Thunder and Lightning

Logan Ravers stretched as he climbed out of his parents’ car, his eyes examining the cabin they’d pulled up at.

“It’s a nice place.” Brooke noted.

“That’s right, you haven’t been here.” Audrey recalled.

“Nope.” Brooke shook her head.

“Well, it’s really nice inside, too.” Logan informed his ex-aunt.

“I guess I’m ready to see it.” Brooke shrugged. The four newcomers to the cabin headed around to the back of Daniel’s car and popped the trunk. Cramming everyone’s suitcases in had been a challenge, but they’d managed alright, in Logan’s opinion.

He ran a hand through his long dark hair and hefted his suitcase and carried it towards the front door. Daniel had already gotten there and knocked. It wasn’t long before the door opened and Logan was greeted by a smiling woman.

The woman in question was Monica Bishop. She was beautiful, sure, but Logan wasn’t the kind of guy to fall over sideways for a big pair of tits.

Sure, he enjoyed seeing a big pair of knockers on a girl, but he wasn’t really a tit guy.

“Daniel! Audrey! What a surprise! It’s great to see you!” Monica laughed, and she hugged Daniel, then she moved towards Logan. Logan accepted her hug and then Monica sidled past him to hug Audrey, and that hug lasted longer than the hugs she’d given Daniel or Logan. Probably because they were old friends.

“Well, I don’t think we really have the space for you and Daniel, but come on in, guys.” Monica smiled at Audrey.

“What do you mean you don’t have enough space? There’s a whole guesthouse.” Daniel inquired as the five people went inside. Logan noticed that Monica hadn’t hugged Brooke, and by the slightly sad look on Brooke’s face, she’d noticed too.

“Not at the moment. The Smith family was going to rent a cabin, but there was some complication, so Robert let them stay in the guesthouse.” Monica explained.

“Oh.” Daniel said in surprise.

“I’m sure it’s fine. We can shuffle the kids around, have some people go three to a room instead of two. We’ll make do.” Monica promised.

“I don’t want to be a bother.” Audrey fretted.

“It’s fine, really!” Monica assured them.

“Is there space for me? And Aunt Brooke?” Logan piped up.

“Oh, yes, there is. Logan, you’re rooming with Brandon, and Brooke, you’re with Vanessa.” Monica explained.

“What? Brandon?” Logan groaned, “Can’t I room with Zack?”

“No, he’s rooming with Ashley.” Monica shook her head, then she paused, “Or maybe Taylor now. Zack and Ashley had a bit of a fight, I think.”

“Zack and Ashley, huh?” Daniel mused. Monica rolled her eyes at him.

“It’s not like that, Daniel. She’s dating Brandon anyway.” Monica scoffed. Audrey snorted.

“Please. We all know Vanessa’s dick son isn’t a long-lasting relationship.” Audrey said firmly.

“They’ve been going out for a few months now, though.” Monica argued.

“Longer than any of us expected.” Audrey muttered, and Daniel laughed.

“Even I have to admit, Zack is by far a better man than Brandon.” Brooke said, and the women laughed.

“Agreed.” Audrey said with so much emphasis that Daniel, Logan, and Monica all gave her strange looks. Brooke probably would have, too, if she hadn’t seen the girl sitting on the edge of a pool table, chatting happily with Hannah Woodsen.

Heather looked up and saw her mother, and her smile dropped almost instantly.

“Mom.” Heather said emotionlessly.

“Hello, Heather.” Brooke said in a disappointed tone.

There was suddenly a whole lot of tension in the room, and then Chloe burst into the room, panting.

“Z-Zack. Victoria. Lake. Storm.” she wheezed.

“What?” Ashley Woodsen asked in alarm, rising to her feet. Logan noted that Heather performed the exact same action almost in unison with the blond.

“Zack and Victoria, they went kayaking. But a huge storm is coming in out of nowhere. They could get hurt.” Chloe said after a beat, giving her time to recover her breath.

There was a pause, and then Ashley tore out of the room, racing for what Logan presumed was the cabin’s back door.

Audrey flashed Monica a triumphant look, and Monica held up her hands in surrender. Looks like Ashley had a thing for Zack after all.

———

Zack was enjoying himself. He and Victoria had gotten the hang of this whole kayaking thing.

“God, this is awesome.” Zack declared. Victoria laughed, and glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling.

“It is, isn’t it?” she agreed. Her green eyes were sparkling, and Zack had to admit, again, that she truly was stunning.

But the mirth in her green eyes quickly evaporated.

“What is it?” Zack asked.

“Look.” Victoria said, and pointed past his head. Zack turned around and saw black clouds moving towards them quickly. A flash of lightning lit up the sky and Zack’s eyes widened.

“Oh, shit. Tori, what do we do?” Zack gasped.

“Um... we get to shore. Which one’s closest?” Victoria asked, looking around.

“There.” Zack pointed to the left, where the shore curved.

“Alright. Paddle hard.” Victoria instructed, and Zack obeyed.

The two teens paddled forcefully towards the shore, and they practically leaped out of the kayak, shedding their life jackets as they ran away from the water, and came to a stop under a tree. It began to spritz lightly, not even something Zack would consider rain.

“What do we do?” Victoria panted. Zack looked around. He glanced up at the tall trees, then back towards the storm.

“We need to seek shelter. Are there caves near here?” Zack questioned.

“Probably. I don’t know where here is, though.” Victoria admitted. Zack slid his hand into hers, and tugged her away from the lake.

“C’mon, then. Let’s go find somewhere we can ride out the storm.” Zack said.

“Should we tie down the kayak?” Victoria asked as the two of them started moving.

“Probably. But I don’t carry rope. Do you?” Zack asked curiously. Tori shook her head. Zack nodded and then the two of them set out in a jog away from the lake and into the depths of the forest.

———

“Ashley!” a voice cried, but Ashley was in no mood to listen. After learning this morning that Zack was leaving on a kayaking trip with Victoria, she’d been upset, but now Zack could be in danger, and all Ashley cared about was knowing that he was safe, even if he did end up with Victoria.

“Ashley!” the voice repeated, and Ashley wheeled. She saw Heather stalking towards her.

“What?” Ashley threw up her hands.

“Ash, if we go out there, it’ll just be more dangerous. Then there’ll be four people who could get hurt.” Heather said, grabbing Ashley’s shoulders. Heather’s dark hair was whipping in the strong winds, and so was Ashley’s light.

“You don’t know that!” Ashley shouted. Heather kept her grip firmly on Ashley’s shoulders.

“Zack wouldn’t want you to get hurt for him.” Heather said firmly. That took a lot of the fight out of Ashley.

“Fine. But as soon as this storm stops, I’m going out to find him.” Ashley said stubbornly.

“Of course. I’ll be right there with you.” Heather nodded. Ashley studied her friend’s face.

“You like him, too.” Ashley said with a bad feeling growing inside her. There was no way someone would pick Ashley over Heather’s big boobs or Victoria’s incredible ass. Ashley was just so... average. Her mom and older sister had big tits and were both so beautiful.

But Ashley, well, she wasn’t plain, but she also wasn’t extraordinary like Heather or Victoria.

She was just... Ashley. No way Zack would ever pick her. Ever.