As another loud clap of thunder broke through the peaceful spring morning, Chloe begrudgingly followed Jason Masters toward the Brady Pub, scowling the entire time. It did nothing to improve her sour mood when Jason purposely allowed the door to slam shut just as she was about to enter the building behind him.

Jason silently sat down at one of the cozy booths. He remained unusually quiet as Chloe sullenly sat down across from him, the same unhappy expression continuing to appear on her beautiful face. Finally, Jason could take her cold glare no more and dropped the menu to the table.

"Do you ever smile? Or are you always this dark and gloomy, Vampira?"

Rolling her eyes, Chloe retorted, "Grow up, Jason, because this preschool routine of yours is really starting to get on my nerves."

"Well, now you know how we all felt about your corny black wardrobe. Now, that was unnerving."

Chloe fought back the urge to reply with another snide remark. Instead, she simply asked, "What are we doing here?"

Picking up the menu he had just thrown to the table's surface, Jason turned it so that the inside was facing Chloe. As he pointed to the list of breakfast foods, he slowly said, "This is what we call a menu. Sometimes, people look at it before ordering breakfast."

"God!" Chloe exclaimed with annoyance. "Do you ever stop being an obnoxious jerk?"

"Do you ever stop being a self-righteous hypocrite that uses her pathetic childhood as an excuse for being a loser?"

Though she would never admit it, Chloe was truly stung by Jason's comments. Somehow, he always managed to find the most sensitive aspects of her life and use them against her in the most casual manner.

In an attempt to regain her usual calm composure, Chloe used the most polite tone she could muster for her enemy and said, "I was just curious why you insisted on stopping for breakfast before taking me home."

"It could be that I'm just starving and didn't get to eat earlier because I had to get up at such an ungodly hour to give Hawk a ride to the airport. Or, maybe, I thought that by stopping for breakfast, I could distract you until it started raining. Then, I could just push you into the rain to see if you melt. After all, you sure are acting like a freakin' witch."

Displaying an almost cocky smile, Chloe countered with heavy bitterness, "Hmm, just change that 'w' to a 'b', and we could be talking about that porn-loving, criminal girlfriend of yours."

The smile slowly dropped from Chloe's face when, after several seconds had passed, Jason made no attempt at a comeback. In fact, he didn't even bother to spare Chloe the annoyed glare that he had practically perfected. Feeling immensely uncomfortable due to Jason's sudden change in attitude, Chloe softly asked, "Did you not hear me? I just insulted your girlfriend. Aren't you going to make some really horrible remark to me on Jan's behalf?"

Keeping his eyes on the menu while praying that Caroline would finally come to take his breakfast order, Jason curtly responded, "Nope." After all, he felt it better to say as little as possible about Jan considering the callous way she had casually dumped him. And, hopefully, he wouldn't even have to acknowledge the break-up until Jan returned to Salem.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," answered Jason as he waved at Caroline. "I'm really not going to say anything. Besides, you wouldn't be worth the time."

Chloe refrained from giving a response to Jason's simple insult only because Caroline made her way over to the booth to take his order. With a warm smile, Caroline quickly wrote down the request for bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy.

Turning to Chloe with the same genuine smile, Caroline asked, "How about you, dear? What can I get you this morning?"

Her eyes widening almost imperceptibly with a sense of inner embarrassment, Chloe replied, "Um, I'm fine, Mrs. Brady."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," responded Chloe, relief washing over her as Shawn's grandmother walked away. However the relief went flying out the window when she heard Jason demand, "What was up with that?"

"With what?" Chloe asked, ready to deny whatever he might accuse her of.

"The eye thing."

"What eye thing?"

Jason gave a frustrated sigh before responding, "You know what I'm talking about, Chloe. You did that thing where your eyes get just a little bigger than usual because you're either hiding something or denying something - or both."

Silently cursing Jason, Chloe wondered how he had possibly picked up on such an insignificant detail. No one, other than her foster father, had ever noticed the way she opened her eyes just a little wider because she was feeling nervous. Doing what came naturally, Chloe denied the mild accusation, "I don't do that."

"Of course, you do. So, quit wasting my time by denying it. What? Are you hiding some huge secret about breakfast?" Seeing that Chloe's rising annoyance was equal to his own, Jason sarcastically continued, "Seriously, Chloe, did you use some supernatural freak ability to control Mrs. Brady's mind and convince her to poison my food? Is that why you're not eating anything?"

"No, you idiot, that's not why I'm skipping breakfast."

