Sunscreen, check.
Hat, check.
Costume, check.

I lay my list down on my bed and run a hand through my hair, letting out a sigh of relief since I'm finally done packing. Alex will be here in ten minutes to fetch me to start our week off and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ecstatic. I stare at my suitcase before letting out a loud squeal of excitement for this coming week.

I can't believe we're actually going. My mom, when I asked her, had no problem with it and neither did Alex's dad regarding our stay at the hotel.

A free stay at the Rosewood Hotel? Now that's something to be happy about. It's not everyday you get to go to a five star hotel for free.

I grab my suitcase and walk downstairs, not trying to control the smile on my face or the excitement that makes me light on my feet.

"Ready?" My mom asks when I reach the kitchen.

I nod excitedly, "Yep. Alex just needs to help me grab my surfboard."

My mom raises a surprised eyebrow. "You're going to surf?"
I've known how to surf since I was six. I'm not a pro at it or anything but I am quite good. After all, my dad and I used to surf nearly every weekend. My parents had even considered moving closer to the beach at one stage. Since then, I've always had a passion for it. It was fun, exhilarating- like dancing. After my dad left, I didn't really have anyone to go surfing with since my mom was always busy working, I didn't have friends to drive me there and I couldn't exactly catch a taxi with a surfboard, so I stopped. Not only that, but it hurt. A lot.
It reminded me so much of my dad and his betrayal and how he ruined our family. I remember going once with my mom and crying non-stop at the memories that were replaying in my head, over and over again. I stopped when I was about fifteen. If I hadn't, the Elite would've made me anyway.

I give my mom a sharp nod, "Yeah. We're going to the beach, might as well make the most out of it." I shrug as if it's nothing.

She smirks, "You're probably going to have to practice a bit before though sweetie. It's being a while."

I give her small smile, "Alex will help me. He already thinks I don't know how to surf."

My mom laughs, the sound warming. "He's got another thing coming then."

I laugh with her too, "He has no idea."

"Enjoy it sweetie, you deserve this." She grabs my hand from across the kitchen island and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "And enjoy the surfing, you haven't done it in a long time."

I nod, "I will Mom, thank you for letting me go."

She nods just as the doorbell rings and my face lights up in happiness as I rush to open it. Before me, Alex stands casually in a navy blue shirt and a dark pair of jeans. When his eyes meet mine, I grin.
"Excited?" He smirks.

"Yep." I nod enthusiastically and he laughs as I leave the door open, granting him access.

My mom walks out of the kitchen, her coffee mug in hand and smiles sweetly at Alex. "Hello sweetie."

"Hello Emily, how are you?" He asks as he pauses in the passage.

"Very well, thank you." He nods with a smile at my mother and then follows me into the garage.

"You look good in shorts." He comments, scanning my outfit.
I roll my eyes as I switch the lights on, trying to suppress my blush. "You say that about everything I wear."

"Maybe beccause you look good in everything you wear."
I pause and look at him, my cheeks reddening even more. He stares at me intently and I feel myself squirming under his gaze.
I clear my throat and gesture to my surfboard hanging on the right wall to which his eyes follow. He smiles. Alex walks towards it and unhooks it, letting out a grunting sound in the process before he brings it down and puts it in front of me.

I gasp as I run my hands along it, picking up the small particles of dust. I savor in the moment of the smooth board beneath my fingertips and the memories that come with it. The blue and green are sides not any less vibrant than they used to be. The small, neat scribbling I wrote on the corner is still there, dating the day my dad bought it for me. It was when he had 'come back' and I swallow the lump in my throat. How naive I was.

I drop my hand back to my side, "Thanks." I say, my voice raspy.
He gives me a small smile and holds it up as I open the garage doors for him.

He easily walks with it next to him before he reaches his car- which for some reason is an SUV. He puts it on top and starts strapping it on. I walk towards him and help, pulling the rope and hooking it around my surfboard tightly. I know exactly how to do it from all the times I went surfing with my dad and helped him hook mine up.

When I finish, I hop down and dust my hands off.

"Why the new car?" I ask.

Alex shrugs, "We use it for trips like these since we're all going to be traveling together."

I nod in understanding and then make my way back into my house.

My mom is now sat in the lounge, a book in her one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. "I'm going now." I say softly. She looks up from her book and smiles as she stands up. She sets her mug down on the coffee table in front of the couch and closes her book before  walking towards me and pulling me into a hug. "Be careful. And enjoy it sweetie. I love you lots."

I inhale her scent and sigh contently. "Thank you mom and I will. I'll see you soon."

