WHOA! Aren't you impressed with my major quick update? ;) Usually Meme's the quick updater, but this time, I had it done PROMTLY. And I even like how it came out. And it's a reasonable length. What a concept. :)

-Charlie's POV-

I cough up a mouthful of seawater, trying to pretend I didn't just make myself look really stupid. That did not go as planned.

Once I'm back to the shore, I shake my head to get the excess water from my hair much like a dog does to his fur. I collapse onto the sand, knees and hands first. I get myself into a seated position facing the water and pull my board next to me.

I hear footsteps approaching on the sand. It's probably Connie coming to tell me I was stupid or make a crack about my lack of balance/coordination…which are kind of important in surfing. Heh. Good times.

I grin and prepare a mental retort, but when I turn around, I see a blur fling itself at me, nearly knocking me over. I blink, noticing the body is quite a bit taller than Connie is. Once I'm able to completely focus, I realize it's Krista from the ice cream parlor. After scanning the beach, I realize Connie's nowhere to be seen. She's no longer perched at her spot with a sketch pad in hand. The grin slowly fades from my face.

"Charlie, are you okay? Is anything broken?" Krista asks, resting her hand on my shoulder.

I keep my eyes trained where Connie had been. After a few seconds I blink my eyes a few times and scan the beach again, double-checking for Connie. She's got to be there.

Part of me twinges that she didn't come see if I was okay. Not that she's required to or anything, but I figured she'd at least come to banter a bit. She never passes up an opportunity to tease me.

Well, excluding this time, obviously.

Suddenly sand clouds up around us, sticking to my still-wet skin. I turn to see and complain to the offender, but Krista pulls my attention back to her by shaking my shoulder, brushing sand off herself and snarling a little at the person I figure just kicked sand in our faces. She then goes back to normal. "I asked if you were okay," she repeats.

I shrug her hand off a little, making a face at the sand all over me. "Yeah, I'm fine," I say, standing up and continuing to look for Connie.

Part of me was suddenly feeling a wash of slight panic when I still couldn't find her. What if some creepy old guy had snatched her in the minute or so I was under water and getting back to shore? What if that one creep from yesterday, that Seth guy or whatever, had snatched her in the minute or so I was under water and getting back to shore? What if ALIENS had taken her!

Okay, I'm serious again. Very serious. Seriously panicked. Seriously paranoid. Seriously perturbed.

Seriously in need of any sign that Connie's fine and not in any sort of danger or something like that. It's seriously freaking me out. Seriously. As in a serious fashion.

I shake my head again. I'm blowing this out of proportion. She could be in the bathroom for all I know, and would be kind of weirded out if I tackled her as she walked out or something like that. I need to caaaaalm down. Calm. Deep breath. Connie's fine. She wasn't abducted by an old guy, sleazy sex offender, or extra-terrestrial.

I notice Krista's still standing there and has a weird expression on her face as she stares at me.

"What?" I ask.

She blinks. "You just had this weird spaced out look on your face. You alright?"

"Uh, yeah, just thinking. I should get going," I say, giving a slight wave before darting away.

I feel slightly bad for suddenly brushing her off so much when it was me who initiated the flirting in the first place, but I just can't deal with that right now. I can't help but have this weird guilty feeling when I'm talking to Krista because I keep remembering Connie and how she freaked out. I mean, it's not like Connie's my girlfriend or anything. Far from it, so it seems, but I still feel weird about it. Darn weird feeling.

Gah, where is Connie? For crying out loud, this is getting aggravating.

Calm. Deep breath. Check food stands. Maybe she wanted a snack or drink. It's pretty hot out here, after all.

…Alas no. Food stands hold no sign of Connie.

And I'm not checking bathrooms. I'd get pelted with coconuts. And, well…just no.

Letting out a sigh, I turn back and see my instructor walking over towards me with a very annoyed expression on his face.

"Do you make a sport of doing the exact opposite of everything I tell you to do?" he asks.

Heh, he sounds a lot like some of my teachers and coaches.

I shake my head. "Of course not. It just naturally happens like that. Kind of like a reflex. I can't help it."

He mumbles something about taking a lunch break before walking off, shaking his head and continuing to mutter incoherent things under his breath. Probably best that I can't really hear what he's saying. Doesn't really matter that I'm guessing it's only about 10:30 in the morning, either. He can just go enjoy his lunch break. I have things to do anyway.

Now…back to the dilemma at hand. If I were a Connie, where would I go…

Eh, I will wander. Wandering is good…maybe I'll find her. Then when she's sitting in a nice, cool, air-conditioned food place, she'll be reminded just how incredibly paranoid I am.

