Somehow, her parents hadn't noticed. Yet.
As far as they were concerned, Ashley was still just Pim's friend, nothing clonelike about her. Or at least Pim hoped. Even though she was wearing the same outfit as when they'd first met, they seemed pretty oblivious so far. Pim was doing all she could to speak for Ashley, so something ridiculous involving soccer wouldn't come out. If it did, she laughed and explained how much Ashley simply loved the sport. They seemed to be content with it; the girl may not say much, but she was polite.
So now, there they all were, sitting around the living room carrying out Barb's promise of a popcorn and movie night. Pim so far had no idea what the movie was about. She was basically preoccupied with getting Ashley out of there as soon as possible.
"Ashley, I hope you like comedies, by the way," Barb said, grabbing a handful of popcorn and passing the bowl to her husband. "They're a Diffy favorite." She smiled.
Pim tensed up, turning to Ashley. She looked into the clone's eyes, and said firmly, "Yes." She added a nod and a smile, hoping Ashley would pick up on it…
"Yes," Ashley repeated, smiling and nodding. Pim turned and smiled at her parents.
"Yeah," she repeated. "We always used to talk about that in class, you know, how we both like comedies and stuff…"
Fearing she was acting too strange, she quickly reached for the popcorn. She remembered to forget to say please. That would show them she was still herself.
She took it from her dad, then grabbed a handful. For good measure she spoke through a mouthful. "Popcorn?" she mumbled, shoving it in Ashley's direction. She chewed until she was more understandable. "It's good. Eat. Like this." She shoved more in her mouth to demonstrate.
Ashley looked down at the popcorn, finally grabbing a handful and doing just as Pim had done. She grabbed another handful, shoved it in, then another…
"Okay, that's enough," Pim said, staring at her oddly as she yanked away the bowl.
Ashley, who now had popcorn kernels all down the front of her shirt and on her lap, grabbed for some more. "Eh' goo! Ehh! I iss!" she mumbled.
"Huh?" Pim asked, a bizarre expression her face.
Barb was now looking at Ashley the same way, and although it took a moment longer for Lloyd to pull himself away from the movie and notice, he did too.
Ashley chewed a bit more, then repeated herself, and Pim. "It's good! Eat! Like this!"
"Uh huh, yeah." Pim nodded, eyebrows raised. "It's good, but not that good…."
"Not that good," Ashley repeated, a kernel falling from her lips.
Pim looked at her parents, who were both trying not to flat out stare at Ashley with confused expressions. It was barely working.
"Ooooh! Curtis know popcorn when he smell it!" the loveable caveman exclaimed as he hurried into the room suddenly.
On his mad dash to the source of the smell, which was all over Ashley, he shoved past Pim and knocked over the centerpiece on the coffee table, a vase with flowers.
It went flying before gravity caught it and began to drag it down. In a fraction of a second, Ashley was up off the couch, popcorn falling everywhere.
"I GOT IT!" she screamed, rushing for the vase.
Three Diffys and an adopted caveman stared as Ashley as she dove underneath the vase, hit it upwards with her head…
And the glass shattered, water and flowers flying.
"Oh my goodness!" Barb yelled, standing up. "Ashley! What…why…are you…okay?"
Ashley just stood there, dripping with water and a flower clinging to her hair, totally unfazed. She turned and looked at Barb, Lloyd and Pim, and instead of answering gave them a thumbs up. Then she jogged over to the other side of the room, where she continued to run in place, staring intensely at nothing.
It was then that Barb and Lloyd slowly turned their gaze over to their daughter, who just sat on the couch, almost as stunned as they were. She met their eyes meekly.
"I mentioned she was a fun girl, right?" she finally asked, forcing a laugh.
"Yes," Barb responded, nodding slowly. "And I think there are also a few things you didn't mention." She looked over at Ashley again, and highly suspiciously.
That was when Pim knew there was no way out of this one.
"Why would she do that?" Lloyd whispered to Barb, eyeing Ashley.
Barb rolled her eyes.
"Pim," she said, turning to her daughter. "Where'd you get it?"
