Lolz, I know, I know, I have so many effin' stories to update.

I'd be lying to myself if I said it was hard to not stare at her, she's just so perfect, everything she does is without effort and in all of my years of knowing her I still cannot figure out how she does it. She's standing up in the bathroom, brushing her hair, she's trying to put it into a ponytail but with every attempt she's angry with the results, not surprising seeing as she's a perfectionist. Normally I would be next to her, helping her or aggravating her, whichever I felt like doing that day while she would either laugh and smile and playful push me away or roll her eyes and tell me to leave her alone, both of us knowing she didn't mean it. We loved being in one another's company, there weren't many times where we weren't around one another, we had a love stronger than a hundred holds - had. Now here I am watching her from across the hall in my bedroom with the door open, sitting on the edge of the bed with one arm resting on my leg and the other propped up with my chin sitting in my palm watching her. It's been three days and I have come to find this little routine of mine to be quite relaxing, I love watching her, I just wish I didn't have to sneak and do it. Then again am I sneaking? she has the door open, she knows when she does and doesn't want to be seen, she's never been one to hide anything, she knows when she's being watched. We've spoken but very little, the occasional "Hi" here and "Hello" there, we haven't had a real conversation since we broke up, and neither one of us have been able to go through a proper healing process with the mutual friends we share, always there to remind us of each other and what we had and here we are once again, together, but not together. Here we are crossing paths again due to the annual summer vacation that we always take with our friends ever since senior year of high school, it's a tradition that neither of us would dare break. It's funny seeing as how over the years we've seen many couples come and go through those doors, but the one couple everyone thought would remain would be us, but here we are, adding our names to the wrong side of history. If only we could go back...but there is no going back, I messed everything up for us and it will always be the biggest regret of my life.

"Hunter! come on man we're waiting on you!"

My ogling eyes snapped out of their day dream with a quickness like no other and I quickly grabbed a hair tie off my dresser and put my hair in a ponytail, the guys had been talking about a game of basketball against some guys from around the corner once the rain cleared, and now that the court was dry the game was on. "Coming!" I called out as I fastened my shoelaces and headed out the door.

"Don't lose" She said softly as she turned her head from side to side, making sure her hair was perfect, she decided to wear it down.

"You should know better than anyone that I don't lose" I said with a smirky grin as I leaned against the doorframe of her bathroom.

"Hmm" she uttered as she gently patted her hair, giving it one final look. "You lost me" she said as she looked me dead in my eyes through the mirror before turning around and walking past me without another glance.

I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my temples with my hand, I didn't even have a chance to fully process her words until I heard my name being screamed again. "HUNTER! ARE YOU COMING OR NOT!?"

"I said i'm coming!" these fucking guys.

"Well we have to go to the town center, I want to see all of the new stores that I heard they've remodeled, and revisit some of the classics."

"Mandy, is it really necessary to shop every day of your life?"

"Ugh. Becks, of course! Who doesn't want new shiny things?" Mandy said as she pulled out her mirror and checked her makeup "besides, the rain has stopped all of us in our tracks and now that it's cleared, we should go shopping."

"Us, or you?" Veronica asked as she gave a disapproving look to the girl who was new to the group, she was dating Shawn and we could all tell she was the new flavor of the month, there's no way those two could last together. Between him constantly changing up girlfriends every 6 to 8 months and her constant need for attention and spotlight, there's just no way this relationship could end in vows.

"How about we just make out a schedule, that way everyone can do what they want and we'll all be happy."

"Eek! super adorbs Steph, always the planner of the group" Mandy said as she touched up her lipstick and made a smacking noise once she finished. "What would we do without you?"

"I could think of a hundred things would could do without you" Veronica whispered to Rebecca

"I agree with Steph, let's just figure out what's on the schedule for today and then we'll choose accordingly " Tiffany said as she offered a warm smile to the group "and once we're done we can meet up with the guys later"

"I hope they will have showered by then, I can't stand the smell of sweat" Mandy said with a snarl

"Then you don't know these boys at all, they'll come anywhere looking any kind of way" Rebecca said as she looked into her purse for some bubble gum.

"I know what you're looking for, and when you find it give me a piece" Veronica said peering over at her friend

I chuckled as I watched my friends and Mandy interact, I've been mostly quiet all day, all week really. The others may not have noticed, and even though she hasn't said anything, I know Veronica has, she's like the mom of the group and she can always tell when something is up or one of us is off, though I truly believe she could not care less how Mandy feels about anything. "I second both of those comments" I said with a warm smile as I stared off into the distance, the beach was always beautiful this time of year, it was truly the perfect spot for a vacation. Hunter and I used to always show up two days early just so we could have the entire house to ourselves, and wake up early in the morning to have the beach to ourselves, it was weird not doing either of those this year, actually a lot of things have been weird without him. I thought I had gotten used to it, and to some extent I had, but coming back here brought back so many memories that were hard to erase and feelings that were hard to ignore. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss him and what we had, we were truly something special, but he made his decision and so did I.

