Part 2: Why are you Here?

A/N: I forgot to put it in before, but in the last part Laurissa says that Ronan is a sexier name than Fred. I just want to say I have nothing against the name Fred. In fact the character is named after Fred Weasley from Harry Potter who is one of my favourite characters of the series.

Also just in case I never get a chance to put it in the story: Laurissa was Kane's next-door neighbor. Her older brother is David (Davey) who Kane mentioned to Kirsty during their time in the bush after the shipwreck. I'll explain later while Kane is closer to Laurissa rather than David.

Kane and Laurissa hugged and kissed each other's cheeks happily before Kane asked the question.

"Laurissa what are you doing back in the bay?"

"Listen Kane you can't call me Laurissa at the moment. For now my name is Holly." She explained upset that she had to say this.

"Why? What's going on?" Kane was instantly suspicious of his friend's actions.

Laurissa looked down at the ground for a moment. She knew that she was going to have to tell Kane everything. He wasn't the type to like being left in the dark. Laurissa couldn't though. She wouldn't. She refused to put Kane in danger. Laurissa knew that Kane had a rough childhood she didn't want to cause any more harm that may come of him.

"You're married" She pointed out as she saw his wedding ring glimmer in the sun.

Laurissa didn't mean to use it as a distraction. It just came out. She had no idea that Kane was married now and seeing the ring had surprised her. Kane wasn't much older than her and she had no plans to get married anytime soon. Especially since the only man currently in her life was Fred.

"Yeah..." Kane allowed himself to bask for a moment in that very fact.

"Congratulations!" Laurissa happily gave Kane another hug.

It wasn't something completely unexpected. Laurissa and Kane had been close at one point. Her happiness for him was genuine. Kane was just not used to it. It would be the normal thing for anyone to say upon discovering his wedding ring, but not in Summer Bay.

"So who? When? And why wasn't I invited?" Laurissa asked with a grin on her face.

"It wasn't really a big wedding." Kane admitted as the pair began to walk together, not really knowing where they were heading.

They walked a little more with each other not talking. That was until Kane's patience grew thin. He never had much to begin with, but for someone who was almost family for him he wasn't going to loose his temper.

"Why are you in the bay Holly? What's going on?" He asked.

"Can we go some place to talk? There's a few things I need to explain" Laurissa answered.

She knew that there was little hope of hiding anything from Kane. Not that she was going to tell him the entire story. That, for now, would still be kept between her and Fred.

"The bayside diner...why do I have a feeling that I've been here before?" Laurissa asked as they entered the infamous diner.

It wasn't too busy in there, which suited Laurissa fine. She wasn't too keen on having the nosy kids of Summer bay trying to work out who she was. Laurissa knew how the town worked. Everyone knew who everyone else was. Except for Laurissa's family who had moved to the city and long forgotten.

"It used to the Beachside diner before Colleen decided to create a fire" Kane grumbled as the old woman watched them slide into the booth.

"Oh yeah. I've been there before. We were heading to the beach for my birthday and I wanted a burger so we came in here. Course my parents saw this place as too good for them and we left as soon as could fit the last piece of the burger into my mouth." Laurissa sighed as she looked around the place.

She liked what she saw. During her teenage years all Laurissa had seen was pretty much the finer side of Sydney. Occasionally she'd be able to enter some kind of fast food restaurant, but never anything like the Bayside diner. There was just something so friendly about it. Maybe it just the fact that everyone seemed to speak to the staff as if they were all friends. In a town like Summer bay they probably were.

"Wow, I can't believe the Zalika's actually ate here" Kane snapped.

He regretted the nastiness of his tone as soon as he finished the sentence. He knew very well that Laurissa's family were very well off and perceived themselves as upper class society. It was the reason that they moved to the city in the first place. It although never effected the relationship between Laurissa and Kane until she moved away. Kane had never once remembered seeing Laurissa act as a child should have acted in their circle of people. In fact she was one of the most down to earth people he knew at the time.

"Don't say my name out loud Kane" Laurissa quickly hushed. "And don't judge me like that just because my family has money."

