Kokololio Beach is a lovely stretch of sand, and during the summer months, swimming is possible here. During weekends, especially in the summer months, residents like to camp at Kokololio. The beach park is a county campsite, but permits are required.

Leighton didn't like how awkward things had been between her and Spencer lately. She wanted him, and he liked her, but instead of taking her seriously, he chose to flirt with other girls. Sometimes he even dared to do it in front of her. Leighton didn't understand. It was like he was trying to get her to hate him or cause a reaction out of her. It bothered her, but she didn't react. Leighton didn't want to give him that satisfaction. So instead, she waited to cry about it until she was home. It hurt her feelings because she knew what he said to her behind closed doors and then acted the opposite in public. Sometimes it made her think he was embarrassed by her.

To her dismay, she spent most of the time impatiently waiting for Spencer before he finally arrived, looking as dreamy as ever. Leighton didn't run over to greet him like she previously would have. Instead, she waited for him to approach her and turned her attention back to the group of girls she'd been sitting with. A few of them were in some of her classes. Besides that, Leighton didn't know who the rest were. She was just waiting for Jess and Sam to return from wherever they ran off to. Leighton didn't like socializing, but when she did, she did it well. Her mother was a chameleon, effortlessly blending into any social status, and Leighton is no different.

It wasn't long before a red solo cup was shoved into her face. Looking up, it was Spencer. "What is this? A peace offering?" She stared at him for a moment before taking the cup from him. Leighton wanted to hate him, but she couldn't. His stupid high stare was already making her melt.

After today, Jess didn't want to deal with all his classmates back at the beach. He also was trying to highly avoid Spencer. Jess wasn't trying to fight with his best friend. Still, Jess hated how ignorant and insensitive Spencer had been with Leighton's feelings lately. It wasn't any of his business, and he did feel like he may have overstepped, but he also felt like it was the honesty Spencer may have needed. Jess knew Spencer still had unresolved issues regarding his parents, and Jess considered that a lot of the time, but enough was enough. Both of his parents were in happy relationships now, and Jess felt like if Spencer had issues, he needed to take it up with his parents and not with an innocent girl.

Sill with some sunlight left, Jess and Sam found a nice spot a mile from the bonfire. He'd wanted to tell her about the conversation with Spencer all day. Sam was the only one who seemed to understand him. It's why they vibed so well as lovers too. They were good friends before they transitioned into something more. "I may have been slightly abrasive, but I don't think I said anything wrong. I was just speaking the truth," he said, taking another puff off the blunt before passing it over to Sam. "He said I was pussy whipped," Jess added, rolling her eyes. He looked over at Sam and smiled, "Okay, maybe a little bit," he said, chuckling and leaning over to give her a quick kiss between her puffs. Jess and Sam may have never been exclusive, but he respected her enough not to fuck with other girls while they were friends with benefits.

He looked past Sam and down at the bonfire. "I wonder if we should go find Leighton? You think she's okay?" Jess' eyes shifted back to Sam, and he smiled. "We can finish this first," he said, taking the blunt back from her.

It was much easier for Spencer when their little friend group was just that: friends, nothing more. But then Jess and Sam started hooking up and Leighton and he started having feelings for each other and everything just became so difficult. Spencer knew he was in the wrong, but he was far too stubborn to admit it yet. He knew that Leighton deserved to be treated better but he was stuck in his monogamy-is-for-suckers ways to give it up. His parents may have moved on but Spencer hadn't. He didn't see the point in it anymore because one day they could just no longer be in love and then they spent twenty years building a life to have to start all over? Didn't seem like something he wanted.

Leighton was special though and no matter how much he wanted to stop himself, he couldn't. If there was ever a girl to get him to possibly embrace the idea of falling in love, it would be her. Cut off from his main friends until he apologized for being an asshole, Spencer spent the afternoon getting as stoned as he possibly could before finally arriving at the beach. Admittedly, Spencer had intended on double fisting the beers but quickly changed his mind the moment he saw Leighton.

"Something like that." he focused on Leighton as he spoked. There was a high chance that he'd fooled around with a least one of the girls she was talking to and that was the last thing he needed to deal with right now. He was trying to get back on her good side, not make things worse. "Hey, you think we could maybe go for a walk, and talk?"

