As River and I walked downstairs in our swimsuits, I couldn't stop smiling. River apologized for being cold and distant lately and had said that things could go back to the way they were before. He said that he was in a funk, and I didn't know what that meant or what caused it, but I pushed my curiosity down and ignored it so I could focus on the happy part of the situation.

"Alani, why don't you try a flip?" Nelson said as soon as we came down.

"Isn't that on your list?" Nadia added.

"Yeah," I said.

"I don't know. This water is a little shallow for flipping," River said, being the voice of reason for once in his life.

"It'll be fine," I said, stroking his arm and giving him puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine," He said reluctantly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Great! I can teach you!" Nadia said, getting out of the water. I went and stood next to her as she showed me how to do a flip. After a lot of belly-flopping, I finally got it.

"Great. We can stop now," River said.

"But I want to do it again," I said.

"Aren't you getting tired?"

"A little," I said, yawning at the thought of sleep.

"River's right. We should probably go to bed."

"Fine," I said before we all got out of the water and trudged back to our rooms.

After River and I were done showering, we got ready for bed. It was nice to be able to shower with him again. We didn't do anything sexual, but it was nice being close to him and having someone to wash my back.

After turning off the lights and snuggling up next to him, River and I fell asleep.

The next morning, as Nelson, Victor, River, and I sat around the table eating breakfast, Nadia and Jess appeared downstairs. Nadia was wearing all her Disney stuff. Her outfit was complete with mickey mouse ears, shoes, and a shirt.

"What on earth are you wearing?" Victor asked before Nelson punched him in the arm.

"I like it," Nelson said.

"Thank you, Nelson," Nadia replied, giving Victor a sour glance.

"I didn't say I didn't like it. I just asked what you were wearing!" Victor defended himself.

"Whatever. Anyway, since we are going to Disney today, I wanted to be ready."

"You sure look ready," I said.

"Let's get going!" Nadia said, jumping up and down.

"Okay, calm down," I said. "I have to finish eating."

"No time," She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out to the car. My half-eaten bowl of cheerios was left on the kitchen table for me to clean up later.

It was a thirty-minute drive to Disney, and I spent most of the time tracing patterns on River's arm and listening to music in my headphones. When we got there, we spent an eternity looking for a parking spot close enough to the theme park. After finding a spot, we headed inside.

Nadia wanted to do the Minnie-Mickey ride first because it matched her outfit. We agreed since it was near the entrance. The line was a lot longer than I expected it to be. It was a thirty-minute wait, which wasn't too bad, but it still sucked.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" River asked me as we stood in line, almost on the ride.

"I just-I don't know. Four months ago, I never would have thought that I would be standing at Disney world with five of my closest friends. I guess I just want to say thank you for making that possible."

"You don't have to say thank you," He said, staring back down at me.

"I know. But I want to. This is all because of you."

"Alani, the choices you've made yourself are what got you here today. I only helped a little," He said as I hugged his side.

"It's our turn," Victor said, pulling our gazes away from each other. I hadn't even realized that it was our turn to get on the ride.

The ride started after we settled into our seats. There was a lot of whizzing around and screaming children as we rode. By the time I got off, my head was spinning out of control.

"You good?" Jess asked as we walked out.

"Yeah," I said, looking around and getting my bearings.

We spent the rest of the day riding the rides and having a good time.

"We should try to win a stuffed animal," Jess said before walking up to one of those ring toss games. I didn't have that much experience with these games, but even I knew they rigged them.

Nevertheless, Jess decided to fork over ten bucks and give it his best shot. To everyone's surprise, he ended up winning. After picking out the alpaca stuffed animal that was half the size of River, he handed it over to Nadia, who looked like she had won the lottery.

"Do you want one of those?" River whispered to me.

"The purple dragon would be good to match my room," I teased before River cracked his knuckles and walked up. After the worker collected the money, she handed River three rings.

River missed every single one.

"It's okay," I laughed, rubbing his back.

"How the fuck did Jess win this shit?"

"It's okay," I said again.

"Let me try again."

"River, it's okay."

"One more time," He begged like a little kid.

"One more time," I echoed before he handed over more money.

"You know, it would probably be cheaper to buy one of those things at a grocery store or something," Victor said.

"Oh shush. Where's the fun in that?" River said as he threw a ring. Surprisingly, the ring landed around the bottle.

"You won!" I yelled.

"I'll take the purple dragon," River said with a smile on his face.

After the worker handed him the mythical creature, River gave it to me.

Nadia and I walked ahead of the boys with our new stuffed animals overtaking us. Once we got to the car, we squished everyone inside. It was tighter than the ride here because of the stuffed animals, but we made it work.

Even though I was crammed in a car, I had a smile on my face the whole time.