FOR AS long as she could remember, Olivia had always described her summer as magical. She would talk about summer all the time and, when she wasn't, she was hoping someone else would bring it up. Between the months of June to August, the Conklin family stayed for the few months of summer, meaning the beach house was filled with the kids and the mothers- just how everyone liked it.

Growing up in Cousins was the dream life for Olivia: surfing, swimming, hot weather, bonfires, and volleyball. Olivia had to admit, she only enjoyed volleyball because of Isabel Conklin. Belly had always been so good at volleyball, though Olivia thought she was good at everything. The two have been best friends since birth, along with Olivia's twin brother Jeremiah.

Though Olivia would beg to differ, as her brother wasn't as close to Belly as she was. Olivia knew he didn't feel nervous around her, he didn't remember everything about her, he didn't admire her every move... until he did. And suddenly, her own brother was crushing on her crush.

However, Olivia didn't tell him about her crush on Belly- she didn't tell anyone. So that feeling grew inside of her, festering and increasing, until she felt obligated to tell her friend- Evie.

"What's your summer wish, Via?" Evie asked curiously, as she laid stomach down on the bed. A smirk grew on her face, which Olivia had always admired, "The same as last year? And the year before that... and the year before that?"

"Shut up." Via giggled, chucking a pillow at her friend, before chucking herself onto the bed. She sighed sarcastically, "Okay, okay. Maybe it's the same as last years."

Evie suggested, "Then you need to ask her out-"

"Shh! The whole house will hear you." Olivia interrupted, as she rushed towards her bedroom door and closed it. She continued, as she paced up and down, "It's a lot easier said than done. I mean, I can't just go up to her like, hey Belly I think I'm in-love with you!"

Evie shrugged optimistically, "You could..."

"We both know how that would end." Via replied, as she collapsed down onto her bed, "I'm not even out to my family yet, I can't... I know Jere came out but that's different."

"Hey." Evie comforted, as she tucked Olivia's hair behind her ear, "Don't feel pressured to come out, okay? If I hear anyone pressuring you, I swear to god-"

"You'll kill them." Olivia finished, a smile appearing on her face, "I know." She paused, sitting up quickly, "What's your summer wish?"

"I find a hot holiday crush." Evie grinned, "My moms have been watching me like a hawk, since what happened with that person last summer."

Via chuckled, "I still can't believe you had a one-night-stand. Shit, my best friend is a slut."

"You bitch." Evie bursted into fits of giggles, as she stood up quickly, grabbing Olivia's ankles and pulling her off of the bed. She thudded to the floor, the two girls laughs echoed around the beach house.

Although Olivia loved summer, she missed her best friend, who she never gets to see in person for three months. Evie Ramirez traditionally visited her family in Spain for the entire summer, leaving Via alone- thank God for FaceTime.

"They're here!" Susannah exclaimed loudly, as the twins bolted down the stairs- pushing each other out of the way to see who would get the first hug.

"Jere!" Via raised her voice, as she tried to push past him, though the boy had already stepped outside. Jeremiah glanced back at his sister, smirking tediously, and Olivia couldn't help but smile back. Her brother had this charm, which people referred to as golden retriever energy, Jere could make anyone smile so effortlessly.

"Hi!" Laurel exclaimed in shock of how grown up Jere was, "Oh my God..."

"Hello!" Jere chuckled, hugging Laurel tightly.

"Ollie!" Steven shouted, as he embraced her in a hug.

Olivia smiled, "Hi!"

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Steven asked sarcastically, "I can't hear you from all the way down there. You're so small!"

She smacked his head gently, but hard enough to hurt, "You're literally one inch taller than me, asshole-"

The reunion went on for a while, it involved a lot of hugging and smiles, as always. Via noticed the car door opening, before Belly stepped out excitedly. Olivia couldn't help but stare at her: her brown hair shimmered almost golden colour in the sunlight, how her denim shorts fit her thighs, her smile beamed light on everyone around her, her dark brown eyes...

"Livy!" Belly smiled, snapping the girl out of her trance. The girl ran up to her, wrapped her arms around Via so tightly it made her nervous... though she didn't want to let go.

Via couldn't help but smile, as she admired the girl, "Where's your glasses?"

"I stopped wearing them a few months ago." Belly explained happily, as she showed her face off sarcastically, "Does my face suit without them?"

"Yeah!" Olivia exclaimed, "You look.. It looks amazing."