"Talk about what?" Leighton asked. She already knew how this was going to go. Spencer was probably not going to apologize but instead make excuses for his shitty behavior and why he does the things he does. Leighton sighed when she saw the pitiful look on his face, begging her to walk with him. She excused herself from the group of girls she'd been sitting with before getting up and following Spencer.

Once they got away from the bonfire and their classmates' crowds, they could walk side by side. She was becoming more anxious than she thought she would be. "I don't want you to stop talking to me because someone tells you to," Leighton admitted, wanting to break the silence between them. "But I also don't want you to lead me on and say things that you don't mean," she reminded.

She had seen her mother go through numerous partners growing up, and Leighton didn't want that. "I think we just want two different things and it might be best that we just be friends right now," as much as it pained Leighton to suggest that, she knew it was for the best. "I just think it'll make things either for the both of us."

Sam had never intended to leave Leighton alone, but she found herself having a hard time saying no to Jess. Especially when he offered to smoke her out while he had a chance to vent to her. She also secretly hoped that Spencer would swoop in and keep her occupied for a while and maybe even kiss and make up. Happily taking the joint and listening to him as he finished up with what he had to say, she tried not to choke on the smoke when he told her the bit about being pussy whipped. Exhaling, she simply looked over at him, smiled, and returned the kiss.

When Jess and Sam first started getting close as friends, she never truly expected for them to ever turn into anything more than that, but she was glad that she had. The thought of making it official still scared her a little bit for fear that they might lose that friendship, but she was warming up to it more and more every day. Looking over her shoulder and down at the bonfire, Sam shrugged and turned back to Jess. "She said she'd be fine. She'll text me if she needs us so yes we will absolutely be finishing this first."

Sam watched as the smoke swirled around them. "Spencer is just being a brat like always. You didn't do or say anything wrong, he's the one not treating Leighton like the queen she is! He's our friend and I love him and all but like one of us might have to slap some sense into him if he doesn't get his shit together soon." She playfully pointed at him to let him know that was probably going to have to be him because he'd always had more luck getting through to him. "Enough about our friends' problems for now please, we're supposed to be having fun. I wanna have fun!" she pleaded.

Unlike his friends, Jess’ parents were still happily married. Sure, they fought, and they weren’t perfect, but without fail, his father still brought home roses every Friday for his mother like he had since they were dating. Love existed; it depended on the circumstances, and if the people wanted to make it work, they would.

Jess nodded in agreement to Sam’s comment about their best friend being a brat. “Me?” He sighed because he knew it to be true. It made the most sense. They had known each other since kindergarten. Jess had spent more time at the Walkers growing up than at his own house, and he felt like he went through it with Spencer. “I feel bad because he’s still hurting, you know?” He stared absentmindedly out into the ocean while playing with the sand in front of him.

His trance finally broke when Sam expressed she wanted to have fun, and he looked over at her. “You’re going to have to be specific, baby.” He started to get up from the sand. Jess extended one of his hands, offering her help. “Your fun ranges from skinny dipping in the ocean to stealing one of our parent's cars,” he joked, wrapping his arm around Sam’s shoulders, pulling her close, and walking in the opposite direction of the bonfire.

“As long as I don’t have to break up any fights, I don’t care what we do,” he teased and kissed the top of her head. “You ever going to tell me why?” Jess casually asked. He wanted an honest answer. If he had to guess, it was because he and Hailie almost dated last year. He wasn’t going to assume or say it out loud because he already did that once before and learned his lesson. Jealousy wasn’t something Sam often showed, but they both had their moments when it came to certain classmates. They were only human.

"I'd really rather talk alone, if you don't mind." Spencer muttered, still trying to avoid eye contact with anyone but Leighton. "Please?"

Spencer sipped on his drink as they walked away from the bonfire crowd, trying to come up with what he wanted to say while also being so high, he was seriously struggling to focus. "I'm not gonna stop talking to you because someone says, I was mad at Jess and myself and being stupid." Further proof that he was an idiot; he thought he didn't need to be sober for this conversation. He meant the things he said to her, but he also still struggled with the whole wanting to being exclusive thing. "I'm sorry." It was something he said far too often in his life but only a handful of time did he actually mean it, this was one of those times.

