A/N: YAY! I've finished tafe for the year! HOLIDAYS FOR ME!...well, kind of.
I've been getting bombarded with shifts lately at work. Everyone wants to get married in the good weather and have Christmas parties, so I have to go in to set it all up...Its such tiring work and whenever I get home i'm so drained I don't feel like writing. Bluergh. Work sucks, but then again, who doesn't know that already? ANYWAY, consider this an early Christmas present :D
Alexis looked forlornly out of the limo window, her head in her hand. She had her mobile in her hand, flipping it open and shut constantly, desperate for anyone to text her. She'd already sent out a mass text to everyone on her contacts list, telling them that she'd be on holiday with the family for a couple of weeks. She knew they'd be devastated, it was school holidays after all, they wouldn't be able to hang out with her at all. All plans for concerts, shopping days and movie nights were now totally ruined because the almighty Queen of Solaria decided to drag her family on this pointless trip. So what if she wanted to re-connect with her old friends, The Winx, or whatever they're called (Alexis mostly zoned out whenever her Mum started rambling on about 'The good old days') What about Alexis and her current friends? This was the last school holidays before they'd all go off to secondary school, and Alexis was the only one heading off to Alfea, so this was her last chance to hang out with them properly before she was shipped off to another realm to attend some preppy boarding school. Anyway, because of this great tragedy she expected her friends would be so horrifically saddened by this news they would be texting her non-stop, begging her to stay and telling her how much they wanted her to hang out with them and how UN-fair it was she had to go on this stupid holiday. It had been three hours since she sent the text and so far all she'd gotten were two replies.
'have fun in the sun lol : ) so jealous I cant go xoxo'
and
'dnt forget 2 give me back my top u borrowed before you leave k'
Definitely NOT the responses she was hoping for. Maybe she would send a second round of texts later.
"Are you just going to sit there looking mopey the whole car ride? Because if you are, could you just turn your head slightly more to the left so I don't have to look at it? I get car sick easily, you see"
"Shut up! You're not funny" Alexis snapped at her brother, Nate, who was sitting across from her on the other side of the limo.
"Ooh, snappy. What is it? Are you pissed that none of your friends miss you yet?"
Alexis didn't dignify this with a response, though she did glare daggers at him.
Nate just smirked as he whipped out his own phone "Now let me check my phone. Oh wow, twenty new messages! All from school friends, and I only just checked it half an hour ago. Shall I read them out? Lets see, one from Darian 'shame your goin away, catch up some other time' . Next ones from Luke 'sucks we cant hang out, txt me when your by the pool with some babes lol'. Mark, Simon and Lewis have all sent texts about how me bailing on the group camping trip we had planned sucks more than anything, not that I even wanted to go, but still. Got some from Alfea girls too, here's one from Kelsey 'awwwww gunna miss u ova the summer :'( xoxo' another from some girl named Elicia, don't even remember who that is to be honest but apparently she's going to miss me a lot too...do you want me to continue, there's a lot more"
"You are the most arrogant jerk I have ever met"
"You're such a flatterer" Nate smirked.
"I'm not even kidding, sometimes I wonder why any of these people like you!"
"Just a wild guess, but maybe it's because I'm a ridiculously good looking prince with great dress sense and irresistible charm?"
"Pretentious twat" Alexis scowled, throwing a swift kick towards Nate's shin's ,which he managed to dodge.
"You know it really is surprising that no one misses you, what with your sweet personality and lady like demeanour" Nate muttered sarcastically.
"I don't even see why I had to come on this trip" Alexis snapped, slinking down in her seat and crossing her arms, thoroughly fed up "you could've just left me at home!"
"For once I agree with you, we should have left you at home"
"Will both of you knock it off! I am trying to have a conversation!" Stella's voice came from further down the seat of the long stretch limo, her tone stern.
Both Nate and Alexis begrudgingly shut up, still glaring at each other, as Stella stared down hard at them, her hand covering the mouthpiece to her phone.
"Yes, Mum" They chorused together, rolling their eyes.
Stella seemed satisfied as she shifted her focus back to her call "Sorry, I'm back, now where were we? Ah, yes, now I want all of the available shopping treasury money to go on my newest credit card-...yes I'm aware it's the twelfth one I've ordered this year-...yes, you did hear correctly, there is a treasury solely for the purpose of shopping-...yes...yes...what do you mean it's only got a $50, 000 limit? That's absurd!- and oh, wait, can you hold for another minute? I'm getting another call"
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"Okay, okay, hold it! I've got another one!" Musa declared "A skeleton goes into a bar and orders a beer..." she paused for effect , holding everyone attention"..and a mop!"
