Beach Day

Beach Day

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters here! 

Author's Note: Hey have you seen that episode in the Super S episode where the girls were at the beach and Serena's little brother was attacked by Tiger's Eye?  Then at the end the girls said at the end, "Next time we might have boyfriends."  Well, here's that time!  This is a whole different crossover, so don't be surprised that the sailors don't notice the ronins because in this story, they never met!

"I can't remember Darien couldn't make it!" Serena whined.

"Oh, quit whining, Serena," Ryo muttered, "and help me with this blanket!"

"He has finals this week," Ami said, "I'm sure he would come if he could."

"Wow," Mina gasped, "there are even more hot guys out here than the last time we were here!" She came prepared with binoculars.

"Of course they're hot," Lita said, "it's 100 degrees out here!"

"I'm going to go for a little dip," Ami declared and took off her sandals, shirt and shorts.  She wore a blue one piece with black trim.

"Ami, don't you think you over dressed just a little bit?" Lita asked.

The blue haired girl blushed slightly, "No."

"What are you," Mina teased, "afraid of showing a little skin?" Mina leaned back in her orange bikini.

She lowered her voice and head, "the beach is crawling with guys!"

"Isn't that why we came here?" Lita questioned, applying suntan lotion on her shoulders, "Too bad I don't have a guy to rub lotion on me, but my goal is to find someone here today that will!"  After since what happened between her and Tiger's Eye, she was determined to find her real Prince Charming.

"Well, I have a feeling that something nice is going to happen," Raye said with a grin.

"Wow!" Mina said, "Are we going to meet some guys?"

"Without a doubt!" Raye chuckled.

Ami sighed and headed for the water.  'I can't take their teasing any more!'

"Ooh," Kento said, "look at all the hot babes! And the hot food!"

"You can only have one at a time," Sai said, "you know."

"Just what ever happened to having your cake and eating it too?" Kento demanded, "Oh, wow, hot dogs!" he escaped over to the concession stand.

"You will remember to wait a half hour before going in the water, won't you?" Sai called after his friend with the bottomless stomach.

"Wow, Kento was right," Sage said, "there are a lot of hot babes here."  They went to a nice sandy spot, not far from where the girls were and set their beach materials down.

"If Mia was here with us," Ryo began, "she'd be insulted."

"She has finals to study for," Rowen said, carrying a book.

"So why aren't you with her?" Sage teased, nodding to the book.

"Well, I," Rowen blushed slightly then cleared his throat, "because I want to?" Sage made a funny face.  Rowen sighed.  "Oh, come on, Sage, you know how I like to read!"  He sat down and began reading.

"You just don't want to meet any girls," Sage said.

"I didn't say that."

"I guess it's a good thing we didn't bring Yuli either," Sai said, blushing as he looked at the many girls laying on the beach, "This kind of stuff isn't what kids should see."

"I'm going to play some beach volley ball," Sage declared, "Girls love volley ball!  Who wants to come with me?"

"I'm going to work on my tan for a while," Ryo muttered, rubbing suntan oil on himself.

"Sai?"

"Sorry, mate," Sai said, "but I can just hear the waves talking to me!" he picked up his surfboard and ran to the waves.

Kento was still at the concession stand stuffing his face.  Ryo was out to the world and Sai was surfing the waves.  The only guy left was Rowen.

Sage sighed and looked at Rowen.  "Let's go play some volley ball."  He picked up his friend's book and chucked it in the water.

"Sage!" Rowen yelled, "I was reading that!"

"You can always get a new one," Sage said, "Now let's go play some volley ball so we can meet some girls and before we know it, we'll be putting some suntan lotion on them!  Now let's go!" he grabbed his friend and dragged him to the volleyball nets.

"Oh, no," Raye groaned, "Now I'm having a bad feeling!"

"We're not going to meet any new guys?" Serena asked.

"I don't know, but---"

"Hey, Raye!" a male's voice shouted in the distance.

Raye's brown eyes widened, "I can't believe it, he followed me!"

"Hey, it's Chad!" Serena cried, "Hi Chad!" she started waving at the young man who was staying at Raye's temple.

