The sun had barely started rising when the excitement hit you full force—you were going on a cruise… with Tori. Not just a normal cruise either. A 14-day trip to the Bahamas, full of water slides, all-you-can-eat pizza, and no school. Somehow—some miraculous how—your parents and her parents were totally cool with you two being together. And even crazier? Tori’s parents bought you an extra ticket.

“I still can’t believe they let me come,” you said as you walked up the boarding ramp beside Tori, the both of you carrying matching neck pillows and wheeling tiny carry-ons like you were pros.

Tori smirked, brushing her braids out of her face. “I told you my mom liked you. She literally said, ‘He’s sweet, we’ll take him.’ Like you’re a souvenir or something.”

You laughed. “Then I better act like a souvenir. Quiet and valuable.”

“Oh please,” she teased, bumping her shoulder against yours. “You’re gonna be talking my ear off by dinner.”

Once you stepped on the ship, it was like entering a floating city. Bright lights, glass elevators, a huge atrium with tropical music playing—and a GIANT soft-serve machine right by the pool deck. You both froze in awe.

“Okay,” Tori said, turning to you with a dead-serious look. “First rule of this cruise: We get ice cream every single day.”

“Deal,” you said, pinky promising her like it was a contract.

By noon, you’d already explored half the ship: the arcade, the basketball court, and your cabin—which just so happened to be right next to hers. You both flopped on the bed and just stared at the ceiling for a second.

“This doesn’t feel real,” she whispered.

You looked over at her and smiled. “It’s real. It’s us. And we’re in the Bahamas now.”

She grinned, then sat up suddenly. “Wait—we have to go find the pizza buffet. Cruise rule number two: No one ever goes hungry.”