Selena was frantic in the hours before the bonfire. This was the first social event of the year at J.P Adams High School. She had to not only impress, but thrive. Everything from her clothes to her makeup had to be perfect. Add on to this she has a kind of date with that boy Judah. She still wasn't sure how he managed to convince her, but it was one more stressor to add to this night.

"You're going to be the prettiest one there, Sele," said Aria. "Stop worrying. You're amazing."

Selena looked at her sister and lightly smiled. Once again Aria was made to be her backbone in a moment of stress. Why was she like this? She hated depending on others, but for reasons that she couldn't describe, she always found herself latching onto a hero. Regardless of the situation. She let out a loud groan and fell backward onto her bed. The new laptop that her dad bought her for her birthday last night lay unopened on the side of her. She couldn't bring herself to open such an expensive gift when her family couldn't even afford the condo or the tuition for the school she had gone to all her life.

"Or are you nervous about the boy you're going with?" said Aria in a teasing tone. "Judah. Judah the handsome boy who shares your birthday? The boy with the tanned skin and golden brown hair that you wrote about in your diary?"

"Oh my gosh, Aria!" said Selena.

She threw a pillow at her sister and laughed. Yes, she was embarrassed to admit it, but she was intrigued by Judah. She was even more embarrassed to admit that she didn't lie to him when she said that him knocking into her yesterday really did have a butterfly effect on her belly. Selena hadn't experienced that in the longest time.

"Did dad give you 'the talk'?" her little sister asked her with a sadistic smile. "I remember when you would go out with Andy, everytime you'd leave on a date you'd get sat down with the whole 'Mija, you know that you don't have to do anything you don't want to, right?" Aria turned her nose up and copied her father's accent in a perfect imitation.

"You're scary good at that," said Selena with a grin.

Selena got up from the bed and looked into the mirror one last time. She started at her long dark hair and let her eyes travel down her blue and white floral shirt, then to her dark blue jeans, and her white keds. She took a deep breath and walked out of her room and down the short hallway of her family's basement apartment. Photos of her family in happier times when they had money lining the walls.

Selena knew that money wasn't the root of her happiness. She wasn't shallow enough to believe that all of her problems would be solved if she had money again. The truth is this happened to her family, and there was a piece of them broken that none of them have been able to find since. They still loved each other. They're family after all, but there was a light that died in her father the day that he told them their whole world was changing. There was a fire extinguished in her mother's eyes when she looked at him.

And it was up to Selena to hold them together, but she couldn't even do that right. It was Aria who was truly being the glue.

"Mom, I'm heading out," Selena called from the front door.

"Don't be too late, Mija," she called back from their bedroom. She hardly left that room if she wasn't cooking nowadays. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Westfield Cove was only a little ways away from the building that Selena stayed in. When she lived in the penthouse, she could see it from her old bedroom window. She used to love watching the people there walk along the beach. She'd see young couples late at night walking along the shore, and she would try and imagine the stories that they had. What brought them here to the beach? Were they truly happy?

For Selena, they always had happy stories.

When she arrived at the cove, she was surprised at how busy it is. It wasn't just the kids that were here for the bonfire, it was most of the town. When you live in a small town, it's the events that keep things fun. You can get into a lot of shenanigans at a bonfire.

Selena maneuvered through the crowd and saw all the happy people. They were people who she never would have noticed had her life not been turned upside down. Selena saw the genuine glee on their faces as they walked around the beach and interacted with their families. She longed for that.

She walked to the bonfire and sat down on a log while she waited for Judah. She pulled out her phone and began to scroll through her feed when she saw a girl with sandy blonde hair sitting on a beach towel. Selena recognized her as one of the kids that shared her birthday yesterday. She smiled at the girl who returned a smile. Selena looked down at her phone and saw no text from Judah, so she got up from the log and walked toward the girl.

"Can I join you for a bit?"

"Sure," said the girl. She gestured for Selena to sit. She stuck her hand out and smiled. "I don't think we were introduced other than being birthday twins yesterday."

"My name is Selena," she said, shaking the girl's hand. "You're the mayor's daughter, right?"

"Yes, my name is Elle," she said. "It's nice to meet you."

Selena was about to start talking when she felt overwhelming pressure in her head. She got dizzy and instantly closed her eyes to help balance her. As the pressure built, Selena tried to breathe and find her center as vertigo got worse by the second.

Girls? Girls! Can you hear me?! I'm talking to you!

Selena let out a soft groan as the dizziness became harder and harder to fight. She put her hand on the beach towel to help her regain her composure.

