A/N:  Here's Ch. 7.  I hope you like. R&R!

Chapter 7:  Nothing to Lose

Twister awoke several hours later from the dull pain of someone poking him in the shoulder.  He opened his eyes and saw Otto standing over him.  After Lars left with Reggie, he couldn't bring himself to get back out of bed and pretend that everything was normal.  Instead he lay there, feeling miserable, until he eventually dozed off.

"Where the hell have you been?  I've been calling ALL DAY!" Otto shouted.  The expression on his face showed that he was more worried than mad.

"I've been here.  I didn't hear the phone." Twister said, yawning.  "How did you get in?

"I've been pounding on the door for fifteen minutes!  It was open so I let myself in cause I knew you were home…" Otto paused briefly. "I just wanted to be sure everything was okay."  He added quietly. 

"Don't sweat it Ottoman, I'm fine.  It's not like I'm going to go jump off a cliff or something."  Twister said jokingly.

Otto frowned, "Not funny dude." 

"Sorry."  Twister mumbled.  He could tell that Otto was really worried about him and wasn't in the mood for joking.

As far as Otto could tell, Twister seemed to be okay, but he still couldn't get the image of him standing on the edge of Mondo Mountain out of his mind.  He just shrugged, deciding to drop the subject.  "C'mon, get your board.  We're going to Madtown."

"Nah, go ahead bro.  I'm not in the mood."  Twister said.

"No way, I'm not going to let you sit around here and feel sorry for yourself.  Now get up!" Otto demanded. 

"Just drop it Otto!  I'm NOT going!  There's no way that I'm going to go down there so I can watch Reggie kissing all over Lars." Twister shouted, getting angry. 

"WHAT did you say?" Otto's eyes got huge when he realized what Twister was telling him.

"Yeah, you heard me.  They left together this morning." Twister said.

"I can't believe this! She told me she was going to go help dad at the shack." 

"Maybe she was, but Lars got to her first. He almost broke his neck trying to get out the door when he saw her in the driveway." As he spoke, Twister's attitude was casual, like he could care less, but the hurt in his eyes was clearly obvious.

"I can't believe this!"  Otto repeated.  "Lars? She's hanging with Lars? That's messed-up!"

"Whatever.  They deserve each other." Twister said.

Otto picked up Twister's skateboard and helmet and shoved them at him. "Let's go."

"I said I'm not going." Twister said.

"Yes you are, bro.  Do you want to sit here and let them see how down you are while they're out rippin' it up?"

Twister shrugged, but took the helmet and board anyway.  Otto was right.  There was no need for him to mope around his house when Reggie had pretty much forgotten about him. He needed to get on with life, even though he wasn't so sure he could.  "Okay." He muttered and strapped on his helmet. 

Reluctantly, Twister followed Otto over pick up Sam.  The sky was overcast to match his mood, as if nature somehow knew how he felt.  He kept glancing back at his house wondering how pissed Otto would be if he changed his mind. 

"Hey guys." Sam said as he opened his door. 

"We're going to Madtown, wanna come?"  Otto asked.

"Yeah, I need to go get my board and tell my mom.  Just a sec." Sam rushed off. A few minutes later he returned ready to go.  "How're you doing, Twister?" he asked as they were leaving.

"Great, why wouldn't I be?  I mean, my girlfriend cheated on me then dumped me and now she's hanging out with my brother.  I'm fan-freakin'-tastic."

Sam glanced at Otto questioningly.  Otto just shook his head, silently telling him to drop it. 

"Man, I can't wait to catch some mad air." Otto said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, me too.  Right after I beef a hundred times!"  Sam said. 

Twister didn't say anything.  Just to prevent an uncomfortable silence, Otto and Sam chatted about nothing all the way to Madtown.  

*******

As they sat on a sand dune and watched the waves breaking on the beach, Lars casually slipped his arm around Reggie's waist.  He took a deep breath and held it, waiting for her to either pull away or slap him.  After a few seconds, she did neither, so he finally relaxed and smiled at her. 

