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Ronniecoln 88: Yeah, but that's because they were in shallow, and calm waters. When you get out to sea, the water is moving much faster and higher. The hole would fill up and make the boat sink while they were out at sea.

Hope y'all are having a good day, stay home, stay safe.

Darius was asleep in his bed at the hotel. Well, technically, it was the pullup couch. His uncle and brother took the beds. It took him one second when he jumped on the bed to get off. He told his brother that he needed some time to get used to sleeping on a bed. So, he assured his brother that he was okay sleeping on the couch. He would never admit that he was also happy to have the television all to himself.

It was around 11 P.M. when Darius heard soft knocking on his door. He got up, and took a look through the peep hole. He opened the door. "Brooklynn? What are you doing here?"

The girl nervously glanced around the hall. "The bed is too soft. The springs are giving me too much support."

Darius nodded. "I was sitting on the couch. It was the most comfortable thing for me."

Brooklynn sighed. "Well, I didn't even THINK about sleeping on the couch." She shook her head. "This is, um, embarrassing."

Brooklynn started to turn back down the hall, but Darius grabbed her wrists. "Hey. Um, would you mind watching a movie with me? I've spent the last three hours scrolling through, not knowing what to watch. We could also raid the minibar."

She smiled. "You're going to rack up quite a bill on your first day back in the States."

Darius shrugged. "Well, we've spent six months on a dinosaur island. I'm sure we can afford a few luxuries." The both chuckled. Brooklynn entered the room, and sat down on the couch. Darius joined her with the remote, and a couple of snacks from the minibar. "Alright, what movie are we watching tonight?"

After a bunch of scrolling, they finally decided on Deadpool. Throughout the movie, they watched Ryan Reynolds cut up bad guys, made a few jokes, cut up more bad guys. Brooklynn constantly found herself putting her head in Darius's chest when she turned away from something that grossed her out too much. When it was over, they talked about it for a little. "That was so gross." Brooklynn said shaking her head.

"Oh come on." Darius defended. "It wasn't THAT bad."

Brooklynn raised her eyes. "They kept showing his body parts flying off."

"Which happens in movies." Darius defended again. "The only reason it was made R was because they could get away with TRULY making the Merc With a Mouth have a mouth."

Brooklynn nodded. "I guess. But I'll be okay if I never see that movie again."

Darius shook his head and rolled his eyes. He asked her, "So, what time do you leave for London?"

"Not for a few days." Brooklynn answered. "You?"

He told her, "Same." He sighed. "I am NOT looking forward to having to fight to get back on track to graduate with my class."

She shook her head. "Still thinking about school, huh?"

Darius said, "Like I said, I've got a football career to think about."

Brooklynn asked, "Are you sure that's what you really want to do? Play football? I mean, that takes a physical toll on you, right?"

"Well, I say after six months of running from dinosaurs, I think I have a better chance of escaping sacks and tackles." he said. "The trick is keeping my arm in good shape."

She nodded. "I actually didn't think about having to fight to get back into your correct grade." Their eyes both widened. "Does this mean we're going to spend the whole summer studying?"

"If it means we get to graduate on time." Darius said with a sigh.

"This is gonna suck." Brooklynn said.

"Yup." Darius nodded. They slumped down farther on the pull out bed. They sighed again, and closed their eyes to go to sleep.

The next morning, Darius once again woke up in a weird position. He and Brooklynn had once again found each other in the middle of the night. This time, it wasn't so bad. This time, Darius woke up with Brooklynn's hair in his face, and his arm wrapped around her waist. What the hell?

He gently pulled away. Thankfully, she didn't stir awake. Darius sighed, grabbed his new backpack with clothes, and went into the hotel bathroom. It had been forever since he's had a proper shower. So, he hopped in. Cold as always.

As he got dressed, he looked at himself. He had a beard, which he was going to shave. Maybe not completely. He would see how it goes. His torso had lost a little bit of muscle and essential fat. He was going to have to get back on a proper diet again. He sighed as he put his shirt on. He walked out, and saw that Brooklynn was nowhere to be found. Darius sighed, knowing that she decided to go back to her room.

