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After River's shirt got destroyed, she was too upset to even think about being around other people. So, she told Liz she was going home. Of course, Liz wasn't going to let her walk home alone, so she hurried to find one of the boys to let them know she was leaving.

Liz pulled River along as she searched for one of the boys. She lets out a relieved sigh as she sees Conrad.

"Conrad." Liz calls out. The boy turns to her and walks over.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna leave with River. Dakota spilled his drink all over her."

"Oh yeah, okay. You guys want me to walk you?" He asks

"No, no. It's okay. I just wanted to let someone know."

"Okay." He nods, "Uh, let me know when you make it in, okay?"

"Yeah." She nods with a smile before she turns to River, "Okay, let's go."

River doesn't say anything and immediately makes her way to the door. It's not long before they make it out onto the front lawn and start to make their way to River's. It's silent for a couple of minutes as the two girls walk beside each other. River's arms are crossed over her chest as she holds a scowl on her face.

River hears shuffling beside her before she feels Liz wrap something around her shoulders. She looks at her arm and sees Liz's jackets on her.

"You don't have to do that." River says as she starts to take it off

"No, it's my idiot brother's fault that you're covered in alcohol. The least I can do is give you my jacket." Liz says

"I completely forgot you even had a brother."

"Yeah, he's my twin unfortunately." Liz sighs

River rolls her eyes, "God bless you."

Liz chuckles as River pulls the jacket closer.

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The next morning, Dakota comes down the stairs with a sigh. His hair disheveled and a shirt wasn't present. As he makes his way around the corner, the last thing he expects to see, is River sitting at the kitchen island.

The girl looks up at the sound of footsteps and immediately rolls her eyes before looking back down at her phone.

"Well, good morning to you too." Dakota says sarcastically as he digs in the cabinet

"It's 1 in the afternoon, asshole." River says

"Then good afternoon." Dakota says, "Geez, last time I try to be nice to you."

River looks up as Dakota starts to pour cereal into a bowl, "You still owe me $40, you know that?"

"Well, I'm sorry to say it, but you're not getting $40." He says as he walks to the fridge to get milk, "It's just a shirt. Wash it."

"Even if I did, wash it, it's stained. I don't know what the hell you mixed together, but my shirt is a completely different color."

Dakota pours his milk and puts it away, "Oops?"

"Oops?" River scoffs

Dakota shrugs as he takes a bite of his cereal. He turns away and walks back toward the staircase. River sits in disbelief as Liz walks back into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Liz says

River turns to her, "I hate your brother."

Liz chuckles as she sits by her, "I'm sorry."

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The rest of that summer was what Liz would describe as torture. Anytime she brought River around, there was an argument between her and Dakota. She never heard the end of it. If River wasn't complaining about Dakota, Dakota was complaining about River.

Dakota stopped at nothing to make River's life a living hell. There were more times than Liz could count where she had to physically restrain River from killing Dakota.

Of course, it got to the point where she just let them at each other. Liz wasn't going to stop hanging out with River just because of Dakota. Especially since the reason they didn't like each other wasn't that serious.

So, she enjoyed the rest of her summer. Hanging out with Belly, spending time with Susannah, Laurel, and her mom. Doing what she normally did every summer.

Dakota was having fun. He enjoyed making River upset. For one reason or another, it was funny to him. Whether it be because she looked funny when she got upset since she was so short. Or maybe it was because there was someone else other than Belly, Liz, or Taylor that he could rile up. Or maybe it was something else. He couldn't quite figure out why he enjoyed so much, but he did.

River on the other hand, wanted to kill Dakota. To her, he was the most annoying person on planet earth. She hadn't planned on meeting someone like him. She just wanted to enjoy her summer with her friends and nothing more. Evidently, someone higher up had it out for her. She didn't know what she did to deserve it, but here he was. Any chance he got, he messed with her.

If River was in the pool with Liz, he would jump in right by her almost landing on top of her. Splashing and practically almost drowning her whenever he landed.

If the teens were all hanging out at the beach, he would run right past her to cover her in sand. When she would yell at him, he would just laugh and continue on with what he was doing.

If River slept over with Liz, he would take every chance he could to come into the room and mess with the two. Of course, Liz was somewhat used to it, but River was an only child. She wasn't used to being bothered 24/7 especially by someone she couldn't stand.

But Dakota made sure she knew exactly how Liz felt. He would come in to tease her about whatever he could come up with. There were times when he would just come in and sit right beside her to annoy her.

He did this all summer and he had no intentions of stopping.

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Time went on and the twins' birthday came up. Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, and Belly couldn't see them seeing as it was the middle of April and they had school, but they did text and call to wish them a happy birthday.

The twins had just come home from school. It was a Friday and they were going to go out with a couple of friends to celebrate their 18th birthday. Liz was upstairs in her room and their mom was in the kitchen doing god knows what. Dakota couldn't exactly be bothered to figure out what.

As he starts to make his way toward the staircase, there's a knock at the front door. He stops in his tracks hoping his mom didn't notice that he was anywhere near the door, but failed.

"Dakota, please get the door." She calls out

Dakota groans as he throws his head back, "Who even is it?"

He turns and makes his way toward the door, "Liz, there's someone here for you." Megan calls out

"If it's for Liz, why do I have to get the door?" He says as he opens the door. He stops before he sighs dramatically, "Seriously?"

"My least favorite person." River says as she pushes past him to walk in

"Awe, that's a shame." He says as he turns to her

River rolls her eyes as they hear steps coming down the stairs. A gasp is heard before the steps quicken, "River!" The girl smiles as Liz immediately wraps her arms around her, "I didn't even know you were coming."

"I wanted to surprise you." River smiles as they pull away, "Happy birthday."

Liz smiles as she hugs her again.

"You do know that we're twins, right?" Dakota says. Liz sighs as River turns to him. Her face holding a look that only Dakota gets, "It is my birthday, too."

"I don't care about your birthday. I didn't come here for you." River says

"Ouch." He says feigning hurt, "You were the happy birthday I was waiting for."

Liz huffs before grabbing River's hand and leading her upstairs. Dakota watching them until they were out of sight. He then turns to his right as Megan walks into the room. She smiles at him, "Don't give her a hard time."

"I'm not." Dakota shrugs. Megan raises her brows knowingly. Dakota sighs as he raises his hands in surrender, "Fine."

Megan smiles at him rubbing his shoulder before heading back to the kitchen.

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