SMS 23' | Summer Story

Part 1

Chapter 1: Abby: The Drive

“Whoo!” I shouted, throwing my pink duffel in the trunk of my jeep. School was finally over, and we were heading to Camp Blue Rivers, all ten of us. I took the hood off my head of my cozy pink camp hoodie, and hopped in the driver’s seat, coffee in a Stanley cup in hand and sunglasses perched on my head.

“Wait, wait, I’m coming, hang on!” Jayden came bursting out of the house, carrying her purple duffel and huffing and puffing. “H-hang on,” she panted, “let me catch my breath really quick.” I smirked, took her bag, and tossed it in the trunk, then closed it. She sprawled on the passenger seat and closed her eyes.

“All right, let's go,” I said, pushing my foot on the gas pedal, hands at a perfect ten and two on the wheel. I drove off into the early morning light, Jay slouched in the seat, eyes closed.

I clicked on my phone, went to contacts, and called Luna. After a few rings, she picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hi Luns, I’m ten minutes away from your house, you almost ready? I’ll be there at 6:47.”

“Yup, I’ll be ready! See you then!”

“Alright, bye.” I hung up and made a right.

Ten minutes later, I reached Luna’s house and pulled onto her driveway, opened my door, and quietly popped the trunk, as Jayden was still sleeping. Luna opened the door and jogged out, carrying her white duffel.

“Hii,” Luna whispered, spotting Jayden sleeping. I waved and she positioned their bags in the back. I jumped back in the front seat and she piled in the back. After about five minutes on the road, Jayden groggily rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“Oh hey guys, good morning,” she yawned, smiling and waving at Luna.

“Hii,” she replied, smiling.

“Alright, now that you’ve woken up, I’m going to call the boys so we can talk to them while driving.” I clicked on my brother Isaiah’s contact, and pressed ‘Facetime’. He picked up almost immediately.

“Hey, what time did you leave? I didn’t see you all morning,” Jayden butted in, moving her head into the phone frame.

“Oh, I left at like six, dude,” Isaiah said, “I had to pick up Alicia, remember?” my brother’s girlfriend poked her head in and smiled and waved.

“Oh, right, right, my bad,” Jayden rolled her eyes and waved back.

“Okay, are you picking up Brandon and Levi?” I asked, eyes straight on the road.

“Nope, Levi and Lucas are driving together, Mase is on his own, and Brandon and Madison are driving together.” He said. I nodded in understanding, waved and hung up.

Jayden leaned over and clicked the button that made the top of my jeep come down, then hooked her phone up to my car’s bluetooth, and started blasting a summer playlist.

“WHOOO!!” We all shouted, throwing hands up in the air. I smiled and sang along with Jayden and Luna. Summer really had started.

At around 9:45 pm, Luna pulled into a parking space at camp. I yawned in the backseat and opened my eyes sleepily. I had driven until 6:20 pm until I had gotten so tired my eyes had started to close, so Luna, bless her heart, had switched with me.

“We’re finally here!” Jayden shouted, jumping out the car and dancing around in the parking lot.

“Yup,” I said, quickly undoing my messy bun on the top of my head and fluffing it out when I saw Lucas’s car, Brandon’s car, and Mason’s car approaching. I waved as they parked, and ran out to greet them, along with Jay and Luna. We all said our hellos, then grabbed our own duffels and walked towards our cabins.

“So, uh, how was your guys’ drive?” Lucas asked me, giving me a slight smile.

“Oh, it was alright, but I almost fell asleep after thirteen hours of driving,” I replied, smiling back. I looked forward and saw Levi go up to Jayden and they walked together, shoulders bumping as they laughed in the distance. I grinned to myself and kept on walking.

When we reached our cabins, us girls and guys separated, with Lucas calling out, “goodnight!” and I blushed and waved good-bye. We walked into the cabin and claimed our bunks, Jayden throwing her blanket and pillow on the top bunk in the corner, and I took the cot under her. I pulled on my gray sleep shorts and a short black tank top, putting my hair curler in my bangs, and snuggled into my blanket.

“Goodnight!” I called out, closing my eyes.

“Goodnight!”

“Goodnight!”

Chapter 2: Jayden: The First Morning

“Guys, wake up!” Abby shouted. I slowly turned my body and rubbed my eyes, trying to figure out what time it was.

“6:00 am?!” I nearly yelled out loud, but kept it to myself in time. As I heard loud thumps and footsteps around, I finally convinced myself to get up. I slowly walked in the bathroom as my vision was still slightly blurry.

“You finally woke up! Jayden, we have to leave in thirty minutes so you better hurry,” Abby explained.

“WHAT? Thirty minutes?!” I exclaimed. “Crap crap crap crap!” I ran around the bathroom, searching for my toothbrush I left on the counter last night.

“Who the hell took my toothbrush?!” I screamed.

“Oh right, Madison accidentally dropped it in the toilet last night so we threw it away as you were sleeping, sorry…” Luna explained with a slight sarcastic grin as she tried to apologize.

“Wow, thanks a lot. Tell Madison she owes me gum and toothbrush money because I am not seeing Levi with my morning breath,” I replied frostily.

I hurriedly checked the clock. 6:40 am. I took a deep breath and went to look for my makeup bag. I ran into the bathroom, hurrying my daily routine, skipping a few steps. I finished my makeup in just the nick of time.

“Are you ready yet, Jayden? We gotta leave in five minutes,” Luna shouted.

I replied, “Okay I’m coming, lemme just change real quick!”

I ran to my duffel as I searched for something comfy and cute. I decided on my gray sweat shorts and a white tank top with a hoodie. Once I changed, I grabbed my water bottle, chapstick and sunscreen.

“Are we all set?” Abby questioned.

“Yup! I am ready to go!” Luna replied.

“Same, Isaiah and the rest of them said that they’re at the lunch tables already, so we’ll meet them at table six,” Abby explained.

“Sounds good!” I agreed. We started walking down to the lunch courts as Madison handed me a piece of gum.

“Thanks! I needed this, Levi can never catch me with my morning breath.”

“I know, don’t worry, I got you,” Madison replied.

When we arrived, our eyes searched around for table six, which was pretty easy, considering that it wasn’t too hard to spot two nineteen year old boys throwing a baby carrot around.

“Hi guys, how's your morning going?” Levi welcomed us.

“Damn Abby, you look like you had a rough morning. Have you considered a hair brush by any chance?” Isaiah questioned snarkily.

Levi added, “Plus another hair brush; Jayden needs one for sure.”

“Shut up,” Abby and I both rolled our eyes in unison as I sat down.

Lucas added, “Isaiah, you didn't even brush your teeth or shower last night, you can’t be talking.”

“Eww, that makes sense now why you always stink so bad.” Abby said, smirking, hands on her hips. “No deodorant can help you,” she said, sighing as she grinned.

As they argued, Luna and Madison sat down. I sat next to Levi while Luna chose a spot across from Mason and Madison next to Brandon.

“Abby, sit your butt down,” I said.

Luna explained, “Whoops! I guess you have to sit next to Lucas. No other spots.”

“Fine by me,” Abby replied, “anyone but Isaiah would make my day better.” Through the corner of my eye, I saw Lucas give her a little smile when Abby sat down next to him.

“Alright, we’re gonna go get breakfast.” Madison announced, getting up and walking towards the cafeteria. We followed Madison to the breakfast line, when I noticed someone walking towards us.

“Hi, my name is Alex, are you new here?” Alex asked, hazel eyes looking straight at me.

“Oh, hey! My name is Jayden, and no, actually. My sister Abby and I have been coming here since we were toddlers with our brother Isaiah, and his friends Lucas and Levi,” I explained, “we just weren’t here last year.”

“Ohhh, that makes sense now,” Alex nodded, running his hand through his fluffy brown hair. “Nice to meet you!”

“Thanks, nice to meet you too,” I replied, grabbing a banana to add to my plate.

“Alright, I'll see you around then, enjoy your breakfast!” Alex commented. I nodded with a smile back. We walked back to the table with our food when Luna questioned, sitting down

“Where did Isaiah go?”

“Oh not sure, he said his girlfriend needed him for something,” Mason replied.

“Wow, simp,” Luna answered, grabbing a fork. After breakfast, we went to find our counselor for the day. As we walked down to the grass, a girl waved at us in excitement.

“Hi guys, my name is Lily and I'm your day counselor.” she announced. Everyone waved back with a smile. “Alright, our first activity of the day is ziplining,” Lily explained. “However, I need to go over some precautions with you guys beforehand to prevent injuries.”

