Miri had woken up early this morning, Yesterday was awesome as he got to spend time with her lovely girls, Get ready for the annual trip and even crushing over Vanessa who made a awesome sandwich. This time of year was great for having time of work although she will miss working in the while on the trip but fully intended to enjoy herself to the full. When the blonde got home yesterday after hanging out with the girl picking up the RV, She had time to think and smile to herself of the days events but might of got herself in a pickle without realizing it, she now found herself liking two woman at the same time, Kimberly and Vanessa, both of whom she had know for years even if one was gone for the last three, Although she was excited to see if the woman would text her after leaving her number.

This morning with an early start, Miri made sure she was all ready before going on her morning run, Unfortunately she seems to of missed Lyssa, Normally they would meet up for a run and generally catch up on anything interesting to the pair at the time. When the blonde got home of course she would relax and bathe a little before getting ready for the trip, Getting dressed into something nice, Miri went for a summer look, Despite something a little more flirty for later on in the evening, She only hoped the Charlie would not be there to drool over her or something knowing of his reputation with trying to get any female he could.

With her mom and dad helping pack things into her car and doing the usual making sure there daughter would be safe and careful, She gave loving hugs to both of them, even if she rolled her eyes a little, Miri knew they loved her but they said the same thing every year and she always came home in one peice and in a good positive mood. Once she was in her pride and joy, A classi Chevy Camaro and turned it over to listening to the engine purr for a few moment when her phone had vibrated, it was the second time this morning as Riley texted not so long ago. Looking at the phone and reading the message, Miri seemed to beam with delight when it was from Nessa, She took a moment to reply.

Morning Vanessa, Your more than welcome girl! :), Awww *blushes* I will make sure to bring my rosy cheeks with me for you then beautiful, See you soon. Xx Miri

After double checking it, Miranda sent the message back, She was excited to get there now, she had everything she needed including the lake itself with her bikini, She was never one for swimsuits, Putting on her sunglasses. Putting her car into reverse, Miri pulled out of the driveway before putting the Camaro into drive and headed of to Ri's B&B which was not far away, She also brought with her a two person tent, for just in case. Soon enough Miri had arrived and pulled up, No doubt Riley picked up it was Miri before the woman even pulled up and got out, Switching the engine once parked up, Miri slid out of her Camaro once the door was opened and closing it behind her and smiling seeing who was there releived she was not the last one to arrive.

"Hey guys!" She smiled seeing who was there, it was a very good turn out thus far with more to come, But she saw Ri, Kimberly, Lyssa, The twins, Cassandra and of course Nessa. "Ya'll looking great, ready for an awesome trip?" She called out as she made her way over to them, she would unpack her stuff from her car in a moment, First she had to see her friends. She went to Ri first as she was like the ring leader of this expidition like all the others time. "How's my girl?" She said smiling still before pulling Ri into a long and a little tight hug, returning the favour from yesterday but planting a kiss on the cheek on the cute girl, Eventually letting go she went over towards Kimberly woh was with Lyssa, Gage and Aron talking, Her face was a little red when she looked at her, Kimmy look lovely again. Smiling she walked over and pulled kim into a loving gentle hug. "You okay girl?" She asked before giving her a kiss on the cheek once more but paused for a moment after doing it, her mouth inches from her face brathing on her Kim skin. "Sorry.." She whispered in her ear before pulling back with a apologetic smile remembering what it did to Kim yesterday, she didn't even think and just kissed the girl again after what happened yesterday, Of course enjoyed giving it.

She glanced over to see Riley was talking and hugging Nessa, Looking at the other three, Miri went to Lyssa. "Hey girl, Sorry I missed you this morning." She pulled Lyssa into a hug also, but a little longer than yesterday before she to then gave her a kiss on the cheek to, She knew Lyssa was into woman but did not have her think any different about the lovely girl before pulling away. Then she looked at the twins, She was happy there would be coming again, She wondered if they have sort of competition last time but she stepped up to them. "Which one is which again?" She joked for a moment. "Come here Aron." She pulled him into a hug, for a few moments as she respectfully nodded at Gage, She might not get on with him as she did with Aron but she does respect him for his honesty and she knew under that armour he is loyal to those he cared about, but never pressed on it.

After greeting them all, Miri excused herself to let them talk while she would go and say hello to Cassandra and then of course the lovely Nessa. Walkking up to Cassandra Miri offered a hug, she wouldn't know if she would accept it or not, but smiled at her none the less being polite. "Glad you could make it again Cass, Look forward to hearing your music again". Hopefully she was not to forward with Cassandra but it was all the friends coming together on a trip once more. after chatting a little, Miri went over to say hello to the one and only Nessa who was speaking with Riley still, Blushing a little remembering her text from this morning, The blonde's cheeks were getting a little rosy like yesterday when she was blushing and waited for a moment to say hi without being rude to Ri.

When they finished Miri went to greet the lovely woman. "Hey Vanessa, Really glad you can make it and be with us this year." She smiled tucking a bit of blonde hair behind her ear. "As you can see I brought the rosy cheeks with me" She pointed out before stepping closer to her a little to give Nessa a Hug, She wasn't sure weather to kiss the woman on the cheek or not, She had butterflies in her stomach was like red in the face and was so close to doing so, She wanted to but didn't know how Nessa would take it and hesitated, Thus ending up holding the woman in the hug for longer than she realized.

