hey, Kristine and Cimmy here. we've updated again, hurray! There's more updates to come, I just have to write a part and edit the others…review for us, ok?

disclaimer: Ducks = Disney's property. Fred/Cecilia = Cimmy's property. Lex/Jeff/Anna/Sammie/Anthony/Matt/Chris = NYgoldfish54's property.

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Chapter 32: Drinking, Dancing, And A Small Crisis
By Cimmy

Anthony's POV

"This is sort of spooky," Cecilia exclaims, pushing past me to get into the room first. I'm stunned how big it is. Of course, the very thought of a ballroom is that it's supposed to be big, but still. It could be the darkness that makes it even more huge.

We were supposed to stay down in the club, but then we snuck out from there and made a detour. We decided that we wanted to investigate the rest of the hotel, and the empty ballroom on the third floor seemed interesting enough. At least for me, having her all to myself at least one more time. And she found it utterly exciting, so we went there, on our own.

Since I don't feel like admitting that it actually is sort of spooky in this dark, deserted, big-ass room, I quickly follow her across the floor. My attempt isn't to show myself off as a coward. I'm twice her size, I should be the hero.

Unreasonable thinking? I so don't believe in crap like that. "I wonder where the light-switch is?" I whimper, forgetting about my other tactic. Cecilia skips away to the middle of the room, then she stops, waiting for me to catch up. "What are you doing?"

"You promised to dance with me," she explains. Yes, I did, didn't I? I must've done that while she was trying on those clothes yesterday. I didn't think of much else but her at that point.

She twirls around again. This room gives me the creeps. And she is too, being so hyper that I might have to glue her to the floor to get her to stand still. I've never seen her like this before. She's adorable, but enormously irritating at the same time.

Cecilia steps up to me and traces her fingers over my arm. "What's with the puppy look? Are ya afraid?" she beams, leaning her head back to look at me.

"How tall are you?" I decide to ask.

"You didn't answer my question," she points out, sounding very firm. Then she smiles at me with her eyes, cringing a bit. "I dunno, like 155?"

"I didn't ask about your weight," I say, frowning. She weighs that much? That can't be right. She almost fits in the palm of my hand, for God's sake.

There is a short silence, while she's thinking. "No, I meant my height," she states, laughing. "I could be taller. Like 1.60."

"How badly do you suck at Math anyway?" I snort. "You're like what, 5'0"? And that's pushing it."

At first she doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying, but then she starts to bounce again. "Ha, you meant in feet! I'm talking centimeters! Or, like meters."

Damn that metric system. "So, you're how tall?" I repeat.

"I'm 5'2", Anthony. At least according to my hockey stats. I have my own hockey card and everything!" she cheers. "We got them when we played in a tournament, but I only have two left. That's probably the coolest thing I've ever experienced."

"You're small," I have to point out to her. She shakes her head, but I keep telling her that she's tiny. We stand there for a while, bickering about the whole thing when suddenly a noise disturbs us from the other side of the room. It startles me, and I swear.

"What was that?" she whispers, moving closer to me. I can totally work with this. Too bad I have to prove myself brave by checking out the strange noise. Cecilia follows me, holding on to my arm. "Maybe we should look for that light-switch."

"Yeah, now you have time for that," I mutter. "Two minutes ago, everything was just too damn peachy, but now..."

"Don't whimper, it's not very heroic."

"Yeah? And you're tiny."

The scary thing was a chair that had fallen off one of the tables. All the chairs has been placed upside down on the tables, for easier access for the cleaning-personnel. "My head hurts," Cecilia winces, sitting down on the floor.

When I think about it, my head hurts too. "Maybe we should head back. I bet they're looking for us," I say, grabbing her hand to pull her off the floor.

Cecilia refuses, acting like a baby. "You promised."

"Fine, get up then."

She decides to go look for the light-switch behind the small stage in the back of the ballroom. I wait for her down on the floor, hoping that she won't destroy too much property.

Suddenly she manages to get the spotlight to work, right above the center of the room. Cecilia comes climbing back, diving into my arms. "Is that enough?"

"That's just fine," I agree, dragging her out on the floor.

"There's no music," she complains. "Can't dance without music." I never realized how demanding she is. Maybe it's just today, because she hasn't been like this at all during the whole trip.

Whatever crazy thing she's doing, I still like her. I try not to, but it's impossible. "Let's just pretend. You do know how to dance, right?"

"Eh, no. Not really. I mean, Fred tried to show me, but that was a long time ago. But you can learn me."

While I smother my intentions of pointing out that it's 'teach' instead of 'learn', she looks at me with pleading eyes. "I guess I could. You have to be closer."

"Like how close?" she asks, slowly moving towards me. "Where should I place my hands?"

"Can I choose anywhere, or does it have to be specific to the dance?"

Cecilia shoves at me. "Hey, placing hands anywhere but necessary is as forbidden as squeezing my legs," she explains. "No, seriously, where are the hands going?"

I laugh, thinking of at least ten nasty things I could answer that question with. But I decide not to tease her anymore. "On my shoulder. Come on, I don't have all day."

"It's almost midnight," she says pointedly. "We should order some more drinks, I think that would improve my dancing."

"I thought you had a headache," I roll my eyes.

"There's nothing wrong in changing ones mind! Besides, I'm not drunk-"

"Just tipsy," I finish her sentence. "Well, good, because I'm not that sober myself."

Cecilia gives me a suspicious look again, once I've put my hand on her hip. "Now what?" she asks, slipping her hand into mine. I accidentally squeeze her finger, and she whimpers. "That's my injured finger. Could you leave that one alone?"

"Sure," I grin. "I wouldn't want to hurt your finger."

"Seriously, it's injured. By accident. Lex put her knee on it," Cecilia explains. Then she shakes her head, as if to forget what she had been thinking of. "Never mind. Am I close enough?"

Definitely. She's far too close, I'm starting to think that this is a horrible idea. "Yeah, but..." I begin, making her tilt her head to the side, her eyes questioning me. Before I have the chance to suggest that we do something else, she moves closer, her body pressing against my. "I was going to say..."