She pulls back and grins. I look over my shoulder to see Alex waiting for me patiently. I smile and grab my suitcase in the kitchen before heading to our front door, pulling it open and hugging my mom one last time.
"Just let me know when you get there." My mom says to Alex.

Alex nods, "Will do. Enjoy the rest of your evening Emily."
We make our way down the steps and to his car where he opens the boot to shove my suitcase in.

"I love you!" She calls out. I blow her a kiss and jump inside the car, Alex already starting the engine.

As soon as my door is closed he smirks at me, "Ready?"
I nod with a grin and he presses on the gas in response. He turns the radio up and sings along quietly while I dream about how amazing it's going to be to hit the waves again.

****

Inside Alex's house, the Rebels are all waiting, their laughter buzzing about as Alex's mom makes some lemonade. As soon as her eyes land on me, her face breaks into a wide grin and she embraces me in a hug, her lavender scent making me feel slightly dizzy.

"Oh hello Sophie! How are you?" She says pulling back.

"Very well and yourself?"

She grins, "All the better now that I've seen you."

We exchange a short conversation although it's filled with her asking me a lot of questions about school and Sunny Smile. All the while Alex just watches, a smile playing on his face as his mother talks animatedly to me and I respond with just as much enthusiasm.

When Alex interrupts us telling his mother to "stop hogging me", she sent him a small smirk responding with "Why don't be jealous now Alex. You'll have plenty of alone time with Sophie this coming week."

As much as it was supposed to embarrass Alex, I couldn't help my cheeks from reddening.
Alex sent a subtle glare his mother's way and then smirked at me although he, too, had pink ears. When I step foot into the lounge of his humble home, I exchange hugs with the Rebels who seem just as pumped to go on this trip as me.

"You can sit next to me in the car." Martin teases, pulling Nina towards him. If I didn't know any better I'd say they like each other. Nina pushes at his chest, a wide smile on her face, "And what makes you think I want to sit next to you?"

Martin smirks, "Well who else are you going to play tonsil hockey with?"

Nina scrunches her nose up in disgust and finally gives in to him although I see the slight tint to her cheeks and flushed appearance.

"Hold up, we still have one more person coming." Alex explains. I frown, looking around the room. Everyone who said they'll be coming is here- even Dylan with his usual scowl who is lazily typing on his phone.

"Thalia?" Christina asks, just as confused as I am.

Alex smirks, "Nope."

We hear a hooter outside and Alex grins, "That must be her. I'll be a second."

As Alex leaves the room, I scrunch my eyebrows up, before shaking my head.

"So, ready for a surfing beatdown?" Martin smirks at me.
I roll my eyes. They really have no idea.

"The real question is, are you?" I counter back sassily.

He grins, "I have no reason to be."

I chuckle, "Is that so?"

Beside him, Nina slaps his chest. "Stop being so narcissistic!" She scolds him. I then hear Alex's voice again and the sound of a suitcase being rolled on the floor.
We all turn our attention to the entrance as Alex makes his way inside again with a devious smirk on his face.

Not only are his eyes staring back at me though, but another set as well.

I gasp, running towards her. "Rachel!"

She squeals, hugging me tightly before pulling back. "Guess who's going on vacation with you?" She exclaims ecstatically.

I grin and turn to Alex, "Did you invite her?"

He shrugs "I might've,"

"How did you get Lucy to agree to giving her a week off?" I ask. He smirks.

"I have my ways."

I roll my eyes. "Thank you Alex."

He winks at me and then looks at everyone else. "Alright guys, this is Rachel."

After introducing Rachel to everyone, who might I add seemed to take an instant liking towards her, we start getting ready to leave. Rachel talks animatedly with Cole, whose eyes twinkle with humour, while we all go to the bathroom for the last time and what not.

"Okay, is everyone's bag in the car? Surfboards hooked up?"
We all nod and Alex looks at Rachel and me, "I'll put your bags away now."

"Who's driving?" Christina asks.

"It's an hours drive so I'll do it." Martin says smugly. We all murmur out our agreements making Martin grin at being the driver. We finally make our way outside to the SUV and Alex places Rachel and I's bag in the boot amongst all the others. After closing the boot he dusts his hands off. "Alright, can we start getting in?"

It doesn't take more than a second for everyone to start piling in to try and get the best seats. Of course this causes a lot of groans and curse words to fly through the air but soon enough everyone settles down. I bid my goodbyes to Alex's mom and climb in after Alex so that I can be seated by the window.

Martin turns in his drivers seat,
"Who's ready to get their week off, on?"

