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"You shouldn't climb trees," you shout at your best friend, who is hanging onto a tree limb above you.
"Just getting a view of the lake," she says.
"You can't see the whole lake from there," Hiro laughs. His smile is extra cute with braces. You liked his tooth gap, but you knew it was going to go at some point.
"Watch this, I'm gonna jump into the lake from here!" Your friend shouts. You shake your head and roll your eyes.
"You're sure it's deep enough?" Hiro shouts up.
"Yeah, there's a huge drop off a few feet out from the coast," your friend says.
Hiro and you glance at each other and shrug. Your friend positions herself upright on the branch and springs off. She falls into the lake and goes underwater for a second, then rises back up. Hiro and you clap.
"See? It's all good," your friend cheers. Stunts like this were the reason Austin broke up with her shorty after your special double date. He was too calm and laid-back to deal with her.
Really, the date is in all of your rear view mirrors. It's been two years since then, and now you're all sixteen. Your relationship with Hiro has stayed strong, and he's helped you work through two years of high school. You pay him each study date with a kiss and a little something you tried cooking earlier, whether it was a family secret recipe or a fairly pathetic one out of a cookbook. He appreciates everything you give him, and, on occasion, brings a new little bracelet or necklace to the next study date. He makes sure that he puts the jewelry on for you, so you won't struggle with it. You pay him back again with a kiss and a hug.
"So, when do you think we can head to the Main Street?" Hiro asks you, snapping you out of your daydream.
"Whenever you want," you say.
"What are we gonna do there?" Your friend asks as she climbs out of the clear water and stumbles awkwardly onto the beach.
"Well, there's an ice cream shop, for one," you smile. "But, besides that, some smaller souvenir shops and coffee shops. It has quite a seaside feel to it, despite simply being on a Great Lake."
"Sounds beautiful," Hiro says.
"Sounds delicious," your friend says. "We're totally getting ice cream."
You laugh. "Fair enough."
You take Hiro's hand and run back up the beach as your friend stumbles behind, sloshing water everywhere. At the door, you hand her a towel. Tracking water all over the hotel is a bad idea, and you weren't willing to risk getting kicked out. The three of you had payed for your own room, and it took a fair amount of your money. No one really had questioned why two girls and one boy were sharing a room, but you guys have it set up perfectly. Two queen beds and a pull-out couch on the other side of a half-wall. Who got which bed switched each night. Sometimes beds were shared, but hardly ever. Just if it was particularly cold in the room that night.
"So, where's the nearest coffee shop?" You ask. "I'm not gonna survive the day without an iced coffee or something."
"Just up the street. I tried it yesterday; it's pretty good," your friend says. She rapidly dries her hair with the towel, waving a fair amount of the water onto Hiro. He calmly takes in the wetness.
"Great. That can be our first stop," you say. "Hiro can decide on the second one. Third decision goes to (f/n)."
"I already know my mine," Hiro smirks.
"Me too. That gosh dang ice cream," your friend says.
You all walk together to the elevator. When it opens up, two guys about your age are already in it. Your friend shoves her way in there and stands next to them with her drippy hair. You step in with Hiro, much less shove-y. Hiro presses the button for the lobby. You glance at the boys, one of who is texting on his phone. The other stands next to him, arms crossed. He glances at you, and you glance back. He looks familiar. Tall and strawberry-blonde haired. Hiro sees him looking at you and puts his arm around you. Well, that settles that.
"Hey," your friend says as she points at the first guy's phone. "Got any games on there?"
The first boy rolls his eyes, but the blonde boy smiles and giggles. His braces gleam in the light.
"You can't just ask people for games on their phones," you say.
"Fine," your friend sighs.
When the elevator gets up to the lobby, you grab the hands of your two accomplices and walk out. The guy at the front desk waves, so you smile back. Once you exit the hotel, you're out in the town. Time to find the Main Street.
"There's the coffee shop, I see it!" Hiro points at the small shop with a messy chalkboard propped up outside it. You all walk in and immediately are bulldozed with the smell of coffee.
"Dang, this is great!" You say.
"Told you," your friend nudges you.
You walk up to the counter where a cheery dark-skinned girl is working.
"May I have a vanilla iced coffee?" You ask.
"Sure. What size?" She spins around and turns on the iced coffee machine.
"Small," you say.
"And your name?"
"(Y/n)."
"Alright. Three dollars," she says.
You search your purse and hand her three dollars. Hiro glances over, and seems to wish he had jumped in to pay for you.
