THE YOUNG ADULTS HAD A WEIRD way of starting off the summer. For as long as Penelope could remember, she woke up the same way every year after the first night. The Penny Toss was started by Quinn whenever they were in elementary school whenever he accidentally tackled the girl into the lake. Since then, it stuck and it was how they all knew that summer started.

It always started the same way. Penelope laid on her bed, still sound asleep before her peace was ruined. The girl woke up with a small fright as an unfamiliar song began to play loudly from a speaker and she knew what was happening, the bedroom door flying open to reveal the three boys, along with Angie who had a confused Kota following behind.

"No!" Penelope shouted, jumping up from her bed and laughing while trying to dodge the boys grasps, but it was no use. She had no chance at dodging any of the hockey players, especially whenever Quinn wrapped his arms around the girls torso, lifting her slightly despite her struggles to get out of his grasp. Luke let out a laugh as he grabbed the girl by her ankles, Jack beginning to lead them out of the room so they wouldn't hit anything.

Angie and Kota followed behind the group, phone cameras on the scene as they began to go downstairs. "Luke, Quinn! Put me down!" Penelope yelled, laughing slightly as she continued to struggle. "Angie, you traitor!" She exclaimed, looking to her best friend who just shrugged. They got outside, walking down the dock before the boys started to count down and swing Penelope's body back and forth.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Penny Toss!" The entire group, minus Penelope and Kota, shouted as Quinn and Luke tossed her into the lake. Penelope was quick to close her eyes and plug her nose between her fingers before she hit the lake. She felt as she submerged into the cool water, placing her feet on the bottom of the lake and pushing herself up.

She gasped as soon as she resurfaced, hopping towards the dock. "Guys, I think I hurt my wrist." She said with a small whine, looking up at the group. Angie grinned as she picked up on the girls lie, continuing to film. The boys all began to look at her questionably, wondering if she was being for real.

"Let me see." Luke said as he knelt down on the dock, watching as she outstretched her arm towards him. He gently took hold of the girls wrists, beginning to examine it but his eyebrows only furrowed, noticing nothing was wrong. "Are you --" he was cut off as Penelope grabbed hold of his hands, pulling him into the water with a loud laugh.

Luke resurfaced and coughed a little, pushing his hair out of his face as he looked at the girl. "Oh, you're going to get it!" He shouted, beginning to chase the girl who tried to swim away. She had no advantage against Luke, seeing as how he was six foot three and caught up to her quickly. She let out a shriek whenever she felt his arms wrap around her, beginning to pick her up before he let himself fall into the water, bringing the girl down with him.

Underneath the water, Penelope squirmed out of his grasp and resurfaced, turning to look back at the boy who came up a second after her. "Get away from me, weirdo." She chuckled, pushing him back before she began to swim back to the dock where Angie stood talking to Kota, holding towels for the pair. Quinn and Jack already gone to cause mischief somewhere else.

Penelope pulled herself out of the water, smiling as she took the towel from her friend. "It's so good to see you." Angie said, bringing her friend into a hug, despite her soaked clothes that tripped onto the wooden dock.

"God, I know, it's been forever." Penelope sighed into the hug before pulling back and laying her eyes onto Kota, who she hadn't met in person but had known for awhile due to the fact they were Angie's roommate while she was in UCLA. "Kota, it's so nice to finally meet you!" She exclaimed, bringing the girl into a hug.

Kota smiled, wrapping her arms around the girl without a care in the world. "You too!" They said before the pair pulled apart.

"When do the parents leave?" Angie asked as the three girls began to walk back towards the house. The second Angie landed in the state of Michigan and rented a car for the summer, she had stopped at a liquor store, grabbing anything and everything in sight for the party they had planned for later tonight.

"Their flights are at one-thirty, so I'm thinking around eleven?" Penelope's words came out like a question from her uncertainty, glancing around for Luke to see if he knew but whenever she saw him back at the dock looking out onto the water, she quickly excused herself from her two friends.

She walked back to the dock, stepping beside Luke. "You okay?" She questioned, her eyebrows pulling into a furrow as she looked up to him. He didn't look upset as he kept his gaze on the still water. He looked quite happy, peaceful even. But Luke had always been good at hiding his emotions.

"Just thinking." He shrugged, glancing down as he pulled his towel closer around his soaked clothes. "I've missed being here. The lake, the house, and it's the only time I get to see you now." He said, glancing to the girl with a small grin. He remembered the girls words from last night as soon as he made eye contact with her. He didn't want to bring it up, knowing that it was in a platonic way.

"Well, you could've came see me when you were in New York." She teased, nudging him with her elbow. He chuckled, making the girl grin as she looked out on the water.

"Could've came see me play." He returned, shaking his head although he carried a smile. "Could've come seen me play." He said, his eyes focusing back on the water.

She felt guilty, not going to a game his first season in the NHL. It was all he talked about since when they were younger and she missed being there. "I watched a few games in my dorm with my roommate." She mentioned, not taking her eyes away from the scene in front of her. She didn't notice how Luke looked at her. "Really nice goal, by the way." She complimented.

Luke stared at the girl in awe. He didn't know that she watched from her tiny college dorm room, probably whenever she had a thousand different things to do for school but she watched him. "Thank you." Was all he could mutter out.

