^^Beach house

Stunned by the view, I ascend the stairs behind Chloe and Madeleine. The view from the living room took my breath away. The blue sky was clear with no sign of clouds and the sun shined in the middle, illuminating the ocean. Waves crashing into one another.

This wasn't my first time coming to a beach. I used to go to the public side with my family, but I had never been to a private beach house.

The interior of the beach house was no less. On my right was a fall of frames with different pictures of Nate and his family and some with the Clichés. I glanced up and saw an orange chandelier in the middle as I walked up.

"This is our room, ladies." Madeleine grinned as she opened the door. "We are going to have so much fun."

"Wow..." Chloe exclaimed, and I observed the room.

Two enormous windows were giving a full view of the ocean, like downstairs. There was an LED on my right and a table beneath it, and there were a few books on it. A sofa and two benches to lay on. It was a simple yet luxurious room.

"I'm sure we three can fit on it," Madeleine said, getting me out of my thoughts and I glanced at the king-size bed. "I feel bad for you now, Chloe." She said, flopping on the bed and bouncing a little.

"Why?" Chloe darted her eyes from the ocean to her.

"You missed the chance to sleep with Louis." Madeleine fake pouted and heat crawled up Chloe's neck.

"It-It's alright. We can do that some other time." She shuddered, then clear her throat. "We got all our lives for that."

"Girl, how do you do that?" Madeleine tilted her head.

"Do what?" Chloe asked in confusion.

"Be positive all damn the time?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Chloe clapped her hands and plopped beside her. "Lilly, come here. I'll tell you guys my secret."

For a moment I paused when she said the word 'secret', but I got she was just joking.

I fake chuckled a little and sat with them, then we all lay on the bed on our backs. Chloe explained she ignores the worst thoughts because if bad things are supposed to happen, they will, one way or another. To be happy in the present, she omits all the bad thoughts and focuses on what is happening in front. She thinks a lot about the future, but only in good ways. There's a high possibility for good things to happen.

Now I'll also be positive.

No negativity this week.

After gossiping for a bit. We took a rest and then changed into our swimsuits. I wore a grey one-piece swimsuit that my Mom got me. It was plain and had little knots on the shoulder straps. Chloe came out from the attached bathroom in her navy blue one-piece swimsuit that had a ruffled off-shoulder fit with a flattering form.

"You two look sexy." Madeleine whistled. She was sitting in the middle of the bed with her back leaning on the headboard and observing us. "I'm sure the guys will get hard tonight." She winked.

"God, Maddie, you're so dirty." Chloe scoffed as my face began burning. "Aren't you getting ready?"

"I'll be downstairs in a minute." She said, stretching on the bed. "I need to rest a little. You two go ahead."

"Alright." Chloe nodded and picked up her small purse that was filled with creams and her beach hat.

"See you at the beach, Maddie," I said, picking my glasses in my hand and wearing a hoodie over my swimsuit.

I'll take it off later... Or maybe not at all.

When we reached downstairs, Tiana, Brittany, and Jordan were in the living room.

"Where is everyone else?" Chloe asked, looking for Louis.

"Already out," Brittany answered, getting up from her seat. She wore a pink two-piece swimsuit that fitted her perfectly with a white sarong.

"Maddie?" Jordan asked.

"She'll be here in a minute," I said, and he nodded.

"I'll wait for her." He said, taking his phone out. He was dressed in a full black surf suit.

"Are you coming or not?" Tiana asked, and I walked out of the house towards the beach.

"Were you two waiting for us?" Chloe asked. Brittany scoffed, ignoring us, while Tiana nodded.

"We are here to have fun together." Tiana beamed, and I returned her smile.

Someone's in a good mood.

She wore a white two-piece that had green leaves printed on it with a white cover-up and a white beach hat. My eyes roamed to her bare stomach, and I wondered what she did with the baby.

Tiana and I never got the chance to talk after I left her house. She said nothing to me, and I knew I couldn't do much about the situation. I tried my best. Now it was her choice.