Pim looked down confusedly, or at least acting like it. "Oh, this necklace?" she asked sweetly, holding it up. "Well you got it for me for my last Nirday, remem—"
"Um, no. Not the necklace, Pim." She sighed. "I want you to go and get the Replicator and give it to me, please."
Pim gulped, looking over at her replicate "friend" who was now attempting to balance a small potted plant on top of her head. Lloyd quickly went over and grabbed it away.
"Um…I would…" Pim stammered.
"And you probably should," her mom replied sternly.
"You're right. Except…"
"Where's the Replicator, Pim?"
Pim looked up at Barb. "Can I explain it while we're in the car, going to get it from Phil?"
Barb looked surprised and confused, but sighed.
"Yes, I think you owe me that much," she responded, looking over at Lloyd, who was trying to deal with the clone and the shattered vase at the same time, and Curtis, who was working on cleaning up her spilled popcorn by consuming all of it.
"Let's just go." She guided her daughter towards the door. "Lloyd, we'll be right back, don't let her break anything else…lock her in the garage if you need to…"
……
Keely, Phil and Melody crossed the sand, the warm saltiness of the breeze tossing their hair. So far, at least a dozen other H.G. Wells students milled around the beach. Keely and Phil smiled and said hi to a few. It didn't take long to find Via.
"Keely! Phil!" she exclaimed, running over to hug each of them. "Oh…my…gosh. Keely, you look amazing." She smiled ear to ear.
"Thanks, Via," Keely answered. "I love this." She motioned to Via's outfit, the one she had described on the phone earlier.
"Thank you." Via smiled kindly. "Melody," she added warmly, "I am so glad you made it."
Melody looked at Via, almost surprised that she had been acknowledged. "Oh, yeah, well," she replied. "Thanks for inviting me." Keely looked at her cousin and offered a smile.
"So, come on, come on," Via urged them along. "I've got so much food over here it's not even funny. We've got hamburgers and hot dogs and there's punch and four kinds of soda and my dad should be bringing the pizzas around before long…"
Before any of them knew it, they were standing by the food, with nothing left to do but reach for a plate and start picking things out. Phil picked up three and handed them out to the girls.
Just as Keely reached for a handful of chips, someone grabbed the same bag. "Hey, what the?" she demanded.
"Huh?" Owen responded through a mouthful of the chips.
"OH! Keely, hey! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He laughed, and chip crumbs flew out of his mouth. Melody stepped back, disgusted.
"Here ya go." He handed the bag to her, and she gingerly took it, setting it back on the table.
"Diff-O! How's it goin' man?" Owen asked Phil, slapping hands with him.
"It's going." Phil grinned. He tried not to stare at the pieces of chip clinging to Owen's chin.
"Sweet party so far huh?" he asked. "Not that I wasn't expecting it. Hot hostess, lots of food, hot girls, food, and…" He stopped when his eyes landed on Melody.
It took her a second to realize he was staring at her, and when she did she raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"Well," Owen grinned. "Here's one I haven't dated…I mean met, yet."
Melody looked surprised.
"Excuse me?"
Keely stepped between her and Owen, trying to block the daggers Melody was shooting at him with her eyes. "This is Owen," she began. "And…yeah. I'll explain the rest later."
Melody tossed some hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.
Owen grabbed a cup of pineapple punch and took a slurp. "May I offer you some?" he asked Melody, holding it out. "From my lips to—"
"She's good, Owen," Phil stopped him. He looked over at Melody and shook his head, attempting to apologize with the expression on his face.
Owen finished the rest of his punch and spooned some more into the cup, gulping it down. "So, you two know each other?" he asked her and Keely, before they could walk away.
Melody looked disgustedly at the sand, obviously refusing to answer. Keely nodded.
"Yeah, this is my cousin," she explained. "She and her dad are in town and they're staying with…" She paused. "They're in town," she finished, never knowing what lengths Owen would go to.
Phil nodded at her, hiding his smile. Melody saw his face, and did the same.
"Okay, cool." Owen nodded. "Does this cousin have a name?"