"Steph? Steph?"

"Huh!" I answered as I snapped back into reality

"Where do you want to go?" Tiffany asked

"Oh, it doesn't matter" I said dismissively "I'm down for whatever"

"Well, since Stephanie isn't picking, I'll choose again" Mandy said as she racked her brain for an answer which didn't take long "Oooh! We can go to-"

"Actually" Veronica said cutting in "How about we go to that little steak spot by the house? I heard it was great and it had amazing reviews when I checked this morning. That's where we can meet the guys and it'll all give us a nice little break"

"Oh." Mandy said disapprovingly. "I guess so"

"I mean, if you want to continue to shop until you drop no one is stopping you...no one" Veronica made clear

Mandy cleared her throat and let out a deep breath. "Steak is fine" Mandy said as she pulled out her phone and begin texting someone

"Good" Veronica said offering her a condescending smile like the infamous Game of Thrones meme before rolling her eyes and looking over at me "this bitch" she mouthed.

I smiled and mouthed back "behave" as I stood up from the table. "I'm just gonna go grab my fanny pack and then we can leave"

"Ooh, can you grab my brush, I left it on the counter" Tiffany asked as she took a sip of her juice.

"No prob, anyone need anything else- that I can grab" I said quickly as I could tell Veronica was about to make a comment about Mandy, she gave me a "fuck you" look and rolled her eyes again. I chuckled and ran off to grab our things.

"Man they totally had you, your defense is trash and your footwork is worse than a man with two left feet!"

"Whatever bro, I had them in the second round."

"Shawn, you might be talented at many things, basketball has never been one of them" Darius said as he took a swig of his water "I mean come on Hunter, back me up, am I right or am I right?"

"You missed some pretty easy shots today" I said as I picked up my water bottle and relished the feeling of the icy clear liquid rushing down my dry throat.

"Wow" Shawn said stopping in his tracks as his posted both hands on his hips "my own best friend is against me"

"I'm not against you" I said twisting the cap back on the bottle "I simply stated you missed some easy shots." I said as I gave him the Kanye shrug.

"Y'all leave my mans alone, he tried his best and that's all that matters..."

"Thank you"

"Even if his best was the absolute worst thing i've ever seen in my life" Taylor teased

"You're named after a dude who played in Twilight, shut the fuck up" Shawn said as he harshly tossed the ball to Taylor, making him go "oof!" as it landed squarely in his chest.

"Eeeeeasy, eeeeasy small fella" Brooklyn teased with his thick hispanic accent

"I know you're not talking, I don't know what's worse, being named after a girl or the trashiest city in the world."

"Classic Shawn, always going after our names when we can't defend the facts" Taylor said as he gently smacked Brooklyn on the chest.

"Well, my parents thought I was going to be a girl" Brooklyn said as he started laughing

"Not something I would admit" I chimed in

"Aye ese, you have the most basic white boy name in the universe, cállate!" Brooklyn shot back as I laughed.

"Hey, I just got a text from Vee, she said the girls want to meet up for dinner at this little steak joint down the street from the house, you guys game?"

"Hell yeah i'm starving" Shawn said as he bent down to tie his shoe.

"I'm game" Taylor answered "

"You know I'm in" Brooklyn answered

"Hunter?"

"Uh, I might pass, I have some meal prep in the kitchen that I don't want to go to waste"

"Come on man, chicken and rice over a hot juicy steak?" Shawn asked as he stood up

"I'm just not feeling it" the truth was I did want to go but I don't think I'd be able to handle being that close to Stephanie for a long period of time, the closest we've been was this morning and we see how that went.

"I've never known this guy to turn down a steak" Taylor said as he grabbed his string bag "but whatever floats your boat, I can't wait"

"Me either" Darius agreed as he took off his sneakers and slid on his Nike slides "With asparagus and a baked potato? aw man."

"Bro, you read my mind" Taylor said as he gave Darius a fist bump

"Come on, let's head back" Shawn said as took out his phone and checked the time "I want to get a shower before we leave"

"Since when did you care abo- oh, Mandy" Darius teased as he gave a knowing look to the rest of us

"Hey, she likes it when I clean up"

"More like she likes to control everything and everybody" I murmured under my breath

"I heard that" Darius whispered as he walked past me. "Well come on guys, big shot Shawn has to get clean"

"Fuck you"

"And just for the record homes, I would just like to sayyy I would have been a BEAUUUUUTIFUL girl" Brooklyn said as we all laughed and headed towards the house.

