❝ let's get this movie night started. ❞

―

"WHO'S READY?"

Emery looked between her brother, Dash, and their two best friends, Demetri and Eli. They were gathered in the Campbell family's living room. With just two days left of summer before school started, the four friends were preparing for their—as Emery liked to call it—Annual End of Summer Movie Night. They've been doing it every single year since the seventh grade. It had become a tradition that they all looked forward to.

Dash raised his hand in the air. "I am."

"Me too," Eli spoke quietly as he nodded his head.

"Me three," Demetri chimed in.

"All right, we'll all reveal our three movie choices," Emery said. "As honorary leader of movie night, as per usual, I get to share my picks first."

Demetri rolled his eyes. "You can't make yourself the honorary leader."

"Hey, I'm the one that suggested that we start having Annual End of Summer Movie Night," Emery argued with him. "Without me, there'd be no movie night, so I think that makes me honorary leader."

"If you say so," Demetri responded. "So, honorary leader, what do you have for us? Your usual picks I assume."

"You don't have to say it like that..." Emery rolled her eyes. "Honorary leader," she mocked his sarcastic tone.

Dash sighed. "Can we just hear what you picked?"

Emery pulled three DVD cases out from behind her back and held them out one by one. "First up on the list, an eighties classic, The Breakfast Club. Next, Clueless. And third, what might just be one of the greatest movies ever created, 13 Going on 30."

Demetri nodded his head. "Ah, the usual picks."

Emery rolled her eyes. "And pray tell, what movies have you chosen? Star Wars? Harry Potter?"

"Actually, no," Demetri replied. "I've actually decided to switch things up this time unlike some people."

"Oh really?" Emery asked.

Demetri nodded shaking the DVD cases in his hand before holding them up. "Yes. I present to you Weird Science, Ghostbusters, and Zathura."

Emery nodded her head. "I'm sensing a common theme...but surprisingly, those are all good choices." She turned her head to look at Eli. "What about you, Eli?"

Eli looked down at his hands, playing with a loose string on his sweater as his movie choices sat in his lap. "I picked Stand By Me, Flipped, and Sky High."

Demetri turned to look at him with an annoyed expression. "You only picked those because you know they're some of Emery's favorite movies!"

Eli shook his head. "Did not!"

"You one-million percent did," Demetri argued with him.

"I did not!" Eli argued back.

"Would you stop arguing like children?" Dash asked, looking directly at Demetri. "Are you really going to sit here and say that he picked Emery's favorite movies when you picked Zathura knowing for a fact that it's my favorite movie?"

Demetri crosses his arms. "It had nothing to do with you. It just so happens that Zathura is an excellent movie."

"It was definitely because it's Dash's favorite," Eli mumbled.

Demetri rolled his eyes. "You know what—"

"Hey, hey, that's enough," Emery interjected before she turned to Eli and smiled. "Those are amazing choices, Eli. Especially Flipped."

Eli smiled back at her before turning his head to try and hide the fact that he was blushing.

Demetri pursed his lips and shook his head at him.

"Dash?" Emery asked, turning to face him.

Dash held two cases in his right hand and the other in his left, holding them up for everyone to see. "The Lost Boys, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and last but certainly not least, Friday the 13th."

Demetri turned and looked at him. "We should've known you'd pick horror movies."

Dash shrugged. "What can I say? I love horror movies."

Eli raised his hand. "Can we watch Dash's movies first?"

"Why?" Demetri asked. "Are you scared?"

"Shut up, Demetri," Dash said. "Last year, you literally stayed awake the entire night because you were scared that Emery's dolls were going to come to life and murder you in your sleep after we watched Child's Play."

Emery clapped her hands together, getting the attention of the three boys. "Now, if you'd hand your DVDs to me."

Emery held her hands out. Demetri was the first to place his DVD copies of his movie choices in her hand. Dash held them out, waiting for Emery to grab them. Eli just stacked his on the coffee table so that Emery could pick them up.

"Let's get this movie night started," Emery said as she put The Lost Boys into the DVD player.

She took a seat on the couch next to Eli, giving him a smile. He quickly looked away and stared straight ahead at the television screen. Emery couldn't help but smile even more as she continued to look at him. How was it possible for a human being to be so cute?

...

It was nearly two in the morning when movie night ended. For the first time since they started doing movie night, they had all managed to stay awake.

