Chapter 11: WHAT?

(Bailey POV)

"OH MY WORD! YOU DID WHAT NOW?" I ask, in complete shock. No way I heard Crys right. No way.

"We kissed. On the Captain's deck. In a magical forest that I will never forget in my whole life." Uhhh, no. I think I'll get an appointment with the doctor, 'cause I need to check my ears.

"No way! I am so happy for you," We hugged and she was smiling ear to ear. She was certainly happy for herself, too.

"I know. It felt so right, like it should have happened a long time ago. I wonder if he felt it, too…"

(Zack POV)

"Lies. No way man." I was totally calm. He was almost certainly pulling my leg.

"Dude, I am dead serious. We kissed." OK, now I'm starting to freak out. I haven't kissed a girl in a year or so, and my nerdy brother is beating me to the hottest girl on board!

"WHAT?" I say, totally flipping out. Can you really blame me? The chick is smoking hot!

He smiled. "Yeah, it's true. We did, and it felt really good, like it was meant to be. I've been waiting for that kiss for a long time, man. And you know it." Yeah, I know it. Doesn't mean I like it.

I faked a real-looking smile. "Cool, dude! I am totally happy for you," I say. I am, but I'm not… You know? I have mixed feelings. I am really happy for Cody. He has only kissed a few girls in his life (one of them being Mom), so this is a big deal. But of course, I would have liked to kiss Crystal. I guess she thinks of me more as a friend, though, so I guess I can deal with it.

"Thanks, bro. I really appreciate you backing off," he said with a grin on his face. "I know it was hard."

"Heck yeah, it was hard. But you are my brother, and she doesn't even like me anyways. Good luck, man. I got to go, but I'll see you around. Bye!" I get up, walking toward his dorm door

"See ya, bro." I left the room and ran into Woody in the hallway.

"Hey, Wood Chuck! Where were you at lunch? We looked all over for you." He gave me a weird facial expression.

"I was out." No, really?

"C'mon, even I could have guessed that. Where?" I ask.

"God, you're just like Cody. See you around." He walked out of the hallway, and not into his room like I thought he would.

(Crystal POV)

Bailey just left my dorm, so I'm all alone. I look around and spot my clock. Hmm… It's already eight! I walk to the bathroom and find a hair-tie. I put my hair up into a very neat ponytail and change into my lucky blue Bermuda shorts, a white polo, and head off to work. I hate working when it's dark out. Coffee shops are always busy at night.

I lock my door behind me and walk to the sky deck. When I'm outside, I look up. All the stars are visible out in the middle of the ocean. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open them again and start walking again. Sigh. I don't want to work.

I jump over the counter and put my apron and cap on. I look up to see someone waiting already. Great.

"Hello, welcome to Java Bean! How may I help you?" I feel like barfing. This girl even looks like snob.

"I'd like a double mocha-chino with no froth and whip cream. Use soy milk, not cream, and make sure it's at 69° when it reaches my mouth." Ok, your Highness.

"Coming right up, that'll be $4.50," I say, trying to keep a smile on my face. How the heck am I supposed to make sure its 69 degrees? And Isn't that pretty cold? Mental note: Ask Cody what room temperature is. She hands me a $5 bill and I give her two quarters in return. Then I'm off to make a double mocha-whatsit with no froth and whipped soy milk. Yum. Oh, and its exactly 69°. Don't forget.

I start on the mocha-whatsit part, and then put soy milk in a cream-whiper while the mocha is brewing. I let the whiper sit for a while and take the mocha off the brewer. I take it's temperature… 71°. Ahh, she can't tell the difference. I put the whipped liquid soy on top of it and put on the cap.

"Here ya are. Please come again!" I say. "Not." I whisper when she's out of range. I hate snobs. They think the whole world revolves around them. Which is a total lie, because the world is a sphere, meaning that we are all equal lengths from the center of the earth. Ugh, I hate insulting people using geometry. It makes me feel like a nerd.

I see yet another person standing at the counter, but this time it's someone I want to see.

"Hey, Crys," Cody said, his blue eyes gleaming in the lights from the shop.

"Hi Cody," I say. I kiss him, on the lips this time. I'm glad he didn't mind. If he did, I would be very confused of why he kissed me earlier.

When I pull away, he is smiling his trademark grin. I love it. Before I know it, I'm giggling. NO. I don't like giggling. Stoppit! I'm about to slap myself when I realize I am still standing at the counter of a coffee stand on a boat out in the middle of the ocean. Oops.

