Chapter 9

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I created most of the characters, so I actually do.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as I created most of them, who they are is up to me, so...

After he had finished his homework, Brady made his way back to his cabin. With his homework done, he just settled in and took it easy. He stretched out on his bed and pulled out his laptop. And as luck would have it, he was able to catch the Sox game in the top of the third inning. Brady was just laying back and relaxing when Nate and Matt returned back to the cabin.

"Good news, Nate. The Sox are up 4-2 on the Blue Jays."

Nate grinned. "Excellent. Maybe they will finally show signs of life. I still can't believe they pushed your Dad out like that."

Brady shrugged. "He loves what he's doing now. Besides, he's told me over Thanksgiving, he's going to take me to see practices for the girl's volleyball and soccer teams..."

"Lucky! Can I come too?"

Brady laughed. "You think Rachel would be cool with that?"

Nate sighed. "Probably not..."

Matt shook his head. "I don't get it. Why are you in such a good mood?"

Brady smirked at him. "Why wouldn't I be? Its not like I got busted for letting off a stink bomb. Oh, Moseby tried, but lucky for me, I had Angela there to vouch for me. I owe her one for that."

Matt glared at him. "I know what you're trying to do, and I don't like it!"

"What am I trying to do exactly? I already told you I was wrong. I'm no longer claiming dibs on her. Rather, Angela and I came to an agreement. She's going to help me study, and I'm going to show her how to have fun. We're friends now."

Nate turned to him. "You got one of the smartest girls in our class to help you study? What about me?"

Brady smiled. "I thought you were studying with Rachel."

"Well, yeah, but...What are you going to do to show her how to have fun?"

"Not sure yet. First, I have to figure out what she thinks is fun. I get the feeling she'd find all of those things Uncle Cody and Aunt Bailey find fun to be interesting. I may be wrong though."

Matt smirked. "Well, I guarantee she's going to be having fun on Friday night. She'll be with me."

Brady shrugged. "More power to you then."

The rest of the week passed by. After school, Brady would meet up with Angela in the library, and they found a method that worked for them. Usually, they would work by themselves. But if there was things Brady was unsure about or flat didn't understand, she would would take time to explain them to him in a way that he understood. And even though she didn't have to, she would check his homework at the end and was pleasantly surprised with how well he was doing.

And Brady kept up his end of the deal too though Angela wasn't so sure about his methods.

"Why are we here? I'm not very big into arcade games."

Brady smiled. "Have you ever played them before?"

She paused. "Well, no...not really."

"Then don't knock it until you try them. This first one we're going to try is called pool..."

Angela smirked at him. "I know what pool is..."

"Well, I thought this might be up your alley as it uses a lot of math, physics, angles and stuff like that."

"Hmmm. Oh well, I did agree to this. Lets give it a shot."

And for the next thirty minutes or so, Brady taught her the rules of the game as they began playing. To both of their surprise, Angela appeared to be a natural. Sure, she made beginner's mistakes, but overall, she was a lot better than some people who had been playing for a long time. And Angela had to admit to herself, it was actually pretty fun.

"You aren't hustling her, are you?"

Brady looked up to find Marissa and Charlie standing there with his cousin grinning at him.

"I wish. She's actually pretty good. Better than you anyways..."

Charlie laughed. "Pool was never my game."

Brady turned to Marissa. "Just don't let him talk you into a game of ping pong or darts. He would be the hustler then. Somehow, Aunt Bailey is all world in both of those and taught Charlie everything she knows." He laughed. "Does Uncle Cody still get upset when she beats him?"

Charlie shook his head. "Not really. He knows Mom will kill him at darts, but he's actually competitive with her in ping pong. They have games that can last hours now. But, he's discovered he can get Mom just as good in foosball. I guess the agile wrists of a chef and steady hands of a surgeon lend itself to foosball pretty well."

Marissa laughed. "I can actually see that. Hey, you guys up for a game of two on two?"

Brady grinned and turned to Angela. "You up for crushing their spirits?"

Angela shook her head. "I don't know...You think we can?"

"I know we can...so much so that I'm willing to bet on it. What do you say, Cuz? Losers have to buy the winners a smoothie?"

Charlie paused. "I thought you didn't like those."

Brady shrugged. "They've grown on me..."

Charlie turned to Marissa. "I'm game if you are."

Marissa grinned, and soon enough, the game was on. Well, more than just one game. Quickly, it became best two out of three. Best three of five soon followed only to be replaced with best of seven. All four of them were having a blast, and it all came down to the eight ball in the seventh game. It was Angela's shot, but she was getting nervous. She was lining it up, but she felt her palms getting sweaty.

"Here, use this..."

She turned and saw Brady holding a cone of chalk. "Huh?"

"It will help you dry your hands." Angela nodded, coated her hands and lined up her shot. But that was when Brady spoke up again.

"You got this. I know you can hit this, so drain it."

Angela focused and shot. The cue ball made a beeline for the eight ball, struck it on the side, and everyone watched the eight ball slowly rolling towards the corner pocket. If it didn't have enough momentum, it would be an easy shot for Charlie and Marissa to finish off. And the ball seemed to teeter on the edge of lip of the pocket. But Angela had hit it perfectly, and the ball fell into it softly.

