"So it's a Saturday and I'm not working. Let's do something fun today." Mom stood at the kitchen counter pouring us both a piping hot coffee while placing pop tarts on a plate for Jett. She was shaking her hips and bobbing her head gently to the quiet hum of the radio with a wide smile on her face.

She was so different from the mother I knew a few months ago. She was calm, caring and most importantly, sober. When my dad was around she wouldn't even wake for breakfast let alone make it for us. She'd normally be too hung over to move. I couldn't help but smile internally at this new sight that was slowly becoming a norm.

I watched hesitantly as she placed the mug in front of me, watching as the steam rose from the liquid up to her eye line. "Like what?"

She paused and pursed her lips in thought, pressing the mug to them as she blew over the warm coffee. "How about a water park?"

Just at that moment a sleepy Jett had appeared in the kitchen, a yawn escaping from his mouth and his arms stretching above his small head as his eyes widened. "Water park! I love water parks!" He jumped up on the seat opposite me looking up at Mom eagerly.

"You've been to like one when you were five." I rolled my eyes at how over enthusiastic he was for this time in the morning. "You probably don't even remember it."

"Jade." Mom frowned at me slightly as she placed Jett's breakfast in front of him. "You can bring Tori."

I tried to hide the smirk on my lips. "I guess I'll come then."

Mom squeezed Jett's cheeks as she planted a kiss on his forehead. "Brilliant. Sounds like a plan then. We'll leave as soon as you both finish your breakfast." She ruffled his hair and downed the rest of her drink before exiting the kitchen to get ready.

"I guess I'll come." Jett mocked in a high pitched voice. He was batting his eyelashes and puckering his lips making kissing noises across the table at me.

"Shut up." I threw my remaining bit of toast at his face. "I'm going to drop you down the biggest slide there."

"No you won't." He crossed his arms almost completely ignoring the fact I'd thrown food at him.

"Will to."

"No you won't because I'm only seven and I won't even be tall enough to ride the biggest slide there." He argued, sticking his tongue out with a smug look on his face.

I rolled my eyes at him. It was rare that I was outsmarted by my younger brother but he had got me there. "I'll find a way to get you up there." I placed my plate and mug in the dishwasher before sneaking up behind Jett and blowing in his ear making him jump.

"Stop it!" His hands sprung to cover his ears as he shrieked.

"Jade, stop terrorising your brother!" Echoed into the kitchen from upstairs.

"She won't always be there to save you today." I warned.

"She might not be but Tori will be." He said with a mouthful of poptart. "She'd never let you be mean to me."

Damn, this kid had got me twice in the space of five minutes. "We'll see." I cocked my eyebrow at him.

….

We'd settled on Raging Waters in San Dimas and after only being in the car for thirty minutes I felt like I was going to lose my mind. Mom had put on the latest Disney album and both Tori and Jett were singing along to every word and acting it out theatrically. Don't get me wrong, I loved singing and acting but the main issue about this was that I had pulled the short straw and was sat in the middle seat between them and was being elbowed and more squashed with every word. Even though the AC was on full blast I was getting gradually hotter having a sticky seven year old sat next to me.

"What's with the frown?" Tori smiled after she finished up another ballad with Jett.

"I'm going deaf." I deadpanned.

"Jade you used to love the Disney album. When you were about three you'd sing your little heart out to every word of every song. It was adorable. Such a performer from the word go." Mom replied, glancing back slightly as she spoke.

I cocked my eyebrow up at her with no response other than a displeased look on my face.

"Do I need to bring out the tickle bunny twins?" Tori held her hands up, making identical bunny positions with her fingers. It was a game she'd invented with Jett to stop him from being sad or grumpy. He loved it. I didn't.

"Don't you dare." Before I could say anymore Tori had pushed her hands under my arms tickling me wildly as she giggled. "Get away from me!" She winked at Jett who joined in, forcing his sweaty hands beneath my chin and wriggling his fingers. "NO!" I shouted. They let off quickly when they realised I wasn't playing around anymore.

