Very bad, as it turned out. Well, that was an exaggeration. The day was going just fine, all things considered. They'd all met up at nine, as planned. Grazi had left early, wearing her school clothes, and had stopped at Velma's to change into shorts (something she'd have never worn out a few months ago) and t-shirt. She'd carried her bathing suit and towel in her school bag. Graziella always seemed to be the only one of the group who had to sneak out. Velma's ma was still sleeping after her night shift and her older sister had simply nodded hello to Grazi before rushing off to her cleaning job. Velma looked adorable in her black shorts and blue checkered shirt. She'd tied it up, revealing a tantalizing stripe of bare stomach. "Will you show me how to do that?" Grazi asked her, feeling bold.

Velma grinned. "Sure. But it's easier when the shirt's a little big. This is Mouthpiece's." She'd leaned down to adjust Grazi's top.

"Well," Graziella said. "I'll have to borrow one from Tony." She giggled. Despite Velma's assurances the day before, the idea of Tony having a crush on her seemed so silly. Grazi was the naive, ex-middle class new girl who still balked at the idea of wearing shorts.

"Don't laugh!" Velma said. "You will! He likes you, I swear to God Grazi."

"Yeah, sure." Grazi snorted. "We'll see about that."

They'd left Velma's apartment and met up with the boys at the train station. Diesel brought a girl from another school he'd just started seeing, a pretty brunette named Mamie. He held her hand on the ride over. Meanwhile, Grazi sat between Velma and Ice, definitely NOT holding Tony's hand. He sat across the aisle, next to Riff, and hadn't said anything to her beyond the required "hey, Grazi," when she'd arrived. Sure, the greeting had been accompanied by a warm smile but Tony was warm with everyone. Riff, of course, hadn't even looked at her.

Now they were at the beach. She and Velma reclined on the sand, enjoying the late morning sun. The day was warm but since it was a weekday, in the middle of May, the beach was fairly empty. The boys played in the waves, whooping and generally making a ruckus. Graziella liked it. The gang usually acted so tough at school, it was fun to see them let loose and act like kids for once. And, if she was honest, Grazi didn't hate seeing Tony shirtless. And wet.

"I see you staring," said Vel. "Get in there." She nodded towards the guys. "Mix it up. Mamie is." Mamie was playing in the water with Diesel, squealing with delight as he picked her up and swung her around.

"You aren't mixing it up, Vel" Grazi pointed out. Mamie screamed as Diesel dunked her in the chilly water. She popped up, giggling.

Velma didn't reply, she just shot Graziella a look that said "Yeah? And why do you think that is?" Then she adjusted her sunglasses and lay down on her stomach to tan.

Grazi understood. Velma didn't have to try to impress anyone anymore. She'd been around for years, she'd grown up with the boys. She and Mouthpiece had been going steady since the seventh grade. Velma could afford to spend her day napping on the beach without losing her place in the gang. But if Graziella wanted to impress Tony and win the approval of the others, she'd have to get in there and "mix it up," as Velma had put it. If only it were so easy. As much as Grazi wanted to be part of the group, she always felt awkward and unsure of herself around them. Velma had said that Tony liked her but how was that even possible? She was sure she'd only been invited along out of pity, Velma's weird new friend.

Grazi sat on her towel and watched the boys rough housing. Ice had pulled Riff into the water and was now being chased by Tony, who apparently wanted to avenge his friend. Mouthpiece joined in and the two managed to over take him together. Laughing joyfully, in a way Grazi wouldn't have thought him capable of, Riff ran over and jumped on top of the dog pile. Action and A-Rab sprinted over with plastic buckets (where had they gotten them?) full of water to dump on their unsuspecting victims. In a strange way, Graziella suddenly felt like she was falling in love with all of them. They were a group of lost boys who still found a way to love life, who came together as a united front against the world. This wasn't just about Tony or Velma or any one person. Graziella wanted to be part of this, part of the family.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Graziella stood up. She pushed her anxiety down and fixed an easy, confident smile on her face. "Fake it till you make it," she told herself as she strode across the sand. Tony saw her coming. A grin broke out on his angelically beautiful face. "Grazi!" he yelled, struggling to stand up while Tiger and Riff (hadn't Riff been on his side?) worked to hold him down. Grazi hadn't been sure of her plan when she'd walked over but, luckily, inspiration struck. She ran over to Action and swiped his bucket, shooting him a sly grin. Feeling like a whole new person, she quickly filled the bucket and raced over to dump its contents on Tony's head.

Graziella could hardly believe her own boldness, time seemed to stop as she waited for Tony's reaction. Thankfully, he didn't leave her in agony for long. Laughing, he sprang forward and scooped Grazi up. She hardly had time to process this interesting development before he'd dumped her into the icy water. Grazi hardly felt the cold. She was in! She surfaced, still clinging to the bucket, gasping for air and beaming. "Yeah! Grazi! Get him!" Velma cried from her safe perch on the beach. Or maybe not so safe. Feeling emboldened by her success, Grazi ran up the beach to Velma and pulled her to her feet.

"No, no, no," she said. "You ain't getting out of this." She handed Velma the bucket. "You gotta help me."

"Hey!" Tony cried as Grazi and a grinning Velma started towards him. "No ganging up!"

"It's fair!" Grazi said. "You're twice my size! I need backup."

"And you've got it!" Velma said, giggling as she flung the bucket of water at Tony. Fast as lightening, she filled the bucket again and chased down Mouthpiece.

"These broads!" Mouthpiece yelled as he tried to evade his girlfriend. He was unsuccessful and was soon doused with icy water. " Demons. They've gotta be stopped!"

They passed an hour like this. Velma and Grazi recruited Mamie to their side and the three girls , greatly outnumbered, worked to outwit and outpace their boys. They managed to persuade Action, A-Rab, and Big Deal to join them in their efforts. Tony picked Grazi up again and this time, she was finally to fully enjoy it. Everyone was screaming, having a great time, and getting extremely wet. Everyone except Riff.

Grazi hadn't noticed at first, too caught up in the fun to notice one particularly moody boy's absence. He'd been with the group up until the point Graziella and Velma had joined in, then had apparently decided to slip away. Grazi searched with her eyes for a moment before she spotted him. He stood a little way down the beach, looking out at the water. Graziella squinted, not quite believing her eyes. Riff looked almost...melancholy? Thoughtful? She'd never seen him look like that. She thought of what Velma had said at school, about making friends with Riff. She'd meant it in the context of getting closer to Tony but seeing Riff look so strange and sad had Grazi wondering if she ought to try to befriend him for its own sake. "Riff!" she yelled out. "Come on!" She motioned towards the group. "We miss ya!"

No response. Riff kept looking ahead, like he hadn't heard her. Maybe he hadn't. "Riff!" Grazi tried again.

"Eh, leave him." Grazi hadn't seen Tony walk up behind her. "He's in a mood."

"What's his problem?" Graziella asked, surprised to hear how angry she sounded. "He was fine until I showed up."

Tony sighed. "He'll snap out of it." A non-answer if there ever was one. He put a gentle hand on Grazi's shoulder. "What do you say we dry off and go ride roller coasters until we puke?"

Grazi forced herself to smile. Why was she wasting time fussing over Riff? What did it matter if he was ignoring her? She'd had a great morning. Tony wanted to ride roller coasters with her. He'd touched her, yet again. Fuck Riff and his moods. Swallowing her nerves, Grazi reached down and took Tony's hand. "Sounds great."