The warm greeting she had received from her friends was still something that Penny wasn't used to. Her lips were just pulling up into a grin when she was pulled into a hug, from Ronnie, of course. She felt her cheeks heat up at the embrace. It was not the fact that it was Ronnie that was hugging her - although he was the one in the group that she was perhaps the most attracted to - it was the blatant signs of affection that she not so used to that made her a little uncomfortable. She wasn't complaining, though.

Her smile only widened as Brandon came into view - her teacher and possibly her closest friend. She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps a warm greeting or a light bit of teasing, but was interrupted by Damar almost crushing the guy in a hug. Penny watched the exchange for a second, one brow artfully raised, before sliding her eyes away to a worker behind her, offering to take her bags. Murmuring soft thank you's, she let him take her luggage, almost sighing in relief without that ridiculously heavy duffel weighing her down. She turned around just in time for her eyes to catch onto Eva slipping away, and she let her lips twitch in amusement. Things were about to get exciting.

Her attention was soon distracted, however, with the sight of Jocelyn entering. She looked gorgeous, as always, and where Penny would have been otherwise jealous of the girl, she felt nothing but a friendly affection. But it was now that she stood back and let the group socialise without her, offering her input whenever it was needed, but otherwise staying quiet. She was happy to be here for sure - on the one hand, it would keep her out of trouble for the summer, and on the other she was with the few people she actually happened to care about - but that prospect didn't settle the feeling of awkwardness she felt. It was probably just the fact that she had just arrived - things were bound to pick up sooner or later.

And just at that thought, a commotion seemed to kick up. Amelia was crying, Ronnie was taking off his clothes, Damar was on the hunt for the culprit, Alex was shouting his head off, and Lance had just arrived. All Penny could do was roll her eyes. Talk about an overreaction.

As the boys started shouting for Eva, Penny made the decision to step in. Taking the steps two at a time, she made her way over to stand by Eva. She suspected that she was in fact the culprit, but surely it was only a joke?

"There's no need to get your boardies in a twist, Alex." Penny crossed her arms, keeping her tone flat and calm, her accent soothing, as per usual. She also raised a skeptical brow at Damar, who was also unreasonably angry, yet not as rage-filled as Alex seemed to be. Obviously, he was the one that could be reasoned with.

"There's no point in accusing her of 'acting guilty', Marcus. It's probably just a misunderstanding." Her tone then shifted to one more on the annoyingly indifferent side of things, because she pretty much knew for a fact that it was not just a misunderstanding. "Besides, even if she did take them, it's not a big deal. It's only clothes."

The truth of the matter was that if she was going to stay here for the summer, Amelia would need to man up a bit - especially at the hands of Eva and Penny. Penny had no patience for fussy people, and no matter how much she cared for Amelia, she wasn't going to put up with her crying for 100 days. She was being insensitive, she realised, but that was real life. Besides, no one was doing it to upset her, but how else would they have fun?

---

---

The group was having a good old time conversing with her group of friends. While she did notice that some weren't as vocal as others, she just chalked that up to budding nostalgia. After this Summer was over, each of the friends would split up, whether it be to another state or country, for college or whatever they had planned for the future. Sure, they would try their hardest to stay in touch, but eventually they'd all start to make new friends, and those phone calls would start to become less frequent. Jocelyn, while looking forward to chasing her dreams, was not all too enthusiastic about possibly losing her friends.

As they continued to talk, Jocelyn couldn't help but overhear Marcus ask for one of the butlers to retrieve the "gifts" from his car. She was about to ask him about said gifts, when a small form came running into the foyer. Amelia ran straight for Damarquis, wrapping her arms tightly around him and crying into his chest. In almost an instant, Marcus, Ronnie, and Alex. While Ronnie held out his shirt for Amelia, Marcus and Alex were bolting upstairs calling for Eva. There was no doubt in Jocelyn's mind that Eva was the person who'd taken Amelia's things, but she was sure that it was meant to be a harmless prank rather than something done out of malice. Nevertheless, knowing how Amelia would react, she should not have done it.

"Oh my god, just give her shit back," Jocelyn said as she slowly climbed the stairs, "we're here to have fun, not fuck with each other like that. I mean, we've only been here for thirty minutes and people are already upset." When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw that Lance had arrived; he must have came in through the back. She greeted him with a friendly nod.

Mentions: I'm going assume everyone... Or nearly everyone...

"I didn't take her shit!" Eva groaned, suddenly feeling like a cornered mouse. If this had taught her anything, it was that Amelia had all the guys wrapped around her damn finger. At Damar's question, she shot him a glare and responded, "I don't know, why don't you check her damn room first before accusing people." She huffed, turning away from him.

