Carl's POV
"MOOOOOOOMMMM! I'm going out." I yelled as I sprinted through the front door.
"Wait! There's someone who wan-..."
Lori never finished her sentenced when the door slammed shut. She looked at Judith in her arms and sighed. then heard a loud flush coming from the bathroom. Shane walked out while fixing his belt.
"Wow...those alligator nuggets does not go down easy," he chuckled and looked around, "Sooooo where's my favorite...I mean second favorite partner-in-crime?"
Lori shook her head with a sigh, "No idea... apparently, teenagers these days loves sprinting out the door with specifying where they're going."
"Don't worry I'll just follow him. Who knows maybe I might find something interesting." Shane lightly patted her back and jogged after Carl.
"Hey! You're 5 minutes late!" Jimmy teased as the gang saw Carl running towards them.
"Wow! Bossy much?" I smirked while I tried to catch my breath.
"Well, come on already!" Randall was already bouncing up and down in excitement.
At the creek...
"Whoa," I felt the corners of my mouth curve upwards at the sight of our Ol' Swimmin' Hole.
The clear blue water, the colorful flowers growing near the riverbanks, the butterflies circling above it, and the tree near the river with a tire swing attached to it. I walked towards the tree and chuckled when I saw our names still carved on it, with Noah at the top, then Randall near the base of the tree, Louis and Eliza by the roots poking out of the ground, Sophia's name at the lower right next to Noah, Beth's name was between Jimmy's and my name.
I brushed my thumb against my name, and smiled at all the memories that slowly came back to me about this place.
"GERONIMOOOOOOO!" I turned to the loud shriek from Randall who already jumped into the water. Louis, Noah and Jimmy followed not long after.
"What are you for Carl? Come on!" Noah called out.
"Alright...alright...I'm comin'," I smiled and took of my shirt and pants, leaving me in my swimming shorts. I look at the Beth, who was setting the picnic mat under the shade of the tree.
"Aren't you coming?" I asked.
"No, you go on ahead we'll join you soon." Beth said and the other two girls nodded in agreement.
"Okay, whatever floats your boat," I shrugged before jumping into the cool lake.
Third Person POV
"YAAAAAAHHHH," Jimmy swung from the rope and landed in the lake with a painful slam to his torso.
"Owww, that's gotta hurt," Noah winced.
"Uhm-hm," Randall nodded sympathetically.
"Awww man...another fail," Jimmy groaned in frustration while rubbing his chest.
"Hahahaha. Face it Jimmy, only Carl can do the tree swingin' without landing with a painful 'smack', " Louis grinned sheepishly by the river bank while Eliza rubbed an ice pack down his spine.
"It's my turn! Prepare to eat you heart out guys!" Carl said with a smug smile and jumping from the highest branch of the tree, he swung and landed in the water with big 'splash'.
He swam up to Beth, whose legs were dipped underwater.
"Well Tarzan, looks like you won again," she raised her brow with an amused smirk.
"Thanks."
Carl couldn't help but smile like an idiot looking at her. She was only wearing denim shorts and a bikini top and her white skin glowed under the sunshine. He forced himself not to drool. Beth must've caught his gaze and snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"Hey, hey. Is this gonna be a distraction to you?" She teased.
"What? Uhhh...no?" He quickly closed his eyes and turned away.
Beth snickered but she has to admit, he's not such a bad sight either, her eyes trailed to his broad shoulder. His arms look lean and strong, and when he rose from the lake to sit next to her, she saw how his muscles contract on his well-toned back that made her heart flutter furiously.
"You okay?" Carl asked and she snapped back from her thoughts.
"Y-yeah...just thinking of something," She stuttered.
Luckily, he didn't notice she was blushing when he looked away and she sighed with relief.
'Thank goodness he's pretty dense sometimes...but I guess that's what I like best about my idiot.' She smiled at the thought.
Meanwhile...
Shane watched the scene from a cliff side with a bright smile. He turned to the sound of a car pulling up and Rick coming towards him.
"How did you find me?" Shane asked.
"I saw you driving off from the house and decided to follow you," Rick smiled and he gave his best friend a big hug.
"Come on, you gotta see this."
Shane chuckled and gestured with his chin to the cliff. When Rick saw what was down there, he also made an amused smirk.
"The pretty one's his girlfriend right?" Shane said, looking at Beth pinching Carl's nose teasingly.
"Yup," Rick replied.
"He's growing up fast," Shane said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yes...yes he is," Rick continued smiling at his son then turned to Shane.
"What brings ya here anyway?"
Almost immediately, Shane's expression turned grim like he just remembered something important. Rick furrowed his eyebrows in concern.
With a heavy exhale, Shane looked at him with sorrowful eyes, "I need to tell you something."
To be continued...