"Yes!" Brady lifted his hand for a high five, and Angela was so excited that she met it with enthusiasm.

Charlie and Marissa groaned. "Best of nine?"

Angela sighed. "I wish I could, but I need to get going. I have plans for later. I wish I could stay though. This has been a lot of fun..."

Charlie paused, and an idea came to his mind that he thought might be beneficial to both he and his cousin. "Give us a chance tomorrow for double or nothing in miniature golf?"

Angela paused. She had to admit to herself that this afternoon had been a lot of fun. And the people she had been hanging around were actually pretty cool. So, she nodded. "Alright. I'm in."

Brady grinned. "How about we head there after lunch then?"

Angela smiled. "Sounds like a plan. See you guys later."

Angela returned back to her cabin to find Rachel already getting ready. So, she grabbed a quick shower and got dressed too. She just chose a pair of comfortable jeans and a nondescript long sleeved t-shirt. Of course, when Matt and Nathan showed up at their door to pick them up, Matt was dressed in a button up shirt and khakis. To say he was disappointed in how she was dressed would be an understatement. But, he shrugged it off, and the four of them headed out.

To Angela, the movie wasn't very good. In fact, it was just plain awful. After a half hour, she just gave up on it, and her mind began to wander. She was really wishing she could have stayed and played more pool. To her, that was actually fun. And to make matters worse, she was thinking Matt was getting entirely the wrong idea about this evening. He seemed to think it was an actual date. But to Angela, this was just friends seeing a movie together. She was hoping that once the movie was over, she could just head back to her cabin and unwind.

But that wasn't meant to be. Rachel suggested they all go for a smoothie, and everyone else seemed to agree. So, Angela just went along with it. They were sitting around a table when they all heard a commotion. Walking on the skydeck were Charlie, Marissa, Brady, Beth, Abby and Derek, and they were all laughing hard about something.

Nate looked up at them. "What's so funny?"

Beth was still laughing. "Oh, we just got done with an epic laser tag war. Guys versus girls..."

Brady shook his head. "Who knew my cousin Abby was really a navy seal in disguise?"

Derek laughed. "Tell me about it. I think she personally had about 75 kills on me alone."

Abby grinned. "All part of our strategy. We each had one person that we were assigned to take out. Beth had Brady, Marissa had Charlie and I had Derek..."

Derek smirked at her. "I really appreciated when you got me on the ground and just kept shooting me. If not for Charlie, I would still be there..."

Charlie grinned. "Hey, it really pained me to shoot my own sister..." He turned towards Marissa. "But shooting me in the back while I did? That was cold..."

"Hey...all's fair in love and war."

Angela just looked at all six of them. "Sounds like you guys had a blast. Wish I could have gone with you guys."

Brady grinned at her. "Next time we do, we'll let you know."

Matt just stared at Angela. That definitely was not what he wanted to hear. One, it seemed like she hadn't had fun. Two, it sounded like she wished she had been with Brady.

Brady continued. "Besides, we do still have mini golf tomorrow afternoon. I need you to bring that killer instinct you showed earlier today on the pool table. I don't want it to be close!"

Angela laughed. "Alright. Should I draw blood or just leave them broken?"

Brady paused. "Hmmm...Your call, but I like the idea of drawing blood."

Beth turned to her brother. "Is this a closed game or can anyone join in?"

"Just make sure you have a partner..."

Matt spoke up. "I'm in. Angela, you and I can team up."

She shook her head. "I'm already on Brady's team. We have a side bet going with Charlie and Marissa."

Rachel turned to Nate. "We're a team then."

Abby was about to speak up when Beth cut her off. "Alright, I call Derek then." She smiled at him. "Hopefully, you're better at mini golf then laser tag..."

Derek laughed. "Hey! Don't worry about me. Just make sure you bring your 'A' game tomorrow!"

Abby just looked at her cousin in disappointment. She wasn't sure why, but she had assumed she would be Derek's teammate. But she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name.

"Well, Abby, I guess that leaves you and me..."

Abby looked up and saw Matt grinning at her. "Yeah...I guess so..."

That time, it was Derek who frowned. It appeared to him that this Matt guy had set his sights on Abby now. And that didn't sit well with him for some reason. But, he shrugged it off. He knew Abby was off limits, so he shouldn't be thinking things like that.

Marissa turned to Charlie. "If you want, we can spend the time between breakfast and lunch tomorrow prepping for my parents' visit."

Charlie nodded. He'd been having such a good time that day that event of the following Friday had slipped his mind. "Sure thing..."

Brady checked his watch. "Well, we all have a big day tomorrow, and its been a long day. I think I'm going to turn in."

He was about to turn and head out when Angela stood up as well. "I should too..." She smiled. "Can't let my teammate down by staying out all nigh." And they just walked out together talking and laughing.

Matt was fuming, but he wasn't the one who spoke up. That was Beth. She was staring at those two walking along like they were old friends.

"Did I miss something here?"

To be Continued...