"Don't wave at him!" Raye pulled her hand down.

"I thought you liked Chad," Lita said with a frown.

"Yeah," Mina added, "you keep saying how you want to be a singer and Chad is a singer."

"I do like him," Raye said, "as a friend.  He isn't the guy for me though."

Chad jogged up to Raye, "Hey, your grandfather told me to keep you company."

"Wasn't that sweet?" Raye said with a fake smile, "but my friends are keeping me company."

Serena, Lita and Mina exchanged glances, wondering if they should give Raye some time alone.

"Hey, Serena, Mina," Lita said, "let's go play some volleyball."

"I don't know how to play volleyball," Serena mumbled.  Her eyes wavered over to the cute guys who were headed there.  "Sure, let's go!"

"Mina, want to come?" Lita asked.

"Sure, I love volleyball!" Mina said, "but I'll join you in a minute. I'll just go and get a drink.  I'm parched!"

"Okay," Lita said.

"You can take my place after the fifth time the volleyball hits me in the head!" Serena laughed.

"You bet," Mina said and went to the concession stand to get a drink, where she met Kento. "One lemonade, please."

Kento paused from his lunch and looked up to see a beautiful girl with blond hair.  He almost choked on his French fry. He pulled down his sunglasses and peered over them to make sure she was real.  Just before Mina was about to pay for his drink, Kento stood up from his table and placed some money on the counter.  "It's on me."

"Thanks," Mina whispered, taken away from his generosity. 

"No problem," he said and went back to his table.  "You can join me if you want.  It's a lot cooler over here."

"Sure," Mina sat down.

"So, do you have a name?" Kento asked teasingly, taking his sunglasses off for a sec.

She blushed slightly, "Mina."

"Kento."  He put his sunglasses back on and grinned.  They began having the most interesting conversation.

"It's not too late to start, is it?" Lita asked the two boys who were about to play.  Her eyes were locked on Sage, 'He looks just like my old boyfriend!  Only cuter!'

"Course not!" Sage cried, staring at Lita, "We were just waiting for some teammates; you can be on my team!"

"Good," Lita smiled and shook his hand, "I'm Lita."

"Sage," he nodded to his friend, "this is Rowen."

"Hi," Rowen said.

"And this is Serena," Lita nudged her friend.

Serena couldn't take her eyes off Rowen.  "Wha?"

"Say something!" she shouted in a whisper.

"Oh, hi!"

"Well," Lita said, "now that we've all met each other let's play some ball!"

'Yes,' Sage thought, 'by all means!'

Ryo noticed the commotion at the spot where Raye was and thought he should go see.

"Hey, is there a problem here?" he asked.

"What's it to you?"  Chad questioned.

Raye stood between the two young men before there was a fight, "it's okay, thanks." She said to Ryo and then turned to Chad, "Chad, I appreciate you coming over to see me.  But you know what I'd really like?"

"What?" he asked.

Raye racked her brain for some excuse, "there's this fabulous CD that just came out but I haven't had the time to buy it.  Can you pick it up for me, Chad?"

"Sure."

"It's the new CD of that band I listen to all the time," she informed.

"Oh, yeah, I think I know what you're talking about," Chad said, "I'll go and get it for you."

"Thanks, Chad and we also need a few things from the store too," she added, "And Grampa's out of his favorite tea."

"I think we're out every tea," Chad said.

"Then hurry before Grampa gets mad!" she urged.

"I'll see you when you get back," Chad said and left, but not before giving Ryo the 'don't touch her, she's mine' look.

Raye let out a sigh of relief, "I'd thought he'd never leave."

"You okay, miss?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah," she turned and smiled.

"Who was that guy anyway? Your boyfriend?"

"Oh, no," she blushed slightly, "he's just someone staying at my grandfather's temple with us.  A musician on the run."

"Well, forgive me if I'm out of line with this, but," Ryo began, "I think he could just keep on running until he gets to Hollywood."

Raye laughed, "I know, he won't get his music very far if he stays here.  I guess he stays here because he has nowhere to go and my grandfather likes him.  My grandfather thinks he should stay here because he knows I'd like to become a musician too one day and Chad will give me some pointers."

