A/N: Hey! Just so you know, right now I am in a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, because if you haven't heard, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and a little of Alabama. The eye of the hurricane went right over where I live. So, I am able to get on the internet, but I don't know how long it will take me to update, that's why I gave you a pretty long chapter 7. Thanks for all the lovely reviews that flatter me to no end! Hope you enjoy, and don't kill me for the end!
"Finally, you two!" Catie exclaimed as Abbie and Chris ran up to them. All of them were waiting right on the grassy patch of land right next to the lake.
"You guys are such wet ends!" Teddy yelled, "We've been waiting for-"
"Five minutes," Chris said very coldly, causing everyone to turn to him.
"Whoa, sour puss," Emma stated, sounding surprised.
Chris' expression changed immediately from angry and frustrated to a look of realization.
"Oh, guys, I'm sorry, I was just thinking…." Chris trailed off.
"About what?" Teddy asked, being the intruder he always is.
"It doesn't matter. Let's just go swim," Shawn said.
Everyone gave him a smile and started to peel their clothes off to reveal bathing suits. Abbie and Chris stood frozen.
"Oh don't tell me you forgot your suits too!" Cammie complained, but with a grin.
"What were two doing anyway?" Gordie demanded with a look of suspicion on his face.
"We went out to eat at The Blue Point is all, Detective Lachance. Write us a ticket," Abbie teased.
"Well, you forgot your bathing suits. You know what that means……skinny dipping for you two!" Teddy yelled, followed by his laughter.
Emma flashed him a dirty look. "You are such a pervert."
Teddy looked over at her, and his eyes grew wide. "Oh Em Gem, you are looking more gorgeous than ever! Wear a bathing suit more often, pleeeeeease?"
"Eat shit, four eyes!" Emma retaliated with disgust, but it was true, she did look nice in her bikini.
"Anything for you, my love," Teddy replied, batting his eyelashes.
"You're going to make me throw up!" Vern exclaimed.
"Well, the bushes are that way," Shawn pointed.
"Oh forget it!" Abbie shouted, "We're swimming with our clothes on, DEAL WITH IT!" And with that, she pushed Gordie into the water.
"IT'S WAR!" Teddy screamed, and then made a trumpet noise. Everyone started moving in different directions, trying to see who would be the last person standing on dry land. Gordie stayed in the water, giving mock sour looks at everybody that he was the first one in. Abbie dodged her way around some of the others to Cammie. They started to spin around, trying to make the other back-facing the water. Cammie stepped right on the edge of the land, but with one last push, she fell right next to Gordie. Abbie let out an evil cackle and observed everyone else. Shawn and Chris were wrestling each other in the lake, making water fly everywhere. Teddy and Emma were doing the same thing that she and Cammie were doing, but soon, Teddy fell in, but Emma went with him and landed on top of him. Vern just ran around in circles, but ran too close to the edge and fell in, being so clumsy.
"YES!" Abbie yelled, punching a fist into the air, "I AM THE WINNER!"
Suddenly, she felt something being placed on her back, and before she knew it, she was in the water with the others. She turned to see Catie smirking down at her.
"Where were you? Where did you come from?" Abbie asked, totally confused.
"It's the ultimate secret to success with games like this, and the army: hide, and when the last person is standing, come out from your hiding place and attack," Catie explained.
"Ah, the element of surprise," Abbie said knowingly.
Catie nodded and then jumped in, causing a big splash. Everybody cheered and held her up out of the water, except for Teddy, who was being pulled back by Emma.
"Jesus girl, you want me this bad?" Teddy asked happily.
Emma grabbed both of his arms and turned him around. They stared at each other for a few seconds, but then Emma scowled.
"Who would ever want you?" she hissed.
"Anybody sane would," Teddy replied with a smirk.
She shook her head with a small smile. "Loony, loony, loony!"
Teddy's expression changed automatically. "What did you call me?"
Emma gave him a weird look. "What? Loony?" she asked, confused.
They both stayed silent for a few seconds. But then Teddy tackled her to the bottom of the lake, pushing her head under water.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH, I'M GONNA KILL YOU! YOU CALLED ME AND MY DAD LOONIES!" Teddy shouted, his voice cracking.
Shawn turned his head to see what was going on, and his eyes widened immensely.
"TEDDY, GET OFF OF HER!" he yelled.
But Teddy didn't listen, he kept pushing Emma deeper into the lake, and she was having a very difficult time keeping her head above water. Everyone looked to see what was happening, and they all rushed over. Chris and Shawn grabbed Teddy and after a few moments were able to pull him away. Cammie and Vern reached down and pulled Emma out of the lake. She gratefully gasped for air, and started coughing and spitting up water. Catie went over to land to see Emma, and Abbie swam over to Teddy. He was crying, his salty tears mixing with the clean lake water. Shawn held Teddy's glasses and was looking at him strangely, while Chris held Teddy.
