All I Want Is You

Chapter 1: Summer House

Ella's voiceover says, "My family has been going to Susannah's beach house in Cousins every summer since I was a baby. Since before I was even born. All year long, I count the days until I'm in that house. The dads come to visit, but it's not their place. They don't belong to it. Not the way we do. The mothers and us kids. The Summer House is made of lots of things. The beach. The swimming pool. Movie nights with the moms. But the boys. The boys most of all. Me, Jeremiah, Steven, and Conard are the best of friends. We do everything together. It's the same every summer. I've always loved that about it. For me, everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August."

Ella's in her room packing to go to Cousins while her best friend Taylor is on her bed. They're listening to Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift which always brings a smile onto Ella's face since it's her favorite artist. Taylor says, "Drew's bummed you're missing the beach matchup with the boys' team next weekend." Ella says, "Um, make sure you tell Sophie to square up for the block." Taylor says, "Drew Martinez is texting me about you, and you're talking about volleyball? Like, are you serious right now?" Ella says, "Drew doesn't care if I'm there or not. He just wants an excuse to text you. And you better take this game against the guys seriously. I mean, team pride is on the line, Taylor." Taylor says, "Please. You know me better than that. I would never let a boy beat me at anything." Ella laughs and says, "I thought you came here to help me pack." Taylor gets off the bed and says, "Fine. I'll help." Taylor walks over to Ella's drawer and grabs all her bikini's and dumps them into Ella's bag and says, "There. I'm done." Ella laughs and says, "Taylor, I can't just wear only bikini's all summer." Taylor smiles and says, "Well, if you're trying to get Jeremiah's attention, then you do." Ella looks down with a smile. Ella's mom says, "Ella, we're leaving in 10 minutes!" Ella yells, "Okay." Taylor grabs a hold of Ella's hands, and she says, "Before you go, you have to tell me your summer wish. Like, the one thing you want to happen this summer." Ella softly says, "I don't know." Taylor chuckles and says, "You little liar. Yes, you do. You want a hot make-out with Jeremiah Fisher. You want his tongue in your mouth, you dirty little slut." Ella chuckles and says, "Okay." Taylor smiles and says, "I mean, you've been in love with him since we were 12. You've got to shit or get off the pot." Ella says, "Okay, A that's disgusting. And B, he doesn't see me that way. He just sees me as his brother's best friend." Taylor says, "Ella, you are beautiful, if he doesn't see that it's his loss. But you need to make your move on him." Later, Ella's in the car sitting in the passenger seat with Steven driving and their mom in the back. Ella's voiceover says, "I love this drive, this moment. It's like coming home after you've been gone a long, long time." Can't do Better is playing on the radio and Ella's singing, "I feel the tension in the air. No, I can't let you leave so I kill my insecurities. Oh! You can't do better. Oh! You can't do better..." Laurel says, "Uh, can you guys turn it down a little, please?" Ella chuckles and says, "Sorry, mom." Ella turns down the music. Laurel softly smiles and says, "It's okay. I want you guys to be better about helping out this summer. Like, don't just leave your dishes in the sink. Load them into the dishwasher. And not just your own dish, either, Steven." Steven says, "What? But I..." Laurel says, "I want you to be good houseguests." Steven says, "Mom, Susannah has people who clean, doesn't she?" Laurel slaps Steven's head and says, "Steven." Steven says, "Ow!" Ella chuckles and Steven says, "All right. All right. Sorry." Ella's voiceover says, "My mom is weird about money. The fact that Susannah has a lot, and we don't." Laurel says, "Just be considerate and act like I raised you right. That means you two don't stay out too late." Steven groans, "Mom, I'm too old for a curfew!" Ella looks back at their mom and softly says, "We promise, mom." Laurel smiles and says, "Thank you." Steven then pulls up to a gas station. Ella gets out of the car and