Bloom burst out laughing and clapped a hand over her mouth "Ohmygod, you are SO funny!"
Both ladies collapsed over themselves laughing, while the others looked on, more amused by them than the joke. About a dozen empty cocktail glasses sat on the table around them.
"I don't get it.." Ruby mumbled to Riven as she watched her mother collapse in another fit of laughter.
"Just go a long with it sweetie, at least you get to go to bed soon" Riven said, as if he longed for an early bed time too.
It was just turning into that part of the day when the sun is beginning to set and dusk was setting in. Flood lights around the pool began to switch on and the area around the pool was pretty much deserted apart from the group of old friends.
Helia watched as underwater lights in the pool came on, lighting up the water from beneath. He checked his watch from his pocket and frowned. "It really is getting late" He turned to Flora "You'd think Stella would have arrived by now"
Flora nodded, looking up at the sky "Now that you mention it yeah, it'll be getting dark soon. Maybe we should call"
Tecna had been listening in and she reached into her bag for her phone "I'll make the call then, I mean I know it's like Stella to be late but this is ridiculous" she joked. She dialled the number and held the phone up to her ear 'It's ringing' she mouthed to the others as they went quiet.
"Tell her I love her!" Bloom shouted out between giggles.
"And that the drinks here are amazing!" Musa all but shouted.
There was a click on the other end of the phone and Tecna straightened up, shushing the others.
'Hello, this is Stella, speak to me'
"Hey, Stella, It's Tecna"
"Oooh, hey Tec! Were just on our way to the air station now in the car, we should arrive later this evening, cant wait to see you!"
Tecna did a double take "What do you mean, are you not even on the ship yet!"
"..no, should I be? Look, no need to worry, I've organised it all. I know getting here tonight will be a little early, but we can check into our rooms and have a little sleep then meet with you in the afternoon as planned , No stress"
"...you do realise we were all supposed to be arriving today, right?"
"...what?"
"Yeah, were all here already" Tecna fought the urge to laugh.
"Oh...well, guess I got a little mixed up then"
"Don't worry, no big deal, at least we know your coming after all"
"Ugh, sorry about this! Don't wait up for us, I guess you'll see us in the morning then"
"Yeah, alright, see you then, bye"
"Ciao darling, again, sorry!"
Just before she hung up however, Tecna suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask "Oh, wait , wait, before you go..." She said hurriedly.
"Yes?"
Tecna suddenly felt a bit awkward "are you...you know...is Maximilian coming?"
Tecna could only hear silence on the other end and she winced. This was a touchy subject, and even the others listening in went a little rigid in their seats.
After what felt like an hour, but in reality was only a few seconds, Stella finally spoke.
"Ah, no. It's just me and the kids...Max is staying home to, you know, look after the kingdom and all that...it was best if one of stayed after all and he wasn't really part of the old group was he?" Tecna could hear her friend give a very forced sounding laugh.
"No, no he wasn't. But That's fine with us if It's just you, as long as us girls are back together right?' Tecna tried sounding cheery .
Stella let out another little laugh before both women settled into another uncomfortable silence.
"Um...Tecna?"
"Yes?"
"was...was Brandon invited?"
Tecna bit her lip "Yeah. Yeah, he was...That's okay isn't it?"
"Oh, yes. Fine, fine, fine, it really is just...fine. It's been a few years but...yeah, no. It'll be good to see him..." Stella practically rambled, trying to sound very non-chalant but failing miserably. You could still hear the esge to her voice.
"...Stella? Are you sure you're alri-"
"Oh my god, I completely forgot I left that guy from the bank on hold! Sorry, but i've got to go now, other call waiting. Great talking to you, can't wait to see everyone again, kisses kisses, ciao, bye!"
And then the line disconnected. Tecna exhaled deeply, letting out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. There was a tense silence among the adults. They all looked around at each other before Riven decided to speak up.
"Well if nobody else wants to say it, I will. I'm glad that Maximilian prick isn't coming" He said strongly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Language!" Musa suddenly scowled at her husband, gesturing towards Ruby who sat on his lap. Even being intoxicated couldn't stop the mothering instincts.
