Riptide (An Emblem3 Fanfic)

Chapter 41

Sadly this story is going to be ending soon :'( This has been such an amazing experience and I would like to thank all of you readers!!! First of all should I write a sequel? and Second, for a dedication tell me your favorite quote by any member of e3 :)

"So you're not mad?" My dad twirled his empty Coke can in his hand nervously.

"No way." I told him sincerely. "I think it's great that you're doing this for him." I leaned against the counter next to him and followed his gaze out the window where Tyler was swimming with the guys watching from the deck. "He seems like a nice enough kid."

"I hope you know that he could never replace you. Or Sam. I just... I couldn't leave him. His dad died when he was younger and after his mom, he had no one."

"I guess you're not such a bad guy after all." I admitted, not looking at him directly. I pretended to be fascinated by the backyard, but I saw a smile form on his face in the corner of my eye. I couldn't help but smile too. It felt good, being around him again.

"Thanks kiddo. It means a lot." He said ruffling my hair. He pulled back slightly as if he wasn't sure it was okay to touch me. Instead of snapping at him, I just chuckled. He smiled. "Go on, go hang out with your friends." He said nodding out the back door. I grinned and went outside to join my boyfriend.

"Hey babe." I said striding over to him. When I reached him he smiled at me and pulled me under his arm. He kissed me on the top of the head. I swirled around so we were face to face. I could feel his warm breath just above my nose. I grinned at him. "Have you gotten taller?" I asked.

"Either that or you've gotten shorter." He said poking me in the ribs. I giggled. He stretched me away from him holding my hand. He glanced me up and down. A mocking expression grew on his face. "Hmm. Looks like you have gotten shorter Aves..." He said poking fun at me.

"Shut up!" I said moving in to punch him in the stomach. He bit his lip wincing a little, but then he stood up straighter as if just remembering something.

"You know, you still owe me for the Buzz Lightyear ride." He said smirking. Oh no. How had I forgotten? For all I knew he was going to make me his eternal slave.

"I don't know... I think that offer has expired." I said knowing he wouldn't let this slide.

"Nuh uh. No way. I beat you fair and square." He puffed out his chest with pride. 

"Fine what do you want me to do?"

"Oh I'm going to have to think about that one." He said biting his lower lip while smile. Not going to lie, I kind of liked where this was going. But I didn't let him know that. I slapped him on the arm.

"Don't even think about it Stromberg!" I said laughing while maintaining a look of shock on my face. Just then I saw Tyler trudging up the stairs, toweling his hair. As soon as he came closer Wes put his arm back around me as if to say 'back off'. I saw something change in the way Tyler looked at me. He seemed to realize that I was spoken for and he backed off. I thought that was pretty cool of him.

Once Wes realized that Tyler wasn't trying to hit on me he loosened up and they actually got to talking. 

"So where are you going to go to school?" Wes asked as we all sat down at the table. I sat directly across from Adrianna and Drew who looked so cute cuddled up together.

"I'm starting up at Huntington next week." He told us. The boys nodded in agreement. "I'm going to be a senior."

"Cool us too. You play any sports?" Drew asked feeding Adrianna a piece of pizza. How cute are they?!

"Just football. Some basketball in the winter." He admitted. "What about you guys?"

"Drew and I play football too. There's a party this weekend at one of our friend's houses if you wanna come. The whole team's gonna be there." Wes told him. Tyler grinned back at Wes and told him it sounded pretty cool. A party? What was I going to wear? I started picking out outfits in my head and then froze. I would be on the other end of the continent by this weekend. 

"So Rick tells me you guys are in a band? That's pretty cool." The guys seemed super excited about talking to Tyler about their band.

"Yeah Rick pretty much flipped a shit when he saw you on TV, Avery." Tyler said. At the mention of my name I flipped my attention back into the conversation.

"What? He did?" I was curious. I never did get to see his reaction when he saw me.

"Yeah. We were at his work friend's house watching the Dodgers game and he flipped over to the news and just froze. He was like mesmerized by the screen and when we asked what was up he was just like 'that's my daughter.'" Woah. That's sounds crazy. "I couldn't even imagine what was going through his head in that moment. Like how would you feel if you just saw your kid for the first time in seven years." He continued.

We ended up spending the entire day chilling at my dad's place. The guys all got along really well with Tyler; on the ride home Drew and Wes were still talking about him.

"Yeah, he's pretty chill. And we need a new QB for the start of the season so his timing is perfect." Wes said turning onto Adrianna's street to drop us off.

"You think he'd make varsity?" Drew questioned from the passengers seat.

"No doubt. He's got an arm, you saw when we were throwing the ball around before." Wes backed up his previous statement.

"True."

"And he's built. He was definitely first string at his last school." I saw Wes tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel. As the two boys continued to talk about football, I leaned over Keaton to look at Adrianna who gave me the same crazed expression back. Boys. Always talking about their sports and stuff. 

Keaton must have caught on too because he laughed along with us. I think one of the things I would miss most about this place was our group dynamic. We all mixed so well together, we understood each other. We had the same interests... it was like all these friends were just a figment of my imagination. My life here was amazing, I felt like I actually belonged here. In New Jersey I just blended into the crowd. I was nothing special, nothing extraordinary. But here I felt that I really stood out.

I was a different person in California. I didn't change at all on the inside or the outside, I just fit in better. Back in Jersey guys wouldn't look twice at the punk little skater girl walking past them on the street. But here it was different; people seemed to accept me more. In California there are more skater chicks and surfer guys. There were cute, scruffy guys that liked to skate and surf but also play in a band.

In California there were more people like me.