"You do?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah, I like to sing sometimes," Raye said.

"Oh, sorry," Ryo said, "I'm Ryo."

"Raye."  She smiled and shook his hand.

Ami saw a boy with reddish-brown hair wearing a black and blue wetsuit on a white surfboard.  'Wow,' she thought, 'he's pretty good.'  Her eyes got wide and her cheeks got hot as she saw him coming near her.  'He saw me!'

Sai nearly fell off his surfboard when he saw Ami swimming in the water.  He decided to surf over to her.  "Hullo love," the English boy said. "Like surfboards?"

She smiled and gushed, "You're good."  'Oh, that was smart, Ami!' she thought to herself.

"Thanks," Sai said, trying not to blush but he did anyway.  "I can show you if you'd like."

"It looks pretty dangerous," she whispered.

"Only when you don't know what you're doing," Sai told her.  "All you got to do is trust me."

"Well," she mumbled, looking down and up his eyes.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

Ami could not look in his green eyes and say no.  There was something, something about his eyes.  "Yes."

"Great," he said, lying on the board to steady it, "hop on."

"Okay," she swam closer to the board and he sat up as she got on. 

Sage could not believe how hard Lita could spike the ball.  It was like her arm was made out of iron.  'She's pretty good,' Sage admired quietly. 

"Lita not so hard!" Serena cried as it nearly hit her in the head.  Rowen hit it back and Lita spiked it back so hard that it was too fast for either Rowen or Serena.

"Wow!" Rowen gasped.

"Yeah, ten points!" Lita shouted.  "Yippee!"  She was taken by surprise when Sage raised her up by the waist and spun around.  By impulse, she slid her arms around his neck, pulled her legs in until she felt her heals on her back and looked down into his violet eyes, a smile spreading across her lips.  'I think I've just met my Prince Charming.' She thought.

"Whew," Serena gasped as she fell down on the sand, "I'm pooped!" she shouted at Mina who was still talking with Kento over at the concession stand.  "Mina, can you take over now?"

"Have you been hit five times in the head yet?" Mina asked.

"Yes!" she lied, though she was only hit twice.  She looked up at Rowen, "so how did I do?"

Rowen smiled, "I think you deserve a little snack."  He knelt down and wrapped her arm around his neck and helped her up.  "My treat."

"Thanks," she said. 

"Want to play volleyball with me?" Mina asked Kento, "You can be on my team."

"Sure," Kento replied, "you any good?"

"Yeah," she said, "I love volleyball!"

"I'm a pretty good player too," Kento said with a grin, "let's show Sage and his teammate no mercy!"

"Her name's Lita."

"Whatever," he smiled and took her hand.  "Let's battle!"

"Thanks for taking over for me, Mina," Serena said as she tapped her shoulder lightly, "you're the best.  Ooogh."

Rowen helped the groaning Serena over to the concession stand for an ice cream sundae and they shared it.

"Thank you so much for getting this for me," Serena thanked.

"My pleasure, Serena," Rowen said.

"You're going down, Lita!" Mina threatened.

"Bring it on, Mina!" Lita shouted as she served the ball.

Ryo and Raye were building a sand castle.  "You're here alone?" Ryo asked.

"No," she answered, adding a bit of water to the castle, "I'm here with my four girlfriends from school.  They're here somewhere. How about you?"

"I've come here with some buddies of mine," Ryo said, "but I'm not so sure where they are either.  I was asleep until I heard that guy talking to you."

"Thanks again for coming to my rescue," Raye said.

"I think you handled it pretty well," Ryo said.

"I guess I did," Raye mumbled.  "I'd like to meet your friends."

"Let's meet up in a few minutes," Ryo said.

"Okay."

"The castle is looking pretty good," Ryo noted.

"Yeah," she agreed, "I don't think I've ever built a sand castle before."

"I'll show you some tips here before we go out in the water," Sai instructed.  "Lie your board down on the sand and stand on it."

"Like this?" Ami asked, lying the board down and standing on it. She wasn't sure if she was doing it right.

Sai stepped by her and steadied her by placing his hands on her hips.  "Try to loosen up a bit."

