"That was ages away" Sam grumbled, looping a chain he'd liberated from Grandpa's full garage around his bike, attaching it to a bright yellow railing.

"Yeah, I always forget how far away it is" Edgar agreed a little tonelessly, giving no indication as to whether he thought it was a good or a bad thing. He locked his bike firmly and watched his brother do the same.

"Oh, hey, laser tag?" Sam said with a grin as he peered at the huge complex in front of him, "you didn't mention that"

It was quite a gargantuan building, teaming with flashing lights, bright colors and, every time the huge electric doors slid open, the sound of music, bells and laughter rang out. It looked like the Frog Brothers had actually brought him somewhere cool. He was eager to get inside and have a look around, especially now that he saw the laser tag being advertised in jagged, red lettering.

"You like laser tag?" Alan asked with raised eyebrows, "I didn't think that was your style, Ken"

As the three headed into the building, Sam letting the Ken nickname slide this time, he nodded, "I'm a pro. Wanna game?"

He was only a pro compared to Elizabeth and Michael but he kept that to himself.

"For sure" Alan replied, looking pleased at the prospect. Edgar nodded approvingly and Sam suddenly felt like he was passing an unknown test.

The trio entered the complex walking in a loose line with Sam wedged between the two brothers. He let out a little whistle. He guessed the business was trying to compete with the boardwalk. Whoever owned it had spent serious, serious money kitting it out. He thought he could have a good time here. A really, really good time. The lobby was intense, the ceiling filled with lots of small bulbs and painted a dark navy, giving it a night sky, spacey feel. The metal support beams were painted a matte grey and the floor was carpeted in a thin, scratchy black carpet with patterned walkways running its length.

Sam grinned as he realized he was following the path of the walkway instead of trampling across it, "kinda feels like we're on a space ship, huh guys?"

There were a ton of different zones, an adventure zone, a game zone, a climbing zone..what was that?

Sam grinned.

"Space is lame" Alan said but Sammy didn't reply. He was too busy looking at two looming alien guards - painted concrete statues, he realized - with their plastic looking laser guns. A flashing red sign offered him the chance to "take up the challenge" and he grinned. He really loved laser tag. It was the only sport he really played, though his siblings had always laughingly insisted it was anything but a sport.

Sore losers, he thought with a grin, faltering a little when he thought about them.

Now that he was away from them, a flower of guilt was beginning to bloom in his stomach. He felt bad for snapping at his big brother like that, not that it wasn't deserved but…he was beginning to realize that maybe Elizabeth was right, maybe he had gone about it the wrong way. And he felt bad for snapping at her, too, even though she'd accepted his apology with her easy grace.

He wished he'd said a proper goodbye to Mike..

"Popcorn!"

Sam did a double take.

It was the first time he'd heard Alan say anything with innocent enthusiasm. Sure enough, the smell of popcorn met his nose and he looked around with a grin, siblings momentarily forgotten.

The theater ticket desk was designed like a giant film reel, the shiny black plastic desk looking not entirely out of place with the space ship theme of the main lobby. There was a snack booth directly to its right and Sam noticed a few wandering families and teenagers with prizes and snacks in their hand.

He nodded in appreciation. He could kind of go for an extra-large butter popcorn, he thought, watching as a giggling girl passed him.

"So what movie did you wanna see?" Sam asked his new but odd friends as they approached the ticket desk. He was squinting at the posters in the distance, the bright neon frames surrounding them actually making it difficult to focus. He looked at the titles with varying levels of interest. There were a few interesting looking ones.

"I already got us tickets" Edgar said, clicking his knuckles.

"Yeah, we phoned the box office after you left yesterday" Alan added.

Sam watched them, not really knowing if their action had been rude or generous. Maybe just presumptuous was the better word?

"Uhhhh. OK..thanks guys. So what are we watching?"

They both grinned and Edgar suddenly produced three tickets with all the flourish of a magician.

"Dracula From Beyond the Grave" the Frog Brothers boomed happily in unison and Sam groaned.

