Is this really a vacation?

You grin as you check your watch. 

Everything was going towards your plan. Not going to lie, but you really wanted to be late. Of course, and not have to go on a trip that you were kind of most likely pressured into agreeing to.

As you continue to slowly walk towards the pier where the boat your friends have booked waited, you make sure that you arrive there exactly forty-five minutes late. They’d most likely have given up on you anyways, like always. They have no expectations of you, seeing as you always had things to do, whether that be laundry or work. Still, they were your friends, even though you may have made excuses and done things to try and not take a vacation out of town. 

As you arrive at the pier, forty-five minutes late, you smile widely when you can’t see the boat anchored to the boardwalk. 

“Yes! Okay~ time to go home!”

You spin around, carrying your suitcase and start walking. Yes, you might’ve overdressed just to get out of the house and go back inside, but you overdressed for everything. That’s just that way you are. You didn't really care to be honest. You just wanted to look good while doing everything and anything.

You walk away until you hear a voice calling your name. More importantly, you recognize the voice and you know exactly who it is.

“Okay, no. I’m not going back there… Let’s… just run!” 

You talk to yourself like a character in a story, before running through the crowds, just almost barely missing a group of teenagers. Your friend, the one chasing you, was a big guy. A big, big guy.

As you run, your sunglasses fall off your head and you bend to pick them up before dashing off again. But you never get the chance. Your friend picks you up because he’s just way stronger than you are. I mean, he is a bodybuilder after all. Fun fact; he kind of looks like Dwayne Johnson, just shorter. Compared to others, however, he’s taller than most of them.

“No more running away,” He tells you, grinning widely, “Let’s go.”

“Hey, no! Wait!” 

You complain as he throws you over his shoulder like a sack of wheat. He carries your suitcase in his other hand as you protest.

“Let me down Marcus~!” You shout at him, pounding him on the back with your weak fists. He just hums a tune and carries you along, as many passersby gawk at you from below. Marcus brings you to another boat, a smaller one, and plops you inside.

“You can’t just-”

“Sit tight!” Marcus says, smiling at you. There was a glint in his eye. The engine starts and the boat speeds off into the vast blue ocean. And no, there were no dolphins.

“Ahah! That was great!” Marcus exclaims, striding along. 

“When can I go home?” 

Marcus turns around to face you,” Mmm, maybe about a week?”

“What…?”

“Let’s go find the others~ They should be at the resort by now,” Marcus says, ignoring you. As he speeds up, you follow reluctantly, not wanting to be left behind.

By the time you arrive at the resort, your friends were all sitting inside the holiday home, chattering.

“Here we are!”

Marcus throws open the doors to the place and skips inside. You follow him sheepishly with your suitcase in tow.

“We really need to discuss this problem of yours,” Freya says when you enter. She was sipping on a fruit drink, which was in a hue of red. You could see the strawberry placed on the edge of the glass.

“Yes, we do,” Leroy adds, shifting his sunglasses onto his head.

“Let’s sit down first,” Marcus suggests, moving towards one of the many couches in the living room. When your friends were all seated, they all turn to look at you.

“Sit down, and let’s talk,” Erin growls. You quietly and quickly scurry to a couch where you sit down, ashamed. Freya, Leroy, Marcus, and Erin all stare down at you with accusing eyes, all of them glaring. You shrink unconsciously into the couch. Then… they all burst out laughing.

“You should’ve seen your face!” Freya guffaws, almost choking on her fruit drink. Leroy moves and sits down beside you, draping an arm around your shoulder, crying in laughter. Marcus laughs and so does Erin. And they don’t stop until they’ve had enough.

You huff and get up, “I’m leaving.”

Marcus pulls you back down and you slam against the cushions. 

“Control your strength Marcus,” Erin smirks, slapping him lightly on the arm. She turns to look at you, where her smirk widens.

You cross your arms and wait until your friends are done laughing at you. Spoiler alert, they don’t. For a while. Anyways, the next few days passed without any problems. Except, there was. You just wanted to go back home, lie down, and watch videos. That’s all you wanted to do, so you decided to do just that. But on the resort island. 

With your friends dragging you around the resort, it was hard to get any alone time at all. Of course, you loved your friends, but they were a bit too excited. In one day, they’ve gone on way too many water slides, ate too much food, and had a terrible stomach ache. The days after that... well… they didn't seem to learn their lesson. They continued to play and enjoy their time, all the while eating way too much. You hang back a bit during the activities and eventually joined in, albeit reluctantly.

“Isn’t this fun!?” Freya shouts over the sound of water splashing as you swim in the ocean.

“Yeah...” You answer back. You aren’t sure. Freya just smiles at you before she dives underneath the waves. As you doggy paddle against the water awkwardly, there was a sudden splash to your side. It was Freya. She slams into you, bringing you down into the water with her.

“Freya!” You shout, coughing as water seeps into your lungs. You regain your balance, stand back up, and choke out the water you swallowed. You glare at her angrily. She grins at you and walks back onto the beach.

“Come on! Let’s play volleyball!”

You follow her with heavy steps, despite the fact that she’d just almost, just almost, made you feel like you’re drowning.

When the time came for them to leave, you were overjoyed. 

“You should come with us more next time~!” Leroy grinned, slapping you on the back. You glare at him and that got him to shut up. You wore the best on the day you were leaving, so you could go home and return to that comfortable life of yours.

“Why won’t you come with us more often?” Marcus joins in, “You always say no.”

You shrug and grin with a hidden meaning, “Cause’ you seep my energy away.”

The two friends pause to look at you with strange glances.

“But I love you guys.” You say, smirking at the two. They laugh but suddenly stop and leave you to get on the boat.

“Okay, let’s go,” Leroy says with a straight face, “And go before that person gets on.”

He points at you. Marcus nods. 

“Hey wait! No! Wait for me!” You shout. Everyone was already on the boat and while the boat’s engine starts up, you run towards it and get on before the vehicle actually leaves you behind on the resort island.