....there's fire

Few hours passed, and the group was tired, thankfully for Ian, he didn't do severe dares like kissing someone, Jackson in particular.

They sat there listening to Ethan and Jeremy singing and playing the guitar around the crackling fire.

"Ethan, can we talk?" Jackson interrupted, Ethan nodded and they walked away from the group.

"I bet he's going to confess to you" Alice said biting into her s'more.

"I wish" Ian sighed. This was not going anywhere and with him hanging around Jackson all day, it hasn't given him the chance to enjoy the summer activities, he was really looking forward to beach volleyball but nope, he had to sit in a campchair all day, deciding to get some fresh air, he stood up.

"I'll be back"

He walked to the shore, he saw Jackson and Ethan from a far distance, he sighed, he decided to tell Jackson about his feelings, it was time.

"Hey Ian" Jackson said startling him,

"Oh, h-hey" he said. They stood there in silence.

"I have somethi-"

"Can I ask-"

They said at the same time, they chuckled,

"Go ahead" Ian said. Jackson sighed.

"I was wondering...is....uhm....is Jeremy in a relationship?" The question made Ian freeze

"T-the girl he's with is his girlfriend" he said weakly, this cannot be happening right now.

"Oh" Jackson said, Ian heard his tone, it was that of disappointment, his heart shattered.

"Yeah, listen, i have to go back" he said avoiding eye contact.

"Sure"

He walked away, his eyes glistening with tears, he cannot believe what just happened.

The sparks he felt whenever he was around Jackson turned out to be all lies after all.

∴ ════ ∴ ∴ ════ ∴

Ian passed his group of friends and headed straight to the house, Alice was confused when she saw her friend like that.

"Maybe he got rejected" Vanessa says. Alice sighs sadly.

"This is going to be a long summer"

Ethan came back and sat down, he grabbed the guitar and played a soft calming song. Minutes later Jackson also returned.

"I think I'll call it a night guys" he says grabbing his stuff. The group nodded quietly. Jackson took a glance at Jeremy who was being fed a s'more by his girlfriend, he smiled weakly and walked away, Alice however noticed.

"Oh my gosh!" She gasped, catching everyone's attention.

"What happened?" Vanessa asks.

"Jackson likes Jeremy while Ian likes Jackson" she says shocking everyone....well except Ethan.

"I don't think it's our business to tell" Ethan says placing the guitar on the sand.

"Ian's our friend and he's hurting right now, imagine having a crush on someone only to realize they're crushing on your best friend instead" she says.

"Hey! It's not my fault I'm attractive" Jeremy says in pride, Vanessa scoffs.

"And not very bright either" she remarks making the group laugh. Ethan sighed.

"Now that you guys know, what are you going to do?" He asks. Ever since Jackson told him he'd been crushing on Jeremy, Ethan had always been reluctant about the idea and when he saw the group at the beach house, he thought maybe Jackson will just confess and get rejected. He never knew Ian would end up being rejected instead.

"We make the two fall in love with each other" Alice says in determination. The group sighed.

"This is going to be a long summer"