I OWN NOTHING. not led zeppelin or the zboys. only the characters i create.
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The small room was dimly lit. Even through my closed lids I could sense some light was on. Which meant someone had entered my room. No sooner had this thought occurred to me when i small hand shook me roughly.
"Kimber, get up. Come on. I need to borrow some underwear and can't tell which are clean."
At this my eyes flew open. The dark blue room behind the beautiful face was obscured from view.
"Shit, that's why you woke me up?", i growled angrily, "Clean stuff is in the corner. Just smell it. Why can't you wear yours?"
"Some are at Luke's. The rest are dirty. Also i wouldn't have to wake you if you cleaned your room. And i will never smell your clothes." she said condescendingly.
My sister, Nicole, was completely against my lifestyle. She was going to a community college and dated some jackass from the valley. She was about 5 foot 5 inches tall and thin. Her entrancing blue gray eyes, big pink lips, and shoulder length wavy chocolate hair had left their previous position (a foot from my face) to the corner i had indicated.
"What time is it anyway?", my voice was muffled as i had turned into my pillow.
"About four in the morning... you should be getting up anyways for whatever you do.", she scowled.
I pulled my head from the white pillow and turned into a sitting position. Although i hated to admit it, she was right.
"Well take the underwear and leave. I do need to change."
Nicole grabbed a black pair and left, closing my door quietly. I pulled my legs through the comforter and onto the cold floor. I got up and scanned my room for my wetsuit and bikini. As i found them, i realized they were damp and cold with salt water. I then turned the knob of my door, and as quietly as i could, tip-toed down the hall to the bathroom. I stripped off my overlarge black sweatpants and Zeppelin shirt in exchange for the swimsuit and wetsuit. I zipped the wetsuit halfway up and looked at my reflection. I wasn't thin, but not big. Just curvy. My long brown hair had become streaked with blonde from the sun and recently had acquired electric blue streaks. My skin was tan and I had a strong jaw. I have big lips and big brown eyes. One lighter than the other. After i brushed my teeth and washed my face, i crept back to my room, took both my boards, and crawled through my window.
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As I approached the P.O.P. parking lot, I realized I was the first there. I threw off my ripped Vans and skateboard on the broken down pier. I walked down to the beach and shoved my board in the ground. I looked out over the ocean and watched as Skip took the next wave. I was so focused on watching him swerve so gracefully i didn't hear the footsteps behind me. The next thing i knew i had received a swift kick in the butt. I lost balance but regained it quickly and spun around on my heel. I was met with a pair of pale blue eyes and shoulder length platinum blonde hair: Stacy Peralta.
"Hey, Stace."
"Hey, how long have you been here?" he asked grinning.
"Only a few minutes or something."
"Good I'm not late.", he said jokingly. Everyone knew that Stacy wore a watch and rarely took it off. Seconds later we were joined by Jay Adams.
"Dude, its killer today." he said excitedly as he swept his curly dirty blonde hair out of his topaz eyes. And then the sound of wheels against concrete approached again. I heard, rather than saw, Tony get off his board and join us.
"Hey guys." Tony was hispanic and had brown and blonde curls that fell to his shoulders. I plopped down on the dirty sand and put my face in my hands. My eyes closed as my other senses took over. The salty wind brushed against my hands blowing my hair back. The beachy smell tingled high in my nose and seemed to sit there. I could hear the waves breaking on the shore, the steady rhythm of them. Then i began to lose all senses as my mind seemed to drift off into darkness...
"Kimber, get up, they're coming in," rang Tony's voice in my head.
Damn. It was the second time today i had heard 'get up.' I looked up to see Tony and Stacy's retreating backs going towards Skip and his friends. I looked to my side and saw that Jay had remained with me. He stretched out a hand and pulled me to my feet. We grabbed our boards and followed.
"Today, Peralta has boneyard," Skip yelled, even though we were near enough he could talk normally, as Stacy's face fell in the slightest. "Adams, Wolffe take care of Vals. And Alva gets clean-up."
