Luke and Kyle had started a fire at the campsite and were barbecuing the burgers. Scarlett and I were sitting on camping chairs and gossiping when my phone rang. Caller ID said it was Kat.

"Heeeeeey, byatch!" I greeted her.

"Sup? Ready for an update?"

"Hell yes! Fill me in."

"Okay so I'm going over to his house tomorrow. We're going to practice our act for the talent show. Kyle and Nate briefed me and said that the flash is a wooden one with 'SWAG' engraved on it." I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at this. "So I have to find it. Wish me luck."

"Wow, commander much? I'm impressed. Now just get the flash drive and then all you need to do is go on stage and look pretty."

"You got it, chief. I gotta go. My mom invited people for dinner. Serious snoozefest," she said.

"Bye! Keep up the good work," I replied and hung up.

"That Kat?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah."

"And?"

"She knows what she's looking for and she's going to his place tomorrow."

"Netflix and chill?"

"Eeew. No! Talent show rehearsal."

She laughed, "Okay!"

Just then Kyle came over to tell us that the burger patties were done. I put together my special burgers and we all sat on the roof of the Kombi to eat. It was a perfect night with just a light breeze. I had put on a hoodie but Kyle had given Scarlett his jacket. They looked so cute together.

"Guys, what's your biggest fear?" Luke asked suddenly.

"That I'll get nodes and never be able to sing again," answered Scarlett immediately.

"Probably that I won't ever find a job one day," Kyle admitted.

"Mine is that I'll die alone," said Luke quietly.

"Your turn, Jay," said Kyle.

I sighed. I had quite a few fears.

"My biggest fear is that I'm going to graduate from high school. Then I'll get a degree and find a job. I'll meet a guy, fall in love, get married and we'll have kids. Our kids will grow up and leave and we'll grow old together and one day die. And that is all. I'm afraid that I won't leave anything else behind," I said in a small voice.

"Wow. That's really deep and honest, Jay," said Luke.

Scarlett leaned over to give me a hug and I accepted. I had never admitted this fear to anyone before. Except Sebastian. He was the exception to everything.

That night we sat and laughed and sang and even danced a little. It felt good to just be crazy, stupid teenagers. At almost midnight we went to bed and crashed.

☆☆☆

Day 2 of the roadtrip and Luke was driving with Kyle riding shotgun. But before we left it was time for breakfast. I had brought with this hugeass pan for frying things on a fire. So breakfast was bacon, eggs, sausages and tomatoes. We washed up the dishes, showered and had left by 9:00.

Kyle had decided that Imagine Dragons was today's music playlist so we jammed to that until we had reached our next site just before lunch. This spot was virtually untouched by humans. It was by a lake on a reserve but had no communal bathrooms. Just a beach hut bathroom stall with one toilet and one shower.

We ate some sandwiches Scarlett and I had made on the car drive. Sitting at the pull-up table in the Kombi, we chatted about the new term and our latest revenge plan for Drew.

"Shit!" Luke cursed, tears streaming down his face from laughter. "You guys are genius."

"I am so amped to see this video," laughed Kyle.

"Wait and see, boys. Patience is a virtue," Scarlett teased.

After lunch we all changed into our bikinis and swimshorts.

Mine:

And Scarlett's:

And Luke had a plain indigo pair of swimshorts and Kyle had a green and blue dip-dyed pair. We swam in the lake for two hours and just chilled. Then I called Erin and she told me about her vacation. She also told me that she was missing Matt but too nervous to call him. I told her to go for it. After, love was in the air. I looked over to Scarlett and Kyle.

Hmmmm. Scyle? Kylett? I wonder what their kids will look like...

Just then Erin said she had to go and I said goodbye. Luke walked in and asked me if I was up for a walk as Scarlett and Kyle had said no. I agreed and put on a pair of old Vans.

We started walking to the other side of the lake. Neither of us spoke but the silence was not awkward, but rather comfortable. Eventually, he spoke.

"Jay, please be honest here. Are you a hundred percent okay with all this?"

"I don't think I'll ever be one hundred percent okay with this to he honest."

"Why? Is it because of my mom?"

"Luke, she seems nice and I can live with her. But I just want my old life back when it was just me and my dad living in Australia."

"My mom told me that you haven't had a great history with mothers."

"I suppose I should tell you. I'm adopted. My dad wanted kids but my mom didn't want to get pregnant. So my dad adopted Sebastian. Then a few years later he adopted me. As we got older, my dad realised that Seb and I looked scarily alike. He took us for a DNA test and we found out that we wee siblings. We had the same mother and father. We also found out that Seb had leukemia. Three years ago he died. A year before that my parents divorced. After Seb died, my mom remarried, moved to Texas and disowned me."

I felt Luke's arms around me. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I didn't know how much you had been through."

"It's okay. I'm a fighter."

"I guess that a stepbrother must have brought up some painful memories."

"At first I just thought you were gonna replace Seb so I didn't plan to get on with you. But even though you guys are very similar, I don't see you as his replacement. And I'm really glad that you'll be going to my school."

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted a younger sibling. And now I have one who is younger but still old enough to not be annoying."

"Oh yeah? Trust me, I can be a seriously annoying little shit when I want."

We walked and talked until we had returned to the campsite. Then we packed up everything and made dinner. I had packed hot dogs for tonight and Kyle barbecued them. We ate them at the lakeside on the pier with our feet in the water. It was perfect.