There were three advertisements for what looked to be incredibly wholesome and cute chick flicks, four action posters and even a comedy with a pink chipmunk and they had chosen that?

"You know I don't like horror, why would you do that?" he shoved his hands into his pockets, having to feel for them a little first due to their low position on his beige cardigan. He stared at his new friends.

"Horror comics" Alan corrected as Edgar explained, "reading horror and watching horror are two different things"

"Same thing. Horror is horror" Sam insisted.

"Hear us out!"

"Ken, we promise this is a good movie" Alan implored, "you want to watch this movie"

"Have you already seen it? How do you even know it's that good?"

"It's for your own safety-"

Sam shook his head, "What? A trashy Dracula movie is gonna help train me in the ways of defending truth and justice?"

"It's not trashy" Alan corrected him, yet again, as Edgar nodded, "Exactly! Think of it like a training video!"

Sam sighed. Was this his life now?

"Look, Ken, the movie starts in twenty minutes and I need to buy the jumbo popcorn combo" Alan said, glancing over at the slow moving line snaking towards the food.

Jumbo popcorn did sound good...Sam sighed.

"We're your friends" Edgar said seriously, "come on, it won't be so bad"

"Anyway, they're paid for…"

Sam looked at them both and, holding back another sigh, he nodded. It hadn't been terrible so far. Not amazing but not terrible..."OK. Fine. You win but we're doing laser tag after, OK?"

"Totally" Edgar agreed.

"And bowling" Alan added as they moved towards the ticket attendant.

She was dressed in an ill-fitting metallic silver jumpsuit and Sam wasn't sure if she was supposed to be an astronaut or an alien.

"Snacks for movie consumption to be purchased beyond the theater gates" the attendant told them in a drawl peppered with sporadic, faux-excited emphasis, "check out our Space Cadet Special, supersize drink upgrade for fifty cents"

"Yeah bowling's cool, I'm down" Sam agreed over his shoulder as he handed over his ticket to the girl. She sighed and punched a hole in it, barely glancing down as she did.

"What is it with you and vampires, anyway?" he asked as they moved past the attendant and in to the movie theater lobby, "there's literally a million different genres..."

"We like werewolves..."

"Demons.."

"Zombies-"

"-ghosts"

"Love ghosts!"

Sam rolled his eyes.

That wasn't quite what he meant.

As Sammy was dealing with his new found friendship with the Frog Brothers, Elizabeth was a few comfortable hours into her date with Dwayne.

She'd left the house wearing a simple pair of jeans and a white blouse. She had told Sammy she was going to read but she had actually spent most of the afternoon tearing apart her closet, trying on combinations of dresses, sweaters, shorts. Elizabeth must have changed outfits fifteen times but no matter what she chose, she just kept coming back to the same easy but – she'd hoped – pretty blouse and jeans. Comfortable, familiar. She'd let her hair down, like usual, and when she had left her house, bounding down the driveway to where she had arranged to meet Dwayne, Sammy had already been long gone.

He'd not really said much of a goodbye to her, just a quick holler up to her bedroom. Elizabeth had told him to have fun and had dashed down her stairs to meet him, but he hadn't lingered. She had seen the swish of his cardigan as he went down the main stairs at speed. She'd shot a look at Michael's door, thinking that perhaps Sammy's shortness was more to do with their older brother holed up in his room than her.

When it was time to leave, she had thought of saying goodbye to Michael but she didn't want to answer his inevitable questions…plus, she honestly wasn't sure if he would be in the mood to chat. Not after the events of the afternoon. She didn't want to start her date feeling glum from another little spat.

She shouldn't have worried.

The second she saw Dwayne, leaning against his bike at the end of her drive and watching the sea in the distance, she felt once more like everything was right with the world.

She had felt that way their whole evening...

"Do you think it was justified?" Dwayne asked, balancing a grease stained, white package easily on his lap.

"Yes and no" Elizabeth replied slowly, wiping her mouth with a crumpled, cheap napkin as she did.

