based loosely off of the film, The Impossible. enjoy.

chapter one

"Come on, babe, this will be fun."

"That's what everyone said before we got imprisoned in Yerba because Vega blinded the chancellor," Jade said haughtily. She watched from the edge of her boyfriend's bed as he stuffed a flannel shirt into his suitcase unceremoniously, and fought the retort rising in her throat. Did boys not care about wrinkles in their clothes?

Beck ran his fingers through his hair. "This is different," he said. "We're not performing for anybody, so Tori can't accidentally pierce someone's eyeball with her heels this time. And this is Thailand, it's not at war. Just nice sandy beaches to relax on and great food."

"Cancun has nice sandy beaches and great food," Jade challenged, pursing her lips. Beck gave her a look.

"Don't be so sour." He reached over and tapped her nose with his finger, and was gone to his closet before Jade could slap his hand away. "Is this because everyone else is going and you'd rather it just be you and me? We get our own hotel room this time - did you see the pictures? It looks like a mini house."

"Yeah, I saw the pictures," Jade said. She bit at the skin around her thumb in thought.

"Good, so you know what a sweet deal this is," Beck threw a pair of swim trunks in his suitcase and pressed the pile of clothes down. Jade swore he cared more for his hair products, which had a special spot in his suitcase off toward the side, than he did having nice, wrinkle-free clothes. He smiled over at her and approached her on the bed, grabbing her face between his hands and looking down at her. "It's a seven day all-inclusive trip, on Tori's parents. No dinner fees or hotel fees. We don't have to spend a dime on anything but our plane tickets. It's just us, getting to spend quality time with our friends to celebrate graduating. This is a huge milestone in our lives, Jade. What's a better way to spend it than in paradise with the people that we love?"

Jade said nothing and stared up at him, green eyes squinted in a challenge. You got me, they said, but convince me more. And what she loved about Beck, was that he always complied to a challenge.

"We don't have to spend every waking moment with them," he pressed on. The pad of his thumb traced over her cheekbone softly. "We'll have one day, all to ourselves, doing whatever you wanna. I'll take you out on a nice dinner date, just the two of us, and then we could spend the rest of the night in bed and watch the sunrise…"

Her lips pulled slowly into a smile, instinctive with the way his smooth voice rose in anticipation. "I guess it'll be fun," she said. "But if Vega or Robbie bothers us on our day alone, I make no promises that they'll return to America in one piece."

"They won't bother us," Beck said. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers; warm and inviting and familiar, tasting of salt and the Pepsi he was drinking. Their lips glided together smoothly, and made a soft noise as they parted, but Beck kept very close to her. She took in every breath that left him. "I promise you babe, we'll have the time of our lives."

She tilted her head up for one last, lingering kiss before pulling away and standing up. "You need to finish packing," she observed, pointing at his messy suitcase beside her own, neatly packed and shut. "I didn't even want to go but I finished two days ago, and went over everything at least three times. I can't believe you waited until the last minute."

Beck shrugged, indifferent. "I've been busy, you know, with stuff." Jade quirked a brow. "What? I won't forget anything."

"Right," she laughed. "Sure you won't. How could anybody ever forget something like, I don't know, pants?"

"Impossible," Beck agreed, and after a moment of staring at each other in silence, he rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. He yanked his dresser drawer open, grabbing several pairs of jeans, and Jade was sure to point out that he also forgot a fair amount of boxer shorts as well. "Fine, fine, I forgot a few things. I guess that's why I still have you around to remind me."

"Always glad to help."

After going through everything with him twice, Beck shut his suitcase and pressed on it so it would zipper properly, but struggled to keep it down. "And what about you, Ms. Checklist? I'm sure you forgot something." Jade shook her head and shrugged. "No? What about sunscreen? You're ridiculously pale, you're going to fry without it."

Jade snorted, her smile bemused. "I live in California, and I'm well aware of how white I am." She pushed him out of the way and sat down on top of the suitcase, effectively holding it down while he moved to zipper it shut. "That was one of the first things that I packed. I'm not a forgetful person, Beckett. You know that."

"I'm sure Tori does, too," Beck commented.

"Who cares?" She asked, waving a hand dismissively at him. "That's all in the past. The closer to the end of senior year, the more everyone started growing up, even Cat, of all people. I've over it. I'm not petty."

Beck's eyebrows raised skeptically.