enters the gas station. A familiar voice catches Ella's attention and says, "Hey, Ella." Ella smiles over at Jumper and says, "Hey, Jumper." Jumper smiles and says, "When did you get into town?" Ella smiles and says, "Actually, now. Just picking up a few snacks." Ella walks over to the snacks and grabs Hot Cheetos and Air Heads. Jumper says, "So, you going to the bonfire?" Ella walks over to the checkout and says, "Uh, yeah. I wouldn't miss it." Jumper smiles and says, "Good." Ella smiles. Jumper scans Ella's items and then Ella pays for it. Jumper bags her items and hands it over to her with a flirty smile and says, "See you at the bonfire." Ella smiles and says, "See you." As Ella walks out of the gas station over to the car, Ella's voiceover says, "Me and Taylor are one of the prettiest girls at school. So, guys always check us out. I honestly don't mind the attention from boys especially when the one boy I do want doesn't even see me the way I see him. So, it's pretty easy for me to flirt with other guys." Ella gets into the car and Steven says, "Did you get my Hot Cheetos?" Ella smiles and says, "Of course, I did." Laurel smiles at the two siblings as Ella hands Steven his chips. Ella and Steven's sibling bond is so pure. They would do anything for each other. As they drive through Cousins, Ella's voiceover says, "It smells exactly the same. Tastes the same. Like it's been waiting for me to get here." Later, they pull up to the summer house and Steven honks the horn. Everyone gets out of the car as Jeremiah walks out of the house with a smile and says, "What's up?" Laurel smiles and says, "Hi. Oh, my go..." Laural hugs Jeremiah as Jeremiah says, "Long time no see." Laural smiles and says, "Good to see you." The two pull away and Laurel hugs Susannah as Jeremiah and Steven hug. Once the two break away, Jeremiah turns his attention to Ella and he brightly smiles and says, "Ella, you look different." Ella softly smiles and says, "A good different?" Jeremiah smiles and says, "Yeah." Ella smiles and Jeremiah hugs Ella swinging her around. Ella smiles loving being in Jeremiah's arms. Jeremiah sets down Ella as Steven says, "Jere, Jere, Jere. Come over here. Come on." Jeremiah goes over to Steven when Conard walks up to Ella with a soft smile and says, "I liked your shorter hair better." Ella says, "Well, I wanted to keep it longer." Conrad says, "It's good to see you." Ella smiles and says, "It's good to see you too. So, are you going to give your best friend a hug or what?" Conrad smiles and wraps his arms around Ella, and she smiles hugging Conrad back. Out of the boys, Ella's closest too Conrad. As the two pull away, Susannah brightly smiles at Ella and says, "My beautiful Princess Ella." Ella smiles and hugs Susannah. Princess Ella has been a childhood nickname that Ella only allows her family and the Fisher's to call her. Later, Ella's in the kitchen drinking homemade lemonade that Susannah made. Susannah smiles and says, "You get more beautiful every year." Ella smiles. Susannah looks at Laurel and says, "Laur, she's you all over." Ella says, "People always say I look like my dad." Susannah says, "No, when your mom and I first met, she looked just like you." Laurel says, "Except I had no boobs at all." Ella softly chuckles and says, "Mom." Laural chuckles and says, "Hey, you should call your father and tell him we got in safely." Ella softly says, "Okay, mom." Laurel softly smiles and says, "Thank you. He always missed you guys when you're gone." Ella says, "Yeah, but he'll see us at the end of the summer." Laurel says, "No, he'll be here for the Fourth." Ella's surprised and says, "Wait, he's coming here?" Laurel says, "Of course. He always comes for the Fourth." Ella says, "I wouldn't say always. He didn't come last year." Laurel sighs and says, "Because we'd just gotten divorced. We're good now." Ella says, "Where's Mr. Fisher?" Susannah says, "Oh, he's in London. They got him going back and forth. He'll join us later in the summer. For now, it's just the women and the children, just the way we like it." Later, Ella has her bag, and she heads upstairs and walks into her bedroom that she's had every summer. Ella looks around with a smile. Ella loves this room a lot better than the one she has at home.