A/N: Hey guys! Happy 7/11! Did you all get your free Slurpee? Better get it fast, the day is almost over! Oh! And for those of you not in the US, basically on July 11, a gas station here, 7-11, gives out free Slurpees. It's a really fun summer tradition.

Enjoy!

"Dad!" The call comes as flip-flop clad feet scuff along the tile of the mud room and onto the hardwood floors of the kitchen and living room.

"In here!" Castle replies to the voice from his office where his daily writing session had begun.

"We're going to ride our bikes down to 7-11 and get a Slurpee, okay?" Finn says, having been volunteered from their group to let their father know where they would be.

"Okay," Rick tells her, nodding. He reaches into him pocket and fishes out his wallet. "Get me one," he asks, handing Nemo some money.

"Okay. What flavor?"

"Um, you decide; I don't care," he shrugs.

"Okay," the middle schooler smiles. "Bye!" She calls, turning back outside to her siblings and neighborhood friends.

"Be careful crossing the streets!" Castle calls after her, getting a muffled reply as the garage door closes.

The others are sitting in the grass waiting for her to come back when Finn opens the back gate.

"Ready?" She asks, looking at the group lounging in the summer sun. "Where's Elise?" She asks, looking around for her glasses-clad friend who was here before she went inside.

"Had to go in," Liam answers.

"Well is she coming?"

"Don't know. Her dad looked pretty pissed," he says, standing.

"Oh," Nemo nods, knowing they should not worry about their friend coming along, especially since her incredibly overprotective parents were in a foul mood. She hops onto her bicycle, and after clipping her helmet into place, rolls down their driveway and starts to circle their cul-de-sac. "You guys coming?"

It's a haphazard group traveling down the hill; some walking, others on bikes and scooters, and a trio of boys (Austin, Liam, and their best friend Cade) race ahead on their skateboards. Everyone is talking and laughing, planning final summer parties and sleepovers before the school year starts.

Soon enough they reach the gas station-slash-convenience store, and after locking up their bikes, the group enters the wonderfully air conditioned store.

A dinging bell signifies their arrival, and the woman behind the counter gives them a quick once over, and reminds the boys to leave their backpacks full of skate gear by the door, before going back to her work.

They all wander a bit, perusing the aisles, contemplating buying candy and snacks. But eventually end up at the back wall, where the spinning machines sit on a counter. Six flavors in all, some ever changing with the latest fads, others are constant staples.

"Liam! Move!" Cade's younger sister, Annika, shouts, pushing her brother's friend. The younger girls' shove, causes Liam to bump into the girls' brother, making him miss his cup and spray the frozen drink all over.

"Oh crap!" Cade shouts, pivoting and dropping his cup on the coffee counter behind them, and grabbing a wad of napkins to clean up.

"We can't take you anywhere," Miyana tisks, giggling along with her sisters and friends as they fill up their drinks and head off to claim their desired snacks.

Finn comes to the counter with two cups, her father's filled with a concoction commonly known as a 'suicide'; a mixture of all the flavors available, that is usually done at soda fountains, and rarely tried with Slurpee's because of their sometimes weird flavors. But she couldn't decide what to get, so she chose them all. She pays for her drinks (and a bag of gummy worms, because they are her favorite), and joins the other girls by the front doors.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Danielle calls to the boys, tapping her foot impatiently. The boys, who are joking around, and obviously not paying attention, pay no mind to the girls waiting on them. "Come on, let's go. They'll catch up." Danielle decides, and the other girls follow.

The walk is slow, partly because of the sweltering summer heat, partly because of the up-hill direction they are headed, partly because of the drinks and snacks in their hands. They all share sips and bites, continuing on with their gossip and giggles.

"Oh! Brain freeze!" Miyana hisses, a hand to her temple.

"Quick: put your thumb to the roof of your mouth," Corinne instructs, stopping next to her best friend.

Mia performs the trick, and her headache goes away, and they keep walking.

"Hey!" The call has all the girls turning to look. The boys are racing towards them, carrying their decks as they run up the hill. "You ditched us!" Liam is pouting as he reaches his sisters and their friends.

"Well you guys were taking forever and we were tired of waiting." Danielle replies simply, and keeps walking.

"Nemo? Can I ride on the back of your bike?" Corinne asks her friend, slumping as she trudges up the hill.

"No. It's already hard with just me on here. Sorry," Finn shrugs.

"It's okay," Corinne smiles.

"Want me to push you? Here, hold this," Austin says, putting his drink in the basket attached to the front of the bike, rounds to the back and plants both hands on the back of the seat of his sisters tricycle and starts pushing it up the hill.

"No, Tin you don't have too!" Finn starts to protest, but it's too late, she's already moving.

"Yeah! Go Austin!" Cade cheers his friend on, pulling out his cell phone to record it.

They make it to the crosswalk at the top of the hill and Austin is breathing hard and dripping with sweat.

"Thank you, Austin," Finn says, passing her brother his drink.

"You're welcome," he pants, taking the cup and sucking the drink down as fast as he can. "Ah!" he gasps, grabbing onto his head as the brain freeze tales hold. Austin jams his thumb into the roof of his mouth, but the trick doesn't work on him so he has to ride the pain out, a hand gripping onto his skull.

The light changes and the group starts to cross the street, though Austin is still standing there with a headache.

"Come on, bro!" Cade grunts, pushing his friend across the street to where everyone else is waiting.

"God, that hurt," Austin moans, shaking off the last of the brain freeze.

"Sorry," Annika sympathizes, smiling up at the older boy, who she may or may not have a crush on.

"it's alright," Austin smiles at her.

The girl squeals and scampers away, and Austin can only laugh at her. "Dude, your sister is weird," He says to Cade.

"Don't I know it," Cade agrees.

Eventually they made it back to their street and up the Castle's driveway. Everyone tosses aside their bikes and helmets and flop down on the grass under the shade of their neighbor's tree that hangs over into their yard.

Finn makes her way inside, her dad's cup in her hands.

"Dad!"

"In here!" Castle calls, still in his office.

"Here," Finn hands over the drink and the change.

"It's melted!" Castle gawks, looking at the watery remains of his Slurpee.

"Well, what do you expect when it's a million degrees out!?"

"Alright, get out of here," Castle waves his daughter out of the room, "can't even be trusted to get me a Slurpee without it melting.

"Hey! I tried! But it's a million degrees out there!" Finn tries defending herself, and almost misses the sly grin crossing her dad's face. "You suck," she laughs, turning back to her friends

"Thank you, baby!" Rick calls.

"You're welcome!"

And the door closes behind her.