"Okay, fine, whatever. I am petty, but that's only because I want to be." She pointed at him to get her point across, narrowing her eyes. "But I'm over it, that whole drama with Tori, you know that I am. I...tolerate being around her, now. She's not..that bad. You know, for her."

"That's a good girl." Her boyfriend smiled, playfully, and leaned to kiss her on her cheek. He dusted his hands off on his sweatpants, and nodded toward his bed. "We should get some rest, babe. We have an early flight tomorrow."

"I don't know," Jade drawled, tilting her head to the side. "I'm not really up for sleeping."

"No? Then what do you want to do?"

Jade only smirked.

.

.

"I can't believe you're going to Thailand without me."

"You left me in jail! For two weeks!" Cat cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Sam dragged herself into the living room and plopped down lethargically onto their That's a Drag couch, one leg hanging over the back. Cat could never understand how she found the comfortable. Sam was clad still in her pajamas, blonde hair tangled and messy, eyes heavy-lidded with sleep. It was early; the sun was not due to be up for another four hours, but Cat was buzzing with nervous energy. She hadn't even slept, spending all night getting ready and doing last minute packing. Sam, on the other hand, had only just roused herself from a deep sleep to see her out. "Touche," she huffed.

"Besides," Cat continued on with a delicate shrug, collecting a bottle of pills from the kitchen cabinet and tossing them into her carry-on before she forgot. "Carly's going to be visiting in a few days and you'll have a nice break from babysitting. And you don't have to stay with Nona and listen to her weird stories no one ever understands."

"Yeah, but Nona makes me meatballs."

"So do I!"

Her roommate lolled her head over the side of a British Invasion pillow and groaned. "Fine, I guess I'll just have to chill and go on adventures with Dice until Carls gets to Seattle since you won't be around. Because hanging out with twelve year olds is fun."

Cat's lips dipped into a soft frown. "Come on, Sam," she whined. "Don't make me feel all bad for leaving you."

Sam raised her head and gave her a small grin; a large feat considering how early in the morning it was. "I'm only teasing, Cat," she said. "You deserve this trip anyway, I guess. That performance you did for the senior showcase at your school was amazing, dude. Small girl, big voice. Never pegged you to be a soulful singer." Cat's cheeks flushed. Sam, who was not fond of handing out compliments, always seemed to have something positive to say about her singing. "Anyway, the Dice-man is pretty cool. I'll survive."

"Thanks. Maybe when I get back we'll go somewhere exciting," Cat suggested, using her reflection in the back glass door to make herself more presentable. She was wearing a baggy white sweater and a pair of black skinny jeans with heels, and she let her hair down beneath a light grey knit beanie to flow her back and shoulders in long dark red waves and ringlets.

Sam had said earlier that she looked like a red velvet cheesecake.

"Yeah?" Sam questioned, looking over at her curiously. "Like where?"

"I always wanted to go to New York," Cat said with a shrug, smiling over at her and propping herself up on one of the barstools. "Ooh, we could see something on Broadway! That'd be so much fun!"

Sam pursed her lips, and Cat was pleasantly surprised to see that she was considering the idea with a genuine interest. "We'll discuss when you get back."

Before Cat could reply, her PearPhone beeped on the kitchen counter, and she reached to read the message quickly. "André just texted. He and Tori are picking me up to meet the others at the airport, they're here already!" Cat said hurriedly, grabbing the handle of her suitcase and rushing to the front door of her apartment. She paused after opening it and turned, smiling softly as her roommate rose from the couch. "Hugs for the road?"

"Ugh, fine," Sam grimaced half-heartedly.

Cat launched herself at her with a squeal of happiness and held onto her tightly, overwhelmed with the sudden realization of how much she was going to miss her. They stood in the doorway for a moment before Cat pulled away. If she stayed there any longer, Sam would have likely pushed her off.

She smiled softly as she reached for her suitcase and carry-on. "Say bye to Dice and Goomer for me," she said, and then, quieter. "Bye, Sam."

Sam saluted her, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "See ya, kid. Have fun."

"Oh, and don't worry, I left you a container of meatballs in the fridge!"

"You really get me," Sam said, pointing at her and waggling her finger, her smile growing, and Cat knew that those meatballs would be gone before the day was even over. "Send me pics and all that chizz. Good times, Red!"

"Happy days!"

