Chapter 65 Chapter LXV

Chapter 65 Chapter LXV
The ranch is remarkably quiet on the day of the festival, even though my mom decided to participate by selling pastries and cakes. It’s not every year that she does it, but since this is an event that values the local businesses, she told me that she had to set an example for the “young kids,” whatever that means. 
I, for one, have nothing against it. I just wasn’t expecting to have to work during it. But as I help her and Alice set everything up, I distract myself with the bands doing their soundchecks on the main stage while drinking some of the craft beer from the food stalls next to ours. 
When I told Poppy I’d have to work, I expected her to be sulky and complain about not having my company during the festival as we had planned, but I was wrong. She squeaked on the phone and offered to help, saying it’d be nice to talk to customers and just have a different experience at the festival.
I swear this girl never ceases to surprise me.
“Isn’t it just weird to have beer with bacon flavor? Who one day came to the conclusion that this might be good? I mean,” Poppy points out, taking another sip from her beer and rolling the liquid on her tongue to savor it, “it is unexpectedly good, but also weird.”
I chuckle, setting aside a tray filled with salted caramel brownies. My beer is long gone by now, since I was extremely thirsty when Poppy brought me a glass a couple of minutes ago. 
“It is good, but not my favorite. I like the orange one better,” I tell her. 
“Ew, no! You have an odd taste for things,” Poppy murmurs.
“Look who’s talking,” I say back, rolling my eyes at my friend.
She turns to my mom, choosing to ignore my retort, and shows her stupidly white teeth in a smile. “Mrs. Jenkins, do you mind if Hayden and I take a break during the Glitch concert? I promise we’ll be back to help out as soon as it’s over.”
“Of course!” my mom answers cheerfully. “You don’t have to stay here the entire day. We can all take turns. Chad, Ryan, and Oscar will also be here later to help out.”
Right… I forgot that Spencer’s band will be doing a special presentation tonight. I didn’t find out about it through him, though. Poppy was the one who called me during the week to tell me that they had been invited to play and were now going to be the main attraction. Surprisingly, they have a huge fanbase, and from where I’m standing, I can already see some fans camping out at the front row barrier to get the best view of their favorite idols. 
To imagine I was like one of them back in the day when I used to obsess over the Backstreet Boys. I still love them to this day, but I definitely do not have the energy to wait on my feet for hours just to be closer to them. 
I can’t see Spencer, however. He hasn’t spoken to me ever since he left my house, and I haven’t had the courage to call him yet. I’m trying to think of what to say to him. Poppy thinks I should just rip off the band-aid and get it over with, but I’m too much of a coward for that. Truth be told, I’m just scared of the potential outcome. What if Spencer decides he doesn’t want to be with me anymore? What if he breaks things off between us?
I’m not ready to give up on him–on us.
That’s the only thing making me procrastinate and delay our conversation.
“Hello, fam!” Chad’s cheerful voice echoes through our stall as my brother approaches us, wearing his Sentinel’s cap, a glass of beer in hand. For a moment, I hold my breath, expecting to see Spencer by his side, but he’s nowhere in sight. My tongue itches to ask my brother where his friend is, but I control myself. I don’t want to sound desperate. “Need a hand there, Mom?” he offers, leaning against the shelf I’m working on to organize the muffins and mini lime pies.
I slap his hand when he tries to grab one, narrowing my eyes at him and silently mouthing for him to step away. Chad grimaces at me but doesn’t move from where he’s standing.
“No need, son. I already have a lot of hands helping me out for now,” Mom replies, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "Later I will, though."
Chad finally seems to notice Poppy amongst us and frowns. “Aren’t you supposed to be working today?”
My friend shrugs. “Nah, Kayla asked someone else to cover the festival this time. Which I’m glad about. I just want to enjoy myself instead of having to write for that bit—”
“Poppy!” I call in a warning tone, afraid she might be heard by someone else. Living in a small town is already dangerous enough for gossipers like Poppy. She doesn’t need to be fired for dissing her boss at a local festival.
She doesn’t seem affected though. She simply shrugs and gets back to her task. 
“You’re not really enjoying it, though, are you? You’re still working,” Chad points out, taking a sip from his beer. 
“Not really working when I get to spend time with my favorite family. Besides, Mrs. Jenkins said we can leave to watch Glitch play, and that you’ll be here to help.” Poppy offers my brother the best sarcastic smile she can, and I bite my lip not to laugh at my brother’s expression of disgust.
“That band sucks,” he grumbles, but I know he doesn’t mean it. He’s just jealous of the attention their members get from women—especially Poppy.
“You’re just jealous they’re cuter than you,” Poppy muses, teasing him.
As much as I love to watch them banter, I’m not in the mood for this platonic relationship today. It just reminds me of how screwed my love life is right now.
“Well, hello there,” Ryan greets us as he walks in with our dad on his tail. Both of them look country enough, wearing matching flannel shirts, jeans, and boots. He goes to Alice, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she barely looks up from her hard task of piling up the blueberry muffins. 
Dad does the same with Mom, and I look around, missing someone.