The door to my room opens quietly and shuts. My eyes are closed but I'm able to hear the person's light footsteps come closer and closer to wear while I'm sleeping. My sleep slowly starts to go away but I stay still in bed. Who would come in here during the middle of the night?

The person starts to remove my cover slowly and that's when I turn around and jump.

"AHHHH!" The person screams and I turn on the lamp.

"ALISON?!" What are you doing here?" She has a guilty expression on her face and looks towards the door. The door opens and reveals Mom and Mrs. Lopez looking at me with motherly smiles. The only reason she would be here would be... Oh no a girls trip.

"It's our annual girls trip," she says proudly and removes the rest of my covers off of me. "Now come on we gotta go. It's already gonna be six."

"Why so early? Usually we leave around eight," I sit up on the edge of my bed and stretch my arms out. It is way too early for this.

"Well because this year it's different!" Alison whispers and claps her hands quietly.

"What about my clothes I haven't packed yet-"

"Don't worry I already packed you some stuff. Plus you and Ali share clothes all the time." Mom steps into my room and Mrs. Lopez follows behind. "Now say hi to Alison's Mom."

I stand up from my bed and smile at Mrs. Lopez. She opens her arms for a hug and I walk into her warm embrace. She's like a second mother to me.

"¿Cómo estás mija?" She asks.

"Bien, bien. Y usted?" I responded to her.

"Happy that we finally get to have another girls trip! Did your Alison tell you where we're going? She chose it this time!" She pulls back from the hug but keeps her hands planted on my shoulder. Oh gosh where to even begin with Alison. Every time she comes up with a plan, It's fun but very chaotic. I turn to look at her and see a huge smile on her face.

"Where are we going?" Alison's Mom removes her hands from my shoulder and lets me sit back down on the bed.

"Okay we are going toooo...New York!" She exclaims and claps her hands once again. "Now get up and stop talking to us, we'll be waiting for you downstairs so hurry it up." She pats my shoulder and all three of them start heading towards the door.

"New York? Are we going by plane?" We usually drive to places, but it's just around Texas and now she's talking about New York. This is what I mean about Alison, very chaotic.

"Yes now come on," She pats my shoulder. "Alejandro and Mateo are coming to say bye and dropping us off at the airport." She pushes our Mom's lightly out of the room. She grabs the door knob and gets ready to close it. "We have another surprise so hurry up." After she says that, she shuts the door and I hear her go down the stairs.

I'm not sure what to expect during this trip.

~

"Vero, are you done?" Alison came into my room and sat on my bed. I'm sitting at my vanity, tying my hair into a low bun. I have my essentials packed in a small bag that I can carry with me. Also I'm taking a book since the flight is like four hours long. I'm dressed very comfortably too because if I'm not going to be reading then I'll most likely be sleeping.

"Yes I am," I put on some chap stick and stood up. "Are the guys here already?"

Her whole expression changes and she is very excited. "Yes they are. Come on hurry up."

I quickly grab all my things and head down the stairs. We both walk into the living room and I see Alejandro standing by the front door with a bag in hand. Mateo's sitting on the couch with a backpack and suitcase on the side of the couch. Wait a min-

"SURPRISE!" Alison yells. Jesus Christ this girl is so energetic this morning. "They're coming with us! Adam couldn't come because he has to do something this weekend with his Mom. But look," she waves towards the guys.

"I didn't know you guys were coming!" I smile widely and walk up to Alejandro. I do that one hand shake guys do and turn back around to look at Mateo. He has a warm smile on my face and looks really good. He's wearing black sweats, a black hoodie, and the crocs I got him for Christmas. He didn't have any crocs so I bought him some so he can be comfortable.

I make my way towards him and he stands up. When I'm close enough, I wrap my arms around him. Both of his arms wrap themselves around my waist and I feel him kiss the top of my head. I pull away and look up at him.

"Your parents let you come?" I ask.

He nods his head and touches my cheek lightly. "Yeah your Mom talked to mine and asked her if I could come. Mom said yes because she wants me to do something fun before I graduate. Plus I get to spend more time with you." He kisses my forehead and I smile.

"Okay is everyone ready? Does everyone have everything they need?" Mom walks out of the kitchen and starts walking towards the front door. We all respond to her with a short yes and she opens the door. "Okay well come one, let's get this show on the road."

Mateo picks up his backpack and suitcase and we start to walk towards the door.

"Have you ever gotten on a plane?" I ask Mateo as we walk out of the house towards Mom's car.

"No. Have you?"

"No I haven't," I smiled up at him. "I guess it'll be our first time."