She let out a sigh of relief as, at last, someone stood up for her. Even if she did know that Penny knew, probably without the shadow of a doubt, that it was Eva's doing. When Jocelyn entered and spoke up, Eva let out another loud groan. "Why do you all assume it was fucking me?" She shouted, getting more frustrated at how protective they'd all gotten of Amelia. Damn bitch. "Mi chin neyon..."



"You won't help your case by cursing at them, Eva." Lance responded, amused, but still leaning against the wall for support. "And I'd hate to turn this into a me thing, but... any one know where the first aid kit's at?" He asked, pointing to the cut on his lip. "I'd go looking for it myself but... Uhh... Knee's not really cooperating with me right now." He confessed. He might have been a tough ass, but even he knew when to ask for help and... he kind of needed it now.

Amelia didn't notice anything, or rather she didn't pay attention anything until Damar raised her head up by her chin and promiced to find her bunny for her. She nodded and wiped her eyes before looking down at the shirt that now covered her. It was still way to big for her and fell off her shoulders. When she spotted that Ronnie wasn't wearing a shirt she quickly gave him a hug to show her thanks. When she let go, she saw Alex rushing past with a furious expression on his face, which made her confused. She didn't understand why he was so upset and became even more confused when he yelled, which caused her to jump.

She listened and watched how everyone reacted, not expecting it to be on this level. Damar and Elizabeth she was able to understand, the two were like her older siblings. Some of the other's reacted more calmly, and Brandon was turned away from her for some reason. Maybe he was trying not to look at her too closely? If so, she didn't understand why, she was barely what most would call attractive. In fact, she doubted she was attractive at all. Penny was a bit less empathic then some of them but she also was one of the calmer ones, trying to defuse the situation along with Jocelyn. Eva seemed to be Damar and Alex's primary target for questioning and she felt a bit of regret when Alex yelled at the girl. Even if Eva had stolen her stuff, she didn't deserve that.

Her attention was moved elsewhere when Lance finally arrived. Amelia's eyes widened when she saw her friend was hurt and all thoughts of her plight vanished from her head, save for her concern for her rabbit. She moved over to Lance, a look of concern on her face. She reached out and gently touched his knuckles, guessing those were the least painful of his injuries. She looked up at him and frowned, her expression still concerned but also a bit curious. If she had a paper and pen, she would ask what had happened, but those had been stolen. So she had to hope he would understand what she was trying to ask, even though she had rarely talked to him, though she did want to try and become closer as a friend. She didn't understand why he got into all those fights.

Mentions: @Joshua Tamashii@HylianRose@mskennedy615@Filthy Mudblood

Damarquis looked over everyone who was in the hall. It seemed Penny was taking Eva's side of things, which was to be expected as it did seem that everyone was against her. Damar just wanted Amelia's things back from whoever had them. As he looked from person to person his eyes would always go back to Lance. He noticed the bruises and the cut on his lip. He wanted to go over to him and comfort him, but his legs wouldn't move. It was odd that he wasn't able to function around him, probably one of the reasons why he stayed so far away from him. The guy was attractive as hell, and Damar couldn't trust himself around him. It looked as if his knees may be injured as well. Sighing, he listened to Eva who was pleading her case, telling them to check Amelia's room before accusing her.

"It's funny because you were tip-toeing away from her room when I got up here, plus her door is slightly ajar, which can mean one of two things. Either you took her things and put them back to remain innocent, or one of the butlers got the rooms mixed up and fixed their mistake. Either way, as long as Bunny's things are back in her room I'm fine," he said shooting a warning glare in Eva's direction and smirking in Penny's direction. He noticed Bunny move towards Lance and touch his bruised knuckles. Damar shook his head when he heard Lance ask about a first aid kit. He approached him, looking into his eyes, wanting to touch his face, to ease the pain in some way, but he didn't. Instead, he reached down and touched his bruised knuckles gently.

"Must you always play hard ass?" Damar asked as he turned on his heel. He wasn't really thinking when he grabbed Lance's arm and tugged him, "follow me I guess," he added not realizing he was supporting Lance as they moved down the hall. They turned down a corridor and went down another hall. Eventually, they came to what he figured was his room as he noticed his luggage sitting in the room. "Sit down, I always carry a first aid kit with me, but I didn't think I'd need to use it on you." They were alone, and it was odd for them to be alone, but Damar was focused on applying first aid to the bruises and cut that he didn't realize they were alone. He reached into one of his pieces of luggage and pulled out a first aid kit. He pulled out item after item to clean and sterilize the bruises. He worked gently not wanting to cause more harm. When it came to the cut on Lance's lip, he looked into his eyes and quickly looked down. "You ready? It's gonna sting." He didn't wait for an answer as he placed the cotton swab on the cut wiping the dry blood from Lance's lip. He moved quickly to apply some ointment to keep away infection and a liquid band-aid to seal the cut. He now had Lance's hand in his own hands and he ran a soft thumb over Lance's knuckles. "Care to share what happened?" He asked realizing what he was doing and immediately releasing Lance's hand and standing to his feet. He started placing the items back into the kit and closed it, placing the kit back into his bag. He couldn't bring himself to look at Lance so he walked to the door of the room, pausing for a moment before leaving.

