Pandora stepped out of Morty with her flat light blue sandals and Elaine's camera in hand. Water started to drip onto the pavement as her bare feet carried her through the yard. Pandora was soaked with water from First Beach; her hair started to curl from the salt water as it dried. Wincing as the stairs creaked, Pandora made it up to the house and slowly opened the door.

"Where were you?" Theresa's voice caused Pandora's movements to become frozen. Pandora gulped and turned to look at Theresa, whom was giving her a look of disdain.

"I was taking pictures for my Art project at First Beach," Pandora explained as she held a tighter grip on the strap of the camera. Theresa gave a 'humph' sound and turned the TV's volume back up. Pandora let out a relieved sigh and practically sprinted up the stairs to her room.

Without any hesitation, Pandora locked the door and stripped her shirt from her body. She easily found a hooded sweatshirt to take the shirt's place upon her body and let the cloth consume her. Pandora pulled her shorts off and changed into a pair of thin yoga pants. Staring down at the camera, Pandora first pulled her hair back into a messy bun before picking the small object up.

After spending the day with Embry, she knew that there would be pictures on there that her aunt could never see. Seeing a shirtless boy around Pandora would cause Theresa to have a fit and break something, most likely an object that belongs to Pandora. A black sharpie caught Pandora's eye and she pulled out the Art project list, dropped the camera to her lap, and crossed off two lines.

Pandora couldn't help herself as she curled up further into her hoodie with the back of the sharpie between her teeth. A smile spread across her face before she pulled her legs up and glanced down at the camera, the picture of Embry staring back at her.

::

"You kissed him!" Elaine belted out as she stared at Pandora in shock. Elaine's fork had been left lying aside forgotten as her mouth dropped open.

"Yes, now keep your mouth shut," Pandora hissed as she backhanded Elaine's shoulder. "The entire school doesn't need to know."

"Yes, yes they do!" Elaine went to stand up but Pandora grabbed her hand and harshly yanked her back down. "Come on, Andy! This is a big moment in your life!"

"I don't care how big of a moment this is, I'm not letting you reveal my love life to the entire school."

Sniffling, Elaine looked like she was about to cry, "You admitted that you have a love life!" Elaine threw her arms around Pandora and squeezed, taking every last breath out of her friend. "I'm so proud!"

"Inside voice, Elaine!" With each word Pandora's voice rose and she was near the point of shouting, her face burning crimson. The cafeteria suddenly went silent and Pandora could feel all of their eyes on her. "This is awkward," Pandora muttered as she looked back down, pushed away from Elaine, and stabbed at the spaghetti noodles on her lunch tray.

"What changed your mind about Embry?" Elaine asked while she put her spoon into a cup of vanilla pudding. Pandora pulled out Elaine's camera from her bag and flipped through the shots. The plastic spoon nearly met Elaine's mouth when Pandora showed her the picture. Elaine's eyes widened and she took the spoonful in her mouth before taking the camera from Pandora.

"I was just as shocked as you are…" Pandora drifted off as Elaine stared at the picture more intently.

"H-He… I've never seen you smile like this," Elaine pointed down to the picture that Embry had taken the previous night. "How did he- What- I can't even comprehend this…" Elaine spoke quickly before handing the camera back to Pandora.

"He's the only person that makes me like this." Pandora shrugged and turned to Elaine with a grin on her face, "Giving him a chance isn't stupid, right?" She nervously bit her lip, fearing that her friend would tell her what she didn't want to hear.

"Giving him a chance is about as stupid as a teenage girl finding her true love." Pandora frowned at Elaine's words and watched as Elaine started to smirk, "Which is all the more reason to do it." Elaine pulled her cellphone out from her front pocket and pressed number 7 on speed dial.

"Who are you calling?" Pandora's eyebrow rose at the sudden randomness. Elaine lifted her finger to the front of her lips motioning for Pandora to keep quiet.

"Jake, hey!" Elaine stated ecstatically. Pandora could hear a muffled sound from the phone. "I assume you know of the situation with my friend Pandora and your boy Embry... You do? Good. Tell Embry to stop by my house at eight tomorrow night; he and Andy are going on a date." Pandora's face turned red and Elaine started to grin out of amusement. "Thanks Jake." Elaine hit the end key and gave her a friend a genuine smile, "I'll talk to Sweeney; you're taking tomorrow night off and coming over to my house to get ready for your date."

"Elaine…" Pandora drifted off and looked up to her friend with a shy look.

"Yes?" The lone water bottle on the table was swiped by Elaine before she took a large gulp.

"Thank you."

Elaine winked, "Anything for you, my dear."


I apologize for the long wait! But I'm finally done with school for the summer and should be updating more often. I promise to update, at the least, once every two weeks - though it will most likely be more often than that.

I also realize that this chapter is somewhat short, but the next will definitely be longer!