As Lily explained the precautions, I noticed through the corner of my eye Levi and Lucas messing around.

I whispered, “Stop guys, listen to the counselor. I’m not trying to walk to lunch with two dead bodies.”

“Alright all, if we all understand. we can start hiking up to the zip lines,” Lily announced, “any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads no. As we started hiking up, I noticed it was just Luna, Abby and I, while Madison was with Brandon doing their lovey dovey stuff. Of course, the same with Isaiah and Alicia. When we finally arrived to the zip lines, Lily said,

“Alright, we’ll wait for some of the other groups first, so in the meantime you guys can sit and chill around.” We nodded and looked for a spot to sit.

“Let’s sit under this tree, guys,” Mason said. Soon, the other groups started walking up the hill, as their muttering gradually got louder and louder the closer they got.

“Alright everyone, settle down, find somewhere to sit,” Lily announced. Next thing I knew, Alex walked over and sat next to me.

“What’s up, Jayden, nice to see you again!” Alex said.

“Oh hey, yeah, me too, how are you?” I replied. As Alex answered my question, I overheard Levi talk down about Alex.

“Who the hell is this new guy, he seems dumb as hell,” Levi muttered to Lucas.

Lucas replied, “Don’t know, apparently they were talking when Jayden and them went to get breakfast.”

“I gotta do something about this,” Levi said, “Follow my steps, Luke.”

“Hey guys… how y’all doin,” Levi asked as he and Lucas scooted themselves between Alex and I.

Alex replied, “Oh…good dude, how bout you?” Levi opened his mouth to reply but Lily butted in quickly with an announcement.

“Everyone will get one of these harnesses and put them through your legs and tighten on the waist, a counselor will come around to make sure you’ve tightened it properly.” We all went to each look for a harness.

“Can you tighten this a little more for me, please?” I asked Levi, handing him the strap of my harness.

“Yeah, for sure,” Levi replied, tightening it.

“Alright, once everyone is set, get in pairs with the opposite sex.” Lily announced, clapping her hands.

“Hey, uh, Jayden, wanna be a pair?” Alex asked.

“Oh, um…” I hesitated.

“Hey hey, hold up,” Levi interjected, “I was going to ask Jay, back off, dude.”

“Uh, well I asked first,” Alex replied, raising his eyebrows.

“Well, doesn’t matter, cause I know her better than you ever would, I know how to keep her safe, how she…” I listened, surprised, as Levi listed off all my pet peeves and fears, and likes. Alex grimaced.

“Well, I may not know her as well as you do, but as they say, out with the old, and in with the new,” he grinned. Levi grunted and clenched his fists.

“Hey, hey, calm down guys, I’ll just go with Levi I guess,” I muttered, dragging him away from Alex. We got to a more secluded area and Levi calmed down. “Dude, what the hell was that? Why were you so defensive?”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Relax Jay, I’m not in love with you or anything, I just don’t trust that dude. He seems shady.”

“Whatever.” I frowned and adjusted my helmet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Madison helping Brandon with his helmet, Isaiah hugging Alicia, and Abby and Lucas chatting and laughing, and I felt pissed. I could’ve had that with Alex, maybe, and Levi, well even better, but he was being so weird. I frowned and sat down. I couldn’t help but wonder if Levi really meant what he said.

Chapter 3: Lucas: The Second Night

“Bro, today was sick,” Isaiah declared, squeezing his toothpaste on his toothbrush and shoving it in his mouth aggressively.

“Dude, that’s only cause you and Alicia snuck out during breakfast and made out behind the cafeteria,” Levi snorted as he walked into the bathroom in his pajama pants and no shirt.

“Wha-evah,” Isaiah garbled, toothbrush still in his mouth as he rolled his eyes.

Out of the five of us, I was probably the closest with Isaiah and Levi. I’ve known them since Abby and Jayden were babies. We’ve practically grown up together. And yet, I still found Isaiah hella annoying at times. I spit out my toothpaste and rinsed my mouth, then headed back into the room to get ready for bed. I took off my shirt and got on the floor, doing some push-ups and sit-ups, then climbing into bed. Isaiah was on my top bunk, and Levi next to me. Brandon and Mason were already in bed, snoring with their eyes closed. In the darkness, I heard Levi whispering. I craned my neck to hear better.

“Yo, yo Isaiah,” he whispered, “Is um.. is…” he couldn’t seem to get the words out and Isaiah interrupted.

“Bro what is it? I wanna sleep,” he whined.

“So… you know your sister?” Levi asked, and I could see his face turning red in the dark.

Oh no, what if he likes Abby? I thought, tensing up under my blanket. I nervously waited for his next words.

“Yes, I believe I’ve known my sisters since birth. What's up, dude?” Isaiah asked, visibly annoyed.

“Um.. so.. do you know if uh, Jayden likes anyone?” He stammered, shifting in his bed.

“Aw hell nah,” Isaiah muttered, suddenly sounding wide awake. “You lay a hand on my sister, you’re dead,” he said, sitting up straight.

“Yo, but they both dated before, no?” I sat up, not hiding my eavesdropping anymore.

“Yeah, and all these boys have broken Abby and Jayden’s hearts,” Isaiah scowled, “So if you’re gonna go for her,” he said, looking at Levi harshly, “you better be damn sure you want her,” he finished. Levi nodded, embarrassed, and turned around. I thought about this, about Abby. Was she really worth angry Isaiah? I tossed in my bed and fell asleep.

“Dude, wake up,” I called, shaking Isaiah, who was still laying motionless on his bed. I was up and dressed in some comfy sweatpants and a tight white tank top, which showed off my arm muscles. I gave up on Isaiah, and grabbed my backpack and stuffed it with a hoodie, sunscreen, chapstick, and a phone charger.

“Yo, Mase!” I shouted.

“Yeah, wassup?” He replied, pulling on a pair of shorts.

“Can I borrow your sunglasses?”

“Yeah, go for it,” He called, tossing them my way. I caught them and positioned them on my dark brown hair, and walked outside on the porch. Brandon nodded at me with sleepy eyes and a green tumblr in his hand, full of black coffee. He never was a morning person. He then slowly ambled down the wooden steps and walked up to the girls’ cabin, kissing Madison on the cheek and offering her his coffee, to which she smiled and took. I looked at them jealously. Brandon didn’t have to deal with Isaiah, lucky him. I sighed and trudged downstairs.

At around 8:00 am, we were all at table six and eating a hearty meal of pancakes and bacon and eggs. Brandon sat next to Madison, slinging his arm around her, and Mason and Luna sat across from each other, making small talk. I had gotten a seat next to Abby, and Levi sat next to Jayden, smiling at her and making her laugh, while Isaiah glared daggers at him. I stiffened and slightly moved away from Abby, but when I looked at her, she looked crestfallen at that tiny movement, and I immediately felt awful.

“Guys, yesterday’s zip-lining was so scary!” Luna announced, dumping hot sauce on her eggs.

“Yeah, haha,” Mason said, eyes fixed on Luna with a smile on his face. She looked up.

“What?”

“Nothing- your eggs are almost on fire!” He burst out laughing and she stuck her tongue out at him and dumped some of the hot sauce on his eggs. “Hey!” he shouted, as she laughed.

I silently finished eating my bacon. Through the corner of my eye, I saw Abby slump a little with disappointment, from the lack of conversation, I assumed. I slumped as well, finished and stood up.

“Abby, may I take your plate?” I mock-bowed deeply and she giggled.

“Yes butler, please take my dirty dishes, thank you,” she said in a snooty tone, laughing. I smiled and took her plate and walked to the sink. When I came back, I sat down and saw she was no longer sad; she looked happy and was smiling. I grinned at the sight of her.

“Yo dude, why didn’t you take my plate?” Jayden asked, with a mischievous gleam in her eye. I saw her wink at Abby and Abby glaring back at her.

“I don’t know, cause she was like right next to me?” I replied, a red glow flushing on my cheeks. I rolled my eyes at Jayden. “Why, you need a big, strong man like me to take your plate for you?” I joked, holding my arm up and flexing it. She groaned and stood up and took her plate, stomping the whole way and laughing. I laughed too, and sat down. I looked up at Levi and he looked a bit mad. “Yo, what’s up Levi?” I asked. “You good man?” He nodded and left the table, excusing himself to the bathroom.

