Paradise island

2.Colby

Colby Brock adored Kauai. He loved the island so much that when he was eleven, he vowed to himself he'd come back one day. And now he had, for another week just to be with her, introduce her to his friends, and get to know her better. Kauai was the closest he'd get to having a girlfriend. For now, anyway.

Kauai was paradise. No, it wasn't a party town, but Colby and Sam were never much the partying type anyway. Sure, they loved going to L.A. bars as much as the next guy, but that got old after a while. Kauai gave him something entirely unique, something he couldn't experience back home. In L.A., life was all about you. Highlighting you, promoting you, billboards with your face on them splashed on a wall for all to see.

In Kauai, nothing was about you.

In Kauai, Colby felt like he was a part of something exponentially bigger. Connected to nature. A tiny part of this infinite universe. This was why he'd insisted they spend their next day hiking different trails, searching for the perfect waterfall, because it wasn't until they were on those vine-laced paths, underneath a canopy of trees, discovering hidden coves and jumping into green lagoons that he felt like he truly belonged somewhere. If he could, he would move to Kauai in a heartbeat. The thing was, Colby's transition from high school graduate to YouTube ghost hunter hadn't come easy. His parents hadn't been happy about his move to Los Angeles with Sam. They'd told him the same stuff all concerned parents told their kids: Artists have a hard time making money. College is a more sensible path. Only a lucky few ever make it big in Hollywood. But he'd proved them wrong. To the unscrutinizing eye watching their videos, he and Sam looked like two clowns doing anything for a laugh. What few people realized was how hard they worked their asses off. They'd learned business tips that couldn't be taught in college, could only be experienced firsthand, and look at them now-affording this trip for their friends, winning Teen Choice Awards, going international. Kauai made him feel like he'd done something right. For the next three days, he, Sam, Nate, and Alex enjoyed the beaches and hikes, visited the canyon, danced with hula dancers, and saw incredible sights. Life was a mysterious gift from some universal force out there. At night, they played drinking games back at the cabana and chatted about what came next in life. Nate was working on poems and novel ideas, being the writer that he was. Alex was in college, working on a finance major, about to take on a summer internship, still figuring out his path. They were all headed somewhere. But the best part was, nobody judged anybody else. Colby was super proud of his friends. The next day, after they'd managed to get their sore limbs out of bed, they headed back to Poipu Beach to chill on the sand and watch a women's volleyball tournament. Colby cheered on the Hanalei team, but he also cheered on the Princeville team, because not only were these girls amazing athletes, they also gave him some of the best sights on the island.

Damn. Colby admired their athleticism through his sunglasses. "What about the North Shore?" Nate was on his phone, reading Top 10 list after Top 10 list of things to do in Kauai. He wasn't watching the game, either because his girlfriend kept texting to see how things were going or because he really wanted to maximize his time before he had to leave in thirty-six hours.

"The North Shore was cut off after the flood," Colby reminded him.

"Yeah, but there's still ways to get there," Nate said.

"Hiking fifteen miles on expert-level trails is not something I think we're prepared to do," Alex said. Colby knew Alex's mission on this trip was simply to relax. After changing colleges a couple of times, Alex was all too happy to go nowhere

for a few days, so Colby agreed with this one.

"Yeah, and every website I've read said only locals are allowed to the

North Shore," Sam added, applying his fiftieth layer of sunscreen today. Nate continued reading travel articles, hell-bent on getting to the North Shore somehow. Yes, the craggy shoreline peaks of the Na Pali Coast were glorious, but they were also elusive and currently cut off from the rest of the island, thanks to the shitty roads. Colby hadn't been able to see them last time he was in Kauai either. It only gave him more reason to come back again one day.