Back to present.

How could Johnny do that to me? He knew I hated Miranda with every bone in my body. She was going to steal our surfing spot for crying out loud!

"I'm going to kill him," I said, my anger rising. I speed-walked through the porch door while trying to get my emotions in check as I searched for my car keys.

"Hannah, don't blame him!" Ryan countered. "He was totally wasted last night. He probably didn't even know it was her."

I pretended not to hear his logic. I was going over to Johnny's house right now and no one was going to stop me. I eventually found my keys and stalked out to my car, forcing myself not to full-on sprint or kick my car. I could hear Ryan running behind me as I unlocked the car.

"What exactly are you going to do Hannah?" Ryan questioned, grabbing my arm and stepping between me and the car door.

"I'm going to ask him the logic behind his poor actions or maybe a slap will," I said while trying to get past him, but it was a sad and weak attempt.

"Give him a break," Ryan pleaded. "He's been having issues dealing ever since Shane came back. I bet it was just a mistake and he was drunk. He never would have kissed Miranda if he was sober."

"How do you know he didn't know it was her or if he didn't mean to kiss her, huh? Did you ask him? That picture pretty much explains it all," I snapped.

"Well, I don't know actually. I was pretty wasted last night too," he trailed off, trying to look at anything but me.

"See!" I yelled at him, proving my point. Johnny was going to have a lot of explaining to do if he didn't want to be on the other end of a slap.

"I know Johnny. He wouldn't do anything with Miranda because he doesn't like her at all. It was a drunken mistake."

"Ryan, stop defending him and just let me do this," I said firmly while glaring at him to get out of my way. He relented and climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

I drove quickly to Johnny's house, which was on the other side of town, hoping no cops would see me driving way over the speed limit. In his neighborhood, the houses weren't as close to each other or right on the beach like mine. However, Johnny's house was at the end of the road, so the beach was just through the trees. Most of the houses were two stories and had pools.

Despite how nice the houses were over here, I liked my neighborhood. It was located closer to the center of town, there were lots of surfers walking around everywhere, and the houses were all squished together like a cozy community. It just had a good vibe to it and I liked being able to see everyone out and about on the streets, by their houses, or on the beach.

I pulled into Johnny's driveway and parked next to his parents' car in front of his large two-story house. I was ready to stomp into his house when I realized I had driven over in only a swimsuit and no shoes. Luckily, I was always prepared. I opened the glove compartment and sorted through all the junk, but finally found brown sandals and a white tank top.

"Is this my board wax?" Ryan asked, picking up some of the stuff that had fallen onto the floor.

It was time to go inside, I thought. I shut the glove compartment before he could question more of the things I might have that were technically his and got out of the car. I went up to their front porch and automatically opened the front door without knocking. I really hoped Ryan hadn't seen that. I looked over my shoulder and he was smirking. I ignored him and walked in anyway.

Everything seemed peaceful inside their house as Shane and Johnny sat on their couch watching television. Seeing Johnny immediately made me think of his lips on that she-devil. I could feel my rage take over again and remembered why I was there.

He saw it coming and started to back away from me. I looked down and noticed that my hands were balled into fists and I was grinding my teeth again. Stupid habit! Miranda just did that to me, she made me so angry.

"What's got her all...oh...oh! She knows," Shane remarked. "Is she your girlfriend because damn—"

Something made him stop speaking, but I wasn't sure what it was.

Was Johnny's older brother, who was six years older than us, giving me a compliment? He had never even glanced in my direction before. Now, I was in a bikini and the last time I saw him he was a senior and I was a dorky eighth-grader. If this was what guys complimenting you was like then it felt pretty good.

"She's not my girlfriend," Ryan and Johnny answered in unison. The way they both looked at each other afterward made me think it wasn't planned.

I snapped back to it and started to walk toward Johnny again.

"Hannah, please. I know this looks bad, but let me explain," he appealed, walking backward onto his porch by the pool.

"Fine, Johnny, please explain why you were making out with my rival last night," I said, menacingly crossing my arms.

"I'm sorry. It just...happened. I was completely gone last night and I could've made out with anyone and not known who it was. Ryan, tell her," he said, looking back to his friend for help.

"Sorry man, I was completely out of it too," Ryan offered. Johnny shot him a thanks so much for your help look.

"You know I never would have done that in my right mind if I knew it was her," he said while boldly trying to comfort me by putting his hand on my arm.

