⚠️ TW: Mentions of ED & Suicide ⚠️
"You guys made it!" I hear Hana say as we walk into the restaurant.
The whole place is designed with bright lights, colorful tablecloths, and a disco ball that looks like it's about to fall.
She wasn't lying when she said a bunch of people come here, this place is fucking packed.
"Awww look at the people dancing!" Arya gasps while pointing at the dance floor full of people attempting to dance salsa.
"I'll show you to your table," Hana says before grabbing some menus and guiding us to a table outside with a killer view.
We all decided to dress up a bit nicer tonight instead of just walking around in our bathing suits as we've been for the past few days.
All the girls look beautiful with their fresh tans and short dresses but in my opinion, Lili looks the best.
I mean the girl could wear a fucking trash bag and still look hot.
The waiter quickly comes over to take our orders while we all just chat about the rest of our plans for this trip.
Sadly we only have a couple more days left in paradise before we have to head back to the cold.
"Let's go dance!" I watch as Arya gets up and grabs Xander's hand.
Xander's always been the most extroverted out of the three of us so he quickly gets up and follows her.
We all watch as they easily move with the music while he twirls her around the dance floor and dips her before leaning downs and placing a chaste kiss on her lips.
"They're so fucking cute," Madison says.
"Wow, a compliment...from you? I'm shocked." I fake gasp before I feel a tortilla chip hit me on the side of my face.
"Asshole." She mutters.
"Come on Axton! Let's dance!" Ryan says.
"I can't dance." He says.
"That's such bullshit! You're a better dancer than Xander!" Asher says.
It's true, Axton's a great dancer.
I don't know why he's so shy.
"Please!" Ryan begs.
"Not right now but definitely later." He whispers.
"Boo!" She sighs before standing right in front of Madison and holding her hand out to her.
"Me?" Madison gasps.
"Yep, let's see you work those Spanish genes." Ryan laughs before dragging Madison out of her seat.
The two of them head over to the dance floor next to Arya and Xander before the music suddenly changes and "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee starts playing.
Ah, a classic.
"Uh oh, this song is dangerous," I whisper to Lili.
"Why?" She asks.
And before I could reply, a bunch of people started heading over to the dance floor and some guys started dancing with Ryan and Madison.
"Oh hell no," Axton growls as he finishes off his beer and heads over to Ryan.
We all laugh as he shoves the guy off of her and wraps his arms around her protectively.
"Wanna dance?" Lili asks me.
As much as I fucking hate dancing, I'm on vacation and if my girl wants to dance then fuck it, we'll go dance.
I get up before reaching out for Lili and guiding us over to the overly packed dance floor.
Somehow we managed to squeeze through the crowd and find our friends.
I turn behind me and realize that Cameron, Lina, and Asher have also decided to come dance with us.
I immediately notice a few guys smirking at the girls so out of instinct, I grab Lili's waist and pull her closer to me.
All around us, people are shouting the lyrics while mindlessly grinding on each other.
Others are making out and I wouldn't be surprised if some are fucking in the bathroom stalls.
I'm suddenly snapped out of my daydream when I feel Lili's ass "accidentally" rub against my groin.
"Whoops." She laughs.
Fucking tease.
As much as I fucking hate dancing, this is pretty fucking fun.
I watch as Axton and Xander do this weird twirly thing with the girls where now Axton is dancing with Arya and Xander is dancing with Ryan.
Madison is currently having the time of her life dancing with some random guy.
Asher and Cameron are taking turns dancing with Lina.
I notice a figure appear from the crowd and tap Cameron on the shoulder.
"I knew he'd move on eventually." Lili laughs as we watch Cameron grab Hana's hand so he could dance with her.
"I don't think anyone could ever move on from you," I say while raising my voice a bit since the music is so loud.
We all continue dancing for another 20 minutes before we head back over to our table to eat some well-deserved tacos.
"I think I just burned all my body fat." I groan before taking a bite from my taco.
"Lina...girl...how do you do this every day?" Arya asks before chugging down her cup of water.
"You get used to it." She replies.
Out of all of us, Lina is the only one who isn't drenched in sweat or out of breath.
It literally takes us all about 5 minutes to devour all our food before some of us head back over to the dance floor.
Ever since Cameron started dancing with Hana, none of us have really seen him.
The man could easily be in a ditch somewhere and none of us would know.
"Let's go take a walk by the beach," Lili suggests before getting up and offering me her hand.
We both make our way towards the back exit before running down to the sand.
"I never want this trip to end!" Lili groans as she wraps her arms around one of mine and lays her head on my shoulder.
"Neither do I," I whisper as we stop and look up at the full moon.
Knowing that we have to go home in a couple of days means we also have to go back to reality.
Which means settling everything going on with my dad.
"I have to tell you something," I say to her.
"What's wrong?" She asks while looking up at me.
"Remember when I told you how I thought my dad was cheating?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I was right."
"Oh my god, Jess-"
"And guess how I was able to confirm it."
"How?"
"Jade caught him with another woman."
"WHAT?!"
"And the other woman is Asher's stepmom," I say before I hear her gasp and take a step away from me.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
"Yep, Jade took a bunch of pictures and he caught her. So, to keep her quiet, he literally bought her silence."
