𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝. The group had always gotten huge balloons and huge cakes for those celebrating a birthday, that was until they started drifting. Adi didn't expected to wake up that morning to find pink and gold balloons in her room. She didn't expect to go downstairs to see a long white table with a pink and blue tablecloth with plates, silverware, napkins, fancy wine glasses, and other decorations on it. She didn't expect a thing, and she could tell Theo didn't either as he stumbled down the stairs, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. Both twins looked at each other in slight excitement at the fact the group remembered even though they aren't close anymore. After a few moments of staring at the decorations, the twins wrapped their arms together and walked towards the kitchen, Adi's head leaning against Theo's shoulder as they walked.

"Happy Birthday!" The entire squad yelled from the kitchen as the twins entered, all of them smiling

Adi jumped slightly at the all of a sudden yelling, but then took in her surroundings. The summer squad stood in the middle of the kitchen, their arms around each other as Amelie, Carolina, and Natalia were making breakfast. The Fishers stood off to the side, smiling at the twins reaction. The Conklin's stood by the fishers, small smiles on their faces as they all made eye contact with the twins. Theo had a bright smile as his face as he walked over to Caleb and wrapped him in a big hug, Adi doing the same to Francesca.

"We have pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage or veggie sausage, fruit, and if you guys don't want that I can make oatmeal or something. Coffee, apple juice, milk, and water are over there at the coffee bar," Amelie pointed to each section, showing that each piece of food was on a plate or in a skillet. She also pointed towards the coffee bar where large glass pitchers sat with coffee, apple juice, water, and milk in them

"Thank you Amelie, this truly is wonderful," Theo wrapped Amelie in his arms, grateful to have her in his life

"Of course, now get what you want and once you guys are done eating we'll open the gifts." Amelie patted their shoulders before walking off to help Carolina and Natalia with their waffles

The entire group grabbed their plate of food before sitting down and eating. It was a very tense and awkward breakfast but Adi was happy they were all together and could actually be in the same room. She looked around the table and noticed Jeremiah staring at her, biting his lip slightly as he placed a strawberry in his mouth. She blushed slightly before forcing herself to look at her plate of food, not wanting to hear
anyone say anything about the staring. Although it had been to late, Fran and Conrad had already seen it and were trying to keep in their laughs at how down-bad Jeremiah was. The others stared at each other in confusion at the giggling at the end of the table but soon joined in. The entire table had been laughing and giggling as they ate their food.

After a few minutes, the rest of the squad got up and walked into the living room, grabbing their gifts for the twins. Adi took notice that some of them only had one and some of them didn't even have a gift. A flash of hurt appeared on her face but she quickly tried to put a smile on her face, not wanting the others to know how much it affected her. Theo sat down next to Adi, grabbing her hand as everyone else joined them in the living room. A real smile appeared on Adi's face as she looked at Jeremiah, seeing a small gift in his hand.

"Okay, no singing happy birthday, I don't like it," Adi spoke up as she pushed her hair behind her ear

"Who wants to go first?" Fran asked, not wanting both of them to open their gifts at the same time so they could have all of the attention on them

"Adi," Theo said before Adi could speak up, receiving a glare from his sister

Fran smiled before handing Adi multiple boxes, causing Adi to smile. She ripped the happy birthday wrapping paper away from the boxes before opening each one individually. The first box contained a small black bracelet that had a white charm in the middle, an A in the middle. The second box contained a ring set, a mixture of gold and silver rings inside. The third box contained an anklet that had Adina in diamonds on it. The last box contained a 3 bracket set, orange pieces in little flowers as well as a diamond bracelet. Adi smiled brightly as she reached forward and wrapped Fran in a tight hug, grateful to have Francesca in her life.

"Thank you," Adi mumbled into Frans ear as she pulled away from the hug

"Of course," Fran smiled at her best friend before elbowing Caleb in the side, telling him it was his turn to go

Caleb reached forward and handed Adi her present. Adi ripped the wrapping paper away and let out a squeal as she threw her arms around Caleb, both of them hugging tightly as tears rose in Adi's eyes. She couldn't believe her eyes, he had gotten her multiple vinal versions of her favorite artists and they were all signed. Adi went through the rest of her gifts and loved every single one of them. That was until she got to Rosilvia, who didn't have any boxes or bags with her.

"I forgot" Rosilvia shrugged as she pushed herself up from the floor before walking away. Pierce gave a small smile to the twins before following after the girl

Theo then started to open his gifts. He couldn't believe his eyes once he opened them all. Francesca had gotten him a new surfboard and comic book set. Caleb had gotten him a huge comic book set, same for Hazel. Felix got him a new dresser and surfboard stand. The others all joined together and got him tickets to go with Adi for a concert and he couldn't have been happier. The twins thanked the others before they took their gifts up to their room, wanting to organize everything before starting their day.