A few hours later, and after a LONG discussion each child had with their parent, the six teens were allowed to go explore. The only catch was, since neither of them had a phone, Brandon was going with them. The two brothers were inside the elevator, talking. "You know that she was broken when she heard the news?"

Darius looked at his brother, and raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Katie." Brandon said. "Your old girlfriend."

The younger teen shook his head. "Yeah well, I hope she found someone who was able to give her what she needed."

Brandon looked at his brother. "You're telling me that if you saw her, right here, right now, you WOULDN'T feel your heart flutter?"

Darius shook his head. "You know how we left things. We weren't on good terms before I left. So why would she come running back now?"

"It's not about her." Brand said. "It's about how YOU feel. You and Katie had a lot of firsts together as freshmen."

The younger brother nodded his head. "Well, after a year and a half of tearing myself apart about her, I think I found someone else." The elevator doors opened, and Darius saw pink hair. He took a few seconds, and called out, "Hey Brooklynn!" The girl turned, smiled, and waved.

When she turned to say hi to Sammy and Ben, with Kenji and Yaz behind them, Brandon said, "Would BROOKLYNN happen to be that someone else?"

"Shut up." Darius said. But a small smile gave him away.

Brandon smiled as well. "You should ask her out."

"I will." the younger brother confirmed. "Just let me do it when I want to."

"Okay." Brand nodded.

The two brothers met up with the others. "Alright guys. Where do we wanna go?" Darius asked.

"Who cares?" Brooklynn said. Everyone agreed.

They just decided to wander around the area. Darius checked the time. 8:22 a.m. They got out of the hotel, and looked at all the tourist attractions. They walked for a while. Darius and Brooklynn at the front as usual, Yaz, Ben, and Sammy in the middle, and Kenji and Brandon in the back. It was very weird to see Ben and Yaz in something OTHER than their jungle clothes and track clothes. She still wore the jacket, but instead of runners shorts, she had on jeans.

Ben still had his bandana and messy dirty blonde hair, but his wrist and arm were free of the vines and wood. He was wearing jeans, and an actual t-shirt. It was actually pretty weird. Kenji watched as Darius and Brooklynn talked and laughed. He didn't hate Darius anymore. That feeling passed as quickly as it came. Still, he couldn't help but feel jealousy. Brandon noticed, but didn't say anything.

After a few hours of walking, the seven teens had come across a mall. Darius turned to the group. "What do you guys think? Wanna go in?"

Brooklynn scoffed. "Why is that even a question?"

Sammy spoke up. "We're teenagers. We're SUPPOSED to hand out at the mall." Yaz nodded her head in agreement.

"I could use some retail therapy myself." Kenji said.

"Mall it is then." Darius said.

Brandon grabbed Darius's shoulder when the others went inside. He pulled out a couple of fives and tens and twenties. "Here. Buy Brooklynn something nice."

Darius shook his head. "I can't do that to you. You WORKED for this money."

"Gift from me to you." Brandon insisted. Darius opened his mouth to protest some more. "Take the damn cash, or I'll shove it up your ass."

Darius shook his head with a small smile and chuckled. "Thank you Brand." The two brothers headed into the mall. The other five teens were waiting. "Alright, what's the play?" he asked.

"We should split up." Sammy suggested. "I don't know about you, but the best mall experiance you can have is window shoppin'."

"What time do we meet back?" Darius asked.

"Let's just meet up at the food court around noon. That gives us plenty of time to wander around and explore." Ben said.

"Great. See you guys soon." Brooklynn said. She grabbed Darius's arm. "Let's go." Darius was taken aback by this. He looked at the group in confusion. All he saw were snickers and smiles from the others except Ben. He just shook his head, and turned to walk next to Brooklynn.

"So, where are we going?" Darius asked after a minute.

"I like to start on the bottom and work my way to the top." Brooklynn said with a smile.

Darius raised an eyebrow. "But there's nothing appealing on the bottom."

