Chapter 2: Nothing Like A Pathetic Note And Some Skinny Dipping

It was one of those days and Spinner was working like a dog at The Dot, as usual, to pay to get his car fixed. He loved Paige but that was something that was going to take time to forgive. He was getting a bit frustrated with the way things were going in his life and he wasn't really in the mood to deal with crap.

"Hey you idiots, putting that sign up outside is one thing, but for the last time, I am NOT posting one in here," he growled from the counter as Danny van Zandt and Derek Haig entered the premises with a handful of LOST signs offering a reward for missing boxers.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure it's okay for us to eat," Danny shot back as he sat at a booth with Derek.

"Fine, but order something or leave."

With that, Spinner went back to work. Not five minutes later, he found himself face-to-face with a guy he had never seen around. It was Justin who sat down at the counter, and he was digging up some information on a certain someone he had recently met.

"So what can I do you for, dude?" Spinner asked in his typical manner.

Without hesitation, Justin replied, "Just give me a double cheeseburger and a coke." He paused then added, "So, busy around this time of day?"

"Hmmm? Yeah. Usually high school kids hang out here in the afternoons, sometimes the university crowd comes in here, but not that often."

"University crowd?" Justin's ears perked up at this. "You wouldn't happen to know an Allison Davis, would you?"

"I know of her, but I don't really know her. I'm pretty sure she's doesn't go to school around here, otherwise I'd know about it. See, she's best friends with my ex's brother's boyfriend, but they're not talking. That's all I really know about that. Why?"

Justin shrugged. He didn't really wanna explain his situation and if she had just returned to Toronto unannounced, he really didn't wanna blow her cover. "Just wondering."

Spinner rolled his eyes at Justin as he returned several moments later with the double cheeseburger and coke. Justin smiled gratefully and began to eat.

"No, you know how it is, it's the same old drama, and I wish I hadn't come home, Hunt," came a distinct female voice behind Justin. It was her. He listened carefully to her side of the conversation as he ate.

Over at a booth directly behind Justin, Alli was on the phone with her roommate Hunter. "Yeah, I know, just talk to him. Yeah, we'll see. I'll catch up with you later. Bye."

As Allison ordered, Justin was thinking of a way to approach her. Finally he just stood up and walked over to her table.

"Hey, Allison," he greeted her with a smile, "Anyone sitting here?"

Allison gave Justin a startled look then shook her head. "Go ahead, sit."

Surprised, Justin sat down in front of Allison.

"So, what's going on?" the dirty blonde asked casually.

Justin exhaled. "I just wanted to apologize for the ambush last night. It wasn't cool of Cassie and your Dad to spring their wedding on you last minute. I just thought it would help if you had someone your age around. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. It's not like that, Justin," Alli replied after a moment of silence, "I really didn't mean to be difficult last night. I'm the one who should apologize."

Justin shrugged good-naturedly. "Hey, I was thinking we could start over, you know? Just us kids. What do you say?"

Allison looked as if she was considering it. She slowly nodded after a moment of thought. "You know what? That sounds nice."

Deciding that emails and text messages were not going to help his case, Dylan had been furiously writing out a short note by hand. After dozens of tries, he finally wrote one he could live with. He didn't care that Marco would know it was from him – he still bypassed the signature part of his letter. He gave it a quick proofreading before he sealed it in an envelope.

Marco,

I don't deserve a second chance but I'm still asking for one. I miss you a lot and I can't stop thinking about you. You made it clear the other day that you don't want anything to do with me but you have to know that I was a fool when I threw what we had away for my freedom. I'm so sorry it hurt you that I had to learn that the hard way. Please just give me a chance to prove myself again.

You know how to find me.

The tricky part was delivering the message. Dylan didn't have to think hard because a knock and a familiar voice gave him the answer he needed.

"Dylan? Stop moping around and let me in!" came Paige's cheery voice.

Rolling his eyes, Dylan yelled back, "Come in, kid!"

Paige marched into the room and positioned herself on her stomach on Dylan's bed. "So listen, Dylan, I have a plan that will help you win Marco back."

"Oh really?" Dylan didn't turn to face Paige. Instead, he just continued to do his thing on his laptop.

"Really." Paige smirked at Dylan's back. "It involves your favorite gay all ages club, The Other Team."

"I'm really not in the mood to hear it, Paige." He paused for a moment before adding, "I just want you to deliver a note to Marco, discreetly. Can you handle that?"

"Mum's the word, bro. I got it covered."

Dylan spun his chair around until he faced Paige on his bed and then handed her the envelope. "Just slip it into his locker or something before class. Please don't get noticed," he pleaded with her.

Paige nodded. "So you don't wanna hear my plan?" she added with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Not right now, maybe later," Dylan replied after a moment of reflection.

Sometime later, Justin and Allison ended up taking a walk by the lake, talking, trying to get to know each other.

