A New Hope

Chapter 4: Swim!!

I woke up on Saturday to the smell of bacon. I love bacon. I walked downstairs, not bothering to put my glasses on as usual. "Hey, is that bacon?" I say, half asleep.

"Yeah. How did you sleep?" Brendon asked as I sat down at the little bar.

"Pretty good. I hardly ever got any good sleep in Ohio. Riley sleep-talks, so I had trouble falling asleep, and even though there's the city noise here, that calms me," I explained.

"That's good to hear. Hey, I have the guys coming over to swim. Wanna join us?" he asked.

"Sure. I love swimming," I said.

"Cool. They should be here soon," he said.

I almost spit out my bacon. Soon? Soon?! They were gonna be here soon and I'm still in my grey booty workout shorts and my "I wish I had my own minion." tank top. "You ok? You look like you're about to choke," Brendon said.

"I'm ok. I just need to get ready. I'll be back," I said, grabbing a piece of my bacon and rushing up stairs.

I ran and put on my black bathing suit top with Aztec print and plain black bottoms. I went into the bathroom and used my acne facewash. When I came back downstairs, throwing my hair in a low ponytail, I heard someone say 'bacon!'. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw Dallon eating my bacon and Kenny and Brendon trying to warn him. "Dude, she's back. You better hide. She looks pretty mad," Brendon said.

Dallon turned around and saw me standing there. "Right, well, meet you guys in the pool!" he yelled as he took of running toward the backyard. Oh no he didn't.

I ran after him. He jumped in the pool right as I got there. "I'm sorry! Just don't kill me! I mean, who doesn't love bacon," Dallon said.

I just shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Good, you're both alive. The look on Chloe's face was like she was gonna murder you for bacon," Kenny said as him and Brendon walked outside.

"Hey, I love bacon. Can you blame me?" I ask.

"Not really, I do too," I hear someone say from behind me.

When I turned around, I saw one of the worst people to see. I heard he had moved to L.A. about a week before me. There I stood, staring at one of the people that tortured me endlessly. His name was Alex Masters. I was praying, hoping I was wrong. "Chloe?" he asked. Shitake mushrooms.

"I...I'll be right back," I say, taking off toward my room.

Why was he here? I obviously didn't notice him during the bacon fiasco. "Hey kiddo, you ok?" I heard Brendon say from my doorway. Dallon was right behind him.

"I'm fine. I just... I thought I would never see anyone like him again. I thought that, by moving to L.A., I would never see any old bullies again. I was wrong," I said.

"Hey, Kenny didn't know. He just offered to watch him, and he wanted to come," Dallon said.

"I know. I... I think I'll be up here for a little while," I said.

They both nodded and left me, closing my door on their way.

~Ten Minutes Later~

I walked back outside. I laid my towel on the grass and laid on it. "Hey, she's back!" I heard someone yell, but I didn't look up to see who.

I just grabbed my phone and earbuds and hit play on my music.

"Tonight we are victorious, champagne pouring over us, all my friends were glorious, tonight we are victorious," I sang quielty.

"Hey Chloe, can I talk to you?" Alex asked as he sat next to me on the grass.

"Whatever. Shouldn't you be out playing football or terrorizing the local foster kid?" I snapped at him.

"Look, I've changed. After I moved, I realized all the pain I caused, and I'm sorry. Can I please have another chance?" he asked, the sincereness prominent in his voice.

I sighed. Why do I have to be so nice? "Fine, but I swear, if you become a bully EVER again, I will NEVER talk to you again. Do you understand?" I asked.

He nodded. "Good. Now let me build this hotel in Minecraft," I said.

"No can do, you need to swim," he said.

"I will lat... HEY!!! Put me down!" I yelled as he picked me up and put my phone and earbuds on my towel.

Splash! Before I knew it, I was flying through the air and into the water. When I surfaced, I heard everyone else laughing and I gave Alex a 'you're dead' face. I quickly swam over to him. "You're not gonna get away with that," I said before I reached up and pulled him in.

"Oh, that's it. No more Mr. Nice Guy!" Alex yelled sarcastically.

"No! Don't splash me! Please, I'm begging you!" I yelled as he pummeled me with water.

"Then don't pull me into the pool," he said, laughing.

"Ok, deal," I said with a giggle.

"Well, looks like you two are getting along now," I heard Brendon say.

I giggled. "Yeah. He apologized," I said.

He grabbed my hand. "Yeah, I realized being a bully wasn't cool," he said, smiling at me.

OMG, is this feeling in my stomach normal? I feel like a thousand butterflies are attacking the inside of my stomach. Is this possible? Do I have a crush on Alex Masters?