"How would I know if you don't have secret feelings for her or something?" I fired, throwing my arm in the air to slap his hand away.

"Hannah, it's Miranda!" he yelled.

"Yeah, but—" I yelled.

"Jeez. They were both completely wasted and couldn't even remember their own names. They were making out and none of your friends stopped them because they had left or were gone themselves," Shane interjected. "So, there's your story. I have a major headache right now and it would get a whole lot better if you all stopped yelling."

"You heard him," Johnny said.

"How do I know you weren't wasted?" I asked Shane, looking him straight in the eyes.

I thought of him as a god when I was in the eighth grade and I went over to their house to do a school project with Johnny. He was just as hot now but more of a regular person. He stayed buff in college and had chocolate brown hair that complemented his tan. His blue eyes, which looked currently hungover, were identical to Johnny's and Johnny hated any mention of how hot we thought his brother was.

"Trust me, I wasn't," Shane said, getting closer to me. "I'm the one who took the picture so I could show Johnny in the morning and I remember sending it to Brody because he wanted it too. Then I had a bunch of drinks afterward and the rest of the night was amazing."

My face softened. So, maybe Johnny hadn't done anything completely wrong and I was freaking out too much. I had been so on edge lately and I silently cursed Miranda for it. I felt bad for flipping out on Johnny, but it still happened and this was not going to die anytime soon.

"You know you're not so bad when you're not raging. That was pretty hot though," Shane said, interrupting my thoughts.

Was Johnny's 22-year-old brother coming onto me?

At that moment, I low key forgot all about my crush on Ryan, which had been happening a lot since I was so distracted. Maybe I was right about it just being a phase and I went with the flow of things but came back to my senses.

"Thanks, but no," I said, giving him a sweet apologetic smile. I would never like Shane that way, but I liked having a little fun.

"Ooh!" both of the guys yelled.

Shane just grinned and said, "Playing hard to get? I like it. You should call me sometime."

I was about to say something when Johnny interrupted me, "Okay, too far Shane. She's off-limits."

"You're no fun little brother. But seriously call me," he said, winking at me.

"I'll think about it," I said pretending to think while giving him a smirk. This was too fun. He smiled and went back into their house.

"So, are we okay?" Johnny asked me.

"Yeah, we're cool," I said before hugging him.

"Also, that was just weird," I concluded.

"With my brother? I know."

"Aw, poor Hannah's complaining because a guy was flirting with her," Ryan retorted while putting his arm around me to complete the group hug.

I glared up at him and tried to ignore the fact that where his hand was tapping against my arm sent tingles through my entire body. I had to remember it was only Ryan. It was only Ryan. He was being my friend teasing me. Friend. Friend. Nothing else. I also had to remember him putting his arm around me was a normal thing, but this was starting to prove a little more difficult.

"Hey, I have an idea," Johnny said. "Let's invite the gang over."

"Yay!" Ryan and I both cheered.

~

"Why can't I surf?" I complained to Alana and Bethany who were sitting on identical lounge chairs beside me while all the guys were playing basketball in the pool. I was doing something I never thought I would have ever agreed to in my life: sitting out and tanning.

"Because you need to rest," Bethany mumbled while trying to angle herself to best absorb the sun's rays.

How could she be relaxing? When they offered for me to try something new I thought they meant new surf moves, but tanning was a surprise. It was also as boring as I thought it would be.

The whole time I could hear the waves in the background splashing against the shore just calling to me. Even if I couldn't get a good ride, just going out and surfing would've made me happy. I couldn't help and be happy though, even while doing the most boring thing ever because I was with my best friends. Bethany drowned out the call of the waves when she turned on some music.

"And you need to switch it up every once and a while," Alana added, putting more tanning oil on her already tan arms.

I didn't think Alana really liked sitting out tanning because it was more of something Bethany liked to do but she just wanted to chill out for the day.

"Well, I'm tired of this!" I said getting up and walking over to the pool.

"What are you doing?" Alana asked before I dove into the pool.

The water felt refreshing after roasting out in the sun for 30 minutes. I was already tan from surfing, so I was fine. It was the first time I had swam in an actual pool in ages. The only time I ever swam in a pool was at Johnny's house because why would I need a pool when I had the ocean?

"Hey, Hannah's come to join!" Johnny yelled while shooting a ball into the basket on the edge of the pool. "Wanna play?"

