It was a warm night, edged with the cold of the wind. Kayli Moore pressed her hand to the metal locker and found it frigid. She sniffed and twisted the lock, opening the thing and pulled out her notebook and a folder stuffed of papers. She heard a sound and froze, checking down both lengths of the dark, dank corridor. No one was there. She sighed and felt around in the back of the locker until her hand touched the treasure she was seeking.

Five minutes later she was out of the schoolhouse, carrying something clunky and heavy underneath her leather jacket. She checked in each direction and then headed for the inn and bar at the edge of the town square. School was still open from its last day before summer recess today, but she'd forgotten her prize from earlier in the day. A small group of figures stood outside the bar, talking and laughing. Kayli smiled at she neared them and removed the bottle from under her coat.

"Good evening ladies." She grinned stepping into the rough circle of people. "Would anyone care for a little Merlot?" she asked, waving the thick glass bottle in the air. Her friends gasped, applauded and grabbed at the bottle. Aja, her best friend, finally got her hands on the thing and broke the neck against the step, gulping down some of the bitter, sweet alcohol. Then she jumped down from the step and handed to bottle to Micheline -Mickey- and hopped over to Kayli.

"Illegal stuff just tastes better." She smiled. "How are you, babe?" she asked her friends.

Kayli looked over at her. Aja was gorgeous, with olive skin and dark black eyes. She was Greek and Japanese. She smiled.

"Better. Give me some wine, Iza." She called over to the fair-haired girl, busy pouring drops of amber liquid into her red-lipped mouth. The bottle was passed. Kayli drunk the last of it.

"There must be some sort of punishment. You lift too much wine to not get caught." Laughed Ren, the shortest of the group with fine, strawberry blonde hair and lively green eyes.

"Like anyone cares," Kayli laughed. "Come on, I'm bored. Let's go to the arcade before any scavengers show up looking for a favor.

"Speak of the devil," Aja said, licking her lips of wine and focusing on a group of people who were coming up the road. "Go, fearless leader," she said to Kayli. "Chase em' off."

The approaching girls were lead by a tall, boyish red head with her hair in a ponytail and silver hoops in her ears.

"Evenin' girls." She said, approaching. Behind her, a blonde with sharp, catching blue eyes smiled and opened her mouth.

"Oh my, Kayli. Is that wine you're drinking?" she asked.

"Yeah." Said Kayli, blank, "We're sophisticated like that."

"That like, goes straight to your thighs." The blonde said, grinning meanly.

Aja blinked.

"No it doesn't." she said. The red head shot the blonde a harsh look.

"Dix, shut up." She hissed. Aja and Kayli shared a smile. The redhead wet her lips.

"Going to the arcade then?" she asked. Kayli sighed.

"Of course." She said, raising an eyebrow. The redhead sucked her teeth. "I mean. Really, Alex, what else is there to do here on a Friday night?" Alex twisted her lips.

"Right." She said. Behind her, Chloe Matthews took a swig from a bottle of beer and smiled, thin-lipped. Alex and Kayli had disliked each other since Alex and her family had moved to Mineral Town from the city four years ago. "Well." She glanced around for something to say. "I guess we'll see you lot there later." She began to walk, and her four friends followed sulkily.

"So, Dixie," Chloe asked, just as they passed the other group of girls, "what's this I hear about you, Jason and the Harvest Festival?" Dixie giggled, tossed her hair back and blushed and began to say something about her new boy-toy giving her a single stemmed rose. The smile fell from Kayli's face. Aja noted it and stepped forward. She grabbed Chloe by the arm and yanked her back.

"Little bitch." She snarled. Chloe's arm whipped back then forward, spilling beer down the front of Aja's shirt. The dark skinned girl let her go and smiled smugly.

"You've got another thing coming, Chloe." She snapped.

"It's not my fault your little friend here has a superiority complex. Dixie's got every right." Chloe chirruped back. The group of them left without further hesitation. Kayli tended to her friend.

"Come on," she said, checking Aja's beer stained shirt. "We'll go change. You guys go ahead, we'll see you in a few." She told Mickey, Iza and Ren. They nodded, tossed the broken wine bottle into the trash and headed through town towards the arcade hall.

Kayli and Aja stopped by the Moore family farm to find a change of clothes. It was closer by than Aja's family's home and appliance store on the opposite side of town.