"Nope." Melody turned and grabbed some food from the table to put onto her plate.
Phil sighed. "Hey, Owen, look," he pointed. "There's some girls over there who need help putting up that volleyball net."
"Where?" he exclaimed, spitting punch. "Whoa dude, I hope they need help bumping and spiking too, 'cuz I'm there!" He slapped Phil of the back as he took off.
Melody looked stunned.
"Uh…" Keely bit her lip. "Melody, let me just say that he's one of those guys that takes a little…getting used to."
"He's an idiot." Melody stuck a chip in her mouth.
"Well…" Keely giggled. "Yeah, kinda."
Phil laughed and grabbed part of a sub sandwich. "Well come on guys, tell me how you feel," he joked.
Keely shook her head. "I know, it sounds mean…"
Phil took a bite of his sandwich. "Hey, I hope they need help bumping and spiking!" he mimicked Owen, his mouth full. "Don't hate me 'cuz I get all the ladies, Keely."
Keely and Melody both found themselves cracking up.
"Wait, so he actually gets some?" Melody scoffed, watching him pretend to be engaged in conversation with one of the volleyball girls while looking over her shoulder at another one in a pretty revealing top.
"Oh, I never said that," Phil added, smiling.
"Oh. Right." Melody smiled back.
Somewhere nearby, somebody turned up the music, and loud bass started pumping. Keely saw Bruno talking to Via, and he gave her a thumbs up when she put on his requested music. Afterwards, he ambled over by the refreshment area, where of course, he ran into Keely, Phil and Melody.
"Hey guys!" he greeted them, grabbing two sections of the sub sandwich and, to their disgust, dipping one in a bowl of cole slaw. "Keely, you look great."
"Oh…thanks, Bruno," she said, smiling but inwardly hoping he hadn't just looked her up and down like she thought he had. Phil didn't seem to be bothered by it; he just smiled at her. But he did put his arm around her back gently.
Bruno noticed Melody. "Hey," he said, grinning. "I haven't seen you around. You go to H.G. Wells?"
"Um, not yet," she answered.
"Oh," he said. "Well…let me know when ya do." He winked at her.
Keely looked warily at her cousin, whose mouth was hanging open. Melody shook her head. "Wow," she said. "Wow. Is that all guys ever do around here? Hit on girls they barely know?"
Bruno looked confused. "Well, uh…if that's what you want," he shrugged.
"No!" Melody exclaimed. "No, thank you. You don't even know me, dude. Forget it." She grabbed her plate and walked off.
Keely watched her cousin go, stunned. She turned back to Bruno and Phil, and saw Phil's eyebrows knit together and Bruno just staring stupidly.
Finally, he took another bite of his sandwich and laughed. "Something I said?" he asked.
Keely sighed, looking over her shoulder for her cousin. "She's a little sensitive, Bruno," she replied. "You just have to watch what you say."
He shrugged. "Oh," he responded. "Well…you know what they say. You win some, you lose some." He chewed some more. "Know what I mean, Phil?"
Phil shrugged, confused. "Not really."
Keely put a hand on Phil's shoulder. "I'm gonna…" She motioned in the direction Melody had gone.
"Okay." He nodded, smiling a little. "I'll be here. Mingling. You know."
"All right." Keely smiled before turning to go.
Phil hung around the table casually, grabbing some more chips and filling himself up a cup of punch. He thought he might find Via and see what she was up to. He had just spotted her over by Owen, trying to convince him that she was not interested in learning to crush a soda can on her head, when the music was cut off suddenly.
People looked over to the huge speakers to see what had happened. "Uh, sorry," Phil heard someone say, and craned his neck to see who it was. Some blonde girl had tripped over a cord. He saw Via hurrying over to fix it. He shrugged and wandered away from the table.
Keely walked through the steadily growing crowd of people, smiling and nodding to some on her way to find Melody. Suddenly, she ran into Via. Literally.
"Oh, sorry!" they said in unison. "Hey, Keely," Via sighed. "Someone decided to cut off the music, I've gotta go fix it."
"It's okay," Keely responded. "Hey, Vi, have you seen my cousin around anywhere? Like, by herself?"
