Okay, so my one-shot series is off to a start! Sorry it's been a little while, I had a bit of a writer's block, plus school started up again and I had to work on a heritage project. Also, I received a review from a guest saying that Emma was a figure skater, not an ice dancer. Thanks for that, and I'll try to remember. My friend gave me this idea. On with the story! This takes place a little while after the last chapter. It's Emma's Sweet Sixteen!

Emma's POV

"Happy sweet sixteen!" chorus Megan and Becca as they burst through the door into my room.

"What, no Sophie?" I ask, looking over Megan's shoulder. Even though she is dating my ex-boyfriend, we're all friends now. Kind of.

"Nah. Anyways, you should thank Gigi, because she wanted to stay for your birthday. Her and Papie's honeymoon was post-poned," Megan explains. "But, Sophie's coming with her cousins, FYI."

"'Kay. And tell Gigi thanks for me!" I exclaim. "She didn't have to do that!"

"She wanted to. I mean, you're kind of like a granddaughter to her."

Tears come to my eyes. Mrs. Bergson was like that to me. It's been about a year since she died.

"Hey! If Eva died a year ago, then we must have gone to England almost a year ago!" I say. "When was our first night there?"

"July sixth," Becca informs me.

I stare at them. "And you know what happened on July sixth."

They're clueless.

"Come on, guys! July six! The first day we were in England? Remember, after we had dinner at that restaurant, we went for a walk in the tunnel. And you, me and Cassidy walked together," I address this to Megan. "And, Becca, you walked with your mom and Stewart."

"Stewrat," Megan corrects.

"But where was Jess?" Becca asks.

"EXACTLY! We need to throw an anniversary party! For Jess! And my brother! 'Cause on that walk was when they first held hands!" I cry.

"Oh, that's so romantic," Becca gushes. "Although, a year ago, I probably wouldn't have said that. I had a gigantic crush on him. Along with Zach. And probably others." I snort.

"Okay, but one party at a time," Megan says. "We'll start planning later, with Cassidy."

Becca wrinkles her nose. "You really think Cass would be in to throw a mushy party?"

"The Berkeleys are staying for the summer," Megan explains. "I think the guest list will warm her up to the idea." She winks.

"Emma! Your guests are starting to arrive!" my mom calls.

"Who's here?" I ask.

"Well, just your brother back from running errands for me and going to Half Moon Farm," my mom says.

"Hi!" a voice says. Two voices. One high, one deep.

"Remember, mum's the word about our next party," I say to the others, miming zipping my lips. They nod, and we run down the stairs.

"Hi!" I say to Jess and Darcy.

"Hey!" Megan and Becca add.

"Who else is coming?" Darcy asks. "I'm not so great with being surrounded by girls."

"But you are all the time," I protest. "You've been a ladies' man since the Stone Age."

"Yeah, but now they back off," Darcy replies.

"They better," Jess mutters. She may seem super-sweet, but she can be tough as nails when it comes to my brother.

"Ethan, Third, Sophie, Cassidy, Simon, Tristan, Rupert, and Jonas," I say to my brother.

"Oh, yeah! They're staying at the Colonial Inn," Jess explains.

"My mother's doing." Megan raises her hand.

My brother raises an eyebrow. "Really?" he says, his voice slightly strained. "Jonas?" Jess elbows him, and he winces in pain.

I guess you could call Jonas my boyfriend. We video-chat all the time, and text when we can't video-chat. My brother's a little protective (what, with Stewart and all), which is totally weird, because he really liked Jonas came to visit last month. But he wasn't my boyfriend then.

About a half an hour later, all the guests are here and we're eating cake. It was nothing like Megs's birthday party. I mostly got gift cards. Barnes and Noble from the Berkeleys, Abercrombie and Fitch from Becca, Bath and Body Works from Megan, Starbucks from Jess and Darcy (plus a pair of earrings), another Barnes and Noble from Zach, Vera Bradley from Cassidy (and Courtney, apparently, who helped pick it out), the Walking Company from Ethan, another Barnes and Noble gift card from Third, and a "16" key chain from Jonas. Plus, he got me a book key chain, a Starbucks gift card, and—you guessed it!—a Barnes and Noble gift card. The cake is vanilla, with Mrs. Delaney's homemade, delicious chocolate frosting. Jess iced out the words "Happy 16th Birthday, Emma!" in purple piping. After cake and ice cream, we all went outside into the backyard, near the pool that my parents has saved YEARS for, and finally got earlier this month.

"So," Jess says. "You're sixteen."

"I'm sixteen," I repeat.

"Feel any different?"

"Nope."

"Well, you will when you start driving. Trust me."

I nod. Even though Jess didn't get her license until a month after her birthday because of the sledding accident, she said she really thought the whole sixteen thing kicked in then.

"Hey, guys." Cassidy nods to us, eating her third piece of cake.

"Cassidy! How many slices of cake is that, now?" Jess scolds.

"Eh, I kind of stopped counting," Cassidy replies. "Numbers is more your thing." I giggle.

Darcy walks over to us. The other two are talking with Simon and Zach. Becca is definitely over him by now. She's actually talking in her regular voice to him! Like a normal person!

"Is there still cake left, Sloane?" my brother asks. Of course he would. His stomach is never-ending, I swear.

"Yeah, I'll show you," Cassidy says.

"I'll come, too," Jess adds, and the three of them make their way to our pink kitchen. I'm alone until a pair of arms hugs me from behind. It's Jonas.

"Hi," I breathe.

"So, I told you sixteen is great," Jonas says while I lean against him.

"Yeah," I agree. I turn to face him. He's not that much taller than me. Probably Stewart's height. I mentally slap myself. Why am I thinking about Stewart at a time like this?! I'm over him!

And suddenly, Jonas is kissing me. Wow. Fireworks. Sparks everywhere. It might not be my first kiss but….wow. It feels…nice.

About 40 seconds later, we're interrupted by a scream. Then a splash. We break apart and I turn around to see what's the matter.

Jessica Delaney is in the pool, fully clothed, soaking wet, and furious.

Darcy Hawthorne is grinning from ear to ear.

Another splash. Cassidy is now at Jess's side, and there's murder in her eye. She's looking right at Tristan Berkeley. Cassidy and Jess exchange a nano-second-glance, and they pull my brother and Tristan right in with them.

I laugh. Jonas does, too. "Way to ruin the moment, huh?" he chuckles.

I shake my head. "Nah, there'll be others."

And that's a wrap for that chapter! What did you guys think? I'm going to be out of town this weekend, so my one shot series will not be updated until next week. Thanks for reading, and if you read this author's note, you're FABULOUS!

As always,

Alexis