"Fine, why don't you just tell me why you're here?" Kane attempted to force some coolness into his tone, but his patience-level wouldn't allow it.

"Let's wait for the food" Laurissa answered with a now wicked smile. "Tell me how you and Kirsty met"

"It's a long story" Kane replied.

"I'm not going anywhere"

"We fell in love after the ship I was working on sunk. Almost the whole of Summer bay had been on the boat. We ended up being stranded together along with her mother"

Kane decided not to tell Laurissa about the 'rape'. He didn't want to relive that at all. What Laurissa didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Plus Kane was fairly accepted in the bay now, there was no point in having Laurissa know about his teenage past, though he was curious about hers.

"Romantic" Laurissa quipped.

Before Kane's tale could continue Colleen brought the burger and chips they had ordered. She didn't say at all, but gave Laurissa a dirty look. Neither Kane nor Laurissa noticed at the time though.

"Okay food's here." Kane stated.

"I can't...and won't...tell you all the details, but Ronan and I are here because we saw something we shouldn't have" Laurissa whispered as she ate her chips.

"Wait, Ronan? Who's Ronan?" Kane asked. "And what did you see?"

"Ronan is the "boyfriend"" Laurissa explained using her fingers to make quotation marks. "We were sort of on the verge of break-up before this happened."

Laurissa didn't bother to tell Kane that Ronan's real name was Fred. It was easier for Kane if he didn't know who Fred was at all. Plus Laurissa liked saying the name.

"And like I already said we saw something we shouldn't have" Laurissa repeated.

Kane knew that Laurissa wasn't going to give up the information easily. She had always liked to have mystery in her life. But this wasn't something Kane thought she should mysterious about. In fact it was getting him aggravated. So Kane decided to take a different route.

"Shouldn't you be in some kind of police protection or something then?" Kane asked, remembering all too well what happened when psycho Sarah shot Jesse.

"I refused it" Laurissa answered coolly. "I didn't want to be shoved in some unknown place in Tasmania where they give me some stupid identity"

"It's meant to be for your own protection!"

"Don't you start. I've had enough of this from Ronan. I'd be safer in a place I know anyway. I've wanted to come back to the Bay for ages, this was just a sign"

A few meters away the pair had someone who was watching them. Naturally it had to be the local gossip, Colleen. She was standing by the coffee machine just glaring at Laurissa and Kane. She had only seen Kane act like that with one other girl. His wife. If Colleen had her way Kane was going to be in enormous trouble for this. Colleen felt for Kirsty. After all the poor girl had been through so much in the past couple of months.

"I hope you've got some kind of magical powers that allows you to just stand by the machine while it makes coffee" Alf said as he walked out to the diner from upstairs.

Colleen didn't have a reaction. She continued to watch Kane and Laurissa speak in hushed voices, constantly checking to see if anyone was daring to eavesdrop.

"Colleen" Alf tired again. "Hello woman are you in there?"

"Oh!" Colleen realized that Alf was there.

Alf glanced to where Kane and Laurissa were then back to Colleen. He knew her all too well. Somehow her mind would have jumped to an overdramatic conclusion. Most likely being one that didn't show Kane in the best light.

"It's disgusting Alf" Colleen spat, proving Alf right. "It hasn't even been long since his wife's transplant. Poor Kirsty"

"Swerth woman! Young Kane is just having lunch with the girl, not proposing to her. For all you know she could be his long-lost sister"

Colleen gave Alf a disbelieving look. It was a little far fetched, even for her standard.

"In this town I wouldn't be surprised" Alf muttered, making his way to the booth where the pair in question sat.

"I need you to keep this quiet" Laurissa continued to whisper. "Tell Kirsty if you must, but as far as anyone else knows Ronan and I are a young couple who's parents don't want us to be together"

"Romeo and Juliet story. Been there before" Kane sighed remembering he hadn't told Laurissa the entire story of his marriage.

