A/N: Yes, this story is based upon true events. My own personal experiences to be exact.
Disclaimer: I own the plot setting, and minor characters. The four marauders belong to J.K. Rowling.
The sun rose from behind the crimson canyon wall and poured into the window of the Marauder's cabin. James opened his eyes and, without waking the other three, stepped outside to shake away the remnants of sleep still clinging to his eyes.
Other than where he and his friends stayed, the chasm was a dark burgundy, making the walls appear almost fake against the sapphire sky. The lake in front of him was calm except for when the occasional Jet Ski or speed boat marred the surface with a streak of white foam. The Sun Lakes Resort itself was a crisscross of cracked roads, trees with peculiar white trunks and emerald green lawns that made your feet itch. Dotted along the pavement were a series of cabins, motor homes, duplex cabins, tents, and trailers, each equally run down.
The four of the friends were looking for something to break the usual monotony of summer. They had gone to a muggle resort to wreak a bit of havoc and have a bit of a vacation away from England. Their parents had allowed them to go by themselves because they had finally come of age, and they wanted them to learn some responsibility. They weren't sure exactly where in the U.S. they were, but they knew it was somewhere near the west coast. Within three hours on a broom, at any rate.
A snap of a twig made James leap into the air, but he simply found that Sirius had toddled out sleepily.
"S-S-So what are we doing today?" he asked while stifling a huge yawn.
"Pff I don't know. Why is it that I'm always the one that's supposed to have the answers?" James asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Be…cause I'm too irresponsible to take initiative?" Sirius said with a sly grin. James chuckled and followed him back inside. They found Remus up and making bowls of Corn Flakes, while Peter was still snoring in bed. Sirius placed a finger to his lips, and made his way over to the side of Peter's bed. He raised his hand and smacked Peter's bottom as hard as he could. When he still didn't move, Sirius jumped on him.
"Peter..wake up. Wake up Peter! Peter! Puleeaase.." Sirius whined, bouncing on Peter's back as he spoke. Peter raised his hand and punched Sirius as hard as he could in the middle of the back. Sirius lurched forward, but didn't move from his position. "Ow! You lousy piece of blubber! Get up!"
"Get off Sirius! You're making me miss my beauty sleep.." Peter said, still not raising his head.
"Trust me, Wormtail, it won't help you much," James said with a smirk.
"Besides, if you're up before noon, we can go get a Belgian waffle at the concession stand," Remus said, putting the bowls on the table.
Peter jumped out of bed, almost knocking Sirius to the floor. They all ate their food as fast as they could, (Peter was done five minutes before the others) dressed quickly, and walked up to the stand. Peter bought his Belgian waffle and an Italian soda, Remus got a snow cone, Sirius, a corn dog, and James, a chocolate milkshake. They sat at a table, brainstorming what they should do for the day.
"Why don't we jinx muggles while their backs are turned and watch them freak out?" Sirius suggested.
"Nah, we did that yesterday. I say we go out on one of those paggleboats," James said, gesturing towards the small dock near the parking area.
"You mean paddleboats?" Remus asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Whatever. Paddle, paggle. I don't see any difference," James said, slurping his milkshake moodily.
"Why don't we just sit in the cabin and eat?" Peter said hopefully. He quickly lowered his gaze when the others glared.
"Well I say we try and meet some new people," Remus said quietly.
"That's the stupidest, most idiotic, dimwitted," Sirius began.
"Brilliant thing I've heard all day!" James said, his eyes the size of galleons.
"I was GETTING to that!" Sirius cried and stuffed the rest of his corn dog into his mouth.
They then began to stroll down the pavement, each one trying their own tactic to meet some new friends. When jinxing, tripping, yelling, singing, dancing, and hugging didn't work, they decided to brainstorm.
By now the canyon was heating up like a furnace, the temperature was 99 degrees Fahrenheit even in the tree sheltered and mist filled resort. So they headed for the safety of the cool interior of their cabin. James reached into the fridge and passed out otter pops, a muggle treat they had grown quite fond of.
"I don't know why my method didn't work!" Sirius said, pouting.
"Well, I don't think making that guy cry really made a good impression.." Remus said, grinning.
"Why shouldn't it have? It was a friendly curse!" Sirius said indignantly.
Remus shook his head and stared at James. "And I thought Peter was the pig here."
"Hey!" Peter cried, biting his otter pop viciously.
"What? What's wrong with having three at a time?" James asked.
"The fact that you've got about five hundred more sitting in a pile," Sirius said, grinning.
"I like them mushy," James said matter-of-factly.
"Sure," Remus said, laughing. "Hey! Look out there! That looks like a likely suspect," He yelled, pointing out the window. Sitting at a table, there was a dark haired boy, about Remus' height, wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a white tank top. He was shuffling a deck of cards, and a girl across the lawn was eyeing him interestedly.
Before he had even finished his sentence, the other three were out the door and sitting with him. Remus followed them and flopped into a seat across from the boy, who looked quite flustered by all the attention.
"What do you guys want?" he asked rudely.
"Only to gaze deep into your eyes..do you mind if we hold hands?" Sirius said, trying to grasp the boy's hand. Remus nudged him hard in the ribs. The boy was looking disgusted.
"I'm sorry about him; he hasn't taken his medication this morning. I'm James, this is Sirius, that there is Remus, and this lump is Peter," James said, pointing to the others as he named them. Both Sirius and Peter were giving him death glares, so he continued. "Well they're all good guys, so do you want to go and do tut-tut or whatever they call it?"
"You mean put-put?" The boy asked.
"That's what I said," James said resentfully.
"Look, I really can't do anything now, I'm running an errand for my mom," he said, trying to stand up.
"You didn't look like it five minutes ago!" Peter said, staring at him.
"Well you guys just reminded me, so if you don't mind.." he said, standing up to leave.
"Okay, but before you go, you haven't told us your name," Remus said politely. The boy looked as though this question was quite intrusive before answering. "Jake, Jake Lyons."
Then he walked away, and when he reached the road, he began to run towards the trailers at the back of the park.
"That guy was weird, he didn't seem to like us," Remus said pensively.
"Oh gee, what clued you in on that?" James said sarcastically.
"That's impossible; no human on earth couldn't possibly not like us!" Sirius cried.
"What about Snape?" Remus asked slyly.
"My point exactly, Moony,' Sirius said smirking.
"Maybe he's an alien.." Peter said, his eyes wide and fearful.
"Peter, if you got any thicker you'd have to drown yourself in the lake," Remus said.
"No, Peter's got something. He definitely didn't sound or look human to me," James said, stroking his chin contemplatively.
"A mystery! Let us investigate!" Sirius shouted, leaping to his feet. In a minute he was sprinting down the lane after Jake, James and Remus close behind, and Peter at the rear, panting and wheezing.