Vernon Hills, Illinois
4:56pm
me
nat, clara and i are literally dying without u :/
I look down at my phone with a slight frown, missing my best friend more than ever. I lay back against the many pillows that piled my bed while releasing a sigh, not used to the feeling of being so far apart from Natalie.
nat
i'm dying without u guys everyday, believe me! </3
clary
i can confirm that life is unbearable without natalie
Natalie left Illinois to work for our old friend from school, David Dobrik. Believe me, when I heard that scrawny David from Slovakia is a famous YouTuber now, I flipped my shit. No offense but, he was the last person I expected to blow up online.
We were always a tight-knit group back in high school — especially him and Natalie, which is why I wasn't completely surprised that she started working for him as an assistant — but Clara and David were never the best of friends, so when Natalie moved to California because of David, Clara wasn't too fond about that.
nat
pls visit me
i will actually book ur flights rn
:(
clary
seeing nat > seeing david
as u can see, i'm torn
me
u seriously need to get over that, sis
I lock my phone for a second and wonder, what if we did come visit Natalie in California? We could see — well, I could see David again — it's been four years since we graduated high school, so surely it'd be great to reunite like old times.
nat
fr get over it
do it for ur bff aka me
clary
david actually makes me want to kms
especially now that he's "famous" and thinks he's better than everyone including us
me
cmon he doesn't think he's better than us
he visits chicago all the time
clary
um yeah not us
nat
like u care, clary, you literally hate his guts
me
that's tru u could care less
clary
points were made...
not what i'm getting at tho
My eyebrows scrunch together at what she was trying to say and I completely understood. In the four years I haven't seen David, he hasn't even tried to reach out to me. It hurts, of course, since I considered him family, but that's what fame does to you. He hangs out with celebrities now, he is a celebrity now and does incredible stuff that you only wish you had the money for.
me
nat, u know i'm down and i'm home from niu for the summer!
book me tf up sista
nat
ARE U SERIOUS?
YES I FCKN LOVE U
BOOKING IT NOW
clary
girl i feel left out now
sign me up bitch!!
I smile to myself with excitement before a picture of Natalie and I hugging pops up on my screen, my phone vibrating violently.
"Lily!" She shouts through the phone almost immediately after I answer. "I'm gonna cry, is this seriously happening?"
Before I can answer, Clara is added to the call and the first thing she says is, 'Let's fuck shit up'. Classic Clara.
"I've never been to California and I miss my best friend so hell yeah it's happening!" I reply back, my lips tugging up to form a smile as I sit up on my bed.
"Okay, I can get you guys on the next flight to L.A. which is..." Natalie trails off, processing the timeline displayed on her laptop screen. "Tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good to me," Clara agrees and I beam with excitement. I can't stay seated any longer, so I stand up and pace around my room eagerly.
"The girls are reuniting!" I squeal happily into the phone, earning shrieks of excitement from the two girls.
"Pack your shit, bitches, you're going to Cali," Natalie tells us humorously. I giggle at her words before a sudden noise manages to grasp my attention. I turn my head to see my sister slam my bedroom door open, causing it to bang against the wall.
"Gia, how many times have I told you not to do that?" I shout at her, bringing the phone down slightly from my ear.
"Too many times to keep count, anyway," She answers, dismissively, "I was eavesdropping," Gia continues, getting straight to the point, causing me to roll my eyes at her bluntness.
"You're so annoying..." I comment, but she ignores me.
"I heard that you're taking a trip," She says, suspiciously. I hear faint laughter coming from Clara and Natalie and I lift my phone back up to let them know that I'll call them later.
"That's none of your business, Gianna," I groan in irritation while placing my phone on my dresser.
"Mom won't even let you go, Lily," She seethes with jealousy, her green eyes dangerously narrowed.
"I'm twenty-two, Gia," I remind her, watching as she crosses her arms over her chest. "I can make my own decisions, you know. It's called being an adult. Don't worry, you'll get there soon! Just give your brain another thirty more years to develop. Bye now!" I smile sarcastically at my sister before shutting the door.
I huff in exasperation before turning to my vanity in defeat. What does a girl who's never been outside of Illinois pack to a place like California?
_
"Can you believe he had the audacity to unfollow me on Instagram? The nerve of that guy." Clara rants about David as we arrive at O'Hare Airport.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're in love with him," I chuckle, getting tired of her and David's never-ending feuding.
She grimaces in disgust. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that."
I shake my head amusedly and watch her put her phone away. We grab our suitcases and trudge to the entrance of the airport, the morning summer chill blowing back our hair. It was still dark outside considering the fact that Natalie booked us for such an early flight, but I didn't mind.
"I can't believe we're going to California," I voice my thoughts in disbelief.
"I know right, what the fuck?" She says with a slight laugh, I could tell that she could barely believe it either.
