"Come on. We're going somewhere."

I looked up from Max's golden fur and scrunched up my face at my twin. "Hm. Bossy."

Connor braced my bedroom door, rolling his eyes. "We have to go shopping, Ru. We leave for the cabin on Friday. So can you please get up?"

I swung my legs off my bed grinning smugly at him. "See, was that so incredibly hard? Just be a little polite, brother, it'll go a long way."

"Get in the car, Ruby. I'll be out in a second."

"Hmph." I watched him leave, the smirk still painted on my face. "Guess you lost your manners when I was gone."

~

"Do we need a pan?"

"No, I'm bringing one."

"I like the white-cheddar!"

"Ew, those stink!"

Too many people were stuffed in Alex's mom's minivan, arguing while they made a grocery list for the cabin. I was jammed between Gabe and Ashton, which could've been worse, but still. Gabe.

"What the freaking freak is Gigi Oliveira doing here?" I whispered, glaring at the back of her blonde head like I wanted to put a hole in it. "I don't remember her being part of the squad." I hated Gigi with a passion. She was one of the girls who had tormented me during puberty for my lack of growth.

"Stalking your brother," Gabe whispered. "She invited herself last year, too, remember, Ash?"

"Yeah, whatever," Ash replied distractedly.

I began to ask Ashton what was wrong, but Gabe continued talking. "Anyway. Besides you, Bean's the only sufferable girl we know. Gigi's like a nutcase in a package with big boobs and a butt."

"Jesus. Gross."

Gabe shrugged, "It's true. But she's, like, head-over-heels for your brother."

"That's pretty weird." I cringed at the idea of Gigi and Connor.

Gabe smiled and chuckled, but said nothing. The van pulled into the Wegman's parking lot, and everyone piled out.

"Okay," Carter said, adressing the small crowd. "It's a big fridge, but not that big. Don't go crazy. The liquor's taken care of, so don't worry about that. Oh, and car food! It's a long way to the Falls."

Hannah reached out to yank me toward the store excitedly. "Let's goooo! Bean, come on."

The mostly-silent girl flashed a smile, her long, thin legs easily catching up with Hannah.

"You're Ruby," she observed, strolling behind me as I was dragged.

"And you're... what do you like to be called?"

The girl laughed, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder. "Well, try as I might, I couldn't stop my brother from bringing my stupid nickname all the way to bloody America. I might as well live with it, now, huh? You can call me either one, Bean or Sabrina."

I laughed ruefully. "I know what you mean. I've been gone two years, but I'm still Baby Ru."

Hannah laughed. "Can't be that much of a baby," she teased, patting my butt.

"Et tu, Hannah?" I giggled. I hopped in the shopping cart and Sabrina started pushing me down the aisles.

"Hey, how come she gets to touch it?" Ethan conplained, pushing a cart behind us. Sabrina glared at him.

"Because I'm hot," Hannah replied. "And 'cause you look like a foot."

"Please," Ethan argued. "We all know I'm the hot twin."

"Don't kid yourself," she countered.

Alex slammed into Ethan's cart with his own, making Joey lurch inside. "Chill, Alex," he complained.

Alex completely ignored him. "Could you guys not just sit there? My mom needs the van back soon, so less fighting, more shopping."

Bean begrudgingly pushed me down the cereal aisle, glancing at the list on her phone before taking some Lucky Charms. "Hmm. Mostly snacks and, like, soda right? 'Cause the beer and stuffs there, and we can order pizza and stuff."

"Ew. Grab some burgers and salad stuff. I'm not having pizza for a week," Hannah advised.

We continued shopping until I was blissfully buried in a cart full of snacks and neccesities.

Gabe ended up behind us in line, with Gigi sitting in the cart. "Ruby Farnsworth? Wow, I heard you changed, but..." She trailed off, giving me a fake smile.

I hummed in response, turning around in my cart so I faced away from her.

"How much did your butt cost, anyway?"

I willed myself not to claw her eyes out. "It was free. God's consolation prize for my years of torture, I guess." Gabe muttered something I didn't have the patience or self-control to adress.

Gigi laughed, brushing her full, bleached-blonde hair away from her face. "Sure," she replied, her pretty accent making me nauseous and furious all at once.

Hann, Sabrina and I paid in a rush, wheeling the cart out to the lot. "Hey! Race?" Aaron offered. He sat in Carter's cart, Joey sat in Alex's, and Hannah hopped into Ethan's.

"I'm gonna go ride with Connor. Ash can push you," Bean told me. Ash strolled over and whispered in my ear, "Get wrecked, Little Ru."

"You better win," I grouched at him, making a mean face.

"You're too cute to scare me," Ashton said, ruffling my curls. Everyone lined up their carts, parked cars marking our makeshift speedway.

"Ready!"

I smirked at Ethan. "Get ready to eat it!"

"Set!"

"In your dreams, Farnsworth."

"Go!"

a.n. alex pettyfer aka ethan dawson to the sideee