-the previous summer

The fan spun in lazy circles, barely having enough energy to blow around a wisp of my hair. I sighed heavily, glancing down at Lily who had offered to paint my toes. I was perched on my twin bed with a magazine in my hands while she sat cross-legged at my feet.

It was about ninety five degrees in the house even with all the windows open. Our three fans were working hard with no success, including the one next to me. I could feel the sweat stains forming on my underarms; it probably didn't help that I kept my arms clamped to my side so that the stains wouldn't become visible. Lily, with her red waves, didn't sweat a single drop. My eyes narrowed with envy.

"What do you want to do today, Pet?" I pretended to read the magazine as Lily questioned me.

After a second or two, I raised my my head as if I had only just heard her. "What? Oh. I don't mind." I was hoping she'd suggest going to the lake.

Lily dipped the polish brush into the little glass bottle before applying it to my pinkie toe. I couldn't help noticing that she had dripped some on my rug in the process. "Maybe Sev will go to the lake with us," she murmured in a half daze.

I rolled my eyes, flipping the magazine closed. "Why don't you two get married already?" There was an acidic edge to my voice, but Lily only smiled. Sometimes I wondered if she heard the words, but couldn't register the tone in which they were spoken. I flopped onto my back, her singsong voice making a reply I couldn't care less about. The radio had gone to static and there was a nest of hungry baby birds outside my window that wouldn't shut up. I had half a mind to toss it off the roof and test the theory that the birds were old enough to fly.

"Let's go," I wiggled my toes as she capped the pink lacquer bottle. I might as well show off my toes to someone. My mind began to wander as she took her sweet time to clean up the nail polish.

I remembered the yellow one-piece swimsuit like the back of my hand. It was dotted with small white flowers. A large flower blossomed on the left curve of my side and extended out to the middle of my stomach. Lily always told me I looked beautiful in it.

The leaves were a bright green, fragile and young. It still smelled faintly of spring as Lily and I trekked through the woods to the lake. Our friends and us frequented the lake in the summer months, especially on days like today. We reached the spot where the trees cleared out within ten minutes. That was record timing. I smiled as I recognized Henry and Fred splashing in the water. Paisley and Jen were lounging on the small beach area. Will was preparing to run at the tire swing.

Lily tapped my shoulder in her usual farewell. I watched briefly as she skipped a few feet back into the trees before throwing her arms around the shadow of a boy. Within seconds, they had both disappeared from sight. A frown tugged at the corners of my mouth, but I turned away quickly.

Traipsing over to Will, I looped my arms loosely around his neck from behind. I put my lips to his ear, pressing gently. "Guess who."

I could feel his jaw move as he grinned broadly. "I'm dreadful at guessing." He undid my arms and turned to face me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. "Oh, it's just you." Will grinned cheekily.

I slapped him playfully, but surrendered when he bent down to kiss me.

"Hey, you two," Jen called jokingly, her hands cupped around her mouth. Paisley and her snickered behind us.

I pulled back from Will. "I'm going over there for a moment," I said a little breathlessly. Will gave me a quick peck on the cheek before yelling something to Fred.

"Hey, guys," I smiled at Jen and Paisley, tossing my towel onto the cool sand.

"Where's the loser sister?" Paisley asked irritably before I could even sit down. Jen shot her a look, but made no move to apologize for her.

I shrugged as if I couldn't care less. "Off somewhere."

"I can't believe she hangs out with that boy. What's his name? Stephan?" Jen went straight into gossip mode. It would be another hour before she dropped the subject. "He's so filthy," she uttered, wrinkling her nose.

"And odd," Paisley commented, adjusting her sunglasses.

A burst of light farther down the shore caught my attention. I swore under my breath. It was partially hidden by the trees and I seemed to be the only one to notice.

"What's wrong?" Jen asked, concern in her voice. Paisley was off on some story about her and Henry, too preoccupied to notice the change in the conversation.

"I just remembered I have to be at my Nan's in an hour," I lied smoothly, standing up as I spoke. I folded my towel over my arms and gave Will an apologetic smile as I began to walk back the way I came.

As soon as I was sure no one could see me anymore, I made a quick turn to the left. "Lily," I hissed under my breath. "Bloody hell." I stepped on a few thorns as I cut through the undergrowth, thoroughly peeved that her and Sev had to go so out of the way to avoid others. Why couldn't they just be normal and hang out with my friends? Oh wait, that's right, they're not normal. Never had be and never would be. Maybe if I hadn't been left out. I dropped the thought as quickly as it had occurred, no reason to worry myself over that now.

"Ow," I yelped as I stepped on a stick. My attention was once again turned to my new mission. They had ventured farther down than usual.

A pair of hands snaked around my waist. I jumped, bumping into whoever or whatever was behind me. "Boo," a deep voice whispered into my ear. Lily burst out laughing, her high-pitched cackle causing me to wince. I turned fast and ended up face to face with Sev. He was shirtless, his board shorts and shaggy hair soaked. I caught sight of Lily bent double behind us. I was also hyper aware of Sev and I's close proximity. He was laughing though, not interested in me in the least.

Sev was soon unwrapping his arms from my waist and backing away to balance himself against a tree. There was probably some kind of inside joke involved that I wasn't getting. I glared at the pair of them, having fun without me.

"What?"

Lily huffed and puffed, trying to open her mouth to speak. Instead, Sev spoke for her, "It's an inside joke." Just as I suspected.

The two went on like this for another ten minutes before we all headed back. Apparently they had spent plenty of time swimming already, even though we'd only been at the lake for a total of thirty minutes.

I blinked and the memory of the previous week faded, Sev and Lily trailing off into bodiless wisps. It was nothing more than a reminiscent flash behind my eyelids. Lily yawned, stretching her arms and peering at me curiously. I smiled deviously when I saw her pit stains.

"Ready to go?"

"I suppose," I answered, slipping off the bed. And so the pieces began to fall into place, all because of one idle daydream.

Author's Note: Wrote this awhile back and posting on here for a friend. *cough*Rachel*cough* Hope it's not too terrible. :)