The sun began its slow goodbye, dripping gold across the sky, and the shadows grew longer over the lake. Everything felt quieter, like the world was gently reminding them the day wouldn’t last forever—but they still had time.
Mia was trying to build a small, lopsided stack of cookies into some kind of cookie tower while Lucas watched her like she was defusing a bomb.
“You know it’s gonna collapse in, like, three seconds, right?”
Mia narrowed her eyes. “Shut it. This is art.”
Bianca passed behind them and rolled her eyes with a sarcastic groan. “This is brain damage.”
Lucas grinned. “Wow. That’s rich coming from you.”
Bianca stopped and turned, one brow raised. “Do you want me to bury you in cookie crumbs? I’m in the mood.”
“Okay, but can we talk about how Lucas just wanted a flirty lakeside date with Mia and dragged the rest of us along as decoys?” she said loudly, not even trying to hide the smirk on her face.
Mia dropped her cookie and turned red so fast she looked sunburnt. “EXCUSE ME?! I did not—that is not—you’re crazy!”
Lucas blinked dramatically. “Wow. I feel so exposed.”
Skylar cracked up. Jace actually choked on his drink.
Cassidy and Scarlett paused mid-laugh to high-five Bianca.
“Okay, no,” Mia blurted, wagging her finger at Bianca. “Don’t make me start roasting your silent mutual pining with Jace—”
“Ahhh—what’s that over there? A distraction!” Bianca pointed into the trees with wide, fake-shocked eyes and speed-walked away.
“Coward!” Mia yelled, but she was giggling too hard to chase after her.
---
Later, while Skylar stretched out on the blanket, Cassidy sat beside her and quietly passed her a drink. Scarlett was sitting with Lucas nearby, whispering about some prank they were totally not planning.
“Sky?” Cassidy said softly.
Skylar turned her head. “Yeah?”
“You’ve been… here a while now. But I never asked,” she started, gentle but curious. “What were you like before the academy?”
Skylar blinked.
That question felt like a stone dropped into calm water.
She tried to smile, but it was small. “Honestly? I’m not even sure anymore.”
Cassidy nodded like she understood.
“I just feel like… you’re still hiding a version of yourself,” she added, kind, not accusing.
Skylar didn’t answer right away. She stared at the fading sky.
“I think that version of me still exists,” she finally whispered. “She’s just scared.”
Cassidy bumped her shoulder. “It’s okay. I think we all are.”
---
A bit later, Bianca ended up helping Mia pour drinks and untangle a bag of chips Scarlett had accidentally squished with her knee. She didn’t mean to smile—but somehow, Mia made it impossible not to.
“You’re doing it again,” Mia said.
“What?”
“Smiling.”
Bianca snorted and rolled her eyes. “Gross. Burn it.”
“You like us.”
“No, I tolerate you.”
“I’ll take it.”
They both laughed.
And for a second, Bianca felt… lighter.
---
Jace was distracted, looking at the prank Lucas and Scarlett were clearly plotting. He was trying to warn them not to be too obvious, but before he could say anything, Scarlett shouted, “NOW!”
A bucket of harmless glitter—yes, glitter—fell straight from a hidden tree branch and landed perfectly on Jace’s head.
Lucas screamed like a banshee.
Jace stood there, glitter slowly dripping off his shoulders, eyes deadpan. “Wow. You guys are creative.”
Skylar’s face hurt from laughing.
“BETTER THAN WATER, OKAY?!” Scarlett defended. “Water would’ve been mean!”
Bianca passed by with the smuggest grin. “You look like a disco ball.”
“You’re all paying for this.”
“Catch me if you can, sparkle boy,” Lucas yelled and sprinted away.
---
That night, after the snacks were gone and the laughter had faded into soft quiet, everyone sat around watching the last bit of sun disappear over the lake.
Bianca sat on the far end of the blanket, phone in hand, quietly scrolling through Scarlett’s photos. And then… she saw it.
That photo.
The one Scarlett had taken earlier—without anyone noticing.
Aiden and Skylar, shoulders barely touching but the kind of touch that says “you matter.” Jace standing close beside her, his body language screaming protection without words. Cassidy and Mia mid-laugh. Lucas tossing something in the air. And Bianca… caught mid-step, just before a smirk formed.
It was honest. It was warm.
It looked like people who weren’t just surviving anymore.
Bianca stared at it for a while.
Her thumb hovered over the ‘delete’ button.
But she didn’t press it.
Instead, she saved it to her favorites.
And maybe… just maybe… for the first time, she let herself believe that whatever this was—this group, this chaos, this softness—it wasn’t fake.
And maybe she belonged in it, too.