"You know, we should really have some music," she interrupts. I wait for her to let go of my hand, but she doesn't. "Tell me now, how do I dance?"

I look down, trying to locate where my feet are. I have to push her away to do that, which is a good thing. "Since you have no clue about how to dance, I'll allow you to stand on my feet."

"That'll hurt. I'm not as tiny as you think I am," she says, her voice very matter-of-factly.

"You weigh like nothing."

"I weigh enough," she mutters, I've obviously stumbled upon another very touchy matter. Since Lex told me earlier not to make her angry or sad in any way, I decide to change the subject, but Cecilia has time to continue before I can. "I actually weigh 110 pounds."

For being a hockey player, that's not enough at all. Not according to me. "Are you sure you're using pounds and not kilos?"

"Of course!" she exclaims. "Still want me to step on your feet?"

"No, I want you to stand on them."

By the time we've yapped this through another three times, it's past midnight. I wrap my arm around her waist, barely moving at all. She's obviously tired, because she's leaning against me, just like before. She lets go of my hand and places both her arms around my neck. "I'm sweaty," she mumbles.

"Yeah, it's sort of hot," I reply, knowing that I'll pass out soon, if she's going to stay this close to me. She nuzzles her nose into my neck, tickling me. When she's done with that, she puts her head on my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Man, she's making me nervous. I don't think I've ever been this close to a girl I really like, without telling her, or doing something about it. "You're shorter then Fred. I have to stand on my toes if I want to put my head on his shoulder like this."

"Okay," I say slowly. This is not how you handle a situation like this. I should tell her. If I don't do it now, she'll never know.

"I wish I didn't have to leave tomorrow," she whispers, still with her head against my shoulder. "I'll miss hanging out with you. I don't have a friend like you back home. Just Adam, and he's always busy fighting with Charlie, or running after some girl. He would never spend this much time with me."

"Yeah, it's too bad."

"If you lived in Minnesota, we could hang out all the time. You know, be really close friends."

That sounds more like torture to me, but why burst her bubble? "I'd like that too. You should come with me instead. To New York." Oops, that just slipped out, I didn't mean to say that.

"That'd be cool," Cecilia sighs. "But I've already promised to go with Fred." She giggles a little. "You should've asked sooner."

Mental note: hit self over and over again with a frying-pan once back at room. "There's always next summer."

"Yeah. You should call me next May. We should do something together. If you want to, of course," Cecilia murmurs, holding on to me real tight, just like that time at the beach when she gave me that hug. Which I, by the way still, haven't been able to forget about.

Things are starting to get a little too intense for me now. Her face is right next to mine, and suddenly her lips brushes against my skin, right above my jawbone. Wait, what is she doing? She drops small kisses over my cheek and down on my neck. Well, it's not really kisses, it's like she is trying to pinch my skin with her lips or something.

"What are you doing?" I ask nervously.

"I just want to remember this moment," she explains, sounding quite intoxicated. "I just need to remember that I was with you tonight, not Fred or anyone else. I need to find something about you that feels really different from him. And you smell good. And your skin is really smooth."

Oh my God, this is not the right way to get over someone by. Even if she considers this action as innocent, I'm almost dying over here. She can't taste my skin like this, it's driving me insane. I do get disappointed when she stops, though. Instead she slips closer into my embrace, nuzzling her nose back into my neck, just like she did a couple of minutes ago.

I could so easily turn her face up to me and kiss her. I think I'm almost about to do it, when she opens her mouth to speak. "This is nice," she mumbles. "I really like you. I wish this didn't have to end tonight." I'm sure she has no idea what she's rambling about, she's way past tipsy by now, so I can't hold this against her. Well, I could, but where would that leave me?

I just nod, overwhelmed by the fact that I can still stand up. That doesn't last long, because I suddenly feel dizzy. I really want to kiss her, but just as I'm about to, my feet decide to stumble over each other. The dizziness takes over completely. Cecilia lets go of my neck, so I curse just because of that. "Are you okay? Did you have too much to drink?" she asks, her voice filled with concern. She tugs my hand, trying to get me to follow her over to the tables.

"I'm okay."

Cecilia is determined to drag me over to the other side of the room, and I'm surprised how strong she is. Maybe she really is a hockey player after all? Or maybe I'm just considering her as strong, now when I'm being a bit wimpy myself.

The room keeps spinning for a while, until Cecilia is able to get me some water. I have a feeling she's forced to nurse a lot of hang-overs, being friends with Adam, Charlie, Guy and the rest of the Ducks. And of course her boyfriend, who probably becomes drunk whenever he gets the opportunity to. "Thanks," I murmur.

"Maybe you should go to your room. You want me to get Lex or Chris?"

"No, I'm fine now. Let's just go back to the others. I still owe you a dance."

"We just did that," she points out, splashing some water at my face. I give her an unamused look. "But I guess I wouldn't mind doing it again. Dance, I mean."

Even though I was just recently feeling nauseous, I have a feeling that I'm going to need a lot of drinks to keep up with her tonight. Or forget about her completely, which ever works best. It's unbelievable how a girl can makes you feel so miserable, at the same time as she makes you the happiest person alive.

***

Connie's POV

There is so much going on right now. I'm trying to keep everything together, but something isn't right. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into making everybody else happy? Because I've tried hard to get Charlie, Fred and Cecilia into a better mood. Charlie is missing, Cecilia got 'tipsy' and went off with Anthony, while Fred has spent two minutes trying to lick up some vodka from the table, which Portman spilled from his glass.

It bothers me that Guy is behaving like this. The only time he noticed me was when I went to dance with Fred, obliged to 'save' me from the inappropriate kiss. It had been an accident, like Fred said. But it feels good that Guy still cares about me enough to show up as my rescue.

My biggest concern is still about Guy. I've been trying to defy every tiny word of what he said to me earlier. It hadn't been much, but I'm still upset about the thought of him not accepting Fulton and Portman for whom they are.

I never expected him to be one of those guys who has a problem with homosexuals. Not like that subject has ever showed up during a conversation or anything, but I still figured he'd be okay with something like this.