As I walk along the beach, I continue to scan for any sign of Connie.

When I eventually find her, she's curled tightly in a ball against a tree facing away from me. I feel a wave of relief. She's safe.

Now the second layer of concern.

"Cons? You alright?" I ask, kneeling down beside her and resting my hand on her shoulder.

She jumps at my touch and whips around to face me, revealing a slightly dried tear-streaked face with the remnants of puffy red eyes.

"Oh man, Cons, were you crying? Are you okay? What happened?" I ask, slightly stumbling over the words as panic starts to rise again.

She instantly turns her face away with a sniffle, shaking her head fervently. "No, no, I'm fine. Nothing happened," she says shakily.

"You don't cry over 'nothing,'" I say disbelievingly. "Come on, tell me. Was it that guy? Did he do anything? Because I he did, I'll-"

"No," she cuts in. "No, it wasn't Seth," she says, and before I have the chance to ask who it was then, she beats me to it. "It wasn't anyone. Nothing's wrong."

I look at her skeptically. "Yeah right. Like I said, you don't cry if nothing's wrong. You can tell me."

"I said nothing's wrong, Charlie. You don't have to get all macho protective or anything. I. Am. Fine," she says with an edge to her voice.

"Connie, if something happened-"

"Charlie, stop it. Nothing like that happened, so just stop and leave me alone. Don't you have Little Miss Baywatch Barbie to attend to? I'm sure she misses you, and I'd hate to keep you any longer. You've fulfilled your duty and can carry on with a clear conscience, so you can just go now," she says sharply, her face scrunching a little as fresh tears gloss her eyes.

I furrow my eyebrows slightly at the tears, and she turns away again. "…Cons…?" I say softly.

"Just…just go, Charlie. Alright? Just go."

"Connie-"

"Are you especially deaf today? I said go," she snaps, choking slightly on the words.

I purse my lips. "I'm not going anywhere, Cons. I'm not leaving you alone like this. Especially not in Hawaii," I say, scooting next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She stiffens for a minute before sinking back against my chest and biting her bottom lip to, I assume, hold back more tears. I feel a slight spark when her bare back brushes against my skin, but I shake off the thought that threatens to accompany it.

She flips around and buries her face into my bare chest. I feel her shoulders jolt slightly every now and then, signifying that she is in fact crying, despite her attempts to mask it.

I desperately want to know what's wrong with her, but I decide against asking right now.

"I hate you so much sometimes," she says quietly after a few minutes, her voice cracking as she sniffles loudly and buries her face in my chest more.

I try to determine if or how I'm supposed to respond to that.

Mmm, I won't respond. Better not to rock the boat at the moment. Maybe I'll ask later.

I settle with rubbing her back and resting my chin on her head. Closing my eyes, I breathe in the scent of her hair and feel a slight smile curl onto my lips as she wraps her own arms around my neck to get more comfortable.

But it's not long before the closeness begins to fully creep into my consciousness. I'm suddenly aware of just how close she really is, and my face heats. I thank my lucky stars ten times over that she can't see.

I feel her gently twist the hair at the base of my neck in her fingers absently. I blush deeper and resist the urge to clear my throat. That would only draw attention to me, and right now, she's got her eyes closed. She's not crying anymore either. She looks almost calm. The tear streaks on her cheeks look out of place.

I can't help but notice how gorgeous she looks, even with those tear streaks on her cheeks and smudges of sand smeared across her face. The sand was from me, of course. I didn't bother to wipe it off with my towel earlier, but she doesn't seem to mind too much.

I shiver slightly as her hand brushes my neck and hope desperately that she doesn't notice.

"You cold?" she asks softly, her voice sounding slightly far away, like she's in a half dream-like state.

So much for not noticing.

"No, no, I'm good. Just got a…chill," I answer, just barely nodding my head so as to not disturb her.

"Mmhmm…"

I smile down at her and absently stroke her hair, rocking her gently. She softly hums a tune I don't know, and I feel the comfortable silence envelop us like a blanket. The comfortable silence that we've been lacking over the past few days.

Closing my eyes, I choose to simply accept and enjoy the moment while it lasts, because realistically, chances are I may not get another one quite like it.

Blonde-brain- :pats Connie: Yes, she's had it rough. Eebil girl trying to snag Charlie:kicks her: Thanks for the review!

Duckys- Me too. :( It's sad. :pats her and Charlie: Silly children. :shakes head at them: Anyway, thanks for the review:D