When you walk to the table that Hiro and your friend have claimed, Hiro motions for you to sit next to him. You follow his directions.
"So, Hiro, where is it you plan to go once I get my coffee?" you ask.
"Well, here, look at this," Hiro says as he pulls a pamphlet out of his pocket. It's a jewelry store with beautiful designs modeled after attractions and scenery from the city.
"A jewelry store? Won't you get bored if you take us there?" Your friend laughs and rolls her eyes.
"Not really. I look for things that would look cute on (y/n)," Hiro says. You grin and hug him.
"Well, I mean, there's some dude bracelets there, too," your friend says.
"Dude bracelets?" You laugh.
"Bracelets that guys would wear," your friend says.
"Might as well check it out," you say. At that moment, the barista calls your name for your coffee. You grab it and walk out the door, Hiro and your friend following.
After walking down the street for awhile, surrounded by the scent of cherries and the sight of rainbow flags and paintings of bears, you arrive at the jewelry shop.
"Look how shiny this crap is!" your friend exclaims as you enter the store. Most of the pieces appear to be handmade, made out of things like porcelain and sea glass.
"I really like some of these blue sea glass ones." You start wandering after your friend, who has practically dived into the store. You examine a few necklace charms as she swims through the keychain table. The cashier eyes you up, as if she's suspicious to teenagers. She's a middle-age-looking woman, who probably would rather be enjoying wine on the beach than running the shop.
Hiro stands by the end of a bracelet table, trying to find something that matches well with your skintone. You stand at the opposite end, browsing through watches you probably need but refuse to get. Your necklace jiggles slightly. Your microbot is acting up. You know Hiro has his in a small plastic bottle in his pocket, so it's safe. You remember the day Hiro gave you the microbot, and the hilarious date that came with it. Hiro had thought he messed it up, but, in reality, he nailed that date. Things could've been more organized, but not better. It was special.
You're so busy daydreaming, you don't notice Hiro bump his hip into the table as he walks away. You look up when you hear what sounds like the cracking of plastic. He gasps and looks down just as his microbot comes sailing out of his pocket. It bounds across the table and shoots between the racks. Hiro reaches for it, but can't grab it. It's too small and fast. It fires into a rack of bracelets, and the rack comes toppling over the table and onto the ground. You reach for it, but jump back when the microbot bolts into your necklace and connects.
"Oh gosh, (y/n)!" Hiro gasps and jumps over. The cashier is nearly fuming. Your friend bounds over and begins picking up the bracelets. You pull down your shirt slightly and look at your chest. The speeding microbot has formed a bruise right where your heart is, and now is just jiggling sporadically with the microbot on your necklace. Hiro glances at the bruise and pulls his microbot from your necklace.
"Ma'am? I don't suppose you have any tiny boxes?" Hiro asks, rubbing your bruise with his finger. He thinks it's helping. You don't tell him it's actually making it ache more.
"I have little earring boxes," she grumbles, setting a small cardboard box on the counter. Hiro walks over, takes it, and quickly stuffs his microbot into it. He puts in back in his pocket and rushes over to help clean up the bracelets.
"Doesn't look like any are broken," your friend says, pushing them back onto the rack.
"Wait." The cashier glares menacingly over. "That silver one had a charm attached to it. Where's the charm?"
You look under the table and find a few pieces of shattered blue glass. "I think I found it. It's destroyed."
The cashier crosses her arms. "You break it, you buy it."
Hiro sighs and pulls a few dollar bills from his other pocket. "Sorry for the mess. It was an accident."
"Uh-huh. Get out of my store, kid, before you break more of my stuff."
"Well, you don't have to be rude," you say. Hiro turns around and giggles slightly.
"Well, you don't have to argue back, young lady," the cashier lowers her glasses.
"You're right. I don't have to. But I'm intelligent, and it's not my kind of tendency to defend a smaller mind."
You wave goodbye and prance out of the store with your friend and Hiro by your side. The lady gapes as wave back one more time. As your arm is up, Hiro snaps the broken bracelet around your wrist, and it gleams in the sunlight.
As soon as you're out of view from the store, you start sprinting away. You turn a corner onto the man street, and begin looking for the ice cream shop you all had been dreaming about. You find it almost immediately, and prance into the sugary-smelling store. It's almost empty, and you all are immediately served.
"Cake batter for me, chocolate for the guy, and cookies n' cream for the girl," you say. The guy behind the counter smiles at you, and Hiro seems to contemplate whether he should raise his arm around you again or not. You're quickly served, and your friend pays this time.