"So, how's work?" He said after I gestured for him to come in. He climbed over the counter, and I wiped it down quickly.

"Just wonderful. Some snob asked for some crazy order that had to be exactly 69°. So weird…" I say, than I remembered my mental note. "Speaking of, what is room temperature?"

"70°F. Why would she want it so cold? That's really strange." He looks at me, then around the sky deck. We were completely alone. "Well, as long as we are here…"

He didn't even finish, and he didn't have to. He grabbed my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We kissed again, and didn't stop until the foghorn blew. Foghorn?

When we pulled away, I looked around. "But, there's no fog…"

"Yes," Cody said looking up at the Captain's quarters. "But there is a very mean Captain." He waves and the horn blew again. I look and see the captain beaming at us.

"You're kidding!" I laugh and then look back at Cody. He is smiling at me. Sigh. We kiss again, but only for a bit. Well, it felt like a little fraction of time, but apparently we kissed for 5 minutes. That has got to be a new record.

I look at the clock and see that it's 8:30. I've still got half an hour before my shift is over. Curfew is at 10, and lights out at 11. That's on school nights, of course. Non-school nights are later, but today is Sunday, so we have no choice.

I sigh. "Half an hour left. And I don't even think anyone is awake. This is so ridiculous," I say, looking at the pastries. They look good, but my diet wouldn't allow it.

"Hmm… Well I can't do much about that, but I can make it go a little faster." He smiles at me. "I'll be right back."

"Mmm... Kay." I peck him on the lips, and he runs off in the direction of his dorm. Sigh. I wipe off the counter for the third time this evening. It's something I do randomly, even when it doesn't need it, like a nervous habit. I'm waiting for Cody at my post when some random person appears out of nowhere.

"OMIGOD!" I scream. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! You just frightened me, and I didn't hear anyone come up. I am so sorry!" He just looks at me, without a noise. "Uhhh, may I help you?"

"Tall vanilla bean latte, please." He was wearing one of those trench coats that you see in the detective movies, and a hat that hid most of his face. He looks down at his hand, and I noticed a phone with a full keyboard on it. I recognized it as a Side-Kick, the ultimate texting phone. I had wanted one when I was smaller, I thought they looked cool.

"Sure thing," I say as I ring him up on the computer. "$3.68, please." He handed me exact change, and didn't even have to count it out. He already knew. Uhhh… "Thank you, it'll be right up." He just started texting again. Hmm…

I make the latte quickly and give it to him. He just stood there for a second, texting with one hand and holding the latte in the other. He glanced up at me and noticed a tip jar. He dropped a bill in and walked away. Talk about awkward… That was totally weird. I feel like taking a shower. I look at the tip jar. I pick it up, and only see a few coins in addition to the bill the man dropped in. I examine the bill closer through the thick plastic of the jar. OMIGOSH! It's twenty bucks! That's like, a lot!

"Miss me?" I see a face through the jar – a very warped and large face - and pull it away.

"Yes. This creepy guy came and ordered a vanilla bean latte. It was super awkward, and he gave me a twenty dollar tip! That's like a 600% tip," I say to the now normal headed Cody.

"Hmmm, a lot of odd people come to coffee stands after 8, I guess." He leans in and kisses me. "Well, I hope this makes it better." He hands me a boom-box and hops the counter.

"What is this for?" I ask, inspecting the portable boom-box.

"Well, I took dance lessons a while ago, and I thought I'd teach you how to waltz," he said.

"Awww, that is so sweet. I would be honored to have you teach me such a romantic dance," I say, smiling at him.

He is smiling back at me. "Well, alright then! Let's get started." He pushed the play button on the boom-box and took a hold of my right hand with his left. He then put his right on my waist, and I rested my left on his shoulder. When the music stared, he gently guided me across the floor of the shop.

"1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3… You are a wonderful dancer, you know. It's took me a long time to learn," he said. I looked into his deep blue eyes.

"Why, thank you. I have a very good teacher," I say while I beam at him. I look at the clock and it's already 9:00. "Omigosh, my shift is over! That went much faster then I thought. Thank you, Cody. I really did have lot's of fun."

"Well, I'll see you later." He looked into my eyes. He's waiting for something. He's looking at me weird… He's expecting me to do something… OH. I lean in and kiss him again. We stand there for a while, kissing like there is no tomorrow.

AN: I KNOW. They kiss a lot. Deal with it :D love you all, and review like there is no tomorrow! I wont update if you dont... ok i probably will, but review anyways. R&R!! -SC