-

if you're trampled on; if you're pulled out

you should bloom proudly.

you should keep on believing.

even if it doesn't rain;

even if the sun doesn't shine on you

-

"It's too hot for this," muttered Soura from his arm. He was in the back of the truck, arms crossed over his knees with his head tucked in. His cinnamon colored hair, now a dark brown due to the sweat, was sticking to his forehead because of the heat. Not even the wind that hit them ruffled it, which added more to his aggravation.

His murmur didn't go unheard as Hyphen, with a pleased sigh stretched back. "Because it's too hot is why we're doing this." He sat on the very edge, right above the wheel. His hair was being blown with the wind as his red shirt flapped behind him. Soura could only scoff.

They were currently in the back of Marie's black Ford F150, where the girl had stuffed the picnic baskets and blankets. Soura, who didn't want to go in the first place ("I have better things to do!") wore only black board shorts and a gray short-sleeve hoodie. Hyphen, who was the first one to be told of the plan, went dressed for the occasion. He threw on a red t-shirt with red and black board shorts and his favorite flip flops.

"Like you'd actually have something better to do than hang out with us," he said with an airy smirk, not staring at him directly but instead closing his eyes with his head up, feeling the wind hit his face. Soura scoffed again. "It's Marie's driving you should be worried about," Hyphen continued, smirk spreading. "We might never make it without losing a limb or two."

There was a loud screech, and with a loud wail Hyphen was forced on all fours as the truck hit a sudden stop. He stared up, freaked out of his mind.

"Are you out of your mind, woman?!"

Then came the loud chuckle, and Marie stepped out from the driver's seat, dust rising when her feet met the ground. She wore navy blue shorts and a white collar t-shirt. There was a grin on her face, white sunscreen smeared on her cheeks and hair on two loose ponytails. "I heard that," she said, grinning sardonically.

Hyphen, red faced from the fright, barked, "so you tried to prove my point and kill me?!"

She chuckles again, and heads toward the back of the truck to open the tailgate. Hyphen only scoffed, and began to scoot, shoving the baskets and blankets in her general direction. Soura suddenly stood, and with his left hand holding him he jumped off the edge and into the dusty ground.

"Where are we?" he said, voice now monotonous as he scanned the area. It was a parking lot. A somewhat full parking lot.

Another door opened quietly and Mackenzie hopped out, in her right hand a large beach bag. She wore khaki cargo shorts and a yellow t-shirt. Her long hair was tied into a lousy ponytail, flecks of hair falling on her face.

"Ah, Kenzie! Good timing," gushes Marie, shoving a picnic basket in Hyphen's already full hands. Mackenzie glances up, momentarily surprised; her mind had been elsewhere.

"What?" she says a little loudly, then uses her right hand to remove an ear bud from one ear; she was listening to her ipod. Marie smirks as she approaches her, because even from that distance she can clearly hear Beethoven's Flight of the Bumblebee.

"I said good timing," she repeats, closing the truck door. "You can help Hyphen over there," she says, pointing at the struggling boy. Mackenzie glances above her friend's head and watches Hyphen, then nods, putting the ear bud back in and handing Marie the beach bag.

From across the back of the truck Soura eyed her every movement through his peripheral vision. Mackenzie could feel it, but she ignored it.

Marie saw it too, but she only bit her lip as her grin fell.

Yeah, we have work to do.

-

-

Soon they were on their way, walking through the woods surrounding the parking lot. Behind them was the actual beach, full of people, but before them only lay trees and more trees.

"You sure you know where we're going?" called a bored Soura, the yellow beach bag thrown on his back. Marie had shoved it at him, telling him to carry something. Behind him was Mackenzie and Hyphen, the latter carrying the baskets while the girl hugged the blankets.

From the head of the line was a very smug Marie, cutting through bushes and winding roots. "Of course I'm sure, Soura," she remarked, hopping over a large pile of poo. "I've been here a gazillion times before!"

"Right," he says, rolling his eyes. "I think we've passed this tree already."

"Shut up and walk!" barked Hyphen from behind, his arms getting tired. Seriously, what had she packed into those baskets, rocks?!

"We're here!" Marie suddenly cries, stopping abruptly. Soura, who had been eyeing the trees suspiciously, almost bumps into her.

"Nice isn't?" she says, grinning.

Nice wouldn't even describe it. The water was a sparkling green, surrounded by weeping willows. Cattails encircled the water and the soft grass was perfect for napping on. The sun got lost over the canopy, so it was cool. Soura's eyes widened, admiring it.

Okay, so he wasn't expecting it to look this nice.

