"Daeyna..." I groaned at the sound of a voice right next to my bed. After peeking one eye open and glancing at the little clock on the nightstand next to my bed, I let out another groan.
"It's only nine in the morning." I complained, flipping over in my bed so I was facing away from the person in my room. They let out a sigh.
"Alright, but you asked for it." Before I could even comprehend what was going on, I was lifted into the air (blankets and all). I let out a screech of surprise as I felt my feet touch the ground. After fighting my way out of the blankets, I turned to glare up at my attacker.
"Ashton Irwin! What in the world made you think—" I cut off abruptly as my gaze took in his outfit. "What are you wearing?" Ashton glanced down at his outfit—a pair of dark blue shorts that matched the blue on the American Flag printed muscle tee on his torso—before grinning back up at me.
"Do you know what day it is, Daeyna?" He questioned. I frowned and shook my head. I mean, it was Monday, the third day of our two week break, but, as far as I knew, it didn't have any other significance. Ashton blanched at my answer. "How are you even American?" He asked incredulously. "It's the Fourth of July!" I felt my eyes widen at the news. How had I not remembered? God, it was even circled on the calendar on the back of my door.
"Oh. I totally forgot." I mused, scratching my head. Ashton scoffed, a smile still on his lips.
"Clearly." He deadpanned. I rolled my eyes at him. "Well, come on! Get ready and be downstairs in thirty. We've got things to do."
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Exactly twenty-seven minutes later, I was taking the last steps onto the main floor of the house and walking into the living room, where I could hear voices.
"Ah, there she is!" I froze in the entryway to the living room, looking around at all the people there. In total, there were nine. Ashton, Michael, Luke, Calum, Taryn, Megan, Ben, Jack, and an unfamiliar boy. Every single one of them was wearing some sort of red, white, blue, or a mixture of the three. Whether it was in the form of flag-patterned clothing (like Ashton, Ben, and Luke), or just plain colors, everyone was looking very patriotic. I burst into laughter as I looked at all of them.
"You are all ridiculous!" I giggled. Luke stepped forward, smiling. Out of everyone, he was hands down the most ridiculous looking. Not only was his shirt patterned with the American Flag, but his shorts and sandals were as well. He also had three bracelets on his arm, all three marbled with red, white, and blue. I shook my head at him. "Oh, God, Luke." I chuckled.
"Come on, Mrs. America. Time to start our day of fun!" He insisted, grabbing my wrist gently and tugging me towards the door. I resisted, complaining about not knowing where we were going, but Luke wouldn't have it. "It's a surprise, but I promise you'll like it." He assured me. I sighed dramatically, but let him lead me out the door and into the backseat of his brother's car. Jack climbed into the driver's seat, Ben into the passenger's. I was squished into the window as Luke, Ashton, Michael, and Calum piled in the back with me.
"Guys, we don't all fit! Isn't there another car or something?" I complained, trying to move so I was at least a little bit more comfortable. Luke managed to get his arms free and pressed a hand to my shoulder.
"Stop moving, you're making it worse." He demanded. I huffed, but gave him a smile to let him know I wasn't actually all that upset. "Besides, it's only like a ten minute drive."
"And no, there's only one car! I'm making two trips to get all of you crazies there." Jack piped up from the front seat.
"And where is 'there' exactly?" I questioned. Luke tsked at me.
"Surprise, remember?"
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"This was your idea, wasn't it?" I asked, looking between Ashton and Luke. They were both grinning at me, and that was the only answer I needed.
We were at the beach. Except, instead of merely setting up a small blanket and umbrella like most people, we had two entire tents set up with chairs, banners, and a picnic table with a red and white striped tablecloth. Sitting at the table were Liz and Andrew, as well as Ashton's mom and a few other adults I didn't recognize. I felt a blush heat up my cheeks when my gaze landed on the large banner strung up on the tents.
'My First Australian Fourth of July'
"You're all so embarrassing." I groaned. Ashton laughed and slung his arm around my shoulders, leading me toward the tents. I greeted Liz and the rest of the parents, receiving a hug from each of the moms before they went back to their conversations.
Jack arrived with the rest of the group about twenty minutes later. Megan came right up to me, Taryn right behind her. They tugged me away from the festivities (which consisted of lots of yelling and joking about) before holding out a bag for me.
"I know we didn't tell you to wear one, because it would ruin the surprise, so Taryn and I got you a swimsuit." Megan explained. My eyes widened as I took the bag.
"Oh, you guys could have just grabbed mine from my room. You didn't have to get a completely new one!" I exclaimed as I pulled out the new suit. I let out a short laugh when I saw it. It had a flag design on it—but it wasn't the American Flag. I looked back up at the two girls, both of whom were giving me smirks. "An Australian flag, really?" I questioned. Taryn giggled.