With one last wave, Cat shut the door to her apartment behind her and made her way through the plaza of her complex, lugging her bags heavily behind her. Venice was quiet so early in the morning, and just a block away from the ocean, Cat could smell the salt of the sea in the air - and despite having been there for a year, she didn't think she would ever get used to living so close to the beach.

André was leaning against the side of his car, his hands in his jean pockets and the sleeves to his dark blue and black striped shirt rolled up to his forearms. His melodic voice carried along the street as he talked animatedly to Tori through the open passenger side window, and he turned to greet Cat with a charming smile when they heard her approaching.

"'Sup, Lil Red?" André called, pushing himself from his car and moving to take her suitcase from her. She saw Tori reach to pop the trunk, and he hauled it inside with very little effort. "You all set to hit the road?"

"Hey, hey!" She smiled, waving at her best friends ardently. "Yep, I'm so excited!"

"Well, hop in!" Tori said as André moved to return to the driver's seat. "We have a plane to catch and we have to be at the airport early. Robbie's already been there for thirty minutes."

Cat climbed into the backseat behind André. Music was playing faintly through the AUX cord, upbeat and cheery, and she knew that once they got going it would be blasting and they'd all be singing along to whatever song that came on.

"Rob's not very good with time management," André commented, shaking his head but keeping his eye on the mostly empty road ahead of them.

Tori hummed in agreement, fixing her glasses. She normally never wore them outside the comfort of her own home; Cat never knew why, she thought she looked nice in them. "You guys ready for this crazy long flight?" She asked, and Cat dug through her bag to produce her passport and plane ticket:

DEPARTURE TIME FROM LAX: 4 AM, 6/5/14
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TO PHUKET: 8 AM, 6/6/14

"I'm kind of nervous," Cat admitted shyly, frowning slightly. "Sixteen hours is such a long time."

"Aw, don't be so scared Lil Red." André's voice was sympathetic, and he briefly met her eyes in the rearview mirror with a reassuring smile. He was always so assuring with the right thing to say, and Cat always felt safe around him. "You can sleep, or find something to occupy yourself with. But with all the transfers that we have to do, it should go by pretty quick. It'll all be worth it once we land."

"Oh, yeah," Tori said, staring down at her own plane ticket studiously but throwing Cat a contagious grin of excitement over her shoulder. "Minneapolis, Washington DC - we even get to spend two hours in Paris before the next plane leaves. That's a lot more exciting than seeing the White House, don't ya think?" She wiggled her fingers. "By the end of this trip we'll almost be respected world travelers. I'll consider that an accomplishment."

Cat gasped and clapped her hands together. "Can we go to the Mall of America?" She asked. With a father whose job moved around frequently, Cat had done her fair share of traveling and living around the states before settling in California when she was twelve, but being with her friends made it all the more exciting.

"Sure thing, Cat," André said with a laugh. "Sure thing."

He reached to turn the volume dial up to blare the music, cruising down the highway with the windows rolled down. Cat leaned back against the leather seat with a content smile, her voice harmonizing with Tori's as they sang along to the song that was playing..

This was going to be the best vacation ever.

.

.

As much as André had been growing agitated by the long flights, anxious to breathe fresh air and be on solid ground again, his excitement had never quite died down.

He stared out the window of the plane, high above pure white clouds, taking in the scenery around them. The pilot had announced that they would be landing soon, and his heel bounced against the floor in anticipation. Thailand, from a bird's eye-view, was breathtaking in a way he couldn't have imagined. A far stretch from the sight that had once greeted them just before they landed in Yerba. And having never been outside the country before aside from that, André couldn't believe that this was actually happening.

Traveling around the world had been a far-fetched dream of his long before becoming a music producer ever was. He remembered sitting in his bedroom with Cat and Jade when they were thirteen years old, talking about all the places they would go and the things that they would do.

On his left, Tori and Robbie were chatting freely, their mouths stretched in identical smiles of excitement. Tori was musing about the view, and how she demanded a window seat on the way home. Jade, who was sitting on the other side with Cat, who had been focused intently on drawing in her new sketchbook the entire flight from Paris, and Beck, snoring away with his head thrown back, promptly told her to suck it up with a surprising lack of venom.

"Hey, bud," Tori reached across Robbie's chest and tapped his arm, holding out her phone. "Take a picture of the view for me, please? It's soo beautiful, and I want as many pictures of this trip as possible."

