Chapter 1

“Owww!” Jedia Morgan moaned, rubbing her head where it had connected with the bottom of the wooden cabinet.

“I’m surprised you’re tall enough to hit it at all,” Starr Monroe braced herself for the next pothole.

“Alana, is there any less painful route to this campsite?” Kristine White asked from where she was sitting at the head of one of the twin beds in the back of the RV.

“We’re not going right to the campsite. Mom and Dad want to check up on the construction work at the cabin before we head down there. The crew was supposed to be gone by now but something keeps holding them up. Dad just wants to go do the manly thing. You know, yell and scream and point out how he could do a much better job and how he’s not paying them to sit around eating all day,” Alana Johns grinned from her place on the other bed between Jedia and Starr.

“That reminds me,” Cassy Day piped up, “I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Jedia pointed out

“She has been since the day she was born,” Starr laughed, “Her first word was donut.”

“Are you serious?” Alana asked

“Is she ever?” Jedia gave Starr a playful shove, “You dork.”

“Owwww!” Cassy cried as the RV hit a bigger pothole and sent the girls flying backwards “Can’t you try and go around those ones?”

“You complain too much,” Alana’s mother called from the front seat, “This your vacation, you enjoy!”

“You no speak good English,” Alana shouted

“Shut up you stupid.” Mrs. Johns cackled as she ran over another pothole “You stink.”

“Owww!” Jedia and Kristine moaned.

“Your mother drives worse than Cassy does.” Starr remarked “At this rate we’ll be lucky to start the vacation in one piece.”

“Well there goes my bladder,” Cassy crossed her legs, “This stupid jumping RV isn’t helping. I’ve gotta go pee!”

“Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip,” Starr smirked

“Drip. Drip. Drip,” Alana, Jedia and Kristine picked up the chant.

Cassy squeezed her thighs tighter together, covered her ears and screamed. “Stop it!” She shrieked. “Guys, this is so not cool!”

“Just think about a bubbling brook,” Kristine pointed out.

“Or an ocean wave crashing on the beach,” Jedia offered.

“A light spring shower over the rainforest,” Starr laughed.

Alana sprang up and stumbled into the bathroom. “You no use my toilet!” her mother yelled “Hold it!”

Alana adjusted the handle on the shower, allowing the water to drip down, one drop at a time. “Hear that Cassy?” She asked.

“Bitch!” Cassy howled.

“Drip. Drip. Drip,” The other girls started up the chant again.

“Arggghhhh,” Cassy flopped backwards, smacking her head against the wall. “Crap! Now I’ve gotta go pee and I’ve got a headache!”

The five girls burst out laughing, leaning back and enjoying the ride now that they were traveling on a smoother road. They had only been apart for a year, but it was the first year they had spent apart since Alana had moved to the area in the seventh grade. They had called weekly, seen each other every month or so but it wasn’t the same as being together all day long like they had been throughout high school.

“Home sweet home,” Alana’s mother sang as they pulled into the driveway.

“Bathroom!” Cassy cried, bolting out the door.

The other four girls climbed out more slowly, stretching their legs and then eyeing the structure in front of them. “Alana, I have a question for you. If your family owns this...cabin, why the hell are we staying in an RV?” Kristine asked

“It’s not going to be finished for awhile. That’s why Dad wanted to come up here and yell at them.”

“I thought they were just building a tool shed or something,” Kristine shielded her eyes from the sun.

“It’s kind of a family tradition. This place has been passed down in my family since the mid 1800s and everyone who inherits it adds onto it or fixes it up somehow,” Alana’s pride was obvious as she looked up at the towering cabin. “My dad is fixing up the attic and the tower room and he’s already told me that I’m getting it after him. I know exactly what I want to add on already.”

“Is there enough room for all of us?” Jedia asked

“Trust me, there will be plenty of room, even after Kira and Livvy come up.”

“Where are they anyways?” Starr asked “I’m guessing they’re coming up later, right?”

“In a little over a month,” Alana replied “School doesn’t get out for a few more weeks and after that, Livvy has her tests for another week and then Kira graduates a week after that. They’re staying with Aunt Shelly and Uncle Hank until then.”

“I can’t believe Kira is graduating. It makes me feel so old,” Jedia complained “My little sister graduates next year and that’s even harder to believe.”

“How does the inside look?” Starr cut in, looking anxiously towards the door.

“We repaint with the magazine article.” Mrs. Johns came up behind them “Rooms look better now.”

“What magazine article?” Kristine asked

“Starr found this thing in one of her mother’s house magazines about how different color schemes are supposed to cause different moods when they’re used in different settings. Mom really liked the idea so when they redid all the bedrooms, they did them each with a different color scheme,” Alana paused at the top of the steps.

“So where’s the orange room?” Jedia grinned and elbowed Starr. Starr didn’t move but shot her an angry look.

“That was cold.” Kristine said softly

“Not according to Gestalt. I was thinking that it would be cool to make it a mood based theory, kind of related to Gestalt theory, where each color actually had some kind of hidden meaning. Gestalt theory is based around one main word, perception, the basic idea is that the whole is not equal to the sum of it's parts. It was a very popular theory once, but isn't really used much anymore. They would say that in reality, the fact that the color orange signifies intense feelings of maladjusted discrepancies within your internal cognition that orange as a whole is not the locus point of control here, cognitive discrepancies with perception are in fact related to the individual parts that make up the sum. Wait, I have another idea!"

Kristine gazed off into the woods while Starr began to study her fingernails intently. Alana tapped her foot impatiently "Can someone turn her off?"

Jedia ignored her comment and continued with her train of thought. "At times, the individual parts that make up the sum may also be the cause of internal discrepancy. The color "orange", as a whole, is non threatening in and of itself but the symbolism behind orange is only one part of what orange actually entails. What orange represents to you is a stretch from what orange may signify to another organism. I have a sense here that the fact that one part of orange significance to you is in fact based around a boy, that this causes cognitive instability to your inner child that may think of orange as being a part of a childhood memory. It could be like painting your childhood playhouse the color orange or sitting in the middle of a sandy beach eating an orange or orange may also signify a popsicle. All of these different cognitive scenarios make up the sum of the word "orange". So, what we have here is not merely a problem of a painful memory of a shattered and seared heart at the result of the tormented ego tripping of a teenage male, but an internal struggle between a teenager and her inner child. Thus, in conclusion, the color orange really is your way of wishing that you were still a child” Jedia paused to take a breath, “Right?”

“No Jedia.” Starr shook her head and started up the porch steps after Alana.

Kristine and Jedia followed quickly after them. “Oh my God.” Jedia breathed, staring up at the high ceiling, wooden beams stretched across the room. Thick couches filled a corner of the room, a dark contrast against the brightly gleaming wooden floors.

“Mom had this room designed mostly for Dad,” Alana explained, heading down a hallway “He just wanted a place in the house that didn’t look like it came out of Better Homes and Gardens where he could actually relax.” She shoved open a door “This is my room. Mom hated the shade but-“

”It’s you,” Kristine said simply, taking in the dark purples and blacks.

“I thought she had talked you into the lavender?” Starr asked

“She thought she had but I told the painters otherwise. It got her off my back until she saw the finished product. There’s a bathroom right next to my room to save everyone else the hassle of fighting me for it,” Alana straightened a pillow on the bed. “Come on, I want to show you the other rooms!” She took them on a whirlwind tour through the pantry, kitchen, dining room and sun porch before heading up the stairs.

“Guys! Where are you?” Cassy shouted “Ugh! Alana, your stupid dog is slobbering on me!”

“Upstairs,” Alana called back. “Maddy doesn’t like stairs, he’ll stay down there.”

“I still can’t believe you named your dog after a character in Willow,” Starr shook her head.

“Madmartigan had a nice ring to it,” Alana shrugged off the comment and opened a door to reveal a room patterned with pale yellow flowers. “This one is Livvy’s room. There’s a trundle bed under there so we figured that Livvy and Kira could share Kira’s room when they come up and two of you could crash in here.”

“What about the other two?” Cassy asked wrinkling her nose “This isn’t my idea of a nice room.”

“I like it.” Starr ran a hand over the dark wood of the bed and armoire. “It’s calm. The contrast turned out nicer than I expected.”

“There’s a pullout couch in the basement.” Alana told Cassy “It can fit three but there’s no reason to stick more than another two down there. There’s an extra dresser in the laundry room and a bathroom down there that should be finished by the time we come back up here.”

“Wasn’t this in the magazine too?” Kristine asked Starr “I thought Mrs. Johns said the house was designed from that article you showed me.”

Starr shook her head “This design came a few years before. It was just something I suggested to Mrs. Johns. I thought it would nice, but it really went well together. You know how Livvy is more girly than Alana and Kira are. Well, this room feels like her, it’s classic, cheery, and feminine all at the same time.”

“Right...” Alana trailed off “This one is Kira’s room. She brings up so many friends that Mom figured she’d be better off with two twin beds instead of a queen sized one.”

“They look like antiques,” Kristine noted.

“They probably are. Most of the furniture is from the attic and just gets switched around depending on what the owners want. The only things that my parents had to buy were for the living room, kitchen, laundry room and basement.”

A loud whine came from the bottom of the stairs. “Stupid dog,” Alana moaned, “No wonder Dad got him so cheap. Maddy, shut up!”

“Poor puppy,” Starr went to the top of the stairs and looked down. The husky pranced around at the bottom and whined again. “Come on Maddy, you can do it!” Madmartigan scratched at the first step and started to bark.

“He’s gorgeous but so dumb,” Kristine laughed. “Beauty times brains equals a constant, right?”

“What does that mean?” Cassy asked

“One goes up, the other goes down,” Starr replied cheerfully, peaking into the master bedroom and whistling. “This is bright.”

“You’re the one who mentioned the marriage colors. Mom took you way too seriously.” Alana opened the door so the other girls could look in.

“It’s...different,” Kristine tried to be diplomatic.

“I like it!” Cassy cried out, wandering in.

“You and your roses,” Jedia shook her head, “It just figures.”

“Well, it’s supposed to be romantic,” Starr pointed out. “At the very least it did accomplish that much.”

The girls eyed the rose patterned wallpaper and bedding against the white wicker furniture. “I can’t even begin to picture your father sleeping in here,” Jedia finally giggled.

“He threw a fit when he saw it but it’s really comfortable and after sleeping on it for one night he decided he could ignore what it looked like as long as he could get a good nights sleep,” Alana shut the door behind them. “You guys need to see the basement!”

Jedia, Kristine, Cassy, and Alana clamored down the stars, leaving Starr to walk more slowly behind them, studying the rooms and halls they had ran through. She and Alana’s mother had spent an entire afternoon, years earlier, redesigning the cabin for when it would come into the family. They had pasted pictures into a notebook that Starr was sure had been lost in the years between.

There were so many similarities between the fantasy cabin and the reality that Starr was shocked into silence. Livvy’s entire room was exactly how she had envisioned it from wallpaper samples and cut outs from the JC Penny’s catalogue. Her eyes shone with just as much pride as Alana’s had earlier. It wasn’t bad for a girl who was just going for a liberal arts degree at the community college.

Unlike the other girls, she had no idea of what she wanted to do with her life. Her only goal was to get away from her mother and from the suffocating small town life. “It turn out good.” Mrs. Johns came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I keep notebook, change some thing, leave other. You have good idea.”

“Thanks,” Starr murmured, looking up at the fake green vines wrapped around the eaves in the hallway.

“This your vacation, worry later,” Mrs. Johns gave her a playful shove. “Go have fun now.”

Starr smiled and made her way down the staircases into the basement where shouts of excitement engulfed her. “Starr you have to see this!” Kristine ran over to grab her and drag her around the corner where the other girls were standing around a pool table and a foosball table.

“It’s one of those three in one tables.” Alana flipped it open “Air hocky, foosball, and ping pong.”

“I take it your father put all this stuff down here to keep you all out of his hair,” Starr walked over to admire the stereo system tucked next to the big screen television. “This stuff had to cost a fortune!”

“The pool table has been here for ages but the rest of the stuff is brand new,” Alana unfolded the couch. “This is probably more comfortable then some of the beds in this place.”

Cassy threw herself down on it “I found my bed, where are the rest of you planning on sleeping?”

Jedia stuck her tongue out “Move over bed buddy,” She sat down. “Wow, this is nice!”

“It looks like we’re sharing Livvy’s room,” Starr dropped her arm on Kristine’s head. “Oops, sorry. I keep forgetting how short you are.”

Kristine stuck her tongue out “Vertically challenged, thank you very much,” She straightened her posture, trying to make her five foot two inches seem taller.

“Not all of us can beat the height average for women,” Jedia stood up next to her, crossing her arms over her chest

“Actually, none of you can,” Starr grinned.

“Shut up blondie,” Cassy sat up.

“It’s dirty blonde, thank you very much,” Starr shook her head and eyed the curls with disdain. “She’s the blondie.”

“Hey!” Jedia protested “I am not!”

“If you were any blonder, they would have overlooked the gender difference and put you in a boyband,” Starr pointed out.

“What are you saying about boybands?” Kristine asked, “How many CDs did we end up bringing with us?”

“I’ve got 9,” Starr grinned.

“I’ve got 7 here and some others I left at home because I knew Starr would be bringing them,” Jedia smiled sheepishly.

“I got rid of most of mine. I think I have two or three left,” Alana searched through the CD shelf, pulled out a case and blew the dust off of it. "Here’s my N’sync CD.”