"They're late" Mandy said as she began tapping her foot

"By like five minutes, it's okay" Rebecca said as she shifted in her seat, her body language screamed 'why did they have to put her next to me?'

"I just spoke with Darie, he said they're finding a place to park." Veronica said as she sat down in the booth next to me

"Thank God they drove, I couldn't imagine walking back to the house in these heels" Mandy said as he looked down at her Louboutins.

"Hence why you shouldn't wear them on a day where you want to go discover every square inch of the city" Veronica said with a slight snarl on her face.

"Oh please, these were a limited edition, the world deserved to see them" Mandy said with a wide smile as she looked down at her feet, seemingly proud of her otherwise poor decision in shoe attire.

"I think i'm going to try the pasta with shredded steak, the description sounds amazing" Tiffany said as she licked her lips "and with a glass of wine"

"I second the wine" Veronica agreed

"And here comes our boys" Rebecca said as she smiled and waved for them to come over.

I couldn't help but notice one was missing from the group, you know, the muscular blonde with the huge nose was kinda hard to forget.

"Hey baby, did you guys find the place alright?" Veronica asked as she stood up and greeted Brooklyn with a quick kiss on the lips

"Yeah, but parking was insane, people really are dying to get into this place."

"This place and that new club a few doors down, I heard the party never stops, we should go." Rebecca added

"I'm game" Shawn answered quickly

"Eww, a club? with a bunch of unsanitary people bumping up against one another all night? count me out" Mandy said with disgust

"I don't remember you being invited." Veronica said under her breath to which Darius gave her a slight tap on the arm with his hand

"Maybe we can find Taylor a girlfriend" Tiffany teased as she looked over at her twin brother.

"I'll have you know I do just fine finding women on my own" he said as he took a seat and glanced over the menu

"Then why didn't you bring anyone with you on the trip?" Mandy asked as she spread butter over a piece of bread

"I don't believe in bringing just anyone around my friends and into my personal space, when the time is right and the girl is right, i'll have her come on trips with me, until then i'm fine flying solo." He answered without looking up from the menu.

"Where's Hunter?" Mandy asked, changing the subject

Finally, someone asked the elephant in the room...well, really I was the only one would wanted to know.

"He said he didn't feel like it" Darius said as he wrapped his arm around Tiffany's shoulder

"Hunter? missing out on food?" Tiffany questioned

"Yeah" Darius answered as he kissed her cheek. "He said he had some meal prep that he didn't want to go to waste."

Lie number one, Hunter is a huge health nut, but if it's one thing he hates it's his meal prep. Is he avoiding me?

"Hey Becks, you're single" Mandy said changing the subject once again

"uhh...yeah?" Rebecca questioned

"And Taylor you're single" she said taking a bite of her bread "Why don't you two just date?" she asked nonchalantly

"Let's not force anyone on anyone babe" Shawn said as he took a swig of Mandy's drink

"Please don't backwash" she said disapprovingly with a snarl on her face.

"I-"

"Never mind, i'll order another" she said dismissively as she turned her attention back to Rebecca "I mean what's the problem, he's cute, you're cute, why not?"

"I'm sure if they wanted that to happen, it would have happened" Veronica chimed in to defend her friends

"Sometimes it takes a little push" Mandy shrugged

"I'd like to pu-" Veronica was cut off by Darius who changed the subject

"Man i'm starving, I wonder when that waiter is coming, what are you guys getting?"

Rebecca mouthed "thank you" to Darius as she looked down at her menu

Taylor who never looked up from the menu slowly rolled his eyes and glanced over at me to give a "I hate her look" before turning his attention back to the menu. I've known Taylor for years and it does not take him long to order anything, he was simply hiding from the conversation and from Mandy, and if she wasn't such a wannabe know it all, she would have known that although Taylor and Rebecca have amazing chemistry and would make a very good couple, he would never date Rebecca for a very simple reason, he could never do that to a friend.

"I should have gone, everyone is probably living it up eating great food while i'm stuck here with this bland ass meal prep." Hunter said aloud to himself as he tossed the empty food bowl into the trash.

"You didn't miss anything" Hunter jumped at the sound of her voice as he turned around "I mean the food was great but the company...not so much" Stephanie said as she walked over and grabbed a juice box out of the refrigerator.

"I take it that Mandy took over the conversation and the night as usual."

"You take it right" Stephanie said as she leaned her back against the fridge. "So...how was your meal prep?"

Hunter smirked. "It was no steak, that's for damn sure."

"You should go check out the place sometime."

"I will, if you'll join me." Shit. Shit. Why would you say that? things are already weird between you two, it's a wonder she's saying this much to you and you're already screwing it up.

