OCEAN EYES ☾ { Troy Bolton }

2 ~ 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚘𝚔𝚎 & 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚎

𝑇𝐻𝐸 hour-and-a-half ride stretched into two and a half, thanks to Jimmie's relentless bathroom stops—courtesy of the two monster drinks he'd downed during the trip. Hayden silently thanked her brother for his unintentional screwup; the new hotel was twice as big as the last one they'd stayed at, and she loved it. The bigger, the better was one of her many mottos.

It hadn't taken long for the family to check in. Less than thirty minutes after arrival, they were settling into their room. Since they were only staying three days, Hayden hadn't bothered to unpack. Her parents, however, were already placing their clothes neatly into the brown dresser beside the bed.

"You know, there's really no point in unpacking since we're leaving in two days," Jimmie announced, flopping down beside Hayden on the bed they shared.

Lillian paused in her folding, glancing at her son with amusement before continuing. "Your father and I like to have our things organized. It's easier to pick out what we want to wear when everything's neatly arranged, rather than rummaging through a suitcase. So, yes, there is a point, son."

"Well, in that case, have fun packing it all up on Thursday while Jimmie and I sleep in," Hayden chimed in before standing and beckoning her brother to do the same.

"Yeah, we're not going to just sit here and watch you guys fold clothes. We're going to check out the new digs. Don't wait up!"

Without waiting for a response from their mother or father, Jimmie grabbed his sister's wrist, and the two troublemakers were out the door in a flash. Lillian chuckled, glancing at her husband with raised eyebrows. "Can you believe those two?"

William shrugged, placing a pair of trousers into the dresser. "Considering who their parents are and how we acted at their age, yeah."

His wife rolled her eyes while lightly patting his chest. "Oh, please, we weren't as bad as they are. I swear, each generation gets worse and worse. Let's just hope they don't get themselves into too much trouble."

William hummed in agreement, but both knew with Jimmie and Hayden, trouble was never far behind.

𝐿𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝐻𝐴𝑇 𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁𝐼𝑁𝐺

Hayden cursed as she dropped the bobby pin she'd been fiddling with onto the floor—again. With an aggravated huff, she bent down and snatched up the black hair accessory before trying once more. It felt like her hands were working against her, refusing to cooperate with the hairstyle she was determined to pull off. Normally, she wouldn't give her hair a second thought—either down or a quick ponytail if it misbehaved.

But tonight was different. Earlier, while exploring the hotel with Jimmie, they'd discovered there was a New Year's Eve party planned. So she'd decided to at least try and look presentable. Who knew who she might run into? If she was going to be there, she might as well make an effort. She just hoped the style would hold.

Her parents were attending the adult party, while she and Jimmie were relegated to the "young adult" bash held in the freestyle club four levels down. Sneaking some alcohol wasn't going to be easy, but that wasn't going to stop her. She was confident the adult party would have booze, so at some point, she planned to sneak her way in and score a drink or two. Foolhardy? Maybe. But she was determined.

"Finally!" Hayden exclaimed as she secured the last bobby pin. She stepped back to admire herself in the mirror, smoothing down the soft, dark-blue velvet of her dress. She smiled, surprised at how good she felt. Maybe putting in a little extra effort did make a difference. She touched up a few dark spots on her forehead with concealer and added mascara and eyeliner, making her eyes pop.