I leaned back in the deck chair as I listened to the tour group chat below me. I could see the buoy that marked our destination. I sat up and steered the boat across the water, dropping anchor a few meters away.

The sun was warm and bright and shined down on my skin, tanning it slightly more.

As I walked down the white pearly steps a strong wind blew my hair.

This was a small group of four, all very polite women in their thirties.

"Okay are you ready?" I asked with a smile.

"We are!" They said excitedly.

"Alright so i'm going to attach your oxygen tanks and then we can get into the water." I announced.

They all stood up and I attached their tanks one by one.

"Okay, so now we are going to sit here with our backs to the water, lean back and then your good. If you don't feel comfortable going backwards you can go in feet first." I explained.

"We're no wimps." One of the women said and I laughed.

"Alright then. I'll go in first." I dove backwards into the water, letting the ocean surround my body.

I could feel the women jump in after me and they began their exploration of the reef.

I had this reef memorized by now. The coral, the fish, the urchins, it was like my home under the water.

I watched carefully as the women swam around in the water, exploring every inch of the reef. They each had underwater cameras and were taking pictures of all the wildlife. I smiled softly.

I looked above me to see the bubbles floating around me. Swimming up slowly to the surface, I sat on the edge of the boat, watching the group kick their feet around in the water.

After a while they came back up and I drove us back to the harbor.

"Have a lovely day." I said as they left the shop.

I leaned against the desk and rested my head in my hands.

By the time Ashton had left last night it was 1:30 in the morning and after all the time it took me to calm myself down enough and actually fall asleep it was 2:00.

The door chimed and I lifted my head. Ender ran into the shop with Mrs. Rodriguez walking behind him.

Ender ran straight to me and hugged me around my thighs.

"Hey, how was last night?" I asked as I smoothed his hair with my hand.

"He was a joy. We had dinner and played games, it was fun." Mrs. Rodriguez smiled.

"Yea we played monopoly and I beat her twice!" Ender said exclaimed.

"Oh I see." I laughed. "Go take your things in the house, we have another charter in a few minutes."

"Okay. Bye Mrs.Rodriguez!" Ender waved and then ran out the back door.

"Thank you so much for watching him last night." I smiled and gave her a hug.

"Of course." She smiled. "I have a feeling I will be seeing more of Ender soon." She winked.

"Oh um." I blushed.

"Ender couldn't stop talking about Ashton last night. He has taken quite the liking to him and his friends." She smirked.

"Yea, he's uh a real charmer." I laughed.

"Well, don't let him slip away then." She winked again. "Alright darling I have an appointment so I will be seeing you later."

"Bye!" I waved.

She left she shop and I sighed as Ender walked back into the shop.

"Um Car, why is there water all over the floor in my room?" Ender asked.

"What?" I said as I scrunched my forehead with confusion.

"There's water on my floor and ceiling and all over my bed." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh my god! End stay here while I go look!" I said and ran back to the house. I took the steps on the stairs two at a time and my hand flew over my mouth as I came to a stop in front of his open door.

Water trickled down the walls in streams, running onto the floor and soaking everything in its path. The water heater must have busted.

I cursed as I went to the bathroom closet and grabbed towels from a shelf and a flashlight from my dresser drawer and went back placing them on the floor, The towels were soaked in seconds.

I went to the door at the end of the hall and opened it, folding down the ladder that led up into the attic. I flicked on the light and climbed the creaky wooden steps. When I reached the top of the ladder and stepped into the attic I could hear the rushing of water. I shined the light on the tank revealing a large puddle on the floor.

Oh great.

I went down the ladder and jogged into the laundry room, opening the red, rusted, metal lid of my took kit and grabbing a role of duct tape. I returned upstairs and scaled the ladder again, getting closer to the leaking tank.

Leaking was an understatement. It was like a waterfall in our attic.

I placed a few pieces of tape where I could see water coming out and prayed that would hold up till Ender and I could go to the store later. I left my tools on the bar in the kitchen,wiped my hands on a towel and went back out to the shop.

Ender was directing our next group to the changing rooms.

"Water heaters busted. We need to make a trip to the hardware store today." I sighed.

"Alright." He nodded and grabbed an oxygen tank in his arms.

"I can take care of the boat. I need you to go get your books, toys, clothes, and everything out of your room for now. Just set it all in the living room." I said.

"Okay." He said as he ran back to his room.

"I can't believe this." I sighed as the group came back out of the changing rooms.

