were ignoring each other.

When we got home, Leah, Julia, and Jude were awake, sipping the drinks we had bought from the store Atlas worked at. Dawson was still asleep.

As soon as Atlas walked in, he made a bee-line to his room, not sparing anyone another glance. I told the group that I had brought them breakfast and they rejoiced, instantly wincing after. I smiled and also made my way to my room, settling on a book to read for the next couple of hours.

I didn't see Atlas for the rest of the day up until the next morning. At around 1 in the afternoon, Leah bounded into my room with Julia in tow. Julia had a small frown on her face and Leah was smiling widely.

"Eden, baby! So, we were in town and saw this beautiful beach-side thing there." She said as she took a seat on my bed. Julia rifled through the clothes laying on my bed.

"Uh-huh," I said to Leah and she smiled.

"So, we went to the store and bought a shit-load of stuff." She exclaimed and I laughed.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, frowning slightly, "It's just a beach."

Leah rolled her eyes, groaning at how slow I was, "We're going on a picnic, dumb dumb."

"Oh," I said, but frowned, "Are the boys coming?"

Leah shook her head, "Nope, it's a girl's day today."

I smiled, nodding, "Okay, let's do it."

Leah clapped excitedly and Julia smiled at us. I slipped out of bed and turned to Leah, "When are we leaving?"

"In 20 minutes, the food and stuff is ready." She said, getting off my bed and bounding out of the room. My jaw dropped and I turned to Julia.

She laughed softly and I frowned, "Are you okay, Jules?"

She stretched on a smile and I found myself frowning even deeper, "I'm fine, Ede."

I nodded, "Okay,"

She nodded and walked out of my room. With a small huff, I decided that I would ask her about it later. Right now, I had to figure out what to wear.

I stepped over to my makeshift closet and looked for an appropriate outfit for a picnic. I flipped through dress after dress and as I was starting to lose hope in finding a suitable one, I stopped. I pulled out the dress that had caught my eyes and held it up in front of me.

It was a long dress that ended at my calves and had a slit that ended mid-thigh. It was white and was strewn with small detailed flowers. The neckline was wide and the sleeves were puffed short-sleeves. The dress was perfect.

After grabbing all my things I'd need, I slipped into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. I quickly scrubbed my body clean and washed my hair. After rinsing myself off and drying off afterward, I slipped my clothes on.

Smiling at myself in the mirror, I quickly towel-dried my hair and combed out the tangles. After I was done getting ready, I cleaned up the bathroom and tidied up my room. Once I was completely ready, I gave myself a once-over in the mirror. Even though I could barely see my outfit, the mirror did its job.

After slipping my sandals on, I grabbed a purse and stuffed all my things inside and quickly made my way downstairs.

Downstairs, Julia and Leah were gently putting things inside of a huge picnic basket. The boys were nowhere to be seen, I noticed as I made my way over to them. When Leah looked up, she gasped.

"Woah, Eden. You look hot as fuck." She said and I laughed.

"Look at you guys!" I said and laughed as Julia curtseyed and Leah twirled in her dress. Leah was dressed in a white dress that looked to be made of satin. It was incredibly simple with its spaghetti strap sleeves and small slit through the bottom of the dress, but Leah made it look gorgeous. On her head sat a flower crown that dressed up her outfit even more.

Julia was dressed in a pale green satin skirt that stopped at her calves. For a top, she was dressed in a simple white, spaghetti strapped tank top. Her curly hair was left out and on her head was an identical crown to Leah's.

Leah laughed and Julia smiled. I frowned, "Do I get a crown?"

Leah nodded as she picked up a flower crown from the counter next to her. She walked up to me and placed the crown on my head. She smiled, kissing her fingers like a chef would, "Wow, now that's fucking perfection."

I laughed, but stopped as we heard footsteps coming down the stairs. We all looked up as Dawson and Jude made their way downstairs.

"Woah," Dawson said as he made his way towards us, his eyes trained on Leah. Julia and I laughed, "Who do I have to pay for you guys to dress like this everyday?"

Julia rolled her eyes as did I. Leah placed her hands on her hips, "Hey, rich boy, eyes up here."

