"Alright, so tell me, is it worth it?" Brendan asked as we sat on Colton's dock, our feet dangling in the warm water. I peered out across the darkness, the lake reflecting the bright midnight stars. The moon was only a slight sliver of a crescent, preventing the constellations from being obscured by the glowing light. I looked up, Orion's belt and the Big Dipper staring back at me. My body was warm from the alcohol, despite the chilly night-time summer breeze that swept across the lake. I stirred my feet around in the water, feeling the warm liquid slosh between my toes. Soft seaweed lightly grazed the soles of my feet. I let out a content sigh. "Guess that answers my question," Brendan spoke satisfactorily next to me.
"I think it's worth it," I said with a small chortle. "Beer is still nasty as fuck, though. I don't care what anyone says."
"What's goin' on over here?" a soft, familiar voice called in the distance behind me. I turned my torso to see Helena approaching us, her feet bare against the wooden surface. She plopped down next to me and hung her feet over the edge of the dock. "Everyone else went to bed, so you guys are stuck with me." I giggled and leaned my head against her shoulder, careful not to tip completely over.
"What about Colton?" I asked, my eyes fixated on the ripples in the water caused by Helena's entrance.
"What about him?" she snorted, reaching in her pocket for her lighter and cigarettes.
"Is this not his house?" I cackled.
"Oh, yeah, it is," she responded simply. "But he doesn't care. Not like we're gonna trash the place." She paused for a brief moment and asked hushedly, "Or are we?"
"We? No. You? Who knows," Brendan teased from beside me, taking a sip from his bottle.
"So what'd you think, chickie? You like everyone?" Helena asked me with a muffled voice, her cigarette perched between her lips as she fumbled with the lighter in her hand.
"I do, actually," I responded honestly. "Alina seems really sweet. I didn't talk to Kellie much, but she's nice. Colton is..." I trailed off at a loss for words.
"Strange." Helena finished my sentence. "I know. I told you. He's just... Colton," she giggled.
"He's more than strange," Brendan quipped from beside me. "He's a dick."
"Oh, Brendan, he just picks on you because you're an easy target," Helena replied matter-of-factly.
"And that makes it okay?" Brendan asked in disbelief. I stayed silent, partly because of the alcohol blurring my thoughts, but mostly because I had no idea what the fuck was going on.
"No, of course not," Helena exhaled a cloud of smoke and shrugged. "But, like, it's Colton dude. One, what he says holds literally no merit. Two, he's clueless. I don't think he even knows that he gets under your skin. He does it to all of us! He's harmless."
"It's not harmless, Helena," Brendan replied, standing up and sliding his shoes on. "He says shit that actually affects me. I don't like it, I don't like him, and it's kinda fucked that you are okay with it." He tossed his bottle in a recycling can on the corner of the dock and wordlessly disappeared around the corner of the house.
"Well, goodnight then," she muttered under her breath, carelessly taking another puff of her nearly-finished cigarette.
"Uh... what was that?" was all I could muster.
"I don't know, dude. Brendan has been super uptight this summer," she said with an exasperated sigh. "He's just so sensitive sometimes."
"What's wrong with sensitive?" I asked, a bit hurt knowing that I'm probably one of the most sensitive people to ever walk the earth.
"There's nothing wrong with being sensitive," she reassured. "But that's not Brendan. I would know, he's been my friend since I was twelve. Brendan doesn't give a fuck about anything!" Helena was now arguing with herself. "I think there's something going on, but I don't know what. He's super closed off and doesn't talk about himself, so I dunno. Maybe one day I'll figure it out."
"Just give it time," was the only advice I could muster.
"And that's what I'll do," Helena replied with a smile. "Come on, it's time to get you home so you can get a good night's sleep for our next adventure tomorrow." She stood up and I followed suit, following her toward the front of the house.
"What are we doing tomorrow?" I questioned curiously, no longer nervous, but actually excited. We hopped up on the golf cart and Helena threw it in reverse.
"I'm gonna take you to the cabin!" she announced proudly, accelerating the golf cart forward and sending a shiver down my spine with the wind that blew through our hair. "A little past the 'B' section is an abandoned cabin back in the woods. Not gonna lie, it's a little freaky, but a super cool spot to explore. Plus, it's on the edge of the bay where we can swim." I shrugged as she approached my lake house.
"Sounds fun," my drunk mind blurted out. I knew tomorrow when I was sober it would not sound fun. "Well, okay, you know where to find me!" I hopped off the golf cart, gave Helena a wave goodbye, and snuck in the sunroom door.