Over the past month, this story has definitely been neglected :( When it came to this, I was suffering serious writer's block.
But it's like my baby and of course, I had to return to it. The block has cleared and once my exams are over, I'm looking forward to getting to work on this.
Enjoy!

IT NEVER ENDS

Miami was definitely a nightlife city. Dolph reached that conclusion as Kaitlyn drove him back to the beach house at eight thirty – her parents were coming into town and she didn't think they'd appreciate him being there. After dark, the city was positively buzzing but when the sun came up, the sidewalks were practically empty, only early morning joggers and the occasional family walked past. Other than that, the city was sparse.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Kaitlyn commented, aviators covering her eyes and her head bobbing to Swedish House Mafia on the radio. "Shame my mom hates the beach so I'll probably be trying to get a tan through my windows."

They chatted until they eventually arrived at the house and she pulled up so he could get out. Leaning over to press a kiss against her lips, he said "Call me when mommy and daddy are on the plane back to Texas?" She chuckled at his comment, waving as he went into the beach house before driving away.

It seemed far too early for anyone in the house to be awake however Dolph could hear movement in the kitchen. "Hello?" He called but didn't receive a response. Running a hand through his blonde hair, he followed the sound of footsteps against the tiled floor and was greeted by Nikki, his ex pulling a water bottle out of the fridge wearing nothing more than a tiny red bikini.

"I didn't realise anyone else was awake." She told him, a hint of bitterness in her voice at the sight of her former flame.

"I just came home. I spent the night with–"

"Katie? No, Kasey? Kayla? Oh, I can't remember her name. Pretty girl though, isn't she?" Suddenly, Nikki tapped the side of her head and clicked her fingers in mock revelation. "Kaitlyn! She's called Kaitlyn, isn't she?" Of course she remembered the girl Dolph went behind her back with but she wasn't through making him feel bad for what he did.

"Yeah, she's called Kaitlyn." He confirmed. He knew she was being a total bitch to her but it was difficult for him to get angry when she looked so damn smoking; did she not realise the effect a red bikini would have on him? Her legs seemed endless and her flat stomach and perky chest were more appealing than they'd ever been. "What're you doing awake, anyway? You're not much of a morning person."

"No, I'm not but the surfers hit the beach early and what can I say, I'm in the mood for a man hunt today." She gave Dolph a little twirl, showing off what she always knew was his favourite part of her body; her ass. "What do you think? Do you think it needs to be a little...smaller? Sexier?"

"No, no, that's sexy enough." He swallowed the large lump in his throat and tried to drag his eyes away from her killer derriere. "Wait, you have something smaller?"

"Have a sweet day Dolph. I know I will." Nikki smirked, slinging her beach bag over her shoulder and slipping her feet into a pair of flip-flops before she went out the back door and down onto the beach. From the window, he watched as a group of surfers turned their attention to the beautiful twin; well, she certainly got what she wanted.

But did Dolph have what he wanted? After all, he hadn't thought of Kaitlyn since he stepped out of her car. In fact, all he could think about was Nikki. Nikki in that red bikini. He took a deep breath and headed up the stairs, deciding he needed a cold shower.

"I need to talk to you about something."

When Cody turned his head away from one of Maryse's kisses, the French-Canadian knew something was wrong. The pair had been making out on her bed and slowly, she climbed off him and sat to his side, signalling for him to continue. "What's going on?" She asked, fixing her now messy hair.

"I don't think we can do this anymore." Cody's talk with Mike the other day had played heavily on his mind for the past twenty four hours. He wanted to talk to Maryse about it at the right moment but that moment never seemed to appear so he decided he'd just have to get it over with.

It wasn't that Cody wanted to end things with her, he loved her company, not to mention the sex was great, but when there was someone else that cared about her so much more and that person was potentially getting hurt because of him, he knew it couldn't carry on. He didn't need that kind of guilt in his life. Plus, playing Cupid for Maryse and Mike seemed like a pretty fun idea.

"What're you talking about?" She asked. "Is something going on?"

