Change For Me

15. teddy bear

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"Good thing I didn't wear heels," Claire says as we get out of the car. Since cheap parking in downtown is nearly impossible, especially with a concert nearby, we have to park in a garage farther away from the venue.

"Omg look at the sky," Lisa points at the sunset.

"We should take pictures," Claire gasps.

"You girls and pictures," Eric whines, making a few of us glare at him.

"I'm down," Sofie walks toward the side of the garage while Claire and Lisa catch up to her. It has an open view of the purple and orange sky that's perfect for a picture.

"You good?" Eva asks out of no where.

"Yeah," I shrug, stopping in front of Sofie. She bends down to get good angles of Claire and Lisa.

"Hey," Conrad throws an arm around my shoulders and I smile up to him. Jae follows, standing next to him, and Eric leans on a concrete post.

"Get in here," Claire waves at the rest of us to join. "We can use a timer," she reassures after me and Eva look at one another.

"Where will we place your phone? Smart ass," Lisa shoves Claire. Claire looks around, at each of us, waiting for a volunteer. None of us seem to care who does so I decide help out—I prefer to take the pictures anyways.

"Here," I stick my hand out for her phone. She smiles appreciatively then ushers everyone  around her. I position myself in the middle, aligning the phone to fit all of them in frame. 

"Okay, ready? 3..2..1.." I spam the button, taking pictures from different angles. I know how picky Claire is, maybe the others as well, so I take plenty. I hand back Claire's phone and she immediately goes through the hundreds of photos.

"Jae, you didn't even smile in any of these," Claire glares at Jae who slowly backs up from her intimidating gaze.

"All of you boys didn't," Lisa points them out in each photo Claire scrolls past. 

"Shit, we gotta go," Claire looks at the time
and rushes to the exit. I adjust my outfit, from crouching down to take photos of them, and begin following the rest of the group alone.

~

"I think it's this way," Sofie leads us through busy streets. While we walk deeper into the city, I admire the buildings and cute shops that run along the roads. I haven't been to downtown in a long time—it's a foreign feeling.

"What's up?" Jae follows in sync with my steps.

"Nothing much," I look up to see faint stars in the sky. 

"Why are you walking alone?"

"I'd rather not get pushed onto the road," I gesture to the reckless drivers, whizzing by into traffic. Everyone is walking in pairs. I don't want to interfere with their conversations by being a third wheel.

"Especially with Eric's fat ass," Jae smirks. 

"I heard that," Eric abruptly turns around to glare Jae. I laugh under my breath.

"Are you excit-" Jae's phone interrupts him. "Shit," He pulls out his phone and my eyes wander to the contact name. My eyes widen but I hide my shock. I look ahead of me, giving Jae the time to answer his call. In the meanwhile, I notice Claire glancing behind her shoulder at, most likely, Jae.

"Finally!" Sofie relaxes her shoulders once the line of people for the concert comes into view. We stop at an intersection and wait for the signal to walk.