Hey guys. I'm really excited to be bringing you a new chapter in this story. A lot of stuff will be going down in this chapter! I really hope you enjoy!
-Responses to Reviews-
deadshoot12345: Lol:). Thanks!
Guest: I don't know. I imagine their beach house being very big (I don't know the Diaz family's income, so they could maybe afford a big beach house). As for the van, I've seen some pretty big vans capable of holding 20 people. I honestly didn't notice the fact that I had so many characters,lol.
xboxrica: Thank you! Don't worry, I will:)!
Now let's get on with the story!
The big blue van drove down the highway, the wheels rolling smoothly and quickly on the newly paved road. Next to the road was nice-looking buildings that made up a beach city. Everything looked so clean and polished, the sun creating a beautiful glare on all of the windows of the brightly painted buildings.
Rafael Diaz drove the van, smiling and singing along to Spanish music blaring on the video. Angie Diaz sat next to him, leaning on her door and sticking her face out the window to cool down her sweating face.
The kids sat in the back, with five sitting in the first seat and 4 in the seat behind it. All of them were sweating, fanning themselves and trying their best to keep cool. Marco had finally taken off his hoodie, deciding that wearing his favorite piece of clothing wasn't worth suffering a heat stroke. Ferguson had taken off his shirt and floaties, sinking into his seat and moaning.
"Ugggggh. Are we almost there?" Ferguson asked, panting.
"For the fifth time, we're almost there," Marco answered, fanning himself with his hand.
Jackie Lynn Thomas sat at the end of the first seat, while Marco sat at the other end. She looked into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She took a sip, and then leaned over and looked at Marco.
"Hey. Do you want some water?" Jackie asked, holding out her water bottle. Marco's eyes widened and he almost cheered out in delight, but he decided to play it cool. As he reached over to grab the bottle, Ferguson (who was sitting between them with Alfonzo and Sabrina) grabbed the bottle and poured it all over his face.
"Thanks, Jackie. I owe you one," Ferguson said, handing her the empty bottle. Jackie looked at Marco with a sympathetic smile, which Marco replied with a reassuring smile.
Meanwhile, Star, Justin, Jackie, and Oscar sat in the backseat. They all were trying their best to keep cool. However, Oscar seemed to be unfazed by the heat. He just continued to play on his keytar, much to Star's admiration. She stared dreamily at him, ignoring the sweat dripping off her brow.
"Woo... hoo," Justin chanted weakly, too tired and hot to stay excited. Janna sat next to him, also slumped down in her seat.
"Do you want to know... the percentage of people... that died of heat strokes last year?" Janna asked, looking tiredly at Justin.
"I-I'm good," Justin answered, weirded out. He slowly scooted away from Janna.
After an excruciating and blistering hot half an hour, Rafael looked back at the sweaty kids and announced, "OK, we're here!"
Immediately, everyone jumped out of the van and ran to the huge beach house in front of them. Star turned the knob, only to find the door locked.
Star then backed up and aimed her wand at the door, getting ready to blow up the door. Everyone immediately panicked and jumped out of the way. Rafael then quickly ran to the door and unlocked it. Star then put down her wand, giggling in embarrassment.
"Sorry, guys," she said, playing with her long blonde hair. They all then turned towards the open door and ran to it.
All of the kids tried to go through the door at once, only to get stuck. They all then fell into the house, landing on the nice hardwood floor.
Jackie Lynn Thomas was rubbing her head when Marco reached out his hand to pick her up. She giggled as he helped her up.
"Thanks, Marco," Jackie said, smiling. Marco then thought that he saw her blush. He began to get excited, but then he told himself that he was probably just mistaken. It would just be too good to be true.
Everyone except for Marco and his parents looked around the house in awe. The living room was huge, with a nice leather couch and chair sitting in front of a big flat screen TV. The walls were painted light brown and were covered with pictures of the Diaz family from previous trips to the beach house. Star looked at one that had a 6-year old Marco building sand castles and laughing.
Heh, so cute, Star thought, smiling.
"This place is amazing!" Sabrina said, impressed by the size of the house.
Oscar gave Marco a thumbs-up in approval, which Marco replied with a forced smile.
After everyone finished looking around the house, Marco's parents showed everyone to their rooms. The kids followed them down a hallway with four guest rooms.
"Alrighty, then. Two in each room, and three in one room. Who's going to shack up together?" Rafael asked.
"Ohh! Ohh! Me, Alfonzo, and Marco!" Ferguson exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his two friends. Both of them cringed because Ferguson didn't have a shirt on and he was wet from sweat.
"OK. Jackie, who do you want to pair up with?" Mrs. Diaz asked.
Jackie looked down, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I was going to... um... ask Marco if he wanted to share a room. But, since he's taken, what about you, Justin?"
Justin smiled and ran next to Jackie, raising his arms in celebration. "Yeah! We're going to have such an awesome time!"