“I just steal Starr’s,” Cassy shrugged.

“I just brought two with me,” Kristine started tossing a pool ball from hand to hand. “Guys, we’re just sad.”

“What’s wrong with admiring pretty faces?” Cassy asked

“Nothing for a little while,” Kristine admitted.

“Well, when you think about it, six years is only a little while in the grand scheme of things,” Starr smacked the side of her head, “Darn you philosophy!”

“Wanna see the best part of the room?” Alana asked

“What is it?” Cassy asked

Alana opened the small refrigerator that was tucked into a corner of the room and pulled out a few bottles of beer. “Anyone want a drink before we leave?”

“Alana, does your dad know you have that stuff down here?” Jedia asked as Cassy reached for one.

“Where the hell are they?” The girls heard Alana’s father upstairs. Alana grabbed the bottle back from Cassy and shoved them back in the fridge “We’re down here, Dad,” She called back.

“I’ll take that one as a no,” Starr muttered, “I thought she stopped drinking so much.”

“So did I,” Kristine turned away.

“Get your butts up here!” Mr. Johns shouted “We’re gettin’ outta here.”

The girls ran up the stairs and back out onto the porch. Maddy ran across the lawn, leaned down on his front paws before jumping up and barking. “Shuddup you stupid dog,” Mr. Johns shouted, waving his hat at him. “Alana, control him!”

“How did he get up the porch if he doesn’t climb stairs?” Starr whispered.

“They’re double wide so they might not bother him as much,” Kristine shrugged it off and climbed back into the RV. “How far away is the campsite, Alana?”

“It’s about a twenty minute drive,” Alana plopped back down on one of the twin beds.

“Come on Maddy,” Starr called, “He’s allowed in the RV, right?”

“Yeah, as long as we can keep him back here with us. Dad is getting sick of him in the truck,” Alana looked down at him and with a sigh, started to scratch his head, “Stupid dog doesn’t ever stop barking.”

It was another hour before they had the campsite set up with the RV and pop up camper surrounding the campfire that Mr. Johns had coaxed to life. “I claim one of the beds!” Alana shouted.

“I’ll sleep over the cab,” Starr offered.

“Then I want the other bed,” Cassy put in, “My parents have an RV like this and those table and cab beds hurt my back.”

“Which one do you want?” Kristine asked Jedia.

“I’ll take the table bed. I’m shorter than you are so it won’t be as tight a squeeze for me. That bed really isn’t good for more than one person anyways,” Jedia flashed her dimples.

“Looks like we’ll be bunking together the entire time,” Kristine turned to Starr.

“Awww…darn,” Starr scuffed her shoe. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather share with Alana’s parents?”

“You dork,” Kristine gave her a shove. The dog ran around them in circles, barking excitedly.

“Don’t push her,” Alana warned “Maddy has this thing where he assumes anyone fighting with someone else is automatically the bad guy. He’s kinda overprotective of Starr anyways.”

“I drove to the shelter with them,” Starr climbed up into the bed and dangled her head down. “We bonded while Alana drove home.”

“Okay, so now what are we going to do?” Cassy asked.

“Go get groceries!” Alana’s parents shouted.

“Guess that answers that one,” Alana grabbed her sneakers, “Come on and I’ll show you the town.”

The town of Wanakena, if it could even be called a town, wasn’t much more then the general store, an ice cream shop and a small souvenir stand that sold the craft items that the Adirondacks were known for. The wood carvings, stained glass pieces, and wind chimes weren’t what attracted the girls to the store. The small selection of jewelry drew them in and the penny candy jars drew cries of delight.

“N’er ‘ind gettin’ old.” Jedia said, happily sucking on a fire ball. “I can’t believe there are places that still do that.”

“Alana! Don’t snort the smarties!” Kristine exclaimed, “Starr, can’t you get her to stop?”

“Wha?” Starr turned away from where she was admiring her dream catcher earrings in the side mirror of a car parked on the side of the road. “Didn’t we stop doing that in elementary school?”

“I never tried it before. How bad could it be?” Alana crushed a yellow smartie in her hand and then sniffed the powder. “Holy fu-” She coughed, her eyes tearing up. “Why do kids do that in the first place? That stuff burns!”

“Idiot,” Kristine said affectionately “Let’s get these groceries back to camp.”

“Wake up!”

“Come on Cassy, it’s almost 10 already!”

“Get away from me!” Cassy buried her head under the pillow. “It’s too damn early!”

“Dude even Starr is up.” Alana tugged at the blanket “We’re hungry!”

“Eat without me.” Cassy moaned

“We’ll let you pick where we go.” Kristine said “Ice Cream shop, general store, or get really daring and drive out to McDonalds.”

“Ice cream?” Cassy lifted up her head.

“Oh lord.” Starr turned slightly green “Jedia, do you have any fruit? I don’t think I can eat anymore of that stuff. We’ve had it every morning for the past week.”

“Mmm, I feel like a chocolate sundae!” Cassy quickly climbed out of bed and pulled on yesterday’s shorts and a fresh tank top.

Jedia opened up the refrigerator and pulled out the last two apples, tossing one to Starr and sinking her teeth into the other. “We need to go back to the general store today.” She said between bites “We’re out of bagels, milk, juice, and fruit.”

“We’ll just put it on the tab and have Mom and Dad take care of it when they get back tomorrow.” Alana knelt down to search for her other sandal under her bed.

“If it doesn’t bother you guys, I think I’ll skip the ice cream this morning and just go swimming for awhile.” Starr picking up her beach towel and jammed her CD player and smaller CD case into a tote bag.

“We’ll meet you over there when we’re done eating.” Kristine offered. Starr smiled and nodded before heading out the door. The other girls went back to putting themselves together for the day as Kristine looked after her. Starr had been getting quieter since they had started their vacation. She needed her time alone to sort through her thoughts every once in awhile and she wasn’t getting her alone time with all five girls being together almost all day long. Kristine doubted the other girls remembered the times when Starr had been just as happy with life as the rest of them. Mr. Monroe had run out on the family after Starr’s younger sister, Amber, was born. Her family life had gone downhill from there. Mrs. Monroe was a firm believer that discipline and control were the keys to any healthy relationship. Starr was fiercely independent and fought her mother every inch of the way.

Kristine could understand her anger about losing a father to an extent, she had lost her own to cancer but she couldn’t even remember him anymore. She had been five when he died and although she understood that Daddy had gone to heaven, the concept of death had taken several more years to sink in completely.

She smiled to herself as she made her way down the main trail to the center of Wanakena. Her mother had kept their family together after her father’s death. They had sold their big house and moved to a smaller one right outside of Copenhagen when Kristine was just starting school. After another year or so, her mother had met a man at work and remarried, throwing her three older brothers into a fit, threatening to leave home. Carl had his work cut out for him, trying to charm three stubborn boys, all in their late teens. Kristine took to him nearly immediately as a surrogate father, she was too young to judge him for more then what he was. It took nearly three more years before they were all able to laugh around the dinner table again. Kristine had taken on his last name when she was 10, when her memories of her own father started to fade.

He had been a great man. Everyone who knew him still passed stories of his successes in surgery around the area. Tom, Jim, and Jon all looked more like their tall, strong father while Kristine was a pleasant combination of both parents. She was getting through her general education requirements at the community college with Starr, looking into cancer research programs as she went through her two years.

“You’re quiet this morning.” Jedia remarked “Something wrong?”

“Why would you say that?” Kristine asked

Alana laughed “You’ve been stirring your sundae for the past fifteen minutes and it’s just soup now.”

Kristine looked down into her plastic bowl and started laughing with them. “I guess I’m just worried about Starr. She’s been getting moody again.”

“She’ll snap herself out of it in a few days.” Cassy scraped the last of the chocolate sauce out of her sundae bowl. “She always does.”

“I’m not really hungry either.” Jedia dumped her fruit pop in the trash “Do you want me to go look for her?”

“She’ll be down at the bridge.” Alana shrugged “If you want to go check up on her go ahead."

Starr shut her eyes, soaking in the sun rays on the large rock she had made her bed on. She had turned her CD player volume up, tuning out the world around her. “But when the night is falling and you cannot find the light, if you feel your dreams are dying, hold tight. You’ve got the music in you, don’t let go, you’ve got the music in you.” She sang softly, rolling onto her side and curling up.

She sat straight up as a small wave of water hit her legs. A group of college aged guys had hopped off the small bridge and started shouting and splashing each other. She tugged her shorts back on and moved herself further back into the shade of the trees, out of their immediate sight range. Guys never looked at her the way they did her friends and although she was used to it, it still left an empty aching inside her.

She took out her New Radicals CD and searched through her book for something with a harder sound. “That one is kinda cute.” Jedia plopped down behind her. “Are you okay?

“I’m fine, I just didn’t need them staring at my fat.” Starr reluctantly removed her headphones.

“You’re not fat.” Jedia protested “Did you try and talk to them?”

“What’s the point?” Starr slipped on her tank top, covering the black spandex of her bathing suit. “It always ends up exactly the same.”

“You’re not that bad.” Jedia nudged her “When you’re not in super bitch phase at least.”

Starr’s lips turned up slightly as she gazed out over the swimming boys “Thanks Jedia.” She said finally.

“Don’t get all mushy now.” Jedia shook her finger at Starr “Actually, never mind, go ahead and gush away. It’s good for my ego!”

“What ego?” Starr quipped, standing up with a grin on her face “Are we doing anything else today?”

“Alana mentioned hiking up one of the north trails we haven’t looked at yet. There’s supposed to be a really pretty view from a ledge up there.”

“Sounds good.” Starr grabbed her CDs and player and jammed them back in her bag. She draped her arm around Jedia’s shoulders, squeezing slightly. Out of the five girls, they had the most unpredictable bond. Their feelings ran hot and cold in irregular cycles all through high school, driving the other girls crazy trying to keep up.

They were complete opposites in almost every way; Jedia was as motivated, upbeat and self assured as Starr was unsure and pessimistic. Jedia couldn’t bring herself around to see the shadows in the world that Starr couldn’t overlook while Starr couldn’t find any reason to see the glass as half full.

Jedia went to college with a full semester of classes under her belt, courtesy of a program for advanced students in high school. By the time everyone else was nervously waiting the letters from the colleges that would determine their future; Jedia had been offered full scholarship from three prestigious universities throughout the northeast. She didn’t want to wander too far from home so she entered the honors program at Syracuse University with a major in psychology. She threw herself into her classes, attempting her first research experiment before the end of the year.

Starr could barely make the effort to go to her classes, let alone finish the homework. She didn’t care about it, college was just something she had to do when they stopped letting her go to high school, at least if she didn’t want to work at Burger King for the rest of her life. She picked a liberal arts major because she didn’t have a clue about what she really wanted out of her life. Starr was the epitome of apathy, taking general education classes that she would sleep through and pass with Cs and Bs.

Starr could never deny her affection for her friend, but at the same time she resented almost everything about her. Jedia was so goddamned perfect at everything she did, there was no point for Starr trying to compete. Starr couldn’t even win her own mother’s affection and admiration over the other girl. Mrs. Monroe was always comparing the two of them, asking Starr why she couldn’t be more like Jedia, why she couldn’t get Jedia’s grades, why she didn’t apply herself to activities like Jedia did, why she wasn’t as devout a Christian as Jedia was and on and on and on.

Starr tried to please her mother for awhile before she gave up on her grades, on her clubs, on God, and focused on being as different from Jedia as she could possibly be. If Jedia thought it was a beautiful day, Starr would point out the only gray cloud in the sky, hovering miles away. Oddly enough, it was at this point in time where their friendship became even stronger. When Starr stopped trying to compete with Jedia, she stopped losing to her and was able to focus more on making herself stronger.

“Look who decided to rejoin humanity.” Alana tossed a bottle of water to each of them. “What took you so long?”

“Boy watching.” Starr replied dryly “Too bad you missed it.”

“Nice looking ones too,” Jedia grinned, “dripping wet in the sunlight. How long has it been, Alana?”

“The rate I’m going, I’ll be a born again virgin.” Alana grumbled “Not like anyone else here can say otherwise. Jedia’s the ice princess, Starr’s the queen of third base, Kristine hasn’t gotten laid in about four years, and Cassy...”

“Don’t bother bringing me into it.” Cassy worked her hair into a ponytail with a smile “Matt came over the night before we left to say goodbye.”

“I though you two broke up.” Kristine started up the trail

“We did.” Cassy shrugged, “We’re not getting it from anyone else so why bother going without?”

“You don’t love him.” Jedia protested

“I love sex.” Cassy retorted “He’s just really good at it.”

“Stephan and I tried that but it didn’t work out." Alana said, "He figured that if I was coming back to him at night that it meant I wanted to get back together which I definitely didn’t. He went crying to his father about it and the next thing you know, I’m living back at home with the reputation of the village whore. My father loved going into work and hearing about that one.”

“How old is he?” Jedia asked in disbelief

“Twenty-seven if you can believe it.” Alana snickered “I swear to God that when we had a fight instead of sleeping out on the sofa like any normal guy his age, he went home to mommy and daddy until it was over.”

“Pansy.” Starr muttered “You wouldn’t let me castrate him why?”

“It’s more fun to see his face every time I go into the pizza place.” Alana swatted a mosquito on her arm. “It’s not like JR was any better.”

