Alex's POV –Monday-

I was dreaming that Scott was being an asshole again, but when I woke, it was pretty much the same.

He jumped onto me while I lounged sleepily on the couch, his booming laugh made me groan and try to roll over into sleep that was falling off the couch quickly.

"Morning sis!" He chuckled, sitting heavily on my ankles and flipping the TV on.

I moaned into my pillow, "Scott, you retard…" I then frowned and cocked my head up slightly, my hair a fuzz around me, "Why are you up at-" I glanced at the clock on the wall, "-twelve?"

"Had footy training." He beamed, leaning back on the couch and twisting my legs so that my feet were on his lap.

I rolled over and pulled the blanket up to my chin, looking at him with tired blue eyes. He glanced at me and then back to the TV; he did this about four times before glaring at me, "Oh don't be sour, we're gunna hang out today, right?"

I yawned, "Scott… I was hoping to sleep."

"Pfft, right." He rolled his eyes and sat up, reaching his arm into the air, "Oi! Chuck us one."

Something crashed into his hand and he sat back grinning like a little kid with an ice cream. He clutched onto a Twinkie for dear life and I rolled my eyes this time.

"You know those are horrible for your diet."

"Says the girl who eats rabbit food." He grumbled, bitting into it and then opening his mouth widely several times so that I could see his tongue pushing around the food. My stomach twisted and I sat up just in time for James to jump the side of the couch and squash up against my back.

"What's up, Bambi?"

"Nothing much. I was hoping to get a bit of shut eye-" I said through my teeth while looking at Scott, "-but it looks like that's not going to happen. You got plans today?"

He tugged on his collar, "Well it's rising temperature outside, and there's lemonade out the back with my name on it. Some friends were gonna come around and practise, apart from that…"

"What friends, Jay?" Scott grinned, Twinkie bulging in his cheeks.

James' eyes were slits, "The ones you seem to be lacking, Brain-Butt."

Scott chuckled and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before turning up the sport on the TV. James was twirling a strand of my hair before the phone rang.

There was one shrill 'briiiiiiiing' where all three of us glanced at each other. Just as the second took off, James rolled off the couch; I threw the blanket in Scott's face and he jumped up, running to the hall.

"I'll get it!" He yelled.

"Over my dead body," James growled, sprinting to the stairs and up.

I smirked, "Right, like I'll let you two answer it." I slid across the tiled floor of the kitchen and grabbed onto the door frame, swinging around it and clawing at the 

phone and quick as lightning shoving it to the side of my face, "Hello?"

"YEAH?!" James said quickly, the phone upstairs crackling.

"Whaddup?" Scott puffed as there was a thump from down stairs in the basement.

"My god; you three still do the phone races?" Before I could even think of who was speaking, Scott yelled into the other phone, "IT'S THE WICKED WITCH!" And slammed down the phone. That line went dead.

"Uh…" I frowned.

"Alex, it's Rach-"

"Rachel!" James laughed into the phone, "I thought that's who Scott meant."

She laughed nervously, "Oh, hi James. Alex?"

"Hmm?" I grinned, taking the phone and sitting on the counter. Too bad it wasn't cordless as the white ringlets hung across the walkway from the kitchen to the dining room.

"How's things? I got your message."

"Oooooh, what message?" James chuckled into the phone.

"JAMES! Get off!" I hissed.

"Why?"

"Do you want me to-"

"I GOT HIM!" Scott yelled from down the hall and I broke off mid sentence, grinning.

"Ah, shit. Thanks Alex… Bye Rach." The second line going dead. Now it was just me and Rachel, thank god for that.

"What's up?" I grinned, twirling the phone cord.

She was giggling into the phone, "Ah, Scott's still the same I hear."

"They're both the idiots you fell in love with." I rolled my eyes.

"Did not fall in love with them!" She snapped and there was a silence where I knew she'd be glaring at me and I had one eyebrow raised. We both snorted, "Anyways… answering you message, the most perfect things worked out."

"Oh?"

"Double oh. Pogue will take my dad's car down to Reid's, and I'll take mine down to yours. Pogue'll go to yours –I've written out directions and everything already- and we'll all meet up. Then we'll come up to my place again, and Leah's coming with Caleb I think. She's getting a flight in at Ipswich and Caleb offered to take her."

"Cool… Oh, what about Baby Boy?"

I heard the shrug in her voice, "I don't even know where the hell the kid lives. I'll call him later, I guess. Tell him what we're doing."

"Cool, oh uh, is Pogue there?"

"Getting me an ice cream. It's bloody the centre of the sun out here."

"Tell me about it. If it weren't for air conditioning, I think we'd all be in a mental house with our brains frying and leaking out of our ears."



"Okay, ew. But great use of your creativity. You know I always encourage it." Rachel laughed and the sound made me smile sadly. I missed her already.

"Well, I've got things to do, brother's to run over… I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Coolies. Bye!" She squeaked and then chuckled, "Oh and tell James; kisses back."

I poked my tongue out, "Cute. Bye."

-

I changed into my black bikini and then wore my blood red sarong over that. Scott was cleaning the pool out and I turned around to go back into the kitchen when I almost walked straight into James who had a pile of CD's in his arms.