"I'm losing because of you, dumba**!" We heard David shouting at Louis.

"No, you're the one who doesn't know how to play!" Louis retorted.

Louis, David, and Nate were on a team, and on the opposite were Ben, Toby, and Andrew playing volleyball. I couldn't see them clearly since I had my glasses off, and they were a little farther away.

"Morons," Brittany murmured, getting in the shades of the umbrella. "Please help me with the sunblock, Tiana." She asked, and I was shocked at how nice she sounded.

I've always seen Brittany angry or being fake nice with me to get me spiked. Maybe I'll see another side of her this week.

"Sure babe," Tiana said, and they sat next to each other.

"Hey, I want in too!" Chloe grabbed my hand and hauled me towards them.

"You have to take that off." Tiana pointed at my hoodie.

"Don't tell me you're planning to wear that in this hot weather," Brittany said, looking at me from over her sunglasses.

"No..." I mumbled and took it off. I wasn't feeling much comfortable taking it off in front of everyone.

"You don't have to worry," Chloe whispered in my ear. "You look beautiful." She gave me a smile, which I returned.

After applying sunblock and helping each other. We took the beach mats and strolled closer to the ocean. I wore my glasses and glanced around to get a better look. There were a few more private beach houses and I could see silhouettes of people there, too.

"Come, you guys! Let's play together!" Louis screamed, and that's when my eyes darted towards them. None of the guys were wearing shirts, and they were only in their shorts.

My eyes drifted over all of them, quickly landing on Andrew, and my breath ceased. No doubt all of them had splendid physiques and I couldn't help but stare at Andrew.

Now I know why the West High girls were after him. Not that I had a doubt before.

He definitely has an athlete's body and I could easily tell that the guy loves the gym. My eyes wandered from his wide shoulders to his chest and down to his abdomen to see four packs forming. Gulping, my eyes automatically went lower to the v-line, disappearing into his blue swim trunks.

I jotted in surprise when a voice came from behind.

"Close your mouth or you'll catch flies," Brittany said. I whirled to face her and saw her smirking at me.

"I-I wasn't." I shuddered from getting embarrassed. "I was just-"

"It's alright to stare, Lillian." Tiana giggled. "They are a pack of hot guys."

"I need you, Tiana. Louis is a loser!" David cried out, and Tiana waved her hands in dismissal.

"I'm not playing today." She announced, placing her mat on the sand.

"Chloe! Lilly! Come on!" Toby called us.

"Coming!" Chloe beamed and grabbed my hand. "Let's go!"

"But I don't know how to play," I mumbled.

"Don't worry about that." Brittany scoffed, laying beside Tiana. "None of them do."

"Just do whatever they are doing." Tiana snickered.

Chloe and I walked toward them and saw them grinning. I kept my eyes down and didn't dare look at Andrew. I don't want to look like a perverted creep.

"Time for team change!" David announced. "And I will not be in a team with Louis."

"Like I'm dying to be with you." Louis stuck his tongue out at him.

"Alright, we'll make the teams again." Andrew stepped forward, beaming. "Who is against it?"

"I am." Nate stood in front of him.

"Heads or tales?" Ben asked, standing between them.

"Head," Andrew said and Ben tossed the coin and it landed on the tale.

"Oh..." David patted Andrew's shoulder. "Better luck next time."

"Whatever." Andrew rolled his eyes and gestured for Nate to pick first.

"Lillian," Nate smirked, making my eyes bug out.

"F**k you," Andrew growled, and I stood next to Nate while others laughed.

"Ben," Andrew said.

"Toby."

"Louis."

"Chloe."

"David."

"I'm again with him." David groaned.

"I'm again with him." Louis mimicked David, making us laugh and his already red face burned.

And that's how the team was formed. Nate, Chloe, Toby, and I stood on the right side while the others were on the opposite. They whispered something to each other and nodded.

"What was that?" I asked, and Nate chuckled.

"They are getting ready to lose."

"Hey, guys!" We turned at Madeleine's voice and saw her also wearing a full black surf suit. Her hair was wrapped in a bun. "We are going surfing and we'll be back before lunch."