Ami felt her face grow hot, but she sort of liked Sai's touch.  It was very gentle.

He continued to show her a few pointers, how to guide the board left and right and whatnot. "Ready to hit the waves?" he asked.

"I guess so," she stepped off the board. 

"Don't worry, Ami," Sai promised, "I'll be there incase something happens."  He took her hand and they walked over to the sea.

They lied down on their stomachs and paddled into the water.  When they got far enough, they stood up on the boards and took on the waves.

"This is fun!" Ami shouted.  "I'm doing it!"

"See, it's not so hard once you get the hang of it," Sai said.

"How long have you been doing this?"  Ami asked.

"Since I was a little kid," he replied.

"No wonder you're so good."

Her compliment made him blush.

"Wow," Lita grunted, "I forgot how good you were!"

"When it comes to volleyball," Mina bragged, "I am queen!"  She made an amazing hit and Lita couldn't stop it in time.  "Yes!"

"Dang," Lita fumed as she nearly ended up with a mouth full of dirt.

"It's all right Lita," Sage helped her up.

"Way to go, babe!" Kento praised and twirled her around.

"He called me babe!" Mina mouthed to Lita.

"Hey, look," Kento said, pointing to the ocean, "Sai's surfing with a girl! I'd thought I'd never see the day!"

"Ami's surfing with a guy!" Mina gasped.  "Wow!"

"I didn't know Ami could surf," Lita said.

They all heard a cry for help and they all were about took a private spot to transform, thinking it was a new enemy.  But it was only a child drowning.

"Sai, look!" Ami cried, pointing at the child who was bobbing up and down in the water.  The kid couldn't stay up anymore and began to sink.

"I got him," he dove into the water and retrieved the boy.

"Is he breathing?" Ami questioned when Sai came to the surface.

"I'm not sure," he said.

"Let's take him to the shore," she said, "I know CPR."

"It's a kid!" Kento shouted.

"Oh no!" Mina cried and everyone ran to shore to see if he was okay.

Sai laid down the child on the sand so Ami could start CPR.  The boy wasn't breathing and he had no pulse. 

Everyone watched in silence as Ami continued to perform CPR, "Come on," Ami coached the young boy, "breathe."  A few moments later, the boy began choking and she helped him sit up, "are you okay?"

"I think so," he gasped. 

"Bradley," a woman said, "I told you not to go too far in the water!"

"Sorry, Mommy," he said.

"Thank you," she said to Ami as he took her son by the hand and walked away.

"It was no problem," Ami replied.

"How do you know CPR, Ami?" Sai asked.

"My mom's a doctor," she answered.  "And I've got plenty of practice."

"On who?" Kento asked for Sai.

Sai blushed, "Kento…" He mumbled.  'How did he know that was what I was thinking?'

Kento's remark made Ami blush too and she couldn't answer him.

"Wow, Ami," Serena said, "last year you saved my little brother from drowning."

"But they were different circumstances," Mina reminded.

"Great job, Ami," Raye said.

"You should become a lifeguard, Ami," Lita complimented.

"Maybe," Ami said, "sounds like a nice summer job."

"Why don't you become one too, Sai?" Kento asked, placing his hand on his shy English friend's shoulder and winking, only making Sai's cheeks turn a brighter shade of red.

"Well, hey," Raye said, "I was waiting for you guys to come back. Look at this castle Ryo and I made together!"

"That's cool, Raye," Serena said.  "When are you going to finish it?"

"It is finished!" she snapped.

"Oh."

"Wow," Lita sighed, "after playing 2 games of volleyball, I'm kinda tired.  And I'm sweaty too! I've sweated all my suntan lotion off!"

"I can help you with that," Sage said with a grin.  He tugged on her hand and went to her towel. She lied down on her tummy and he began smoothing lotion on her back. 

The others followed suit, one by one, Sai and Ami being last.

They were all in one suntan lotion-applying assembly line and the way the boys were applying lotion on the girls were different.

Sage had suntan smothered all over Lita's back until she smelt like coconuts and honey from the sweet-smelling mixture. He moved her ponytail off to the side. He was surprised at how tense her back was but she was a pretty tough and tense girl, which he liked about her.  He used the heel of his palm and his knuckles to get the knots out of her back.  Lita had to fight not to fall asleep because it felt just so good.

