"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Evie called up to her friends.

"We're coming!" Jay yelled.

He and Daisy came speeding down the trail to where the others were at the bottom. Doug raised a questioning eyebrow at the duo when they finally caught up.

"What took you two so long?"

"Jay wasn't paying attention." Daisy said with a little giggle.

"Guess I got lost in the view." Jay shrugged.

The group didn't say anything else about the delay and began walking again. As they made their way to the river, Carlos got an idea. He started the tune in his head and adjusted his step to match the rhythm.

"Heigh Ho. Heigh Ho. It's off to work we go." The De Vil boy sang.

Mal snickered at her brother. Jay watched the younger boy, amused. Evie internally cringed and looked to the dwarves, whom she expected to all jump in on their iconic song. To her surprise, they all groaned at the sound of the melody.

"We've heard that song a million times,"

"And it really does get old,"

Greg and Don complained in tune.

"Heigh Ho!" The rest agreed.

Evie and Mal were nearly doubled laughing. Jay had to stop and lean against a tree to keep from falling over because he was laughing so hard. Carlos grinned sheepishly.

"My bad. Sorry." he apologized.

Hayden dropped a hand on Carlos's shoulder and gave him a slight shake. "It's cool, man. You didn't know." the dwarf reassured the white haired boy.

"However you start that around our dads," Syngine rolled his eyes. "You can forget about it. They'll never shut up."

Everyone chuckled.

When the teens finally arrived at the river, it was obvious this was a popular spot. There were net hammocks strung between trees in a circular group around what seemed to be a fire pit from the look of the permanently scorched ground. A large tree growing out of the river bank had a rope swing hanging from it and boards nailed into the trunk to allow easy access to the thick branches that reach over the pale blue water. The lush river bank below the tree had been beaten into hard, bare earth from years of traffic.

Evie could barely begin to imagine the number of summer memories that were made here. She was so glad it was warm enough for them to make one more before the cold weather retired the swimming hole for the season.

The dwarf boys started yanking off their shirts and shoes and throwing them in a pile by the hammocks. Bryce was the first to get down to his swim trucks and jump off the bank into the water, followed by Syngine and Don.

"Jewels and crystals! That's cold!" Don yelled when he resurfaced, shivering from the shock of hitting the icy water.

Syngine came up whooping and hollering like the chill just fueled his energy.

"Jump in! The cold only lasts for a minute!" Bryce called to the others.

"Yeah? You probably go numb after that." Mal wagered.

"Technically... yes." Doug confirmed as set his glasses' case down and moved toward the river bank. "Your body adjusts to the temperature change after so long and, in a sense, is numb to the cold feeling."

"Shut up and come on, brainiac!" Hayden tackled Doug into the river, causing the latter to scream from surprise.

Daisy laughed when Doug resurfaced spitting and sputtering. Evie giggled at her boyfriend. Carlos and Greg passed the girls as they made their way to the water. Mal turned on her heels and walked to the hammocks to take off the clothes she had on over her swimsuit. Evie followed suit.

When Daisy turned to go the hammocks as well, she stopped in her tracks. Heat rose to her cheeks and her ears as she blushed vibrantly. One would think that when the young girl came up with the idea to go swimming with her friends, she would have thought about what required to be seen in order to swim. However that thought never crossed her mind.

Until now.

As a shirtless Jay stood in front of her.

The dwarf had known that Jay had muscle - half his shirts were sleeveless so it was hard to miss - but she had never seen more than his arms. The boy had abs. A six pack of well cut abs.

Daisy was in a total state of shock. Her heart was fluttering in her chest. She couldn't breathe, and her head was spinning. She felt like she was having an anxiety attack, except she wasn't panicking. Well not panicking like she normally did during an anxiety attack. Now she was just worried about being caught staring. Or drooling. Was she drooling? Oh she really hoped she wasn't drooling. Her mouth was probably hanging open. Did she look stupid just standing there? Was he gonna hate her for staring? Why was she still staring?! And there's the normal anxiety she knew and hated so much.

"Hey, Daz," Jay's voice brought the girl back to reality. "Watch this." He was either oblivious to Daisy's staring or was kind enough to not address it. Thank goodness.

Jay sprinted toward the river, but instead of jumping in the water, he grabbed the rope swing. He flew high into the air on the swing. When he let go, he flipped midair and dove into the water.

The other boys cheered when Jay resurfaced. Jay threw his head back and howled victoriously. Daisy breathed a laugh and smiled in amazement.

"Heigh Ho..." Daisy signed.

"He's such a show off."

The dwarf jumped, startled by the voice. She spun on her heels toward the owner. Daisy turned white as snow when she faced Mal, standing right beside her.

"W-w-what?" Daisy stuttered.

"Jay. He's a show off. I haven't seen him doing a lot of showing off for the last few months." Mal raised a suspicious eyebrow at Daisy and looked her over. "Except when he's around you."

The dwarf's cheeks burned red hot. "Wh-what is t-that s-supposed to mean?" she squeaked.

Mal smirked a bit. "Nothing. Nothing." the purple haired girl waved off the subject as she walked toward the water. "Go change! You're the one who came up this adventure idea. It wouldn't be right if you missed out on the fun!"

With a quick shake to clear her head, Daisy turned to the trees to change behind. She placed her hand on the nearest and hesitated. She glance over her shoulder at the river. Her friends and family were swimming, jumping, splashing, and laughing together. The sight warmed her heart and calmed her nerves. Daisy smiled at the group before stepping behind the tree to change. She wasn't about to miss out on one of the best memories she would have here.

A/N alright the play is done so no more rehearsals to take up all my time. I still have finals this and next week so I can't promise a speedy update until winter break. Looks like Daisy might be looking at Jay in a new light after she got an eye full of muscles XD and what's Mal hinting at? Lol I'm sly I swear ;)