Thank you so much for the reviews! It is nice to know that people reads this story even though I had been lazy lately. Oh well, at least I still get them done and still have the will to do it. I just decided what I am going to do about the rest of this so it shouldn't be so troublesome to think of some more new ideas. I was just lazy about writing, not about thinking, lol.
Chapter Thirty-Three – Claire (not a new OC by the way)
Zarine was unbelievably happy as the butler drove the limo out of the airport, even though she was squashed tightly between Will and Jeff.
"I still can't believe that you came," she said to her brother for the hundredth time.
Tyson groaned, "We know, we know. Now shut up about it already. You should like a broken record." Even that comment could not make her anger flare up.
She ignored him and turned to Jeff. "How are your parents?"
"They are fine. They miss you a lot though," he replied, studying her with his dark brown eyes.
Beside them, Hilary and Tyson were arguing about whether the temperature was more unbearable that day or the day before.
I tell you, yesterday was way hotter than today," Tyson protested. "I was sweating like crazy!"
"It might had something to do with the fact that you had a sweater on," Jewels pointed out to him.
The blue haired boy scratched his head wonderingly. "Was I really? I can't remember. I was too busy being hyper with Max to notice."
Jeff stared at Tyson with surprise. "I wouldn't worry too much over him, O Handsome One," Zarine told him with a wink. "Wait until you see his appetite, now that is something that you don't see everyday."
He groaned, "I wish you wouldn't remind me of that!"
"Just teasing," she laughed at his reaction.
Hilary asked Zarine curiously, "What was all that about?"
"Ah, well you see, when we were in grade three, we had to be in a play. It had a stupid plot, and Jeff was supposed to be the most handsome prince in the world," she answered. "So everyone had to say 'O Handsome One' whenever they talk to him. It was really funny."
"It was embarrassing!" Jeff said. "I thought I would die the next day at school. The worst were the parents who came up and said that it was true that I was handsome or whatever."
"But dear, you are!" his best friend told him. "I remember girls always looking at your way in class. Surely that hasn't changed."
Zarine spoke the truth. Jeff was a…I'm not sure if I would use the word handsome, but he was certainly very attractive to the females with his dark brown, so dark that it was nearly black and tanned skin. Also, he had very dark brown eyes that would melt any girls' heart.
Jeff shot a quick glance at Ray to see how he reacted when Zarine called him 'dear.' He shook his head slightly when he saw Ray frowning slightly. Sometimes Zarine had no sense of timing.
"Hilary, do you want to play a game with us?" Tyson and Max asked.
"What game?" the brunette asked with interest.
"Well, we play rock, paper, scissors and if you lose, you have to eat a Cherry Blaster," Max explained. "It will be lots of fun!"
"And you will get hyper again, right?" Mariam sighed. She was resigned to the fact that she could not change Max's love for being hyper. No matter how hard she tried, she could not convince him that it would not hurt him not to eat candy for a day.
"Well, yes, if I lose a lot," he replied. "You should play too! Have some fun with us!"
She looked uncertainly at Hilary. Well if Hil is playing too, maybe I should…she thought. "Oh, alright," she sighed. Pretty soon, she was wrapped up in the game and was having fun. And she felt maybe, just maybe, she understands why Max is the way he is.
Bright sunshine made Zarine's silver hair sparkle as they got out of the limo, (I wish I have a limo!) and the sight of it tugged at Jeff's heart. He had nearly forgotten how pretty it was. He slung an arm around her shoulder casually, and whispered in her ear, "My Starlight, you will love the present from me."
"Well I would still love you even if I hated the present," she told him.
Ray scowled at Jeff. It wasn't only because his arm was around his girlfriend; it was more because of the way that he was looking at her. It was definitely not the way that he should look at his best friend.
"Oi, presents!" Zarine cheered at the sight of the pile of presents on the coffee table. They were all wrapped in different shades of blue wrapping paper or in a blue bag.
She settled down on the floor and opened them one by one. From Max, she got a necklace with a blue gem in the shape of a dog. She received a Discman from Carrie and Jewels. Kenny gave her a cook book with lots of recipes for ice cream related deserts.
She opened the box from Ray and touched the soft white bathrobe in it. 'For my little sweetie, this will keep you warm when you are in your PJs if I am not there, love Ray,' she read the card silently. Red blossomed in her cheeks as she thanked Ray for the gift.
Perhaps the best surprise was the last present in a huge bag that awaited her. Zarine took out the tissue paper, which inevitably was blue also, and took out a light blue sparkly teddy bear. "Jeff! You are giving me Claire??" she asked in surprise, staring at the bear that was four feet in length.
"Well, she will make you think of me, right?" he nudged at her.
"You actually gave that little monster a name?" Tyson asked incredulously and rolled on the floor as he laughed.
"Claire is not a monster!" she protested. "She is the cutest teddy bear!"
"What's the big deal about that thing anyway?" Mariam questioned curiously.
Jeff cleared his throat and began to explain, "Zarine got this weird idea when she was around four that she had to give me a pair of teddy bears, a boy and a girl, for my birthday. That one, Claire, is the biggest one, which she had given to me for my ninth birthday. It is her favourite one."