Kento was acting like a professional masseuse, chopping Mina's back as if she were a tight wooden board. Mina's blond hair was pulled off to the sides of her. Mina kept saying his name and how good it felt, her voice going up and down as if she were on a bumpy ride.  His hands were so strong, yet so very gentle at the same time.

Rowen put little squirts of lotion on Serena's back in the shape of a heart.  He didn't mean to do it; it just turned out that way.  Then he connected the blobs of lotion together with his finger. He hoped Serena didn't know the shape of the lotion was, but she did and it kind of made her happy and sad at the same time.  Here she was having a lot of fun.  A cute boy was putting suntan lotion on her back but the thing was, it wasn't Darien. She wondered if Darien returned her feelings and something hit her; did she have feelings for Darien anymore? Serena's eyes twinkled a little bit and she pressed her face into her towel, letting her tears dampen it.

Ryo combed Raye's dark hair with his fingers and pulled it over to one side before applying the suntan lotion.  He put a generous amount of suntan lotion on his hands then rubbed them together.  Then he began massaging the lotion into her back, starting from the neck down. Raye could not lie there and keep a straight face for long.  She was smiling throughout the whole thing.

Both Sai and Ami felt pretty shy and nervous about the suntan lotion thing but they were able to do it.  He squirted the suntan lotion on her back as if he were painting a picture.  Ami shivered slightly and bit her lip to keep from giggling.  Then he began to rub in the cold suntan lotion into her back.  He took his finger and began drawing a letter and he was surprised when Ami guessed it.  He went on drawing more random letters until he was through the whole alphabet. Then after that he wrote words, then numbers, then math problems.  Ami got them all right.

"Okay, switch!" Kento announced, "Now it's our turn!"

Mina raised her head, "hmm?  You're done already?!"

"It's only fair that we switch places, Mina," Lita said.

"Oh, okay," she moaned.

The guys lied down on their stomachs and the girls began to apply lotion to their backs.  It was kind of hard at first because they were so relaxed after having their turn.  And just like the guys, they were all applying lotion differently.

Lita squirted a spiral shape with the suntan lotion and spread it around.  That felt good for Sage--until Lita began to rub it in with her knuckles and the heel of her palms.  Lita was doing it, just a little bit too hard. 

"How does that feel, Sage?" Lita asked, chopping his back and using her elbow.

"Great," he muttered as he bit his lip.

Though she was massaging too hard and deep, Sage was pleased with the strength of the girl's hands.

Mina was surprised at how muscular Kento's back was.  His back was so tight that Mina wasn't sure if she could get the knots out.  She smeared lotion all over his back and chopped his back, used her elbows, knuckles, her palms and his back still felt hard as rock.  She even stood up, put lotion on the bottom of her feet and began walking on his back.  The girls looked at her and tried not to giggle and other passing beach people snickered.  'What does this guy do?' Mina wondered silently as she dug her heel into his back.

"Mmm, that feels awesome, Mina," Kento sighed.

"Thanks," she replied, short of breath.  Needless to say, it was giving her quite a workout.

Serena applied lotion to Rowen thinking he was Darien.  It didn't work.  It seemed easier to apply lotion to a guy she'd just met than her own boyfriend.  If he still was.  Sighing, she spread her finger around his back, drawing random figures.  Rowen could be wrong, but he was certain there was something bothering Serena.

Raye squirted the lotion in the shape of a circle on Ryo's back.  Then she took her palm and began massaging the lotion in. She brought her hand up under his long hair and massaged his shoulders.

Ami first squeezed a quarter-sized amount of lotion into her palm and warmed it up by rubbing her hands together.  The lotion was too cold and she knew it would tickle if she squirted it onto Sai's back directly.  She started rubbing at Sai's shoulders and neck with her fingers and as she warmed up to him, she used her whole hands and massaged a bit deeper.  Ami never thought she'd rub suntan lotion on a guy or let him do the same to her, but here she was.  All she needed to do was someone she could trust.

