In which my family and I haven't visited our lake house in years, however, we finally plan a trip there again. Once we arrive, I suddenly remember our next door neighbors... and their son.

-

Author's Note:

If you know anything about the United States, and therefore Wisconsin in particular, you know it gets quite cold here in the winter. Even though its roughly 30 degrees right now, its been incredibly cold and snowy these past few weeks.

-

"Thanks for coming with us, honey."

"Yeah," I said. I knew it sounded halfhearted, but I truly was happy to go on a little vacation. "It'll be nice to relax some before school again." My mom smiled and nodded her head, and I was soon leaning my head back up against the cool car window. The trees flew past us as we drove down the unmarked road. We made one last sharp turn down a dead end, and I finally started to recognize the scenery.

Eventually we pulled up to a gravel driveway, 2 homemade signs on either side of it. I only got to glance at our sign before we turned onto it, then wound through even more trees. It suddenly cleared up, showing two large houses and a view of the lake behind it. The lake looked gorgeous, and memories soon came rushing back. My dad pulled off to the house on the left, parking randomly on the somehow neat lawn. I glanced over at the other house, only now noticing the car over there.

My parents got out of the car first, and I followed them a moment later. I immediately went around to the back of the vehicle to unload bags, but I noticed that my parents were suddenly gone. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, before rounding the side of the car and laying my eyes on them once again.

My mom was suddenly hugging the blonde woman and my dad was shaking another mans hand. I watched as they interacted, cautiously walking towards them. I stopped a couple of feet behind my parents, not quite ready to make myself known. As I got closer, I suddenly remembered the couples names, and everything began to click.

"Its been forever," the woman, Connie, spoke. My mom quickly agreed. "What are you guys doing up here?"

"We're here for one last vacation."

"One last vacation?"

My mom gestured behind herself to me. "He's 18 now. We had to come up here one last time before he left for college." Connie looked past my parents and smiled when she saw me.

"How time flies. Its seems like just yesterday he was running around here with Scott." My mom smiled at the memory and nodded her head. "How long are you guys staying?"

"We planned for a month."

"Well I'm glad you guys are back, its so great to see you all again. I'll go get Scott and let him know you're here." And with that, she turned back towards the house. My father and Rick began talking again, and I used the opportunity to turn to my mom.

"Scott?" I whispered, the name suddenly at the forefront of my mind.

"You remember him, right?"

"Well, yeah, but we haven't seen each other since we were like 12."

"You two were great friends, I'm sure you'll be fine."

Before I knew it, Connie was walking back outside, then a moment later, Scott was too. The second I saw him, I had to do a double take.

Of course I knew it was him, but oh my god did he grow up.

Last time I saw him he was a lanky, clumsy kid. He was about my height, had bright blonde hair and blue eyes. The only thing that was the same were his eyes. His hair, plus the little bit of scruff on his jaw, was now darker, yet it seemed to fit him so well. I also never imagined him to be taller than me, at least not as much as he was. He smiled as our eyes met, and I added that toothy grin to the list of things that hadn't changed.

"Hey," he said in a much lower voice than I remembered.

"Hi." He immediately smiled upon hearing me. I managed to catch his eyes raking up and down my body before he turned his attention back to his parents.

"Why don't you help them with their bags, Scott." He nodded his head and I turned around, heading back to the car. I heard his footsteps behind me, crunching the few leaves and sticks.

I opened the trunk of the car, and he was at my side by the time I was reaching for a bag. I saw him immediately reach for a bag as well, coincidentally the same bag that I was going for. Our hands brushed together, but it didn't seem awkward. Instead, held back a smile, then used my hip to nudge him out of the way. He was clearly unprepared for it and therefore took a step back. His smile was contagious as he came back to the vehicle.

"I'm glad you're back, Mitch."

-

It took almost no time for Scott and I to fall back into the same pattern that we were in 6 years ago. We both noticed it quickly, specifically while our families had a campfire a few days after we arrived. Scott and I joined them, but we stayed out of our parents conversations. We ended up being giggling messes by the time the fire was reduced to glowing embers.

We became inseparable by the time the first week flew by. We made a point to spend as much time as possible together, which somehow had yet to annoy our parents. However, I was currently alone, laying down near the water on our old wooden dock. I had a book in hand while I tried to get some color on my otherwise pale skin.