Dawson's eyes were trained on her hips and his cheeks burned red as he met her eyes again. Jude laughed and smacked Dawson's head. He rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen, peeking into the picnic basket. Julia slapped his hand away and he pouted at her, "Please,"

Jude laughed, "Where are you guys going?"

Leah spoke up, "We're going out on a picnic."

Julia let out a groan in annoyance at Dawson as he continued to rifle through the basket. She smacked his hand harder and handed him a grape. He looked satisfied with that and took it, popping it into his mouth.

"Oh cool, that sounds fun." Jude said.

Dawson groaned, a pout on his lips, "Can we come? We promise we'll behave."

Leah shook her head, "Girls day only."

Dawson rolled his eyes, "Fine,"

Julia and I laughed at his hysterics and Leah smiled softly. After deciding that it was time to leave, Leah and Julia grabbed the basket and the tablecloth while I slipped into my room to grab the speaker. Once I found it, I moved to make my way downstairs, but stopped as I heard the door next to me open.

No way in hell was I going to interact with Atlas right now. He'd probably get mad at me because I was standing to weirdly. I moved to walk into the bathroom, but froze as Atlas stopped in front of my room. I took in a breath.

He was dressed in a black graphic tee and a pair of black shorts. His hair was damp and his hands were stuffed into his pockets. He stared at me as I stood there, my hands tightly gripping the speaker in my hand.

"Uh..." I said and as the stupid sound came out my mouth, I wanted to repeatedly punch myself. I'm so stupid at times.

A shadow of a smile passed over Atlas's face as he looked at me. I took in a breath, readying myself to say something, but Atlas spoke first.

"You look nice," He said. My eyes widened slightly as I tried to swallow the burning making its way to my cheeks. I nodded.

"Thanks," I muttered, "So do you...?"

He laughed slightly and a small smile made its way to my lips. We stood there for a while, just looking at each other. Wait, I thought we were ignoring each other.

A frown made its way to my lips as I shook my head. I took in a breath, "I— Um, I'm gonna... go."

He nodded and moved out of the way. I took a breath and slipped past him, quickly making my way downstairs. I spotted Jude by the kitchen and made my way towards him.

"Hey, Jude." I whispered and he looked at me, smiling softly.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, facing me as I willed myself to say the words already.

"Can you make sure you guys go out today?" I asked, "Do something fun like... I don't know. What do boys do for fun? Skate? Eat?"

Jude laughed, "Where's this coming from?"

I took in a breath, smiling softly, "Atlas needs a breather, you know?"

He nodded, "Oh, yeah. Sure, we'll go skate or eat."

I laughed, standing up on my toes to wrap him in a hug, "Thank you,"

He laughed slightly and reciprocated the hug. After a few seconds, I pulled back and quickly made my way to the door, "Bye, have fun!"

I quickly closed the door and made my way down the steps and towards Leah and Julia who were waiting at the sidewalk. As I jogged up towards them, they smiled.

"Took you long enough," Leah laughed.

I laughed, "Let's go?"

Leah nodded and Julia smiled. I walked next to Leah and Julia as they both carried one handle of the picnic basket. As we made our way to the part of the beach they were talking about, we talked about anything and everything.

Julia stayed quiet most of the time, commenting a few times throughout our conversations. Leah had about a hundred things to say like usual. I laughed along with her ignoring the small shake of my hand every time I thought about my dreams last night.

When we finally reached the side of the beach they talked about, I let out a small breath.

"Woah,"

Leah laughed, "I know, right?"

The sky was the lightest blue I could've possible seen. It was like you had mixed buckets of white paint and dropped a spoonful of blue, creating a soft baby's blue. The waves were bluer than anything back home had to offer. The beaches there were tinged green most of the time, but here... There wasn't a drop of green, just a deep, luscious blue.

As my eyes met the sand, I stepped forward and kicked my shoes of, letting my toes bury themselves in the grainy sand. I smiled down at my feet, the soft beige grains covering them completely. I let out a laugh.

"This is beautiful," I said, but let out a gasp as my eyes met the wall of flowers behind us. Near the gate that we walked through, a wall of flowers similar to the on I had given Atlas stood a few feet taller than me.