"Now, back to that hotel beach!" your friend cheers. Hiro cheers along.
"Actually, if you don't mind, I have a neat little secluded beach I found that's I'd like to show Hiro," you say. "We still gotta run back to the room and grab our swimsuits."
Hiro raises his eyebrows. "Okay, let's do that."
You sprint back to the hotel, climb a flight of stairs, and burst into your room. Your friend jumps in, grabs her bag, and leaps back out. She takes what seems like fifteen-foot strides as she makes her way outside the hotel.
"I'll change in the bathroom," Hiro says. He drags his bag into the bathroom and shuts the door, but doesn't lock it.
You stand behind the half wall and strip your shirt off first, then pants, then throw off your bra and underwear. It's the most extravagantly you've changed in awhile, but you're excited to show Hiro the beach. You pull on your bikini top and bottom, and check your look in the mirror.
"Ok, now, where's this special beach?" Hiro comes wandering out of the bathroom and throws his bag aside. He looks up at you. "Beautiful girl."
You giggle. "Follow me."
You take his hand and lead him out the door and down the hall. You run out the back door and go a little ways into some woods before you come upon a little secluded beach. It's tiny and surrounded by trees, but it's private and adorable.
"Wow. You were right," Hiro gasps. "This place is stunning."
"Yeah. I figured you'd like it," you say.
"The water is so turquoise here," Hiro says. He lies down on the sand. You sit next to him.
"Hey, (y/n), I'm sorry for causing that commotion at the jewelry store," he says.
"It wasn't your fault. It's okay," you say. "And I got a mighty nice bracelet out of it."
"Yeah, I should've seen things like that coming two years ago, when I actually gave you the microbot."
"We didn't think things through much at fourteen. It's okay."
"We thought through our relationship."
"Well, that's different."
He smiles at you. "I'm glad we were smart enough to do that." He sits up and kisses your neck. You giggle and give him a quick kiss. He kisses back.
And suddenly, you find yourself laying on top of him, sharing passionate kisses. And, this time, you actually know how.
"Hey," Hiro grins and blushes. "You know, if you wanna join me in my bed tonight, you can. I don't know if your friend might notice, but..."
"She falls asleep deep and quick. It's no big deal."
"In that case, we should head back to the room."

Description
"You shouldn't climb trees," you shout at your best friend, who is hanging onto a tree limb above you.
"Just getting a view of the lake," she says.
"You can't see the whole lake from there," Hiro laughs. His smile is extra cute with braces. You liked his tooth gap, but you knew it was going to go at some point.
"Watch this, I'm gonna jump into the lake from here!" Your friend shouts. You shake your head and roll your eyes.
"You're sure it's deep enough?" Hiro shouts up.
"Yeah, there's a huge drop off a few feet out from the coast," your friend says.
Hiro and you glance at each other and shrug. Your friend positions herself upright on the branch and springs off. She falls into the lake and goes underwater for a second, then rises back up. Hiro and you clap.
"See? It's all good," your friend cheers. Stunts like this were the reason Austin broke up with her shorty after your special double date. He was too calm and laid-back to deal with her.
Really, the date is in all of your rear view mirrors. It's been two years since then, and now you're all sixteen. Your relationship with Hiro has stayed strong, and he's helped you work through two years of high school. You pay him each study date with a kiss and a little something you tried cooking earlier, whether it was a family secret recipe or a fairly pathetic one out of a cookbook. He appreciates everything you give him, and, on occasion, brings a new little bracelet or necklace to the next study date. He makes sure that he puts the jewelry on for you, so you won't struggle with it. You pay him back again with a kiss and a hug.
"So, when do you think we can head to the Main Street?" Hiro asks you, snapping you out of your daydream.
"Whenever you want," you say.
"What are we gonna do there?" Your friend asks as she climbs out of the clear water and stumbles awkwardly onto the beach.
"Well, there's an ice cream shop, for one," you smile. "But, besides that, some smaller souvenir shops and coffee shops. It has quite a seaside feel to it, despite simply being on a Great Lake."
"Sounds beautiful," Hiro says.
"Sounds delicious," your friend says. "We're totally getting ice cream."
You laugh. "Fair enough."
You take Hiro's hand and run back up the beach as your friend stumbles behind, sloshing water everywhere. At the door, you hand her a towel. Tracking water all over the hotel is a bad idea, and you weren't willing to risk getting kicked out. The three of you had payed for your own room, and it took a fair amount of your money. No one really had questioned why two girls and one boy were sharing a room, but you guys have it set up perfectly. Two queen beds and a pull-out couch on the other side of a half-wall. Who got which bed switched each night. Sometimes beds were shared, but hardly ever. Just if it was particularly cold in the room that night.