Reggie was surprised that she didn't feel uncomfortable with Lars.  It was probably because she'd known him for as long as she'd known Twister.   This was the first time that they'd ever actually hung out together though.  Normally Lars would be with his loser buddies, trying to think of ways to make life miserable for Otto and Twister.  At least that's the image she'd always had of him, but looking back now she realized that she'd never really taken time to get to know him.  After talking to him for over an hour, he seemed like a totally different person than the Lars that she thought she knew. 

"So why exactly were you kissing a shoobie?"  He asked, bringing up the subject for the first time. 

"He was a total jerk.  He did it before I knew what was happening—even after I told him that I wasn't interested.  Then he acted like he'd done me a freakin' favor.  What a lame-o" 

"Sounds like it."

"But what really pisses me off is that Twister didn't trust me and wouldn't even let me talk."

Lars nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, that's messed up."

"I'm glad someone agrees with me.  Everyone else thinks I'm a bitch." She said.

"You're not a bitch Reggie.  I don't blame you for what you did.  Twister was wrong for jumping to conclusions without letting you tell your side."

"Yeah."  She whispered even as she second-guessed herself.  She closed her eyes and wondered if perhaps she was wrong for what she did.  She had no doubt until now that Twister deserved exactly what he got, but after explaining everything to Lars, she realized that he defiantly had good reason to be mad.  Even if the kiss had never happened, she still ignored him practically all day yesterday to hang with Alex and Will.  She knew that she'd done nothing wrong, but it was easy to see why she looked guilty to everyone else.  A dull ache crept its way into the pit of her stomach.  It was finally starting sink in that maybe she really did need him. 

Lars moved his hand from around her waist and nudged her gently in the arm.  "You still with me here?" he asked.

She opened her eyes to see him staring at her.  She wondered how long she was zoned out.  "Yeah, still here."  She said with a weak smile.

"You looked like you were a million miles away."

"Sorry.  I'm just kinda tired." She lied.

"Oh.  You want to go home?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine. Really."  She sputtered.  A few minutes of silence passed before she spoke again. "So how is he?"

"Who?  Twister?  He's fine."  Lars said without further explanation.

"He wasn't upset?" she pressed.

"Not really.  He was more pissed than anything.  He said that he couldn't believe you did that to him, he doesn't need you, he's glad it's over blah, blah, blah.  You know, that kind of stuff.  He doesn't seem to be taking it too hard though.  He didn't even freak when I told him that we were going to the beach."

"He knows that we're together?"  Reggie's eyes widened with shock.

"Yeah, he even said he's cool with it."

"Oh."  She said quietly, clearly hurt that Twister wasn't more upset about the break-up.  Not only did it seem like he already over her, but he didn't even care if his own brother dated her. 

"Now quit worrying about him.  He's not worth it.  Besides, I never thought you were right for each other anyway." Lars hinted.

"What do you mean?"

"Just like I told you before, you should be with someone older and more mature." He put his arm around her again. 

"Maybe you're right," she said half-heartedly.  She moved a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.  After hearing that Twister was apparently fine with their relationship being over, what little hope she had of working things out with him had vanished.  She felt that she had nothing more to lose.

******

At Madtown, Twister slouched on a bench and watched Sam and Otto in the bowl.  He briefly wished that he had his video camera because Otto was pulling off some stellar moves.  He was glad he didn't though because couldn't bring himself to do anything more than sit there. 

Otto skated up on the edge of the bowl and called out to him.  "You dropping in, or what?" 

"Yeah, I'm coming.  Give me a few more minutes." 

"You've already been sitting there for like thirty minutes.  What's with you?"  Otto asked, knowing quite well what was wrong with Twister.  He just wanted to help him get his mind off of things.  

"I TOLD YOU I don't feel like doing this.  Now leave me the hell alone!"  Twister shouted angrily.  He was aware that Otto was only trying to help him, but the last thing on his mind right now was skateboarding.