Via shook her head, slowly. "No, can't say I have," she replied. "Why? Have you lost her?"
"Well, she…ran off," Keely responded. "Bruno said something stupid to her and she kind of just…snapped."
"Uh oh." Via looked around, concerned. "Well, there's not too many places she could have gone. You'll find her. Come find me if you don't."
"Okay," Keely responded. "Thanks." She watched Via hurry towards the speakers.
The young blonde gritted her teeth as she walked through the sand, pushing past random teenagers, who were now all freaked out because she had accidentally tripped over the speaker cord and in turn shut off their precious music. Why had she agreed to this? She could have just made up some excuse about where it was.
I could have blamed it on Curtis, she thought.
Pim stood in the middle of high school party she hadn't exactly been invited to, looking around for the idiotic brother who had somehow managed to get her into this mess without even trying. Wasn't she supposed to be the one who was that good?
"This is hopeless," she said, eyeing a couple of guys who were looking at her curiously.
"I'm not on display, fellas," she snapped. "That'll be a dollar if you wanna stare any longer."
They moved on, looking confused.
Pim yanked at the bottom of her shirt, moving on herself. So far, she saw absolutely nobody that she knew. If she could just find her brother's adorable sunshine-y girlfriend, or that British girl they hung out with, he'd most likely be with them. They'd probably think she was insane, but hey, she was.
After scanning around her all 180 degrees and not seeing them in any of it, she sighed. "This is shot," she mumbled. A guy passing by whistled at her. She stopped and looked at him, horrified.
"Please!" she exclaimed. "You? This?" She motioned to herself and scoffed.
Once the guy was gone, she looked around, uneasily. "This is almost scary. I am so above them." she muttered. "I'm out of here." She made a break for it.
Once in the safety of the parking lot, she thought up a way to tell her mom she couldn't find Phil. "It was scary in there, I'm telling you. And Phil was nowhere, Mom, I swear," she practiced. "He and Keely probably ran off somewhere and…"
She stopped when she realized that another blonde, sitting on one of the cement curbs of the parking lot, was looking at her curiously.
"What?" Pim asked her. "You don't carry on conversations with yourself?"
The girl just looked confused. "Not usually."
Pim sighed, looking for her mom's car. She saw it parked on the far end of the lot.
"Yeah, well, let me just give you a word of advice," Pim told her. "Before you go in there, don't. This parking lot is probably the safest part of that party."
The blonde laughed. "I was in there already," she said. "I know."
"Oh." Pim nodded. "Well, what did they do, kick you out for not being as dim-witted as they are?"
"No." The girl ran her hand through her long tresses. "I left."
"Smart one," Pim commented.
"Thanks, I guess." The girl half smiled. "I shouldn't have even come, period. I'm beginning to think that everyone around here is a moron." She looked dismally down at the pavement.
Pim laughed. "Wow," she said. "You and I are on the exact same page."
The girl smiled, looking up again. "So, you're leaving for the same reason?"
Pim shrugged. "Well…technically, I wasn't invited. I'm just here to look for my thickheaded brother. My mom sent me. I need to get his, uh, cell phone from him," she covered. "You uh, didn't happen to see him in there did you? Brown hair, not very tall, probably has his adorable little blonde girlfriend attached to his arm?"
The girl looked up curiously.
"I… think I might know two people who fit that description, actually," she said. Then she added, "Did you…say something about Keely when you were walking out here?"
"You know her?"
"She's my cousin."
Pim raised her eyebrows. "Wow," she commented. "You're the cousin?"
"Melody," the girl responded.
"What?"
"That's my name." Melody replied. "And...what do you mean, 'the' cousin? How'd you know about me? You're not related to Keely too are you?"
"No," Pim replied, shaking her head vigorously. "But who knows, I might be someday." She halfway rolled her eyes. "My brother is her boyfriend. Best friend slash boyfriend. Whatever." She drew a slash mark in the air with her finger as she said it. "And considering the amount of time Keely spends at our house, I've heard about you."
