Collision Of Asteroids

Big Happy Family

Ailynn POV:

I pull my hair into a sleek ponytail of my natural brunette waves, and let Hailey fuss over me.

"You don't get a say in this, remember? Whatever you turn out looking like, you can't change back into your sweatpants and tee shirt look." She wrinkles her nose. "The guys won't care if you're dressed up; they'll respect you either way."

Hailey is my step-sister. She moved in with her mom after our parents started dating, and it's been us and a big happy family ever since. Me, Hailey, my guinea pig Duck, my dog Olly, my Stepmom Kath, Dad, and my four older brothers, Gabe, Mason, Ledger, and Atlas. I get along with all of my brothers pretty well, but I'm definitely closer to some of them than the rest.

I never had an issue with Hailey; she was like a twin sister after she moved in, and I didn't have an issue with her mom either. Mine was a real piece of work, but Kath is a nice change of pace. She's definitely more of a mom to me than my real mom ever was.

But anyways, Hailey's the girly one out of the two of us, and she likes getting to dress me up in exchange for me driving her to the parties. Sometimes I wait for her in the car, sometimes I come in with her. Depends on how much effort I'm willing to put into socializing.

Today she wants me to come with her, and I don't mind after the long week, so were getting ready.

Hailey shoves a pair of ripped short shorts, a pile of hoop earrings, and some cute sandals at me.

"Try these on over your bikini. I would give you a top, but it looks cute with the bikini as the top. And once you're done, I'll do your face." She smiles, pushing me behind the changing screen.

Argh. Now what are my team mates going to think of me? I have to be just as tough as them; not dancing around wearing bikinis and make up.

But oh well. I have to forget what they think of me, for once. I'm doing this to have fun, and not to let them get me down.

I quickly pull on the shorts over my bikini bottoms, and slip the earrings through the holes in my ears. I have a lot of earrings. All along the rim of my ears. Then, I slip my feet into the sandals, and emerge from behind the screen.

"That looks great." Hailey smiles. Then, she moves in to do my face, but I hold my hands up.

"No make up." I make a face at the stuff. "It makes your face look artificial."

"Fine," Hailey rolls her eyes. "Then are we ready to go?"

I glance down at my apparel, and decide this is too much skin, so I pull on a white V-neck tee shirt that you can kind of see my bikini top through, but it covers skin, so I'm fine.

"Yep."

"Did you really have to?" Hailey groans.

"I really did." I laugh at her exasperation. "Now, let's go."

💙💙💙

The party is crowded; so many people came tonight. Hailey blows me a kiss, and wanders off to find her friends, and I sigh. I don't know anyone here.

"Didn't think to invite me with you?" A gravelly voice comes from behind me, and I turn around to see Caleb.

He's holding a red cup with who-knows-what in it, and I grin at his playful smirk.

"Nah, I figured you were probably going with Carmen Reynolds or someone." I smile. Rumors have been flying around school that Carmen wants Caleb to be her next little fling.

"Oh- um, yeah.." He runs a hand through his blond locks, pushing them out of his face. "She's not my type." He turns a little red in the cheeks.

"I figured. You don't seem much like a one night stand kind of guy." I say, and Caleb frowns.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Well, do you want to go hook up and never talk about it again?" I ask in retaliation, and he blushes harder. "Didn't think so."

"What about you?" He tries to flip the spotlight onto me. 

"Eh, I don't have the efforts for a relationship right now, so a little fun might be easy," I shrug.

Internally laughing at how even more flustered this is making him, I punch his shoulder lightly.

"Come on, let's go for a swim." I gesture at the large pool that has twenty five by twenty feet. It's an impressively large pool; you could fit at least one thousand people in there.

"Alright." He nods, still looking uncomfortable for some reason.

"You okay, dude?" I ask, eyebrow quirked up. "You seem kind of off."

"I'm fine." Caleb rests his drink on the brick pavement, and follows me towards a tanning chair that I strip off my clothes and leave myself in my bikini. He follows suit, stripping off his tee shirt, leaving him in green swim trunks.

We make our way towards the pool, and before Caleb can, I push him in, and he falls in with a splash.

"Hey!" He emerges, spitting water, me laughing to the point where my stomach hurts, and grins an evil grin.

He lunges at my ankle, and pulls me in, and I feel the cold water take me in. I plunge into the chlorinated liquids, and pop back up.

"Jerk," I laugh.

Caleb smiles back, satisfied with his revenge plot.

"You started it," He grins.

"Hey guys!" 

Connor Davis cannonballs into the pool, splashing us both. He pops up, pushing his brown hair out of his face, and I laugh.

"Hey, Con." I say, a little awkwardly.

He gives me an awkward nod back, and Caleb raises a suspicious eyebrow.

"What's up with you guys? Why are you always so awkward?" He asks in blank confusion.

"Ah- Ailynn and I dated for two years, but we broke up in the summer." Connor looks away, and I feel myself blush at the exposure.

"What?" Caleb splashes both of us. "And here I was thinking I was the one making it weird." He grumbles.

"But we ended it all on good terms, and were still friends." I nod at Connor, who returns it with his trademark flashy smile.

"Yeah." Connor says, "Nothing to worry about."

"Okay..." Caleb says suspiciously. "If you say so."

It stays silent for a while, so Connor hops out of the pool.

"Catch you guys later," He waves, with another awkward smile, and dashes off to the baseball gang.

"What happened to no relationships?" Caleb teases.

"Shut up," I groan, laughing, and shove his shoulder. "That rule is starting this year."