Brooklynn smirked. "For YOU maybe." Darius nodded his head. She had a point. "I can't believe it's been over six months since I've been in a mall."

"I can't believe that they made malls this big." Darius said. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Uh-huh." the girl nodded. "Every mall follows a basic structure. On the bottom, you've got your clothing and jewelry. Things like PayLess, the earing stores. Stuff like that. Second, and sometimes third, floors, are your fun stuff. Food courts, movie theaters, anything you would find FUN, will almost always be on the second and third floors."

Darius kept raising his eyebrows. "And you know this... How?"

"I may spend too much of my free time in malls." Brooklynn admitted. She noticed the look Darius gave her. "What? Let's see YOU try retail therapy. You'll get hooked after your first purchase."

Darius rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Not gonna happen."

Brooklynn took Darius in and out of stores. He wasn't really paying attention to the stores or what was in the stores. He was just glad that he was getting some alone time with Brooklynn. After getting done with the first floor, Brooklynn looked at him. "Alright, lead the way to the second floor."

"What" Darius asked.

"Come on, I covered the entire first floor." Brooklynn said. "I got a couple of bags, but YOU got nothing. Second floor is where you can usually find good stuff."

Darius checked his watch. "Alright. Well, we should meet head to the food court. The others are going to be there in a few minutes." The two teens walked up to the food area, and checked the clock. It was a few minutes before noon. So, they decided to order their food, and save a table for the others. They sat down next to each other at one of the round tables, and waited. After a few minutes of silence, Darius asked, "So, are you doing okay? The last time you came to my room was in Costa Rica." Brooklynn's face fell slightly. Darius took a guess. "Brooklynn, have you been having nightmares?"

The girl nodded. She sighed. "I don't know what happened. It was like a... switch flicked inside my brain." Brooklynn was on the verge of tears. "And then, when I wake up, the only person I can think can help is YOU." The girl wiped her eyes, clearing the few tears that managed to escape.

The two teens moved close enough that Darius could wrap her up in a little bit of a hug. "Have you talked to your dads about this?" he asked. "I'm sure they would be willing to help. I think that after everything we've been through, we're ALL gonna need some serious therapy."

Brooklynn shook her heads. "I don't want them to worry."

Darius nodded in understanding. "Well, take it from the guy who watched his mom die, don't keep it in. Okay? I'm always going to be here to help you. But it's going to be so much easier to deal with if you tell your parents. They will help you."

Brooklynn nodded, and wiped some more tears that escaped. When she had gotten her breath even, she said, "Thanks."

He nodded. "Any time." They kept looking around for their friends. "Where the hell are they?" He checked his watch. It was almost ten passed noon, and they were almost finished with their food. The other five sat next to them after another few minutes. They found their food.

"Hey guys. Sorry about being late." Brandon said.

"Took you long enough." Brooklynn quipped. "What, were you napping?"

Brandon smirked. "I like her. She's feisty." He gave his brother a light punch on the shoulder. "Big brother approves."

Darius rolled his eyes. Yaz said, "Why don't you and Brooklynn do some more shopping. We're going to be a bit. Let's just meet up at the entrance at 2." The others agreed.

As they got up, Sammy suggested, "Hey, what if we went swimming at the hotel pool later?"

Everyone liked the sound of that. "Great idea." Brandon said. "We'll finish eating our food, and buy some swimsuits. Meet back at the entrance."

Darius moaned. "Great. I get to be dragged into ANOTHER clothing store." Brooklynn ignored him, and grabbed his arm again. The teen looked at the others as he was being dragged. Brandon smiled and waved at his younger brother. Darius just flipped him off. After another few minutes, he was back in a clothes store. At least this time, they were getting swimsuits. That was a plus he figured.

Darius found his shorts, and waited for Brooklynn to find what she wanted. A few minutes later, she met him at the checkout stand. He paid for the stuff, and went back to the entrance of the mall. It was good that the others were taking a while to get back to them. It gave them some time to rest some more before walking. The two teens didn't feel like waiting in the lobby. Darius looked around, and saw a Starbucks. "Hey, you wanna grab a coffee while we wait?"