Melody laughed, understanding. "So you're Phil's sister," she remarked. "Yeah, he was talking about you."
"Hm, do tell," Pim prodded, raising one eyebrow.
Melody shrugged. "Oh, you know, just that Keely and I are lucky to be the only children and stuff like that."
Pim nodded. "Oh," she said indifferently.
"So, you have a…kind of unusual name, right?" Melody asked. "Not to be rude or anything, but I just remember Phil saying your name when he was on the phone with you…"
"Pim," she replied. "And anyone who makes fun of this girl's name will probably be working for her one day, so it doesn't bother me."
Melody laughed. "Good one."
"Pim, are you ready?" Barb yelled out the window of the car.
Pim sighed. "Yes, Mother," she called back obediently. "Sorry, but I'm already in trouble. I'd better get going before Mom gives me a life sentence or something like that."
"Wait," Melody told her, standing up. "If you want me to get Phil and Keely for you, I could find them. Actually… Keely's probably looking for me right now, after I walked out on them." She looked back towards the beach.
Pim considered it for a moment. She was already in trouble, but at least if she was able to prove Phil had the Replicator, she wouldn't be the only one.
"Okay," she agreed. "Sounds fair. But…that means going back in there, right?"
Melody laughed. "Unfortunately, it's the only way."
Pim shuddered.
"One more minute, Mom," she called, and followed Melody back in.
Keely sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. She felt like such a bad cousin, and a bad person overall. How could she just let her cousin walk off like that? Now, she had no idea where Melody was. It was her fault for not going after her right away…
She looked around for Phil. He could help. Maybe he'd found Melody already. Maybe…
"Keely," someone said, and she turned quickly.
"Melody!" she said. "There you are! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry…about Bruno, and Owen…I'm sorry if you feel like I forced you to come, because…"
"Keely, don't worry about it," Melody responded. "It's not your fault that the guys at H.G. Wells, with the exception of yours, are total creeps. Speaking of your guy, where's Phil? There's someone here for him."
"Someone…?" Keely began, as Pim caught up to Melody. She was still looking around in disgust at the partygoers.
"Pim!" Keely said, surprised. "What's going on?"
"Where's Phil?" was Pim's only response. "Mom sent me for him."
"He was over by the food the last time I saw him," Keely answered, confused. "Did something happen?"
"No," Pim replied. "Well, besides the fact that we're both kind of in trouble now, and I'll be in deeper trouble if I don't find him. After that I'll leave you guys alone to have your fun."
"Um, okay," Keely responded. "Well, if you're going to go look for him, you'd better stick with us. It could get dangerous…" She watched two guys throwing a football back and forth, which ended up narrowly missing her head.
"Danger isn't what I'm worried about," Pim remarked with a wave of her hand. "I just find myself a bit disgusted, especially knowing that I'll be one of these…high schoolers next year." She winced, as if she were in pain.
Melody laughed. "You're not the only one," she replied. "No offense, Keely."
Keely just shook her head. "None taken," she answered. "Now come on." She led them through the crowd.
"Couldn't you just call his cell phone or something?" Melody suggested.
Keely snapped her fingers. "Good idea." She took it out of her bag, pressing number 2 on speed dial, Phil's number. (Second to her mom, of course.) She put it to her ear, putting a hand over the other one to block out as much party noise as she could.
Back at the house, Lloyd slammed the door of the first bedroom he was able to shove Ashley into, locking it. "Now just…stay in there and don't kick anything," he called, walking away nervously.
The replicate stood in Phil's empty bedroom, looking around. A loud ringing distracted her.
She walked over to the source of the sound, Phil's cell phone ringing on his bedside table. She picked it up, turned it over in her hands curiously, then dropped it back down and walked away.
"He's not answering," Keely said after several rings, closing her phone. "That's weird."
"He's probably eating or something," Pim said. "It's what guys do."
"Yeah, maybe." Keely looked over towards the refreshment table, but didn't see him.
"Well, if we don't find him soon, it'll be my butt and his," Pim grumbled.
"Why?" Keely asked. "What happened anyway?"