"Oh lighten up, Jade." Mom sighed. She moved the rear view mirror to look directly at me with a big grin as she pulled up to a red light. "You have a lovely voice Tori. Why don't you try out for Hollywood Arts?"

Tori's cheeks flushed as red as the traffic light. "It's not my thing really."

"That's a shame. You have a really pretty voice and I bet Jade would like it if you went to the same school as her."

"To be honest I think she's glad we don't go to the same school so she can have a break from me." Tori chuckled as she elbowed me playfully.

"I am here you know."

"I know, we couldn't miss that dark aura in the back of the car." Mom winked at me before moving the mirror back to focus on the road again as the light went green.

"I can see the sign! We're here!" Jett squealed. He placed his chubby hands against the window as he bounced up and down in his seat. "Look how big that slide is!" In the slight reflection of the window I could see his face lighting up. His mouth was open in an 'O' shape and his eyes were so wide they looked like they'd dry out from the lack of blinking.

"That's the one I'm going to throw you down." I smirked. I placed my finger on the window he was glancing out of, drawing the outline of the slide before dropping my hands together making a loud splat noise. I chuckled as his face dropped at the thought.

"You'll do no such thing, Jade." Tori lent over me and took Jett's hand with her own. "I won't let her, don't worry." She squeezed his hand softly before turning her glance to raise her eyebrow at me in disapproval.

Jett's disgruntled look changed to a smug smile as he listened to Tori. "Told you so." He stuck his tongue out at me while Tori wasn't looking.

I slumped back into my seat letting out a deep sigh. "You're no fun. I wouldn't have really done it. Do you really think I'm that mean?"

"Yes." All three of them replied in unison without missing a beat.

…

After queuing for what felt like an hour under the beating California sun I was more than ready to hit the pool. The smell of chlorine was thick in the air as we entered the park. The sound of children's laughter and screams of joy echoed around. It was normally everything I hated; kids, loud screams and unfriendly staff but seeing the happy look on Jett and Tori's face made it all worth it.

After removing my black shorts, deep blue t-shirt and flip flops I looked around to get a better look at the slides. "What do you want to go on first, kiddo?"

Jett tried to face me as Mom covered him in thick, white sunscreen. "How about the racer slides? You know the red and yellow ones over there. They don't look too big."

"Sounds like a good idea." Tori rubbed at his nose trying to remove a large blob of sunscreen my Mom had missed.

He scrunched his nose once Tori had stopped and tugged at Mom's arm. "Can we go Mom?"

She gave him a quick check over. "Yep you look as ready as can be. Can we all remember that we left our towels by the kid's kingdom?"

We all nodded as we headed off towards the first set of slides. We zig zagged between ecstatic children as they ran around to and from the slides and pools. Not only had we come during summer vacation it was also a Saturday and one of the hottest days of the year meaning every man and his dog was here today.

"I hate people." I grumbled as we queued. It was hot. Not the type of hot you could enjoy though. The floor was so hot it would burn your feet if you didn't stand in a shaded area and those were very few and far between here. The heat bounced off the floor and caused a mirage of wavering images. If you cracked an egg on the ground, you could fry it.

Tori chuckled. "Don't we know?" She pulled her French plaited hair over her shoulders, playing with the ends of her hair as we waited.

As we moved up in the queue I took the opportunity to lean into Tori's ear to whisper. "You look amazing though."

She smiled bashfully at me. "Ditto."

"What are you two giggling about?" Mom was clearly self-conscious about what she was wearing. She'd opted for a bikini and I could tell she was regretting it although I didn't know why. Regardless of what she was like personality wise my mom always had looked very young and very slim. Although since she'd quit smoking and drinking she was gaining more of her regular figure back and that was obviously bugging her as her arms were wrapped around her stomach area.

Before I could reply it was our turn to slide. There were six long slides and so we decided it would be best if Jett was in the middle with Tori and then mom and I were either side of those two. We sat at the top waiting for the green light to go. The cold flowing stream of water on the slide glistened with the reflection of the bright sun shining on it, bouncing off in every direction like a beautiful crystal. From up high the bright blue sky was thick with humidity. The water was cold but refreshing on my body as I sat in the sun. I scooped some water up and splashed Jett, splashing Tori in the process.