I just sat there, wondering what was going on with him. Then I realized what. He thought I was hitting on Jayden! And from the way Abby was staring down, I guess she thought so too. Fuck, I thought, Why am I so stupid? I jumped off my chair to find Levi.

Chapter 4: Abby: The Second Day pt. 2

I watched Lucas jump up and run after Levi, still wondering what was g9ing on, and feeling a bit left out as Isaiah and Alicia kissed, Brandon and Maddie cuddled, and Luna and Mase laughed together. I, too, excused myself and followed Lucas’ trail. I hid behind one of the outdoor showers when I heard Lucas’ voice.

“Yo, what was that all about?” Lucas asked.

“Nothing dude, just- just stop hitting on Jayden!” Levi exclaimed. I gasped and clapped my hand over my mouth quickly.

“Bro, I’m not, I’m just joking around, we always do that!” Lucas defended. “And anyway, I don’t like her! You know who I like,” he said, quieter this time. My ears perked up and I leaned in harder to listen closer.

“No, I don’t.” Levi said harshly.

“Alright, swear you won’t tell anyone.”

“I swear.”

“It’s Abby.” I couldn’t contain the enormous grin on my face as I heard those words.

“Yooo, really?” Levi exclaimed. I peeked my head out and saw Lucas nodding. “Oh damn, my fault bro, I guess I had it twisted, we good?”

“Yeah,” Lucas replied. “Just don’t tell anyone bout Abby and I won’t say a word abo9ut Jayden,” He finished sincerely.

I squealed quietly with excitement and hurried back to our table. I couldn’t stop smiling by the time I sat down, which thankfully, nobody noticed. Jayden was sitting there, eyes unfocused, lost in thought. I motioned for her to follow me. She got up and obeyed.

“What’s going on?” she asked, linking arms with me.

“Okay, okay, so I overheard Levi and Lucas having a conversation… about us!” I squealed.

“Really?”

“Yup. So apparently, Levi likes you! And Lucas likes me!” Her jaw dropped

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

“You’re lying.”

“Would I lie to you about this?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Okay, then shut up and celebrate with me!” I squealed and jumped, and with a shrug, she did the same.

We sauntered down to the grass, and got in front of the hiking counselor. She smiled and finished up her conversation with another camper.

“Hey guys, are you here for the hike? What are y’all’s names?”

“I’m Abby, and this is my sister Jayden,” I said, and Jayden waved. “Our brother and our other friends should be here soon. They’re uh, Isaiah, Lucas, Levi,” I continued rattling off the names as she checked them off her clipboard. “...and Madison. That’s it.”

“Thanks, hon.” she smiled and went to go fill up her water bottle, as Isaiah and them came up to us. “All right, we’re just waiting for um… Jonah Terrel, Alex Smith, and hmm, Emily Swanson, as well as Chloe Kim.” My eyes widened at Alex’s name and I turned to look at Levi. His face turned red and he was frowning.

They arrived, in one group, and I looked carefully at them. The Emily girl had gorgeous ginger hair, and her face had no acne at all. I touched my rough skin and shuddered. She was wearing this ridiculously short tank top and a khaki skirt that could’ve been a belt, and had at least two pounds of makeup on her face.

This is a hike, not a… I don’t even know what I would wear that to, I thought, rolling my eyes.

Chloe Kim had long black silky hair, and was wearing this cute white tennis skirt and an oversized graphic tee.

I wondered if Lucas would find Emily attractive. She was quite pretty, even with all that gunk on my face. I had only put on sunscreen and added some mascara and chapstick, then called it a day. Nervously, I smoothed my hair and added some more chapstick on my mouth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex waving at Jayden, and Levi behind her smoldering. Isaiah was looking at Chloe, and when she looked back at him, he blushed a little. I raised my eyebrows towards Jayden and motioned her to follow me. We walked to the back of the group and I started whispering.

“Okay, Jay, tell me what's going on between you and Alex.”

“What?”

“Do you like Alex?”

“Um, well, I think he’s cute, but I still like Levi.”

“Yeah, well, don’t lead him on. Plus, when you even look at Alex, Levi looks so pissed.” I said, laughing a bit.

Chapter 4: Levi: The Hike

I looked behind me and saw Abby and Jayden whispering about something, and I wondered if it was about me or Alex. I turned around and gave Alex a death glare. Next thing I knew, Alex started tying Jayden’s shoelace for her. The more I looked at them, the more pissed I felt. However, I decided to act like I didn’t care, so I just walked past them without saying a single word. When I walked past them, I noticed the new girl Emily. She was walking in the very front alone, so I decided to go talk to her to get my mind off Jayden.

“Hey what’s up, are you new here?” I asked.

“Oh hi, yeah, first time at this camp,” Emily answered, “I went to another camp before but some things happened, so I moved.”

“Oh that’s cool, my name is Levi. Nice to meet you,” I said.

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Emily,” she replied.

I said, “So, tell me about you.” As Emily told me about her life and her hobbies, I overheard Jayden and Alex giggling and laughing. I tried to not let that bother me and really focus on Emily, but it wasn’t that easy. Thankfully, we reached the top, so I could go find Mase and Luke.

I replied back to Emily, “Alright, we’re almost at the top, I’ll see you around!”

“See ya!” Emily replied. I saw Mason and Lucas from afar, so I ran up to them and greeted them.

“Yoo, look who it is!” Mason announced.

“The Rizzard of Oz, obviously,” Lucas added.

“Shut up dude,” I muttered, hoping Jayden wouldn’t hear this conversation.

“Don’t be shy, we saw what you were tryna do with that new girl,” Mason exaggeratedly winked.

“Nah nah, it's not like that, you guys know that,” I said, pushing Mason’s arm . The hiking counselor interrupted us.

“Alright guys settle down! Take a break, and we’ll start heading back down to your guys’ cabins in around ten minutes. After that, you guys are free for the rest of the day.”

When we made it back down, I went back to my cabin for the night, I didn’t feel like seeing Jayden or anyone. Just needed time to myself.

Chapter 5: Isaiah: The Third Day

“Bro, what the hell?” I yawned, sitting up groggily. I woke up to Lucas shaking my arm aggressively.

“Yeah, I know you need your beauty sleep but you have ten minutes till breakfast,” Lucas smirked, then threw my blanket back on top of me and strolled outside. I jumped out of bed and down the ladder, grabbing a fresh pair of clothes out of my bag on the way to the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth, applied some deodorant, and shaved carefully. I took off my pajamas and put on a graphic tee and some black shorts. Taking Lucas’s hairbrush, I combed through my dark brown hair and ran outside, where everyone was waiting.

“I’m here, I’m h-here,” I huffed, leaning over and putting my hands on my knees.

“Hey babe,” Alicia said, coming up to me and kissing me on the cheek. I kissed her back then walked over to Lucas, ignoring the surprised and hurt look on Alicia’s face.

“Yo, wake me up earlier alright?” I told him, slapping his back.

“Hey, I’ve tried to wake you up earlier, but you always ignore me, so it's all on you, Isaiah,” He replied, laughing as he walked over to Abby and started chatting with her. I looked at them carefully, and frowned as he put his arm on her shoulder. He glanced over and quickly took his arm off. I glared, and we all started walking down to the cafeteria.

The day flew by; we went kayaking in the afternoon and had the rest of the time free. We had plans to go night swimming, but Mase and Jay felt a little sick, probably from the food, so we agreed to another night. All of us boys were laying in our cots, ready to go to sleep, when I heard someone knocking on the door.

“Who’s that?” Lucas asked, but made no move to get up.

“Isaaiaahh,” a female voice outside called, “time for skinny-dipping,” she continued.

“Yooo,” Brandon said, getting up and pushing me in the arm. “Damn look at Alicia taking the initiative,” he whispered, grabbing my swim trunks and tossing them to me. I shrugged with a grin and on the way out, I saluted all of the boys.

“Adios, amigos,” I said, walking out the door.

Chapter 6: Jayden: The Night

I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning in my bed, so I lay flat, eyes on the ceiling, listening to Madison’s heavy breathing. CRACK! A twig cracked outside. I silently got down the ladder and peeked out the window. A shadowy figure was heading towards Levi’s cabin. I frowned, quietly opened the door and stepped outside.

The figure stopped in front of their cabin and called out, “Isaaiah, time for skinny-dipping.”

I tilted my head in confusion, then popped my head back into our cabin. I quickly tiptoed inside and shook Abby, woke her up, and led her outside. She groggily rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, then the half-closed eyes widened when she saw Isaiah walk out down to the person. We saw his face, surprised, then smiling.