Or I could be over exaggerating. It could be nothing. He's probably just trying to cope with all of this in his own way. It's not like he's hiding from the Bashers, or talks about them behind their backs. He's just confused. My Guy is just confused.

That's why I need to stay away from him right now. He needs to think this through on his own, without having to feel guilty for neglecting me. And Guy hasn't noticed me, as I pointed out earlier.

All of the others seem fine with the thought of Portman and Fulton together. Even those who haven't known them for too long. Lex and Jeff, for example. But they seem like sensible and sympathetic people. Their friends are too; maybe it's some sort of New York thing? Cecilia seems fine with it. And I don't know why I figured otherwise, but Fred doesn't seem to care at all. I don't know why I had him picked as the one to freak out the most. Instead Guy takes the surprising lead in that contest. I should've given Fred more credit, and Guy less.

Yes, this bothers me…a lot. I want to think about something else, because the last week has been wonderful. Besides from the random fights, of course. But I've had a great time. Well, now it's time to find my way back to being everybody's shoulder to cry on.

Tonight is important to me. What if we never meet the band again? Lex and Jeff are still around, of course, but the rest of them? And Fred is leaving tomorrow, with his girlfriend. They won't be back for God knows how long. What if they won't come back? What if they decide to just stay put, elope or something?

Okay, NOW I'm exaggerating. They are still just fifteen years old. When I think about it, Cecilia hasn't even turned fifteen yet. So they'll probably come back eventually. I wonder what her parents say about this? I know my parents wouldn't let me run off with Guy to some strange place for an unknown amount of time.

I leave my pondering behind, while giving my attention to Fred. He's almost passed out, and I feel sorry for him. I want this to be a great last night for everyone. Even for me. So I have to forget about my problems and have a good time. Laugh, like I always do. Smile, dance, enjoy myself. But I do feel obligated to get Fred away from Portman first.

When your friends start to lick alcohol off the table in lack of other things to drink, it's pretty darn serious. "Portman, could you stop badgering him?" I urge with a very firm voice. Portman nods, looking a bit out of it himself. He tilts his head to the side and pats Fred on the back.

Fred lifts his head from the table and waves off a napkin that is stuck to his cheek. "There's no more vodka," he whimpers. Portman extends his own drink towards Fred, but I give him my best death glare, so he changes his mind.

"What happened to the plan to sober up?" I ask Fred, shoving at his limb body. "Speaking to Cee will get more difficult for every minute you keep drinking."

"I'm fine," Fred protests, moving away, without removing his head from the table. His face is in dismay, he looks in pain.

When I first met him, he wasn't like this. Fred just showed up one day, a day like any other. Wow, it sounds like a cliché, but still... a few weeks, maybe a month or so after we won the JV/Varsity showdown. The Ducks were this tight group of old friends, a bunch of compact players, and suddenly Fred comes to interfere with our existence.

I'm glad he did. He's a good friend and he's never violent, like some players are. Okay, he's got a really bad temper, and is probably the most emotional moron I've ever met, but he's my friend and he's someone you can trust your life with. According to me, and most of the Ducks, Fred is just as much of a Duck as we are.

Oh, yeah, and Cecilia too, of course. But she's not as easily forgotten as Fred can be. Obviously.

Fred used to be much more... Well, normal. Shy, friendly, suave, affectionate and caring, treating everyone with respect. Then something happened during Christmas Break, and when he came back, things started to fell apart for him. That's when he started to melt into the crowd, without sticking out the slightest bit. His relationship with Cecilia went downhill, resulting in these last few days of chaos.

He hasn't been like that since we got here. I'm glad, because between all the destruction, he is almost back to his old self again. I only wish he could lay off the alcohol. The last few months have just been filled with parties and drinking for us. You know, you win a game, you have to celebrate. Or someone invities you to a party, and you have to go. So Fred's not the only one who's been acting wild, but he's not a victim at all.

So, yes, that's Fred. He has a good heart, but is a very bad decision maker. I believe it's his parents fault, for screwing him up like that. I don't know the whole background story, but I do know that his Dad doesn't treat him very well. And I know that he takes his father's disapproval hard.

"Connie?" Fulton's voice makes me snap out of my thoughts. I look up, and he motions towards Fred. "Maybe you should check his pulse. He seems defeated."

I shake Fred around a little, afraid that he's passed out for good. "He's alright, he's just resting," Portman explains. Fulton throws him a gaze, which makes Portman look regretful. "Okay, I was wrong. I promise not to force him to drink wine ever again."

"Thanks," Fred says, looking up. "Could you get me some water?"

My escape from the nutty table is well needed. I jump up from my chair and make my way through the crowd of people. The endless line to the bar makes me reconsider, so instead I decide to go down to the restaurant and get some water from there. I crash right into Anthony, who's coming down the stairs from the floor above us. "Hi, where have you been?" I ask. What I can understand, the only thing that the stair leads to is a ballroom. And there's no dance or anything tonight.

"Just looking around," he answers solely. I would've taken it as some innocent act of curiosity, if Cecilia hadn't come stumbling down after him. Now she's not 'tipsy' anymore. She's heavily intoxicated, so wasted that she can't stand up straight.

She falls into my arms, smiling. "Guess what? We were investigating the ballroom! There's no one there!" Yeah, I sort of figured that out by myself. Now it's my turn to be the curious one. I wonder what they have been doing up there, by themselves. I hope for all of our sake's that they haven't been fooling around. It would break Fred's heart.

"I'm going to get Fred some water," I announce.

Cecilia raises her eyebrows at me. "Is he okay? Did he drink too much?" she asks, a sincere concern in her voice. Anthony looks a bit confused, and also tired. I guess she's been as hyper all night as she was before.

She dashes off to find her boyfriend, with Anthony's hand in a firm grip. I want to help out, but I really don't know how to meddle between them anymore. So I just go to find some water.

Guy is standing down in the lobby, all by himself. Now I feel bad, because I forgot about him for a moment. I should support him, talk to him, make him understand. Not avoid him and turn my back against him the minute we have disagreements. "Hey," I say softly. He meets my worried gaze, but turns his head in the direction of the floor again. "What's up?"