---

---

Charlie had spent most of his day in his house, lights off, and eyes closed. He'd woken up sometime around noon, quite groggy and resembling something very close to a zombie. He'd rolled out of bed, quite literally, and lay on the floor for a good ten minutes before finally deciding that maybe his floor was not the most hygienic place for his face to be. At that thought, he'd slowly stood up and shuffled to the shower, where he let the water wash away the grogginess that results from staying up late reading.

After his shower, he grabbed a bowl of cereal, Frosted Flakes to be specific, and wolfed it down while lying on the couch watching SpongeBob. His mom came into the living room at one point and made a comment about how he was 18 and SpongeBob was for children to which he replied, "Mother, SpongeBob SquarePants' official rating is for people six years of age and older. Well I don't know about you but I do believe I am older than six which makes this completely appropriate." His mother laughed and then joined him in watching the show, pointing out the plot holes wherever she could.

By the time Billy and Riley's texts had come in he and his mom had had a rather intense debate about a children's television show. He shot Billy a quick text back, slightly curious as to what was going on with his friend, and amused by his warning. As curious as he was though, he figured Billy would have said something if he wanted to talk about it.

To: The Bill Meister
No big deal. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone. And I'll keep it in mind �

Then he got to texting Riley, already on his way up to his room to grab his suitcase.

To: Riley
Be there in a few

He grabbed his suitcase, and double checked to make sure everything was there. Clothes, camping gear, phone charger and a portable generator, and a large bottle of vodka that he'd been hiding under his bed until today. He smiled as he imagined the party this was going to be, then zipped the suitcase shut and headed downstairs to say good bye to his mom.

"Okay mom, I'm leaving" he said, on his way to the front door. "Be safe. Don't get any girls pregnant and don't get drunk and choke on your own vomit and die because I can't possibly give you a eulogy if you go out like that." He laughed and bent down to pat Lucy's head before going outside and tossing his suitcase up onto the luggage rack on top of his car. Once it was safely secured, he hopped in the driver's seat and began the quick drive from Red Lake's suburbs to the BNB.

Once he arrived, he stepped out of his car, and in an effort to be as cliche as possible, put on sun glasses. "Hola amigos," he said, shooting his friends a grin. He glanced around to see who all had gotten there and his eyes caught for a moment on Miri. He hadn't really talked to her since the breakup and this was the first time he'd actually be anywhere near her. His eyes quickly moved on, although he was sure someone had noticed. He grabbed his bag off of his car and brought it over to his friends. "Hope we're all prepared for the best lake trip this town's ever seen," he said, in his usual cocky tone.

---

---

Ravi remained silent as the girl hustled about the cafe, nearly running into him as she did so. He did not mind though, Ravi rarely became angry, he was raised that way and by god he would strive to remain that way.

Ravi smiled and watched as she rounded the corner to the back of the counter and met him once again. He knew that his height intimidated many people much shorter than he was, Ravi grew up in the city, surrounded by all kinds of people, short, tall, black, yellow, fat, clean, dirty, squat, alien. He was used to it, so Ravi did everything he could to make those who were intimidated by him comfortable, like the lovely girl in front of him.

"Vacation, nah, planing to stay, you wouldn't mind would you?" Ravi said jokingly, grinning up at her as he looked through the menu.

Ravi rarely ate out, preferring to save money and eat whatever he could at home, today, Ravi choose to indulge himself.

"I simply got tired of city life, a bit to hectic for my liking. Left home as soon as I became an adult. So I found this little town of Red Lake, hoping I can get a job at the mechanic place down the street." Ravi said as he made a final decision on what he wanted to eat. He found it unusually easy to talk to her, maybe she was genuinely listening to him, or she was in it for a decent tip, either way, it was nice to talk to someone other than his parents, or himself.

"Please if you will, could I get some Orange juice, with pancakes, scrabbled eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast." He rattled off, counting off his fingers as he did so, he came in here knowing exactly what he wanted. "Is that to much?" he said raising and eyebrow.

"Not at all. When somebody is your height, I have to imagine that you must eat quite a bit to keep that energy of yours. Besides, this order will at least keep me busy. Though it may take me a bit to make." Sophie grinned as she wrote down the order. She headed to the fridge and got a carton of orange juice and poured it into a clean glass that she grabbed from the cupboard, then placed it in front of Ravi.

Sophie then turned on the stove and started preping the order. "A mechanic, huh? So that roaring beast of a car was yours. You say life in the big city doesn't suit you, eh city boy? Unfortunately, I wouldn't know too much about that. Been stuck here all my life because of bad health... I think you would make a good mechanic and you have the hands of one, so I imagine you would be good at it. Sorry, bit of a bad habit of mine." Sophie replied raising a hand to gesture that she had noticed his calloused hands, yet focused on cooking. "Not only that but the gal that runs the garage, Miranda, is a hottie, so I think you'd like it there." Her tone became playful as she teased him a bit, her grin became a smile and she giggled a bit. "Unfortunately, I think she's going to be out of town for a bit."

"So you're an adult, huh? Your physical features say otherwise. I'd say you're about my age and still in highschool. Ah, bad habit again, sorry. I am studying to go to an art college, so I have a bad habit in examining my surroundings a bit too much. Tis a blessing and a curse, I'm afraid. " The statement made her laugh softly a bit.