She hummed and looked over to him finally. "Had to support my best friend." She smiled up at him, not realizing the choice of her words caused a pang in his heart. He just nodded, returning the smile before they heard a loud whistle from behind them.

"Hurry up before Quinn eats all the muffins!"

Penelope grinned, looking back to Luke. "Race you to the door?" She challenged, one of her eyebrows perking up.

"Oh, you're on." He accepted the challenge before the pair began running back to the house. Luke must've forgotten the girl played volleyball and ran track in high school as he realized she was a little ahead of him. He pushed himself a little more before his arms wrapped around her waist, picking her up while she let out a shriek at the sudden action.

"You cheater!" She laughed as he turned and put her down before running towards the door, slipping inside while the girl followed after him. She took her towel off her back and wacked him with it twice before the boy pulled it away from her, wearing a matching smile.

As they walked into the kitchen, sitting down on barstools as Ellen handed them both their breakfast. Everyone in the room besides the two could feel it in the silence, the love they carried for one another. The grins they had on their faces and the way Luke's face glowed whenever she nudged him with her knee, causing Angie, Quinn, Jack, and even Kota threw knowing smirks at one another before carrying on with their previous conversation.

-

The second Quinn came home, it was when the fun officially started. After he dropped off the parents at the airport, he stopped at three different liquor stores to get ready for the party that would be happening in two days. Meaning until then, the small group had to get the guest rooms together and plan out sleeping arrangements for everyone who would be staying at the lake house until the parents got back.

"Angie, Kota, and Carter can all stay in my room." Penelope piped up, taking a swig of her beer while watching as Jack looked at the girl.

"Angie can stay in my room." Jack said before he began to scribble it down on the paper.

"Nico, Jamie, and Trevor can all stay in the room across from mine." Quinn stated, walking around the kitchen out of pure boredom. "They shouldn't mind, seeing as to how they're all roommates." He shrugged while walking back over to the table where they all sat.

"Don't put them in the same room as me!" The voice of Jamie Drysdale was heard as he walked towards the kitchen with Trevor who gave him a bewildered look.

"Why not? We can cuddle at night!" Trevor exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Jamie who seemed to stiffen at the affection from his friend.

Suddenly, another voice was heard along with the heavy feet of someone running. "You guys left me to get the alcohol by myself!" Nico whined as he approached his two roommates who glanced back to him. Nico's eyes wandered to the group of people, some he met and some he didn't.

Angie's eyes rested on Nico and instantly whenever she noticed the eye contact they made, she cleared her throat while looking away, straightening her posture in the process. The girls actions didn't go unnoticed as Kota and Penelope grinned at one another.

"Did you hear Jamie? He doesn't want to cuddle us anymore." Trevor said to Nico who gasped, faking offense as he placed the beers he brought on a counter.

Jamie's face warmed up at his two friends, glancing to the small group for some help. "Jamie, don't you love being the big spoon to Trevor and me?" Nico dramatically questioned. Jamie just sighed, closing his eyes.

"Lay off Jamie. He can take my parents room with Cole." Penelope spoke up before looking and pointing to Jamie. "Don't cuddle Cole, he bit me last summer." She warned, earning a lot of confused looks from everyone in the room. Whenever Taylor Swift said she never heard silence quite this loud, Penelope related right in that moment as she glanced around at her friends.

"Cole bit you?" Quinn was the first one to speak. Penelope nodded just causing the older male to nod, turning around before shaking his head.

As the group carried on discussing the room situations, Luke nudged Penelope with his knee bringing her attention to him. She hummed, tilting her head over to him although her eyes stayed on Jack and the poor, wrinkled paper. "You tried to cuddle Cole?" He questioned, finally causing the girls gaze to move over to him.

His eyebrows were furrowed and he genuinely looked slightly upset, even hurt. She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together. "Yeah, whenever we were having a bonfire." She told him, but Luke's mind pulled a blank. "You were out with Callie." Was all she said before standing up and walking towards the fruit bowl that was on the other side of the kitchen.

Luke watched her as she walked away, his heart sinking at the mention of the name. Not because the name meant anything to him, but because the way Penelope said it. His eyes stayed on her but she didn't pay him one mind, starting up a conversation between Quinn. The pair laughed at each other, keeping their words between themselves. The youngest Hughes looked down, keeping his eyes on his shoes.

Penelope couldn't help but sneak glances at Luke. She would never understand why Luke's antics from last summer made her upset. She didn't feel anything for him last year, so why was it bothering her? Her eyes went back to Quinn as he also glanced back to his little brother. A small smirk overcame his face as he glanced to Penelope.

"Say anything and I will ruin you." She pointed at him, half joking. Whenever Quinn's smirk didn't fall, she let out a groan and allowed her hand to drop. "I don't know what to do." She said, a small whine coming out after her words.

Quinn was silent for a minute as he thought, glancing back to his baby brother. He loved the both of them more than they'd ever know, and the thought of them together brought a small smile to his face. But he didn't know what to say to Penelope besides one thing.

"Follow your heart."

—
wnderify speaks
hi i hope you all are enjoying this love <3