Hello everyone :D I got impatient again, so it's another unedited chapter. Although apparently (according to those of you that review) last chapter wasn't so bad, so I'm hoping this one won't be either. Still not satisfied with the opening scene, but what can you do? Sorry for the wait. This one's even longer than the last.

I, um, actually don't have chapter 4 even started, and I usually like to be at least halfway done with the next chapter before I post something. Ah well, summer vacation's nearly here, and I have a feeling most of my free time then will be devoted to fan fic writing, haha :) So, see you guys...in a month, I suppose. Thank you for reading, and please review!

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Chapter 3

"Oh my gosh, Claire. I can't wait for you to meet him. You are going to love Kai, I just know it. Everyone does," Popuri gushed, brimming with excitement as she yanked me along towards the beach. I let her with little resistance, flopping around behind her like a rag doll.

Everyone except Rick and me, I said silently. Out loud, I reminded her, "I already met him, remember? Yesterday. When I first got here."

"Oh yeah," she said, not slowing her breakneck pace. "Well, now you'll meet each other properly."

I sighed audibly, not even bothering to hide my annoyance any longer, but she didn't even notice. She was too caught up in her thoughts of Kai.

As soon as our shoes hit the sand she let go of my hand and skipped happily ahead of me. I dragged my feet, in no hurry to catch up. I followed her to a little shack with a cheery but rather beaten up sign that read "Seaside Lodge." Lodge seemed a bit pretentious, if you asked me; the tiny, weatherworn hut in front of me looked like little more than one of those stalls found at carnivals. When I got close enough I saw it had a menu posted behind the counter, which consisted entirely of typical snacks of the summer variety: popcorn, hotdogs, snow cones, pizza. However, I found I wasn't very hungry as soon as I saw Kai standing on the other side of the counter.

He was talking to Popuri with a big smirk plastered on his face, the same one he'd had the day before. I wondered if it was a permanent condition. "Hey!" he cried as soon as he noticed me. "It's the kind of new girl!" I remembered our first encounter and winced. He was acting like we had an inside joke or something.

Popuri smiled, although it was the kind of smile someone has when they don't quite know what's going on. "Her name's Claire," she told him, smiling brightly and gesturing for me to get closer.

I stepped forward, figuring it was my cue, but I didn't want to get any closer than necessary. I tried to keep under the shade of the tiny, flimsy roof that stuck out about a foot or so from the shack—or rather, lodge.

"Right, Popuri told me about you yesterday when she stopped by," Kai said, locking his eyes with mine as he stretched his hand across the counter. He smelled like salt and cotton candy, which was a very odd and almost dizzying combination. "I'm afraid we never really introduced ourselves. As I'm sure you know by now, I'm Kai."

"Yeah," I said, trying to remain indifferent as I took his hand and shook. His fingers held mine for just a few seconds too long, so I pulled away, wrinkling my nose at him. He laughed it off.

Popuri appeared to be totally oblivious to the weirdness between Kai and I. "This summer is going to be so much fun! We'll be able to hang out every day!"

"Yeah," Kai agreed, smiling at her and then at me. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Claire."

I smiled right back, as poisonously as I could. "Oh, what's there to know? I'm sure Popuri's said enough."

"Nonsense. I'm especially curious as to what made you come here in the first place." He leaned forward with his chin in his hand, like he was just waiting on me to tell him everything, but I could tell in his eyes he was making fun of me.

My smile tightened and I tried to hastily evade his question. "Oh, but that's so boring. I'd much rather know about you. What made you come to Mineral Town? Popuri told me that you started coming her last summer." I felt like I was babbling, but I couldn't help it. I was grasping for a way to outwit him and wasn't coming up with much.

His expression clouded for a moment, returning to its usual smirk so quickly I thought I'd imagined it. "I like it here," he replied vaguely, not really even answering my question. He didn't give me enough time to dwell on it, however, before clapping his hands together and asking loudly, "Are you guys hungry?"

"Yay!" Popuri cheered, clasping her hands as he reached back behind him. Moments later he produced two snow cones and held them out for us.

"Thanks, Kai!" she said happily, taking hers and digging in right away. I took mine, nodding stiffly.

"Try it," he said, when I didn't start eating right away. He winked, like he was trying to be charming. "I make really good snow cones."

I rolled my eyes. As if it really took some special skill to make snow cones. I took a bite anyway, and found it hard not to savor the delicious coldness of the treat. As annoying as it was to even think it, it was pretty good.

