You Can't Hurt Me

Disclaimer: Don't own Summerland or its characters. But I do live about 15 minutes away from Jesse McCartney…

A/N: Thank you Caitlin for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it and sorry I didn't update for a while. Finals are coming up soon, and I have tons of projects due. Luckily I only have two more weeks left of school. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and keep reading!

Chapter Three: New Friends, New Problems

Ava sat on her bed, folding another load of laundry. Now that Bradin, Nikki and Derek were living with them, the laundry loads were endless. She made separate piles of each of the kids clothes and her own. Finished, she picked up a pile of her own clothes and began to put them away in her already clothes filled and messy closet.

She placed the folded shirts inside on the top shelf. Noticing a photograph hidden under a pile that had tipped over, she paused and pulled it out. It was a picture of her and Johnny a long time ago, while they were still dating.

Smiling sadly, Ava stared down at the picture, remembering those good times. In the photo, it was mostly dark, except from the large bonfire behind them. Their friends were in the background, faint shadows laughing and talking.

Johnny had picked Ava up and given her a piggyback ride until the two collapsed on the sandy beach. The two were lying in the rough sand, tickling each other. Ava, who had always been ticklish, hadn't been able to stop giggling until Susannah came over and helped her away from him.

Ava stared at the moment captured forever so intensely, she never noticed Johnny walk up behind her. He too looked at the photo in her hand.

"Those were the good old days, weren't they?" he said.

Ava turned, surprised and looked at Johnny. "Yeah," she said softly, "the good old days."

Ava still had strong feelings for Johnny, but she figured she had tried it too many times, and things never worked out between the two of them.

"Aunt Ava, I need help!" Derek cried from his room.

Ava walked past Johnny and went to find her nephew, dropping the picture on her bed amidst the piles of laundry.

OOO

Nikki looked around at all the other kids surrounding her. They were laughing and talking with each other, looking as though they had no room for another, already having formed cliques. Nikki realized they probably all already knew each other and wondered why she had agreed to come to camp.

She continued to stare at the other people for a few minutes until one of the camp counselors began calling out the kid's names. When Nikki was called, she reluctantly headed up to the front of the group.

"Welcome to Camp Playa Linda. You must be new around here," the woman said.

Nikki forced a smile. "Thanks, and yeah, I'm new here."

The counselor pointed her in the direction of a few other kids and she walked nervously over to them, somewhat encouraged by the friendly faces smiling at her.

"Hi, I'm Nikki," she said when she reached them.

The others introduced themselves, and Nikki barely caught all of their names as they said them. The only name she remembered was Cameron, the guy standing closest to her.

A few hours later, Nikki was eating lunch with Cameron, who seemed really nice, and she had been talking to all day. The only problem with camps so far was that it was incredibly boring (except for Cameron). There was also a blonde girl who kept giving Nikki jealous stares and glaring at her and Cameron. She thought her name was Amanda or something.

"Earth to Nikki, are you there?" Cameron asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

She jumped, startled. "Oh sorry, just thinking about something. Um, I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Nikki stood up and turned back to look at Cameron. "Uh, do you know where the bathroom is?"

He laughed and pointed in the right direction. She thanked him and headed that way. On her way back to the table, the blonde girl, Amanda, or whatever her name was, caught up with her.

"Nikki," she called, causing the brunette to turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from my boyfriend."

"Uh, your boyfriend?"

"Cameron. Stay away from him."

She turned and walked away from Nikki, joining her group of friends as Cameron walked over to her.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Nikki blurted out.

"Who, Amber?"

Amber, that was her name. Amanda, Amber, close enough.

"Nah, she and I went out a couple of times last year, but we're just friends now. Why, did she say something?"

"Not really, just that you were her boyfriend."

"Oh, ok. I'll take to her later about that. Come on, it's time to go."

OOO

"All right Kansas, that's it for today," Erica called.

"How'd I do?" he asked.

"Pretty good for your first time."

"OK, so I'll see you tomorrow for the next lesson?"

She nodded. "Same time, same place."

Bradin grabbed his stuff and walked away, covered in sand where it had stuck to his wetsuit. He headed home to take a shower than go down to the promenade for lunch.

Half an hour later he walked into a small restaurant, freshly showered and changed. He bought something to eat and sat down outside at a wooden table by himself. Across the restaurant Bradin noticed two girls, a brunette and a blonde staring at him and talking.

The girls noticed him turn towards them and the brunette smiled at him while the blonde looked away. She motioned for him to come over to their table, so he picked up his lunch and walked over to them, smiling.

"Hey, I'm Bradin," he said, sitting at their table.

The brunette smiled at him. "Amanda. And this is Sara," she announced, motioning towards her blonde friend.

Bradin was struck by how pretty Sara was, but she didn't seem to like him that much.

"So, uh, Bradin, I've never seen you around here before. Do you go to Playa Linda High?" Amanda asked.

"I just moved here a few days ago, so no, but I think that's where I'm going when the school year starts. Is that where you girls go?"

"Yeah. Where'd you move from?"

"Kansas, actually."

"Kansas? Wow."

"So how old are you?"

"Seventeen, you?"

"Same."

"Cool, so we'll all be in the same grade."

"I guess so," Bradin replied. He looked over at Sara, who was twirling her straw in an empty paper cup, realizing she hadn't said anything the whole time.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. Sara and I have to leave though. I guess I'll see you around?"

Bradin nodded. Sara stood up and said she was going to stop at the bathroom before they left, leaving Amanda and Bradin alone.

"Hey, do you want to get together sometime?"

"Sure, how about we meet at the beach tomorrow evening?"

"Around seven?"

"Perfect." Looking up, she noticed Sara coming back and walked over to her, saying bye to Bradin.

OOO

"How come you didn't talk to him?" Amanda asked.

Sara shrugged.

"Come on, he didn't even seem like any of those other guys who normally talk to you."

"He's seventeen and he's a guy. He couldn't be that much different."

"Fine. But I liked him. We're going out tomorrow."

"That's cool," Sara replied.

"Anyway, I have to go home, I'll call you later."

"Alright, bye," she said.

Sara walked back to her place by herself, thinking about Bradin. Amanda had been right, he did seem different from most of the guys who usually spoke to her, but Sara could never be sure about a guy.

She even thought that Bradin was a lot better looking that any of the guys who hit on her here in Playa Linda. Plus he actually seemed like a pretty decent guy. She wondered why he had moved. She also wondered why she hadn't bothered speaking to him.

For some reason, she had a feeling that this guy was different, and she was kind of jealous that Amanda was going out with him.

Wait, jealous? Sara had never been jealous of a guy one her friends liked, as they had always been pigs anyway. Sara walked into her empty house by herself, feeling extremely confused.

A/N: Please review!