"If you wanna ask her out, then Dude- just ask the girl out!" Madison Nichols said changing the song on her phone. It was the last day of their junior year and Seth was driving them home. They'd been neighbors and best friends since Madison moved in when they were 6.

"I can't just ask Alexa out… she's different."

"Dude, she was in like a bunch of my classes this semester, okay? Trust me when I say she... is that simple" she joked.

He rolled his eyes, finally parking in his driveway.

"Come on Madi, I'm serious… I think I really like her…" he admitted. Madison looked at her best friend in shock. She thought about it and sighed.

"Alright, if it's that important… I'll help you out."

Seth leaned across his center console and hugged Madison tightly.

"Alright, alright!" she said, shaking him off. "I'm gonna pick out something for you to wear to Foxxy's party tonight. Phase one: here we go."

"So… come on spill, how'd it go?" Madison asked later, as she Roman, Seth, and Dean, all stood in Alicia's backyard. Seth had just come back from a lengthy conversation with Alexa inside, and his friends all wanted the dirt.

"We're going out Tuesday" he said with a small smile on his face. Madison grabbed him by the shoulders from behind and shook him a bit. "I knew you could do it." Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she squealed checking them message.

"Sweet! Sasha just got here!" she said, slipping her phone back in her pocket. "I'm gonna go find her. Can you please not get wasted? You're my ride home, dude" she asked.

"But of course, Princess" he teased as she playfully pushed him before bouncing back into the house.

"Okay..." Dean began after she left. "I get Alexa's cute and all but…" he continued watching Madison walk away.

"What?" Seth asked perplexed.

"Madi's fucking hot" Roman said smiling up from his plastic red cup. Seth looked between his friends and shook his head adamantly.

"Dude… it's gross when you guys talk about her like that. She's just… Madi."

"Take our word for it man, she's gorgeous and somebody's gonna scoop her up this summer" Roman responded, noticing someone else had been eyeing Madison go back inside.

A few weeks later, Seth crossed the lawn and opened the front door. He heard a commotion in the kitchen and smiled as he walked into the 4th of July prep in the Nichol's house.

"Kyle, can you go remind your father he left the briquettes in the garage… Hi Seth" Katherine Nichols huffed. Seth watched as Madison's younger brother set his iPad down and hopped off the kitchen stool to find his dad outside. He turned to Madison's mom and handed her the cherry pie his mother made. "Here you go Mama Kat. My mom said she'll be over later."

"Ahh, thank you Sweetheart" she said setting the pie on the counter. "Madi's still in her room. Would you be a dear and remind her she still needs to help me with the corn?"

"Sure thing." Seth smiled as he made his way through the house, up the stairs to Madison's room. He opened the door and was shocked seeing her there topless.

"Seth!" she screamed, grabbing a shirt, holding it over her chest. He shut the door quickly and stood there for a moment nervous as his mouth suddenly became dry. He was almost out of breath. He'd seen her in next to nothing before but she'd never looked like that. After a minute, she opened the door with a small smirk on her face.

"Next time just knock... perv" she joked, pushing him out her doorway down the hall.

"Dude, Madi's new pool's so sick. The rest of our summer parties have to be here." Roman said a few hours later after the party began. He, Seth, and Roman were all sitting at a table together eating.

"Speaking of the little She-Devil… where the hell is she?" Dean asked taking a sip of the lemonade the guys had already spiked. Both he and Roman noticed Seth sitting there staring down, sliding the food around on his plate.

"Yo! Earth to Seth…" Dean said, waving a hand in Seth's face. He blinked and looked up at his friends.

"Sorry…" he sighed. "It's just earlier I saw Mad-" he began.

"There she is" Roman said, cutting him off. Seth was happy for the interruption, not wanting to talk about seeing his best friend topless, more importantly not wanting to talk about liking it.

He turned around to see Madison and Renee walking towards them in their bathing suits. Seth raised his eyebrows seeing Madison's strappy two piece bikini. Her denim shorts were unbuttoned hanging low, and her belly ring was exposed. Seth's heart raced as the girls reached them. Renee gave Dean a kiss on the forehead as he scarfed down some macaroni and cheese.

"Guess you boys gotta wait an hour to get in" she said as she and Madi made their way down to the pool.

"Fuck…" Seth muttered as he watched Madi wiggle out of her shorts.

Later that evening as people began lighting fireworks, Madi and a couple friends had climbed on top of her roof to get a better view.

"I can't believe we're seniors… this year's going to be a fucking blast" she said propping herself up on her elbows, chugging some spiked lemonade.

"Seems like it was just yesterday, this pig-tailed little girl was pushing my head in the dirt" he smiled looking at the night sky.

"Don't diss the pigtails… I'll push your head in dirt again" she joked.

Seth smiled, staring at the way she reacted to the fireworks. For the tenth year in a row, they sat on her roof, watching the fireworks. Something about this year though, felt different.

"Did you remember to put the emergency roadside kit in you car?" Mrs. Rollins asked Seth the next morning as he loaded his truck.

"For the thousandth time Mom… yes, I'm packed and ready. Stop worrying ok?" he asked, tossing his duffle bad in the truck bed. It was the gang's annual camping trip and as usual, his mother was driving him insane. "Finally" he said seeing Madison crossing his lawn. He grabbed one of her bags and carried it over to the truck, tossing it next to his.

"Somebody's in a mood" she said smirking. She knew how protective Mrs. Rollins, and she knew how bad Seth wanted to get on the road already. She smiled hopping into the passenger seat, as Seth got turned the engine on.

"You kids, have fun. And Seth, no sleeping in that Alexa girls tent!" She yelled as he backed out the driveway. He rolled his eyes as Madison snickered.