"Hi i'm Carter", I extended a hand and shook the hand of the nearest customer, "Are you ready to dive?"

-

"Thank you and I hope you enjoy Haven Harbor." I called as the last group of the day left. It was 5:30, we had a slow day which on any other day would make me anxious but was grateful for today.

I walked into the house and it looked like we were moving.

Ender things were in boxes around the living room, and laundry was strewn across the lounge and arm chair.

Between tours I had washed and dried the towels, trying to mop up the water but it was no use.

"Let's go En!"I called into the house and he ran out of the laundry room.

"Okay!" He followed me out the front door.
In between the front of the house and the back of the shop was a little storage area.

It connected the shop and the house by a little roof. The area was small and open, just a long counter with shelves above it. On the counter was a sink that we used for water buckets. The boat cleaning supplies filled the shelves and mops leaned against one of the walls. On the opposite wall were two bicycles.

I never had the chance to learn how to drive let alone get my license. Ari's family had offered to teach me many times but for some reason I never accepted. I enjoyed riding my bike and it was something Ender and I could do together.

I snatched the larger of the bikes and straddled it, pushing off from the ground and peddling down the little concrete section that led to the side of the shop.

Ender came up behind me on his bike and caught up to me, staying on my right side.

We rode up onto the dock in front of the shop and rode up to the parking lot. The two of us glided across the pavement and to the street that led to the main road.

The hardware store was next to the bank. On bike it took us about 10 minutes to get there.

We skidded to a stop in front the store and hopped of the bikes, leaning them against the brick front outside wall of the store.

A bell chimed as we walked into the shop that was just starting to be decorated for christmas.

A blessing for us was that christmas occurred during the summer holiday so we got a few days off during the busy season.

A worker was outside drawing candy canes on the window with red and white polish while one inside was handing fake snow everywhere causing me to chuckle at the irony.

"Hello Carter and Ender, what can I do for you today?" I heard a cheerful voice come from my right.

"Hello Mr. Sanders." I smiled, turning to the man behind the counter.

Mr. Sanders was about 55 with greying hair and tanned skin. He was very fit with broad shoulders and always wore sweaters. Today his sweater was green and red stripped with khaki pants underneath.

"Our water heater broke and I need to fix it." I said as I walked up to the counter.

"Oh well thats not good is it?" He frowned.

"Hmm well, lets see what we have." He walked around the desk.

"Hey while i'm with Mr. Sanders can you get me some more tape and a box of nails please?"
I asked Ender.

"Sure." He smiled and walked off down an aisle.

"He loves doing things by himself like that." I smiled at Mr. Sanders who was watching Ender with a smile.

"He's growing up." Mr. Sanders said with a crinkle in his eyes.

"Yes. Too fast." I sighed.

"Well, I know how you feel. You've grown up fast as well Carter." He turned to me and I nodded. "Now lets see what we can do about this water heater."

He led me to an aisle with different boxes of parts and tools.

"Now it was most likely the drain valve that you'll have to replace." He said and handed me a blue and white box. Try that and if it doesn't work you can come back and we will try something else."

I nodded. He took me up to the counter and I set the box down. Ender came up behind me and placed a roll of tape and a box of nails.

"Alright dear, your total is 45." Mr. Sanders said as he scanned the items.

I nodded and dug through my wallet handing him our credit card.

He swiped it and then put our things in a bag along with the receipt.

"Thank you!" I smiled as we walked back outside to our bikes.

"Of course dear anytime! Good bye!" He called back.

Ender gave a wave and we walked back to our bikes.

"Okay kid, we can grab something for dinner and then lets go home before our house is flooded." I said as I picked up my bike.

"Okay, can we get Chinese?" He asked.

"Sure." I smiled. I hung the bag from the hardware store on the handle bar of my bike and began to walk it down the street.

As we approached the Chinese food restaurant I leaned my bike against the wall and Ender did the same.

We entered the restaurant and walked up to the counter where Mrs. Shang was standing.

"Hi. Mrs. Shang." Ender said in a sing-song voice.

'Why hello Ender, and Carter. Would you like your usual?" She asked.

"Yes, to-go please." I smiled and placed my hands on Enders shoulders.

"I'll have it out in just a few minutes." She smiled and went to the back.

Families were sitting at tables enjoying their dinner, talking and laughing. Ender and I waited against the wall for Mrs. Shang to turn with our food.

"I love Chinese food." Ender sighed next to me.

"I know. I swear you're going to turn into orange chicken because you eat so much of it." I joked.

