One Last Summer

Day 1

This summer was supposed to be about forgetting not remembering. I never knew that I, Valerie Woods, could expect a regular party on the beach to turn into a night I'd never forget.

I stood by the snack table with Aria Brooks and Ivy Winslow, my closest friends since forever. The festivities were in full swing, but I couldn't shake the lingering unease about the future. College acceptances loomed large, and despite our best efforts to savour the moment, that shadow hung over us. I thought my high school nightmares were over until Aria and Ivy were both giving me strange "omg look behind you" looks.

Mason Thompson. The most shittiest person to walk the planet and my ex-boyfriend who cheated on me at Prom was standing right there. 

"Hey, babyy," he slurred, stumbling closer. I was not in the mood for his crap.

"Mason, if you don't step the fuck back right now, I swear." I was already pissed about being at this party to begin with, but Aria and Ivy just had to drag me along for "YOLO" purposes.

"Come on, girl, what's wrong? I know you miss me!" before he could say another word, Mr Bravery, Elliot Montgomery, stepped in between us.

"Bro, get the fuck out right now," he said, his voice tight with anger. I knew he was pissed. And in case I haven't mentioned it yet, he's my neighbour. I don't know what this sudden feeling was in my stomach but- Wait do I seriously have butterflies right now? While I was completely lost in thought, Elliot and Mason ended up in a heated and physical fight, with phones flashing everywhere. The fight didn't last long—Mason was all talk, and Elliot was just... Elliot. When Elliot leaned down to put his hand on my shoulder, his hazel eyes met mine.

"Hey, you good?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Before I could respond, the sound of sirens sent everyone running, including him. So much for our first conversation.

The rest was a blur as me, Aria and Ivy made it out the house and a couple houses down the neighbourhood. A black jeep pulled up next to us as we stood on the sidewalk as the headlights gleamed brightly, almost blinding me.

"Oh shit, my bad. Do you guys need a ride?" Looks like I was wrong about having my first and last interaction with Elliot. He was sitting in the drivers seat with one guy in the passenger seat and one in the back.

"You sure you're not gonna kidnap us? Because I'll kick your ass," Aria joked as she opened the door. I laughed, knowing she was more of a verbal warrior than a physical one.

"You already know Elliot, but I'm Ethan and this is Ryan," the guy in the passenger seat said, his eyes consistently drifting at Aria.

"Well, you guys know me. This is Aria and Ivy," I introduced. As we drove to Chick-fil-A, the conversation flowed effortlessly, despite just meeting.

"Well apparently you guys know who I am, but this is Aria and Ivy." the girls smiled back as we sat in the car and it was like we knew each other forever because there wasn't silence for a moment the whole way, even though we literally just met. We stopped to a traffic light at the nearest Chick-Fil-A around the corner. I was hungry but I did not plan on asking to make a pitstop although I didn't need to. The car was turning into the Chick-Fil-A parking lot as Elliot made an impressive reverse into a spot. 

It felt beyond silent in the car at that moment although 8TEEN by Khalid, was playing from his playlist on his phone. If it weren't for the music, I would have thought we were in our very on 'A Quiet Place' film and that no one could move or else. But then their is Aria who can turn any awkward situation around like magic. 

"So are we getting food or what?" she called out as I nudged her and glared at her with a wtf look. Every one of them started laughing as Ethan called out from the front, opening his door, "Yeahh. No shit." We all made our way inside to a booth and sat down, girls on one side and the guys on the other. 

Sipping on milkshakes and munching on fries while discussing our futures, pasts, relationships, families, majors, and what we were doing for the summer. 

"Imagine if all of us just stayed and lived at a beach house for the summer. Late Nights, Board Games, Bonfires, Parties, Midnight Fast Food." Ryan mentioned as Ivy snorted from the ridiculousness in his previous sentence, realising what she just did. Staring at the embarrassment written all over her face, we all burst into laughter and so did she. 

"Honestly?" Elliot questioned as he finished off his strawberry milkshake, stirring the straw around the cup while being completely serious about the idea. 

"I'm down if you guys are," I said, checking my phone. It was late.

After dropping everyone off, Elliot finally dropped me home. We sat in silence for a moment before I unbuckled my seatbelt. As I walked up the driveway, a message popped up from an unknown number.

'Goodnight, Neighbour.'

I smiled. It was definitely Elliot.

'Goodnightt,' I replied, tossing my phone onto the bed.