"So tell me, Miss Davis, what's your story?"

Justin's question threw Allison off. "My story? I really shouldn't bore you with the details."

"I wouldn't be bored." Justin hoped that Allison knew he was being sincere.

The dirty blonde wondered what she could say. She wasn't about to spill her guts to a total stranger. "How about we play 20 Questions?"

"What about 25?" Justin countered with a bright smile.

Allison shook her head. "20 or nothing."

"Okay, okay, you got me!" Justin exclaimed, "But I get to go first!"

"Deal."

"So wait – is it 20 questions each or 20 questions total?"

Allison pondered this for a moment. "10 each, and we both answer them, so that we've both answered 20."

"Okay, let's start with something easy. Favorite color. Mine's blue."

"Mine's red, actually." Alli thought for a moment before asking, "Favorite song? Mine's Far Away by Nickelback."

Justin lifted a corner of his mouth up into a half smile. "Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls."

The 20 Questions game went on with questions such as Favorite ice cream flavor? Who is your best friend? Best concert ever attended? Heroes? Favorite TV show? Dream vacation? The questions seemed random and trivial but they enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other. The mood was light until Justin started to get curious.

"So where are you from originally?" Justin asked.

Allison eyed Justin cautiously. "You wanna get personal – you answer first."

"I'm from Angel Grove, California. Your turn."

"California? You're a little far from home, why's that?"

"Wait a second! You didn't answer my question."

"Look, I'll answer both questions, but…"

"I'm here working with a friend for the summer. Research project. Your turn."

"Now was that so hard?" When Justin merely rolled his eyes at her, she went on, "Okay, I'm from the city, went away for school in Ottawa about 6 hours away but I'm back for a visit."

"Okay, this game's getting to be a bit much," Justin admitted, "I have a better idea!"

Allison raised an eyebrow. His evasiveness seemed suspicious but she didn't think much of it yet. She had time to figure him out.

"Let's go skinny dipping!"

Allison eyed the water then gave Justin a questioning glance. "It's cold out there – you serious?"

Justin nodded. "I have a bag in my car with towels. I always have something packed just in case."

"I met you, literally last night, and you wanna go skinny dipping with me?"

Justin shrugged. "Why not? I promise I won't look."

Allison shrugged back at him and gestured for him to turn around. Justin kept his eyes closed and kept himself turned away from the girl. Allison took off her red sundress and her underwear and with a splash, jumped into the lake. Justin took the splash as his cue to join in. With no concern for being seen, Justin quickly stripped down to nothing and jumped in the water. He swam towards Alli, who greeted her with a smile. They both looked up at the full moon.

"My dad and Cassie can't find out about this," Alli whispered, their noses practically touching each other.

Justin nodded in understanding. "My lips are sealed."

Tommy was sitting down in his underground headquarters, setting things up around him in the basement. He had done a lot of work setting up his equipment but without Justin around as a technical genius, he couldn't do much on his own. In one metal suitcase, he had hidden the Dino Gems. He sighed – hopefully, Justin would find the right people for the job and this would all work out. He had messed up before, with school, his love life…but nothing ever this serious. He had never messed up as a Power Ranger. If he hadn't tried to help post-retirement, this wouldn't have happened. If he had just let things go after the Red Ranger mission, he wouldn't have put the Earth in danger. Continuing his unpacking solo, he had to keep the faith – Justin wasn't 12 anymore. The young man was a vital part of the mission and he was always smarter than anyone gave him credit for. Tommy had to believe he'd pull through.

"You know, that was really nice," Allison admitted with a smile as she walked alongside Justin to his car after their walk by the beach and their bit of skinny dipping.

Justin nodded. "I would have to agree. After what happened last night, I didn't think you'd wanna hang out."

"I'm not unreasonable, just a little hot-tempered and I hate surprises."

Justin couldn't help but notice the sparkle in Allison's eyes. "Uh…yeah, so I guess I'll just drive you home. You took the bus, right?"

As they slipped into Justin's Toyota Accord, Allison nodded as she smiled at him – he seemed to feel uneasy and she felt partly responsible for that so at every opportunity, she tried to help him feel more at ease. There wasn't a single word spoken for a few minutes as Justin started the car and turned on the radio. It wasn't until they were out of the parking lot that Allison spoke up again.

"So what's the deal with you? Seriously. All we've done is exchange a bunch of random facts about each other and yet, you seemed like you were hiding something. You seemed a bit evasive earlier."

Justin sighed as he drove. "It's just the way I am with new people. I need time to get comfortable around people before I talk about myself."

"But you'll get naked and go skinny dipping with a total stranger?" Alli gave Justin a skeptical look.

Justin could feel Alli's eyes on him as he replied, "I really don't like to talk about myself."

"Get used to it – I'm already curious."