"Just thinking." He doesn't sound like he's been drinking all that much. I walk over and tap my fingers against his stomach. He looks up at me once more, pressing his lips together in a pondering sort of way.

"You want me to keep you company?" I offer, my usual tactic to help someone out.

"Why are you here?" he suddenly mutters, pronouncing the word 'you' like I'm interrupting something very personal. His statement hurts me. What have I done?

My eyes probably show off how hurt I really am, and I decide to go. "Fine, if you want me to leave, I will." Guy stops me, by gently putting his hand on my forearm.

"No, I didn't mean to sound angry. Sorry. I was just wondering, since I haven't seen anyone in a long time."

We stand in silence for a while. Then it feels awkward, so I have to say something. "I was going to get Fred some water. He's not feeling well."

Guy shrugs. "Who does?"

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, moving closer in case he wants to feel needed. Guy shakes his head, putting his hands into his pockets. "Are you sure? I can help."

"I don't need help," he says, sighing deeply. "I just need to come to terms with what's happened these last few days. Do you mind?"

"You're shutting me out."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's not because of you. I love you. I just need some time to myself."

"For how long?"

Guy bites his lip. "I want to be someone who can deal with things like this. But I'm not. Could you let me work things out on my own?"

"Of course. But if you ever need me, I'll be right here. Waiting."

"I know," he inhales. He pulls me into his embrace, I know that he's sad. He's almost making me cry when he behaves like this. We stand like that; he's trying to pull himself together, while I fight back my tears. Another thought strikes me. I hope this doesn't mean that he's breaking up with me. Does it?

"Guy," I mumble. "We're still okay, right?"

"Yes, no doubt about it," he answers quickly. My heart begins to beat like normal again. He scared me there for a second. Guy rubs his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Water, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go get some, then."

He takes my hand and I follow him through the hallway, over to the kitchen. The restaurant is closed because of the late hour, but there's still a light coming from the room in the back. "Hello?" Guy calls. "Anyone here?"

"Let's just go back," I suggest. Guy shakes his head and opens the door to the kitchen. What was I thinking, running all the way down here to get some water? I always take the long way. What about the short cuts? What about them, Connie?

One woman from the kitchen staff comes walking up to us. "We have closed the restaurant," she says, her voice sounding annoyed. I tug Guy's arm to get him to walk back out with me.

"We need some water," Guy explains, barely responding to my efforts to drag him out. I need to become stronger. Or maybe I just need longer nails? "That's all we're looking for. A glass, or a pitcher of some sort. Preferably cold. Maybe with ice?"

I start to laugh. The woman doesn't, but she obliges to his demand and taps some water into one of the glasses that are standing next to the sink. "Enjoy," she mutters and shoves the glass into Guy's hand.

"Hey, what about the ice?" he speaks up, but I tear him away from there before we receive an answer. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

When we get back, Portman and Fulton are gone. At first I think that they've surrendered to the hysterical atmosphere, but I guess Portman's just escaping 'Psycho' for two seconds. Anthony is by the bar, swiping jelly shots. Yes, Cecilia must be somewhere close.

Fred is still over by the table, I think he hasn't moved since I left. I put down the water in front of him and drum my fingers against his head. "Here's your water, darling."

"Thanks," he murmurs and reaches for the glass. Just as he's about to get his hand around it, Cecilia jumps down next to us, from where is hard to tell. Fred fumbles with the glass and drops it to the table. "Ah, man."

"Oh, sorry," Cecilia grins. "Do you want me to get you some more?"

Fred shakes his head and Cecilia sits down next to him. Portman comes back, this time without carrying any alcoholic beverages. Fulton slumps down next to Cecilia, tickling her until she almost falls off the chair. Sammie shows up with Dwayne, I almost forgot about the two of them. Which also reminds me that I haven't seen Julie and Jeff at all since the Jacuzzi gathering.

Ken, who's been present since we got back from the water fetching, looks to be bored by now. Yeah, looking at Fred drooling on the table can't be too much fun. "Where are the others?" he wants to know.

"Charlie and Lex are probably making out somewhere," Portman snorts. "And I saw Matt just a minute ago. Oh, and there's Russ! And Anna is with Averman over there!"

He sounds too cheerful, so Fred splashes a few water drops at his face. Portman seems to consider doing something malicious back at him, but rolls his eyes in lack of interest. "Let's go dance," Sammie suggests, waving at Ken to get up from his chair. He slowly gets up on his feet, pulling my arm. I just shake my head, not in the mood for dancing right now.

"Okay, so why did we come back?" Portman growls to Fulton. Guy and I sit down, listening to the whining that is provided by the feisty Bash brother. It's just the six of us left, now when Sammie has convinced everyone else to come dance.

Fred wipes some water away from his clothes, sitting up straight in his chair. "I wish the room would stop spinning," he mumbles.

"What did you drink anyway?" Cecilia asks, giggling when Fred splashes some water at her as well. "Stop!"

"Portman made me drink wine."

Cecilia snorts. "So, why didn't you just refuse? You know you can't drink wine. You get sick."

Fred narrows his eyes, obviously not very amused about that comment. I told him to stand up for himself. "Thank you for your indightful ranting."

"'Indightful'?" Fulton snickers. "I think you just proved her right, dude."

"I meant insightful," Fred mutters back, sounding a lot more collected now then he did one hour ago. Cecilia shoves at him a little. "Yeah?"

"What did you want?"

"What?"

"Earlier. You said you wanted to speak to me," she points out. Oh, right, I forced him to have a talk with her. I hope he understands that now is not the time for that.

Portman looks uninterested and takes the opportunity to butt in, as usual. "You know, Bonnie, when Psycho is starting to sound more reasonable then you, it's really time to get a grip. You want some more wine?"

Fred looks at him with a tired expression on his face. Then he opens his mouth to answer, but out comes this long, incoherent nonsense. Cecilia snorts out a laugh, and Portman seems lost. "What did you say?"

"Dra åt helvete, din idiotiska, fladdermusiga apa på två ben," Fred repeats. Cecilia leans in to whisper the translation in Fulton's ear, and he laughs too.

"What? What did he say?" Portman exclaims. "Was it about me?"

