Mount Pacifico

"You down?"

MP was the abbreviated name of the lake park behind their school. The park sat atop a forested mountain called Mount Pacifico, and due to its likeness to the cheap beer, it became something of a local favorite and hotspot to engage in all kinds of recreational fun, especially among the rebellious teens of the community. Though the adults pretended to be none the wiser since they had once rebellious teens themselves, recalling the memories of their delinquency fondly. It was almost as if it was a tradition to get up to trouble at MP.

The words his brother said hung in the air. The people who surrounded him looked at each other awkwardly, silent jeers flickering between their gazes. Maxie was so obviously out of place with his bland, somewhat nerdy appearance and closed-off demeanor, but they would never say that to his face. It was clear that they didn't enjoy his company but James seemed completely oblivious to their opinions. 

"Jasmine is driving and some others are gonna join us with some goods."

It was clear the "goods" he was talking about were anything but good. Looking to his left he saw a tall, pale young woman wearing a floor-length black lace skirt and a distressed band tee. Her already imposing stature was further heightened by the brown leather combat boots she wore, silver buckles running up their length.

Her name was Jasmine, and for an airy, feminine name, it seemed to suit her quite well. She looked over at him, a small smile playing on her stark red lips, which contrasted nicely against her blueish-black hair. It was affixed into a pair of messy pigtails with short baby bangs framing her gaunt face. She always wore a lot of dark makeup that masked her features by quite a bit, but you could still tell that underneath, she had to be positively gorgeous.

"C'mon, it'll be fun I swear! And we can babysit the rest like usual."

This time it was Jasmine's turn trying to convince him. For some strange reason, she liked being around her friend's meek brother. It was a little out of character and he didn't know what about him was interesting in the slightest, but since she was also asking now he really had no choice. Begrudgingly giving a slight nod both James and Jasmine looked elated.

With a sigh he thought, 'I wonder what will happen this time'

Fortunately for Maxie there was never a dull moment at MP.

***

Getting buckled up, Maxie found himself inside an old off-roading vehicle. He was squashed between a burly young man with short black hair, a heavy dusting of freckles scattered across his face, and a pretty brunette girl with blonde streaks framing her delicate face, highlighting her piercing blue eyes.

The dude's name was Aaron and he was an oddball, he was always trying to climb things like a monkey just so he could get as high up to the sky as possible.

On the other side of him was Bailey. She was quiet and mostly kept to herself, but she was his favorite of the group because of her kind presence that exuded warmth. He really didn't know what about the others appealed to her and often tried to stave off their corrupting force, which wasn't taken as kindly by Bailey as he would have hoped. 

'My baddd' shaking off his run away thoughts he heard a rustling from behind him in the trunk.

There he laid eyes upon two pale people of an equal fascination with the color black. It was Irie and Preslynn, the token couple of the friend group. Irie didn't particularly stand out, aside from his masculine face and long, unkept, raven black hair that billowed down past his shoulders. Instead, it was his girlfriend Preslynn, lovingly known as Pretzel, who stole breaths. She was a year younger than the rest but it didn't matter since she had fit right in with her stark black hair and pencil-thin eyebrows that gave her a unique, sultry appearance. She also had quite a few piercings dotted across her face, the silver accentuating her already robust features.

Looking ahead he peered through the windshield past Jasmine and James to the road that they were driving up. It was quite the spectacle, they didn't live in a woodsy area, rather it was mostly scattered with a few trees they would pass every now and again, with a majority of the nature being tall grasses and low-laying bushes. Yet as they were ascending the mountain, the terrain seemed to change gradually at first, then more dramatically, with an elaborate outcropping of tall rocks becoming visible in the distance, littered here and there with tall pine-like trees that densely populated their surroundings.

As they crested the mountain the air around them began to grow chillier, emanating a sense of freshness. Once they reached the top they were met with a beautiful vista of a quaint yet serene lake surrounded by lush green forest. 

"We're here~!" Jasmine resounded loudly, much to the delight of her company. 

"Ugh finally that trunk was cramped man!"

Popping open the trunk, Irie and Pretzel stood up and stretched their tensed bodies. 

"Now who's ready to get lit!!"

Met with resounding cheers, James took the lead. The group quickly got to work unloading the firewood they brought for the bonfire and set up by the tranquil shores of the lake. They brought pillows and blankets and chose a quiet spot atop a large rock overlooking the lake that had a sunken crater forming a cozy bowl large enough for the group to fit in.

It was perfect really, they played music with Pretzel's old speaker and passed around their fair share of party favors, telling stories and laughing in each other's company. Maxie enjoyed these moments a lot, even if he liked to deny it. He didn't participate much at all, preferring to hang around the back, dissipating into the dancing shadows cast by the blazing fire, listening to the sounds of people.

When the sun finally began to set Aaron began speaking loudly, clearly inebriated. He took some time before being able to coherently share his thoughts. 

"You know~ some of my buddies are hosting a rave tonight underneath the freeway— by the college. There's gonna be hella hot chicks!" He said with a subtle smirk, as if he just shared something praiseworthy.

His smugness was short-lived though as Bailey scoffed, "Bro, no way you're in any state to rave tonight, much less pick up chicks." 

"Am too!!" 

"Uh huh... Im sure sweetie."

Then from a quiet corner, hidden beneath the tenebrous dancing of flame, a faint voice suddenly resounded.

"Um, I dunno, I think I'd be down?"