The sounds of cheering can be heard and I let out a loud laugh, the excitement radiating off of everyone. Martin turns the radio up to a decent volume and before I know it, we're reversing out of the driveway and are on the road.
Everyone gets involved in their own conversations while I stare outside the window and imagine how this week is going to be the time of my life. However, I can't help but acknowledge how Alex is sat so close to me that our knees are slightly touching and his scent of Axe and Vanilla is the only thing I can manage to smell.

"Hey, you want to know an interesting fact?" Alex murmurs to me. I turn away from the window and face him with a raised eyebrow. "Okay?"

"If you weren't here, I'd be the hottest person in this place."
He smirks at me and I laugh.

"Where do you come up with this stuff?"

He shrugs smugly, "Let's just say I'm quite talented."

I roll my eyes at his ego.

He scans my face, a look of worry suddenly coming onto his face  and my heart drops. "What?" I ask.

"You just seem to be lacking in vitamin D. But no worries, I can help with that."

I choke on my spit and my mouth drops open. Beside me, Alex laughs hysterically at my reaction and I roll my eyes. I thought that there was something legitimately wrong for a moment.

"Ew." I scrunch my nose up in disgust but find myself smiling anyway.

"I also wanted to let you know that my bedroom is having a sale. All clothes are one hundred percent off." He smirks at me and I let out a hoot.

"Alright, that's a good one. I'm not going to lie."

He smiles smugly. "If you'd like, I can treat you like my homework."

"And how is that exactly?" I ask, already knowing some dirty joke will be the answer.

"I'll slam you into my table and do you all night long."

I laugh, "That's perverted. On so many different levels."

"Do you have a name or can I just call you Mine?" He says as he ignores my comment.

"That's actually really sweet." I gush.

For some time after that, Alex tells me more pickup lines which I laugh hysterically at. All the while he watches me intently, a smile on his face as he makes me laugh and snort and cackle. When my sides begin to my hurt and my face begins to cramp, he calms down on the jokes and although we only have about thirty minutes left of the drive, a wave of sleepiness washes over me.

As I lean my head on his shoulder my eyes grow heavy with tiredness and before I know it, I'm asleep.

****

The feeling of me being shaked causes me to stir in my sleep.

"C'mon Sophie, we're here." I hear a familiar voice say. I suddenly remember where I am and I open my eyes abruptly. From where I'm laying, Alex is looking down at me with a small smile on his face. In the background I can hear the others talking and the sound of the waves hitting the shore.

I move my head as I let out a small yawn. As I take in my surroundings my eyes widen and I tense before sitting up abruptly.

Did I seriously fall asleep on Alex's lap?

My cheeks redden and I stutter out an apology. He smirks but doesn't say anything regarding how I was asleep and I couldn't be more grateful.

"Everyone is waiting outside." He says. I nod just as Nina opens the door making the cool air wrap around me.

"We haven't got all day." She groans. I laugh and climb out, stretching as I do so. As soon as my eyes take in the scenery, I involuntary gasp. The hotel we're stood in front of is right on the beach. The building is tall and looks to be made of glass which sparkles in the sunlight and palm trees and other vegetation grow around it. There is a large sign above the door that reads "ROSEWOOD HOTELS" and an attendant stands rigidly at the door in a handsome suit.

As you look behind the hotel- and the fence that makes it private- the crystal water twinkles and the golden sand moves with the wind. The shouts of children playing and surfers betting on one another fills the air. However, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore is louder and I revel in the sound. The parking lot is large with a tennis court on the far right of the hotel and a gym building that's even further away. It's green and luscious, the pathway from the parking lot to the entrance of the hotel neatly cared for.

Once we've all grabbed our bags, we begin walking towards the entrance of the luxurious hotel.

"Good afternoon Sir, " The attendant greets us as he pushes the door open. Alex nods at him and walks inside, everyone following suit. Inside, the hotel has white and blue furnishings, the furniture made entirely of beech wood. It's airy and lit up with a beautiful chandelier above us. The lady behind the reception desk looks up and smiles, "Good day Sir, how may I help you?"

Before Alex can answer, a short stocky man with a bald head walks out of the elevator and as soon as he notices Alex, his face breaks out into a wide grin.

"Alex! Come here!" He opens his arms and Alex chuckles as he embraces the man.

"Rodrigo, how are you?"

"I'm keeping up, my boy." The man- Rodrigo, apparently- says before looking Alex up and down. "You're quite tall now." Rodrigo comments to himself.