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An hour later, the twins joined the rest of the summer squad in the living room, seeing Amelie and Susannah talking to the girls. Adi quickly walked in and sat next to Fran, grabbing her hand and squeezing it slightly. Fran smiled at her and leaned her head to the side, placing it on Adi's shoulder. Adi didn't fully understand what was going on but when some of the girls said yes and some said no, she went ahead and said yes. She soon realized that it was for a Deb ball and her face contorted in fear. She had never done something like that before. She didn't know how she could do that, especially if she was having an episode.

"Okay! I'll contact them and get you girls signed up for the tea later this afternoon. Belly and Cora need to go shopping for dresses but I've already purchased most of the girls dresses! Fran, yours is a blue and white floral dress. Hazel, yours is a light cream dress. Adi, yours is a white dress but if you don't want that, we can return it and get you a new one. Harveen, I have multiple dresses for you so you can choose from those," Susannah smiled at the girls before she turned on her heel and walked away, trying hard to keep herself together at being able to see Francesca in a white dress with Conrad.

The girls sat there in silence for a few more minutes before walking away, going upstairs to get ready for the much awaited Debutante tea.

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Francesca didn't wear dresses often, not being a big fan of them. That was until she tried on her dress for the Deb tea and fell in love instantly. It was a white dress with blue and purple in it and it was a bit floral like. She walked downstairs and met the others in the car, taking in their dresses. Adi was wearing a white dress with an orange version of her hat with light orange heels. Hazel was wearing a light crème dress with brown wedges and a brown version hat. Cora was wearing a pink version of Fran's dress with a white hat and white heels. Harveen was wearing a black floral dress with white wedge heels and a black pink hat.

"You girls look stunning," Amelie smiled as the girls got out of the car once they were at the country club, kissing Fran and Caleb's heads before pushing them next to the others, each girl holding a boys hand. Fran and Caleb. Adi and Theo. Hazel and Felix. Cora and Conrad. Harveen and Matt.

The boys escorted the girls into the country club and once they made it upstairs to the tea, the girls gasped at the scene. Girls were everywhere as they all talked and got to know each other. Paige, the host of the debutante ball, walked over to the group, wanting to get the girls signed in. Paige smiled before she spoke up, "What are your names?"

"I'm Francesca Dubois," Francesca introduced herself before giving Adi a knowing look, wanting Adi to introduce herself next

"I'm Adina Fox,"

"I'm Hazel Merriweather"

"Hi, I'm Cora Finley"

"Harveen Agroia"

Paige checked the girls names off and nodded for them to follow her, leading them towards their table. As the girls were passing, walking to a table where only one girl sat, they couldn't help but overhear their names being said at a table behind them. They ignored it at first but as time went on and the tea was getting ready to start, Fran finally had enough. She pushed herself up from her chair and walked over to the table, leaning down and whispering into Nicole's ear.

"I would be careful, wouldn't want her to overhear you now would you?" She whispered, leaning into Nicole's neck before pushing herself away and walking back to their table

"Can you imagine wearing something like that? It's truly disgusting, it doesn't fit her at all and it makes her look heavy. Definitely has no style," Shayla sneered, laughing slightly as the others joined in

"No, on top of that she's friends with someone who had major anger issues. Imagine being friends with her and having to be careful at what you say she doesn't hit you," Nicole was now the only one laughing, no one else finding her statement funny

"She's bipolar, you ass" Gigi snapped at the girl, pushing herself up from the chair and moving tables, not wanting to be around them anymore

Nicole chose to ignore the girl but as she turned around, she felt a fist collide with the side of her jaw. Adi had overheard the girls talk about her "anger issues" and well chose to let her "anger issues" take over. At first she wasn't that mad but after hearing what the girls had said about Fran looking disgusting, Hazel not fitting in with them, Cora looking like she would break down if anyone said something mean to her, harveen also apparently not fitting in, and then what they said about her and her bipolar disorder, she had enough. She had stormed over there and took charge, punching some sense into Nicole

"You bitch!" Nicole yelled as she held her jaw in her hand, feeling it throbbing

"Oops, my hand slipped. It must have been my anger issues, I apologize for that," Adi gave them a sarcastic smile before walking back to their table, not wanting Paige to know it was her who had in-fact hit Nicole

The rest of the girls burst out in laughter as Paige started explaining what would be happening in order for the girls to participate in the Debutante ball. They had tried to listen but they all knew how it worked through Fran and didn't exactly need to listen. They spent the entire time doing everything to try and annoy the girls beside them. They shoved their mouths full of food, didn't use manors, talked loud enough for the girls to hear, etc. It had worked too, the girls were pissed and Adi knew her plan had worked. Those girls would leave them alone and if they didn't, Adi would simply punch them again.

