Jesse

It was night. Mark and I'd just arrived at the beach. Our college was having a beach party. The night was clear and a warm breeze blew through the air. The beach was crowded with people, women dressed in sarongs and beach pants, the men in beach pants as well. The waves crashed against the shore. Bonfires were blazing, filling the air around them with sparks. People were talking and laughing.

"Wow. Great night huh?" Mark asked.

"Yeah it really is," I agreed.

"Jesse! Mark! Over here!" a female voice called.

"Hey look there's Lacy," Mark said.

We made our way through the crowd to our friend Lacy, who was wearing a green sarong.

"Wow. You look great," I told her, pulling her close into a side hug.

"Thanks. This is Raven," Lacy said, indicating the woman next to her.

"Hi, Jesse," I said, leaning forward and shaking her pale hand, which was warm.

"Hi, Raven," she replied.

I pulled back, and studied her for a minute, thinking I'd seen her somewhere before. She looked a lot like Lacy, with straight black hair and blue eyes. She had a black sarong tied around her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Nothing, you just...look familiar," I replied.

"Yeah, so do you. You're Jesse Fitzgerald right?"

"Um. Yeah."

I wondered how she knew this.

"Well, anyway," Mark said, setting himself onto the large green blanket spread on the sand.

Lacy and I sat next to him, with Raven next to me.

"So what do you want to drink?" Lacy asked; "we got beer, lemonade, tea."

Raven stared up at the dark blue velvet sky: "the moon's gorgeous."

I followed her gaze: "yeah. The stars led me here."

"What?"

"Oh, my father says that."

"I love the stars."

My eyes wandered over to the nearest bonfire. I stared into the orange flames, knowing this one had not been set intentionally.

"You like fire," Raven observed.

I nodded. She breathed beside me.

"Hey. Do you know someone named Kate?"

-XXXX-

I was shocked she'd asked. That she even knew who Kate was. Other than that she was nice and pretty and a friend of lacys I really didn't know much about raven.

Kate was my sister.

"Um….." I began.

"ya want somethin to drink?" lacy asked peering at me.

"Yeah I'll have a beer. You?" I asked raven.

"Just a lemonade," she replied smiling.

Lacy handed me a beer and raven a lemonade out of the cooler.

"Thanks," I said.

"Sure."

"Yeah that's my sister," I told raven: "why?"

"She have cancer?"

I swallowed: "um. Yeah."

"No reason just wondering."

"Ok."

"How do you know mark?"

"Roommates. How do you know lacy?"

"Same."

"Oh."

"Hey we're like the fab 4!" mark cried making us laugh.