Meanwhile...
Back at the Boardwalk, Chaz arrived at the lot that was behind all of the shop, ready to tell Tim about everything that Liberty had just said to him minutes ago. Upon arrival, he couldn't help but notice the sight of nuts, bolts, nails, and some tools flying away from where the machine was being built; and he also heard the sound of Tim swearing under his breath, as well as the sound of metal banging as he silently entered the small lot. It was pretty clear to him that Tim was anywhere but finished with their stunt-machine, let alone being anywhere close to being done; in fact, one could actually say that it looks like he just started building it, because he only had the bottom part of it done so far.
Approaching the side of one of the wooden boxes that were near his best friend, Chaz finally decided to make his presence known. "I'm back, dude." He simply said.
Tim immediately turned his head towards his best friend, then stood up from the ground. "There you are, Chaz." He says with a smile, despite clearly sounding exhausted and stressed out. "What took you so long, man? It never took you twenty minutes to find and talk to Summer."
"It's a long story, but to keep it short, Summer wasn't at her tower; so, I decided to go search for her later." Chaz explained simply, before leaning against the box he was currently standing next to. "Right now, I need to tell you something that's extremely important."
"Well, I hope it's someone who knows how to actually build this thing, because I'm not having any luck with this." Tim says as he tossed a rag down to the ground below him.
"Uh...no; also, if neither of us are able to figure out how to build this ourselves, then we'll get Ian Arneson to do it instead." The biker reassured his friend, before reverting the conversation back to what was currently on his mind. "No, it's actually about that girl I was talking to you about earlier."
"What about her?" Tim asked while raising one of his eyebrows in confusion. "Is she here at the beach right now?"
"No, she isn't; but I did figure out a few things about her."
The biker's best friend was even more confused now. "Uh...how?"
"You can thank Liberty Martin for that." Chaz answered as he pulls out the envelope that was recently given to him. "She and Travis are planning on having some sort of 'high-school reunion' party at their house this week, and surprisingly enough, they're inviting me along too; but don't worry though, I'm not planning on actually going there." The biker then hands his best friend the letter that was inside of it. "Besides, I doubt anyone would really want me to show up there anyway."
"O-Okay, but...what does this have to do with that new girl?"
"I'm getting to it." Chaz replied as his best friend hands him back the invitation. "So, out of curiosity, I decided to ask her about who else they were planning on inviting other than me, and one of the names that she had mentioned was some 'cool girl' whom I've never heard of before, but she apparently was in the same high-school as us; Katie Morris."
"Katie Morris?" Tim then thought about it for a second or two, before ultimately shrugging his shoulders at the name. "So far, her name doesn't ring a bell to me."
"According to Liberty, this Katie girl happens to be one of the coolest kids in school other than me, and she was apparently valedictorian too."
"Valedictorian?" Tim continued to think about some more, before suddenly, a thought came to his head. "You know, I think I remember that one of the skaters who were graduating, alongside us, was given that honor; you probably don't remember it because...well, you were asleep during the ceremony."
"Does she happen to have brown hair?"
"Well, yeah, but...why's that important exactly?"
"Then that means my suspicions are true; Katie Morris was the girl who was spying on me last night."
It was clear from the look on Tim's face that he was in disbelief at the conclusion his best friend had just came up with. "What makes you believe something like that, dude?" He asked while giving the biker a bewildered look. "This is a bit of a shot in the dark, don't you think?"
"When I asked Liberty about what Katie looked like, she mentioned something her usually wearing a dark-blue baseball cap everywhere she goes, which was exactly what the girl last night was wearing; if anything, the dots pretty much connect themselves after that little piece of information there."
"Still, it's a bit of a stretch to assume that girl is the same one that Liberty described; for all we know, that could just be some other girl who just moved in with her parent, or uncle, or...whoever that guy already living in that house is."
"To be fair, every time I assume that something's one thing, I always wind up being right about it in the end; so, I wouldn't be surprised if my theory is turns out to be true."
"Okay, but...even if you are right about this, what do we do about the situation that happened last night?" Tim asked as he began to lean against one of the nearby boxes. "Are we gonna sue her or something?"
"Originally, after you and I get done here, I was planning on paying that girl a visit, so I can confront her about it; but now that I've heard that she's supposedly one of the coolest girls in school, and probably in this entire town too, I changed my mind on the whole 'telling her off' part of the deal." The biker explained as he walked over to the base of the machine. "I still wanna talk to her about what happened last night nonetheless though."
"So, then what happens after that?"
"Personally, I don't know..." Chaz simply answered with a shrug. "If Katie wants to be friends or not afterwards, then...it's entirely up to her."
"If 'friends' is the case, then you better hope Summer doesn't get too jealous of her." Tim remarks, only to notice somebody entering the lot through the same alleyway that he and Chaz used earlier; the person, in question, was a girl with blonde hair that's tied in a long ponytail, and was currently wearing a red jacket with a white cross on one part of the chest-area, purple sweatpants, and a whistle around her neck. "Speaking of which, there she is now."
"Who?"
"He's talking about me, sweetie." The person says from behind Chaz, causing him to immediately turn around.