"This is going to sound like I'm making excuses but I can't really tell you." Cody was going to keep to his word; Mike wanted to speak to Maryse himself so he wouldn't give anything away. "Everything will come out very soon but at the moment, I've got to keep my mouth shut."

"Okay, I'm more than a little confused. Are you like...dying? This whole thing is really shady." Maryse didn't like being kept in the dark about anything.

"No, I'm not dying."

"Well, did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, you didn't do anything at all." He reassured her, taking her hands. "You are incredible and the time we've spent together has been so much fun but can you really see us making it back to Beverly Hills?"

"So you're ending things because you don't see a future between us?"

"No!" He was finding this extremely difficult and was going to kill Mike for not letting him say anything. "That's not why things are ending. I'm just saying that...you're the kind of girl that has a plan for everything, right? Can you really see me fitting into that plan? We work in this no-strings environment but you're looking for a future and that's not for us–"

"I don't even know if I'm going to ask any more questions because I'm way too confused about what's going on–"

"Someone likes you." The words slipped out because he hated Maryse thinking that he'd rejected her because she'd done something wrong. "I can't tell you who but us being together is hurting that person. They really care about you and he's gonna tell you himself soon enough but for now...you've just gotta trust me when I say that sooner or later, the right thing is going to happen."

Saying nothing else, Cody leaned over to kiss Maryse and left her bedroom, leaving the blonde in a state of confusion as to what had just transpired.

"So are you gonna tell me what's going on with you and Jack or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" As Rosa and Tiffany bagged a table in the corner of a tapas restaurant on the boardwalk, the Latina of the two raised an eyebrow at her friend, waiting for all the gory details.

Tiffany sighed before taking a sip of her Diet Coke that the waiter had brought over. "It's complicated–"

"Isn't it always? Come on, spill the beans, I want to know everything."

"I don't really know where to begin." Tiffany admitted with a small laugh. "I mean, before Miami I'd never spoken to him and then one morning, we just started talking and from there we build a friendship. We started spending loads of time together and with everyone else so caught up in their own drama, he was someone I could really...rely on. Especially after that stuff with Drew. I thought I could turn to him, you know?"

"What changed?" Rosa asked, narrowing her eyes at the waiter who was coming over to take her order and signalling he return in a couple of minutes.

"I'm not entirely sure. Things between us just started getting...heavier. There was this vibe that neither of us could shake and neither of us acted on until this one night – the night all the rain started. We'd just watched the Notebook together and I saw it was raining so I went outside. We were stood on the beach and it sounds stupid but I jokingly started reciting that scene in the Notebook right before Noah and Allie kissed. Jack went along with it and then... he went in for the kiss."

Rosa sat across the table, clutching her heart with a warm smile on her face. "That is the most romantic thing I think I've ever heard. It's like something out of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Or a Nicholas Sparks novel adapted into a movie."

"Well, it doesn't matter how romantic it was, it shouldn't have happened."

"Why not? It's not like you can–when will you get the hint? Come back in five minutes!" Rosa yelled at the waiter, who scuttled back into the kitchen. "Carry on."

"Because he's...he's Jack Swagger. I'm just a normal girl and he's the captain of the basketball and swim team – he's got everything going for him at school and we live in these separate worlds. Here in Miami, it seems nice and it works but when we get back to Beverly Hills and back to school, we're strangers again. There's that and the fact that when he went out with Eve, he treated her like dirt. I've never had a 'boyfriend' before and I don't want to get hurt like she did."

"But you like him, don't you?"

"No...I mean, yes, I mean...I don't know how I feel. I've got these feelings for him but I don't want them. I feel like if I fall for him, I'm just setting myself up to get hurt."

"Why are you assuming the worst?"

"Because of the past?" Tiffany said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Because of the way he's acted–"

"People can change, Tiff, you know that. Our friends are evidence of that. Who'd have thought that Brie would be the first of us to have a baby? Who'd have thought Jack and Maryse would have ever broken up? A year ago, would you have thought that you'd be sharing a kiss with Jack Swagger? Anything's possible." She paused. "When he kissed you, how did it feel?"