"You didn't have to do that." Kayli said.

"Whatever." Aja reconciled. "She said that on purpose. And you can fool everyone else, Kayli, but you can't fool me. You're not over Jason-I'm-so-sexy-Stevenson." Kayli let herself in the front door of the farmhouse. The sprinkler systems sang a lullaby to the sleeping corn and tomatoes as they went upstairs.

"I dunno." Kayli said as they did so. "I try to be. I am. It's just… sort of a sore subject."

"Right." Aja sighed. She opened Kayli's closet without hesitation and hunted through it. "Where are your parents?"

"Out with Ann and Cliff." Kayli responded shortly. She opened up a notebook and flipped through the pages. Aja fished out a turquoise tube-top.

"What do you think?" she asked. "What's that?"

"Good. Nothing." She shut the notebook and replaced it on her bedside as if nothing had happened. Aja pulled off her soggy t-shirt and dropped it into Kayli's laundry basket, revealing a flat stomach and a navel ring. They'd got them done together at the beginning of the summer. Kayli had still not told her parents.

"Has my little Kayli been writing again?" Aja said, pulling the new top over her shoulders. She pinched Kayli's cheek. "Next she'll be having independent thoughts." Kayli smiled, a little sadly. Aja chose not to mention the Jason thing again. Jason was two-and-a-bit years older than both of them and he and Kayli had gone out for a while last year when Kayli was fifteen. Her parents had been absolutely adamant about the thing. He'd had a reputation as a player and was eighteen at the time, three years to Kayli's then-15. Still, Aja remembered, she'd never seen two people so crazy about each other, and it was more than a physical attraction, she was sure, though they certainly put up that front in public. Even still, they liked to play games with each other and attempt to puzzle the other into sheer confusion.

"What are you wearing?" she asked her friend, who was sitting there in jeans, a white beater and her jacket.

"This." Kayli said, looking at her appearance. "Why?"

"It's Friday night." Aja scorned. She fished around in the wardrobe again and found a short, black mini skirt. "Wear this. Who knows, opportunity might come knocking!" Kayli looked at the thing with a displeased expression.

"I don't wear mini-skirts." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Then why do you own it?" Aja said. She pulled her best friend up from the bed and pushed the skirt into her hands. Kayli rolled her eyes and unzipped her pants.

"It's going to look awful. I don't have your supermodel legs." She laughed. Aja grinned.

"Please. Please, please, please, please!" she pleaded again. Moments later, Kayli stood in the short skirt, arms folded. Aja squealed with delight. As much as her friend would hate to admit it, she was beautiful. Kayli had her mother's light brown hair, lit with natural blonde lights and a little wavy and her father's deep blue-grey eyes. She was slim, but curvy, her legs were perfect, compared to how she thought they looked.

"Well." Aja understated, "We're ready to go now. She grabbed Kayli's hand and her jacket and pulled her out of the door.

"Wait!" Kayli cried, "I'm not actually wearing this, am I?"

"Oh please." Aja groaned, already pushing her out the front door. "You look hot. Hotter, even. Now go!"

Kayli complained until they were at the crossroads of the beach rode and the street into town. Then, with a large chuck of help from Aja, she shut up and began to enjoy the attention her legs were getting in the open early summer evening.

The arcade was the only place to be seen on a Friday night. In it's seventy years of history, Mineral Town and Sakura Island had seen only three generations, each one bigger than the last. The third generation of island citizens was cramming the town by seven o'clock. The double doors to the arcade and ice cream bar were open, and music was pulsing from the scene. Teenagers stood outside, kissing in the shadows and sharing cigarettes. Kayli saw Mickey, who had found Luke Parson, Alex's friend's older brother, and was in the process of wooing him home with her.

"Really now." Kayli asked. "How many virgins do you think are left in Mineral Town?" Aja considered the question.

"Not Mickey, for one. At least you, me, Alex, Sam Jackson," she laughed there, "the little kids. Iza and Ren. Uh, and Sakura and Sage, those two girls'll never get any play. I'm sure Dixie's not, little slut. Did you hear her earlier? 'Oh, he bought me a rose and asked me to the festival with him! We're in love. Omigod, omigod, omigod!'" Kayli giggled, then bit her lip. "I would say your brother, but I'm sure he and Jason've both done something during those city trips of theirs. I'm not surprised though. You're brother is so fine." Kayli laughed.