Alex chuckles and Rodrigo then looks over to us, "Uh! The posse has come along too! I haven't seen you in ages!" He exclaims as he exchanges hugs with the Rebels, me and Rachel stand awkwardly and clutching our suitcases

"And who might these ladies be?" Rodrigo asks, gesturing to us.

"This is Rachel, a friend of mine." Alex answers, "And this is Sophie... she's also a friend of mine."

Rodrigo gushes, "Alex always has beautiful looking lady friends!"

I blush and Rachel laughs. "Alright, your father told me you'd be here but I wasn't too sure it was going to happen. Anyways, lets discuss rooms." Rodrigo starts.

"We'll only need four." Alex nods before turning to us, "You guys okay with sharing or you want individual rooms?"

We all agree it's fine and Rodrigo claps his hands together excitedly.
"Fantastic! Annalise, could you please give us four rooms on level five. All next to each other."

The lady behind the desk nods her head and types furiously on her keyboard before handing four set of keys to Rodrigo.

"I take it that you know your way from here. If you need anything let me or Annalise know. Enjoy your stay." Rodrigo says.

Alex smiles, "Thank you, Rodrigo!"

We all stand in the elevator, waiting to reach level five and when the doors open, a long corridor is seen and a large window at the end of the hallway that looks out onto the beach.

Alex stops at room 134 as do the rest of us.

"We got to split into two." Alex instructs. "I take it you and Christina will be together." Alex throws a key to Nina. "And you and Rachel will be together." He throws another at me. I catch it swiftly, reading the number of 135.

"And I'll be with-"

"Me." Dylan cuts Alex off. Everyone goes quiet, surprised that Dylan wants to room with Alex since Dylan hardly gives Alex the time of day. Alex frowns before giving a strained smile and saying: "Okay, I guess that leaves Martin and Cole with room 137." He tosses the last set of keys to Cole and he catches it with a frown still etched onto his face.

We all slowly make our way into our rooms and when Rachel closes the door behind us, I grin. There's a large window that looks out onto the beach illuminating the room and I sigh in content. This room seems to be the lounge and kitchen as the sink and cupboards can be seen in one corner and a large, grey couch in the other which faces a flat screen TV. If you walk further down, you turn into a passage which has two doors on either side. I open one and inside is a large king sized bed draped with beautiful blankets and pillows. The chandelier above the bed makes the room seem a thousand times fancier than it already is.  In this room there is a large TV screen and bedside table which has beautiful lamps on the side. Due to the only things in the room being the bed, bedside table and a desk with a computer on it, it seems very airy and light.

The other room is similar to this one and both rooms lead to their own bathroom with a huge bath and shower.

"Woah." Rachel breathes.

"Yeah, woah." I add.

I drop my bag on the floor and walk towards the bed, feeling the smooth and soft blankets. I can hear the beach is bustling with people and I smile.

"I'm taking the other room by the way." Rachel grins from the doorframe before she saunters off with her suitcase and I roll my eyes. I wanted this room anyway.

I place my suitcase neatly on the floor and then fall on the bed, sighing contently.

After that, I am out like a light.

****

♛ALEX ROSEWOOD♛

To say I'm shocked is an understatement. Dylan wanting to room with me? No. That doesn't sound right. Usually he'd go with Cole, but for some unusual reason chose me this time.

He's seriously fucked up.

I frustratedly run a hand through my hair and lay on the bed. Dylan took the other room which I'm grateful for considering this room is lighter. However, I seriously regret not getting individual rooms.

The drive here was pleasant at least. Making Sophie laugh was fun and really satisfying. Then she fell asleep on me, slowly moving onto my lap. Lets just say that when she woke up, she looked like a tomato.

Goodness, she was adorable when she blushed.

I roll my eyes at my comment.

"Get the fuck out of your head," I scold myself. I sit up and sigh, fishing my phone out of my pocket. I send a message to the chat group I made with everyone, asking them how they feel about going down to the beach. Since it's late, I don't think anyone would want to swim but it's worth going down and chilling.

After everyone sends in their replies- except for Sophie because she's sleeping according to Rachel- I shout out to Dylan that I'll meet him outside. As I close the door to my room, I see Martin and Nina getting awfully touchy outside the door to Martin's room. Ninas arms are wrapped firmly around his neck while his hands rest on her waist and he stares down at her adoringly.

I clear my throat and Nina drops her hands, turning around.
I raise my eyebrow with a smirk and Nina flips me off although she goes completely crimson.

"If you don't want me to see it, don't do it here." I comment.

"Fuck off." Martin jokes.
I let out a loud laugh as everyone walks out of their separate rooms.