After about a half hour, Sophie manage to finish the large order and delivered it, along with condiments. " There you are... So you say you are going to be living here, hm? I don't mind. You seem like a nice guy." She said to him with a friendly smile. " My name's Sophie, by the way. Nice to meet you and welcome to Red Lake. Oh, and since you'll be living here, you should watch out for trouble makers. Unfortunately, we have one of those, but he's nothing but a immature, drunk flirt, so I'd keep your girlfriend away from him. He's known for sleeping around with girls and having drunk one night stands with nearly every girl in highschool. I honestly can't stand him but what can you do, ya know?" She shrugged as she wiped her hands with a towel. It was strange. She could be so casual with this guy she had just met, however, she didn't dislike it. It was actually kind of nice to talk like this every once and a while. It was probably because this guy was new to town, but she decided to not question it too much.

Cassandra gave a start, as Alyssa addressed her. "oh, Um. Well, staying serious is always a good way of maintaining, but yeah. Gotta get really back into it" As Miranda gave her a hug, Cassandra wasn't too sure what to do, hugging the other girl back. "Oh, well, you can hear me anytime at the cafe, but I'm glad you're looking forward to it" Like with many interactions with those she wasn't use to, Cassandra felt awkward and like she was struggling to keep up with the complexity of conversations.

She figured though that the interaction with Alyssa was enough to enable her to go over, and not feel like she was intruding. It was good to see that the boys seemed happy and relaxed, and she wished they could be like that all the time. "Hi guys, thanks for the help last night, I have no idea how I managed to pack it all!" She said with a smile, happy despite her reservations with interacting with everyone.

---

---

Riley looked towards Alyssa and shook her head she knew Vanessa pretty much since she was a little kid. "Tats are really cool, but I don't think that she would actually be apart of a gang or anything like that shes way to innocent for that." Riley said with a soft smile she looked over towards Vanessa and winked at her playfully. Riley went back to finishing up packing up the last of Cassandra's things into the RV, she then turned over towards the twins she hadn't given the two of them a proper greeting and approached the two of them and pulled them both into a friendly hug. "Glad the two of you made it." Riley said and gently gave both of the twins a pat on the shoulder. "And like Lyssa said no fighting unless you want to take on my bestie over there."

Riley then suddenly could feel her phone vibrate and quickly took it out of her pocket and saw that it was a text from Charlie saying that he would be coming shortly. And about two minutes later Riley could see Charlie pulling up and waved towards him and smiled towards her other friend. "Welcome to the party Charlie." Riley said she knew that Miranda would be coming as well, this was going to be a lot of fun and not really in a good way if the two of them decided to start interacting with one another and she would make sure nothing bad will happen to the two of them. And speak of the devil Riley could see Miranda's car pulling up into the driveway as well.

She smiled towards her other best friend as she pulled up and got out of her car, she blushed rather deeply as Miranda kissed her on the cheek and looked up at her and smiled at her. "Glad you could make it Miri!" Riley said happily as she returned the hug as well, she then looked towards her phone there was just one last person to join and that was Avalon. She took out her phone to give her a gentle nudge.

'Hey Ava, we are waiting outside so hurry up my new friend and meet everyone else! <3 Riley'

Riley looked over at Vanessa and Miranda seeing her friend blushing again and smirked playfully as she gently gave Miranda a nudge being the gold old matchmaker that she is trying to get her two closest friends to actually date.

_{A collab feat. @Anima}

---

Kimberly nodded to Aron. "Yeah, she's totally coming. Again, I was super surprised! But seriously though. Try not to fight boys. And lady."

"Pfffft, Lady." Alyssa snorted grinning.

Kimberly winked at her. "Yes. My lady."

Soaking in the joy of seeing everyone come together, Kimberly spotted a very familiar face as her face burned slightly. Miranda had just showed up as Kimberly didn't know what to think. The kiss on the cheek was still very much in her mind from the cafe yesterday. Did she like Miranda? Well, yeah, but not like that. But was that the truth? She wasn't sure. What she was sure though was that she had someone that meant a lot to her. Alyssa. They'd been through so much.

She didn't make the wrong choice. She smiled. Kimberlyssa.

When Miranda came up and said hi, Kimberly felt her warm body wrap around hers. She returned the hug as she smiled. "I'm fine. Sorry about yesterday. I just wasn't ..." About to blush furiously, she felt Miranda inch closer to her face. Instead of kissing her, she whispered 'sorry'. Kimberly felt her heart sink. "Don't be ... I'm so sorry I overreacted."

Giving Miranda another friendly smile, she watched as she moved on to say hi to everyone else. Kimberly's eyes lingered on Alyssa and Miranda. She looked away when Miranda kissed Alyssa's cheek.

Alyssa looked towards Miranda as she exchanged a hug and peck with Kimberly, then...whispered something in her ear. Alyssa knew that Miranda was a...switch hitter, and had always kind of suspected Riley of it too. Miranda came to her next with her own hug and brief kiss, her cheek burned a little as a knot began forming in her stomach.

Letting her say her hi's to Miranda, Kimberly saw another face. She smirked. It was Charlie.

"Hey womanizer," she said. "This trip's going to rock!"

"Hey...yeah, missed ya huh." She replied weakly, maintaining her smile by force of will alone. "Oh hey Charlie!"

Suddenly she felt a little surrounded. "I'm gonna to make sure I've got everything, be back in a minute ok?" She turned and headed back to Riley's room, she hadn't left anything. She just needed some space.

Before she could start up further conversations, Kimberly watched as Alyssa left the growing lake partiers. Alyssa played a strong face as always, but Kimberly knew her pretty damn well to tell something else was up. Though silence and time alone wasn't always a bad option, Alyssa was the other half to her 'real' her. Even if there wasn't anything wrong, she had to make sure.

