Hope (Harry Styles)

2.

Are We Happy Now? - The Ready Set

After drying off, I throw on my loose, white coverup, making sure I was covered enough before heading up to where everyone was.

They were all gathered around the picnic table, Violet sitting in Josh's lap, Megan and Mitch sitting close to each other while Sean sat in his own camp chair at the end of the table. They all had beers in their hands, laughing at something.

"What's so funny?" I ask, walking over to the cooler. I reach in and dig around all the beer looking for a bottle of water. When all I found was beer I look up confused. "Where's the water?" I know we brought a huge case of water, plus had a cooler full. As if they actually needed to bring a huge cooler just for beer.

"It's right behind that tree, by the food," Josh nods his head towards the right, indicating where he meant. I look over and see the makeshift kitchen that someone had set up. A previous camper must have made a small table that we were using as a cooking area. The tubs of food we brought, along with the cooler of food, we're all shoved under the table, and right next to that was the cooler I assumed was full of the water I was looking for. I grabbed one and walked back and sat at the vacant seen beside Josh and Violet.

"Mitch was just telling us about how his mom walked in on him and Megan the other day," Violet says, struggling to hold back her laugh.

"Oh how embarrassing," I chuckle, opening the water and taking a long drink.

"It was, considering it was the first time meeting his mother," Megan covered her face with her hands, clearly still embarrassed.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" I'm so glad I never had any embarrassing moments. But then again, it wasn't like I had sêx that often.

"My moms cool though, she won't make a big deal out of it," Mitch says, wrapping his arm around Megan, who still had her face covered.

"That doesn't matter! Just knowing she saw us, it's just..." Megan shivered, causing us all to laugh at her discomfort.

"So what do you all want to do?" Sean asks, speaking for the first time since I joined everyone.

"We could go out on the boat, take a trip around the lake. Then come back here and make something to eat." Josh suggested. Everyone started nodding their heads and I joined in, even though all I really wanted to do was stay here, maybe read or something. But I needed to be social, so I agreed to go, which made Violet happy.

The boys started filling another smaller cooler with beer and I made sure they threw in some waters for me. I haven't really drank since Hopes accident, only a beer here and there when I was locked away in my room. After the accident it didn't feel right to drink anymore, like if I did that I was dishonoring Hope somehow, like her accident didn't teach us anything. And I especially wasn't drinking now, when everyone else was. I didn't know how to drive a boat, but someone should be sober, just in case. I trust Josh, I do, but I've read enough and seen enough on the news to know how many people die from boating accidents caused by drunk, careless drivers. Josh wasn't drunk but he's definitely had a few beers already.

I ran down to my tent and threw on a pair of shorts and grabbed my phone and earbuds, just in case, and my sunglasses. I ran and met everyone at the boat, climbing in and taking my seat at the front of the boat, propping my feet up like I did before. I didn't put my earbuds in, mostly because Violet sat across from me and started talking to me while the boys guided us out of the cove.

"So, I saw you and Sean earlier," she smiled innocently at me. I groaned out loud, making my frustration known. It was like they were both ganging up on me, trying to force us together.