“Who’s JR?” Jedia asked

“Her most recent.” Starr replied, “It only lasted a month or so while you were at school.”

Jedia looked over at her; Alana was getting better at wearing her masks every day. She was everything everyone expected her to be, doing anything to have a good time that would help her forget the bad ones. If Starr had always been jealous of her mother’s admiration of Jedia, Alana was always envious of the close relationship Starr had with Mrs. Johns.

Alana’s parents expected a lot from their oldest daughter academically, socially, and career wise, but instead of making any attempt to be what they expected, Alana did exactly the opposite. She chose to please herself instead of making an effort to make them happy. She loved being in the center of attention, having men fall over her and other girls envy her and in order to do that, she would compromise almost any other part of herself.

“Thirsty?” Alana asked Cassy with a grin.

“Depends on what you have.”

Alana pulled two full Pepsi bottles out of her bag. "No thanks." Cassy replied

"Don't judge it." Alana shoved the bottle into her hands before taking a long drink out of her own.

"Where did you get the rum from?" Cassy asked after the first sip

"I picked up a bottle from Dad's cupboard at the house. He doesn't drink the stuff often and probably won't even notice it's missing." Alana held up the two other full bottles, "Anyone else want some?"

“You were going to cut down.” Jedia put in

“I am!” Alana argued “I’m just enjoying my vacation.”

“Here I thought the four of us up here with you would be enough to allow you to do that.” Starr glared at her “I’m so thrilled to be replaced with a fucking glass bottle.”

“You’re not one to talk.” Cassy put in “You were drinking just as much as we were a few years ago.”

“The main difference being that I stopped. That shit doesn’t even taste good.” Starr shook her head and lengthened her stride.

Cassy and Alana shrugged at each other, downing the last of their bottles and leaving them on the ground. “I don’t see what the big deal is.” Cassy glared ahead to where Starr was making her way down the trail.

Jedia kept silent. She doubted Alana and Cassy even remembered the night Starr swore she’d never drink again. They were still partying when Starr called her in tears, sobbing about a guy and not really wanting it after all. Jedia finally calmed her down enough to realize what had happened and drove over to Cassy’s at three in the morning to grab Starr and take her to the hospital.

It turned out she had gotten away from the guy before she was raped but was still shaken up. Jedia had chewed Cassy out for opening up her house to complete strangers and putting her friends in danger. Starr seemed to get over it quickly enough but Jedia was never completely sure she had put it behind her. She hadn’t dated a boy since that night, not like she had dated many before that.

Alana wasn’t right when she called Jedia an ice princess. It wasn’t that she thought she was too good for the guys she met; it was just that she didn’t have the time in her life for a serious relationship. There had been times that she found someone at college she wanted to get involved with but they always made it clear that they wanted her to spend her time with them and not with the books. She knew what she wanted to do with her life and she wasn’t about to put it on hold for a college fling.

Her parents had always supported her, scrimping and pinching for a year in order to get her a used car so she could start working and saving up money to get into a really good college. What she didn’t use for food and gas, she saved away, eventually paying them back for her car and insurance.

Her cousin was born severely retarded and had to be put in a home at a very young age. Her aunt and uncle had two other children who demanded their time and they weren’t capable of giving Grace the care she needed. Jedia wasn’t impressed with the care she saw her cousin receiving in the home and wanted to help improve things. She took a job there but the doctors and house managers weren’t interested in what a student had to say about their methods.

She hated it when people wouldn’t take her seriously just because she didn’t have her doctorate yet. They cared about their paychecks; she was the one who actually cared about the patients. When she graduated college, she was going to get a job there if it killed her and there were going to be some major changes made. Grace had her entire life ahead of her and it wasn’t too late to fix things for her or for the other patients who would come in after her.

“Oh wow!” She heard Starr exclaim “You were right, Alana!”

The other four girls hurried up to find her standing in a small clearing on a mountain ledge looking down at the river. “This is so pretty!” Jedia breathed. “Look at the sailboats, you can barely see them from this high up.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Cassy shot Alana a grin. “Got anymore?”

“Always do.” Alana tossed her another bottle. Out of all the girls, Cassy was the one she could count on for a good time. Cassy didn't care about the possibilities of trouble, she wasn't a prude, and she was the only one of the girls who could out-drink Alana. Mr. Day owned a pharmacy and a used car lot, both of which had been in the family for a few generations. Cassy was an only child and her parents let her have whatever she wanted as long as it wasn’t too excessive. Cassy always had money to do whatever she and her friends felt like doing at the moment and she didn’t care about anything that might get in their way. Sure Cassy was more spoiled than the rest of them but she had the right to be. Alana smiled to herself, if she had the kind of money Cassy’s family did, she’d make sure she spoiled herself.

She smirked, remembering the year she and Cassy had ended up in the same gym class. Every stupid friendly game had ended up as a blow to someone’s pride. Cassy had all the athletic gifts Alana lacked, but what Alana lacked in skill she more then made up for in the desire to win. They were able to laugh about it now, but it was anything but funny back in high school. Alana hated losing, she hated it when someone stole her spotlight.

Her place was up on stage in front of an applauding audience. That was her home, she didn’t care if she had to act, sing, or dance her way up there. Her parents thought it was a hobby, they didn’t realize it was her passion. If she couldn’t live on the stage, she didn’t want to work anywhere else. She was saving up to move out to Los Angeles the first chance she got and no one was going to stop her.

Not her parents, not her friends, no one.

“When are we moving up to the cabin?” Cassy swatted a mosquito “I’d kill for a hot shower about now.”

“Washing your hair in the lake isn’t fun anymore?” Kristine teased

“Dad is going to check it out again on their way back. He’s getting pissed about the hold up. We should have been able to move in at the beginning of this week but they were too damn slow again. I guess they had to hire a few new guys to speed it up. Too bad that’s not going to be good enough for Dad.”

“So where do you want to go now?” Jedia stood up and dusted the pine needles from her jeans

“We can go swimming if you want.” Alana offered “Or we could head back a mile and pick up another trail if you want to keep hiking.”

“Let’s just go back to the bridge.” Kristine waved away a fly “There are way too many bugs up here.”

“Let’s hope our swimsuits actually dried for once.” Cassy dropped her empty water bottle on the ground before she hopped over a fallen log.

“That’s right, you guys need to stop back at the campsite, don’t you?” Starr picked up the bottle and jammed it in Kristine’s bag, shooting Cassy’s back a dirty look.

“We could go skinny dipping.” Alana nudged Jedia who immediately blushed

“It’ll only take a few minutes to get changed.” Jedia said quickly “If we walk faster we might even be able to catch those guys who were down there.”

“You heard her.” Alana grinned “Boys are always worth speeding up for.” The girls sped up their pace down to the RV.

“Where did I throw my suit?” Kristine climbed into the bed over the cab and searched through the piles of blankets and pillows.

Cassy pulled up the thong bottom of her red bikini and picked up her towel from the end of her bed. “Didn’t you hang it out last night?”

“I thought I remembered changing out of it.” Kristine muttered, tossing a sock down from the bed

“I was looking for that!” Jedia exclaimed, shoving the sock in her duffle bag.

“How did your sock end up in our bed?” Starr asked from where she was sitting in the driver’s seat.

Alana zipped up her jean shorts over her purple bikini. “You’re all crazy.” She laughed “Kristine, it’s hanging on the line.”

“Really?” Kristine poked her head out the RV door. “There you are!” She grabbed the blue racing suit, ran back to the camper and changed quickly. “Are we ready to go?”

“We were just waiting for you.” Jedia pointed out, sitting in the seat next to Starr in her dark green tank suit.

“Let’s just go.” Alana charged out of the RV and picked up an easy jog to the bridge.

“Watch out!” Cassy jumped off the low bridge “Holy shit that’s cold!”

Kristine dove in after her “Wimp.” She teased, splashing Cassy “It was worse yesterday.”

Starr jumped in and started treading water “It was warmer this morning.” She crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her upper arms “A lot warmer actually.”

Jedia and Alana dove in and swam over “Whose bright idea was this?” Alana asked, her teeth chattering

“Yours.” The other four girls shot back

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if someone hadn’t told me that there were hot guys swimming down here.” Alana splashed Jedia

“Hey!” Jedia tried to block it “There were earlier.”

“And you thought they’d really stay in the water for four hours?” Alana pointed out

“Why not?” Jedia asked “We’ve done it.”

“I should really call home once we get up the cabin.” Starr said, floating on her back “Mom’s orders. There is a working phone up there, right? My cell hasn’t got a signal since we got here.”

“Maybe because we’re in the middle of a mountain range?” Kristine pushed Starr under the water.

She came up for air with a cough “You think my mother is going to let something like science count as an excuse? Isn’t there anyone you need to get a hold of?” Kristine fell silent “What’s wrong?” Starr asked

“He called me before we left. I hadn’t heard from him in years and wasn’t really expecting it.”

“Dog boy?” Cassy asked. Kristine nodded.

“I don’t know what’s with these guys lately. Rick called me a few months back to let me know he was back in town and to see if I wanted to hang out. I ran into Tyler at the grocery store and he mentioned how he wanted to take me out to dinner. Is it so wrong to want my ex-boyfriends just to stay out of my life?” Kristine ducked below the water.

Cassy and Starr shared a look over the bubbles popping on the surface above her head. “Let’s get out of here.” Alana scrambled up the rocks and wrapped her towel tightly around her “I’m freezing!”

Starr dipped her arm under water and pulled Kristine back to the surface. “We’re going to get going. It’s just too damn cold.”

“We might as well go pick up the groceries and head back to camp. We don’t have anything for dinner right now.” Jedia pointed out, wringing her hair.

“We’ll just put it on a tab for Alana’s parents to pay off when they get back.” Kristine slid her sandals back on.

“What do you mean you won’t let us do a tab?” Alana protested “We’ve been here for over a week and we’ve paid it off every time we had to use it.”

Mr. Siera sighed “That was for a few things. You’ve got fifty dollars worth of groceries here.”

Alana looked down at the pile of groceries and frowned. “It can’t be that much.”

“Fifty-five eighty-six.” He tapped his fingers against the aged wooden counter. “You need collateral for a tab like this.”

“Oh fine.” Cassy stripped off her shirt “This is my favorite. New it was worth about fifty. Is that good enough?”

The other girls started laughing as the elderly man blinked, blushing as he looked at Cassy in her bikini top, holding out her shirt. “Just have your parents come in here as soon as they get back.” He took the top and made a note on a piece of paper. “Alana, I need you to sign this for me.”

“I can’t believe you did that.” Kristine laughed as they lugged the bags out of the store.

Cassy looked at her with a smug smile “We’d get the groceries one way or another.” Kristine smiled back at her and did a quick spin in the middle of the road. She always seemed to be so happy, Cassy thought, there wasn’t much that could get her away from her cheerful disposition. Even when she had gotten upset at the bridge, she didn’t want to show it.

Cassy never really knew what was going through Kristine’s head. She hadn’t dated anyone since her few months with Rick back in high school and she didn’t seem to be looking anymore. Rick was by far the easiest split she had experienced and the only one she had tried to stay friends with for after, even though it didn't end up working out that way. Brett and Tyler were two other stories. Cassy shuddered as she remembered the possessiveness of both boys, remembered how they had tried to shove Kristine’s friends out of the picture.

Kristine had dropped both of them in the end. Her friends were second only to her family and no guy was going to budge in front of them. They were like a family, Cassy noted with another smile, five dysfunctional sisters. She never had any siblings of her own. Cassy was the younger of a set of premature twins but her brother hadn’t survived the week. Her mother couldn’t have any more children after that and they chose to be happy with the daughter they did have.

She had more then she needed but she wasn’t spoiled, not completely. Her parents gave her anything she asked for within reason but only if she took care of it. The first and only time she got in a car wreck by being stupid and showing off for her boyfriend at the time, she was car-less and working at the local gas station until she could pay for half of a new car. No, her parents were too down to Earth to let her become a spoiled only child.

“Hey look!” Alana shouted “It’s a car!”

“Oh my lord.” Starr pressed her spare hand to her forehead “I always thought they were just myths.”

“It’s a van if you really want to be specific.” Jedia shielded her eyes from the sun “A really big blue one.”

“Shut up.” Alana eyed the vehicle driving slowly down the dirt road. “They’re actually following the speed limit, they aren’t from around here.” She dropped her bags and looked at Cassy “Wanna play chicken?”

Cassy’s smile broadened “You know it.” She set her bags down next to Alana’s and did a quick set of stretches.

“Guys, is this really a good idea?” Kristine asked nervously

“Party pooper.” Cassy grabbed one of her arms. Alana took her bag and dropped it before grabbing her other arm. The two of them pulled and dragged a protesting Kristine towards the oncoming van.

Starr sighed and picked up two more of the bags. “Shouldn’t we stop them?” Jedia asked

“Nah, Cassy’ll pull out in time. I don’t think Alana would want to scare Kristine that much.” Starr gazed down at the road as man prepared to meet machine head on.

“Guys, aren’t you going to get out of the way yet?” Kristine dragged her feet in the dust, trying to get the two other girls to slow down.

“Not yet.” Alana replied cheerfully

“Hey, I think they just noticed us!” Cassy exclaimed, “They’re speeding up!”

“This just got more fun.” Alana sped up her jog, forcing Kristine and Cassy to keep up with her.

