Memories are such beautiful things. This picture, for example, was taken when I was two. My teeth had started coming out and our house had looked less like the wreck I remembered it as, it was the first house we'd lived in. I remember the grounds crawling with snakes. It was an old manor house, however, the magnificence it once must've had was no longer visible. The smooth concrete walls had breaks in the paint that looked like cracks. The kitchen ceiling was broken, I once saw a purple bellied rattle snake crawl through that crack.

Our trusty kerosene oil can was visible in the picture, it was our only weapon against the snakes. My father hadn't been around much so it was left to my mother to protect me, alone. I can't imagine how difficult it must've been, without my father for assurance. But his constant absence from our very lives made her as strong as she was and the fact that we were most used to him not being there than being there made their separation, eight years later, much easier.

This picture, however, portrayed our small family seated on the steps to our house. Smiling, like we were the most perfect family you would ever come across. I still remember when this was taken. My father had carried me on his shoulders around our land, in the dark of night. The bushes had seemed like they were full of snakes ready to pounce, but I'd felt safe on his shoulders with my mother walking by us, holding my leg protectively, she was almost as tall as him, I remember the fireflies and my voice in baby babble. I remember the cool night air....so refreshing. When we'd finished our walk, my mother had run in to get her camera and made us sit on the steps, she'd set the timer and run to sit by me and in a second that memory became one of the most precious ones to me.

Its funny how one picture can bring about so many emotions. Looking at that picture now, you'd never have dreamed that the smiling faces weren't smiling together anymore. My mother had carried that picture in her purse for a long time, then little by little I'd seen less of it.

She waved off my questions, telling me it was too old and that she had a better one now, but she replaced the one picture with two separate pictures. Of myself and her. The next picture skipped years of time. It showed Meg, Adria, Olivia, Lizzy and I. Standing together, I had my arms around Meg and Adria, making them stagger with my weight. Olivia and Lizzy stood behind me, using their fingers to represent horns on my head. I was spouting a goofy grin....so carefree. I hadn't noticed it before but there, in the background, there were two other figures.

They were eyeing Meg protectively, shyly sipping their Pepsi. Not really mixing with the more jovial crowd around them. This was taken a little before they died. In that horrible accident that still made me shiver. We'd taken Meg in, my mother and I, even though we were barely getting by with the little money we had. I'd had my reasons to take Meg in, she was like a younger sibling to me after all. I'd got my job soon after and after that our lives had become comfortable. I'd sent Meg to college and found her the apartment. Aria and I had done everything we could to get her through those times, sometimes I think that her college was what helped her most, by taking her attention off of her grief.

I crushed the corner of the photo, my hand shaking. Pity for Meg.....guilt....fear....poor kid. Still, photos sure are amazing. The grieving Meg, the cheerful Meg, the old Meg. All of it came back, clear as crystal.

***********

The piercing sound broke my dreams. I groaned angrily, banging my hand on the snooze button, I tried in vain to fall back asleep. In my bleary vision, I registered a red circle around the date. I groaned even louder. Part of me wanted to call and cancel....go back to sleep. The other part nagged me awake, reminding me the effort I'd taken in planning and the excitement. Inevitably, the latter part won. Dragging myself out of bed, I made it into the bathroom. I stared, groggy eyed, at my reflection. Tousled black bed hair, eyes that weren't red but were slightly larger than normal. Skin that seemed a little oily. And press marks on my cheeks from where I'd pressed my cheeks as I slept.

I placed my hands on the sink and sighed. I wondered how the day would go, imagining how the conversations would go. How the day would proceed, the fun...sighing, I picked up my toothbrush and began the day. A cold water shower should wake me up, I thought miserably. Then there was a part of me that jumped in excitement at the thought of this camp, and all I looked forward to in it.

After my bath, I was feeling much more positive, and definitely more awake. Throwing in my toothbrush and toiletries, I went to my closet, cursing myself for not choosing what to wear the previous day. A black slit skirt - would Edward like it? No, its too forward, I'll never be comfortable! A low V-cut blouse - what? No no no! A dress - I'm not going to prom! Its a camp! I tossed another blouse into the pile of discarded clothes. I noticed a pair of deep light blue jeans, sighing, I picked it up. I'm not really in the mood to dress up, when in doubt....choose the simple!

I wrenched out a long scarlet cotton shirt, with a black checked pattern. Shows off my collar bone, simple, comfy, not forward, easy....perfect. The outfit was old and not really special, but it complimented my figure well enough. Oh well, it'd have to do.

Hope Edward liked it, my subconscious nagged, I hushed it and brushed my hair into a lose braid. On a second thought, I used eyeliner on my eyes ....just to accentuate. I swung my bag over my shoulder and laced my boots. Sighing again, I locked the door.

Seated at the bus stop but not actually waiting for a bus. What I was waiting for was my sister. Meg. No doubt she was going through the same dilemma with what to wear. I wish she'd hurry up. Edward texted me to tell me that they wanted to make an early start, to avoid the media and make good time. They'd apparently slept in the bakery house a block or so away, so the media wouldn't notice. The owners were going to greet my sister and I as if we were close family friends. The boys would be inside, disguised, we were going to walk through the back alleys where the cars would be parked. Hopefully, we won't run into any trouble.

"Jennifer!" I jerked away from my thoughts and watched Meg's approaching figure. She'd drawn up a list of things to bring for the camp. Unfortunately for her, the only logical thing for a camp I'm that list was boots. I suppose her hormones got the better of her logic. For example, her attire right now, was for casual prom rather than stone age camp. A pink slit dress, purple sunglasses, boots and a large hat. On top of all that, she was spouting several beady necklaces.

"Meg! Oh you poor thing! I didn't know autocorrect could do so much harm!" I exclaimed theatrically.

"What are you talking about?"

"Autocorrect made you think we were going to the beach instead of the forest," I said sarcastically. She stuck her tongue out at me and rolled her eyes. I got up, inquiring if she had anything more suitable for a camp in the suitcase she was trailing, I was sadly disappointed. We walked on in silence, until we got to the bakery. Sure enough, there was a black minivan parked around a bend. I nudged Meg and used my eyes to point at the minivan, she nodded.