After rubbing suntan lotion on each other, they went to grab a few snacks together. Then they all built sandcastles and other sand sculptures.  The sun was about to set and others began to leave but the girls and guys just didn't feel like leaving yet. 

"Let's watch the sun go down," Mina suggested.

"Then they begin the fireworks," Lita added.

"Sounds like fun," Kento said.

"Yeah," Sai said, "we don't have to leave quite yet."

They all sat down on the beach and waited for the sun to set.  Mina sat in front of Kento and used his knees as armrests.  Kento smiled and rubbed her shoulders gently. 

Lita knelt down behind Sage and wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a hand over her wrist.  Sage leaned back, relaxed and rubbed his fingers over her arms.

 Serena sat close to Rowen and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.  Wiping Darien from her mind, she leaned closer to him. 

Raye sat next to Ryo and leaned back on her hands with her legs crossed at the ankles.  When Ryo got a little tired, he rested his head on her lap. Raye laughed slightly and pushed a few hairs away from Ryo's eyes. 

 Ami sat twisted on her hip and her legs curled up.  One hand was grasping her feet and the other was rested on the sand.  Sai sat next to her with one leg straight out and the other one pulled up.  He had his arm propped over his knee and his other hand rested in the sand close to Ami's.  When he touched Ami's fingers, he flinched slightly and so did Ami. Then she looked back in his eyes and laid her hand completely over Sai's and smiled at him.  He smiled back, squeezing her hand gently.

"Wow," Serena breathed, "aren't the fireworks beautiful?"

"Totally," Mina agreed.

The night came and so did the time to leave.  But none of them felt like leaving.

"It's getting dark," Mina said with a frown.

"Yeah," Lita sighed.

"Hey, we can take you home," Sage said.

"We'd like that," Lita said.

They gathered their stuff and each guy walked one of the girls home, lost in conversation and in each other's eyes.

"I had a great time with you today, Kento," Mina said.

"Me too," Kento agreed, his arm was around her waist. "You're a pretty good volleyball player."

"I've been playing since I was a kid," she explained. 

"Well, that explains it," Kento commented.

They reached her house, "Thanks for walking me home, Kento."

"Can I have your phone number?" Kento proposed.

"You can have more than just a phone number," Mina smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Kento immediately wrapped his arms around her slender waist, participating in the kiss. 

"I still would like your phone number though," Kento whispered when the kiss was over.

"I was getting to that," she said and reached into her bag, "now where's that marker I had…ah, there it is!" she pulled out a black magic marker, "do you have any paper?"

"Just write it on my hand," Kento said, holding out his hand. 

"Okay," she smiled and wrote her phone number down on the back of his hand.

"I'll call you soon," Kento promised, "Maybe we can go out sometime."

"I'd like that."

Kento kissed her quickly on the lips, told her good night and walked off.

Mina stepped inside her home and sighed as she pressed her back into the door.

"This was the best day I had at the beach ever!" Lita declared as she was walking arm in arm with Sage.

"Mine too," Sage agreed.

"I look forward to seeing you again," Lita said.

He nodded.

Lita stopped when they reached her doorstep, "Sage, I like you."  She told him as she let go of his elbow.   "You're very different from my old boyfriend."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're nicer than he is and a lot better looking too."

"What happened?"

She shrugged, "I guess he didn't treat me like a boyfriend should.  He just didn't put the 'friend' in boyfriend."  She blushed, "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't be telling you all this."

"It's okay, Lita," Sage said, taking her hand.  "You deserve to be treated the way you want.  He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Oh, no," she answered, shaking her head.  "It wasn't like that.  I guess I just don't have luck in relationships.  One time I went to a dance with my friends and I met a really nice guy there.  I danced with him once and I asked him for another dance.  A lot of girls wanted to dance with him so he said it may be a while.  You know what?  I spent the next couple of hours waiting for him to dance with me again and he never did."

"If he liked you, he wouldn't have kept you waiting."

"He didn't though," Lita said, "you see he was, kind of a bad guy.  I really can't get into it right now." She sighed, "I would, but I'm not really supposed to let people know about it."

He nodded in understanding.  "That's okay, Lita. Hey, listen; let's go dancing sometime.   I wouldn't keep you waiting."

