The gentle, icy waves washed over the tips of my toes the closer the tide came to shore.

The loud chatter had become nothing more than a dull noise behind my back as I stared out over the rushing water that laid in a bed before me, cutting out all outside noise and disruptions.

This was the same safe haven I'd spent the last four years of my high school life. Graduation should have been the best day of my life; yet it remained nothing more than another milestone that would soon be forgotten.

I was finally able to break the chains that kept me hear, in the dark shadow of my twin brother, Oliver.

Oliver, who had spent the last four year at the top of the social ladder. Oliver, who was voted Most Likely To Succeed In Future Endeavors. Oliver, who was currently sitting in the back of his best friend's old, rusty burgundy Ford Pickup drinking the last night of his life as a child away.

I should have been having the time of my life too; breaking through the crowds of people that had scattered themselves around the Hendricks Manor. Drinking cup after cup of alcohol like every other underage teenager lounging around out here like it was a second home. This was the last day we'd be treated like teenagers; the graduating class was officially on their way to start life as an adult. Deep down, there was a part of me that didn't want that.

I had been comfortable living in Oliver's shadow, it was a cozy spot that occasionally had some entertainment. I had never lived life on my own, away from him and my friends for longer than a couple days.

That all changed tonight.

Pushing my hands through the sand, I started to divert my mind from any of its previous thoughts. My feet, stretched out in front of me, had begun to fall asleep. I took it as a sign that it was about time to get up and join the party again.

My eyes scanned the crowded stone pathway from the shore to the Hendricks' front door. My stomach furled into a tight knot when I realized how much of an adventure it was going to be trying to get to my brother and his best friend in the bed of the pickup.

Half the graduating class were in various places around me, most stumbling and tripping over their own feet or making out. The other half were circling around Abel Hendricks' Ford like moths drawn to a burning flame.

"Olivia, baby!" an obnoxious shout broke through the heavy metal blasting through a stereo. I was honestly surprised I could even hear anyone speaking over the music; I could hardly hear my own thoughts.

Thinking about it, it was also a rarity for Abel to call me by one of his millions of pet names that he kept in a small, strange part of his brain.

"Liv!" his shout broke through again, his head poking out of the clutter of girls that had surrounded him. He was waving a red solo cup in the air, his wild curls blowing into and around his face with the wind. I could see, even from this distance, that he was slurring whatever he was saying to my brother a few feet behind him.

I forced myself to continue up the pathway before Abel could do something illogical like throw himself out of the bed and come running in my direction.

When I was finally within hearing distance of the boys, Abel jumped off the bed and sent his admirers parting like the Red Sea. "Olivia!"

He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against his broad chest, startling me. Once I was able to process what was happening, I shrugged his arm off and pinched the bridge of my nose to stop the strong scent of alcohol radiating off of him from burning it.

"What do you want?" I mumbled, shifting back and forth on my feet to distract me from all the eyes on the two of us.

"You wanna play with us, sis?" Oliver lifted his cup with a welcoming grin. Relief flushed all anxiousness and embarrassment away as I climbed into the back of Abel's truck and took a seat next to my brother on the toolbox. It was quite possibly the most uncomfortable object I'd ever sat on.

"Play what?" I asked once I was beside him. Abel joined us and handed me a half full cup.

"Never Have I Ever." was Abel's quiet response, his eyes analyzing me as if I were some ancient artifact.

Any game my brother and Abel wanted to play couldn't possibly be good.

Oliver Scott and Abel Hendricks weren't names taken lightly in our small, off the map town. My brother and his best friend had a reputation, one that continuously drove me to the verge of insanity. They liked to refer to themselves as rebels, bad boys even. I had been with them long enough to know that whatever the hell it was that they were was far beyond being able to put a label on.

They got into fights and rode an occasional motorcycle, sure. They just never took much pride in it. Abel insisted they did it because they had too, not because they wanted to impress anyone or wanted to fight. Half our high school thought otherwise.

I doubt she wants to play, man." a guy I barely recognized said from beside my brother in the back of Abel's Ford, "She's too busy trying to figure out what college she's sending her app to." I could feel warmth break the surface of my cheeks as everyone around us laughed.

"I'll play." I said too quickly, realizing the mess I had gotten myself into a second too late.

An intoxicated grin broke out across Abel's face, his fingers curled around my wrist. He kept his head down leading me back over to his truck, as if he were in some sort of drunk delirium in his head. Reaching the truck, he threw himself in first and outstretched his hand down to me, ready to yank me in after him.

"Livvy, you don't have to do this." Oliver's sober words had me frozen in the middle of the truck bed. His crystalline eyes followed my every step as I seated myself beside Abel. Not even a second later, he shoved his red Solo cup into some guys hand and made the quick, graceful step to sit between Abel and me.

I could see by the tired look in his eyes that he was already done with drinking and was probably ready to go scavenge for his next victim once he knew I was getting home safely.

"Sure she does, Oli. She's so boring all the time, she needs to learn to live a little." Abel slurred, shoving a full cup of beer into my hands and spilling a little on to my white blouse.