Completely truthful, the blonde said "It was the perfect kiss. When Drew kissed me, it felt nice but when Jack kissed me, it felt...right. Like the most natural thing in the world." Upon seeing the 'I told you so' look on Rosa's face, she took another sip of her drink and groaned. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Well before you do anything, you should talk to Eve. She should know what's going on and maybe she'll help you decide where to go from here."

"Maybe."

As the conversation died away, Rosa sighed, looking around impatiently. "Jesus, where did that waiter disappear to? What does a girl have to do to get a little service around here?"

If there was one thing Kelly didn't like about spending time with Randy, it was how late he could sleep in. The blonde was all for a little laziness but it was almost afternoon and he still hadn't even woken up. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table and dialled his number, pressing the 'Withhold Number' key as she did so.

"Wha–" He murmured at the sound of his phone ringing, turning over to grab it and answer, only for it to hang up.

"Who was that?" Kelly asked innocently.

"Not sure, it was a withheld number."

"Oh, well, you're awake now." All she wanted to do was talk to him about the previous night, only skipping out the small part concerning her confrontation with Alicia in the kitchen. "Last night was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was fine." He muttered, lying back down in bed and closing his eyes.

"And you thought it would be awkward – it totally wasn't! Maybe we could do something together again? I know Alicia wouldn't be keen but there's a basketball game on next week and the three of us could go and watch it–"

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, Kelly."

"Why?"

Randy turned over on his side as if trying to get to sleep before saying "When you and Alicia were in the kitchen last night, I heard everything you were saying – that little fight you guys had."

"Oh my God, you and Kofi heard that?"

"Kofi didn't. He was in the bathroom and came back just after the two of you decided to keep your voices down." He replied. "Maybe she was a little rude but Alicia made some good points; the four of us don't need to hang out and that whole night just seemed...forced. It was fake and I don't know if repeating it's a good idea either – for Kofi and Alicia or for us."

"What are you talking about?"

"I really like you, Kelly, but last night was way too intense for me. I don't know where this is going but I'm not looking for anything serious and dinner just felt like some weird, married couple thing. Except it was you and Alicia trying to one-up each other and...I don't know, I don't need to deal with unnecessary Beverly Hills drama."

"You think I'm unnecessary drama?"

He sighed and sat upright, watching as she got out of bed. "I didn't say that–"

"It's what you were implying though, wasn't it?" She tugged on her clothes and grabbed her bag. "I'm sorry Randy, I didn't realise I was such a drama queen."

"Kelly, you're being overdramatic–"

"Well, I'm a drama queen so what did you expect?"

"Now you're just being ridiculous." He commented. "Stop overreacting and get back over here–"

"Okay, so maybe I have a little bit of baggage." She tried to defend her corner. "Yeah, there's some stuff about me that isn't perfect but I try to get through it – that's what last night was, it was me trying to make everything right."

"You don't need to be a martyr. You and Kofi aren't together anymore so you don't need to constantly please him and you and Alicia don't seem like brilliant friends either, so why bother pleasing her? You need to work out what's best for you."

Kelly didn't know what she was meant to think or how she was meant to react to what Randy was saying. This whole situation was getting more and more confusing, especially now the guy she considered to be her boyfriend wasn't as serious about her as she thought. "Can I ask you something?" He nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "What are we? Does what we have mean anything to you?"

"You're a great girl, Kelly, but I don't want a relationship. We have fun together but it's not going anywhere – I'm joining the army and you're going back to California; it's not like we have a future as a couple. Is there anything wrong with just wanting to have a good time with someone without all this baggage?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with that." She agreed. "But like you said, I need to work out what's best for me."

"Yeah, you do."

"And the thing is, Randy, I don't think you are. You're not what's best for me. In fact, you're the one that caused all these problems in the first place – if we hadn't slept together that night, I wouldn't have any of these problems. Kofi wouldn't be with Alicia because he and I would never have broken up."

"You can't blame me for that – you came onto me." He pointed out.

"I don't blame you. I'm just saying..." Kelly didn't know what she was saying anymore. "I've gotta go." She walked straight out of Randy's house, unsure of whether she would ever return again – or if she ever wanted to.