“Oohh, look at Alicia and Isaiah going skinny-dipping,” I teased, smirking at Abby.

“Wait, but I just saw Alicia snoring,” Abby muttered. Our heads turned towards each other slowly and then we looked back down. Isaiah turned towards the lake, and so did the girl. I squinted to get a good look at her face, then I gasped.

Chloe.

The girl on the hike that Isaiah was checking out and chatting with. Isaiah didn’t even resist when she reached out to grab his hand. Abby pulled at my hoodie.

“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe Isaiah would cheat on Alicia! They’ve been together since like they were sophomores!”

“I know, right?” I chewed on my nail. “You think we should tell Alicia?”

“Umm, I don’t know, let's sleep on it and act tomorrow morning,” Abby reasoned, and we both turned around and went back to bed.

Chapter 7: Mason: The Fourth Day

We walked down to breakfast after spending twenty minutes trying to get Isaiah out of bed. He must’ve gotten in late after one hell of a night. On our way down to the cafeteria, we saw the girls, so we caught up with them.

“Hey guys,” Jayden said, yawning.

“Hi.”

“Sup.”

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I said.

“Good morning,” Luna replied.

On our way there, I noticed Jayden and Abby being odd with Isaiah; they ignored him the moment they saw him. I didn’t think much of it, but only of the crispy bacon and fluffy pancakes. Once everyone gathered together after getting their breakfast, we joked about how Isaiah kept falling out of the kayak. Jayden, who would usually find this hilarious, didn’t even laugh. She kept her silence and ate her breakfast, and immediately after she finished, she announced that she would go put her plates away, and use the restroom. Abby followed. Luna was sitting there, picking at her food silently, so I decided to talk to her.

“What’s up, Luns?” I asked her.

“What do you want, Mason?” she replied cryptically.

“Someone’s grumpy,” I muttered, “What’s wrong?”

“My stomach hurts so much,” she answered, putting her face on the table.

“Want me to walk you to the nurse?” I offered.

“Yeah, that would be great, thanks,” she smiled slightly. As we walked, I noticed she was struggling at walking, taking slow steps and grimacing. I knew she would never let me carry her, so I did it without asking. “What the hell, Mase?” she shouted, laughing a little.

“Hey, you looked tired, so I thought I would help you out,” I winked and she rolled her eyes.

“Thanks, I am so tired. Abby and Jayden were coming back in last night late and woke me up when they walked back in,” she said.

“Ohh, they saw Isaiah and Alicia going skinny-dipping, huh,” I laughed.

“What?” she almost fell off my back.

“Oh shit, you didn’t know?” I huffed, hefting her up a little.

“No, no, I mean, well I didn’t know, but Alicia was under my cot snoring; she couldn’t have been out,” she said carefully.

“Oh shit,” I said in shock.

“Yeah…but don’t say anything,” she said, “I don’t want to get involved in something I shouldn’t be in.”

I replied, “Oh yeah, for sure, don’t worry about it, I won’t say anything.” I reassured her.

We got to the nurse's office and the nurse checked out Luna’s stomach while I waited behind the curtain to give her some privacy. Once she was done, the nurse gave her some Tylenol and said that she could be excused from today's activities.

I offered, “I could stay with you. I heard we’re doing another two hour hike again today, so I could just chill with you instead.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Luna said gratefully. “You know how much I hate being alone.”

“Yeah. How about we just chill under that big tree and have a picnic? I got some snacks I brought to camp secretly!” I suggested, pointing at the tree.

“Sure, why not?” she agreed.

As she walked over to the tree, I ran to my cabin, grabbing some snacks and drinks, and an extra bed sheet.

“Wow, you came very prepared,” Luna commented in surprise.

“What can I say, I’m just like that,” I replied with a wink.

We set up the bed sheets, and chatted for a couple of hours. She told me some stories and problems, and I opened up too, feeling much closer and more connected to her. Later, we noticed some sounds from around us. It sounded like two people giggling and laughing. We quickly quieted down to listen more closely on what it was.

“Haha, stop Isaiah, you’re so stupid!” A female voice giggled.

“Come over here, they’ll never catch us,” Isaiah said.

Luna and I both slowly looked at each other in curiosity.

“Who is that?” Luna whispered.

“I don’t know, let's go check,” I whispered back, “c’mon.”

Carefully, we walked closer. Luna was right behind me, holding onto my shirt as we tiptoed. I peeked my head around the shed, and carefully inched closer, Luna still behind me. I saw two people making out, arms intertwined, one with dark brown hair which I assumed was Isaiah, and another with long black hair, who I knew couldn’t be Alicia.

I turned around and looked at Luna, my eyes wide. She frowned in confusion, and when I moved aside to let her see, she gasped quietly. She quickly turned around and grabbed onto my wrist and dragged me away, back to the tree.

“What are you doing?” I questioned in confusion.

“We gotta go, we can’t be caught,” she replied.

“What’s the big deal?” I wondered.

“We just gotta go, we saw something we weren’t supposed to see” she replied. When we got back to the tree, we sat there in silence for a good two minutes in shock.

“Should we tell anyone?” I asked.

“No, don’t, just pretend nothing happened and we didn’t see anything,” Luna replied worriedly.

We cleaned up and walked back to the cabins, where I stored the bedsheets back. As we walked down to the food courts for dinner, a long awkward silence fell

among us.

“So..” Luna said to relieve the awkwardness.

“So how’s your stomach now?” I questioned.

“It’s fine now, thank you for today,” she answered, “remember, we don’t speak about anything we weren’t supposed to see today, alright? Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise.” I replied as we linked our pinkies together. When we got to the food court, we saw everyone else already gotten their food. So we both went to get our food before joining them.

“Oooh, look who it is!” Isaiah called, “looks like someone had some fun today!”

“Shut up,” I replied, as everyone giggled. I sat down next to Brandon as Luna went to sit with Abby. I tried not to make eye contact with Luna during our dinner, but I couldn’t help but look at her, wondering what she thought about me. After dinner everyone was tired from the hike, so without any other plans for the night, we all went back to our cabins.

Chapter 8: Abby: The Last Day

I sighed, saying a mental goodbye to my cabin as I packed my pajamas in my duffel, and pulled out my last set of clean clothes to wear on the drive home. I tugged on my gray sweatpants and threw on a camp hoodie over my pink tank top. Sighing again, I stuck my foot in my pink slippers, grabbed my Stanley cup, and filled it with ice and coffee from our tiny coffee machine that I had brought and plugged into the wall of our cabin.

“Yo, pour me a coffee, will you?” Jayden called, tossing me her Stanley. I gave her a thumbs up and filled her cup with ice and coffee.

“Hey, you almost done?” I asked, getting up from the floor and handing Jayden the coffee.

“Yup,” she said, pulling on her pink sweatpants and a white Essentials hoodie over her black tank.

“Alright,” I replied, “we’re leaving in an hour.” Grabbing my hairbrush, I slicked back my hair into a ponytail and positioned my sunglasses on top. Tossing the hairbrush back into my bag, I zipped it up and hefted it outside.

“Hold up,” Jayden said, jogging through the door with her duffel.

“Yeah, close the door on your way out, please,” I said, taking my duffel and lugging it down the rusted wooden steps, where Luke, Levi, and Isaiah were sitting on the steps, hunched over in a group.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked, eyes down as I watched my step on the stairs.

“What’s that?” Jayden called from above me on the stairs. I looked up and shrugged, waiting for her in the middle. As we reached the bottom, I brought my eyes back up and watched as they dispersed, wide grins on their faces. My jaw dropped in shock. A medium-sized photo board filled with glossy images that I supposed was taken with my missing camera.

“Oh my gosh!” Jayden cried, hand on her mouth. I widened my eyes in amazement as my eyes traveled across the board. Dozens of candid shots of the five us, decidedly taken by Brandon with his artistic eye. Jayden and I whispering to each other, smiling; Lucas and I walking together and smiling, behind Levi and Jayden bumping shoulders and laughing; Isaiah and I arguing about my hair; Jayden and Isaiah fighting over the last strip of bacon. I smiled as each memory flashed in my mind.

Looking up, I saw Isaiah, Lucas, and Levi grinning earnestly, proud of their work. My eyes filled, and I sprang forward, throwing my arms around all three of them, Jayden close behind.