"So, where's the nearest coffee shop?" You ask. "I'm not gonna survive the day without an iced coffee or something."
"Just up the street. I tried it yesterday; it's pretty good," your friend says. She rapidly dries her hair with the towel, waving a fair amount of the water onto Hiro. He calmly takes in the wetness.
"Great. That can be our first stop," you say. "Hiro can decide on the second one. Third decision goes to (f/n)."
"I already know my mine," Hiro smirks.
"Me too. That gosh dang ice cream," your friend says.
You all walk together to the elevator. When it opens up, two guys about your age are already in it. Your friend shoves her way in there and stands next to them with her drippy hair. You step in with Hiro, much less shove-y. Hiro presses the button for the lobby. You glance at the boys, one of who is texting on his phone. The other stands next to him, arms crossed. He glances at you, and you glance back. He looks familiar. Tall and strawberry-blonde haired. Hiro sees him looking at you and puts his arm around you. Well, that settles that.
"Hey," your friend says as she points at the first guy's phone. "Got any games on there?"
The first boy rolls his eyes, but the blonde boy smiles and giggles. His braces gleam in the light.
"You can't just ask people for games on their phones," you say.
"Fine," your friend sighs.
When the elevator gets up to the lobby, you grab the hands of your two accomplices and walk out. The guy at the front desk waves, so you smile back. Once you exit the hotel, you're out in the town. Time to find the Main Street.
"There's the coffee shop, I see it!" Hiro points at the small shop with a messy chalkboard propped up outside it. You all walk in and immediately are bulldozed with the smell of coffee.
"Dang, this is great!" You say.
"Told you," your friend nudges you.
You walk up to the counter where a cheery dark-skinned girl is working.
"May I have a vanilla iced coffee?" You ask.
"Sure. What size?" She spins around and turns on the iced coffee machine.
"Small," you say.
"And your name?"
"(Y/n)."
"Alright. Three dollars," she says.
You search your purse and hand her three dollars. Hiro glances over, and seems to wish he had jumped in to pay for you.
When you walk to the table that Hiro and your friend have claimed, Hiro motions for you to sit next to him. You follow his directions.
"So, Hiro, where is it you plan to go once I get my coffee?" you ask.
"Well, here, look at this," Hiro says as he pulls a pamphlet out of his pocket. It's a jewelry store with beautiful designs modeled after attractions and scenery from the city.
"A jewelry store? Won't you get bored if you take us there?" Your friend laughs and rolls her eyes.
"Not really. I look for things that would look cute on (y/n)," Hiro says. You grin and hug him.
"Well, I mean, there's some dude bracelets there, too," your friend says.
"Dude bracelets?" You laugh.
"Bracelets that guys would wear," your friend says.
"Might as well check it out," you say. At that moment, the barista calls your name for your coffee. You grab it and walk out the door, Hiro and your friend following.
After walking down the street for awhile, surrounded by the scent of cherries and the sight of rainbow flags and paintings of bears, you arrive at the jewelry shop.
"Look how shiny this crap is!" your friend exclaims as you enter the store. Most of the pieces appear to be handmade, made out of things like porcelain and sea glass.
"I really like some of these blue sea glass ones." You start wandering after your friend, who has practically dived into the store. You examine a few necklace charms as she swims through the keychain table. The cashier eyes you up, as if she's suspicious to teenagers. She's a middle-age-looking woman, who probably would rather be enjoying wine on the beach than running the shop.
Hiro stands by the end of a bracelet table, trying to find something that matches well with your skintone. You stand at the opposite end, browsing through watches you probably need but refuse to get. Your necklace jiggles slightly. Your microbot is acting up. You know Hiro has his in a small plastic bottle in his pocket, so it's safe. You remember the day Hiro gave you the microbot, and the hilarious date that came with it. Hiro had thought he messed it up, but, in reality, he nailed that date. Things could've been more organized, but not better. It was special.
You're so busy daydreaming, you don't notice Hiro bump his hip into the table as he walks away. You look up when you hear what sounds like the cracking of plastic. He gasps and looks down just as his microbot comes sailing out of his pocket. It bounds across the table and shoots between the racks. Hiro reaches for it, but can't grab it. It's too small and fast. It fires into a rack of bracelets, and the rack comes toppling over the table and onto the ground. You reach for it, but jump back when the microbot bolts into your necklace and connects.