On his way through the halls, he moved as if he was angry as if for some reason he needed to get away from the mansion. He didn't even check to make sure the others had found Amelia's belongings. He moved down the stairs bypassing his friends swiftly. If anyone paid close attention, they would see the tears in his eyes, but they refused to drop. He grabbed his bag from the seat he had placed it in before they had gone upstairs, and made his way towards the front door of the mansion.

Mentions: @WindsOfFate@Joshua Tamashii@mskennedy615

He blinked as Amelia came towards him, a look of concern on her face. He winced as she touched his knuckles, though not necessarily from pain. He was, once again, shocked be her gentle touch. It was like every interaction with her just solidified his resolve to steer clear of her. He looked her up and down, finding himself even getting a bit angry with Eva. He thought about moving the shirt to cover her bare shoulder but Damar brought him away from those thoughts.

He smirked. "It isn't exactly hard for me." He joked, chuckling. Lance's eyes went wide as he was pulled by the arm, towards one of the room which he assumed to be Damar's. He smiled softly as, probably without realizing it, Damar supported his body weight. Every step with his right leg sent a shooting pain up his body. He'd probably pulled something back there. He'd just have to ignore it for now. "I always need a first aid kit." He chuckled, following Damar's directions into the room.

Sitting on the bed, Lance quietly watched Damar as he applied first aid, his expression soft. Anyone with half a mind for love would recognize his gaze almost immediate and half the girls they graduated with would have died to have any guy look at them the way Lance often looked at Damar when he thought no one was watching. He jumped slightly when Damar returned to ask him if he was ready, looking Lance in the face. He avoided his gaze and replied with a soft voice, "De..." Before he could even really brace himself, however, Damar was already getting to it. Lance winced, his face twitching at the pain.

He sighed as Damar finished the rest. He blinked when he realized what Damar was holding and looked down to see his hands being caressed. Swallowing, he blushed a bit, still fairly innocent when it came to relationships despite all of his big talk. He opened his mouth to start explaining himself when Damar suddenly rose and began putting everything away. Lance smiled, watching him. He didn't really feel like trying to explain anyway. And not explaining probably made him more mysterious and attractive anyway. He chuckled slightly as he watched Damar leave, laughing mostly at himself. This summer was going to be hard, but he also wanted to watch over Eva.

Though, if he was being honest, that was just an excuse he told himself so he could see Damar again. Just for 100 more days. Only those. Not wanting to get back on his knee, Lance laid himself back against Damar's bed. Frowning when he realized it didn't have his scent yet.

Something about the prank refused to sit well with Brandon, even after the others calmed down. Brandon was the sort of guy who nearly never showed negative emotions, and even his positive emotions seemed dampened or even forced at times. But right now, it was fairly obvious that he was seething. "I'll be right back," he announced quietly as he left the room, still refusing to look at anyone.

Brandon began walking back towards the garden, not really knowing the layout of the house enough to go anywhere else. Normally, this would be when Brandon would head to his room and either put on headphones and curl up with a book or boot up an MMO for some mindless grinding. Not knowing even where his room was made the former an impossibility, and of course logging into a paid subscription would be more trouble than it was worth, even if he did have a few days left before he had planned to let his subscription lapse. The garden seemed an acceptable alternative, at least for now.

Never being a major fan of the outdoors, Brandon knew next to nothing about flowers, but he was able to appreciate beauty in almost any form from interior decorating to architecture to people, and of course, including flowers. He walked along in silence alongside the garden, trying to appreciate the amount of hard work Elizabeth must have invested.

As he walked, he tried a mental exercise to attempt to pinpoint the source of his rage. Obviously, it was the prank, but he felt no ill-will towards the alleged prankster: Eva. He was never one to indulge in pranks himself, even completely harmless ones, but he knew Eva's personality was the sort that couldn't sit still long without some sort of thrill. Amelia's crying had really bothered him, and even though it may have not lasted long, it was troublesome to him. She deserved better, especially after the morning she had evidently experienced, but her day was just being made worse. Perhaps instead of those two issues, the reaction itself was at fault. Half the group had rushed to her aid like chivalrous knights, and the rest had turned on their friends much faster than Brandon could have predicted. But that way of thinking was flawed: maybe chivalry was flipped in this case. After all, Brandon was here to experience several firsts and to open up more. Maybe Amelia needed the same, but she should do so on her own terms.

All of these thoughts flew through Brandon's mind in a blur, and he had only been gone for a few moments. Perhaps he would walk the garden path a bit more. Maybe when he returned, everyone would have forgotten about the altercation. Fat luck, but Brandon had no better ideas. At least he had time to admire the view.

