"Hey, Trix," Jim greeted her as she answered the phone. He stretched out on his bed as he went on, "What's up with you tonight?"

Trixie grinned happily upon hearing her boyfriend's voice. Leaning back against the pillows on her bed, she replied, "Hi, Jim. Not too much. I was going to start working on my homework, actually."

Jim feigned shock. "Trixie Belden starting her homework on a Friday night? Have pigs started flying?"

Trixie's grin grew wider as she rolled her eyes and laughed at him. "Very funny. No, I just have the feeling that I might not get much of a chance to work on it this weekend."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked curiously. As far as he'd heard, there was nothing major going on in Sleepyside this weekend. Of course, generally his only sources of information were Brian, who didn't usually know much more than he did, and his sister, whom he didn't get to talk to very often, so it wasn't like he was always completely up-to-date on the happenings in Sleepyside.

Trixie sighed. "Oh, the five of us Bob-Whites here are going to an amusement park that opened up nearby. We're going to be gone almost the entire weekend, and we'll probably be too tired to do anything on Sunday night."

Jim adjusted his position on the bed and switched the phone to his other ear while reaching for the picture of his girlfriend on his nightstand. He loved the picture of her laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach, with her blue eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. More often than not, he found himself looking at it, just studying her. "Okay, I have a couple of questions for you. One, why do you sound so despondent when you say that? Shouldn't you be excited about it?"

"Oh, I am," Trixie assured him. She sighed again. "I just can't help but wish you and Brian were coming with us. You especially." She twirled a piece of hair around her finger and glanced at a picture on her dresser as she spoke.

Jim smiled sadly as he traced her face in the picture in his hand. "I would love to be able to go with you guys, Trix. It sounds like fun. It's just...well, you know. The usual reason." He had a tendency to strongly dislike the "usual reason," but he knew with his logical mind nothing could be done about it. His heart, though, was a different story.

"I know. And I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything," Trixie hastened to reassure him. She dropped her head to stare at the bedspread as her fingers moved to trace the pattern there. "I know that it's not exactly realistic for you to drive eight hours just to spend a weekend here. But that doesn't make the longing go away."

"I know, Trix," he said quietly. His heart ached at the thought of how long it had been since he'd been able to see her, hold her, kiss her. "And sometimes I think that I should ditch school to come and see you."

"I can't believe that you or Brian would ever seriously consider doing that," Trixie said half-jokingly. Her fingers pulled back from the bedspread to pull one of her pillows into her lap and hug it.

"You'd be surprised how often we talk about it," he murmured. "Sometimes I think the only reason we don't is because we're able to commiserate with each other. If I was by myself in this situation, I don't know if I would be able to stop myself." He continued touching and staring at the picture in his hand.

Tears came to her eyes as she heard the longing in his voice, but she resolutely blinked them back and refused to give in to her emotions. Abruptly changing the subject, she asked, "You said you had more than one question about us going to the amusement park this weekend."

Jim was able to sense that she'd felt the need to change the subject so she didn't end up breaking down over the phone, and he welcomed the distraction. "Oh, right. I wanted to know why you couldn't work on your homework on Sunday afternoon or tomorrow night. Unless you're going both days?"

"Actually, it's going to end up being like a mini-vacation," Trixie told him, grateful that he'd accepted the subject change without question. "The park is a couple of hours away from here, so we're going to drive up tomorrow morning, spend the night in a hotel, and drive back later Sunday."

"Just for an amusement park? I think I'm more confused than what I really should be. Mind starting at the beginning?" Jim questioned. He knew that the words themselves weren't the kind to confuse somebody, but there was something in her voice that made him curious about the full story.

"Oh, sure, but it's not that much of a story. More like a simple day outing that turned into something much more complicated," Trixie stated somewhat ruefully. Unable to sit still any longer, she jumped up from her bed and started to pace. "See, Mart was the one who first heard about it and mentioned it to Dan. Apparently everyone is talking about a new creepy ride called The Thriller, and naturally the two of them got caught up in it."

"Naturally," Jim interjected sarcastically with a smile. With one final glance at the picture, he placed it back on the nightstand. Then he settled back on his bed to enjoy her story.

Trixie snickered. "Yeah, that was my reaction when they told me about it. So they wanted to go see what this Thriller thing was all about and made plans to go to the park together. But then Mart decided he wanted Di to go with them...you know, so they could go on some of those, um, less exciting rides. Dan refused to go with just the two of them, but he still wanted to check it out."

"I don't blame him," Jim inserted dryly. "Spending time with only Mart and Diana could almost be used as a form of torture in some countries. Their PDAs are a little too...ah, graphic, for my taste."

Trixie giggled as she paused in her pacing. "But are the two of us any better?"

