Chapter 8: Together and Goodbye

Phil got up the next morning to find a note on his bed. He was surprised as ever as he read it: 'Phil, Keely likes you, and you should know that. You really should talk to her about it and tell her what you told me. Don't say that you can't do it, because you can. You know how she feels, so you shouldn't have fear of rejection. Good luck. Your friend, Mike'. When he finished reading it, he was sitting there staring blankly at it, not believing that it was true. Nobody's brain functions normally at seven a.m., so he re-read it to be sure of what it said. Sure enough, nothing changed. 'Was he trying to set us up yesterday when he was asking me about Keely?' Phil wondered. Phil didn't know what to think. Then he heard a knock at the door that snapped him out of his daze. He went to answer it, and saw a hotel worker with a cart.

"Did somebody order room service"? the worker asked.

"I did," said Pim, coming out of the bathroom.

"You ordered this"? Phil asked her. "Didn't you hear Dad say no room service"?

"Yeah, but he's not paying for it," she replied.

"Oh yeah, then who is"? Phil asked.

"I am," she said. "With this ten dollars I found on the dresser."

"That's my ten dollars"! Phil said, grabbing it from her. He turned to the guy with the cart and said, "You must have the wrong room."

"Oh, yes," the man replied sarcastically. "This is meant for the other room with a couple of crazy teenagers in it on this floor." He rolled his eyes and left.

Pim went downstairs to get something to eat in the café, and Phil remained in the room, thinking about the note. 'I wonder if Keely got the same note.', he thought. He knew that Keely would be up soon, and he wouldn't know what to say to her, so he went over to his parents' room to see if they were up.

Keely saw a similar piece of paper on her bed, and she too was surprised to read what it said. She wasn't sure what to say, either. 'I bet Phil got the same note, that's why he's not here now.' She thought. She turned on the computer and went online, thinking about what to say. 'He's going to walk in this room any second, and I need a plan of words .' She thought. Just then, someone instant messaged her.

Fashiondramaqueen07: hey, what's up?

Xokeelyxo07: hey, Tia. I'm just sitting here in my room. What are you doing up? It's like 4:30 out there.

Fashiondramaqueen07: couldn't sleep, so I'm checking out cars.

Xokeelyxo07: well, I'm glad you're on, cuz I've got a problem

Fashiondramaqueen07: what is it?

Xokeelyxo07: I got this note this morning, from one of my new friends here. I think she and his brother were trying to set Phil and I up yesterday.

Fashiondramaqueen07: AND? What did the note say?

Xokeelyxo07: that he likes me.

Fashiondramaqueen07: you don't need some note to tell you that!

Xokeelyxo07: what's that supposed to mean?

Fashiondramaqueen07: Keely, I may have a D in math AND English, but I know this dating stuff. And I know that he's liked you for a long time. Do you like him back, though?

Xokeelyxo07: well, yeah, and I think he got a note, too. From the other guy.

Fashiondramaqueen07: I KNEW it! I wish that I'd met these people who wrote the notes a long time ago!

Xokeelyxo07: but, what do I say, because he's going to walk in this door any second.

Fashiondramaqueen07: just tell him how you feel. Then ask him out.

Xokeelyxo07: yeah, speak for yourself. I'm not you. I can't just walk up to someone and say, I like you, and will you go out with me. Especially someone who's my best friend.

Fashiondramaqueen07: yea you can. I mean, you know the truth and have no fear of rejection. I know you can do it.

Xokeelyxo07: maybe you're right.

Fashiondramaqueen07: I know I am. Anyway, Mom's kicking me off, wants me to go back to sleep. Good luck! See you tomorrow when y'all get back.

Xokeelyxo07: thanks. Cya.

Fashiondramaqueen07 signed off at 7:56

Xokeelyxo07 signed off at 7:57

Phil knocked on his parents' door. "Come in, we're up," he heard Lloyd say.

"Morning," Barb greeted him. "What's up"?

"Nothin," he replied.

"Now that wasn't a nothing nothing, that was a something nothing," Barb said.

"I just found out that the person who I like, likes me, too," Phil said. "And now, I don't know what to say."

"You and Keely"? Barb asked. Phil looked at her with a look that said 'How did you know that?'

"Is it really that obvious"? he asked.

"Oh, yeah," both parents replied simultaneously. "How'd you find out, anyway"? asked Barb.

"Well, I found this note on my bed this morning," Phil replied. "It appears that Mike was trying to set us up yesterday."

"So, what's the problem with it"? asked Lloyd.

"Well, I'm afraid that if I screw something up, then she'll never talk to me again," Phil replied.

"You'll have to decide if you want to give it a try and hope things work out," said Barb. "I mean, every relationship has highs and lows and takes work."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he replied. "Anyway. I'm going to grab something to eat."

"Okay, but meet us back here in an hour. We're going to bum around town our last day," Barb replied, and he left.

