Reggie Rocket was many things. Oldest child. Sarcastic sister. Smart student. Top notch team mate. Super friendly person to everyone in Ocean Shores. On a warm summer morning, she had been skating in circles in the cul-de-sac since sunrise, thinking about everything since sleep was nonexistent once again. Rocket Girl had been acting weird for the past week, she was quiet all the time and lamely wiping out all day when she hung out with the gang. She was also so grumpy some of the time, she would just leave what ever the gang was doing to be alone, even though nine times out of ten Sammy was right behind her. Her and Sammy were always good friends since they bonded over computer stuff and The Zine, She was of course still teaching Sammy how to skate. As the few years passed by, The Squid had gotten a little better at skating. He excelled at surfing though. He took a lot of pride in that.
Hearing the sound of skates on the pavement, Twister woke up, Groggily pulling himself out of bed and looked out his window spotting his violet haired friend just skating mindlessly in a large continuous circle. He grinned to himself as he just stood there and watched. He always thought Reggie was sort of pretty. She was definitely one of a kind, that's for sure. She was easy to talk to most of the time as well.. except for recently... If she took her head out of the clouds long enough to hold a conversation with then she would still be easy to talk to. Twister just stood there and watch as her hair flowed easily behind her, It had grown longer in the past few years. She had gotten skinnier as well, Might have been because of her activeness or her most recent ex-boyfriend tried to control what she ate. He frowned at that but his small grin came back as he watched her sway back and fourth in her movements. After a while, He frowned at himself as he felt a familiar twinge in the pit of his stomach. Passing it off as hunger, he tore himself away from staring down at the oblivious teen down below to go down stairs to eat his breakfast. By the time he had finished up and got dressed for the day, Reggie was in the Rocket family garage mindlessly flipping a wheel on her skateboard, all zoned out as it wheeled around. Twister marched inside to greet her, skateboard and camera in hand as usual.
"Hey Reg. What's up?" Twister said plopping down next to her on the floor. She said nothing, she just kept tapping the wheel. "Reg?... HellLLLOOOooo? Earth to Regina!"
"Huh? … Oh hey Twist. What's up?" She said passively after being moved out of her thoughts. Twister thought it was weird because as he flinched, she didn't even bother threatening him for using her actual name. She always at least does that. She just sat there. Twister cautiously resumed his usual posture.
"I asked you first like five minutes ago!" Twister whined.
"Hmm? Sorry." She mumbled as her face went pink, she turned her head away from Twister's view. Twister groaned in slight annoyance, He wanted to know why she was acting so incredibly weird.
"What's going on with you, Reg?" He asked placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. "You are.. like totally spaced!"
"…I don't know." She mumbled still not looking towards him. "I guess I have a lot on my mind."
"Like what?... I mean… Do you wanna talk about it?"
Reggie looked at Twister in a sideways glance releasing a slight smile. Twister arched an eyebrow at her in question. "No… not yet… But I will say I'm sorry for being such a lame-o recently. It's not really fun recording me wipe out at everything. Huh?" Twister shrugged in response. "I guess I'm feeling a little bit… awkward."
"You? Awkward?" Twister asked. "But Reggie, You have no need to feel awkward.. You are the most confident person I know! … uh… Other than Rocket boy." This made Reggie giggle a bit. Twister smiled at her with his trademark goofy grin. It had been a while since she laughed. Usually she was sighing and groaning out of annoyance towards Otto.
"Speak of the devil." Reggie said when Otto walked in.
"What?" Otto asked as he threw his apple up in the air and catching it before taking a bite out of it. "Talking about how awesome I am again?"
Reggie rolled her eyes and frowned slightly at Otto's sudden arrogance. Twist stood up and greeted his best bud with a high five. "Sup, Otto-man?"
"Not much, dude." Otto said as he grabbed his skate board by flipping it up to his hands. "Let's hit up Mad Town before the summer shoobie rush gets there."
"I'll go get Sammy." Reggie said quickly getting up, hopping on her board and rushing out of there. "Meet ya there!"
Otto shot Reggie a slightly annoyed look before mounting his board. Twister frowned with concern as he turned on his camera and just stared at her through the viewing board as she skated down the road to the Dullard residence. What was going on with her?
"Come on, Twist!" Otto spoke impatiently. "Daylight is burning, man!" Twister shot his camera towards a clearly annoyed Rocket boy.
"Right behind ya." Twister said as he himself finally mounted his board, following Otto down to Mad Town Skate Park.
"Whoa Man! Killer aerial!" Twister shouted as he closely taped Otto practicing on the half pipe. "I still need shots of that new combo move you have been working on. Let me have it!"
