Chapter Six:
Summer Lovin' And Mean Greetings
I was packing the giant bento box into the plastic bag when I heard footsteps enter the living room.
"I'm in the kitchen!" I called, turning around and seeing Kim, Rosalya, Alexy, Armin, Lysander and Castiel enter. "You guys are a lot earlier than I expected"
Kim shrugged her shoulders. "The earlier we get there, the better the spot we can find"
I nodded as Rosalya spotted the bento box, her mouth slightly drooling and I giggled. A meow cut me off as Happy wandered into the room, seeing all the strangers and hissed at them.
Castiel raised an eyebrow. "Who's the mangy beast?"
I ignored him and knelt on my knees, Happy running over and still glaring at Castiel.
"I'll be gone for today, so look after the house okay?" I asked and Happy turned his attention from the red head and licked my palm. I smiled and stood up as Lysander grabbed the bento from the bench.
"Let's go!" Rosalya squealed, dragging my wrist and out of the house.
As I was laying out the blanket, a thought occurred to me. "How come Nathaniel isn't here?"
Kim smirked at me as she set up the umbrellas for the shade.
"Are you missing him already?" she teased and I frowned, cocking my head to the side.
"Well yeah, shouldn't he be here since you invited Lysander, Castiel and the twins?"
Rosalya slapped her forehead, shaking her head in disbelief while Kim looked like she was holding back a laugh.
I was confused when Alexy jogged over, grinning broadly at the three of us.
"I need two people on my team for volley ball!" he announced and Kim cracked her knuckles while Rosalya squealed in delight. Rosalya ran back towards where the others had set up a volley ball net while Kim looked at me.
"Are you gonna be fine here on your own?" she asked as I sat down on the yellow blanket.
I nodded. "Besides, Marco is watching" I pointed to where a black SUV was parked in the car parks and she sighed, shaking her head.
"Sometimes I wonder why you're not bothered by that guy" she muttered and walked away to join the game. I frowned, thinking about her words.
I'm not bothered by it; Marco's been with me even since I was five… I thought as my mind went back to a memory.
I was standing in the shopping plaza with Mom. The whole place was packed with families, couples and individuals doing their shopping. As we walked, Mom spotted Woolworths and bent down to smile at me.
"Mommy's going in for a bit. Stay here with Marco okay?" Mom asked and I nodded. Mom stood up and looked at Marco sternly. "Watch her carefully; she has a habit of running off"
As she was saying this, I spotted a man handing out balloons. They seemed so fun and colourful and I wanted one. Without saying anything, I wandered over and the man smiled warmly at me.
"Here little girl, have a pink one" the man smiled, handing me a pink balloon and I beamed.
"Fank you" I replied just as I felt someone grab hold of me.
"Chyna! Thank god you're alright!" Marco exclaimed, hugging me tightly and I looked up at him. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
I giggled at the memory. He was sixteen at the time…He's more like a big brother to me now.
"Chyna?"
I looked up and saw Nathaniel looking at me surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here"
"Same here, I thought you couldn't come when the others invited you?" I asked confused and he chuckled.
"I planned to take my sister here so we could spend some time together" he answered and that's when I noticed the blonde girl glaring daggers at me. "Amber, this is my friend Chyna. Chyna this is my younger sister Amber"
I stood up and held my hand out to shake hers. "I didn't know you had a sister"
Amber just looked at my hand as if it had a bug crawling on it. I withdrew my hand back slowly, feeling it becoming awkward.
Nathaniel cleared his throat. "Sorry Chyna, I'm going to put our things a little further away. We just got here so we don't have a spot yet"
I nodded as Amber looked over across to where the others were playing volley ball. Nathaniel laid out his towel next to the blanket and his beach umbrella.
As Nathaniel busied himself with his stuff, Amber leaned over to me with a glare.
"Listen here Chyna. I'm here with Nathaniel to be ALONE with MY brother" she sneered quietly so Nathaniel wouldn't hear her. "So, don't think about coming and bothering us!"
I looked at her and frowned. "But what if he wants to hang out with the rest of us?"
Amber growled quietly. "In any case, if that were to happen then I'll have to remind him who he's really here to see!"
Without another word, Amber dragged Nathaniel away towards the vendor while I just stood there dumbstruck.
"What did Barbie want?" Kim asked, walking over while holding the ball in between her arm and hip as Alexy rubbed more sunscreen on his shoulders.
"She really wants to spend time with Nathaniel" I answered with a shrug.
Kim snorted. "I bet you five bucks she threatened you along the lines" she commented and I nodded, confirming her bet and handing her the five dollar note.
I glanced over at Alexy and helped him with the sunscreen before they ran back to join the others. The blue ocean caught my eye and I stared out at it, my mind running a marathon.
It'd be nice to spend time with him, but if he's busy with Amber… I sighed tiredly. Footsteps snapped me back to reality as I glanced over to see Nathaniel sitting on his towel, putting on sunscreen.