It was. André took her PearPhone from her and aligned it with the window, making sure there wasn't a glare when he snapped a few photos. He double checked to make sure they were decent before giving it back, and she smiled gratefully at him.

"Man, I can't wait until we land," said Robbie, rubbing his stomach. "I feel a little nauseous. I don't think I should have eaten that dessert that they gave us. I'm not really sure what it was, but it looked good. My stomach doesn't really agree."

André pulled a face. "If you're gonna puke, puke on Tori."

"What! André!" Tori gaped in disbelief, side-eying Robbie skeptically. "Please, please don't puke and ruin the beginning of our vacation."

Robbie rolled his eyes when a passenger behind them mumbled in disgust, and leaned his head back against the leather blue seat. "I'm not going to be sick!" He said adamantly, although his stomach gurgled noisily. He kept his voice fairly quiet, as to not disturb the others riding in the plane with them. "But... I should probably use the restroom before we land."

Tori leaned back as he suddenly rushed out of his seat, raising her hands at shoulder level. "Oh, gross," she groaned, and André met her grimace with one of his own.

"That's just nasty," he said.

"You're telling me."

The rest of the flight went by, fortunately, fairly quick. Robbie had returned looking less pale and clammy, and André felt a rush of relief when he felt solid ground beneath his feet. He had been sure his restlessness would drive him crazy if they'd been up there for another hour - and by the look on Cat's face, although she had managed to distract herself, he could tell that he was not the only one relieved to be off of that plane.

Once everyone received their luggage from pick up, Tori announced that a bus would take them to the Khao Lak Resort, where they would be staying, a journey of just over an hour by road. "Okay," she said, drawing out the word for a moment as they waited outside the airport. "Beck and Jade get their own room, and Robbie and André will be staying with me and Cat. That sound good with everyone?"

"Splendid," said Robbie, grinning over at her, and Cat giggled quietly, slipping on a pair of sunglasses.

"God," Jade groaned, throwing her head back as Beck rubbed her back comfortingly. "I cannot take sitting for another hour and a half. I'm going to go insane."

"Me either," André agreed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "A dude can only take so much traveling in one day before it gets annoying."

"Oh come on, guys!" Tori said exasperatedly, throwing her hands up. "We're in Thailand, we're officially starting our vacation! Can we take a minute to appreciate that without complaining after fifteen minutes of being here?" She sighed when no one responded, and André saw her bringing up her notes on her PearPhone. "I was going to wait until we got to the resort, but, since the bus isn't here yet, I thought I'd just share now. I made a to-do list, and -"

"A to do list? Seriously?" Jade scoffed.

Tori narrowed her eyes and fought Jade's flare with a fire of her own. "Yes, I made a list. I thought I'd write down some fun things we could do. Here," she shoved her phone abruptly into Cat's face, who yelped quietly, clearly startled. "Read it."

Cat tentatively took the phone and cleared her throat:

"Tori's Thailand To-Do List:

Fancy dinner night of arrival
Scuba diving / snorkeling at Ko Samet
Ko Samet nightlife
Doi Suphet-Pui National Park
Siam Park City (amusement park)
Dusit Zoo
Dinner reservations for last day of trip."

"I guess we know Vega's not one for spontaneity," Jade commented as Cat handed Tori back her phone. Her voice curled with amusement.

"We don't have to do everything on the list," Tori said, rolling her eyes. "They're just suggestions."

Cat raised her hand slightly, smiling. "I like your list, Tori."

"It's not bad," André agreed, shaking his head.

"Thank you, guys," Tori said, offering them a grateful look but pointedly glaring at Beck, Robbie, and Jade, who had all remained silent.

From Jade's side, two suitcases at his feet, Beck reached up to rub tiredly at his eye. "I think that may be our ride," he said, voice groggy with sleep as he nodded his chin to the road. Everyone turned to look as a forest green truck pulled over by the curb; it lacked glass windows, and the inside seats were leather and black, and the writing on the sides was all in Thai. André thought it looked a little something like a safari or a tour bus.

"Okay guys, this is us," Tori announced, her smile a balm as she made her way to the bus doors. "To Khao Lak!"

Behind her, everyone cheered.

"To Khao Lak!"

alright! so, that was the first chapter, forgive me if any travel details are wrong, I'm not very familiar. anyway, I strongly encourage to leave your thoughts/predictions/feelings in a review :) I don't mean to be that person, but I want at least some before the next update so I know that people are interested. xx