"Oh, Summer!" The biker exclaimed as he gave his girlfriend a hug. "I was looking all over for you, babe!"
"I had to do a few things up at the station if you're wondering why I wasn't at my tower moments ago." Summer told him, before looking over to the so-far-nowhere-close-to-finished machine that the two boys were building. "So, I'm guessing that is supposed to be you two's latest stunt?"
"That would be correct." Tim answered.
"So, what is something like that, like, supposed to do?" The lifeguard asked as she took a step closer to the small base in front of her. "Do you, like, get on top of it, and you get sent flying to the moon or something?"
"It's called a 'Gyro-Dance Sphere', according to the person I bought the blueprint from; and no, it's not some sort of device that cannons you to space." Chaz answered as he picks up said blueprint off of a nearby box, handing it over to his girlfriend. "All that happens is that you get in, and you just spin around rapidly, in each and every direction imaginable; it's supposed to be like riding inside a ball while it's rolling around, practically."
"Is it, at least, safe for you guys to control...unlike what happened last time with that motorcycle-stunt?"
"First off, yes, we do have this all under-control, babe; and second, that motorcycle-stunt was an accident, if anything." Chaz then paused for a second as his girlfriend hands him back the blueprint. "Don't worry, we'll be responsible this time."
"I sure hope so..." Summer muttered as she just stared at the machine's base for a few good seconds, before turning her attention back over to her boyfriend, now deciding to change the subject to something else. "So, anyway, how's the new house coming along?"
"Pretty great, actually." Tim answered, now chiming into the conversation. "There were a few difficulties that me and Chaz had to endure while we were getting certain things settled out, but we were able to work things out in the end."
"I'm still surprised that you guys decided to pick some house where some old person died at." Summer points out, clearly uneasy. "Don't you guys think that part's a little...you know, totally disturbing?"
"While we were talking with one of the renovators last week, trying to make a few arrangements with them, I was told that the old dude actually died while staying at the hospital, not the house; if that's what you're worried about." Chaz stated, both calmly and reasonably. "Also, neither me or Tim are sleeping in his room; we both have two of the rooms that the dude apparently left empty for years."
"What are you going to do about the original owner's bedroom?"
"So far, we don't know yet; but I am planning on using it for storage in case Tim doesn't see any use for it."
"If that ends up being the case, then you better hope that whatever you deem's useless winds up fitting in there alongside that dude's furniture; because there's no basement in the house, and the bed can't fit through the attic's door." Tim comments to his best friend.
"We'll think of something about it, dude." Chaz replied back, before turning his attention back over to Summer. "Speaking of which, do you want to come over to our house later tonight?"
"I'm afraid I can't; after work, my dad wants me to come help him at his bar DownTown, so...I'll probably be busy all night." Sumner answered sadly, before stepping closer and kissing her boyfriend on the cheek. "Don't worry though, I'll be able to hang out with you guys sometime tomorrow instead."
"Sounds like a good enough plan to me, babe."
"Great."
"Hey, Summer! Are you back here?!" A male voice says from the nearby alleyway. "I need to talk to you!"
"If it's about me talking to my boyfriend while on duty again, then I'll-"
"It's not that, Summer; don't worry!" The male voice assured the lifeguard. "I want to talk to you about something else; it's important!"
"I'll be right out!" Summer then turned her attention back over to her boyfriend one last time. "I hate to leave you guys so soon, but it looks like Tad needs me for some reason. I'll call you later; alright, babe?"
"Alright." After that was said, Summer kissed her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek before exiting the lot to go talk with her boss.
"What do you think Tad wants to talk to her about?" Tim asked his best friend the moment Summer left the lot.
"I don't know; but maybe Summer will tell me about it later on tonight." Chaz simply replied, before picking up one of the nearby wrenches that were laying on the ground. "I think for now, let's not worry too much about it yet; let's just worry on getting this machine built."
"Alright." After that was agreed on, the two men went off to continue building their stunt-machine once again.
Hours after they're time at the skatepark, Katie and Crystal went they're separate ways for the day; the former went back home so that she can get ready to go to her father's job, while the latter went off to...honestly, she didn't really know where she wanted to do now that she was practically free from here and out. She didn't exactly know when Goth Boy and Yuki will get off of work, so she wasn't able to hang out with them, and she didn't want to end up pestering them on the job once again; so, that only left her with three other options: Ray, Raven, or Violet; all of whom are probably still at their jobs right now. She could just go home, but...she rather not spend the rest of the day having to tolerate nonsense from any of her four sisters. Since it seems like there's nothing really fun for her to do at the moment, Crystal could probably just go off to one of the pharmacies around town, so she can start applying at some of them in the meantime.
While she was walking down the streets of DownTown, Crystal couldn't help but feel as if she was currently being watched by somebody; and she had a very bad feeling that it was Derek once again, since she knew that the bully doesn't stop after the first few times one tells him to 'scram'. Letting out an irritated huff, she began to slowly turned around...only to discover that it actually wasn't her ex-boyfriend who was following her; it was somebody else. The person, in question, was a girl with dark-brown hair that was tied into two ponytails on both sides of her head; and she wore a white visor, along with a dark blue jacket with a green tank-top underneath, light blue shorts with a pink thong sticking out from the sides of it, and she was riding on what appeared to be white rollerblades; this girl was one of the many club-goers who resides in this part of town, Sapphire Byers.
