Damon's POV
I was sitting in the Partymobile, waiting for Emily, Julie, and Rina to show. Everyone else was ready to go. "Where are they?" I asked irritated. I hadn't expected Emily to bail, but she had done it once before. Lauren and Payson seemed to agree with me. She had easily ran away once, so it couldn't be that hard to do again.
Tony's voice quieted us all. "Emily wouldn't bail again. She's not strong enough." This confused me. Why wasn't she strong enough? Lauren and Payson seemed equally baffled. Emily was maybe the strongest of us tall.
"What do you mean?" Payson asked, her eyes soft. She was thinking of the Emily that was guarded, but still strong. My mind flashed to the girl I had encountered in France, the insecure one. Which one was Emily?
"She was broken when she and Julie got here. Emily was a mess. She didn't tell us why, but now it makes sense. She tried to push us away at first, but we somehow got through those heavily guarded walls of hers." Tony replied, his voice solemn. We all sat there shocked. None of us had considered how painful it had been for her to leave. We just knew what it had done to us.
"How is she now?" Lauren asked, her usually bitchy tone gone. Genuine concern replaced it. I'd have to remember to tell Carter that his girlfriend was actually capable of love.
Rick responded this time. "Better, but still broken. I think she truly loves life here, but Emily still has things that need to finished in Boulder before she's fixed."
"We did the best we could," Tony added quietly. I nodded. I couldn't be more thankful of these new friends of hers. They knew her just as well as we did and had made it through the rough spots. Suddenly, someone's phone rang. Rick answered it.
"Hello?" he asked. "Rina, where in the hell are you?" The voice on the other side was muffled. "What? Why would they do that? Okay, so you're on your way? Good. See ya in a few." Rick hung up, a pissed off look on his face. He turned to Sam, who had been silent most of the time. "You're so lucky Julie is your girlfriend, because otherwise she'd be dead right now." Rick said threateningly.
Sam blushed, then asked, "What did Julie do this time?"
Rick exploded. "Those idiots went out, got drunk, and got tattoos. Worst of all, they actually planned it!"
"People actually plan that kind of stuff?" Lauren asked skeptically. I was more than a little baffled myself.
"Apparently the idiots we hang out with do," Sam replied jokingly. Rick shot him a death glare. Tony rolled his eyes, quietly chuckling to himself. I had to admit, the story was funny, but the waiting for them to arrive wasn't.
Payson spotted them walking towards us a half hour after their call. Rina looked like crap, Emily looked somewhat put together, and Julie looked like she had a full night's sleep. "Hey guys!" Julie said perkily. Rina groaned. Emily shot her a glare.
"What? She's annoying." Rina stated grouchily as she was getting into the Partymobile.
"Maybe she wouldn't be so annoying if you hadn't done ten shots the night before," Emily responded calmly.
"Go die," Rina said while lying down on a cot that somehow ended up in the back of the bus.
"Why is there a cot back there?" I asked cautiously. Rick shrugged, almost as if he had no control over his car. Well, technically fire truck.
Tony laughed. "Oh, that's a reminder of Sam's humiliating defeat," he answered with a smirk. Sam just stared intently at his shoes, not saying a word.
Emily cut in. "How did you even find this thing? Isn't supposed to be out in the ocean floating?" I shook my head. I felt out of place with Emily's new friends. I could tell Lauren and Payson were a little intimidated by these people too. It was like there were two Emily's: our Emily, the cautious, guarded one whose dream was to be a gold medalist and their Emily, the one who enjoyed life and didn't proceed with caution, the one who went to clubs and surfed while working a witnessing job. Their Emily was happier than I'd ever seen ours, and I started to regret my decision to come find her.
"Well, some old dude found it on the shore, and since Sam was stupid enough to put his name and address on it, they sent it back to him with a fine," Tony responded with a laugh. Out of all the guys, Tony was the one I liked most of all. There was no bullshit with him.
Julie shook her head. "You're lucky you're good looking," she stated jokingly. Sam just made a face at her. "What? That's not a bad thing."
Lauren changed the topic. "What tattoos did you guys get?" she asked excitedly. She'd probably rat Emily out the moment they step foot in the Rock.
Rina started laughing hysterically. Emily shot her a glare. Julie just smiled and shook her head. "We each got a line from California Gurls," Julie explained. Lauren started to laugh, while Payson just sighed.
"Really?" Payson asked in exasperation. Julie and Rina both pointed to the mastermind behind that brilliant idea. Emily shrugged sheepishly. "Why?"
"It's what I think of when I'm thinking of California. It just seemed right to have Katy Perry's words inked on my shoulder blade." Emily confessed, her eyes glued to her feet.
Tony turned to his sister. "Where did you get yours?" he asked nervously.
"My neck," Rina answered, lifting up her hair so we could see it. It said: California girls, we're unforgettable
Daisy dukes, bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin, so hot
We'll melt your popsicle
"And you?" Sam asked Julie with a devilish grin. Knowing what he was thinking, she slapped on the shoulder.
"You're perverted. I got mine on the side of my left foot." Julie responded angrily while lifting up her foot. Hers said: California girls, we're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce, we got it on lock
West-coast represent
Now put your hands up
We all turned to Emily, but she shook her head no. "I'm not taking off my shirt in front of all these guys."
"Can we get this ride moving?" Rick asked, clearly starting to get irritated.
"Yeah! What are we wanting for?" Lauren asked impatiently. We started to drive, and I just stared out the window and watched the scenery change. Maybe I can help fix Emily after all.