"Ready to put on a show?" Meg whispered. I snorted "I love shows," I stated dragging out 'love'

We slowed our pace and began walking past the minivan. Raising our voices, we told each other how much we'd missed the co-owners of the bakery. Meg was on the verge of giggles most of the time. We rung the bell on the elegant little bakery door. A short little Lady with the most beautiful soft white hair opened the door. Her wrinkles had retained her smiling expression, and her eyes were unusually vibrant for an old lady.

"Aunt Dorothea!" I guessed, Edward had described her to me, I grinned and hugged her hard. Making sure the minivan could see us.

"Oh girls! We've missed you so much! Let me look at you!" The old woman was clearly enjoying the performance.

"Jenny! My you're quite a beauty now!" She fondled my cheek, I wondered how she'd guessed I was Jen.

"Oh my goodness Meg! You've grown so much" Dorothea went over and hugged Meg, Meg did her part by hugging back and saying "hi Aunty!"

"Come in now!" Dorothea bustled us in, from the corner of my eye, I could swear I saw a man peering at us from inside the minivan. Hopefully he wouldn't recognise me as 'the lucky fan' as I'd been labelled on the net. I'd looked into the pictures in the articles, most were to amateurish and shaken to be recognisable.

Once inside, Dorothea smiled at us. "Good performance girls. They are all in the back kitchen."
"You too Dorothea, by the way, how did you guess I was Jen and she was Meg?" I asked Dorothea, she had a twinkle in her eye as she answered.

"Edward mentioned you had unusually dark black eyes"

That made me smile secretively. "Leah!" Dorothea called out. A taller fatter woman came bustling through the kitchen doors, a shade darker than Dorothea. Not as old and wrinkled, with twinkling eyes and rosy cheeks. She brightened up when she noticed us "ah! So you two are the girls!" She offered us her 'Hello's' and the two of them led us through the bakery. The display shelves were still empty and I tried picturing them full of food. My stomach grumbled, I swallowed my drool, realising I hadn't eaten this morning.

The small arc doors led us to Dorothea's and Leah's kitchen. Casters stood there, unaware of our arrival. Dorothea cleared her throat, at the sudden noise, the boys looked up from the sheets of papers they'd been studying. When they noticed us, Roger quickly shoved the sheets so we wouldn't see them. I gave him a quizzical look but said nothing. Meanwhile, the other four were coming towards us happily. Realising Meg had gone quiet and backed away into a corner, nervously playing with the hem of her skirt, I hastened to her side and dragged her in front of the boys.

"Boys, this is my 'younger sister' Meg! Meg, meet Casters"

"H-hi!" Meg stuttered enthusiastically. Going unusually pale. The boys grinned at her and immediately started chatting, to reduce Meg's nervousness. Nice of them.

"So Meg! We've all being dying to meet you!" I smiled, Meg seemed to loosen up a little after that. Edward came to my side.

"Your sister is pretty," he observed, feeling a twang of jealousy, I nodded.

"We aren't really siblings, it just feels like that" maybe I should've dressed up too....

"We'll be heading out soon. Kate and the girls are in the bathroom putting finishing touches to their make up"

I snorted, I'd read about Edward's girlfriend Kate in that article, it took me a minute to put two and two together but I snorted immediately. Edward gave me an amused look and I held up my hands in a gesture that said 'I'm not saying anything!"

"What were you all huddled over before we came in?" I asked Edward, he immediately looked hesitant to answer. I glared at him and he heaved a sigh.

"Escape plan. Hopefully we won't need it but by some chance....if the media get a hold of it. It was my idea"

"Why keep it secret?"

"Hopefully....there won't be a reason to worry any of the girls"

I nodded. I'd known that the media was the most dangerous part of this escape game we were playing but it was just now that I was realising just how dangerous. They were like a dozen wasps to me, you notice them and you think you won't be harmed but if they catch you they can knock you unconscious. Edward, Luke, Hal, Chris and Roger have been handling this for so long. How many times have they been stung? How many times has the media printed lies that have put thorns in their relationships. Thinking about it, and I mean really thinking about it, made me shiver. It was like a dark and sinister shadow, always following you. Preying on your happiness. Encouraging the gossip. How many relationships had it already torn apart?

The door opened and a faint clattering of heels was heard. Five of the most beautiful people I've ever seen walked through those doors. Flawless dark brown hair and light brown eyes, high cheekbones and a supermodels figure. If there was a word to describe her beauty it would be godlike. The next girl to walk out had bouncy blonde locks of hair and light brown eyes, her every nail was perfectly manicured and her short pink and black dress showed off her legs. She had a fixed, forced smile, revealing flawless teeth. I hastily ran my tongue over my own just in case any food had gotten stuck, then remembering I hadn't eaten I relaxed.

The third girl had spiraled hair and eyes with heavy mascara, she was darker than the other two, or maybe that was because she was wearing black. The fourth and fifth girls look like sisters, both spouting identical grins, with blue and purple hair and long loop earrings. One was in a dress while the other was wearing shorts. They were both exotic despite their odd choice of hair coloring. If I'd ever had any hope of being the prettiest girl in the room, despite knowing Casters supermodel girlfriends were coming along, that hope cracked like glass.

"You must be Jenny" the godlike brunette approached me. I nodded mutely, feeling multiple pangs of jealousy. I knew her to be Kate Winthroff, Edward's girlfriend. She was so beautiful, and she seemed nice...how on earth can I ever have Edward against her? The thought crept through my mind and took me by surprise. Was I really jealous? Impossible I never get jealous! But nevertheless, the thought remained glued to my brain. I didn't want Kate to receive any bad vibes from me and decide not to like me so I grinned.

"You must be Kate! Wow, the pictures don't do you justice" Kate smiled cheerfully.

"I am horribly photogenic," she admitted.

"Well, that makes two of us..." I confessed, she grinned at me and opened her mouth to say something but immediately closed it again because Roger came bustling forward with the mascara girl. Roger was the last person I'd expect to date this girl. He was so fair, with his light blonde hair and blue eyes, this girl was dark, not complexion vise, but hair color vise, eye color vise.