Now, it would be a bit of a stretch for one to say that either Katie or Crystal were ever really friends with Sapphire, most of which stems from the fact that her cousin was actually James Louiston; but if anything, the latter of the two tomboys were somewhat friend-ish. Heck, it was actually because of her that she and Derek would've wound up dating at one point; and that was before the situation at Gino's, and before Crystal figured out about his secret relationship with Brandi. Despite the courtesy though, the two rarely hang out, with the sole exception of whenever the rebel decided to hang out at the partier's favorite club to go to; Club Candy.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise." Sapphire says as she skates up to the rebel, circling around her once she got up to her. "Since when did you come back to Simport?"
"Yesterday; Katie and I thought it was the right time to come back." Crystal answered as she eyed the party-girl as she was skating around her. "So, how have you been, Sapphire?"
"If I had to be totally honest with you...I would, like, say that I am, like, totally great." Sapphire stops circling the rebel and began slowly skating by her side. "Nothing has changed with me since you've left, just in case you ask."
"How's Candy and Zack doing?"
"Both of them are also totally great." Sapphire twirled around for a second, before facing forward once again. "Candy and I are still together and happy, and as for Zack, he's still trying to find himself a girl...too bad he doesn't take any of my advice whenever he's clearly failing at impressing other girls."
"Seriously?" Crystal asked, only to receive a silent nod from the party girl. "Damn...you'd think a guy who looks and dresses cool would be an expert by now..."
"Tell me about it..." Sapphire muttered before deciding to change the subject from her friends to Crystal's life now. "So, how have you and that Katie girl been lately?"
"Me, fine...I guess; but I'm not too sure about Katie, to be perfectly honest with her."
"What makes you say that?" Sapphire asked, now a bit confused.
Before giving the party-girl an answer, Crystal let out a sigh and held out an arm, stopping Sapphire from going any further ahead of her. "Look, it's not in my say to tell you about it, but..." The rebel paused, biting her lip at the thought of what she was currently thinking of. "Let's just say that something happened to her earlier this year that...changed the way that she and her father must live now."
"Oh..."
"Yeah..." Crystal says softly, letting out a depressed sigh afterwards. "She...hasn't mentioned it in awhile, and she seemed to have gotten over it, but...I-I don't know; I don't think she's really moved on from it yet..."
"Oh..." Sapphire now seemed depressed after hearing all of this, before expressing a somewhat hopeful smile. "I-I'm sure she'll move on from...whatever it was that happened to her this year..."
"I hope so..." The rebellious tomboy solemnly whispers, before letting out another sigh. "I'm...sorry if this whole conversation took a bit of a...dark turn out of nowhere for you."
"It's totally fine, Crystal." The party-girl says with a sad smile on her face. "Still, I hope your bestie and her father finds a way to heal through their pain together."
"Thanks." The rebel then turned her head to the left, seeing one of the town's pharmacies right across the street from her. "Well, looks like I've made it to my destination."
"The pharmacy?" Sapphire asked, her saddened smile now turning into a confused expression once again.
"Yeah; that's where I'm planning to work now that I'm back in town."
"Odd choice." Sapphire comments as she turned to face the building across the street from them. "You never came across as a girl who'd be an expert at selling medical supplies."
"True, but it was one subject that I learned about the most while I was in college." The smile that was on the tomboy's face suddenly disappeared as she says the next part of her sentence. "Also, if I hadn't found a job that was good enough for me after college, then I think my parents would've forced me to work with one of my sisters at one of their jobs; and there was no way in hell I was going to allow that."
"Well, if things don't work out there, then you could always come work at Club Candy if you want; because we could always use a helping-hand in order to get the party started...or another one, since it's just the three of us there."
"Thanks, Sapphire; and I'll think about it." Crystal then faced the crosswalk in front of her, before popping up the collar on her vest. "Wish me luck, dude."
"Will do." After that was said, Sapphire skated off as the rebel headed off to the pharmacy across the street, ready to start applying there.
Note: So, another chapter, and two more characters enter the mix; Summer and Sapphire. There's nothing really much for me to say here, so...
Let's just see what reviews we have here today...
TheBigBunnyBoy: I totally agree; Derek had it coming since his actions during the beginning of Agents.
lordgemini: The only reason why Travis decided to invite Chaz is because, despite their semi-rivalry, I always imagine the former of the two to be a nice guy who's willing to give someone like the latter a chance; even if Chaz was an asshole to him back then. Also, the last part with Derek, I kinda wanted to establish more into his relationship between him and Crystal, rather than just leave it at 'they broke up because of what happened in Agents'; more about it might be looked upon in future chapters, but I haven't decided yet.
In the next chapter, it'll be night once again; and let's just say that two neighbors might finally have a bit of an encounter. I'll see you guys next time.