She brightened, "Really?  You mean it?"

"Absolutely," he said, "how about tomorrow?"

"It's perfect!" she cried and threw her arms around him in a tight hug, "Thank you!"

Sage hugged her back and gave her a quick, sweet kiss on her lips.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked.  "I can make you something."

"If it's okay with your parents," he said and then noticed the frown on her face. "What is it?"

"My parents were killed in a car crash," she mumbled. 

"I'm sorry," he sympathized, "who takes care of you?"

"Me," she said and opened the door.  "Would you like some tea?"

He followed her inside, "you live alone?"

"Yes."

"Must be pretty hard," he said.

"I get by," she said and turned the stove on, "Would you like some cookies with your tea?"

He didn't answer; instead, Sage walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.  Lita was touched by his affection and lifted her fingers up to his arms.  "I figured you might need a hug.  I'm amazed at how you hold yourself up in the position like this."

"My friends make it easy for me," she said, trying not to get emotional. "I made some cookies yesterday. They're over their in the cookie jar.  Help yourself."

"Thanks," he opened the jar and began to munch on one, "hey, this is very good."

"I like to cook," she said simply.  She smiled and poured him a cup of tea.  'I can't believe how nice and understanding he is.  It's almost like he knows exactly what I want.'

"I know we've only just met," Sage said, "but how would you like to go steady with me?"

"I'd like that a lot," Lita replied.

"Me too."  He kissed her on the cheek and stayed a while so she wouldn't have to spend too much time by herself.

Serena didn't talk to Rowen much as he walked her home.  She only wished that the night would not end.  Rowen's arm was wrapped around her shoulders the entire way. 

"Serena," Rowen said when they reached her house, "is there something wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she questioned, a bit defensive.

"You're quiet," Rowen replied, "I have a feeling something's on your mind.  Care to share?"

Serena bit her lip and looked down, "it is kind of hard to explain."

"Try." He pleaded.  "I'm not going anywhere."

"I have a boyfriend," she said flatly.

"Oh," he mumbled, obviously surprised.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I should have told you but you were so nice and cute and…"

He stopped her until she got too far, "I understand."

"Darien doesn't take me out very often," she said, "and he doesn't give me things.  It's like he doesn't even notice me.  He takes me for granted sometimes."

"Why don't you just break up with him if you're not happy with him?" he demanded.

"It's not that easy," she replied with a small smile.  "We're kind of made for each other.  We're supposed to be together."

"Serena," Rowen placed his hands on her shoulder, "you may think that but if he doesn't give you the respect you deserve, then you really shouldn't be together."

"He does give me respect," she said, "sometimes.  He's in college so he's pretty busy."

"He's in college?" he asked, "How old are you?"

"15."

"You're 15? And he's what, 18?"

"19." She corrected.

"My gosh," he groaned, "Serena, listen to me, your boyfriend was supposed to come with you today and spend some time with you. Instead, he has finals to study for and he let you go with your friends."

"How did you know he has finals?" she asked, amazed.

"I have a friend in college studying for finals," he replied.

"I see," she nodded.

"Serena, you deserve to be happy and have some fun," Rowen told her, "This guy Darien is already in college.  He doesn't have time to play right now; he has to focus on his future and career and that kind of stuff.  You're still young, don't grow up just yet."

"You're right," she said. "What should I do?"

"I think you know," he said simply.

"I need to think about it," she said.

"Sure."

"Thanks, Rowen," Serena said, "you're so smart.  And you're exactly right.  If I stay with Darien any longer, I'll never be happy."

"Let me know what happens," he said.

"I will," she promised, "I'll need someone to comfort me."

"Not a problem."

Serena stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Rowen, "Goodnight, Rowen and thanks."

"You're welcome."

Serena pecked Rowen on the cheek and went inside the house.  Rowen waited a few moments and left.

"Why do they call this place Cherry Hill?" Ryo asked.

"Don't you see the cherry trees?" Raye said, answering his question with another question.

"Oh," his face turned slightly pink.  "I haven't seen any cherry trees before.  It smells nice up here; great view too."

