Hey fans! Sorry this took so long. >.< But here it is! =) This story is almost over, I think there's only 3 more parts left. =/ I'll save the sappy stuff for the end though. In the mean time, I hope you all enjoy! =)

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            Adrianna sat in the front of her aunt and uncle's boat. It was her favorite spot; the wind whipped carelessly through her hair, a cool mist hitting her face. As far as she was concerned, it was the best seat on the boat. She did not envy those hanging off the tubes being pulled by the boat.

            The girl glanced past Tom, who occupied the seat next to her, to see Rupert and Marisa hanging on for dear life to the two inner tubes being pulled along the water's surface by the boat. Adrianna admittedly thought they were crazy; she had done it many times, and each time resulted in bruised legs and very sore knuckles. When the girl tried it for the first time a few years back, she had decided then that if tubing was anything like Quidditch, Adrianna was glad she was a Muggle.

            She watched her friends anxiously as her uncle made the boat make a sharp left turn, pulling the two to the side, tilting both tubes almost vertically. Adrianna knew turns were the worst; they caused more wipeouts than any other aspect of tubing. Adrianna was surprised to see both of her friends still firmly grasping to the tubes once the turn was complete. Admittedly, she was unsure how much longer they would be able to hold on.

            She glanced down for just a moment to adjust her life vest. It was far too tight for her liking and she felt like she was suffocating. When she had fixed that situation, she looked back up. She realized that they were circling around at a much slower speed. Rupert and Marisa had finally fallen off, and they were going back to pick them up. Adrianna felt her heart rate increase; she knew she and Tom were next to go.

            Her friends climbed up the small ladder, Adrianna stood, mentally preparing herself for the hell she was about to endure. Admittedly, she hated tubing, and it wasn't because she didn't like physical activities; she just thought it was ridiculous that she could be in so much pain just from holding onto a tube. The girl remembered hurting for days after one of the times she went; she experienced less pain when she fractured her ankle in middle school.

            "Woo! Let's go again!" Marisa exclaimed, interrupting Adrianna's thoughts.

            "Oh please do," Adrianna urged, hoping they would all forget that she hadn't gone yet.

            "Oh no you don't," Tom caught on to her act. "It's our turn. You're not chickening out on me."

            Adrianna frowned slightly. She was afraid he was going to say that. "Alright, alright," she sighed. "Let's get this over with." The girl followed behind Tom towards the back of the boat, and past her friends where they would board the tubes. After a few moments, Adrianna carefully lowered herself down onto the inner tube. The girl was lying on her stomach, and was admittedly not very comfortable doing so. I'm getting too old for this, she thought silently to herself as she held on tightly to the handles.

            "You ready love?" Tom called out to her from about fifteen feet away, lying comfortably on the other tube. Adrianna couldn't believe how at ease he was; Tom looked perfectly content and normal over there; she certainly was not.

            "As ready as I'm going to be," Adrianna replied, forcing a smile even though she was really not excited to be on the water like this.

            Tom tilted his head, giving her a smile. "C'mon, Dree. This is going to be a blast!"

            "You may not be saying that once we get going," she muttered.

            Before Tom could say anything in response, Adrianna's uncle called out, "You two ready?!"

            "Yea! Let's go!" Tom answered for the both of them.

            Adrianna took a deep breath when she started to see the rope beginning to tighten in front of her. She was bracing herself for the worst; she knew her uncle was not going to take it easy on her like he did her friends. The girl was prepared for the longest ride of her life. Her uncle was sure to remember the last time Adrianna had gone tubing with them a few years back. It was an adventure that was for sure. Valarie and she were the only two out of her friends to have gone that time, as Adrianna hadn't met Marisa yet.

            The brunette was shaken from her thoughts as she lurched forward as the boat picked up speed. She tightened her grip on the handles, hoping she still had it in her to hold on as well as she used to. Adrianna felt the waves rub against her legs, making them feel as if they were being stung over and over again by a swarm of bees. That was her least favorite part about the whole thing.

            Adrianna looked over at Tom for a minute. Once again, he still looked like he was in his element. He had a huge smile on his face, his dirty blond hair swept back by the wind. The sight alone put a smile on her face. However, the feeling quickly passed as a wave smacked her directly in the face, temporarily blinding her. Adrianna shook the water from her eyes and put them back to focusing on the waterway ahead of her.

            After about another ten minutes, she knew it was the end. Her uncle was pulling the boat into a huge turn near the edge of the lake. Adrianna held on tightly to the tube's handles as she pulled herself back up slightly before the turn started to affect the path of the tube.  Adrianna braced herself, both mentally and physically, for the devilish turn and onslaught of water that was going to be coming her way. As much as she wanted to close her eyes, Adrianna kept them wide open; she needed to be able to see what was heading her way. Sure enough, a surge of water pushed her nearly off the floating device, but she held tight.

            When the boat finally came to a stop, Adrianna was extremely relieved. The girl watched as her uncle dropped the anchor into the water, keeping the boat firmly in place. "We're just going to chill here for a while, swim around and what not," he explained.

            Before Adrianna could respond to that, she swore the boat must have lost a few hundred pounds in weight when all of her friends jumped off the edges and into the water. Adrianna released the handles she had been so dead set on holding on to and flexed her knuckles a few times, releasing the strain and pressure that had been placed on them. As she was about to slide off the inner tube, she felt someone pull her foot, causing her to fall into the water a lot faster than she had anticipated. She sunk a few feet into the water before her life jacket pulled her back to the surface. When she breached the surface, she noticed Valarie laughing at her.

            Adrianna scowled. "Really Val? Was it that necessary?"

            "Obviously," the blonde giggled.

            Adrianna just shook her head, pulling an errant strand of hair from her eyes. "Something isn't right with you, you know that right?"

            Her friends kept laughing at her, something that Adrianna was not exactly thrilled about. She moved to splash some water in their direction, but stopped when she felt someone grab her wrist. She looked over her shoulder to see Tom hovering behind her.

            "C'mon Dree," he calmed. "Let's just try to have some fun. I mean, seriously, it's a long flight back tomorrow morning, and who knows what's going to happen once we get home."

            Adrianna sighed. She supposed Tom had a point. It was heard to believe that they were going to be heading back to London in the morning. They had spent about a week and a half in Michigan, but Adrianna was admittedly not ready to leave her homeland just yet. She had finally adjusted to the warmer climate and odd weather patterns and now she was going to be swept back to England. She didn't mind unduly, she just was a little disappointed by how quickly time had passed. Time flies when you're having fun, a voice in the back of her head told her.

            She smiled back at Tom. "Alright, alright. But you get to be my first victim," she replied as a devious smirk stretched across her face. She watched Tom's eyes widen for a moment before she took her free hand and sent a wave flying towards his face.

            Before she knew it, the entire group was in the middle of a giant splashing and occasional dunking fight. Honestly, the whole thing made Adrianna feel like a little kid again, but she was going to treasure that while it lasted. After all, tomorrow it would be back to the daily grind, and back to feeling much older than she really was once again.