"Yes! At least we have the courtesy to wait until we're alone to do it," Jim said. As an afterthought, he added mischievously, "Most of the time that is."

Thinking back to a time when they hadn't been as alone as they'd thought, Trixie blushed a deep red. "Why must you keep bringing that up to me? You know how mortifying that was."

"But that's exactly why I bring it up," Jim chortled, reveling in the chance to tease her. "I love making you blush."

"How'd you know I'm blushing?" Trixie wanted to know even as her blush deepened. She plopped back down on her bed.

"I know you, Shamus, and I know how easily you blush. It's safe to assume."

Trixie huffed, but there was a slight smile on her face as she asked, "Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"

"Of course I do," Jim replied with a bit of his remaining amusement showing through. "The question is if you're going to tell me."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, so since Dan didn't want to go with them, Mart suggested that Dan bring a friend along to keep him company." Trixie muttered something else that Jim wasn't quite able to catch.

"What was that? I didn't hear that last part."

Trixie rolled her eyes and her disgust mixed with amusement was evident in her voice. "I said that apparently Dan's response to that was asking Mart if he would be okay with Dan bringing me."

Jim sat up straight. "What?" He was hoping he had heard her wrong. Surely Dan didn't think of Trixie like...well, like that.

"Yeah, that's what my reaction was when Ruthie – my informant who happened to overhear their conversation – told me that part. Well, my reaction was a lot worse, actually, but..."

"Dan didn't actually mean that, did he?" Jim wanted to know with a trace of alarm in his voice.

"No, thank goodness. Dan only said that to get a reaction out of Mart. And from what I hear, it was quite the reaction." Trixie smirked. "Mart couldn't even speak at first. I imagine he simply gave Dan a horrified look. Then when he did start to speak, it took him multiple tries before he could form a coherent thought."

"I bet," Jim muttered. He was not at all pleased with what she was telling him.

"Man, I wish I could have seen it," Trixie said wistfully. "I would have been just as mortified as Mart had I not known what Dan was doing, but if I'd been in on it...oh, well. At least I know about it for future reference," she added wickedly.

"Yeah, and so do I," Jim replied.

There was something in his voice that made her slightly nervous. Frowning, she asked, "Are you upset?"

"Upset? No," Jim told her truthfully. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not exactly mad or upset. I'm just a little perturbed that Dan mentioned it. It, ah, also brings a couple of old fears of mine to the front of my mind."

"You don't have to worry, you know," Trixie told him, her voice quiet yet firm. "I want you. It was you, is you, and always will be you, Jim. You don't have to worry about other guys."

Jim heard the sincerity in her voice and greatly appreciated her attempt at making him feel better. And he did feel better; he just didn't feel completely at ease. He wasn't sure if he ever would. "I know. You've told me numerous times, and we've talked about this subject many times. It's just hard to put it into practice, especially when I'm an eight-hour drive away from you. And when I know how appealing you can be."

Trixie blushed and shifted uncomfortably as she thought of how appealing she thought Jim was. "If it helps, it's hard for me, too," Trixie told him. She sighed. "But I guess it's part of trusting each other."

"It's more about trusting the other people who are around us," Jim corrected her. He ran a hand through his flaming auburn hair. "I trust you. You would never cheat on me, and I know that you trust me, too. But it's the other people that are hard to trust."

"True," Trixie agreed thoughtfully. "But I think that if we completely trusted each other, it wouldn't matter if we trusted other people or not because we would be confident in each other not to give in to anybody else's advances."

It took Jim a moment to process what she said, and once he did he slowly nodded his head. "That's true." He smiled half-heartedly. "So the cure for jealousy is learning to trust each other with everything?"

"I don't know. It's just a thought," Trixie replied, shrugging her shoulders. She chuckled. "You know I'm not exactly the kind to get all deeply philosophical, so I could be way off."

"You're not," Jim told her. He glanced at the picture on his nightstand and sighed. "It just means that the cure is very, very hard to do."

"I'll say."

They were quiet for a moment, and then Trixie remarked, "I haven't finished telling you about how the amusement park plans were made."

"No, you didn't," Jim said, slightly surprised. He relaxed slightly as they switched to a different topic. "We kind of went off on a tangent."

"So I noticed," she responded sardonically. "The rest of the story isn't too hard to guess. After Dan's remark, he suggested that all of the Bob-Whites in Sleepyside go to the park. That way Mart and Di could be alone for some of the time and Dan wouldn't be stuck with himself for company. Though I'm sure that wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, as he probably would have found some younger, unsuspecting girl to hang out with," she added under her breath. "When they mentioned the idea to Honey and me – well, and Di, but it was kind of taken for granted that she'd agree since she'd be with Mart – we agreed."