"Are you finished preparing your things?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, I just finished and now putting on sunscreen. Why do you ask?" he asked and I shrugged my shoulders.
"No reason, I'm just bored" I answered and he pointed his head to where the others are.
"Then why aren't you joining in?"
"Kim banned me from any sporting activities"
Nathaniel threw his head back and laughed as I pouted, unamused by the whole thing. Eventually, I started to laugh as well but the happy moment ended when Amber came back.
"Nath, what are you doing? Why is she still here?" Amber demanded, not pleased one bit.
Nathaniel sighed tiredly. "I didn't come here to hear you complain Amber. Chyna is here too, it'd be stupid to leave her alone"
"Thanks" I whispered quietly to him and he smiled warmly. Amber glared between the two before smirking at me. By the smirk, I felt uncomfortable and a shiver going down my spine.
"But…you said that we would spend time together, just the two of us…" Amber pouted, using a little girl voice.
Nathaniel stood up and looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Chyna, she is right. I hope you don't mind but, I'm here for Amber"
I smiled and waved it off. "I understand, but come and have lunch with us later. I think I made too much food" I laughed and he smiled with a nod. Amber, on the other hand, seemed like the idea was revolting.
It's getting close to lunchtime I thought, looking at my phone. I stood up and started walking over to the volley ball net when a plastic ball hit my leg.
"Sorry!" Amber shouted, running over and grabbing the small ball. "If I knew I would hit you, I would have hit harder"
I frowned. "Are you playing with rackets?" I asked as I noticed the one in her hand.
Amber snorted. "What else would we do with them? Build a sand castle?"
That would be a funny picture to show Peggy back at school I thought as Nathaniel jogged over, looking annoyed.
"It doesn't take three hours to pick up a ball Amber" he looked at me concerned. "She didn't hurt you did she Chyna?"
I shook my head. "I'm fin—Ouch!" I winced as Amber threw the ball and it hit me on the head. I opened my mouth to say something when I felt a familiar presence behind me.
"Is there a problem here, Chyna?" Marco asked, watching Amber with the stone eyes that always freak me out. I guess Amber got the same reaction since she stepped back a bit.
"Everything's fine" I reassured him. "We're about to have lunch, did you bring the one I made for you?"
He confirmed it by holding out his smaller bento and I smiled before turning back to Nathaniel.
"Do you two want to join us?" I asked and before Amber could voice her opinion, Nathaniel nodded. "Great, could you grab the others while I set up?"
I didn't wait for his reply as I ran back to the blanket and started spreading out the plastic plates and opening the bento box. Setting out the four major boxes as everyone arrived and began to eat.
Of course, Rosalya praised and devoured the sandwiches and rice balls I made.
"What's wrong Amber?" I asked, noticing her lack of eating and she sniffed, placing the sandwich back onto the plate before pushing it away.
"I don't want to eat something that could have nuts in them" she said, looking away.
"Ah! Don't worry, I made sure to not put any shellfish or nuts in them since I know Castiel is allergic to shellfish and Armin's allergic to nuts" I explained and she glared murderously at me.
Castiel smirked. "Someone's got a great house wife in the making here" he commented, looking straight at Nathaniel who blushed.
I shook my head. "I thought you knew I'd be inheriting my Dad's work"
Rosalya and Alexy almost collapsed while Kim just sighed, patting my head like I was a little kid.
"Someday you'll understand" she told me. I just shrugged my shoulders and continued to eat. Afterwards, Nathaniel held out a racket to me with a warm smile on his face.
"Come on, let's play bad mitten" he offered and I hesitantly took the racket off of him.
"Did Kim clear it with you?" I asked and he nodded with a chuckle. "Alright, it's your funeral"
"Try not to drop the ball too much" he teased and I lightly wacked his arm with the racket before running away in case he attacked.
Amber threw a tantrum and sat under the umbrella as Nathaniel and I walked back over, laughing and out of breath from playing.
"Are you finished playing your little ball game now?" she sneered with her arms crossed and Nathaniel's smile disappeared, turning into a frown.
"You were playing too, before lunch remember? Stop complaining" Nathaniel told her and she glared.
"No. I forgot the sunscreen, and my skin is too sensitive. I want to go home" Amber complained and I smiled brightly.
"I can lend you mine if you want" I offered, going to my bag and pulling out the sunscreen.
"Really? That would be nice" Nathaniel smiled and went to talk to the twins as I handed it to Amber who looked beyond thrilled at my offer.
"You're wasting your time. I can't reach my back, and it's out of the question that you put it on my back" Amber hissed. "It's your loss; we will have to go home…I told you I wouldn't let you spend time with Nath"
Nathaniel looked over and shook his head. "What's the problem?"
"Nothing!" Amber snapped. "I just can't reach my back"
"If it's just that, I'll put some on for you" he sighed, grabbing the bottle and rubbing the sunscreen over Amber's back. As Nathaniel finished, Amber smirked at me.