"Jenny, this is my gorgeous gal' Brit!" The dark haired girl smiled at me, her smile changed her features. Before she'd looked gloomy, like a storm cloud now she looked like a ray of sunshine through a storm cloud. I noticed her eyes were blue like Rogers. Another gorgeous girl.

"Hi Jenny, I didn't picture you like this!"

"What did you picture me as?" I asked curiously.

"Blonde hair, braces, freckles. A screechy voice...."

"Well, I'm glad your imagination isn't accurate!" I laughed. She grinned.

"Jenny!" Hal called out to me, I looked towards him.

"This is Maggie"

The girl with the blond locks smiled at me, she said nothing to me. There was a cold glint in her brown eyes, despite her seemingly warm nature. I disliked her, but I said nothing, feeling instinctively weary of her. I noticed that though she was hand in hand with Hal, she kept looking at Edward, which was probably the reason why I thought I must've read the article wrong when I met the girls. For a second I thought I'd mixed up Maggie's and Kate's names.

"Hey Jen," Luke grinned at me and fondled my hair "this is Pers,"

The girl with the purple hair came forward, up close she looked like a gypsy to me. Her flimsy dress perfectly molded to her figure and vibrant hazel eyes to complete the look.

"Hello!" She greeted enthusiastically.

"We finally get two other girls in the group! Now boys, we've got the majority!" Pers grinned happily, I smiled at her.

"I like how you think!" She grinned and held her hand up, I smacked it. Luke rolled his eyes and muttered 'I had a feeling they'd get along...a bad feeling'

"And finally, this Christina," Christina smiled shyly, she was shy....for a girl with electric blue hair.

"Chris and Christina...cute," I winked, she smiled more confidently.

"Okay, my turn. Guys, girls...this is my little sister Meg," the girls approached Meg and started easing Meg, who had gone a deep shade of scarlet by now, into conversation. I smiled, Meg really was trying hard. Kate left Edward's side to meet Meg and I leaned against the wall. Edward came to stand next to me, he didn't say anything. Just smiled at me. God I love his smile, his gorgeous dimples. And his speckled green eyes. So so breathtakingly beautiful. I don't think I was that good looking. No fair. When he smiled at me, and I smiled back, my heart did these ecstatic little somersaults in my chest and my whole body seemed to be tingling with happiness, craziest part was....sometimes I thought he felt it too. But then...what was I thinking? That would be impossible.

We were turning a corner on the damp streets, or rather backstreets of London, when I saw it. I didn't know what it was of course, Edward might have known. Casters might have known. Anybody in our group would've known, but I was the one who noticed it in the end. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a light...a reflection at the bend we'd just passed.

"Hey, did you notice that?" I asked Edward, he looked behind us but the light was gone.

"What?"

"I must've imagined it...I thought I saw a reflected light" Edward immediately looked worried.

"Let's just keep walking and hope it isn't a media van,"

Edward walked ahead of me to the boys and they spoke in hushed voices, nodding here and there. We finally reached the clearing. Five beautiful sleek cars were parked, Edward motioned me towards the red one and made me dump my bags in the back seat along with Megs. Kate did the same. The girls went and did the same with each of their boyfriends cars. I jumped into Edwards car, Edward came over and leant over the door.

"I'm glad you didn't decide to cancel" I smiled and nodded, one of the girls screamed "so cute!" Like bees to honey, all of the others ran to her, they were examining a tiny puppy, well tiny in size he was quite chubby really. I was too lazy to get out of the car and Edward didn't seem too interested either. Instead he bent over and started talking to me, I was having such a good time I didn't notice the black minivans coming across the street.

"Media!" Hal yelled suddenly, I looked up at that, sure enough the van was pulling up from behind us. It happened in an instant, Edward jumped into the drivers seat and yelled at me to get down. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Meg and Maggie jump into Hal's car and Kate was hastily shoved into Luke's car before she could make her way to our car. Maggie shot me an angry glare. The other girls jumped into their own boyfriends cars. The boys wheeled their cars around and shot off in opposite directions. The media van stood dumbstruck for a moment, unable to decide which direction to take. It wheeled around suddenly and started chasing after our car.

Edward cursed colorfully and racked up the engine. "Hang on Jen!" He called out to me. I never knew van's could go that fast....it zigzagged behind us and screams of 'Edward! A comment please!' "Edward! Who is the girl?!' 'Edward are you and Kate over?!' It was exhilarating.

Edward barely dodged the early morning traffic and ran two red lights before turning a street corner. He grabbed his keys out of the ignition and ran to the back of the car. I rushed through my purse for my sunglasses and cursed when I couldn't find them immediately. Finally I found them and jammed them on my face. I grabbed Meg's bag and my own backpack and half kicked the door open. I was almost certain the media van was still behind us. Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car. I came tumbling out and thanking god I'd worn the right pair of shoes this time, I hastily swung my backpack over my shoulders and followed Edward.

We turned the next street corner just as the black minivan pulled up behind our abandoned car. Edward pointed at a motel a little ahead of us. I wondered what the media would print if they saw me and Edward go into a motel together. Shaking my head, I promised myself it would not come to that. We pushed open the motel doors and hastily made our way to the counter.

"I reserved a room 2814," Edward panted. The lady immediately handed him a golden key with bits of rust hanging on it.

"Third floor"

Edward gave the cashier a nod of thanks and grabbed my hand. I followed him wordlessly. Thoughts were running through my brain...I wondered if the media saw us, or if the cashier judged our whole panting asking for a room thing...it looked like we were an eloping couple.

Inside the elevator, we both began catching our breath. Edward grinned, and I did too. Before we knew it, we were both laughing.

"You planned this far?" I panted out. Edward grinned.

"Had to be prepared...." I shook my head at him. One room....the thought made its way into my head so suddenly....had he planned this for me...? I was about to speak up when I looked down at the bag in my hand. The name tag said 'Kate' the facts hit me like a slap.

Not for me, it was supposed to be Kate...he's probably annoyed that he got stuck with me instead. Thank god I hadn't said anything. It would've been so embarrassing to have been shot down that easily. I heaved a relieved sigh just as the elevator door beeped open.