"So Claire, you're going to come with me to the swimming festival the day after tomorrow, right?" Popuri said, nudging me with her arm.

I raised an eyebrow at her question. I'd actually completely forgotten about the festival, but as soon as she mentioned it it brought back the memories of all the men in town standing around in trunks and Speedos showing off their macho abilities by flailing in the water. The saddest part was that it had actually been thrilling when I was younger.

"Sure, I guess," I answered, shrugging. "If I'm not helping out with chores or whatever." But that was just another one of my lame excuses to try to get out of going somewhere.

Popuri pouted. "Aw, c'mon Claire, even Rick takes a break to compete. Remember when we were little?"

"Yeah, it's not like you're their slave or anything, right?" Kai put in, his eyes glittering mockingly at me. My jaw tensed.

"Fine, then. I'll be there," I answered, lifting my chin as I stared right back at him with the most defiant look I could muster.

"Great," he chuckled, looking over at Popuri. "Then you'll get to see me kick Rick's ass." Popuri giggled, which made me really roll my eyes. Couldn't she stand up for her own brother? If she wasn't going to, I would, if only to spite Kai.

I paused, and when I finally replied I spoke as calmly as I could, clearly enunciating every word. "I'd like to see you try."

Nothing compared to the satisfaction I felt when I wiped that smirk right off his face, even if it was just for a few moments.

* * *

After a grueling twenty or thirty minutes of watching Popuri fruitlessly try to flirt with Kai, who in turn kept shooting me weird stares and asking me suggestive questions, I finally managed to drag Popuri away with the excuse that I wanted to visit everyone else in town and catch up with them.

I didn't, of course, but it was the only way to put an end to my misery, and thankfully Popuri complied after only a little reluctance. We said our goodbyes to Kai and were on our way back to the town from the beach.

"Kai seemed kind of weird," I offered, after several minutes of silence of walking aimlessly through the town. "Was he feeling okay?" I'd just remembered that Popuri was his girlfriend, although he certainly hadn't acted like it. Maybe they'd had a fight and that's why he was acting like a creep. Although it seemed more like Popuri was vying for his attention and he kept brushing her off to engage in a battle of wits with me.

Popuri brought her thumbnail to her lips, chewing it lightly as a troubled expression worked its way onto her face. She stayed quiet.

"Popuri? What's up?" I prodded, puzzled by her sudden distraught behavior.

She sighed, dropping her hand as her shoulders drooped. "I've got something to confess," she admitted, averting her eyes towards the ground.

Uh-oh. I couldn't imagine what it was she needed to tell me, but I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it. "What is it?" I asked tentatively, watching her closely.

"Kai's not really my boyfriend," she blurted, and then her cheeks burned bright red. "I lied when I told you he was."

"Wh—wait, what?" I stuttered, her admission throwing me for a loop. "What are you talking about?"

She mistook my surprise for anger. She tore her eyes away from her feet to look at me shame-facedly. "I know, I know! I'm really sorry. I felt bad ever since I told you. But it's the truth. He's not my boyfriend."

Frankly, it wasn't that hard to believe that they weren't together. Kai had shown her nothing but a superficial affection—and that was something he'd extended to me, too. But I was more confused about why she would lie in the first place. I asked her this.

She sighed again, looking back down. "I don't know. I guess I want it so badly to be true. You remember the annual fireworks festival, right?"

I nodded wordlessly, wondering how this could possibly to relate to what we were talking about.

"Well…Kai never asked to be my girlfriend last summer, but he did ask me to see the fireworks with him. And, I don't know, I guess I thought it meant something, you know? But then he left the week after once summer was over, and then when he got back…I mean, it's not like he's avoiding me or anything, but….he's always giving me free food and compliments, and then suddenly one he'll start acting all indifferent, like he hates me. I don't know what to think!" She punctuated her rambling monologue with another sigh, her petite frame slumping even further.

"He doesn't hate you," I said, the words popping out of my mouth without me even thinking about them. "Um, at least, he probably doesn't…" Even though she looked pretty pathetic, it was hard to summon any real sympathy seeing as how I kind of despised the guy and all.

"It's okay," she answered gloomily, clearly proving it wasn't. Suddenly she cheered up slightly, a tiny smile brightening her face. "I know! How about we go visit Karen?" She said it like it was the best idea she'd had in a while.