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Theo walked around the Country club, still trying to find Adi after everyone came out but her once the tea meeting was over. He wasn't paying attention as he bumped into someone and knocked them to the ground. Theo quickly turned his gaze down to the person and reached his hand out but it was swatted away. The girl was definitely angry and wanted to get out of there as quick as possible but that idea was changed once she was knocked to the ground.

"God, could this day get any worse," Nicole muttered, looking up at the sky before pushing herself up from the ground

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention and I just- I'm really sorry," Theo rushed out, nerves overtaking him as he stared into the girls eyes

"It's fine, I'm sorry if I was being rude, I've had a terrible day and this girl just threatened me in the bathroom so I'm a little panicked," the girl explained as she pushed her hair out of her face

"I'm Theo," He introduced, feeling the need to get to know her

"Nicole, sorry I have to go but it was nice bumping into you," Nicole rushed out before rushing off

Theo stared in awe before making a realization, the girl who had threatened her had been Adi. Theo rushed down the hall, his focus now in front of him so he didn't bump into anyone else. He rushed around the corner and saw a crying Adi. His heart broke at the sight as he walked forward and wrapped his arms around her. She fell back into his chest and cried even harder. Theo didn't know what happened but something must have upset her to the point where she had another episode. Theo held her hands as he rubbed over the fresh scars on them, seeing the blood on the wall from where she punched it. The twins sat there for another hour before they finally got up and went to join the others at the other end of the country club.

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Hazel walked with Cora, Fran, and Adi to the pool. They weren't sure on what swimsuit to wear yet so they decided to just bring a bag of a few and wait until the other girls wanted to swim to decide. Cora pulled the strap of her light pink swimsuit over her shoulder, the only strap falling down slightly. Adi was wearing a 2 piece orange swimsuit along with a pair of orange sunglasses. Fran was wearing a floral blue 2 piece bikini with a pair of white sunglasses. The 3 girls stood next to the pool and took notice of Ro and Pierce making out in one of the cabanas. Hazel cringed slightly at the sight in front of her. The girls shook their heads, trying to get the sight out of their focus before walking over to their cabana, seeing Taylor standing inside of it.

"What the hell is she doing?" Adi sneered, not liking that someone like Taylor was inside their cabana

"She works here," Fran informed as she sat down on one of the pool chairs

"I'm going to go see if she'll take our order," Hazel said before they walked away, wanting to have a conversation with the girl

"Excuse me, are you working this cabana? My friends and I are renting it but are out by the pool rn, could we still order?" Hazel asked Taylor, wanting to order a refreshing drink of some sort

"Yeah, I can take your order," Taylor smiled at them before she followed after Hazel

The two walked over to the other girls and Taylor took their orders. Hazel ordered an iced lemonade with a plate of nachos. Cora ordered a strawberry lemonade with a southwest style salad. Adi ordered an ice water with a monster energy drink as well as a basket of fries. Fran didn't want to order anything but decided to order a lemonade and a strawberry salad, making sure to also get a side of strawberry vinaigrette dressing. Taylor nodded before walking away to put their order in.

"She seems nice," Hazel muttered as they pushed their dark brown sunglasses down, shielding their face from the sun

"Babes, she isn't nice," Fran told Hazel as she laid down, taking her coverup off and revealing her toned stomach

"You don't know that," Hazel defended, turning on their side, facing away from all the other girls, annoyed that they wouldn't give Taylor a chance but they would give Rosilvia a chance

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Harveen didn't follow the other girls to the pool after the Deb tea. She had noticed Shayla walking off, looking like she was going to cry and Harveen wanted to see if she could help comfort the girl in anyway. She quickly walked down the hallway, her heels clicking against the floor as she walked. Once harveen walked around the corner, she saw Shayla bent down, tears falling down her cheeks. Harveen frowned as she walked up to the girl and sat down next to her. Shayla jumped slightly at the new figure but calmed down once she noticed who it was. She wiped her cheeks and looked up wt Harveen, smiling at how pretty she looked.

"Are you okay?" Harveen asked the girl, smiling back at her

"Honestly no, I made a really big mistake by saying those things about you guys earlier, I'm sorry," Shayla apologized as she wiped her tears away from her face, feeling stupid for crying

"You can cry you know, it's understandable. You felt the pressure of Taylor and Nicole and wanted to fit in. I get it, I was new to my friend group and did everything I could to try and fit in, even if it meant hurting others in the process," Harveen told Shayla before the two sat in silence, both of them just sitting in the hallway and leaning against each other

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The summer squad spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the beach house before going out to dinner for the Fox twins birthday. The group had ordered dinner but once they did, Caleb had excused himself from the table and Felix could tell something was up. His hands were shaky, he looked sickly, and overall just off. Felix, being felix, followed after the boy and once he got outside, he noticed why the boy was shaky. He was meeting up with Carter smith, both of them were sitting outside of the restaurant, sharing a joint and what looked like a flask of alchohol. Felix couldn't make out what it was but from the smell that came from Carter as he walked over, he could tell it was alcohol.