"Oh…you know our family," Pim said, locking eyes with Keely. "Something's always coming up."
Keely looked back at her, and nodded in realization, getting the message. "Ohh… right." Although she still looked confused, she didn't question it anymore.
"Wait, is that him?" Melody asked, pointing. Pim and Keely swiveled around. "Where?" Keely asked.
Then, they spotted him. He stood holding onto one end of a limbo stick – where it had come from, none of them knew – while Owen held onto the other. The difference between them, though, was that while Owen looked completely ecstatic to be witnessing girl after girl maneuver underneath it, Phil looked like he was plotting to make a break for it any second.
Keely covered her mouth with one hand, giggling. Melody snickered too. Pim flat out burst into laughter.
"That is just ridiculous," she exclaimed, still cracking up.
"Looks like Owen volunteered him," Keely guessed, shaking her head. "I'll save him."
"Oh no, let me enjoy it for a few more minutes," Pim begged, crossing her arms over her chest. "I might be banished to the house for a few days, and this could be my last chance at entertainment for a while."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find something else, Pim," Keely laughed. "I'm going to get your poor brother."
Keely crossed the sand to Phil, Melody and Pim following a little ways behind. When he spotted her, complete relief came over his features.
She put a hand on his shoulder. "Having fun, Phil?" She tried desperately to hold back laughter.
"How about you play, Keel?" he retorted, giving the limbo stick a shake. "Maybe then it would be fun."
"No, I'm not feeling very…" She eyed one of the more flexible girls as she bent underneath it, to the responding cheers of the people around her. "…Like that, right now."
"Well to be honest, I'm not feeling very 'like this' right now." He shook the stick again as he said it.
"Hey, Keel!" Owen spoke up, pulling his head together enough to realize she was there. "What do you say?" He flicked his head towards the rest of the limbo-ing girls, suggestively.
Phil and Keely rolled their eyes in unison.
"I'm good, Owen," Keely said.
Phil looked over then and noticed Melody. "Oh hey! You guys found each other."
"Yeah," Melody said as she nodded. "And I found someone else you know, too."
Pim stepped up in front her brother. "Phil, make it quick, Mom's waiting."
"Whoa, Pim? What?" Phil looked dumbfounded. "Why?"
"Because I need something from you."
"What could you possibly need from me that you think you could get right …" He trailed off as it came together for him.
Pim saw this, and nodded. "Right. And the sooner I get it, the less trouble we'll be in. Maybe. I don't know."
Phil sighed, looking at Keely. Her expression told him that she knew. Melody obviously didn't, though. Or so he hoped.
"All right," he said. "Owen, I'm gonna need you to find me a replacement for this."
"Aw, why?" he said. "The competition's heatin' up bro!"
"Yeah, I'm sure it is. But I've really gotta get out of here." Phil had no choice but to drop the stick, which ended up hitting the girl underneath it square in the chin. Phil jumped, looking apologetic. "Sorry!" he exclaimed before quickly turning to leave, grabbing his sister by the arm.
Keely knew this was a Diffy only conversation, so she and Melody stood back and watched them go. "What's the big deal anyway?" Melody asked her. "They seem all wigged out."
Keely shrugged. "Nothing," she replied. "They just one of those family plans you know? Their mom, uh…gets kind of mad if they go over their minutes."
"Oh." Melody nodded. "Well… Pim's actually pretty cool."
Keely smiled a little, glancing at her cousin. "I've never met anyone like her before," she agreed. "Never met anyone like any of them…"
They were both quiet for a moment, until Melody broke the silence.
"That kid is still holding the limbo stick. By himself," she commented, watching Owen do whatever he could to continue his game. "Geez, he doesn't flippin' quit!"
And sure enough, he was.
……..
"So, what's the verdict?" Keely asked Phil. The sun had sunk, leaving only the faintest leftover blush of the sky, dotted with the first couple of stars that had decided to show.
Phil slipped a marshmallow onto the skewer he held, holding out over the large bonfire that had been started. Keely grabbed the bag from him, taking out a couple of her own.