Phil decided to ignore the situation for now, trying to go about his last day in Florida normally. They all went down to the zoo later that morning. While eating lunch, Keely and Pim had an experience with a flock of pigeons. Barb, and Lloyd had gone to get everyone ice cream, and Phil had gone to throw the trash away.

Keely and Pim had some hot dog bun left over, and when Keely saw some birds, she said, "Hey, let's feed them." Keely threw a piece of hot dog bun at them, and then more swarmed to get in on the food.

"Okay, why did you just attract every stupid bird in Florida"? Pim asked her.

"I don't know, but here more come," Keely replied. They were eventually out of food, but still had about fifty pigeons flocking them.

"Get these dumb birds out of here"! Pim shouted at the top of her lungs.

Keely and Pim started waving their arms, hoping that the birds would leave. They then saw a ball fly through the air and into the flock of birds, scaring them off every which way. They turned around to see Phil.

"That is why you never ever feed pigeons"! he said to them. "Because unless you have a bottomless pit of food, they'll swarm you."

After lunch, everyone walked around. Some water from the elephants almost soaked Phil, but he ducked just in time. However, Barb was standing right behind Phil, and when he ducked, the water hit her square in the face. Everyone cracked up.

"Why'd you duck"? Barb asked Phil jokingly, using a towel to dry off. In a few hours, they all packed up and headed to an outdoor shopping center. But not before the angry pigeons returned. Keely and Pim were standing next to the main entrance building, waiting for the others, when some pigeons on the building decided to do their business on them.

"What the heck was that"! Pim yelled. She looked up, saw the birds, then turned to Keely and said angrily, "You just HAD to feed those stupid birds earlier"! The others were coming over and saw the whole thing. They all cracked up.

"See, that is another reason why you never feed pigeons," Phil said.

They walked out to the car, went back to the hotel so Keely and Pim could change clothes, and then went to the outdoor shopping center. They had about five shopping bags when they were finished. While coming back out to the car, a dog escaped from its owner and started chasing them. While running, Phil tripped, also tripping Keely, who was next to him. The owner finally ran over and collected the dog before it jumped on them.

"What happened"? Keely asked Phil as they were getting up.

"Clumsiness made me trip, gravity brought us down. And that's why I'm not on the track team," Phil joked.

"Come on Clumsy and Clumsier," Barb joked. As they were pulling out of the parking lot, a car pulled out in front of them and sped down the road.

"People in this century are such horrible drivers," Lloyd said, and then pulled out.

"I know that's right," Pim said, giving Phil and Keely Looks. They had both been the worst of drivers while first learning.

"We weren't that horrible," Keely said.

"Oh, so you call running red lights, almost running into a tractor-trailer, and knocking out mailboxes and trash cans good"? asked Pim.

"So, you can't even drive a lawnmower in first gear without crashing," Phil said, referring to a time when Pim had been riding the mower, and she crashed into the back of their garage, not knowing how to stop. It had caused Curtis to wake up, run out and start chasing her, thinking she was a burglar.

Phil, Keely, and Pim continued talking about each other's horrible driving experiences, and then they arrived at the hotel. "You guys should get some packing done, because we're leaving early tomorrow morning," Barb said, and then she and Lloyd went to their room. The kids went into their room and started in on packing. Keely found a piece of paper on her bed, and remembered. 'Oh yeah, the note from this morning.' She'd kind of forgotten about it after having an eventful day, and she still wasn't sure if she should bring it up to Phil. She read the note again and thought about it. She snapped out of thought a minute later and grabbed a pile of clothes for her suitcase. She noticed that Phil and Pim were in some sort of debate about who won the 2121 World Series, the last one before they came to the 21st century, but Keely was half paying attention and had no idea where the topic came from. Knowing them, she thought that they were just trying to prove each other wrong on something.

The debate ended when Phil finally proved Pim wrong by going to the Wizrd and looking up the stats of the game. Pim rolled her eyes and went to get a shower. Keely decided that it might not hurt to ask Phil about the note. 'I'm going to have to say something sooner or later, and it might as well be sooner.' she thought to herself.

"Hey, Phil," Keely said. "I found something on my bed this morning." Just as she was about to explain, Phil interrupted.

"A note"? he asked.

"Yeah, how did you know"? Keely asked, although she half knew the answer.

"Because, I got one too," he replied.

"You, um, did"? Keely asked, nervously.

"Yeah, I did," he said.

There was a moment of silence before Keely mindlessly decided to just blurt out her thoughts, "I-don't-know-how-you-feel-about-it-but-I'm-open-to-giving-dating-a-try-that-is-if-you-want-to,-but-I-" Phil cut her off, noticing she was practically gasping for air.

"Keely," Phil started. "First of all, take a breath before you pass out from lack of oxygen. Second of all, I feel the same way."

"You- you do"? she asked.

"For a long time." he replied.

Keely started rambling again, "Really-because-I-never-thought-you-did-I-thought-that-you-may-never-talk-to-me-again-after-I-told-you-how-I-feel-but-I-still-just-had-to-tell-you-" Phil cut her off again.