"Sure," Brooklynn said. The two teens ordered their coffee, and sat down. When they got their drinks, Brooklynn sighed in happiness. "Oh, I've missed this SO Goddamn much."

Darius nodded. "Nothin like good ol Starbucks."

After a few minutes of silence, Brooklynn asked, "You have your drivers' license, yeah?" Darius nodded. He had made sure that was one of the things he grabbed. He had carried it around their entire time on Nublar. He was actually surprised that he never lost it. "Do you think that... Maybe tomorrow, we go into Jersey?"

Darius thought for a second. "We could. I think. Your dads and my uncle would need to agree. Why?"

The girl debated whether she should tell him or not. Finally, she told him. "I want to go see that friend I had in New Jersey. I can give you the directions, I just really want to see her after so long."

"You feel like making peace with her after spending six months on the island." Darius clarified for himself. "Yeah. It's funny how death gets you thinking."

A few minutes later, the rest of the group met Brooklynn and Darius. They left the coffee shop, and walked back to the hotel. Brandon pulled his brother to the back of the group. "So, how was your coffee date?"

Darius rolled his eyes. "I KNEW you guys were late on purpose. It was fine. And it was just coffee. What are we supposed to talk about after six months alone on an island? We know each other inside and out. Not really much to discover."

"Be that as it may," Brandon said, "there are still somethings you probably haven't shared with her. And that goes for her too. And I'm going to get it out of the way right now. Take a chance with her. Alright? Because when she gets back to London, there are going to be THOUSANDS of guys dying to date her. Be quick, but not too quick, got it?"

"Got it." Darius said with a nod.

Darius and the other boys were already in the water, splashing around, waiting for the girls. It had been about a good five minutes since they got in the pool. "What's taking them so long?" Ben asked.

Brandon shook his head. Darius and the others went back to swimming. The teen swam on his back, floating away from the others. He closed his eyes, and relaxed. He liked the feeling of being weightless. There was a sense of calm to it. And he needed some calm after Nublar, even in small moments. Brooklynn was already starting to have nightmares. That meant pretty soon, everyone else was going to have nightmares. Which meant he was going to have to help everyone deal with them. He wasn't resentful. He just saw the stress and toll it took on his brother when HE needed help with his nightmares.

He was calm for another minute or two as he floated in the ten feet area, when he felt the water move around him. He opened his eyes, and saw Brooklynn swimming next to him. Before he could say hey, she jumped, and put her weight on his shoulders. He took a deep breath as he felt himself become fully submersed in water. He saw her smile as she pushed him deeper. He smirked, and started to twist so that it was Brooklynn who was being pushed under. They both let out a laugh and they both swam back to the surface.

The two teens were met with Kenji and Brandon. The two boys flung water at Darius and Brooklynn. The two teens were NOT about to take that, so they flung water at the others. Pretty soon, everyone was enjoying swimming. After a game of tag, the teens decided to play Chicken. Darius and Brooklynn teamed up against Kenji and Yaz, but lost to Ben and Brandon. Ben was WAY more aggressive, and it didn't help that Brandon started to pick a small fight with Darius. The younger brother lost his balance, and down he and Brooklynn went.

As soon as Darius caught his breath, Darius called his brother out. "Not cool man."

Ben and Brandon just smirked and laughed. "Oh, don't be sore like that."

Brooklynn turned on her partner. "You're supposed to keep me OUT of the water. Not get in a fight with your brother."

"HE started it." Darius defended. Their back and forth lead to another round of the teens splashing each other. After a little while, they got tired.

Sammy suggested, "We should go sit in the Hot Tub." Everyone was quick to get out. Darius hadn't been paying attention to what anyone was wearing, but when Brooklynn got out of the water, he noticed that she was wearing a pink two piece. It wasn't that much different from the suit she wore on the boat before they left Nublar.

