lake house quarantine ~ lumax

23

By noon, the two were packed and ready to leave. The drive home felt a lot faster than the drive there. All of the excitement and anticipation were drained from their bodies. 

They walked through the front door of the Wheeler's lake house and were surprised by what they saw. 

"Perfect timing, you guys are back!" Joyce cheered. Lucas and Max looked at their friends with confused expressions. "I'm here to help you guys pack and get home!"

"WHAT?" All six teenagers exclaimed. 

"Yeah! Covid has died down a little, and the state borders are open again. Which means everyone gets to go home." Joyce noticed all their null expressions.  "Oh, come on. You guys have been stuck here together for almost five months."

Had it been five months? Max thought. 

"I figured we could spend today packing. Then head out tomorrow morning."

The teenagers didn't put up much of a fit. They were all secretly missing their families. 

"Well, this is bittersweet," Will commented as everyone made their way upstairs to start packing. They all agreed and dispersed into their separate bedrooms. 

Max began grabbing all her shorts out of the dresser. 

"How do you feel about going home?" Lucas asked, hugging her from behind. 

"Surprisingly, not terrible. I kinda miss my mom." Max leaned back into the hug. 

"I'm sure she misses you too." 

"What about you? Are you ready to go home?" Max turned around to look him in the eyes. 

"Yeah, I'm ready for some normalcy." The two exchanged genuine smiles, and Lucas kissed her forehead before they went back to packing. 

Joyce slept in Will's bed that night while the teenagers decided to have one big sleepover in the basement. 

"We should come up here for winter break," El suggested. 

"What would we do during the winter? The lake would be frozen," Dustin responded. 

"Well, actually, there's a ski resort like 30 minutes away from here," Mike remembered from his previous visits with his grandparents. 

The six all shared knowing smiles. 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Lucas said with slight excitement for the winter. It was comforting to know this wouldn't be the last trip they all took together. 

"He's right. Let's play a game!"

"Oh god..." Dustin laughed, remembering how the last game went. 

"OH, I have a game idea!" Will exclaimed. "Answer or drink!" He whipped out a bottle of tequila from behind him. 

"Where the hell did you get that?" El was astonished. 

"I have my ways," Will giggled. "The game is pretty self-explanatory. You chose to either answer the question one of us provides, or you drink." 

They all agreed to play, knowing it would make a memorable final night. 

"I'll ask first," Max volunteered. "El, what was your first impression of me?"

"I thought you were a bitch, and I was positive you were trying to get with Mike," El blurted out. 

"YOU THOUGHT I WANTED MIKE? GROSS!" Disgust was evident on the redhead's face. "The bitch part doesn't surprise me." 

It was now El's turn to ask the question. 

"Alright, Will, if you had to kiss one person in this room, who would it be?" Will cursed at the smirk on her face.