My note...I wanted to do something different with this chapter, so I've written little blocks of interaction between the different characters. They will most likely feature just two characters at a time, highlighting the strong bonds of their friendships. Rest assured, there will be no romantic undertones with these UC couples.
A DAY AT THE BEACH
CHAPTER 8: THOSE LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER
Rain. Soft rhythmic drops falling from above, the sun hidden behind a cloudy haze. Jimmy cracked his eyes open and judging by the darkened room and his lingering sleepiness, figured he'd woke even earlier than the two previous mornings…he was wrong, the green numbers on the bedside alarm clock told him so.
"Ten to seven?", he mumbled tiredly to himself. Mindful of Ashley, he carefully stretched his long arms over his head, preparing to, as quietly and quickly as possible, transfer to his chair. He first unwrapped her arm from his waist, pulled himself into a sitting position, fumbled to get his discarded t-shirt back on, then sought a solid place for his hands and swiftly moved…expertly, without too much jostling of the bed.
Grateful that all the movement didn't seem to bother Ashley one bit, Jimmy looked over and smiled at his sleeping beauty. He then turned back and quickly snapped off his breaks...of course the one thing, a subtle, quiet noise, that would actually cause Ashley to rouse. "Jimmmmy?", she called quietly.
He turned his chair around and leaned over his side, so his face was close to Ashley's . "Go back to sleep", Jimmy insisted with a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. "…I'll be out in a bit", he assured as he motioned to the bathroom.
Ashley nodded groggily and smiled at Jimmy. She scooted over to his still warm side of the bed and snuggled deep into his pillow…allowing his still fresh scent and the soft hum of his wheels on the hardwood floor to lull her back to sleep.
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Jimmy was surprised to find he wasn't the only one up, when he wheeled into the living room. Fresh coffee had already been brewed in the kitchen and all the windows and doors were opened, letting in a soft cool breeze and the smell of fresh rain, through the screens.
He poured the coffee into his travel mug and stirred in some cream before screwing on the lid, securing the saftey over the spout to assure it wouldn't spill all over his lap in transit, and headed out to the back deck.
"Hey", Jimmy called out as he pulled next to the the chaise lounger, which had been moved from the far side of the deck, under the awning right outside the french doors of the kitchen.
"Morning James", Paige greeted regally. She smiled brightly at him and pulled her blanket tighter over her shoulders as she sipped her coffee.
Jimmy grinned at Paige's playful formality. "What brings you out here so early on this fine morning?", Jimmy asked, with the tiniest hint of sarcasm when he referred to the dreary weather as 'fine'.
Paige rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Spinner snores so loud, I could hear him right through the walls", she explained, then instantly matched Jimmy's smile.
"Yeah, I'm surprised Marco's not up yet", Jimmy laughed knowingly. "...they're bunking in the same room".
"He sleeps with his I-pod on", was Paige's swift reply.
Jimmy nodded in amusement. "And it didn't wake Ellie?", he inquired next.
"No...pillow over her head", Paige answered, wrinkling her face in puzzlement. She paused momentarily, then shrugged after giving up on trying to figure out, what she considered, odd behaviors of her roomie...for probably the hundreth time.
Jimmy continued to chuckle. Paige found comfort in his laugh, she always had...and if that boy didn't have the most devistatingly handsome smiles. "What about your other half?", she asked with a wicked smirk. "You and Ash are usually the first ones up".
"Yeah, thought I let her sleep in today", he answered simply, taking another sip of his coffee.
"No therapy this morning?", Paige questioned teasingly.
Jimmy was taken aback by her implication and blushed slightly. "Ah, no...", he paused, no sure how to proceed. "...there's time later. Doesn't look like there's gonna be much else to do today but stay inside", he added, looking up at steady stream falling from the sky. "Besides, just getting ready in the morning is a workout it itself", he joked, chuckling a bit uncomfortably.
Paige flashed him a quick smile and turned to face forward. "I'm glad you two are back together", she blurted, a few minutes later. Jimmy looked at her curiously.
"I always knew you and Ashely belonged together", Paige admitted quickly. "Even when you were with Hazel...I know you both cared for one another, but it just didn't feel...right. There was always something missing...".