His eyes wandered down from her brunette's hair, and slowly made their way down to her- UGH! Knock it off! Darius was the last one in the hot tub. It was big enough to fit all seven of them. He scooted himself next to Brooklynn. He had to admit, it was a nice feeling to be in WARM water for once. He had forgotten what warm water felt like. Hey, give the guy a break. He took cold showers for five years. He was VERY relaxed.

The next day, after proving to his Uncle that he still had his Driver's License, Darius and Brooklynn were on their way to Jersey City. To say that Brooklynn was nervous was an understatement. "Am I doing this right?" she asked her driver. "We haven't talked in years. And all it takes is a six month vacation in Hell on a dinosaur island for me to even THINK about coming to visit? I'm a horrible friend."

Darius shook his head. "No, you're not. What you had was... a falling out. Everybody has that happen to them. I can't tell you HOW many times me and my brother just stopped talking to each other for days, sometimes weeks."

"Yeah, but you two FIXED your problems." Brooklynn said. "I just avoided them."

"You want my honest opinion?" Darius asked. Brooklynn nodded her head. "You both suck in this situation." Brooklynn was about to open her mouth as her eyes widened in a mix of shock and anger. "Hear me out." Darius quickly explained. "You got caught up in your channel. And in the process, you neglected time for your best friend. And on the other hand, it sounds like SHE got jealous of your success. THAT'S why I think you both suck. But, after six months of thinking you were dead, I'm sure that all she could think about is how much she missed you. Probably even mourned with regret. But if you two were TRULY best friends, all the arguments and fights will be water under the bridge."

Strangely, Brooklynn was calmer now. The rest of the drive was silent. Darius figured it was a good thing for her to collect her thoughts. Finally, the two teens made it in front of the house. Darius parked, and shut off the car. He had to say, his driving skills weren't too bad for someone who didn't drive for six months. The older teen looked, and saw his friend was still nervous. He took her hand, and squeezed it. "I'll be right behind you."

Brooklynn nodded, took a deep breath, and got out of the car. Darius walked behind her and stopped at the edge of the steps. Brooklynn nervously knocked on the door. After what felt like hours, the door opened. A girl slightly taller than Brooklynn, with blonde hair, appeared. The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds. Brooklynn gulped, and said, "Hi."

Without needing anything else to be said, the blonde girl pulled Brooklynn into a tight hug. The girls started to sob and tell each other apologies that they should have said years ago. Finally, after their long talk, they stopped crying, and just laughed. The blonde girl motioned to Darius. "Well, aren't you gonna introduce me to your cute friend?"

Darius smiled at her. Brooklynn said, "Ashly, this is Darius. Darius, this is my best friend, Ashly."

Darius walked up towards the blonde girl named Ashly. "Nice to meet you. Brooklynn talked about you all the time on the island."

Ashly smiled. "Well, I cannot WAIT to hear all about your boyfriend Brooklynn."

Brookynn stammered for a second, but Darius covered for her. "Very funny. So, when did you guys meet?"

Ashly sighed. "That's a long story. Which will go perfect with some Coke. Come on inside." The three teens spent the rest of the afternoon talking, and watching T.V. When it was almost five, Ashly suggested, "Hey, why don't you guys stay for dinner? My parents are going to be home in a little bit. I'm sure they wouldn't mind the extra company."

Brooklynn said, "Thanks Ashly. I would love to do it. But, I need to spend the rest of the night packing. My flight leaves in the morning. We really should be getting back to the hotel."

Ashly nodded. "I understand that. Let me give you my phone number. And this time, we will make SURE to stay in contact with each other. I feel so bad for how I handled it last time."

Darius told her, "Well, you two made a mistake. Now, you know what NOT to do." The teen got his shoes on, and walked towards the door. "It was nice to meet you Ashly. I'll be waiting in the car Brook."

Once the older teen shut the door, Ashly grabbed Brooklynn's arm to keep her from following him. The blonde girl said, "Hey, it was AMAZING to see you again. And I am sorry for everything."

Brooklynn pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry too, for SO. MANY. Things. But like Darius said, we know what NOT to do. So, let's do our best to stay in touch this time."

