A/N: Sorry I keep throwing chapters at you. I wanna get this fic posted before the holidays.

To SilentWhisper: Glad you like the fic. In answer to your questions: 1) I ran out of ideas during some parts. 2) They lost track of time.

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Val closed the door, an idiotic grin on her face. Her grin faded as she saw Otto, who was scowling.

"Twister best have a good excuse for missing hockey practice." he said.

Uh-oh, Val thought.

She hadn't intended for this to happen. Well, the truth would come out sometime, better now than never.

She took a deep breath and said, "Twister was with me."

"I can't believe this!" Otto exploded. "Twister knows we practice Saturdays and he blows me off for my psycho, half-breed cousin!"

Before Otto knew what was happening, Val had grabbed him by the front of his T-shirt and lifted him into the air until his eyes were on a level with hers. It was scary. Her face had become a hardened mask, her cobalt eyes full of pure venom. Otto swallowed hard, his heart rate almost doubling.

"I'm only going to say this once, so pay careful attention, runt," Val said in a low growl. "You can call me a lot of things, but if I ever hear the word 'half-breed' cross your lips again, you will be very sorry indeed."

That said, Val released her grip on her Otto's shirt. He fell to the floor, landing hard on his rear. Val stalked up the stairs, muttering to herself.

Ray heard the thump and came into the living room to investigate.

"What did you do to her, Otto?"

"I didn't do anything!" Otto protested.

"Don't give me that act," said Ray. "You know your cousin would never hurt you unless she was provoked. What did you say to her? Never mind, that's not important. Get upstairs this instant. I don't want to see you again for the rest of tonight."

"Raymundo, you're not being fair!" Otto protested. "She was..."

Ray cut him off. "I don't care. You heard what I said."

0-0-0

Later that night, Otto lay awake, still fuming over the unfairness of it all. His best bro had deserted him (to be with his cousin, no less). Just the thought of Val made him angry. His grudge against her was nothing new. They (or him, at least) had been fighting for years.

It was always the same scenario: Something came up that made them argue. Neither one would back down, so they both got their feelings hurt. The fight would possibly end in a wrestling match. Val, being older and stronger, would often win.

The problem was made worse by the fact that Otto and Reggie's aunt and uncle were gone so often on business trips that Ocean Shores was practically Val's second home.

I can't wait for her to leave, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.