"We figured it'd be fitting, what with everyone else wearing flags from your country." She said. I shook my head, smiling.
"Alright. Where do I change?"
So, you know in the movies, when the really hot girls walk in, and everything goes slow motion, and all the boys (and even some girls) stop to stare? Yeah. That's how I felt as Taryn, Megan, and I approached the tents, each now wearing our shorts, but no shirts over our bikini tops. It was Ashton who made the first noise.
"Damn, ladies!" He shouted as Calum and Michael began cat-calling us. I simply rolled my eyes while Taryn sent a punch towards Ashton's shoulder. He winced at the impact. "I guess I deserved that. But, truthfully, you all look really good." He said. I blushed, looking at the ground.
"Now that you're all in your swimsuits, it's time to party! To the water we go!" Calum yelled out before ripping his shirt off and charging towards the water. I watched as, one by one, everyone followed suit.
"You don't want to swim?" The voice made me jump, and I turned around to see Luke standing there, his shirt in his hands. My eyes lingered on his shirtless torso for a moment before I looked up at him. He had a knowing smile on his lips, and before he could make a witty comment, I scoffed and shimmied out of my shorts. I threw them at him, watching as they hit him in the arm before turning and sauntering away.
"Come on, Luke. We're late." I called.
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"Are we even allowed to have a bonfire on the beach?" I asked for around the sixth time since the fire had been started. Megan groaned at my question.
"Yes, Daeyna." She emphasized. I held up my hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay. Sorry. I'm just not used to it. It's illegal in Michigan." I countered. Most of the other patrons on the beach had long since gone home, but I could see the flickering lights of a few other fires off in the distance. Everyone was lounging in the sand around the fire, chatting in groups of two to three. I watched as Megan got up and headed towards the tent before flopping onto the towel below me and letting out a sigh.
"I really hope that was a good sigh." I looked up to find Luke lowering himself into the sand next to my towel. I smiled and nodded.
"It was." I assured him. The flickering light of the fire glinted off the silver lip ring he had gotten only a week ago, and I found myself watching it as he spoke next.
"Good. I'm glad your first Aussie July 4th was a success." I giggled at this and propped myself up on my elbows before responding.
"Major success. How did you even plan this? I mean I live in the same house as you, and, no offence, but you're about a subtle as a firework. Yet, here I had no idea this was going on." Luke made a face as I commented on his subtlety.
"Excuse you." He scoffed, "But I am sly as a fox, okay?" I lifted an eyebrow at him, saying nothing until he finally relented. "Oh, alright. Megan and Taryn did most of the planning. Ashton's house was where we stored everything, and I was the supervisor." I snorted.
"Supervisor? So you sat around and watched everyone else do all the hard work?" I quipped. Luke stood up, crossing his arms.
"You know, I had something else cool planned, but I might have to go ask someone else to do it with me if you're going to be so mean." He threatened. I scrambled to my feet, shaking my head.
"No, no. I'll be nice. What else are we going to do?" I asked, my voice excited. Luke turned and walked away, looking back to make sure I was following (I was). Suddenly he turned around again, and I almost ran straight into him.
"You wait right here. I'll be right back." He said. I lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing as he jogged off towards Ashton, who was playing a bit of soccer with Calum and a few others I couldn't quite see in the darkness. I wasn't entirely sure how they were playing, considering the fact that the fire was over here, and its light didn't reach their playing space, but I chose not to question it.
"I haven't seen him this excited about a girl since Kylee." A soft voice behind me made me turn around. Ben was standing there, a reminiscent smile on his lips. I felt my eyebrows lift in surprise.
"What do you mean?" I asked, though I felt as if I knew where Luke's brother was going with this. I'd noticed the change in my blonde-haired friend as well. He was always doing things for me—and he didn't do any of it for the other two female friends in our group.
"You can't tell me you don't think he likes you." He said. I shook my head slightly.
"I didn't ever think about it, really." I said. There was a pause in which the two of us looked at Luke, who was now finished talking to Ashton, and was heading back towards us. I looked back at Ben. "Does he?" I asked. Ben gave me a sly smile.
"I guess you'll have to ask." He said, turning to walk away just as Luke approached. Luke gave me a puzzled look.
"Ask who? And what are we asking?" He questioned. I felt myself blush, and thanked the heavens that it was dark and he couldn't see it. If he had, he probably would have known exactly what had just transpired between his older brother and me. I shook my head, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Nothing important. Now, what 'cool plan' do you have?" I asked, changing the subject. He stared at me, and for a moment, I thought he knew what I had just avoided talking about. Feelings were not my thing. I appreciated looking at and admiring attractive boys, but I wasn't ready for a relationship. I was afraid of falling hard, and being hurt—or being the one doing the hurting—because my life could change at any moment. Technically, my dad still is my guardian, and if he decides to move, I have to go with him. So, no, I wasn't ready for a relationship. Not one bit. And, if Luke liked me as much as his brother had just insisted he did, there was a confrontation in our future. And I really had no desire for it to be today.