Edward and I walked in silence to the door at the end of the corridor. The mahogany door, that still smelled of fresh paint opened creakily. It for stuck halfway through and Edward had to heave it heavily. It creaked noisily on its hinges before opening. I was afraid that this was some sort of con played by the hotel owners. They install bad and squeaky doors and when the customers push on the doors, the doors give away and the customers are charged with vandalism. Thankfully though, the door stayed on its hinges.

The room was quite small, a rusty iron bed stood in the corner. Dresser took up all space horizontally. There was a stench in the room that made me wonder how long it'd been since someone flushed the toilet. There were flowery curtains that opened up into the balcony. I dumped my bags on the bed, Edward was fiddling with his phone.

"Hey Hal, yes Jen's with me. Yeah we'll meet you at the camp site. Where is Kate? OK, no Luke is fine."

I listened to the conversation gaging as much as I could from the short sentences. 'Meg?' I mouthed to Edward, he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hal, Jen's little sister? With you right? Okay....see you in a bit then. I don't know, I dont think Jen has one, maybe we'll hire one. Okay, don't worry. Bye."

"What don't I have?" I asked Edward as he put the phone down, he look slightly awkward as he answered.

"A- a car...."

"Why do you need a car?" I asked him.

"The media knows my car, we were supposed to switch into Kate's car halfway through but now that Kate isn't here we switched to Plan B and came to the motel. Now we just need to get disguised and hire a car"

"Hire a car? Why? I have a car," I said, Edward looked hesitant.

"We need a fast car..... no offence"

"None taken. My car is....." in a second my mind clicked into place. The desire to surprise and impress Edward took over my senses.... wanted to impress him, to stun him and leave him speechless. Maybe my car would be my back up.

".....as fast as your car, I think" I finished, purposely sounding unsure and defensive .... as if I wasn't being totally truthful. Faced with no way to refuse me without offending me Edward nodded.

"Let's go get some disguises," he said to me. I nodded happily.

We were inside a cheap pavement stall. There were various masks positioned on the walls. Edward was speaking earnestly with the store keeper. I was looking the mask collection. There was one with the illustration of a beautiful girl's face. With scarlet lips and expressively dark eyes, her skin was exceptionally pale and on her right cheek a large crack revealed the true skin and face of the wearer on her left cheek there was a glittering Japanese illustration of a forest. I picked up the mask gently, it was heavy for something in a cheap shop. Antique maybe.....

I faced the mirror and placed it on my face. It successfully hid my face, except my eyes. A mask.....I seem to always be wearing a mask these days....these days? No, I'd been wearing it from two years ago. July twenty eight....two years ago. It feels like its been longer, I'm tired and the mask is slipping. In fact, I'd been masking myself from people for a long time ... but it had been simple instinct before, to protect myself to not hurt anyone even at the cost of my own feelings but since two years ago it'd stopped being reflex, instinct and it had started being a necessity. I don't know why but I think I was waiting.....waiting for someone to take off the mask for me.

I took my hands down from behind my head, from where they'd knotted a clumsy knot into the elegant black lace, holding the mask in place. I looked different in the mirror, I heard a chuckle behind me. Edward came to stand behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders he smiled.

"When I said disguise, I didn't mean wear a mask...."

"I know I know, I was just trying it on..."

With his hands on my shoulders and him standing behind me like that I could just imagine leaning into him and closing my eyes....it was so comfortable so easy....and it was because it was so easy that it was so tempting.

"Come on, I'll take the mask off"

The words shocked me and a shiver ran through me. He laced his fingers into the thread and I closed my eyes for the second before it came off. He placed his hands on the mask to prevent it from falling and I opened my eyes. He pulled it off.

"Come on, let's have some fun okay?" Edward asked with a cheeky grin. I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. And sure enough, Edward approached me with his arms cradling what looked like several extremely hairy animals.

"Come on! Try it on," he said, tossing one if the hairy animals to me. I sighed and examined it. This one was a violent shade of red and was sleekly combed into a straight neat look. I remembered Inuyasha, an anime I used to watch. One of the episodes featured a Demon who used the hair of dead people to make puppets of live ones. The greedy look as she combed strand after strand of hair, making it silky smooth.

I tried imagining the shopkeeper with the demonic look in his face. In my minds eye, his face contorted into something more funny than scary. I giggled at the mental image, Edward gave me a quizzical look and turned to the mirror with his own wig.

I tied my black hair into a knot behind my head and pulled down the red hair over my head. The effect was.....witchy. All I was missing was green eyes, I thought looking at my reflection. I picked up a stick on mustache and pasted it under my nose. And using a rubber band I tied my hair in a top knot. Now I just looked....funny. I giggled. Edward came over. He was wearing a pink curly haired wig. The curls made his head look abnormally large and the pink clashed with his green eyes. I took one look at him and started laughing. Uncontrollably. Almost choking. He looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. With pink hair and green eyes....all that did was make me clutch my stomach in laughter.

"You should take a look at yourself," he said defensively. His tone made me laugh. He rolled his eyes, then he grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the table top. And slammed it on my face. I blinked in confusion. Then I looked at him through the tinted glass. It was his turn to start laughing now. He pointed a finger at me and started laughing. I pulled the glasses down my nose and looked at him over the frame. His laughter escalated. He staggered around the room choking on his own laughter.

"You look like some sort of gangster," he managed to choke out. I burst out laughing too.

"I have no clue what you look like.....but its damn hilarious!"

Edward pulled off his own wig and handed it to me, he was still choking on his own laughter so he gesticulated to me. 'Try it on' he seemed to say. I laughed and removed my own wig and handed it to him.

Facing the mirror I used my hands that were shaking with mirth, to pull the second wig over my own hair. Now I looked like a clown in sunglasses. I turned to look at Edward who now resembled Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter. Except....bigger, much bigger. We took one look at each other and snorted in laughter.

"Okay, glasses off. (I obeyed) mustache off. (I obeyed again) wigs off. ( we took them off simultaneously)"

Still giggling, I yanked the pink curls off of me. He grinned.