"What happened man?" Chris asked.
"She….she…..she ranked me and my old man! She called us loonies! She……she thinks I'm crazy, she thinks my dad is crazy!" he exclaimed, and then started crying harder.
Chris nodded his head knowingly, then asked, "Why do you care what Emma thinks?"
"Because I like her!"
Chris stared at him with an unreadable expression. "She didn't mean it, Teddy. She was just joking. She didn't know."
Teddy looked up at him. "Are you sure?"
Chris gave him a small smile. "Man, come talk to me," he persuaded and led Teddy a little ways away from everybody else. Abbie watched their backs as they spoke in low tones. Finally, they both came back, but Teddy retrieved his glasses from Shawn and the both of them kept moving on up towards the bank while Chris stayed.
"What the hell happened?" Abbie asked as soon as she made sure Teddy was out of earshot.
"Oh, you don't know about Teddy and his dad?" Chris asked stiffly, still a little sour towards her.
"No, I do….but why was he freaking out?" Abbie questioned, not aware of Chris' rigid tone.
"Well," Chris sighed, "Emma called him a loony. And….well, let's just say that someone called Teddy's dad a loony, and it turned out bad. He's sensitive to that word. Teddy thought Emma was saying him and his dad were loonies, and that she meant it. But of course she didn't, she doesn't know."
"Wow," Abbie breathed.
"Yeah."
"You…..you're a really a great friend."
Chris turned to her and smiled, "I guess."
The two looked over at the bank and saw Teddy kneeling in front of Emma, her wearing a genuine smile. Abbie touched Chris' arm.
"Don't guess. Just say yes."
"That rhymes," Chris chuckled.
"I'm a poet, and now I know it!" Abbie mock gasped.
Chris ruffled the top of her head, "You have problems."
Abbie smiled up at him, "Don't we all?"
"Oh. My. God. THEY'RE KISSING!"
Abbie and Chris whipped around and rushed up to the bank. When they got there, they found the rest of the gang in a wide and stunned circle around Emma and Teddy. The two were kissing heavily, tongues exploring foreign territory. Teddy was holding Emma close to him in a vice grip, grasping her shoulder and one side of her face. Emma was running her fingers through Teddy's caramel colored hair with one hand, and was gripping his neck in with the other. The whole group stared at them, astonished beyond belief. The two's making out carried for seconds, seconds that turned into a minute, a minute that turned into several minutes.
"Oh boy, look at 'em go!" Vern exclaimed animatedly.
"VERN!" the whole group shouted.
"Seriously, they've been at it for a long time…" Vern replied meekly.
"Their hormones are way out of control," Gordie stated with a smirk.
"Thank you Captain Obvious!" Cammie countered.
Emma finally broke away from Teddy and pushed him to the ground. She glared up at the rest of the gang.
"Oh, I'm sorry, are we bothering you?" Emma asked annoyed, but with a small smile.
"Yes, you are, as a matter of fact," Catie answered nonchalantly, studying her nails with a look of disgust and anger mixed on her face.
Emma glowered at her. "Alright then. C'mon, Teddy," she ordered, pulling him up. Emma and Teddy disappeared behind a tree, Emma with a triumphant smirk, and Teddy with a look that concluded that he was in heaven.
"So……" Shawn said after a few moments of silence.
"I think my eyes need a break, so I'm going home," Gordie told the gang and turned around.
"Hey Gordo, wait up!" Chris called.
Abbie had reached out her hand to stop Chris, wanting to talk about what happened earlier that day, but he shrugged her off and jogged up to Gordie. Soon, they both were out of sight.
"Umm….alright then. I guess we can call it a day, huh?" Cammie asked.
"Yeah," Shawn agreed.
Suddenly, Catie turned on the spot and walked away without a word, but with a cold look at them all.
"Jeez, what's wedged up her ass?" Abbie asked.
"Who knows? Cammie, I believe your house is out in my direction…..shall we?" Shawn asked, extending an arm out to her.
"We shall," she said with a smile, taking his arm.
"Well," Abbie sighed, "Let's go home, Verno."
"Yes! I want a shower, this water is kind of gross! And some Cherry Flavored Pez…" Vern said at random.
"Then, my dear cousin, let's get you your shower and your Cherry Flavored Pez!" Abbie exclaimed, and she and Vern started walking to their house.
