it's just a crush

chapter 13 - september 2016

"We're here!" Chelsea exclaimed as she rolled her wheeled suitcase up to the front door of the hotel.

"Ugh, finally!" Shannon grumbled.

"Remind me why we walked here from the tram stop?" Gary asked, wiping away the sweat beading on his forehead.

Meg gave his arm a playful jab. "Because someone was too cheap to get a taxi from the station."

"Shut up."

They had finally arrived at Blackpool for their much-anticipated summer holiday – after the longest train ride of Meg's life. It had been fun, of course – they'd wiled away the hours playing cards, Would You Rather, and people watching – but it was late, and they were all exhausted.

Ever since Chelsea had brought up the idea of going to Blackpool at the end of the summer, it was pretty much all she could talk about. She had taken all the planning upon herself – how they would get there, where they would stay, what they would do – and even managed to sweet-talk her parents into paying for part of it.

The only problem was when Meg broached the subject with her mother and was told in no uncertain terms that she wasn't allowed to go. When she complained and reasoned that she was an adult and could make her own choices, Susan Rennell had offered a compromise – she could go, but only if Gary went too.

The last thing Meg wanted was to spend a weekend with her friends with Gary chaperoning them, but she also didn't want to disappoint Chelsea, who was counting on her to be there (and claimed that it would be the end of the world if she couldn't). So, she reluctantly agreed, and Gary shrugged, saying he was up for it.

And of course, if Gary was going to go, then he was going to bring his friends with him. Friends meaning Noah, Dicky – and Bobby. Which meant that Meg had been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this trip since she'd found out he was coming.

And now here they were, standing outside their home for the weekend, a mishmash group of Gary's and Meg's friends, ready for what promised to be an interesting weekend.

Elijah, the latest of a string of Chelsea's boyfriends, held the door open as the rest of the group hurried inside and Chelsea made a beeline for the counter. She was animated as she spoke to the front desk clerk, and after a few minutes she returned to the group where they were waiting by the lifts.

"All good?" Meg asked.

"Yup! Okay, here are everyone's room keys," the petite blonde said as she began handing out keycards. "You boys are all sharing, and us three girls are sharing, too! Oh, and Elijah, babe, of course you're with me."

Hannah and Kassam had both been unable to make it, so Elijah had been invited to 'even out their numbers,' according to Chelsea.

"Wait, Elijah's with us?" Shannon asked, raising an eyebrow. "In the girls' room?"

"Babe, you sound like Hannah!"

"You're not gonna, um... keep us awake, are you?"

Elijah smirked, and Chelsea giggled. "Of course not, silly! I got us a couple two-bedroom suites for a little privacy!"

"Oh, thank god."

The lift dinged and the doors opened, and Elijah and the girls tumbled inside, while the older boys remained in the hall to wait for the next one.

"See you boys in the morning!" Chelsea waved at them as the doors closed.

For the first time since they left earlier that evening, Meg was finally able to relax. Spending five hours on a train with Bobby on the other side of the aisle had kept her on edge as she spent every moment aware of his presence – wondering if he was listening to their conversations, what he thought of her, if he even noticed her at all.