"Follow me." Luke said finally. I resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief and followed him away from the fire.
A few minutes later, the bonfire was just a small flicker in the distance, and Luke and I were standing on a pier I hadn't even noticed before. I looked over the edge nervously before backing up a few feet.
"You're not going to make me jump, are you? Because we have a pier like this in Grand Haven in Michigan, and people have jumped off it and died, and I really have no desire to plummet to my dea—"
"Daeyna, shut up." Luke chuckled, interrupting my rant. My mouth snapped closed with a faint click, and I blushed again. Luke grinned at me before turning around to face away from me. "So," he started, still facing away from me, "Fireworks are illegal in Australia, and I apologize, but I didn't want to be arrested tonight. However, there are some things that are legal." Seconds after he finished speaking, I heard a hiss, and something crackled to life, sending sparks everywhere. My eyes widened in excitement.
"You got sparklers?" I exclaimed, bouncing on my toes as Luke turned around with a sparkler in his hand. He nodded. I reached out to grab it, and he handed it over willingly before lighting his own. I waved mine through the air like a little kid, drawing random, squiggly patterns. "I haven't seen one of these since I was little. I loved them so much!" I giggled. Luke's smile grew larger as he started drawing patterns as well.
"So you like them?" He asked. I nodded vigorously.
"Absolutely!" I squealed. Luke laughed. "Wait, I've always wanted to try this. Can we make, like, a shape together or something?" I asked. Luke looked confused, so I continued. "You know, you draw half, I draw half at the same time?" Luke seemed to understand finally, and he nodded.
"Okay, so what shape do we draw?" He asked. I thought for a moment.
"How about a star?" I suggested. He frowned briefly.
"How the fuck do you draw half of a star?" He asked. I had to give him that. Maybe a star would be too complicated.
"Alright, you've got a point. Something simple then. A heart, maybe?" I asked. He nodded.
"Heart sounds good." He agreed. I moved to stand next to him and held out my sparkler.
"Okay. Start here and draw the heart on three." I said. I counted us down, and on three, we both drew our halves of the heart. Our wrists collided at the bottom, and I felt the sparkler drop from my hand. Of course, instead of landing on the cement, it dropped into the water, its light extinguishing with a soft hiss. "Oh." I sighed. Luke burst into laughter at my disappointed expression.
"You're so clumsy." He giggled. I huffed, crossing my arms, but Luke still laughed. "Aw, don't be mad. We've still got my sparkler." He said. I felt a small smile tilt my lips up at the corners. I reached out to grab it, but this time, he moved it out of my reach.
"Wait, Luke, give it here. I want to show you something." I protested. He still didn't give it to me. "It involves your band." I added. Luke seemed surprised at that.
"What do you mean?" He asked. I shrugged.
"So, you know how you were complaining that you guys didn't have a logo or anything—"
"I wasn't complaining. Merely pointing out." He grumbled. I chuckled, but continued.
"Well, I came up with something. I want to show you it." I said. Reluctantly, Luke handed over his sparkler, which was beginning to get pretty short.
"Fine. But only because it's you who's asking." He said. I smiled at him and took the sparkler and drew one vertical tally in the sky.
"That's for you." I said, drawing two this time. "And for Calum." I repeated a third time with four tallies. "And Michael and Ashton." Luke watched my movements intently as I repeated a fourth time, drawing a horizontal tally across the four tallies.
"What's the fifth tally?" He asked. I smiled. This was my favorite part of my idea.
"Well," I began, "You four are like brothers. You hang out all the time, you make each other smile constantly, and are always there for each other. So, the fifth tally is the bond that connects you to each other." I explained. I drew the tallies again, and moments later, the sparkler fizzled out. Luke was quiet for a moment. My eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the darkness yet, so when Luke's arms wrapped around me in a hug, I was taken by surprise.
"You're awesome, Daeyna." He mumbled into the top of my head. I giggled and pulled back slightly to look up at him.
"Does that mean you like my idea?" I asked. Luke nodded vigorously.
"I love it. Thank you." He said. Though I couldn't see his face very well, the sincerity in his voice was enough. I blushed slightly and looked to the side, suddenly very aware that his arms were still wrapped around me and his hands were pressed against my lower back.
"It was nothing." I said quietly. One of Luke's hands moved from my back and gently moved my head so I was looking at him again.
"It wasn't nothing." He whispered. Then his lips were on mine. I froze for only a moment before I felt myself responding to the kiss, my arms reaching up to wrap around his neck.
What happened to all of my apprehension about relationships, you may ask? It was gone.
Because, standing here in Luke's arms—with his lips pressed firmly against mine—it felt so, so right.