*

i always have one,  [  nick digs in his pocket,  pulling out his lucky star wars lighter.  ]  you wanna do the honors? 

@twinflcmes,   duh!   these  are  my  favorites!   you  brought  a  lighter  too  right??

loving your commitment here,  [  cyrus laughs,  grinning at the massive waves on the red flag beach day.  ]  i figured you wouldn’t wanna miss it!   

@couchcrashd,   *   she  sits  up  from  her  tanning position  on  the  sand.  *  okay  okay  i’m  coming!   *  she’s  standing  up  and  throwing  her  sunglasses  off,   grabbing  her  surfboard  and  running  to  great  him  in  the  water.  *

oh,  thank god.  [  she sighs,  taking a seat next to her  ]  i thought i wouldn’t make it in time!  i just got off work and changed real quick.

@cameraup,   not  the  real  ones!   that  was  just  some  random  on  the  beach  lighting  them  off,  don’t  worry!

*  he smiles,  gazing down at his suit  * i was going for a james bond thing here,  *  he jokes,  *  and i’ll try to be less obvious with my staring next time.  *  penn dances with her,  twirling her out away from him and back to him with the music.  this had been the best summer being able to spend it with her.  * 

@cursedsummr,   i  mean,   i’ve  only  caught  you  staring  a  few  times.  *   she  smiles  at  him  brightly.   she  was  in  a  long  yellow  dress,   her  hair  pulled  back  into  an  updo.  his  compliment  made  her  cheeks  burn,  as  she  looked  away  from  him  with  a  grin.  *    thank  you.  you  don’t  look  so  bad  yourself,   very  dapper. 

*  he chuckles lightly,  *  did you know that i’ve been wanting to ask you?  i thought i was being sly here.  *  he nods,  *  i’ve been .. wanting to dance with you all night.  you look - beautiful,  kat. 

*  he doesn’t want to pry,  but he figured it was strange for all of them reuniting.  he nods,  *  okay,  then it’ll just be us then.  *  a smile,  he nudges her side gently  *  let’s actually try and have fun tonight,  yea?  we deserve it. 

@twinflcmes,   no.   *  she’s  quick  to  answer.  *  i  was  just  asking  in  case  you  wanted  to.   it’s  just  been  kind  of  awkward  recently.  

*  he rubs the back of his neck,  hesitant to add the third member of their group. *  i actually haven’t . . talked to him a whole lot since i’ve been back.  do you want to invite him? 

me neither.  * nick sighs, not wanting to relive the past. *  just let me know if anything else happens,  okay?  i can handle it. 

@twinflcmes,    i  know  it’s..   fucked  up.   i  mean,  who  hates  us  that  much?   i  can’t   even  think  of  anybody.   

yeah — just block them.  maybe we’re freaking out for nothing,  which is probably what this weirdo wanted.  *  his fingers pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration before dropping down to his sides,   *  using my sister’s name though?  that’s more than just a low blow,  whoever it was. 

i guess let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.  *  he rubs the back of his neck, clearly shaken by the spooky text. *  but yeah — i don’t like the idea of someone fucking with us.  sorry for barging in here with this,  kat. 

@cursedsummr,   yeah  just  leave  it..  maybe  it  was  just  some  asshole  thinking  it  was  funny..   but  yeah  really  creepy.   if  they  text  again  though ..   we’ll  have  to  do  something,   right?

definitely don’t tell nick,  *  he shakes his head,  *  he’d probably kick whoever’s ass did this.  i’m just . . creeped out.  should i just leave it alone?  maybe someone wasn’t happy to see me back in town? 

i do too.  *  he’s relieved to hear her say that,  *  this used to be . .  well is,  my favorite place.  i don’t to want to ruin that.  or the memories our friend group had. 

@twinflcmes,   mm..  i  agree.   i  feel  like  the  only  way  to  get  through  things  like  this  is  to  talk  about  them.   keep  the  memories  alive  you  know?    my  mom  hates  that..  she  thinks  it  will  all  get  better  if  we  just  push  everything  under  the  rug.  i  think  that’s  so  stupid.   

don’t steer clear. *  he shakes his head,  *  i think she just . .  she thinks of camille a lot when she sees you.  but that shouldn’t be a bad thing.  *  he looks down at his hands,  *  i want to be able to talk about her like she’s not a bad word,  or something. 

*  penn smiles brightly,  *  sweet!  i’ll play ball with the shoe - thief while you change. 

@cursedsummr,   *   she  gives  him  a  small  smile  at  this.  *   fine,  we’ll  go.  just  give  me  a  minute  to  change.  

that isn’t even a question.  i’m paying too,  *  a little light bribery,  but he really missed hanging out with her.  *  and i’m getting chocolate cookie dough. 

@cursedsummr,   *  he  takes  his  image  in,  noticing  how  he  looks  slightly  older,  how  he  got  taller.  *   yeah..  me  either.   

*  he walks over to sit in the sand,  a distance still between them.  he doesn’t really mind the sand on his fancy slacks from the funeral.  *  i promise,  kat.  i don’t want to be strangers. 

@cursedsummr,     *   she  thinks  for  a  moment,  her  gaze  drifting  from  him  to  the  ocean.  she  was  trying  to  make  sense  of  all  this,   why  they  stopped  talking.   after  a  moment   she  looks  back  up  at  him.  *    okay..  if  you  promise  to  never  do  that  to  me  again.