Chapter 9 – Summer Arrivals.

By the time Kelly and I got to the beach, it was almost four. Blaze went back to the farm to "frolic" in the field with Carla and Lucy, and Tabby wanted to go rat hunting, so it was just me and Kelly, at the beach.

I expected everyone to be there at the beach, but when I arrived, I was shocked to find only the young people. Cass, Mel, Aggie and Bec all stood in a circle quietly, but rapidly discussing things that I couldn't hear, but every now and then some one would laugh. I didn't trust their conversation to not be gossip.

The boys were standing around, also in a circle, but they were playing hacky-sack, something that reminded me of the boys from high school.

Jess and Tabitha were sitting in the sand talking. When Jess looked up, she saw me and waved for me to join them.

"When's this boat supposed to arrive?" I asked

"Soon. We were just talking about Josh." Said Jess

"What about him?" I asked, hoping my 2 years of Drama back in high school was hiding my curiosity.

"Just how he was acting weird yesterday. He gave you the foal didn't he? Was he acting weird then?"

"No, I didn't notice anything strange." I said, lying through my teeth.

I didn't want Jess to know about my animal's suspicions that he liked me. This was because, firstly, she'd probably question my sanity if I started the sentence with "Well, my cat reckons…" and after seeing her attitude towards Bec, I hardly wanted to destroy our friendship over something that might only be one-sided anyway. And not to mention I was scared of Jess when she was angry.

"Hmm, I wonder what it could have been then." Jess pondered. I thanked the Goddess once again that she was rather slow when it came to the possibility of me and her brother.

"Hey, look, I think it's the boat!" said Tabitha, pointing out to the sea.

"Where?" asked Jess

"There! On the horizon!"

About ten minutes later, the boat finally pulled up to the pier. Everyone crowded around to greet Luke. The boat, which was more like a small cruise ship, was tied up to the pier by a deckhand who jumped off the boat. Another deckhand opened the little door, and out stepped a boy, about six feet tall, with short sandy blonde hair, a college sweatshirt, old jeans and lugging a suitcase behind him.

"Hello ladies" were the first words that left his handsome mouth. Some of the girls giggled. "And 'hello' to you." he said, looking directly at me, "I don't believe we've met before."

'Great, a ladies man. Like I haven't met enough of those before' I thought sarcastically.

"That would be because I only just got here last season." I replied, raising an eyebrow at his tone.

He winked at me and turned to the guys. "Hey fella's, it's been ages!"

"Welcome back Luke" said James, giving him a manly hug.

The rest of the guys gave him their own greetings, but was clear that James and Luke were close friends.

"Who's he?" asked Jess, indicating to another figure stepping out of the boat.

He took one look at us all, became suddenly very shy and looked down. Taking Jess by the hand, I pulled her with me up to the boat to meet this new guy.

"Hi," I said, trying to get his attention. He looked up at me and seemed to get more confidence.

"I'm Dean." He replied.

"Nice to meet to Dean. I'm Simone, and this is Jess. Welcome to Oak Town."

"So, what are you doing here in Oak Town, Dean?" asked Jess, catching on to what I was trying to do.

"Not sure yet. I'm a nomad. I usually travel around from town to town, looking for work." Replied the scruffy, brown haired boy, scratching the back of his head.

"How old are you? If you don't mind me asking" said Jess, subtle as always. Not.

"Just turned 21." He replied with interest. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason." said Jess, nudging me. "Hey, Simone! He's 21! That's perfect for you! And he's really cute." She said only for me to hear.

"Shoosh Jess. Now's not the time." I muttered to her.

"Where are you staying?" I said, changing the topic.

"I don't know yet. Is there a motel or something here? A Bed & Breakfast maybe?" he asked.

"You could stay – "

"At the Inn. I'm sure Mike and Crystal would love to have you stay there." Interrupting Jess before she could suggest that he stay with me, which was exactly what I had seen her thinking when I'd read her mind. I stepped on her foot.

She gave me a look of innocence. I saw right through it.

"Hey, why don't we introduce you to the others?" I suggested, gesturing to everyone behind me.

The shyness I saw before suddenly retuned. "I don't know - "

"You'll have to meet them eventually. Might as well do it now." Said Jess.

Not giving him a choice, I took his hand and pulled him towards the others. Jess picked up his bags. I could see Kelly winking at me from the beach.

"He's really cute…for a human" she said telepathically.

"Shut up!"

"Hey guys." I said. Everyone looked up at me. "This is Dean. He's new to town. Be nice to him."

