The Summer Scene

Waking up around 8 AM with nothing to do around the house because no one was home and that means I have no way of going anywhere else. My life has gotten very, very dull. I got fed up of staring at my old friend, the all too familiar white ceiling that I know where every crack is without having to open my eyes for a reference. I threw on black spandex shorts that could pull off for Soffee shorts, a purple tank top, and my unused, sparkling grey Nike runners; the spandex and sports bra is too revealing for me, and I really don’t want people seeing my no-six-pack stomach jiggling around as I’m running. I skipped down the staircase and out the front door. I was focused on putting the right earpiece in my ear, and didn’t notice the red truck sitting next to the curb at the end of my pathway.

“Come on loser, you’re coming over.” I heard a male voice yell through the passenger window from his position on the driver’s side. Startled, I looked up, and saw the very familiar smiling face, happy eyes, and brown hair of Ross O’Callaghan. I picked up my walking pace to make it to the open seat next to him that was waiting for me.

“Quoting Mean Girls. Classic.” I said, buckling my seatbelt.

“I try.” He smiled back, putting the car into drive.

“Why the sudden decision to kidnap me now? And not while I was caged?” I asked looking out my window, resting my head on the comforting glass. This feels nice. I felt small invisible butterflies in my stomach, not the nervous ones, the happy ones; my I hate life mood that has been attached to me has disapperared suddenly and I feel like I’m whole again. That last part is pretty Twilight but it’s true. Without my best friend I really felt lost, not to mention that I know I’ll be seeing more of the gang throughout some point in my day.

“First off,” he started to argue. “I’m not kidnapping you, I’m taking you out for your first day of freedom.” I smiled at the fact that he knew and counted the exact day that I would be able to see them again. Honestly, I didn’t even remember that this was my first day back into my normal routine. “Secondly, you were banned from seeing any of us.” I rolled my eyes. I could have seen them if any of them risked coming to get me. “Thirdly, everyone missed you terribly.” I felt my eyes get wide and my heart started beating slightly faster, hoping that the ‘everyone’ included John. “And lastly, you’re leaving in three days.”

I sighed loudly. “Two. I leave Saturday morning, so it doesn’t even count as a day.” My mood just fell a little. Why must he remind me? I never want to leave, I love it here, I actually have friends, and people who care about me. This is how my life really should have been through my younger years.

“Two days then.” He agreed, nodding his head once. “Are you all packed?”

“Yup, I needed something to do while I was on lockdown.”

“What, you didn’t hang out with Jess and her overly awesome group of friends?” he did his impersonation of Janice from Mean Girls. What is with him today? He’s really trying hard to make me happy.

“No. I did. But I prefer my crowd over hers.”

“What’s so bad about them?” he was totally curious.

I sat up properly in my seat, back straight facing the windshield, with my eyes looking straight ahead. “Nothing, I get along with some, but to others I’m just Jess’s baby cousin.” I explained. He should know, some people only want to be friends with him because he’s John’s brother. “And at least you guys treat me like I’m a capable person.” I added, trying to get the point across, but regretted it once it left my lips.

“And by you guys, you mean the band.” He stated, not bringing up the Melissa Thing.

“Yeah. Well you too, but we’re in the same boat.” I used my pointer finger and repeatedly waved it between the two of us for effect.

“True, true. But the guys like you better than me.” he stated blandly and truthfully.

“That’s because I take an interest in their music.” I obviously countered.

“I like their music and I support them! I just don’t want to be in that business myself.” He replied.

“Ok.” I said for lack of responses, and I changed the subject so then we don’t work our way into sticky matters. “So what are we doing today?”

“You and I are going out to lunch and then I was thinking about just chilling by the pool.” He loosened up his grip on the steering wheel that he apparently tightened with the last thing he said.

“Ok,” I said, completely happy with the agenda. “But I have to go back and get my suit.”

“It’s all taken care of.” Ross stated.

“How-“ this confused me terribly. How the hell did he get my bathing suit when I’ve been hiding in my room all the time and haven’t used it in a while? The blue and white bikini was sitting on the floor of my room, untouched and unused in weeks.

“Don’t worry about it.” He replied, keeping his attention on the road ahead of him.
What’s up with him? He’s never this mysterious; that’s John’s department. There has to be something going on. What does he know that I don’t? Probably a sure hell of a lot because I haven’t had any contact with them in soo long.

“So where are we going for lunch?” again I changed the subject, but this time because I was purely curious.

