The Summer of Us

sixteen

"Brennan! It's so good to see you! How've you been?" Alex exclaimed, running over to Brennan while pulling him into a hug. She shot me a smug look and continued to hug my boyfriend.

"Two can play this game," I mouthed back to her, now making my way over to Johnny. Man, I couldn't stand that girl at all. "Hey Johnny!"

"Hey Annie! What's up?" Johnny smiled at me, pushing back the hair from his face. I quickly looked back to see Alex and Brennan talking.

"Nothing much! I'll be right back," I told him, walking briskly over to Alex. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a place more private. "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me? Nothing at all," She smirked, flipping her locks behind her back.

"Seriously! Why did you hug Brennan?" I rolled my eyes, on the verge of yelling at the girl standing in front of me.

"It was a friendly hug! I don't understand why you're overreacting!" She quoted me, mocking me in a child voice.

I groaned and pushed the girl aside, almost knocking her off her feet. I ran back over to Brennan and Johnny who were now chatting casually about sports.

"It's awesome that you like soccer!" Johnny smiled at Brennan and that's when an idea came to mind.

"You like soccer too?" I asked Johnny, who nodded his head vigorously. "That's awesome! How about we play a short game?"

"That would be awesome!" Brennan said happily, a smile forming on his face. Johnny liked the idea too and suggested that Alex should join in.

"Come on Alex! We're playing a game of soccer on the beach!" Johnny called over to Alex. She was on her phone, not caring about anything. "Earth to Alex!"

She had finally lifted her head up and she groaned. Walking over to the three of us, it was evident that she was annoyed. "Ew I hate sports."

"Come on Lex, it'll be fun," Brennan persuaded her, at least attempted to. A smile tugged at her lips and that's when I knew it was time.

Game on.

As we arrived onto the beach, only Alex, Brennan, and I were there because Johnny had gone back to his house to retrieve a ball. Alex was flirting with Brennan alright.

"I like your hair," She giggled. Brennan had motioned for me to step in and so I did.

"And I'm sure he likes yours but too bad it's barely there from all the constant dyeing," I roasted her. Brennan's jaw dropped and Alex's eyes widened.

"At least I manage to brush my hair," She volleyed and I ignored, stepping back next to Brennan.

Johnny finally returned with a soccer ball by his hip. He threw it toward me and Alex leaped back. I chuckled softly.

"Wimp," I whispered to myself.

Johnny had kicked the ball toward the middle of our made up field of sand, and immediately started. Brennan and I versus Johnny and Alex, I think we were bound to win.

I dashed to the side and as I got there, I swung my leg to kick the ball. I succeeded and after it flew through the air, it came crashing down onto Alex's head.

"Ow!" She fell to the ground, making a huge scene. Johnny ran over to her, making sure that she was okay and didn't have a concussion.

I laughed to myself before running over to Brennan. He was biting his lip, holding back a smile as we watched Alex hold her hand over her forehead.

"You are so bad," Brennan said, trying his best to hold back the laughter.

"If I was good, I wouldn't be Annie." I patted him on the back and ran over to Alex, pretending as if I cared. "Oh my gosh Alex! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I only got hit in the head with a ball but I'm okay," She said sarcastically. Johnny got up from his kneeled position and sauntered over to Brennan.

"Annie one, Alex zero," I smirked, backpedalling to where the boys were standing. Alex glared at me, her nose scrunched up.

The rest of the game was really funny, almost like a comedy show. Alex had fallen about ten times as every time she went to actually kick the ball, she'd fly through the air. Johnny was trying to hard not to laugh and encourage her but it was so obvious that he was slowly giving up.

Alex tried to get the ball off of me but I swooped the ball in the opposite direction of what she thought I was going, breaking her ankles. Not literally, however.

"That's it!" Alex yelled, burying her face into her lap. "I hate this. I hate sports. Last but not least, I hate you." She pointed at me before storming off. I may or may not have laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going home and binge watching Pawn Stars. Bye everyone," I announced, walking away.

"Rick Harrison fan?" Johnny asked, calling out as I was getting further away from the beach.

"You know it!" I yelled back, throwing my hand in the air, signaling a thumbs up. I trudged all the way home with some bits of sand on me. For once, I actually wanted to be home.

When I arrived at the beach house, I showered and changed into clean clothes. I turned on the television, grabbed some food, and started episode one of my Pawn Stars marathon.

"I'm Rick Harrison and this is my pawn shop," I mimicked the T.V as soon as I heard the introduction of the episode. I also heard the door close and I quickly looked back to see Brennan. "Oh hey, you came back."

"Wow Annie don't act so surprised to see me," He said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to the television screen.

He went upstairs without saying a word and in a few moments, he came back down. He took a seat next to me on the couch.

"This is my couch for the night. Go somewhere else," I said jokingly. He groaned and got up to leave but I stopped him. "I was kidding."

"Funny," He chuckled and sat right back down. Together, we watched a total of five episodes until my dad came home and kicked us off the couch.

I realized that I loved Brennan but it was a strong word that I refused to use and I didn't want to admit.

–
sorry that I haven't updated in weeks but writing this chapter really tired me out. I started a new story inspired by Stranger Things and I want to publish the first chapter soon! but with that, I only want to work on one story at a time and I know I already said that this is coming to an end. I don't know when the last chapter is but it will either be a couple or a few from now.

another thank you for reading.
- meg