“Aww, you guys! This is the best freaking gift ever!” I smiled. “Besides my car, of course,” I said, snickering as Isaiah tried to whack me in the head but missed.

Jayden squeezed Levi. “Wow, you do have a heart!” Jayden joked as Levi pretended to try to get away, and ‘gave up’, hugging her back and grinning.

“Alright,” Isaiah said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s go find Mase, Brandon, Madison, Luna, and Alicia.” He jogged down the road.

“Okay,” I agreed, using all my strength to hoist up my bag. “OW!” I shrieked, as I dropped it and it landed on my foot.

“Hey, you alright?” Lucas asked, kneeling down to match my gaze, where I was curled up on my bag. He held a hand out, and I took it as he pulled me up.

“Yeah, my foot just kind of hurts now.” I replied, as he slung my arm over his shoulders.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, smiling. “I got you and-” he picked up my duffel easily, “your bag.”

“Aww, thanks,” I said, as I limped towards the cafeteria, Lucas steadying me. “Wait, Jay, you need some help?” I asked and swiveled my head around.

“Haha, nope!” she said, grinning. “I got Levi to take my duffel hah!” she laughed.

“Bro, how much stuff you got in here?” he groaned, pretending to collapse.

“Oh, not much, just a few dozen bricks,” she retorted, playfully shoving him in the arm. They laughed, and I smiled and turned around, knowing that my little sister was in good hands.

Chapter 9: Lucas: The Last Day pt.2

I helped Abby down the dirt road, who was leaning on me and breathing slowly.

“Thanks Luke, I really appreciate this,” she said, turning her head and giving me a smile. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. This is light work, Coach!” I said, lifting her bag up. She laughed and I smiled, looking at her rosy face. Jayden and Levi caught up with us, and we reached the parking lot quickly.

“One sec,” Abby said as she reached into her pants pocket for her car keys. As she unlocked the car, Jayden put her coffee in the car cup holder and Levi and I positioned their bags in the back, then closed the trunk.

“Guys, hurry!” Luna called, as we approached them. We scrambled around her to fit into her phone’s camera frame, cheesing for the picture. “Okay, cheese on one; three, two one!” She clicked the photo button repeatedly as we grinned. “Okay, funky face!” she called, crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out. I scrunched my face up and put bunny ears on Abby as we posed. “Alright, great, I’ll send these to you guys in the group chat.” she said, tapping on her phone screen.

“Um, do you guys want to mix up the rides on the way there?” Levi said, a bit nervously. I suspected he wanted to drive Jayden home so he could talk with her. Personally, I didn’t mind. Maybe I’d end up with Abby.

“Sure, I’m still gonna ride with Madison. We’re heading to my beach house for the summer!” Brandon said.

“Frick you,” Jayden said to him. “Mister ‘I have a beach house’ knowing Abby and I wanna go but can’t. But yes, Levi, that sounds good,” she said, smiling.

“Alright, bet, let's go say bye to the front office staff who’ve known us since we were babies!” Levi exclaimed, pulling Abby, Isaiah, Jayden and I’s sleeves toward the office.

We strolled down the dirt road, inhaling the nature around us. Birds chirping and plants and trees rustling. Ring! Ring! Ring! A sudden sound shocked us.

“It’s me, sorry,” Isaiah said, as he reached in his pocket, and pulled out his ringing phone. “Hey, Jay? Abbs?”

“Mmm?” Abby replied, looking at a flower.

“It’s a family group call from mom and dad,” Isaiah said, showing Abby the phone screen.

“Oh, we’ll give you some space,” I said, dragging Levi to the office quickly.

Chapter 10: The Last Day pt.3: Jayden

“I wonder what they want?” I questioned, peering at the screen.

“I don’t know.” Isaiah replied as he picked up.

“Hey kids!” Our mom and dad exclaimed once we connected.

“Hi guys!” I said excitedly, waving. “What’s up?”

“Hey, how come you guys are calling from different devices?” Abby asked, squinting. “And mom, where are you?”

“Well, um, that’s exactly what we wanted to talk about, honey,” my mom said nervously.

“What is it?” Isaiah asked impatiently.

“So, I don’t know if there's any easy way to say this, so here it is. Your mother and I are getting a divorce.” My dad said, fidgeting.

“U-um.” I sputtered. “S-so you thought this was a good time to tell us. Right now, when we’re trying to enjoy our last few minutes at camp. It just couldn’t wait until a few hours later, when we would be BACK HOME, AND YOU COULD TELL US IN PERSON?” she shrieked, flailing her arms. “I MEAN, DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW INCONSIDERATE AND SELFISH YOU’RE BEING? LIKE-” As I continued shouting, I saw Abby gesturing to Isaiah frantically.

“Psst! Hang up! Hang up now!” she demanded. He nodded and hung up. “What was that for?” Abby huffed at me.

“Did you even hear them? And what I said? Don’t you think they're being rude?” I complained.

“Yes, I one hundred percent agree with you, but calm down Jay.” she said, patting my back. “Worst comes to worst, we’ll just go with Brandon and Mads to his beach house!” she joked, cracking a smile. My eyes lit up.

“Let's go to the beach house! It’ll be perfect; getting away for the summer, plus, Brandon said it was okay, plus we get to get away from mom and dad for another whole month! We can deal with them later.” I decided, clapping my hands, fury turned to excitement.

Isaiah and Abby exchanged a glance. “Um, Jay, that would be great, but first of all, we don’t have enough stuff to last us that long at the beach house.” Abby finished, as Isaiah nodded.

“We can go shopping! C’mon, you guys know it’ll be fun!” I exclaimed.

“Alright, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” Isaiah agreed.

“Fine, but I’m not telling mom and dad,” Abby relented. I stared at her.

“You have to!” I said. “Firstly, you’re dad’s favorite,” I continued as Isaiah called out ‘hey!’, “and, you’re also the most responsible.” Isaiah huffed again. “Please?”

“Fine, but you owe me,” Abby said, rolling her eyes and pulling out her phone to text the group chat.

“Yay! Thank you!” I squealed, hugging her. She rolled her eyes again and continued typing.

Around half an hour later, our plans were all set; Brandon had agreed to let all of us stay at his summer house; Luna and Mason were driving home together to pick up some clothes and tell their parents the changes in plans; Lucas and Levi decided to come with us straight to the beach house, and Alicia was going with Isaiah.

We were all in the parking lot, switching bags around to different cars, arguing over who would take who.

“Okay, so, Alicia and Isaiah are driving together, Luna and Mason, Me and Madison, and Levi, Luke, Abbs, and Jay, you guys decide on who rides with who,” Brandon directed, pointing at us.

“I’ll take you, Abbs,” Lucas offered, running his hand through his hair and looking at Abby.

“Uh, then I guess I’ll take Jay, I guess,” Levi said, in a sarcastic and sassy way. I smiled as a rush of butterflies flitted around in my stomach, but left him with my classic rolled eye.

“Okay cool, so we’ll take your car, Luke,” I said, watching as he tossed his car keys to Levi.

“Alright, and you can drive mine,” Abby finished, handing her keys to Luke.

“Okay, y’all ready?” Madison shouted, putting his hands up in the air.

“Yeaahh!”

“Let’s goo!”

“Whooo!”

Chapter 11: Abby: The Drive

Ding! My phone buzzed as Brandon sent me the address for the beach house. I plugged it in my phone and checked the shopping malls on the way.

“Okay, the closest mall is about fifteen miles away, let me just text Jayden really quickly on which mall. Just keep going straight for now,” I directed Lucas.

“Yes ma’am.” He said seriously as I laughed.

After around forty-five minutes, we arrived at the mall, Jay and Levi close behind.

“Abby, c’mon, let's head to Pacsun first.” I agreed and we strode off, in sync.

“Man, how’d we get ourselves into this?” I heard Levi grumble. Lucas laughed and shoved his arm playfully.

At Pacsun, we immediately separated and headed our own ways, Levi and Lucas trailing behind us. After around forty minutes, we met up at the register to wait in line.

“What’d you get?” I asked Jay, looking at her arm with clothing draped over it.

“So, I got this pink and purple and blue flower bikini set, and this blue tube top with these blue denim shorts,” she replied, gesturing at each item. “Oh, and also this super cute black mini-skirt. What about you?”

“This white and pink floral bikini set, this green Playboy sweatshirt, and this white corset top.” I answered. “Oh, and this light blue summer dress. Hey, where’d you find that skirt? Do you know if they have it in pink? I wanna find it!”