"Obviously," Fulton nods. "Just be nice to him."

"Det där var ju ganska onödigt," Cecilia suddenly says in Swedish. [That was a bit uncalled for.]

I rarely hear them speak in their native language, they always speak English whenever I'm around. Fred just shrugs, content about his probably lame insult. "Du skulle bara veta," he says. [If you only knew.]

Fulton shakes his head. "You can't be here if you're going to talk gibberish. How would we know what you're talking about?"

"I do know that it was about me!" Portman howls, looking outraged that someone has the nerve to speak about him without him knowing what it's about.

"Lugna ner dig," Fred mutters.

"He told you to calm down," Cecilia explains. "Fred, you can stop now. There's no need to give out instructions they can't understand."

Fred mutters something again, but under his breath. Cecilia starts to bounce on her chair. "Did we have to talk, or can I go find Adam?" she asks, almost knocking over Fulton's drink with excitement, just like she almost did before at the pool.

Fred closes his eyes, looking tired. "You can go, I'm a bit under the weather. I'll meet you back at our room later." Cecilia doesn't move, even though he just told her she can go disturb Adam for a while.

"Are you sure? Did something happen while I was gone?"

"I told you, no!" Fred exclaims.

Cecilia turns her face away, staring into the table. "Sorry."

"Didn't mean it like that."

"Please don't yell at me."

Fred takes a deep breath, forcing back his repressed feelings of annoyance and turns to face her. "You know I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep now."

Fulton grabs his arm and yanks him down again, when Fred tries to get up to leave. "You can't just leave when you've made her sad. You ruined her good mood. Which could be interpreted as a bad thing. Sort this out, or I'm forced to do something drastic. You need to learn how to behave."

I smile a little, listening to Fulton's words of wisdom. Guy looks rather amused too, despite the fact that he hasn't said a word since we got here. We both grew up with Fulton, and he's actually quite good at lecturing people. Charlie usually just gets upset and howls demands, but Fulton has some sort of authority that you don't bitch against.

"It's okay," Cecilia says. "It doesn't matter, I shouldn't have nagged about it. It's my fault."

"No, it's not. Fred doesn't have enough manners to understand how to speak politely," Fulton explains. Wow, this behaving thing seems to be really important to him. He's got a point, though.

"I do too have manners," Fred answers. "I told her I was sorry."

"Did you mean it?"

"Of course I did!" he snaps, raising his voice again. Then he turns to Cecilia, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry. Really sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"I know," she replies, cracking her knuckles. Guy wrinkles his nose to this, he hates the sound of that. "So, what did you want to talk about? Is it important?"

"Just about general stuff. We can talk tomorrow."

"We're leaving tomorrow," she points out. "Can't you just say it now? You're making me nervous. Did I do something wrong?"

The rest of the conversation is lost on us, because Fred starts to rant in Swedish again. Probably to avoid getting lectured by Fulton, since what he's saying is obviously affecting Cecilia the wrong way. "Hey, what did you say this time?" Fulton demands to know when Cecilia looks close to tears.

"Nothing, I just..."

"Did you dump her?" Portman cuts in, trying to get a glimpse of Cecilia's face.

This time, Fred blows up. "You know, if it hadn't been for you, everything could've been okay right now! But no, you just had to interfere with everything! It's not any of your business what I do and what I don't do, so fuck off!"

Portman opens his mouth to shout back, but Fulton hits his shoulder to keep him from saying anything stupid. I'm surprised that Fred had the guts to scream like that. No one ever attacks Portman, since he comes off as this really intimidating guy. He's not that big of a goon, he just looks like it. Even though, you don't start fights with anyone of that size.

"Let's just all calm down," Fulton suggests. "This isn't anyone's fault but yours, Fred, so shut up. And Cecilia, stop sniffling, it's not that bad. Portman, take a time out. Connie, hand me some peanuts."

I smile at him, while reaching for the bowl of peanuts. "He's right, you guys. It's not worth fighting about," I say. Portman snorts, folding his arms together. Then he turns his back against Fulton and Fred. Now he's being ridiculous.

"Why are you taking his side?" Portman wants to know, sounding like a grumpy Charlie. "Shouldn't you be on MY side?"

"Since when did I pick a side?" Fulton replies, sighing. "You are all insane. Say you're sorry."

He's obviously speaking to Fred, but Portman, who can't see them, takes it as a request to him. "What?! No way! He was the one who..."

"Shut up!" Fulton sighs even louder. "I wasn't talking to you. Is anyone else getting a headache?"

"I'm not sorry," Fred growls. "He did mess everything up."

"You shouldn't have yelled," Portman mutters back, making Fulton moan. "Well, he shouldn't have! It's not my fault he keeps running after Lex, at the same time as he's sleeping with that maniac there!"

"What?" I say. He must be making this up, because I don't recall knowing anything about this. Not that it's any of my business, of course...

Fulton puts his head against the table, mumbling something. Portman seems guilty, and bites his lip. "Did Lex tell you that?" Fred whispers, looking upset. Cecilia is just looking mortified. So it's true?

"Okay, so now we all know," Fulton says. "They slept together. Portman, what the hell?"

"Sorry, I forgot that it was a secret. But they probably knew anyway," he whimpers, nodding at us. Guy's chair makes a screeching sound when he scoots back, leaving the table. Oh, joy, more drama.

"I didn't know," I point out. I'm going to demand getting more details later, when this has calmed down a bit. "But I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Like it matters. Everyone seems to know anyway. Is there anyone who doesn't know about this?" Fred howls.

"I don't," Adam exclaims, joining our table. "Are you fighting?"

"They slept together," Portman announces. Cecilia throws the empty glass at him, but luckily he catches it before it hits the floor and breaks. "Sorry. Caught up in the moment."

"That's really great, thank you Portman. Tell the world. And she's not a maniac, and I haven't been running after Lex," Fred spits out.

Portman raises his eyebrows, gasping for air. "That's all you've been doing since we got here! You're even lying to yourself now! You're such a bastard."

"I'm not a bastard."

Portman smirks, while snorting at something. He's so strange sometimes. "Were you born outside your parents' marriage?"