"Nah," I said treading water near them.

"I'll sit out with Hannah. You and Ryan play two on two," Brody offered then swam over by me. I smiled.

"Why do you want to sit out to hang with me?" I asked resting my arms on a raft while watching Ryan and Johnny start their game.

"Seriously you even have to ask?" he quipped sarcastically.

He sounded exactly like Sam had the other day. If Sam wasn't a year older, didn't have a boyfriend, and Brody didn't have a girlfriend, they would have made a good couple but I was getting used to him and Alana.

"No actually, I wanted to talk to you," he said.

"About?" I asked, not directly facing him. I watched Ryan dunk the ball as Johnny accused him of cheating. I laughed.

"How's your little crush going?" he asked quietly, moving his face in the direction I was looking.

My eyes widened. We were far enough away from the game and my friends tanning, but you could never be completely sure who could decide to listen in. I told Brody when I had first started seeing Ryan differently because when I had heard about Ryan and Caroline I guessed Brody had picked up on something clicking in my head.

He said I made this weird face and a look in my eyes had changed. He noticed how I was different around Ryan back when I wasn't as good at hiding it and asked me, so I decided to tell him the truth as long as he swore never to tell anyone until I was ready. I believed he wouldn't tell anyone because he wouldn't tell a secret for his life.

He had been doing a pretty good job of it so far. He gave me occasional looks every once and a while and we had some deep, meaningful conversations, but other than that he never brought it up or hinted at it.

I splashed Brody in response. He looked confused, obviously not getting that it was definitely not the right time to bring it up when Ryan and our friends were only 10 feet away.

"Actually how is it?" he pressed.

"I don't know," I said, burying my face in my crossed arms on the raft to hide any embarrassment on my face.

Even though Brody and I were close, it was still awkward sometimes since he was so close to Ryan. He also probably knew that Ryan didn't like me back but decided to spare my feelings and not tell me.

"Come on, Hannah," he said, nudging me. I moved away and my face grew redder. I swore sometimes Brody just liked to make things awkward on purpose.

"I actually don't know."

"What's there to be afraid of? You're pretty and you guys are so good together."

"He's my best friend."

"Who's your best friend?" Ryan asked.

I didn't even notice him come over, but I played it cool and said sarcastically, "Not you obviously."

He laughed. Brody raised his eyebrows and I shot him a glance to cut it out. Then I continued to pretend that I had no feelings for my best friend.

~

I walked into my house to see everyone wearing actual clothes, a rare sight in the summer. A typical outfit was a bathing suit, no shoes, and maybe a shirt or shorts. My mom was wearing a sundress with wedges while my dad was wearing a blue shirt and khakis. Spencer and Blake were wearing board shorts with normal shirts and I felt exposed in only my swimsuit.

"Hello, Hannah," my mom greeted in a weirdly serious tone. She was the stricter one of my parents but usually pretty chill.

"Uh, hi," I replied while closing the door. "Where is everyone going?"

"We're all going to the Jensen's," she stated, implying that I would be joining them.

"Oh, okay."

"Go get changed into something decent."

I was really confused. My mom had a smile plastered on her face but her voice and eyes said otherwise. I couldn't tell if she found out I snuck out last night. Her face was so hard to read, so I didn't know what I could assume.

I put on a gray tank top over my bikini. We always surfed after these dinners and I guessed tonight would be the same. I put some white shorts on and slipped into my leather flip flops sitting by my door. I brushed my hair and I was ready to go in five minutes.

I walked out and said, "Ready."

Then we walked two houses down to the Jensen's. We hadn't had a complete Gold-Jensen family dinner with all of us since Blake had left for college, and the kids saw each other during the summer regardless.

I missed our dinners. They were always so fun. I would hang out with Sam while Blake and Spencer hung out with Ryan and our parents would talk. Kids would eat outside and get to talk and joke about whatever we wanted while our parents ate inside then we'd night surf afterward.

We walked into their house and I could smell pasta coming from the kitchen. I saw their dad sitting on the couch watching FIFA. He greeted my dad while Mrs. Jensen came out of the kitchen and hugged all of us with me last.

"Hannah, how are you! It seems like I haven't seen you in forever. You should drop by more often, honey!" she said. "Ryan and Sam are in their rooms."