Reclining his body as best he could at the booth, Jason placed both of his hands behind his head as a type of makeshift pillow. Glaring at Chloe, he asked, "Oh, so you're just too good to eat breakfast with me? Is that it?"

"No."

For some unexplainable reason, Chloe's simple one-word response seemed to almost fuel both Jason's annoyance and his curiosity. "Alright, Ghoulie, I give. Why are you refusing to eat? And, don't you even tell me that you've already eaten breakfast, because I overheard Belle telling you that she wished the two of you would have gotten up in time to eat before heading to the airport."

"So, what? Were you spying on us?"

"Don't try to change the subject Chloe - that's my specialty, not yours. Just quit running your mouth and tell me why you won't eat."

Dropping her gaze to her recently manicured nails, Chloe refused to even steal a glance at Jason as she mumbled, "I don't have any money."

"What?" Jason questioned, sure that he had misheard his nemesis.

Looking up at Jason, Chloe clearly repeated, "I don't have any money." Noticing the perplexed look on Jason's face, Chloe explained, "I must have left my purse at the penthouse when Doctor Evans and Mister Black were trying to rush Belle to the airport. I only noticed that I didn't have it with me when Mrs. Brady asked me to order. I just didn't want to say anything about it to you because, to be perfectly honest, it's such a stupid thing to do. I mean, for crying out loud, it sounds like something Mimi would do."

"I can't argue with you there."

Trying to control the almost genuine smile she thought might be forming on her lips, Chloe said, "Well, that's certainly a first."

Trying to continue to carry on some semblance of a rational conversation with Chloe while watching the rain begin to fall outside the window, Jason distractedly offered, "Since Belle, Shawn, Mimi, and Philip are on their way to Orlando, and God knows no one else in this town cares if you starve to death, I'll buy you breakfast. Maybe if you're stuffing your face, I won't have to listen to you whine about all the crap in your life."

"Gee, Jase. When you put it that way, how can I refuse?" Chloe responded, her narrowing eyes and pursed lips a clear sign that she was not the least bit happy about having to let Jason pay for her meal. However, the rumblings in her empty stomach were demanding food, so she allowed herself to go against her better judgement by accepting Jason's offer.

As the two teens locked eyes, each sent the other their harshest, coldest glare. However, despite the icy stare, sparks were most certainly flying.

Wringing her hands together nervously, Mimi tried her hardest to control her breathing. She felt certain that of all the people on the planet, she had to have the absolute worst luck. In fact, she was beginning to think that the fates actually enjoyed toying with her emotions.

After all, due to the horrendous scandal caused by the web site Jan concocted, Mimi had originally been informed that she, like Jan, would not be allowed to go on her class trip. However, when it came time for Mimi's sentence to be reviewed, her good behavior and regret for her actions had allowed her to receive one little exception to the punishment - she would be allowed to go with her fellow seniors to Florida for the class trip. Now, the controlling powers of destiny had snatched that chance from her.

Then, if it had not been bad enough to miss her plane because she was trapped in the bathroom, Mimi realized that she had thoughtlessly given Philip her purse to hold while she made her trip to the ladies' room. That careless action left her with no cellular phone, no money, and no piece of paper with the number for her aunt's house where her parents were driving.

Sitting in the middle of a crowded airport, Mimi Lockhart had never felt more alone.

As she allowed herself to become lost in her troubles, Mimi felt a distinctively masculine tap on her shoulder. Spinning around in the plastic seat, Mimi instantly smiled at the person. How could she have forgotten that she had seen him while attempting to catch her plane? Maybe she wasn't all alone after all. Sure, she didn't really know him that well, but she sure knew him better than the strangers that heartlessly walked past her.

"Hey," Mimi breathed, pondering how she could possibly explain her situation and ask for help without appearing to be a complete and utter idiot.

"Hey, Mimi." Reaching out his hand, the man displayed the chain Mimi had dropped, Philip's class ring once again hanging from it. "I thought you might like to have this back."

Her hand instinctively grasping the area near her neck, Mimi wondered how she could possibly not have noticed that she had lost the chain carrying Philip's class ring. It was only the most important thing she had ever worn in her life. After all, it was given to her by the Philip Kiriakis, who Mimi had somehow been able to have as her boyfriend.

Mimi reached for the chain, but her hand froze and her heart fluttered as her skin made contact with that of the man. Bringing her gaze up to look into his captivating eyes, Mimi had to force herself to take each and every breath.

