𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚 | ✓

viii

16.5 minutes pass and Sean is waiting alone in the lobby area, wondering why the girls are taking so long. He sees Daniel walking past and calls out to him, "Hey Dan!"

The thin boy spins around and meets his eye, walking over and leaning against the wall casually. "Oh hey Sean, what are you up to?"

"I'm just waiting for the girls 'cause we're gonna go hotel-hopping." Sean checks his phone again. It's now 17.5 minutes.

"Oh cool. Is Akanke coming?"

"Yeah."

"Can Cash and I join?"

"Totally, man." Sean's glad he's not the only boy attending now, even though it probably would've been fine with all girls.

Daniel pulls out his phone and texts Cash, telling him to hurry up in the gift shop and meet him in the lobby. He wants to go hotel-hopping with Akanke and Sean and the others, but needs a close friend with him.

Cash pokes his head out of the gift shop that's along the wall of the lobby and waves at the two. "I'll just be a second, Daniel come here I need to know which one of these hats looks better!"

Daniel laughs and hurries off, leaving Sean alone again.

"Hey Sean." He turns to see a few of his friends, two guys name Carson and Nathan and a girl called Sara, exiting the game room.

"Oh hey guys,"he says it quickly, his eyes darting to the doors behind him and hoping the girls will arrive soon, "what's going on?"

"We were just planning on gettin' out of here and calling an Uber to go to the town," Sara says and she obviously sounds bored with the idea. "Wanna come with?" Her eyes light up a little and she looks hopefully at him. Sean just glances at the door again.

"I can't, I'm going hotel-hopping." He purposely avoids saying who he's going with because he knows his friends will find a way to get him to ditch them. His friends don't like Akanke's group all that much and would probably try to separate them from him if they could.

"Ugh, that's boring. I bet that slut and her loser squad ask you to go with." Sara says but she leaves him alone, walking out with the two boys behind her in an annoyed huff. Sean can't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they're gone. If they would've asked again he would have been too scared to be able to say no.

The door behind him slides open and he sees Akanke, Jess, and Rachela, along with Lila and Lavender. The five girls join him by the wall when they see him and he waves them over.

"I hope you don't mind that Lila and Lavender wanted to come," Jess says and she re-adjusts her sunglasses. They sit low on her nose and she looks like a stereotypical librarian.

"Only if you don't mind that Cash and Daniel are coming." Sean doesn't notice Akanke stiffening beside him. Of course Daniel and Cash are coming. She's still extremely wary of Daniel, especially after what Cash told her last night, but she can't be sure it's 100 percent true until she asks Daniel himself which she doesn't plan to do any time soon.

"The Truth or Dare Squad is stuck together once again," Lavender comments and everyone realizes how true that statement is. They just keep running into each other. If this keeps up, they'll be best friends by the end of the trip.

The group walks past the gift shop and Sean yells inside, "Hey guys hurry up!" He sees Cash at the check-out with two hats in his hand and Daniel standing beside him.

"We're coming! Meet us outside!" Daniel calls and he watches as Sean and the girls walk out the front door, toward where the buses to different areas of Disney World load. He sees Akanke walking among them, her curly hair bouncing slightly with her steps, and smiles a little.