Fred doesn't seem to understand the purpose of this question, and he's probably not aware of what it means. "What? Yeah, but what the hell has that got to do with this?"

Now Portman's grinning at him, with some victorious expression on his face. I rub my temples. The insults are getting lamer by the minute. "Then you're a bastard!" Portman exclaims matter-of-factly. "And a real one too. Must be why you're always acting so strange."

Fulton stops Fred from attacking and then he shoots Portman a warning glance. Cecilia seems to catch on, and she turns to Portman so she can object to either the comment Portman made to Adam, or the insult he threw at Fred. I bet she's not taking Fred's side, when he almost made her cry a minute ago.

They all start to talk at the same time, Portman and Cecilia yelling at each other, while Fred is sounding upset while he's howling at Fulton. It's a good thing it's not the other way around, because Portman would kill Fred if he shouted like that at him. Adam sits down next to me, giving me a questioned glance. I just shrug, since I have no idea what they are really going on about.

"I'm leaving," Cecilia says, getting up from her chair. Portman grabs her arm, but she shoves him away. "Don't touch me!"

Fred dives after her, putting his arms around her waist to hold her back. "You don't have to leave. I'm sorry, please come back…" he begs, pulling her down into his lap. "I never did get to my point. I didn't mean to make you sad, and I don't want to fight with you."

I look around for Guy. I wonder why he took that so personally? I'm torn between staying put so I can get the latest news, and go find Guy who's upset. Maybe it was just too much information for him to deal with? He's been giving Fred dirty looks all week for some reason.

"If you don't want me to come with you, just say so. I'm sick and tired of always being thrown aside. Maybe should take Lex with you instead," Cecilia mumbles. "Or maybe you should just go home."

Guy and I rarely fight with each other, not like these two do. We have our arguments, but we never scream or anything. Most certainly, we don't hold a grudge against each other, dealing with the same problems over and over again. That's not very healthy.

"I think we need to talk."

"We already are talking!" she howls, pushing him away.

"This isn't talking, this is shouting," Fred lowers his head, staring at the floor. We all stay quiet, knowing that this isn't any of our business. "You're right, we haven't really talked since..."

"No, you haven't really talked. At all, with me. Not even after last Thursday. You just assumed that it would solve every problem. But it doesn't. And I don't think I should go with you, if you're going to act like this. Maybe we shouldn't even be together."

"Come on! You can't be serious! You're breaking up with me because I don't know how to talk to you? This is why I want to talk to you. I'm trying to make everything better. And Lex has nothing to do with this. You were the one who ran to her this time, not me. I'm trying to listen, and I'm trying to not screw around anymore, but you make it so hard!"

"All this, and you still don't want me?" she whispers. "After all the bullshit you put me through. Why did you even sleep with me? Just because you could?"

"You didn't hear one word I just told you, did you?" Fred sighs. "I don't think we should go on like this. I was wrong, everyone else was right. Sex solves nothing. Not even the tiniest disagreement. So I don't think we should sleep together anymore."

Even I get affected by his rejection, because that wasn't a very nice thing to say at all. Fulton is concentrating on not killing him, while Portman is uncomfortable. Adam is just confused, probably trying to figure out what is going on. Should I say something? I want to, because this is just awkward. Sadly, I don't have anything smart to add to the conversation.

Cecilia holds her breath, trying hard not to cry. "So, you don't want me?"

"I didn't say that. Why are you obsessed with the thought of me not wanting you? I love you, I would never do something like that to you."

"Explain how that is not inconsistent to what you just said," Cecilia demands.

There's a new silence. Fred shifts in his chair, while coming up with something to say. I know this tactic; he always does this when he knows that he's way out of line. Usually he just says whatever comes to his mind, even if it's an insult…this is caused by his bad temper, I assume. "I don't know if we should discuss this right now," Fred lowers his voice.

"Either you say it now, or you can't be with me anymore."

Ah, an ultimatum. Knowing Fred, he's going to make the wrong decision. I have to kick him under the table. He whimpers, throwing me an evil eye. "You were right about me not talking to you. These last months have been awfully quiet. I just think that we should go back and try to work things out before we jump to any conclusions. I feel like we've been running around in circles. That I've been too occupied with my own problems that I haven't paid any attention to you at all. I've missed you, even though we've seen each other everyday."

"Oh." Cecilia seems stunned, because Fred usually doesn't know how to express himself that well. Maybe he's been practicing this speech before? He must have.

"I just think we need to catch up with things, before we continue, making our problems even more severe. Don't you think?" Fred asks, waiting for Cecilia to reply. She just nods, without looking at him. "I didn't mean to say all those things. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I just really needed to talk to you. To explain why we should spend the rest of the summer, catching up with these last few months that we've lost. I'm not saying that I regret what we did, I just think it was too soon. Not the right way to deal with problems."

"You still want me to come with you?" she wonders, sounding surprised. "I thought you had to go alone."

"Of course I want you to come with me. Where do you want to go anyway?"

Cecilia wipes away her tears. "I thought we had to go to Washington."

"No, we can go anywhere you like. It doesn't matter. My father will never know. If he's convinced I am somewhere in Washington, that's enough. It's not like he'll spend any time with me, caring about where I am. I can go anywhere, as long as I say that I'm in Washington. He won't even check up on me, knowing him right."

"He'll find out."

"Probably, some day. But not this summer. Probably not this year. Maybe when he goes through my account and sees what I've spent my money on. Probably not even then, he has people who do that for him. I can always bribe them."

Cecilia laughs. "Where are we going, then?"

"Anywhere. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Some place warm. Jamaica? Spain? Scotland? Or, maybe the Caribbean. I've always wanted to go there," she exclaims, half joking.

"So, let's go there. A whole month in the Caribbean. I didn't think you liked the ocean."

"We don't have to go into the water."

"I'll help you get over your fear of water. I promise," Fred smiles. "Just as long as you understand that we won't have sex."

"No, because that would be horrible," she mutters, making the rest of us laugh. I shake my head. A month in a tropical paradise, without any parental guardians? I hope Fred realizes that he's going to have to blame himself if he ever questions why the hell that 'no sex' rule was made up.