“Not having fun....not having fun...so not having fun.” Kristine chanted, still struggling against them.

Kristine saw her life flash before her eyes as the van came even closer. 50, 40, 25 feet away. She felt bile rising in her throat as she made eye contact with the driver, mentally pleading with him to stop, to save her from eating the pavement.

He didn’t. When the van reached the 10 foot point, Alana shoved Cassy and Kristine as she rolled over to the other side of the road. Kristine felt the dust settle over her and coughed before commanding her legs to hold her and rising. “You idiots!” She screamed “You could have killed me...and you...and then how would Starr and Jedia spend the rest of their vacation? I’m sure they’d love to stay up here crying over your bloody stains on the road.”

“Uh-oh.” Starr commented “She’s flipping out. Grab that other bag and we’ll make sure they’re okay.”

Jedia nodded and the two of them walked down the road. The passengers of the van poured out, helping Alana and Cassy up or staring at them in shock. “If I would have known they’d pull something that stupid, I would have helped Kristine.” Starr grumbled “They’ve never let it go that far before.”

Jedia started to nod but stopped short. “Starr?” She asked, “If I’m hallucinating, don’t you dare wake me up.”

“Are you alright?”

“I told you to slow down!”

“Did any of you get hurt?”

“Dammit…I didn’t think they’d come that close!”

Kristine, Alana, and Cassy stood in silence as the five guys talked over and to each other. “Holy shit!” Starr stopped short as she and Jedia came running up. “Is that what you were talking about?”

Jedia nodded, her eyes wide in shock.

“There’s more of you?”

“They must be the smart ones.”

“Are any of you going to say anything?”

“What do you want us to say?” Starr finally snapped out of her trance

“How about if you three are okay or not?”

“We’re fine.” Alana dusted off her jeans “Cassy and I would have gone further if it wasn’t for her screaming.” She pointed at Kristine.

“Why weren’t you two running?”

“Someone had to carry the groceries.” Starr muttered. She elbowed Jedia “You know, you can still speak.”

“Are you guys really the Backstreet Boys?” Jedia finally squeaked.

“Naw, we’re ‘Nsync in disguise.” AJ shook his head. Starr snickered, her eyes brightening.

“Aw shit man, no way.” Nick protested, “That means I’ve got to be Timberlake.”

“If I’ve got to be Chris, can I at least go without the dreads?” Howie asked

“So that makes me Lance?” Kevin asked

AJ faced Brian “Who gets to be JC?”

“You’re Joey.” Brian laughed, “Just go out and get a Superman tattoo and you’re set.”

Kristine shook her head “This is so not happening.” She said “I was hit by that damn van and this is just a really fucked up dream to keep me occupied while I’m in purgatory.”

“Yeah, right.” Starr scoffed “If you can still see Cassy, Alana and I, there’s no way you’re in purgatory. Welcome to hell, honey!”

“Only one way to find out.” Kristine turned back to the boys “Are you guys gay?”

She was met with two blank stares, a grimace, a head shaking, and a “Not last time we checked”. Kristine turned back to Starr with a smug smile on her face “See, not in hell.”

“Then you’re obviously not dead.” Starr shrugged

“There’s logic for you.” Alana patted Starr on the back.

“Did he run over your shirt or something?” Nick looked down at Cassy’s bikini clad chest.

“Pervert.” Cassy shook her head “I traded it for our groceries.”

“So why are you up here anyways?” Jedia asked, looking at Nick and frowning.

“If you were looking to play a show, the city is back that way about 6 hours.” Starr pointed out.

“We’re not touring right now.” Kevin said

“If you read the website at all, we’re supposed to be working on a new album but as you can see, that’s not really working out either.” Brian shrugged

“So instead of sitting in a studio and working out some music and lyrics, you chose to drive around in a really ugly blue van?” Alana asked doubtfully

“Well, when you’re trying to keep a low profile, tour buses and limos call a bit too much attention, especially up in this area.” AJ put in.

“This was actually just supposed to be a stop on our way up to either Vermont or New Hampshire. We figured they’d be slightly quieter and we’d be able to rent a place for a few weeks so we could regroup and breathe.” Brian added, “I didn’t realize how dead this part of New York was.”

“North of the middle of nowhere.” Kristine smiled.

“We’ll probably crash here for a few days and then keep going. The paparazzi is bound to notice if we’re anywhere for more than that and the last thing a place like this is going to need is a bunch of deadline-driven assholes who don’t care about anything other than getting their stories in.” Nick cracked his neck, glancing around at the forest.

“They’d have issues trying to get up here in the first place.” Alana pointed out, “It’s pretty hard to get up here unless you know the roads pretty well. Most of them aren’t labeled and sneak up on you. Plus, I highly doubt any of them would be smart enough to get an SUV or truck. Little cars go through hell on these roads.”

“So do vans.” Howie and AJ said in unison

“So where do we go to get a campsite?” Kevin asked

“Well, you would stop at the main office if it wasn’t a Sunday.” Alana pointed out. “No one is going to be in until about 8 tomorrow morning.”

“Do you even have any tents or anything?” Kristine asked.

“Don’t they have cabins up here?” Brian asked.

“Only privately owned ones.” Cassy said cheerfully, “Looks like you boys are going to be roughing it.”

“Awww, fuck.” Nick groaned.

“We’ve got an extra tent back at our site that we’ve been using to store our extra stuff in. If you guys feel like crashing with us for the night, a few of you could sleep in there and the rest of you could probably find a way to sleep in this thing.” Alana nodded at the van.

“You aren’t going to run off with our clothes to auction off on ebay, are you?” Brian asked.

“Past experience?” Starr asked.

AJ grimaced “The clothes wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t taken pictures of me in and out of them and offered those as a bonus to the highest bidder.”

Cassy whistled, “What did you do to piss her off?”

“Realized that I was spending more to keep her happy then any man every should have to spend and cut her out of my piggy bank.” He said dryly.

“We’re not like that anyways.” Jedia put in “Right girls?”

“Well, I was looking for a new way to pay off the college loans.” Starr looked at the other girls “Kidding!”

“You want to talk to me about loans.” Kristine grumbled “If I don’t manage to get into a decent research organization after graduation, I’m going to be seriously out of luck.”

“All of you are in college?” Howie asked.

“College aged.” Alana corrected “I’m just working right now. School was never really my thing.”

“Kristine and I just go the community college. Cassy is out in Albany and Jedia goes to SU.” Starr said.

“So are you guys coming with us or not?” Cassy asked, tapping her foot “I’m hungry.”

“Oh yeah, food.” Starr shoved one of the bags into Cassy’s arms “Thank you so much for sticking Jedia and I with these.”

“I guess it’s the best idea, at least for tonight.” Kevin said “We’ll get our own campsite tomorrow so we won’t have to impose.”

“You won’t be tonight anyways.” Jedia said “Alana’s parents are gone and there’s plenty of room.”

“Are they going to be okay with us staying there?” Brian asked.

“Only one way to find out.” Alana said cheerfully, taking a bag from Jedia.

“Hop in.” Howie opened the door of the van.

“I’m still driving.” AJ announced, pulling out the keys

“No!” Nine other voices shouted

“I’ll drive.” Kevin held out his hands for the keys. “Will one of you sit up front with me so you can give me directions?”

Alana hopped into the front seat, leaving the other girls to crowd into the back in between the guys. “Jedia, you have the boniest butt in the world.” Cassy shifted underneath her.

“Sorry!” She exclaimed “Are you going to pay for the surgery to get that fixed?”

“Ass implants?” Nick asked with a snicker “That’s one I haven’t hear about yet.”

“It’s the J-lo surgery.” Starr said, staring out the window, “They even engrave her logo on the finished product.” AJ snorted from his place next to her. She turned her head to look at him, a slight smile playing around her mouth. “No blue?”

“Too noticeable.” He shrugged, running his fingers through his dark brown hair. “How long did it take you to get those curls in?”

“Natural.” She said, “Color and curls. I’ve meant to dye it something else for ages now but you know,” She shrugged, “there’s the Mom factor.”

“You’re how old?” He asked, “Why can’t you do it on your own?”

“There’s that whole thing about her letting me live under her roof, eat her food, and those things. She informed me if I was going to try and change what God gave me, I could just forget about all that other stuff.”

“Sucks. I guess my mom really was a strange one. She didn’t care what I did with my appearance as long as I was happy with it.”

“If she has a book out, I’d like to get a copy for my mom.” Starr muttered.

“You’ve got to cut her a little slack.” Kristine put in “Yeah she’s a little strict-"

“Try overbearing, super-bitch.” Cassy put in

“She just doesn’t want to lose you too.” Kristine finished.

“You lost someone in your family?” Kevin’s eyes were sympathetic in the review mirror.

“It’s more like he lost us.” Starr shot Kristine a dirty look. “Dad walked out on us eight years ago and never bothered to look back. I got a birthday card from him for the next three yearsand then they stopped too. You can’t let her use that as an excuse. Your Dad is gone too but your mother didn’t turn into a bitch because of it.”

“She found someone else who made her happy. Your mom hasn’t been able to yet.” Kristine pointed out.

“My dad tried to get back in touch with me finally.” AJ pointed out, “Of course this came after we were getting really big so I’ve always had to wonder if he came back because he wanted me to be a part of his life or if he wanted his share of the cash. At that point it had been Mom and me for so long; there wasn’t a void in my life for him to fill any longer.”

“I don’t want him back.” Starr said venomously, “I appreciate him giving me the other half of my life, but if he thinks he can treat me like a piece of garbage and then come strutting back to open arms, he’s dead wrong.” AJ gave her knee a quick squeeze, his eyes full of understanding.

“This is it.” Alana pointed out their site. “Just pull in behind the RV.”

Maddy struggled against his chain, barking and running around, jumping up and down.

“You’ve got a dog?” Brian asked.

“I guess you could call him that.” She said “His name is Madmartigan.”

“Maddy.” Starr offered “The other is a mouthful.”

“Can he run around loose?” Nick asked.

“As long as there are people around here, he shouldn’t run away.” Alana shrugged.

“Kick ass!” Nick said, hopping out of the van and over to Maddy. The dog jumped up on him, trying to lick his face. He gave out a happy bark and then started to run circles around the people getting out of the van.

“Hey boy.” Starr smiled, kneeling down and hugging him, unhooking his chain. Maddy licked her face and offered his paw. “Good boy. Where’s your ball?” Maddy cocked his head, his ears perking up. “Go get your ball.” She said, pointing to it. After a moment of looking around, Maddy ran over to grab the lime green squeaky football. Starr took it from him and tossed it to Nick. “He’ll keep fetching it as long as you keep throwing it.”

“Brian! Catch!” Nick threw the ball across the campsite to Brian. Maddy ran between the two of them, jumping and trying to snag the ball out of the air, barking excitedly as the two men started laughing.

“I don’t know who’s having more fun,” Kristine remarked, “the dog or those two.”

“You don’t ever want to be pent up in a car or a bus with those two.” AJ cracked his neck, “They go stir crazy after about two hours.”

“Do you want to start getting dinner ready?” Jedia asked Kristine.

“Might as well.” Kristine started searching through the bags, “Looks like we’re either doing hot dogs or spaghetti tonight.”

“Let’s go with the pasta.” Jedia pulled the three jars of tomato sauce from another bag “I don’t want to see another hotdog.”

“Alana’s father is a firm believer that when you’re camping, it’s hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage and potato chips until you puke.” Cassy explained. The green football hit her shoulder and she chucked it back to Brian.

“Nice arm.” He smiled “Come on!”

“Do you need me to help with dinner?” Cassy looked longingly at the game of catch.

“Go ahead, hun.” Jedia smiled sweetly at her. Cassy didn’t need any further permission. She grabbed her Yankees cap from the line and jumped in front of Brian to steal the next throw. Brian tackled her from behind, sending them both into the grass. Maddy ran around them in an excited circle, eventually trying to pull the ball out of Cassy’s grip. When he freed it, he ran it back over to Nick who threw it for him again, as Cassy and Brian tried to untangle themselves.

“So is it just hot dogs that you don’t like or are you a vegetarian?” Howie asked

“I’m not much of a meat eater to begin with. I’ll eat fish and chicken but I just don’t like the taste of beef and pork” Jedia explained with a sheepish smile “Most of the time, I’ll try and choke down one or two because I don’t want to offend Mr. Johns.”

“Do you need any help cooking?” Howie asked.

“If you want to, we aren’t going to object.” Kristine said cheerfully, handing him the bag of vegetables “Do you want to take care of the salad while we try to get the water boiling?”

“Try would be the key word here.” Starr put in, nudging Jedia with a grin “With Jedia around, the water will probably burn before it boils.”

“Like you can really talk,” Jedia retorted “At least I’ve never burnt Cheerios.”

“That was a fire hazard they forgot to tell us about in school.” Starr shrugged “Just remember to keep Kristine away from the bowls.”

“Shut up, Starr.” Kristine handed her the largest pot Alana’s mother had packed. “Can you go get the water for this?”

AJ, Howie, and Kevin stood around speechless. “Are you all seriously that bad at cooking?” Kevin asked finally.

“How in the hell do you burn water and Cheerios?” AJ asked.

“When the pot boils dry and starts smoking because you’re too busy gabbing on the phone, that’s burning water.” Kristine explained.

“The Cheerios thing was just Starr being oblivious.” Jedia said. “She was making her ramen and the box was too close to the burner. Next thing you know, you’ve got Cheerios-flambé.”

