Angel closed her eyes against the glare of the sun and buried her toes into the depths of the warm sand. She listened to the sounds of the waves beating off the shore and then marvelled to herself at how much her life had turned around in the past year. Angel never in a million years thought that she’d be spending the summer of her graduation year sitting on a beach wondering if the guy she had a crush on liked her back.

Oh my goodness, I’m such a prep. Angel thought, with a smile.

Truth be told, Angel was relieved beyond expression how small her worries were. She had gone so many years with worries so big that she couldn’t even comprehend, and now she got a chance to escape from all that and just enjoy her summer.

Angel lay down on the soft sand and turned her head to the side as the sun sent wave after wave crashing into her skin, sending ripples of warmth down through every fibre of her being. Angel wiggled her toes and then frowned as the sun suddenly disappeared.

“I thought you wanted to go swimming?” Adam asked, laughing at her when she opened her eyes in irritation.

“I will, I just want to enjoy this.” Angel replied, patting the sand beside her.

Adam flopped down, spraying her with water and Angel sat up beside him, grinning over at him. Adam looked out at the sights in front of him and then looked back over at his sister.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” He asked, his expression hopeful.

Angel laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

“Trust me, I’ve having a ball.” She assured him. “It’s so beautiful here…I can see why you consider this place home, Addy.”

Adam smiled and nodded.

“I love it here…there’s so much that I want to show you, I just hope we have enough time to see it all!”

Angel grinned enthusiastically and then jumped up.

“Come on, race you to the water!” She challenged, and began to run.

She heard him jump up and quickened her pace as she heard him thudding along behind her, quickly gaining distance by the sound of his steps. Angel pushed herself harder, laughing when she met the cool water half a step before her brother. She didn’t stop, however, just kept going into the water until she got to her waist.

Adam had stopped a while back and was now tip-toeing around behind her.

“Come on, scaredy cat.” Angel taunted. “What, are you scared of a little water?”

Adam play-glared at her and then determinedly took a step towards her. Then he disappeared under the water. For a moment, Angel’s heart stopped beating, before she realized that he had just hit a drop in the ground and had lost his footing. Angel began to laugh and then stopped as she realized that he still hadn’t come up yet.

Calm. She rationalized. He’s probably just enjoying it…

Her statement sounded hollow even to herself. Angel took a weary step in his direction and then shrieked as something wrapped around her foot and yanked at it, causing her to lose her balance and tumble down into the water.

Angel immediately opened her eyes in the water and planted both feet on the ground to get her bearings. Then, finding the right way up, Angel stood up and came back to the surface, gasping and coughing water out of her lungs. She wiped water from her eyes and looked wildly around herself for the fish or whatever it was that had attacked her.

Then Angel realized that Adam was standing beside her laughing so hard that he wasn’t making a sound. Angel quickly put two and two together and then jumped at him, yelling,

“Ugh, you jerk!!”

They both went under and this time Angel remembered to take a breath, quickly propelling herself away from her brother. Angel opened her eyes again and looked around her in fascination at the blurry world around her. Sand was swirling around her and Angel stilled her movements, blowing a few bubbles up to the surface as the sand settled down to the bottom again. Angel started to laugh out bubbles as she caught sight of her brother’s lower half, spinning around wildly, evidently looking for her.

Angel stood up and wiped the water from her eyes to see Adam smiling at her and reaching out towards her.

“Truce!” He cried when she pretended to jump at him.

Angel just snorted and the two of them began to walk towards the shore, playfully splashing water at each other. They returned to where they had been sitting before and Angel watched the droplets of water run off her arms and onto the sand that she was sitting on. Adam gestured to the shorts and t-shirt she was wearing.

“We need to get you a real swim suit.” He commented.

Angel smiled and nodded.

“I guess so if we’re going to be here all summer.” She replied.

It was quiet for a moment as Angel thought and then she turned to her brother, an idea in the making.

“Do you think Aunt Ellie would want to go?” She asked quietly.

Adam beamed over at her and nodded.

“I think she’d love to. Angel, I know she makes you nervous, but she really likes having you around. I think she’s missed having a niece.”

Angel nodded and wrung her blonde hair out, tilting her face towards the sun and closing her eyes.

“I’ll ask her this afternoon.” She confirmed and then smiled to herself. “I think I like shopping.”

* * *

Angel grinned at her aunt and then followed her into the packed, unfamiliar mall. Angel quickly hurried so that she was close to Aunt Ellie and crossed her arms around herself, uncomfortable with the crowds of teens.

