I See Stars

Chapter 1

Tobin POV

"Hey guys. Tobin here, along with Lex, Kel, Kling, Pinoe, Ash, Ali, and Moe. The time has finally come! The gals and I are headed to sunny LA for the next three months for a summer of surfing, hiking, exploring, and of course, eating. Our plane is about to start boarding so I gotta go, but I'll keep you updated on our adventures. Heath out."

I put away my video camera and walk over to where Kelley's standing by the window, staring at the planes taking off. "Hey Kel, what's up?" I ask.

"I'm just thinking about how awesome this summer's gonna be. Me, you, Lex, Kriegs, Ash, Kling, Moe, and Pinoe, all spending three months together in SoCal, with no training or competitions, just a hell of a lot of fun," she replies, a smile spreading across her face.

"I know, man, I'm totally psyched," I say with a grin. "This is gonna be so great."

"Now boarding Flight 1713 to Los Angeles. All passengers please present boarding passes at the kiosk."

"Well, I guess that's our cue," says Kelley, grabbing her Under Armour duffel bag and walking toward the gate where the rest of the gals are standing, waiting to board.

I follow her to the line. "You ready?" Alex asks me with a smile on her face.

"Oh yeah," I say, grinning right back at her.

"I still can't believe we get to spend every day at the beach for the next three months," Kling says.

"That must seem like a dream come true for you, huh Kling?" says Moe with a smirk, "considering you come from a place where the average summer temperature is like the same as LA during the winter."

"Hey, don't insult the Burgh," Kling says, giving Moe a friendly glare.

Finally, we get to the front of the line and hand our boarding passes to the woman at the kiosk. "Sayonara, Portland. Don't do anything crazy while I'm gone," I say, blowing a kiss to the airport before I turn and walk toward the plane.

"You're such a dork, Tobs," Alex says as she throws an arm around my shoulder.

"It's an hour after takeoff," I say as I point my video camera at my face. "I'm sitting in between two bricks. Well, not exactly, but it feels like it. Completely uncharacteristically for me, I lost to Kelley and Alex in a game of Monopoly Deal while we were waiting to board, and my punishment was the middle seat on the plane. Even though it's 3:00 in the afternoon, both Lex and Kel decided now would be the perfect time to take a nap." I pan the camera first to Kelley's face, which is perched on my left shoulder, then to Alex's, which is nuzzled into my shirt, and finally back to me. "Normally, I handle difficult situations like these like a champ, but this time I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out. I've had to pee for the past half hour, and neither of these two idiots looks like they're gonna be reviving any time soon. I might have to take drastic measures. I'll let you know how things turn out when we land." I turn off the camera and try to get Ash's attention from across the aisle. "Hey Ash," I whisper.

"Yeah?" She says, turning her head in my direction. A smile spreads across her face and she turns and nudges Ali, who's sitting next to her.

"Oh my god, Tobs. You three are adorable." Ali says once she notices Alex and Kelley's positions.

"While I appreciate that, I'm in a bit of a predicament," I say with a grin. "I really have to pee but I don't want to wake them. Any ideas?"

"Sorry, Toby," Ash says with a chuckle, "I think you're just gonna have to wake them from their hibernation."

"But they get grumpy when they get woken up," I groan. "Oh well, I guess the bladder wins this time." I unbuckle by seatbelt and gently tap Alex on the shoulder. She doesn't budge. "Lex, wake up," I whisper into her ear.