I shrugged, weirded out by her constant mood swings but not even questioning it anymore. "Um, sure."

* * *

I hated that I couldn't just say no. You don't have to go if you don't want to, Rick had told me. And I definitely didn't want to be dragged around by Popuri any longer. I'd had enough. And yet, for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wasn't like I was concerned for her feelings. But the amount of effort that would go into refusing and the high probability that she'd get all moody and crestfallen was exhausting just to think about.

It wasn't worth it, or at least that's what I told myself. But it was kind of hard to be convincing the closer the two of us got to the supermarket and the bigger my headache grew.

I didn't have anything against Karen per say, but she was one of those girls that almost every member of the female population was conditioned to hate, if only because of her perfection. And of course, she probably would've been easier to tolerate had she been a little less conscious of her beauty. Though Popuri was cute and delicate and would probably get asked out on a lot more dates if she lived anywhere but Mineral Town where there were so few guys, she was also blissfully unaware of her own prettiness—whereas Karen was downright, drop dead, in-your-face stunning, and she knew it just as well as everyone else.

Rick had fallen for her hard, like any guy would, and judging from his reaction to my question from the previous day he'd had little luck in getting over her. It was a little sad, really; Karen had always treated him like a sibling, and he went along with it, following her around like a puppy dog. I hoped for his sake he'd learned to be slightly less pathetic.

The supermarket came into view, as well as Karen lounging on the bench just outside the building with Rick at her side (big surprise). The red battered mailbox standing close by, looking like it hadn't been pried open for years, reminded me of my mother's half-hearted request before I left. Write me a letter or two, okay? she'd suggested, with that nervous smile she got whenever she knew something she said was going to earn her a glare and a moody silence from me. And it had.

"Is that Claire?" Karen suddenly called out, squinting against the sun at Popuri and me. She sat up, craning her neck to get a better look. "It is, isn't it? Rick told me you were here!"

I smiled and lifted a hand to reluctantly wave. We reached the two on the bench and came to a stop.

"You've gotten pale," Karen observed, looking me up and down. It made me shift uncomfortably in acknowledgement of my own inadequacy even though I knew she was just teasing me. "But I'm sure you'll be all gorgeous and tan in a week."

Pfft, me, gorgeous, I scoffed silently. The was made even more ridiculous coming from her. For some reason my gaze slid over to Rick, who'd been quiet. I don't know what I was expecting, but he had eyes for Karen only. Typical.

Not that I could really blame him. Karen looked effortlessly amazing, as usual. She was wearing an itty-bitty pair of short shorts, which made her endless legs seem even more endless than usual. Her plain white t-shirt revealed just a bit of her stomach when she slouched in her seat, as well a lot of her cleavage, and her naturally highlighted hair was swept over one shoulder. In other words, she was showing skin—lots of flawless, tanned skin—and I felt that instinctual jealousy stir softly in my stomach.

"Hey, Rick, shouldn't you been at home with Mom?" This was from Popuri. Leave it to her to start a fight with her brother the second he comes into view.

Rick rolled his eyes, her question being enough to take his focus off of Karen. "No, she's fine. We've left her alone for a little while before, you know that. Besides, she's been in a better mood lately."

I wonder why, I thought, which made me remember what I'd seen Lillia doing with Zack in the kitchen. Which made me get all flustered again, which made me blurt out something stupid to change the subject, like…

"Hey Rick, do you think I'll be able to go to the swimming festival the day after tomorrow?" Yeah. Something like that.

I mean, seriously? Even I knew I didn't need his permission. Sure, I had told Popuri that I would be too busy doing chores or something, but I think we both knew that was a lie. Keeping secrets was evidently not good for my mental health.

Rick gave me a curious look, like he was just as confused by my question as I was. "Well…yeah?" His tone made me want to knock myself in the head.

Karen, however, saved me. "You'd better come," she said to me, wagging her finger. "It's going to be quite a show this year, if last year was any indication."

"Oh," Rick groaned, suddenly looking a little sick. Popuri giggled gleefully at his discomfort. The two girls took this as a cue to launch into a story for my sake.

"Since he and Kai are all competitive, and it was Kai's first summer here, Rick really wanted to win—you know, so he could show off…" Karen began, but her voice cracked and she broke off, joining in with Popuri's laughter. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Rick. It was bad enough seeing Popuri totally fail to defend him behind his back, but it must've been way worse for him to have the love of his life and his little sister mock him right in front of his face.

