The Best Summer Ever!

"Don't worry 'bout the those Ma. You're goin' to be late if ye' wait any longer," I comment, my hand resting on Ma's wrist, stopping her from gathering the empty dishes from the table.

"Are ye' sure?" she asks, smiling softly in return.

"Aye. Topher an' the girls will most likely be around later today, so I may not be home when ye' get off work. Now go," I urge softly before she presses a soft kiss to my temple before rushing out of the door.

Shaking my head, I sometimes wonder which one of us is the parent in our dysfunctional relationship. Stubbing out my spent cigarette, I gather the dishes from the table and after five minutes of washing them by hand and placing them in the drying rack, I sigh before heading back upstairs. It's hard to imagine I just graduated high school three days ago.

Entering my bedroom, I find myself being greeted by my four black walls, Band and Movie posters covering three of the walls from ceiling to floor. Quotes from my favorite movies and lyrics from my favorite songs decorate the wall my bed rests against, mixing with the random quotes and drawings my three friends added onto the wall. Seeing the mess of photos lying on my bed, I sit cross-legged on the bed. My hand traces over the deep purple softened leather that binds the large book, 'Bonds Forged, Never Broken' decorating the front cover in my personal silver cursive script.

Opening the book, I smile softly at the first picture. Seeing myself at the young age of eight, covered from head-to-toe in dirt with my arm thrown over the shoulder of a nine-year-old Chris. Both of us managed to give each other 'rabbit ears' without the other knowing, grins wide on our faces.

'A fierce game we play,
victory within our reach,
upon our faces smiles lay,
securing a friendship never breeched.'

Shaking my head, I turn the page to see another picture of Chris and myself. We were twelve this time, a guitar sitting in my lap while Chris grips a pair of drumsticks in his hands. I never knew Ma had taken the picture until after it was taken.

'Drown out the past,
peace found in Lyrics and Melodies,
pain unable to last,
Music becoming our remedies'

The next page contains a single photo of Chris, Katie and I, standing in the light drizzle of the rain, a blush on Katie's cheeks, the apparent laughter coming from both Chris and myself. We were thirteen this time, each of us soaked to the bone, but the bright summer sunlight had warmed us to the core regardless.

'Jump in the puddle,
Isn't it obvious yet,
Laughter begins to bubble,
Yes, the water's wet.'

Giggling at the memory of Katie having jumped in the puddle with us and actually screamed out that the water was wet- really she meant cold. Chris and I don't bother trying to let her live it down.

Turning to the next page, I giggle aloud at the sight of Lauren and myself twisted like pretzels over a familiar color dotted white mat. We had already gotten Katie and Chris out and it seemed like the game went on forever before Lauren sneezed, causing her foot to kick out my hand from under neath me and strangely enough, both of us fell to the floor in a fit of laughter.

'Limbs distorted,
we fight to win,
Bodies twisted,
laughter echoing from within.'

Flipping through more pages, filled with pictures of the four of us, I smile more at the memories that fills my mind. Remembering days where we skipped school to get away from the socially oppressive atmosphere. Our frequent movie nights. Pictures of Chris and I getting our first tattoos when I turned sixteen. The four of us attending frequent concerts and underground shows.

Coming to a blank page, I giggle as I lift up the picture I need to add. Making sure to paste it correctly, I smooth the photo against the thicker paper and look it over. The four of us clad in those God awful burgundy caps and gown. I stood between Lauren and Katie, my arms thrown over both of them as they both seemed to hug me around my waist. Chris's taller form stood behind me, his wide grinning face resting beside mine as his arms moved to wrap loosely around my shoulders.

Picking up my silver-ink pen, my teeth tugs at the hoop in my bottom lip before I jot down the words to remember.

'Cheers and smiles around,
this chapter finally at an end
always picking each other from the ground,
forever we call the others friend.'

"Oi! Vi, get your bloody arse down 'ere!"

Looking up at the sudden familiar British-accented voice echoing through the house, I shut the scrapbook before standing from my bed. Rushing down the staircase, I find a widely grinning Lauren entering the living room with a confused Katie and Chris in tow. Quirking an eyebrow at the loud and sometimes abrasive British girl, I glance over at the others, who only shrug in response.

"Ye' will not believe what happened!" Quirking my eyebrow again at her to continue, she giggles, "Remember that contest for the special VIP Tour for Riot Fest?"

"Aye. The winner, along with a select group of friend, gets the privilege of getting their own tour bus to follow the Riot Fest for the summer. Why?" I ask.

She says nothing but reaches into her purse and pulls out four laminated, yellow-gold passes with the letters VIP scratches across them, the logo for the Riot Fest stamped underneath the larger three letters. My eyes widen and I feel my jaw drop before I tackle her into a hug, to which she laughs at in response.

"Ye' have got to be fuckin' with me!" I shout in surprise, pulling away from her as I snatch one of the passes.

"Aye, our plane leaves on Friday. Ye' think ye will be able to go?" Lauren asks.

Giving her a pointed look, I smirk, "Ye' honestly think Ma is goin' to hold me back from doin' this?"

"Shit, this is the woman the conned Vi into a bet that left Vi making a promise to stop getting into so many damn fist fights," Chris adds as he snatches his own laminated pass. "You already know I'm down."

The three of us look over at Katie, each of us knowing how over protective her mother can be sometimes. Katie taps her chin before a glint flickers through her eyes.

"I can always tell Mom that I am going to stay with Daddy for the Summer, and Daddy will just-"

"-agree just cause he wants you to enjoy your last Summer of freedom," Chris cuts in with a large grin.

Katie nibbles on her bottom lip before nodding, taking the final pass from Lauren. As the four of us begin setting plans for the next few days, we manage to horde ourselves in the den, open bags of chips and junk food littering the floor. Resting my head in Chris's lap, I sigh as his fingers run through my hair in a soothing manner. Katie, having realize we were done with our plans for the moment, stands from her spot on one of the over-stuffed chairs and slips in a DVD. Hearing the familiar priest's words during the opening scene, I cannot help but smile, realizing she put in Boondock Saints, one of my favorite movies.

"You know, I think this just might become the most interesting summer we've ever had," Chris states.

Giggling, I look up from the scene where Connor gets kicked in the balls and Murphy punches the very butch female in the face, "Even more interesting than the time we both were sent to the Summer long Correctional Facility for our violent tendencies?"

Chris lets out a bark of laughter, his head cocking back, "That was still a pointless use of our summer, since someone," he emphasizes, giving me a pointed look, "ended up in a fight on our first day back to school."

"That's because the bloody bastard decided to cop a feel of me bum," Lauren protests in my defense.

"Aye. Besides, Jackson needed to learn his place in society an' that would be spitting out blood an' teeth at my feet," I reply with a cheeky grin.

Laughter fills the den before we turn our attention back to the movie, laughing periodically at given moments. Thoughts and wonder fills my mind, pulling my attention from the movie. Shutting my eyes as the gentle brushing of Chris's calloused fingers, I cannot help but wonder if Chris is right. Maybe this summer will end up being the highlight of our teenage years.

Hell, maybe even our lives.

A smile forms on my face as I drop further into the comforting darkness of my mind. As long as I'm with these three crazy teens, I don't see anything being dull in the near future.