“Yeah, right over there,” she said, pointing to the corner. I quickly darted over there and grabbed a pink one in my size.“Hey, where’d Levi and Lucas go?” she asked. We turned to see them jogging up to us, each with a pile of clothes in their hands.

“Damn, looks like you guys had fun too, huh?” I teased, grabbing Lucas’ shirt. “Oh, this is actually pretty nice!”

“Yes, I know, we have amazing style,” Levi butted in, smirking at Jay as she rolled her eyes. We stepped up to pay and once we all did, We headed to Sephora.

“Hey, uh, I don’t wanna go in there,” Levi said, “So we can take your guys’ bags.” he offered, holding out his arms.

“Wow, thanks,” Jayden said in surprise, and dumped her bag on Levi’s arm. He fake-staggered from the weight and she rolled her eyes yet again. I gave my bag to Lucas sheepishly and whispered a ‘thanks’.

We headed into Sephora and once again split up. I found a summery shade of coral lip gloss and a few new makeup brushes, in addition to a new waterproof mascara. I paid first, and looked around for Jayden.

“Abbs!” I heard her call. I spun and saw her with a large black and white bag.

“Goddamn what did you buy?” I questioned, peeking at her bag.

“I got this hair crimper, you know, the one that makes your hair look like mermaid waves, a new lip gloss, and some blush.” she answered, pointing at each item.

“Oh nice! Okay, let's go find the boys. I want to go to Cotton On really quick to get this hoodie,” I exclaimed.

“Hon, you have too many hoodies,” Jayden sighed, linking her arm with mine.

“Yeah, well, you can borrow them,” I reasoned.

“Oh, well in that case, go crazy,” she rolled her eyes as we met up with Levi and Lucas. Almost in perfect unison, they offered their hands out and bowed their heads, gesturing for us to give them our bags. “Oh my gosh!” Jayden exclaimed, bursting into laughter. I grinned and gave Lucas my Sephora bag, and we headed off to Cotton On.

I bought some socks and another bikini, along with a light purple hoodie and a gold chain necklace. Jay got a pair of socks and some earrings, plus a black tank and an oversized shirt.

Jay and I then steered the boys toward Lululemon, despite their complaints.

“Bruh, this place is too expensive,” Levi protested, as Jay dragged his arm.

“Aw, c’mon, you guys. You don’t have to buy anything; only Jay and I are looking,” I persuaded, pulling on Lucas’ hand.

Despite their resistance, we made it there in around two minutes, and I excitedly browsed through the aisles.

“Hey, Jay, which looks better?” I held up two hangers, a black racer tank in one hand, and a white one in the other.

“Umm…” She analyzed both and looked at me. “I think the white would look better with your skin tone.”

“Okay,” I agreed, putting the black one back on the rack, and picking up a pair of black shorts. After an hour, we emerged from the store, a white bag in each of our hands. As we approached the boys, they groaned.

“Dude, I seriously don’t understand how you guys’ cards haven’t declined yet!” Levi exclaimed, shaking his head and taking Jayden’s bag for her. I handed Lucas my bags and we headed off to several other stores.

After three more hours and an ice cream stop, Lucas and I were back in the cars with a relatively large pile of bags in the back of the cars.

“Goddamn! My legs and arms hurt so much,” Lucas said, shaking his arms out.

“Aw, I’m sorry. I can drive, no problem!” I offered, opening my door.

“Oh, no it’s alright,” Lucas said, leaning over and pulling my door shut. “I’ve got it,” he said, giving me a smile and starting the car. I raised my eyebrows under my sunglasses and smiled.

Part 2

Chapter 12: Levi: Beach House

“DAMN!” I shouted, seeing the beach house. A huge three story white wood structure loomed over the edge of a cliff, complete with two sets of cascading stairs down to the white sand beach and glistening clear water. “Yo, where the hell ARE we?” I exclaimed.

“Woods Cove, Laguna Beach!” Jayden replied, gaping at the house. We slowed into the gray concrete driveway with a six car garage. “What kind of family has a three story house and a six car garage?” Jayden exclaimed in question. I shrugged and pulled in front of the second garage, turning off the car. Abby and Lucas pulled in next to us. turning off Abby’s car. We all got out and grabbed our duffels. I carried mine and Jayden’s, and she held her shopping bags in both arms. Lucas and Abby did the same.

As we walked on the gray stone path to the front door, I widened my eyes at the sight of the tall, intimidating house. The front door was as huge as a wall in my room, tall, blue, and wooden, with a life preserver ring hung on both sides. We rang a bell and almost immediately Brandon opened the door.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Brandon joked, bowing low and gesturing for us to come in.

“HUMBLE? ARE YOU CRAZY?” Abby shrieked, peeking inside the doors to the foyer. I looked in and my jaw dropped. An extremely high ceiling with a glistening chandelier hung from the blue decaled tiled ceilings.

“Yeah man, you certainly are crazy,” Lucas agreed, taking a look at the foyer. We marched into the house in a single file, all dropping our bags along the way. We walked through a freakishly long hallway with hundreds of gold rimmed sailing paintings on the light blue walls. Dozens of white doors lined the hallways, each with a little hanging wooden sign telling you what it was. ‘Guest Bedroom’. ‘Guest Bathroom’. ‘Movie Theater’. ‘Snack Room’. I read all the signs as we walked through the hallway.

At the end of the hallway, we entered a wide open room with a high ceiling and floor to ceiling windows. Cozy blue and white sheer curtains lined all the windows, and there was a huge cushy white couch with dozens of pillows and blankets, resting on a white, fluffy carpet. In front of the couch was a light wooden coffee table. And in front of the table, was the largest TV I had seen in my life. Isaiah and the others were sitting on the couch eating popcorn while watching Fast X. Brandon plopped down on the couch next to Madison and put his arm around her, taking some of her popcorn.

“You guys seem to be enjoying yourselves,” I called out, still in awe of the house.

Isaiah laughed. “Imagine going shopping. I told you Jay and Abbs were high maintenance.”

“Jokes on you, we got new clothes and ice cream,” Lucas replied.

“And you didn’t bring us some?” Isaiah complained.

“Shut up, you guys are here eating popcorn, watching the new movie, in air conditioning; what are you complaining about?” I argued.

“Alright guys, you both shut up.” Brandon announced. “We are going to a party at my neighbor Aiden’s house at 8:00, get ready ASAP!”

“YES! Let's go!” Jayden exclaimed.

Madison added, “Girls, upstairs to get ready, boys downstairs.”

“Yeah, no boys allowed until we are ready to go; we should leave at 7:45.” Jayden instructed.

` All the girls hurried up the stairs while Isaiah, Brandon, and Mason stayed still on the couch and Lucas and I remained chilling on the counter stools.

“Alright, shall we get ready too?” Brandon asked.

“Sure, we got time,” Lucas added.

Mason yelled, “I called dibs on the shower first!”

As Mason hurried in the bathroom, I decided to ask for everyone else’s opinions on my new shirts.

“Yo, what do you guys think of this new collared button up I got? Should I wear it or this black linen one with these shorts?” I asked, holding them up.

“Damn… they both look really good. I say the white and blue striped button up,” Brandon replied.

“Alright, thanks bro.” I answered. We continued getting ready. I pulled off the tag of my new shirt, and slipped it on, along with some plain white shorts. “Yo, who has hair gel?” I called out.

“I got some,” Mason said, handing me a tube.

“Thanks,” I said, taking the gel and applying some on my hair, fluffing it a bit and styling it.

“Yo, pass the gel,” Lucas said, walking up next to me in a pair of white and blue pinstripe shorts and a white polo.

“Damn, you look good,” I said, then quieter so Isaiah couldn’t hear. “Abby is definitely gonna try to make a move on you tonight. If she doesn’t, you should,” I advised, giving him the hair gel. He rolled his eyes and applied some to his hair, fluffing it more.

Chapter 12: Jayden: The Beach House

“What in the actual-” I said, as Madison opened the door for us, of the common ‘get ready room’. The floor was a light birch wood, with an arched opening to the bathroom, and a window seat with a knitted blanket and pillows; perfect for a midday nap. There was another huge white couch and TV, and tables around the room with mirrors. “This is like a freaking hotel!” I said in disbelief, as we put our bags down in the corner.

“I know, right?” Abby agreed, looking around in awe.

“Oh my gosh guys! I'm so nervous. I have to look good tonight!” I exclaimed.

