DANIELLE

After about an hour of messing around in the ocean water with Sam, I started to get tired, and it was getting to be around 5:00 so I got out and sat in the sand wrapped in my warm towel.

"Remember that one time you swam super far out because Dad grounded you, and you said you wouldn't come back until he took it back?" Sam asked with a laugh, as he sat down next to me in the sand. "I miss him."

I turned my head to look at him and forced a small smile. "Me too, Sam, me too."

Our little talk was interrupted by the neighbor's porch door opening and closing. I didn't even have to look up to see who it was.

"Hey Nate!" Sam greeted as he walked over to him.

I tried to go back to just relaxing in the sand like I was before Sam came and sat by me but they didn't seem to want to let that happen.

"Come swim with us!" Sam called over to me.

"Yeah," Nate started with a taunting look on his face. "Come swim with us."

I rolled my eyes and jumped up from where I was sitting, marching back towards the house. They made a few remarks I could hardly hear before I made it inside and closed the door.

Jerks.

I don't understand why Nate can be nice to Sam but not to me. It doesn't even make sense. I don't even care though, he's an asshole.

After going inside not much happened other than the power going on and off a few times.

11 o'clock rolled around fairly quick. My mom and Sam were both in bed sleeping by now. But me? No. I'm a night owl. I'm usually up until about at least midnight every night. 

I scrolled through Instagram just a little longer until I finally decided I needed to go to sleep, and with much luck, I dosed off pretty quickly. 

I woke up in the night hoping it was daylight already but when I looked over at my clock it was only 2 am. I had only been sleeping for three hours. 

I wiped the sweat off my forehead that formed sometime in my sleep, probably because I had a bad dream, as usual. 

The lights were off and my curtains were both opened, which set me on edge a little because of my dream. I always forget to close them when I go to sleep. 

I got up and turned on my light then went to close my curtains. When I got to my window though, I saw that I wasn't the only one up at this hour. 

Nate Wood was sitting on his bed with his curtains wide open and his lights on, much like my bed room. Since when does he stay up this late? I was about to close my curtains and ignore that he was awake as well, but right as I was about to he looked up, locking eyes with me. 

I froze for a second, not really sure what to do in such an awkward moment. I then rolled my eyes and yanked the curtains closed without a single second thought. I hated him. 

With that, I laid back in bed and dozed back off to sleep.

The next morning my mom drove us to school, as usual. 

I was currently sitting in third period when the power went out. We all stopped for a moment and waited for it to kick back on but nothing happened. Was it finally out for good like Kasey said would happen? 

I glanced over at her from across the room and she smirked at me with an "I told you so" look on her face, making me laugh.

After about 30 minutes, the teachers decided it was time to dismiss us to go home.

As usual, I walked home. It was only about 11:00 when I got there, which left me with basically a whole day of doing nothing. In all honesty, I hoped the power stayed out.

When I walked into my house, I was not greeted with the cool refreshing air. Instead I was hit with heat that felt hotter than the air outside; this must be what it's like to stand on hell's front porch. I never stopped to think that the AC would go out when the power went out.

I quickly made my way upstairs and decided that I couldn't stay inside this hot house any longer, so I changed into my swimsuit to go swim.

Considering the fact that it was hotter upstairs than downstairs, I figured it'd be a good idea to open my windows and let in some cool air before going outside. After I did that I rushed outside to the water.

I relaxed in the water for about an hour before finally getting out, which was a mistake. The second I stepped foot out of the water Nate pulled up.

Great. I thought to myself.

I quickly grabbed my towel and wrapped myself in it. He didn't need to see my body.

"What's up DL?" He asked with a smirk. "Why so quick to cover up?"

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, "You're such a pig."

"I'm kidding!" He stated as he leaned against his porch stairs, as if he thought I was going to stand out here any longer to speak to him.

I rolled my eyes once again and started marching to my back porch to go inside.

"Screw off" were my last words before walking inside and slamming my door behind me. 

I ran up to my room and laid down on my bed to think.

Why does Nate think it's so funny to make me angry? I just don't get it. He's such a jerk. 

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door - probably Sam. 

I ran downstairs and opened the door, expecting to see my little brother, but instead saw Nate.

"I thought I told you to screw off," I remarked as I crossed my arms. 

"Yeah, well I was just coming here to give you back the bowl you let me borrow yesterday." He stated as he held the bowl out. "So here." 

I took the bowl and walked it to the kitchen. 

"You can leave now," I stated in a harsh tone. 

I watched Nate as he put his hands up in surrender then walked out the front door, closing it behind him.

I plopped myself down on the couch and started to wonder where Sam was. I would have thought he'd be here by now. 

A few hours went by of doing absolutely nothing until Sam finally walked in through the front door. 

"Everyone at my school was saying that the power went out at your school and that you guys don't have to go back until it's back on." He pouted. "That's not even fair! My school is like a minute away from yours and our power was still on! That's stupid." 

I laughed at Sam mockingly. We both sat around until my mom got home around 6:00 when the sun was just starting to go down and the house was starting to get dark. 

"Can you two start gathering up some candles and flashlights? This house is going to be pitch black soon, I'd like to have at least a little light." My mom suggested as she sat on the couch. 

I certainly seconded her on that one. I wasn't afraid of the dark really, but sometimes it did freak me out, especially when I woke up from my nightmares. 

Sam and I didn't find a whole lot of candles, so we put them all in the kitchen and living room and my mom told us we could just bring a flashlight if we needed to go upstairs or to the bathroom. 

The house was also getting extremely hot, so we had most of the windows open, and all of the ones upstairs open. 

Finally 10 o'clock rolled around and I decided to go to bed. I didn't want to be up later than my mom and Sam when it was pitch black in our house, that'd be creepy. 

My mom told me I couldn't have a candle burning all night in my room while I slept so I just had to suck it up and sleep with no lights. 

Maybe if she knew what I was going through right now she'd understand, but I'm not going to tell her. I'm never going to tell anyone. 

Before crawling into bed, I opened my curtains to let in some light from outside and made sure my windows were both still open so the room would cool down. Guess I wasn't the only one who had that idea though because when I opened the curtains facing Nate's room, he was sitting on his bed, just like the night before, with his curtains and window open. I didn't think he could see me though; it was too dark in my room. The only reason I could see him was because of the battery-operated lantern sitting next to him. 

Before he could notice I was there, I turned around and went to bed, falling asleep pretty quickly.

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AUTHORS NOTE

Hey guys! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and if you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a vote and/or comment!

It's getting warm out here *finally* and I'm loving it. I'm a bit of a sun-aholic, so you know I'll be getting my tan on every chance I get ahaha. Thank the lord for my Italian roots that let me tan easy.