Adam nudges me, pointing at Guy, who's over by the bar, talking to Ken. "Why aren't you with him?"

"I don't know. He left when this conversation started."

I look at Fulton, to see if he knows anything that I don't, but he just shrugs. "Maybe he's just not feeling well?"

"Who?" Cecilia asks, busy making out with Fred. Two seconds ago they were fighting. Jeez. Talk about mood swings.

"Guy. He's acting weird," Portman announces. Can't he ever just shut up? I glare at him. "Oh, was that a secret too?"

Adam gets up from the table, waving at Cecilia. "Let's go dance," he offers. "I've been looking for you." She gets up from Fred's lap, leaping into Adam's arms.

"I'll come dance with you later," Fred says. "Don't run off."

"I won't!" she exclaims. Well, she bounced back pretty quickly. Yep, she's bouncing again. Maybe I've affected her?

Portman and Fulton start to talk at the same time, but I ignore them, looking for Guy. Fred stands up, for the first time in several hours. Then he grabs hold of the table to keep from falling. "Where's Guy?" he says. I point at my boyfriend, and Fred stumbles over to the bar. Why do I have the feeling that this won't end very nice?

"Where is Charlie anyway? Isn't he usually the one who deals with fights like these?" Portman growls. "Ever since he got that girlfriend, he's been absent."

"I don't think she's his girlfriend. And it's only been two days, at the most," I point out, smiling. "And we did manage to sort this out on our own, didn't we?"

"Yeah, there was so much to sort out. They scream, talk, make up, and now they're annoying again," Portman whines. "Are they going to fight too?" He's looking towards Guy and Fred, talking over by the bar. I quickly get up, in case I need to hold Guy back from strangling Fred.

Fulton follows me over to them, pushing himself in between them so they can't get to each other. "What's up? Don't you think we've had enough fighting for one night?"

"We're just talking," Guy mutters. "Stay out of this."

I jump up on the bar stool next to him, grabbing his arm. "About what? You're not upset because of the whole..."

"No, I'm not," he snaps. "Besides, he was the one who started it."

"Why do you have a problem with me? You've been avoiding me all week. What did I do?" Fred asks, back in his usual responsible role. The mature Fred, who doesn't pick fights unless it's necessary. "Is it because of the Lex thing?"

For some reason, Guy has been taking Fred's side all week when it came to that subject. Even though he keeps glaring at Fred, he takes his side. Sometimes I don't understand how Guy's brain works. Maybe it's because Lex's not part of the Ducks, and therefore he feels obligated to stand up for Fred?

Maybe I should become a therapist? "No, I don't care about Lex."

"I know!" Fulton sniggers. "You're jealous because Fred got to share room with his girlfriend, and you're stranded with Dwayne, right?"

Uh-oh. Fulton really hit the soft spot there, I think. Guy seems shocked that Fulton was able to figure that out, now he's twisting and turning. "Nah, man. It's nothing like that."

"Are you?" Fred says, sounding surprised. "That's why you're angry at me? That's not my fault! I didn't have anything to do with how we were paired up!"

"Shush, Fred, we know," Fulton rolls his eyes. "You don't have to get upset about it. Dude, calm down."

"Fine," Fred grumbles. "But it's not my fault. And I don't mind where I sleep, really. If you had gotten to share with Con, maybe I wouldn't be in so much trouble right now. You would've been the one getting drunk, beaten up and you would've been the one falling in love with Lex. Losing your stupid virginity and ending up being forced to drink a whole bottle of disgusting wine. So, be my guest, share room with your girlfriend."

"You're in love with Lex?" This is obviously the only thing Guy reacted to. Fred just shoots him an icy glare, throwing his hands into the air. Fulton and I watch as he leaves to go find Cecilia. "I was just asking." Guy seems satisfied with how he managed to get Fred even more upset.

"Are you even now?" I moan. "Or do you have to give back at anymore of your friends?"

"Nah, I'm done. That was sort of fun. We're even now." Guy puts his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. "Unless you need revenge on anyone?"

"Don't think so. Could we just go dance?" I ask.

Great, they're even. Fred will get over that last comment, because he always forgives people that easy. Except for when it comes to Cecilia, he forgets everything just as fast as it happens…even when it regards school. Oh, maybe that's a bad thing?

So, what have I been able to accomplish? Charlie is still missing, but I have a feeling he's just as happy anyway. Fred's not drunk anymore, he got over that just as fast too. Cecilia isn't all that miserable any longer. Guy's over this whole thing he had against Fred. Portman has calmed down, Fulton isn't annoyed and I'm having a good time. Averman is enjoying his last night with Anna, Dwayne is dancing with Sammie. Anthony has stolen Cecilia away from Adam, Adam is looking like a fool where he's standing all alone on the dance floor, just like he did before. Fred is talking to Matt, a scenario I never thought I'd see. Ken is still by the bar, ordering drinks for Luis and Goldberg. Jeff and Julie are nowhere to be seen, but they're probably around here somewhere.

That's pretty good, huh? Everybody is happy, for once. All our disagreements are solved, maybe not entirely by me, but I still accomplished a lot this evening. I decide to go save Adam from the dance floor, after that everything will be just perfect.

"Why are you standing here all alone?" I laugh. "You can step away when you're done dancing, you know."

"I know," Adam sticks out his tongue at me. "I just didn't feel like moving."

"Alright, just come with me, Banks. There's no need to get feisty."

I leave him with Luis and Ken, shoving a drink into his hand. He seems fine with that, and stays put. Guy drags me out on the dance floor, impatient as always. "This isn't hell, is it?" I have to ask, smiling at him.

"Nope, this is okay. Well, it's more then okay, it's great."

I watch as Fred allures Cecilia away from Anthony. They had been dancing pretty close, so it was probably just an act of jealousy. Maybe it was a purely innocent dance, because the music is slow, but I don't know. They could be just friends.

"Could you stop worrying about everyone?" Guy cuts into my thoughts. "You don't have to be the savior all the time. Let them work things out on their own for a change."

"Okay," I give in. "It was just a reflex. Hey, would you mind kissing me?"