Otto landed his feet on the left ledge and shot Twister his famous smirk. "I still need to work out the landing but.. sure, I'll try it. Since you're practically begging me." With that, Otto jumped of the ledge at high speed. Twister following his every move at the bottom the pipe. As Otto soared in the air, he cartwheel flipped and dropped back down from the massive air flying down and up the other side catching enough air for his 360 flip. Otto dropped down and grinded the edge before his last decline. Just as Otto flew up the other side Twister heard a familiar scream and crash at the entrance, automatically turning towards the source with his camera he spotted Reggie smiling while helping the Squid up on his feet after crashing into the empty trash can… again. Twister zoomed in on Reggie's amused face as she talked to Sammy, watching her like he has never seen her before… Why was she so carefree around the Squid? Twister felt a hint of jealousy as she smiled and laughed at something unheard.
"I did it!" Twister heard Otto's voice ring out excitedly. "Twister! Did you…? … Twister!?"
Twister turned back around quickly and found Otto frowning at him from his landing point. "You seriously didn't catch it?! DUDE! That… That's the first time I actually fully landed it and you missed it!" Twister felt shame rise up in him as Otto slid down to the bottom.
"I'm sorry, bro… I-I… redo…?" Twister asked sheepishly hiding behind his camcorder, pointing it towards Otto's angry face. Otto pushed it away from him in disgust.
"Redo?!" Otto asked loudly. "You got to be kidding! I can't do that again twice in a row! I just landed it, Its going to take another week to get down pat."
"Knock it off, Rocket boy!" Reggie warned Otto when she and Sammy joined them. Twister slapped his viewing screen closed and sighed loudly, placing the equipment on his vacant skateboard next to him. He could never do anything right. Especially this year...
"Twister missed me landing The Driller! For the first time!" Otto complained loudly, jumping off of the pipe. Slamming his board down in anger. Reggie frowned at him slightly and rolled her eyes.
"The Driller…?" She asked in an annoyed tone. "You named it… The Driller…?"
"Yes, I named it The Driller." Otto mocked he sister still bathing his words in anger. "And this lame-o missed it!" Reggie sneered at the mockery and sighed loudly in obvious frustration. Twister clapped his hands on his helmet.
"I said… I was sorry, Dude!" Twister groaned in desperation. "I apologize!"
"Lay off him, Otto!" Reggie said in an even louder tone. "It wasn't Twist's fault!"
"Yeah." Sammy spoke up. "The sound of my crash distracted him right when you nailed the move. It's my fault, okay?"
Rocket Boy glared at his sister then sighed expressively turning to Twister who had his arms crossed in front of him, almost pouting. "Fine… Sorry I snapped at you, Twister…"
Twister relaxed as Otto held his hand out to him offering their traditional handshake. Twister grinned over at him. "It's alright, Otto-man… I'm sorry I missed your landing…"
Woogity, Woogity, Woogity!
Reggie eased up and flipped her board up, catching it. "Now that that is taken care of… Let's rip it!"
The group agreed excitedly as they all skated towards the bowl for a game of follow the leader. Twister recorded Otto and Reggie after he and Sammy fell out… He studied Reggie from the ledge but as soon as she looked up meeting his eyes… she wobbled on her board and practically face-planted the wall of the bowl… Ouch!
"Wow, Reg…" Otto said as he turned around, seeing Sammy and Twister rush over to her. "I thought you were finally done beefin' it… You were doing so well… up until now!" Reggie sat up and growled at Otto while Sammy checked her over for any scrapes, band-aids in hand. Twister slowly waved his hand out in front of her eyes.
"I can see fine, Twister!" She growled through gritted teeth. "I'm not hurt. I'm perfectly fine!" She got up on her feet and kicked her board, only resulting in falling on her bottom. She groaned in pain as Otto laughed hysterically.
"Aaaaaand Beef number two in the time span of... like five seconds!"
"Can it!" Reggie flushed angrily. Twister helped her up on her feet slowly as she was actually hurt this time.
"Want me to go get an ice pack from Conroy?" Sammy asked softly.
"Please." Reggie groaned as she leaned in on Twister's shoulders. Twister felt his face heat up for no reason. He frowned at himself in a confused manner before Sammy ran off to retrieve the ice pack. Seeing that the burning was getting worse, He hid his face as best he could as he laid a hand on her waist for support and walked her to the edge of the bowl where Sammy put the ice pack. She painfully sat down on it and sneered at her brother who was skating around the bowl.