Quickly snatching the object from the man, Mimi quietly said, "Um, thanks. I really appreciate you bringing this to me."

"It wasn't a problem," the man answered as he curiously glanced around the airport. Quickly returning his gaze to the young woman, he asked, "Mimi, where exactly are all the other students?"

Bowing her head with embarrassment, Mimi answered, "On the plane to Orlando. Stupid me got stuck in the . . . well, I got delayed and missed the plane." Her displeasure surfacing, Mimi began to whine, "I just can't believe my luck. I mean, this trip has been the one thing that I have looked forward to. I don't even get to got to prom, so this is my only real chance to spend time with Philip. I feel like I'm letting him down by not being on this trip. It's bad enough that his girlfriend will be scrubbing toilets instead of dancing the night away at prom, but it's even worse that he's also going to be stuck watching Shawn and Belle together while I'm stuck here in Salem. It's just so totally unfair. I would give anything to be able to meet my friends in Florida. This was my only chance of having a really good memory of a class activity. I mean . . ."

"Mimi," the man interrupted with a soft chuckle. "Why don't you try taking a breath before continuing?"

After taking the man's advice, Mimi blushed deeply and said, "I am so sorry! I can't believe that I just went off on you like that. I mean, I just started to ramble on and on, didn't I? I do that a lot when I get nervous . . . or angry . . . or confused . . ." Looking at the amused expression on the man's face, Mimi blushed even more and stated, "And, I'm doing it right now, aren't' I?"

"It's okay," reassured the man. "I'm just sorry that you have to miss your own senior trip."

"Yeah," Mimi grumbled good-naturedly. "Me, too."

Moving to sit down beside Mimi, the handsome man reclined his body and casually stated, "It's actually kinda weird if you think about it."

"How so?"

"Well, Mimi, you and I are in similar situations. When we woke up this morning, we both expected to be flying to Florida with someone we cared a great deal about - or at least thought we cared a great deal about. Sure, your plans were for Orlando, and mine were for Miami, but it's still ironic, especially considering how things turned out."

"What do you mean?" Mimi curiously asked. Though she had known the man for quite some time, she had never really shared an in-depth conversation with him. Now that the opportunity to speak with him arose, she found herself easily enthralled by his words and perspective.

"Okay, I was planning to have a woman I have been very close to come with me on this business trip. You know, maybe mix a little business with pleasure. But, at the last minute, she decided that not only was this trip a bad idea, but being with me was a bad idea. So here I am all alone."

The man paused for a moment and considered just why he would be spilling all the things on his mind to a teenage girl that he really didn't know that well. He hardly ever emptied his heart to those around him in such a manner. Sure, he was quite loving, but he never really sat down and had long conversations about the people and events in his life.

Continuing he said, "Anyway, while I'm here waiting to board a plane all by myself, you are here all alone because you missed the plane that carried your boyfriend on it. It looks like both of us had a serious change in plans."

"No joke," responded Mimi.

"Maybe you should try looking at the bright side."

"Which is?"

The man offered a warm smile and answered, "From what I know about this trip, you guys had a ton of fundraisers to pay for the transportation so none of you would have to be out any personal expense on that part of the trip."

Narrowing her eyes, Mimi retorted, "Yeah, so, what's your point?"

"You may have missed the trip, but, unlike me, you aren't carrying around an extra first class ticket that you purchased with your own cash."

"Considering my parents left to visit my aunt after dropping me off, and she lives almost six hours away from Salem and I don't even have her number with me, I would be pretty darn happy to be carrying around an extra plane ticket to sunny Florida. Instead, I'm pretty much just stuck here until I can find some way to reach my parents at my Aunt Arlene's house. Then, it'll take them another six hours to get back to Salem. That gives me a grand total of atleast twelve hours stuck here in this airport - when the only place I want to be is on a plane to Florida."

"I really am sorry, Mimi. I wish there was some way . . ."

"What? What were you going to say?"

"Well," slowly answered the man. "You are wanting to go to Florida, and I just happen to have an extra ticket. I don't see why I can't just give you that ticket. I mean, there is a short stopover, but once we do get in Florida, I could just take you to Orlando so you could meet up with all your friends."

Jumping up from her seat as the man stood, Mimi squealed, "Oh, my God! This is so great! Would you seriously give me the extra ticket? I mean, I would so owe you!"

"Consider it yours."

Without thought, Mimi jumped up and wrapped her arms around the man,gaving him an exuberant hug, saying, "This is so awesome! Philip is so lucky to have you for a brother, Austin!"