"As pretty as those two looked. They stand out too much" I nodded, Edward picked up two other wigs and handed them to me. Pick one, these were plainer. One was with a fringe and straight hair until at the bottom it curled. The other was short hair slightly curled at the ends. There was a silver dyed design around it. I picked this one. Refastening the knot I'd weaved through my natural hair I pulled this one on. I coupled it with dorky glasses.

I looked very different. My sister wouldn't recognise me. Edward had gone with a straight short haired wig and he'd coupled it with a beanie and fake glasses like mine. We looked like a perfect nerdy couple.

"We should do something about clothes too," I pointed out. Edward unbuttoned his jacket to reveal a simple T-shirt. I pulled a sweater off the rack and pulled it over my red shirt.

"Perfect," we said simultaneously, and grinned.

We were walking through town, Edward was holding my hand, as part of the disguise. Considering none of the passing people had paused to stop and shriek, I'd say we were doing pretty well.

"You want ice cream don't you?" Edward noticed me staring at the ice cream parlor we were passing. I turned to him and pouted. He rolled his eyes, and pulled me with him into the ice cream parlor. I grinned.

"Here you go, and chocolate for your girlfriend," girlfriend? Did I look like Edwards girlfriend?! I swear I felt my heart flutter. I stole a glance at Edward, he was about to say something.

"I'm not his girlfriend," I blurted out. What? It was better than him saying anything. The ice cream boy looked pretty embarrassed.

"Oh....uh.. sorry, you two looked like a couple.." I blushed. Edward looked a little smug as he handed me my snow cone. We got out of the shop and I happily slurped my ice cream, Edward looked thoughtful.

"It's not much....but it'll get us there," I said, holding back laughter. Edward, if I wasn't mistaken was in for a very big surprise when he saw my car. I knew he wasn't expecting much. He probably only came along with me to my garage out of politeness. Believing he'd see my car and think of some excuse not to use, politely calling a cab to get us there.

I opened my creaky garage door, Edward was looking acutely uncomfortable. Probably trying to think of a way to refuse to use my car without hurting my pride. I was grinning in pride as I looked at my wheels.

"Here, this is my car!" I said, waving my arms in a gesture of pride. Edward looked astounded. He opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. He continued staring at my car while I stared at him, grinning ear to ear. He finally tore his eyes away from my beautiful beautiful new car and stared at me instead.

"A Lamborghini.....?" I nodded. Then grinned mischievously.

"Bet you thought I owned a fifty year old car,"

"You did kind of lead up to that impression, in my defence," I laughed.

"Beautiful...." he said, but funnily enough, he was looking at me not my car.

I opened the passenger seat and slid in, removing my wig and glasses, I pulled the rear view mirror to look at myself. I pulled of the nerdy clothes I'd been wearing as part of the disguise and tossed them into the back.

Edward slid into the drivers seat as I was viciously rubbing off the Matt red lipstick I'd borrowed from the store owners wife. The lipstick was either top quality which is why it was so hard to remove or low quality and was gently acidifying the skin on my lips. Either way, I didn't like it. I'm a person that lipstick never looks good on, god knows why. Now take Taylor Swift, lipstick on her is like clouds in the sky....purely natural. On me....it looks like a camel decided to try and look pretty.

Edward gave me a long look before taking the wheel. After we drove out of the garage and I shut it with the remote my dear Lamborghini took us speeding down the highway.

"So? What's the plan?" I asked Edward.

"We take your car to the motel, you go get our bags....sorry Jenny but I can't be seen....then we rendezvous with the others at the camp site,"

"Sounds good to me," I said, patting the drivers seat "you think you can beat my driving?" I asked smirking at him. He took the challenge and revved up the car.

Its a simple plan, get in and out without being seen. Go in empty handed, get out carrying three bags. Only problem is......there are three minivans, definitely media. Thankfully, my car has tinted windows so they can't see us but it'll still be difficult for me to slip past them.

Edward rubs his temple, thinking. "Jenny......you think you can....?" I nod. Getting in is the easy part, getting out...now that's tough. I reach into the back of the car and pulled out the wig I'd been wearing, thankfully I'd chosen to bring it along with me. I didn't wear the jersey though, nerdy types don't go into motels usually. I also ditched the glasses.

"Lipstick.....please tell me I have some lipstick in here.....ugh.." I mumbled while exploring the corner car compartments. I pulled open the front one.

"Yes!" I exclaimed triumphantly "thank you Meg! For never listening to me when I told you no to lipstick!"

Edward looks amusedly at me, I shrug it off.

"Help me out here, tell me when I get the lipstick smudged enough to look like I've been kissing lately,"

"I could just kiss you and get the effect" crap! There goes my heartbeat! Stupid flirt!

"Mmmmh.....tempting, but no." I say, more coolly than I felt.

"OK?" I ask him pursing my lips, he nods "you don't happen to have any gum do you?"

"Roger is addicted to gum, he gave me some this morning, I think....yes! Here you go!"

I grin, perfect. "There! Perfect....what do you think? Do I look.....what's the word.....you know - ish enough?"

Edward shakes his head, he moves in closer, his hands coming close to my chest. Oh God! I can hear my heartbeat! He moves in closer, hands on my shirt now, Crap Crap Crap! I feel like I'm melting right now! He looks into my eyes and for a few seconds I completely forget what I was supposed to be doing, instead I focus on what he was doing right now....which was unbuttoning my shirt.

What is he doing? My brain squeaks urgently, but my entire heart is literally doing jigs of happiness. Blushing.....cue for blushing!

"Now..." he whispers, the single syllable on his mouth sounded so intimate that I physically shivered.

"You do..." and he unbuttoned the third button. Rapidly moving away, he looked at me again, I was blushing scarlet. I was glad to have gotten some air space but at the same time.....not?

"You've even got the blush to go with it," he smirks.

"Do not! I never blush!" I exclaim indignantly, earning a chuckle from him. I hastily jump out of the car, my heart still pounding in my ears. "Shut up," I commanded it, thankfully it obeyed. He was just playing...right?

I did it! Somehow, I got through to the room, and grabbed the bags. Secretly cursing Meg for packing so much. The bing signifying the elevator doors opened sounded, I got out happily. The lobby was more crowded than when I first entered. At the counter, three men dressed officially were noticeably fighting with the manager who seemed to take the wise approach of staring at his video game and totally ignoring the three. A boy was standing away from them, completely tattooed with blue hair, getting a cola. Ignoring them I went up towards the entrance.

