Disclaimer: I don't own the TV Show Summerland or any characters on Summerland or some of the predicaments/situations/ideas in this fan-fiction story.
Chapter 4-Derrick is waking up-
Derrick rubbed his eyes and found that he was in his bed. He didn't recall how he had gotten there, since the last thing he remembered was watching the movie with Nikki and Johnny. Suddenly, he recalled that Aunt Ava had been out and went to see if she was in her bedroom. It was still early, as the sun's rays peeked through the blinds. He crept towards Ava's room silently. The door was ajar and he pushed it open to find the bed hadn't been slept in. He makes his way downstairs to see if she was making breakfast, but she was nowhere to be found. He saw Johnny asleep on the couch with the TV still on. Worried, he raced back upstairs to Nikki's room to tell her the news. He burst into her room, startling her, as she sat up.
"What is it, Derrick?" she asked, concerned, noticing the paleness of his rotund face. He caught his breath slightly.
"I can't find Aunt Ava. She never came home!" Derrick exclaimed in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. Nikki threw aside her covers.
"What? Are you sure? Did you check her bedroom?" He nodded. She stood up. "Did you check downstairs?" He nodded again. "Could she be in the bathroom?" He shook his head. "Let's not panic, Derrick. We shouldn't wake anyone, not yet. Let's call Simon to see if he knows where she is." He nodded yet again and they quickly dialed his number. There was no answer. Nikki hung up the phone when the answering machine came on. The two kids stared at each other, not knowing what to do next.
-Fade out. While that was happening, Ava and Simon awaken-
A seagull flies overhead and the waves crash upon the shore noisily. Simon stirs and opens his eyes. He promptly remembers the night before. The special night between him and Ava.
Nervously he awakens Ava. "Ava, get up," he says with urgency. He unwraps his arms from her body and quickly puts on his clothes.
Ava, still groggy with sleep, mumbles, "Simon?" She takes a look around. "Simon!" she half-yells.
"Hi," he responds absently, while searching for his shirt. Ava scrambles around putting on her panties.
"What time is it?" she inquires, brushing the sand off of her. Simon looks at his watch.
"Quarter past six." He looks up at her, desperately. "Is that too late?" She stops rushing around and stares at him.
"I don't know. Usually, I'm the first one up at around 6:30. But sometimes Derrick wakes up early and comes into my room." She realizes with horror.
"Come on, quick." Simon takes her hand and they sprint across the soft sand to the house. At the door, Simon gives her a quick peck on the cheek and walks to his house. Ava takes a deep breath, praying that no one was awake. She softly turned the knob and stepped into the living room, shutting the door quietly. She turned to find Johnny on the couch turning around to face her.
"Hey, Johnny," Ava started up the stairs, acting as if nothing were wrong. He shut off the TV and stood up. Swiftly, he vaulted over the couch and caught her arm.
"Hey, where were you last night? I was waiting up all night for you to come home." His dark eyes penetrated into hers.
She paused and shrugged a bit. "Uh...I was with Simon," she admitted and added quickly, "Don't tell anyone." He let go of her arm and looked down, deeply disappointed inside. Ava started, "Are you going to--", but stopped when Derrick and Nikki suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the top of the steps.
Derrick cried, "There you are, Aunt Ava!" He leapt into her arms as she laughed. Nikki smiled and questioned, "Where were you last night?"
Ava looked at Nikki and said, "Oh, I was with Simon and got in at about midnight. I just went for an early walk on the beach, it was really beautiful." Nikki half-nodded, not sure whether to believe her or not. Johnny looked away again and went into the kitchen to start breakfast. He saw Jay there, sipping a glass of orange juice.
He jerked his head in the direction of Ava and the kids and inquired, "What was that all about?" Johnny looked over his shoulder as Ava, Derrick, and Nikki started up the stairs.
"Oh, that. Nothing." He lied, avoiding Jay's stare. Johnny grabbed a glass and poured himself a glass of OJ also.
Jay saw right through him. "She spent the night with Simon, didn't she?" Johnny finally met his stare and nodded. "I've been meaning to talk to you about Ava." Jay continued, figuring that this was a good time to express his feelings.
"Ok..." Johnny said, unsure about what was to come.
"Do you love her?" he asked blatantly. Johnny set his glass down and sighed heavily. "Do you?" Jay persisted.
"Yeah, I do. Why does that matter?" Johnny exploded in a sudden outburst. Jay stood there, calmly.
"Then, you should tell her how you feel about her."
"I don't know, Jay. I mean, she's in love with Simon." He had already given up on Ava.
"And how do you know that?" Jay demanded, unconvinced.
"Because...I overheard her tell him over the phone a couple of nights ago."
"Oh...anyways, she should know how you feel about her. She deserves to know before she does anything else with Simon. If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Johnny nodded and was soon absorbed is his thoughts.
-Fade Out to Nikki and Amber walking along the beach-
Amber suddenly cried out, "Hey, look there's Cameron, Jordan, and Josh!" She pointed to a table with the three of them sitting with milkshakes. Jordan and Cameron were sharing one and Josh was sitting off by himself, isolated. Amber pulled Nikki's arm as she approached their table.
"Hey, you guys!" Amber yelled to them, exuberantly. "Josh, this is Nikki, my friend. Nikki, this is my cousin, Josh." Josh pushed his chair back to stand up to his full length of 5'6. He had sandy brown hair and light freckles speckled on his cheeks and around his dreamy, green eyes. He sported a green/white striped t-shirt that matched his eyes and blue shorts with flip-flops. Amber smiled as she peered over at Nikki, to find her totally entranced by Josh. Looking over at Josh, she found him also staring intently at Nikki. Amber grinned.
"Hey. Do want to join us?" Josh asked, mainly toward Nikki.
Nikki started to reply, but Amber cut her off. "This table's too small for the five of us, so why don't you and Nikki take that table over there." She suggested, while pointing toward a table for two about 30 feet away.
"Sure," said Josh eagerly. "I mean, if you want to, Nikki." She broke out into a huge smile and agreed. He took her hand, and they walked to the table.
"Josh! You forgot your shake..." Amber shouted after him, but he did not seem to notice.
Amber sat down and said, "My work is done." Jordan gave a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, those two do make a cute couple. Don't you think, Cameron?" She turned to her right to see Cameron staring at Nikki laughing at something that Josh had just said. He seemed to be a little disheartened. "Cameron?" Jordan asked.
Cameron turned to his left. "What? Yeah, I do." He smiled reassuringly at Jordan and sucked at his straw.
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