"Jade!" She shrieked as her cheeks dimpled, and the corners of her eyes wrinkled with laughter. "Get her, Jett!"

The light flashed green before he had a chance to retaliate. "Let's race! See you at the bottom, losers!" I pushed myself off the ledge and sped down the slide with great speed. Water splashed up all around me as I slid. All I could hear was Jett's screams along with Tori and mom's laughter before hitting the pool at the end with a massive splash.

"That was awesome!" Tori wiped her eyes as she emerged from the pool. "Umm..Where's Jett?"

I laughed out loud, despite my best efforts to hold it in, only stopping when mom gave me a disapproving look. Jett was still sliding very slowly down the slide with his arms crossed and a slight frown on his face. We all watched from the edge of the pool as eventually he plopped into the water making the tiniest splash.

"That was boring." He moaned as he swam towards us.

"You were obviously too light for it." I crouched down slightly and grabbed at his arms. He held onto my hands tight as I pulled him out of the water.

He shook the water off him like a dog. "I watched all of you go so fast. I wanted to go that fast." He stuck his bottom lip out and crossed his arms against his chest.

"You'll go fast on that one." I pointed to the enclosed slide beside us called 'Dark Hole'. "You can go down that one in pairs so go down with Mom and you'll go faster."

"Can't I go with Tori?"

"Sorry buddy. But I need to go with Jade in case she gets scared of the dark."

I rolled my eyes at her excuse although I know she was just trying to be sweet for Jett. "Oh yes, I'm terrified." I joked. Tori and I grabbed at the two seated rubber ring and carried it towards the slide. "Nice excuse. It would have been more believable with you being scared of the dark though."

"I'm not scared of the dark though." Tori lent on the rubber ring to face me.

"Neither am I."

"I am scared of enclosed slides like this though. I have this irrational fear that when I get to the bottom it'll be closed up and I'll be stuck in the slide." Tori saw me trying with all my might to hold back laughter and began chuckling herself. "I know. It's ridiculous."

I laughed so hard I almost couldn't breathe and my ribs hurt. "You're a strange one, Vega."

Her laughter died down slightly. "It's because when I was a kid, Trina and I were at a play area and when I went down the slide Trina was at the bottom blocking it. She was a chubby kid anyway but she'd put her arms and legs out to block me from getting out and no matter how hard I pushed her she wouldn't budge. She just laughed the entire time and I cried so much that my Dad had to come in and get me."

"Little harsh."

She stopped laughing altogether with a look of dismay about her. "She still laughs about it to this day."

As we reached the top of the slide I looked down the dark hole before looking back to nervous Tori. "Well I promise you we will get out of the end of the slide. Okay?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. She stepped into the rubber ring, placing herself at the front while I positioned myself in the back. The water lapped around the ring as we waited to go. I took my hands off the handles and placed them around Tori's waist. "I got you." I whispered into her ear as we were pushed down the slide.

Tori screamed very loudly most of the way down. Although we were in complete darkness I could just make out her hands clutching to the handles of the rubber ring tight and her whole body felt tense. Once we'd reached about half way her screams turned very quickly into cheers as we sped around the slide. We rolled up and down the sides and dropped down unexpectedly in complete darkness until we reached the end. "Wow. That wasn't as bad as I thought!" She looked down at her waist. "Jade, you can let go now."

"Okay now I think I really am deaf." I stood up and shook off excess water while rubbing at my ears.

"Very funny. I stopped screaming after a while."

"Yeah and then you were giggling and cheering just as loudly. You went from one extreme to another in like three seconds." I wrapped my arm around her neck as I nuzzled my face into her neck. "Well done though. It was very brave of you to face your fears."

"I wouldn't have done it without you." She locked her hand with mine that was resting on her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes at her and groaned. "You have to ruin everything by being cheesy don't you?"

