𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍 | 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐲

𝟎𝟐. 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞

I'LL BE THERE SOMEDAY, I CAN GO THE DISTANCE. I will find my way if I can be strong. I know every mile would be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong.

The song only finished one verse before the blonde groggily lifted her head from the mess of hair suffocating her on her pillow. She picked up the ringing cell phone from her bedside table, stretched and absently answered the device with a yawn. "Bonjour."

Some snickering could be heard in the background as a feminine voice replied, "Good morning, Belle."

The blonde rubbed her eyes and pulled the phone from her ear to check the caller identification before continuing the conversation. "Hey, Jo... Is there a reason that you called?"

"Art... I'm gonna let you think about what you just asked," Jo replied before then adding after a beat of silence passed, "You forgot... didn't you."

"Forget what? It's a Saturday—" Before she could protest, she was interrupted by several groans on the other end of the line. "Am I on speaker?" She yawned once more as if her body was trying to emphasize how tired she was. She'd spent the last three nights preparing for her French final and once learning she'd passed, well she'd stayed up even later watching Beauty and the Beast to celebrate.

"California, Artemis."

A lightbulb suddenly went off in her mind reminding her exactly what she'd forgotten. To celebrate their graduation, she and her friends had planned a cross-country road trip out to California, specifically Disneyland. They'd been planning the trip for months, and now that she looked at the time, she understood why everyone on the other end sounded annoyed. The plan was to leave that morning around seven... it was now eleven and she still had yet to pack.

"Of course, California," she scrambled for an excuse as she dashed around her room. "I knew that... I'm ready, in fact I've been ready for over an hour—"

"Sure," Jo interrupted, skepticism dripping from her voice.

"I'll be down in five," Artemis insisted as she then hung up and crammed everything that she could fit into the purple duffle bag that lay open on the floor. She threw her hair up into a sloppy ponytail without bothering to brush out the tangles as she threw open the door to her apartment and debated waiting for the elevator. Unfortunately, the doors closed seconds before she could step on. With a sigh, she opened the door to the stairwell and quickly descended. Moments later, she was outside, pulling her coat tighter around herself as she threw open the door to the van where several faces eagerly waited for her.

"See," Artemis insisted, out of breath as she tossed her duffle into the back before taking a seat beside Jo. "All ready."

Jo shook her head slowly with a light chuckle. "Yeah, after how long though?"

"Ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds," the boy in the seat behind her piped up and adjusted his glasses. "But who's keeping track?"

Artemis rolled her eyes and playfully pushed the boy back into his seat. Daniel "Danny Boy" Wright. A genius in every academic aspect and he'd taken the word valedictorian as his entire personality. His dark hair always seemed to fall in front of his eyes causing his glasses to constantly slide down the bridge of his nose enlarging his blue eyes. She'd known him since high school but attending the same college had only strengthened their bond as friends.

Jo couldn't help but laugh as Daniel was pushed back. Jovi Everton. Artemis's best friend since... well as long as she could remember. The brunette beamed with perfectly white teeth; furthermore, her vibrant blue eyes complemented the rest of her features which always seemed to draw the world's attention. If she wanted, she was capable of going out with any guy she saw; however, she was much more concentrated on her athletic lifestyle. Despite just graduating, she was already starting to prepare for a professional soccer career.