"Fucking finally," breathed Hyphen, falling to his knees on a nice patch of grass, the baskets thudding after him. Smiling in awe at the pure serenity of the place, Mackenzie follows, preparing the large blankets for them to sit on.

"You sure know how to pick 'em," Soura said after a few minutes of more staring. He liked it, it was quiet. There was no one there to pester and poke him. Well, except for Marie and Hyphen, but he was already used to those two.

His eyes suddenly strayed to Mackenzie, who was quietly organizing the things as Hyphen laid beside her and Marie sat on his stomach.

I wonder if she feels how I feel right now, he thought, eyes half lidded. I wonder if places like this... make her feel calm.

Of course these thoughts were stupid and suddenly he found himself angry, walking towards Marie and dropping the beach bag on her lap unexpectedly. "Does the water have leeches?"

She blinks at him, then shakes her head no. "You can swim in it."

He only nods and begin to walk toward the edge of the water, slipping off the gray hoodie in the process. His muscles rippled as he stretched them, a tattoo of the word love in Japanese (愛) written on the right side of his hip, dipping into his pants.

Before he could even look up, there a loud splash, and water met his face. When he opened his eyes, Hyphen and Marie were giggling, dog paddling around the green water. Soura only rolled his eyes, before jumping in himself.

The water was warm, but refreshing. It filled him completely when he submerged, his hair slick when he popped back up.

Back on the blanket sat Mackenzie, a notebook in her hands. It was a sketchbook, and with her ipod on full blast she began to sketch her friends.

Time rolled by, and she was still at it. Her eyebrows were knotted as she concentrated, lip being bitten as her hand flew across the paper.

There was a tap on her shoulder and she yelped, only to see Hyphen grinning at her. Sighing, Mackenzie removed an ear bud and raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"Aren't you going to swim with us?" he asked, glancing down at her drawing, but she already had it pressed to her chest.

"No. And move back, you're getting everything wet."

He only chuckled, "don't make me hug you."

"You wouldn't dare."

Hyphen smirked, and she glared right back. "Fine, fine. I won't. But you don't know what you're missing!" He ran back into the water, falling on Soura's back and bringing the boy down into the water with him. Marie was giggling and snorting until she almost swallowed some water.

With a soft smile on her face she continued to draw, again losing herself in her art and the loud music.

It wasn't until something began to drip on her shoulder did she snap back to reality. Soura was standing right above her, gazing intently over her now wet shoulder at what she was drawing. He seemed to have been in another place, because when she snapped up to stare at him, he jumped, surprised to be caught where he was.

"What are you staring at?" he barks, and she only dips her head, embarrassed. After what happened in Marie's room, she doesn't know how to act around him. He hates me, she realized. He hates my very existence.

"And-- and I wasn't staring because you're good or anything!" he says quickly, eyes getting darker as his eyebrows knot in frustration. "It's 'cause you suck!"

That hurt, she thought bitterly.

"Everything about you sucks," he mutters darkly. She scoffs.

"Not like you're any better."

"What did you say?"

Mackenzie rolls her eyes, closes her sketchbook and stands to her full height, eyeing him wearily. From the green pond, Hyphen taps Marie's shoulder, and both begin to watch with interest.

"I said that you suck as bad as I do," came her retort. "Or worse."

He faltered, then a growl left his throat and he was in her face within seconds. "Shut the fuck up you bitch!" he howled, and Hyphen and Marie both jumped in shock. Mackenzie only blinked. "You know I hate your guts, right?" he hisses, hands on her cheeks, holding her face in place. "You know I wish you'd never been born, right? That your dad was dead too? But you in particular, I wish you had never made it through birth."

A shudder runs through her body and she shrieks loudly, angrily. "I AM SO SICK OF YOU!" she howls, shoving him away roughly. "You think I like you anymore than you like me? If it wasn't for your whore of a mother I'd still have a family!"

She never saw it coming, no one did. He punched her in the face.

Just as his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat, something pounced on him. It punched, kicked and bit wherever it could.

That something was Marie.

Mackenzie was on the ground, face bloody, as Hyphen hovered over her, not sure of what to do.

Marie was furious; she was livid. Tears ran down her cheeks as she beat on him, howling angrily. "How could you? You bastard! How could you?"

Suddenly Hyphen was on her trying to pull her back but she wouldn't budge, and he was kicked back. She had transformed somehow, and with a loud unearthly growl she bit into his neck.

Then there was a flash of light, and it was quiet. So deathly quiet, all they could hear was Marie's panting and Mackenzie snapping into wakefulness.

"What... what the hell?!"

Marie sat on her knees, weeping into her battered hands. Soura was gurgling on the ground, shaking and convulsing.

Something went horribly wrong.

-