"Agreed." Ashly said. Before Brooklynn opened the door, Ashly said one more thing. "Oh, and if YOU aren't going to hold him down, I'M going to."

"What, Darius?" Brooklynn asked.

Ashly nodded. "He's cute. It's obvious that you both like each other. This is just like the time with... What was his name?... Caleb."

Brooklynn shuddered. "Do you HAVE to bring him up? And that was, like, in fifth grade. It technically doesn't count."

"I beg to differ." Ashly said.

Brooklynn rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. Bye."

Ashly watched her friend walk to the car. As Brooklynn got in the passenger seat, she yelled, "Have a safe flight!" The two teens drove back to the hotel.

The next morning, everyone was back at the airport with their families. Everyone was going to go their separate ways. But Sammy made sure to get everyone's phone numbers and home addresses. Ben, Yaz, and Kenji already left. Sammy was sitting in her gate, waiting for her flight. Darius and Brooklynn weren't going to leave for another hour. "Life is going to be so weird." Brooklynn said. She and Darius were talking, while their parents and brother were sitting off to the side somewhere. "And I am NOT looking forward to playing catch up with school this summer."

Darius nodded. "It's gonna be a bitch. But, at least we still have each other. Knowing Sammy, we're going to be part of her circle of friends for life."

"What about the afterlife?" Brooklynn asked.

"Oh, I'm going to Hell for sure." Darius said. "Sammy is probably going to be waiting for us next to the Man upstairs, while the rest of us burn for eternity."

Brooklynn agreed. "You know, I never said thank you for everything you did to help us get through those six months. So, thank you."

Darius said, "It was a group effort. I trusted you just as much as you trusted me."

Brooklynn sighed. "When are you gonna cut that 'team player' attitude? I love that about you, but can you for once just take full credit? Please, for a month or two, brag to us all about how you saved us from danger after danger."

Darius smiled. "Alright, if you say so." Wait, did she say she loved that about me?

Did I just say I loved that about him?! IDIOT! Brooklynn didn't say anything. They just continued talking. Sammy's flight came. They watched the girl board the plane with her mother and sister. They waved goodbye as she flew away on the plane. "Well, my flight starts boarding in 45 minutes." she said.

Darius nodded. "I've still got about 2 hours. We can wait with you." When Darius asked if they could sit with Brooklynn and her family until their flight boarded, Josh insisted he would be alright by himself. After confirming which gate they were going to be at, Darius and Brooklynn waited at her gate. "Alright, so lets go over the plan one more time."

"We are going to have a group call at the very least once a week." Brooklynn ran down the plan the six teens made with each other. "That's just to check in as a whole. Me and YOU on the other hand, are going to be calling each other every day, at least once. You'll text me the minute you get home from school, and we will talk about our day."

Darius nodded, and put his hands up in victory. "Perfect." he told her with a smile. They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the wait.

What are you waiting for? Ask her out.

Yeah dude! What's with the constant waiting?!

Wait, you AGREE with me?

I know. I can't believe it either.

Come on, do something spontaneous!

DO IT!

Darius nodded his head. He took a breath to calm himself. As he opened his mouth, the speaker spoke, "Now boarding, non-stop flight from Washington, D.C. to London, U.K."

Brooklynn sighed, and grabbed her backpack of clothes. "Well, this is it. For ten hours at the least."

Darius nodded. "Let me know when you're able to talk tomorrow." The two teens stood there for a second before embracing in one more hug. The last hug he was going to get from her for a while. A long while. Brooklynn's dads called to her from the line of people waiting to get on board. "You better get going. Have a nice flight." Brooklynn nodded, and walked to her parents. Darius watched as she got closer to the boarding tunnel. She looked back at him, gave him a small smile, and waved. He waved back. Once she was out of sight, he sighed, and put his head down. With nothing left for him to do over on this side of the airport, Darius walked towards his gate.

There ya go! Hope you guys are still enjoying. Hey, idkwhattoname77, when you updating your stories? You and the other three writers haven't updated in weeks. Well, anyways guys, have a good day, stay home, stay safe.