Madison comforted me, “Don’t worry! You’ll look great!” She reassured me, digging through her bag. “Aha!” We all turned to look at her. She held up a fistful of cables. “Phone chargers!” She said, tossing one to each of us.

“Oh, good, I needed this,” Abby laughed. “My phone was on twenty-three percent!” We all found an outlet and plugged our phones in, then continued looking through our bags. “Oh, you guys, you all are welcome to borrow anything of mine!” Abby offered brightly. “I have this blue summer dress if anyone wants to wear it?”

“Aw, thanks!” Luna said. “We’ll figure out outfits later though. Right now let's get our makeup done.” Luna directed. We all went to look for our makeup bags and each sat down at a table. I started with my skin prep, I planned to do a light smokey eye look and curl my hair. As everyone started on their makeup, we started gossiping.

“So how are you and Isaiah, Alicia?” Madison questioned.

The moment Abby and I heard them, we froze and slowly turned to each other. We made eye contact and were debating if we should say anything. Abby shook her head so I nodded back at her.

“Oh, he’s amazing,” Alicia replied, “such a good boyfriend; I’m absolutely in love with him.”

“That's great, what do y’all think the guys are going to wear tonight?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“All I care is that they better not be wearing some sweatpants with a hoodie,” Madison answered. Alicia laughed and smiled in agreement.

Once I finished my makeup, I started on my hair. I curled my hair quickly so I could finalize my outfit. While Abby used my new hair crimper, Luna straightened her hair, and Madison was helping Alicia braid her hair. I was done with my hair first, so I went to my duffel bag and shopping bags in search of a casual but hot outfit. I wanted to wear my black mini skirt I bought today, but with what? I thought to myself.

The perfect top popped in mind, a black tube top where the fabric gradually got sheer down to my waist. Along with that, I pulled out some black long platform boots from a shopping bag and a chained black leather shoulder bag.

Now I need to match some jewelry, I thought. After some time, I decided on a small silver chain necklace with some simple silver bracelets and rings. Everyone else was pretty much ready, or looking for what they were gonna wear. I had some extra time so I put some body shimmer on my collarbone and shoulder, along with my signature scent perfume.

“Alright, I’m all finished,” I announced, sitting down in the corner window seat and snapping a selfie for my instagram.

“Same!” Abby called, “Hold up! I wanna be in your story,” she finished, skipping over. “Like the fit?” she asked, spinning in a circle. “Oh my gosh!” she cried, seeing my outfit. “You look so good!” she exclaimed.

“Ooh, yes, you look great!” I said, admiring her outfit. She was wearing the white lacy corset top and baby pink miniskirt she had bought at Pacsun. Along with some white kitten heels, she was also carrying a white bag, wearing some gold hoop earrings and the gold necklace from Cotton On, with her hair crimped. Light makeup done, complete with pink glittery eyeshadow and pink lipgloss. She squished in next to me and we took a few pictures, one I posted on my story, tagging her. Luna came up to us, grinning as we saw her outfit.

“Wow, you look so good, Luns!” Abby exclaimed, pulling her down to sit next to us. Her blonde hair was straightened, and she had a dark magenta mesh cami dress on, with silver hoop earrings and dark eyeliner that made her clear blue eyes pop. We took some more pictures, then more with Madison, who was wearing a light green silk summer dress, a white shoulder bag, silver accessories, and white heels, and Alicia, who was wearing a white summery lacy dress, along with a blue bag, blue heels, and a sapphire necklace. We all grabbed our phones, put them in our bags, along with some touch-up makeup and a few dollars, and linked arms and headed towards the stairs.

Chapter 13: Lucas: To The Party

As we finished styling our hair and getting dressed, I heard a faint yell from upstairs.

“Are you guys ready yet?” Jayden exclaimed. I looked at Levi in shock. They are already ready?! I thought to myself.

“Uhh.. hold on, give us five more minutes.” Levi yelled back, saving us sometime to get finished up. In the corner of my eye, I saw Levi hurrying to go put some rings and jewelry on, while I put on my silver cross earring in my left ear, and a stud in the other. I quickly added a few spritzes of my favorite cologne. Mason and Brandon were running around to put their shoes on.

“Alright we are ready, you guys can come down!” Levi exclaimed.

We stood in an organized straight line facing the staircase, nervously waiting for the girls to walk down. Clomp, clomp. We heard heels clicking onto each step of the staircase. A figure emerged at the top of the staircase and slowly walked down, smiling. It was Alicia.

“Hi! You guys look great!” Alicia squealed.

“Well you look absolutely gorgeous,” Isaiah replied, holding his hand out for her as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Yup!” We all agreed, admiring the couple. Behind Alicia was Madison, walking down the stairs, holding onto the railing flashing us a cheery smile.

“Hi guys!” Madison commented as she ran up to Brandon jumping for a hug. He picked her up and twirled her around, kissing her on the cheek.

“Aww” we muttered, smiling at the happy couple.

Luna walked down next. I watched as Mason’s face lit up and broke into a wide smile. She reached the bottom and positioned herself next to Mason, smiling at each other. Following her was Jayden and Abby. I watched as Abby gracefully walked down, her hair perfectly wavy, shiny and flowy. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I’ve never seen someone so beautiful. I felt my heart beat picking up as she got closer. I looked over at Levi and could tell he was feeling the same way towards Jayden. Holy shit, I muttered to myself.

“What’s that, Lucas?” Abby questioned, with a small smirk on her face.

“Oh what? No nothing, I mean you look good,” I replied quickly, not giving her a chance to add more.

“You look really pretty,” I overheard Levi whisper to Jayden as she walked to stand next to him. I smiled.

“Alright, are we all ready? Let's go party!” Brandon announced.

“YES! Woohoo!” Luna exclaimed. We walked over to the garage uncovering a sleek black limousine. My jaw dropped.

“Say hello to my new ride, and my driver, Steve,” Brandon said, grinning as the driver opened the passenger door for us. We filed in and took seats on the white leather seats.

“OH MY GOSH!” Abby squealed excitedly. I stared at the interior of the limo. LED lights lined the ceiling and the walls, and a mini disco ball hung on the ceiling, flashing swatches of lights on the tinted windows. Each side of the limo had a bar with cooled drinks in the mini fridges. Silver tinsel lined the windowsills, along with multicolored string lights. The girls squished in the back end, and we filed around them, two on one side and three on the other.

We took some pictures on our way there, I noticed myself looking over at Abby constantly uncontrollably; however at least I wasn’t alone because I caught Levi doing the same to Jayden.

“Mr. Thompson, we’ve arrived.” the driver said as he got out of the car, opening the door for us.

“Thank you!” we commented.

“Woah..” Jayden muttered, “this is gigantic; is this even a house?!”

“I know, right...” Madison added in shock.

“Let’s go guys!” Brandon called.

When we walked in there was a huge chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, dangling with crystals that were probably worth 100,000 per crystal.

Brandon said “ Alright guys, let me go introduce you guys to the owner, Aiden.”

We followed Brandon as if we were lost puppies, admiring the house design.

“Yo, what’s up, Aiden?” Brandon yelled, high-fiving him. “How are you doing? These are my friends, and this is my girlfriend, Madison.”

“Hi!”

“Hello,”

“Yo!”

“What’s good?”

“Hey.”

“Nice to meet you.” I said.

“Hi, nice to meet you guys too” Aiden replied, “drinks and food are in the kitchen over there, bathrooms have signs next to them, and the second floor are just bedrooms, which are welcome to y’all if you know what I mean.” He laughed.

“Oh, thanks,” we responded.

“Other than that, just enjoy the night!” Aiden added, stumbling away, probably drunk.

“You too, bro, thanks for the invite!” Brandon finished off, watching him walk away. “Now,” he said, clapping his hands together, then pulling Madison to his side. “LET’S PARTAYY!” We all whooped and spread out.

Chapter 13: Luna: The Party

“Oh my gosh, this is freaking awesome,” I shouted, jumping around with Mason, Jayden, and Levi on the dance floor. Lucas and Abby had mysteriously disappeared, and Isaiah and Alicia were upstairs to ‘check out the bedrooms’. Madison and Brandon were outside talking to some more people that Brandon knew.

“We’re back!” Lucas and Abby screamed, hands full of drinks. “I got margaritas for all of you!” She handed out two of them and so did Lucas.

“Thanks!” we called back, taking our drinks. I sipped the margarita slowly. “Wow, this is so good!” I exclaimed in surprise, finishing it off quickly.

