"IT'S CALLED A hangover." Taylor's voice is incredibly loud. It pierces through Chelsea's skull and makes her want to crawl under the covers.

"Impossible." She mumbles.

"I saw you drinking last night." Taylor pulls the comforter off her which she protests. "While you were talking with that cute blonde guy."

Last night slowly comes back to Chelsea. She had been talking to Zach a long time, maybe even flirting a little. Rose had decided to become her friend. She played a pool game and didn't suck. She had fun.

"You like him, don't you?" Taylor cocks her head to the side and grins.

"We were just talking."

"Uhuh."

"He's on house arrest, Taylor."

"So?"

"So? It changes everything. Now give my comforter back. My head hurts."

She snorts before throwing the sheets on her face. "I see you actually wore it."

Chelsea peels open one eye to see Taylor holding up the silk top she'd worn last night.

"It's a pretty top." Chelsea mumbles.

"I thought your morals would've interfered or something."

"If you get caught--"

"I never do. This is the first time you've accepted anything I've given you."

But that's not true. Chelsea's accepted a lot more in much more desperate times. And it's the reason why she hasn't said more to Taylor on the topic of her habits.

"You have to get up."

"It's Saturday."

"You have to be at the pier."

"Why?"

"I signed you up to it. They need volunteers."

"Not interested."

"Did I mention that you get paid?"

Chelsea whips her head up so fast she thinks she pulls a muscle. "You should have led with that."

Taylor laughs. "You better get ready. It starts in 45 minutes."

So she does. It's hard to move further than a sloths pace, especially with her headache which seems to get worse as she brushes her teeth and puts her clothes on.

"Your top is inside out." Taylor says just before she's about to head out.

With a groan, she begins the difficult task of righting herself. When her head pops out of the hole Taylor pats her cheek with something wet.

"Gross." She begins to swat her hand away but she doesn't relent.

"You want to burn? It's one of the hottest days of the year."

Chelsea sighs but lets Taylor slather on the sunscreen. And put a bucket hat over her head and hand her a pair of sunglasses. Then she shoves a glass of something into her hands and orders her to drink.

"Poison?"

Taylor rolls her eyes. "It'll help with the hangover."

So Chelsea drinks and leans back a bit, getting her first proper look at Taylor. Her hair is still damp from her morning shower, painting the strands in different hues of gold. Chelsea had always been envious of Taylor's hair. Even her skin was practically glowing.

"You look. . . Refreshed."

"I have a date."

"Oh?" She recalls the guy she'd seen in the pool last night.

"Yeah. Now leave so I can pamper myself in peace." She says it with a smile so Chelsea's not offended.

She heaves herself off the counter and heads outside. Just as she passes the low brick wall between the two houses, someone comes out from next door. Expecting it to be Zach, Chelsea's about to say hello but stops short when someone else appears.

She has her heels hanging from her hands in exchange for a pair of sandals. Her light curls are messed to the point that Chelsea doesn't have to ponder over what her morning had entailed. After all, she should have been used to this routine by now. She should have. So it surprises her when she feels a pang of something like hurt.

Chelsea catches the girls eye for a second. But only a second. Before she's on her way.

-

When Chelsea arrives at the pier she's surprised to see that there's a crowd. It's not as big as on a normal day since the pier was temporarily closed down for construction but it looked like a lot of people had decided to volunteer. The sun beats downs mercilessly so she's glad she has the bucket hat.

She goes to where the big group is, hoping to find out what to do next. She wonders if Will is there but it's not him she sees but another familiar face.

"Hey, look. It's the pool table champions."

Chelsea scrunches her brows with a smile at Mars. "We lost, though."

"Well, we were winners in my book." He grins.

"Where are Sam and Kat?"

"Back in Stonecrest." He waves his hand dismissively. "I was their tour guide. Only to be used and abused."

"Don't listen to Jupiter." Another voice cuts in.

They both turn to see Wolfgang. He's in a black vest and like her, wearing a hat over his head.

"You too, Wolfie." Mars sighs dramatically. "Just love me and leave me. You won't do that will you, Chelsea?"

Wolfgang rolls his eyes. She blushes under her hat but is saved from having to reply. At the sound of a whistle, their attention is brought to the front where there stands Will. This time, his neck is bare of any headphones and he's out of his usual jeans and hoodie, opting for a white polo, khaki shorts and Timberlands. There's a clipboard in one of his hands but he doesn't address it.

"Doesn't our little boy scout look cute." Mars coos. Chelsea agrees.

They listen to Will's instructions. No one interrupts him as he speaks, conveying a considerable level of respect. He speaks at a normal level and even then the attention doesn't stray. For a moment, Chelsea is mesmerised.

"Alright. Time to get in your groups."

One by one, Will calls the names of people around Chelsea and once a group of five is reached they head off with someone wearing a bright coloured band around their hand. Chelsea's one of the last ones to be called. Will is the only one left with an orange band around his wrist.

Along with Chelsea, Mars and Wolfgang there are two other people left over. Mars and Wolfgang already seemed acquainted with the rest of their group. For a second Chelsea feels transported back to high school, when everyone had their groups sorted out and sje always seemed to be the outsider looking in. She realises that these people probably did go high school together. Had a history together. And she's still the outsider.

She catches Will's eyes and gives him a weak smile. She has to squint to see him because of the glaring sun.

"Sofia Caldwell, Mars Chen, Chelsea Gray, Wolfgang Häusler, Kali Mensah." He reads from memory.

"We all know each other here, Will." A dark-skinned girl says.

"Not everyone," Will says. "Follow me."

Chelsea feels a rush of gratitude for him then.

"Yeah, Kali." Mars parrots Will as the group falls in step behind him. "This is Chelsea. She's new here."

She feels Kali's gaze sweeping her up and down in scrutiny and has the overwhelming desire to hide.

"How come I've never seen you around?" Kali says.

"Because she only arrived to town recently." The other girl, Sofia, cuts in. Recognition flashes across her eyes. It's the same girl she'd seen coming out of Zach's place this morning.

"To Boring Belmont."

Chelsea holds Sofia's gaze for a second longer before looking away, murmuring. "I don't think it's so boring after all."