“Where do you want to go?” he countered.

“Anywhere with a bacon burger.” I admitted, thinking about the juicy beef and greasy bacon underneath a warm bun, it was making me so hungry.

“You’re lucky I eat meat.”

“Another reason why I don’t fit in with her friends.” I rested my head on the headrest and looked up at the cars ceiling.

“They’re vegetarians?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and unintentionally making that cute face of confusion; his right eyebrow raises, while his left falls a little making that eye kind of squint, and he gets three lines horizontally running across his forehead, and he presses his lips together, tight on the left side of his lips causing a dimple to form there.

“Vegans. That’s worse.” I admitted my disgust, while watching his face turn back into its normal self as he contemplated in the information.

“I can imagine.” He agreed. “Bacon and beef it is then.” He very suddenly made a right hand turn, causing me to hit into the door and laugh at that fact.

Shortly later, we pulled up to the local Omaha Steaks restaurant.

We walked inside and were seated at a booth next to the window that over looked the parking lot in front of the restaurant. I scotched into the booth so that the window was on my right hand side, and Ross climbed in across from me.

We sat in silence, mulling over the menus that rested open on the table in front of us. We were pulled out of our considering by a friendly greeting.

“Hey.” The person said. The voice was familiar, more familiar than Ross’s was.

“Hey.” Ross looked up at the person and spoke back.

“What are you two doing?” The voice asked, I felt this directed towards me.

“Eating meat.” I replied, gazing at the burger section. If I look I know I would lose my cool.

“Jess’s crowd is a bunch of vegans.” Ross clarified because the person was probably looking at me strangely.

“Rough.” They unknowingly agreed to Ross and I’s reaction to that fact in the car before. “That’s right, it’s your first day out of lockdown.” They realized.

I nodded, knowing Ross wasn’t going to answer this one because it was a directly to me.

“Well have fun you two.” The familiar person said as they ran off.

I waited a few seconds and then looked out the window to be discrete. I saw that tall, skinny frame, with tousled brown hair climb into the driver’s seat of their black BMW, and some brunette girl climbed into the passenger side. No. Fucking. Way.

“You okay?” Ross asked, sensing something was wrong. Obviously knowing something was up.

“Yeah.” I choked out, watching the little black Beemer graze out of its parking space and onto the main road with graceful ease.

“Good. This is a no negativity or depression based day.” He informed me, his expression completely serious. His green eyes stared me down, making his point clear, and also scaring me a little bit.

“Leave it to you to make rules.” I shook my head in disbelief that he actually would make a legit rule for me to be happy.

“I want you to have fun on your last days here.”

“I thought that was the goal for the summer.” I countered.

“It is.” He replied then taking a sip of water from his glass. “But the more fun you have on your last day, the better you’ll remember us by.” He was sad, he was trying to hide it, but we’ve become attached to each other that it’s become easy for us to read the other just by their body movements.

“I will never forget my best friend.” I replied, emphasizing never. It was the total truth, too, I would never and could ever forget Ross, he is the only person my age in both New York and Arizona who is this close to me, because they wanted to be and because I actually let him get to know me.

“Oh gosh.” He was flattered; I could see a little pink fill his overly tanned cheeks. He’s so cute it’s uncanny.

“Haha.”

We ordered and ate our lunch; I got my burger and Ross order one for himself as well. As we ate in semi-silence I couldn’t help but think about who that girl was that climbed into John’s BMW, and why she was with him in the first place. It made no sense, she was never at any of the parties and I’ve never seen her before.

Ross paid for the both of us, we got into his truck, and he drove us back to his place; both of us sitting in utter silence thanks to my overanalyzing.

We entered the familiar O’Callaghan household and as the front door opened a wave of vanilla and lilacs came rushing towards me, I fell at ease and my mouth pulled up in a giant smile. Ross made his way over to the kitchen island. I followed slowly behind him.

He took what looks like to be items of clothing, and chucked it at me. “Here’s your suit.”
“Where did you get this?” I was so confused; this is the exact bathing suit that was lying on my floor when I left the house this morning.

“Don’t worry about it.” He smiled, walking over to the door that led to the laundry room where his swim trunks must be hiding.

“Fine. Whatever.” I brushed it off and made my way upstairs to the bathroom adjacent to John’s room.