"No I won't!" He defended himself, punching me lightly in the arm.

"Watch it happen." I laughed.

A few minutes later Mrs. Shang returned with a bag full of food.

"Here you are." She smiled.

I handed Ender the bag while I paid.

"Thank you." Ender and I both said.

"See you soon." She waved back and we left the restaurant.

We picked up our bikes and I gave the lighter hardware bag to Ender and took the food on my bike.

We pushed off on our bikes and began to ride back home when Ender suddenly spoke next to me.

"Hey look it's Ashton and his friends." Ender pointed to a restaurant where the four teenage boys were sitting a table on the patio.

"Yup it is." I said.

"Can we go say hi?" He asked.

"No En we need to get home." I said but Ender was already riding ahead of me to the iron fence that surrounded the outdoor patio.

"Hey Ashton!" I heard Ender say.

"Hey mate! What's happening?" Ashton asked.

"Our water heater broke so we're getting stuff to fix it and Chinese food." Ender said.

"We? Is your sister here?" Ashton asked and Ender nodded, turning around and pointing at me.

I smiled as Ashton made eye contact with me and waved me over.

I hopped off my bike and walked it over to where Ender was.

"Hey." I smiled.

"Hey." Ashton said.

I looked over at the other three boys. "Hey guys how are you?" I smiled.

"Hey." They all three said.

"So I hear you're having water heater troubles?" Ashton asked.

"Yea, we really should be getting back home to fix it." I said eyeing Ender.

"Oh yea, sorry Car." He hung his head.

"It's fine." I ruffled his hair and he swatted my hand away. "Well sorry to interrupt your dinner." I gave an apologetic smile.

"Oh not at all." Calum said.

"Yea it's cool." Luke smiled next to Calum.

"Would you like help fixing it? I'm good with tools." Ashton offered.

"Oh no, you're having dinner with your friends, I can fix it." I waved away his suggestion.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"It's fine." I smiled.

"Alright." He surrendered with a laugh.

"Okay, well you have a good night." I said and got back on my bike.

"You too. Goodnight Carter, night Ender." Ashton smiled and we took off down the street again going back home.

The second we got back I set the food down on the counter and ran upstairs.

Water was still trickling down but not as much.
I picked up the wet towels and took them down stairs, flipping the laundry and grabbing my tool box. I went back upstairs and laid the newly dried towels on the floor.

"Hey En, let's eat while we work." I said and he nodded.

He brought the food upstairs and claimed the ladder, placing the food on a piece of wood.

I took the drain valve out of the box and placed it next to me. I sat in front of the tank and placed the tool box on my other side.

"Ok so I need to remove this.." I said aloud as I worked on the tank.

After about 30 minutes of fiddling around with the water heater a hum sounded throughout the attic and the water stopped leaking.

"I fixed it!" I cheered and Ender applauded me with a mouthful of orange chicken.

"Yes! Okay now lets go fix your bedroom." I sighed and he swallowed, scrambling down from the attic.

Ender room was still wet and I sighed. This mess was not going to be fun to clean up.
I went to strip the sheets and blankets off Ender's bed and threw them on the floor.
I went back to the bed hoping that the sheets had absorbed most of the water but I was wrong, the mattress was soaked.

"Damn." I said under my breath.

I went to lift a side so I could take it outside but I couldn't lift it. I had no problem lifting it before.

"Ender can you do me a favor and grab my phone for me?" I asked and he jogged to my room, coming back with phone in hand.

I shook my head and pulled up my messages.
I sent a quick text and waited for the reply.

'Hey, how do you feel about moving a mattress?'

'Never done that before but theres a first time for everything'

'You'd be a lifesaver'

'Be right over'

"Ashton is coming over to help." I said and Ender jumped up and down."But we still have stuff to do so go put your sheets in the wash and i'll get a ladder."

We went off to do our jobs.

I grabbed my container of friend rice and took a few bites while surveying what needed to be done to Enders room.

Around ten minutes later I heard voices coming up the stairs.

"Hope you don't mind but I brought reinforcements." Ashton said as he walked in the room followed by Calum, Michael and Luke.

"Not at all, thanks for coming." I smiled.

"Okay so what do you need done?" Ashton asked, clapping his hands together.

"Well I need to take the mattress outside so it can dry but I can't lift it alone." I pointed out.

They all nodded and took a side, I grabbed the same side as Ashton and we lifted it. Ender pointed us in the direction to go so we wouldn't knock anything over.