Forgetting everything else around us, I moved to the wall. The sweet smell of the flowers flooded my senses as I reached my hand up to touch the petals.

I smiled softly as Leah laughed behind me, "Let's go, slow poke."

I turned around and follows Leah and Julia towards the beach. They put the basket down a safe distance away from the shore and set the blanket down. I placed the speaker down and helped them bring out the things they packed.

White plates were set out on the blanket and sets of food were being set out on them. Packages of sandwiches, fruits and vegetables, little cakes and biscuits, and chocolates. After those were neatly set out, Leah and Julia brought out the dips and drinks while I set up the speaker.

By the time we were done, Slide by Calvin Harris was playing in the background and we were all smiling at the work we'd done.

"Definitely Pinterest worthy," Leah said, nodding proudly at her work. Julia smiled, nodding along with her.

We finally decided to sit down and enjoy our food as we listened to the music playing behind us. Leah let out a small sigh, "This is nice... Relaxing."

I nodded, "We should do this more often."

Leah smiled and turned to Julia, her smile promptly dropping, "Jules, what's wrong?"

Julia looked to be on the verge of tears. Her bottom lip was trembling and her eyes were red and prickling with unshed tears. Leah took her hand and pulled her into a hug, causing Julia to sob into her shoulder.

"Julia, what's wrong? Don't cry." I said, brushing her hair back as she continued to cry into Leah's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," She cried, "I— uh."

"Don't be sorry, Julia." Leah said, pulling Julia back to get a look at her face.

I smiled at her, tucking her hair back behind her ear, "What happened?"

Julia pulled back completely from Leah's embrace and curled into herself. "W—When we went to the store this morning, this man, he said—"

She let out a small sob and wiped the tears from her face, "He told me that I was ugly. He said that I didn't deserve to be here like everyone else."

She dropped her head on her knees and took a wavering breath, "He said my skin was ugly and that my hair was too curly. He called me an ugly—"

Whatever word that came next, she didn't say it. She took in a breath and looked up at us. My heart wrenched at the sight of her. Her eyes were sadder and I wasn't used to seeing her like this. Julia always had this soft happiness surrounding her. She was always such a nice person to have around. It's like whatever you do to make her smile made everything worth it. Seeing her like this made me want to cry.

"Jules," I breathed, crawling over to her and pulling her into a hug. She let out a small sob, "I hate this so much sometimes."

I pulled back an looked at her and Leah took her hand, "Jules, you're one of the most beautiful women I know, okay?"

I nodded, "Don't let some racist asshole get to you. You're beautiful, you skin is absolutely gorgeous, and your curly hair is amazing. All of you is so beautiful, Julia, okay?"

She smiled, softly and Leah nodded, suddenly getting angry, "Don't let a racist bitch tell you that you aren't good enough just because of the color of your skin. You're perfect. Do not let him take away your pride in your ancestry."

She nodded, "Yeah, it just hurt a little bit."

Leah nodded and I smiled at her, wiping away the tears on her face, "Now, let's have some fun, beautiful."

She let out a mall laugh, "I love you guys... so much."

"Aww, we love you, too." Leah said, planting a kiss on her cheek. I smiled, taking her hand in mine.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm fucking starved." Leah groaned aloud and picked up a plate, filling it neatly to the brim. Julia laughed and followed suit and I did the same. Once we had all piled our plates, we got comfortable and began to eat as we talked about everything.

I laid down on my stomach, facing the beach as I nibbled from a few things off my plate. I let out a sigh, "Can you believe we're going to be in our Senior year in a few months?"

Leah groaned, "I'm so not ready for that."

Julia nodded, sighing softly, "Growing up is scary."

I laughed, "Yeah, like what happens after? You just get picked by some university and pick a major. Then what? You move out? Find a good job?"

Leah groaned, blowing her lips together in annoyance, "And you know what even scarier? Imagining the look on Mom and Dad's face when I tell them that I don't want to go to Yale."

