One Better
A fanfiction by xFlipperx
Disclaimer: I do not own Aaron Carter or any of his songs/label connections etc…

Chapter One: Summer Time

"Baby, baby, baby oh—like baby, baby, baby, no—thought you'd always be mine…"

That used to be me, Aaron thought with a smirk as he turned the volume of his car radio down. One quick glance in the mirror, the former teen pop sensation switched lanes to the exit ramp to the beach. How old was Justin Beiber? Aaron had to think about it for a second. Sixteen. That meant Justin had started his career at fifteen. Aaron almost let out a little chuckle and shook his head. By fifteen he was at the prime of his career, and by seventeen he was beginning to fade.

Aaron's mood changed abruptly and he let out a sigh. He hoped his time in rehab, and now his time in Tampa would do him good. He thought his album was coming along nicely now, but what would his fans think? Thank God for his fans. Nineties kids were the best fans in the world. The young people now—all they cared about were fads.

He pulled into the beach parking lot and tried to find the closest spot to the boardwalk. On a beautiful, ninety-five degree day without one cloud in the sky, his goal was nearly impossible. It was almost noon now, and the 'closest spot' was in the last row, almost a fourth of a mile away from the boardwalk.

The good thing about being somewhat of a has-been was the chance of being recognized was slim to none. Even if Aaron Carter were to be recognized, most people wouldn't bother him. Just to be safe, he slid on a pair of aviator sunglasses and a black baseball hat that matched his black tank top, but contrasted his blue-and-white swim shorts. He grabbed his duffel with his sunscreen, towel, wallet, and iPod and headed off toward the beach. A girl on a skateboard breezed past him. Her long blonde hair grazed his face as she passed him. Aaron narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Some people. Although he had to admit the use of her skateboard was a smart idea.

When he finally got to the beach, he had a long walk to the shore. Already sweating, he let out a huge sigh and dropped his next to a spot set up with an umbrella. While he laid out his towel, he looked at the spot next to him. There, sitting on a towel, was a skateboard. A small cooler was placed on top of it, and on top of that a thin blue book. Aaron took his hat and his tank top off. He put his shirt, glasses, and hat in his duffel and put his sandals on the edge of his towel. As soon as he was all settled, he made his way toward the water.

He loved Florida. He loved the Gulf, and was glad it was cleaned from the BP Oil Spill. He walked into the cool, clear water and smiled. His brown eyes searched for an orange buoy and then dove into the shallow water. He began doing laps, being wary of the crowds and the small children.

The buoy was one hundred yards off the shoreline, and at that point far from crowds. As he swam around the buoy and started heading back to shore, he heard a scream. Not knowing what for, he righted himself in the water and looked around. There was a lot of splashing near a pool float about thirty yards in front of him, and the scream became clearer.

"My son! My son! Somebody save my son!"

Aaron froze. The first thing he thought was: shark. But as he watched ahead of him, he saw no blood. He saw someone run into the water, but figured he had a better chance at getting to him sooner. So he started swimming toward the splashing, confused about what had happened. How does someone get in trouble in completely calm water?

He was less than ten feet away from the struggling child, in about twelve feet of water. But before he could get to the child, the figure of a blonde woman shot out from under the water. She quickly wrapped her arm around the boy and started back to shore. Aaron swam after her, but she was faster than him.

When they were in shallow water, the girl grabbed the child in her arms and pulled him up out of the water. She ran up to dry land and laid him flat on the ground and bent over him.

"I know CPR!" she exclaimed to the frantic mother who attempted to get in between her in the child.

Aaron stood on the shore and watched as this girl brought this child back to life. After a quick bout of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the child coughed up water and took a deep gulp of air. Cheers erupted as the girl sat back on her heels and ran her fingers through her hair.

"You should take him to the hospital," a bystander told the mother. The mother nodded and took her child in her arms. She thanked her child's savior and asked for her name. She mumbled it, so Aaron couldn't hear, and the child's mother thanked her profusely and told her she'd be in touch.

As the mother left the beachfront, the crowd dissipated and the girl stood up walked slowly up to her towel. Aaron watched her intently; she was shaking. She reached the spot next to his own—with the umbrella and the skateboard, and almost fell into her sitting position. Slowly she pulled her knees up to her chin and laid her forehead on her knees. Aaron watched her shoulders rise and fall and figured she was either breathing really heavy…or crying.

He walked up to his own towel and sat down. He turned his body to face her and watched her for a few more moments before he spoke. "What you did just now…that was amazing."

"Thanks," the girl replied, not lifting her head.

"That took a lot of…I don't know what it took but it was amazing. But are you all right?"

This time the girl turned her head so her cheeks were the ones leaned against her knees. "The action itself came without question, but now it's just a lot to think about. I mean I just saved someone's life; that little boy could have died but I saved him it's just…ohmygod." She paused. "I'm sorry for going off on a tangent there."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to listen."