Before entering the bathroom, I stopped in front of John’s door. Too chicken to knock and actually face him, I put my ear against the white wood to listen for any activity inside. Nothing. My heart fell a little; I was hoping to hear something, anything that resembled John.

I changed into the identical blue and white bikini still dumbfounded as to how Ross received this. As I was changing I noticed that my pale white skin of the areas that were covered up all summer was like twenty shades lighter than the rest of my body. This put me in such a good mood. I no longer look that albino!

I skipped down the stairs and back into the kitchen where I left Ross.

“Omg I’m so tan!” were the first words out of my mouth when I saw him.

“I’m always tan.” He replied in a joking voice, but telling the total truth.

“Shut up, you live under the sun.”

“That’s not my fault.” He came closer to me, light blue towel and a green one for him. Noticeably, both our towels matched our suits. Got to love Mrs. O’s need to color coordinate.

“You suck.” I replied. I put my hand out to receive the towel, but he instead decided that my mouth was a better receiver and shoved the soft fabric in my face. “You’re such an ass.”

He laughed, shaking his head, and making his way out the sliding door and to the pool in the backyard.

We sat on the edge of their in-ground pool, our feet dangling in the deep end while our torsos and thighs soaked in the sun.

“You’re acting weird.” I stated randomly. My hands placed behind me, and my head thrown back, eyes closed, using my arms to support my weight.

“No I’m not.” He denied.

“Yeah you are.” I turned my head to look at him with serious eyes, but the sudden sunlight hurt them, so it came out as a squinty stare thing.

“Nope.” He popped his p.

“Yup.” I popped the p in mine also, moving myself into a full sitting position. He was being annoying. Why couldn’t he just tell me what’s up. Is it about that girl John’s with? Or worse?

“How so?” he asked, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular.

“You’re being as mysterious and cryptic as your brother.” I convicted him.

“Shane? He’s been acting weird since the last time you’ve been here. He hasn’t looked directly at John in a while.” He tried to say seriously, knowing that that was not what I was talking about.

I played along. “I wonder why.”

“Yeah. Me too. But it’s hilarious.”

“Of course you’d think that.” I shook my head, giggling.

All of a sudden I was falling forward towards the refreshing crystal blue water beneath me.

“Ah!” I screamed. “What was that for!” I yelled, once I reached the water’s surface, rubbing my eyes to get the water out of them.

“For not being able to come to practice.” I looked up and saw John’s chiseled face, tousled yet beautiful brown hair, and enchanting green eyes looking back at me. I was frozen in my spot for a moment, I forgot how, dare I say, beautiful he is. I swam over to the ledge next to Ross where I was formerly sitting, and where John was now standing with that same brunette by his side. “And I just wanted to piss you off.” He shrugged like everything was okay.

“Mission accomplished.” I replied with a forced grinning smile.

“Oh, this is Dana, Eric’s sister.” he remembered, and pointed the girl that was standing next to him. She wasn’t that short, but she wasn’t taller than me that’s for sure. Her hair was a very dark brown, and could probably be classified as black, her eyes where big and brown, and I could see the resemblance of Halvo in her. They’re faces were shaped the same and their eyes are kind of identical too.

“Hey.” I jerked my head towards her, using my arms that rested on the cement next to Ross to keep me afloat.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard tons of things about you.” Her voice was very sweet, and almost kind of motherly.

I could only imagine all the things the guys told her. “Oh god.”

She heard the worry in my voice. “All good. Except for your, um, mishap.”

“Yeah. I’ve chosen to forget that day.” I took a glance over at John, he looked a little uncomfortable talking about that subject. I couldn’t pin point if it was the fact that his girlfriend drugged me, or what we did the following day.

“I found it adorable how Johnny-Boy took care of you. He’s never done that for anyone else.”

“Oh-“ I started to say. I’m the only one John’s ever taken care of in a time of need?

“That’s because Nattie’s special.” Ross interrupted me.

“She sure is.” I heard John agree in a low tone. “Come on Dana, we got to go.” He said louder, placing his hand on her shoulder to make it official.

“I’ll talk to you later.” She smiled and waved at me, before she turned around and followed John back into the house.

“Bye.” I called back. “I like her.” I told Ross, hauling myself back in a sitting position next to him, now all soaking wet.

“Yeah. Everyone loves Dana. She’s their surrogate big sister.” he told me. So that means that there’s probably nothing going on between them because she’s like John’s big sister. “She’s pretty hot too.” He added with a smiled. This time I knew he totally meant it.