"Hey you two" Alf said as he approached the table. "Just thought I'd give you the heads up. Colleen has got some idea that you two are here to have an affair. I swear that woman has one too many screws loose"

"What?! How can she think I'd do that to Kirsty" Kane was outraged.

If there was one positive thing just about everyone knew about him was that he was very dedicated to his wife. He would never cheat on her, not even if Miss Universe offered herself to him.

"You know what she's like." Alf sympathy replied. "Unless you're Lancey then she won't hesitate to spread gossip about you. Then again I can never get her to shut up about her son"

Alf knew only too well how Colleen enjoyed to gossip. It usually backfired on her though. He was surprised that hadn't stopped her.

"We'll watch ourselves. Thanks Alf" Kane said to his boss, while glaring at Colleen.

"Who was that?" Laurissa asked. "I'm guessing that waitress is Colleen."

"That's Alf. You don't remember him? He's been here for ages. Owns this diner as well as the boat I work on"

"Oh. I think I remember him. Josh told me that he was still around"

"Josh? As in Josh West?"

"Yeah. He may not be doing all that well at the moment, but I've met him at a few parties and stuff. Family isn't too bad off"

"Small world"

"Summer bay is smaller though"

"Sometimes that isn't a good thing. I suppose we better face miss gossip 2004 and pay the bill"

"Oh let me do it Kane" Laurissa gave him a wicked smile as she slid out from her seat. "I've had to handle one or two gossips at school. It'll be fun"

Kane knew that Laurissa had a twisted sense of humor at times, but wasn't too concerned with it. Colleen probably deserved whatever was coming to her anyway. She had obviously already upset Alf, who was one of the few people in the town who gave Kane a chance.

"Hello. I'd like to pay our bill please Miss" Laurissa began with the pleasant formality she had been taught by her parents.

Colleen didn't say anything. In her mind Laurissa was still a 'hussy'.

"Oh and by the way Colleen" Laurissa's tone changed as she handed over the money. "You might want to have your memory checked out because you should remember that Kane is married! And you obviously don't remember me so don't start making up little fantasies about me being a mistress. This isn't Bold and the Beautiful you know"

Laurissa winked at the old woman and strolled out of the Diner. Kane was a little shocked that someone actually said that to Colleen, but he decided it'd be best not to add anything. Alf however was collecting up Laurissa and Kane's plates with a grin on his face.

"Oh dare she speak to me like that." Colleen huffed.

"You had it coming" Alf replied, receiving a nasty look from his waitress.

Back at the Caravan Park Fred continued to unpack. He had finished with his own stuff and decided to start on Laurissa's. He was surprised at how many different tops could fit into her suitcase. Then again these tops didn't contain all that much material anyway.

Fred looked down at his watch. Laurissa had been gone over an hour now. He supposed that she did find her friend. Kane or something like that. Fred decided that he should go friend his 'girlfriend'. After all it was always planned that he would meet Laurissa's friend. Even when they were dating Laurissa mentioned him once.

Walking out of the caravan Fred followed the path out of the park and headed to the beach. When they were driving down in the car Laurissa described the beach. Fred had seen plenty of beaches before. He did live in Sydney after all. Bondi was the favourite hang out for most of his friends during summer. Sometimes they'd even head to Manley. But never as far as Summer Bay. The only reason Fred had heard of the small town was because of Laurissa.

There was no sign of her on the beach. Fred reached into his pocket, only finding his wallet. He forgot for a moment that the police had his and Laurissa's phones and pagers. Fred wasn't able to get his ipod or laptop in time either. He had none of his favourite gadgets. All he was left with was a few designer clothes. Not even his unlimited credit cards. Fred was someone he had never been before. He was just a common middle class Australian citizen.

The realization his him hard. He wondered how long Laurissa planned to keep him cooped up in the caravan park. It could be months before they heard any news. Fred didn't know how the cops planned to catch up him and Laurissa. He guessed that there'd have to be police station nearby. The police of Summer bay would probably come looking for the pair at some point.

If you're reading this please reply with any sort of comment you'd like. I don't need an ego boost. I'm enjoying writing this. I'd just be nice to know someone is reading. Thanks