"How'd it turn into an overnight?" Jim inquired. Almost of their own volition, his eyes once again made their way over to the picture on his nightstand as he waited for her response.

Trixie shrugged and flicked a piece of lint off of her sweats. "Honestly, I'm not even fully sure myself. All I remember is that Mart and I mentioned the idea to Moms, she said something about taking the entire weekend to do it, and the next thing I knew it had turned into a mini-vacation."

"Who's paying for the hotel?" Jim wondered idly.

"Your dad. It's a gift to Honey or something," Trixie said, furrowing her brow. "By that time I didn't really care too much about the details just as long as I knew what the general plan was. I had – and still have, might I add – more pressing matters to worry about."

"Such as?"

Trixie sighed glumly. "I made a bet with Mart."

He knew he shouldn't, and he tried his hardest not to, but the words, plus the way she said it, caused Jim to start laughing. "Oh, no. What'd you bet on?" he chuckled. He could only imagine the possibilities of what the almost-twins could have bet on.

"Which one of us will be able to ride the Thriller the most," she answered in the same glum tone of voice. A part of her wanted to resent him for laughing at her, but the other part had to admit that in a way it was funny.

Jim managed to get his laughter under control, but he wasn't able to stop a smile from creeping onto his face. "Why do you sound so upset about it?"

Trixie sighed and adjusted her position on her bed. "It's not that I don't think I can do it, because I'm sure I can. But if for some reason he ends up winning...I have to do his chores for a month, and I don't need the extra work. I already have limited time!" She ended her sentence with something resembling a whine.

"But if you win, then won't Mart take over your chores for the month?" Jim reasoned.

Trixie nodded, even though Jim couldn't see her. "Yes. With my luck, though, I'll be so tired that I'll get sick of riding the Thriller after the first three times." She sighed again. "Oh well. I guess that's what happens when Mart and I start bickering."

"Make sure you let me know who ends up winning," Jim told her, racking his brain for something encouraging to say. Unfortunately, his brain must have been on overload, because he didn't come up with anything better than, "If Mart does, then I'll do what I can to help you with your load. Actually, I'd like to help ease your load right now; is there anything I can do long-distance?"

Trixie smiled in appreciation and wished with everything in her that Jim could be right next to her, just holding her in his arms. Well, maybe not on the bed, but on the couch downstairs or on the couch in the clubhouse. She didn't care too much about where; she just wanted to be with him. "Just be a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on, Jim. That's all."

"I can do that," he promised her. He smiled wistfully. "I just wish that I could be clos—"

"Jim, stop," Trixie interrupted him softly. Her gaze dropped to her bedspread as she forced back the tears that were threatening to fall. "We both want you to be closer, but we have to trust that this is for the best. Our time will come, Jim. It will."

Jim let out a breath as he heard her words. As he took them in, he found that he believed them, and he was filled with strange sense of peace as he did. "You know what, Trix? I believe you. We will have a time to shine. Right now things aren't how we want them to be, and it may be some time before they are, but this is for the best."

Trixie unconsciously reached up and brushed her curl out of her eye as she pursed her lips and struggled to keep the tears back. When she'd regained control of herself, she whispered, "I know."

Jim didn't respond, and the comfortable silence sat between them for a while. Eventually she spoke again, this time with a more cheery note to her voice. "So I told you about the amusement park, but I haven't heard about you. What's new in your life?"

Jim sat back as he replied, grateful to be off of the serious subject. "Honestly, it doesn't feel like there's anything new in my life. More homework. More studying. More parties that I don't go to. More nights hanging out with Brian and a couple of other friends who don't care for the party scene. The only actual new thing that comes to mind is that I have a substitute professor in one of my classes for a few weeks while the other professor is on maternity leave."

"Tell me about your new friends and professor," Trixie prompted, wanting to hear about any of his life that he was willing to share.

Jim was filled with a deep appreciation for his girlfriend. He knew that she wasn't just saying it to be polite. He was positive that she would listen to him, absorb what he said, and then store the information in her brain. The words he said wouldn't go in one ear and out the other. "Well, I found that I don't care for the new professor as much as I do the other one. She has a tendency to make people feel like they're stupid, but the problem is that she does it in the most polite way possible so you can't really be mad at her. It's frustrating."

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked, genuinely curious. She wasn't sure if she'd ever met someone like that.

"Well, for example, the other day she was explaining a concept to a student in the simplest terms ever, as if the student was in fifth grade," Jim stated. "She was being polite and was sincere in her desire to help the student understand, but she was so focused on making sure he understood that she was almost rude to him by using words way beneath his grade level."

"Ohhh," Trixie replied as she understood. "She treats people like they're younger than they are, but does it in the most polite of ways. It seems like she might be more used to teaching elementary students."

