. So then what happened?"

"The point of me not telling Sugarcoat how I felt was so that the three of us could stay friends, but I felt like Moondancer wasn't my friend anymore. I didn't care about preserving what weak thread of our friendship remained, so I decided that my feelings for Sugarcoat were more important." Sour smiled. "I don't regret what I did at all. I'd never trade what I have with Sugarcoat for anything, even though we have our... challenges."

"Right, I hear ya," Lemon answered. "Now that it's been a couple years, why is it so hard for you three to move past everything and be friends again? From what I can tell Moondancer has no interest in dating Sugarcoat anymore, so that shouldn't be an issue."

"Moondancer has a bit of an anger problem. I don't need that kind of drama in my life." Sour huffed and crossed her arms.

"Dude..." Lemon laughed. "You're one of the most hotheaded girls I've ever met. I don't think you're allowed to accuse someone of having anger problems."

Sour narrowed her eyes and balled her fist.

"See?" Lemon nervously chuckled. "Look how mad you're getting."

Sour rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe I have more in common with Moondancer than I realize."

"Moondancer isn't so bad. She's got a lot of messed up emotions and is feeling pretty stressed out right now, so you gotta understand that she isn't gonna be a ball of sunshine all the time." Lemon tapped Sour's knee. "A lot like you, actually."

Sour covered her forehead with the palm of her hand, her bangs poking out through her fingers. "Why are we doing this?"

"Doing what? Talking?" Lemon asked.

"No. Why are we going to this party at her house? Why is she even having one? What did you and Vinyl say to her to convince her that this was a good idea? I can't even begin to fathom a universe in which she'd agree to it." Sour leaned back in her seat and kicked her feet onto the dashboard, her phone slipping out of her pocket.

"We were trying to figure out what we could do to distract Moonie from her dumb assignment and then they and started talking about the music they like, and it turned out they have a lot of common interests in that area," Lemon explained. "Before I knew it I was buying some glow sticks and trying to figure out how I was gonna convince you to come along to this rave thingy they decided to have."

"Wait, so you're actually telling me that Moondancer was in on it from the start?" Sour skeptically asked.

"Totally. I think it was her idea all together, actually. Her parents are gone for the weekend and she told Vinyl to come over and show off her cool portable DJ-ing thing she has built into her car." Lemon shrugged and glanced down at her phone, which led her down a rural, unlit side road. "I guess she lives in the middle of a big plot of farm land outside of the suburbs. I dunno, I sorta tuned out and started playing on my phone while they talked about a bunch of stuff I don't understand, so... Yeah, they hit it off like a million times better than I could have hoped."

"I know where she lives and it should just be her grandpa there. I've been to her house plenty of times before, you know. Speaking of which, we're almost there." Sour felt a lump growing in her throat as she traveled down the familiar road. "Her grandpa is a farmer, her dad isn't around anymore, and her mom is a corporate suit who works in the city. She takes a lot of business trips so her grandpa pretty much raised her himself."

Lemon glanced over to Sour, who was staring outside with a half smile. "Interesting."

"Not really." Sour huffed. "What's really interesting is that someone like Vinyl was able to immediately get on Moondancer's good side."

"Don't you get it yet, Sour?" Lemon asked, her voice suddenly stern. "You haven't talked to Moondancer since she was a fifteen year old kid. She's seventeen now, and she's grown up a lot since then. She's a completely different person. You can't keep pretending you know what she's thinking or what she likes. Think about how much you've changed since you were fifteen."

Sour lowered her eyes and tugged down on her shorts. "I..."

"You can't lie to me either, because I was there you know." Lemon turned to face her and smiled, grabbing her hand. "I could barely stand being around you when I first got assigned to be your roommate, I even requested a new room several times. I'm glad that never went through, because now you're easily my best friend."

Sour smiled back and nodded, squeezing Lemon's hand. "I get what you're saying."

"I know things are really tense between you and Moondancer, but you gotta realize she's not the same person as she was back then. Maybe in a lot of ways she is, but she's also much more mature about it. Give tonight a fair shot and I promise you I'll make it up to you somehow." Lemon took a deep breath as she pulled up to the big house.

Sour stared at the familiar home, then gave a quick nod. "I'll do my best, but the second she says or does something to tick me off, this whole conversation goes out the window."

Lemon snickered and parked the car. "Just do your best."