"What kind of question is that?" he snorts, leaning closer. Then he stops. "You don't think he's angry at me, do you?" I just moan, digging my nails into his arm. "Ouch, it was just a question!" he whimpers, but he's smiling, so I guess he was just teasing me.

I lean my head against his shoulder, still unable to stop thinking of everyone else's problems. They are all close friends of mine, some of them are closer then others. They always stick up for me whenever I need help, so I'm just returning the favor. I'm also a curious girl, so I try to find things out when I want to know more about them.

So, we're leaving in two days. I hope it won't cause too many tears. It must be hard to have to leave when you know you won't meet the other person again. Like with Anna and Averman. Maybe we'll meet them again, but it'll still be a goodbye for now. I'm lucky I have Guy. There won't be any heartbreaking goodbyes for me.

I look at the time. Almost 2:30. Wow, it feels like it was just nine, like we just got here. They'll throw us out any minute. Or in half an hour, anyway. I look around. It still surprises me that everyone are having a good time. By the way we've acted this last week, I wouldn't raise my eyebrows if anyone started to fight.

Speaking of that, I wonder where Charlie really is. He should be down here and be proud of us. All he's done during this week is try to get us to behave, and when we finally are, he's not around to see it. Even Cecilia is keeping her mouth shut, so we deserve some credit. Okay, she's quiet because Fred has stuck his tongue down her throat, but she's still silent, and that's the important part.

I'm sort of glad Charlie isn't here anyway, because he would probably find something else to moan about. Plus, we're all sort of drunk, so he could use that against us when we get back home.

There are no misfortunes at all, until Fred leans too much into Cecilia while kissing her quite passionately, making her fall over. Guy just shakes his head when they both bump into the floor. Fred keeps kissing her, and Cecilia's too drunk to know the difference. Well, they're both obviously too drunk to know anything, otherwise they wouldn't have fallen like that.

We all laugh at them, before Guy and Adam decide to help them up again. "Maybe we should get going?" Guy suggests, letting go of Cecilia's hand. "Unless you have other plans?" He looks at me, and I'm sure I have no plans of any kind.

I bet Julie is in our room, making out with Jeff. Just as revenge because I stole the room after the concert, staying there with Guy, so she had to stay in Jeff's room. Yeah, she must've suffered a whole lot... Sammie is shouting something about not having her keycard, and Anna says the same. Where does that leave me? If Sammie stays with Dwayne, where is Guy supposed to go?

We all decide to go up to our rooms, to continue partying up there. Portman almost cleans out the bar before he leaves, so I guess we won't feel great tomorrow.

I force Guy to go down and leave the glass we borrowed from the kitchen, and he's complaining. But he still obeys, muttering evil things when he disappears towards the elevator. I wait for him, but he takes his time, so I start to go back up to our floor. I find Cecilia sitting by the elevator, picking at her shoes.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I ask. "Not feeling well?"

"No, I'm waiting for Fred. He had to go downstairs to make a call, his cell phone ran out of batteries. Portman had been playing with it earlier or something."

"Yeah, he had. So, are you coming to party? Or maybe you're going to sleep? Didn't you have to leave real early tomorrow?"

"It already is real early tomorrow," she points out, getting up. Then she smiles a little. "But I don't think we'll come party. Fred wants to spend the night with me."

"How do you mean?" I say.

"You know, it's our last night here. Before we leave for wherever it was. He said he wanted to spend one last night with me, before we leave."

"Oh." It's just like Fred to change the rules like that. He was probably serious about not sleeping with her during the rest of the month, but still... it's pretty much the same thing. He just never said when they had to start follow that rule, so he's taking advantage of that. Anyway, it's not like I can hold it against him. He's probably just affected by his hormones, and Cecilia's short skirt and tight top. Plus the amount of alcohol they both have been consuming.

"But we're gonna talk too," she says quickly.

"I'm not judging," I smile back.

"Just want to be clear with that. He told me how you convinced him to sort things out. Thanks, Connie. I mean, he never would've talked to me otherwise. So, we're going to spend tonight talking, as well as... Eh, well, you know."

She seems nervous about the whole thing, so I decide not to push her into telling me any details. I can always combine my questions with the ones I'll have when she comes back from the vacation. A week, right? Two, maybe. Tops. Because I'm dying to get to know more about this. Hopefully she'll tell me when she comes back. "Yeah, I know you'll work things out tonight."

"And we still have the whole month besides tonight. To talk, I mean."

"I'll see you tomorrow, before you leave," I say, at the same time as Guy arrives from the elevator. Fred's with him too, so our conversation is over. For now, anyway.

Guy drags me along towards Adam's room, where the party is at. Charlie's not there, so we're taking the opportunity to be obedient in his room instead. More things to share with Captain when he shows up from wherever he is. We're probably going to be in Ken, Goldberg and Russ's room too, because they have the cool suite.

Fred's room is only two doors away from Adam's room, so they follow us there. Guy wrinkles his nose when they start making out up against the wall, but I just laugh. "You're not jealous again, are you?"

"No!" Guy exclaims. Then he also starts to laugh. "There's a time and a place for everything. Just remember to use protection, we don't need any ducklings on the team."

Fred removes his hand from Cecilia's thigh and throws his shoe at Guy. "That was just plain rude."

"Okay, I think we need to get going," I roll my eyes, grabbing Guy's ear. He whimpers, kicking back the shoe at Fred. I knock on the door, waiting for someone to let us in. "Goodnight, you two."

"There probably won't be much sleeping for them," Guy points out, whimpering some more when I don't let go of his ear.

"Probably not," Fred says, making Cecilia laugh. "Don't worry, there won't be any ducklings, I'm not that stupid."

"You're not stupid," Cecilia replies. This only makes Fred grope her even more. They disappear into their room, and Guy keeps complaining. I forgot that I was holding his ear.

"Sorry," I excuse myself. "Let's just be nice from now on."

"Oh, let's!" Guy grins, almost falling over when the door is opened up.

Yep, there is still so much going on. But right now, only happy stuff. And I'm keeping it together, somehow. I was right, tonight did turn out great for everyone. Even for me. And especially for Fred. Jeez.