Sorry about the story going whacko with typos. As you expressed, you're dying to know what's up with Lavagirl and where Sharkboy is going. You'll just have to read to see how many questions I answer!
Sharkboy rode his bike to the dock where he had met Max. His friend would normally come to the dock on his free afternoons and he hoped this was one of them. As luck would have it, it was. Max was walking down the dock, when he saw Sharkboy he sprinted towards him. "Sharkboy what are you doing here?" he said out of breath when he reached him.
Sharkboy studied the horizon, not wanting Max to see the worry in his eyes. He set his jaw and then turned back to face Max. "Something…something's wrong with Lavagirl." He gulped, not expecting it to affect him that much. Max shook his head in disbelief, "She's…she's dead?" he asked in a croaky voice. Sharkboy looked at him like he was the dumbest thing he'd ever saw. "No stupid! If she was dead I would have taken her to the volcano!" he growled in exasperation and faced the ocean with his back to Max. "How dare he! Thinking I would let her die! I would never let that happen! Never!"
Max took a tentative step towards Sharkboy. "Then…what's wrong?" Sharkboy couldn't take it anymore. He spun around and collapsed on the pier, gripping his hair and gushed out everything.
"About a month ago Lavagirl taught herself to cool and then I taught her how to swim! She was great for about a week, always happy and smiling. Now she always looks so sad and…wilting! Like she's sick, only she doesn't say anything about it to me! She'll just plaster a fake smile on her face and pretend like she's fine! Then, today when we went swimming, it was worse than usual. She made up some lie to go back to the cave. I stayed out and swam for a while, then decided to make her tell me what was going on. But when I got to the cave she was…crying! Bawling her eyes out! Then I came here because…well…" He felt his face burn when he realized that Max probably didn't know anymore than he did.
Max smiled, relieved that Lavagirl was all right. He was also kind of amused that Sharkboy thought that he could solve the labyrinth of a girl's emotions. He shrugged, "I don't know, sounds like she's hiding something from you." He sat down in front of Sharkboy who sighed. "I knew that already. But WHAT is she hiding from me!" He said as he jumped up. He started to pace back and forth. "I mean, she told me that she had learned to cool herself for us! So that I wouldn't have to burn every time I wanted to touch her! So I taught her how to swim and we were having a great time and now…" Max cut him off. "Wait… she said she did for 'us' as in you two as a…a…" He didn't want to say it, afraid that Sharkboy might be angry if he did. But to his surprise, Sharkboy stopped pacing and looked at him, something dawning all across his face.
"She wanted us to be together…" Sharkboy said quietly. "Like…more than friends together!" Excitement lit up his face. "She really does love me!!!" He was practically skipping towards his bike when something stopped him. "Wait! That's why she's crying! She thinks I don't love her back!
He hit himself in the head. "Oh you moron! I'm what is wrong. I'm what's hurting her."
Max watched as his eyes grew wide, "I have to get back!" He hopped on his bike and turned around. "Thanks Max!" With that he rocketed off back home.
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Lavagirl pushed herself up and stared at her hands. She had learned to cool for him, so she could touch him and he could touch her. But he still didn't want to after that. So she learned to swim, so she could also be a part of the ocean. But he still didn't care, he never showed any signs of loving her since that first night he'd discovered her secret.
She sighed and stumbled to the front of the cave and noticed he was gone, but not the note that he had gone to Max's. "He did it. He said he wouldn't…but he left me." Fresh tears sizzled off her face. She'd heated back up. She looked out at the ocean. The one thing he seemed to love other than his father. The ocean, that was his answer for everything.
Where he went for comfort, where he went to think. She hated it and loved it. Loved it for accepting her when she wanted it to. Hated it when it took the one she loved away from her.
If the ocean was the answer for Sharkie, maybe it could be the answer for her too.
She walked out onto the beach and stared at its crashing waves and couldn't help but smile. "Always moving, like Sharkie." She thought of its deep depths, of it's cold waters washing over her and accepting her. "That's it!" she thought. "That's how I can be with Sharkie! I just have to become part of the thing he loves the most! Then he'll love me."
Lavagirl took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew dying didn't hurt; after all…she'd done it before. She took her first step into the dark water as her normal scorching self.
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Sharkboy was pushing his bike to its limit. He was happy that he finally knew how Lavagirl felt about him, but something kept nagging at him. He couldn't help feeling like something was terribly wrong.
Sooooo, what do you think? Will Sharkboy make it in time? (dun-dun-dun) You'll just have to wait til' Monday because I have weekends off! (Grin) But please REVIEW!!!!!