Riven pulled a sour face "Well, that Maximilian , not-so-very-nice-person then"
Flora tutted "you shouldn't say that, he is her husband after all!"
"Doesn't mean I have to like him" Riven scowled.
"Yeah!" Musa chimed in, siding with her husband "Besides, I don't think Stella even likes him anyway, so we should be able to slag him off as much as we like!"
"Well, don't you dare say anything about him in front of her!" Tecna pointed a finger at Musa "Who she married was her choice, and you have to respect that"
"Oh, yes, such a respectable choice to pick money and power over love-"
"Don't start, Riven!" Bloom snapped at him in defence over her best friend. "Brandon wasn't royalty so she couldn't marry him if she wanted to keep her throne, you know that!"
Riven opened his mouth to say something back but Helia cut across him "Look, everyone needs to just stop this right here. It's been a nice day, were all together again, lets not ruin it with this particular...topic. Besides we've had eighteen years of the same argument and it hasn't changed anything, so lets just drop it, alright?"
It really showed how effective Helia was as a teacher at times like this, when everyone shut up and slunk down in their chairs like they'd been scolded. They all muttered their agreements and Riven just folded his arms and let out a frustrated sigh "Still...you wonder what It's going to be like when Stella and Brandon are in the same room together again"
"Well, they're adults. I'm sure it will be fine." Flora tried to sound positive, but you could see from the still worried expression on her face that even she thought this might be wishful thinking.
"Plus, he's not coming for another couple of days due to hold-ups with work at the castle, right Bloom?" Tecna asked.
Bloom nodded "Yeah, he's just handling a few things in the castle for us, he's still Sky's right hand man after all. I think he wanted to get a few more things organised before he came and joined us"
"That or he's purposefully avoiding coming all together" Riven pointed out bluntly. This got him another round of unimpressed looks from the group and he held his hands up in defense "Fine, fine, I'm shutting up now"
Musa looked around at all the solemn faces, tapping her fingers around her now empty glass. "Right, I need another drink!"
Tecna sighed "I think we all could do with another drink.."
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Ella sat on the edge of the pool as she watched the under water lights of the pool flicker on from beneath her. She shivered as a slight breeze picked up in the summer air, the sun was setting and it was getting colder. She decided to slip back into the pool, to avoid the iciness. She didn't know how long Flyn had been gone or when he'd be back, or if he even would be back, so she stated to swim back over towards Katie. As she got closer she could see Katie's expression clearer. She was looking off into space and she looked quite sad...and Ella felt another pang of guilt, as she herself knew how it felt to be the one left out so often, and she couldn't believe she had actually done it to someone else.
Just as she had almost reached her, she saw Flyn suddenly run past her on the pavement, holding...well, from this angle Ella couldnt quite tell what he was holding, but it looked slightly like a gigantic inflatable Dolphin...
"Hey Katie!" he called out, and Katie turned , shocked out of her daze as she looked up at this boy she had never met...and her eyes widened even more when she saw the giant dolphin.
"Um...hi" she stammered out, uncertainly, looking at the ring and then back to him, still confused. "Do I know you?"
"He's Flyn, one of Musa's sons" Ella answered for him as she finally reached the edge of the pool on the other side of Katie. Katie jumped in shock again as she heard Ella and turned to face her.
"Ella! Your back"
"Yeah" Ella smiled sheepishly "It's just..you know...yeah"
"I think what she's trying to say is 'sorry for being a complete and utter idiot by leaving you sitting here by yourself, I now realise how completely rude it was, but really, I've realised the error of my ways" Flyn smiled down at Katie, dolphin tucked neatly under his arm, and she gushed.
Ella glared at Flyn but turned back to Katie "Yeah, he's an idiot but what he said was basically the gist of it"
"Oh, well like I said, I really didn't mind..." but she couldn't help but look much cheerier. The two girls smiled at each other and it was clear there were no hard feelings. She then looked at Flyn again . Musa was one one of Tecna's closer friends out of the group, so Flyn and Katie had met quite a lot when they were kids too, but like Ella, not for a fair few years. "And I hardly recognised you!" she said, looking up at him.