"Holy shit! Does Asher know about his stepmom?"
"No, I just wanted us to enjoy this vacation before all the shit goes down."
"God Jess, I'm sorry." She mumbles before wrapping her arms around me.
I don't think she knows this but having her around me is the only thing keeping me from losing my shit.
"During sophomore year I uh- I attempted..." I say quietly.
I hear a quiet gasp leave her lips but she doesn't say anything, so I continue.
"I was going through a lot that year, the boys and I stopped being friends and my dad started having affairs. I remember catching him a few times but he never cared. So when Jade told me, it automatically drew me back to the past. I don't want her to turn out like me. I don't want her to be broken."
"You are not broken, Jesse."
"Yes I-"
"No, you're not! I'm so sorry for all the shit you had to go through that year but trust me when I tell you that you are not broken. You are by far the strongest and kindest person I have ever met. You've gone through so much yet you always manage to put others before yourself. That's one of the things I love about you most, you're selfless." She says.
I'm fucking speechless.
No one has ever said something like that to me before.
God, I love this girl.
I love this girl with my whole fucking heart.
"Well, since we're opening up...might as well be honest with you too." She mumbles into my chest.
"I had an eating disorder...more specifically anorexia."
What?
I didn't know this.
Lili always looked super happy and healthy.
"It started when I was 13, my mom realized that chubby Lili just wasn't okay anymore so she started forcing me to work out for hours everyday and eat as little as possible. I hated it, every single fucking second of it but I did it to make her happy. She would always tell me that skinny girls only get good-looking and successful men and that I must look perfect to marry rich. Once we reached high school, the doctors told me I was extremely underweight but my mom just ignored them until I passed out during my 10th-grade violin recital."
Oh shit, I remember that.
But I also remember her telling everyone that it was just nerves.
"But, after a few months, I finally started seeing a therapist and eventually got back to a normal weight and improved my eating habits." She says as she reaches up to wipe some of the tears coming out of the corners of her eyes.
"I'm so sorry Lils, no person should ever go through what you went through. Your mom has no idea what she's fucking talking about when she says that men only like skinny girls. Frankly, I like my girls with curves." I laugh before pinching her ass which causes a smile to form on her tear-stained face.
"You're beautiful inside and out, don't ever listen to people if they tell you otherwise. And it's not just your looks that are stunning, you have an amazing personality. You're confident, generous, smart, obnoxiously headstrong, brutally honest, adventurous, and a lot more but if I keep going we'll be here for months." I say while placing small kisses on the tops of her head.
"Why couldn't we have gotten closer before? Why did it have to be a few months before the end of senior year." She scoffs.
"I guess it was our fate?" I shrug.
"I guess..." She mumbles.
"Lili, I can't do this." I sigh as she quickly pulls away with a nervous frown on her face.
"Do what?"
"I can't keep fake dating you-"
"Don't worry, Jess it will be-"
"BECAUSE I want to real date you." I finish as she quickly shuts her mouth.
"You do?"
"Hell yeah, I do! Ever since we started fake dating, I've realized how much I like being around you and how much I'm going to hate not seeing you every day after we "break up". So, instead of breaking up, I'm asking you to be my real girlfriend."
"Hmmm, I'm gonna have to think about it." She teases with a small smile on her face.
"Well, Jesse Nicolás Ramirez...I would love to be your girlfriend." She finally says before wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me in for a kiss.
This kiss is unlike any other we've ever shared.
This kiss actually means something.
It means that Liliana Xu is mine and mine only.
We both pulled away from each other so we could catch our breaths.
"I love you." I hear her whisper breathlessly.
I think my heart is about to burst.
"I don't think I've ever stopped loving you. Seven-year-old Liliana is swooning right now." She laughs.
"I fucking love you too," I say before pulling her into another kiss.
Well, you know what they say, Hawaii is a fucking magical place.
We continue making out under the moonlight until we hear one of the girls say that we're leaving.
Lili and I pull away from each other before walking back over to the restaurant hand in hand.
Oh, and I can't wipe this fucking smile off of my face.
"Ooooo what's got, you smiley Jess?" Lina asks as she heads over to Lili and me.
"Nothing." I sang before walking past her.
Lili and I agreed to keep this between us...for now.
We all head back to the cars and begin making our way home.
I hear Lili's soft snores as she cuddles up against my shoulder.
I whip out my phone when I feel it vibrate and find that it's a text from Anthony.
Hey man, hope you're enjoying Hawaii. Can you send me a picture of Ambrose's business card so I can call and make an appointment for us tomorrow?
Hey man, I'll send it right now.
I slowly whip out my wallet from my back pocket so I don't wake up Lili before looking for the card.
The car is super dark so I had to turn on my phone flashlight.
Once it's on I freeze.
Where the fuck is the card?
It was there this morning.
I've been checking every day to make sure I didn't lose it.
I begin checking every crevice of the wallet and even the other pockets of my pants and jacket.
Once we got home and after I tucked Lili into bed, I went back and traced all my steps but still...
NOTHING.
What the fuck am I gonna do?
I just fucked up my band and I's one chance of becoming famous.
----------Author's Note----------
Aren't Lili and Jess just fucking cutest.
I MEAN COME ON!
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 2225