Finding a good time to sneak out, Kimberly looked at everyone before she followed Alyssa's trail. She had an idea where she went."

Kimberly's a pretty, smart, funny, and friendly girl. She was surrounded by girls that would likely kill for the chance to be with her...if they knew she swung that way. 'Would I be with Kimmy if she could choose anyone...or is this...convinient'. No, no way. Alyssa took deep breaths. Her and Kimmy had been best friends for a long time, always got a long, Kimmy's always helped her when she needed it, and vice versa. Alyssa's little sister Emily even 'ships' them together, which used to cause Alyssa no small amount of stress.

"She's with me because she wants me, not someone." Alyssa muttered taking a seat on Riley's bed to collect her thoughts a bit.

Finding herself outside Riley's room, Kimberly took a deep breath. She knocked on the door and opened it. She found Alyssa sitting there. Thinking from the looks of it. Crossing the room, Kimberly took a seat next to Alyssa. "Hey ... you okay?"

Alyssa looked up to see none other than the subject of her affections and stupid unconcious fear. "Oh...uh, thought I might have left my phone here, but it was in my pocket." She deflected in what was probably a record worst for her. Alyssa was embarassed she was having these thoughts, these doubts. Here Kimmy was after all, and she had always been there.

Kimberly frowned. She reached over and took Alyssa's hand in hers. She gave her girlfriend's hand a gentle squeeze. "You've never been a good liar. Lyssa...?"

"It's just..." Alyssa decided to come clean, hiding things from Kimberly had never done her any good. "You're beautiful, and funny, and smart, and everyone likes you."

She leaned over and rested her head on Kimmy's shoulder. "I had this stupid thought, that you could have anybody, and maybe you were only with me because....I know." Alyssa continued quickly, her eyes tearing up a bit with a mixture of embarasment and a tiny twinge of fear. "I know it's not true, we've known each other a long time and you wouldn't do that. I'm sorry...I just...I don't know. I can be stupid sometimes."

Kimberly felt a numbness prickle across her chest. She bit her lips as she let Alyssa finish. This couldn't be easy for Alyssa. She knew that. Unlike herself, everyone knew Alyssa swung for the same team. Herself however? Everyone thought she just hadn't found Mr. Right yet. Not that she was actively looking. She wanted a Mrs. Right. Mrs. Right was sitting right next to her. It was impossible not to see their little thing as a product of convenience. Kimberly was going to dispel that. When? She wasn't sure. How? She also wasn't sure. She was navigating uncharted waters. She couldn't even talk to her parents about it. That was the worst part about it all.

She leaned her head on Alyssa's. "Don't you ever say something so ... sad again. You hear me? When have I ever done something I didn't want to?" she asked. "I've always been transparent. Right? I mean, sometimes I'm not but most of the time." She bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm ... sorry you can't tell people. If ... it hurts you too much, you can always ... you know ..."

It hurt to entertain the thought, but Kimberly wasn't about to tie Alyssa down to some secret romance. That'd be ... cruel in every way possible.

"No way." Alyssa eyes widened at Kimberly's hinted suggestion. She wiped the remainder of moisture from her eyes and turned to face her. "I'm in this for the long haul...wherever it ends up, I want to be there with you."

"It'll hurt sometimes, I'm sure, and I might have some doubts. I've never doubted my feelings for you though Kimmy. I just don't want you to be with me just because I'm the only one that knows, that's all. If you can promise me you're not, I can deal with anything else that may come." Alyssa looked away blushing. "I'm not very pretty, or smart, I have trouble talking to people sometimes, and get into a lot of fights. I can be moody, and get down sometimes, but If you want me, you can have me."

Kimberly lifted her head as she turned her body towards Alyssa. She cupped Alyssa's face in her hands. "I'm direct. I'm super obnoxious. I'm too friendly for my own good," she said. She placed her forehead against Alyssa's. "You're pretty. You're smart. Your personality is cute. I've always been there for you, and that's not going to change. Unless you ask me to leave."

Giving Alyssa one of her trademark winks and planting a brief kiss on her forehead, Kimberly pulled away. "I said yes to you not because you were a quick fix, but because I wanted this," she said. "Promise, cross my heart, hope to die. Yadda yadda all that good stuff."

Looking about, Kimberly looked down at Alyssa's pocket. "If you found your phone, let's get back to the others. We have a adventure to embark on, no?"

What magic is this? Alyssa's forehead bloomed with warmth in the wake of Kimmberly's kiss, it overtook her face quickly in what she was sure was a blush to be remembered. At the same time her little knot of worry dissolved at her words and touch. Kimmy'd had the key to Alyssa's heart for longer than she'd like to admit, and just like that she was golden again.

If a little pain and worry was all this would cost, Alyssa would gladly pay. "Then we'll be here a long time me and you." She looked up, beaming again. She stood and checked her pocket to ensure that, in fact, her phone was indeed there. "Maybe we'll fight a bear or something huh?"

Kimberly scoffed. "If we see a bear, we'll snap a quick pic then run," she said. "Actually, I think running from a bear is something you don't want to do."

"Thanks." Alyssa nudged Kimmberly's shoulder.

Flashing her pearly whites at Alyssa, she traced her fingers down Alyssa's arm. "No need for thank, silly," she said. ".... So, alright. Let's get moving. God, it's kind of getting warm in here..."

"Or...you could kiss me...then we could go." Alyssa flashed a grin and winked.