"What the fuck are you doing? It's the twins birthday!" Felix yelled in the twins defense, not liking that Caleb spent their birthday dinner outside getting high and drinking

"Carter needed support, I was just being there for him," Caleb replied, his tone so chill it was as if he didn't care

"Caleb, he's sniffing the trees over there! It's obvious he isn't in his right mind and you shouldn't be allowing him to continue doing whatever the hell you were doing when he's already in this state! You shouldn't be doing it either! You practically just relapsed!" Felix yelled, his voice rising slightly as anger seeped through him

"Why do you care? Hmm? Why do you care what I do?" Caleb asked, stepping close to Felix, so close that Felix could feel Caleb's breath on his face

"I don't, but I'm your friend and I'm going to look out for you! You're throwing your life away, and for what? Some boy who doesn't give two shits about you? You're being stupid Caleb and your decisions are hurting those around you. Fran can't even be in the same room with you right now Caleb, that says something doesn't it? She can't watch you do this to yourself Cay. The squad can't watch you do this to yourself. I can't watch you do this to yourself Cay," Felix stepped back slightly as he spoke, not feeling comfortable that close to Caleb anymore

"It doesn't matter what I do! Can't you understand that? My life was bound to fail the day I came into this world! It doesn't really matter what I do, I won't make it far in this world and I probably won't even make it to college. Yes, it hurts me to see that my family cant be around me, but this was bound to happen," Caleb said tiredly, getting tired just simply from going out to dinner

"You'll make it to college, you'll make it in this world Caleb. You aren't a failure, you aren't a waste of space, your life is worth fighting for! Please, fight for your mom and sister! Fight for your friends! Fight for me!" Felix grasped Caleb's hands and looked into his tear filled eyes, knowing just how much Caleb needed to hear those words

Caleb hesitated for a second before he reached forward, grabbed Felix's face in his hands, and let his lips meet Felix's. The kiss was soft. It was sweet. It was everything Felix could have ever imagined. But it couldn't happen. The two of them couldn't happen. Felix let Caleb kiss him for a few more seconds before he pushed the boy away, walking back inside, pushing his emotions down deep in his chest. Caleb stood there stunned. He couldn't believe what had happened. He had wanted to kiss Felix for years and now that he had, he had wanted to do it again, but Felix had taken that chance from him. Felix thought Carter would be the one to break Caleb's heart, but in reality Felix was the one breaking Caleb's heart, not Carter.

AUTHORS NOTE

Please don't kill me for this chapter....I know I know, it was a lot but this is the happiest chapter yet and probably the only truly happy chapter you'll get for act 1 so take what you have now

Let's just do a run down of the chapter

okay we started off with the twins birthday and let me tell you, I could not write this scene to save my life but after a while I finally found out what I wanted to do with it and this is the final product.

The Deb introduction is everything to me. While all of the girls aren't debs, they'll play a big part in the debutante adventure so don't worry. Susannah breaks my heart after the second book of the tsitp, I'm going to sob writing the scene. You know which scene.

Next the actual Deb tea...can we just admire how hot our girls look? Like they are all stunning and I can't even fathom how beautiful they look. They all slayed and although they're is romance between some of the debs and our girls, they'll be slow burns because well rn Nicole and Taylor are bitches. Adi and Fran slayed. That's it, that's all

Now to the intros, Nicole and Theo are my babies and although Nicole and Adi don't get along well, she loves her brother and is happy for him. Her breaking down because of what Nicole said about her bipolar disorder will continue to break me throughout every day of my life. I love Adi and Theo with everything in me

Taylor and Hazel are cuties but let me tell ya, Hazel can and will get in your nerves during these next few chapters where she is constantly defending Taylor even after what she did and tension will be created between the group once again. I love hazel but she needs to trust fran and stay away from Taylor before she gets hurt. Also can we talk about how hot everyone was? The girls in their swimsuits, their toned stomachs, and let's not forget Ro and Pierce making out in the cabana. I love them sm

Shayla and Harveen are everything to me. They have my heart and harveen telling Shayla it was okay to cry will forever break me. I love them sm and they truly own my heart.

The Calix argument absolutely broke me- I can't even fathom what was going on as I was crying the entire time and just writing shit down. I will say the kiss fixed everything but Felix then broke Caleb's heart and it's going to take a while for Caleb to forgive it for that. But hey, they're my babies and we know they'll have a happy ending. Maybe that is.

I love you all sm and make sure you're drinking water and staying healthy. Everyone loves you and if you ever need to talk, please message me or someone else you can confide in. Make sure you vote and comment!

Date: 10/8/22
Word count: 4273 (largest chapter yet)
Love y'all, Liv