As we all gather I turn to Rachel, "Is Sophie still sleeping?"

She giggles, "Nah, she's just grabbing her flip flops."

When Sophie opens her door, her face is still groggy with sleep and she lets out a little yawn making me laugh to myself. She glares at me, obviously noticing. "Shut up."
I hold my hands up in mock surrender and we all slowly head towards the elevator

"Nice nap?" I murmur to her once we're in the elevator.

"Yep." She answers popping the 'p'.

When we're finally outside, I sigh in relief that I brought sunglasses because the sun is extremely bright. As we exit the hotel property and make our way to the beach, Sophie stops walking ahead and waits for me to catch up. When I reach her she continues walking beside me and I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Thank you." She says with her hands in her pockets. I give her a small smile. "You seem to like to thank me."

She rolls her eyes at this and I laugh. "You're welcome, Sophie. I'm glad you came along."

She grins at me as Martin lets out an excited yell. The sun makes the crystal water sparkle- making it quite painful to look at actually- and the surfers let out cheers of happiness as they tackle the waves which soon crash against the shore. We all stare at the incredible view before us before we start sprinting towards the water. I grab Sophie's hand and she lets out a surprised squeal as we try to run properly on the golden velvet we call sand. The people on the beach look at us strangely but we continue anyway.

Just as we're about to reach the water, Cole trips and lands painfully on the sand causing Sophie to burst into a fit of hysteria. Rachel stops in front of him, sassily putting her hands on her hips. "And just when I thought you could run properly." She teases. He scoffs at her and pulls her down when she sticks out her hand for help. She laughs at him though I don't see what happens afterward as the rest of us continue running into the water. The water splashes as we make our way into it and eventually we stop. We're already calve-deep, the soft waves hitting against us as they break. The saltiness fills my nostrils and I take in a deep breath.

When I open my eyes I realise that Sophie's hand is still in mine and I let go despite how much I don't want to. Nina and Martin splash each other while Dylan takes his shirt off and starts swimming properly. All the while Rachel and Cole are playing around in the sand. I swear those two are already in love.

"It's beautiful," Sophie whispers. I look at her and nod, "Yeah. Yeah, it is." Suddenly an idea pops into my head and without warning, I scoop Sophie up in my arms. She squeals in surprise and laughs. I look down at her and grin.

She's so beautiful.

I walk further into the water and just as a wave comes towards us, I feel Sophie tense but not for long as I dunk her under the water and let go. I take a step back and start laughing. When she comes up, her hair is soaked and she pushes it back, her cheeks tinted a pink colour due to the sudden touch of the water. When her eyes land on me, she narrows her eyes.

My eyes trail down her body, and a smirk takes over. Sophie decided to wear a white dress to the beach so you can guess how transparent it is now. Sophie notices my gaze and looks down at herself. Her cheeks go even pinker yet she still scowls at me, "Its's a bikini you pervert."

I hold my hands up in surrender as I let out a chuckle. She walks pass me, more like waddles, before stopping at my side. Before I can process whats happening, I'm tripped backwards making me fall in the water. Beside me, Sophie laughs to the point of tears. I take my sunglasses off and toss them onto shore and as I stand, her laugh fades slowly.

"Shit." I hear her mutter as she tries to take off in the pposite direction. However, I grab her waist before she can take another step. I wrap my arms around her securely and lift her into the air effortlessly. She laughs and yells: "Put me down you ogre!" I pout, putting her down and turning her around, my hands still on her waist and her hands coming up to my chest.

"That's not very nice."

She rolls her eyes, "Dunkig somebody in the water isn't nice."

I shrug with a smirk, "Oh well." She laughs with an eye roll. We stay like that for a moment; my hands on her waist, her hands on my chest, the water flowing against our legs, the sun illuminating her every feature and the slight breeze blowing her hair to the side. If I didn't have any reasons stopping me, I would kiss her right now.

Wait, hold the fuck up.

Since
when did I feel this way for Sophie Cooper? Damn... I may have hit my head harder when I fell than I expected.

Despite my thoughts, I can't move away. Look away, even. That is until Nina shouts over to us, "Remember you have an audience lovebirds."

Sophie immediately blushes crimson, and drops her hands; the moment disappearing as if it didn't even happen. I flip Nina the bird and they all laugh although an unreadable emotion runs through Sophies eyes before she walks over to Rachel.

It's then that I run a hand through my hair. What the fuck is going on with me?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter so please let me know what you think :)

Please be sure to read the author's note that I updated along with this chapter! :)) It's very important.

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