"Alright!" they screamed.

"Anyone wants to join us?" Jordan asked. He looked like an Australian surfer dude with his long hair in a ponytail. They shook their head.

"Your loss!" Madeleine shrugged, and they walked away towards the ocean.

We began the game and my eyes unwillingly went to Andrew to see him already looking at me. He had a smirk on his face and mouthed 'You are going down'. I chuckled, shaking my head. 'We will see'.

I said that, but now I regret it because I lose. In my team, only Chloe and Nate knew a little about how to play and on the opposite team, two players were experts, while the other two kept blaming each other.

You can guess who.

After that, we played in the water till Madeleine and Jordan arrived, then we ate lunch. Later we went in the water again and lay on the sand soaking in the sun, played with a frisbee, tug of war, limbo at the beach, and went jet boating and water skiing. Chloe and I made sandcastles while Brittany and Tiana buried David and Louis and made them look like mermaids.

When we were going for dinner. Brittany and Tiana told them that everyone should leave David and Louis like that for the rest of the night, at which they both burst out crying. Laughing, the others took them out and Louis glared at them.

"You are mean girls."

"That we are." They flipped their hair and giggled.

We ordered pizza for dinner since no one was willing to cook. After that, everyone retreated to their rooms and call it a night.

The next day everyone woke up late around lunchtime. I went downstairs to the kitchen with Madeleine and Chloe. Nate was facing the stove cooking, this time wearing a sleeveless shirt while Tiana was sitting on the kitchen island.

"I'm so exhausted!" Madeleine grumbled as she took a seat on the kitchen island.

"Me too." Chloe cracked her neck. "I want to go to bed again but I also don't want to spend my vacations just sleeping all day."

"Now that point gives me the reason to not go jumping on my bed again," Madeleine mumbled.

"You should also tell that to your boyfriend," Tiana said from the other side. "He's not ready to leave his bed."

"I'll go get him," Chloe said, getting up but stopping at Brittany's voice.

"Here they are." She marched inside looking fresh as a flower with three gloomy boys behind her.

"I just wanted a minute of sleep," Louis moaned, sitting beside his girlfriend.

"It's alright. You can sleep early tonight." She said, running her fingers through his hair.

"That's a great idea." He sighed, closing his eyes, and his frown was replaced with a grin.

"Who's left now?" Nate asked, serving the eggs on the plates.

"Drew." Louis pointed out.

"Who's going to do the deed?" Madeleine asked, looking at Brittany.

"I'm not." She shook her head, leaning towards the cabinet next to Nate.

"Someone has to wake him," Tiana said.

"Ben's the only one who has the guts to wake him," David said, trying to kiss his girlfriend. Instead, she replaced her lips with her cheek, making David groan.

"Where is he?" Madeleine asked, glancing at me.

"Ben and Toby are out jogging," Nate answered.

"Then ask Jordan," Brittany said, pouring juice into her glass.

We glanced at Jordan to see him snoring as he laid his head on the island.

"He doesn't look in the conditions to wake someone," Chloe murmured.

"Then who's going to wake him?" David asked, standing with Tiana.

They all eyed each other as I watched them and suddenly like they had a silent agreement, all of them peeked at me.

"Lilly!" Madeleine beamed, putting her hand on my shoulder. "You'll wake him up, right?"

"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself.

"Yeah, that's a great idea." Brittany beamed.

"I don't know -"

"You can do it," Louis said and pulled me off my seat. "It's simple just to go to him and shake him a little."

They pushed me into the room to our left, where Andrew was sleeping. I stopped at the bed edge and glanced back at them to see the Clichés peeking at me from the door and they gave me a thumbs up.

I frowned and turned my head towards Andrew. Why was everyone afraid to wake him? I stood beside the bed and called his name.

"Andrew... wake up..." But got no response.

He looked so cute with a frown on his forehead and a pout. I chuckled and shook him again, moving the brown hair locks from his forehead. My eyes went to his hands and saw a faded bruise on his knuckles like he punched someone. Or it could be because of something else.