Not that I was actually saying anything in his defense. Instead, curiosity got the better of me. "What happened?" I asked slowly, watching the pained look on Rick's face deepen a little.

The girls exchanged looks of mischief before Popuri jumped in. "Rick had really psyched himself up for the race—"

"—Maybe a little too much," Karen added, flashing me an impish grin.

"You know how everyone lines up along the beach and then jumps into the waves once they blow the whistle?" Popuri asked me, and when I nodded, she continued. "Well, the whistle blew, and Rick jumped in without even looking—"

"—And he went smack! right into a giant wave—"

"—And the water was so forceful—"

"—That it ripped his trunks right off!" Karen finished breathlessly, cackling as she clutched her stomach. Popuri was in a similar state next to me. As for Rick, in his embarrassment he had slid down in the bench as low as was possible for him still remain sitting on it.

I, meanwhile, just stared, looking from Rick, to Karen, to Popuri, to Rick. And then I laughed, just a tiny little chuckle, and then another, until before I knew it I was gasping for breath right alongside Karen and Popuri, and even Rick seemed to be fighting back a smile. The picture was too much: poor Rick, stranded in the water without his swimsuit and left behind by the other competitors. Pitifully hilarious.

I didn't even realize how hard I'd been laughing until it finally subsided. It felt strange and unexpected that I could experience such an uplifting feeling in a place like this. It actually felt pretty okay.

Eventually, the three of us calmed down enough for talking to resume. "So you'll come, right?" Karen asked, clapping her hands together pleadingly.

Popuri copied her pose, mirroring the same begging look in her own brown eyes. "You have to come, okay?"

"Oh, I will," I assured them, giving Rick an apologetic smile even though I knew it was a little too late. He finally gave in and laughed too, though it was slightly feeble.

"Well, I'm glad that in my humiliation I at least gave Claire a reason to want to go," he sighed dramatically, as if it were his last breath. All four of us laughed at this, and Karen put one arm around Rick to give him a sympathetic hug, albeit with questionable sincerity as she was still sniggering.

Standing there listening to my own laughter mix in with the sound of Popuri's cute giggle, Karen's full belly laugh, and Rick's embarrassed chuckle, I realized that something had occurred that I'd convinced myself would be impossible to even consider happening this summer:

I was in a good mood.

* * *

But it didn't last long.

Predictably, of course. The scene with Karen, Popuri, and Rick had been short-lived and fleeting—a moment, one instant, just a little blip on the miserable continuum that is my self-induced despair.

It wasn't like anything bad had happened, exactly; it was more that I remembered exactly where I was. My balloon of happiness was swiftly popped the second Popuri, Rick, and I got back to Chicken Lil's. I felt so trapped.

I didn't know what I planned to do afterwards. But all I wanted was out. So as soon as Popuri fell asleep that night—it didn't take long; unsurprisingly she was quick to fall asleep, like a kid—I snuck out of the room and down the stairs. Neither Lillia nor any unexpected visitors were there this time, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I slipped out the front door.

The night was warm and sticky and humid, but not as nearly as restricting as being inside. I felt a giddiness surge up within me: I was free, free, free. On my own, finally, and breaking the rules while I was at it. My mother would definitely not be pleased to know I was doing that during my exile, which made it all the more thrilling.

My flip-flops made light smacking sounds against the bricked walkway. I was wearing what I usually wore to bed, which meant crumpled shorts and a flimsy tank top. I'd tied my hair up, which helped me pretend it felt a little cooler outside.

For some reason, I was on course for the beach without even thinking about it. Maybe because it was one of the few places I'd visited since I'd been back. No matter the reason, I kicked off my flip-flops and squished my toes as deep into the sand as possible. The sand was cooler than the air, and it sent goose bumps running up my legs. I relished the feeling, crossing my arms tightly and squinting out over the water. I was reminded of how remote Mineral Town was; absolutely nothing but ocean no matter where you looked; not even a glimmer of a boat passing in the night was visible. Unfortunately, the more I thought about it, the more depressed I felt, so I sat down and hugged my legs to my chest.

This sucks, I thought. I wasn't even homesick. I just felt suddenly utterly gloomy. All my adrenaline had left me, which meant it was right back to misery.