---

Alex had to admit he was still mad, but the fact that he was so angry he hadn't even noticed Eva standing right there in the hallway and seeing that Amelia had stopped crying caused him to cool his head off. He let out a long sigh and once those leaving the hallway left he spoke. This time without raising his voice but still with a hint of being mad, "OK, if it wasn't you then a reason as to why you sneaking away from her open door would be helpful. If it wasn't you then the issue has been easily settled as a mishap on the people working here." At that he gave a pointed stare indicating if she was guilty then she would basically be insulting the people who work here by saying she didn't do it.

"If you did then you should apologize to Amelia. Causing one of your friends to cry is something everyone should avoid. I'll admit that I overreacted, but pranks should be something that'll make the person being pranked laugh as well. Not something that will hurt them or their feelings. Since Amelia isn't crying anymore I don't really care if you did it. Just as long as you apologize to her." At that Alex looked away and raked his hand through his hair shaking his head. He knew that Eva most likely wasn't going to listen to a word he said. Especially after the way he rampaged up here. At that he walked back downstairs to grab his stuff. He noticed the group was basically dispersing to different locations. He walked back upstairs not paying attention to if anyone was in the hall and entered his room. From there he locked the door put his things down and laid on the bed. "This day couldn't possibly get any worse."

---

Asariel Kaiden Brennan was often late, his friends no doubt already knew today wouldn't be an exception. Whilst the drama unfolded in the house, his car was turning into the driveway. His uncle had offered to bring him over before he headed off to the airport, he was currently sat in the drivers seat of his prized red mustang peering up at Elizabeth's house with his jaw practically resting on the steering wheel.

"...you sure this is te place?" Even after all of these years, his accent bled through his speech, showing he was Irish through and through.

"Yup. Positive. Elizabeth wouldn't have text me the wrong address" Kai assured him, peering at his phone.

"She's mad letting a vagabond like you stay here"

"Speak for yourself, I'm a vision of sophistication"

"My hairy ass you are" He responded with a chortling laugh as he pulled up in front of the house "You sure she won't mind this being here?" He asked, caressing the wheel as he did.

"If she does I'll take it back to the garage" Kai grinned as he opened the door to hop out "I'll give you two a moment" He added, patting the roof of the car before closing the door and moving around to the boot.

"Damn..." He murmured, taking a minute to take in the house before him. It was a stark reminder of the differences between himself and his friends, well some of them. He's was arguably better off than most for the time being, if he decided to stay in the states he'd be solely responsible for supporting himself, especially after the fall out with his mother. He subconsciously rubbed the bandage covering his right elbow as he thought.

"Oi, Kai!" His uncle called, clicking his fingers at him as he closed the drivers door.

Kai blinked and looked over at him "What?" He grunted, opening the boot and starting to pull out the bags.

"Your arm hurting?" His uncle asked, picking up one of the bags and slinging it across his chest.

"Nah. They wrapped it pretty well after the treatment. Said I wouldn't have to go back for another one for a couple of weeks, so it's alllll good"

"Hmm" His uncle rubbed at his chin as he watched Kai pull his backpack on "Just keep it in check lad, don't make your ma worry and don't forget that box of 'You know what'" He did the bunny ears alongside his words, grinning heartily as Kai begrudgingly pulled the small box out of the boot and set it on the floor.

"Yup, this doesn't look conspicuous at all..." Kai grumbled, giving the box a light kick.

"Heh, you'll be fine" His uncle assured him, gripping his shoulder with hand and tapping his cheek with the other. "I'll leave you to it then"

Kai swallowed the lump that wedged itself in his throat as his uncle pulled him into a hug which he returned effortlessly. "Remember what I said about Ireland, you're welcome there whenever for however long you want" His uncle told him, clapping him on the back a few times before he drew back and rested his hands on Kai's shoulders.

"Got it" Kai nodded curtly with a small smile.

"Right..." His uncle took a deep breath before taking a step back and picking up another one of the bags on the floor whilst Kai closed the boot. With a wave he started walking back down the driveway.

"Killian" Kai called after him, waiting until he'd turn round to continue he raised his hand expectantly.

"Ah, you...fine, you better take good care of her!" He complained tossing the keys at him. Kai jolted forward to catch them but they managed to fall through both of his hands and flop onto the ground at his feet.

His uncle carried on walking backwards, laughing at Kai's flailing for a while before he saluted and turned away.

"Take care of yourself old man" Kai called after him, grinning at the finger he was flashed in response.

Locking the car, he tugged his bag onto his shoulder, ignoring the clink of glass as he did and tucked the small plastic box under his arm.

45 seconds later he was stepping into the foyer, thanking someone for letting him in with a smile and a nod of his head before his eyes focused on Damarquis who was coming towards him.