Kimberly's face burned. She looked down as she thought about it. Meeting Alyssa's twinkling eyes and that stupid, silly, smirk, Kimberly slowly closed the distance between her lips and Alyssa's. Then she stopped. She playfully tapped the tip of Alyssa's nose. "Let's go," she said as she took Alyssa's hand and led her to the door. "We've plenty of time, missy."

"That we do." Alyssa said happily, her heart thundering and her grin bright. The two went to rejoin the others.

Vannesa Von Strong

Location: Her apartment, then Riley's B&B

Interaction with: Miranda @Damo021, Riley @Nallore, Alyssa @Meiyuki. Oh, and with Gage @BlackPanther

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Vanessa smiled and when Riley asked about her tattoo she smiled and kept quiet at first. When Alyssa made a joke about a gang and Riley saying Vanessa was too cute for that she just thought for herself ''If you knew honey.. You wouldn't want me close anymore. She then came up with an idea as explanation and looked at the tattoo. ''I lost a bet with some other travelers I met during my travel around China and this was the price'' she said and shrugged like it was nothing.

Everyone started to gather around and Vanessa smiled. She helped with putting the last bits of stuff in the RV and kinda figured out everyone's smell. It was not like she was walking to them, bend over and smell but she would walk by and actually just breath, nothing really strange. She looked up when she heard Miranda's car and smiled some.

She kept her eye a little on Miranda as she greeted everyone and when the girl finally came to greet her, she looked at her with a smile. ''I see yeah, glad you did cause I would have send you home to get them'' she said with a soft smile. When Miranda hugged her and was thinking about if to kiss Vanessa on her cheek or not, Vanessa actually enjoyed the longer hug as she kinda liked Miranda's Lavender Blueberry smell. She eventually let go of the girl and then bend over to give her a kiss on her cheek and whispered: ''Don't go tomato red deary, though it would totally suit you''. She then straightened up again and looked around.

''Okay ehm guys? We all have heard of the recent wolf attacks and that kinda means that I will keep an eye on everyone.. I would really like it if you tell me where you are going if you leave camp.. Though, you don't have to really say when you go for a piss or something.. Just stay near the fire'' Vanessa said, she had used a little louder voice and gave everyone a smile.

She then winked at Miranda and walked over to Gage. ''I hope you can keep up with my weak cooking for the next few days as I will be the one preparing meals'' she said, a slight grin around her lips but a rather serious look in her eyes. She wasn't someone to play with, unless she allowed the other person too, and she wasn't gonna allow this boy to think he could do better. ''At least, I never had complains about my food when I worked all around the world.. We will see who is better in the end. But don't grow too much arrogance before you got yourself a job at a five star restaurant'' she said, winked and patted his head. She then walked towards her car and waited for everyone to get into the RV. ''Btw, there is still room here for luggage and a passenger''.

---

---

Avalon Jones was not a morning person in any sense of the word. Her father however, very much was. And so it was, that he woke her up at 8:00 to get some breakfast. Avalon had not been very happy, and in fact, she was far less happy when she didn't even catch a glimpse of Riley. She was woken up at some unholy hour and force fed food, albeit very good food, and then she didn't even get to see some eye candy. She was pissed to say the least.

After breakfast, not one to just go back to sleep, she hopped in the shower where she mulled over her dad's decision to come to Red Lake. It had seemed sudden, although most of their moves had. Her dad was an artist, and so moving around tended to happen quite frequently when he felt like he needed some new muses. But this one had been too sudden, too abrupt. As if he'd found something in Red Lake that he couldn't lose. She shook her head and laughed. She was just overthinking all this, trying to turn nothing into something.

After her shower, she'd spent the rest of her day painting, and had gotten so lost in that, that she'd forgotten that she was supposed to meet Riley and her friends for their lake trip. Her phone buzzed with Riley's text and she scrambled to get ready. She threw some outfits into a bag, not trying to hard to pick anything out because she knew very well that she could make anything look good, and then running downstairs, then back up to snatch the bottle of tequila that she'd brought in her suitcase, then back down to join the others.

She sauntered out, in a paint flecked white tank top, a red bandanna pulling her hair back, and shorts that were just short enough to tease everyone else. There were a few new faces, a brunette, a blonde boy and a pair of twins. Oh, well it's just not fair to make a set of twins that hot. That's just cheating. How am I supposed to pick one? She stared for a second too long at the boys before making her way over to Riley. "Hey Ri," she said with a wave, and a grin. "Are we waiting on anyone, cause I'm ready to go when you guys are."

---

---

"Busy huh, ya noticed that no one is here, were is everyone?" Ravi said as he looked around quizzically. Despite it being a small town, there still should have been at least one person enjoying the company of his lovely friend here. Ravi mumbled a quiet thank you as she placed the glass of orange juice on the counter in front of him. He took a sip of it before he placed it back on the table, wanting to save it for the meal to come.

Ravi listened to to her intently as she cooked, reading his meal with what he assumed was an experts touch, or so he hoped.

‘Ya, I was tired of it, the city life was just a bit to much for lil'ol me. But bad health, that shouldn't keep you locked up in here. You wanna be artist right, cant become the famous cooped up here.’’ Ravi said with a twinge of concern on his voice. He couldn't live life cooped in a small town, he would run away if he had to. Ravi blew out a breath, he felt that it was unfair for her to be here, but he wasn't her advocate.

"Anyway, I saw the mechanics shop on my way here, I'll look into it, of you say so‘’. Ravi said with a shrug, feeling with a twinge of sadness when she recommended he look into getting with owner.

