I See Stars

Chapter 5

Kling POV

"Kling! Wake up!! I've literally been trying to get you up for ten minutes. I'm five seconds away from dumping a bucket of cold water all over you."

Ah, what a pleasant way to start my day...Moe threatening to douse me in water.

"Alright, alright, I'm up," I groan, sitting up in my bed. "What do you want Moe?"

"Um, did you forget that we're supposed to be ready to go at 10 and it's already 9:45?" Moe says with a raised eyebrow.

"What? No. Of course not," I say with a dismissive wave. Total lie. I completely forgot that me, Moe, Tobin and Alex are driving to Santa Barbara for the weekend. Or is it even the weekend? What day is it? I honestly have no idea, I've just been enjoying the California sun for the past month.

"Kling!" Moe snaps, bringing me back to reality. "Get dressed!"

"Yes, ma'am," I say with a salute and get out of bed and head to the closet.

Five minutes later I'm downstairs and ready to go. That deserves a high-five. *mentally high-five myself*

"Say hi to Santa Barbara for me!" Kelley shouts from upstairs as Alex, Tobin, Moe and I head out to the driveway.

"Ok, but I can't promise she'll say hi back," Tobin replies with a grin.

"I aspire to be as funny as you one day," I say, patting Tobin on the shoulder. She gives me a playful shove and the four of us get into the Mustang: Alex behind the wheel, Tobin in shotgun, and me and Moe in the back.

"So why did Ali, Ash, Kel, and Pinoe decide to stay back again?" I ask after we've been driving for about a half hour. "Not that I don't love spending time with you three." I flash a smile.

Moe replies, "I think Ali wanted to visit Kyle, and Ash will probably tag along. Pinoe was gonna go on a food tour of LA, and Kelley said something about not wanting to get in the way, whatever that means."

I notice Alex and Tobin glance at each other after Moe says that last part.

"Interesting, very interesting," I say, stroking my imaginary beard.

"You're such a dork, Kling," Tobin says with a chuckle.

"You have no idea," Moe says in response. "Every night before we go to bed she sits on the floor and pretends to meditate for five minutes. Like, it's not actual meditation, she just sits there with her legs crossed and says 'ohm' about a hundred times." Everyone laughs...well, except for me. I take my meditation very seriously.

"Gotta find my zen," I say with a shrug.

At around noon, we arrive at the airbnb Alex rented for us for the weekend. The house is right on the beach and there are windows everywhere.

"Huh. Beach house with lots of glass. I'm sensing a pattern here," I say once we step out of the car.

"It's part of the SoCal vibe," Alex says, making a wave with her arm.

"Well, I'm definitely not complaining," Tobin says, grabbing her US Soccer duffel and heading toward the front door.

Alex, Moe, and I follow suit and we all walk inside.

"Damn, this place is sick," Tobin says, setting down her bag on one of the two leather couches in the living room. "Neat find, Lex."

"I'm glad you like it," Alex says proudly. "There are two bedrooms so how do you guys want to split it up?"

Moe, Tobin and I all look at Alex as if she just miscalculated 1+1.

"Ok jeez, you guys. Just thought I'd ask," Alex says, putting her hands up.