"Hey, Mitchy," I suddenly heard an all too familiar voice say. I quickly looked up from the book to the area front of me to see a very shirtless blonde in the water. He had his arms crossed on the dock, resting his head on top of them.

"What-- where did you come from?"

"Um, the shore?" I rolled my eyes. "You're pretty tuned in on that book, you would have noticed me if you weren't." I closed the book, then set it on the nearby bench. I rolled over onto my side to face him again, propping my head on my hand. I noticed him looking up and down me again, and I could have sworn he blushed a bit when he realized I saw what he just did. I simply winked at him once we made eye contact again, and he smirked.

"If you want to get tan, you should come in the water. It helps."

"I can't swim."

"Don't lie to me. You used to all the time."

"Okay, then my preferences have changed, and I don't like to anymore."

"Please?" He begged. "I wanna be a painfully adorable couple. You know, one loves to swim, the other hates it but is willing to do it if they hold onto the other."

"A couple? Is that the only reason you want me in the water?"

"Hm, maybe." I rolled my eyes as he kept silently begging with me. He eventually pouted, and I was unable to resist him. I moved to the edge of the dock, sitting with my feet in the water. He placed his hands on either side of my legs, then looked back up to me.

"Are you going to come in?" I nodded my head before slowly sliding in the cool water. The water came up to mid-chest by the time my feet were flat on the bottom. I looked to him expectantly then. Scott wasted no time closing the space between us. He wrapped his arms around me, then was lifting me up and ever so gently setting me on his hip. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we began to move.

"You better hold onto me." I instantly felt his hands tighten on me.

"I swear. If I let go, you can push me under." Well, I suppose I had to try to trust him. He slowly walked further away from the dock, and he only stopped when the water came up near his shoulders.

"You know what would be funny?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Hm?"

"If I threw you into the water." I instantly hit his chest.

"You wouldn't dare." He simply smirked, but I thought nothing of it until a moment later.

I could feel that one of his arms had slowly been moving across my back, so it didn't come as a surprise when he eventually took one of his hands off of me. My jaw dropped slightly as I felt his hand return to my body, and I immediately looked to him to see a stunned expression on his face. In all reality, I had barely moved, and didn't even think I would be under water, but he didn't need to know that.

"No! Mitch, it was an accident, I promise. I wasn't going to actually drop you."

"Oh really?"

"Yes! I was just trying to--" I didn't even pay attention to his answer, but instead worked my way out of his grip. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but I just grinned wider as I finally managed to push him under the water. I swam back a little ways and was finally able to touch when he popped back up and gasped dramatically.

A laugh finally escaped, and it soon became almost uncontrollable. His hair was now completely soaked and he quickly pushed it back once again. He rubbed his eyes quickly, and then they landed back on me. The corners of his mouth just barely turned up into a smile.

"Your turn," he said, trudging through the water towards me.

"Scott." The blonde didn't pause, if anything he tried to speed up. I turned around to try and run from the water, but it ended up just below my waist when he caught up to me. He wrapped his arms around me again, spinning us around, then going back to where we were moments later. I tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he wasn't letting me go this time.

"I'm going to punch you!"

"Yeah, okay," he said, clearly not believing it.

"This is so childish," I whined. I heard him chuckle behind me. "Can we call a truce?" I turned my head to look at him and he sighed loudly.

"I suppose," he said after a moment of consideration. And for a second, I believed him. At least, until he fell back into the water with his arms still around me.

-

Scott managed to convince me to do a lot of things in the time that I was with him. I felt like I stepped out of my comfort zone many times, but he always managed to persuade me.

Among the things he convinced me about was the fact that he could drive a boat, which I was obviously quite skeptical about. But then there he was, persuading me to let him drive me around one early morning. I immediately questioned him, only to find out that he wanted to go to the nearby town to get coffee with me. He said I should trust him, but last time I did, we ended up pushing each other into the water for a good chunk of an afternoon.

However, it was a cute proposition and an hour later, I ended up sitting in a seat next to his with my feet propped up on a ledge in the boat. We eventually slowed down as we began to wind through a seemingly unending river. He appeared to pay more attention to his surroundings than actually driving the boat, but I felt too relaxed to care. The light wind and sun on my skin only made it so much more soothing. I rolled my head to the side, and opened an eye to look at the blonde who was now staring at me. I sighed heavily before calling him out on it.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He snickered as I turned my head again. I kept my eyes closed for another moment, but I looked back to him when I heard his phone camera.

"Scott!"