"And the other teddy for his ninth birthday was the tiniest bear that I had given him. It is about an inch tall," she said, while reaching into the bag for the other thing that was in it. It turned out to be a short sleeve shirt with a cute kitty that said, 'Sweet as Sugar' in the front, and an irritated kitty that said, 'Tough as Nails' on the back.
"Thank you so much!" she said to her friends happily. Tyson fidgeted awkwardly. He adored Zarine, but he didn't know what to get her or if she will like the present that he gave her. Besides, he was always mean to her. She probably thinks I hate her, he thought, either that or she doesn't really like me that much either.
The next morning…
Will yawned as he set out down the hall to Zarine's room, hoping to wake her up and annoy her a bit before dragging her off to eat ice cream. It was the perfect plan. She was going to be very irritated at being waken up at six in the morning, but ice cream should cool her anger down immediately. He put his hand on the door knob and turned it.
He was startled to see the bed in the room had no sign of a person sleeping, or that anyone had slept in it at all. It was impossible that Zarine would be awake at this hour…unless…unless she was planning on something.
When he saw the door on the right side of the room, he got curious and went to snoop. What he found was Ray sleeping, and a very familiar head was can be seen snuggled under his arm.
"Zarine Alaina Star, what the hell are you doing?!" he demanded as he went over to the bed to yank her out by her arm.
Cobwebs of her dream were still clinging to her mind. She found herself on her feet when her mind was slightly more oriented. "Ouch, Will, what? Why did you bang in here like that?"
Ray was looking very puzzled as he gazed at the fuming brother. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Stay out of it, Ray Kon!" Will snarled at him before dragging his sister back to her own room and pushed her on her own bed.
"What's wrong?" she asked, gazing up at him in alarm. She had never seen him that angry, at least not with her.
"What were you doing in his bed?!" he demanded. "Just how far had you gone with him?"
"Will, we didn't do anything! We were just sleeping!" she answered. "Besides, what kind of person do you take me for anyway? I thought…I thought you trusted me more than that."
He studied her for a long time, trying to gain control of himself before asking, "Why?"
"I like to, that's why. I like sleeping in his arms," she replied, a note of defiance clear in her voice. Then, she said more quietly, "It makes me feel safe…and I never have bad dreams when I am with him."
"I don't approve!" he stated.
"What's the big deal anyway? It's not like we ever did anything! I wouldn't, I promise!" she said.
"I don't think so," he told her.
"You don't trust me, is that it?" she asked angrily. It wasn't fair! She never did anything wrong and neither did Ray.
"No, I don't trust him enough. Who knows? Maybe he'll get tempted and who knows what will happen then," he suggested.
"How can you even say such a thing? Ray protects me from every little thing. He isn't like that! I trust him, I trust him not to hurt me or force me to do something that I want to," she said.
"I don't approve. From now on, you're going to be sleeping here, in this bed. And he is going to be sleeping in the other room in his bed," he told her. "And you better obey me, or else."
"But…" she protested.
"No arguments!" he barked before striding out and slamming the door shut.
Her boyfriend came into the room in the space of a few seconds. He had been listening by the connecting door. "He had never yelled at me like that before," she told him quietly.
He hugged her before kneeling on his knees so he wouldn't tower over her, and said, "Don't worry about it too much, alright?"
"You don't mind the fact that he disapproves?" she asked hopefully.
"No, it's not your fault," he replied. Then he added, "But I do wish that he would trust me with you more."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him critically. "You better go back to bed, you look really tired."
He glanced at the clock on her night table. "It is only six ten in the morning after all." Yawning, he unwound her arms from him gently. "I'm going back to sleep for a couple of hours, no, make that several hours."
"You lazy cat!" she laughed.
"Cat?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Yes, you remind me of a cat for some reason," she replied. "You don't look too much like a cat though." (He didn't look like a cat in V-force…but that may change…hint hint)
"You are a strange girl," he commented before going back to his room.
She watched him leave with a satisfied smile on her face. Now…to what was really important…
Zarine giggled as she put some headphones on Jeff before hitting the play button on the tape recorder. Her friend, who was sleeping like a baby before woke up with a start and fell off the bed, pretending to be dead.
"Wake up!" she shook his shoulders. "Come on, I want to go eat ice cream!"
"BOO!" Jeff suddenly sprung to life and grabbed her arms. Spotting the startled look on her face, he started laughing uncontrollably. "You're out of practice, Zarine. I couldn't scare you that easily since we were six! That was a nice trick though. I thought someone had actually shot me with a gun with that loud bang."
She smiled, "Why thank you. Now get dressed. We are going to get ice cream."
"What time is it?" he questioned, rising up to go over to his suitcase.
She answered evasively, "Ah, not too early, not too late."
"Don't do that please," he told her before noticing that it was only seven in the morning. "Is it really so hard for a guy to get to sleep in during summer?"
She shrugged and told him in an offhand manner, "I could make it so you never get a peaceful night."
He pretended rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I knew that I missed you a lot, but I just wasn't exactly sure how much."
She grinned up at him wickedly. "I know, aren't I just delightful to be around?"
He laughed again and said, "Yes, you are, surprisingly enough."