'Oh what fresh hell is this...' He thought stopping short as he caught sight of the tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks. Kai stood in the doorway, placing his free hand against the doorframe so his friend couldn't slip past him "Damarquis!" He blurted out as his mind rushed to figure out what could have happened already "You going somewhere...?" he asked glancing down at the bag grasped in Damarquis's hand.

"Because I just got here and we all know this group of crazy doesn't work without you...so" he started, though humor wasn't really his strong point so he stopped with a sigh and softly added "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Penny found relief in the fact that the situation seemed to diffuse - it was becoming too tense for her liking, even if she would otherwise be revelling in the drama, they would be spending a whole summer together, and it seemed stupid to all fall out over something so harmless. Her eyes flickered over to Lance, who seemed to be standing at a rather awkward angle. Her suspicions were further confirmed as he requested for a first aid kit, and she allowed herself to smile as Damar stepped up to the task of fixing Lance up. She was comforted by the smirk Damar threw in her direction - obviously no damage had been done there after she had stuck up for Eva.

Alex, on the other hand, was obviously still mad. That didn't bother Penny as much - despite his good looks, Alex was probably the one member of the group she was the most distant from. It was something about his character that put her off, but she was most likely just being pedantic, as per usual. She offered little more than an eye roll as he stormed off, resisting the urge to mutter something about throwing a tantrum and instead glancing down at her nails, which were, surprisingly to most people, ragged and bitten. One of the unfortunate side effects of giving up smoking. Swap one bad habit with another.

Her gaze swept away from those upstairs and down to where the front door had opened yet again, revealing none other than Kai. Penny's lips twitched upwards in a smile at the sight of him - he was the perfect person to turn up now, and let everyone distract themselves with greeting him. Her intentions of greeting him, however, were cut short as she was distracted by a familiar figure making a hasty exit. Brandon. Typically, she would watch him go and leave him to his own feelings - she wasn't interested in being someone's rock or whatever. But she owed him. A lot. Enough for it be an annoying weight on her shoulders every time they talked. He was helping her to get over her addictive personality, and had been tutoring her and a few others for the past few years. That was enough to serve as a good reason to be there for him now, wasn't it?

Not bothering to come up with an excuse for leaving, she instead slipped away from the group and downstairs. As she passed Ronnie, she grabbed his arm perhaps a little too forcefully - the fact that he was topless didn't help her grip. She offered Kai a small wave as they passed, mouthing the word 'hi' in ways of greeting.

Penny provided Ronnie with little explanation bar the simple words: "Rescue mission." paired with a devilish smirk.

She stopped short as Brandon came into view in the garden, suddenly unsure of what to do. She wasn't the best at this comforting stuff, or just showing her feelings in general, so she stood back and let Ronnie take the lead. He was far better at all of this social stuff - especially when it concerned cheering someone up. The guy had a gift for making people smile.

The quiet hadn't lasted long. Damar had immediately jumped to fix the situation, while Alex had just exploded. As the situation grew increasingly and unnecessarily tense, so did Ronnie's gut. This wasn't right. This sort of thing shouldn't be happening on their first day. His stomach twisted in on itself as he imagined someone being so upset they left.

Typically this was something he could handle. Ronnie was typically the first to go after someone who was upset by the group. It was important to him that no one felt like they didn't belong for any reason. But right now? Damar, Eva, Brandon, Alex, and possibly Lance? He just took comfort in the fact that Amelia seemed to be dealing with it fine. She was focusing on other people's troubles over her own. The knot in his stomach loosened a bit and he began to walk after Damar when Kai walked in.

Oh thank God. At least for now, Damar was in good hands. He waved at Kai, saving his hug for later. Just then he felt a tug on his arm, turning to find it was Penny dragging him along. Rescue mission? He followed curiously, not entirely sure what she meant. When he saw Brandon, Ronnie understood. He also wasn't surprised to see her stop short, despite her earlier confidence in leading the way.

"B! What the hell you doing in here?" he asked as he walked up to Brandon. He paused long enough to take a look at the flowers. "I know what you're thinking. There's enough flowers here to give everyone a beautiful bouquet. But I don't think Elizabeth's gonna like you picking all her flowers." That was terrible. He glanced back at Penny, sure she'd give him shit for it later. "Seriously though, you all right man? I know shit got kinda heated just now, but you know it's all good, right B?" Even as he said the words, his stomach threatened to fold in on itself again. "Some of 'em just got worked up. You know Alex... does that. You know Eva doesn't like being ganged up on." He shook his head with a chuckle. "Just our friends being themselves, right?"