“Damn girl!” Mase looked at me. “You want mine?” he offered.

“Yeah!” I snatched his drink away from him and finished it in one gulp.

“Okaa-ay,” Mason said, getting off the dance floor to grab some more drinks. I followed him and grabbed four double shots of tequila. I passed one to Mason and he took it.

“Cheers!” I shouted, downing the first, then second, then third in three gulps. He did the same. I took four more double shots and then grabbed another margarita from the bartender. We danced for around twenty minutes, then I started to feel hot. “Let's go outside!” I told Mason. We walked through the clear double doors, and into the chilly night air.

“Hey!” Madison said, as we approached her and Brandon. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, so great!” I said, slurring my words a bit, giggling. She noticed.

“Oh honey, are you already drunk?” She grabbed my arm as I stumbled a bit, sipping my drink.

“I only had a little bit!” I exclaimed. I then almost tripped over my shoes and both Brandon and Mason hauled me up by my arms. “I’m fine, really,” I demanded, pushing them off me, but losing my balance again. Mason held my back.

“No, you really aren’t,” he said, taking my drink from me.

“Hey!” I said, mad. “Give that back!” I cried, reaching for the drink.

“Alright, alright,” he said, handing it to me reluctantly. We waved bye to Brandon and Madison and ambled back inside, Mason escorting me all the way. When he wasn’t paying attention, I grabbed two more double shots and finished both of them off. “Hey!” he had turned around and saw me sneaking more drinks. “C’mon Luns, lets go easy on the alcohol, alright?” he pleaded.

“Noo!” I protested, then suddenly gagged.

“Uh oh,” Mason sighed, knowing what was about to happen. He dragged my hand towards a sink, where I promptly threw up. I could feel him holding my hair back so I wouldn't vomit on it. I wiped my face with the back of my hand, and leaned back. “Okay, let's get you upstairs so we can get you cleaned up, Luns.” He ordered, scooping me into his arms.

“Noo!” I shouted, kicking my legs and moving around as he trudged up the stairs, tightly gripping me. He carried me into an open room and gently put me down on the green bedspread. I could feel him covering me with a blanket. I shifted, turning to look at his concerned face. “Mason?” I said, powered by the alcoholic confidence boost.

“Hm?” he asked, lifting my head and sweeping my hair to one side of my head. My heart melted.

“I think,” I said, “I think I’m in love with you,” I finished, looking at his surprised expression and turning to the other side, eyes closing, mind slowing.

Chapter 14: Madison: The Hangover

“Ughhh,” I groaned, falling onto the couch, eyes closed, face smushed into the pillows. My hair was pulled in a messy bun, and I was wearing pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt. Probably Brandon’s doing. I had no whatsoever memory of last night, just that Brandon barely had anything to drink.

“Hey babe,” Brandon said, approaching me and kissing the top of my hair. I smiled into a pillow and turned over to face him. He grinned and handed me a glass with a green beverage in it.

“What’s this?” I sniffed it and gagged. “Eww!”

“Hey, just drink it, okay? It’ll cure your hangover, I swear,” he promised, sitting down next to me and cuddling me.

“Noo,” I moaned, shoving it into his chest. “Coffee.” I demanded.

“Okay,” Brandon sighed. As he was brewing the coffee, Mason came into the living room and sat down next to me, hair mussed and eyes heavy with sleep.

“Hi.” he said tiredly, falling over and pulling a blanket over himself.

“Mmm.” I said in reply, eyes closing.

“Um, you’re like Luna’s best friend, right?” he asked with a yawn. I slowly opened my eyes.

“Yes, Mase, but let's have this conversation later, mkay? How bout when I get myself some coffee,” I said, standing up and slipping my feet in some slippers, plodding over to Brandon to take a cup of coffee. Mason followed me and grabbed a cup too.

As I took a sip of the warmly-roasted coffee, Mason continued, “So, you are Luna’s best friend, right?”

“Luna’s what?” Abby said, stumbling into the kitchen, wearing a silk pajama shirt and matching pink pajama shorts, along with Jayden, who was wearing the same set but in white. “Ooh, green juice!” Brandon shot me a look and handed the cup of juice to Abby with a smile. I rolled my eyes. Jayden nodded sleepily at us and without so much of a ‘good morning’ or a ‘how are you’, walked over to Brandon with her hand outstretched, face demanding.

“Chill, chill, here’s your coffee,” he muttered, handing a large mug to her.

“Mmm.” she said, sipping it with her eyes closed. We all transitioned over to the couch, with the exception of Brandon, who continued to make coffee and searched through the fridge for some food he could cook. Levi and Lucas both walked down together, wearing pajama pants and tight white tank tops. They greeted Brandon and each received a cup of coffee, then came to sit next to us. Luna walked down next, in an oversized hoodie and spandex, traces of makeup on her face and straightened hair messed up.

“Hi.” she groaned as she walked over to Brandon. “Coffee.”

“Jeez, good morning to you too,” Brandon said grumpily and handed her a cup. She walked over to the couch and sat down. “That’s it, I’m done making coffee. Isaiah and Alicia can deal with it themselves.”

“Wait,” Abby protested. “I didn’t get coffee yet, and I drank your green juice,” she begged. “Please, please, please just make me one cup.”

“Fine.” Brandon grumbled, walking back over to the coffee machine. “And we don’t really have any food, so I’m just gonna order some food. Also later we have to go grocery shopping.” Abby got up to take her cup.

“So, how was y’all’s night?” I questioned, ignoring Brandon and my hatred of grocery shopping, taking a big sip of my coffee. He saw this and rolled his eyes at me.

“I don’t remember,” Luna groaned as she gulped down her coffee. I glanced at Mason. His face fell a little but he swiftly covered it up by taking a sip of coffee. “Mmm. This is really good, Brandon.” Luna complimented, slightly more awake.

“Mmhmm,” he replied, focused on his phone. I stood up and plodded over to him, hugging him from behind. “Mmm,” he said, comforted by my warmth. “What’s up?” he turned his head and his hair fell onto his eye.

“Whatcha doin?” I asked, putting my head on his shoulder and snuggling it closer, trying to see his phone screen.

“Oh, I’m just looking at the closest grocery stores,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. He showed me his phone. “Can you come with me?” he asked earnestly, eyes honest. My heart warmed.

“Yes, you know how much I hate it but I guess I can,” I said, kissing his cheek. He spun me around and kissed me back.

“Get a room,” Jayden groaned. “Too early for your lovey-dovey crap.” I snuggled in closer to him, to her disgust. “Ugh.” Jayden rolled her eyes and flopped back down.

Chapter 15: Jayden: Jacuzzi Night:

“It’s been such a long week,” I sighed, “I needed this.”

“Brandon and Madison are for sure missing out,” Abby added. It was a cold Saturday night, and after a long night of partying and settling into the beach house after the unexpected news about my parents divorce, I was ready to relax. Abby, Lucas, Luna, Mason, Levi, Isaiah, Alicia and I spent our night in Brandon’s eight-seater jacuzzi. Hot water bubbled above the surface, with neon blue lights.

“I think this is my favorite thing in Brandon’s house, man,” Levi said, sinking deeper into the tub. “I could be in here forever”

“I know,” Isaiah replied.

“You guys, just be quiet and admire the stars,” Luna said.

“Oh my god, look! It’s a shooting star!” Abby exclaimed, “Hurry, make a wish!” Everyone without hesitation immediately put their palms together and interlocked their fingers, closing their eyes to make a wish. I peeked open my eyes and saw Levi making his wish. I wonder what he’s wishing for, I thought to myself, closing my eyes again.

Twenty minutes went by as we chilled in the jacuzzi, until Isaiah and Alicia left to get ready for bed. Luna, Abby, and Lucas followed. It was just me and Levi in the jacuzzi now. I looked over just to realize he was already looking over at me, my heart started racing.

“So, how have you been?” Levi questioned. “like with your parents and stuff.”

“Well, it's hard to accept, but things happen for a reason, you know.” I answered.

Levi added, “You're absolutely right, but I want you to know if you ever need someone to talk to. I’m always available.”

“Thank you, Levi.” I replied whole heartedly.

“Of course!” He said.

“Alright, I think I’m going to go to bed,” I said.

“Okay, I think I’ll get out in ten minutes.” Levi replied. “Goodnight, Jay.” We both exchanged smiles as I got out of the jacuzzi and wrapped a towel around me. When I got back to my room, I couldn’t stop smiling and thinking about Levi.