Through the mouldy glass of the door I noticed six media reporters with Cameras waiting. Crap....they'd noticed a single girl carrying three bags with no companion in sight. Our cover would be blown! It felt like my mind was clicking a hundred miles per hour. Six media men outside....three inside...a cola machine.....three bags.....my purse....a tattooed boy at four 'o' clock.

OK, enough to work with. I dumped my bags behind a pot, and walked over to the boy.

"Hey, buster!" He looked at me curiously, oh jeez....he looks like he belongs in a gang.

"You talking to me babe?" He slurred, babe? That's a good sign right. At least he thought I was hot.

"I'll give you a twenty to act like we're a couple," I said, matter of fact-ly sounding tougher than I felt.

"Forty" why this greedy gut!

"Thirty," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Money up front. Who do I need to pretend in front of?" He said, sounding politer.

"Those men outside the entrance," I handed him thirty bucks. "And carry my bags, " I motioned behind the pot.

"You got it babe," I grinned proudly. Blue hair picked up the triplet of bags, handing me the back pack. I gave him my hand, he smirked at me and put his arm around my waist instead. I rolled my eyes....you gotta do what you gotta do.... but if he comes any lower than my waist, the media can assume it was a lovers quarrel particularly when I use my heavy back pack to beat the crap out of him.

We made it to the door, me chewing the gum to act more....gangster. I opened the door cautiously. The cameras started flashing, for a second I panicked, our covers blown! Ruuuuun! But turns out, the reporters were doing that to every body, to make sure they didn't miss an opportunity.

One of the reporters stopped us. "Do you know an Edward Salerd? ," he asked me. "Oh yeah....the rocker right?" I feigned ignorance smoothly. The reporter wasn't letting it go that easily.

"Have you seen him?"

"No"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes..."

He opened his mouth to mouth another question, blue boy beat him to it "look man, we've got places to be get off my gal'" aw...how sweet. Not.

"You two don't look like a couple," blue had his hand on my bloody waist! What more do you want?!

"Babe, he really thinks that!" I used a fake whiny girly voice. But I noticed the other five reporters coming closer now....oh crap....he's beginning to put two and two together. I looked at blue, he seemed to be lazily uncaring.

"Babe..." I said, and pulled his head towards mine. Blue looked astonished now. Before he could say anything, I forced my lips onto his. I glared into his eyes, hoping my message was clear. Thankfully the reporters bought it then. They moved away muttering 'testosterone filled teenagers," I'm not a teen but oh well.

We made it to the car, which was right there really. Opening the back I dumped the bags. And opened the door. Edward looked furious for a second.

"Well, thanks for the good time babe...." blue slurred, coming closer to me, I backed away instinctively. Crap! But Edward grabbed blues fingers, I could see his knuckles flex. It looked like he would break blues fingers, blue seemed to think along the same lines. "Back off." Edward said, sounding lethal, even I felt scared. Blue raised his hands in a 'no trouble' gesture and slugged off.

"New friend?" Edward asked me. I shrugged "paid him to put on a little act,"

"OK" but he smiled.

Its been two hours.....driving, driving, driving.

"Shall we take the hood off?" I asked Edward. He nodded. The wind whipped up my braid immediately. I laughed out loud. This was more relaxing than the compact 'in' driving. Edward looked at me.

"This is great!" I yelled over the wind. Ed grinned.

"You know its not opened roof for no reason!" He shouted. I knew what he wanted me to do.....should I? Oh! Why not? I wanted these two days as a holiday away from myself. Why not enjoy the rush. Propping myself up on the car doors. I cautiously got on top of the seat. The wind pushed my hands back and my shirt seemed to be barely clinging on to my body.

I laughed and screamed and laughed again. In happiness and exhilaration. "I'm on top of the world!!!!" I yelled. Edward laughed. I screamed. The wind caught the scarf tying my braid and tugged it out of my hair. It was lost to the wind, probably lying discarded on the road now. I didn't care. My braid loosened and my hair came undone, flowing behind me in waves of black hurricanes. I didn't even notice at first.

It felt really good, the braid had been compact.....now it felt like freedom. I laughed. I caught Edward's green eyed gaze through the rear view mirror, he was definitely looking at me, he blinked twice in a way that suggested he was trying to think clearly, and looked away quickly.

I sat down after awhile, hair still loose. Still flushed from the cold air and still grinning ear to ear. Edward didn't make eye contact with me, I was too busy trying to tame the frizzball my hair had become to truly notice. Half an hour later we pulling our car away from the road and into the forest.

It was more difficult to drive through here but Ed managed it somehow. We parked under a maple tree and put the hood back on in my car, Ed took out our bags and tossed me my backpack.

"We have to walk from here, its not too far away, don't worry"

I nodded and we trudged through the forest. The ground was littered with a carpet of dried up leaves,the fewer fresh leaves muffled the sound of crunching our boots made when stepping on top of the dry leaves. The trees all looked old, and so tall it was incredible. Looking up, I could spot the blue sky through the leaves. It was very beautiful but I was slightly disappointed, after all....I'd been hoping for a more.....fairy tale like clearing to camp out in. I'd been picturing, green meadows and a stream and clear skies.

"We're here," Ed announced, I looked around confusedly. Here? We were standing in front of a curtain of green wines, I'm guessing that it was more forest beyond those wines. In fact this place didn't look any different from what we'd just walked through.

"Here?" I inquired cautiously. Ed grinned at me "Well.....almost," saying so, he took my hand and using his other hand he pulled the curtain of wines away, the sunlight blinded me for a second, his hand was warm .... sending nervous tingles up my own arm. Quickly, pulling my thoughts and eyes away from my hand in his, I looked up. I was literally stunned speechless. Pouring out from the curtain of wines was....an oasis....a Paradise, that was so beautiful.

Green grass, trees growing, tiny moulds of earth like hills and....good god, there was even a stream! I blinked, I was hallucinating right? Places like this....I'd only ever seen one other, they don't exist anymore. I'd gotten lost in the desert and was hallucinating right now!