"That's certainly possible," Jim agreed. "In fact, I would say that's very likely. Where else would she have picked it up? No other professors that I've had have talked like that."

"I hope she gets better about it soon," Trixie said, picking at a loose thread on her bedspread.

"I hope so, too." Jim paused, and then he went on, "You said before you wanted to hear about our new friends, too, but there's not really much to tell about them. Brian and I don't know them very well yet."

"What are they like?"

"Well, Andy has a really warped sense of humor. I think he would get along with Mart and Dan fabulously," Jim said with a slight grimace as he recalled some of the pranks that Andy had played a role in. "Remind me to never introduce the three of them to each other."

Trixie snickered. "Imagine the havoc they could create."

"And Zach is a little more on the serious side. I don't know if I would say he's quite as serious as, well, Brian or me, but he's not like Andy. I don't think there's anyone quite like Andy," Jim muttered. "And then occasionally Zach's girlfriend Michaela hangs out with us. The description that comes to mind for her is that she's a meat-and-potatoes type of person; really down to earth. Like you, Trix, in the sense that she will remain strong no matter what, like she can handle anything that comes her way."

She considered telling him that part of the reason she was able to remain strong was because she knew he'd be there for her, but said instead, "All of your friends sound nice. Do you think I'll ever get a chance to meet them?"

"If we all remain friends, then you'll definitely get to meet them!" Jim told her emphatically. "I can't tell you when or even how, but I want you to know my friends. I need you to know them."

"Same here, Jim. Well, I mean, I want to know your friends, but I want you to know any of mine that I get, too," Trixie said.

Jim smiled. "I'm glad."

A silence descended between that was only broken when Trixie said regretfully, "Jim, I don't want to stop talking to you, but I do have homework to work on. And I'm sure this call is costing you a fortune."

"Trix, when it comes to you, money is not an issue," Jim swiftly replied. Then he nodded his head in regret as well. "But we should probably get going. I'm not sure how long it's been, but it has been a while."

"Yeah." Trixie paused, never quite sure how to end their phone calls. "Well, I'll let you know how the trip to the amusement park goes. And you let me know what happens with that professor, okay?"

"Of course, Shamus," Jim answered. Lingering a bit, he added, "Have fun tomorrow, and don't let Mart and Di have too much time alone. Wouldn't want Dan to get a big head because he'll only have two beautiful ladies for company."

Trixie laughed out loud. "I think it's too late for that! But yeah, I won't. Talk to you later, Jim."

"Yep, bye, Trix." Softly, but unsure if she would hear him before she hung up, he added, "I love you."

~Epilogue~

To: Jim Frayne
From: Trixie Belden
Subject: Re: So how'd it go?

Hi Jim!

I don't have much time, but I wanted to be able to squeeze in a quick note before going out with Honey and Di tonight. I'm glad that you were able to get a new professor to replace the other one that you mentioned. But what I find mysterious is why the other professor ended up leaving; you said that none of the students were told anything. But I'll keep myself from investigating – this time. ;)

Sorry it took me a few days to let you know the outcome of the bet, but guess what? It ended up being a tie. Actually, I think the only reason Mart didn't go longer was because he accidentally ate too much food, so I'm pretty sure he was too afraid of tasting it again to go longer on The Thriller. Even though this means that I don't have less work to do, at least I don't have more to do, either!

I still hope to get to meet your friends someday. And I still believe that there will come a time for us to shine, Jim. We just have to be patient.

Love, Trixie

Author's Notes

Disclaimer: I don't own the Trixie Belden characters; I'm not making any money off of them.

This is a submission for CWE#4 on Jix. I wanted to be able to work in all eight of the elements, but I was happy to at least get in the three that I chose:

-Television: "She was so polite, she was rude!" Thomas Magnum, Magnum P.I. – Jim's substitute professor was felt to be this way

-Books: "In the buffet of life, she was a meat-and-potatoes kind of person." Clara Conrad, Cute is a Four Letter Word by Stella Pevsner – the girlfriend of Jim's friend Zach, Michaela, was described as this, and then Jim more or less goes on to say that Trixie is that way, too.

-Songs: "Thriller" recorded by Michael Jackson, from the album Thriller, released November 30, 1982, by Epic Records – the amusement park ride that got Dan and Mart excited. That's actually what initially inspired this story.

I don't really know if this story has any redeeming value or not, but I'm considering making it part of a universe or something. But I have a feeling that if I do, it won't be for a very long time. So for now this is another one-shot (big surprise there, right?).

Oh, the ride The Thriller is completely made up. There's probably a ride (or two, or three, or ten) out there that has the name, but I wasn't referencing any one in particular.

Thanks so much to Jo, Joycey, and Jenny for editing this! Any mistakes are all mine.

Thank you so much for reading!