As night falls, the sky lights up in an array of colors. The music from the party fades and the guests stop to take a moment to appreciate the display in the sky. Lennox, Dan, Alexa, Patty, Maya, and I take a spot near the shore, the waves grazing our feet as we sit in the sand.

I end up next to Lennox. She has her legs pulled up tight against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. Her chin rests on the tops of her knees while she stares up at the display going on across the bay.

She catches me staring at her and turns her head so that her cheek now sits on her knees. She seems tired but still manages to give me a small smile. "What's your favorite Fourth of July memory?"

Her voice is thick and raspy.

I think back to the first summer on Long Island, the year I met Dan and Maya. "Probably my first summer here."

My eyes wander down the line to Maya and Dan. He's got an arm wrapped around her and it's like Maya belongs there. They could be happy if they'd just get over their fear of losing each other. I put my attention back on Lennox, who's waiting for me to continue the story.

"This was before parties consisted of drinking and when Patty's parents were actually home. There were only a few of us here."

"I experienced a few of those myself. Come to think of it, we probably would have been at the same party if I hadn't gone to L.A." She says it with a daydreaming look on her face, as if she might wish that were true. It's hard to imagine that it might have been.

"So, what happened back then?"

"Dan was attempting to show me how to surf. It didn't go well." I laugh at the memory, even though the wave almost gobbled me up.

"Is that why you boogie board instead?"

A quick and easy grin settles on her lips. She sounds genuinely interested in my story. For some reason, it's making me a little nervous.

"It was the easier route to go. I remember Maya sitting on the shore laughing at my failed attempts."

"To be fair, you were really awful," Maya teases. Her head pops up from Dan's chest, but he pulls her back towards him, like he's not ready for their moment to end.

I playfully give her the finger and avert my attention back to Lennox. Her eyes never leave me. I kind of like this side of her. She's trying to get to know me and there's a part of me that wants to get to know her too.

"No matter how terrible I was at it, I still felt like I belonged here. Things at home were a bit rocky at that time and being here with these guys made it feel like it could be a second home for me."

I'm shocked that I told her that tidbit and soon I'm spilling even more.

"My uncle was at the party chatting up a storm with Patty's parents. He decided he wanted Dan to teach him as well." I shake my head, recalling how much worse he'd been than me. "I thought I'd be embarrassed but he made everyone laugh. Right then I knew that if these guys didn't judge me for my crazy uncle, then they were good people to have around."

Lennox stretches out her long legs and buries her toes in the sand. Leaning back, she watches me. "Sounds like you had a good first summer here."

"What about you?" I ask her. "What's your favorite memory?"

Her focus is on the sand cascading from her feet as she lifts them out of the sand.

"It was a year after I'd been in L.A and the goofball next to me came out to visit."

She pushes her shoulder into Alexa, who looks over at me with a twinkle in her eye.

"That's me, her goofball," she states, like she's proud of her newly appointed title.

"Anyway, she had never met anyone famous before and I introduced her to..." Lennox takes a deep breath. I'm not sure why, but Alexa puts a hand on her shoulder encouraging her to finish the story. "I invited her to a small party at Chase Dawson's house."

She's back to smiling, but her voice strains a little as she attempts to finish her story.

"I honestly thought she was going to faint," she laughs at the memory.

"But I didn't," Alexa chimes in, holding up her pointer finger.

"You went pale," Lennox teases her.

Alexa huffs and folds her arms. "Fine. I may have forgotten my name, too."

I adjust my body and Lennox's legs brush against my own. I can feel the warmth radiating off them. I'm not sure if she noticed because she's turned to Alexa pretending to comfort her.

"After Chase offered to show her around, she eventually lightened up a bit and I'd say we had a pretty awesome time."

I start to form a reply when several loud booms go off above our heads. I didn't realize how late it was and that the fireworks would soon be ending. The finale explodes with bright colors that shoot high into the sky. Next to me Lennox stiffens, then leans her head back to catch a glimpse of the fireworks. My attention should be on them, but it keeps drifting to her.

***

Hours later I find myself still awake and nowhere near being tired. Insomnia has hit me hard as the thoughts of the party ring in my head. I'm not sure what to make of it so I try to distract myself with an epic battle on my game.

A noise indicating that someone has signed into the Discord chat chimes through my computer's speakers. Dan's name pops up. He's sure up early. The sun is just starting to peek through my curtains.

"Just woke up? Or just about to go to bed?" Dan's voice vibrates through my speakers.

