"Morning!" Thy beamed brightly, practically glowing in the early sunlight.

"Hi!" Imogen smiled at him. Her hair was damp from the shower, and she was eating a chocolate-chip pancake. "There's more in the cupboard if you want some."

"Thanks, but I'm going to have a seeded bagel," he pulled out one from the pack and located a chopping board, slicing it in two. "Should I add low-fat cream cheese or mashed avocado?"

"The cream cheese, I guess?" She frowned. "Why is it low-fat?"

Thy pulled off his shirt, displaying his abs. "Voila."

"Oh, wow, okay," her eyes widened, and she quickly looked away, embarrassed for asking. "Explains the low-fat diet. You go to the gym like, what, daily?"

"Nah, I own an exercise bike. You know there's one here, right?"

"Maybe I should start using it."

"Don't you swim a lot?"

"...Yes?"

"So aren't you kind of ripped already?"

"I mean..." She blushed.

"Don't put yourself down! But also try the exercise bike, it's very therapeutic," he slathered the cream cheese onto his bagel.

"Thanks for the confidence booster, Thy," she grinned. "We should work out together sometime."

"Yes! Aspen hates anything to do with fitness, so I have never had a gym bestie before."

Ginny laughed at his choice of words. "Want some orange juice?"

Before he could answer, Aster walked out into the kitchen.

"Oh my—" She touched his arm. "Put a shirt on before I fall in love with you."

He shrugged, biting into his breakfast. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

<<*>>

"What's up?" Giani yawned, stumbling into the kitchen.

"Did you only just wake up?" Aster raised her eyebrows, taking a sip from her mug of hot chocolate.

"Yeah? It's only, what, nine? That's early for me."

"Huh."

"Is Carlos up yet?" She asked, opening the fridge and scanning it for her ideal breakfast. "I want to steal his eyeliner."

"I think he's in his room, so maybe not."

"Good. That means I can use it and he'll be none the wiser," she grinned, opening the door to the bathroom.

"Hi?" Lou was in there, brushing her teeth. Her hair was wet and tucked behind her ears, dripping onto the towel that was draped over her shoulders to protect her t-shirt.

"Have you seen a black make-up bag with a bunch of rock music stickers on it?"

"No, Carlos took it back to his room because he said he wasn't going to cave and let you steal it yet," Lou spat her toothpaste out into the sink and washed her toothbrush head before putting it away and moving to cleanse and moisturise her face.

'Damn," Giani swore under her breath.

"If you, uh, want to borrow make-up, I have some you can use, if you want."

"Yeah, cool." Gi had brought her own eyeshadow and lipstick, she just needed Carlos' expensive green eyeliner, but she saw this as a chance to get to know Lou, so she agreed.

"I normally do the same look daily, but I've got a couple of fancy extras from home as well. We could also, you know, go to an American make-up store, if you're interested in that stuff."

"Of course," Giani leant over to peer into the cosmetics case, "But we have to bring Carlos because he's a literal GOD at this stuff. Ooh, is that purple eyeliner?"

Lou smiled, choosing the classic black for herself. "Go ahead."

<<*>>

"Where are we going today?" Mila asked Thy, tying back her unruly hair. "The zoo, right?"

"Yep!" He packed his rucksack full of protein snack bars, smiling (as always).

"I'm so excited to see the giraffes! They're so cute and tall and their black tongues are just so adorable!"

"I hope they have chickens. We had chickens at home," he pulled up a picture of him holding one.

"Cool!" Aster and Ginny crowded around the phone too, asking questions about their names, and what it was like growing up on a chicken farm. Lou and Giani joined them, and eventually they were just waiting for Carlos.

"I'm here," he posed in the doorframe, putting his shades on dramatically.

"You know it's February, right?" Aster looked at her jumper to his shades and back again. "Suit yourself."

"He likes to be dramatic," Giani rolled her eyes. "Ignore him."

Carlos gasped. "How dare you suggest such a thing!"

"Come on, we've got to deal with the rental car before we set off, and god knows how hard that's going to be."

<<*>>

It was very hard, in fact.

It took them until lunchtime to get their vehicle, despite Frankie previously claiming how easy it would be. (Giani swore she would write a bad review.)

"Okay, so, uh, who's driving?" Mila asked, looking at the keys in her palm.

"Not me," Lou held up her hands. "We drive on a completely different side of the road in England."

"Same here," Imogen agreed.

"I'm happy to drive, if you guys want," Mila looked at the group, their excitement at the idea clear. "Mama rarely let me at home."

"Sure!"

"How many seats are there?" Carlos peered through the open door at the seats.

"Two at the front, and two rows of three behind it," Aster informed him. "Who gets the most carsick?"

"Me, probably," Mila laughed self-consciously.

"Same here," Lou nodded. "Should I sit at the front and be navigator?"

"Please," Mila looked relieved, and the two of them got in.

"I'm fine at the back," Giani said boldly, folding her arms.

Eventually, they decided that Thy, Aster and Carlos would sit in the middle, with Giani and Imogen at the back.

"Okay, everybody ready?" Mila looked behind her.

"Uh, Giani, please put your seatbelt on."

"Right, sorry."

<<*>>

@milaslavik the bird pooped on the zoo guide's head D; (#travelhuggers #sanfrancisco <3)

❤️ 37 💬 6

@thyrex40 that must have been hawkward

↪ @milaslavik hahaha toucan play this game (and it was very you were there)

@i.imogenhazel it was so embarrassing 😭

↪ @milaslavik ikr 😭 😭

@asterelodie ice cream w/ @carlosmrossi #glace #th

❤️ 23 💬 3

@carlosmrossi thanks for letting me be in the photo

↪ @asterelodie you should take all my photos it's actually pretty good

@i.imogenhazel stunning <3

<<*>>

"Did everyone have a good time yesterday?" Giani stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

Imogen was stretching out, in some kind of yoga getup. She pushed her hair back off her face to look at her. "I still can't believe you fell asleep on me on the way back and you're still the last to wake up."

"What can I say?" Gi grinned, biting into a piece of toast somebody had left untouched on the counter. "I'm built different."

"That was my— never mind."

<<*>>

"Are we really going to a hair salon?" Aster frowned, peering at their set destination through the seats. "My hair is perfectly fine, thank you very much."

"Suit yourself," Carlos shrugged. "I don't imagine there will be much time for haircuts later on, when we're backpacking over mountains."

"We're doing that?" Mila exclaimed.

"The Alps is one of our destinations," Lou reminded them. "There's a high likelihood of that happening."

"I'm fine with that," Aster scowled, looking at Carlos with clear annoyance.

He laughed, saying something to Giani in Italian.

She nodded, switching back to English. "I see what you mean."

A/N

This chapter was longer than the others and worse somehow??