"Keely, take in some oxygen," he said.

Keely calmed down, then asked him, "How come you never told me"?

"Guess I was too chicken," Phil replied and chuckled.

"Guess I was, too," Keely said.

"It's just, I didn't want to screw anything up and ruin our friendship, and I was never sure what you thought," Phil said. "Because you always seemed so into dating other guys."

"Well, now you know what I think," she said. "And I wanted to seem into dating because I never got what I really wanted. Until today. And I forgive you ahead of time for screwing up," she finished and smiled. Phil noticed that it was six o'clock, and he was getting hungry.

"Come on," Phil said taking her hand. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Sure," Keely said. "Let's go."

They hurried out of the room and met Mike and Chelsea to go to Arby's. Little did they know that Pim had heard bits and pieces of the conversation from the bathroom. She was able to put two and two together and figure out what happened. When Phil and Keely left, Pim put some clothes on, and ran to her parents' room.

"Guess what I just heard"? Pim said when she stepped into her parents' room.

"They finally opened that new restaurant back home"? Lloyd asked excitedly, as if begging her to say yes. A new eatery was being built back in Pickford, and Lloyd was excited for its opening.

"No. Do you actually think that I read that Pickford news website"? Pim asked sarcastically.

"I know exactly what she's talking about," said Barb.

"How do you know"? Pim asked.

"I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night," Barb replied. "It was ever so obvious that they were going to get together. And I just saw them on their way to Arby's with Mike and Chelsea."

"But how did you find out"? Lloyd asked Pim.

"Hotel gossip," Pim replied with a grin.

"Wait a minute, you were eavesdropping, weren't you," Lloyd said.

"Pim," Barb started. "You know you're not supposed to eavesdrop on a private conversation."

"Well, technically I didn't plan to do it," Pim said. "I was taking a shower, and forgot to turn on the radio, so I just heard them talking and decided to listen. Who knew that I wasn't supposed to hear"?

Barb gave her a Look and said, "Well, don't do it again, and make it a note to turn on the radio when you go into the bathroom."

"Whatever," Pim replied. "Anyway, I'm going to get something to eat." With that, she left.

Phil and Keely arrived back in the room and it was already eight o'clock.

"Well, we better finish up packing," Phil said. "Then we can catch that movie on pay-per-view."

"Yeah, let's get to it," Keely said. They had been packing for a few minutes when Pim walked in.

"Sooo, whatcha doin'"? Pim asked.

"It's called packing a suitcase," Phil said, putting some clothes in his suitcase. "Speaking of which, you might want to get in touch with yours."

Pim grabbed her things, threw them into her suitcase sloppily, and then closed it. "Done"! she shouted a mere five minutes later, then went to the computer and turned on her CD player.

"Seems like you go home from a vacation with three times as much junk as you came with," Keely said to Phil, trying unsuccessfully to cram some shopping bags into her already full suitcase.

"Here, just use the shrinker function on the Wizrd to put some of your things down in size," said Phil, handing it to Keely.

"Thanks, Phil," Keely said with a smile. "This makes things a lot easier."

"You know, it was really a fun vacation," said Phil.

"Totally awesome," said Keely. "Next time, Tia and Seth will probably pay us a thousand dollars if they could come with us."

"You're probably right on that one," Phil replied.

"And Mike and Chelsea," Keely said. "I'm really glad for, you know, what they did."

"Me too," Phil replied, smiling at her.

"Ya'll must think I was born yesterday or something," Pim said, shaking her head and grinning at them from the computer.

"What do you mean by that"? Keely asked her, although she knew the answer.

"I know what's going on, Pim replied. "And I think that you know I know what's going on."

Phil just shook his head, rolled his eyes and continued packing. There was nothing that you did that Pim didn't find out about. Phil had always thought that she was worse than the Pink Panther. Just then, Lloyd came in.

"Let's haul some of these bags out to the car," he said. They each grabbed their bags and followed Lloyd out to the car.

Phil and Keely were sitting on a bed in the room a little while later. They settled on watching a movie on pay-per-view that they thought might be interesting. Turns out that they were wrong. They heard snoring coming from the bed next to them.

"This movie's so boring that it even put Pim to sleep," said Phil. "We should probably go to bed anyway."

"Yeah, because I'm getting tired," Keely replied

"Night, Keel," Phil said giving her a hug.

"Night, Phil," Keely said, returning it. Keely turned off the TV and Phil climbed back over into his bed. They both drifted off to sleep, thinking about the great and eventful day that they just had.

(A/N: Sorry I haven't updated since last weekend. I've had everything else going this week- marching band, homework, and 4 tests to study for. And I also had a hard time getting ideas for this chapter. The next chapter will be the last one, and I'll try to post it tomorrow. May and June are downright booked for me with review for finals and end-of-the-year activities, so I might start another story, but not get to update for like a week or two. But I'll be working on more stories this summer, so stay tuned in. :-))

Next Chapter: 'The Return'- Everyone heads home and gets ready to return to school on Monday.