It was much easier to carry with five people.
We set the water logged mattress on the concrete by the side of the shop and then went back inside.

"Now I need to replace the part of the ceiling where the water fell and clean the floors and dry everything off basically." I said.

"Do you have a fan?" Luke asked.

"Yes, in the storage area between the shop and the house there's one." I nodded.

"Okay, i'll get that." Luke walked off.

"We have more towels downstairs." Ender said and he and Calum went down stairs to the laundry.

"I'll get a mop and broom, I guess." Michael shrugged.

"Thank you, Ender can show you where they are." I smiled and he smiled back before turning around and trudging down the steps.

"Alright, that leaves the dirty work to us." I sighed and climbed up the ladder under the wet spot on the ceiling.

"Ashton can you hand me the little scraper thingy in the tool box." I asked and he rummaged around in the box before passing it up to me.

I began to chip away at the sheetrock. My wavy dark auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail to keep the chips out of my hair.

Luke brought the fan and plugged it in by the door and turning it on. Michael came back with the mop and broom and Calum and Ender with an arm full of towels.

Ashton held on to the ladder while I worked, making sure I didn't fall off since I was sitting on the top step.

"Woah Carter be careful." Ashton warned as I leaned backwards a little.

"Can you bring me up the spackle so I can patch this up?" I asked.

He passed me a small bucket with the white thick paste and I spread it on the ceiling.

"Now once it dries we can paint over it and it will be fine." I sighed.

Michael had the dry mop and was sliding it across the floor collecting the water.

Luke followed behind him with a towel and mopped up what was left.

I checked the wood floor in Ender's room but they didn't seem to have water damage so I had a huge relief.

Ashton and Calum pushed Ender's bed to the side of the room so I could sand down the dried spackle.

Ender's room was painted a deep navy blue and the ceiling was painted as well. I laid a sheet under the ladder so that when I painted none would drip onto the floor.

While I sanded down the ceiling, Ashton stood on the side, still watching to make sure I didn't fall. He said it was "spotting me".

"Ashton can you hand me the paint now?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said as he passed up the half full can and a brush.

"You can call me Ash, Carter. It's easier than Ashton." He smirked.

"Then you can call me Car, Ash, since it's easier than Carter." I mocked him and he poked his tongue out at me.

I let the brush glide across the ceiling and cover the white spot with blue. I did two coats and then passed the brush and paint down to Ashton who took it downstairs to wash.

As I began to climb down the ladder I heard Michael mumbling something to Luke.

"Tell him to grow a pair and ask her, i'm sick of hearing him whine."

I cocked an eyebrow at this but said nothing. My feet hit the floor and I folded up the ladder, carrying it downstairs.

"Ender, you can sleep in my room tonight." I told him and he nodded. "What time is it?" I asked the guys.

"10:30." Calum said as he pulled out his phone.

"Oh, it's late En. Go take a shower and i'll meet you later." I hurried him along.

"Can I say goodnight first?" He asked.

"Of course." I smiled.

Ender walked to the three boys upstairs and gave them a fist bump and said goodnight to each of them.

I giggled at them as they knocked around and laughed before finally making Ender go shower.

"And don't forget to brush your teeth!" I called at him and he waved me off. I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head, chuckling lightly.

I began to walk downstairs and the boys followed me. We went down into the kitchen and leaned against the counters while we waited for Ashton.

I was laughing at something Luke and Michael we're arguing about when Ashton walked in, pushing his windblown curly locks out of his face.

"What's so funny?" He asked with a cheeky grin.

"Nothing." I laughed. Ashton walked over and leaned on the counter next to me.

"Thank you guys for coming to help. I really appreciate that." I smiled.

"No problem." They all said.

"Seriously, ever since you guys came to town you've been nothing but kind to us and that means a lot."

In the years following our parents death the town had come together to "support" Ender and I, but all of the sympathy we received always felt forced. It seemed to me everyone felt they HAD to do things for us because our parents had passed. But in reality they didn't.
The pity glances and hugs were always there and nothing felt genuine anymore.

The only place of honesty and truth I felt still existed rested in a handful amount of people.
So the feeling of someone helping you out, not because they feel sorry for you but because they want to...is indescribable.

"Hey, what are friends for right?" Luke shrugged.

"Well we should let you go so goodnight Carter!" Michael said and waved at me before dragging Luke and Calum out with him. They waved as they left.

This left Ashton and I alone.

"Thanks for bringing reinforcements." I let out a breathy laugh.