"Jeeze, Rocket Girl… how did you become SO lame!?" Otto mocked her, Reggie threw a random pebble at him in anger. He just smirked evilly as he easily dodged it. She groaned loudly in frustration. Twister silently rolled his eyes as he fiddled with his camcorder.
"Cut it out, Otto.." Sammy said, annoyed. "It has gotten so old… even for you."
"Really, Squid?" Otto asked. "I don't feel it has… Right Twist?" Twister sighed in response. Otto glared at Twister a little but turned to Reggie who was flicking dirt off her camo pants. "Fine, It's old… but It's still weird that you are just all of a sudden laming up everything we do. What are you? …Some kind of jinx?"
"Whatever." Reggie muttered her face turning pink from embarrassment. "I don't need this… I'm going home!"
Reggie, despite the pain around her tailbone, got up and skated out of the park as fast as she could handle. Twister looked on after her making sure she didn't hurt herself any further. He felt that shame rise up once more… Why couldn't he just tell Otto to stop? It was clearly hurting her feelings… Sammy on the other hand glared at Otto.
"I'm bailing." Sammy said finally. "And as far as I'm concerned, You're the one being lame, Otto."
"Wrong." Otto hollered as Sammy headed out of the park following the same route as Reggie. "Otto Rocket is never lame, Squid! Come on Twist, lets shoot some more tricks."
Twister stood up and thought about it for a moment, He frowned at the Mad Town entrance. He should go check on Rocket Girl… He felt kinda bad about not sticking up for her….
"Actually… Umm.. I gotta… go help my dad with something at home…" Twister lied, grabbing his board and headed out of the park leaving Otto in the bowl by himself. "Catch ya later Rocket Boy.." Twister didn't look back because he knew Otto was glaring at him. He was going to have to face him later but right now Rocket Girl was his main concern. If he didn't leave, It would have bugged him to no end… Twister thought about how Reggie was acting and it did seem odd... He never thought about things in detail, why should he start? ...Because it's just not normal! Reggie almost never beefs and when she does it's not that bad... Is she nervous about something? ...SAT's were right around the corner... Twister gulped at his next conclusion... Did she have a crush? He didn't like that. Twister has been feeling protective since her last relationship with a dorkwad named David. He wasn't that good to her right from the beginning. Reggie deserves the best. Someone that can give her the right kind of attention and treat her like a lady even if she skated and surfed and ate beef burgers with extra pickles and fries with a double thick strawberry shake on the side. Not someone who makes her eat a salad because burgers will 'taint her figure' or some crap like that and eat one in front of her... If Twister could control who she liked then he most definitely would...
When he rolled up to the Rocket residence, Sammy was just stepping out the door and seemed a little shocked to see Twister right in front of him.
"Did Otto come back to mess with her again?" Sammy asked crossing his arms in front of him.
"No... I came by myself... I'm worried about Reg." Twister said feeling a little nervous but Sammy softened his expression and offered Twister a small grin as he let him inside the living room where Reggie was laying on her stomach on the sofa watching TV. Raymundo came in from the kitchen and placed a bag of frozen vegetable medley on her lower back, She jerked up in pain but slowly eased down. Twister walked in past the Squid and sat on the surf board coffee table in front of Reggie but not blocking the view of the TV. She didn't even notice him.
"H-How you doing, Reg?" Twister asked finally. Reggie looked at him for a millisecond and looked at the TV.
"Just. Peachy." Reggie growled. Twister looked at her nervously, she was obviously mad. He didn't really know what to say.
"Uh - I...um..." Twister said nervously as he tried to think of something to say. Reggie sighed and rolled her eyes at him and started flipping through the channels. "I-I... I'm sorry I didn't stop Otto from downing on you like that... I should have and I'm sorry..."
"No sweat.. I didn't expect you to do anything but agree with him like you always do." Reggie said venomously. That stung.
Twister sighed. "Well I didn't this time... He pushed it too far and all of that is getting old now."
"Yeah. Right." Reggie said looking past him, flipping channels furiously.
"Reggie.. I'm serious! Please!"
"Please what?" Reggie asked in a false sweet tone. "I possibly can't be mad a you. No."
"What are you talking about?" Twister asked arching an eyebrow. "Of course you're mad at me. You always get mad at me when Otto bags on you."
"Because as his 'best bro' you have the power to shut him up! Even if it's for a little bit!"
He never really tried defying Otto before but if it meant so much to Reggie... Twister considered having Otto mad at him for a little bit next time. "I never thought to try. I really am sorry, Reggie.. I promise I will stand up for you more. You're my friend too and it's not fair."
"...Yeah?" Reggie asked. "You promise? You aren't just pulling my leg here?"