"You were really nice Chyna, I'm touched…" she smiled but I could tell it was a fake smile. Kim walked over and narrowed her eyes at Amber. "Do you know what would be better? If you went to get us some ice-cream while I spend time with my brother. You've kept him from me enough, don't you think?"
Kim snorted. "Get it yourself you lazy shit"
Nathaniel flashed Kim a warning look before giving me an apologetic look. "I know it's a lot to ask, but would you? I am here to spend time with Amber"
"Sure, Kim do you wanna come?" I asked and she grabbed my arm, shooting daggers at Amber over her shoulder as we walked away.
"I hate her and that damn little whiny voice!" Kim growled in frustration and I nodded in agreement. "Why don't you say anything to her?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Because they're siblings and I understand the feeling. I used to make Sebastian play with me a lot when we were younger because I missed him. He was always busy studying and what not"
Kim sighed. "You really are too innocent for your own damn good" she muttered as we found the vendor. "Do you have any ice-cream?"
The old man nodded. "Yes, like those found in the store. I have cones; strawberry, chocolate and vanilla nut with chocolate syrup" he answered and before I could say anything, Kim purchased two chocolate and one vanilla nut.
"Kim! Amber's allergic to nuts!" I scolded her as we walked back and she flashed me a mischievous grin.
"It's not a bad one like Armin's, she'll just get a rash and if it bothers you so much, just pretend you don't know anything" she told me and I sighed.
"Ice-creams here!" Kim called to Nathaniel and handed him the chocolate one, the vanilla nut to Amber and ate the other chocolate.
"I hope they were expensive!" Amber snapped, eating hers while Kim tried to hide her giggles.
"Seeing what is going to happen to your dumb ass after eating it, I would've paid $100 and not regret a damn cent" Kim whispered to me and I sighed, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Thanks" Nathaniel smiled and I nodded while Amber frowned at the ground.
"I don't feel very good…I'm going to lay down. Nath, come with me, I don't like to be alone" Amber complained and I looked at Nathaniel with worried eyes.
What is she gets a really bad reaction? I should've stopped Kim I thought worriedly.
Nathaniel sighed, shaking his head. "I'll be back Chyna" he promised with a small smile and I nodded, watching them walk back to their spot.
Kim snorted. "Damn princess, I'm gonna find the camera. This is going to be good" she said, running off to find Rosalya to grab the camera.
"Chyna? Are you okay?" Alexy asked, hugging me tightly while Armin crossed his arms over his chest in concern.
"Yeah I'm fine" I smiled. "Just a little bored"
Alexy fixed that by throwing me into the ocean, along with Armin jumping into the water. I laughed and ended up having a splash war with the two of them, covering myself as they attacked and threw some water back at them.
Suddenly, Armin stopped as a loud scream was heard. "Isn't that Amber's voice?"
Alexy grinned, probably knowing what Kim is up to and we ran to our camp as Amber was covered; head to toe in a red rash. Immediately, the twins pissed themselves laughing while I looked on in concern.
"Don't make fun of me! I'm itchy all over!" she screamed as I dug through my bag for a cloth. I grabbed the white one and soaked it in the cold water from my bottle before placing it on her forehead.
"You've done it again Amber, admit it!" Nathaniel demanded as I realised he must've thought she made herself sick.
"No, I swear…it itches! I'm going home, I can't stay here like this, everyone will make fun of me!" Amber cried out while Nathaniel snatched the cloth off of Amber and handed it back to me.
"Don't count on me to come with you. I've had enough of your antics" Nathaniel stood his ground and Amber, realising it wasn't going her way, screamed in frustration and grabbed her things.
"I HATE YOU!" she yelled before running away. I sighed as I put my cloth back into my bag.
"Is she going to be alright?" I asked concerned and Nathaniel flashed me a small smile.
"Don't worry about her, she does this all the time but I might not be able to stay much longer"
I sighed and nodded. "I understand, thanks, what do you want to do then?"
Nathaniel thought for a bit before grinning. "Do you want to go swimming a bit? I haven't been in the water at all and you looked like you were having fun with the twins"
I nodded. "Sure, sounds great!"
Nathaniel helped me up and we ran to the water together, jumping in and splashing around. At some point, I managed to defy gravity and slip over in the water.
Only to land on top of Nathaniel.
"Ah! S-Sorry!" I apologised quickly, getting up, only to accidently trip and drag Nathaniel down again, but this time him on top of me. Nathaniel's face was red as was mine, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. It felt like it was about to burst out any second!
"Stop hitting on a poor defenceless girl Nat!" Castiel called and Nathaniel immediately got up, yelling at him while I was still lying in the water.
I covered my face with my hands. What's happening to me?
Ah Chyna, you really are innocent for your own good. Who else enjoyed Nathaniel getting embarrassed as hell at Castiel hints while Chyna didn't have a clue? I did! And Rosalya...they will get there some day.
I have been asked and it is confirmed that there will be a Lysander fic but after 'My Little Rebel: Ready Or Not' and it'll have nothing to do witht eh Adrianne/Chyna storyline. Also, it'll be a bit supernatural...don't kill me.