We headed down the hall when I heard Ryan's mom squeal to my mom, "They've all grown up so fast!"

I knocked on Sam's door and said, "Hey."

She was dressed nicely compared to me and putting on makeup.

"Hey, sit down! Sorry I didn't come to the door. I have a party in like an hour," she said while putting her other earring on in the mirror.

"Ooh, okay." I sighed. I was hoping she would go night surfing with us.

"Has your Mom found out you guys snuck out last night?"

"Thankfully no," I said, sifting through her makeup bag on her bed. She always looked so good and had so much makeup unlike me. I probably had one thing of eye shadow, mascara, a tube of lip gloss, chapstick, concealer, and bronzer.

"It was a pretty awesome party. So..." she said trailing off. It looked like she was going to ask me a question again but decided against it, and I wanted to know what she was going to say.

"Sam, spit it out!" I yelled.

She thought about it with pursed lips. She finally decided to say something and was opening her mouth when the doorbell rang.

"Better go get that!" she yelled as she spun around and ran out her door.

"Sam!" I yelled from the door threshold.

"Jeez, someone's quiet today," Ryan joked, emerging from the bathroom nearby. I shoved him but it was probably more like a light push to him. He just smiled at my weak attempt.

"Blake! Spencer!" Sam yelled from the front room.

Ryan and I both walked over to where everyone was with Blake and Spencer following behind us. I had guessed Sam's party was a seniors and older party, but I didn't realize my brothers were going with her. At least they wouldn't hog all the waves tonight.

I looked over at Ryan whose eyebrows were raised. Sometimes it was like he could read my mind, which was convenient.

"We're going night surfing now if they're going out," I announced. I wanted to surf so badly. I had planned on going when I had gotten home even though the waves were crappy.

Ryan and I started walking toward the door when my mom said, "Anyone who sneaks out is not going night surfing."

I stopped dead in my tracks and pivoted around. She had a straight face and her arms were crossed. She looked so much like Alana's mom at that moment.

"Uh..." I said, running my fingers through my hair. It was a nervous thing I did and one I hadn't noticed until last year when Bethany pointed it out.

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p' for emphasis. How did she find out? My whole bed setup was untouched. She answered my question. "I went into your room last night to tell you goodnight when I noticed that your hair isn't platinum blonde or stick straight like Hannah Montana's. Seriously dear, I'm your mother and we've had the same hair color since you were little. I moved your computer to your desk and there was some kind of freak show on, and I almost had a heart attack."

Sam, Evan, Blake, and Spencer all burst out laughing. I just stared at her in silent disbelief, waiting for my punishment.

"You're grounded for the day tomorrow. Consider this house arrest."

In my parents' terms that meant nothing fun, which to us was surfing in the summer, and getting taunted all day with the waves right outside the door. I was always the good kid and teased my brothers when my parents grounded them, so this did not sit well.

"But... but..." I started to refute. Tomorrow was the only free day I had to surf when I wasn't training.

"You should have thought about that before you snuck out. No night surfing," she said, seeming very pleased with herself. I was about to speak up and take my brothers down with me but decided against it.

"Ugh!" I said stomping out of the house.

I felt two hands on my shoulders. I looked and saw my brothers.

"Nice going," Spencer said, still laughing.

I glared at him. He stopped, knowing we hadn't left the Jensen's house yet and I could run in and blab if I wanted to. Then my mom could bust them here.

"If you tell, we'll kill you," Blake said pointing his finger at me like I was still his five-year-old sister. "Have fun at home, Hannah!"

I shot them both glares as they got into Evan's car.

I walked down the sidewalk to my house with my hands in my pockets, sadly knowing that I wouldn't be able to leave the house tomorrow. Most of the houses had a couple of lights on while others were dark. Our town closed up pretty early, which was ironic because we didn't live in an old-person town — we lived in a surfing town.

I continued to stroll along at a snail's pace. I kicked some stones off the sidewalk and looked up at the stars while I heard the waves crash against the shore. I had just ruined my chances of getting to surf tomorrow because I wanted to sneak out and go to a stupid party. I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid and not thinking ahead. I would be trapped in my house all day.

But I would be at my house where I could catch up on television that I had recorded while I finally had a good excuse for being lazy. During the weekdays I usually didn't sit around the house and watch television, especially not now. So, ha mom, my punishment would actually turn into a reward of catching up on television. Life was pretty good.