Clara and I have never been outside of Illinois. Natalie, on the other hand, was always going places. She went on her first vacation at age two, while Clara and I were here, eating sand and drooling up a storm.
After going through security and getting everything situated, Clara and I find our terminal and wait to board the plane.
While the blonde takes a power nap, I sit uncomfortably on the airport chairs, hugging my knees to my chest while scrolling through my Instagram feed in boredom. That's until I get a notification.
zane started following you.
Followed by another.
todderic_ started following you.
And another.
jasonnash started following you.
"The devil works hard but the Vlog Squad works harder," I mumble to myself before giving each of them a follow back.
_
Los Angeles, California
11:49am
"Holy shit!" Natalie's familiar voice shouts as she spots us in the crowd of traveling tourists.
Clara and I notice her immediately, our faces breaking into smiles as we sprint to the raven-haired girl. We attack her with hugs, trying our best not to lose our balance.
"It's really you!" Clara exclaims, happily. We can't stop smiling as we hold on to each other, taking in the presence of one another.
"It's really me!" Natalie laughs back. "Let's go, my car's just out front!" She tells us before helping us with our luggage.
The drive to David's is full of laughter and shared stories. Natalie fills us in on the Vlog Squad and all of its current members, as well as all of the drama.
"Trust me, you're gonna love Jeff," Natalie winks at us.
This causes Clara to poke her head from the backseat with a raised eyebrow. "Perfect for our friend over here," She says while placing a hand on my shoulder. "Sis just got out of a relationship."
I roll my eyes at their forwardness. "Jaime and I broke up two months ago, isn't it a little soon for that kind of mentality?" I scold her with narrowed eyes.
"Not for rebounds, sister!" Clara announces from behind us with a clap of her hands. "Plus, Jaime was a dick and a half."
"Jeff just recently got out of a relationship, too," Natalie speaks up, turning to face us as we stop at a red light. "His ex is Cierra Ramirez—"
"Mariana Foster?" Clara and I shout in disbelief. The Fosters is our go-to binge-watch show whenever we're all together, so trust me when I say that we were frazzled at this new information.
"Yup," Natalie nods before turning her attention back to the road.
"Well, damn," Clara sighs in disbelief, leaning back in her seat.
Natalie turns into the biggest and most boujee neighbor that I have ever seen in my life and I feel my mouth go slightly ajar. Surely each house cost at least a million dollars.
We pull into the driveway of an elegant house, whom I presume is David's, and Clara and I need a minute before getting out of the car. Natalie watches our reactions with an amused grin.
"Hold the fuck up," Clara is the first to speak. "This is broke ass David's house?"
"He's not as broke as you remember him being, Clary," Natalie shrugs as she pulls out her keys and opens her door. "Oh, and by the way," She adds, popping her head back in, "You're always filmed here."
She closes the door and heads around the car to the trunk, proceeding to take our luggage out and placing it on the sidewalk. Clara and I are still too shocked to even move.
"Are you guys coming?" Natalie calls from the back, causing us to unbuckle our seatbelts and help her outside. "You know what, we'll just come back for these. I wanna introduce you to the squad first," She says and we leave our suitcases unattended. Not even worried, who's gonna rob us in this neighborhood?
After rummaging through her purse for her house keys, Natalie unlocks the door and ushers us in. "Shoes off," She lets us know.
It's awful quiet, I note while crouching down to take off my sandals. Clara does the same, much quicker than me, and walks further into the house.
"Wow, Natalie, I'm impressed—"
Before Clara can even finish her sentence, a semi-large yellow ball of paint shoots her right in the thigh, which probably hurts more than it usually would considering her thighs are exposed due to the skirt she's wearing.
She grabs the reddening spot and yells out in pain. "Motherfucker!"
David and a group of boys jump out from behind the walls, laughing their asses off. I stay standing by Natalie in complete shock, looking over to see her irritated expression.
"Sorry, Clary, didn't see you there," He says in between laughs, watching enjoyably as Clara fumed with anger.
"I'm gonna rip your ballsack off, Dobrik," She threatens him while everyone still laughs. David has the camera pointed right at us, capturing every detail of the unfolding scene.
"It's okay, he doesn't have one," An older man says, which erupts a louder set of laughs.
"What the fuck, David? They just got here." Natalie snaps at him as I watch Clara soothe her leg in pain.
"Sorry! I need the footage!" He tries to defend, but it's obvious that he's not sincere. "Lily!" He calls out happily, finally noticing me.
He walks over to Natalie and I, giving me a bear hug. "Hi, David!" I reply with a smile. Clara watches the three of us with a roll of her brown eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," He says to the camera and the three members of the Vlog Squad that were currently present in the house — I recognized them to be the same guys that followed me on every social media platform this morning. "Say hello to the Vernon Hills Three! Four if you count Clara,"
"Eat a dick, David."