𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮
ᴾᵒᵒˡ ᵈᵃʸˢ

The afternoon sun beamed down over Elena's backyard, the bright blue of the pool glistening under the light.

Elena leaned against one of the lounge chairs, her sunglasses perched on her nose as she watched her friends splashing around.

The sound of laughter mixed with the soft hum of a speaker playing a summer playlist in the background. It felt good to be home.

Alex was already halfway across the pool, attempting to dunk Amelia, who was screeching and splashing water in every direction.

Heaven was sitting on the edge of the pool, her legs dangling in the water as she scrolled on her phone.

Charolette and Aaron were sitting dangerously close together on one of the pool chairs, whispering and laughing.

Elena noticed the way Aaron's arm casually draped over the back of the chair behind Charolette — subtle, but very much intentional.

"You're looking awfully cozy," Elena teased as she walked toward them.

Aaron grinned, but Charolette was the one who answered. "He's just trying to avoid getting pushed into the pool."

"Oh really?" Elena smirked. "You sure it's not because you like sitting next to him?"

Aaron gave Elena a look that was both defensive and amused. "Don't you have better things to do than bother me?"

"Absolutely not." Elena smiled, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head.

"You're one to talk," Charolette shot back, raising an eyebrow. "Where's Mason?"

Elena's expression faltered slightly, but she covered it with a casual shrug. "Not here."

"He's missing out," Charolette said with a sly smile.

Alex suddenly launched himself out of the water, yelling, "AMBUSH!" as he grabbed Elena's arm and started pulling her toward the pool.

"Alex, don't you dare!" Elena screamed, laughing as she struggled to get free.

"I think you need to cool off!" Alex grinned.

"Alex—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was yanked off balance. Elena shrieked as she hit the cold water, sinking beneath the surface before coming up, gasping and brushing her soaked hair out of her face. Alex was already swimming away, laughing hysterically.

"You're dead!" Elena shouted, swimming after him.

Amelia was laughing so hard from the side of the pool that she almost fell in. "Finally, some action!"

After a minute of chasing Alex (and failing to catch him), Elena swam over to the edge where Charolette was sitting with her feet in the water. Aaron was still lounging in the chair, his eyes half-closed as if he were just enjoying the sound of everyone's chaos.

"So," Elena said, swimming up to where Charolette was sitting. "Are you two gonna make it official or what?"

Charolette's cheeks turned pink. "What are you talking about?"

Aaron cracked one eye open, smirking. "Yeah, Elena. What are you talking about?"

"Come on," Elena said, resting her chin on her arms as she floated near the edge. "It's so obvious."

"You're the one who said I should wait," Aaron reminded her, his gaze flicking toward Charolette for half a second.

"I said to wait until I got back," Elena pointed out. "Well... I'm back."

Charolette glanced at Aaron, smiling softly.

"I mean... if you're ready," Aaron said, his voice casual but his expression more serious.

Charolette's smile widened. "Maybe."

"Ooooh," Heaven called from the side of the pool. "Aaron's getting bold!"

Aaron rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

Elena's heart felt lighter as she floated on her back, listening to the sound of her friends' laughter echoing around the backyard. This was exactly what she'd needed — no stress, no overthinking, just her friends and the summer sun.

Alex swam up next to her, shaking the water from his hair. "So... are we doing a game or what?"

"Truth or dare?" Amelia suggested.

Elena grinned. "You guys are going down."

Aaron's arm slipped around Charolette's shoulders as they sat back, watching the chaos unfold. Elena couldn't help but smile at the sight. After everything, it was nice to feel like everything was falling into place — at least for now

— ETERNAL SUNSHINE —