“The cat still ate it!” Starr shouted from the water faucet.

“It looked like kitty food by the time we got the fire out.” Jedia laughed.

“Guys, we may have a bit of a problem.” Kristine pulled the three boxes of spaghetti from the bag. “This would be enough for five of us...but I’m not sure about 10.”

Starr came slowly back with the huge pot, water sloshing out onto her clothes. “Well...you guys are celebrities, aren’t you on the starve yourself skinny diets?”

“You’re joking, right?” Kevin shook his head.

“Just ignore her.” Alana shook her head and pulled her class ring out of her pocket. “I’ll go back to the store and trade this for a few more boxes of noodles.”

“Or you can let me go with you and pay for our half of the groceries so you can keep your ring.” AJ put in.

“That’ll work too.” Alana slipped her ring back into her pocket. The store closes in about half an hour so if we’re leaving, we better go now.”

“We’ll get everything else ready.” Kristine waved the two of them off and turned to watch Howie and Kevin cutting into the vegetables with the knives Starr had found for them.

“They’re like two human vego-matics.” Jedia said in awe.

Alana snickered as she started heading down the road with AJ at her side. “You girls seem like you’ve known each other for a long time.” He commented

“Well, they’ve known each other longer than they’ve known me.” She kicked a small rock down the road. “I moved back up here in the seventh grade. The other four have known each other since the first grade.”

“It feels like the five of us have been together forever.” AJ said after a pause. “We’ve been together as a group since 1993 but your friends have been together for even longer than that. I can’t even imagine it.”

“Mmm.” Alana stared straight ahead. “What did you have to do to get a record deal in the first place?”

“Why, do you think you’d want to deal with this shit for a living?” AJ pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered her one. Alana took it, placing it between her lips and leaning it into the flame from his lighter. She took a long drag and exhaled.

“I don’t think I’m going to do it, I know I will.”

“You can think you know all you want but a lot of it comes down to dumb luck.” AJ blew the smoke off to the side and looked Alana up and down quickly. “You’ve got the body for show business but there’s more to it than that.”

“Are you saying I have no talent?” Alana threw the cigarette on the road and stomped it out.

“I’m saying what your chorus teacher wrote on your report card might not be enough to cut it in the music business.” AJ looked disdainfully down at the nearly whole cigarette.

“Give me a song.” Alana crossed her arms over her chest “I’m dead serious, just give me a damn song to sing and not any of that stupid pop shit.”

“You know any Broadway stuff?” He asked,

“Enough of it.” She said, tapping her feet. “Just pick something.”

“You’ve got to know My Fair Lady.”

“I can do one song from it off the top of my head.” Alana ran through the scales a few times and then went into I Could Have Danced All Night, the song she had sang for her final high school solo. AJ listened with a frown on his face, searching for something to pick apart. Even in an impromptu performance without much of a warm up, her voice had a clear strength to it that was hard to come by. Her technique was primitive but he couldn’t deny the natural talent. “Well?” She asked, smirking.

“You need to take more formal voice classes.” He sighed “You know you’re good, there’s no reason for me to keep telling you something you already know. You’re not going to get a record deal with what you have right now, but if you were able to refine it, you might have a shot.”

“Thanks.” Alana gloated internally. It was a step down the right path and she’d force herself down there the rest of the way. Their music might suck, but if she could get one of them to talk her up to their company and agents, she could make it out of New York sooner than she had dared to hope.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, AJ pulling out a second cigarette when he had smoked the first down to the filter. He eyed her from behind his sunglasses, trying to figure out what about her made him want to chain smoke through the entire pack. He wasn’t even sure how long they were going to be staying there. If she was going to be around, he was going to need a few more packs. “I’m sorry about that.” He finally muttered. “I shouldn’t have insulted you like that.”

Alana looked pleased. “So there is a decent guy inside you somewhere.”

AJ laughed shortly. “Babe, do you have any idea of the number of girls I’ve had to listen to who thought they could sing and I could be the one to land them that record deal? Just take a wild guess.” Alana opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off again “Actually, don’t bother guessing because I couldn’t even remember them all if I tried. You are good, better than I’ve heard in a long time but I wasn’t kidding about the work you’re going to have to put into this if you’re serious.”

“I’ve been serious about this since I was 8.” She shot back “You know how some kids know by the time they enter junior high that they want to be a teacher or a computer geek? I’ve known since I was a kid that I was going to be a star. I can sing, I can act, if I had to, I’ll throw on a clown suit and learn to juggle if I have to but I will see my name right next to yours in some gossip magazine before my prime years are over.”

AJ whistled “With that attitude, I can’t see anyone trying to tell you no.”

“I’d like to see them try.” Alana flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“So you’d be willing to go against your friends and family and leave them all behind just to get what you want?”

“My family knows what I want and they’ll deal with it. If my friends don’t love me enough to want to see me do what makes me happy, then they aren’t really friends, are they?”

“What about if you met someone?” AJ rolled his eyes behind his glasses. Where had that question come from?

“He better be able to keep up with me.” Alana pushed open the door to the store.

“You’re back again?” Mr. Siera shook his head and put down his newspaper.

“Just for some more pasta but we have some money this time.” Alana grabbed the boxes of spaghetti and looked longingly at the liquor. “God I wish I was 21 right now.”

“How old are you then?” AJ asked

“Kristine and I are going to end up turning 20 while we’re up here. Starr and Jedia are 20 already and Cassy is 21.” Alana took the ten dollars he offered her and went to pay for the food.

AJ eyed the alcohol uneasily. He was supposed to be cutting down. It was another reason he agreed to going on a trip into the middle of nowhere, it was supposed to keep him away from his stocked fridge, to help him get some of that need out of his system. He couldn't see what difference a few beers could make in the program, maybe a drink tonight wouldn’t hurt him. “Kevin is going to kill me for this.” He grabbed out a case, not sure if any of the other girls would drink but knowing very well that the other guys would, if only to keep him from going overboard. “Do you sell cigarettes here?” He asked the man at the counter

“You’re not buying that stuff for her, are you?” The man behind the counter asked

“Do I look stupid?” AJ asked

“Right. What brand?”

“Marlboros.” AJ replied “A case if you’ve got it.”

“ID?” The man asked

AJ pulled it out of his wallet and tossed it on the counter for the guy to study. When it was pushed back to him without any comment, he had to smile. Maybe there was something to living in the middle of nowhere. There were no screaming girls asking for hugs, pictures or autographs. He could go into a store without having to watch out for the paparazzi waiting in the bushes outside. The only girls who recognized them seemed to be pretty cool with it. If their entire fan base was like those five, they might be able to use their concerts to concentrate on their music rather than sex appeal. “$17.86.” The man muttered after a moment, taking the twenty and giving him the change.

AJ took the bag with his cigarettes and grabbed the two cases. “You bought beer?” Alana asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Yeah.” He handed her the cigarette bag “Do any of your friends drink?”

“Cassy will. Starr gave it up back in high school and I don’t think Jedia or Kristine would.”

“Party poopers.” He shook his head

Alana’s smile lit up her eyes “Just means there’s more for us.”

“So let’s start over.” AJ took off his sunglasses and took a deep bow. “I’m AJ McLean, boyband stud, sarcastic prick, and full-fledged alcoholic who still enjoys the occasional alcoholic beverage although I’m not supposed to.”

Alana laughed “I’m Alana Johns, disappointing daughter, party animal, destined to be in the entertainment industry, and a former fan of yours.”

“So you did listen to that poppy crap at some point in your life!” AJ pointed a finger at her “I knew it!”

“Don’t get too full of yourself.” Alana shook her head “This street is only big enough for one of our egos and mine was here first.”

“Aww, babe.” AJ draped his free arm loosely around her shoulders, “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

"About time," Kristine looked up from the pot of sauce to where Alana and AJ were coming up the road laughing.

Starr studied them silently. "Oh lord," she said "Take a look at what she talked him into buying."

"He didn’t," Kevin’s eyes darkened.

"You're that against underage drinking?" Jedia asked.

"No. He was supposed to stay away from drinking while we're on this trip. It's one of the reasons we decided to travel around like this instead of how we normally do," Howie gave the vegetables in the bowl a few more tosses. "We all like a few drinks but he's been drinking more and more lately and it's starting to effect us as a band, not to say anything about his mom. He’s been good about staying away from it so far but this might be it."

"Wouldn’t it be okay as long as he didn’t go overboard?" Starr asked.

"Probably not," Jedia set down her spoon and stared off into space. "It’s not just that he was co-dependent on an inanimate object. That alone would bring down his self worth and self esteem. It eventually triggered off a series of events that ended up harming himself and the people he was closest to, causing this overwhelming feeling of guilt that he’ll probably carry with him every time he takes a drink. The few beers he’s probably planning on having won’t effect him much, considering the alcohol content and such, but the memories of guilt and low self esteem can probably still inflict some serious mental and emotional damage."

Howie leaned over, "Does she always go on like that?" He whispered to Starr.

Starr had to force back a laugh. "Psychology major. You get used to it after awhile," She whispered back, "She re-diagnoses me once a week or so. You wouldn’t believe the mental problems I have according to her."

Howie’s eyes crinkled in the corners as Jedia droned on in the background.

"Okay, we get it," Kristine interrupted finally. "Beer is bad for him."

"Exactly!" Jedia exclaimed.

"Good luck telling him that," Kevin shook his head again as AJ and Alana came up, their faces flushed. "Why did you buy that?" He asked AJ.

AJ set it down by the picnic table before answering. "I figured we had something worth celebrating with a few drinks. I don’t plan on getting drunk if you’re worried about that."

"You know that stuff that comes out of the faucet for free?" Starr asked, "Well, it’s just as easy to celebrate with that."

"Don’t even start," AJ held up his hand. Starr clamped her mouth shut and turned away quickly to start slicing the bread.

"Give me a break, Starr," Alana handed Kristine the bag with the pasta. "Just because you don’t want to have fun doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t. He’s not going to be able to drink it all on his own anyways, right Cassy?"

Cassy looked up and was immediately tackled by Nick and Maddy. "Beer!" She cried out, her voice muffled by the dogpile.

"Dude!" Nick hopped to his feet. "You’re seriously gonna party?"

Brian took the football from Maddy, his face holding the same apprehension as Howie and Kevin.

"Do any of you drink?" Kevin asked in a low voice as AJ and Alana went to join the football game.

Starr and Jedia shook their heads. "I can do wine and stuff at weddings and dinners but not beer," Kristine said with a delicate shudder.

"I gave it up in high school," Starr added in quickly.

Howie looked at Jedia. "What about you?"

She shrugged. "I never wanted to try it. Why?"

Kevin dropped his voice to a whisper "I was almost hoping you girls did, even if it would just be to drink it so he couldn’t."

"That’s an interesting form of intervention," Kristine noted.

"It works though. By the time he’s through his second, we normally have the rest gone but then again, we’re normally around girls who are bigger drinkers," Howie explained.

"Why not just keep stealing cans and hiding them?" Jedia suggested.

"He’d probably find them that way," Starr sighed, "Why don’t we just pretend to drink them and pour them out?"

"He’d probably smell it," Kristine put in. "You’d actually have to drink it or dump it down a drain or something."

"Alana’s mother would murder us if we used the RV sinks," Jedia reminded them.

"We’ve got the air freshener to take care of the smell in there," Kristine said. "If we really needed to, we could probably get rid of a few of them that way."

"Thanks," Kevin said, sounding more relieved. "If each of you could get rid of two then Brian, Howie, and I can hide away a few more. Between Nick and your other two friends, we should be able to keep him to three or four."

"Anything to help," Kristine said cheerfully, dumping the noodles into the boiling water.

It really wasn’t much help, Starr realized watching AJ down his eighth beer. For every one they dumped, it seemed like he drank two more. Cassy was too busy talking, she wasn’t drinking nearly as much as the others expected her to. Brian must have warned Nick about drinking too much before he was brought into their plan because Nick was only nursing his third.

Alana and AJ on the other hand, were draining can after can like it was soda. Starr had gone to enough parties with Alana and Cassy to know that Alana was starting to feel it. She was a flirty drunk and was already crawling into AJ’s lap to nuzzle at his neck. Starr wanted nothing more than to shove her off.

AJ’s laughter just got louder after Alana took her seat. So much for taking it easy, Brian noted. Jedia grabbed two more cans from the case and snuck back into the camper to dump them. It’s not like it mattered anymore, the two of them were too drunk to realize their alcohol was disappearing and Cassy was too distracted by her conversation with Nick to care.

Howie took a quick look inside of the case and took out the last two, handing one to Kevin. They quickly drank them down, tossing the empty cans into a nearby trash bag.

Alana started laughing at something AJ said and almost immediately fell to the ground. Her tumble just made her laugh even harder as she reached for another can. "Wha?" She held up the box and peered inside "All gone?"

"Who drank all my...my beer?" AJ demanded, getting shakily to his feet. He pointed a finger at Kevin "Was you...weren’t it?"

"You’re drunk," Kevin said, disgustedly. "I’m sorry but I really don’t want to see any more of this. Why don’t we figure out who’s sleeping where because I’m ready to hit the sack."

"Well, if Kristine squeezes into the table bed with Jedia, then Cassy and I can take the one over the cab," Starr suggested. "That’ll open up one of the beds in the back of the RV. You could probably squeeze two into the tent and then two more in your van."