"Well, thanks." She paused again, and she squinted as she looked at him. "You're Aaron Carter, right?"

oooooooooo

All Bethany had wanted was a normal vacation. A relaxing vacation. She only had two days to spend, so she wanted the most normal, relaxing two days possible. But no, apparently she couldn't have normal. Ever.

She had to rebook her hotel from one that claimed it was pet-friendly to one that actually was friendly. Personally, Beth didn't think that keeping her dogs locked in a crate in the basement of the hotel as 'friendly'. That cost her whole Friday night. By the time she got to her next hotel, its pool and spa area was closed down, and she missed dinner. All that was left were self-serve hot dogs and hamburgers. Being the vegetarian she was, she had to walk across the street to the Publix and get a deli salad.

While her Golden Retriever settled easily into their temporary home, her Chihuahua couldn't stop barking and growling anytime someone walked by their door or a car honked on the street below. When her Chihuahua finally ceased her guardian behavior, Bethany's final thoughts were how she'd finally be able to sleep in.

But no. Following with the theme of Murphy's Law(anything that can go wrong, will go wrong), the hotel had mistaken her wakeup call request with the room next to her. Bethany fell asleep around one o'clock in the morning, and was abruptly woken up at 5:45am. Roughly four and a half hours of sleep, less hours than she got during her work week.

Instead of going back to sleep, Bethany began her day as she slammed down the telephone. She was not a person who could fall asleep once woken up in the morning. She took her dogs out for a walk. One way she walked both of them, but on the way back from down the road she scooped her Chihuahua up in her arms and jogged back with her Golden.

Once back in the hotel, she took a quick shower and dressed in beach attire. A bold, royal blue bikini covered by jeans, a white tank top and white flip-flops. She brushed her strawberry blonde hair back into a high ponytail. Even pulled back, her pin-straight hair reached her shoulder blades. She sighed as she looked in the mirror, placing a pair of sunglass on the top of her head. Bethany's stomach grumbled as she packed her bag for the beach. She tossed two towels, an umbrella, her cell phone, iPod, and a book on dolphin behavior into the bag. After she rubbed SPF 15 into her lightly tanned skin, she tossed the bottle in on top of everything. She also packed a small cooler with a few water bottles.

After placing a wee-wee pad on the floor for her Chihuahua (knowing well her tiny bladder didn't have the control of her Golden's) and filling their bowls with water and a little bit of kibble, she grabbed her skateboard from the closet, her keys off the bureau, and was finally ready to leave.

"Listen you two," she said to her dogs in a stern voice as she took the "Dogs Loose: No Maid Service Required" sign off the wall. "Be good, please, I'll be back in three hours."

Bethany grumbled curses at the world as she grabbed a doughnut and bottle of water from the remains of the breakfast buffet and walked out to her car. It was almost eleven forty-five, and she was starving. Her only saving grace was that the beach was only five minutes away with the forty mile-per-hour speed limit.

But of course, because the world obviously had something against her ever relaxing, she had to park in the very back of the parking lot. She got cut off and her selected spot stolen by some asshole. She was tempted to flip him off, but instead showed her displeasure with him by skating obnoxiously close to him. Prick, she thought to herself.

All Bethany wanted to do was lay on the beach and soak up the sun, maybe read her book. She got enough swimming at work, and she was tired. But the Gulf water was different than the water she worked in. She couldn't resist but to take a dip. So she walked to the shoreline and set up her spot. Stripping down to her bikini, she made for the water.

After a quick dip in the water in which she didn't even put her head under water, she walked back up to her towel and lie down. Just as she closed her eyes, just as she began to relax, she heard a scream. It wasn't a play scream, it was a blood curdling scream of fear.

"My son! My son! Somebody save my son!"

Bethany shot up like a rocket. She quickly surveyed the water and noticed a large amount of splashing near a bright yellow pool float. She started running, and took noticed there was no blood in the water, so she didn't have to worry about a shark. Her vision zeroed into that one spot and she swam like a torpedo. As she got closer and closer, the splashing slowed to a heart-wrenching stop. Bethany took a deep breath and dove under the water. She opened her eyes, immune to the sharp feeling of salt water. She caught the body just as he began to sink and shot up out of the water.

When she reached shore she was met by the frantic mother who attempted to interfere as Bethany laid the child out on the sand. "I know CPR!" she barked at the mother, then quickly began the motions. After half a minute of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the boy began coughing. Water poured out of his mouth and he turned to the side. Bethany guided him up to a sitting position, and then the mother took over.

"You should take him to the hospital," Bethany heard someone suggest. She sat back on her heels, ran her fingers through her hair and let out a deep sigh. She attempted to steady her breath, and barely heard when the mother asked for her name.

"Bethany Davis," she mumbled, looking at the mother.

"Thank you, thank you so much—I owe you—I'll be in touch."

And then they were gone.

