[center][h3]๐™ณ๐šŠ๐š—๐šŽ ๐™ณ๐š˜๐š—๐šŠ๐š•๐š ๐™ต๐š›๐š’๐š๐šŠ๐šข - ๐Ÿท๐Ÿพ:๐Ÿถ๐Ÿธ ๐™ฟ๐™ผ[/h3][/center] There was a soft hum in Daneโ€™s ears as he stood idly beside the grey tables with a thousand different plates of food on them. The sounds of summer all mixed together in his head: people talking, bugs flying past, birds chirping, cars in the distance. The old lady managing the whole thing buzzed around in a panic as she arranged plates and napkins and whatever else went into a block party. Seeing as they had to contribute [i]something[/i], Dane had brought a meager peace offering in the form of a garden salad with a fruit vinaigrette. Yeah, it was kinda basic and low effort, but nobody can complain about the presence of a salad. It was the most benign food in existence. โ€ฆ What do you even do at a block party besides stand there awkwardly? Dane wasnโ€™t an unsociable person. He had friends already! Kyle from the gym was cool and they would definitely talk to each other again at least one more time. Sure, heโ€™s a bit standoffish, but in college you can just get drunk at some dudeโ€™s house and meet people that way. Getting fucked up would probably be frowned upon by their new neighbors, though. So what do you do? Make small-talk about the weather? Describe how the sickly summer heat was already starting to get annoying? Ask weirdly specific questions that imply a vague and ominous tragedy to come? Looking around again, Dane couldnโ€™t help but feel weird. He was the youngest adult and oldest kid. Some part of him felt like he should be living in a different state, staying in dorms to go to his dream college, but here he was. He didnโ€™t feel like he belonged at the kidโ€™s table but talking to the 46-year-old brain surgeons felt even stranger, so Dane decided that the best course of action would be to do neither and go stand near his family. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to be doing their own things too, and Julia was the only one he had vaguely kept an eye on. She was still within eyeshot, so Dane sauntered (yes, sauntered, hands in pockets and everything) over to the yard where the kids were playing. Some dude was sitting nearby them, making sure the children didnโ€™t tear each other apart limb from limb, and fortunately he seemed to be college-aged. The only natural thing to do was to creep on over beside him and stand there looking as cool as possible. โ€œThat your sister?โ€ Dane vaguely pointed at the group of kids busy with an intense game of make-believe. Immediately he regretted asking that question, seeing as it would be kinda creepy if one of them wasnโ€™t his sister, but you know what? Baby steps. Itโ€™s best not to linger on your mistakes. Dane cleared his throat and continued in the most fourth-grade way possible: โ€œIโ€™m Dane. I just moved here with my family. The Donalds. Got any advice for the new kids?โ€ He makes kind of a constipated face. "Nevermind. You don't have to answer."