"I totally promise, Cross my heart." Twister held out his hand to her, she smiled and laughed, wiggling her fingers in his palm. "And plus, I owe you one because of earlier."
" 'Kay, I'm counting on you, Twist."
Twister felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He never liked it when Reggie was mad at him. Probably because she has all the wrath of a thousand unhappy housewives and then some. Now that Twister was relaxed he noticed that The Squid had disappeared from the Rocket household. Since Reggie and him were done talking, He sat himself on the vacant couch beside her watching a portion of the X-Games on replay from last night. Raymundo quietly came in to the living room while Twister and Reggie were laughing at one of the weirdest wipe outs playing out in slow motion.
"I never look like that, do I?" Reggie asked Twister. Twister just simply shook his head no. "Thank goodness for that. Otto would never let me live it down if I did."
"How's that spine of yours, Rocket Girl?" Raymundo asked after it got quiet.
"It's doing okay, Dad." Reggie sighed. "I don't think we have to worry about a broken tailbone any more."
"Well how about I freshen up the veggies for you?" Raymundo asked leaning into the back of the couch. "I believe we have a bag of corn in the freezer you could thaw out for dinner."
Reggie laughed. "Sure, Dad. Thanks!"
"Broken tailbone?" Twister asked seriously.
"Yeah, Raymundo was afraid of it being broken but since it's been iced, it should be fine. Just bruised, so that means I can't really skate comfortably for a few days."
"What about surfing?"
"Surfing too, Twist." Reggie rolled her eyes as Twister frowned at the thought. Raymundo came out of the kitchen holding a large bag of corn. When he switched the bags, Reggie twisted her face uncomfortably for a second but relaxed shortly after. "Seems like I'm stuck at home until the bruising goes away... Good thing the Rocket Family heals quickly!"
"That sounds boring..." Twister stated. "I guess we are going to be watching a loooot of movies then. Hey you could even watch me edit my newest film!"
Reggie looked at him like he was crazy. "We? ...Watch you edit?... Twist, what about skating with Otto?... Sammy, I can understand.. we have the Zine but you as well?"
"He'll survive." Twister muttered. "I'm not exactly happy with him at the moment. You need us more. You seriously hurt yourself, Reg."
Reggie thought about it for a second before feeling a heated sensation creep up to her face. Twister looked at her almost shocked as soon as he noticed the pink stain grow.
"Are you feeling alright? Are you running a fever?" Twister asked quickly as he placed a hand on her forehead, she felt slightly warm but nothing bad. None the less, when Twister touched her forehead Reggie was at a loss for words as the room grew even warmer for her.
"N-No Twister, I-I'm fine. Everything is fine." Reggie stuttered with a nervous laugh trying to shake it off. "Just a... simple hot flash! T-That happens when uh.. when I sit on this couch too long. Yeah."
"...Do you wanna sit over on this one instead? I can move, No problamo." Twister asked getting up.
"No, No. That's not necessary, Twist. But thanks." Reggie said, holding a hand up. Twister shrugged and sat back down. Sammy suddenly reappeared with his laptop in hand ready to finish this week's issue of The Zine. Sammy smiled at Reggie and sat the laptop down on the coffee table and started it up. For an unknown reason, Twister felt a little awkward being there. Maybe because he has never seen the Zine in progress.
"Should... I go?" Twister asked uncertainly. Sammy just smiled at him and Reggie laughed a little.
"No, You can stay, Twist!" Sammy said kindly.
"It's not like this is top secret or something." Reggie added smoothly. "Who knows maybe you can help."
"Help?... like how?"
"Writer's Block is a common thing." Reggie pointed out.
"It's possibly the most common thing we come across causing a delay in the datelines." Sammy added giving Reggie a swift glare, She just stuck her tongue out at him.
"Writer's... Block?" Twister asked in confusion. "Like... You don't know what to write?"
"Kinda." Reggie said as The Squid started typing, Filling a half a page in words Twister couldn't read from where he was.
"You guys do know how my grades are in English, right?" Twister pointed out with a grin.
Reggie smiled. "That doesn't mean anything, Twist. You can't let grades stifle out your creativity."
Twister smiled at that new light. He never thought of it like that before. He never thought Reggie had that much faith in him to begin with but now she was willing to let him help out with The Zine. For some reason, Twister felt happy, like really happy to be presented with this opportunity. He also felt relieved because Reggie was acting like her usual carefree self. Not only in front of The Squid but in front of him as well! Could it be because she has a new found trust in Twister? He wouldn't know. He was just happy she was happy with him again. It was really weird having her all grouchy and quiet all the time. He still didn't have answers about her sudden change in personality but at least he was a little bit closer to knowing.