“Don’t worry, no one pays any attention to anyone else. They’re too busy thinking about themselves.” Aunt Ellie commented, smiling down at Angel.

Angel allowed a smile and nodded a bit, keeping her eyes on those close to the two of them. Sure enough, they were talking amongst themselves and Angel relaxed a bit, beginning to look at the names of the stores instead.

“Where’s the best place to look for a swimsuit?” Angel inquired, hoping that her aunt knew, because she certainly didn’t.

“I know the perfect place.” Aunt Ellie replied, leading her down another branch of the hallway and into a large department store.

An hour later, Angel stood in front of a mirror in the dressing room, cocking her head from side to side. At Aunt Ellie’s request Angel had tried on a few selections that she had chosen and she was stuck on the last one. The colour was not one that Angel would have picked her for herself, but she had to admit that black went well with her complexion.

The suit was in two pieces but Angel felt comfortable in it, knowing that practically everyone her age wore two piece swimsuits. The black was outlined in fushia, little bows in different areas. Angel had to admit that she really liked it, but she wanted another opinion.

Angel cracked the door open a few inches and waved her aunt forward. Aunt Ellie squeezed into the stall beside her and nodded in approval at Angel.

“It looks cute on you, Angel. It fits you perfectly. Do you like it?”

“I do.” Angel agreed. “And it’s really pretty. Are you sure that it looks okay?”

“It looks fabulous.” Aunt Ellie replied. “And between you and me, it’s the best one that you’ve tried on. I don’t know if you can beat that one.”

“I think I’ll get this one.” Angel finalized with a smile. “Wow, this is so weird. I’ve never bought a swim-suit before.”

Aunt Ellie laughed and left Angel to get changed. Angel slipped into her shorts and t-shirt again, joining her aunt beside the cash. The cashier rung the suit through and after Angel had paid, the two of them went and grabbed a snack at a nearby ice cream parlour.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve done something like this.” Aunt Ellie commented, relaxing into the back of the chair.

“Me either.” Angel agreed. “Although I went dress shopping with Maria and Mason a few months ago. But that’s it.”

Aunt Ellie looked over at her niece and smiled knowingly.

“I take it, Mason is a good friend of yours.” She acknowledged. “I’ve heard you mention him a few times now.”

“Yes, he’s my best friend.” Angel confirmed, smiling a bit. “He’s been there for me through everything. I met him this past year in school and he’s been a really good friend to me.”

“He sounds really nice.” Aunt Ellie prompted. “Tell me about him.”

Angel launched into her tale, explaining how they had met and what he had done for her. Angel was aware that she was rambling, but she couldn’t seem to stop. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was feeling, but she knew that talking about Mason made her feel all bubbly and smiley.

“It sounds like you like him.” Aunt Ellie said after Angel had finished.

Angel said nothing, just smiled. She knew what her aunt was referring to and Angel didn’t know how to answer her.

“He’s sweet.” Was all she got out.

* * *

Angel pressed a button on her phone and then pressed it to her ear, waiting excitedly as it rung a few times.

“Hello?”

“Hi Mason!” She greeted, falling back onto the cover of her bed. “How are you?”

“Angel! Hey! I’m great, how are you?! I’ve been thinking about you non-stop lately.”

Angel laughed, but her heart was pounding in nerves.

“I’m great. It’s so nice here. I wish you could be here with us! There’s a beach right across the road and everything.”

“I’m glad that you’re having fun.” Mason replied. “What have you done?”

“Nothing all that exciting. But I’m having a blast.”

Angel remembered the talk her and her aunt had had that afternoon while at the mall. Aunt Ellie seemed adamant that Mason was a good guy and Angel knew he was. Did she want to take a chance with him?

“Hey Mason?” She asked, clenching and unclenching her free hand.

“Yeah?” He replied, his voice off a bit.

Angel changed her mind last minute.

“You’ll never guess what I bought today.”

“Mm?”

“A swimsuit.”

“A what?!” Mason sputtered.

Angel burst out into laughter at his typical response.

“A swimsuit! Is that so hard to believe?” She teased. “I am a girl you know.”

“I know.” He replied quietly.

Angel blushed and was glad that he couldn’t see her.

“Anyway, it looks nice.” She continued. “It’s black and pink.”

“You’ll have to take a picture and send it to me.” Mason replied.

Angel could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he said this. Angel rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Mason! Stop being such a boy!”

AN: Alright, so I know I’m a horrible updater and I know that this wasn’t the best chapter ever, but I’m still planning on what I want to happen so stick with me! I hope you enjoyed the chapter all the same! Thanks for reading!