Ravi smiled when she changed the subject, and his unusual bout of sadness disappeared "Your close, I'm 18, graduated just last year." he said grinning as she chuckled at her own joke.

Soon though, Ravi's smile disappeared as he listened to her rant about a certain teen named Charlie. He was exactly the type of guy who he hated, despised even. How could a person share share and intimate moment like that, no matter how loveless it may be, and disappear, just like that. Ravi prayed he never would have to met Charlie, not exactly the type of person he would have a conversation with anytime soon.

"Exactly the type of person I hate, don't worry, I'll avoid him." Ravi said despondently as he thanked her for the food and bit into the toast.

"So, you ever going to show me one of your drawings, bet it would bet it would be great."Ravi said in an attempt to change the subject.

---

Both twins eye roll at the which one is which comment from Miranda. She gets a hug back from Aron and a nod from Gage. While he doesn't really show it he appreciates not being hugged. Gage is really not a hug person like Aron. Aron then smiles at Miranda as he releases the hug.

Their focus is briefly taken to Charlie whom earns a eye roll from twins. Gage then smirks. "Hell yea we are. As long as you don't start something on fire with a fire work" Small chuckle from Aron with that.

Their focus is pulled again to Cassandra. She earns a smile from both twins. "Of course" They both shrug. "Anytime Cassandra."

Riley gives them a pat on their shoulders, which makes both flinch. the movement is slight and probably can only be caught by those with keen eyesight. They both chuckle at Riley. "Alright alright I promise" Gage shrugs and earns a shoulder bump from Aron. "Fine I promise too" They stick their tongues out at each other before regaining their cool.
With the comment from Kim they both look as innocent as possible before grinning. They would behave this time....at least try. They don't fight often so it takes a lot for them to fight each other.

Vanessa quickly takes both twins' attentions. Gage goes a bit pale and tries looking innocent even when patted on the head. He wisely chooses not to say anything. Aron seems to be choking down laughter and is biting part of his fist. Gage glares at Aron which causes Aron to lose it and break out in a laughing fit.

Due to laughing, Aron totally misses the arrival of Avalon. However, Gage notices her right away. woah....who is that?? He pushes his brother a bit before walking over. He stands there for a minute before lightly putting out his hand. "Hi I'm Gage Brooks and the hyena over there is my brother Aron....Nice to meet you" He hopes that sounded smooth...or at least friendly. Aron tilts his head and smirks. He could always tell when his brother develops a crush and now is no exception. His brother is crushing already.

"18, huh? No kidding... I guess you are an adult. That also means you are older than me... And I have no intentions of being famous. I will probably be free-lance if anything. Besides, the people here are good to me and I can't really see myself being away from my family, health or otherwise. I'm a bit of a homebody, ya know? " Sophie replied, noting what he said about where everyone had went. She leaned back against the back counter next to the stove. " Yeah, during the summer months many of the residents are out of town on vacation. Usually it's the high schoolers and the occasional college student that stay behind. The only exception is when a large handful of the high schoolers go on a camping trip to the lake for a few days. I think it's a tradition or something. But I don't know too much about it since I'm not interested in getting drunk. " Sophie shrugged.

Sophie's cheeks turned rosy and her expression expressed that of embarrassment and shyness, when he mentioned seeing her drawings. " Ah... No... No... They're honestly not all that great... I'm still an amateur when it comes to that. " She said with a shy smile. She then covered her face with her hands. " Ah, jeez... Now I'm all embarrassed...! " She laughed. After a few minutes she recomposed herself and noticed him biting into his large order. " So how is it? Your food, I mean. While I was taught how to cook and I think I'm decent at it, I'm not usually cooking this much nor am I actually the chef. That would be Gage. But as you've probably already guessed, he's gone on the trip with everyone else. "

---

---

Ravi made sure to savour every bite of his breakfast, it wasn't often that someone other than his mother cooked for him. It wasn't that he hated her cooking, it was great, but sometimes, a person wanted change.

As Ravi listened to Sophie speak, he moved on from the toast, finishing it in 3 bites before moving on to the eggs. He liked eating the eggs first or second, he hated then with pancakes or waffles, but he always got them anyway. He never knew why he did, the white really had no flavor at all. As for the yellow, it's mild but not over powering flavor put him off. He could never pinpoint its flavor, or even compare it to something. Fortunately, his hatred for eggs had nothing to do with Sophie's cooking.

"Homebody? I get it, you still gotta see the outside world, at least for a few hours even." Ravi said swallowing the eggs and finishing them once and for all, thankfully.

"Your friends will be there right? I understand that getting drunk is not your thing, but at least be there for your friends. And if guys like Charlie are getting drunk, maybe a level-headed person like you should be there." Ravj said, gesturing to Sophie as he did so. Grabbing a knife, Ravi cut a quarter of the pancake and stuck it on his mouth. He was not surprised to find that it was amazingly good. The flavor unfolding on his tongue was the sweetness of the syrup, quickly followed by the delicate, buttery flavor of the pancake itself. The coolness of the syrup and heat of the pancake complemented one another perfectly and only served to bring out the subtle flavor of the pancake itself. He quickly scooped up another bite to replace the one which was quickly dissolving in his mouth, and then another. Before he knew it, all that remained on his plate was dribbles of syrup.

Ravi leaned back, taking a break from the enjoyment of his food. "Sophie its great, come on, don't sell yourself short, this is much more then decent. I wouldn't be surprised of your drawings were much more also." he said with a smile as he looked up at her from his seat.