"Okay, Okay.  Chill dude. I'll leave you alone." Otto said then dropped back into the bowl. 

Twister looked around and noticed a group of teens standing next to the half-pipe that he'd never seen at Madtown before.  Usually it was the same crowd that hung out there all the time so new faces were pretty easy to spot. 

It was three of them, two guys and a girl, and they all appeared to be about his age.  The guys had the typical skater look with baggie jeans and t-shirts.  The taller guy had short brown hair that was dyed blond at the tips.  The other one also had short brown hair and sported a silver hoop earring.

What really caught Twister's attention thought was the girl with long, auburn hair.  She was slim with a tight midriff tank top and low-rise jeans that exposed her belly button ring.

All of a sudden she looked up from her conversation with the guys and briefly locked eyes with him.  He felt foolish when he realized that he'd been staring.  To his surprise, she didn't turn and go back to ignoring him, but raised her hand and waved.  He managed a weak smile and waved back at her, then lowered his eyes self-consciously.  When he looked up again, she was walking strait toward him.

"Hi." She said as she approached.  "I'm Autumn."

"Like the season?" He asked, then instantly felt like an idiot. 

She laughed.  "Yes, like the season.  What's your name?"

"Twister."

"Like the storm." She said playfully.

He immediately liked her sense of humor.  "Well actually it's Maurice, but nobody calls me that but my parents.  Nobody that wants to live, that is."

"Well I better remember not to call you that!" she giggled.

"Did you just move here, or are you on vacation?" he asked.

"Neither.  We're from the next town over, Sunset Beach.  We come here to hang out sometimes cause we don't have a skate park.  I've seen you here before."

"You have?  I've never seen you."

"You're usually busy skating with your buds.  I've never had a chance to say hi before.  Your friend is Otto Rocket, right?"  She pointed at Otto who was still skating in the bowl.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I've heard a lot about him.  He's supposedly the best skater in Ocean Shores."

"He is.  He's the best surfer too."

"Well, from what I've seen, you're not so bad yourself." She flirted.

"Thanks" he grinned.

"Why don't you come join us for a run on the half-pipe? David and Chris won't mind." She said.

"Who's David and Chris?"  He wondered what her relationship was with the two guys.

"David's my brother." She pointed to the guy with the blond-tips.  "And Chris is our friend."

"Oh.  Thanks, but no thanks.  Nothing against you, or anything, I'm just not in the mood today."

"Okay."  She looked disappointed.  "If you change your mind, we'll be at the half-pipe."

"Okay, later."

"I hope to see you again soon." She said as she got up to leave. 

Twister watched as she walked away, feeling more miserable than ever.  Part of him wanted to accept her offer, but he just couldn't get his mind off Reggie.  He still felt a flicker of hope that none of this was really happening. Maybe she'd walk up any minute and everything would be normal again.  He was interrupted from his thoughts when Otto skated up and sat down beside him.

"Who was the babe?"  He asked excitedly.

"Autumn.  She's from Sunset Beach." 

"What did she say to you?"

"She asked me to hang with her."

"Well, what did you say?" Otto asked impatiently.

"I told her no."

"WHAT!  Are you crazy? She's totally hot!"  Otto gushed.

"I know."

"So what's the problem?"
"I can't stop thinking about Reggie." Twister muttered, knowing what Otto's reaction would be.

"Are you WHACKED? She's off with Lars, REMEMBER? Forget her, bro! That girl totally digs you." 

Twister knew that Otto had a point.  Reggie had already forgotten about him so there was really no point in sitting around feeling depressed.   "Maybe you're right, Ottoman.' He said quietly.

"Of course I'm right! Stop acting like a lame-o and go tell her you changed your mind!" Otto insisted

Twister got up and grabbed his helmet and board, then walked towards the half-pipe.  He felt that he didn't have anything to lose.