"If I could live off one type of food, I think it might just be ice-cream." Eve decided as she and Ted walked hand-in-hand back to the beach house, her free hand holding a half-eaten vanilla cone. The early evening breeze filled the air and as she let out a small shiver, her boyfriend let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in closer for extra warmth. "Thank you." She quickly added.

"Ice cream or me?"

"You might not like the answer so ask me again later." She giggled, enjoying the sweet snack far too much.

"Oh really? Oh, hang on, you've got a little–" Ted pushed the cone against her nose, the centre of her face covered in ice cream. "Look at that, my hand slipped!"

"You dick! Now the answer is definitely ice-cream."

"Are you sure about that?" He laughed, leaning over to lick a line of vanilla along the bridge of her nose, forcing her to giggle along with him.

"Can I have you dipped in ice-cream?" She asked sweetly, wrapping her arms around his neck as Ted took a lick of vanilla from her cheek. "If so, I'm thinking we ought to take a trip out and get a couple of buckets of Ben & Jerry's because I am planning a very fun night."

"As great as that sounds, I'm actually going to see Mickie tonight."

Stopping on the porch of the beach house, Eve laughed. "You're kidding, right?" It seemed utterly ridiculous. Why on earth would her boyfriend go see that little witch after all she'd done? After all the ways she tried to ruin Eve's life? "You're not honestly going to see that little–"

"Easy." Ted said, sensing her anger bubbling. "I know she's done some...crazy stuff, but I want to hear her side of things. There's two sides to every story, aren't there? If she's done wrong then I'll know not to see her again but if she's–"

"There's no 'if' about it, Ted. She's tried to come in-between us, not to mention she's the reason my father and I now have a terrible relationship as opposed to no relationship at all! She's evil – you don't need to hear her side of the story to know that."

"She was always a good friend to me, I need to know the truth."

"Just when I thought that bitch was finally out of my life, here she is again, trying to weave her way back in!"

"Don't you think you're being a bit...harsh?" He wasn't defending the way Mickie appeared to have acted but he couldn't understand how someone that was once such a good friend to him could be so cruel. There must have been some reason for it.

"Did you not hear everything I just said? I don't hate anyone, Ted, but I hate her! I despise her and I don't want you going to see her!"

"You don't want me going to see her? What are you? My mother? My wife? You can't control who I go see!"

"You're right, I don't, because if I did, I wouldn't have let you go see her in the first place!" They were both shouting on the porch now as Eve fumbled in her handbag to find her house keys and let herself in. Both were so deep in argument they barely noticed that Brie, Zack, Dolph and Kofi were sat in the living area watching TV, all of whom turned around at the fight brewing.

"Wow, I never knew how clingy you could be! It's not like I'm going over there to sleep with the girl!" He yelled back. "Jeez, apparently you've never heard of a little freedom, have you?"

"All I've given you is 'freedom' this summer and where did it leave us? On the brink of breaking up with crazy Mickie right in the middle of it!" Every time Eve used the word 'freedom', her fingers jerked angrily into air quotes and her became a little more shrill. "If you want 'freedom', feel free to walk straight out that door and into the arms of a life-ruining tramp! Maybe she'll give you all this 'freedom' you want!"

Everything went silent as the five friends stared in disbelief at the argument that was transpiring; they'd never seen Ted and Eve fight like this; they were usually such a stable couple. Ted and Eve felt it as well, this was the worst they'd ever fallen out but neither was willing to admit that it had gotten out of hand.

It was Kofi that spoke first, standing up and walking over to the couple. "I think you guys need to cool off – have some space for a little while and talk again tomorrow."

"You're right." Ted sighed, making his way back over to the door.

"I didn't mean that you should leave–"

"Where're you going? Off to see Mickie?" Eve asked from behind her step-brother who was stood between them.

"I don't know, Eve. All I know is that Kofi's right, I need some space and all I'm getting here is a load of aggro!" He yelled back, slamming the door behind him.

Nothing like returning with a bang, right? :)
Thank you for all the reviews so far and once again, please review! xx