I'LL BE THERE SOMEDAY, I CAN GO THE DISTANCE. I will find my way if I can be strong. I know every mile would be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong.

The song only finished one verse before the blonde groggily lifted her head from the mess of hair suffocating her on her pillow. She picked up the ringing cell phone from her bedside table, stretched and absently answered the device with a yawn. "Bonjour."

Some snickering could be heard in the background as a feminine voice replied, "Good morning, Belle."

The blonde rubbed her eyes and pulled the phone from her ear to check the caller identification before continuing the conversation. "Hey, Jo... Is there a reason that you called?"

"Art... I'm gonna let you think about what you just asked," Jo replied before then adding after a beat of silence passed, "You forgot... didn't you."

"Forget what? It's a Saturday—" Before she could protest, she was interrupted by several groans on the other end of the line. "Am I on speaker?" She yawned once more as if her body was trying to emphasize how tired she was. She'd spent the last three nights preparing for her French final and once learning she'd passed, well she'd stayed up even later watching Beauty and the Beast to celebrate.

"California, Artemis."

A lightbulb suddenly went off in her mind reminding her exactly what she'd forgotten. To celebrate their graduation, she and her friends had planned a cross-country road trip out to California, specifically Disneyland. They'd been planning the trip for months, and now that she looked at the time, she understood why everyone on the other end sounded annoyed. The plan was to leave that morning around seven... it was now eleven and she still had yet to pack.

"Of course, California," she scrambled for an excuse as she dashed around her room. "I knew that... I'm ready, in fact I've been ready for over an hour—"

"Sure," Jo interrupted, skepticism dripping from her voice.

"I'll be down in five," Artemis insisted as she then hung up and crammed everything that she could fit into the purple duffle bag that lay open on the floor. She threw her hair up into a sloppy ponytail without bothering to brush out the tangles as she threw open the door to her apartment and debated waiting for the elevator. Unfortunately, the doors closed seconds before she could step on. With a sigh, she opened the door to the stairwell and quickly descended. Moments later, she was outside, pulling her coat tighter around herself as she threw open the door to the van where several faces eagerly waited for her.

"See," Artemis insisted, out of breath as she tossed her duffle into the back before taking a seat beside Jo. "All ready."

Jo shook her head slowly with a light chuckle. "Yeah, after how long though?"

"Ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds," the boy in the seat behind her piped up and adjusted his glasses. "But who's keeping track?"

Artemis rolled her eyes and playfully pushed the boy back into his seat. Daniel "Danny Boy" Wright. A genius in every academic aspect and he'd taken the word valedictorian as his entire personality. His dark hair always seemed to fall in front of his eyes causing his glasses to constantly slide down the bridge of his nose enlarging his blue eyes. She'd known him since high school but attending the same college had only strengthened their bond as friends.

Jo couldn't help but laugh as Daniel was pushed back. Jovi Everton. Artemis's best friend since... well as long as she could remember. The brunette beamed with perfectly white teeth; furthermore, her vibrant blue eyes complemented the rest of her features which always seemed to draw the world's attention. If she wanted, she was capable of going out with any guy she saw; however, she was much more concentrated on her athletic lifestyle. Despite just graduating, she was already starting to prepare for a professional soccer career.

The boy in the driver's seat, with eyes much darker than Jo's, leaned back with a false sense of annoyance. His brunet hair intentionally stuck up in every direction which would drive an individual with OCD insane. "Can we hit the road yet? We've got a long drive ahead of us."

"I don't know," Jo retorted with equal annoyance which drew some chuckles from the back of the van. "Can we?"

The two stared daggers at each other before the boy broke eye contact with an eye role. Winston York—though everyone just called him Chip—most popular guy on campus. He had an effortless sense of charm that made it extremely hard to find him unlikeable. He and Jo had a unique relationship at that. As both were extremely competitive, they constantly felt the need to outdo one another. However, he was also a huge flirt which only added another reason for Jo and him to be at odds.

From the back of the van, a girl with a wild mane of red hair popped up and practically hit her head on the roof of the vehicle. "Yeah! Let's get this party started!"

