Chasing After Summer

chapter one

this is miss lizziep17's chapter and i hope you guys like the story a lot! we've got a lot planned with it so enjoy c:

- summer & peyton

chapter one

Yesterday, McKenna told me I look like summer on steroids for the seventh time. It's really starting to bother me, but Joshua claims its not actually an insult- she's just jealous. Joshua's almost always right, so somewhere after the tenth time she told me I am too tan or my hair is too blonde, I simply smiled and thanked her. Her face was absolutely priceless.

Where I'm from, everyone knows everyone. There's only one neighborhood, which is basically a stretch of dried up grass and overgorwn palm trees, and beyond that, a couple of shops, one school, and, of course, the beach. Most families have some kind of boardwalk that extends from their backyards and out onto the dunes, and if they don't, they simply hop whatever fence separates them from their neighbors and go that way. I don't think any of us could live without the beach, but if we could, our town would not ever be the same as it is now. I don't think McKenna ever thought of this, but in our town, it's summer year round.

The girls here are tan and blonde and practically live in oversized tank tops, cut off denim shorts, and neon bikinis. Our wrists are nearly always stacked with braided and beaded bracelets; our skin radiating sun light and salty, ocean water. We like to have fun- lots of it. There are still fights among us, but not all that boy-crazed, hormonal drama like all of the girls in the city. No, ours are over the biggest waves, who has to be on Tessa's team for beach volleyball, or who gets the beach cruiser for the day. Like I said, we like to have lots of fun.

"Izzy," I turned my head and dropped my feet off of the front of the cruiser. Joshua looked at me with his hands propped up behind his head. People said we look exactly alike even though we aren't related, and I can honestly see the resemblance. We both have pale blue eyes, almost an icy grey, the same patch of freckles splattered across our noses and cheeks, and identical, blonde hair. Joshua has been my next-door neighbor since I was old enough to read. Before then, he lived in Washington with his brother and his dad.

"We're home," he told me.

I turned to face my house, a light blue boarded house with large, open windows looking out towards the beach. Skylar was already sitting on the front porch, waxing my board with his feet propped up on one step. His board sat behind him, perched up against one wall.

"Will I see you tonight?" Joshua ran one hand through his hair and dropped both feet to the ground. "The Summer Concert Series starts tonight at eight. You'll be there, right?" He nodded once and glanced past me towards Skylar.

"Josh, you wanna catch some waves?" Joshua looked at me once with some kind of challenge and then back at Skylar. "It's gonna be crowded out there in a couple of hours."

"I would, man, but I left my board at Eric's house yesterday." Skylar nodded and glanced over at me. By his lopsided grin and fixed stare, I could already assume what he was going to tell Joshua; he was going to offer him my board.

"Just take mine. Kaylee's coming over in like," I pulled out my phone and glanced at the screen, "five minutes, and she'll want to get dressed for tonight anyways."

He smiled and pulled me into his broad chest, thanking me every five seconds. As much as I wanted to roll my eyes and shove Josh away, I couldn't bring myself to; Hugging one of my best friends felt too nice.

"I seriously love you, Izzy," Josh yelled out to me as he dragged his bike besides our porch. "I'll meet you by the pier at 7:30. Tell Kaylee, alright?" I nodded quickly and hooked my index finger around one of my short's belt loops. Skylar and Josh stripped off their t-shirts and tossed them onto the porch, leaving them exposed in board shorts. This was nothing new to me, though. Thanks to Skylar and his friends, I practically grew up with boys walking around half naked in my house.