Always and Forever

the next day

emmie and i are scrolling through tiktok laying on my bed. we're both wearing spanks and i'm wearing a croptop but emmie is just in her sports bra.

all the sudden my door swings open. emmie flys under the covers.

me : JAX!

jackson : oh my god i'm so sorry. i'll knock next time. anyways, sarah will be over this evening. also, some other friends will be over but one of them is bringing their brother. can y'all let him hang with y'all? he's y'all's age.
me : i mean i'm down. em?
emmie : yeah sure!

that night

i throw on a blue cropped tanktop and ripped jeans. i put some mascara on and let my hair just be down.

em wears white jean shorts and a cropped thrasher t-shirt. she has on eyeliner, mascara, and has her hair down.

i post on my instagram.

and em posts on hers

after a while, jackson tells us to come downstairs to meet the guests.

jax : rowan and emorie meet kayla, drew, and drew's brother, mattia.

i reach my hand out to shake each of their hands and em does the same.

me : i'm rowan.
em : i'm emorie.

drew : i'm drew
layla : i'm kayla
mattia : i'm mattia
jax : alright you three go upstairs. if you need something mattia, just let me or rowan know.
mattia : got it.

we go upstairs and go in my room. i shut the door and sit on my bed with em. mattia just stands there awkwardly.

i look at him confused.

me : you wanna sit?

i pat a spot on my bed next to me. he sits down.

it's awkward for a minute until i break the silence.

me : so. you live around here?
mattia : about 45 minutes from here. we're moving into the house across the street tho. we'll be completely moved in tomorrow.
me : how come i didn't know you were moving in?
mattia : i don't know how you didn't see the moving truck. it was there for like 3 days.
me : are you excited?
mattia : i guess so
me : do you live with your brother?
mattia : yeah. my parents died like 3 years ago so yeah
me : i'm sorry for your loss. and actually that's kinda weird because mine did too. that's why i live with my brother.
mattia : i'm sorry for your loss as well. and yeah that is a little weird. sorry...um...can y'all  tell me your names again?
me : yeah. i'm rowan. everyone calls me ro or roro.
em : and i'm emorie but people call me emmie or em.
mattia : making this easy... ro and em.

we laugh and keep on talking. mattia is actually a very easy person to get along with.

after about an hour of him being there, i ask jackson and drew if i can take mattia on a walk around the neighborhood to show him around the area. they let us go.

we walk outside and start walking down the street. we start down the road one over from ours, and i knock on a few of my friends houses to introduce them as we go farther through the neighborhood. i start with kairi.

kairi : hey roro.
me : hey kai. this is mattia.
kairi : i'm kairi.
mattia : mattia.

they shake hands.

me : he just moved in across the street from me.
kairi : nice to meet you.

then alejandros house.

ale : i'm alejandro. call me ale.

i then proceeded to go to roshaun, alvaro, and roberts houses and introduce mattia to them.

we walk around the neighborhood a while more. we go to the park that's at the back of my neighborhood. we sit on the swings and talk.

me : it's weird, you know. i've known you for what? 3 hours? and i feel like i've known you forever.
mattia : i see what you mean. i feel like we'll be good friends.
me : yeah. and you'll fit in with boys well too.
mattia : can i tell you something?
me : yeah, sure!
mattia : i don't really like talking about this, but i feel like i should let you know.
me : what's up?
mattia : so, kayla and drew are dating, and kayla lives with us. she's really not the nicest person. around drew she acts like a perfect princess, but when it's just me, she's like an evil angry witch.
me : i'm so sorry. i'll always be here for you if you need anything.
mattia : thanks. so if i ever need to get out of my house, can i count on you to let me crash at your place.
me : for sure. i mean, that is what friends are for, right?
mattia : yeah. thank you by the way
me : my pleasure.

we watch the stars for a few more minutes until we head home.