It seemed like the situation was finally breaking down and everyone was going to calm down. All Amelia felt though was a growing sense of guilt. She hadn't been expecting things to explode like this and for Eva to be singled out felt wrong. As everyone left to different parts of the house, Amelia returned to her room, where she found her belongings, waiting for her. She rushed over to her bag and looked through her contents, finding her rabbit safe among them. Sighing in relief, she closed the bag and went about finally getting dressed.

When she came out of her room, she was wearing a simple outfit of a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt that had some specs of color due to paint that wasn't able to come off while it was being washed. She also had her bag slung over her shoulders and was carrying Ronnie's shirt, intent on returning it to him. Glancing around, she quickly found Eva and approached the girl, getting out her notepad and a pencil as she did so. She quickly wrote something down before showing it to Eva.
I'm sorry. I didn't expect everyone to react that way. It was wrong of them to single you out though. Are you okay?

At the sound of Ronnie's voice, Brandon let out a quiet chuckle. He stood near a rosebush full of some of the most beautiful roses one could hope for. Without turning his head, he spoke up, his voice sounding as if it were lost in thought. "You know, I bought a dozen roses when I got here. Spent a lot on 'em. Thought it would be a nice gift for Liz. Guess I should have saved the money. I doubt she even noticed."

Brandon turned towards the pair that had come to join him. Ronnie had always been a bro, often knowing the right thing to say, or at least the best way to say the wrong thing. And Penny was one of the few girls in the group he could actually talk to at length. They had no need to come check on him, but they did anyways. The thought sent a small smile to the corner of his lip. "They're gorgeous though. These roses. So much nicer than the store-bought ones. She must take good care of them."

The roses had little to do with the issue at hand, but Brandon didn't seem to care. He began to slowly stroll back towards the others. "Thanks," he said to Ronnie. "Sometimes being ourselves gets other people hurt. Sometimes it helps. I just... I don't like seeing my friends cry. I've said it before: you can say or do whatever to me, but you don't hurt my friends. I just needed to get out of there before I ruined the whole summer, ya know?" Brandon clapped Ronnie on the shoulder. "We probably oughta get back, yeah?"

---

Alex groaned while laying on his bed looking at two distinct texts that were kinda aggravating him at the moment. The first one read,

So, how is the first day going so far?

He really wished he could say that everything was going fine because he knew that she would tease him about it. Alex also knew she probably had an idea of how things were already because after waiting for five minutes she had sent a second text saying,

Let me guess, everything has gone down the gutter already?

Alex groaned because he wanted to text her that everything was fine, but Kylie was pretty much the only person that he wasn't able to get a lie to work. Even through texting. Alex silenced his phone and shoved it in his pocket. If anything he was at least gonna try and find a way to lighten the mood so he could say everything was going just great.

Alex walked out his room and was intent on finding someone who could come up with an idea to make them all laugh. He saw Eva and Amelia in the hall and decided to pass on asking them for ideas. Amelia wasn't very quick at coming up with crazy things for the group to do and Eva probably didn't want to speak to him as of right now. Going down the stairs he noticed Elizabeth, Jocelyn, Damar, and Kai. Damar looked like he REALLY didn't want to chat and he wasn't sure what idea Elizabeth and Kai would come up with.

Without pausing he walked through the house until he noticed Ronnie, Brandon, and Penny outside through the window. Brandon probably wouldn't be able to come up with anything quick enough and Penny probably didn't want to talk with him either. However, Ronnie was the perfect guy for the job. Looking through the window, Ronnie didn't seem pissed or upset and he was also good at coming up with crazy off the wall ideas. Alex left the house in the direction of the miniature crowd. He got there just as Brandon finished speaking but didn't really catch what he had said. "Yo, Tall Cappuccino, have any random off the wall ideas of things we can do to make us laugh at how idiotic we all can be in order to restart this whole vacation?"

Mentions: @FaithsRose

He thought he was free. He thought that if he saw Lance all of his feelings would be contained, but as soon as he saw him his emotions ran wild and he couldn't help but feel the way he felt when they had first met. Sighing, he barely noticed Kai arriving until he was nearly on top of him. Realizing that someone was standing in front of him, Damar looked up and could only smile when his friend started talking, asking him what was going on and why he looked to be leaving. Damar wiped his eyes to remove any signs of tears attempting to fall. He sighed and approached Kai giving him a hug before stepping back. He had noticed how Kai had deliberately blocked his exit.

"I'm fine Kai," Damar said with a soft and gentle smile, "I just needed some fresh air is all."

Damar lied. While it was true he needed fresh air, he was still hiding the fact that his feelings were erratic at the moment and he didn't know how to reign them in. Anyone who paid attention to him knew when he lied because he couldn't look them in the eye. "You're welcome to join me," Damar said trying to pretend as if he were alright, but in truth, he wasn't. How would he make it 100 days in the same house with someone he truly cared about but was scared to show his true feelings because of the individual's own nature? He knew Lance wasn't ready for any type of relationship, and he had to ask himself if he was truly ready for one. All the partying, hanging out, having fun it was the life of a single guy.