He grinned. "What? You said I could."

"I didn't mean it! Its just--" His smile only grew wider, and I knew it was pointless to argue with him. I closed my eyes again, but they opened a second later as I felt my phone vibrate. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the text.

I miss youuu

Imy2

"Who are you texting?"

"Kirstie," I answered, not even bothering to look his way. "Do you remember her?"

"Like... dated in middle school Kirstie?"

"Don't remind me," I groaned.

"Did you break up or something?"

"Yes. To both." He raised an eyebrow, obviously confused. "I don't know how you haven't gotten the memo yet, but I'm quite gay." He stared at me for a moment before trying to suppress a grin.

"Good to know." I rolled my eyes, then continued to speak.

"We're best friends now, which I'm quite thankful for." He gave me a small smile and then I glanced back down to my phone.

When are you coming back?

We're up here through the fourth plus a few days

Ugh. Well I hope you're having fun and are surrounded by cute boys

I am, don't worry

Wait, which one are you talking about?

Both?

You have a cute boy by you?

Yeah

Pictures, Mitchell

I initially rolled my eyes before slowly, subtly pointing my phone in his direction. He was once again caught up in something on the shore, so I called for him.

"Scotty?" He turned to me instantly and I let out a small laugh when I saw just how caught off guard he looked in the picture.

"Hey, I didn't say you could take pictures of me."

"I'd rather not keep staring." He didn't even attempt to hide a smile as I sent the picture to her. Her reply was almost immediate.

Oh he's cuteee

Remember that boy I used to be friends with when we were kids? Scott?

Yeah?

That's him

Mitchell

That is my name

I swear to god if you don't end up with him by the time you leave

I couldn't help but look up to the blonde one last time, sighing as I thought.

We'll see

-

"As much as I love my parents, I'm glad we don't need to be stuck on a boat with them."

"But you're stuck on a dock with me."

"At least I can easily get off the dock."

I gasped, then lightly hit his arm. "I'll shove you in the water." He glanced to his left, noticing the water just a foot or so away. I made a point to grab his shirt, and his head snapped back to my direction.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Payback is a bitch."

"You're a twink, I'm sure you could do a lot." My jaw dropped.

"Did you just--" He simply smirked, then turned back around and kept walking.

"Come on, the fireworks are about to start. You need to watch the whole show to make up for the past few years."

"Are you just trying to distract me?" I asked, slowly following him.

"Only if its working." I rolled my eyes, then watched as he dropped the blanket he was holding. He quickly sat down on top of it, then looked to me expectantly. He patted the spot next to him, and I didn't even hesitate in sitting down by his side.

A few minutes later the first firework was launched into the sky, followed by many others suddenly going off. Soon, the sky was littered in brightly colored fireworks, creating an absolutely gorgeous sight. I couldn't believe that this is what I had missed out on all the summers I had spent at home.

"I missed this so much." I heard him mutter something in reply, but I was too distracted to catch what it was. I glanced at him, hoping to get him to say it again, but instead he was just looking at me. I returned his gaze for a minute before speaking up.

"You gonna keep staring at me?"

"Maybe."

"Stop it," I said. It was more playful than anything, but he did turn back to the colorful sky.

"Sorry," he muttered. It was my turn to stare at him for a moment, but unlike him, I was able to eventually turn away. A few more minutes passed, and I snuck another glance at him, only to see his eyes on me again.

"Stop it," I repeated. I looked back to the water, but could practically still feel his eyes on the side of my head. I rolled my eyes before glancing back at him. Sure enough, they were still locked on me. His eyes slowly drifted to mine, and I was suddenly a bit uneasy.

"You're supposed to be watching the fireworks," I whispered. The fireworks could have drowned out a normally spoken sentence, but whispering felt so much more appropriate in this moment. His gaze flickered down before he met my eyes again.

"I know." As if the moment didn't feel surreal enough, another round of fireworks went off. I could feel and just barely see him move closer, and I was suddenly aware of my heart pounding in my chest. He didn't stop moving though, just kept slowly coming my way. Eventually he slightly paused, however our faces were now only a few inches away.

"Can I do something?"

"Mhm."

And then he was moving forward again. Our noses brushed together, he hesitated for a second, then was surging forward to kiss me. Even though I knew this moment had been coming for a few minutes, the feeling of his lips on mine shocked me.

