When the boys got home from Rite Aid, they saw that Gary had already bought and set up furniture for them.
"You guys took so long. What happened?" Gary asked, setting up the pillows on the couch.
"We met some girls while we were at the store." Cameron said honestly.
"I see," Gary said, turning towards them. "Remember boys, don't get caught up with girls because I just heard that someone is working on repairing your house."
"Really? That's cool!" Nathan said.
"We'll be out of here within a few months."
Later that night, Gary told them he had to take a flight back to San Diego.
"I'll come back around every now and then. But for now, you're on your own." he told them over the phone.
"What do you guys wanna do?" Zach asked, surfing channels on their new TV.
"Call your little girlfriends?" Nathan joked, looking at Cameron and Michael.
"That's actually a good idea." Michael said, looking at Cameron. Cameron nodded.
"Where are you guys going?" Nathan asked as Michael and Cameron tried to sneak out the door.
"Well, the girls invited us to the beach." Cameron said.
"Actually, Paloma did but I'm sure her friend Kennedy won't mind." Michael replied.
"Okay. Have fun, boys." Zach said.
"We will." Cameron smiled, running out the door. Michael soon followed.
"So Nate, what should we do while they're gone?" Zach asked, getting up from the couch.
"Not sure." Nathan shrugged.
"We could…stalk them at the beach?" Zach joked.
"Sure. We've got nothing better to do." Nathan said. Within a few minutes the boys called a taxi to go to the beach.
"Sup?" Michael said when he found Paloma and Kennedy at the beach. Paloma was smiling, feeling confident in her swimsuit while Kennedy was wearing multiple cover-ups.
"I don't like showing off my body." she told Paloma earlier.
"We're glad you came." Paloma said, looking at her friend.
"Er, yeah. Sure." Kennedy said, looking away from them.
"I'll be right back." she added, making her way towards an ice cream stand.
"Don't worry, she'll get used to you guys eventually." Paloma said, walking the boys to an area that they set up with towels and bags.
"Good. She's kind of scaring me." Michael said, looking down. Paloma laughed as Kennedy walked back up with an ice cream in her hand.
"What?" she asked, sitting down between Michael and Paloma.
"Where are they?" Nathan asked, looking around the crowded beach.
"Not sure. Let's keep looking." Zach added, walking faster.
"Found 'em!" Nathan said, walking towards their direction.
"Dude! Remember, we're watching them, not joining them." Zach reminded him.
"Right." Nathan said, standing back towards Zach.
Cameron helped Paloma set up a cheap beach volleyball net. Kennedy rolled her eyes when she put Michael and her on a team together.
"Just so you know, you guys are totally going down." Paloma smiled, looking at Cameron.
"Totally." Cameron agreed, the volleyball in his hands. Kennedy and Michael rushed around the court while Cameron and Paloma were staying in pretty much the same spot.
"Go Kennedy! Get it!" Michael kept yelling.
Kennedy stopped, letting the ball fall to the ground. "Just call me D, okay?" she said, picking up the ball and throwing it back over the net. Michael smiled.
"D, that's a nice nickname." he said.
"Yep." D added, hitting the ball over the net.
"This is getting boring." Nathan said, eating his second scoop of ice cream.
"Then let's stop watching them and start doing our own stuff!" Zach said, getting up and walking towards the water.
"The water is way colder here than in San Diego." Nathan said, going into ankle-high water.
"Yeah, really." Zach said, trying to go in deeper.
"Nice game." Cameron said, sitting down next to Paloma who was fanning herself.
"Just so you know, this is like, the hottest it gets here." Paloma said. The last time one of them had checked their phone, it said it was 98 degrees.
"I guess that's good, considering San Diego can get really hot." Michael said, inching closer to D. He really wanted her to stop being so afraid of them. They don't bite. They want to be friends.
As they stayed there longer, more groups of people started to come and go. "You know what we should do?" D said, finally speaking up.
"What?" Michael said immediately after D spoke.
"We should, uh, go to carnival down the street." she suggested. Every once in a while, San Francisco would set up a three week carnival right by the beach. Tickets weren't too expensive, but it was still a drag to have to spend money.
"Sounds good to me." Paloma said, putting a pair of shorts over her.
The group walked together, walking the three blocks to get to the carnival. They didn't realize, but Zach and Nathan soon followed.
"Where are they going?" Zach asked.
"I don't know."
"You know what I realized?" Zach said, turning to face Nathan more.
"What?"
"No one has asked for a picture or autograph since we've been here."
Nathan and Zach reached the carnival, spotting the others at least 100 feet away.
"Well, we've only been here like, 3 days." Nathan said, walking up to the ticket stand to buy ride tickets.
"Oh we forgot to buy ride tickets back there." Cameron pointed out.
"Exactly. We're going to sneak onto rides." D said, smiling for the first time.
"Sweet." Michael said.
"Won't you get in trouble for this?" Cameron asked, looking at Paloma, then D.
"We do it all the time, don't worry." D said.
Each ride had a fairly long line. It would take at least 15 minutes to ride one ride. The group managed to sneak into a big group, unseen.
"When we get to the front, just squeeze in with those people." D said, like she was a big pro at sneaking into things.
"Got it." Cameron said.
They all did as D said. They snuck in with the group into the next ride. They continued to do that until they had ridden every ride in the carnival.
"Time for games?" Michael suggested, a smile planted on his face.
"Nah. We're tired." Paloma said, sitting on the nearest bench.
"Wanna go back to our place?" Cameron said. D sat down next to Paloma, getting her phone out.
Paloma looked at D, who shrugged. "Sure." she said.
"Right now?"
"If you want."
Watching the group go onto rides was boring. Nathan and Zach only bought enough tickets to ride three rides, so they spent the rest of the time playing games and spending their money.
"Shouldn't we go home?" Nathan said, throwing a dart at a balloon.
"Not yet. I'm having too much fun." Zach said, winning his fourth prize.
After playing a few more games, they went to the food area, where they stocked up on carnival snacks.
"I'm so full." Nathan said, eating the last bite of his corn dog.
"Same. Let's play a few more games and then go home." Zach said, burping.
"Welcome to the crib." Michael said, unlocking the door and letting the girls in.
"Nice." D said, sitting on the couch right when she got in.
"Comfy." Paloma added as she sat down next to her.
"Yeah, Gary picked it out." Cameron said, heading to the fridge. He got himself and the girls a drink, pouring them nicely into glasses.
"Thanks." Paloma said, taking the cup.
"How come you didn't get me one?" Michael frowned.
"'Cause." Cameron smirked.
"Xbox?" Michael said, forgetting about Cameron and turning it on.
"How did you get all of this stuff in like, two days?" D asked, obviously not impressed by all of their stuff.
"One, Gary's awesome, and two, we're famous." Michael smiled.
"That's right." D said.
"So, let's hear your music. Or whatever you do." Paloma said, crossing her arms.
"Cameron, get the stuff." Michael said, setting up the Xbox.
Cameron turned on the stereo, blasting Allstar Weekend songs.
"So what do you think?" Michael said, mostly saying this to D.
"Nice." she said, nodding in agreement with Paloma.