Auriana
After four long weeks, it was finally time for summer vacation. We were standing at the airport, waiting for the last of our group to arrive. Jake and I had decided to go anyway. He would stay with me and make sure everything went smoothly. I had confided in him that I still wasn't ready to tell the others about my past in Starsskies Bay. I nervously fiddled with the handle of my suitcase, trying to calm myself down.
"Where are Nikki, Scarlet, and Jeremy?" grumbled Renee.
"You know Nikki, she's always late," Emma laughed. Jake saw me nervously fiddling with the handle of my suitcase and placed his hand on mine. To look at him, I had to look up.
"Don't be so nervous. Everything will be alright." My first instinct was to give him a warning look, but I saw he really meant it, so my gaze softened and I gave him a weak smile. I felt like the right time to tell my friends about my past hadn't come yet. I actually wanted to do it that afternoon in the park...but after the news of the bakery robbery, I didn't think it was that important anymore.
"Okay, we can go." We jumped at the sound of those words. We hadn't realized that Nikki, Scarlet, and Jeremy were standing with us. Maya and Alex had arranged the entire trip for us, but we hadn't received our tickets from them yet. They also had nothing in their hands.
"Where are we supposed to get tickets?" Skylar asked, looking around. We were still quite far in front, near the entrance. We even had to check our luggage at one of those special conveyor belts. Something inside me seemed to scream that the twins hadn't arranged anything and we were about to get into serious trouble. What if we weren't all on the same flight?
"We don't need those," Alex replied. Wait, what? We all looked at him and Maya questioningly. None of us understood.
"We're going on our own plane," Maya said, as she walked to the correct gate. She clearly didn't realize the rest of us had stopped dead in our tracks after this announcement.
"Our own plane?" What did she mean? Okay, we knew Maya and Alex's father ran a major record label, but we didn't know they had a private plane too. It just goes to show we don't know everything about them yet.
"What?" Alex asked, confused. We looked at them with raised eyebrows.
"Not everyone has their own private jet." Maya seemed to understand what Emma was saying. We continued walking until we reached the correct gate. Once through, we went downstairs where a member of staff was already waiting for us. He took our suitcases from us and loaded them onto the plane. One by one, we climbed the steps to enter the aircraft. The inside of the cabin looked just as breathtaking as the outside. It wasn't like the plastic on commercial planes…no, this was much more homey. The interior was covered in yellow wallpaper, the floor was black carpet, and the interior was made of white leather. We watched as Maya and Alex stood grinning in the doorway. Once we'd all picked our seats, they let the pilot know we were ready to depart. Once we were airborne, we finally recovered a bit and quickly became accustomed to the luxury. Yet, something kept nagging at me as I nervously glanced out the window. The others probably thought I was nervous about flying. Jake noticed and put his hand on my knee to stop it from wobbling. I didn't even realize I was doing it. I gave him a weak smile and rested my head on his shoulder.
"Okay, come on, are you two a couple now or not?" Maya asked. She wasn't one to beat around the bush. Maya was straight to the point, loud and clear. You didn't have to try to beat around the bush yourself; if she wanted to know something, she'd make sure she found out. I looked up but remained silent.
"You've been so much closer since the accident." Her look said it all.
"Emma's right, ever since Jake finally admitted his feelings for you five months ago..." Jake gave Jeremy a dirty look. After he admitted his feelings, he didn't know how to tell me. Although I did, because just like Brooke, Jeremy can't keep secrets. So once he told Brooke, it was only a matter of time before she told me. It wasn't a lie either; Jake and I had grown much closer since the accident. Luckily, Scarlet changed the subject so I didn't have to answer their questions about Jake and me...unfortunately, the new topic wasn't one of my favorite topics either.
"Auriana? You're from Starsskies Bay, aren't you?" Shit, why did she have to remember this now? Should I just tell them now? Or should I keep it quiet until we got to Starsskies Bay? Or until we ran into them?
"Um...yeah...now that you mention that...I have to tell you something...," I swallowed before continuing, "when I lived in Starsskies Bay I had a rather peculiar group of friends... we called ourselves The Panthers..." Apparently Maya and Alex were already familiar with the name, because it didn't take long for Maya to interrupt me.
"You were a member of the gang terrorizing Starsskies Bay?!" Maya asked in horror. This wasn't going the way I'd hoped. Alex gestured for his sister to shut up and just let me continue talking.