"That's good, because I wouldn't have known it was you either if Ella hadn't of told me, so were even" he grinned cheekily. "Still, good to back with my two old princess buddies"
"You know ,It's a bit awkward when you keep pointing out that were princess's" Ella added lightly, and Katie nodded. I mean being a princess in your home realm I guess was a bit of big deal, but in places like Alfea and generally anywhere that was popular between realms and planets, such as this very resort, it was nice to feel a bit more normal. So many royals apparently came on holiday here (at least according to the brochure) it just made you one princess of many. Plus, Ella had never liked the connection people had between 'Princess' and 'spoilt rich kid'.
Flyn shrugged his shoulders "Fine. I'll treat you like I would any old 'commoner' then. I honestly wouldn't peg either of you for royalty anyway, not just by looking, but Mum's the one who drills it into our heads that we have Princess's for friends. I think she likes showing off to people back home that we have royal connections"
Flyn suddenly slapped down the inflatable dolphin toy down into the water.
"Okay, seriously, where did you get that? You didn't steal it off some kid did you?" Ella stared at it as it floated towards her.
"Of course not. Do you see any kids around here?I had to find other ways of getting it. There's a pool rental place just round the corner" Flyn jerked his thumb over his shoulder off in some general direction.
"Oh, that's where my mum went earlier to get the water wings for Elliot" Katie added in.
"See, not lying. I had just planned to get one of those big ring shaped ones, but this one caught my eye and just begged me to take him instead" Flyn smiled, giving the inflatable toy a pat on its blue plastic head.
"So you talk to inflatable dolphins now, do you?"
"Only the nice ones"
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Jaydn was bored.
Bored, bored, bored, bored.
He wished he still had his RC car, he would've liked to have tested if it worked under water, but Musa still had it and now it was safely stuffed away in one of her suitcases. He's have to sneak in and steal it back later...but for now he was just bored. He had swum around a bit, but it was boring if you didn't have any toys to play with and since it was a pool there wasn't even any point in trying to hunt for crocodiles. Lame.
Of course, being eight, he tried to solve the problem of boredom in the way that most eight year olds would. "Daaaaad, i'm booooored"
Riven sighed as Jaydn hung off the corner of his arm "Then go and find one of the other kids to play with"
"But they're oooold"
"Elliot and Molly are your age"
"They're both nine.."
"That's only a year off"
"...still older.."
Riven didn't reply and turned back to the conversation he had been having with Helia "So anyway, I said to the post man, these stamps are obscene-"
"But dad I'm booooooreeeed!" Jaydn whined even louder and tugged especially hard on his dads arm.
"And i'm not going to do anything about it! So either go off and play with Elliot and Molly or sit there and zip it, alright" Riven shook him off his arm and stared at his son, showing that he meant it. Jaydn just groaned, dragging his feet as he walked away.
Molly and Elliot were both sitting on one of the closer deckchairs with their towels wrapped around them like capes, and both of them were peering at Elliot's hand-held game station as Jaydn sauntered over, looking pouty. Elliot was too absorbed playing, but Molly looked up from watching the screen to notice Jaydn.
"Hi!" she chirped, being friendly. Elliot then looked up too but he didn't say anything.
"...what you playing?" he mumbled, looking at the game.
"Super star arcade bounce 3" Elliot answered shortly.
"He's really good!He was just on level five of the candy land stage and he only had to try twice to get past the stage two ghost, I always get stuck on that bit" Molly giggled.
"Oh..cool...can I play?"
Elliot looked hesitant to let the game leave his hands "Well..alright...but you need to start a new game so mine doesn't get deleted. If you lose I'd have to start again" Elliot tapped some buttons on the screen before handing it over.
Jaydn looked a little miffed "But the first levels are always so boring in games like this, only takes me like two seconds to get through 'em" he said as he grabbed the game for himself.
"You can't do it in two seconds, that's impossible" Elliot mumbled.
"I said 'like'!"
Jaydn started up the game and the other two peered over his shoulder to watch as the music started up.
"Wait, what do I press to jump?"
"The A button"
"Oh, do a bounce, do a bounce!"
"Collect the bubblegum pieces, they get you extra points"
"Run away from the hedgehog, if you touch him it shrinks you!"
" Why is my character flashing rainbow now?"
"your special power got activated! Shoot the bunnies!"
"Is that meant to be a bunny?"
"No, don't shoot that, it'll-"
GAME OVER.
"...This is a stupid game and I don't want to play any more!" Jaydn said crossly, shoving the game back into Elliots hands as the games condescending little losing tune started up.