I turn them down hoping I haven't woken Monica or Uncle Rob. I swivel my chair, pulling World of Warcraft back up on my screen.

"About to go to bed," I reply.

In the game I hop onto my flying mount to find a spot for my character to rest. Dan is quiet for a few minutes.

"Guess who said yes to a date? Well not a date, more like a group activity. She said if I called it a date that my junk would never work again," he says.

I opened my mouth to say Maya but that doesn't really sound like something she would say to him. I press my lips together and continue to fly my character back to the nearest town.

"Lennox!" he shouts. "Lennox freaking Taylor!"

He says it like he's just won a prize and something in his tone makes my blood boil. I may not be a big fan of Lennox, and I know Dan means well, but he really has no clue.

"So, a group date, huh?" I ask, pressing my lips so the other words I wanted to say instead wouldn't spill out.

He's trying so hard to get Lennox's attention, when there's someone else vying for his. He knows it too. Lennox is like a shiny new toy, and he wants in.

"Yeah, everyone's going, dude. You've got to come with us."

An NPC (non-player character) speaks at the same time Dan does, so his voice is a bit jumbled over my speakers. Finishing up, I log out of the game.

"Are you still there?" Dan asks.

"Yeah, sorry."

"That's cool man," he says, still too excited. "Where's the best place for us to go? Maybe somewhere that I can put the moves on her?"

I roll my eyes. Sometimes he doesn't realize that what he says makes him sound like a total creep. Not willing to abet that, I propose a friendly and definitely public venue. "We could go to The Orbit."

"Great idea man."

He starts to talk about details for the non-date, but I cut him off. "Can we discuss it more tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. You okay man?"

"Yeah, just tired."

"Okay. Night," he says. He doesn't sound convinced but doesn't press me for more.

"Night — er – morning"

I shut my computer down. I'm tired but the conversation keyed me up. I grab my cell off the desk and crash into bed and pull up Instagram. There's a new notification from The Orbit theater.

Orbit_TheaterLI: Movie & TV remakes: What are your favorites? And what would you love to see remade or rebooted?

I love the questions that the page is putting out, so I make it a point to respond.

VGMaster_10: Love the newer Roswell. I'm tempted to check out the new MacGuyver I know the new one is outdated too. As for movies half the remakes are awful including Jurassic Park. Chris Pratt is no Jeff Goldblum that's for sure.

I take a deep breath and lay the phone face down on my chest. I know I need to get some rest, but my eyes won't shut. I focus on the white popcorn ceiling above the bed until it blurs together. Finally, when I begin to drift off my phone chimes.

Orbit_TheaterLI: @VGMaster_10 MacGuyver? Didn't know there was a remake. Let's see how I can save the city with just a rubber band and some paper clips! I actually do agree with you on Chris Pratt, he's nice on the eyes but that movie was God awful.

I laugh at their MacGuyver reference. The original is so old, but I love old movies and TV shows. My Uncle and I used to sit on the couch every Sunday with his old box sets of the show. We'd snack on junk food and eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The ridiculous memory makes me smile.

VGMaster_10: @Orbite_TheaterLI Right? I'm sure I could have gone my whole life without a Jurassic sequel. I mean how many times are these people going to create dinosaurs and spend millions of dollars on a theme park, just to have the dinosaurs become more intelligent than humans and destroy everything.

I hold the phone over me waiting for their response.

Oribit_TheaterLI: @VGMaster_10 That reminds me of a funny thing I saw the other day for a Jurassic sequel. It said something to the effect of; humans being extinct and the dinosaurs taking the DNA of mosquitoes with human blood and cloning Jeff Goldblum because they mix the DNA up with his blood. Wish I could find it.

VGMaster_10: @Orbit_TheaterLI now there's a Jurassic Park movie I'd pay to see.

My mouth hurts from how big I'm smiling right now from a stupid conversation on Instagram with a stranger. They could be some old man sitting in his boxers getting paid to interact with fans of the theater. Either that, or they are a movie loving geek who is also sitting in their boxers probably binge watching Starlien.

Thinking of Starlien, forces my mind to drift back to Lennox. I wonder why she said yes to Dan, even if it is a group date. I close my eyes trying to erase the thought of her leg brushing up against mine. It won't leave my mind.

The heaviness behind my eyes finally takes over. Before it consumes me, I put my phone on the nightstand and throw the blankets over me, finally drifting off with visions of Lennox stuck in my head.