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     I grin at Grant, my arm hooked around his as he leads us to the beach. An hour before, he barged into my house, asked my parents if he can take me out, and then preceeded to drag me to the beach at eight in the evening.

     "So, what're we doing here?"

     "We're about to have a bonfire," he confidently says, "with a couple of my friends."

     I fake surprise, "You have friends?"

     Grant slightly shoves me, "Duh, I'm more sociable than you. Hopefully, they'll appreciate your sarcasm."

     "Babe, they're gonna like me better by the end of the night.

     "... Sure."

     I smirk, "It's true."

     Once we get closer to the shore, I see the silhouettes of about eight people, who are already preparing everything. Grant yells out a greeting before running the rest of the way, pulling me behind him.

     Jackson is there with a few other people that I recognize from school, but Grant properly introduces me to them.

     "Venice, this is Harrison, Lincoln, and Tyler. You already know Jackson," my boyfriend starts off, "and these ladies are Ingrid, Arden, Quinn, and Rachel."

     I smile at them, and from then on, our newfound friendship just works. Later on, I realize that these are the people I want to spend my whole life with -- no matter what. But as of now, we get along like we've known each other since forever.

     "So, you and Grant?" Arden asks once the boys get closer to the water, and Ingrid and Quinn perk up.

     I laugh, "Mmhm. And I'm assuming those guys belong to you?"

    Ingrid rolls her eyes fondly, "Linc brought me along."

    "Harrison is sadly my responsibility," Arden raises her hand.

     "I'm just single," Quinn says, which sends all of us into a round of laughter. I sneak a glance at Grant, who broadly smiles at me and waves.

     At one point, Jackson is the one who takes out cans of beer from his car, and he's also the first one to take a long swig. Tyler, Rachel, Lincoln, and Quinn easily follow his lead.

     Everything is chaotic and loud; everything feels great. I'm belting out lyrics with my new friends and dancing with Grant under the stars. The flames of the bonfire burn bright.

     And suddenly, police sirens start up, and the wailing gets closer.

______________________

Crap's gonna hit the fan.

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--thyselves

p.s. This is a really messy chapter.

p.s.s. This continues onto the next chapter, if you haven't realized already.

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