He glanced at me and then yelled, closing his eyes, "Jesus Christ Alex! Put some god damn clothes on, that's just disturbing!"

I laughed, "What's wrong with a bikini, Jay?"

"Dude," He opened one eye to look at me, "sister. Brother. Not a comforting space between us with you in a- is that what they call them these days? Barely anything on your body."

I snorted, crossing my arms, "Oh bite me, James."

He rolled his eyes and pushed past me and onto the pavement around the pool in the backyard, turning back towards me, "You're a Boy-Hazard, Alex." He smirked, "Danger Zone." And then winked.

I grinned and pulled an esky up from the basement. I glanced out the window and grinned as Scott pushed James' shoulder, almost plummeting the lanky boy into the pool. Scott grabbed James' wrist, "Hah! Saved your life. Just kidding," He let go then grabbed onto Jay again, "Saved it again. Just messing with you," let him drop and then grabbed him again.

Scott's jokes and pranks got a little old after a while.

I checked that no one was watching before shifting my eyes and collecting all the cans of beer and coke and lemonade, shoving them all into the esky and levitating it to the door. I turned back to the house, my eyes still black.

The phone sped through the hall and into my hand.

I trotted outside and lay everything out, nudging James, "You needa get into party mode. Put your trunks on and show off your sexy body."

He looked at me appalled, "Oh gross! Don't even try to talk about anything dirty with me. You're too young."

"Sixteen." I glared.

"Too young," He smirked, and nudged me back. I narrowed my eyes and grabbed his arm, shoving him towards the water's edge. He yelped, almost going over, but since he was a guy and had that freaking light weight thing and somewhat muscular arms, he turned and grabbed my upper arms, swinging me towards the pool.

I screamed and latched myself onto his band shirt and clutching him close to me, so close I could smell the Lynx he used.

"Hah, you two are adorable." Scott rolled his eyes behind James' back and then 

pushed. That one tiny nudge sent us both tumbling into the pool with yells and screams.

I swam to the surface, laughing and surprised that James was laughing too. He climbed to the edge, hoisting himself up and looking down at himself, drenched.

"Love the new look," I nodded towards his now black, almost shoulder length hair, his clothes sticking tightly to his skin.

"Shut up," He peeled his shirt off and spun it around, whipping Scott's leg. There was a roar from my biggest brother and then James was running for his life into the house.

I loved my brothers.

Leah's POV –Monday-

I sat outside in a café, my leg crossed over in my pretty black dress and sunglasses sliding down my nose as I looked through a magazine roughly.

"Rosie," My grandma put a hand on my shoulder, pushing a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. "what would you like? Coffee, cake, bread?"

I bit my lip behind my magazine that was now pressed to my face at the word and then smiled slowly, "C-cake, please?"

"Alright," He laughed lightly, petting my shoulder and walking back inside to join my grandpa at the counter.

I looked down at my phone longingly and put in speed dial. He answered on the first ring, "Leah?"

"Baby Boy!" I grinned, putting the magazine down, "How are you?"

"I'm great, now that you called…" He almost whispered into the phone, his voice making a shiver run down my spine.

"What'cha doin'?" I traced patterns on the outside table with my nail.

"Just got out of the shower to be honest," Tyler chuckled and the image of him in a towel and wet chest made me shudder in delight.

"Do you think my grandparent's would mind if I suddenly disappeared over to your place?"

"In the middle of your holiday? I think so, Angel." I smiled at his voice and then he sighed, "So what have you been doing today?"

"Ah, I went on a tour downtown on one of those big ass busses."

"Double deckers."

"Chea!" I grinned, "That one. It was amazing, I have loads of pictures, but mainly of landscapes. Kind of boring, but I promised I'd get photos of something worth laughing over for Rachel."

"Awesome, when are you coming home?"

I paused, biting my lip, "Uh… Saturday."

"Do you need a lift?"



"Actually, Caleb already offered since I'm coming straight back into Ipswich. I'll be seeing you Saturday night I heard on Rachel's watch."

He took a moment to clear his throat, "Oh alright," there was another long pause where he cleared his throat again, "I'm missing you like hell, Leah… Haven't seen you in what feels like forever."

"Oh come on, Baby Boy. It's not that long…" I tried to reason but my grandparent's came out of the store and sat next to me, "Ah, I gotta go… I'll call you later tonight, okay? Back in the hotel."

"Alright," He sighed.

"C'mon, don't be down. Get dressed, go out, have a drink. Enjoy your time without O.C.D girl around."

"Yeah, right." He laughed and then I heard his smile fade again, "Love you, Leah."

"You too, Baby Boy." There was a silence and I pulled my phone back, hanging up and putting it on the table.

"Your boyfriend?" Grandma asked, her smile bringing out the wrinkles in her face.

I shrugged and smiled to myself, looking at the phone. She put a hand on my knee and pet it before pushing the cake towards me.

I pinched a piece between my fingers and stared at it for a long moment before putting it in my mouth. I'd forgotten how good it tasted… how much I now miss it.

Anyone voting for Pogue/Rach lemon? I know Quincy has been... she's been desperate for it. :P