Everyone crowded around the newcomer. Luke looked rather peeved that the attention had been taken off him. One by one everyone said hi, asked a few questions and other pleasantries that people say when meeting someone new.

Later, after everyone else had left with Luke to his Café, Jess, Tabitha, Dean and I were the only ones left.

Dean went up to Tabitha.

"I don't think I caught your name." He said to her quietly.

Tabitha blushed. "It's Tabitha." She said in a small voice.

"Nice to meet you Tabitha. I'm Dean." He said. I thought I caught a glimpse of colour on his cheeks, but it was gone in a flash, so it might have been my imagination.

"I know." Tabitha replied, giggling.

This time Dean's blush was obvious.

Jess turned to me. "Did they just have a moment?" she asked me quietly

I tried the best I could to see what they were thinking. "I think they did." I smiled.

"Looks like you missed out. Shame." Said Jess, jokingly.

"Oh, shut up, he's not the one I like." I froze after I said that. 'Oh crap! Now she's knows I like someone!'

"What did you say?" she asked me.

"Oh, did I say something?" I was never good at comebacks.

"You just said you like someone!" she smiled in a way that made me nervous.

"Did I say that? Because I'm pretty sure all I said was that I didn't like Dean in that way." I said frantically.

"Ha! So you do remember! Admit it, you like one of the guys!" she replied, seeing through my façade.

'Damn, I fell right into that one.' "…" I didn't say anything.

"You're not denying it! Oh, this is too good to be true. Who is it?"

"Not telling." I said, using the phrase the Goddess often used on me.

"Is it Sam? James? Blake?"

"Look, Jess, I'm not going to tell you who I like." I said, fearing that if she had kept going she would reach Josh, and I wasn't sure if I could lie to her anymore.

"Fine, But I'll find out sooner or later." She replied, her eyes giving me some kind of warning.

Luckily, she dropped the topic.

"So, guys," she said to Dean and Tabitha. "Let's get you to the Inn. I'm sure you'll love it here in Oak Town." She winked at Dean.

His eyes darted to me, as if either saying "Huh?" or "Help!". It can be hard to distinguish eye-messages when they start with a common letter.

Jess led the group up the stairs and in the direction of the Inn. I followed behind everyone and Kelly came back to my side.

'Damn! How did I let that escape?!' I thought angrily.

'You were careless. Remember to think before you talk.' Kelly said, intruding in on my thoughts, as always.

'What do I do now? If she finds out I like Josh, our friendship is history!'

'Then don't tell her. Judging from her reactions to Bec, she'll probably watch you like a hawk from now on to try and find out who you like. You'll have to be extremely careful with everything you do; who you talk to, who you avoid, who you steal glances at. Constant Vigilance!' my pup replied, quoting someone I think I once knew.

'That's all good and well, but I can't keep doing that forever! There has to be another way.'

'Well, if she's distracted with something, then she won't have time to watch you.'

'What do you mean by distraction?'

'Didn't she once say she liked Tom?'

'Ah, I see what you're trying to say here. If she's to busy with Tom, than I can have my privacy. Kel, you are a genius.'

'Why thank you Simone. But there is once obstacle we have to face.'

'What's that?'

'Tom.'

'Oh yeah. If he doesn't like Jess, than the whole plan is as doomed as the titanic. Luckily my new powers can discover the information we need.'

'Sounds like a plan' replied Kel.


I looked up to see that we had arrived at the Inn. Entering, I noticed the very person we needed, washing glasses at the bar. Jess, Tabitha and Dean went over to Mike and organised Dean's accommodation. I went up to the bar and sat on one of the stools.

"Hi-ya Tom." I greeted cheerfully

"Hello." He gazed at me suspiciously.

"So, how life?" I asked, while mustering all my concentration on mind reading. It was usually easier if the subject was distracted.

"Good, I guess. Did you want something?"

"A glass of water would be nice." I said, still focused on his mind.

Tom busied himself with getting me my drink and I took the opportunity to dive in.

Searching through his mind, I looked for the relevant information.

'Hmm, right now he's wondering why I'm talking to him. Is there anything about Jess?'

I filtered through thoughts, memories and other things one would find in someone's mind, until I came to something very interesting; a selection of special memories. Without hesitating, I went in to investigate.

'It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining through the leaves above and the stream was gurgling. A young girl with her brown hair in plats was standing by the river.

"Hey Jess." Said a ten-year-old male voice. Tom.

"What is it Tommy?" asked Jess.

"I bet you I can catch more fish than you!"

"Really, well, we'll see about that!" Jess cried, laughing. Suddenly, her foot slipped on the river back and Jess screamed as she fell into the river.