They were sat comfortably on an old, weather worn bench surrounded by the sound of crashing waves and rustling leaves. Elizabeth couldn't have been happier and she smiled down at the kebab she had been making her way through.

They'd spent the first few hours of their date easily wandering around the 'nicer part of town', as Dwayne had described, it but they came to the mutual agreement that it was far too sterile and boring. Nothing could compare to the electric, atmospheric boardwalk. They had been heading towards a fancy looking restaurant before deciding to forget it. She'd received a playful nudge when she'd suggested his clothes would definitely put off the proprietor anyway, and as she had laughingly swayed back towards him, he'd thrown his arm over her shoulder, keeping her close. That's how they had walked, back to his bike and that's how they had spent the evening; side by side.

Her smile had been pretty much plastered to her face since.

"They've always been really close and Michael has been a bit, I don't know..." Elizabeth chose her words carefully, "..off lately, so I guess Sam was right to express his feelings but…"

"You think Michael's been off?" he asked, looking at her.

"Yeah, you know…he's not his usual self, at least, I think that's what it is" she shrugged, "it's weird. I'm sure it'll be fine"

"It doesn't sound fine. It sounds like it's bothering you…you said they snapped at you?" Dwayne asked her and she shook her head, feeling pleasantly comforted.

She loved the hardness in his voice, that little flair of protectiveness she heard. She felt like she could tell him anything, like he could solve all her problems with ease.

Even just talking to him helped her feel better about the whole situation. She didn't even know how long they had been chatting about her silly brothers.

"They didn't snap snap" she assured him with a little smile, "they were just so riled up..besides, Sammy apologized.."

"Michael didn't?"

"Nah, but it's OK. He will.." she was sure of that. Michael wasn't bad, she knew he would come around and feel guilty for the fight, even though it was an even match between him and Sam.

"I certainly hope so" Dwayne said, shooting her a small smile.

She shuffled a little closer to him on the bench, a little blush creeping on her cheeks as she did.

"He will. It'll be fine..." she considered her words for a second, shrugging, having a hard time putting her finger on the problem. She didn't even know if there was a problem, it was all so weird, "it's just…they've always been super close. I guess maybe Sammy's upset at the change. You know, Michael doing his own thing?"

"Do you think he's jealous?"

Elizabeth blinked, "jealous? Who..Sammy?" she hadn't thought of that before.

She studied the man before her and he nodded in confirmation.

"I have no idea. I..maybe?" she shrugged again, "he really went after Michael...it did seem to explode from nowhere…must have really been bugging him.."

Maybe Sammy was jealous?

Maybe Dwayne had hit the nail clear on its head.

Jealousy...?

"Rightly so. Michael did leave you to fend for yourself. Twice.." Dwayne reminded her, his voice a little hard again.

She loved that he was so protective of her.

"..Yeah, Michael's an idiot. But it worked out OK for me.." she smiled shyly up at him, "so I think that's why I'm not so angry.."

"Worked out for you?"

She laughed at his attempt at playing innocent.

"That so?" Dwayne jokingly jutted his chest out a little bit and she laughed again, shaking her head.

She liked seeing his playful streak.

"...I didn't mean to use you as a sounding board for my thoughts, sorry.." she took a big bite of her kebab, his joke making her realize how serious and dull she must have sounded, droning on about her brothers "how did we even start on this anyway?" she spoke between chews, her previous worry about embarrassing herself around him pretty much gone. God, how had she only known him a short time?

Shaking his head, Dwayne assured her, "don't apologize for telling me about your feelings, Elizabeth"

Stomach churning pleasantly, she grinned and nodded, "OK. I take the apology back.."

He chuckled, flicking a nub of sinewy, garlicky meat to the floor, "I'm sure they'll figure it out between themselves, though. People always do...brothers always do. I can't even tell you the amount of times Paul and Marko have butted heads.."

He scrunched up the white, greasy paper he was holding and then crushed it in his palm.

He was a fast eater.

