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As soon as the large, clunky van came to a complete stop, Cass jumped out the door as quickly as she could, peeling off her sandals and throwing her things on the ground as she jumped into the ocean in front of her.
"You better have remembered to put on sunscreen!"
Ethan called out to his sister as he and the group were much more relaxed about grabbing their things out of the van. As he picked up after Cass, the girls set up a small area of blankets. It was a fairly large group, with eight of them taking a day off for some fun at the beach.
Chi seemed to waste no time trying to talk to Stella, but between his stifling shyness and his sister Chou keeping her attention, it seemed to be impossible. With Ethan watching the sad display, he instead invited Chi to play volleyball with him, saying his natural athleticism would charm her by the end of the day.
Gabe made his way to join Cassie, keeping his guard up as Ethan gained a weapon that could be used at any time if he thought Gabe was up to something. He blew up a couple of donut floaties and tied them together, encouraging her to stay with him to which she would happily oblige.
As soon as Stella and Chou settled into their sunbathing areas, Val and Gilly decided to walk along the beach. It was a beautiful day, and there weren't many people on the beach at this time of day. When Val spotted a strange setup on the beach, the pair decided to investigate.
"Gilly! Val!"
A small, familiar voice called out to them, and soon a bouncy white ponytail came hopping towards them. Neither of them were expecting to run into Nova here, but she seemed to be in the middle of a photoshoot.
Gilly had conflicted feelings about Nova, seeing her as her strongest rivals in contests but not having any real problems with her outside of them.
"Hey Nova! Busy day~?"
Val was the one to break the silence, giving a big smile and without saying it, trying to encourage Gilly to open up a bit too.
"Ah yeah, it's a small summer thing with Sophie! She ran off for a bit though."
People seemed to be setting into motion again, and soon enough a chipper, orange-haired girl made her way to the three as well, wrapping on to Nova's shoulder.
"Oop, it's almost time to start up again~"
Realizing she now had more company, Sophie beamed a smile.
"Hi guys! I don't believe we've met, but I'm Sophie! Any friend of Nova's is a friend of mine~"
With a small laugh, Nova started with small introductions.
"Sophie, this is Gilly, we often compete together! Alongside her is Val, who has never missed an opportunity to support her friend."
With more of the production behind tgem getting active, they realized they were running out of time to socialize, though Sophie spoke up.
"I've got an idea! After the photoshoot we're having a picnic! I'd love to get to know you guys more, how about you join us?"
Gilly almost wanted to protest, but Val beat her to the punch.
"We'd love to! Ah but, we came here with a kind of large group. We wouldn't want to impose."
"Oh don't worry, we brought plenty! Feel free~"
After leaving them to their work, Gilly and Val made their way back to the group to tell them the news. Chou nearly fainted from the news, way too excited to be able to meet Nova and Sophie in a casual setting on her day off.
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The sun had started to get lower in the sky, and everything on the beach seemed to be getting more still. Ethan and Cassie had their treasure, which was a small bucket full of seashells. Chi had finally gained enough courage to have a casual conversation with Stella, with Chou more focused on her upcoming latest blog subjects.
Finally the large group met up with Sophie and Nova, who now had two more guests at their side.
"Hello everyone! We've been working all day so I hope you don't mind that people are already digging into the food. I'm Nova, and this is Sophie, Cain and Tristan."
With Val giving an introduction to the rest of the group, they quickly split off again into small factions.
Cass became fascinated with Cain, with Tristan going off and telling her all about his modeling days while Gabe stuck close behind her. Chou very quickly stuck to Nova, though her camera had been "confiscated" by Nova's overprotective manager.
"I wouldn't mind having a conversation like normal people though."
Though she laughed, it would be a nice break from the usual cat-and-mouse chase they went through at contests, and Chou couldn't help but agree.
Stella found herself talking style with Sophie, though they hadn't worked with each other yet it seemed very possible they could find ways to fix that in the future.
Ethan made his way, of course, to the buffet table while Chi tried his best to keep him from being too rude to the people around him.
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When it finally became dark, Nova pulled out a small box and gave off a sly smile.
"Now... who's ready for the best part of the night?"
The group gathered around as she opened up the box, revealing small fireworks and sparklers for all to enjoy.
A larger fireworks show started soon after, and everyone found themselves at peace.
Ethan was tired out from chasing Gabe with some poppers. Tristan and Cain had seemed to be in a prime cuddle position, and Cass couldn't help but feel a bit competitive as she sat herself in Gabe's arms as well, though he was still trying to regain his breath. Gilly was able to take some time to know Nova as more than her rival, and felt much better about their relationship, with a bit of a push from Val. Chi tentatively tried to be smooth around Stella, pretending to yawn and extending his arm, but chickening out when she turned to look at him and started laughing.
It was a wonderful day at the beach for everyone, ending on the perfect note.