"Yep." She said with a smug grin. "Oh look, here comes your mom and Jett."

Mom and Jett shot out of the bottom of the slide before stopping bluntly. "Oh god, look at Jett." Jett's face was as white as a ghost. His eyes were wide and blood shot like he'd been crying. "What happened?"

Jett stood up slowly; a few small tears had escaped and trickled down his cheeks. "It was too fast."

"He started crying and screaming the second we were moving." Mom pulled him into a warm hug. "You're fine now though, aren't you?"

He nodded with his head still leaning on mom's body. "I didn't like that. I wanted to go fast but not that fast."

"I know. We won't go on any more big slides." Mom turned to us and gave us a sympathetic smile. "You girls can go off and do what you want now. I'm going to take Jett to the kids section for a while." Mom took Jett's hand and headed back towards our bags. Both of them gave us one final wave before going out of sight.

"See, told you those slides are traumatic." Tori whispered as we walked towards other big slides.

…..

The day went by in a quick blur of laughter, fun and lots of excitement and before we knew it we were back in the car headed home for the night. Jett had fallen asleep almost the second he got strapped into his seat. His little head was rest against the door with his damp towel still wrapped around him. The car was almost silent apart from the muffled sounds coming from the outside world we were driving past.

"Did you girls have a good day?"

"Yes thank you so much for inviting me." Tori yawned and started closing her eyes as she leant on my shoulder.

"That's okay. I'm sure Jade wouldn't have come otherwise. What's your address I can drop you home if you like?"

Tori's eyes snapped open. "Umm, its fine I can walk home. You've already taken me to the water park today I can't expect you to drive me home as well."

I could almost feel Tori's heart racing. My heart sank a little. She still obviously hadn't told her family a thing about me or about us. "I'll drop her home, Mom. Thanks though."

"Okay. I suppose you'll want to give her a goodnight kiss and I'd cramp your style!"

"Shut up." I pulled a face although I knew she couldn't see it.

As soon as we got back to mine we stepped out of mom's car and into mine. We drove in silence for the first five minutes. "Still not told them then?"

"No. It's hard to find the right time you know." She chewed on her bottom lip.

"You can borrow my brother and he can blurt it out over a family dinner?" I laughed.

She chuckled. "It's fine I'll pass. I'll get there, there's no rush I suppose. I feel right about telling them we're dating I just want it to go okay. You kind of did a what not to do what coming out!"

"You can say that again." I huffed. "What's done is done though I suppose." I pulled up just outside her house. "Your stop, my dear."

"Why thank you." She replied in a posh British accent with an underlying giggle.

"When do you next need a chauffeur m'lady?" I lifted my imaginary top hat at her whilst doing my best cockney London accent.

She scrunched her nose up in thought. "I'm busy tomorrow with a project. So perhaps the day after next?"

I felt deflated slightly. Any day without seeing Tori sucked. She'd die with happiness to hear me say it but she was the sunshine in my stormy life at the moment so not seeing her even for a day sucked.

"Don't do that face." She took my face in her hands, squeezing my cheeks with her fingers.

"What face." I laughed through squashed cheeks. "I'll miss you."

"I'll call and text you. Okay?" She watched as I nodded. "Good."

"Have a nice evening. I love you."

"Text me when you get home so I know you're safe." It was a line she said every time I dropped her home. Every time without fail and even though I rolled my eyes, deep down I loved it. I loved how much she cared about me. "I love you too." She added softly.

"You know I will." I blew a kiss out of the car window towards her. She reached her right hand up and caught the imaginary kiss, bringing her hand over her heart and placing it there. 'So lame.' I text to her before driving away with a smile on my face.

Although tomorrow would be cloudy without Tori, it was only one day. The cloud will always pass because the sun always comes out in the end.

A/N - Happy new year! 2017 wow. This story will be ending this year. I've totally been stalling because I love this story so much and I don't want it to end. But it's coming up to four years old now and I owe it to you guys for it to end! So just a heads up that 2017 will mark the end of this story!