Drops of water fell onto her skin and cascaded across her stomach. She opened her eyes lazily and looked up at the boy standing over her, sighing heavily.

"You're blocking my sun," she murmured, stretching her arms above her head.

"Wanna learn?" He held up his surfboard and she crinkled her nose.

"Do I look like someone who could surf?"

Logan grinned, "I could teach you."

"Last time you tried to teach me to surf we ended up making out on your surfboard," Veronica reminded him. He grinned again.

"Hence the appeal," he smirked. She laughed brightly and shook her head, sliding her hands back down to her sides. She broke her gaze with her boyfriend when she heard Dick shouting from a few feet away as he put his brother in a headlock.

"You're getting me all wet," she complained after a moment. Mac snickered next to her and she shot a glare her way before looking back up at Logan. He was staring at her intently and she rolled her eyes. "If I agree, will you let me tan next time?" He nodded and smiled at her, reaching out a hand to help her up.

"Damn, and here I am without a camera," Mac teased. Veronica glared at her as Logan pulled her to her feet.

"Don't you have a boyfriend to entertain? I think poor Cassidy could use a break from babysitting." Mac smiled and sat up as Veronica followed Logan toward the water warily.

After he'd finished making up the school he'd missed, it had been a regular sighting to see him at the beach with Veronica and a few of their friends, having a good time and avoiding thoughts of Aaron and Lilly and trials that would be coming up in just a few months. Mac was sure she hadn't seen Logan acting quite so carefree since Lilly had died, and it was nice to see the jackass vacate the premises.

Cassidy plopped down in the sand next to her and promptly cut off her train of thought, running his hands through his damp, salt-soaked hair in a vain attempt to get sand out of it.

"Want some help there, Cass?" Mac laughed lightly and reached over to run a hand through his hair. "Geez, how much sand did he pour on your head?"

Cassidy groaned and rolled his eyes, waving his hand absently in the direction of his older brother. "I lost count after five." She giggled again and sat up on her knees to check for any remaining grains of sand.

"I think it's gone," she smiled and ran her hand through his hair one last time for good measure. Cassidy shivered a little and inwardly cursed himself.

Now was not the time to let her know how she affected him.

Dick dropped his surfboard in the sand at Mac's feet and she scrunched up her nose when he leaned over to kiss her. "You're all wet," she complained. He opened his mouth to respond and she slapped her hand over his mouth. "Don't even think about it," she said seriously. He grinned and stuck his tongue out to lick her palm and she shrieked.

"And here I thought you liked it wet."

Cassidy furrowed his eyebrows in disgust as Mac blushed furiously. "Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"You say shut up, I hear fu-"

Veronica let out a piercing scream from the water just a few yards away and Dick was effectively cut off, blinking as he turned to see what had caused the commotion. Logan was laughing hysterically and Veronica was glaring at him, arms crossed in front of her chest, his surfboard flipped over next to her.

"Do you see? I am not made for surfing. Give me a camera and I can do anything; give me a surfboard and I almost drown," Veronica huffed. Logan attempted to stifle his giggles and reached for her, pulling her closer to him.

Dick turned back to his girlfriend to find her grinning at their friends. Cassidy was chuckling beside her and he noticed for the first time how often they were together.

When Veronica squealed again he forgot about his discovery and turned his attention to mocking the tiny blonde.

--

She leaned tiredly against Logan's X-Terra and closed her eyes while he unlocked the doors. She'd actually managed to stand up on his surfboard a few times, although her attempts to officially surf were proven futile when she fell over the side of the board and into Logan's arms every time.

Mac stood next to her and yawned. "Why do we have to be social?"

"Because we've been cursed with beauty, brains, and popular boyfriends," Veronica said gravely.

"Hmph," Mac sighed and glanced around the parking lot. Dick was talking to Casey Gant by his car while Cassidy attempted to track down his car keys. Her gaze settled on Madison Mackenzie and she frowned. "What's up with Madison?"

Veronica's eyes snapped open and she attempted to look alert as she looked in the direction that Mac was staring. "She looks particularly pissy today."

Mac nodded absently, "Who do you think messed with her this time?"

Veronica opened her mouth to respond when Dick started making catcalls in Madison's direction. "Hey, Maddy, care for a ride?" he gestured behind him to his SUV, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. The blonde scrunched up her face in disgust as she continued on her path down to the beach. Veronica frowned and Mac scoffed, pushing herself off of Logan's car.