As the engine died, Sour could hear the faint sound of deep rhythmic bass echoing. "Sounds like they started without us."

"I knew we we're gonna be late! I told Vinyl to start without me if I wasn't here in an hour, because if I wasn't here by then it meant I wasn't coming." Lemon climbed out of the car and quickly texted her girlfriend.

"You mean you would have stayed with me if I refused to come?" Sour stood next to her and swallowed the lump in her throat as a rush of childhood memories filled her mind.

"Of course, dude. I wasn't gonna leave you alone all night when you're upset," Lemon explained.

Can she really see right through me? Sour wondered. Then the front door opened.

"Zesty!" a familiar voice shouted, then she noted the many glowing rings around her neck and wrists. "You brought the glow sticks!"

"Hey babe!" Lemon quickly ran up the porch stairs and dropped her backpack filled with glow sticks, then tightly hugged Vinyl.

Sour eyed Moondancer, who quietly stood behind the two affectionate girls and stared back. Sour glanced away and dug the toe of her shoe into the dirt, then offered the most subtle of waves with two fingers.

Moondancer quickly turned and walked inside, her long hair whipping around behind her.

"Alright, I'm ready to go home, Lemon." Sour crossed her arms and turned her back.

Vinyl walked down the steps and put her hand on Sour's shoulder. She lifted her large sunglasses and revealed her deep pink eyes. "You okay?" she asked.

Sour turned around and locked eyes with her, and her temper was instantly diffused. "Yeah."

"You look really good. I hope you're ready to dance." Vinyl winked, then lowered her shades and nodded towards the front door as she headed back inside.

Sour stood still for a moment, dumbfounded before shaking her head and snapping back into reality. "Lemon!"

"What." Lemon poked her head out of the front door.

"Why is Vinyl so cool?" she asked as she headed indoors.

"I wish I knew!" Lemon laughed and wrapped he arm around Sour's neck, shutting the door behind her.

Sour gulped and stood with her arms tightly tucked at her sides, noticing half a dozen unfamiliar faces mingling and dancing in the front room. "I thought you said it was just going to be the four of us? Who are these people?"

"I dunno." Lemon looked around and shrugged. "Must be Vinyl's friends."

Sour took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I really wish I hadn't washed my foundation off. These people are going think I'm weird."

Lemon grabbed both of Sour's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Dude, for the last time, no one thinks freckles are weird. People either don't notice them or they like them. No one says ew I hate freckles. That's not a thing."

"I don't look like a little kid?" Sour asked with a crooked smile.

"Not at all." Lemon poked her nose and turned around. "Oh hey I know her! It's Octavia! Hi Octy!" she shouted as she headed across the room, dragging Sour with her.

Sour blushed and waved at the strange girl with long elegant black hair. She wore a classy low-cut black sweater and a sparkling silver necklace rested on her chest.

Lemon introduced the two. "Sour, this is Octavia, Vinyl's best friend. Octy, this is Sour Sweet, my best friend."

"Lemon, I'll have to ask you again not to refer to me by those dreadful nicknames. Wonderful to meet you, Sour Sweet." Octavia held out her hand and Sour gripped it.

"I'm glad to see I'm not the only one disturbed by the terrible nicknames she comes up with. Nice to meet you, too." Sour smiled with confidence as she shook the girl's hand.

"Guys, my nicknames rock." Lemon simultaneously patted each girl on the head. "So I like to refer to Octy as Vinyl's Sour Sweet, and Vinyl refers to Double S here as my Octavia. It's cool to finally see you two together."

Each of the two girls shot a fierce glance in Lemon's direction.

Lemon recoiled and backed away. "You two should chat. I'll be around."

Sour felt a sudden burst of panic in her chest as she watched Lemon leave her alone with the strange girl, but it was short-lived as she quickly steeled herself. "I really like your top. Compared to you I feel pretty underdressed. I wish I had known I'd be meeting new people tonight, especially a stunning girl like you."

Octavia responded well to her confidence and offered a smile. "You flatter me. And don't worry, dear. I must admit that I'm the one who's overdressed for such a casual last-minute event."

"Nah you look great." Sour shifted her weight and put her hand on her hip. "So, you're friends with Vinyl, huh? I don't mean to sound rude, but you don't really seem like you have similar interests."