As soon as the alarm clock hit 9:00 and went off, Abbie groaned. The sun shone into the room, casting an odd-looking reflection on her mirror. She sat up quickly, causing a dreadful and painful rush to come to her head. She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and styled her hair into a half-ponytail. She got dressed in light blue jeans and a pink polo shirt and went downstairs. She speedily munched on a piece of toast, grabbed her backpack and stepped outside, on her way to Gordie's house to study. The whole town seemed so serene on a Sunday: barely any people on the street, people relaxing….it was just a genuinely quiet mood on Sundays. Abbie started to ponder about the whole situation with Emma and Teddy yesterday. What could have possibly altered Emma's feelings towards him? It was obvious that she hated him….was it all just purely physical tension? They really seemed to be going at it. Was it Emma's first kiss? If it was, it surely was a hot first kiss. She hadn't been kissed before. Why? Did nobody like her? She wasn't sure if she liked anybody. She was having mixed feelings about someone, but she couldn't decipher what it was. Soon, Abbie made it to Gordie's house and knocked on the door. She heard a quiet "Come in!", and she entered the house and found textbooks in every place she looked. Gordie was lying out on the sofa, holding a book in his hands and giving Abbie a shy smile, and Chris was laying stomach-down on the carpet, absorbed in a whole stack of written on loose-leaf paper.
"Well hello boys!" Abbie called.
"Hey Abbs," Gordie replied.
"Mhmmm…." Chris trailed off, studying the notes.
"Studying hard?" Abbie asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe!" Gordie exclaimed.
"Mhmmm…." Chris answered.
"Well then, don't let my presence stop you!" Abbie teased, moving Gordie's legs and sitting down on the sofa. Gordie immediately put his legs across her lap.
"Oh, I'm sorry, are my legs bothering you?" Gordie asked innocently.
"Nah, it's your feet that worry me," Abbie replied gravely, looking at his sock-covered feet in mock alertness.
"Mhmmm…."
"Well, Chris! Keep studying!"
"Mhmmm…."
Abbie looked over at Gordie. "Shall I get started to cram for this god awful test?"
"Mhmmm…." Gordie responded, already back to his book.
Abbie rolled her eyes, got a book out of her bag, and began to skim the contents. How interesting, The Declaration of Independence….well, it would be interesting to learn this if she hadn't learned it already. The first part of The Declaration of Independence is called The Preamble, blah blah blah and all that shit. She remembered it, this test would be a piece of delicious chocolate cake with an A+ on top. Then why did she decide to come? It didn't matter now, she was already here. She started thinking about kissing again, but more importantly, Teddy and Emma. Were they a couple now? They'd make a very great and very comical one. It wouldn't make sense if they weren't a couple after their….err….session. Who else in the group would evolve into a couple? Would this split friendships?
"Shit….it's 3:30 already?" Chris asked disbelievingly, "Whoa, time flies when you're studying for a god damn history test with your friends."
"I'll say!" Abbie exclaimed, searching the room for a clock to make sure the time was right.
"I have to go…..uh, duty calls," Chris said, standing up.
"The bathroom's that way," Abbie said, nodding her head.
"Not like that! I have to go home!" Chris corrected with a frustrated tone. He gave a small wave and walked out the door.
Gordie sat up the minute the door shut. "He hasn't been acting like himself."
Abbie turned to face him. "What do you mean?"
"You know….not the same Christopher Chambers. I've never seen him like that. Cold, frustrated."
"Maybe it's because of all this studying," Abbie said thoughtfully, "The college courses must be hard on him, poor thing."
"Possibly…."
The two stared at each other.
"What happened yesterday?" Abbie asked, "With Emma and Teddy?"
"You were there. You saw. You heard. They kissed," Gordie answered lamely.
"Kissed…." Abbie trailed off.
Suddenly, before she knew what was happening, Gordie had his lips pressed against hers. And just as soon as they were there, they were off.
"Oh my god….Abbie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! It's just me, and you were there and, well you just looked…..you were just-"
Abbie was too absorbed in her own thoughts to hear him. She was kissed by Gordie. Her first ever kiss was given to her by Gordon Lachance. Kissing was weird, but nice, she decided. His lips were interesting, smooth with an odd but somehow satisfying taste. Was she supposed to feel something when he kissed her? She didn't feel anything. She didn't know what to do.
"Abbs, Abbie, please forgive me, I really am sorry! You were just the most….and I was…and you were-"
"Gordie," Abbie said sharply, bringing him out of his façade, "it's alright."
"Whew, good," he sighed.
"It's more than alright," Abbie said with a smile.
"It was? Wow……….Abbie…..can I kiss you again?" Gordie asked softly.
"The pleasure would be all mine," she replied, leaning in close.
"I beg to differ," he countered, and then kissed her once more.
The two kept kissing, sometimes giving soft pecks, sometimes giving nice, solid kisses. But no matter what type of kiss, they both were enjoying it. Abbie took it back- kissing wasn't weird at all: it was complete and total bliss. Abbie thought she heard a door open and then slam, but she didn't care, and neither did Gordie. All they cared about was their moment together.