"Just because you're not good at it" Elliot smiled cheekily.
"Yeah, well, whatever.."
"Do you want to play something different then? Something we can all play?" Molly suggested.
Elliot shrugged "Alright, i've got other games back up in my rooms"
"No, not computery games, something different"
"Like chasey?" Jaydn suggested.
"I don't like running" Elliot shook his head.
"Why don't we play with the older kids? Look, they've got a dolphin!" Molly pointed over across to the deep end where Ella, Katie and Flyn were.
"Where did they get that! I want one!" Jaydn eyed up the inflatable toy like it was a pot of gold (to a bunch of eight and nine year olds, an inflatable dolphin was probably considered better than ten pots of gold combined)
"We can just play with theirs, yeah?" Molly smiled.
Jaydn and Elliot looked unsure "But they'll mind" said Elliot "Katie never plays with me, and she gets annoyed if I ask..."
"and Flyn hangs me upside down by my legs if I even touch any of his stuff ever"
"Well, Ella plays with me all the time and lets me touch her stuff whenever, so It's not a problem...but if you boys are both too chicken to play with the big kids, I don't care because I want to play with that dolphin" and with that she smiled, shrugged off her towel and ran off , leaving the boys the option to follow her or not.
They both stood there for a second watching her before Jaydn turned to Elliot "This is why I don't like to play with girls"
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"Look, I'll explain it again. Its a floatation device. Floatation. As in it has the ability to float...which means you won't drown...because you will be floating...right?"
"Well she obviously gets that part, she's not an idiot"
Both Ella and Flyn were in the water, holding onto the sides of the dolphin, both looking up at Katie who's feet were still determined to stick to dry land. "But what if I fall off?"
"Ella's a strong swimmer and I'm a strong person in general, we'd rescue you!"
"...You're sure it wont...pop...or anything" She asked doubtfully.
"Its designed to have people ride it, you'll be fine!" Ella coaxed her "come on, we rented it-"
"-I rented it"
"...Fine, Flyn rented it just so you could get in the water"
"Do it, do it, do it!" Flyn chanted.
"Okay, okay, fine!" Katie finally gave in, moving cautiously towards the giant inflatable dolphin as both Flyn and Ella held it steady for her in the water. In one quick little leap she landed straight on it's back,letting out a small squeal as she almost fell straight off into the water. She let out a nervous laugh as she realised she was, in fact, floating perfectly.
Both Flyn and Ella let out smalls whoops "See? Not too hard was it" Flyn smiled at her.
"So now what?" Katie asked, taking a hold of the two handles on either side of the dolphins head. "I feel silly being the only one on this..what are you guys going to do?"
"Be your faithful chariot drivers and push you along of course"
Both Ella and Katie laughed as Flyn said this, but when he grabbed onto one side of the dolphin and gestured for Ella to grab the other, it was apparent that he wasn't joking at all. Of course Ella didn't mind going along with it and happily swam around.
"Oh, you guys don't actually have to push me, I can probably paddle myself" Katie muttered feeling a bit self conscious. "I feel mean making you do this.."
"Please, you're not making us do anything. We are happy to serve you, oh princess of the pool" Flyn said as he started to kick with his feet, Ella copying, as the little pool toy pushed forward across the water.
"Princess of the pool?" Katie laughed, half out of embarrassment "I feel so silly right now" she Noticed that the older kids, Lucy, Violet and the two boys, were watching them all now and she felt her face go red. Before she could go back on her decision and jump right off of the dolphin, there was one big splash behind all of them.
"Molly!" Ella shrieked, as her little sister rose to the surface, doggy paddling over to them.
"Sorry" she giggled, not looking even remotely sorry. "I want to play with you guys"
"Well were not really 'playing' though.." Ella trailed off.
"Yes you are, I heard you. Katie is the princess of the pool, you said. Did you already tell them about our game?" Molly asked.
Ella suddenly felt a little embarrassed, feeling both Flyn and Katie looking at her " No, I haven't" and she shot a sharp look at her sister, hoping that nine year olds could read take a hint.
"Should I tell them, then?"
Obviously they couldn't.
"No, moll, It's alright, you don't have to-"
But Molly either didn't hear her, or didn't care "Well, It's this game we made up where we're mermaid princess's! We play it all the time in the pool at home, we even have our own special mermaid names. I'm Crystal and Ella is pearl!" she explained, proudly.
