"All the Autumn leaves are falling, I feel like you're the only reason for it," I sing along to the radio as I'm driving behind my mom to our new home. It looks like your average small town with expensive cars. I pull up outside and see that Kai, Lau and Cade without their shirt, pulling boxes out of the U-Haul truck and moving it into the house. I grew up with all of them back in Hawaii and I considered them like my brothers. Kai is two years younger, and on the skinny side of life, with his dyed platinum blonde hair moussed into a faux hawk, he was your average surfer boy. Lau is the same age as Kai but a bit more muscular and had tribal tattoos covering both his arms and tight abs, he started growing his hair since the 6th grade and now it was almost as long as mine. Cade was purely muscle, most people were afraid of him back on the Island, but he was a big teddy bear. His right arm was covered in tribal patterns, as he stood at 6'4" and 250 pounds. His hair was a dark brown and curly at shoulder length, but it was currently in a ponytail as he let his five o'clock shadow grow a little longer. I stepped out my truck and immediately regret wearing these black skinny jeans that the sun seems to love. I see four girls walking down the street opposite from my side and they're stunning. Two are blondes, one with the perfect curls, the other with a spunky aura, and the other two are brunettes, one the shortest of the group with an avant-garde fashion style, whereas the other looks the most studious of the group. I put on my pilot shades to block the sun and I'm brought out of my thoughts.
"Hey Nani," I hear Cade say as he walks up to me and wraps me in a hug. His huge stature makes me seem small and kisses me on the cheek.
"Hey Cade," I wrap my arms around his torso and feel his sweaty back.
"Where's your stuff?" he asks and I nod pointing to my trunk. "Guys come here!" he yells and Kai and Lau run towards us.
"What's up?" Kai asks.
"Get stuff out the trunk," he says and they nod before completing the task. I eventually help setting up stuff inside the house. It turns dark by the time most of the rooms are done leaving the garage and spare bedrooms for the next day. Instead of looking through the boxes for my clothes I decide to sleep without clothes. Light filters through my room and I awake.
"How long are you guys in town for?" I hear my mom ask as I descend the steps.
"Well I have a competition in two weeks, so I'm just staying here for two days then I need to get back to train," Kai says and Lau nods.
"I'll be staying here for a bit longer, maybe a week or two," Cade answers and I know my dad put him up to it. Our parents had been practically arranging our marriage since we were in diapers, that was until I came out. I knew he had feelings for me and never really understood it when I told him I liked girls and only saw him as a brother. He has always been my protector and we were around each other practically everyday, that I don't know how this new dynamic will change our relationship.
"Hey sweetie," my mom greets.
"Hey mom, guys," I say to them and Cade pulls out a chair next to him.
"We were going into town for breakfast, want to come?" he asks and I nod.
"Lets all take a shower and wear shirts," I joke knowing that their idea of showers is an early morning surf session and the weather was so warm that there was never a need for shirts.
"Shower yes, shirts…hmmm?" Cade jokes.
"They probably won't let you into a restaurant without one," I reason and he nods reluctantly. I go back upstairs to pick out clothes and shower. I settle on my favorite wash blue, high waist shorts, and a crop top and black closed toe heels that zip above my ankles. I put pieces of my hair into a small bun on top of my head and let the rest fall around my shoulders, as the tips are dyed blonde. Once I'm done I walk downstairs to see Cade dressed in a blue tank top, but he's so muscular that his chest still show on the sides a bit. His hair is pulled into a messy bun, beige shorts that cling to him semi-tightly and his signature flip-flops. Kai sported black skinny jeans, white shirt with Aztec symbols and a hat to match. Lau opted out of the shirt deal and stuck with his jean jumpsuit and sported with his classic timberlands. He loved those so much he'd wear them in 100° weather. But I stare at him intently.
"What?" he asks innocently.
"I thought I specifically said shirts," I argued.
"No worries," he says and turns to show me a shirt hanging out of his back pocket.
"Fine," I say through clenched teeth. "Let's go," I order and we all walk out towards my truck. She was a beauty that I acquired, Mercedes G550 all black interior and exterior with blacked out windows. Cade slides into the passenger seat next to me and we all buckle in before I travel towards the center of town. I find it after driving around for thirty minutes in what seemed like circles. I park in the first open spot I see and we climb out the doors. I see people staring at us and I put on my glasses so I can roll my eyes in peace. I hate being the new girl. We find a coffee shop called the Brew and we walk inside. I see the girls from yesterday sitting at a table but ignore their stares and turn my direction to the menu.
"Hi, welcome to the Brew, how can I help you?" the girl asks.
"Yes, I'll have a Carmel Macchiato, a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino, Strawberry Smoothie, and a Fresh Greens Smoothie," I say and she nods before giving order to another worker and we go to grab a table, but the only available one is next to the girls who I see are intently looking at me and probably sizing me up. Kai and Lau rush to take a seat across from us so they can stare at the girls as Cade pulls out my chair for me.
"Thanks," I say and he nods before taking a seat and I pull out my phone to check out friends from back home.
"Oh my God, did you see that?" Kai asks Lau as he shows them a phone.
"Claire just started to surf," he says to us and shows us the video his mom sent to him. Claire is his baby sister who's only 5 years old and a natural on water.
"Emily!" I hear the barista yell and I go to get up but Cade puts his hand on my shoulder to let me know he'll get it. He pays the barista and tips her well.
"Everything is so cheap here," he says excitedly when he comes back to the table.
"I'm starting to think Hawaii is the only place that charges $10 for a coffee," I respond.
"So Em, have you found any new dance studios you want to try out?" Lau asks.
"Yeah, there's a few in Philly and New York, but I'm going over to California in a month or two for a competition, so I want to practice ahead of time," I reason and they nod.