I headed to the least destroyed part of the pier, stuck my board into the sand, and began to climb, quite catlike, to the top. Jay followed suit. When we reached the fence I sat again.
"Tell me if anyone comes."
"You still tired from the party last night?"
"That, and when i was going through my hallway, John, Alex, and Eric caught me."
John, Alex, and Eric. Three of my step-brothers. All in all i have 7 siblings: the oldest is Nick, he is unfortunately blood-related and ran out on the family when he was 20. Then comes Nicole, who is my blood sister and 18. Then me, and I'm 16. Alex comes next, no blood-relation and is 14. I know I'm not supposed to choose favorites but he is mine. John is 14 too, but he isn't related to me or Alex. My other sister, Clementine, is 12 and related to Alex. Eric is 10 and related to John. And the youngest is Chris, who is only 7, and is Eric's and John's brother. How, one may ask, did I accumulate so many siblings? Simple: my dad walked out on Nick, Nicole and me when I was younger to be with some tramp. My mom started dating a new guy, who already had John, Eric, and Chris. But they split and he didn't want the kids, so she took them, as she already considered them hers. And now there's Ted. He's Alex and Clementine's dad, and they are still together. He is a manager of some grocery store and my mom, Kendall, is a waitress. So money has always been tight.
"Is Nicole still dating that Val?", Jay asked, a smirk on his face.
I knew what was coming. "Yea."
"Damn. Well tell her when they break up, I'm here for her." he played.
"Even after she slept with a Val?" I teased.
"I can forgive her." he was grinning now.
Sun was coming up now.The dark midnight blue had mingled with a salmon pink and sunburst orange. Just below those colors, the brightest orange-yellow I had known in my lifetime. The color of the sun. I knew looking at it was bad for my sight, but the shade of it was beautiful.
"Anyway, hows Phalaine? And Kent?" I asked, tearing my eyes away.
"They're fine, I guess." he replied with a shrug.
He looked at me in an odd way I didn't know if i liked or not. He was staring into my eyes as though he had never seen me before. I looked right back into his. They were perfectly almond shaped, and shockingly topaz. They almost appeared to be a sweet honey color, or the lightest color of a wooden surf board. I was so caught up loving the color of his eyes, that when i heard a car engine i jumped.
"Those aren't locals," I was on my feet in a second and peered over the fence. I recognized the car and grinned. 'Excellent' I thought.
"What?" Jay accused noticing the smile.
"I got these." I called to him as I made my way down to the pier, through the sand, and to the parking lot. A blue Mustang. It was who I thought it was.
"Locals only!" I called out.
The short brown hair and blue eyes found me, changing from annoyance to a smirk. His friend got out of the passenger seat. He was big, muscular and blonde. He swayed a little as he went to the trunk of the car where the blue-eyed boy stood. His expression showed interest.
"Hey Kimber." Luke said calmly.
"You know this is a locals only spot," I spat at him.
"But I thought you could let us in," he said, in a fake voice that i could read. It really was a I'm-dating-your-sister-so-let-me voice.
"Fuck off." I said, venom in each word. His expression went back to annoyance.
"What are you going to do about it?" he asked, clearly not thinking I was prepared.
"I spill. To Nicole. That you're two-timing her. How would you like to lose the hottest girl in the area?" I spoke clearly. I was going to tell her anyway, but it worked as good blackmail. I knew that the threat of having the most beautiful girl in our area, and her dumping him was going through his head. He would never live it down. The only thing he cared about was his reputation. He glared, but obviously couldn't think of a good response. The blonde in the background hadn't moved much.
"Fuck you Kimber. Fuck you." he growled in a menacing tone. And with that got into the drivers seat of the Mustang. His big friend stayed, looking at me. He moved closer, very clumsily so, until he was about five feet from me.
"Baby, come with me," he drawled in a low voice. A step closer. "I have a nice big house," Another step. "And it's all empty." He was about 10 inches from my face now. I wasn't about to back down. I could smell the liquor on his breath and wondered vaguely why he had been drinking so early. He was obviously drunk. He grinned at me and moved in a flash: his arms were around my waist and his grip was true. As I struggled and tried to break free I heard running footsteps. "Get-off-me!" I managed to stammer out. A horn honked. More footsteps, closer now. He then shoved, with what seemed like all his force, his mouth onto mine. My lower lip began to bleed profusely and he still didn't stop.
