Chapter 1~ California Sun-Warning! May Cause Sunburn

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~Chapter 1~ California Sun- Warning, May cause Sunburn!  

I was never really a bad kid, just a handful. My parents died when I was 12, so I was living under the supervision of my grandparents until... three hours ago. You see, my grandparents- Lilian and George- needed more assistance as they grew older, and even though I'm 17 now, I still couldn't give them all of the help that they needed. Eventually, Grandma made the decision that her and Gramps would move to Lavendar Lakes assisted living center, and I would be sent to live with my Aunt Lydia, Uncle John, and cousin Kayla until I was 18 and in a college dorm.  

See, if I were to be just living with my Aunt and Uncle, I would be fine. Since Kayla is part of the equation, I don't think I will be. Kayla and I have mutually hated eachother since we were old enough to talk. She was 6 months older than me, and used this power to bully me. Ever since, without any real reason, we've never been able to get close. Another deciding factor in this is probably the fact that I grew up in downtown Chicago, and she's grown up in California. She always seemed rather fake and materialistic to me, and I can't put up with that type of behavior.  

I began to lose myself to my thoughts and daydreams as I sat on the train. I just had another half hour to travel before I reached Long Beach, California. The train rattled on the tracks and I began to doze off. Before I knew it, I was pulling into the station. The older man that had been sitting next to me folded up his newspaper and grunted. He caught me staring at him and gave another grunt. I returned a quick glare at the grouch before checking the royal purple watch on my arm. I realized my train had run a bit late so I grabbed my things and hurried off onto the platform.  

A hurried breeze swept past me as I stepped into the California air. It smelled different than Chicago... like salt and trees. The breeze caught my hair and twisted the auburn colored strands around my face, temporarily blinding me. Dropping my bags to the floor I pushed the hair behind my ears and took my first real look around. I was supposed to be picked up by Aunt Lydia twenty minutes ago... what had she told me? Main entrance, main floor, Gate 3- my eyes scanned the perimeter as I thought over the voicemail she had left on my cell phone.  

Finally my eyes landed on where Gate 3 should be (between 2 and 4, duh) but it was almost impossible to get there. People were all over, swarming like hornets. I grabbed my bags off the floor and began to maneuver my way through the maze of people. It took a matter of seconds, but it felt like ages. I could have sworn someone touched my leg intentionally, although I'm sure it was an accident. Once I arrived at the gate I saw my Aunt leaning against the passenger-side door of her navy blue BMW convertible. She looked so different from when I last saw her... but then again you can't expect everyone to look the same way they did 3 years ago. Her hair was longer now, and it seemed as if her eyes had grown a bit more tired.  

"Nikki! My god you look amazing! Come here, let me help you with those bags."  

Aunt Lydia, aka coolest woman I will ever meet, rushed over and grabbed my suitcases and threw them (literally) into the back seat. If I had a car like hers, I would never treat it that way... but then again Uncle John is president of his own insurance company, so money isn't exactly hard to come by for them. I realized I was still staring at the car and averted my eyes back to my Aunt. She was smiling at me, arms folded over her chest.  

"I've really missed you. It's been too long." She pulled me into a tight hug then stepped back. She brushed my hair out from behind my ears and grinned again.  

"I've missed you too..." I added quietly. We climbed into the car and headed off. The hood was down so my hair was blowing every which way. Aunt Lydia was smart and had her gorgeous dark brown hair pulled back. For just a moment, looking at her, I thought of my mother. They looked so much alike. After my parents passed away, their visitis to Chicago became less frequent, until finally they just stopped coming up for Christmas and birthdays.  

The car pulled up into a cobblestone driveway in front of a massive three story house with several glass walls that lined the living room, allowing you to see inside. I opened up the car door and stepped onto the driveway, taking in as much as I could. I had never been to my Aunt's house, let alone California (we weren't exactly the richest of sorts), so I was actually quite taken aback by the beauty of the area.  

"Go ahead Nikki, take a walk and explore the area. If you go around to the back of the house and walk about ten feet forward you'll come in contact with the beach. I'll take your bags inside. "  

"Thanks. I'll be inside soon."  

The house grew even more amazing with every different angle I saw. There were two balconies with wrought iron railings on the second and third floors. Huge picture windows allowed enormous rays of light to stream into the house. The backyard had a bonfire pit and a beautiful patio. Not to mention the best part, the next house looked to be about two blocks away. Isolation, privacy, beauty, and comfort. I think I could actually get used to living here...  

"Niiiiiiikkkkkkiiiiii!!" Scratch that last thought.  

Walking towards me in a tiny silver bikini that heavily accented her spray tan was Kayla. She was waving her arm in the air, smirking at me through her laser-whitened smile. Honestly, I have no idea where Kayla came from. Her parents were two of the nicest, least spoiled people I knew, so Kayla being so superficial confuses me to this day.  

It was then I realized that Kayla wasn't alone. There were three others walking up behind her. They were all in their swimwear, since they were apparently spending their day on Kayla's private beach area. A girl with black curls that draped over her shoulders and bounced as she walked like she was in some sort of shampoo commercial was walking arm-in-arm with a guy who was somewhere around 6'5" from the looks of it. He had short blonde hair and a really toned body. I instantly nicknamed him Moose, after a comic book character that he reminded me of. Then there was another guy. He was bringing up the rear of the group, walking slower than the rest. He had shaggy brown hair and a decent body, a bit on the skinny side, but far from gangly. He shook his head to move his hair out of his eyes and looked up at me.  

Our eyes locked onto eachother and held...

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