"Try a little louder," Nate said from behind.

"Andrew..." I said louder this time and shook his shoulder.

"Get the f**k away from me." He grumbled in his sleep.

Now I know why... It's like waking a bear in the middle of his hibernation.

I tried again, and this time his eyes snapped open and he sat straight, glaring at me in anger. But that didn't bother me as much as his bare chest did when the duvet fell from his body.

Oh boy.

I was peacefully laying on the sand with Lillian beside me, gazing at the stars in the sky. Glancing at her, I saw her already watching me.

"What?"

"Nothing..." She giggled.

"There is definitely something," I asked, plopping on my elbow and leaning my head on my palm.

"It's just..." she trailed off and averted her gaze back to the sky.

"Just?" I urged her to continue.

"You need to wake you." She said, making me frown.

"What?"

"Andrew..." She darted her green eyes back at me. "Wake up."

"Huh?" My face scrunched in confusion and out of nowhere, Nate and Ben grabbed me from behind. "Get the f**k away from me," I grumbled, but they didn't let me go.

"Andrew..." I focused on Lillian and she kept saying the same thing again and again. "Wake up."

I tried to get out of Ben and Nate's grip, but someone shook me and my eyes snapped open and met cautious green ones as I sat straight.

"Um... It's two in the afternoon so uh... You should wake... Up?" she said in confusion, looking everywhere except me.

I blinked my eyes at her to see if I was dreaming or not.

"Is he up?" I heard Louis's voice. I glimpsed at the door and saw everyone else peeking at me from the doorframe.

"I'm up," I growled and leaned my back to the headboard.

The f**k they sent Lillian to wake me up knowing I wouldn't do anything to her. Brittany, Ben, or sometimes Jordan used to wake me up because others were scared. It's not my fault if I get grumpy when they disturb my slumber and punched David and Louis a few times.

"I uh... I'll leave now," Lillian said, carefully taking a step back.

I gave her my best smile, which made her pause in her mid-step.

"I'll be out in a minute."

"Oh..." She gulped, adjusting her glasses. "Yeah... Right... See you there." She said and rushed outside.

She's been acting weird around me since yesterday... Am I making her nervous? But she was ok when we picked her up from her house...

Questions swirled in my head as I went to the bathroom to freshen up. The room was big enough for the two and I was glad I didn't have to share it Toby. No wondered what he would have done with me in the night. I meant as in stabbing me in my stomach sense.

The room had a normal size bed in the middle and a window alcove. Nate and I decided that we'll sleep alternatively between the bed and alcove because let's get that straight we weren't comfortable sleeping in the same bed.

I wore a white shirt as I walked out of my room toward the kitchen. Everyone was sitting there except Ben and Toby. We ate breakfast slash lunch and planned our trip.

When Ben and Toby joined us after a while, we changed into our clothes and then went to the port. We planned to cruise around the beach on Mr. Spencer's new yacht he bought. He allowed Nate to use it but also warned him to keep it clean and not to ruin it.

Nate, being the responsible one, supervised us, or should I say babysit us, because that's what he was doing. Thinking we were a bunch of kids or something. Louis got seasick, and he began vomiting every few minutes, and Nate kept running behind him with a bucket. We planned to have dinner on the yacht too, but it changed after seeing Louis's condition.

After sailing around, we stopped the boat in the middle of the ocean and looked at the most magnificent sunset. Thank God Louis got a little better and stopped vomiting, but still Nate was sitting like a third-wheeler between him and his girlfriend because he couldn't take the risk.

I gazed at the sky, which was filled with shades of yellow, orange, and red as the sun slowly faded. It felt like we were really close to the sun and could almost touch it, but of course; it was impossible.

I was sitting on the most top with Ben and Toby while the others were down in front. My eyes went to Lillian and her astonished expression was priceless that I couldn't help but smile. I took my phone out and clicked a picture of her. She looked so beautiful in her green shorts and white and green strip shirt.