Just Talk to Him! (IM5)

Chapter 16

July 20th, 2013 - 5:50 p.m.

The scream startled me so much that it gave Dana the opportunity to knock me from Dalton’s shoulders. When I burst out of the water, I saw the boys cheerily greeting three awestruck girls. They were dressed for swimming and each carried towels, except for one, who had dropped her towel in shock and now had her hand clamped over her mouth. I guessed she was the screamer.

One of the other two girls, a pretty brunette with short hair, looks like she can barely contain her excitement. The third, a curvy blonde, is the only one to take initiative and say hi back to the boys.

“Hi! I-I’m, uh, Paige,” she stuttered.

“Hi, Paige!” Will yelled. Dana splashed him. “Hey!”

The screamer, another brunette, finally eases out of her shock and grins. “I’m Megan!” She glances at her friends and says, “And this one is Carrigan.” She points to the other brunette.

“Nice to meet you,” Cole exclaims.

“We’re playing chicken fight,” Dalton explains. “Wanna join?”

They all glance at each other for a split second. Then, they race to the nearest chairs and drop their stuff- after Megan picks up her towel from where she dropped it. As they pull off their outerwear, I realize that they’re all wearing cute outfits. And I thought I had style.

Megan wears a flattering one-piece with cutouts under a floral sundress. Her hair is curled perfectly. I sink into the water. Why can’t my hair be like that?

Paige has a gorgeous Triangl bikini under her ripped shorts and IM5 tank. When I see that, I elbow the nearest boy, Dalton. “Hey!” I hissed. “She has an IM5 shirt!”

His eyes widen. “What? No way.” He glances at Paige, his eyes widening. “Whoa. Paige!” He yells. She jerks her head up in surprise, halfway through tying her ponytail. “You have a band shirt!” He shouts in excitement.

Everybody else looks at her. Her cheeks flush a slight pink. “Oh… yeah.” She smiles happily. “It was a birthday gift from Carrigan.”

“It was also my idea to come to the pool,” Carrigan announces, eliciting laughter. “You’re welcome.” She removes a cute flower crown from her head and places it gracefully on the chair. She slips out of her combat boots, T-shirt, and jeans to reveal her tankini.

The three girls race over to the pool and jump in. “No running,” Will warns. “You might slip and that would be very, very bad.”

Nobody listens to him, so I paddle over and say, “Nice try. At least when they fall you can say ‘I told you so.’”

He half smiles. “Yeah, whatever.”

So we continue our game of chicken fight, this time with three extra players. At the end we all gather up at one end and take a group picture to post online. We even exchange numbers with Paige, Megan, and Carrigan- well, mostly me. The boys have too many fans.

July 21st, 2013 - 11:15 p.m.

All six of us wander the biggest mall in Boston. Since we arrived early this morning, we’ve been aching to get our feet moving. We split up to get the maximum shopping experience. Obviously, we don’t want to get dragged into stores we have no interest in.

Dana and I are walking together. I guess Cole’s just too tired from the flight to join us with his schemes. As I pull Dana into the sports shop, two girls passing by squeal and flag us down. My stomach feels heavier with guilt when I sigh in impatience. Again?

To make up for me, Dana looks perfectly happy to take a selfie with them.

“I’m Steph!” The girl with cute glasses chirps.

“Angela,” her friend says, smiling warmly. She’s wearing an IM5 shirt.

Dana starts a small conversation. As we go through small talk, I notice that Steph never speaks to anyone but Dana, while Angela makes sure to include me. I don’t blame Steph. If I met Dylan O’Brien, I wouldn’t even glance at anyone else.

“I like your hair,” I tell Angela.

She glances down at her black strands with blue tips and grins. “Really? Thanks! You’re Cole’s sister, right?”

I grimace. “Is that all I’m known as?”

She laughs. “That’s okay. For, like, two days, I was known as the weird girl.”

Steph cocks her head. “Hey. Are- are you two dating?” She looks questioningly at me and Dana.

Dana and I stare at each other. Anna completely blanks from my mind and the first thing I blurt is a flabbergasted “No!” at the exact same time as Dana. I blush. “I mean, we’re just really good friends.”

“Besides, Cole would kill me,” Dana jokes, his light tone masking the near truth.

Steph giggles. “Is Cole really that overprotective?”

“Yes.” Dana and I answer in unison.

Angela laughs. “Well, I ship it.”

My eyes widen. “No! No,” I whine. “No shipping allowed. This is a boat-free zone.”

“All marine vehicles subject to sinking,” Dana adds.

The girls seem easily amused. We keep up the conversation a bit longer, but soon Dana and I get called back to the meeting place. After saying goodbye, the two of us walk to our destination lightheartedly.

“By the way,” Dana quips, “I think we forgot to mention that the rule on boats expired several days ago.”

I blink. I halt, trying to figure out what he meant. “Wait, what?” Dana picks up his pace and hurries a bit faster. He doesn’t answer me.

As the answer finally hits me like a ton of bricks, I almost stumble. “Holy shit.”

I notice that Dana’s already four stores ahead of me. I break into a run, dodging busy shoppers and weaving between vending machines to catch up. “Dana! Dumb tard, slow down!”

But by the time I catch up, he’s already sitting at a food court table across from Cole, pretending as if that sentence never happened.

Cole smiles too widely at me. “How was shopping?”

I frown, staring at the back of Dana’s snapback. “We didn’t get much done. We ran into fans.”

“Oh. Were they nice?”

“Shut up, Cole. Of course they were nice.” As I plop down onto the plastic bench next to my brother, I suddenly realize just how tired I actually am. My muscles all relax, my shoulders slumping forward like an avalanche, and I let out a wide yawn. “I’m so done.” I fold my arms on the table, not caring if I end up with mustard smears on my bare arms, and sink my head into the makeshift pillow. “Wake me up when August ends.”

A/N: The winner is... willjaybaelendork! Congrats <3 (And your username is amazing. I'm jealous.) You were all right. The answer is cheer. Was it that obvious? lol :)

Sorry sorry sorry for the long wait! School started and I've had less than zero time to do anything. Tenth grade is not fun. (On the bright side, I'm now co-captain of my cheer team!) To whoever stuck out the wait, I hope IM6 engulfs you in a giant, suffocating bear hug.

Who heard about the new 1D album? I'm so exciteddddddddddddd :D I saw the collaborators and I nearly fangirled. This album will kill me. I am not prepared. No way. Nope. I need a Niall hug. Or any hug in general. :) NOVEMBER 24TH! (Speculated release date.) MARK IT ON YOUR CALENDARS! D:<

This chapter's dedication challenge: Who has Anna had a minor crush on since she was 11?

FIRST CORRECT ANSWER WINS A DEDICATION FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!