"You? Getting ready to go somewhere?" Cassandra noticed when she got home. I glanced over as she leaned on the railings of the stairs and then carried on. "What's the occasion?"

"I have plans," I announced, dropping my wavy hair over my multi-pierced ears.

"With?"

"Um do you know the boy whose parents own the café shop near Main Street?" I inquired.

"E...Evan—Evan!" she recalled with a snap. Then she frowned. "Sorry you lucked out; he has a girlfriend—well I least I think he still does."

"He does," I assured with a nod as I grabbed my keys. "Her name is Bailee and she's adorable."

"Oh," Cassandra said much to her surprise that maybe I wasn't trying to be a home wrecker. I walked right past her and trotted down the stairs. She asked me questions as I continued to leave, but I assumed that if she knew a boy who rode on the back of a truck was going, she wouldn't allow me to leave.

***

"Holy shit," Evan commented as I parked the car. I climbed out, noticing that only he and Bailee were there. Evan nearly drooled at my car.

"Where's Preston and Stella?"

"Flaking, of course," Bailee answered, standing up. "But that's fine. I'll just take you over there. If I knew you had a car—"

"—a beautiful, beautiful car," I heard Evan mutter as he stroked the hood. I laughed. He looked back at us. "Can I borrow this sometime?"

"Uh..."

"Evan," Bailee slightly scolded and then touched his shoulder while approaching the passenger side door. "I'll see you later."

They kissed quickly and I climbed in the driver's seat. On the way of receiving directions, I asked her why Evan wasn't coming. She shrugged at first, but explained that about a couple months ago, his best friend Aaron had gone missing and going out just wasn't his thing anymore...especially with these people so she put it. From there, I clued in that it would be the truck riding side of Preston I would be seeing tonight.

I was wrong.

When we got to the lake, there was already a fire burning. Preston, however, wasn't standing in the back of a truck; he was swinging on a rope on a pendulum going over the lake and back to the ground. He was speaking over the few dozen or so of people, but I couldn't hear anything until we got out of the car.

"Pres, just jump!" someone yelled while the distance over the lake and land was deteriorating. Preston pointed down at his commentator that was so easily seen since the lake had torches set up strategically to give the entire clearing some light.

"Shut the hell up," he ordered before slipping his foot out of the rope and returning to the Earth. I started to follow Bailee as she started to veer towards some of her girl friends, including Stella, but my eyes stayed on Preston who was making his way to his commenter, who was drinking from a red cup. Preston tipped up the end of the cup, causing the closest bystanders to laugh and then when the guy dropped the now-empty cup, he approached Preston's pretentious smirk as if he'd swing on him. Their mutual friends stepped between them so it wouldn't happen and then Bailee pulled me into her conversation.

"Ashlynn?"

"Huh?" I said, now paying attention. Bailee, Stella, and a couple other girls looked at me as if I was supposed to answer intelligently.

"I'm sorry for not being at the café just now to get you over here," Stella apologized as if she said it beforehand and was repeating herself. Or maybe the tone in her voice was from expecting immediate forgiveness.

"Oh, no worries. It's fine," I assured.

"All that matters is that we're here, now," Bailee smiled.

"Not that I didn't doubt you knew your way," Stella told her. "I just...got carried away with the guys."

"Ooh," another brunette wiggled her eyebrows.

"Not like that," Stella said. Before she could further defend herself, the bushy-haired guy from before threw his arm around her.

"Okay, it's later," he decided before looking over at me. "Who's the new girl?"

"Oh right, I'm sorry," Stella said. "Guys, this is Ashlynn. Ashlynn, these are my girls...and Rod."

"DJ Rod," he corrected, but then winked at me.

"You can't call yourself a DJ when there isn't any music on, Carlo," Preston suddenly appeared next to me. He looked down at me and sent a friendly smile. I forged one back.

"Well I'm sorry that I left an aux cord in my truck," DJ Rod AKA Carlo retorted. Preston smacked the back of his head.

"Then go get it, ya idiot."

"I can't," he said. "Ryder has my truck."

"Why does Ryder have your truck?" Stella asked with nothing but seriousness in her voice as if he was the last person that should've been granted access to the truck. As far as I knew, Ryder was some mysterious connection between all of these friends.

"He stole it," Carlo scratched the mop of hair on his head and looked down. The girls scoffed.

"I think I have an aux cord in my car," I announced to lighten the moment.

"Forreal?" Rod asked. I nodded. He followed me back to my mustang which was parked away from the clearing under a tree. Right as Rod checked out the faded muscle car, there was a familiar truck pulling up a few yards away as I looked through the center console for the black aux cord. When I presented it to Rod, he thanked me and when we started to meet up with the others, I looked over to see this "Ryder," but the cab of the truck was already empty and I was seeing a new person walk towards the rest of the group. Rod retired to his small, stereo set up and lifted the screen of a laptop after attaching the aux cord to both ends.

I made it back to the group and looked at Bailee as the music started.

"Thanks," Preston told me right as the volume raised and a few people cheered for having the melodic chords interacting with the natural surroundings. Then he looked over me and near the newly parked truck. "Though if we waited just a few more seconds, Rod would've had his own cord since Ryder so kindly graced us with his presence...Where is the bastard, anyways? I swear I just saw him."

You and me both.

"Ryder," Stella called over without the light I usually saw in her eyes. I looked to where she did. In the same circle of guys from which Preston almost fought, there was a moment of ruckus before there was a splash and I was hearing the same voice that had yelled at Preston yelling for help from being pushed in the lake. The boy who caused the mess, who attracted Stella, turned toward everyone with his face shadowed from my view and welcomed everyone to the fresh keg on the back of Rod's truck. It wasn't too long before two big guys heaved it from the bed and began dispersing it. In that time, Stella connected with who I assumed was Ryder and scolded him in her own low-voiced way on their commute here. I felt my phone ring right as they neared us. When I pulled it out of my pocket, it wasn't any number I recognized other than from being from Florida. I ignored it and slid the phone back in my pocket.