Octavia shrugged with one shoulder and nodded. "That's correct. We've been friends since childhood, and although we've grown apart both musically and culturally--as I'm sure you've plainly noticed--she's a wonderful friend as well as a musical genius and an inspiration to me nonetheless."

"You're a musician too, then?" Sour asked, eyeing her necklace. "I guess that explains the treble clef you're wearing."

Octavia lifted the charm on her silver chain and smiled. "I am, though I specialize in traditional instruments. And you?"

"I suppose that makes me the odd one out in this quartet. I'm afraid not." Sour looked past her new acquaintance and spotted a table with red plastic cups. "Wanna grab a drink?"

Octavia cleared her throat and glanced to the side as a familiar song caught her attention. "I'd love to."

Meanwhile, Lemon Zest was in the backyard wildly jumping from side to side and shaking her hips, her colorful glowing rings spinning around her limbs. In front of her Vinyl had her car and portable DJ table in full swing. Strobe lights flashed and the arrangement of large speakers as they boomed.

Moondancer stood next to the booth with her fists in front of her chest and her eyes closed, swaying her shoulders from side to side in time with the beat. "This is awesome!" she shouted.

Vinyl held up her thumb with a wide flashy smile.

Sour Sweet stepped through the open sliding glass door leading to the backyard in time to see Vinyl skillfully improvising a lead on a large rounded keyboard. She sipped her drink with crossed arms and raised her eyebrows.

"Amazing, isn't she?" Octavia asked, standing next to her, and Sour nodded.

"Octy! Sour!" Lemon shouted. "Come dance with me!"

Sour shrugged and sat her cup down on a patio table, then joined her friend. She stole some of Lemon's plentiful glowing rings and then matched her dance. She swayed her hips and while hopping to the tune. Her ponytail bounced and she held her arms over her head, twisting her waist and rocking her shoulders as she jumped. With each bounce, her small black tank top flared up and revealed her bellybutton.

Moondancer narrowed her eyes and noticed the other girls were watching her. She then glanced over to Vinyl, who was banging her head while twirling her finger in the air. She took a deep breath and swallowed her jealousy, then forced Sour out of her mind as she continued enjoying the music.

Vinyl's song came to an end, then she spun a record and climbed out of her car, a popular tune playing at a slightly lower volume. "That was fun. What did you guys think?"

Sour wiped her forehead and arched her back. "Wow, did you write that?" she asked as she caught her breath.

"Yeah man. This is part the EP I'm releasing next month," Vinyl explained. "I sorta changed the lead a bit because I forgot it while playing, but it's more or less the same."

Sour placed her hands on her cheeks and beamed. "That was really amaz--"

"I loved it!" Moondancer interrupted, hugging Vinyl from behind. "That was so cool."

Vinyl laughed and put her hands on her hips. "Thanks, Moon. I'm glad ya liked it. I hope you're enjoying yourself tonight, you really needed a break from that nonsense you're working on, eh?"

"It's clear to me now more than ever that I did. The stress was really getting to me. I appreciate you and Lemon doing this for me." Moondancer bowed and gestured towards Lemon.

Lemon held out her fist. "No problem dude. You need to go put some glow sticks on though. Come on everyone, let's go find some glow sticks for Sour and Moondancer. You two wait out here while we go... find glow sticks. Cool?"

Vinyl and Octavia simultaneously rolled their eyes as Lemon led them back inside.

Sour shifted her weight, and despite the upbeat music playing from Vinyl's car, the air felt painfully silent.

Moondancer stared at the ground and balled her fists. "This was supposed to be a fun night, but... you just had to come and ruin it for me, didn't you..."

Sour Sweet gritted her teeth and tightly crossed her arms. "Lemon practically begged me to come. Do you honestly think I wanted to be here?"

"I suppose not. If you don't want to be here, and I don't want you here, then that begs the question: What the hell are you doing here? Why didn't you just tell Lemon that you didn't want to come?" Moondancer stomped her foot and stared straight into Sour's eyes.

Sour leaned forward lowered her eyebrows. "I did tell her that, but she convinced me that I'd have a good time. She said you wanted to be friends with me again. Is that even true?"

"That's a blatant lie." Moondancer turned around and leaned over on the DJ booth. "Well... it's not like you'd want to be friends with me again anyway. Right?"

