Baby Steps

31

Last Destination - Ireland

Our last stop before we head home.

It was almost sad, but I missed my family more. We've spent a week at each destination, which was just enough to do everything on the to-do lists. Cory and Jamie have been inseparable since Paris. It was kisses, cuddles, hugs, nudges, holding hands wherever they went, and Mikey was grossed out to death.

"We took baths together as kids." He complained, "Doesn't it make it weird that they both saw each other naked and now they're dating?! We're like siblings!"

We rented a car and just drove around, not bound by time or in a hurry to get somewhere. The actual plan was to camp under the stars tonight, cook something over a campfire and just have a late-night chat past midnight. We finally arrived at a beautiful spot on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. However, Kit's afraid of heights and didn't join Mikey and Cory when they went climbing one of the higher cliffs nearby. They totally left the setting up camp job for us girls! Kit and I started building the tents while Jamie made a campfire. By the time the boys got back, we had made a camping stew and one of those vintage pots of coffee.

"Have we told you, girls, how unbelievably amazing you are?" Mikey sucked up to us and took a plastic cup of coffee from me, "That was very high by the way. Cory almost fainted." He pointed towards the cliff they climbed, which was indeed nerve-rackingly high.

After we ate, Jamie threw open a blanket on the grass. We all laid on our backs, stargazing in peace and quiet. There was literally nothing more beautiful than the view we had, stars shimmering like millions and billions of diamonds in the night sky.

"Look, a shooting star." Jamie pointed out, "Let's make a wish."

"Oh, I wish for Lamborghini Hurricane Spyder with three girls in bikinis washing it outside my mansion in Las Vegas." Mikey dreamed on.

"No, oddball!" Jamie scolded him, "I meant let's all make one big wish. I'll start and the four of you add your own wish to it. Right, I wish for a wonderful year with less global warming and more recycled benches."

"Where graffiti is considered art and not vandalism." Kit added.

"And the rising of more Indie bands and discounts on concert tickets." Cory took his turn and turned to Mikey.

"That the online gaming society that battles mythical creatures become an Olympic sport." Mikey smiled dreamily.

Finally my turn, "And that we stay friends for eternity and see all these things come true."

"I love you guys," Mikey said.

We all awed before Jamie yelled dog-pile, and we all fell on top of him. Mikey squirmed and struggled and wriggled but it was no use. Every time he came close to escaping, Kit would poke his sides and he'd have to stop to laugh. We finally had mercy upon him and rolled off.

Being overly dramatic Mikey inhaled a sharp breath of air and coughed, "Don't ever yabba dabba do that again! I could've died!"

A comfortable silence settled around the five of us. I got up, refilled everyone's cups with coffee and sent a bag of chips around the circle. Jamie lit one of her vanilla candles in the middle for a little light and snuggled up to Cory, throwing her feet on Mikey's lap. Kit and I leaned shoulder to shoulder.

"Let's have a confession circle." I suggested, "It's the ideal time and atmosphere."

"I don't really have much to confess about." Kit frowned.

"Your real name, maybe?" Cory hinted.

"Watch it, Elvis." She warned, "Or I might snap all six of your strings."

"Okay, you don't have to confess if you don't want to." I tried keeping the peace, "I'll break the ice. Alright, I confess to being adopted."

Like one man the four of them spit out their coffee and started choking, "WHAT?!?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Cory exclaimed in shock.

"Heck no, like, you have your dad's hair and your mother's looks." Kit replied, "No way are you adopted."

I chuckled, "Well, maybe I just adapted very well."

"Extremely well," Mikey commented.

"I still can't believe it." Jamie whispered, "Alright, my turn, I guess. I confess of trying to smoke weed back in sixth grade. Don't worry, though. The first draw made me sick for a week, so that didn't last."

Mikey and Cory was shocked once again and started choking on their coffee all over.

"Uh, okay." Cory recovered, "I confess of shoplifting once. Or twice. Okay, maybe ten times. But it was only because I wanted to save money for a new guitar!"

"Dude, uncool." Mikey shook his head and earned a punch on the arm from Cory, "Ow! Fine, I confess of spying on Evelyn James in ninth grade. It went as far where I ended up with pictures of her getting her spray tan in one of those weird shower thingies."

"That's not spying. That's creepy stalking and invading of privacy." Jamie corrected, "Kit? Your turn."

Kit sat up and sighed, "Guess if Grace confessed of something I still don't believe, I should have a go. Alright, some of you once asked me why I never dated before. The truth is, I'm bisexual."

This time we all went silent, no spitting coffee, no coughing and no questions. Complete and utter silence.

"I've liked a few guys before, but not enough to date them." She explained, "Then I saw Brit for the first time and I was like, is that an actual human being or a hologram of an angel? I guess my first real crush was Brit, even though she was a Hot and a total stuck up bitch."

I smiled and gave her a side hug, "Well, it's not your real name, but we appreciate you sharing this secret with us. And we'll keep it forever."

Kit nodded, "I guess that's my goal after this year. Go to college, get a degree in art and maybe meet a nice person to settle down with."

I smiled when thinking about my goals. Yeah, becoming a vampire was one of them, but I couldn't tell them that, could I? They'll think I'm crazy or they'll actually believe me, and that would cause some serious problems. I realized everyone has shared their goals for the future and was waiting for mine.

"I'll definitely like to go to college, get a degree in a medical field like my dad." I really did want to become a dermatologist or phycologists, I'm still debating, "Demetri seems to be very serious about our relationship, so I think he's the one, my significant other. I want a small, quaint wedding one day with you guys there and my family. And, I don't know, maybe kids? I haven't really thought about that yet. But that's the basic plan for my future."

We girls parted from the guys after our long chat under the stars and crept into our tent. I was snuggled up on Jamie's right and Kit on her left. The tent was barely big enough for our three girls, but we managed to spoon our way inside of it. I laid awake until I was sure that the other two were fast asleep. In the tiny holes of the roof of the tent, the moonlight created our only light. It reflected off of both of their ear piercings we got on the same day, our signs of eternal friendship. When I become a vampire, I'll stop ageing. I'll live on and on and on while watching my best friends in the world grow old, get married, have kids, grand-kids and eventually die of old age. That will be the hardest part of being immortal, but I didn't think about choosing between them and Demetri. It will always be Demetri.

My future was both wonderful and heartbreaking. That's the price of loving a vampire.