"The infamous Ryder Ramon has arrived," Preston announced to just us and I saw the other two girls fidget as if flirtatiously. Bailee had no change. Stella however smiled as she hugged the medium built boy's torso. I looked at who he was and my breath was caught. The boy was just short of six feet tall with high quality arms and a muscular body. I didn't need him to remove his plain gray t-shirt to prove the predictable set of abs he had because his defined collarbone showing through and his broad shoulders were enough for me. He had a firmly set jaw line just barely covered with the lightest beard and mustache he had forgotten to shave. His eyes were small in comparison with his wide nose and angled eyebrows. His skin tone was a medium crème color kissed with the permanent tan of the sun which went well with his black styled hair that swooshed at the top but was otherwise short along the sides. He was beautiful.

And I hoped he thought I was worthy enough to even be standing near him. A part of me thought he did consider me the least bit attractive too because while Stella had a hold on him, he completely relaxed out of it and removed his arm from her shoulders. His other hand played nervously at his side and he attempted to cover it up by crossing his arms, giving me another reason to find him attractive by his muscles. His brown eyes remained connected to mine the entire time and I couldn't complain. There was something drawing me into them. I could see through this mysterious boy's tough-guy wall for a split second for some reason without knowing anything about him other than the passion he could offer me through one look. I didn't know how long we shared the glance, but it felt like an eternity which mirrored just how long I would want to spend looking at the gorgeous boy. He didn't even try to look away himself. The only thing he looked like he tried to do was keep himself from falling over. He even took a step forward as if he was about to collapse and caught himself.

"Sorry. He's bad with manners," Stella joked tossing a hand at his chest for standing there like an idiot, but inside of me, I felt as if there was an animal barking out at her to tell her that she was wrong—that this boy knew not of bad manners. I didn't know why I thought so highly of a boy who had just pushed another into a lake for nothing. But still, I would be patient and encourage my gut feeling and Ryder himself to prove everyone wrong.

"Dude," Preston finally said, sending a hand to his friend's shoulder. Ryder snapped his head over to him and blinked a few times. Preston frowned, noting something was off about him, but Ryder's gaze returned to mine.

"I'm Ryder," he said and his voice was glazed with such an acute measure of an accent that I found desirable. But I couldn't even find it within myself to speak. Speak, Ashlynn, speak. Thankfully, Bailee did for me while Stella's friendly smile was turned into that of concern for how Ryder—or maybe us, as a pair—acted.

"This is Ashlynn," Bailee introduced gesturing towards me. My face got warmer as I saw Ryder try to keep the side of his lip unturned, but I knew better. "She got here this weekend and is staying with her aunt...what's your aunt's name?"

"Cassandra," I answered, able to apparently interact with her but not Ryder.

"Oh hey, is it the Cassandra that works in the clinic?" Bailee asked. I nodded. She smiled. "My mom works there too."

"Cassandra...Everton?" Ryder asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Y-yeah," I answered and then his eyes widened only a fraction of an inch for only a fraction of a second before he turned his shoulders and left the circle of friends. I watched him as if my eyes and soul were only focused on his own evolution. I wanted to follow him and question why my aunt's name made him leave so abruptly.

"Again with the whole bad manners thing," Bailee teased with a forged chuckle. I noticed that Stella looked down at the ground as if something was ripped away from her. Something being Ryder.

"He just doesn't like newcomers," Preston unconfidently notified before bidding us farewell with a quick side smile.

Before he could probably catch up with his friend, I was seeing Ryder not only grab a cup of beer but he chugged all of it by the time he made it to Rod's truck, which he climbed in with no problem and drove off after a few seconds of fidgeting with something near the gear shift or ignition. I didn't know what it was, but then again, I could see him lift a bottle of beer up to his lips while the truck roared to life.

"Ryder!" Stella yelled, running towards the truck.

"Stella—" Preston tried to stop her from running into the gravel paved road where Ryder took over.

"Why the hell did you let him do that?" Stella yelled at Preston. Then she turned to Rod, who had stepped down from his podium. "And why the hell does he have your keys?!"

Rod produced a ring of keys from his pocket. "He doesn't."

"Ugh!" Stella expelled. "I don't even know what happened."

"Stella, just let him cool off," Preston encouraged.

"He's drinking and driving through the streets, Pres," Bailee commented for our ears.

"Have you seen his tolerance? He'll be fine—"

"Because all this town needs is another dead teenager," a new girl passing by voiced. She had dirty blonde hair that got lighter as it neared the ends, but other than that her hair fell just past her shoulders just a bit frizzy as straightened. I couldn't see her face, but her body language read that she was fragile and tired.

"Then you wouldn't mind coming with me to find him then," Preston offered, somehow hearing the girl.

"You couldn't pay me to be confined in a vehicle with you," she insulted as she continued to walk into the trees as if this party offered nothing to her but a patch of angst scenery on her nightly stroll. Her eyes met mine and slightly narrowed as if she was trying to recognize me, but then it was a glare as if in hatred and then I felt her eyes shift to all of us standing in the cluster before she turned her head and left out of our view.

"Freak," one of the other girls commented at her. Bailee looked up at her as if she was offended herself.

"Well I'm gonna go find him," Preston said as he spun on his heels. I heard a jingle of keys before I saw him climb into a car that I couldn't truly identify in the dark at this distance.