Ella could already see the smile creep it's way onto Flyn's face as he turned to face her. "Oh really?" he said in such a smarmy voice. "Peearly" He taunted, smiling even more as he called her by her 'mermaid' alter ego.
Ella burnt with shame. She half wondered if the hotel pool staff would mind if she used their facilities right there and then to drown herself and escape the embarrassment, though I doubt they would want to start their morning shift by dragging her red-faced body from the pool. She decided against it, killing herself might spoil the mood of the holiday, and instead just glared at her oblivious sister.
"So are we playing then?" she asked chirpily.
"Sure" Flyn grinned "What should my mermaid name be then?"
"Boys can't be mermaids" Molly pointed out.
"Yeah, well I'm a merman, aren't I" He countered, not missing a beat.
"More like a squid" Ella muttered, but loud enough for him too hear.
Flyn just smirked at her "A squid? I can work with that" and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he started slamming his arms down into the water and splashing relentlessly towards Ella. She shrieked, holding up one of her hands.
"Argh, stop it you jerk!" As she started started trying to splash back.
"Run mermaid princess's! Or you will be at the giant squids mercy!" He cackled as Molly and Katie shrieked too, and all three girls began to try and get away. Molly doggy paddled as fast as she could, and Ella pushed off the side of the inflatable dolphin to get away, leaving Katie to paddle away on the toy for herself.
"I'll get you, I'll get you all!" Flyn put on an over the top evil laugh as he kept on splashing, really getting into it. He was rarely the type who worried about what other people thought, and really, acting like a villainous squid in the middle of a hotel pool was one of the less embarrassing things he's done in public.
Drawn over by all the splashing and shrieks, Elliot and Jaydn had come running over and stood on the edge of the pool , Elliot with his googles already on and floaties on hand "What're you doing!" Jaydn yelled over to his older brother.
Flyn didn't break character "Get them, my evil henchmen, bring me the mermaid Princess's!" he said, pointing dramatically at Ella, Katie and Molly as the frantically swam down to the shallows of the pool.
Jaydn didn't need any other coaxing as he bombied straight into the water. "I'M A SHARK! I'LL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!' he yelled as he came up to the surface, swimming off to chase the girls.
"I'm a great white shark, they're the biggest and most dangerous!" Elliot called out, taking the more cautious approach of lowering himself into the water before paddling a lot slower after them.
Ella was the first to reach the more shallow end, were she could just get her feet touching the bottom. She couldn't help but laugh a little as she watched Molly shriek as Jaydn swam under water and tried to pinch at her legs to 'bite' her, and Elliot tried to hunt down his sister. Maybe it was a little embarrassing to be known as the fifteen year old who still played mermaid princess's, but she dared anyone to do this and not have a little fun. As the smile played on her lips she dipped herself under the surface, swimming along the bottom of the pool. Suddenly, she was pearl again, just like she pretended at home. She even stuck her legs together and kicked them as one, like she had a real mermaid tail. Thinking back to the mermaids that sat at the front of the hotel in that magnificent fountain, Ella couldn't imagine a time she where she would ever stop wanting to be a mermaid. A split second later, she felt something grab her from behind, two strong arms wrapping themselves around her waist and pulling her up from the water. She screamed and spluttered as her head broke the surface.
"Gotcha'!" Flyn laughed, holding onto her tight.
"Put. Me. Down!" Ella kicked her legs in the water and struggled to unwrap his arms from around her, but it was as if he had a vice like grip. "I am not kidding! You're so lame!"
"Don't worry, I'll save you!" and Molly swam over and launched herself up from the water to grab onto Flyns back, hanging tightly onto his shoulders. "Let her go evil squid!". Katie decided she would help too and began using both her arms to splash as much as she could at Flyn, who couldn't fight back.
"Katie! You're getting me as well!" Ella half shrieked, half laughed as she closed her eyes against the barrage of water. The two boys decided to abandon all sides as they began splashing at Flyn and Ella too. It was manic. Water everywhere and their playful screams filling the entire pool complex.
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"With the way they're screaming I wouldn't be surprised if half the rooms could hear them" Noah laughed dryly, looking up at all the little balconies that stuck out from the side of the hotel.
"They won't actually get in trouble will they?" Lucy asked, worriedly.
