"Pops, what are you doing?!" Bodhi hisses, but Poppy throws her a dismissive look before going straight to Griff's side. Their hands are nearly touching as they stand side by side, forming an alliance.
"Poppy invited us," Griff says, shrugging. "I didn't think it would be a big deal."
"We can put our differences aside for one night, right Bodhs?" Poppy says, and her friend hesitates. You can't believe Poppy's putting her on the spot in front of all these people, on her birthday of all days.
Bodhi eventually appears to give in, probably for the sake of an amicable evening. "Why not?" she offers, and someone switches the music back on. But the atmosphere is weird - people have stopped dancing, and there's about fifty eyes all trained on the party crashers as they make their way into the party. Poppy doesn't leave Griff's side as they take a seat next to the campfire. When did those two get so close? And why on earth would she invite them?
"What are they doing here?" Ari asks you, and you shrug.
"Oh, c'mon guys. Can't we just have a little fun? For one night?" Poppy says, noticing the three of you watching her and Griff intently.
"We can have fun without them. Why would you do this?" Bodhi hisses. Her previous relaxed demeanour about the crashers must have just been for show in front of the rest of the guests - you don't blame her for being angry. She then sighs exasperatedly as she glances around at the awkwardly silent crowd of party-goers, all watching the scene play out in front of them. You don't blame Bodhi when she turns on her heel and makes her way inside with a huff.
The other Anchor Coves, including your brother, walk forward slowly. The atmosphere is strange though, as if all the fun had been sucked out by the crashers.
Poppy doesn't leave Griff' side - what the hell is going on between them?
You and Ari hang back at the bar, seemingly the only two in the group not caught up in all this drama. But when Marlon makes his way towards you, a nervous look on his face, you're reminded that you've barely spoken to him since Stairway.
"Hey." He nods to you both as you realise he's only come over to get a drink. Classic Marlon. Can't swallow his pride and fix things himself, even if it means being within two feet of you just so he can get himself a drink.
You watch as he grabs a bottle of something strong and irresponsibly pours himself a cup - a large one made for lemonade or Coca Cola, not alcohol.
"Maybe you should just drink from the bottle." You mutter, turning slightly and making to get the hell away from him.
"Maybe you should mind your own business, Y/n." He remarks, not even looking at you as he tips the cup back, basically swallowing the whole drink in one.
"What is wrong with you?!" You exclaim, suddenly unable to hold your anger back, which is multiplied by a hundred when your brother does nothing but shrug. "You haven't spoken to me for days and then you show up here and crash Bodhi's party! Don't you care about her at all anymore?!"
"We didn't crash. We were invited." He says simply.
"By Poppy? Didn't you think that was weird in the slightest?" You reply.
"I thought Bodhi would be cool." He shrugs with an unbothered glance at his teammates.
"Well she's not. So leave."
He sighs. "C'mon. We both know this isn't about Bodhi."
What's it about then?"
He shrugs, continuing to drink nonchalantly.
"I'm trying to fix things with you! Just tell me why you're not talking to me!" You exclaim, as Marlon looks around the party, unbothered. His lack of care is making you so mad as he continues to sip his drink. "Marlon!" You try to get his attention when it seems like he's had enough. He slams his drink down on the counter and takes a step towards you.
"Why can't you just forget about things for one night? Go and make out with Ari some more and stop being a bitch for-"
You don't wait for him to finish his sentence before slapping him across the face. Hard.
There's a murmur in the crowd as some people must have been watching.
Marlon doesn't say anything, just looks a bit shocked for a moment before giving you a glare and pouring another drink.
"Are you for real? Is that really not gonna make you listen?" You exclaim.
He shrugs again, turning to leave. You make to go after him, but Ari grabs your arm from behind, holding you tightly - probably scared you're about to attack Marlon whilst his back is turned.
"C'mon, Y/n."
"No!" You exclaim. "This is Bodhi's party, and he needs to leave."
"For Bodhi, or for you?" He says gently, and you realise he's probably right. "Let's just forget about all this tonight. Maybe Marlon's right about that."
__________
"What are they doing?" You ask, watching as Griff has somehow managed to end up with Poppy's head in his lap as she giggles at everything he says. "He's not that funny. What is she laughing at?"
You feel Ari shrug from where you're sitting - his arm is around you as you're squeezed into one camping chair on the edge of the party. You rest your head down on his shoulder with your arms crossed, enjoying the comfort and safety he brings you. "Maybe she just really likes him?" Ari offers as he too watches Poppy and Griff.
"I mean, Poppy was the one who said Marlon was a traitor for going to Anchor Cove. Now she's going out with one of them?"
"They're not definitely going out."
You strain your neck to look up at him suddenly, a thought popping into your head. "Hey, have you seen Summer?"
Ari appears to think for a moment, before shaking his head. "No, not for a while now."
"I haven't seen her since the Anchor Coves arrived." You say, recalling how Summer dragged you to dance with her just before their arrival. You begin looking around, growing slightly anxious.
"You wanna go look for her?" Ari asks, leaning forward to meet you eye level, and you nod. Summer is supposed to be your friend, and you completely forgot about her - now she could be anywhere. "Hey, don't worry about it, I'm sure she's just gone for a drink, or round the corner somewhere." Ari offers, but his reassurances don't make you feel any better - there's a weird foreboding feeling in the pit of your stomach as you and Ari begin looking around the party. After a few minutes of intense searching, it's pretty clear Summer has left the party completely, meaning she could be anywhere by now.
"Let's try walking down the coast path a little way, see if she's down there." Ari says, and you begin to follow him out the drive in the direction of the ocean. There's a cool breeze coming from the sea as you get closer to the path, but your route is suddenly blocked as a girl darts in front of you.
"Where are you guys going, there's a party in there!" Poppy says, her words slow and slightly slurred - there's the scent of something sweet but sharp hanging around her and it's clear she's been drinking.
"Pops, we're just going to find Summer, then we'll be straight back, I promise." Ari says genuinely, but Poppy shakes her head childishly, with a wry grin on her face.
"Uh-uh," she shakes her head again with a mock-authoritative demeanour. "You guys are coming with me to get a drink and then we're going to dance."
"Poppy, we really need to find Summer," you say slowly. "Do you know where she is?"
She simply shrugs in response.
"Fine, go back to your boyfriend then." You say before you can stop yourself, the anxiousness about Summer getting the better of you. Poppy scrutinises you, her eyes narrowing.
"Griff is just a friend," She replies, seeming to sober up just at the mention of the topic. "And I know you guys are mad that I invited them all, but I just think this rivalry is ridiculous!"
"So when my brother wants to move to their club he's a traitor but when you want to date one of them we all just have to lay down and accept it?" You reply.
"Maybe this will help us form an alliance with them," Poppy says, and you and Ari share a glance. "So, inviting them was actually strategic."
"It was selfish!" You exclaim. "You didn't even think about how Bodhi would feel about it! If you'd asked her beforehand, instead of just inviting them without her knowing, maybe she might even have said yes."
"She wouldn't have." Poppy says sharply.
"Then you would have had to respect that." You reply coldly. Poppy looks at you for a moment, and you can't tell if she's taking in what you're saying or simply ignoring you completely.
"Whatever," she eventually says. "I saw Summer heading towards Stairway by the way."
"Stairway?" Ari turns to you. "What the hell is she doing there?"