Gentle was the only way to describe the kiss. I wasn't sure it was because he was that afraid of kissing me or if he was afraid of hurting me or if it was something else, but I wasn't about to stop and question him.

He pulled back unexpectedly, which made me realize just how much I had wanted to kiss him. If someone would have told me his kisses were this intoxicating, I would have kissed him the second I saw him. I moved forward when he pulled back, chasing his lips with my own.

I barely opened my eyes only to see him returning the gaze with his lips slightly parted. He appeared to be stunned but I didn't get a chance to question him. He was leaning back in quickly, kissing me much more enthusiastically than before.

My attention was soon redirected to the hand I suddenly felt on my waist. He pushed me ever so gently, encouraging me to lean back and lay on the dock. He positioned himself between my legs and kept kissing me, eventually setting his other hand on me as well.

I was vaguely aware of the fireworks that kept going, also barely aware of the thought of just how cliche this was. Fireworks going on while I felt fireworks. It wasn't just the literal fireworks going off, the occasional flashes of light I noticed, the loud noise each one made, or even the faint smell of smoke in the air. But every time he moved his hands to a new part of me or every time he kissed me in just a slightly different way, I practically felt the sparks.

He suddenly pulled away again, then slowly pushed himself up and off of me. He bit his lip, slowly letting it run through his teeth as he very obviously thought about something.

"Can I take you inside?"

-

And there we were, laying in his bed nearly an hour later. Mind you, we were still fully clothed, however they were awfully disheveled. Our swollen lips and heavy breathing were another giveaway of what just happened. Scott still kept me close, even after we agreed to put a little space in between us. As we laid in silence, he kept stealing kisses from me as I just relished in the moment.

"My parents are back," he quietly spoke after an undetermined amount of time, snapping me out of my trance. I furrowed my eyebrows, not hearing anything until they began to talk. It was soon followed by footsteps, and we both worriedly looked to each other.

"Here," he said, grabbing the blanket that had been pushed down to our feet. "We're gonna pretend to be sleeping."

"That's the best plan you have?"

"Its the only plan we have."

I pushed close to him once again as he wrapped his arm around my waist. He quickly pressed his lips to my forehead and merely a second later the door was being pushed open. We shut our eyes tightly, just waiting until we were alone once again.

"Yeah, he's here," his mother spoke. "He's sleeping right now... Um, with Scott... Yes, in the same bed... Not very surprising, is it..." Her voice suddenly became impossible to hear as the door quietly clicked shut. Neither one of us moved for a moment or two, but then we were barely opening our eyes to look at each other. Scott glanced over my shoulder before turning his attention back to me.

"So I guess you're staying here tonight?"

-

The last few days passed way too quickly. Scott would have quickly agreed with that statement too. After the fourth, we seemingly never spent enough time together, even though we were already spending a majority of our day by each others side. A few nights later I mentioned casually, or at least I tried to make it casual, that I would be leaving sooner than later. I was pretty sure he tried to ignore me when I said that, but soon we were faced with the inevitable.

He ended up kissing me on the dock all morning. How our parents didn't notice us was beyond me. I was forced to start packing again halfway through the day. He didn't want to let me be alone, but I knew nothing would get done if he was by my side.

And then it was time for us to leave. I tried to come up with any excuse to stay even a minute or two later, but my parents, of course, didn't know why and therefore wasn't buying any of my explanations. They quickly said goodbye to Scott's parents, and were already in the car by the time the blonde showed himself. He wasted no time hugging me, and doing so for a long time as we quietly talked to each other.

"I don't want to leave," I said.

"I don't want you to go either, but you have to."

"Yeah." I paused for a minute. "You never told me what school you were going to."

"California, USC." I pushed closer to him. "I take it you're not going there." I just barely shook my head, then took note of him squeezing me gently.

Scott was the first one to loosen his grip. I knew it was to finally let me go, but it made me want to get that much closer to him. However, with that subtle movement, I was letting go of him too. When we had let go of each other enough, I stole one last glance at him. Even though I could see the heartbreak, he managed to crack a smile. I completely yet wordlessly pulled away then, and his face immediately dropped.

I turned back to the car, not wanting to see anymore sadness on his beautiful face. I quickly got in the backseat of the car, ready to be whisked away. However, moments later, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps on leaves. I looked out the open car window at the now much closer blonde. When he was close enough, he set his hand on the vehicle, leaning down. It was his turn to remain silent as he came even closer and firmly pressed his lips to mine.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"Yeah."