The voice that she heard was female. There was a whimsical quality to it that Selena thought if she didn't have a splitting headache, the girl would be pleasant to speak to.

Girls?! It's been so long!

Selena heard Elle let out a groan, and she managed to open her eyes to see Elle in a similar state to her. "Do you...hear something?" Selena managed to ask.

Elle met her eye contact, and then just like that, the pressure was gone. Selena's dizziness instantly went away. It was like the whole event had never happened. Elle opened up her mouth to talk when Selena felt her phone buzz.

I'm so sorry I'm running a little late. My mom was late to come take over watching my little sister. I'm only a few minutes away. - J

"That was the strangest thing that's ever happened to me," said Elle as she looked at Selena curiously. "Did...did you hear what was being said?"

"Who hasn't talked to us in so long? We just met?" Selena said to Elle.

"Have you always lived in-"

"I'm so sorry I'm late," said Judah as he came and sat down quickly next to Selena. He smiled at her and she smiled back and Elle cleared her throat.

"I'll let you two enjoy your night," she said. "Selena, can I get your number?"

Selena nodded and handed her phone to Elle who typed in her number.

"You want to go for a walk?" asked Judah.

"Bye Elle," Selena said.

Selena and Judah walked along the water and playfully nudged eachother as the waves tickled their feet. She imagined what it would be like to see her and Judah from her window in her old apartment. Selena hoped that whatever their story is tonight, that it ends as happy as the ones she used to watch.

"So tell me about yourself," Selena told Judah with a smile. "Have you always been this brazen when asking people out on dates? Am I just another girl in the long line of your past relationships?"

Selena asked it as a joke, but she was seriously wanting an answer. Judah had all the makings to get her in trouble. The tanned skin, the golden brown hair, the golden amber eyes. She didn't want to come to this new school just to get her heart broken by the first boy she met.

"Honestly," Judah said. "This is actually my first date."

Selena grabbed his arm and gasped. "There's no way in hell, Judah!" she said giggling. She looked at him in the eyes and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. The sun was setting, and the beach grew darker by the second. Judah's eyes were shining in the light. They looked like honey staring back at Selena.

"It's true," Judah said, chuckling and shrugging. "I honestly just never found anyone who's piqued my interest."

 He sat down in the sand and pointed to the sunset as it fell over the water. Selena sat next to him and he pointed toward the large body of water and sighed. "There's so much world out there," he said. "We live in such a small town. Everything that surrounds us has been here since we were little. Or at least it has for me," he said quickly. "I just don't want to waste my time if it isn't real."

Selena felt her cheeks turn red, and suddenly she was grateful for the dark beach. She knew at this moment they were total cliches. The two small-town kids with dreams of going off and exploring the world, but truth be told, she wasn't mad at it. It felt nice to have someone open up to her like this. It had been a long time since she had a real conversation with someone.

"And you think I'm real?" Selena asked half teasing him.

"I think I would like to get to know you better," said Judah. His hand inched towards hers slowly, and she felt their fingers interlock in the sand. "We can see where it goes from there."

Selena felt her stomach do a cartwheel. How is it that in the worst time of her life, she found a good guy? A cute guy with a good head on his shoulders. One that wasn't afraid to open up and communicate with her.

Yet, Selena wasn't being honest with him.

She pulled her hand away from Judah and scrunched her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and groaned. "I'm sorry. This is nothing to do with you. I think I just thought I was ready for this and I'm not sure I am."

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

The genuine concern behind Judah's eyes made this situation all the more difficult. She wanted to tell him everything. From her dad's poor investment to her lying to everyone she's ever known about where she is currently.

But that's too much. Especially for a first date.

"There's just... a lot going on, Judah," Selena said. "Family stuff, you know? I want to tell you, but it's-" Selena let out a loud gasp. Once again the pressure returned to her head, only this time it was more intense. She placed her face into her hands and heard Judah groan. 

Selena. Judah. The time is now. THE TIME IS NOW.

It was the same voice as before with Elle. It was intense and breathy.

The pressure built in intensity and the world around Selena started to spin. She watched as the beach faded away around her. Blackness fell over the water, and suddenly Selena wasn't looking at water. She could only see darkness.

Darkness and Judah.

"Selena?!" Judah said as he reached out for her hand. She gripped it eagerly and drew him close to her. She looked around the darkness and screamed. "What the hell is going on?!"

Selena couldn't speak. She didn't have an answer. All she knew is she heard the same voice as she heard with Elle, and then darkness.

It worked. Said the voice loudly. I can't believe after all these years, I finally reached you. Now I need to get to the others. Don't worry. Just stay where you are. It will all be explained soon.