Surrounded by the now almost familiar boardwalk eateries and vendors, Elizabeth had asked Dwayne what was good, what he recommended. She'd asked him in a playfully challenging tone and he had definitely stepped up. He had dutifully taken her to a small, Turkish place that didn't have any tables, any seats or even a door. It was just a window with a man cooking in a small space.

She trusted him do all the ordering and he didn't disappoint. She'd never had a kebab like it and a satisfied smile had burst onto her face when she took her first bite. Dwayne had watched her closely, a soft smile of his own dancing across his face at her pleasured moan of delight. Soft lamb, smothered in a creamy but tangy sauce and stuffed in a warm, lettuce filled pitta bread. It was so good, she hadn't even worried about getting sauce on her chin.

Dwayne had managed to maneuver himself, Elizabeth and the food up and into the hills and cliffs overlooking the boardwalk and beach. He'd driven at a very calm, sedate pace but she'd enjoyed it. The slower ride meant longer pressed against him, and she'd blushed at her confidence as she'd softly gripped his firm waist.

He couldn't have chosen a better place for them to eat. The view was breath taking.

A lighthouse twinkled in the not so distant distance and the glittering lights of the boardwalk were all reflected in the sea…it was truly picture perfect and all night, Dwayne himself had been a perfect gentleman and a perfect date.

She sighed contentedly and he put his free arm over the back of the bench, fingers lightly grazing her shoulder.

It felt so nice to just be with him.

"You're right. They'll probably take the weekend to cool off and then things will be normal" she smiled up at him, scrunching her own trash into a tight ball.

He bent down and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek, surprisingly chaste, and she blushed, smiling when he pulled away.

"Why are we talking about my brothers again?" she asked playfully, looking into his eyes.

"My date started the topic" Dwayne replied stoically with a small smile.

"Yeah, she's stupid like that, huh?" Elizabeth laughed, reaching out to hold his hand. The trash they were holding was annoying, distractedly clunky, so she hooked her index finger with his instead.

Dwayne shook his head in denial. His fingers easily laced with hers, "let's go with kind hearted, rather than stupid?"

"OK. I guess I can get on board with that" she agreed graciously.

He moved to kiss her again and she leaned back into the bench, into his arm as he did. Just as she was starting to relax, to lose herself so easily in his kiss, she froze.

Oh god.

"Am I garlicky?" she asked against his lips.

That had been quite a flavorful kebab.

He chuckled, moving away, planting a kiss on her forehead instead, "..not at all"

"Really?" she looked up at him.

He laughed and shook his head, "promise"

"I ruined the moment, didn't I?" she offered.

He shook his head again, "nah, I think I can rustle up a few more romantic gestures"

"Just a few?" she laughed, looking hopefully into his eyes.

She squeezed the ball of trash in her hands and shuffled close to him once more. He accepted her body, the two of them gazing at the the rolling waves in the distance.

"So, what's next?" Elizabeth asked quietly, sitting in the comfortable nook of his arm.

"Hm?"

"I asked what's next" she repeated, looking at up him, "what were you thinking about?"

He smiled, his hair blowing lightly in the breeze.

He looked so perfect, so utterly handsome.

"You"

Right now, I could die happy, she thought. He moved to kiss the top of her head, and she allowed it, watching the sea once more.

"We could go to the boardwalk..the beach?" he offered quietly, his fingers lightly running over her shoulder.

She loved the feeling.

"You outdid yourself with the view and kebab, huh?" Elizabeth said breezily through a smile.

Dwayne chuckled, "not quite...but there is a party down at the beach, the guys were going"

She grinned thoughtfully. After the drama with her brothers, having the chance to relax and party sounded great.

She smiled at him, "That sounds good…they'll be OK with it? Me going, I mean"

He squeezed her hand softly and they both stood, somewhat reluctantly, "they'll be happy to see you"

He reached to take her trash and she smiled, wondering how she was falling so fast.

How she had fallen so fast.

She slipped onto his bike, once again using his offered hand. They weren't holding their dinner this time..., "can we go fast?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

He revved the engine in reply and she laughed in anticipation and delight, the sound mixing with his own.