Giggles erupted from the tent Hitomi and Merle shared. Yukari had gotten permission to spend the night. Hitomi was ecstatic that she'd found a new and very sane friend. Frankly, Merle was pushing her to the edge with all her mindless babbling, singing, clinginess, and over-all exuberant presence. To Hitomi's delight, Merle was actually being quiet. She had a feeling that Merle was somewhat jealous of Yukari. Merle no longer had Hitomi's complete attention. The fact that Hitomi had another friend bothered her. From her side of the tent, Merle shot the two girls a death glare. Oblivious, the two girls chattered away rapidly. Merle mumbled something inaudible to herself and rolled over, her back facing the pair of girls.

"So, you know him? Does he go to your school? What's his name?" Yukari asked excitedly. She held her sleeping bag up to her face to hide a blush that was slowly creeping up her face.

"The blond guy you mean. I hope you're not talking about that geek Dryden." Hitomi smiled at her friend's bashfulness.

"Yes, the blond one with the hair just past his shoulders. What's he like?" Yukari leaned in closer in anticipation.

"Allen Schezar. I don't know him too well but he's really nice. He goes to my school."

Yukari squealed "He goes to your school? He's so cute!" She covered her mouth. She'd said the last sentence a bit too loudly.

They stared at each other for a few moments in silence. Hitomi could barely contain herself. A fresh batch of the giggles overwhelmed her. Yukari followed her example.

Hitomi had spotted Allen and Dryden while walking back to her campsite with Yukari. She had stared at the two like a dear caught in the headlights. She would of never thought that she'd see them here of all places. To make matters more awkward, Allen had waved to her. Slightly pink, she had waved back. Yukari was too busy openly gaping at Allen to pay attention to Hitomi's blush. Hitomi couldn't believe it. She thought that Allen wouldn't even recognize her, let alone know her name. First, he was two years older than her, and second, he was part of the popular crowd. Hitomi wasn't exactly Miss Social Butterfly.

"Maybe I'll see you around at the beach tomorrow, Hitomi." Allen had smiled warmly as they crossed paths.

Too stunned to say anything, Hitomi just nodded her head.

"Okay, see you around then." Allen had waved cheerfully and continued walking with Dryden along one of the campground roads.

Merle rolled her eyes. This is making me sick. Boys, boys, boys. That's all they've been talking about. What's so great about them anyways?

"Girls! Time to get to bed. Lights out." Mrs Kanzaki called from outside. Hitomi suppressed her giggling to turn the flashlight off.

"Okay Mom. Goodnight." She poked Yukari to make her stop giggling. It only resulted in more giggles. "Goodnight Yukari," she laughed.

"Goodnight Hitomi." Yukari beamed happily. She snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

The two girls drifted off gracefully into their dreams, both content at the start of their promising friendship.

0000000000

Van stared gloomily up at the hazy grey tent roof. He had tried shutting his eyes peacefully, but sleep would not come. So he stared up into the blurry nothingness of the tent roof. Van didn't know why but he kept thinking about how upset Hitomi was with him. He wanted to apologize even if he thought that he didn't do anything wrong. It was an accident. He rolled over, agitated. Why should I care? It was just a stupid doll. He couldn't get her sad hurt face out of his head. Her eyes were so large and expressive. They bore into him. Accusing him. Piercing him. I guess that doll meant a lot to her. Van sighed deeply and tried closing his eyes again. That's when it hit him. I could get her a new doll. Maybe then she'll forgive me. His mouth curved into a content smile. Then she won't be mad anymore…

"Girls are trouble," he muttered to himself. With the guilt lifted from his shoulders, he fell asleep.

0000000000

Everyone woke to a bright and sunny morning. Van, Hitomi, Merle, Seth, and Yukari sat at the picnic table looking more asleep than not. Slowly and methodically, they munched on their bland cereal. It was relatively quiet and a bit tense. Anyone who was looking from a distance could plainly see why. The girls had laid claim to one side of the table leaving the boys with the opposite side. Hitomi quickly swallowed the remainders of her orange juice and pushed her empty bowl away.

"Hey Yukari, do you want to go swimming at the beach today?"

For Yukari it was a no-brainer. "Sure," she exclaimed happily. They grabbed their towels off the clothesline and headed towards the beach. Merle stared intently at her bowl of cereal and swished the contents around with her spoon.

"Merle, aren't you going with them?" Seth cautiously asked.

Merle jumped slightly and met his cautious gaze with her own startled one. "No, I don't feel like swimming right now." She lowered her head to stare at her breakfast again.

"I'm sorry." Seth blurted out quietly. He looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry that I said that you had cooties." Merle lifted her head and stared at him with bright glistening grey eyes.

Van rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Really?" Her bottom lip started to tremble.

Seth nodded solemnly. "Will you forgive me?"

Bowls, cutlery, cup, and everything else in Merle's path unceremoniously clattered to the floor. To Seth's utter shook, Merle threw herself across the table and embraced her friend. "I forgive you," she wailed. "Friends?"

Seth patted her back awkwardly. "Friends," he confirmed.

Van shook his head with disbelief as he slowly rose from the table. "You're cleaning this up, Merle," he said, frowning at his little sister.

0000000000

The remainder of the day was blissful. Van, Seth, and Merle spent the day together. They hung out by the docks, walked around the campsite. They stopped at the general store for an ice cream. Folken treated them. Van even followed through with his plan to buy Hitomi a new Barbie doll. He caught a ride with his mother and Mrs. Kanzaki into town and bought her a new one. Well, his mom paid for it in exchange for Van's allowance for the next few weeks. When they got back, he shyly presented the Barbie to Hitomi and apologized for breaking her doll. Hitomi naturally forgave him and was no longer mad. However she never let Van within ten feet of her Barbies again.

Yukari eventually had to leave. After exchanging phone numbers, they parted with tears in their eyes. Little did they know Yukari was moving into the vacant house just down the street.

The remainder of the camping trip went well, with only a few minor arguments between Van and Hitomi. She was especially mad when Van thought it would be funny to push her off the dock and into the lake while she was waving happily to Allen. How she screamed at Van as she spluttered in the water. Folken and Sora laughed at them from the beach. When Hitomi finally got back on the dock again, Van ran like hell with a sly grin on his face. The flustered Hitomi gave chase but lost him when Van hid himself up a tree. He didn't come down until Hitomi had finally calmed down.

When their little camping adventure finsihed the two families returned home and life went on as usual...