"I'll be there," Cade says and I look in shock.
"How? You can't keep paying to travel back and forth," I say.
"Yeah, well that's for me to worry about, I'm supporting you on your first big break of year since the move," he says leaving no room for discussion. After a few minutes of silence and looking on our phones I see movement out the corner of my eye. It's Cade taking off his shirt and Kai following suit.
"Really?" I ask.
"What its hot, besides that's the longest I've ever stayed in a shirt over the summer," he reasons and I roll my eyes jokingly. "And let me take these off since I can't see you rolling those big brown eyes," he says and we both laugh as Kai and Lau are stuck in another conversation. "There we go, beautiful".
"What do you want to do today?" I ask.
"How about we finish with your room".
"Sounds like a great plan," I say excitedly.
"Kai, you ready for your competition?" I ask and he sucks his teeth.
"What competition?" he says cockily and we all laugh before getting up to walk around the square. I turn around to make eye contact with the blonde that had the most striking blue eyes. She looked as if she'd stepped right out of a magazine. I look around the table to see them all looking at me intently and I was about to say something when Cade wraps his arms around my waist and buries his chin in my head. His rough hands touch the exposed skin from the crop top.
"Ready to go Nani?" he asks and I nod so he places his hand on my back as we walk out.
"When are those two gonna get married?" I hear Kai joke and I turn around to glare at him hard and he gulps back what I'd assume the largest hairball of his life.
"That's one thing I won't miss in Hawaii, the death glare," Lau whispers in his ear while taking off the straps to his jumpsuit. We walk around for about an hour checking out different shops and eating sandwiches at a deli, or more like Cade ate two before I could finish one. We make it back to my house at 1 where I see some movers my mom hired setting up more furniture.
"Hey sweetie, you going to unpack?" she asks and I nod. "Can you take this pie over to the neighbors, I see she has a daughter around your age," and I immediately start shaking my head.
"Of course we will," Cade intervenes and I shoot him a glare, but he ignores it. He takes my mom's famous apple pie in his hand and grabs mine with the other dragging me across the street and soon we're knocking on the door. It opens to reveal the other blonde with clear blue eyes and shorter, but straight hair and black highlights.
"Hi," she answers bubbly but I don't speak until Cade squeezes my hand.
"Hi, my mom wanted me to drop this pie off to you," I say and he clears his throat. "I'm Emily and this is my friend Cade".
"I'm Hanna, would you like to come in, my friends are here," she says nicely.
"Oh no that's..." I say but am cut off.
"We'd love to," Cade speaks for me and I really want to cut him.
"Awesome, I saw you guys earlier at the coffee shop, where's the other two?" she asks leading us into the kitchen where the other girls are sitting a table.
"Back at the house," Cade says.
"So this is Alison, Spencer, Aria, guys this is my new neighbor Emily and her friend Cade," she says.
"Hi," they say.
"Hi," I respond.
"Alright, it's too many girls, I'm going to head back," Cade says but I clench his hand not ready to release it. "Make some friends, and be nice," he whispers in my ear before kissing me on the cheek.
"So the hottie's your boyfriend?" Hanna asks and I scrunch my face.
"No he's more like a brother," I respond quickly.
"Sure," she says coolly.
"So where are you from?" Aria asks.
"Hawaii," I say.
"Oh that must be cool, living in paradise all the time," she says.
"It's okay, everything is more expensive and you don't have access to everything," I respond.
"So what brings you to Rosewood?" Alison asks.
"Needed a change," I say vaguely.
"So what grade are you in?" Spencer asks.
"I'm going into my junior year," I say.
"You play any sports?" she asks.
"I dance, but I used to swim competitively," I respond.
"What kind of dance do you do?" Hanna asks.
"My concentration is Ballet, but I really love Hip-Hop," I say.
"Nice car you have," Alison says as an open-ended statement. "Your family rich?"
"We do okay," I respond.
"Nani!" Lau yells rushing into the house and loses his speech when he sees the girls. "Whoa".
"Lau, what did I tell you about coming into places uninvited?" I ask sternly and he rolls his eyes.
"I'm Lau," he says his voice deepening slightly and extending to Aria first.
"Aria," she responds before he turns his attention to the rest.
"Hanna".
"Spencer".
"Alison".
"Sorry I tried to stop him," Cade runs in with Kai in tow whose mouth hangs open at the girls.
"Whoa dude," he says and his eyes widen.
"Close your mouth before you catch flies," I say and it breaks him out of his trance and it has everyone else chuckling. That is until we hear the radio transition to the Nick Jonas Chains song.
"Ugh not again," we all groan knowing what's to follow so Cade goes over to turn it off.
"It's for your own protection," he says to the girls and they smile.
"So are you guys into house music?" Lau asks and they nod. "Can you tell me what you think about this, I was messing around with my computer". (Lean On by Major Lazer & DJ Snake)
"That's sick dude," Kai says in the middle as we're all bumping our heads to the beat.
"He probably thinks they're going to drop their pants for him," Cade whispers in my ear and I look in his eyes and we both laugh out loud.
"Awe look at the lovebirds," Kai points out like the little kid he is and I set him a cold glare.
"It's time to go," I say ruining the moment.
"But we just got here," he argues.
"And we're leaving," I snap back and he shuts up, but puts a pout on his face.
"Bye guys, it was nice meeting you," I wave at them.
"Hey Emily, do you guys want to come to this end of the year party that's later on tonight?" Hanna asks.
"Sure, I'm always down for a party," I say.
"It's at Noel's cabin, you can just follow in your truck. We're leaving around 10," she says and I nod.
"See you then," I say and we all leave.