“Ugh, look at them.” You complained, looking back over at your best friend Rydel in disgust. Your other best friend, Ross, was sitting down the beach several yards away from you, making out with his girlfriend Sierra. “I know.” Rydel grimaced. “I wish he would realize how awful she is. Mom and dad can’t stand her.” You frowned and looked down, kicking at the sand with your feet. Ross had met Sierra through his costar, Laura. She had warned him before he started dating Sierra; she had told him how rude, snobby, & shallow she was. Unfortunately, Ross hadn’t listened. “He’s only with her because he thinks she’s hot.” Rocky said, walking up behind the two of you. He sat down in the sand next to you. “I think he’ll break up with her soon. She’s beginning to drive him crazy, he’s told me. Don’t worry Peyton, you’ll have your chance soon enough.” He winked at you. You turned pink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” you mumbled, looking down. He laughed. “Oh come ON Peyton, I’m not an idiot. I’ve seen the way you look at Ross! More importantly, I’ve seen the way you look at Sierra. If looks could kill…” he trailed off, grinning at you. You rolled your eyes. “Shut up.” You grumbled. Rydel began grinning as well. “Are you guys going to sit around talking all day?” Riker asked, walking over. “We’re at the beach! Come on!” He grabbed Rydel’s hands and pulled her to her feet. Rocky stood up and reached down, pulling you up as well. You took off your Beatles t-shirt and jean shorts, revealing your striped bikini underneath. “Race you!” you called, taking off towards the water. “Not fair! I wasn’t ready!” Rydel griped, struggling to pull her t-shirt over her head. The four of you, plus Ryland, spent most of the afternoon surfing and swimming. Ross stayed on shore with Sierra the entire time. “Why hasn’t Ross gotten into the water?” you asked Riker, glancing over to where he and Sierra were sitting. Riker rolled his eyes. “Sierra hates the beach.” He replied. You grimaced. “Then why did she even come?” you snapped, crossing your arms. Riker looked away, clearly hiding something. “Spill it Riker.” You demanded, pulling on his arm until he turned back to face you. He looked mildly amused. “Because Sierra is jealous of you. She firmly believes that Ross has some hidden feelings for you or something like that. She doesn’t trust him enough to leave him alone with you.” You froze. Could Ross really have hidden feelings for you? “Really?” you asked, quietly. Riker nodded. “I think so too, actually. I mean I don’t think he would act on it or anything while he’s with Sierra; he would never cheat on a girlfriend. But I do think he likes you.” He looked down at you. You looked back over at Ross. Now that his lips weren’t all over her, you could see that he truly didn’t look happy. “Why is he with her?” you groaned, looking back to Riker. He shrugged. “He’s a guy. It’s just what we do. Don’t worry about it Peyton, he’s going to get tired of her soon.” You smiled slightly, glancing back over to the shore. Sierra had gotten up, walking in the direction of the restrooms. You decided to take the opportunity to talk to Ross while she was gone. “Hey.” You said, smiling at Ross as you approached. He looked up at you and smiled; it was the first time you’d seen him look genuinely happy all day. “Hey Peyton!” he replied cheerily. You sat down in the sand next to him. “Why aren’t you in the water? Most days we come to the beach we have to drag you home.” You looked at him intently. He sighed and his smile disappeared. “Sierra doesn’t like the ocean. I don’t want to leave her sitting by herself all day.” You rolled your eyes. “Well she didn’t have to come along.” You muttered, looking in the direction she had left. Ross sighed again. “I know.” He grumbled. “Believe me, I didn’t ask her to. She wasn’t going to come until I mentioned you were coming with us. I don’t think she likes you very much.” He laughed lightly. You turned back to Ross and asked the question that had been weighing on your mind ever since Ross and Sierra had become a couple. “Ross why are you with her?” you asked, staring right into his brown eyes. He frowned. “I don’t really know anymore. She wasn’t that bad when we started dating…” You gave him a *look*. “Ok, she was kind of awful then too. But lately it’s just becoming unbearable. Especially when it comes to you. If I’m even in the same room with you when she isn’t there she explodes. We fight more than anything-” “Then why don’t you dump her!” you cried. He groaned. “I…don’t know!” he admitted. “Rossy!” you heard Sierra call. You rolled your eyes and looked over at her. She was still a few feet away. “I’m bored, can we go take a walk on the boardwalk?” she begged, poking out her lower lip. You rolled your eyes again. You knew the only reason she was suggesting a walk was to get Ross away from you. “Um…yeah ok. I’ll talk to you later Peyton.” He said, standing up. He took Sierra’s hand and began walking towards the boardwalk. Sierra turned around and shot you a death glare. You narrowed your eyes and glared back, letting her know that you weren’t afraid of her. “Oooh, stare down.” Rydel laughed, approaching you. “You saw that?” you asked as she sat down next to you. She nodded. “We ALL saw that. Rocky thought a catfight was about to break out on the beach. My money would be on you, just so you know. She seems like a bit of a wimp.” You laughed, watching as Ross and Sierra disappeared down the beach.