"Yeah, but that was back then, before they went off the rails. I left after…after Sofia Martins." Maya was about to say something else, but Jake beat her to it and gestured for her to just keep quiet by putting his finger to his lips.
"Listen to the story before you react," he said.
"For those unfamiliar with the story… The Panthers were already known for their bullying, fear-mongering, and graffiti. People knew someone could suddenly startle you from around the corner. Jordan, Reagan, Morgan, and I were waiting for our next "victim." When Morgan said someone was coming, we jumped out and startled them. This was Sofia Martins. At first, it looked like she had fainted, but later that evening I saw she had been hospitalized. That next morning, I went to see her and was told she had a heart problem, and I apologized. Sofia was understanding and forgave me, since I was taking responsibility for my actions. She was only thirteen at the time and died three days after my visit… This was a real eye-opener for me. I told my parents the truth, about the Panthers, and that I was done with them. That I didn't want to live here anymore, and not long after, we moved to Westbrook. It was deathly quiet. I tensely awaited my friends' reaction. I was sure Jake wouldn't have a problem with it, but I wasn't so sure about the rest. Especially not Maya and Alex after Maya's outburst just now.
"Auri...now I understand why you never want to talk about your past," Scarlet said. Brooke stood up and wrapped her arms around my neck from behind. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The others looked at me the same way.
"So you don't look at me any differently now?" I asked, just to be sure.
"Of course not!" eight different voices chimed. My gaze slid to Maya and Alex. They hadn't known me as long as the others, of course, and I wasn't always able to read them or read their thoughts.
"We can't judge you by your past. We got to know you as you are now, not who you used to be." Jake gave Alex a grateful smile. Ever since he heard what I'd been through, he'd felt quite guilty about how he'd behaved towards me these past few years. And why? Because he was starting to develop feelings for me, and he was afraid of it. Since the accident, which was five months ago now, we've all become closer than we already were.
"Hey Auriana, if you were the leader of the group back then? Then you'd be able to handle The Panthers," Maya said. Where did she get that information?
"I never said I was one of the leaders…but…I don't know if I can handle them…" The uncertainty was clear in my voice.
"These days, The Panthers are taking on challenges…musical challenges. These last two weeks and consist of five performances by each group," Maya said.
"Maya…no," Alex warned. He'd known his sister long enough to know what her plan was, and well enough to know it wasn't a good one.
"Do you want us to take on the Panthers?!" Renee asked. Maya nodded enthusiastically. Alex simply shook his head, disappointed.
"There have been three groups that have tried that so far…and lost," Alex said. Sometimes I really wondered if they ever listened to each other. They were the complete opposite of Rose and Ryleigh. Alex rolled his eyes before Maya spoke again and continued her story.
"Yes, but they weren't as close as we are, and we have Auriana!" Maya said. We exchanged thoughtful looks.
At the airport, we were met by three cars that would take us to the McKoy family's vacation home. You'd think we would've known better now than to believe anything is "small" coming out of Alex and Maya's mouth, but no, we still hadn't learned our lesson, because when we arrived at the "cottage", our jaws dropped again. We stood in front of a huge mansion.
"You said cottage, this isn't a cottage...this is a mansion!" said Emma.
"Sorry, this is small for us...we're not used to anything else," Alex apologized. Small? This "vacation cottage" was bigger than my entire house.
"There are six bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms . Each room has a king-size bed, which we'll have to share," Maya explained as she led us up the stairs and opened the various rooms.
"Jake and I share a room," Jimmy said. They gave each other a high five.
"I'm claiming Auriana as my roommate," Brooke laughed. Secretly, I suspected Brooke had other motives why she wanted to share a room with me and not Renee: it was so she could ask me about Jake. The rooms were quickly divided. Jake and Jimmy got a dark blue room overlooking the ocean. Double glass doors led straight out onto the balcony. Opposite the bed hung a large TV on the wall. The curtains were white and still drawn, the other side of the room was occupied by a large closet. Across from them, Emma and Skylar slept in a mint green room. This room was almost identical to Jake and Jimmy's, except that there was a large, round, white rug on the floor and a painting above the bed, which was made up with mint green sheets. Renee and Maya slept in Maya's room, which was white with yellow tones. A massive chandelier replaced a regular lamp and a huge dressing table sat in the corner. Her bed was adorned with several pillows and a huge, fluffy, white blanket. Various floral paintings hung on her walls. Alex and Jeremy slept in Alex's room, which was next to Jake and Jimmy's, and was light gray. It was almost identical to their neighbors', except that the balcony overlooked the beach instead of the sea. The carpet had a pattern. Nightstands were placed by the bed, and paintings hung above the bed. A neon light in the shape of a shark fin emerging from the water hung on his wall. Next to them slept Scarlet and Nikki. It was almost identical to Alex', except their room was painted beige. The bed had red sheets with orange hues. Next to Maya's room slept Auriana and Brooke. Their room was baby pink. A chandelier also adorned the center of the room. The bed had pink and purple sheets. The millions of pillows on it were the same colors as the sheets, and one side of the room was decorated with a large closet. We split up to put our things away.