Bethany got up slowly and watched the crowd around her slowly move away. She walked, counting her steps, back up to her towel. She turned, and gravity took over. She fell onto her butt and just sat there. To hold back the tears from overwhelming emotion, she drew her knees up to her chest and put her forehead on her knees. She let her emotions take over and began taking deep gulps of breath. She closed her eyes tight and fought back the tears threatening to fall. She couldn't believe what just happened. She couldn't believe what she just did…

"What you did just now…that was amazing." Bethany had heard someone sit next to her, but didn't expect a conversation.

Not wanting this person to see her in this excited state, she didn't lift her head as she thanked him. She thought the conversation would end there, but it didn't.

"That took a lot of…I don't know what it took but it was amazing," the guy next to her continued. "But are you all right?"

Bethany was surprised by the question. It was so considerate—and vaguely familiar. She decided to acknowledge him, because he was genuinely concerned. She turned her head and realized why the voice was familiar. As not to seem like any crazed fan, she merely continued their conversation.

"The action itself came without question," she began. "But now it's just a lot to think about. I mean I just saved someone's life; that little boy could have died but I saved him it's just…ohmygod." Bethany paused. "I'm sorry for going off on a tangent there."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to listen."

"Well, thanks." Another pause. "You're Aaron Carter, right?"

Aaron nodded and smiled at her. "And you are?"

"Candy," Bethany replied, referencing 'I Want Candy'. Aaron's eyes widened slightly and he tilted his head.

"Really?" he asked.

Bethany laughed and shook her head. "No, sorry." Thankfully, Aaron laughed. Bethany then stuck her hand out from holding her leg and toward Aaron. "I'm Bethany Davis."

"Nice to meet you, Bethany."

"You too…" Bethany trailed off, not know if she should call him 'Aaron' or 'Mr. Carter'.

"Just call me Aaron."

"Okay..." Bethany trailed off again and bit her lip. "Well Aaron, I think I'm going to head back to my hotel a little earlier than I planned. I need to lay down or something."

Aaron's smile faded for only a moment before flashing a smile. "Can I walk you to your car?" He paused. "I mean, just to make sure—you seem really—"

"Sure." Bethany began gathering her things and put them in her bag. Aaron caught the cover of her book and picked it up. He turned the cover toward Bethany.

"Dolphin lover?"

Bethany smiled and shook her head. "Well, yes…Dolphin Trainer."

"Yo, like SeaWorld and stuff."

"Exactly."

"That's tight."

"Thanks."

Aaron handed her the book and she put it in her bag. Aaron started packing up his own stuff. "So what do I call you?"

"Hmm?"

"Like, is it Bethany or Beth or 'B', or—"

"Whatever your little heart desires," Bethany replied. "I'm not to finicky. Just don't call me by my last name…that's what everyone called my brother. Call me 'Davis', and I'll get really excited and think my brother is here and ohjeese I'm going off on that tangent again…"

Aaron laughed and shook her head, and told her not to worry about it. Once everything was gathered and Aaron had his hat and glasses on again, the two began their walk back to the parking lot.

Once they hit the asphalt, Bethany put her skateboard down and glided along slowly next to Aaron.

"So you're the one that nearly knocked me over before," Aaron said with a smile.

"And you're the one who stole my parking spot," Bethany replied.

The two smiled at each other. Bethany's blue eyes locked with Aaron's brown, and she looked away after a moment. Aaron snaked his arm around Bethany's and pulled her gently along the asphalt.

"What are you doing?"

"Effort-free transportation for heroes."

"Oh." The volume of Bethany's voice dropped and she dropped her eyes to look at her feet. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she couldn't help but smile.

When they finally reached Bethany's car, Aaron took her bag and put it in the back seat of the old Jeep Wrangler. He even opened the front door. Bethany hopped in, but didn't turn to face the wheel.

"Thanks for helping me to my car," she said to Aaron. "And for listening to my tangents."

"No problem," Aaron replied. Bethany started to turn toward her wheel, but Aaron put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait," he began. Bethany turned back to face him. "How long are you going to be in Tampa for?"

"Until Sunday night."

"Total shot in the dark…do you have any dinner plans?"

"Not at the moment…" Bethany felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Would you want to do anything tonight…with me?"

"I'd love to."

"Where are you staying?"

"La Quinta," Bethany replied. Aaron nodded.

"I'll pick you up around seven?"

"Sounds awe-…Sounds good."

Aaron flashed a toothy smile and said he'd see her later. Bethany agreed, thanked him again, and said goodbye. She closed the door to her Wrangler. She turned it on, began blasting the AC, but didn't pull away from the curb. For a moment, she just sat there.

She let out a high-pitch squeal that sounded like some of the dolphins she worked with. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had a date, with Aaron Carter. She was living the dream she had dreamt since she was eight years old. This was unbelievable.

Author's Note:

Hah. So. Yeah. Don't ask me where I'm getting this idea from. You can say it just 'popped' into my head while on complete Writer's Block from my other fic: "Only Time Will Tell". So I'm running with it :)

So…tell me what you think! PLEASE.

xFlipperx