"Yeah...Ash", Jimmy cut in bashfully, head down focused on his travel mug, his fingers playing with the saftey on the spout. Paige nodded in agreement at feeling the love Jimmy held for her oldest and very dear friend.
Jimmy slowly raised his eyes to meet Paige's and she gave him her most genuine smile. "This is nice", she commented, reaching out to pat the top of his hand, that was now resting on his thigh.
"What is?", Jimmy asked questionably.
"Us...talking to one another", Paige exclaimed happily. "A real conversation...not just business matters, or the store...".
Jimmy's movement stopped Paige mid-sentence. He tucked his mug safely in his lap, slipped his hand out from underneath hers and manuvered his chair as close to her as possible. "Yeah it is", he agreed and reached over for her hand, linking his fingers with hers.
Paige smiled. She gave Jimmy's hand a friendly squeezed and scooted over so she could rest her head against his arm...and these two friends sat together in amicable silence, watching the rain beat down on the wooden deck...
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Spinner trudged blindly over to the couch and crouched to plop himself down. "Hey, trying to lay here", Ellie yelped when Spinner's butt nearly landed directly on top of her outstretched legs.
"Sorry Ellie...didn't see you there", he apologized, jumping up before he crushed her with his full weight.
"Obviously", she muttered, curling her legs underneath herself to give him some room.
Spinner smiled sincerely and sat down next to her. He sunk into the cushions and reached for the remote. Flipping the television to some pointless cartoon channel, he turned the volume up to fifty and propped his feet up on top of the coffee table.
Ellie glared at Spinner, totally preoccupied with his show, and waited for him to acknowledge her. But instead, he laughed and howled as one character chased the other around the room, only to catch him and beat him senseless with a shovel...at that very moment, Ellie had a fleeting thought of doing the same thing to Spinner.
Annoyed at his total disregard for her, Ellie snapped the novel she was reading shut and shifted off the couch to stand. "Where ya goin'?", Spinner asked cluelessly.
She stared daggers into him and sighed heavily. "Somewhere quiet", was the icy reply.
"Why?", he questioned, puzzled.
"Because I was trying to read Spinner", Ellie answered incredulously.
"So read", he shrugged indifferently.
Ellie motioned pointedly toward the blaring television and cocked her head to the side. It took a moment for her actions to register with Spinner. "Oh yeah, sorry", he excused and hasitily hit the 'off' button. Ellie smiled, mildly satisfied, she resumed her position on the couch to continue her reading.
Spinner sat quietly and scanned the room. Jimmy was out on the back deck, sketching, Paige and Ashley were giving each other manicures in the kitchen, Marco was upstairs talking long-distance to Dylan, and he was...bored.
"Whatcha readin'?", he inquired curiously, almost like a little kid.
"Emma", Ellie muttered, not bothering to look up from her page.
"Nelson?", he asked seriously.
Ellie swallowed hard not to choke. "Woodhouse", she explained, a faint amusement could be heard in her answer. She decided to continue after meeting Spinner's questioning eyes, "It's a novel by Jane Austen".
Spinner nodded as if he recognized the name, then immediately frowned and shook his head. "I hate summer reading".
"Oh, it's not an assignment...just something I wanted to read", Ellie answered simply and smiled.
Spinner shot up straight, scrunched up his face and gasped. "You mean to tell me you would actually read a...", he snatched the book from her and flipped through it. "...a five hundred page book...by choice?".
"It's a really good book Spin", Ellie defended calmly, but Spinner still looked unconvinced.
Ellie grabbed ther remote off of the coffee table and began scrolling down the television listings until she found what she was looking for. "Here, let me show you", she added, punching a few buttons, then disappeared into the kitchen.
Within two minutes the house filled with a buttery scent. Ellie returned to the living room armed with a two liter of pop, two ice filled cups and a heaping bowl of microwave popcorn...just as the movie she requested from the sattelite company began to play.
Ellie poured the pop into each cup and handed one to Spinner, he shot her a friendly smile . She sat down next to him, placing the bowl of popcorn between them and they both settled in for the show. "Okay...the main charater is Emma Woodhouse and she...".