"Yea, they aren't much help but they are help nonetheless. I think thats the most work i've seen them do in years." Ashton laughed.

"They are quite the group aren't they?" I chuckled.

"Indeed." Ashton laughed along with me. His hazel eyes shimmered and the corners
crinkled. "Hey, let me know when you move that mattress back in and I can help."

"Sure, i'll let you know." I smiled.

"So are you doing anything this Saturday?" He asked.

"I was planning on going christmas shopping for Ender." I lowered my voice and looked to the stairs and could still hear the shower running upstairs, just in case Ender could hear.

"Oh alright." He nodded and I could see his shoulders stoop a little.

"Unless you would like to keep me company. It's pretty boring though. Just hours and hours of looking through clothes and toys." I smirked, making it sound like the most awful activity on the planet.

"It would be an honor to keep you company." He bowed at the waist, his voice sounded like a bad actor in a high school play, booming loudly and sounding like a robot. He giggled after.

"You'd would make a horrid actor." I laughed.

"No I wouldn't!" He defended with a puppy dog pout.

"Mhmm." I reprimanded, and he laughed again.

I looked up and noticed how close we were standing to each other in the light of the dim kitchen. I felt myself begin to blush.

"Hey..." Ashton said in a quiet voice.

I looked into his eyes again and studied the hazel orbs that darkened at the center. His black eyelashes that framed his eyes were thin but beautiful.

"You have the prettiest eyes..." He whispered and I felt the blush creeping up my cheeks.

He was doing the same thing I was.

I laughed inside my head. I had always hated my eyes. They were muddy grey and blue. My father said they reminded him of a storm and he would call me "stormy" whenever I got mad.

Yet here is Ashton telling me they are beautiful.
I felt him lean in a little closer and the look in his eyes seemed to be asking for permission.
I nodded slightly and felt his hand lightly rest on my bare arm. I then felt his other hand rest on my waist where my black tank top met my jean shorts.

The places that he touched tingled, almost like there was lightning in his fingertips.

"Hey Car have you seen my Olaf?" I heard from the top of the stairs and Ashton and I both jumped back from each other. My heart pounded in my chest like a marching drum.

I looked to see Ender standing on the stairs in his spiderman pajamas. His hair was damp.
I prayed he hadn't seen anything.

"Check the living room, maybe you took him down here earlier." He nodded and walked down the steps.

Ashton leaned on the counter next to me, his hands gripping the linoleum.

I watched as Ender poked through the boxes until he found his stuffed Olaf snowman and began to walk upstairs.

"Night Ender." Ashton waved.

"Night." Ender mumbled, his little eyes barely staying open.

"I'll be up there in a minute." I told Ender and nodded before he disappeared upstairs.

The room was silent now.

I turned back to where I was facing Ashton again.

He gave me a small smile and I twisted my fingers together out of nervousness.

"Well...i'll see you Saturday?" He asked.

"Yea." I nodded.

He moved forward and I did the same and he hugged me to his body.

"Goodnight." He said into my ear as my arms went under his to hug him.

"Goodnight." I whispered back.

His arms were draped around my waist.

I breathed in his scent. He smelled like paint from earlier and some cologne that smelled really nice. He also smelled a little like the ocean but that was normal since we lived at a beach.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that but it couldn't have been more that 10 seconds.

When we both pulled away, before it became awkward, he looked back into my face.

Before I could even process what was happening he cupped my cheek in his right hand and brought his lips to mine.

His top lip ceased mine and he kissed me soundly.

He pulled away and smiled at me before walking towards the door.

I followed him and he turned back as he stepped into the night air.

"Goodnight." He said quietly and I whispered it back.

He walked off into the moonlight and I closed the door behind him.

What the hell had just happened. My first kiss?
My mind and heart were racing.

I let my body take control as I walked upstairs and into my room.

Ender was curled up on my bed, his back facing the window wall. I climbed into the sheets next to him and laid my head back on the pillow but I wasn't tired anymore.

I was wide awake.

My mind was screaming of excitement and panic all at the same time.

What did that mean? What does he see me as? Is he going to be my first boyfriend? Does he even want me to be his girlfriend? You'd think so because he just kissed me in my kitchen. Was I even a good kisser? Wait did I kiss back, I don't even know? What did his friends mean about wanting Ashton to ask me something already?

I let these thoughts circle in my head over and over again until I couldn't take it anymore.

I decided to see what Saturday would bring.

As I replayed the feeling of Ashton's kiss over and over again, I feel asleep.