"Scratch that," she muttered, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"Classy," Veronica commented. She rolled her eyes and Logan walked around the hood of his car, taking her hand and knotting their fingers together.

"Ready to get out of here?"

She looked up at him and smiled slightly, nodding. She and Mac exchanged goodbyes and she climbed into the X-Terra while Mac stalked over to her boyfriend.

Dick grinned as she approached him and held out his arms invitingly. "Mackey!"

Mac rolled her eyes and stopped a few feet in front of him, arms folded across her chest. "Why do you insist on being such an asshole?" Dick blinked at her and Cassidy looked up from the search for his car keys when he heard the tone of her voice.

"Since when do you care about Madison Mackenzie?"

"We may not be best friends but that doesn't give you a right to talk to her like that," Mac said seriously. "What the hell has she ever done to you?"

"Oh, come on, Mac. She's not one of us." Mac's eyebrows shot up and she laughed mirthlessly.

"Not one of us? Oh, and here I could've sworn she was sitting with us at lunch last year," she said sarcastically. She turned to Cassidy and let out a sigh. "Do you need a ride home, Cassidy? I've got my car." Dick clenched his jaw while Cassidy nodded shyly, walking around his brother and following Mac to the green beetle parked across the lot.

--

He nervously twiddled his thumbs in his lap. Alone, in a car, with his brother's girlfriend; no, scratch that: alone, in a car, with the one girl he'd ever taken an interest in.

Nervous didn't even begin to cover how he was feeling.

He could feel sweat coating the back of his neck, his palms following suit as he stared out the window at the familiar scenery. Mac's voice broke through his haze and he jumped a little, turning his head to look at her with wide eyes. She smiled a little and repeated her question, "Ice cream?"

Cassidy nodded his head and swallowed back the lump in his throat.

"Ice cream sounds good," he agreed. He mentally smiled when his voice didn't waver.

--

"No way," she shook her head emphatically. "You are insane."

"You're honestly telling me that you didn't enjoy his adaptation?"

"How can you? Seriously! With the guns and the Hawaiian shirts? Shakespeare probably rolls over in his grave every time someone hits play on their DVD remote," Mac said seriously. Cassidy laughed a little and shook his head, taking another bite of the sundae that was sitting in front of him.

"You have to admit that Baz Luhrmann has an interesting way of directing, though."

"I'll give him that much. Not saying it's a good or bad thing," she smiled at him and he gulped, looking down at his ice cream again.

A comfortable silence fell over their booth and Mac contemplated the sprinkles in her sundae while she licked a few stray drops of soy-based ice cream off of her spoon.

"Did you know Dick doesn't like sprinkles?"

He blinked and looked up at her, the bite of ice cream he'd been about to take hovering unsteadily on his spoon. "Yeah … he used to throw them at me when we were little and my mom would put them on cupcakes." She laughed brightly and then frowned when the reality of what he'd said sank in.

"How do you put up with it?"

He shrugged a little and traced patterns in his bowl. "You get used to it," he said honestly. Mac frowned again and placed a hand on his arm, squeezing it gently in reassurance.

He almost dropped his spoon because his hands were so slick.

--

Mac pulled the car into the Casablancas driveway and smiled at him.

"Thank you for keeping me company," she said softly. He nodded a little and absently wiped his hands on his jeans before gripping the release handle on the passenger side door. "Want me to take you to pick up your car tomorrow?"

"Um … sure. I mean, if it's not out of your way or anything. I don't want to be a burden," he said hastily. Mac smiled again.

"Cassidy, it's not a problem," she promised. He nodded and offered her a small, hesitant smile as he unlatched the door and got out of the car. He watched her pull out and she waved at him as she turned to go back to her house. He returned the wave with a small smirk and sighed to himself.

"Beaver!"

His eyes widened and he slowly turned around to see his brother standing on the porch and smirking.

"Where the hell have you been?"

His eyes widened a little more and he clenched his hands into fists at his sides to keep them from shaking. "Nowhere, man," he said easily.

"Took you two a while to get here from the beach; didn't know Mac drove like grandma," Dick said sarcastically. Cassidy swallowed hard and walked up the steps, brushing past his brother on his way into the house. When he didn't respond Dick narrowed his eyes. "Beaver!"

Cassidy ignored him and continued on the path to his room, running the last few feet when Dick called his name again and started up the stairs after him. The door closed tightly behind him and he let out a breath, closing his eyes as he slid to the floor and leaned his head back against the wood.