Dash raised his arms above his head and stretched. "I can't believe we're all still awake. Em, you'd be passed out by now."

"So would you," Emery responded.

"Oh, I'm not afraid to admit it," Dash replied before changing the subject as he looked at Demetri and Eli. "You're both still cool to come to the beach with us tomorrow, right?"

Demetri turned to look at Eli who nodded.

"Yeah. We should be," Demetri answered for both of them. "Now, I think it's time that we get some shut eye."

When they all had their movie nights and sleepovers, they just slept in the living room. They pushed the coffee table forward and set out the air mattresses that were reserved specifically for their sleepovers.

Because he liked to sleep curled up in a ball most nights, Dash just slept in the recliner. Emery slept on the couch while the two air mattresses were set out for Demetri and Eli.

As soon as the boys were all situated, Emery turned out the light that was illuminating from the lamp. She laid down on the couch and turned on her side before pulling the blanket up to her chin. Eli turned on his side and gave her a small smile.

"Goodnight, Emery," he whispered.

Emery smiled back at him before whispering, "Goodnight, Eli."

────────────

Emery was the first to wake up that morning. When she sat upright, she stretched before getting up from the couch. She made her way into the kitchen where her mother, Eleanora, stood in front of the stove, making breakfast.

She didn't usually cook breakfast unless she had the day or the morning off. It was, after all, a Sunday and she didn't typically work during the weekends. Most of the time, Dash and Emery ate a quick bowl of cereal or a granola bar for breakfast.

"Good morning, mom," Emery greeted her.

Eleanora turned around and smiled. "Good morning, Em. Are the boys still sleeping?"

"Yes, ma'am," Emery nodded her head as she stood next to her mother. "Need any help?"

Eleanora flashed a smile. "My beautiful daughter, always wanting to help out. Do you want to finish the pancakes while I use the bathroom and get changed really quick?"

Emery smiled as she nodded. "Sure."

Eleanora kissed the top of Emery's head before she left the kitchen. Emery grabbed the spatula and flipped one of the pancakes over. When the remaining pancakes on stove were cooked, she placed them on the plate that sat on the counter. She turned the burner off and grabbed the plate of pancakes as well as the bacon next to it and carried them to the dining table.

When her mother came back downstairs, she smiled when she saw Emery setting the table. Following her into the dining area was Emery and Dash's father, Damien.

"Good morning, dad," Emery greeted him.

"Good morning, Em," Damien said as he took a seat at the table.

Eleanora took a seat next to him. "Emery, be a dear and go wake the boys for breakfast?"

Emery just nodded as she walked back into the living room, seeing Dash slowly start to wake up. He sat up, yawning before he turned to look at her.

"It's breakfast time," Emery told him.

Not fully awake yet and opening his mouth to let out another yawn, Dash nodded his head. Emery walked over to Eli's mattress and gently tapped him on the shoulder. His eyes slowly started to flutter open.

"Breakfast is ready," Emery told him.

Eli nodded and the tow shared a quick smile that was broken by Demetri shouting, "What was that for?"

In confusion, Emery and Eli turned their heads to see Demetri sitting up on the air mattress staring at Dash with an annoyed look on his face.

"What happened?" Emery asked.

"He threw his pillow at me!" Demetri answered as he grabbed the pillow in his lap and threw it at Dash.

Dash closed his eyes and flinched when the pillow smacked him in the face.

Eli turned back to Emery. "Thanks for not hitting me with a pillow."

"Oh trust me, I thought about it," Emery joked with him.

Eli flung the blanket off his body and stood up, following Emery to the dining area. Dash and Demetri followed close behind them. The four teenagers took a seat at the table.

"Good morning boys," Eleanora smiled at them.

"Good morning, Mrs. and Mr. Campbell," Demetri and Eli greeted her.

"Morning mom, dad," Dash said.

"Good morning. So, how was Annual End of Summer Movie Night?" Damien asked.

"It was great," Emery replied, stabbing a pancake with her fork, and dropping it on her plate. "We had a pretty awesome lineup this year."

"You didn't stay up too late, did you?" Eleanora asked.

"Only until around two in the morning," Dash told her. "And we all actually managed to stay awake to watch every movie."

"I'm guessing that's a first?" Eleanora questioned.

