Dedicated to demigodInitiate for her comment about books being like air for fangirls and dying without them. Had me laughing for a full minute:P
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"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." ~Walter Winchell
"Absolutely not," my Mom said with a firm tone.
"But everyone is going! I'm going to be the only one at home in March Break!" I replied my tone laced with frustration.
"What's wrong with that? You do it every year." Mom retorted.
Ugh. I felt like pulling my hair. My mom was being impossible! Confused? Let me explain. Basically I was asking her if I could go down to Barrie and spend the break and Dillon's cottage. He had reluctantly handed me an invitation and I wanted to go really badly. Scarlett and Sophia were both allowed so why wasn't I?
"Scarlett and Sophia are going." I stated.
My Mom's mouth was open wide. "Sophia's going? Her parent's let her go without a guardian? I think I need to give Rosie a call to reconsider."
I smacked my head to my forehead. If my Mom called Sophia's parents she wouldn't be allowed to go. I would probably also be buried five feet under.
I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. "No don't call Mrs. Hansen. She only let Sophia go after knowing that Zeke would be coming along as our guardian."
My Mom's expression changed. "Zeke is coming along?"
I nodded meekly hating to lie but I had to for Sophia's sake. "Yeah he is."
"Well why didn't you tell me before?" She responded. "This changes everything."
I held my breath. My mom loved Zeke as her own son because he always hung out with Justin despite his age. He would get Justin to leave his man cave and do other adventurous things. In my mother's eyes it made him a hero.
My mom smiled. "Well then I'm going to reconsider it but I have to talk it over with your father first."
Those were the words I needed to hear. I ran up to her and engulfed her in a hug. "Thank you so much." I said before skipping up the stairs.
I could hear her chuckle along with the words, "don't thank me until it's certain."
I swung myself onto my bed and dialed Scarlett's number. She replied moments later.
"Hey Alana what's up?"
"Zeke needs to come with us to Dillon's cottage." I replied.
"Why? I really don't fancy having my brother babysit me everywhere."
"I kind of told me Mom that Zeke was going to be there..."
I heard a groan on the other line, "seriously?"
"In my defense she on firm no till I told her Zeke was coming. Then she said that she'll think about it." I said.
"Fine, I'll go bribe Zeke into coming if that's the only way it insures your safe passage as well."
We said out goodbyes and then hung up. Too excited for the trip I started packing everything that I would need. I was more than 95% sure that Mom was going to let me go. In the midst of my packing I received a notification. It was a text from Scarlett.
He agreed to go. It cost me two months of chores, and free doughnuts every day. You own me big time -Scarlett.
I smiled reading her text. Everything was falling according to my plan.
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As I scrambled to get everything in my bag, I heard the doorbell ring.
I poked my head outside of my room. "Could someone please get the door?"
I resumed my packing while checking everything off my list as it feel into the suitcase. Toothbrush check, swimsuit check, and I scanned the list to see the only item that wasn't checked off; my sweater. I opened my closed quickly flipping through all the clothes. It wasn't there. I checked under my bed, in the damper it was nowhere.
"Alana!" My Mom's voice pierced through my distrust. "Your friends are waiting for you."
"I'm coming Mom!" I replied.
With one last place in mind I rushed to Justin's room. He as usually was planning his video games.
"Have you seen my sweater?" I asked.
"No, why don't us leave my room and ask Mom."
My Mom that was it. I hung myself over the banister before shouting. "Mom, have you see my grey sweater?"
I heard a mumble of words. "Alana, come downstairs. You know I can't hear your from up there. Plus all the screaming gets to me."
I groaned and raced down the stairs. "Grey sweater?"
She looked at me blankly. "What grey sweater?"
I slapped my head to my forehead. "That school one? Big, comfortable, has our school logo?"
She thought about it for a while. "Check the dryer. I think I washed it yesterday."
I rushed to the dryer and thank god I found it. I could hear Zeke honking and it was pretty annoying so I pushed open my window to yell, "Stop the frigging honking and give me five minutes."
Another voice joined me and the base of my doorway. "Alana! What did I tell you about screaming? Also, did I hear you just swearing?"
"No Mom. It was your imagination." I replied.
"It better be or I'm going to wash your mouth with soap." She replied sassily.
I laughed and kissed her check. Grabbing my bags, I hauled them out of the door and headed towards Zeke's red Toyota. I put my stuff in the trunk and climbed into the back seat.
"About time," Zeke muttered.
"You guys seriously have not patience." I replied before glancing beside me and noticing that it was empty.
"Sophia's not coming?" I asked pretty worried. Had her parents not allowed her to come last minute?
Scarlett and Zeke simultaneously rolled their eyes. "No she decided to go with her boyfriend last minute."
"I really felt replaced when I heard that." Zeke muttered with a false tone of sadness.
"F*ck off," Scarlett replied. "If it's anyone who should feel replace it's me and Alana."