"Get the fuck off her!" He resurfaced and his grip loosened in the slightest. I seized my chance and broke free. But I used so much power I fell backward onto the pavement. The horn blared again. I looked up to see Jay face-to-face with the big blonde. It was pretty brave of Jay because the blonde must have been a foot taller and wider.
"Bastard, could you give us a second?" The blonde glared at Jay. The horn shrieked for a third time and Luke started backing out of the parking spot.
"Don't ever touch her again!" Jay snarled. He was shaking with anger.
"Evan, lets just get out of here." Luke yelled from his car. I heard more footsteps behind us, and saw Tony running to the scene.
"Not until this little bitch learns not to interrupt!" But Luke seemed to have counted for Evan and realized they were evenly matched. They would only take on someone if they had the upperhand.
"Listen to your friend jackass," Tony's enraged accented voice growled.
Evan must have heard the aggressiveness, for he looked from Jay to Tony to me still on he ground, and stormed to the passenger seat. Luke sped out before Evan could say anything else.
"Thanks guys. Sorry about that. I hadn't counted on the friend being such a freak." I said quietly. I was still flustered as Tony reached out a hand to pull me up. We walked back to the beach in silence. I was pretty sure they were both replaying the scene in their heads. I was. When I looked to the water, I saw Skip and his friends emerging from the water, Stacy following them.
"Your turn," Skip slurred.
I hadn't looked Jay or Tony directly in the face since the encounter, being thoroughly embarrassed. I knew i would have to face Jay to get my board, seeing as they were in the same spot. I braced myself.
"Your lip is bleeding." Jay said cocking his head to the side and looking concerned.
"Oh, yeah, it's nothing." I raised my hand to my lip, and when it came back down it was covered and sparkling with dark red blood. I had forgotten about it until now.
"That idiot did it? I should've hit him-"
I cut him off. I didn't need pity. "I've had worse. So shut up." I didn't look back as I sprinted to the gray-blue ocean, and plunged myself fully in. It was freezing and my lip stung with the saltwater. I hadn't expected any different. I broke the surface, breathing in the salty air as my lip stung even more. For some weird reason I liked this pain.
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I leaped off my skateboard, popped it up with my foot and grabbed it with my right hand. I started to climb the high fence as fast as I could. I strattled the top of the fence, threw my board over and jumped after it. I landed in the concrete area i had named, in my head, the skating bowl. Mainly because it reminded me of a bowl. I walked across the bowl to the brick wall where Peggy stood. I was too tired to do anything right today. So I might as well talk to Peggy.
"Hey," came Peggy's soft voice. Her black hair rippled down her back and shone in the sun. My sleepiness reached a high all of a sudden, just from the prospect of having to reply. My 'out every night' lifestyle was catching up to me. I made a silent vow not to party tonight.
"What's up?"
"Nothing, why aren't you skating?" she asked curiously.
I didn't want to admit that i was tired. It seemed like a lame excuse. "I could ask you the same thing." I replied making my voice light. She grinned and we began to watch the guys skate. Jay was on the urethane board and I noticed Kathy Alva watching. I felt a surge of jealousy I couldn't explain. It was probably for the board though. As i shook my head from this thought and emotion Jay got off the board and Stacy on. I really need more sleep. I thought I felt a major headache setting in.
"Ooh, look." Peggy poked me and gestured over to where Stacy was standing. His hands were on Kathy's waist, obviously teaching her to skate. Peggy and I both started to laugh as Tony rode through them.
"Come to Shogo's tonight." Peggy said when the laughter deceased.
"I'll be there." I promised, already forgetting the promise i made to myself.
"Thank god. I hate it when you don't come." She said sarcastically.