"I’ll sleep in the van," Kevin said. "We’ve got a few blankets in there."

"I’ll stay with you," Brian offered. "Nick, are you sober enough to deal with AJ?"

"Yeah, I’ll take care of the lush," Nick agreed with a grin.

"You girls sure you don’t mind a guy staying in your camper?" Howie asked.

"Nah," Cassy said. "You’ll be sleeping right across from Alana and none of us want to be the one she pukes on if she wakes up."

"Well, it seemed generous at first," Howie shrugged.

"Found it!" Alana pulled the half empty bottle of rum from a small cooler. "Party on!"

"Fuck yeah!" Cassy pumped her fist in the air.

"I’ll stay out here with them," Nick offered.

"You just want to get your share of the rum," Brian shook his head.

"Aww...Rock, doncha trust me?" Nick playfully punched his shoulder. "I won’t drink too much more."

"Do what you want," Brian shrugged and followed Kevin into the van.

Jedia yawned as she, Starr, Kristine, and Howie made their way into the RV and turned on the light. "Umm, Howie?" Jedia asked sheepishly, "Would you mind locking yourself into the bathroom for a few minutes so we can change?"

"Sure thing," He shut the door behind him only to hear three loud squeals erupt. Oh lord, he thought pressing his hand to his forehead, just when he was beginning to think they were free of screaming girls for awhile. It wasn’t that he and the other guys didn’t appreciate their fans, but the constant screaming did give him a headache after awhile. It was a welcome change to find girls that knew who they were, seemed to be fans and could act completely natural around them.

"You can come out now," Kristine called.

Howie walked back into the main area of the RV to find Kristine and Jedia wearing their long t-shirts brushing their hair on the smaller lower bed. Starr was laying down on the bed over the cab, one ankle hanging over the edge of the bed swinging back and forth. "So why did you wait for me to go away before you started to freak out?" He asked.

Jedia tossed her hair brush back into her bag "We’re still fans and we still needed to get it out," She explained. "Seriously, I think that’s the only time it’s going to happen. It just felt like we were going to explode if we didn’t let it out soon and we would have rather done it when you guys didn’t have to listen to it."

"She’s right," Starr said. "It seems too natural now that you’re all here and it’s harder to act like raving fangirls than it was at your concert."

"What do you mean, natural?" Howie asked.

Starr rolled onto her back and smiled up at the ceiling "You five just fit in too well with us. You can’t tell me you’re not comfortable with us or you never would have wanted to stay the night."

"Night ladies," Howie said, making his way to the back of the RV and flopping into the made up bed. Comfortable with a group of fans? He wasn’t exactly sure what she was talking about. They were always comfortable around their fans, the fans were what kept them going. Sure there were times when they didn’t feel good or when they were tired that they would have preferred to have gone back to their hotel rooms than stand around taking pictures and signing autographs but they were completely comfortable with that spotlight on them, they couldn’t perform otherwise.

No, he realized, he was comfortable with these girls but it was on a different level, a personal level instead of a professional one. It had been an entire day and the girls hadn’t asked for pictures, hugs, autographs or anything. Instead they had given everything they had to make sure that he and the other guys had a hot meal, a mostly enjoyable evening, and a place to sleep. He was sure there were other fans that would do the same, but he wondered how many of them would be able to give up so much without asking for anything in return.

Howie opened his eyes at the sound of a scream and tried to peer through the darkness as the RV door shut. He hit the backlight on his watch and gazed down at it, 3:30. "Fuck!" The figure grunted as it knocked its elbow against the counter. Howie blinked the sleepy haze out of his eyes and focused on the figure stumbling through the RV. "Howie?" The voice whispered

"Back here," He called softly. "Nick, I thought you were sleeping out in the tent with AJ."

Nick fell into the other bed. "I would have except AJ already has another bed buddy and I didn’t need to listen to that shit all night."

"What about Cassy?"

"She’s outside with Brian," Nick rolled over to face the wall.

"I thought Brian went to bed already."

"He did. I’m surprised you managed to sleep through that one. That woman screams like a banshee," Nick sat up and pulled off his shirt. Howie winced when the red spots caught the little bit of light that was filtering into the camper.

"What did you do to her?"

"It’s that easy, isn’t it?" Nick scoffed. "It’s so fucking easy to be on the side of the women. She was hitting on me all damn night, rolling around in the dirt with me and B in her fucking bikini top and then sits there and talks to me all night long like I’m the only one she gives a damn about and then when I try and give her what she’s acting like she wants, she starts punching the shit out of me, screaming and calling me a pervert, and starts howling until Brian comes out of the van to find out what’s wrong. He tells me to go to bed and then takes her off for a walk to try and calm her down."

"Jesus, Nick, are you saying you tried to...?"

"Do I look that fucking stupid? I just started to kiss her neck and when she didn’t seem to have issues with that, I went for her bikini and she smacked me and screamed."

"You’ve both had too much to drink," Howie rolled back over. "Just go to sleep and hopefully she’ll be over it in the morning."

"Whatever," Nick muttered into his pillow.

"Jedia, are you sure you remembered to put water in the pot first?" Kristine teased as she continued buttering the toast.

"Screw you," Jedia laughed, dumping the oatmeal into the boiling water. "Whoa, looks like someone didn’t sleep so well." She noted as Brian stumbled out of the van.

"Coffee?" He pleaded, staring at them with blurry eyes.

Kristine grabbed a thick mug from the stack of dishes and poured him a cup. "Dear God, thank you." Brian gulped at the burning black liquid.

"Someone actually made coffee?" Cassy asked, walking out the door in her pajamas "Awesome!" She took the mug from Kristine and began to pour the cream and sugar in.

"Are you okay?" Brian asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah, I’m fine now," Cassy looked up at him with a smile. "I’m just surprised I don’t have a hangover after last night."

"It’s not the hangover I was worried about," Brian set his empty mug down. "Just remember what I told you last night, he’s not a bad guy."

Kristine kept an ear towards their conversation as she handed out coffee to Howie and Kevin. She guessed it had something to do with Cassy’s scream last night. She and Jedia had just assumed Cassy and Alana were having another beer-induced screaming contest.

She and Jedia were usually the early risers. In the hours before the others woke up they managed to start breakfast and clean up the mess of bottles and cups from the night before. The last thing they needed was for Alana’s parents to come back and find the evidence of the party.

"Morning!" Starr sang out, coming out of the RV in her jeans and t-shirt.

"What in the world got into her?" Jedia asked Kristine in a whisper.

"Beats me," Kristine replied, putting the plate of toast on the table. "Check the oatmeal, it should be almost done."

"Do you need any help?" Starr asked.

"Umm..." Kristine took a quick look around the campsite. "If you wanted to drag those trash bags over to the dumpster, that should be the last thing we need to do before her parents get back."

"Okay," Starr turned to go pick up the two black trash bags only to be greeted by Alana and AJ climbing out of the tent. From the smug look on Alana’s face and the two red blotches on her neck, everyone was able to guess how they had spent the rest of their night.

Starr’s sunny smile faded quickly as her face paled. "Oh," She said softly, turning to grab the two backs and rushing down the two campsites to the dumpster.

"I’m starving," Alana announced. "You guys made breakfast already? You so rock!"

Kristine forced on a smile, handing her and AJ the last two mugs but her eyes followed Starr. "Well, that explains that much," She mumbled.

"Doesn’t it figure?" Jedia took a bite from her piece of toast. "It was a nice change while it lasted though."

Kristine turned back to the table with a smile but inside she was furious. AJ and Starr had hit it off fairly well the day before. He was the type of guy that Starr had been looking for and Alana went ahead on the spur of the moment without given any thought to anyone else. "You may want to clean up and put on some cover-up before your parents get home," Kristine nodded to Alana’s neck.

Alana’s hand flew up to cover them "Oh shit," She swore. "My father is going to fucking kill me, and probably you too," She glared at AJ.

AJ held up his hands. "Dude, it’s not like I was doing anything you didn’t want me to."

"Cassy, can I borrow your cover-up?" Alana shot him another dirty look before heading into the RV with Cassy.

AJ took out another cigarette and jammed it between his teeth. "Can you...not do that here?" Jedia asked, "The smoke gives me a headache."

"Whatever," AJ lit up, shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked away.

"She better hurry up," Kristine gestured to the road. "Her parents are back."

Starr sat down at the end of one of the benches next to Howie, staring off into space. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She forced a smile, but it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. "I’ll be fine," She replied. "Don’t worry about it."

"What the fuck is going on here?" Mr. Johns stepped out of the truck. "We leave for two damn days and you have a fucking orgy? Who the hell are these guys and why the fuck are they at my campsite? Where the hell is Alana? Alana! Get your ass out here now!"

Mrs. Johns climbed out behind her husband and began to laugh. "Stupid, you send boys home at dawn."

"Someone better start explaining," Mr. Johns glared at the five guys. "Someone else better find my damn daughter."

"They were just planning on staying here for a few days," Kristine spoke up. "The ranger station was closed yesterday so they couldn’t rent their own campsite and they didn’t have any tents or anything so we said we’d make room for them here for the night. They ended up using the tent, their van, and the two beds."

"Well the station ain’t closed any more. One of them can drive down and get their own damn site," Still fuming but looking less furious, Mr. Johns grabbed a slice of toast from the stack.

"They old," Mrs. Johns looked Kevin up and down. "Too old for girls."

"Hi Dad!" Alana and Cassy came running out of the camper "I didn’t hear you pull in."

"We just heard you screaming after," Cassy sat back down next to Brian.

"What on your neck?" Mrs. Johns squinted.

"Oh, that," Alana shook her head. "That’s what I get for sleeping with someone else’s pillow. Jedia has one of those harder feather pillows and I couldn’t get comfortable on it so I was moving around a lot last night and it must have irritated my neck."

"Yeah, that better be what it is," Mr. Johns began to pull bags of food from the back of the truck and set them on the ground. "You guys need to go get your own site. Gary is down at the station now. Just go back into the town, make a left after the general store and you’ll see it down the road about a mile."

"I’ll go," Kevin grabbed the keys from his jacket pocket and drove off down the road.

"So who are these guys anyway?" Mr. Johns frowned.

"Kevin is the one who just drove off, AJ is over there smoking, and this is Brian, Nick, and Howie," Jedia pointed them out.

"You’re all a bunch of pretty boys, what are you doin’ tryin’ to camp?"

"We wanted to try something new," Brian shrugged.

Mr. Johns gave him a curt nod before going to help Mrs. Johns put the groceries away.

"Oh yeah, Dad?" Alana called. "You need to stop back at the general store. We owe him $50 for groceries."

Cursing came from the camper, making the girls giggle.

"That was really nice of your father to lend us that other tent," Kevin commented to Alana later on in the afternoon.

"It was even nicer of him to help you put it up," She grinned. "He just didn’t think a bunch of pretty boys would be able to pitch their own."

Brian grasped her wet shoulders "What pretty boys?" He asked, pushing her under the water.

Alana came up sputtering "Asshole," She muttered, brushing her hair out of her eyes and glancing at the others around her. Nick and AJ were playing chicken with Kristine and Jedia and until then, Cassy and Brian had been racing each other back and forth, waiting for the other to give in. Howie was floating near Kevin, relaxing but still keeping an eye on everyone else. Starr was sitting at the edge of a flat rock, dangling her legs into the water scribbling into one of her notebooks.

"Aren’t you going to get in?" Kevin asked.

Starr looked up and shook her head. "I just want to finish this chapter."

Howie swam over and hoisted himself next to her. "Short story?"

"Not so short anymore," She smiled. "This one is kinda my baby."

"Kristine...no!" Jedia screamed as Kristine knocked her and Nick backwards into the water.

"You’re vicious at this game," AJ knelt down so Kristine could get off his shoulders.

"I played with Cassy for too long. If you don’t get vicious with her, you lose," Kristine looked over to the rock. "Come on Starr, you can finish that later."

"Just a minute," Starr chewed on the end of her pen. "I’ve lost a word."

"What one this time?" Kristine asked.

"Her skin was..." Starr kicked at the water a little bit. "Not shimmering..."

"Dripping?" AJ suggested.

"Not really. It’s not like she’s swimming or anything."

"Glowing?" Brian splashed Cassy, making her laugh.

Starr thought for a moment. "That’s closer and it would work but it’s not what I’m looking for."

"Shining?" Jedia offered.

"She’s not a lightbulb," Starr laughed. "Although it would add an interesting element to the bedroom scenes."

"Glistening?" Howie read the paragraph from over her shoulder.

"That’s it!" Starr exclaimed happily, jotting it down and shutting her notebook. "Thanks!"

"No problem," Howie grinned and pushed her into the water.

"Out of curiosity," Kristine asked, "How many days did you reserve your site for?"

"Three," Kevin replied, "but if we want to stay longer we can."

"It’s all going to depend on how long it takes the paparazzi to find us," Brian put in. "This is the longest we’ve gone without them in awhile."

"I told you that you’ll probably be safe up here," Alana objected.

"You underestimate what they’re willing to do to get a few photographs," AJ said.

"I bet most of your fans would do exactly the same thing," Starr floated on her back, closing her eyes.

"That’s creepy, but true," Howie helped Jedia on his shoulders while AJ put Kristine back on his. "They mean well enough though. The paparazzi just wants to meet their deadlines and get the best stories and pictures to sell."