He stopped walking, stared at her wide eyed and slightly heartbroken when she suggested they just be friends. Spencer knew deep down that she was right, things would probably be better for everyone if they were only friends, but it didn't make it hurt any less. He was the one making it so difficult though, by being so terrified of commitment. "Uh, okay. Yeah. Friends." was all he could think to say. Chugging down the rest of the contents of his cup as he turned to look out at the ocean.

Spencer let his sadness over the situation wash away with the waves he watched, refusing to let it ruin his high. He could be sad about it later or he could do what he preferred, numb the pain away. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to the possibility of them though, he was the one who had to prove he was worthy of her now. "Speaking of friends, where are Jess and Sam?" he attempted to change the subject.

“Spence,” Leighton said softly, avoiding eye contact momentarily. She could tell he was hurting, despite agreeing. She didn't understand. Spencer didn't want to be with her exclusively, but he didn't want to give her up either. He couldn't have his cake and eat it too. They hadn't even kissed yet, almost, but not really. She always felt like he wanted to, but it never happened. Leighton watched as he downed his cup of beer; she looked away, unable to watch. It was something she was afraid of happening when she told him her decision. Spencer wasn't very good at expressing his feelings, and as she noticed, he liked to keep a lot bottled inside.

Leighton frowned when Spencer found a way to change the subject. She looked at him while he fixated on the ocean. “I don't know,” Leighton shrugged, annoyed. “Pretty sure Jess is still pissed about what happened,” Leighton added.

Some of her wanted Spencer to protest and admit that he wanted to be with her just as much as she wanted to be with him, but he didn't, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she became. “Why are you being such a stubborn idiot?” Leighton questioned, looking up at him. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to keep it out of her face. “I know you like me, and you know I like you, but you choose to stand here and pretend that you don't want to be with me.” All this was more mentally draining for Leighton than she thought it’d be, but she wanted him to know that her life wasn't as picturesque as her mother liked to make it seem. “I get you’re scared of commitment. I get it, okay? I want something secure, someone, that I know I can trust. I spent most of my life with a revolving front door, watching as the men came and went from mom’s life. And let me tell you, not all of them were winners,” wondering if Spencer was too drunk and high to read between the lines. She just hoped he’d be too drunk to remember to ask questions later. “I fucking like you, okay, and out of everyone on this stupid fucking island, I'm the last person who will fucking hurt you,” she pleaded.

Sam smiled and giggled as she reminisced about the last time they went skinny dipping; there was something so fun and freeing about swimming naked in the ocean. She still really wanted to try surfing in the nude but the worry of some creep with a good zoom happening upon it kept her from doing it yet. Continuing to smile up at him as she took his hand and then her place next to him, she tried thinking of what they could do. "Something new. Something we haven't done yet."

Giving him a soft nudge when he teased her about the whole Hailie thing. She didn't want to be jealous; Jess wasn't out here acting like Spencer or anything, but she still felt intimidated by the junior girl. Once Jess and Sam had actually became a thing, he only showed interest in her but still Sam couldn't help herself. Hailie also loved to 'casually' bring it up all the time and it drove Sam insane. "Boooo. Fine. I'll tell you. But I want a piggyback ride. My legs are tired from all this walking." She snagged the blunt from him, put it between her lips and hopped on his back.

Taking a drag from it, she placed it in his mouth to give him a drag as well before finally exhaling and telling him why. "It's so stupid but like, I swear she always brings you up when I'm around just to drive me insane. And like I know we aren't even officially anything or whatever, but everyone knows. We always end up sneaking off together and they see that. She sees that." Sam rolled her eyes at herself. "Ew. Now that I hear it out loud, it sounds so lame. I mean, I acknowledge the feeling of jealousy that I had, have, had. I don't know but like you don't need to worry about me fighting her, okay? I know that I don't need to worry, she's just jealous."

"Wait, I've got it! Put me down." she patted him quickly a few times on the chest before he let her legs go and she slid off of his back. Bending down she put the end of the blunt out in the sand then straightened back up to look at him. "Do you want to build a sandcastle?" she sang to him in the Frozen snowman tune. Sometimes she wanted R rated fun, sometimes, she wanted PG fun.