Everyone in this town knew me for three reasons: my love of partying, the fact my family has more kids then we can feed, and that I play the field. Or as some may call it...frivolous. But other girls simply call out 'slut' or 'skank.' And I really couldn't care less. No guy will ever get me to settle down and i wouldn't befriend those girls anyway.
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I sat in the wooden chair at the round table behind our kitchen bar. Stacy was on my left, Tony the right and Jay straight across. They were laughing about something I didn't hear: it was like that at my house, with all the siblings you might miss a few things.
"Kimber!" my younger step-brother Alex called as he came to the side of my chair. He loved Tony, Stacy, and Jay almost as much as I did.
"So guess what?" He said not waiting for an answer, "You remember the babe that hangs around in the parking lot with us? The blonde?" He asked looking at all of our faces. Of course we all knew her. He had liked her forever and had asked advice from all three of the guys.
"Yea, Yea, what's her name?"
"Janice."
"Okay, tell us what happened," I said becoming interested.
"She was watching us skate, and after my run we talked for a while. We're gonna go out on Friday." He finished proudly.
"Nice," I said smiling at him. All the guys congratulated him.
"That's pretty much it. You gonna be here tonight?" He asked me.
"Course not." And with that he left to talk to John.
"Speaking of which," I said turning to Stacy, " You and Kathy hit it off."
"I was just showing her how to skate," He said with a blush, small smile, and half glance at Tony.
"Yeah, right," I mused.
"If you ever do anything to her Stace, I'll shave your head." Tony said in mock anger.
The picture of a bald Stacy seemed to burst in our minds and Tony, Stacy and I began to crack up. Not Jay. I looked across at him, wondering why he had been so oddly quiet. He looked up at me with the same unreadable expression he had given me this morning. As though he was seeing me for the first time. His eyes... that beautiful topaz... and perfectly almond-shaped... they were so entrancing. My laughter deceased. Soon Tony and Stacy's did too and i stared fixedly at a spot on the table, thankful they had noticed nothing. I needed to think straight.
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I took a swig from the red plastic cup of beer Shogo had handed me minutes earlier. I lost Tony, Stacy, and Jay upon entering the party, but knew they would come and get me when it was time to roll a joint. My beer in hand I headed to the stereo where Peggy stood. The blasting music rang in my head. Every inch of Shogo's house seemed to have a person in it.
With blazin' eyes I see my tremblin' hands
When we know the time has come
Lose many senses, lose command
Feel your healin' rivers run
"Hey Peggy!" I had to almost shout over Led Zeppelin.
"Hey," She yelled back with a smile. I turned my attention to where the people where dancing. Half the people seemed drunk already. It was fun to watch them dance around clumsily. I felt two fingers tap my shoulder lightly. And when I turned around I was met with a black haired boy.
"Hello," he said his voice deep and smooth.
"Hey," I replied almost breathlessly. I had forgotten how strikingly good-looking he was.
"Wanna dance?"
"Sure," I answered, regaining composure. As we made our way to the heart of the party, I was only vaguely aware of Peggy's eyes following us. But he seemed to have other ideas and he pulled me out of the center and into the kitchen, which was significantly quieter, but still filled with people. His rough hands grabbed me by the waist and set me on the counter. He joined me on my left.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I knew you'd be here and wanted to see you."
"Aw... you missed me." I teased.
Ryan and I had been dating for a little under a month, but nothing serious. He had shiny black hair that reached his ears. His skin was a golden color and eyes bright blue. Electric, and almond-shaped. I had never noticed before but they were the exact same shape as Jays. He threw a dazzling smile at me. The lips around the smile came closer until they were about two inches away and I closed the gap with my own lips. His amazingly full pink lips were smooth as they gently went to my bottom lip. My hands went to the back of his head intending to play with his hair. But he resurfaced.
"What happened to your lip?" He said looking at the now bleeding bottom lip.
"Oh, I busted it today," I said nonchalantly, not wanting to tell the story about the Val. "I can't even feel it."
"I'm surprised you didn't notice it, am I that awesome of a kisser?" He said grinning.