There was a moment, just for a second, when Via could've sworn Belly looked at her- like really looked at her. It was a different kind of stare, they were both so close and... shut up, Via! She thought to herself. And, as expected, the moment was ruined by her older brother Conrad, who strolled out of the house.

Belly's eyes traveled away from Via's, as she smiled nervously at her brother. Olivia thought she was going to vomit- Conrad, seriously?! She thought. Though it didn't shock her that much, as it was never going to be her, no matter how much she wanted it to be. It was always going to be Conrad.

"Hey, hey, hey." Steven spoke, gathering all the teenagers into a circle, "Do you know what time it is? I think it's time for a..."

"Bellyflop!" Jere and Steven exclaimed in unison, as Belly tried to escape. The boys had all grabbed her, lifting her and walked towards the pool.

Olivia just watched.

The thing about being a lesbian is that it made Via feel so alone. She felt as though she couldn't relate to any of the straight girls but also couldn't relate to any of the boys. She didn't fit in anywhere. Loving her best friend was hard enough, but watching her brothers love her best friends was even harder. Summer felt different this year, and Via didn't know if it was positively or negatively.

Via decided to stroll inside, insisting on helping Laurel unpack, though both adults noticed the girl's change of attitude. The girl stood next to Laurel, helping her unpack continuous bottles of wine as her mother prepared dinner.

Susannah chuckled, "How many boxes did you bring? I told you not to bother."

"Your fancy little market doesn't even carry Diet Coke, Beck." Laurel explained sarcastically, as she turned to Olivia. She asked, "Where's your other half?"

"Uh, Belly's outside with the boys." Via replied, a fake smile appearing on her face, though she kept her eye contact on the bottle she was holding.

"Why don't you go outside with them?" Susannah suggested, "You haven't stopped talking about her since last summer." 

Via chuckled nervously, as she warned, "Mom."

The noise of the door opening echoed through the kitchen, as Susannah continued with a smirk on her face, "What? I'm saying you missed her-"

"Missed who?" Belly questioned curiously, as she skipped into the kitchen. She sat down on a stool opposite Susannah, her hands cupping her own face as she leant on the table.

"Via." Susannah explained happily, "She hasn't stopped talking about her plans for summer with you-"

"Mom!" Via interrupted, with that same nervous laugh which made her mom smirk. The girl walked over to the table, sitting on the stool next to Belly, before leaning over to grab some muffins. 

Belly asked curiously, "Really?"

"What?" Via questioned nervously.

"You planned summer activities with me?" Belly continued, a smile beaming happily on her face which Via couldn't stop looking at. She admired her for a moment. Her wet hair stuck to parts of her face, her mascara slightly smudged, her clothes drenched in the smell of chlorine. Olivia was mesmerised by her dark brown eyes, pulling her into another world of...

Via snapped back into reality, "It's, uh, just surfing and our movie night. I was thinking we could binge-watch Harry Potter?"

"Yeah, I'd love that." Belly smiled.

Laurel noticed the water pools around Belly, as she sighed, "You're dripping water all over the place."

"Laur." Susannah spoke, pointing at Belly discreetly as she whispered, "She's gorgeous."

Laurel mouthed, "I know."

Susannah walked over to Belly, "You always have been lovely, but, oh honey... look at you!"

"I think I look pretty much the same." Belly laughed, as Via couldn't help but smile.

"You do not look the same at all." Susannah hugged her, "You're growing up. You're in bloom." She paused, "Laur, she's you all over."

Belly replied, "People say I look like my dad."

"No, when me and Laurel met, she looked exactly like you." Susannah explained.

Laurel added, "Except I had no boobs at all."

Olivia's eyes scanned the girl uncontrollably, before quickly realising and looking back at the food in her hand. She could feel herself blushing. Fuck.

"Gross, Mom." Belly grimaced awkwardly, glancing over to the girl beside her for a second before wrapping a towel around her. She paused, before snacking on a fruit bowl, "Where'd you go? I needed your help out there."

"Uh, sorry." Via replied awkwardly, keeping her eyes on her own food. She didn't know if her cheeks were still rosy and pink. She felt so embarrassed.

Susannah glanced at Belly, who shared the same concerned expression on her face. Her mother questioned, "Are you okay?"

No. The girl thought, Not one bit.

"Via?" Susannah asked again, "Olivia-"

The girl raised her eye-line from the table, "What?"

"You didn't hear me?" Susannah questioned worriedly.

"You kind of zoned out." Belly added, placing a hand on her arm, "Is everything alright?"

Olivia stood up quickly, before spluttering, "Yeah, uh, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom."

How am I going to survive summer?