"Abe, look. If she doesn't want to drink, she shouldn't have to. You're hammered and can hardly walk. I'm not going to let you force your ways down my sisters throat." Another round of laughter erupted around us at my brothers angered words. For a fraction of a second, I saw anger flicker in Abel's eyes, making him appear as sober as I was.

"Let's just play." Abel rubbed his hands together maniacally, avoiding the murderous glare my brother was casting in his direction.

"You know how it works, right?" Abel questioned, nudging me. I nodded, swallowing the lump that had crawled up and situated itself in my dry throat.

I stayed quiet as the game went around the bed of the truck. Plucking each individual person and forcing them in the spotlight. By the time it had finally circled back around to Abel, my head was resting on my brothers arm and I had taken a fascination with staring down into my half full cup of beer. Abel was so deep in a conversation with the girl sitting beside him that he didn't notice the game was over until Oliver reached over and flicked him in the back of the head.

"Really, Liv?" Abel groaned, grabbing my cup out of my hand, "You haven't done shit!"

He was right, I just wouldn't give him the satisfaction of admitting it.

I had barely drank any of the beer, considering I hadn't done half of the things that were said. I had been so used to living in my brothers shadow the last four years, I hadn't even come close to realizing that I hadn't lived at all.

"I better get back home." I eventually pushed against Abel to stand. I brushed the rust from the toolbox off the back of my pants and started toward the edge of the bed, "Mom and Dad will lose it if they know we left Jeremy at home alone." I sent a quick glance at my brother over my shoulder, only to find that Abel had started to follow me.

"Be careful!" Oliver called after me, watching regretfully as I jumped off the bed.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked, halting to a stop. Abel rammed into my shoulder, unaware that I had stopped moving.

"I'll wait with you until your Uber comes." He responded, shrugging as if it was an afterthought. By the look on all his admirers faces, I'm sure most of them would have died if he offered to waiting with them.

"I wasn't kidding, you know." He muttered once we were a little further down the path to his house. I glanced over, shaking my head in confusion.

"Kidding about what?"

"You needing to experience life." He ran a hand through his wild mane of blonde curls, shoving the other into his pocket, "You haven't lived at all, Olivia."

I slowed to a stop and turned to face him, my eyes roaming his face.

The drunk guy that had been present a few minutes ago had seemed to disspated and was replaced by the Abel Hendricks I was all to familiar with. The same guy that puts up a different persona everyday so people will like him.

"Don't look at me like that. You've lived as much as Jeremy has, Liv. And he's eleven." Abel paused and dropped his hand to his side, "You've got to let me help you live a little before you head off to New York." He said.

I stared at his silhouette, at the way the moon illuminated his golden curls against his fair complexion and green eyes.

"Look, Abe." I flicked his nose with a small smile, "I love you guys, but I'll never be like you. I'll never bask in your bad boy glory." Abel snorted in response to my words, catching my wrist before I could flick him again.

"Bad boy? No, Olivia. I'm a Badass. You get the difference?" He joked, but his voice sounded off. He didn't sound like the happy and go lucky guy that had been sitting in the back of the truck only a few minutes ago. I couldn't help but question if my brothers words had anything to do with his new attitude.

"Sure. Because being a total dick to girls makes you a badass." I muttered bitterly. He looked about ready to snap but shook his head and sighed instead.

"Come on, Livvy. We can do it all before the end of the summer. You and me. Just like old times." I squirmed a little at under his intense and encouraging gaze.

I thought back to the times Abel and I had run away when we were kids, we had run to our tree house back in my old neighborhood. There, we would come up with plans on how we would run away for good when we got older, where our parents wouldn't fight, where we wouldn't get in trouble, where we could just be kids. We had planned to take on the world together and end our heartache once and for all.

"If I say okay will you leave me alone?" I caved. He looked a little offended but seemed to take the hint after a second.

"Yeah. I'll stay out of your hair for the rest of the weekend. So we have a deal, right?" He held his hand out, poking at mine with his other. I sighed, taking his hand. I was sure I'd wake tomorrow morning to find him sitting in my living room , Abel wasn't someone that kept his promises.

"We have a deal." I was relieved when I saw an Uber car appear a little ways down the road. I was finally free from the chaotic mess behind me; and Abel and his persistence.

Abel talked to the driver for a second to make sure it was safe before scanning the crowd by the truck.

"Now, which lucky girl is going to get a ride tonight?" He sent me a quick, amused look, "And not on my motorcycle." I scrunched my nose up in disgust as I climbed into the car, the door hanging open so I could still see and hear him clearly.

"You are such a Bad Boy cliché." I grumbled, shaking my head as I closed our communication off. As the diver pulled off, I turned back to see Abel staring after me, his face twisted into an emotionless mask.

It was when I got home that I realized what that expression had meant. Abel was finally starting to come to terms with us finally separating, in us not being the three friends that sat around and talked about nothing for hours. He was finally starting to understand that he couldn't be a kid forever, and he wanted to try to continue being a child before the privilege was torn from his grip entirely.

The worse part about this whole thing was that he was going talk me into doing something crazy with him. The most unnerving part was that I knew I was going to agree to it all. 

****AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24