He laughs and places his stuff in the back of Mom's car. I wonder who's driving us to the airport?

"Hold on," I tell Mateo and walk back into the house quickly. "Mom," I called out and found her in her room. "Who's driving us to the airport?"

She turns off the light of her bathroom and grabs a small pillow on her bed. "I am. Your Dad is going to pick up the car later with the extra key." I nod my head and walk back outside. Everyone is already situated inside the car which is good. I open the door to the back seat and see that Alison and Alejandro are at the back-back seats. Mateo and I are sitting in the back seats. And Mom and Mrs. Lopez are sitting at the front.

Mom gets into the car and turns it on. She puts it into reverse and takes a deep breath.

"Okay, here we go guys."

~

After twenty five minutes of sitting in the car. We made it to the airport. There's a lot of people walking around to their check ins, or getting picked up outside. This is very exciting and scary at the same time. It's exciting because I get to go to New York with my close family, but it's also scary because...I have to get on a plane.

We make it to the place we have to check in and Mom helps all of us. She's really excited to go. Mrs. Lopez is also excited, on the way here, they were talking about all the things they had planned for us to do. They are really prepared.

We had thirty minutes until we were able to board our flight. So Mom told all of us to go to the restroom even if we didn't need to just to be safe. We told her there's a restroom on the plane but she still made us go.

"Are you excited Vero?" Alison asks as we both wash our hands.

"Yes I am Alison. You really out did yourself with choosing where to go this time," I grab some paper towels and dry my hands.

"I know! I thought we should go somewhere fun before we graduate. I also have to tell you something," she bites her lip and her cheeks begin to heat up.

"What?" I raise a brow at her and she gets closer to me as we both walk out of the restroom.

"Alejandro and I did it," she tells me in a low voice and I stop walking. I start to smile and put my hand over my mouth.

"No way," I look at her and begin to laugh. I'm not making fun of her. Trust me I'm not, but it's just so funny because we would always talk about how we could never have sex with anyone. "When? Why didn't you tell me?" I start to walk again and she brushes back one of her curls.

"It was last week. He took me out on a date and it was very fun. Then we went to his house because his Dad and brother weren't there. It was amazing Veronica. He was very gentle with me. Always asked me if I was okay or if I wanted him to stop. He honestly showed me another side of him I never knew I wanted to see." I look at her and see that she's looking at Alejandro from afar. She's in love. The person she chose is there for her and will always be there.

"How did you feel after?"

"Honestly," she takes a deep breath. "After we finished, we talked for a while and that's when I realized that he's my person. I'm glad it was him who I did it with. Even after he asked me if I felt okay or if I needed anything which was very sweet of him. But I also asked him how he felt just to make sure you know. It just feels like we're more connected now, like we have another type of bond." She has a small smile on her face and love is swirling in her eyes.

She got to experience something so personal to her, with someone she loved. Soon I'll be able to experience that.

"What about you and Mateo? Have you guys done it?" From afar, I can see Mateo and Alejandro sitting down talking. I look back at Ali and shake my head.

"I'm waiting for the right moment. I just want to make sure you know." She nods her head and smiles.

"Yeah I get what you're saying. That night with Alejandro I had a feeling. I just felt safe with him. I knew I wasn't going to regret it." She responds.

I'm glad I'm with Mateo. He doesn't make me do things I don't want to do. He loves me for who I am. I know one day I'll be ready, It's just a matter of time.

"Boarding now, Flight 2120."

The intercom interrupts our conversation, and we begin to walk a bit faster towards everyone else. When we get there, we pick up our stuff and follow me. A lady checks our tickets and we start walking towards the plane. My nerves are starting to build up more and more the closer we get.

Luckily, I get to sit next to Mateo so I won't be alone.

We step onto the plane and find our seat numbers. Alejandro and Alison are sitting besides us while Mom and Mrs. Lopez are sitting in front of us. Everyone else on the plane is getting situated and buckling their seat belts. My hands begin to shake a little bit while I put the seat belt on.

I'm guessing Mateo took notice and covered my hands with his. He looks at me with a smile and that calms me down a bit.

A few minutes later, everyone is in their seats buckled in. The pilot comes on the intercom and says something, but I couldn't listen correctly. I'm too nervous for this. Shortly after, the plane begins to move forward. I squeeze Mateo's hand and lay my head on his shoulder. He squeezes back and doesn't say anything. In some situations, it's best to stay quiet.

I close my eyes shut when I feel the plane begin to shake a bit. After a couple of minutes, the plane is up in the air flying smoothly. I move my head from Mateo's shoulder and look up at him. He looks back down at me and smiles.

Off to New York we go.