"That’s what you get for being successful," Starr pointed out. "You could be a deadbeat like me and then everyone would leave you alone."

"Okay, I’m cold," Cassy climbed out of the water and wrapped herself up in a towel. "What’s for dinner?"

"Dad’s cooking so I’ll give you a guess," Alana said cheerfully, getting out after her.

The other eight members of their group climbed out of the water laughing and talking. Cassy glanced behind her at Brian who was shaking the water out of his hair. God he was cute and athletic and funny and cute and sweet and charming and cute. She smiled back at him, her eyes twinkling. "You look cold," Brian draped his towel over her shoulders and rubbing them softly.

"How can a girl be cold with a hottie like you around?" Cassy nudged him with her shoulder.

"Oh dear me, I do believe you’re coming onto me," Brian feigned a Scarlett O’Hara accent, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"Now is that such a bad thing?" She gave him a playful shove.

"Terrible thing," Brian shook his head sadly and then cracked up laughing. "Nah, just playin’ with you babe."

"Ooo, keep playing baby," Cassy swayed her hips.

"Will you two stop flirting and hurry up?" Alana shouted from down the road.

"They’re fun," Jedia said, sitting on her bed that night, brushing Cassy’s hair.

"Alana, you’re not sneaking over to be with AJ?" Cassy asked.

Alana finished taking off her make-up. "No. It was fun last night, don’t get me wrong but I’m not into him like that. I probably wouldn’t have slept with him if it wasn’t for the beer."

Starr looked up from her notebook, her eyes pained. "Does he know that?" She asked.

"If not, he’ll get the hint pretty damn fast."

"You know, I think I’m really getting sweet on him," Cassy commented.

"It’s only been a day," Kristine laughed.

"Yeah, well, we’ve had a lot of time to talk and he just works with me, ya know?"

"You said that about Matt too and you guys didn’t even last a month," Jedia protested. "You knew him longer too."

"I dunno. Brian is different, more mature I guess," Cassy flopped down on the bed. "Come on, Jedia, be happy for me."

"You know I am," Jedia smiled. "Just take it slow, they might not even been here long enough for you to try and start anything with him."

"Even if we don’t. He’s still fun to flirt with," Cassy stretched and yawned. "I’m going to bed. Night girls!"

"Same here," Alana and Cassy climbed into their beds at the back of the camper.

"You okay, Jedia?" Kristine whispered.

"I dunno. I’m happy for Cassy but..."

"You think she’s rushing?" Starr asked.

"No, it’s just I was hoping he’d see something in me," Jedia dropped her voice so low the two girls had trouble hearing her. "It’s okay though, I’m glad Cassy found someone that makes her happy, even if it’s probably only for a little while."

"I thought you had a thing for Nick though," Starr said.

"I did until I met him. Talk about disillusionment. I just never thought someone that cute could be so..."

"Crude?" Starr offered.

"That’s exactly it. He swears and drinks and stares at Cassy’s boobs and who knows what else. He’s just not the pretty blonde boy I expected," Jedia turned into her pillow. "It’s no big deal. They’re only going to be here for a few days and it was great while they were here."

"Oh Jedia," Starr climbed out of her bed and hugged her friend. "None of us are going to end up dating them, but it was nice to actually meet them and we’ve spent more time with them than most girls ever will."

"Yeah, you’re right. I should just be happy for what we do have. I think I’m just over tired. Night guys."

"Night, Jedia," Starr said. climbing back into her bed. Kristine’s breathing leveled off quickly leaving Starr to pull out her flashlight and small notebook she had been using as a journal.

I should have been happy to find out Alana didn’t want him but for some reason, it made me even more upset. It’s like she took the one thing that meant the most to me, tried it out and threw it away because she didn’t like it instead of just leaving it behind for me. I know I told Jedia that they’re only going to be here a few days and not to get too attached to them but I’m having trouble following my own advice. Something about these five guys feels so right with the five of us, I just wish they’d give up show business and stay with us. I know it’s not going to happen, it’s the kind of stupid fantasy I thought I gave up at thirteen.

I just wish AJ would have noticed me instead of Alana.

Starr closed the notebook and curled up under her blanket, blinking back tears and finally let them fall silently into her pillow.

“Oh Jesus!” Starr groaned. “Don’t you two have an off button or something?”

Cassy and Brian separated quickly, the same sheepish grin on both of their faces.

“Don’t worry you two,” Jedia objected. “I think it’s sweet.”

“It was sweet five days ago,” Starr said. “Now it’s just giving me a cavity.”

“Jealous?” Cassy retorted.

“Yeah, right,” Starr scoffed. “I’ve seen bullfrogs catching flies with better technique than that.”

“Wanna find out for sure?” Brian teased, blowing a kiss at her.

Starr backed up a step, holding up her hands. “If I ever want that much of Cassy’s spit, I’ll go and suck on her toothbrush for awhile.”

Ewww!” Kristine and Jedia gagged over the scrabble game they had set up on the picnic table with Kevin and Howie.

“Waxing,” Kevin spelled out, marking down the points.

Kristine glared down at the board, “I’m going back to playing with Cassy and Alana. At least then there’s a shot in hell that I might actually win a game,” She grumbled.

Jedia stared down at her pieces, the letters flowing together. She had been right when she decided not to pursue an interest in Brian. He and Cassy had shocked everyone by starting a relationship about a week and a half after they met. Although they stayed quiet about it, Jedia sensed that most of the guys were completely bewildered by his actions.

She supposed that it was because they hadn’t know each other for very long but Jedia and the other girls were willing to overlook it. It was like what happened in college, people started dating within days of knowing each other because they were around each other so much, it seemed like a lot longer. Cassy and Brian had been spending more time together in that week and a half than they had apart. They were completely natural together, it seemed like they had been a couple longer than 6 days.

They wouldn’t talk about what would happen if the guys suddenly had to move on, at least not with anyone else. Jedia couldn’t blame them, why worry about the future when the present seemed nearly perfect? The three days had come and gone and the press still hadn’t found them. The boys had talked it over and although Nick was pushing for them to leave and find a more comfortable place to stay, the other four were content camping out and just having a good time with the girls.

“Do you want to go for a walk or something so we can stop grossing Starr out?” Brian asked.

“I’d rather go for a swim,” Cassy grabbed her suit off the clothesline.

“Fine with me.” Brian looked back over to where Starr was completely absorbed into her writing once again.

“Do you want to go with them?” AJ asked Alana from where they were sitting near the fire, a few empty bottles around their feet.

Alana gulped down the rest of her Jack and coke, shuddered at the burn, and shook her head, getting up from the lawn chair and going over to watch the scrabble game. AJ followed her after a beat, resting his arm lightly around her shoulders. “Stop doing that!” She finally exclaimed, shrugging away from him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, taking another drink from his coke bottle. It was straight Jack Daniels, just the way he liked it. Alana had been shuddering at the taste since they opened the bottle but she was pushing her way through it, just like every other girl he had been with lately.

“Just leave me alone,” She clenched her hands in fists at her sides. “I don’t need you following me around like I’m a fucking toddler, alright? If my parents were here my father would kick your ass for even trying it.”

“If your parents were here we wouldn’t be able to drink this stuff either,” AJ took another gulp and grinned.

Alana wrinkled her nose. “Your breath seriously reeks like that shit. You better brush your teeth before they come back.”

AJ watched her stalk away and chucked the rest of his bottle into the woods. He had never been with a girl who tossed him aside after only one night. Just looking at her made him hot, she was the only other person he had ever met who could match him drink for drink and still have enough ego to fight back against him whenever she felt the need to.

She was also currently sitting on Nick’s lap, kissing his neck and snuggling up against him. AJ felt his body temperature skyrocket and he saw crimson through the black lenses of his sun glasses. Who the fuck did Carter think he was, coming onto his girl like that?

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” AJ growled, clenching his fists at his side.

Alana stepped away from Nick, not even bothering to hide her satisfied smirk.

“Dude!” Nick exclaimed. “I wasn’t doin’ anything!”

“Bastard,” AJ gritted his teeth. “There are four other girls here, why are you trying to get with her?”

“I’m not yours!” Alana yelled at him, “So we had sex, big fucking deal. If Nick wants me, I’m still fair game.”

“But I don’t want her!” Nick protested. “She was coming onto me! It’s not like I asked for it...”

AJ swung his fist out only to have it caught by Kevin. “You’ve been drinking again,” Kevin said with disgust. “Nick, you might as well take a walk. He’s not going to calm down as long as you’re still here.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Nick whined.

“That doesn’t matter when he’s like this and thinks you did,” Kevin pointed out. Nick threw his hands up in the air and stormed off down the road. Kevin let AJ go long enough to pluck up the pot of water sitting by the camp stove. He quickly dumped it over AJ’s head and set the empty pot back down. “Maybe now you’ll cool off,” Kevin muttered, walking away.

“What did you do that for?” Kristine grabbed Alana and pulled her aside, “You don’t even like Nick.”

“Maybe I do,” Alana objected, trying to pull her arm out of Kristine’s grasp.

“No you don’t. You would never go for a high maintenance pretty-boy even if someone paid you to do it. Why in the world would you do something like that?”

“It’s none of your business,” Alana shot back.

“Cut it out, Alana,” Kristine said with a shake of her head. “Right now I’m the only one who gives a damn about what’s going on in that twisted little mind of yours. All those guys see is a girl who can’t keep her pants on. You’ve got your friends to back you up and you still won’t let us. I don’t know what’s going on between you and AJ but why did you drag Nick into it?”

“AJ was getting on my nerves,” Alana admitted with a sigh. “I told him to back off but I knew he wouldn’t unless I did something to make him hate me.”

“So instead of actually talking this through with him, you’d rather see him attack his friends so you can play the role of the independent woman?” Kristine asked in disbelief.

“Look, I’m not as fucking smart as you are,” Alana yanked her arm away. “So sue me already.”

“I’m sorry for getting upset at you,” Kristine said softly. “I just wish you knew the damage you might have just done. They’re good friends Alana, they’ve known each other for over a decade and if you did something to break up that friendship, you could hurt them as a band and really disappoint millions of people across the globe. This goes so much further then you wanting him to leave you alone and there are so many other ways you could have taken care of the situation. If it really got bad, you could have come to one of us or even any one of those guys for help dealing with it. You don’t have to be as alone as you seem to think you are.”

Kristine kept her eyes on Alana who was staring down into the dirt, watching a few ants working. “I’ll talk to AJ when he sobers up,” Alana said finally. “I’ll talk to Nick when he gets back.”

Kristine smiled and hugged her. “You know, he’d still be a good friend for you, even if you didn’t want to date him. You two are a lot alike and you could have a lot of fun together still.”

“I just don’t think he’d be happy with that,” Alana said before walking into the camper.

“Hey! Wait up!” Nick stopped and glanced over his shoulder to see Jedia running up behind him.

“Let me guess, you want to bitch me out and blame me for your friend being a ho too, right?” Nick chucked a rock into the woods.

“Alana isn’t a ho,” Jedia disagreed. “She’s really confused, very boy crazy, and makes some bad choices but she’s not a ho.”

“You sure could fool me,” Nick scoffed.

“You don’t know her the way the rest of us do,” Jedia said. “Everything she does is because she’s rebelling against her family or an image or something else in her life. She has this internal need to set herself apart from the norm to make herself stand out and to make people take notice.”

“Right. So why did you decide to follow me?” Nick asked.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Everyone else seemed to think you were because they were more worried about AJ but I recognized the early signs of internal aggression and I wanted to make sure you someone to talk to so it wouldn’t lead to any violent outbreaks later on,” Jedia explained. “ I have a feeling that inner pressure would be worse on you because you’re forced to live two different lives, one in the spot light and then your real life outside and you’re not supposed to feel things like anger or frustration so they’d just keep building and building until you would explode in these fits of violent rage.”

“Just...stop it there,” Nick cracked a smile and held up a hand. “Girl, you’re cute, you’re funny, but you try to act too damn smart all the time. Don’t you ever take the time just to feel without analyzing the fuck out of it?”

“Can you go a conversation without bringing in the bad-boy crude language that you keep using?” Jedia shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Anger is a start,” Nick grinned. “You’re pretty when you’re upset like that.”

“Why are you saying that to me?” Jedia asked. “I don’t understand you. I don’t want a guy to like me for my looks, I want them to like me for me.”

“And quoting everything you learned from your psychology book is really reflecting your true personality?” Nick asked. “Come on, you’ve got to be able to find the balance. The first thing guys look at isn’t your degree, it’s your looks. If there’s something behind that, then fantastic but when it comes down to it, looks are what grabs the guy’s eyes first.”

“That isn’t how it should be,” She objected.

“But it’s how it actually is. You can’t change instincts, even with a master’s degree.”

“There’s more to me than my face. Why doesn’t that matter?”

“Well, what more is there?” Nick sat down on the guardrail. “All I see is a pretty girl who tries to act like a complete brain all the time.”

“Not all the time,” Jedia protested.

“What else do you do?” Nick asked. “There’s got to be something you do at school when you’re not studying and I know you can’t do that all of the time. What’s your little secret past time?”

“Swear you won’t tell the other girls?” Jedia asked.

“Cross my heart,” Nick drew an invisible X over his chest.

“I dance...like two or three times a week.”

“Ballet or tap, or are you talking going out and shaking your ass on a bar for free drinks?” Jedia’s cheeks went scarlet, making Nick burst out laughing.