I lied back onto the sand and shut my eyes. I thought about what would happen if I slept out there. Lillia might flip out, seeing as how breaking curfew and staying out all night—among other things—was what landed me here in the first place. That aside, sleeping in the sand would be kind of gross.

I was just about to get up and head back to Chicken Lil's when an incredibly bright white light flooded in through my eyelids.

"Shit!" I jolted in surprise but stayed lying down. At first, I opened my eyes wide, but almost immediately had to narrow them against the blinding rays assaulting my vision. The person standing over me finally moved the flashlight's beam to the side and allowed me to get a closer look.

"Hey there," Kai said at the same instant I realized it was him.

Kai. Of course. Because who could be more perfect to completely ruin my mood? Regardless of the fact that it was already ruined.

I groaned, shutting my eyes again. He switched off the flashlight and I heard him sigh as he made himself comfortable in the sand next to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, annoyed. I opened my eyes again to see he was sitting in a cross-legged position to my left.

"I think that's my line," he replied, grinning at me in the semi-darkness. "You're the one lying in the sand in the middle of the night all alone dressed like that, after all."

It took me a second to react to what he said, but as soon as I did I sat up and hugged my arms around myself, tugging down my shorts, which suddenly seemed indecently tiny, and hunched over to hide as much as I could. Of course, it didn't matter because he'd already seen whatever he'd seen.

I heard him chuckle, and he looked away from me and out over the water. I thought about getting up and just walking away, but something made me stay put.

"How do you feel about Popuri?" I asked, studying him as closely as I could out of the corner of my eye in the darkness. I hadn't planned on asking the question, but suddenly I realized I was slightly curious.

"Why do you care?" he asked immediately, leaning back on his hands. He didn't look surprised, and his tone was rather flat. His eyes were fixed on the sea in front of him.

"She's…my friend," I said, wishing the hesitation in my voice wasn't so evident. Popuri and I definitely were not friends, but there was no way he could know that, right?

"No you're not," he snorted, looking over at me with a knowing smirk. The assurance in his voice, his obvious confidence in what he was saying—even if it was right—grated on my nerves.

"Yes I am," I answered indignantly, maybe a little too quickly. I refused to meet his eyes, but held my gaze steadily to the water.

He laughed, and the sound seemed loud and harsh to my ears. "That's rich. Come on, now—I know I wasn't the only person who was getting on your nerves today. Every time she giggled or tried to flirt with me, you were rolling your eyes."

"Well, I'm not jealous," I snapped, irritated by the implication and how it made my cheeks go hot.

"I didn't say you were."

I finally looked at him then, glaring. "What I think about Popuri is none of your business," I said slowly, letting my anger replace any embarrassment. "So you can keep your brilliant analysis to yourself."

He smiled back, still as calm and suave and unaffected as ever. "My point exactly."

For a moment, my jaw went slack. Did he just outsmart you? I wondered in incredulous horror. Oh my god. He totally just outsmarted you. I recovered as best as I could and turned my head away again, giving him what I hoped was a nonchalant silence while I attempted to plan out my reply. There was something about him that was unnerving and seemed to always leave me speechless, without a clever response.

He beat me to it, however. "Popuri's a nice girl," he remarked, suddenly taking on a thoughtful expression. "But I like girls with a little more…depth. Substance. You know?"

I dug my toes into the sand in disgust. On second thought, I really didn't want to hear what he had to say about Popuri. As much as I couldn't stand her sometimes (all right, make that most of the time), she didn't deserve to be talked about like that, and I didn't want to listen. I got to my feet and started to walk away, but suddenly I felt a hand on my ankle, holding me with a grip just tight enough to prevent me from walking further. I stopped and looked down at him in confusion.

"Hey," he said, with the serious look still on his face, staring me right in the eyes. "I wasn't kidding around before when I said I wanted to get to know you better."

I scoffed, yanking my ankle away and kicking up a bit of sand that I hoped landed in his eyes. I didn't stop to see if it did, though, and instead marched away, off the beach and back towards Chicken Lil's.

My heart was beating abnormally, and I couldn't catch my breath. I found myself walking as fast as I could, though I wasn't in a hurry to get back. If anything, I was more awake than when I'd left. I felt so aggravated, and I hadn't a clue why—I didn't feel that strongly about Popuri. And Kai was just one stupid person on one stupid island.

He didn't matter. None of it did.

It wasn't until I was more than halfway home that I felt the pebbles digging into the soles of my feet, and I realized I'd left my flip-flops back on the beach.

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