"Jess!" cried Tom as he dived into the river to save the struggling Jess. Tom swam over to Jess, who was floundering in the deep water. He put one arm around her waist and swam her back to the shore.

"Jess! Are you alright?"

"Tommy…you saved me." Jess said quietly, exhausted.'

The memory ended. But it was replaced by another.

'Tom and Jess sat side-by-side on the mountain peak, admiring the warm sunset. She turned to him.

"Hey Tommy?" she asked

"What?"

"What kind of guy do you think I'll end up with?"

Tom blushed and looked away. "I dunno, what kind of guy to girls usually like? Tall, dark and handsome?" he suggested.

"Hmm…tall dark and handsome. I like the sound of that."

'Damn!' he thought. 'I may be tall, but my hair and skin are fair and I doubt someone like Jess would consider me handsome.'

Jess continued, "On second thoughts, I'm not sure. I mean, tall is defiantly a must. But dark, well, wouldn't that mean he would have to be from a foreign country? Like Africa, or Japan? You know, depending on what part of him is dark."

"Why would that be bad? You're not being racist are you?" he asked jokingly

"Of course not. What I mean is, we don't have any Asian or African people here in Oak Town. And we rarely get visitors, let alone people moving here. And somehow I doubt I'll have much opportunity to travel. So, my future husband would have to be someone…local…I guess."

"Oh" Tom brightened up.

"And he'll defiantly have to be handsome."

"Oh." Tom was sad again.

"Kind of like you, maybe."

"Oh." Tom cheered up immensely, and blushed deeply.

"But I guess I'll never be able to predict what he'll be like. And it's like they always say, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and 'Love is blind'. Maybe that means I'll marry a blind man." 13 year old Jess was rather naive.

Tom was confused on how to feel, so he settled with changing the topic. "Hey, is that a Copper-crested Eagle?" he pointed out to the black dot on the horizon.

"Whoa!" '

I found myself once again in Tom's subconscious mind. I decided that I had seen enough, and turned to leave, when I was forced into yet another memory; but this time, I could relate to it.

'Loud music played in the background. It was the Goddess Flower festival. The seven girls spun in unison, as according to the dance steps.

'Hey, that's me!' I noticed myself. Viewing the scene through Tom's eyes, I noticed him focus on the spinning girl next to me. Jess.

She spun faster and faster. Tom was enchanted. He couldn't look away. Suddenly the music ended, and Tom was left forlorn. He gazed at Jess longingly. She saw him watching and smiled at him. He smiled meekly, blushed lightly and looked away, but his thoughts never wavered. Jess was his world.'

I found myself back in Tom's subconscious mind. Looking both ways carefully, I quickly made my escape, not wanting to get caught up in anymore memories. I blinked and found myself looking into a set of blue-grey eyes.

"Whoa!" I fell off my stool in surprise.

Tom looked confused.

"What?" I asked him.

"You've been staring at me for about 10 minutes now. It was pretty creepy." He replied.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to. I must have been day-dreaming. You know, off in my own little world." I lied.

"I hope I wasn't there. Because…you know...that would be weird." He seemed uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, it had absolutely nothing to do with you, Tom." I lied again.

"Oh, that's ok then." He looked relieved, "But you might have to explain that to Jess."

"Huh? Why? What happened?"

"She came in here about five minutes ago, saw you, and stormed out angrily. I've no idea why though, she's usually so happy. I've never seen her that angry before."

"Oh crap. I'd better go find her. Thanks for the water."

"No problem." he shrugged

"Before I go, I need to ask you a favour."

"What?"

"I can't explain it now, but I just need to know that you'll be there when I need you."

"Um, does this have anything to do with-" He looked uncomfortable again.

"No, it's nothing strange. And I promise you'll love it." I winked.

He looked sceptical, but then sighed. "Fine, I'll help, but it had better not be anything…you know."

"Don't worry, I know more than you realise." I said all-knowingly.


Yep, chapter 9. As with most of the past "re-written" chapters (ha! why do i even bother using that label?) not much has changed. Why did I attempt my insane "re-writing" project in the first place? Well, i don't want to end up with 100 chapters, since shorter stories usually attract more readers (and come on, how many of would actually click in a story with more than 50 chapters? more than 20, even? I know i like short ones.), so I've compressed my shorter earlier chapters, which required everything following to move forward. And it gave me the opportunity to make smaller grammatical changes and such.

Anyways, thanks to kairi6353 for prompting me to update. Hopefully, I'll be motivated to get this story finished before too long. It's already in its 3rd year. I think I just take on too many simulations projects.

So, review if you like. I'd be nice. Thanks :)