Freaks and Fortune

"I knew it," Aqua shrugged.
"What?" Cal shouted. "No!"
"Yeah... I mean, I kind of figured."

Savannah shook her head.

"They were always kind of flirting... But then again-"
"Anthony is always kind of flirting with everyone," I finished for her.
"Exactly."

"I figured there was something going on after the Truth or Dare thing," Aqua said. "But I never could have guessed it was for a whole year!"
"Imagine... Messing up your boyfriend's face for your anniversary gift," Savannah deadpanned.

"That Ravi's got a killer uppercut," Cal gushed. "When he turned to me, I was ready to pee my pants."
"I think we should find them... To see if they're okay," I proposed, worried about my two friends.

"They're not going to want to talk to anyone right now, Ivy," Savannah said. "Especially not Ravi."
"I always thought Anthony was dating that Nina girl," Cal said, kicking his shoes off and snuggling into his hammock. "They went everywhere together."
"Well, obviously not everywhere," Aqua scoffed. "Unless she was into watching her date, you know, kiss his boyfriend."

"Aqua!" I scolded. "Be serious!"
"I am being serious," he protested. "I think it was pretty uncool of Anthony to lead Nina on like that."

Aqua stretched and tugged his shirt up over his head. His skin was pale white, almost translucent. It was almost strange that he had such a toned body. His abs were so defined, they almost looked fake. For a split second, I was reminded of Michael Phelps.

"Maybe Nina's just blind," Cal said. "She was always hanging around with him, and she still didn't know he was gay."
"Oh, like you're Mr. Perceptive!" Aqua snorted, kicking off his pants and crawling into bed.
Cal shrugged. "You've got a point there."

-_-_-_-

The sun stung my eyes as it streamed through the windows. I turned over and pushed my face into my pillow in an attempt to block out the light. I found it hard to breathe and was finally forced to flip back around and wake up.

"Good morning, Ivy!" Aqua yelled, sticking his face right up close to mine. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"
"Go away, Aqua," I groaned and pushed his face away.

He laughed and bit my finger.

"Ouch!" I gasped, sitting up in bed.
Aqua laughed again and allowed himself to be pulled back to the vanity mirror by his make-up girl. She squeezed a bit of his waterproof blue-colored gel into her hands and raked it through his bright blonde hair. The slits in the side of his neck were dusted with a blue powder that made him look less like Gregory and more like Aqua Boy.

I scowled at his back. I looked up into Savannah's bunk to see that she was gone. It took me a while to get my bearings... And then I realized that I was late! I squealed and jumped out of bed, diving into the closet to find that my costume was gone!

I shook Cal awake, taking him by the neck of his grey t-shirt.

"What did you do with it?" I demanded. "Answer me!"
"What the hell?" he whined, squinting at me. "What time is it?"
"Don't play dumb! Where's my costume?"

He slapped my hand away and tucked his head back under his covers.

"It's Wednesday, Ivy," he grunted. "Go back to sleep."
"Huh?"
"It's our day off, idiot!"

Aqua scowled at Cal.

"I... Oh..." I mumbled quietly. "Sorry. Carry on."

I tried not to laugh as Cal grumpily attempted to get comfy again. He'd move a little bit, but then change his mind and flip over into another position.

I climbed back into my own bed and laid out on top of my comforter. I looked at the ceiling and squinted against the sun.

Aqua's make-up girl left and, after checking himself out once more in the mirror, so did Aqua. He closed the door a little loudly, and Cal roared in frustration.

"It's no use!" he cried. "I'm awake!"

He reached under his pillow and pulled out his gloves, slipping them on with practiced ease.

"Let's go," he said to me. "We've got to do something."
"What? No way! It's my day off, I'm going to relax."
"No!" he whined. "You're going to do something with me!"
"Do I have to?"
"Yes. It's your fault that I'm awake. I'm holding you responsible for entertaining me at this ungodly hour."

I rolled my eyes.

"Let's go!" he shouted, playfully pulling at my arm.
"Okay, okay, let me get dressed."

Cal's anger and grumpiness had turned into jittery excitement. He threw a pair of blue jeans and a tank top at me.

"Hurry, hurry!"

I walked into the bathroom, ignoring his pleas for me to run, and changed. I brushed my hair, but ended up pulling it into a bun. It was so frizzy in this heat, nothing could really be done.

The second I stepped out, Cal scooped me up and slung me over his shoulder. I was reminded of the day that he stole me from work and brought me over here to audition for the job of Kissing Booth girl. He took off at a run and I couldn't help but laugh.

He finally set me down and looked around. His face fell. It was as if the world was new and promising to him... until he actually went outside.

"I'm bored."

I sighed and gave him a push.

"What?" he asked. "Seriously. I'm bored. Think of something to do."
"What if we... No..."
"What? What is it?"
"No, never mind."
"Tell me," he urged.
"Do you... Do you want to go find Anthony?"