"But how have you been Kai?"

---

---

Jocelyn observed in silence as she watched everything unfold. Not too long after the altercation began, it had begun to defuse. She heard Brandon say that he'd be back, and it wasn't long before both Penny and Ronnie went in the same direction; they were probably checking up on him. Jocelyn also noticed that Amelia had sneaked away to get dressed. Lance and Marcus had disappeared from the group, more than likely to get Lance's injuries cleaned up. Of course Jocelyn had noticed how busted up the young man looked when she first spotted him upstairs, but decided against asking what happened. When Marcus reappeared, however, he walked quietly and swiftly down the stairs. On the outside, he looked angry as hell, but when Jocelyn looked closer, she couldn't help but notice the tears glittering in his eyes.

Without a second thought, Jocelyn turned on her heels and followed his path downstairs. She had reached the bottom when she saw him grab his bag, and almost instantly began to panic. She was grateful when Kai appeared at the door and placed his hand against the door-frame so he couldn't slip past him. "Please don't tell me you're leaving!" Lyn exclaimed as she rushed towards Marcus. She reached his side just as he finished hugging Kai and wrapped her arm around his, "We just got here, you can't go! Everything is cooled down now. We're gonna have a bunch of fun this Summer, isn't that right Kai?"

---

Kai's eyes flicked up momentarily to acknowledge Penny and Ronnie as they waved in greeting, his lip twitched up into a fleeting smile before he returned his full attention to Damar. Just in the nick of time of time as well as Damar moved in to give him a hug, Kai tensed at the contact at first but swiftly returned it with one arm and hoped his bag didn't bash into Damar as he did. His trademark smile lifted his lips as his friend stepped back 'You don't seem fine…' he clenched his jaw to stop the words from rolling off his tongue. Luckily, Jocelyn was there in a blink, catching Damar's arm and jumping straight into the conversation.

"Y-yeah, of course it is" He blurted out, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck 'Foot meet mouth…' as he cleared his throat.

"If you want some air, why don't we ditch the bags and check out the garden?" He suggested, easing his bag off of his shoulder "Guessing it'll be a sight prettier than the cars out front, considering Lizzie's green thumb"

He hadn't expected any of this, he was still raw from saying goodbye to his uncle, he had no idea what had upset Damar and Elizabeth's calming smile was nowhere to be seen…his brows pinched together as he glanced at Jocelyn.

"Garden's thata way, isn’t it?" He asked, squeezing the box tighter under his right arm as he lifted his hand across his chest to point in the direction Penny and Ronnie had gone.

Eva

To say that this had been an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement. Eva had gone from feeling guilty to feeling rather pissed. Alex did nothing to help her situation and then didn't even stick around to hear her out. This was why she did it, honestly though. She half wanted to come clean just so she could point out how silly and fucked up it all was. Why was Amelia any more important than Eva? Why does everyone coddle her?

Why does everyone treat me like shit...

She let out a quick sighed and was about to to turn go to her room when she noticed Amelia with her notepad. Gritting her teeth, she decided it was beat she didn't open her mouth. She nodded quietly and walked around Amelia, headed for her own room.

She was going to head in but she noticed Lance, laying on someone else's bed. She rolled her eyes and stepped inside to check on him.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I've certainly been better." He replied, still laying down on Damar's bed.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked, walking closer to him.

"No." He replied, sounding defeated.

Eva huffed and, very quickly, shut the door and sat down next to her brother. "I'm so pissed off." She started, crossing her legs.

"Then you shouldn't have started it." Lance responded, turning to face her. He didn't open up with many people, but his and Eva's relationship was actually pretty good.

"Even so, they shouldn't all gamg up on me like that. Is she more important than me? It was a prank for Christ's sake." She rambled, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"It doesn't matter how small the prank you pulled, Ev, it matters that someone in our group cried. You know how they are, oversensitive and overprotective. That's not going to change just because it pissed you off." He paused to take a breath, watching her face as she seemed to be taking it all in, "If you had cried, some of us might have responded the same way."

"I guess. I just feel like a black sheep right now..." She confided in him, feeling her heart drop. She never let anyone see these moments save for people she knew truly cared for her and people she had complete trust in.

Lance sighed and pushed his body up and scooted over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a caring embrace. "You are loved, Ev. Don't let that one moment make you think that everyone hates you. You could do some pretty terrible stiff and I promise, I would still love you."

Eva smiled softly. She didn't really believe all of that, but it was a nice feeling, the warmth of a brother.

"Lets get out of Damar's room now though. It's uhh... slightly awkward." He whispered to her, chuckling awkwardmy.

Eva let out a nice laugh, her anger from before almost completely gone. "Yeah. That is a bit awkward, huh?" She asked, smirking at him.