"I think we do," she said, "I never really noticed."

"Is it all right if we can meet up again?" he asked.

"Sure it is," Raye said.

"How about tomorrow? Right here."

"No, if Chad sees you he might get in a fight with you," she said, "There's a shop down town where my friends like to go all the time."

"Okay."

Raye gave him the name of the store and was surprised when Ryo kissed her on the lips before saying goodbye.

"Tomorrow then."  Ryo said.

"Sounds great," she mumbled, smitten from the kiss.  "Bye Ryo."

He waved at her and left.

Sai walked with Ami in silence, still unsure what to say.  He kept his hand around hers.  He didn't find any words until it was time to say goodbye.

"Hey, what do you think about taking lifeguard courses together?" he asked.

Ami smiled, "I think it's a great idea. Summer has just started and my mom wants me to get a summer job. It was either a job or summer school."

"Summer school?" Sai mumbled, "A smart girl like you doesn't need to go to summer school!"

The comment made both of them blush.

"You can show me how to do CPR," Sai grinned and then suddenly felt bad about what he said, "I'm sorry.  You can tell I've been friends with Kento too long."

Ami giggled, "That's all right."

"I was only joking," he covered his face in shame.

"I think the lifeguard course starts tomorrow," she said.  "I'll meet you there."

He nodded, "Okay.  See you then."  He squeezed her hand gently and kissed her on the cheek. 

"Bye."

Sai walked off and then came back just before Ami went inside her house. 

"Huh?"  Ami mumbled.

Sai didn't say anything.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again, this time on her lips.  Ami's arms were frozen still at her sides.  She wasn't sure what to do.  Then her body told her to pull up her hands and sink her fingers into his reddish-brown hair, which she did.  She couldn't believe what she was doing, but deep in her heart, she always knew that she would meet someone when she was ready.  Now she was.

The kiss ended and Sai felt like apologizing again, "oh, I'm sorry, love.  Once on the cheek is enough for one night."

"Don't be," she told him.

"You're not mad?"

She shook her head, "I like you.  You make me smile.  I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Me neither," Sai agreed, "see you tomorrow."  He took her hand and kissed the top of it before disappearing down the road.  'Sai, mate, what have you done with yourself?'

Darien was in the public library sitting down and studying a few books when he heard someone drop something.  He turned to the noise and saw a girl with long red hair bending down to pick it up and he went to pick it up for her.

"Here you go," he said, handing her the book she dropped.

"Oh, thanks," she mumbled.  "I can't believe all the studying I have to do for these finals."

"I know, crazy, isn't it?" he asked with a smile. "Hey, have we met somewhere?"

"I don't think so," she replied.

"You look familiar," Darien studied the girl's face, "hey, you were in my history class last semester!"

"Oh, yeah!" she cried, "You sat behind me!"

The librarian placed a finger at her lips and said, "Shh! This is a library!"

Mia lowered her voice, "I'm Mia. Darien, right?"

Darien nodded, "would you like me to help you study?"

"I'd like that," she said and followed him to his studying area.  They did more that just study the books; they were studying each other too.

Diana sat atop Rini's pink head as she walked down the street.  She saw a boy around her age on a skateboard.

"Hi," Rini said pleasantly as she walked by.

"Hi," he said back.

Rini stopped and turned around, "hey, you're pretty good on that skateboard there."

"Thanks," he smiled and picked up his skateboard, "I'm Yuli, by the way."

"I am Rini," she declared and stretched out her hand.

Yuli shook her hand.  "What's your cat's name?"

"Diana."

Diana meowed at Yuli, hopped off Rini's head and on his shoulder and rubbed against his cheek.  She began licking his face.

"She likes you!" Rini cried.

Yuli remembered the time he was licked, or slobbered was more like it, when Whiteblazed licked his face.  "I guess all cats like me," he said with a big grin.

"Well, I think I'd better get going now," Rini said, "I hope I'll see you again soon."

"Me too, Rini," Yuli agreed, "have a nice day."

What a nice day it was, but it couldn't compare to tomorrow.

The End.  Yes, yes, I'll write a second part! You guys don't actually think that I'd leave you hanging, would you?

^. ^