(Hey guys, I have a new story idea here. I'll be posting this chapter now and it probably won't be updated for a week, unless it becomes super popular or whatever then I'll reconsider the update schedule. I hope you all enjoy!)
Tris' POV.
As I hump my heavy handbag off the plane, I gaze around and take in the beaming sunrays. America. I'm finally here. It's always been a personal dream of mine to visit the country, and now that I've left University the girls and I have decided to take our Gap year here. The flight from London was awful. In order to coincide with our already tight budget, we had to fly with an extremely cheap airline... death. Simply death.
"Hurry up!" Christina shout's from bottom of the staircase. I didn't think it possible for somebody to be as enthusiastic as me for landing in the US but Chris is just so hyper it often hurts my head...
Many people turn around and stare at her as we walk down the stairs and off the plane. She doesn't care, though. She's the most outgoing person I've ever met in my life, it baffles me. Then there's Shauna. The prettiest one of us all, and I often find myself jealous of her. In a good way though, I love her like the sister I never had. And finally Marlene, she's the youngest of us all and she acts like it. She's the little sister of the group, and we stick together no matter what.
"We're going to need a bigger cab..." the driver tells us as he breaks the news that our 8 suitcases wont fit in the taxi.
"Ugh... Don't you guys have private buses over here?" Marlene suggests, and he strokes his moustache clearly in deep thought.
"Sure. I'll call for one now." he walks away on his phone.
"So." I say "What are we doing first?" I ask.
"I say we go to the apartment and drop our bags off, get dressed and go straight to the beach and find jobs tomorrow?" Christina suggests, and we actually nod together, finding it shocking at how simple it all sounds.
The driver walks back over. "Just called my buddy Ric. He's on his way with a larger vehicle for you girls. He's just round the corner. Any second now" he lets us know, we express our gratitude to him and he walks away, to find more people he can drive to a destination.
The minibus pulls up in the car park, and a man who looks like he's about to retire hops out of the drivers side. "Hello ladies" he says, a warm smile greets us and he takes our bags, struggling to lift them into the trunk.
After a few minutes of driving in the bus, he finally breaks the silence. "So how are you girls finding Cali?" he asks, in a raspy voice.
"It's so pretty here!" I say, before anybody else can give their opinion first. "I love it already." I add.
"I'm glad to hear it. Lukasz told me I was taking you all to Venice Beach, correct?" he asks
"Yeah that's right" Mar tells him.
"Nice place. Great for young girls like yourself. Nightlife... Boys... Booze... What more can you ask for huh?" he says and we all laugh. He seems like a nice enough guy.
We pull out outside our apartment, and it's right on the shore of the beach, alongside those restaurants you always see on YouTuber's video's. Like KassemG and DauntlessTV. I love those two channels, they're all so funny guys. Another hot- I mean funny guy you see around these parts is Vitaly. The guy who streaked in the World Cup Final. My Ex, Eric, found that hilarious. He would... Dick.
We swing open the doors, and race upstairs, struggling to carry up the suitcases. I claim my room, throw my bags on the floor and shut my door. I take off my sweaty hoodie, and pull on a tropically coloured crop top. I swing on a clear white shirt that allows the vibrant colours to poke through. It covers my bum so I decide just to wear shorts. I take off my converse and put on my sandals.
"I'm ready for the beach!" I scream, and get no answer. Oh.
I jog back down the stairs, and find the girls are already dressed, and all look so much better than me. My face drops, and I'm glad they didn't see it. They know about my past... The depression and jealously of other girls. They'd get upset if they found out I was being shown up by them.
"About goddamn time" Shauna says, effortlessly wearing next to no clothes, and a large sunhat.
"Well sorry princess, we can't all be as perfect as you" I say and stick my tongue out, and get a middle finger in return.
"Shall we go? I want Ice cream!" Christina screams and drags Marlene out of the door, leaving my and Shauna.
"Hey Tris" Shauna lightly says as I pull on some darkened out shades.
"Yeah?" I ask, looking at myself in the mirror.
"You look gorgeous. Just thought I'd let you know, I'll be borrowing that crop top." she says and I laugh.
"Thanks." I bluntly reply, I can't accept compliments.
"Think you'll meet a guy out here?" she pokes, always talking to me about men.
"No. As always" I giggle and she waves it away. We walk out the door, I turn and lock it, putting the key down my bra.
"Don't be stupid. You'll find a replacement for Eric." She tells me and I whince. I'm not ready to think about him yet... Yeah it's been a year but he cheated on me with my old best friend, Susan. God knows where they are now. Far away hopefully.
As we finally catch up to Christina and Marlene we find them lying on the beach, already sunbathing.
"Typical" Shauna mocks as we sit down, and Marlene flips her off.
"What? Snooze ya lose" Christina says and we laugh at her childishness.
I take in my surroundings. A beautiful stretch of sand, gracefully being stroked by a deep blue of an ocean. People flock to see such sights, like today. I'm shocked they even found space to sunbathe.
"... I can't believe we missed them!" I overhear two girls talking about a metre away from me.
"I know! We always miss them. We'll meet them one day, don't worry dude!" she consoles her friend.
"Missed who?" I ask, not realising what I said. I'd hate for them to think I was eavesdrropping.
"DauntlessTV! They were just here filming a prank!" she spins around, explaining to me. My heart skips a beat, knowing that Uriah was just here. And his brother Zeke! My gosh... His eyes! Will too, but I think he might have a girlfriend. And of-course Four. How could I forget him? He's probably the best looking, but he always seems to get into so much trouble! I love it...
"You're joking!" Marlene shrieks into my ear as she hears what the girls say.
"No! They could still be around... Just follow the crowd!" she points, and a group of around 50 young people my age are moving with haste. They must be like 500 metres away by now.
"We're leaving." Christina says, springing up, whisking sand into Shauna's eyes, much to her anger.
"Fine" We get up, and I turn to the girls. "You coming with?"
"Um... We'll pass. Thanks for the offer though! I'm just too tired" the one who consoled her friend explains. "I'm Alissa by the way." she says, her cute American accent squeaks. I shake her manicured hand, and follow my friends.
After eventually catching the crowd, we notice they stopped. There's a big camera focused on a few people in the middle of the huge circle.
"...So who will it be? Come on! Hey Uriah, you pick" I hear Zeke's voice say but being 5'6 I can't see over the crowd.
I find a small gap, so I can see what's going on. He walks around the mass of primarily girls, without a shirt on. He prowls, until his eyes lie on mine. "Her" he says, pointing at me. I hear Shauna scream as the camera lands on me. My heart freezes, and he gives me his outstretched hand.
I just touched Uriah's hand. Hold me.
A round of applause greets me as I am pulled to the middle of the circle, and I find myself staring at Four. He's staring back at me, with a really weird look. Cute.
(Hope you liked the new concept of a chapter! I know, fairly boring but I had 35 minutes to write what I usually would in 2 hours. Forgive me. I hope you all enjoyed! If I feel this gets a lot of support, expect an update very soon. Maybe as soon as it hits 250 views? Anyway. Much love! -Al.)