Ravi reached for his drink and quickly gulped down half of it in one go before placing it down. Definitely would needethe the rest to finish the last few morsels on his plate.

Cassandra's smile faded as Alyssa just about fled, and she tried to figure out what she had done wrong, because it had seemed that as soon as Cassandra had approached, Alyssa had run off. Cassandra thought about going after her, but noticed that Kimberly seemed to slip off. Deciding to leave it be and assume Kimberly was following Alyssa, she turned back to the boys.

Cassandra flinched as if slapped by a hot ball of flame as Gage walked passed her to great another girl. She never seemed to admit to herself when she had even a slight crush on someone, which often ended up in her getting hurt. Her Aunt would say she was merely too emotional, that she felt too much, and that that was what made her a good musician, but Cassandra would sometimes trade anything to simply not feel.

She supposed it was her own fault. Always worrying about what others thought, she didn't stop to think how she felt about others. She was always worried about offending people or doing the wrong thing, that she never acted like she liked anyone. Shifting uneasily, she wondered if she should just go home, thinking she would just be a burden at the trip.

Yet the thought of going home, knowing everyone else was enjoying themselves was too much for Cassandra. She would just suck it up and smile. She went over to the RV, disgusted at herself that she had left Riley to load her things in. She wanted to check that her guitar was safe, not that she thought Riley would treat it wrong, but rather because her guitar was a safety blanket for her.

She could still remember, like it had been the day before, the first time she had touched a guitar. It was just about as tall as her, if not taller, and had been a few months after her parents deaths. She'd picked it up, and since then, she felt...sane. It was the same guitar that she still used, and it has value to her. She wasn't that little lost kid anymore, but it still gave her reassurance.

Satisfied that it was alright, and reasuring herself, Cassandra jumped out the RV, approaching Riley to thank her. "thanks for packing my things. I shouldn't have left you to do it. How many more people are to come? At this rate we will be sitting on each other's laps!"

---

Connor was fishing. Or rather attempting to. The only time the young man had fished had been a disaster. And he didn't want or need to dwell on it. When he thought he had a nibble, turns out it was just his imaginginafion. Fishing might just be the only thing Connor had ever failed at.

He didn't even know if he could fish here or if there was even fish in the lake. But he didn't even know how to get to the town close by, and he needed food. Not that he had any idea how to cook it, and even if he did, it would be burnt.

He sighed softly, glancing up at the sky, not wanting to be in the forest after dark. He gave a frustrated cry as he once more pulled out his rod to nothing, and scowling, he threw the rod down

"Damn it!"

"Friends? No... None of my friends will be there. Besides, they've got an adult there that can handle Charlie and I already agreed to doing over time since it won't be so busy here. Even if I did go, I probably wouldn't be able to handle Charlie. He's much stronger than me and I don't really want to be his next victim." Sophie replied then shrugged. She didn't want to admit that she didn't actually have friends to earn this guy's pity; she already has enough of that.

She watched in shock as Ravi downed most of the meal in minutes. Eventually, she couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculously quick he ate such a large meal. "Slow down! It's not going anywhere! You'll choke at this rate! " She laughed. It took her a few minutes to recollect herself and even then, she was still trying to catch her breath, which ended up causing her to break out into a coughing fit. She covered her mouth and leaned against the counter next to the stove until the fit passed. " You really do eat a lot, huh?I'm impressed! I've never seen somebody eat that much and not pass out! That or you haven't eaten in a few days. " She laughed and grinned weakly, still covering her mouth and breathing heavily.

" If you think my cooking is good then you are going to love Gage's. Compared to him, mine is nothing. But thanks anyway, not many people compliment me so I really do appreciate it. It's the better than any tip anyone could give me." Sophie replied grinning weakly and shyly, her cheeks turned rosy again. It felt nice to be complimented for a change, especially when it didn't happen hardly ever. It made Sophie happy and embarrassed.

Sophie grabbed the carton of orange juice and poured it into Ravi's glass. "So where are you staying? If you have no where else to stay, the town does have a bed and breakfast. I'm sure you could stay there until you find your own place. " Sophie advised.

---

---

Ravi slowly finished his food as he listened to Sophie speak. Despite just meeting the girl, he was surprisingly comfortable with her. There was a calming aura about her the Ravi just couldn't help but be attracted to. Ravi slowly began to smile the more she spoke, enjoying her more and more as she spoke, laughing along side her as she did, happy to she her face light up of his account.

h3]‘’I'm sure Charlie is doing all he is doing to fill a void inside him. He will find a girl actually wants to settle down with eventually.‘’ Ravi said reassuringly. He didn't even know the guy and he was already trying to hep her figure him out. Ravi raked his hand through his hair, what was he doing? He wasn't exactly the talkative type, at least that's what he had been told by many of those he called friend.


'Well, I'm glad I was able to make this small moment of your day better." Ravi said still smiling. "As for were to stay, I'm not so sure. I'll look into it, but I'm not so sure were it is, you think you can show me or direct me to it? Do you know who owns it?" Ravi said cocking his head to the side as he swallowed the last sausage on his plate. He did not mean to bombard her with questions, he was just curious.