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Ashley looked inside the refrigerator...again. Everything was exactly the same as it was ten minutes ago, when she looked the first time. She sighed, and walked over to the pantry. Opening up the cupboard door, she stood there, waiting for inspiriation to come. When it didn't she sat back down at the kitchen table and flipped back through the only cook book in the house.
"You owe me a rematch Jim", Marco challenged playfully as he headed into the kitchen for a drink. He scooped a few cans of pop into his arms and turned to grab a bag of chips, when he saw Ashley lookng miserable at the table.
"What's up Ash?", he asked, sitting down next to her.
"Just trying to figure out what to make for dinner", she answered dishearteningly and rolled her eyes.
"I thought we were going to have fish tonight", Marco queried.
"Yeah but we can't make it the same way as we did yesterday", she replied pointedly, looking out the window to see the rain that had been steadily falling throughout the day, had now erupted into a full blown thunder storm...complete with strong winds and impressive lightning show.
Marco nodded in agreement, the grill was on the opposite end of the deck, without any cover. "We don't have all the ingredients to make anything from here", Ashley paused and closed the cook book in front of her, then let out a heavy breath. "I just wanted to make something special...".
"For Jimmy?", he teased, raising his eyebrow.
Ashley blushed slightly and smiled. "No, not just for Jimmy...for everyone", she replied in playful protest.
"Suuuure", Marco continued in amusement, noticing her eyes light up at the mention of her boyfriend. Ashley's grin grew wider. "You two are just so cute together", he added, swiftly changing the subject.
"As cute as you and Dylan?", she questioned lightheartedly, it was now her turn to do the teasing.
"Well of course not...", Marco chuckled, then studied Ashley for a moment. "But there's something so special...so unique about you guys", he hesitated at seeing the surprised look on Ashley's face. "There's this beautiful love, this unbreakable bond...".
Ashley looked up teary-eyed, when he softly trailed off. "He's completely crazy about you Ash", Marco's revelation caused Ashley to blush to an even deeper shade of pink.
"I love him more than anything", she whispered in reply.
"It kinda shows", he smirked and they both instantly relaxed. "We should all be so lucky to find what you two have", he added, placing his hand over hers.
"I think you already have Marco", she replied assuredly, slipping her hand out from under his and patting the top of his hand.
Marco smiled and nodded. While he wasn't sure where his long distance relationship with Dylan was going, or if there would even be a relationship left if and when Dylan came back...it was nice to have the encouragement of good friends and the kowledge that they supported him fully.
"Want some help with dinner?", he offered sincerely.
Ashley opened her mouth to answer but was cut off when Jimmy called out from the living room, "Marco we're startin' a new game...you in?".
"Yeah and where are our snacks?", Spinner added, just a beat later.
"Go ahead, I'll figure something out", Ashley stated sweetly.
"No, that's okay, I wanna help", he insisted.
Ashley started to protest, "But Marco, karaokee revolution is your favorite game...".
"That I can play anytime", Marco cut in with a smile. "Besides, how can I tell you how to make mama Del Rossi's famous Cioppino if I'm in there playing video games with the guys?", he asked incredulously, motioning to the next room.
"You'd do that for me?", Ashley asked quizzically.
Marco chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers. "I'd do anything for you Ash", he confirmed, then gathered up the snacks and brought them into the living room.
Ashley smiled and stood up, still a pleasant state of shock. She turned to face Marco as he walked back into the kitxhen. "You won't have to kill me after giving me your mom's secret recipe...will you?", she joked lightheartedly.
"Well yeah, but that's only if you go back on your promise to not share this classified information with anyone else", Marco replied playfully, with a mock seriousness.
"Gotcha", Ashley giggled as they both walked over to the counter.
"Okay, first we need...".
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Okay, there it is. I'm not giving this chapter a clear cut ending, because I want to show that the friendship between these six characters never ends, it just keeps growing. I just had to start out with some serious JimAsh sweetness, but be warned...the next chapter isn't quite so fluffy.
Special thanks, as always, to my amazing reviewers...Lilfiftyfour, Lilac Bloom and TigrouAngel. I appreciate all of the wonderful feedback.
Degrassi does not belong to me.