"Nah" Blaine said, absent mindedly flicking through his music player "They're kids having fun in a pool, nothing wrong with that"
Lucy still looked over to where her sisters were playing. Ella had now gotten herself free and was chasing after Flyn in the shallows, waving one of Elliot's floaties above her head as a weapon, with the others still splashing wildly. She half wanted to join them. Lucy wasn't as water obsessed as Ella, after all, chlorine water is totally bad for your hair and skin and makes your nail polish chip, but anything would be better than sitting in the conversation she was part of right now. Well, that might be an overstatement, she was hardly part of this conversation at all!
Practically the entire time she'd been sitting here, the two boys would just sit and stare soppy eyed towards Violet. Noah rambled on about all these boring things to her, about his piano lessons and how he was top in his class, or about this 'really interesting' book he'd been reading that actually sounded dead boring. Violet seemed to listen patiently, keeping her eyes fixed with his and nodding, and every so often she make a little noise of admiration or make a comment about how she'd 'never met anyone so musically gifted before!' . This of course would make Noah flush with pride and he'd stumble over his words as she shamelessly stroked his ego. Blaine was only marginally better. She asked him about what he was listening too, and when he handed over his headphones for her to have a listen she went on about his 'great taste in music' and by then he'd already agreed to write down a list of songs he thinks she'd like so she can download them when she goes back home!
Lucy just ended up sitting quietly off to the side, practically ignored. Something she was definitely not used to being. Ever. She couldn't figure out how Violet could seem so cold towards her, and then act so absolutely sweet and nice towards the two boys! It's as if she just switched on a totally new personality if the person she was talking to just so happened to be a boy.
Lucy knew Violet wasn't that popular back at Alfea. Yes, she was very pretty, but that could only get you so far. As far as she knew Violet didn't really hang around with any group of girls at school, she was always by herself and un-talkative, if you could find her around at all. This kind of distant nature certainly didn't make her miss popularity. Well, that and the things Lucy had only heard of..
Now, Lucy was not usually the type of girl to gossip, and was even less inclined to listen to any rumours she heard around school, she much preferred to meet someone and get to know them herself before making any judgements, but she couldn't help but think back to the type of things she heard other girls say about Violet.
'I heard she goes to Red Fountain almost every Saturday night and sneaks into the boys dorms'
'really? To do what?'
'What do you think?
'yeah, It's true. My boyfriend says he knows at least five of his friends have hooked up with her!'
'Apparently she's so easy. I swear every time I've seen her hanging around magix, she's out with a different guy'
'What, as in different boyfriends?'
'pfft, you don't even have to be her boyfriend to get anything from her, she probably gives it away left right and centre. That's the only reason they like her anyway'
'Plus the way she dresses! Her tops are so low cut'
'I know a girl in my charms class who's friends with someone who used to dorm with her, and she said she doesn't even wear underwear under all her little mini skirts!'
'Ew! That is sooo gross! I would never do that'
'and to think her dad is actually a professor at Red Fountain. I wonder if he knows half his class has had a turn on her! Haha'
Lucy had always refrained from joining any of these conversations, even if Violet had been rude to her, since there wasn't any proof to these claims anyway, and she did feel some sort of twinge of loyalty to Violet, knowing that their mothers were such good friends. But now, as she watched the way Violet looked at the two boys under her half lidded eyes, reached out her arm to give them light touches on their arms and positioned herself in that little bikini to be just that little bit closer to them, giggling coyly at every other dumb thing they said...well, it certainly gave a little bit of evidence to back up those 'rumours'...
A/N: aaand end chapter! Looks like things are only get worse between Lucy and Violet, and what kind of person is Violet really? Is she as bad as she seems, misunderstood or perhaps even worse than you can imagine...
and Alexis and Nate are finally here! Too bad it's a little late (good work there Stella) especially since Alexis seems to have missed the little pool side bonding session Ella, Katie, Flyn and the little ones all had. Will she fit right in or spend her holidays glued to her phone..
Plus, what's going to happen when Nate, the super playboy, meets Violet, super playgirl. A recipe for disaster or will they hit it off straight away?
And of course, I have to comment on the most WTF thing i've put in this story so far...WHO THE HELL IS MAXIMILIAN? Why yes, my lovely readers, looks like Stella didn't end up marrying Brandon at all. While all the other winx seemed to have their fairy tale ending, Stella seemed to miss out...but that doesn't necessarily mean she still isn't in love with him, does it?
OOOH i'm such an evil Authoress : D
