The First Aider

27 ~ Combustion

"Which swimsuit should I take?"

"Whichever one makes you look the hottest." Clara groaned, her head upside down on the bed.

Taylor leaned her head over the edge of Aubrey's bed, watching as Aubrey held up two swimsuits. One a pale pink colour and the other blue.

They were supposed to be helping Aubrey pack for the trip that she was leaving on in a week, but so far Taylor and Clara hadn't done much.

"Oh, thanks for the sunscreen, by the way," Aubrey commented.

Taylor nodded. "No problem. You better not get burnt."

"Yeah," Clara chimed in. "That's my job."

Taylor snorted and rolled her eyes, pushing a stray curl out of her face as Aubrey held up two different shirts.

"That one," Taylor pointed to the one on the left. "It looks hot on you."

"She wants you to get a boyfriend while you are abroad." Clara perked up, rolling on the bed to prop her feet against the purple wall. "And maybe, steal one for me as well."

Aubrey scoffed, neatly folding her clothes up into a blue compression cube, before zipping it up and placing it in the corner of her suitcase. "I am not going to become a kidnapper while I'm abroad Clara."

Clara sighed in disappointment. "I got my hopes up and everything."

Taylor laughed, her heart smiling too. "I'm going to miss you."

Aubrey nodded, and pouted, looking between them both. "I'm going to miss you both too, promise me we'll facetime a bunch while I'm over there?"

Taylor nodded rapidly and pushed herself up. "Make sure you take your umbrella. It might rain a ton there."

Aubrey turned and grabbed the black umbrella from the shelf in her closet, where it had previously been in storage, not needing much use with the current weather. She tucked it into her suitcase.

"I don't know if I'm ready to do this."

Clara hummed and stood, stretching until her back popped, then walked over, hugging Aubrey. A second later, Taylor joined them, hugging them both tightly.

"You are the bravest of us all. I believe you can do this, and you will show the world what happens when they mess with Aubrey Dawson." Clara cheered.

Aubrey sniffed slightly. "Thank you, Clara."

Taylor hummed and pulled away. Aubrey pushed one hand under her eyes, effectively removing any possible tears that may have surfaced. She turned to her closet and pulled out her tan trench coat, holding it up in question.

"Definitely," Both Clara and Taylor chimed.

Aubrey nodded, before neatly tucking it into her suitcase. She looked up at Taylor, who had resettled herself on the bed, leaning against the wall.

"Is that necklace new?"

Taylor's eyes widened, and her hand flew to her neck, where she had kept the star necklace for the past week or so. She pinched it between her fingers.

"Yeah, Nasir got it for me."

Aubrey's mouth dropped open, and she nearly tripped over the bottle of shampoo on the floor. "He got you a present."

"An olive branch," Taylor responded. "He showed up on Christmas eve to give it to me."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Clara glared at Taylor.

"What?" Taylor asked, dropping the necklace in embarrassment and hiding her hands in her sleeve. Her cousin gave her an incredulous look.

"You two are literally driving me insane. Will you please just fucking kiss him, or confess, or say something before I am thrown into a clinic?"