"Definitely not!" Sour turned around and grabbed her cup off of the patio table, then frowned after gulping down the last of her drink. "Not that it matters. You just confirmed that you don't want to be friends either way."

"Then we're in agreement." Moondancer swallowed her urge to sigh and stared at the waveform on the dashboard.

Sour scoffed and shook her head. "Whatever."

Moondancer leaned up and looked past the booth, spotting a large tree near a shed. She noticed the old tire swing still dangling from a low hanging branch, and her eyes glistened. She recalled a memory of Sour pushing her on the swing, then gritted her teeth and forced her eyes shut.

Sour ran her fingers over the wooden railing around the patio, then stopped. She lifted her arm and examined a faint scar on her elbow.

"You're such a clumsy idiot," Moondancer said, suddenly standing behind Sour.

Sour flinched and dropped her elbow. "Don't..."

"I think my grandpa told you about a dozen times that if you didn't stop walking on the railing, that you'd break your arm. Sure enough, you faceplanted right in the dirt and ended up wearing a cast for the first half of summer." Moondancer wore a mirthful smirk and crossed her arms.

"I'm lucky I didn't break my neck." Sour rubbed her elbow and turned around. "What are we doing here? Why are you talking to me now?"

"I don't know." Moondancer lowered her eyes. "Why aren't you talking down to me and pushing me away?"

"Maybe for the same reason you aren't insisting that I leave immediately." Sour gently kicked Moondancer's shoe. "Do you actually want to..."

"I don't know. Do you?" she asked.

"After all this time..." Sour covered her forehead and looked up at the stars.

Moondancer took a deep breath. "Your freckles."

"What about them?" Sour asked with a harsh tone.

"Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen them in so long. You usually wear all that makeup at school, so..." Moondancer shrugged. "You just look more familiar to me, I guess."

"I washed my foundation off before I knew Lemon was going to drag me out here. That's all," Sour explained. "I hate my freckles."

Moondancer touched Sour's cheek with her thumb. "I always liked them. You look so much less hostile when you let them show."

Sour stepped backwards and covered her mouth, her eyes glistening. "Don't touch me like that."

"I'm sorry." Moondancer cringed and bit her thumb.

Sour dropped her shoulders and looked past her former friend. "You were remembering when we used to play on that tire swing, weren't you?"

"Yeah." Moondancer feigned a subtle laugh and glanced back over her shoulder. "I remember when we used to climb across that branch and get on top of the shed, too."

"Oh yeah. And your grandpa would always yell at us saying we were gonna fall through. Good thing that prophecy never came to fruition, right?" Sour chuckled and shook her head.

"Yeah no kidding." Moondancer loosed a sincere laugh, then held up her hand as she attempted to stifle her laughter. "Wait. Remember when we trapped Sugarcoat inside with the spiders because we thought it would cure her arachnophobia?"

Sour placed her hand on Moondancer's shoulder as she burst into laughter. "Oh my god don't remind me. I thought she was going murder both of us when she got out of there."

"Lot's of memories out here. Memories I've been forced to try and forget." Moondancer glanced around the large open yard.

Sour widened her eyes and took Moondancer's hand. "I can't imagine how hard it must be, living here, where the three of us used to spend all of our time together outside of school."

Moondancer's lip quivered and she used her other hand to straighten her glasses. "Yeah..."

Sour took a deep breath, then pulled Moondancer into a hug. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought back the tears as she tightly held her old friend. Her scent filled Sour's lungs as she rubbed her cheek against her hair.

"Woooo!" Lemon shouted. "I knew it!"

Sour glanced to her side to see a small crowd gathered at the sliding glass door, staring at the two.

Moondancer backed away and blushed. "We'll talk more later?"

"Sure," Sour replied. "I'm glad that... you know."

"I'm glad too." Moondancer smiled and walked up the stairs. "Okay! The spectacle's over. Let's get back to the party please."

Sour plopped down on a patio chair and wiped a stray tear. "Lemon, you were right?"

"Of course I was, dude. I'm always right about everything!" Lemon sat down on a chair across from Sour and kicked her feet onto her lap.

Sour shook her head. "You're almost never right about anything. I never imagined this happening. I thought we were done for good."

"Come on man, friendships are stronger than that. You just gotta learn to not hold a grudge. The past is the past. Bygones are gone. Water goes under bridges. It's all copacetic dude." Lemon held up her thumb with a goofy smile.