The boy sitting beside her also popped up—but unlike his counterpart—he actually did hit his head on the roof. It seemed as if he had made an attempt to high-five the girl, but instead ended up rubbing his head. "Ow."

Chip huffed and looked at the back of the van through the rear-view mirror. "Babs. Ollie. Sit down before you break something important... like my van!"

The two sat and giggled about the incident despite the temporary bit of pain it had brought. Blair "Babs" Samuels and Oliver "Ollie" Duncan. Quite the pair the two were and hardly without one another by their side. It made sense that the campus's party-girl and class-clown would immediately bond. Although her red hair made her stand out, Blair had a large enough personality to cover even the thought of blending in with the crowd while Oliver constantly found himself at times in way over his head. However, the smiles and giggles amounted after each prank and shenanigan made the consequences worth it in his eyes. He may have goofed off more than necessary, but he had a heart of gold.

"Perhaps we could get some music turned on?" a deeper voice gruffed. The boy in the black hoodie leaned up against the side of the vehicle with his arms crossed and his hood pulled up past his eyes. He appeared unamused, but that was expected.

Michael "Mick" Evans. If one jumped to conclusions too quickly, they'd overlook anything of substance due to the boy's appearance. Ragged jean and a vandalism record didn't exactly create the best reputation, but Artemis had learned that the boy's tough exterior was just an act at times. Of course, he'd pummel anyone who ever suggested anything, but underneath the surface he was a real softie.

Chip nodded his head and turned on the stereo which just happened to be tuned into one of the few Disney stations offered. Jo grinned and nudged the girl sitting in the passenger seat, "Alright, Pipes, who wrote this one?"

The girl covered in freckles pursed her lips in thought for just a second before snapping her fingers and spouting off all that she could recall. "'Friend like Me' from Disney's Aladdin, sung by Robin Williams. It was composed by Alan Menken and the lyrics were written by Howard Ashman. It was released on October 31, 1992."

"Are you sure you didn't look that up?" Chip raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the passenger seat.

The girl giggled and shook her head. "Nope... I just have way too much spare time on my hands."

Jo rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Whatever, you keep yourself just as busy as I do."

Viola "Pipes" Idris. The young musical prodigy. A pure genius when it came to notes and chords, and she even played a few instruments herself. The various awards that she'd earned, scattered around her dorm room, was enough proof if anyone so much as questioned her abilities.

She took a mock bow, or as close to one as she could in the confined space of the van which resulted in a few chuckles and giggles before the group quieted and focused on the road. Sure... the distance from Orlando to Anaheim would take a day and a half of nonstop driving, but the journey was half the fun. However, it didn't take long for Oliver and Blair to gang up when it came to pestering Chip.

"Are we there yet?" Ollie asked.

"No..." Chip replied.

"Are we there yet?" Blair took a turn.

"No," Chip replied with less patience.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!" Chip snapped and whirled around in his seat. Viola quickly reached over to steady the wheel.

"Geez," Blair muttered. "No need to shout."

Chip growled under his breath and slowly turned his attention back to the road. Viola gently placed a hand on his shoulder and offered to drive until he cooled down, but she was promptly turned down. Jo tossed a lacrosse ball into the air to entertain herself and made the occasional side comment about Daniel doing some sort of extra-credit report after graduation. He quickly corrected her by saying that he was actually beginning his thesis on an extended research assignment, but she cut him off before he could begin discussing any of the details. Mick had slumped down further in his seat and decided that it was as good as any time to take a nap while Artemis pulled out a notepad to sketch.

The final member of the small group: Artemis "Art" Nelson. Artist by nature; however, that meant more than just being able to draw well. She was capable of picking out the smallest observable detail and commenting on it. Her thick blonde hair was constantly knotted and there were several times where she'd thought about chopping it all off just so that she wouldn't have to deal with it. Aside from a pencil, she was gifted when it came to the other arts, which also included writing and memorizing languages for some reason. She looked out the window for some inspiration, but her hand remained still as she was unable to even begin thinking about what she wanted to draw. She frowned at the blank piece of paper then put the notebook back into her bag with a sigh. Hopefully she'd find herself inspired at some point throughout the duration of their trip.

However, what the group hadn't expected was an extended delay in a small town just within the boundaries of California.