"Shut up." I replied, as I put my hands on the back of his head again and leaned in. He placed his hands on my waist and our lips met. He stayed away from my lower lip this time. Instead I parted my lips in the slightest to let the tip of my tongue come out, and lightly touched his lips with it. He opened and our tongues danced around each others mouth. Both exploring--
"Kimber!" I jumped away from Ryan so quickly I don't think he knew what was happening. "We're gonna go roll one, you coming? Or are you too busy?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." I was really craving one anyway. I hopped off the counter and turned to look at Ryan. "I'll see you later," I told him and he nodded.
Tony as waiting at the doorway to the main room filled with dancers. He gave me an annoyingly knowing look and started straight through the dance floor. The booming music filled my ears again, with a different Zeppelin song this time.
Changes fill my time
Baby, that's alright with me
In the midst I think of you
And how it used to be
At least Shogo had good music taste. We were now approaching the hallway where three wooden doors were. I knew the bathroom was on my right and grabbed Tony's arm to steer him into it.
"So, thats the new guy this month?" He said with an evil grin.
"Yeah," I said exasperatedly.
"What's pretty boy's name?" He teased.
"Ryan, but can you not tell the others right away, Tony? All you guys ever do with the guys I date is mess with them."
"Can you really even consider it dating?" I hit him on the arm.
"Kidding! Kidding! God... and I'll see how i feel about telling them after the first drag. And that might leave a mark so I have something to think about," he smiled. Shit.
We walked out of the bathroom to Shogo's bedroom and closed the door. Stacy was on the bed, Jay on the nightstand rolling the joint, and Tony perched himself on the only chair in Shogo's room. I plopped down next to Stacy.
"Finally," Jay said. He pulled out a lighter and lit the joint between his fingers. He took a long drag, held it in, and blew out a puff of smoke. He grinned and passed it to Stacy.
"What took you so long?" Jay asked as Stacy handed me the joint. I decided not to answer and took it between my two fingers, lifted it to my mouth, and inhaled a great amount of smoke. The familiar sensation occurred as I held it in. It was as though my problems were gone. Worry, troubles, anxiety... no more. I felt at peace with the world as I blew out perfect white rings of smoke.
"I just couldn't get through the people," I said hoping the subject wouldn't come up again, as my lips would be a little looser. I passed it to Alva.
The sixth time around the circle we were on our third joint and we were talking much more.
"Hey, you guys, you know what would be cool?" Jay said, with an idiot smile.
"Yeah, if we could fit--"
"Kimber's new guy is Ryan!" Stacy had been interrupted by Tony.
"Bastard!" I cried glaring at him. The effect wasn't as amazing because I still had a grin on my face. Stacy was laughing with no obvious reason why, I wasn't even sure he'd heard and Jay was staring blankly. I looked at Stacy and he was shaking so badly from the laughter it was funny. I started laughing. Hard. Then I threw myself against Stacy so that we fell off the bed laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee myself. Then I remembered.
"What did you say?" I asked looking up at Tony, with my hair flipped into my face, who was now laughing also along with Jay. They obviously loved the fact that instead of peeing myself I had started crying.
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I stumbled through my front door with Jay and Stacy. My mother was sitting in the kitchen, looking stressed with some paperwork.
"Your home!" she said, hearing the door close and turning her head to me.
"Yeah," I slurred. The wall behind her was flipping around. I wondered if Jay and Stace could see that.
"Don't wake your father or siblings."
"Okay," I replied just wanting the conversation to end.
"And do you know where Nicole went to?"
"She's probably with her personal jackass," Damn, she was going to know i was stoned.
"That's what I thought," She said quietly looking preoccupied. "Oh and hi boys."
They muttered their hello's and walked me to my bedroom, where I fell face first into my bed.
"Can you believe it? I was completely stoned and she took no notice! It's like a perfect day man."
"Yeah, well I'm gonna get home."
"Me too."
"Whatever."
If i hadn't been so high, I would've noticed Jay lingering in my room for a minute after he said he was leaving. But I went to sleep in the same minute.
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if you read the first chapter i love you. even if you hated it. but please review because i'd love to hear feedback.
--lette.