The ground was carpeted in the richest greenest grass that seemed to shine under the noonday sun and the dark healthy brown barks held up the most beautiful soft green leaves. Like emeralds. And the water was so blue with a few stones littering the middle. I looked up at the sky....it set off the scene perfectly ..... forget me not deep blue, with the softest white clouds.

"Beautiful eh?" I tore my eyes away from the sky and focused on the voice, I hadn't even realised the others had already arrived. I nodded mutely towards Luke, forcibly closing my mouth. Ed was grinning cheekily at me.

"What!?" I asked defensively.

"You're drooling,"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"OK we've established that you two are five year olds, moving on." We glared at Luke playfully, but he successfully cut off our "are not - are too" tirade.

"The boys have already started on the tents, could you help your sister for now?" I nodded, playfully punching Ed's arm as I left. He just laughed.

When I got to the girls, Meg was trying her hardest to not lose her temper with the other five girls. Who seemed to be totally lost on what to do.

"Like I said, you need to carry it....not finger it nervously, then drop it half way through!" She exclaimed at Maggie, who was busily examining her nails, probably looking for a chipped nail. I called out to Meg, she seemed utterly relieved to see me. Her expression clearly reading 'thank god another human being is here! I'm done taking care of the bloody delicate unicorns!' I snickered at my own thoughts.

"Come on, I'll pitch in.....let's get this baby up and running," I said, Kate it seems, had brought her own inflatable tent and was willing yo help out with ours. I grinned at her. Pers seemed enthusiastically clueless. Maggie was refusing to lift a finger and Brit and Christina were bubbling off on a video they'd watched on efficient ways to set up a tent. For the record, that video is a well known prank video. Everyone, who's ever gone camping knows that. Which is just my obnoxious way of saying....these girls are the worst possible campers.

"Pers? Could you assemble this bit? Its easy, you just put thus through here....and here," I said, demonstrating on a small part. Pers nodded nervously but started on it. I gave up on Maggie, but directed Christina and Brit on two other jobs. Kate, Meg and I took over the main jobs. Finally, after a good twenty minutes, we managed to fix up the tent and stepped away to admire our handiwork. Meg and I were sweating like pigs, Kate somehow managed to seem coolly cool. Maggie was looking acutely uncomfortable with the heat of the sun and Brit, Chrissy and Pers seemed mostly alright.

Meg and I walked over to the Boy's tents while the girls 'settled in' which is cue for, 'let's put on seventeen layers of makeup!' I left them to it. The boys it seems was having a little trouble, on account of setting up the second tent. Apparently Edward and Hal had claimed it already but Hal didn't seem to have a clue what to do, and he wasn't allowing the others to help him. Edward somehow managed to manipulate the situation by talking about seemingly unrelated things to Hal, which in fact had hidden guidelines.

"Let's go for a swim..." I grinned at the boys. They gave me twin flabbergasted looks, I blinked confusedly.

"What?"

"The water is 14°C!" They yelled at me.

"So?"

"Jenny fourteen degrees!" Edward exclaimed at me. Realisation dawned on me and I grinned mischievously.

"So?" I dragged out the syllable for emphasis "did you expect hot water in the stone age?"

I laughed at their baffled expressions and skipped towards my camp, twirling a little. Edward watched my acrobatics, I heard him as Meg "how the hell does she bear the thought of such cold water?"
Meg replied "when we were young we lived in a rural country, hot water was a luxury there, Jen got used to it, even after she moved here, I've had two years more than her to adjust really."

I smiled, reminiscing for a moment, just like when I was looking through those photos earlier the previous day. I grabbed my swimming suit and passed the message on to the girls, leaving out the detail of how cold the water ought to be by now.

Ten minutes later, we were all racing each other to the stream. Edward and I got there first and proceeded to splash anyone who got in striking distance. We were punished by being splashed by all ten of them and being the most thoroughly wet two. The formed a circle around us and each one of them soaked us. I screamed and grabbed on to Edward to steady myself, his hand went around my waist instinctively. It felt so natural at the time, I didn't say anything, though I think I shivered a little at the initial contact.

Once the splashing stopped, I took a minute to look at Edward. Crap.....he looks good, shirtless. Perfect physique. If I could just.....oh my god! Did I really just think that?! This is not how this works! I tore my eyes away from him and looked at the others instead. Yup. We were definitely having a good time.

I squeaked as Edward splashed. "Do you have a death wish?" I asked menacingly.

"You? Kill me? Please babe...!" Edward laughed, did I mention I loved it when he called me 'babe'? I grinned at him. Cupping my hands "any last words?" I smiled, he cursed and started baking away, I splashed him and then I started laughing like all hell would break out.

After our 'bath' we decided to start up our lunch. It was Rogers bright idea to 'go fishing' and I blame Chris for supporting him so much. Then I also blame Pers for how convincing she could be. Thanks to these three we ended up having lunch an hour late. Fishing! If these dummies could fish then I'm the freaking queen of England!

Most of the time we ended up back in the water.....I'm going to murder Kate for bringing along a video camera to video our epic failures. We finally gave it up and walked back laughing. We managed to have a decent meal thanks to Christina and Brit. They'd packed lunches. Kate started replaying the video we gathered round her. Soon we were pointing and laughing. I was rolling on my back, giggling, at one point. They were pulling me to my feet, I was still laughing.

The rest of the evening was passed in a blur of happiness. If I look back on this day it'll be like several frozen images and music playing in the background. None of us were in the mood for dinner, so we downed bags of Chips and crackers and drank cola. Not nutritious, I give you that but then we didn't really care. Just before we reentered our tents the couples seemed to think it was time to kiss each other, like they'd never see each other again.

My stomach did angry flip flops in protest as I watched Kate coddle up to Edward I willed it to calm down, and rolled my eyes at Meg before sneaking off with her first to our sizeable tent. The rest of the girls filed in, except for Kate, she was in her own tent. We thumb wrestled for our spots, I wanted the one closest to the entrance. I won.

