TW: vague mental health mentions
Delta and Amphitrite Irving are the definition of goth. Both have blue hair and pale skin and wear something similar to what a punk rock artist would wear; fake leather jackets with silver spikes and studs and embroidered roses and fake zippers, black denim jeans that are torn at the knees and ankles, and black leather high-heeled ankle high boots.
Delta is the kind of goth girl who loves video games, horror, thriller, drawing, and writing, and has an account on a streaming website against her parent's wishes. She usually spends her time making videos for her account, chatting with her online friends on Discord (she never really specified whether they were people she knew or complete strangers), and sleeping.
Amphitrite is more of the fantasy grunge aesthetic. Sometimes, when not matching her sister, she wears fishnet tights with holes in them, leather skirts or black denim shorts (more of the latter), leather belts, and black graphic skull print t-shirts. Her big backpack is black and has a bunch of pins on it, her notebook is filled with sketches, and her nickname is Ami.
Both of them have that mysterious, tempting energy that's kind of difficult to stay away from.
It's half-past eleven at night and I'm on the porch again because I can't sleep. My finger hovers over the green Call button. I turn off my phone and set it down on the porch next to me. I sigh, put my head in my hands and rub my eyes.
In an instant, Lucas is next to me. I didn't hear him open the front door.
"Hey. What's up?"
I shake my head. "It's nothing."
"You sitting on the porch looking like you're about to cry in the middle of the night, just like you have every night for the past week, is not nothing."
I stay silent.
"Come on, talk to me."
"It's really nothing. I'm fine." (I realize at this moment that I sound exactly like Clover, and scratch my head.)
Now it's his turn to not say anything. When the silence begins to get awkward, I sigh again, and he asks, "Are you sure?"
Before I can open my mouth to speak, I hear the door open again. Cheyenne and Kylie are whispering to each other excitedly as they tiptoe out of the cabin in their pajamas.
"Well, you guys are up early," I say.
"We were just going to the beach," Cheyenne whispers to us. "Do you guys want to come?"
I look at Lucas and he shakes his head. "We're good," I reply.
"Suit yourself," Kylie whispers with a shrug, and they walk off, toward a few shadows of other campers. I hear them giggling as they prance through the woods, taking a trail that leads down to the beach.
"I'm just worried," I say, watching them leave. "About Clover."
"You have been these past few days. And it's totally valid, because you're together. You care about her a lot, don't you?"
I nod.
"I thought so. Have you talked to her about it more?"
"We talked about it early yesterday morning. But not since."
"Maybe you should talk about it more..?" he asks slowly.
"But what do I say? And when do I do it?"
"I.."
"Cameron!" someone whisper-yells. I realize then that Cheyenne has fallen behind and is looking at us from across the clearing. "Come on!"
"Well, I guess we'd better go," Lucas says. He stands up and runs over to our friends, motioning for me to follow him. I speed walk across the clearing and join them.
"We're meeting a couple of other people at the water," Cheyenne says as we catch up. "Their names are April and Sage Decker."
Lucas and I fall into step on either side of Cheyenne.
"They're from the second cabin, right?" I ask, trying to keep my voice light.
"Yeah. I think they said they'd try and drag Maeve out too."
I force a laugh.
Sure enough, when we get to the water, Maeve is there with the Decker siblings.
The cove they chose has a grove of short light blue eucalyptus trees, while the rest of the area in the forest has rainbow eucalyptus trees. At night, the bark of the rainbow eucalyptus looks kind of shiny and iridescent as the colors glow in the dark. It seems as though, in between dusk and dawn, fireflies are everywhere. Bushes of rainbow, blue, and black widow plumeria are in bloom at the edge of the greenery, where the grass meets the sand. Jade vines hang from a few of the trees. A stepping-stone path (bordered in hyacinths and transplanted blue puyas) leads through the forest and kind of stops when you get to the cove. A few crown imperial flowers and surprise lilies are scattered around the clearing.
"Wow," I say, at a loss for words as I look around.
"Right?" Cheyenne says, taking off her shoes. When she steps in the water, it kind of glows a bright blue around her feet. I realize now that we're at one of Maine's bioluminescent beaches.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"This is Castine Harbor," Lucas replies.
"It's beautiful," Maeve says dreamily.
Meanwhile, Cheyenne and the Decker siblings are busy in the bay; they make up different dance moves in order to splash water at each other. Maeve sits down at the edge of the grass and gets out her phone, and Kylie sits next to her with a book. I stay with Lucas.
"Do you wanna keep talking about it?" Lucas asks.
"I just don't know what to do. Like, what do I say?"
"To me, or to Clover?"
"To Clover, obviously."
He takes a deep breath. "If you really want to talk to her about it, I recommend waiting until she wants to tell you. Bringing up the subject randomly, especially around other people, would likely result in her embarrassment, and I know you don't want to do that."
"Yeah. And, no, I don't."
"I thought so. I just don't want to be the reason for you breaking up or falling out with her."
"Thanks. But, like, how are you so smart?"
"I'm going to my second year of college in August, kiddo," he says with a sigh.
I wrap my arms around him, and he hugs me back. "Thank you," I mutter into his shoulder.
"Anytime."
"Cameron? Is that you?" a voice whispers loudly through the trees.
I slowly break from Lucas' embrace and look around. Someone is standing with a flashlight, and when I get a good look at their face, I notice it's Mr. Parker.
"Lucas, Kylie, and Maeve, too? And who's out in the water?"
"Um, Cheyenne, and the Deckers.."
His face changes. "Guys!" he whisper-yells out to the water.
They stop splashing and look our way.
"Can you all come here, please?" He looks over at Kylie and Maeve and adds, "You two as well."
We wait for the rest of the group to gather around Mr. Parker. He takes a deep breath. "What were you all doing at the water at nearly midnight?"
"Um, it was Cheyenne and Kylie who told us to come with them, and they said April, Sage, and Maeve were waiting here for us.."
Mr. Parker looks at Cheyenne and Kylie. "Is that true, girls?"
"Yes," Kylie says. "I'm sorry." She nudges Chey-Chey.
"Um. Sorry. Sir." Cheyenne looks pretty flustered.
"Did any of you read the list of rules on the dining table in your cabins?"
I shake my head, not remembering any list.
"Ms. Kendra should have told you to read it, so I guess this is her fault as well. More so than all of you."
"What about us?" Maeve asks.
"I guess the same thing happened with Ms. Ellie. Is there anyone else out here?"
"Not that we know of," Maeve says.
"Very well. Go back to your cabin and we'll talk more in the morning."