A/N: I don't own the lyrics to the song in this chapter.
Twister walked out the storm door and around the side of the house. Val had no bedroom window, so there went that plan. He scouted the surrounding area. On a beautiful, clear day such as this one, he should have no trouble finding her on or in the ocean.
After a brief search, her saw her walking away from a shore break. Val stopped when she saw Twister. Swallowing hard, Twister began to sing.
"...I lie awake
I drive myself crazy thinking of you
I made a mistake when I let you go, baby
I drive myself crazy wanting you the way that I do
I was such a fool
I couldn't see just how good you were to me
You confessed your love and undying devotion
I confessed a need to be free
Now I'm left with a lot of pain
I only have myself to blame...
...Why didn't I know how much I love you?"
Twister stopped there, reaching into his pocket for the shark's tooth he'd taken after their fight. Val's eyes locked with his for a moment, slightly misty. She held her hand out; Twister returned his necklace to her. Then he put his gold chili pepper necklace back on. No words were needed to know peace was restored.
Elated, Twister sprinted back down to the basement. Roderick smiled knowingly.
"I knew 'Lenci would take you back," he said. "You know what? I wouldn't be surprised if you two end up married."
"Really?" said Twister.
"Sure." said Roderick. "You're good for each other."
Lars took a breath. "Thank God you worked this out. I couldn't stand how stupid you were being."
Twister let the remark slide. All that mattered was that he was happy again.
Val appeared in the doorway and invited everyone upstairs for breakfast. She caught Reggie by the arm as she cleared the top step.
"You planned that whole thing, didn't you, Reg?" Val asked.
"Yeah...kinda," Reggie admitted.
"I don't normally let people fool around with my problems," said Val. "I like to take care of things of my own. But I'm glad you stepped in this time. I'd hate to have lost Twister over a tiny misunderstanding."
"I didn't want to see that happen either," said Reggie.
Val went in the kitchen to set up a makeshift cereal bar. She sat between Otto and Twister as usual. The kids' loud talking woke up Val's parents.
"Um, let's go out," Chuy suggested, hastily dumping everyone's bowls in the sink.
"Where to?" asked Sam as they all collected their skateboards from the garage.
"Friendship Fell, baby!" said Val.
"All right!" Otto cheered.