"Please, I don't want to hear this!" she laughed. She heard a wolf whistle from the street and blushed. She and Aja walked into the arcade and checked their coats.

There were about fifty teenagers in Mineral Town, and some came over to party on the weekends from the city and visa versa. New kids were always the talk of the town. Kayli didn't see a single person she didn't know. But she liked it like that.

She found her main core of friends around the snowboarding simulation.

"Hey guys," Aja said, poking Iza in the back.

"Hi, you're here!" Iza yelped. She twisted her blonde hair in her fingers. "Wow, is that Kayli in that skirt?"

"Very funny." Kayli smiled. "Come on, are you going to go?" she asked, gesturing to the snowboard. Iza made a face.

"I'm awful."

"She is." Ren agreed from the background. She slung an arm around Kayli's hips. "You look like a model or something."

"Okay," Kayli laughed. "I get the picture. I'll go."

She stepped onto the fake snowboard and pushed two quarters into the slot. The screen loaded and she started, trying her best to overhear her friends' conversations.

"The five of them came in here and just split up." Ren was saying to Aja.

"Shit." Her best friend cursed. "I still need to give that Chloe a piece of my mind."

"I saw her over at the coke machine." Iza said, "But chances are she's docking Alex again. Those two are inseparable."

"Whatever." Aja said. "What about Dixie?"

"Dixie, not sure." Ren shrugged.

"I think I saw her putting the moves on Jason Stevenson." Iza said.

"Great." Ren sighed.

"What's with the sighs?" Iza asked. "I mean, really, it was almost two years ago and they barely did a thing. Why are we still trying to keep him free for Kayli? I mean, he's moved on. He didn't seem to mind Dixie. They were playing tonsil hockey earlier."

"Good loyalty there, Iz." Aja snapped. "I know. You've got a point. We need to get him off Kayli's mind."

"We couldn't have decided that a year ago?" Ren said with an air of boredom.

At that moment, Kayli's time ran out. She hopped down from the snowboard and raised her hands in triumph.

"A low score of 231. Bet I beat your record, Iz." She laughed. The screen behind her flashed and reloaded, asking for more coins.

"No, actually." Iza pouted, "You still got better." Kayli smiled and pitied at the same time.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, you guys want anything?" she asked, pulling at her skirt uneasily.

"Yeah, Diet Coke." Aja said.

"Sprite." Iza ordered. Ren twisted her mouth, thinking.

"I'll have a Diet Pepsi." She said. "Aja and I can argue senselessly about it. We'll be at the pool tables." Kayli nodded, remembering what they each wanted. Her friends scattered to the room and she started for the bar.

She heard a voice as she walked.

"Stop right there, Kaitlyn Moore." Said a male voice. Kayli froze and turned. Her older brother, Rowan, stood there, looking at her.

"Hey Rowan…" she started, uneasy.

"What are you wearing?" Rowan asked, walking over to her, linking arms and steering her to the bar still. "You're going to get macked on or something!"

"It was Aja's idea." Kayli laughed.

"I need to have a word with that girl." Rowan said, looking around the room. Bings and whizzers filled the air.

"I'll bet you do." Kayli teased. Her brother grinned guiltily.

"When'd you get here?" He asked. They arrived at the bar.

"Like… ten minutes ago." Kayli said, "You?"

"An hour. It was pretty lame earlier." Rowan said. "Mind getting me a Coke?" he asked. Kayli sighed and made an unappreciative noise. She found a space between two people at the bar and ordered her drinks. She heard her brother behind her as someone asked him,

"You got any money for a drink?"

"No." Rowan said. "I'm making Kay get me one." Kayli paid, loaded the six soda cans into her arms and turned around. Her brother was talking to Jason. She handed Rowan his coke.

"You owe me three dollars." She said.

"Is that how much they're charging here now?" Rowan asked, seemingly surprised. Kayli smiled, her eyes looked Jason up and down. It still surprised her how he could surprise her with one look when she talked to him almost every day. He ran a hand through his dark hair. He wore a black shirt and broken, blue jeans, looking like he'd walked out of a Calvin Klein act.

"Hey you." He said. "Long time no see."

"Hey. Yeah. Tuesday was a while ago, I guess." Kayli grinned. On Tuesday she'd been at Jason's house, helping his younger brother with his homework. "I'd stand and chat, but I have thirsty friends to attend to." She said, biting her lip.