"Well," he replied. "So far, Pim's grounded for a few days, and I get to wait until I get home to find out what my punishment is, if I get one." He shrugged. "It's safe and sound back at our house now, though. That's the good part. I completely forgot I had it with me."
Keely nodded, knowing what he was referring to without having to ask. Her marshmallows joined his next to the flame. "Good, Phil. I'm glad you didn't get into too much trouble."
Melody sat down next to them, a soda in hand. "Oh, s'mores," she observed. "Where're the marshmallows?"
"Here ya go." Keely handed her the bag.
"Thanks." Melody took a skewer that Keely handed over, impaling her marshmallows on it.
A far off memory snuck into Keely's mind, at the sight of her cousin and those marshmallows. The glow of the fire flickered against Melody's features, showing a side Keely recognized from below the surface of a distressed, tough teenager in a new place.
"This time," she commented, pulling her half melted marshmallows away from the fire, "I think I'll keep a better eye on mine."
Melody looked over at her, obviously puzzled. "On your what?"
"My marshmallows." Keely wiggled the end of the skewer, carefully pulling one off and slapping it onto the waiting chocolate and graham cracker. "So they aren't stolen."
She eyed her cousin as Melody racked her brain for what Keely could mean. "Stolen…?"
Keely nodded, placing another cracker on top, forming the perfect s'more. "The reunion," she answered simply, taking a bite.
Melody's eyes flickered, and it wasn't from the flame. Slowly, she broke out into a remembering smile, and chuckled.
Phil smiled a little, not quite sure if he'd heard this story, but noticing a moment of softness from Melody. It reminded him of… his sister. No wonder they'd gotten along.
"I had totally forgotten," Melody said, still grinning. "Uh, sorry about that, by the way..."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Keely responded. "I forgive four-year-old Melody for her horrible crime."
Melody just laughed again. "Crackers?" she requested.
Phil handed the box over.
Keely exchanged a glance and a smile with him. As the sunset began to disappear, she lay her head on his shoulder.
"I like this," she said.
"The party?" Phil asked, biting into his s'more.
"Well, yeah," she responded. "But I like everything else, too. I like the sky, the fire, the beach, the water. I like just kicking my shoes off. Isn't the sand warm?"
Phil put his arm around her, pulling her a little closer.
"It is really warm," he replied. "I like it here too Keel. I like everything here." He pressed his cheek into the top of her head as he said it.
"Ouch!" Melody exclaimed. Both Phil and Keely looked her way.
"Burned myself on the freakin' marshmallow. Sorry." She shrugged apologetically.
Keely laughed and lay her head back down.
"Hey guys! Save some for me will ya?" Owen yelled from behind them. He gave them a thumbs up as he chased down Via.
"Yeah, sure thing." Phil rolled his eyes. "He'll forget about the s'mores in five minutes."
"That long, you think?" Keely yawned.
Phil smiled down at her as he popped the last of his s'more into his mouth. "You're tired," he observed.
"I am not…" Her voice was slow and lazy.
"Maybe if you hadn't been up at the crack of dawn practically laying out your outfit for this party," Melody suggested. "Just saying." She began roasting another marshmallow.
Keely laughed tiredly. "Yeah, I was stressing. I'll admit it."
"Maybe we should leave in a little bit," Phil proposed. "I can find Via so we can say goodbye…"
"No, not yet," Keely answered. "Let's just…sit here for a bit. Together. Enjoy the night before it ends." She sighed sleepily. "Three weeks of this left, and then school starts…"
"I know," Phil answered. Melody just zoned out at the fire, looking contemplative.
"So let's enjoy it while it lasts. Promise, Phil?"
"I do, Keel." He looked down at her, only to see the top of her blonde head. "We will."
Keely was quiet for several moments. Finally, Phil heard Melody chuckle.
"What?" he asked, snapping out of the trance the fire was putting him into.
"She's drooling on your shoulder."
Phil looked down. Sure enough, Keely had fallen asleep.
He laughed gently, looking at Melody. She smiled back at him, then looked away. Phil didn't care if Keely did drool on him. He had promised her and himself to enjoy it. All of it.