"So...you and Jake?" Brooke asked. I told you, didn't I? It's almost like I knew her.
"There's nothing going on between Jake and me," I replied. The same answer I always gave. Brooke glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, but then decided to drop it. With a deep sigh, I collapsed back onto the bed. Brooke looked up from the clothes she was putting away.
"What's wrong?" Her look immediately changed to concern when she saw me.
"I…honestly…I'm afraid to go outside. What if we run into them? Who knows what they'll do? I just disappeared without so much as a goodbye. Maya wants us to take them on, hoping we'll win and The Panthers will give up for good!" My breathing got faster and faster. I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"Okay, Auriana? Breathe, you're having a panic attack. Just copy me," Brooke said, taking a deep breath. She gestured for me to copy her, and I did my best to do so. In, out. In, out.
"There's no way we're going to take on the Panthers if you're freaking out like that. I'll talk to the others. Try to calm down, okay?"
"Where's Auriana?" Skylar asked. The others had already finished putting their things away and were now all gathered in the enormous living room. A huge flat-screen television hung above the fireplace. In the corner of the room was the staircase, which rose in a U-shape. The balustrade provided a view of the living room from the top of the stairs . There were three sofas, with a coffee table in the middle resting on a rug.
"Uh, yeah…well, here's the thing…Auriana doesn't want to go up against the Panthers?" Brooke said, though it sounded more like a question. They hadn't realized I was standing at the top of the railing. I didn't want to disappoint my friends, but I just couldn't. Why did I let them talk me into coming here? Why didn't I just stay home? What was I so afraid of anyway? I knew my friends would support me no matter what. For now, I decided to just listen to how they reacted to the news.
"What! Why?" Maya asked. Brooke hesitated about telling everything.
"What's wrong with Auriana?" Emma asked, immediately realizing there was more going on than Brooke initially let on.
"She had a panic attack." Hearing those words, Jake stood up and flew upstairs before I gestured for him to be quiet and crouch down next to me. We crouched down together, listening to the conversation below.
"But he wasn't in love with her, was he?" Jimmy laughed. Jake rolled his eyes.
"Auriana is afraid to see her old friends again because she left three years ago without saying a word," Brooke explained. I was grateful that she didn't lay everything out in the open, that she was still holding something back.
"And that's because you had to bring up that challenge," Alex accused. Maya was about to argue, but Brooke beat her to it.
"I think this has been going on much longer than just today," she said. Nikki turned her laptop to the others. She had already been searching for something, but we didn't know what.
"Guys, look at this picture," Nikki said. A group photo of The Panthers was displayed on the screen. In the center of the group stood a thirteen-year-old Auriana, wearing a black leather jacket with a black panther on it.
"No way!" Renee said in surprise. They couldn't believe their eyes.
"Is that really...wow!" Scarlet said. They were all stunned. It was like a parallel version of me. They didn't know me like that at all.
"I think we should be happy with who she is now," Jeremy said. This was my cue to make my presence known and make myself heard.
"I wasn't nearly as bad as Jordan." I stood at the top of the railing, looking down. They looked at me with shock, as if I'd caught them doing something they knew they weren't supposed to. Jake came up beside me.
"Who's Jordan?" Scarlet asked, the first to find her voice.
"There were thirteen Panthers: Jordan (the leader), Reagan, Morgan, Hayden, Riley, Spencer, Phoenix, Charlie, Lauren, Chris, and me. Jordan and I were best friends; the Panthers were Jordan's idea. I just came up with the name. Part of me knew what we were doing wasn't right, but thirteen-year-old me was afraid of losing her best friend," I explained patiently. Now that I was calmer, it was much easier for me to talk about it too.
"There's a new Panther…her name is Avery," Alex said.
"That's also why I want to take on the Panthers. Avery was my best friend and Alex's girlfriend. They were together for two years when she joined the Panthers, broke up with him, and completely shut me out," Maya explained.