𝐏𝐀𝐕𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄.

i. reinventing the wheel.

she jerked forward, with wide eyes and a sliding body cracking towards the floor mat. the seatbelt barely held her in place, the hum of the engine was more comforting as she regained her composure, pulling her body up from the ground to turn and glare at the other.

  "man , slide any further and you'll end up under the wheel instead of your seat." snickered her dear friend, their hand turning the key and pulling it from the ignition. the hum ceased its mocking and was replaced by the the not so silent ringing of being in a soundless car. dottie knew the other didn't exactly prefer the trip, nor who it was for, but they were invited and she would've felt bad rejecting an old friend. alex seemed to differ, having pulled out every excuse one could think of to not go.

  "maybe don't slam on your breaks, we're in the driveway — " scoffed the one with a sore neck, still narrowing her eyes as she rubbed her nape.
  "had to wake you up somehow!" was the only response she got in return as she was met with the slam of the car door. she waited for a moment, leaning her head against the headrest. tired eyes picked at the house before them, almost pristine with a personal care that only an architect would have. a fresh coat of paint covered up the old chips, leaving little room for nostalgia. yet, it was nice to see something new and improved, much different from the town itself. it was rare she found herself preferring a change, so much so that it urged her out of the car.

wind spiked her cheeks with a warning, she should've layered more. even when having driven down from chicago, she neglected the basic idea of weather. the city was much colder, snow was a constant, whereas tuscaloosa was bearable. zipping up her jacket lead her to be content as she walked towards the trunk, trying to take her bag — though alex was always as stubborn, carrying it away from her before she could. they didn't even budge when the familiar face raced down the porch steps to help, simply moving past him to take it inside.

it left the two to stand towards eachother in an awkward manner. three years had passed, dottie hadn't seen him since before they had moved. it was only fair that she paid him a visit, a guilt fueled one. they had talked of course, but it was different than being face to face. they had forgotten how to make conversation outside of stupid jokes and 'hi, how are you?!'s. though she hadn't forgotten how he was in general, he never did change. that brought a grin to her face and she reached forward to nudge his arm and glance down at his shoes. flip flops !
"how are you not freezing?" she laughed, her sour mood gone all together.
"i never said i wasn't!" he raised his eyebrows, turning on his heels and flip flopped his way back up the porch, only leading for her to follow.

the inside did not match the coziness of the outside. bland and barren, it was as if the guy didn't have a single clue on how to decorate a room. then again, it was expected out of a twenty one year old student, he never was very imaginative in that way. still the warmth made up for the lackluster space, allowing her limbs to thaw out. shedding the black zip up, putting it up on the coat wrack, allowing her cardigan to show once more. alex didn't do the same, keeping their jacket on. though, sometimes it was a bit ridiculous with how out of place it was. brown with fur lacing the hood, it was their go to cover up, often making them seem as if they were about to go hunting.

  "gabriel, where am i puttin' these at?" they called out to the blonde, pointing towards the suitcases they had rushed inside. the mentioned clicked his tongue and grabbed them, going to move them to another room himself, but alex was on his tail to follow. dot, left to her own devices, stepped around the home. desperate for any sort of decoration besides a single 'roll tide' poster, there was one! a little photo settled on a table stand. gabriel, dot, and a half folded alex sat in it. she figured that maybe he just didn't have a bigger frame, still she admired it.

  a highschool relic sat in her hands, young faces beamed at the camera. the blonde on her left, and the brunette to her right. the chubby, ginger sat smackdab in the middle, a bright but awkward smile with an equally as awkward gap between her teeth. her hair was a bit shorter than, coming to her shoulders, at least she had stopped straightening it. still, she could cringe just a bit at the heat damage she must've had, especially with the fringe that covered her eyes. gabriel and alex really hadn't changed all that much, gabriel maybe a bit taller — and alex bulked up. even then, she could've sworn alex could've thrown her across the room at any given moment.

  "it's crazy what a few years does to people, huh?" a voice spoke from behind her, almost causing her to drop the frame on the ground, at least before he grabbed it and set it down on the table again. "jumpy still! maybe you haven't changed too much then."
  dot would've frowned if she hadn't of picked up on the playful tone, instead offering a faint laugh and a nod.
  "yeah, i tried not to." pushing up her glasses she turned to face him directly, her gaze traveling behind him to search for alex, he seemed tense as he watched her eyes wander.
   "they're ordering a pizza, it's not like they just ran off." he hid behind his derision with a laugh, shrugging his shoulders as he stepped back.

  she didn't really laugh along, only nodding once more as she ventured away from him a bit. "soooo, how's construction treatin' you?" she asked, her fingers softly padding against her thigh in anticipation. he only shrugged his shoulders and  his hands in his pockets,
   "it's decent, fixed up the house, if you couldn't tell." he seemed proud of it, a little grin playing at his lips now. she smiled at that, proud that he was proud.
    "it's the first thing i noticed, i'd say it's treatin' you more than just 'decent'." he just shrugged once more, but at least he seemed more vigorous, rather than being nonchalant. praise went a long way with him, from what she knew.

  it was still weird, seeing him outside of a little screen. face to face, her eyes stared to capture the features. he must've noticed, shifting a bit to ask her a question in return,
  "what's your major again ? i keep forgetting.." he laughed, despite the quick grimace that flashed across her face.
  "literature, creative writing, stuff like that."
  "what do you expect to do with that degree, though?" a question that caught her off guard, mostly due to him being the one to ask it. when others would ask her that, quite often, it was usually people she had just met — doubtful strangers, if anything.

   "be a bombass writer, is what." alex spoke, placing their phone into their jacket pocket before crossing their arms. gabriel scoffed a bit, nodding his head as he raised his hands to show 'no harm',
   "true, yeah." there was no room to argue between the two, alex would've cut it off with a comeback coated in defense. sharp words rested on their tongue, waiting to have to cut at someone if need be. it was often that dot found herself rebutting any tension in the group, unity between the three was all she needed for the break. they only had a week off, she'd prefer to spend it together than at each others throats. alex seemed to catch on, switching topics with ease,
  "i got us pizza from that place by the uh — shrimp shack! yeah, pepper's, cheap but good." as college students, that was the only thing that really mattered. being able to afford, and enjoy things.

"okay so, i'll get the nightmare before christmas all cued up." dot grinned as she went to search through her suitcase, earning a groan from gabriel.
"again!?" he only earned a little laugh in reply as she scurried away.