"Go ahead, see you later Kays." Rowan said as his sister took off across the room. He opened his soda and took a long swig.

Kaitlyn reached the pool tables and dispensed the soda cans across the table. They knocked a few balls awry. Aja complained.

"Watch it, Kay." She said, picking up her soda from the group. "I mean, thanks."

"Don't worry." Kayli picked up her Sprite and watched Ren make a shot. She knocked the red ball in and the white ball with it. Aja did a victory dance and placed the cue.

"Kays." Iza whispered nearby suddenly. "Someone's checking you out." She murmured teasingly. Kayli whirled around and then smiled.

"You're stalking me now?" she asked, walking over to Jason who'd been hovering behind her expectantly.

"No." he said with a look. "I was just wondering if you could buy me a drink." Kayli cocked a brow.

"Why?" she asked. "Are you broke?"

"Well…" he thought. "Yeah, but also you look so cute in that skirt it'd be worth it to see you walk across the room again." Kayli blushed, but covered it up with an embarrassed smile.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." She lied quietly.

"Why'd you never wear skirts like that when we were going out?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Fine." She laughed. "I'll get you a drink. Still doing the Dew?" He nodded. She walked back to the bar, trying against her hormonal aims to make her hips swing less. Five minutes later, she was back. Jason took the can from her hand. Their fingers did not touch. It was emotionless.

"So," Kayli realized she hadn't opened her own soda yet, and did so, taking a drink. "You and Dixie." The bubbles fizzed on her tongue. She relaxed. Her statement gave her the edgy hand.

"How'd you hear about that?" he asked, somewhat surprised. With a crack he opened his can.

"From her." Kayli smiled.

"Oh." Jason said. His voice dropped slightly and he looked down at his hands. "Yeah, we're not really anything serious. She's just… you know, fun to be around. She's fun." Kayli raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Right." She said in disbelief. "So you just invited her to Festival with a rose because the sex was good?" Jason smiled.

"No, no," he said, humored. Kayli saw her friends over his shoulder, watching them. "She had the roses. She was buying some for her grandmother when I asked her. I didn't buy her one. I don't do that." Kayli grinned knowingly.

"You did for me." She stated, watching him grow uncomfortable and trying to cover it up.

"Yeah. Once or twice." He shrugged. "You were good for me, Kays. But you still never wore a skirt."

"It was Aja's idea." Kayli said, suddenly stoic. She hated that he talked about her like she was a medication, or a phase. Jason looked behind him at her friends. They promptly went back to playing pool, pretending they hadn't been watching.

"I think you're brother's thinking about asking her to the Festival." Jason remarked, looking back at Kayli.

"Finally. I'm tired of the two of them beating around the bush." She smiled happily. There was a pause in their conversation. They both drank from their cans of soda. When Kayli's mouth was still numb with bubbles, Jason opened his mouth to speak.

"We should hang out sometime. Just the two of us." He said. A confident smile graced his lips.

"What?" she asked. That was the thing she hated about Jason. He knew he was gorgeous, chivalrous and amazing. He knew he could get any girl he wanted. She played right into his hands just by being friendly to him.

"Bring the skirt." He said, looking at her. Their eyes locked, uncomfortable. At that moment, Dixie popped up by Jason's elbow.

"Hey babe." She said, putting a hand on his arm. Kayli looked at the floor as the two of them talked.

"Buy me a drink? Hey Kayli." Dixie pouted, then scowled at Kayli.

"Sure." Jason smiled, not moving.

"I thought you didn't have any money?" Kayli asked, looking up at the two of them. Dixie's dirty blonde hair was pulled over one of her shoulders. She glowed with pride.

"Got a fiver." Jason said, pulling it out of his pocket. "Just remembered." Kayli's face fell.

"Cool." Dixie observed with an icy look. "Thanks babe." She kissed Jason on the cheek.

"I'll leave you two to it." Kayli said bitterly. Without a goodbye, she went back to the pool table. She glanced over her shoulder. Jason and Dixie had evidently forgotten about the drinks and gotten straight to the public displays of affection.

"Do you want to leave?" Aja asked at her side.

"I'm fine." Kayli smiled, lying through her teeth as a wash of sadness came over her. "Come on, I'll cream you at pool."