Crown is a casino, with the lot. Like a hotel, shops, cinema, nightclubs, food courts, etc.

Thanks to Lisa for reviewing and realising that I'm getting senile, and that somehow I changed Amber into Amanda and that I did the Jen/Jane thing again. Now where did I put my false teeth...?

~**~

Part Eight

I had worn clothes that pretty much could be matched up against my facial expression. A white halter top, because it was too hot to wear anything dark. It could either mean, "I'm too cool for you" or "I'm totally party chick". At the moment, I think I was trying to project, "I'm cool, I'm with it, will you go out with me?". But if that didn't work, "I'm totally party chick" was okay as well. And then I had worn the not-too-short, not-too- long denim skirt. Bleached denim, which, again, could mean anything. I had forgone the hoop earrings just in case in looked too teeny-bopper. For all I knew, he could be into punk. He was wearing a clean-cut black shirt, and some jeans. They were like my clothes: pretty non-descript.

We walked down the street with the large trees overheard. I don't know what type of tree they were. Don't ask. They were big, they shed leaves in autumn, and at the moment, they gave us the cool shade that we needed so badly. Patches of sunlight filtered through the leaves, and made patterns against the pavement. Birds twitter. Cars swoosh by. A large dog jumps against the fence next to me, and barks.

"Ahhh, fuck me!" I shrieked, and jumped away from the fence, and subsequently, the German Shepherd, who seemed to think that I was one tasty morsel.

Lock caught me, of course, being the gentleman he was.

"Not on the first date."

"What?" I asked by reaction, and then it was a few seconds before I got what he was saying. I blushed. "I didn't mean, uuuh..." Not that I would've minded, but somehow, I didn't think that Locke would like me screaming, "Take me! Take me now!" in the middle of the street.

He grinned. "You're cute."

I blushed harder. I could just pretend the heat was getting to me. "Thanks," I said. The only person who'd ever told me was Johnny Baker in year seven, and that was only because he really, desperately needed a date. Usually, it's Laura that gets complimented. Not that I mind, because I know she gets sick to death of complete wackos coming up to her in the street and jerking off in front of her. Creepy. Now, she carries spray on deodourant everywhere, which was her equivalent to mace.

"So what's so special about this park we're going to?" he asked.

"Well, um, nothing really. Except it has this thing on the ground, and when you step on it, water spurts up from these jets in the ground. Like Crown." Then I realised he's never been to Crown. "It's fun to run through during summer."

"Will we run through it today?" he asked.

"Uh, well. This top..." what I wanted to say was that white halter tops become almost transparent in water "...is one of my favourites, so I don't want to get it wet," I finished lamely. It was better than the alternative.

"Oh," Lock said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Are you usually this conservative?"

Conservative? Moi? Surely not. "So what type of music do you like?" I asked, changing the subject completely.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I like Placebo. Garbage-"

"That's so cool! Garbage is my favourite band!" Placebo I thought was weird - guys dressing up as girls were really not my thing - but Garbage rocked! "If you stay longer, you should go to The Big Day Out. It's got a lot of Aussie acts, and some stuff from overseas. Like Garbage and Placebo."

He didn't say anything. In fact, he seemed to be concentrating hard on the concrete. Shit...maybe I'd come on with the friendliness too strong? Did he think I was a total klutz? Or even worse, a wannabe! Maybe he thought I didn't even know who Placebo and Garbage were, and I actually liked, horror of all horrors, Avril Lavigne.

"I like Pure Morning," I offered. Okay, I didn't really like it, but it was listenable.

Lock blinked. "Oh, sorry. I was out of it for a little while."

"It's okay if you think I'm boring," I said, although it was most certainly not okay.

"No, it's not that. I just sometimes..." he tried to find an explanation that would not hurt my feelings, "...well, sometimes I get blank-outs."

My jaw dropped. "Like epilepsy?"

He coughed. "No, um, epilepsy is the one with the fits."

Wow, he was not only hot hot hot, but he also knew one disease from the other. Epilepsy was a disease right?

"Oh, look. We're here at the park," I said, attempting to sound cheery. And then I had a sudden feeling of realisation. I had thought it was just me sweating a lot, but... Shit! It just happened to have happened at that time, didn't it.

"I just, uh, need to go to the toilet...badly. Why don't you look around first and I'll come and find you?" I said, and ran off in the direction of the public toilet block. They stank, were completely unhygienic, but it was better than doing it behind a bush. I was just lucky that I always carried a pad around. I had learnt that lesson a long time ago.

I took a deep gasp and went inside. The only way that someone could survive the smell was to not breath through your nose. I figured that if something smelt that bad, it shouldn't be going into your lungs in the first place. I slammed the door of the cubicle, and fumbled with the packaging. I let out a precious little air. This was going to be the quickest toilet break I'd ever had.

I made it outside with little air to spare, but the point was, I had not breathed. And now, I was protected by Libra Ultra Thins for Regular Flow. Despite my quick, uh, well, you know, I could not see Lock anywhere. He'd probably taken my advice, and explored around the corner.

Sullivan Park (also known as Sullivan Gardens, although where they got the 'gardens' is beyond me) had an oval on the side that we'd entered, but the real park was located at one end, so it was kind of like an L shape. We'd entered on the farther side, so I would have to cross at least half of the oval to get to where I suspected Lock was. Damn. I hated any type of exercise, unless there was a very good reason for it. Mum just tells me that I should be thankful for our family's good metabolism.

Lock, unfortunately, was not a good enough reason, because he came without a guarantee. So instead of running across, I walked briskly. Okay, my version of brisk, which took about five minutes. I've got short legs, okay?

"Hey Lock-"

As I rounded the corner, Frost was there. No, correction: Amber and Laura were standing there, watching Frost and Lock look at each other as if they were gunslingers from a Western. They all looked at me simultaneously, but the two cowboys looked back at each other almost immediately. Where was the trust?

"I thought you were at Amber's," I said to Laura.

"No room to practise whatever," she explained. "We were about to start when this guy came around the corner." Then in a quieter voice, "Who's the hottie?" Her eyes travelled up and down, assessing. "Nice catch."

I cleared my throat. "Uh, everyone, this is Lachlan O'Malley. Although it seemed that he and Frost already know each other."

Both of them looked at me again, and I was aware at how different they were. Frost was like a cool breeze, the type of bad-boy that your mother would hate for you to know, but loved when she was a girl. Lock was definitely boy-next-door, flirty, funny, and always friendly. Unfortunately, neither of them were looking too friendly at the moment.

"Jen, you know this person?" Lock asked. He seemed surprised, and even a little disappointed.

"Kinda."

Frost didn't say anything to me. He just stared daggers at Lock.

Laura was the first to speak. "So...is anyone going to explain what's going on?" Amber looked as perplexed as both of us, so I guessed that it was probably a personal vendetta. Vendetta? Just a guess.

Frost pursed his lips. "Alright. But not here."