Page 45 of Caged in Flames

Chapter Twenty One

Saturday arrives with sunshine and optimism. I rush through getting ready so I can meet Gunner and Jane down in the parking lot. Jane offered to drive today since there was no way the three of us could fit on Gunner's bike.

I find them standing near her silver Volkswagen Jetta. There’s a new rainbow peace sign sparkling in its place on her rearview mirror. It fits her well.

I'm barely able to wave before a flash of purple runs right at me.

"Yes, bitch. We look fucking fabulous." Jane rushes every word out in a shout while jumping into my arms.

She came over last night so we could put our outfits together for today. We spent about thirty minutes on the tutus and another three hours watching Schitt’s Creek while guzzling down margaritas.

Jane said we deserved them. When I asked her why, her response was that we were “bad bitches”.

I didn’t argue. She had a point.

My friend hops out of my arms and I admire her outfit. We have on matching holographic body suits, which are sure to be a pain for bathroom breaks, but we are fucking shiny that it's worth the nuisance.

We also have on matching tutus and boots, pink for me and purple for Jane. Our hair is in curls with space buns on top, and random braids throughout. It's all my festival dreams come true.

“Final call for alcohol. Anyone interested in some fun flasks for the day?” Jane sings out the words, but I shake my head. Gunner declines as well.

I don’t want anything to cloud over today. No darkness, no booze.

Gunner greets me with a kiss to the cheek before opening the passenger seat for me. "You look great, Nixy. I love the outfits, ladies."

"I don't think so. I appreciate you offering me the front, but I am not going to let you sit in the tiny backseat today." I zip around and climb into the back before he can argue with me over it.

He shakes his head but climbs into the front anyways. I don't say it out loud, but I need the drive over to help settle my nerves.

Even with all the excitement, I'm still a little bit anxious knowing that Jude, Sawyer, and Charlie are going to be there. They’ve been acting shady as fuck at school. I don’t know what they’re planning, but I’m not going to fall for it. I won’t fall victim to their games again.

It takes about half an hour before we pull into a temporary parking lot. This area is one of the few plots of land that hasn’t been taken over for some sort of development. What's normally an overgrown field has been completely transformed into a Pinterest board knock off Coachella.

It's incredible.

Nothing can dim how freaking pumped I am to see Vixen Rios play live. The way she plays violin is all passion with a whole lot of rockstar combined.

We grab the blankets out of Jane’s trunk and head out in search of a good place to set up for the day. Gunner points out a section of shade that hasn’t been claimed and we make it our own.

Making quick work of rolling out the blankets, we check out all the different food trucks lined up on the grounds. Jane and I grab fresh lemonade and funnel cakes before parking it back in our spot and begin to immerse ourselves in all the music.

Later, we will get into the crowds, but for now this is perfect. I lean my head back into Gunner's lap, and Jane lays down beside me.

I might have thrown out the word perfect a little too soon.

"Mind if we join your little picnic?" Jude rolls out a blanket and lays down on it before I can even answer. As much as I'd love to snark off, I don't want anything ruining my mood. Instead, I smile at him and I get one devastatingly beautiful smirk in return. Sawyer settles down on Gunner's other side.

The weird thing is Charlie sitting down and looking more human than devil. Maybe music is good for everyone's soul, even if you might not have one. He hasn’t stopped staring at my pink skirt though.

"You guys can join us, but there will be no talks of anything other than incredible music, delicious fried snacks, and whether it's an opportune song to dance to." I eye each person to get an agreement.

"I hope you're all okay with dancing with another dick, because I have official best friend dancing rights." Jane declares.

I grin at her. "I agree. Unless a certain brunette that has been eyeing you all week happens to finally approach you, then you may relinquish your official post and these peasants can battle it out for a turn." Might be a little bold to assume that the torture trio would be down for that, but I feel a little too euphoric today.

Looking around, I make sure there’s not anyone smoking around us. I don’t want some sort of secondhand high ruining my natural bliss today.

Jude catches me and his face lights up.

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