"Oh gosh, (y/n)!" Hiro gasps and jumps over. The cashier is nearly fuming. Your friend bounds over and begins picking up the bracelets. You pull down your shirt slightly and look at your chest. The speeding microbot has formed a bruise right where your heart is, and now is just jiggling sporadically with the microbot on your necklace. Hiro glances at the bruise and pulls his microbot from your necklace.
"Ma'am? I don't suppose you have any tiny boxes?" Hiro asks, rubbing your bruise with his finger. He thinks it's helping. You don't tell him it's actually making it ache more.
"I have little earring boxes," she grumbles, setting a small cardboard box on the counter. Hiro walks over, takes it, and quickly stuffs his microbot into it. He puts in back in his pocket and rushes over to help clean up the bracelets.
"Doesn't look like any are broken," your friend says, pushing them back onto the rack.
"Wait." The cashier glares menacingly over. "That silver one had a charm attached to it. Where's the charm?"
You look under the table and find a few pieces of shattered blue glass. "I think I found it. It's destroyed."
The cashier crosses her arms. "You break it, you buy it."
Hiro sighs and pulls a few dollar bills from his other pocket. "Sorry for the mess. It was an accident."
"Uh-huh. Get out of my store, kid, before you break more of my stuff."
"Well, you don't have to be rude," you say. Hiro turns around and giggles slightly.
"Well, you don't have to argue back, young lady," the cashier lowers her glasses.
"You're right. I don't have to. But I'm intelligent, and it's not my kind of tendency to defend a smaller mind."
You wave goodbye and prance out of the store with your friend and Hiro by your side. The lady gapes as wave back one more time. As your arm is up, Hiro snaps the broken bracelet around your wrist, and it gleams in the sunlight.
As soon as you're out of view from the store, you start sprinting away. You turn a corner onto the man street, and begin looking for the ice cream shop you all had been dreaming about. You find it almost immediately, and prance into the sugary-smelling store. It's almost empty, and you all are immediately served.
"Cake batter for me, chocolate for the guy, and cookies n' cream for the girl," you say. The guy behind the counter smiles at you, and Hiro seems to contemplate whether he should raise his arm around you again or not. You're quickly served, and your friend pays this time.
"Now, back to that hotel beach!" your friend cheers. Hiro cheers along.
"Actually, if you don't mind, I have a neat little secluded beach I found that's I'd like to show Hiro," you say. "We still gotta run back to the room and grab our swimsuits."
Hiro raises his eyebrows. "Okay, let's do that."
You sprint back to the hotel, climb a flight of stairs, and burst into your room. Your friend jumps in, grabs her bag, and leaps back out. She takes what seems like fifteen-foot strides as she makes her way outside the hotel.
"I'll change in the bathroom," Hiro says. He drags his bag into the bathroom and shuts the door, but doesn't lock it.
You stand behind the half wall and strip your shirt off first, then pants, then throw off your bra and underwear. It's the most extravagantly you've changed in awhile, but you're excited to show Hiro the beach. You pull on your bikini top and bottom, and check your look in the mirror.
"Ok, now, where's this special beach?" Hiro comes wandering out of the bathroom and throws his bag aside. He looks up at you. "Beautiful girl."
You giggle. "Follow me."
You take his hand and lead him out the door and down the hall. You run out the back door and go a little ways into some woods before you come upon a little secluded beach. It's tiny and surrounded by trees, but it's private and adorable.
"Wow. You were right," Hiro gasps. "This place is stunning."
"Yeah. I figured you'd like it," you say.
"The water is so turquoise here," Hiro says. He lies down on the sand. You sit next to him.
"Hey, (y/n), I'm sorry for causing that commotion at the jewelry store," he says.
"It wasn't your fault. It's okay," you say. "And I got a mighty nice bracelet out of it."
"Yeah, I should've seen things like that coming two years ago, when I actually gave you the microbot."
"We didn't think things through much at fourteen. It's okay."
"We thought through our relationship."
"Well, that's different."
He smiles at you. "I'm glad we were smart enough to do that." He sits up and kisses your neck. You giggle and give him a quick kiss. He kisses back.
And suddenly, you find yourself laying on top of him, sharing passionate kisses. And, this time, you actually know how.
"Hey," Hiro grins and blushes. "You know, if you wanna join me in my bed tonight, you can. I don't know if your friend might notice, but..."
"She falls asleep deep and quick. It's no big deal."
"In that case, we should head back to the room."