"Are you alright?" Sour tilted her head.

"Heh, yeah totally." Lemon stuck her tongue out and winked. "So change of plans, by the way. We're crashing here tonight."

Sour covered her face with both hands and disdainfully shook her head. "You are so lucky that I'm willing to work things out with Moondancer, or I might have to chalk you up as another best friend I'd never talk to again."

"Nawwww man." Lemon stood up and walked back inside, then promptly returned with two full red cups. "Loosen up a bit more, S.S."

Sour grabbed the cup and raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell Sugarcoat," she stated before taking a swig.

"While you're chalking things up, chalk that up on the list of things we aren't gonna tell Sugarcoat. Am I right? Huh?" Lemon elbowed her and obnoxiously winked.

Sour's cheeks instantly turned deep red and she rapidly shook her head. "Hey! Shush, you!"

"Haha! Don't worry, cool cat. Your secrets are locked up in the old Lemon Vault. Except, of course I had to tell Vinyl." Lemon laughed as she stumbled down the stairs and wrapped her arm around her girlfriend.

Sour winced and sighed deeply, then quickly gulped down her drink. "Shut up, Lemon," she muttered.

Moondancer stepped back outside and took a seat across from Sour. "So you guys are staying the night..."

Sour groaned and shrugged. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that... well, I mean, I could probably drive her home, but."

"Don't worry about it," Moondancer smiled. "No need to take unnecessary risks."

"Thanks. Lemon should have known better, and... Augh, I appreciate it." Sour's cheeks remained red as she finished her cup. "So where should I sleep?"

Moondancer raised an eyebrow. "I was going to have you sleep on the livingroom floor, but all things considered, maybe you can sleep in the usual spot."

"You mean, in y-your, uhm..." Sour stammered. "Really?"

"Why not? It's that or the floor with the rest of the CHS girls that showed up here and aren't leaving. You choose. I don't care." Moondancer leaned back and crossed her arms.

"The usual it is." Sour laughed. "Jeez, can you believe that I'm gonna sleep in your bed tonight?"

Moondancer furrowed her brow and shook her head. "I didn't expect you to show up at all."

"And then hug you?" Sour snickered uncontrollably. "And..."

Moondancer grinned. "Yeah, right. How much have you had?"

"How much?" Sour thought for a moment. "Not much. I just really find this funny for some reason."

"Yeah, that's the reason," Moondancer said, pointing at the empty red cup. "And we're not out of the woods yet, by the way. We still have a lot to talk about. You're lucky I'm feeling kindhearted enough to let you sleep in a bed instead of the floor."

Sour rolled her eyes with a deviant smirk. "Right, so kindhearted of you. And believe me, I'm well aware of the fact that we have a lot to discuss."

"It's gonna be a long road ahead if we really want to try and make this work." Moondancer crossed her legs and sipped from her own cup.

"At least we're on the right path, finally." Sour softly smiled and looked towards the lawn, where she saw Lemon and Vinyl vigorously making out on top of her DJ booth. "And we owe it all to them, don't we?"

"Wow, they're truly shameless." Moondancer covered her eyes and blushed.

"Don't be such a prude." Sour laughed. "Imagine how those poor girls trying to sleep on the floor with them are gonna feel."

Moondancer chuckled. "Luckily for them I already offered Vinyl and Lemon my mom's bedroom for the night."

"Oh that's hot." Sour blushed. "Your mom would be so pissed."

"I know, and I don't care." Moondancer spat. "So, can I ask you something that I know I definitely should not be asking you right now?"

Sour raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sure?"

"What was Lemon talking about when she mentioned a list of things you weren't telling Sugarcoat?" Moondancer asked.

Sour blushed and shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

Moondancer smiled, then looked down at Lemon. "Gotcha..."

Meanwhile, little did Sour Sweet realize, her phone sat on the passenger seat in Lemon Zest's car, vibrating away.

★★★

Sugarcoat paced back and forth in her bedroom, staring at her phone as yet another call went to voicemail. She winced and redialed, then tossed her phone onto the bed as it once again went to voicemail.

"What are you doing?" she thought aloud.

Sugarcoat removed her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes, then noted the time. "Midnight," she muttered.

She hugged her pillow and laid down, staring at her phone. "Sour..."