Stephanie pursed her lips together before speaking. "I think i'll pass, going back to that place will only give me PTSD flashbacks of Mandy" Stephanie said with a smirking grin.

Yes. This is what I love about her, she knows how to carry on without making things awkward. Hunter chuckled. "Wow, it was that bad huh?"

"It's a wonder that Shawn puts up with her." Stephanie said as she walked over and sat down in one of the bar stools.

"You know honestly," Hunter said as he joined Stephanie "I can't figure this one out, I can normally tell why he is with a person and what benefit he gains from being with them, but her...I don't know, I mean she offers absolutely nothing of sustenance to him. I-I just don't get it." Hunter said with a shrug

Stephanie shrugged. "Maybe it's not for us to get, maybe he gets it, and if he does then that's all that matters..."

Hunter and Stephanie looked at one another before they burst out laughing. "Okay, that was a good one" Hunter said as he gently patted Stephanie on her lower back. She was breaking the ice and he truly appreciated that, he wanted nothing more than to have a good quality conversation with her and he had been struggling in his mind all week on how to do that. He was afraid he would just make things uncomfortable and that was the last thing he wanted to do, especially in rare moments like this when they were alone. "Where is everyone?" he asked, not really caring where they were, but more so wanting to know how much alone time he had with Stephanie. There was just so much he wanted - needed to say and he didn't know if he'd ever get alone time with her again. Their friends were a really tight knit group and did almost everything together, they always have, he knew alone time would come far and little in-between.

"They went to check out this new spot a few doors down from the place we were eating, i'm not sure if Shawn and Mandy went, she was so against it before I left."

"Wow, dinner was that bad huh?" he teased.

Stephanie smiled. "I stayed, it's just after I finished eating I had no desire to go out partying, I wanted to get home, and poor Taylor just wanted to get away, he went one way and I went another."

Hunter chuckled. Damn it, any one of them could be on their way back right now. "Well, sounds like bland meal prep wasn't so bad compared to your dinner."

Stephanie offered another warm smile before turning her head to look over at the large glass windows that offered an amazing view of the beach, it was absolutely beautiful at night.

"Perfect night for a walk" Hunter said, almost as if he read her mind.

"Yeah" she answered softly as she stood up and grabbed her juice box, her eyes never leaving the windows. "I think i'm gonna head in"

"But it's so early." Hunter panicked, he did not want her to go to bed so soon, he knew she wouldn't be asleep but he took this as she was avoiding him. Shit. What did I do, did I come on too much? His mind raced at a thousand miles per hour as he tried to figure out what went wrong, and just as he had done her before, she read his mind as well.

"Relax." she said calmly, still staring at the windows.

"Stephanie" Hunter said softly.

She let out a soft sigh as she turned her attention to him. "No." she said calmly

"No what?"

"To everything." Those two words crushed him like a ton of bricks, he knew exactly what she meant. No to the walk, and no to any conversation he planned on having with her, but what could he do? Nothing.

"I understand" he answered softly. "I enjoyed the time you gave me" he said looking into her beautiful blue eyes.

"There's no need to make things awkward" she said shrugging her shoulders "I, just like you, came here for a good time with friends, I'm not going to let anything or anyone ruin that."

"Not even Mandy?" Hunter joked as he tried to break some of the ice that was beginning to form, she smiled and he was happy to receive that.

"Yes, not even Mandy" Stephanie replied as she pulled a hair tie off of her wrist and put her hair up. She offered a half smile and walked off towards her bedroom.

Hunter watched as she walked off towards her bedroom, their bedroom, he wondered if it was as lonely for her to sleep in there as it was for him the first two nights when he arrived early. He wanted nothing more than to run behind her, grab her and tell her how much he loved her, how he made a huge mistake and wanted her back, how she was his everything and life was nothing without her, but he knew better. He knew Stephanie and what she needed was time, he broke her heart and his own in the process and there was no one to blame but himself. If he could go back in time and take back the words he said that night he would, but he couldn't and he was left here to deal with the consequences.

He got up and walked over to the couch and plopped down, he turned on the tv and immediately rubbed his temples with his hand, of course their favorite movie would be on and playing the song from the scene they loved so much.

"Summer loving had me a blast, Summer loving happened so fast..."

He sighed deeply. "Oh these lonely summer nights" Hunter said to himself as he turned off the tv and tossed the remote to the side. "And you have no one to blame but yourself."

"All i'm saying is I would rather have Prada than, oh! Hunter! we missed you at dinner!" Mandy said as she came through the door. "There's so much to tell you! Let me put down my bags first."

Fuck me. Hunter thought to himself as he felt the headache rising that he knew she would soon cause to come full circle. Fuck. my. life.

This story has been in my head for like a month or so now, just figured I should finally get it out before it disappears.

Let me know what you guys think! :)