Marco looked at Jackie in disbelief. SHE wanted to share a room with HIM? Then she picked JUSTIN, of all people? He couldn't believe he lost the chance to shack up with Jackie Lynn Thomas! Marco shot a glare at Ferguson, who looked really guilty.
"Sorry, dude," Ferguson said, scooting away from Marco in fear. Marco sighed and looked down in sadness.
Star then chimed in and said, "Can I pick Oscar as my roommate?" She smiled dreamily at him, admiring the way he looked so nonchalant and rebellious.
"Sure. If it's OK with Oscar," Mrs. Diaz said, smiling.
"It's cool," Oscar said, tinkering with his keytar. Star gasped in excitement and jumped up and down.
Marco looked at Star with a worried expression on his face. He really didn't want her to get her hopes up and get hurt if he doesn't like her. He wondered why she liked Oscar, who seemed like such a jerk. He then saw her silently squealing to herself and rocking back and forth in excitement. He couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked.
"OK, so I guess that just leaves me and Sabrina," Janna said, grinning at Sabrina with fangs in her mouth.
"Great," Sabrina lied, showing a fake smile.
Mr. Diaz clapped his hands, smiling. "Alrighty, amigos! Go put your stuff up and we'll go walk around the beach before dinner!"
After everyone put up their stuff up, they all walked outside together to get ready for their walk. Mr. Diaz brought a Frisbee with him to throw around, which seemed kind of simple when compared to the other things they could do at the beach, but it was smart to start with something small. Also, it was too late to swim and hang out at the beach. The sun was setting on the horizon, giving the water gently crashing against the shore a sparkly look. The sky had a dark purple color, making it look like a sky from a painting. Everything on the beach seemed so peaceful.
Rafael tossed the Frisbee to his wife, who giggled as she caught it. She then tossed it to Alfonzo, and a game of Frisbee began.
Star, Jackie, and the other girls walked a couple steps behind the others (with Oscar walking a couple steps behind them), who were laughing and playing. Ferguson tossed the Frisbee to Marco, who dove for it and landed in the sand. He laughed and threw it to his dad as he got up.
"Hey," Jackie said, getting all the girl's attention. "Can I ask you guys something?"
"Of course!" Star exclaimed, eagerly listening. Janna and Sabrina nodded, also listening.
"Have any of you ever noticed how... um... cute Marco is?" Jackie said, looking down and blushing.
"Oh,yes," Sabrina said, giggling.
"He's OK," Janna said, crossing her arms and looking away to hide her blushing red face.
"Star, what do you think?" Jackie asked. Star eyes widened and looked flustered.
"I... I... no! No! I don't think about him like that!" Star said nervously.
"Oh, come on!" Janna said, giving her a nudge with her shoulder. "You're his best friend! You hang out with him all the time! You can't tell me you haven't once thought that he was cute."
Star looked over at Marco, who was laughing with Alfonzo and Ferguson. She did hang out with Marco all the time. They were best friends, after all. She only ever thought of Marco as a friend, not a boy. Although, she did sometimes catch herself looking at him and enjoying it. She did like his hair, always neat and stylish. She also liked his deep brown eyes, and (even though she would never admit it to anyone) would sometimes get lost in them. As she looked at Marco, she saw him smiling and she couldn't help but smile, as well.
"Um... Star? You OK?" Jackie asked, waving her hand in front of Star's face. Star stopped smiling and turned towards Jackie. After a second, she realized what Jackie just said. She thought Marco was cute!
Oh my gosh! I need to tell Marco right now! Star thought, excited.
"Jackie! I'll be right back!" Star yelled as she ran away from the confused girls.
Marco threw the Frisbee to Ferguson as he was pulled away from his friends by Star. Marco looked at her, confused.
"What's wrong, Star?" he asked with a concerned look on his face. Star leaned down as she tried to catch her breath.
"Ma... Marco. I need... to tell you something," Star wheezed out.
"What is-oof!" Marco began to say, but was then knocked down by Justin jumping to catch the Frisbee. As Marco was knocked down, he fell into Star. Marco landed on Star face-first. Star looked at him, frustrated.
"Marco, why did... you... uh," Star was about to scold Marco for falling on her, but then realized how close their faces were. She was looking right into Marco's deep eyes, and could feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach all of the sudden.
Wow. Marco really is... cute, Star thought. She stared dreamily at Marco, who looked really confused.
"Um, Star," Marco said, getting up. He held out his hand to help Star up. "Are you OK?"
Star took his hand, and felt her heart beat faster. She had to keep herself from giggling in excitement, and she had no idea why. Thoughts in her brain were moving too fast for her to comprehend.
"Oh, um... yeah," Star answered. Marco tilted his head in confusion and concern, his face scrunching up a little.
Oh my gosh, he's adorable, Star thought. Wait, why am I thinking like that? Stop it!
"So... what did you have to tell me?" Marco asked. Star didn't know for a second what he was talking about, but then remembered the big news he had to tell him. For some reason, a small part of her didn't want to tell Marco about his long-time crush liking him.
But why? Star asked herself.
"Oh, um..." Star began to say, unsure of what to do.