Zeke gasped dramatically with his hands on his chest. "Such vulgar language, remember without me Alana would still be home in her pajamas."
"Yes, and we are very thankful for your support but can you start driving now." I inputted.
He gave me a mock salute, "aye, ma'am."
Let's just say the ride was far from smooth. The first half hour was spent between Scarlett and Zeke battling out which radio channel would be playing. Within the first hour Scarlett said that we had to stop at a pharmacy because her cramps were really bad and she thought she was going to die. It took us another half an hour to actually find a pharmacy and when we arrived there they wouldn't give us the medicine without a prescription. One and a half hour later we had to take a bathroom break. Another hour after that was a food break.
When we arrived in Barrie we almost kissed the ground. It was good that we didn't because it was way too early. Zeke's GPS had stopped working so we were lost as to where we should go. Our phones didn't have connections either. So we had to go to a convenient store and buy a map. After buying the map we spent another fifteen minutes arguing as to which route was correct. Another hour wasted. It turns out all of them were incorrect and somehow we had landed at the police station. We asked the officer inside and he finally gave us the correct direction. When Zeke parked the car I buckled outside immediately because I felt like throwing up. Seven hours in a car was not fun.
Dillon and Sophia were the ones who came out to greet us. Sophia was looking very fresh in a tie-front top and high waisted jean. I was very envious that she had skipped the crazy car rid. She gave me a hug. "What took you guys so long? Everyone has been here for hours."
"Don't ask," Zeke, Scarlett, and I muttered in chorus. We couldn't even muster up the energy to take out all our bags which is why Sophia and Dillon had to help us. As we made our way to the front porch I couldn't help but notice the cottages beauty. It was made completely from wood with the exception of gray slabs over the roof. There were chairs out in the law and big windows as well.
"Wow, this is beautiful." I muttered.
Sophia smiled at me. "Wait till you see inside."
As we stepped in, my breathe was taken away from me. It was even more gorgeous from the inside. The cottage had a rustic but modern charm. There were low beam wood planks that held torch like lights that shone brightly. There was a beige dining table, and brown sofas, and a kitchen with bars stools. But the main centerpiece in the house without a doubt had to be the fireplace. Had had beautiful cut stone slab in light blue, grey and white along with a fire humming along. Sparks spit out and there was a stack of wood beside it. This cottage was beyond gorgeous.
I turned to Dillon awestruck. "Do your parent's really own the cottage?"
He laughed at my expression but I wasn't the only one wearing it. Scarlett and Zeke also mirrored my expression. "Yeah but it's more of a family thing. It belongs to my Dad as well as three of my uncles. They all bought it together as a 'family home.'"
Scarlett faced Dillon. "Honestly, I though your basement was gorgeous clearly I hadn't seen this place before." Her fingers trailed the stone slab. "This gives me so many ideas."
"Can't we have a place to settle in or are we going to standing here all day?" Zeke asked pointedly and we all turned to him. He still had his bags in his hand and was looking exhausted. "I am honestly tired of driving and need a place to crash."
Dillon walked further ahead. "Yeah Zeke just follow me and I'll show you to your room. You're going to have to share with Shaun. Hope you don't mind."
Zeke mumbled some incoherent words but followed him anyways. We also followed them because we had no idea where we were going. As Dillon showed Zeke the room he turned around as if surprised to see us.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked.
"Well you didn't exactly tell us where to go..." I muttered.
"I thought you girls knew that you're sleeping with Sophia?"
"We are?" Scarlett asked quite confused. "I thought we would be getting our own rooms..." she trailed off.
Dillon awkwardly rubbed his shoulders. "That was the case until we had last minute guest." We looked at him blankly and turned to Sophia for an explanation but she was looking quite pale by the minute. "Katie and Maya are here as well."
"What?" I almost shouted.
"Are you f*ucking serious?" Scarlett muttered viciously before turning to Sophia. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
Sophia looked quite alarmed as her voice went a pitch lower. "I was going to tell you guys but then I forget!"
"Yeah right," Scarlett muttered.
Dillon cut in before Scarlett could say any more words. "Look is there going to be a problem here? I though you girls were all friends. When we hung out at the Dairy Queen and Bowling we had so much fun!"
Scarlett and I both rolled our eyes. "Sophia, your boyfriend is completely clueless."
"Are you sure you want to be dating someone with such a low IQ?" Scarlett said with a smirk.
"Hey!" Dillon cried outraged.
Sophia took both of our hands in hers before leading us out of the room. "Ignore him," she muttered to us before turning to her boyfriend. "I'll see you later babe."
Sophia lead us to our room and just like the rest of the house, it was stunning. The thing that stood out the most was the view; you could see Lake Simcoe glistening as the sun's rays hit the water.
"Wow, he really did give his girlfriend the best view, didn't he?" Scarlett mumbled.
Sophia's checks turned a light shade of pink. "Well I was here first so he let me choose any room that I wanted."
"That's nice of him." I said politely.