Emery nodded. "Usually we fall asleep and don't even make it through half the movies and end up saving them for the Annual Winter Movie Night."

"Do you really have to throw annual in front of every movie night?" Demetri asked, biting a piece of bacon.

Emery turned her head aggressively. "Yes, I do. What else would we call movie nights that we do every year?"

Demetri shrugged.

Emery rolled her eyes at him before turning back to her parents. "Anyway, we had a lot of fun."

"And I'm guessing to stick to tradition, you're going to the beach?" Damien asked.

"Absolutely," Dash said with a nod. "You're still good to drive us, right?"

Damien nodded. "And miss Annual End of Summer Fun in the Sun Day?"

Demetri sighed. "Not you too, Mr. Campbell."

"Oh, sweetie," Eleanora said to him. "Where do you think she got it from? He refers to our anniversary as 'Annual Day We Got Married.'"

"Calling it an anniversary is just so...boring," Damien responded.

Emery turned to look at him, holding her palm for a high five. He clapped his hand against hers.

"Anyway, if we want to stick to a schedule—because I know how much you love schedules, Eli," Emery paused to smile at him before continuing. "Then, we should probably leave at about eleven so that we have enough time to enjoy ourselves before it gets too hot and then we can leave around four to four thirty so that Demetri and Eli can be back home for dinner."

"Everyone okay with that?" Damien asked, receiving nods from each person at the table. "Sounds like a plan then."

────────────

Demetri, Eli, and the twins, and their parents stepped out of the Campbell Family's van. Emery grabbed ahold of Eli's hand and started to pull him down to the sand to find the perfect spot to place their belongings. The sound of their flip flops smacked against their feet as Emery pulled him along.

Once she found the perfect spot, Emery waited for Demetri and the rest of her family to join them. She crouched down and smoothed her towel onto the sand. Eli repeated her actions. The second that the others joined them, Emery turned to look at Eli.

"Are you ready to go in the water?" Emery asked. "Looks like the current isn't too strong right now."

Eli nodded his head. Emery smiled at him and kicked off her flip flops. She reached for Eli's hand and started running, dragging him into the water.

Dash placed his towel on the sand and sat down staring off into the water as he watched Emery and Eli splash each other. He turned to look at Demetri, who was lathering his body with sunscreen.

"Do you...want to go join them?" Dash asked.

"Let me just finish putting on sunscreen," Demetri responded, squeezing even more sunscreen into his hand.

Dash furrowed his eyebrows at him. "I don't think you need that much..."

Demetri turned to look at him, one of his eyebrows raised. "Are you joking? You've seen the way I burn. Remember last year when I went to school bright red, and everyone called me Elmo? No way am I having a repeat of that."

Dash tried not to laugh, having to turn his head so that Demetri couldn't see him starting to crack a smile.

After what seemed like an eternity, Demetri was done applying sunscreen. "All right. I'm ready."

Demetri stood up looking down at Dash as he waited for him to stand. Dash hoisted himself up and kicked off his shoes. The two boys walked side by side towards the water.

They made their way to Emery and Eli, joining them in splashing each other with water.

About twenty minutes later, they all left the water and sat spread out on their towels.

"Can you believe we have to go to school tomorrow?" Emery asked with a sigh.

Dash groaned. "Don't remind me."

"As much as I appreciate the academic challenge, I do not want to go back to school," Demetri chimed in.

"Me too," Eli agreed.

"Another year of getting pushed into lockers, being made fun of, and then sitting through assemblies about how wrong bullying is but then never having anything actually done about it," Dash said as he started to sit up, shifting his weight onto his elbows.

Emery shook her head. "No. This year is going to be different."

"Different how?" Eli asked.

Emery shrugged. "I don't know. I just have this gut feeling."

— EMILIA'S NOTES

and there we have it an all new chapter one with much more content that explores and shares more of their friendship dynamic.

when re-reading this fic, i found that establishing a well thought out and deep connection between them was something that was lacking. so i really tried to delve a little deeper into that.

hopefully as the story goes on & more chapters are rewritten, i can showcase that even further.

also subtle reference with the mention of child's play to the new actor for dash being in the chucky tv series! (and totally not me picking all my favorite movies...)

hope you enjoyed this chapter & that you stay tuned for more! i'm so excited to continue seeing how much hey lover changes and grows!