**two weeks later**
“Movie niiiiight!” Rocky called, leaping over the back of the couch to squeeze between you and Rydel. Popcorn went flying out of the bowl he was holding, covering you and Ross. “Rocky!” you complained, brushing popcorn off onto the floor. “Hey Riker, take a picture of me and Peyton.” Ross said, handing his phone to Riker. You were both wearing your matching ‘Thing 1’ and ‘Thing 2’ hoodies that you had gotten ages ago. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Sierra’s going to be mad you didn’t invite her to the movie night.” You pointed out. Ross shrugged. “She’ll get over it.” Riker snapped the picture and handed the phone back to Ross, who immediately uploaded it to Instagram with the caption ‘Movie night with the family & best friend! :)’ “What movie are we watching?” Ryland asked, slouching down in the recliner. “Something scary!” Riker suggested. “NO!” you and Rydel shouted simultaneously. “We always watch scary movies!” you complained. “How about ’21 Jump Street’? Dad just brought it home for us today.” Rocky suggested. “That’s fine with me.” Riker said, looking around. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Thirty or so minutes into the movie, your phone buzzed. It was a message from Rydel. She had forwarded a message from Ellington. It was a picture of Sierra and some guy you’d never seen before at a restaurant in town, and they were making out. Your jaw dropped. You glanced over at Rydel. She motioned for you to join her in the kitchen. “I’m going to get a drink, do you want anything?” you whispered to Ross. “Yeah, bring me a Coke.” He whispered back. “Bring me one too please.” Rocky chimed in. You quickly got up and followed Rydel into the kitchen. “I know she didn’t!” you cried, once you had stepped into the kitchen. “Shhh!” she urged. “What are we going to do??” you asked, barely keeping your voice at a whisper. “We need to tell him.” She said quietly. You shook your head. “Not until after the movie. I don’t want to ruin his night.” She nodded. “Yeah you’re right. We’ll both tell him after the movie.” The two of you walked back into the living room. You handed Cokes to Rocky and Ross before sitting back down between them. Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door. “I got it.” Ryland said, standing up and running into the hallway. Moments later, Sierra came storming into the living room. “Ross!” she screamed, marching over to the couch. Ross stood up quickly, facing her. “Sierra, what are you doing here?” he asked. She ignored his question. “So you decided to have a movie night WITHOUT me?? But you invited HER??” she demanded, crossing her arms. Ross rolled his eyes. “Sierra cut it out. You’re acting like a spoiled child. Peyton comes to all of our movie nights. She’s my best friend, why wouldn’t I invite her? The reason I didn’t invite YOU is because you’ve made it very clear that you don’t like Peyton.” She scoffed. “That’s because I don’t like seeing some tramp hang all over you when WE’RE supposed to be hanging out.” Your jaw dropped. Was she seriously calling YOU the tramp?? A look of pure anger crossed Ross’s face. “How dare you-” he started. You leapt up from the couch and cut him off. “You don’t really have room to call anyone a tramp, Sierra.” You snapped, taking a step towards her. She stepped closer to you, unflinching. “And what makes you think that?” she sneered. You wordlessly turned around and handed Ross your phone. You had the picture of Sierra and the mystery guy pulled up. He took one look at the screen and looked back up at Sierra. Her face fell when she realized what you had shown him. “How DARE you.” Ross said, slowly moving towards her. “You have the nerve to call my BEST FRIEND a tramp, when YOU just cheated on me??” he cried. He handed you your phone back, stepping around you to stand in front of Sierra. “We’re done.” He said flatly, and turned around to walk away. “Ross please!” Sierra pleaded, grabbing his arm. He snatched away from her grasp, turning back around to face her. “You know what Sierra? Now that I think about it…thank you.” He said. “Thank you??” you and Sierra both asked simultaneously. He nodded. “Thank you. For making me realize what I really wanted.” He turned around and took your face in his hands, pulling you closer and kissing your lips. You froze momentarily, then melted into the kiss. “Holy crap.” You heard Rocky say, shock evident in his voice. “I did not see that coming.” Ross pulled away after a few seconds and looked into your eyes. “Peyton I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I’ve been such an idiot. YOU’RE the one I want. I don’t know how I didn’t see that before.” You shook your head. “It’s ok.” You whispered, and stretched up to press your lips against his again. “Ugh.” You heard Sierra scoff. You heard the front door slam shut moments later. “Ok she’s gone now guys. Guys?” Riker said, trying to get yours and Ross’s attention. You reached back and waved your hand, gesturing for the others to leave the two of you alone. Your lips never left Ross’s. “And on that note…I’m leaving.” Rocky said. You heard the others follow him out of the room. Ross broke the kiss again moments later. “It’s pretty late Peyton, do you want to go to bed?” he asked. You shook your head. “I think I’ll stay out here a little longer.” You said, smiling up at him. He grinned and leaned down to kiss you gently once more.