My eyebrows rose as I looked at Leah. Her parents always made it abundantly clear that Yale was the only place for her. Ever since I had met Leah, she's always been a very two-sided person. One side's always been the life of the party while the other has always been the determined student. She's always had to keep p with her studies if she was going to make it to a school like Yale.

"You don't want to go?" Julia asked, looking up at her as she laid on the floor like me. Leah shook her head, "I want to have a normal life outside of people's expectations. Sure, law has always been in interesting to me, but it is it something I'd volunteer to do."

"Well, what do you want to do?" I asked.

She smiled softly, "I'm not really sure. Dawson told me that his parents were the same way. They want him to go to Yale just like his parents did, but he has his heart set on UCLA. He hasn't told them that exactly, but he's building the courage to. He said he'd help me inure out what I want to do."

I smiled, "Mm, Dawson said this?"

Her cheeks burned red and next o her, Julia laughed, "You guys are cute."

She turned her head to Julia, "You think so?"

She nodded and I did, too. "Yeah, has anything happened between you two?"

She shook her, but stopped, shrugging afterward, "Kind of— I'm not really sure. I know that there's definitely something there, I'm not stupid, but..."

Julia and I looked at her expectantly as she trailed off, "He like flirts a lot with me and says these comments that— Ugh." She let out a frustrated scream, "I— Can't he just tell me that he's interested?"

Julia laughed, "You two are very similar yet—"

I nodded, "Yet completely different."

Leah laughed, "Yeah,"

She suddenly put her hands in there air in a time-out motion, "But enough about me, what about you and Atlas." She smirked at me as she watched my face turn a dark shade of red.

"What about me and Atlas? There's nothing—"

"Hey," Julia said, "We're not stupid."

Leah nodded exaggeratedly, "Yeah, we see the little glances and looks. Oh, and Julia, remember the time by the pool?"

Julia smirked, "Oh, yeah! When he looked you up and down! Oh and he took of your ring for you."

"Uh, I..." I stuttered, trying to justify that those this wee nothing, but we're they? We're those small glances and soft touches nothing?

Leah smiled, "Your face is so red, Ma."

I let out a groan and buried my face into my hands, instantly feeling hot my ace was getting, "Guys, it's nothing."

"Mhm," Julia giggled as Leah laughed along with her.

I picked my head up, playfully glaring at the both of them, "He's annoying as fuck most of the times. Plus, we both have issues and I'd rather not get involved with him."

"Looks like you're already involved." Leah whispered laughingly to herself. I rolled my eyes at her.

Julia smiled, softly, "I mean, maybe you're trying to ignore the fact that you attracted to him."

"Attracted to him? No way in hell am I attracted to him." I said, my voice lowering with each lie I uttered.

Julia smiled and Leah continued to laugh like a madwoman at how flustered I was getting. "Do you guys not get along?" Julia asked asked she chewed on a baby carrot.

I shrugged, "It's like sometimes we get along and it's so nice. It's quiet and we actually talk, but then sometimes he just gets so moody and it passes me off. Then he gets mad and I get mad and we both stop talking to each other all together. This has happened like twice already!"

Leah had stopped laughing and was listening to what I was saying. She frowned, "What happened yesterday?"

My cheeks burned red at the thought of yesterday morning. "Uh, the night before, when you guys all got drunk, I went upstairs to check on him." I ignored the small looks coming from Leah and continued.

"Well, we sat and talked in his room— Well, we didn't really talk, I just asked him if he was okay and he apologized for yelling at me and I apologized for slapping him."

"Wait,what? You slapped him?!" Leah asked, sitting up and staring at me, her eyes wide in disbelief.

I nodded, "Yeah, he said some things and..." I shook my head, pushing the argument (if that's even what that was) we had away.

"Anyway, he looked tired so I told him that I'd leave and... He uh— told me to stay and like sleep with him. On his bed, I mean."

Julia's lips were slightly parted and Leah was slowly leaning in more and more as I recounted the story. "Well, I did, but ended up... waking up in the middle of the night. So I decided to go to the beach."

"Long story short, he came out and we talked about random stuff and then he asked me to tell him about him. So, I did."

"You told him about what now?" Leah asked, her eyebrows raising in surprise.