"Shut up."

The two quietly escaped from Damar's room and walked down towards the living room. Lance spotted the group with Damar but made a beeline for the kitchen to avoid it altogether. Eva spotted Kai and Lyn and raised her brows at them before following her brother into the kitchen where they began to quietly pillage the pantries.

Meanwhile....

Elizabeth found herself staring at the pool, having been told by her staff that the situation had been resolved regardless. Satisfied with that, Elizabeth quickly went to work trying to find a way to get everyone back on speaking terms. She was smiling as she imagined her friends playing in the pool with one another, playing chicken, Marco polo, and riding on the slide. She imagined Ronnie grinning as he stood at the top off the diving board, looking down at the look of pure terror on the other's faces.

Having decided that this would be the way to do it, along with watermelon and dancing music, she pulled out her phone to send a mass text.

'To all desiring a fun time, the pool is open, watermelon is available, and fun times are in your future. Bring your best smile and your enthusiasm because I'm ready to take you down at a game of chicken.

Love, Liz'

Amelia watched as Eva just nodded in response to her message before getting up and leaving without a word, just looking hurt and upset. This left Amelia all alone and she returned to her room, sitting on the bed, unsure of what to do. Everyone had only been here a short while and were upset and she couldn't help but feel that, despite what Eva had done, she was the reason everyone had gotten so worked up. If only she hadn't bothered them with the problem and tried to solve it herself, maybe things would've gone better.

She was laying on her bed when her phone went off. Reaching over, she saw she had gotten a text from Elizabeth, saying that the pool was open with watermelon and possible fun, including a game called... chicken? She didn't know what that was but she didn't care at this point. She just wanted everyone to be happy again, so she knew she would have to and participate.

Moving over to her suitcase, she dug through it a bit before pulling out a swimsuit. Elizabeth had helped her pick it out before the start of summer, since Amelia hadn't owned one for years due to the fact that she hadn't gone swimming since she was about ten years old. She still was very hesitant to wear it since she doubted she would look any good in it. Still, she knew she would need it.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the pool, still wearing her t-shirt and jeans, but her swimsuit was underneath now. She looked around and saw that no one else had arrived yet, so she moved over to the edge of the pool and stuck her hand in, enjoying how the water felt.

Ronnie's smile fell away, abashed at his misstep with the comment about the flowers. Leave it to him to say the wrong thing... again. Still, it seemed to bring Brandon out of his funk. Ronnie nodded along; of course he didn't like seeing his friends cry either. But were they really doing Amelia any favors? Just assuming she needed them to fight her battles then sulking when something went wrong. Nah. She's stronger than they give her credit for... Then again they're stronger than they give themselves credit for. His stomach gradually unclenched itself. He observed (not for the first time) that a big part of the group tended to withdraw when uncomfortable. He wondered if that wouldn't continue to cause problems...

"Hell yeah!" he responded immediately to Brandon, wrapping an arm around him and one around Penny. "We're here to party, not take gardening lessons." He began leading them back into the house when Alex appeared asking for ideas on some sort of distraction. "Yo, how about you rap for us? Even if it doesn't make us all laugh it'll be such a cringe-fest we'll forget this morning ever happened." He laughed out loud, then shrugged. "Nah, how about a game or something. Get everyone involved in something, maybe get the alchy flowing."
Just then his phone went off and he read the text from Elizabeth with a satisfied smirk. "That works too..."

"Aight, listen up. We're gonna head inside, and change into our swimsuits..." he paused then added with a wink and grin, "or you know... whatever you feel comfortable swimming in. Then we're gonna start this summer off right with the best pool party ever."

He directed the group inside, pulling Alex into his half-embrace as he passed. Once inside he called out to everyone in earshot. "I wanna see all your sexy bodies out at the pool within ten minutes. Any later and I can't guarantee there'll be any watermelon left." He grinned at his companions then rushed up the stairs to change.

*****************

Shortly after he was walking out to the pool, his flips flops slapping on the tiled floor surrounding it. He'd wasted no time in changing, excited to get to the fun part of the day. He'd momentarily even considered just heading straight to the pool and letting his boxer briefs serve as his suit. Hell, they were less revealing than any speedo. He figured everyone would thank him for wearing trunks... at least for now.

He was one of the first, noticing only Amelia was present by the pool's edge. He walked over to her, kicking off his flip flops and setting his towel and sunglasses down on the nearest recliner. "You know Amelia... it can be dangerous to be so close to the pool fully clothed. Some clown might think it's funny to just push you in..."

He lunged in her direction with a mischievous grin, but went right past her for a low dive into the deep end. His dive minimized the splashing though it would be enough to still get Amelia's clothes a little wet if she didn't react in time. Ronnie surfaced once more with a smile, treading water. "Lucky for you this clown would rather just mess with you."