"I called the futon," Scarlett shouted as she placed her things on the black sofa.
"I guess that means that I get the twin bed," I said looking at the empty place.
I settled down my clothing before switching to a tank top and shorts. It was pretty hot out here. When I came back from the bathroom feeling refreshed I found Sophia and Scarlett both staring at me.
"What?" I said before subconsciously looking at myself in the mirror. "Is it because of what I'm wearing?"
They both gave me a knowing look although Sophia's was a tad more pitiful. "No, it's about Katie."
I sighed. Here we go again. I would get a lecture on how beautiful I was, what a b*itch Katie was and how I should just forget about the both of them and have my fun this weekend. But the thing was I didn't want to talk about it. Katie had already caused just a huge drift between Nick and me and when I stopped talking that drift had gotten bigger than I would like to admit. We were finally; well more like I was finally getting past it and having her here this weekend was not helping matters.
I stuffed my dirty clothes into a bag before turning to Sophia and Scarlett. "Look guys, I really don't want to talk about it."
Sophia opened her mouth but Scarlett elbowed her before she could say anything. "We understand and if you ever need us any time during this weekend we'll both be here."
I hugged them both even though Sophia hated to be hugged she hugged me back. "Thanks guys, you're the best."
They both laughed in out hug. "Now let's go have some fun in this house!" Scarlett shouted.
In the end Sophia set us up with a light snack before we went to where the rest of the crew was. Apparently Dillon hadn't told anyone that we had come so they were all relaxing in the basement. As we approach the basement voice could be heard. There was a lot of screaming and a girl's unmistakable laughter which I recognized with distain, Katie. I was not going to let anything get to me after the already horrible day I had so I plastered a smile on my face and entered the room with Scarlett and Sophia by my side.
When were entered it was Shaun who noticed us first. "Look who's here!"
It was then Nick, Maya, and Katie turned around to see us. Dillon just slouched on the sofa having seen us already. Shaun was the first person to arrive and surprisingly engulfed Scarlett and I in a hug. It didn't feel as awkward as I would have thought. Next it was Nick who fist bumped Scarlett and pulled me in a hug. If I was surprised by Shaun's hug this was nothing. There was just something comforting being held by Nick.
"Took you long enough," he whispered dangerously close to my ear.
"Tel me about it, it was horrific." I muttered.
I slipped from his embrace to face Maya and Katie. They both gave me hugs as well as huge smiles saying 'how glad they were to see me.' I turned them but my smile wasn't 100% sincere. The funniest thing however had to be when Katie gave Scarlett a hug. She didn't return it and he arms hung to the side. Her expression said it all. Sniffling in my laughter I caught Sophia's eye who was grinning as well. After all the greeting was done we sat back down and Scarlett and I recounted our story to the group.
When were finished it was Nick who spoke first. "Man that was probably one of the s*hittest road trips ever."
"It was," I confirmed.
"Well you guys deserved it for the toilet paper prank. Karma is a b*itch isn't it?" Shaun said.
"Shut up." I said while Scarlett shoved him with her shoulder.
"So what were you guys doing before we came in?" I asked looking at Nick.
It was Katie who answered. "We were playing a Black Ops." She gave a knowing look to Nick who returned it.
"She was whopping Shaun's a*s." Nick replied with a smirk.
"So are we going to continue playing or what?" Scarlett said as she grabbed the control and threw one at me as well, "Alana and I versus Nick and Shaun."
I sat down on the sofa beside Scarlett. "What are you doing?" I whispered.
"Giving you a chance with lover boy," she replied slyly.
I snorted but focused on the screen. Nick came and sat down beside me "you any good?"
I winked at him. "That is for me to know, and for you to find out."
He simply laughed. "We'll just see in a few moments."
The games started and we all chose our guns and battle field. The game started with me being killed by Shaun but I retaliated when I got the chance. Scarlett was slaying Shaun and Nick pretty badly. I knifed Nick once before she killed me off with a sniper. In the end, the boys won with a score of 37-31 which was a pretty good score to be defeated by. In the moment, it didn't matter if we lost or won all that mattered was the moments and memories we shared. To top of the day the last game was me and Katie and I surprisingly won. The satisfaction was sweet. They day might have turned out bad but I couldn't say the same for the rest of the weekend.
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This had been such a crazy week. We were #473 on the What's Hot List. Can I just say? You guys are amazing! So this chapter didn't have much of Alick scenes official name for Alana/Nick but I promise you the next one will. Funny story the place I mentioned the cottage is in Barrie I actually passed through it this weekend so it gave me more realistic idea.
Here comes the sad news... my school is literally starting tomorrow and I don't know about my update schedule anymore. I'm taking hard courses (chemistry, biology, accounting, English) so we have to see what happens. I don't know about weekly updates but I promise you to at least update twice a month at the least.
Anyways, did you guys like this chapter? What was your favourite part? Do you have a favourite video game? Please remember to vote, comment and follow as usually. And stay awesome!
-Kyra