“I do ballet too,” She put in quickly. “Or at least I did until my parents couldn’t afford the lessons anymore. I just like going out and being able to dance away the stress away. There’s something about a bass thumping in my ear that just get’s me...”

“Hot?” Nick grinned and tapped his finger against her nose, making her blush even more.

“I don’t do that,” Jedia turned away from him.

“You shouldn’t have to if there’s a guy willing to do his job right,” Nick stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Come on Jedia, just loosen up a bit. I really like this side of you.”

Jedia turned around and stretched up to kiss him quickly. She doubted her face would ever return to its normal color again after that day, but she might as well make it worthwhile.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Nick bent over to kiss her a little longer.

“I...don’t normally do stuff like that,” Jedia stammered, breaking away from him.

“That’s the problem. You don’t let yourself take chances, even when they could work out for you. You hide behind books because you’re too damn afraid to take what you want. Well, it’s right here if you’d take it.”

“How do you know that I even want you?” Jedia asked. “You’re about as far from the image that I had a crush on as you possibly could be. I don’t think you’ve gone a full sentence without swearing since you’ve been here. Why in the world would I want you?”

“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have made an excuse to come after me because trust me baby, it was a pretty lame one. You would have told me to fuck off when I started complimenting you and you never would have kissed me,” Nick wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t let this Jedia go away, she’s the type of girl my mom always told me I should be with and for once my mom might have been right.” He held her a moment longer before releasing her. “I’m going to head back, are you coming?”

“In a bit,” She murmured, starring down into the ground. “I just need to...well...think.”

“Whatever,” Nick shook his head and turning to walk down the road.

Jedia stared after him, wanting more than anything to catch up to him again but not being able to convince herself to actually do it. “I guess it’s not meant to be then,” She muttered, before putting her face in her hands and letting the tears go. “It’s probably better this way,” She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “He’d get bored with me after he realized there really isn’t much else to me besides me being a brain. It’s got to be better for it not to start at all,” She choked back another sob. “I just wish I knew why it feels like I stabbed myself in the chest.”

“Did you talk to him at all?” Kristine asked the next night, climbing over Starr into her sleeping bag.

“I don’t know what to say to him,” Jedia sighed. “He kept looking at me with this smile like he expected me to say something and I don’t know what it is.”

“How about, ‘hey Blondie, I should have told you yesterday that I really like you too but I was too hung up over your hot kiss that I couldn’t put a sentence together?’” Cassy suggested.

“I don’t think it’s that easy anymore,” Starr said.

“Why isn’t it?” Alana asked. “He likes her, she likes him.”

“He likes a side of me,” Jedia said miserably. “I’m not like that all of the time, I’m not even like that most of the time. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever just randomly kissed a guy.”

“You’ve never just gone up and kissed someone?” Alana asked in disbelief.

“You’re worried you’ll start something only to get ditched later, aren’t you?” Kristine asked

“So you’re worried about something ending when you won’t even start it,” Alana shook her head. “Jedia, he was right about one thing. You need to take a chance for once. Cassy and Brian are working out so why can’t you and Nick?”

“He’ll leave eventually and I’ll have to go back to campus,” Jedia explained. “What’s the point?”

“Long distance doesn’t always end badly,” Starr spoke up softly. “It could work out if you really wanted it to.”

“Just take it for what it’s worth,” Cassy suggested. “Don’t worry about when they’re going to leave or what’s going to happen later. You can have fun with him now and that should matter the most.”

“You know Cassy, I think that’s the most sense you’ve ever made,” Alana nodded in agreement. “Jedia, if you don’t go for it, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life guaranteed. If you go for it and it fails, you may regret it or you may not so you might as well give yourself a chance.”

“Thanks girls,” Jedia smiled. “I’ll think about it at least.”

“You better do more than that after keeping us up this late,” Cassy teased, walking to the back of the camper with Alana.

Maddy woke with a start, growling at the shadows around him. He put his nose in the air and whined loudly before barking several times. “Shaddap dog,” Mr. Johns shouted from inside his camper.

Maddy whined again, pacing back and forth with his ears laid back, growling softly at the darkness. He barked loudly as a large shadow drifted inside the camper. There was a muffled scream followed by the softer sound of a knife cutting with a faint gurgling ending in silence. Maddy barked again, pulling at his chain as the shadow stepped out of the RV again, blood dripping from the three prongs of the garden hand-rake. Maddy whined again, lunging at the shadow but being restricted by his chain.

The shadow stood facing the RV for a moment, giving Maddy time to start barking again. He swore softly before melting away into the night again.

“Kristine, wake up,” Starr said, pushing at her after dawn.

“You’re up early,” Kristine muttered. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel sick to my stomach,” She replied.

“Me too,” Jedia said. “I didn’t want to wake anyone else up but my stomach is in knots.”

Kristine gazed at the door and was overcome with nausea. “I think something’s wrong. Go wake up Cassy and Alana.”

“We’re already awake,” Cassy said, her voice shaking. “Guys, what’s going on?”

“The boys?” Jedia asked.

“It doesn’t feel that way,” Starr said slowly. “I really don’t want to go out there.”

“We’ve got to though,” Alana said, pushing open the door but standing away from the frame in a group with the other girls.

The gray light filtered into the RV, allowing them to gaze outside. Maddy’s head perked up and he started barking again. “Didn’t you hear him going crazy last night?” Starr asked. “Do you think someone was sneaking around?”

“He shut up after Dad yelled at him though,” Alana pointed out. “He could have been barking at nothing again.”

Maddy tugged at his chain, barking again. “If it was anyone, they’ve got to be gone by now,” Jedia said. “He never would have stopped barking to lay down if they were still around, right?”

“He’s dumb but too loyal to do something like that,” Alana agreed, walking down the steps into the cool dew-tinted grass.

The other four girls followed closely behind her, gazing slowly around the campsite. “What’s that?” Cassy asked, pointing to a darker puddle in the grass.

The four girls paled, Alana turning as white as a ghost and running over to the camper. “Mom, Dad?” She called, knocking on the door.

“Cassy, grab her now,” Kristine ordered.

Cassy reached for Alana a step too late. She flung open the RV door and let a piercing scream ring through the woods, leading into cries of disbelief. Cassy led her away from the door, clearing the way for the other girls to see what remained of her parents. There were holes in their necks, skulls, chests,and stomachs. Blood seemed to be covering everything. Alana’s mother’s mouth was frozen open in a silent cry for help. With the door open, the blood began to drip from the floor of the camper to a ground, forming another small puddling and tainting the air further.

“Jesus Christ!” Nick swore, running over with the other four guys. “No fucking way!”

“That’s what Maddy was barking about,” Starr wailed.

“This couldn’t have been an accident. There’s just no way,” Kevin said.

Cassy wrapped her arms around Alana’s shaking body, hugging her tightly. “We need to do something,” AJ said finally. “We need to call the fucking cops or something.”

Howie and Kevin both flipped open their cell phones and gazed down at them “No fucking service,” Kevin swore.

“Well we can’t just stand here!” AJ yelled.

“What else can we do?” Kristine sobbed, falling to her knees in the grass. “No one is going to get cell phone service in the middle of the mountains.”

Starr bent over and started to gag in between choking sobs. Howie wrapped an arm around her stomach, moving her hair behind her as she threw up into the grass. Within minutes, Jedia followed suit.

“We can’t stay here,” AJ said again. “We’ve got to get to a phone. Where else up here is there a phone?”

“In town,” Kristine said, being helped to her feet by Kevin. “You’re right, we need to get to a phone."

“Five of us will stay, five will go,” Kevin decided, turning Kristine away from the bodies. “We need to make sure the evidence is still here when they get here and no one is going off alone.”

“Take Alana for sure,” Howie said, gazing over to where she and Cassy were being embraced by Nick and Brian. “AJ, can you drive?”

“Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

“Take the four of them with you. The rest of us will stay here in the RV until you get back, okay?”

“Yeah,” With Nick’s help, AJ managed to get Alana tucked into a seat in the van between Cassy and Brian. Nick sat up front, his eyes still wide open from everything he had just seen.

“General store,” Alana muttered, rocking back and forth.

AJ didn’t need to be told twice. He made it there in minutes, squealing to a stop in front of the store. “Come on,” He nodded to Nick. “Just stay with her in the car for now, okay?” He glanced back to receive two nods from Cassy and Brian.

AJ slammed into the store “Dude, we really need to use your phone,” He marched towards the side where the top of Mr. Sierra’s head was visible over the counter. “Are you even fucking listening to me man? There’s been a goddamned murder and we need to use your phone!” He still received no answer and growing furious, AJ yanked the shopkeeper’s shoulder. “Oh fucking ass!” He yelped, jumping away from the counter.

Nick felt a lump rise up in his throat when he saw the hoe sticking out of the bloodstained forehead. Mr. Sierra’s fists were still tightly gripped around the pole, as if struggling to pull it out. “This is insane!” He yelled.

AJ hopped the counter to yank the phone from its receiver. “This is not happening!” He cried, slamming it back down and running to the back room. “Fuck! The asshole cut every phone line in this place! What the hell is going on here?”

Nick swallowed hard, forcing himself to look back at the counter and noticing a green piece of paper stuck to the register. He tried to avoid looking at the body as he picked it off of the register and read it.

Now you’ve seen what I’m capable of. If there was anyone else left in this town, they’d be in the same boat as your old friend here. I left a little present for you in the ranger station if you wanted to check there.

As for phones, I took care of all the ones in this place. Try smoke signals next time. For such creative girls, you really didn’t make a creative choice at all.

“Girls?” Nick muttered, “AJ, you’ve got to read this thing. Holy shit, he’s playing with us.”

“He’s playing with them,” AJ crumpled up the note and jammed it in his pocket. “We’re just stuck now.”

“If he’s playing with them, why the fuck can’t we just leave?” Nick asked. “We can get help and send it back up here but man, we’ve got to get out of here.”

“And leave them?” AJ asked in disbelief. “You know we can’t do that.”

“We’ll take them with us then!” Nick yelled. “Let’s just get the fuck outta here!”

The two of them bolted to the car. AJ threw it back into drive and started back to the campsite.

“It won’t come off,” Starr gritted her teeth, scrubbing at her already bright pink hands. “Why can’t I get rid of it?”

Kevin took her hands out of the wash bin and set them on the towel next to it. “It’s the damn smell,” Starr started crying again. “I don’t think it’s ever going away. Shut the door, please!”

Kevin nodded to Howie who went to shut the door, staring down at the floor as he did so. He reached out for the small sheet of green paper, propped up against the small cabinet, the edges dark with the blood.

Now, you wouldn’t want to do anything stupid like try and get help or leave now would you? If you leave these woods, I will find you and I will kill you all one at a time when you’re completely alone. You’ve got a choice here girls, die together here or alone being stupid.

Howie’s face paled as he hurriedly shut the door rest of the way. “Kevin, you need to read this,” He said, handing it over.

Kevin read it, his eyes widening with each word he processed. “So we’re stuck here,” He said flatly.

“What is it?” Kristine asked.

Kevin handed it over to her with a sigh. “We’re in the middle of a horror movie,” She cried, slamming it down in front of Starr or Jedia.

The van stopped quickly in the site. “Come on,” AJ called from the driver’s seat, holding the note up in the air. “We’re getting out of here now!”

“We can’t!” Kevin yelled back, snatching back the other note and holding it up.

AJ spoke a few words into the van before walking over to exchange papers with Kevin. “The bastard cut the phones in town,” AJ said. “He fucking thinks it’s funny too.”

“We can’t leave them,” Howie said. “There’s got to be another phone around here somewhere.”

“You can leave,” Jedia spoke up softly. “They don’t want you five, they just want us.”

“We’re not leaving you!” Kevin and AJ shouted.

“You’ll just get hurt if you stay,” Starr protested, her body trembling. “Get out of here!”

“We’re not leaving you,” Howie embraced her tightly. “He’ll have a harder time getting the five of you with the five of us here.”

“Not if we’re all just sitting around this damn bloody campsite,” Starr’s eyes filled back up as she glanced over at the camper.

“We need a phone,” Kevin said. “Howie’s right, there has to be another one somewhere.”

The van door slid open and Brian poked his head out. “Alana thinks there might be one up at the cabin that works. She said we’d be better off up there because it’s harder to find then the marked campsites.”

“He said not to leave,” Jedia protested.

“He said not to leave the woods,” Kristine pointed out. “We’d still be in them. Not like it matters when we’re not making the rules but we’re technically following his.”

“So the cabin?” AJ asked, pulling out the keys again and climbing back into the drivers seat. He jammed them back into the ignition and turned, only to be greated by some sputtering and the van groaning.

Cassy climbed out and poked her head under the van. “He cut the gas line,” She said, wiping the smudge from her face. “I can’t believe you got from the general store and back.”

“Unless he just did it while we were talking,” Jedia pointed out. “You were all in the van and we weren’t paying any attention to it.”

“You mean he’s here?” Kristine cringed, her eyes darting from tree to tree.

“Don’t panic yet,” Kevin rested his hands on her shoulders, rubbing softly. “How far is this place?” He called to Brian. “On foot I mean.”

Brian ducked his head back in the van for a few moments before reappearing “About a six hour hike through the trails she actually knows,” He replied.

Kevin and Howie shrugged at each other. “What other choice do we have now?” Howie asked.