---

---

Riley looked towards Alyssa and Kimberly as she noticed the two of her closest friends heading inside, she knew that something was up between the two of them yesterday the two left Jake's Café for a few minutes maybe the two of them were dating? But she knew that Kimberly didn't role that way so it was highly unlikely she thought to herself, she would probably end up grilling the two of them later during the trip. Riley quickly turned her attention back towards Vanessa, she was right there was an influx of wolf attacks lately in the outlying farms around the town which was a worrying bit. Maybe the wolf wouldn't be anywhere near the lake while everyone was there for the next two days, Riley quickly shook her head she saw Avalon coming out and smiled. She was rather cute and she picked quiet the cute outfit she thought to herself.

Riley quickly wrapped her arms around her new friend and smiled at Avalon. "Glad you get to make it, you will have a lot of fun trust me." Riley said brightly as she looked towards Gage as he introduced himself to Avalon. "Those are the Brooks twins, just be careful of them they light to fight a lot." Riley said with a laugh as she finished up putting Cassandra's things into the RV and made sure that Cassandra's guitar was in one of the seats she knew how much Cass loved that thing a lot.

She pulled Cassandra into a hug and kissed her on the cheek and shook her head. "Its all good, I really wanted to help anyway." Riley told Cassandra as she watched Kimberly and Alyssa coming back out from the house and waved towards them. "Apparently Morgan is coming this year as well, and I think shes bringing Alexandria as well, so just two more." Riley answered.

She started to count out the bodies, the RV wasn't going to be that big enough to put everyone in and they were going to need to bring at least one car or two. "So who wants to be the lucky ones to use their own ride up to the lake we wont fit everyone into the RV due to the amount of people we have. Also Kimmy text your sis when the hell is she coming over. Oh yeah and if anyone forgot a tent they are free to bunk with me if they choose to." Riley said with a smile as she started to pull herself into the RV.

---

---

Anastasia had been driving the past couple of hours to what would be considered her new home, she already had the movers move her things into the new house. But she had heard of the lake and decided that she would go over there first to relax and also help with her new inspiration for a book. She drove a blue Ford Mustang which was her pride and joy. As she drove up the dirt road Anastasia found a small clearing that revealed the lake, it was very beautiful and peaceful actually and someone could make such a great painting or picture of the lake itself and the surrounding lands around it.

As Anastasia pulled her car up at a good parking spot Ana slowly took off her sunglasses and looked out towards the lake feeling the warm summer air hitting her skin. Then something caught her interest as she thought she was the only person at the lake, Ana noticed a redhead sitting near the shore of the lake. She thought about approaching her to say hi, but the woman looked like she was concentrating, Anastasia approached the lake and took off her shoes feeling the cool water against her feet and ankles it felt refreshing and thought about even dating a dip into the lake itself.

Cassandra returned Riley's hug, welcoming it, she smiled, looking over who was there, and trying to add up the numbers coming. Perhaps she hadn't brought enough snacks, despite the overladen backpack. "Well then, it seems like its going to be a real good time with so many! We can probably make this the best trip so far!" Cassandra said brightly, looking to Riley when she spoke about having to have other cars going.

"To be honest, I think my car would die on the way there if i drove" Cassandra said, while she was sure about that, it had more to do with not wanting to drive near the woods, terrified of doing so. There weren't many things she was afraid of, but that was her number one fear. She knew it was connected to the crash, and her parents deaths, and that eventually she'd have to move passed it, but it wasn't something she was quite ready to do.

"I forgot my tent, so it would be good to bunk with you" It was, after all, better then sleeping outside without a tent. And perhaps it would be good for her to bunk with someone, in any case, something she hadn't done except on school camping trips.

---

Alyssa puffed her cheeks up in faux anger as she approached the group again. "Kimmy thinks I can't fight a bear, which is crap, cuz I can totally beat up a bear." She laughed a little. "I mean they're only giant furry maul-monsters that outclass me in both strength and speed...actually maybe I'll have Gage and Aron help huh?" She favored the twins with a grin.

She looked over towards the RV as Cassandra mentioned the mounting number of people arriving and the unfortunately limited capacity of the RV. "I 'spose I could ride on the top. Just toss up some straps from the windows, I got this." She joked, she'd already decided to take her own car when Riley brought it up. Alyssa didn't do well in confined spaces with large numbers of people, especially seeing as there were some people she didn't know coming along this year. Charlie and her at the very least saw each other at school.

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Alyssa turned to Riley. All her stuff was packed into the RV already, but that was fine. "I'll drive up, no biggie."

Alyssa turned towards the road, her house was only a five minute walk from Riley's. Her little four door - dubbed Jeffery - had just been in for a tune up anyway. "Taking Co-pilots if anyone wants to volunteer. Warning though, I pick the music."

"A void, huh? It must be some void if it makes him such a play boy." Sophie replied then shrugged as she drew up a basic map of how to get to the bed and breakfast on a small sheet of paper. She then handed it to Ravi. "The place is called 'Riley's Bed and Breakfast', I think. I believe it's owned by Seth Walker and his wife, Sarah. I would show you where it was personally, but it's currently my shift so I can't necessarily leave right now. However, this lame excuse for a map should suffice." She replied with a grin. She then proceeded to clear the plates and dirty dishes, then wiped the counter in front of Ravi. "So, what are you going to do now? If I may ask. Are you going to go to the lake? Or the BnB?" She asked looking up at him for a moment then continued to wipe down the counter a bit more, then rinsed wash cloth, rung it out in the sink, then hung it to dry. She then returned to Ravi and awaited his answer with intrigue.

The thought of why this guy was so interested in Charlie crossed her mind, but decided to not ask to not risk insulting him or making the situation awkward.