It got dark quite quickly, the gentle breathing around me, told me the other girls had already fallen asleep. I just couldn't sleep though. Jealous thoughts kept invading my mind. Kate and Edward kissing each other.....to be specific. I rolled over and resisted the urge to yell in annoyance. I kept wondering if Edward was with Kate right now in the other tent.... jeez....my thoughts need a freaking leash!

Covers up.....can't sleep....covers off.....can't sleep.....leg out....still can't sleep....arrrgh! I inwardly screamed at myself. Forget it, I thought, giving up my attempts to sleep. Cautiously, I unzipped the tent, trying not to make a sound. I slipped out, the cool night air kissed my naked legs and I wondered if I should go back in and pull out a pair if jeans to accompany my nightgown, but I saw Meg move in her sleep, I didn't want to risk waking them up.

I looked up to the sky, oh wow.....I sighed in delight. More stars than I'd ever seen before. My head turned upwards I simply followed the sky, my mind registering which way I was going slightly. I headed back into the forest. I wasn't afraid because the sky above the trees was clear. In horror movies, its usually dark. I walked idly, making sure not to stray to far away from the camp site.

I finally reached another wall of weeds hanging down. I was about to turned around then I remembered how our camping paradise was beyond such a wall. Cautiously, I pulled the weeds apart. What came next, took my breath away....the stream from our campsite seemed to reach this little oasis by a different path. It gushed around the little land I was standing on. The sky coloring it an awesome blue purple color, I looked up to the sky again and was shocked at what I saw. The venture milky way was visible, astronomically this wasn't even possible but yet, here it was....so exotic.....so beautiful, I noticed a small island floating a few meters away.... well not floating but....

It looked like a place out of a fairy tale too...Yes that's the word to describe this place, fairytale. There was somebody seated on the island, I could just make him out.....and from what I could see, it looked like Edward. Cautiously, I waded through the water, it only reached my ankles. Slowly, I stepped onto the bank of the stream. After a few moments of blank staring, my first thought was that I should leave quickly but looking again I got the feeling that he didn't want to be alone so I ..."Edward .." I whispered, he turned around quickly and his eyes widened and he stared for a little while then realisation flicked through his face and he smiled "oh? It you Jenny ..for a second I thought you were some sort of nymph from a fairy story...."He muttered the last part.

"Can I join you?" I asked.

"Free country," he replied cheerfully enough. I sat beside him, he averted his eyes.

"This place is beautiful....." I whispered, he smiled quickly.

"You couldn't sleep either?" He asked me

"No....what about you? Girlfriend keeping you awake?" I said teasingly. He laughed.

"If that were the case I wouldn't be out here now, would I?" He had this expression on his face for a second.... like he was far away "what about you? Why are you out here?"

"Thinking about a stupid boy...." I joked, partially true after all. He smirked.

"How could you think of another boy apart from me?! Or wait....was it me?"

"Didn't your parents teach you not to dream with your eyes open?"

"They taught me to follow my dreams.....they forgot to tell me when," he countered.

"Please don't dream about me.....it'll be too traumatising,"

"You're not that bad....I won't be traumatised"

"Not if I appeared as the Grim Reaper with an axe at hand...." I muttered, raising an eyebrow. He laughed, l laughed with him. After a few seconds we just looked at each other, still grinning. It was quiet for a little while, we weren't saying anything, just enjoying the moment, he locked eyes with me once again and I noticed that there was this deep....haunted look in his eyes, it chilled me and made me feel sad suddenly. However, when he spoke his eyes smiled and the look seemed to disappear.

"Thanks Jen, you cheered me up,"

"Didn't know you needed cheering up"

"Yeah well... "

I didn't think he wanted to talk about it, so I dropped it. I looked up to the moonless sky again.

"I wonder if this place has a legend?" I wondered out loud. He looked at me amusedly. His green eyes shining like an elves.

"Hey let's make one!" I exclaimed gleefully. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"OK....I'll amuse you!," he grinned

"Let's see....the stream shone purple and luminous blue the day the first nymph princess was born. She grew up swimming in the streams and playing on the grass. One day there was a storm, she washed ashore here. When she woke up, an elf was nursing her back to health. The boy was handsome, with the most amazing eyes!"

"What is it with girls and eyes?" Ed interrupted me.

"Shut up Ed, eyes are awesome!" I laughed "anyway the nymph and the elf, who turned out to actually be the young king of the clan, met often and fell into deep love. But the elf clan was at war with the witches of the...uh...what compass direction are we at now?"

"Does it really matter?" Ed rolled his eyes.

I shrugged "west then, witches if the west. One of the witches cursed the young king, the king was put under a spell by the witch to always follow her orders....he was made to fall in love with her. But every week he found himself here, where he met the nymph....the nymph realised what had happened. On the hundredth day, she kissed him, despite knowing he had forgotten about her. For hundred days she had talked to him and befriended him secretly. When they kissed, he remembered everything. He killed the witch and they won the war. The end."

He applauded sarcastically, I glared at him. He held his hands up in a 'I don't want any trouble' gesture, I laughed.

"Where do you even get these ideas? Nymph and elf?"

I blushed scarlet, crap! "Uh.....you..uh...called me a nymph before and...you have green eyes so elf.." I said, finding my feet pretty interesting suddenly.

"So we're the main characters?" He chuckled. I laughed, as if I hadn't thought about it that way at all.

"Its a beautiful legend," he patted my head, I grinned....our own personal legend! Oh no! Brain get back here!

A chilly breeze made me shiver so much ...he caught sight of it and quickly stood up "we should be getting back," he said pulling me up ,I nodded and shivered again he removed his jacket and wrapped it around me, while doing so his eyes met mine and again we started staring at each other, his arms still around me, we were so close...for a second I thought he was going to kiss me he leaned closer to me and my breath caught, he was going to kiss me, I knew instinctively.

That would be wrong though.....he had Kate and we'd just met I knew he was a player and I didn't want to be caught so easily ...even though all I wanted was to hang on to this moment I knew that Edward was a loyal guy and I didn't want him to be the one to pull away first, so I blinked three times and broke the spell uttering a polite thank you and allowing him to take my hand and lead me back to the camp...then returning his jacket I went back to bed and the midsummer nights dream ended .

Edited on Friday, August 28th 2015