Nick's POV

I didn't want to go to the waterpark. In fact, I didn't want to be on this trip. It's too hard to pretend I'm okay, when I'm really just dying inside.

I know Josefina cheated on me, but I still loved her. I couldn't wait to ask her to prom. I thought we might of had a future together. I was so wrong. But I was still depressed. I told myself, 'She doesn't deserve someone like you," but that didn't do anything.

Elizabeth had been helping me out, thankfully. She dropped off ice cream and watched a couple movies with me. She was a good friend. But I saw the same cloudiness in her eyes as she had when I told her I wasn't interested in her, that my heart was someplace else. With Josefina. She deserved someone more exciting and daring than me. I was a wimp and a geek. And I'm happy to admit that. It's who I am. Why'd I think Josefina, of all people, would be interested in someone like me? Am I that stupid? No. Yes? I don't know.

I know Elizabeth has had feelings for me for quite a long time. But I never saw her as that. Just a friend. I like the quirky things she does and the funny stories she tells. And I wanted to keep things the same.

I've known Samantha for quite some time. We've been buddies since the third grade. But the same feeling never went away. She was kind and giving. Emotional and delicate. The girls always informed me of the terrible things Karenella said about her. But I never cared to do anything about it. Karenella is best friends with Josefina, and I could have said or done something before Josefina killed my heart. I was concerned for Samantha. She was always happy. She never let anyone ruin her day. But she always had a bad day. She was a flower, and bugs eat at it, little by little. And without proper care, it will wilt. The whole time we spent in the hotel room, she didn't look at her phone once. She knew what she would find. Bugs. She wasn't going to let them eat her alive.

I liked Samantha, more than a friend. I'll admit that. She's strong and caring. But I didn't want to ruin our relationship like Elizabeth did years ago, because now weren't so close anymore. But maybe if I kept it a secret, she never had to know.

^^^

"Look! They're purple!" Cecile screamed, pointing to the wristbands we were given to get into the waterpark.

"Yes, they are, baby," Angel said to her, squeezing her arm.

"You guys are so cute!" Sophie stated.

"Sadly, I agree," Elizabeth said. She had never been in a serious relationship, but she didn't need to be. She was very independent.

"Thank you, thank you." Cecile took a bow.

"Let's go to the kiddie pool!" Angel screamed. He was a child at heart.

"Yea!" Blake yelled. So they all quickly walked to the shallow pool with things being sprayed everywhere, except for Samantha. I stayed behind to see what the problem was.

"Hey, how come you're not coming with us?" I asked her. She was looking at her phone with a distressed face. What was Karenella doing to her now?

"Uh, nothing. You go have fun," she responded like a mother. I noticed her hair wasn't black, but dark brown with lighter streaks. It was pretty.

"Come on. We can't have fun without you."

"No one will care if I'm there or not." She pushed the subject away. Why did she think this? Everyone missed her all the time. We all missed the times we had in middle school. We never wanted our friendships to end.

"We care, Samantha. Don't worry about what anybody else says." I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. I even gave her eye contact. And I never do that.

"Please, Nick. Go. For me." She shrugged my hand off. I wish I could have made her feel better.

"Fine." I gave up. I had to help her some way. She couldn't live a live of misery. I was going to have to talk to Elizabeth. She knew how to handle things like this. She helped all her friends from Karenella's rumors.

I walked over to the group and tried to look for Elizabeth, but I didn't see her or Blake anywhere. So I just joined into the childish splashing that was taking place in the kiddie pool. I wish we were kids again.

^^^

Blake's POV

I had dragged Liz to the tube slides and we were right at the top, waiting for the people in front of us to go down. Liz was still laughing about the person who accidentally went down backwards. She found a lot of things funny. It was cute.

"That happened like five minutes ago," I said to her, joining in on the laughter.

"I'm sorry. It's just, his face was hilarious," She said seriously, trying to hold back a chuckle. I shook my head and put our double tube where the water gushed into the slide. I went behind her, since heavier people go in the back. I looked at her smiling face and remembered the crazy dream I had the night before.

We walked along the beach as the sun set, holding hands. Suddenly, Liz stopped and looked at me with her shining brown eyes. She was so beautiful. She put her hands on my shoulders and got on her toes. She closed her eyes and...

I woke up to the alarm clock. I knew they were evil. I wish I had finished the dream. I'd had a crush on Liz since freshman year, but I never thought she would want to date someone like me. I thought she was involved with Andrew for a while, but he came and went throughout the years.

I didn't know what I wanted to be. If I was going to go to college. She had a future. She wanted to be a musician. And I didn't want to make her lose track of her dream.

She played flute, and I had heard her a few times like at the talent show and concerts. Yes, I went to those. But people never knew it was me.

I got pulled back to reality once the hot lifeguard pushed us down and Liz cheered like a kid.

"Aah!" She screamed when the ride turned pitch black. I laughed. Once we got out of the darkness, we made a sharp turn and I jerked out of my side of the tube. I was about to fall off, but I held onto the handles.

"I'm falling off!" I yelled to Liz. She turned her head to look at the mess I was in and laughed. I smiled at her, but then got scared when I slipped a little more. I tried to pull myself up, but it was a fifty-fifty situation. I didn't know if I'd fall or get back on. Liz tried to help me get back on but it just made me slip more and more. Once we got to to the small pool that connected to the Lazy River, I just fell off the tube and heard a muffled laugh from above.

"You're crazy!" Liz exclaimed as I jumped back onto the tube to merge into the Lazy River.

"That's my middle name!" I said confidently.

"Blake Crazy Moore. Doesn't have a good ring to it," she said. We both gave each other a goofy smile. Liz had shifted a bit to the right to look at me. Who wouldn't want to look at this gorgeous face?