Back at the beach...

"Wow..." Luke says in amazement as he and Summer were walking alongside each other down the shore together. "Would you just look at that ocean?"

"So, which do you think's better?" Summer asked as a smirk appeared on her face, keeping her eyes focused on the surfer as they continued to walk. "Do you think the Pacific Ocean's better, or do you think the Atlantic is?"

"For now, I gotta say the Pacific; because I have yet to surf the waves on that one over there." Luke answered as he pointed to the ocean that was right next to them.

"Well, just don't try and slip off your board for any reason, or else you'll have to make me go out there and save you." The lifeguard said in a joking manner before facing forward, seeing a familiar spot off in the distance. "Speaking of which, there's the tower that I'm usually assigned to, and the last spot of our tour as well. So, do you have any questions about...literately anything?"

"Honestly, no; I think everything's pretty straightforward from here on out." Luke then began to observe the slightly-crowded beach that surrounded him and his new lifeguard friend. "It's usually a lot more crowded at the beach I used to go to back in California..."

"Eh, well...a few years back, someone thought it would be a good idea to drive some sort of submarine, that was designed like a shark, a few feet out in the surf; so, not a lot of people around town tends to go to the beach often anymore thanks to that." Summer explained to the surfer, before shrugging her shoulders. "At least it makes my job easier so I don't end up having to push through people while I'm trying to save lives."

"W-Why was somebody just driving around in a submarine close to where there's people?" The surfer then asked, clearly confused. "That doesn't make any sort of sense."

"Your guess is as good as mine." Summer then picks up her lifeguard canister off of the side of her tower's ramp. "Well, I think we should probably start getting to work now. If you need anything, just give either me or Tad a call and we'll come to you immediately."

"Thanks." After that was said, Luke began to make his way back over to the Boardwalk, while Summer went up into her tower in order to collect her equipment from inside.

A few minutes later, Summer came out of her tower and leaned against the wooden-rails of the balcony, now wearing a red one-piece bathing suit with a white cross printed on one part of it, as well as a pair of black sunglasses and a whistle around her neck. She just stood there, looking out towards the ocean, making sure that everybody on the land and sea are being safe. This was practically what she had to deal with both day in and day out: just a long tedious game of the waiting game; the least someone could do for the next eight to nine hours was just pretend to drown, so she could have something to do without getting bored.

During her wait, Summer decided to check in on her boyfriend to see how everything's going with him and those antiques that he's trying to get rid of; granted, this was probably a very bad idea considering that she'll possibly miss somebody in danger, but this wouldn't be the first time she and Chaz texted each other on the job. She picked up her off of the lawn-chair that was behind her and brought it over to the wooden-railing so that she can lean against it some more, which was when she sent her boyfriend her first text of their conversation. 'Hey, how's it going?' The lifeguard texted to her boyfriend, before following that text with. 'You finally got rid of that junk you tried to sell around here?'

'Yep; thankfully, the antique-shop accepted everything I had in the backseat. They even told me it was probably the most stuff they've ever collected from anyone in over a decade.' Chaz texted back.

'Even the stuff that were broken?' Summer immediately texted back, shaking her head in disbelief at her boyfriend's previous answer.

'Actually, everything except those ones; but they did allow me to throw them out into the dumpster that was right behind their building.' The biker texted back.

'So, what are you gonna be doing now?' Summer then decided to ask; this, she will soon realize, was a very terrible mistake.

'Tim and I are going to head out to the skatepark to hang out with this girl who lives right next door to us.' Chaz texted back, which causes his girlfriend's somewhat bored expression to immediately falter.

'You and Tim are off to hang out with some random girl you've probably just met?' She then asked him, before following it up with another text. 'Who is this girl exactly?'

'Some girl who used to go to the Royal Academy with us back in the day; one who goes by the name of Katie Morris.'

'The valedictorian?'

'Even you know who she is?' Chaz asked before following his text with another one seconds after. 'It's like everyone I know is aware of this girl, but me! How the hell does that happen?!'

'Well, I only know her because I've seen her photo whenever I read our school yearbook, and I've seen her collect her diploma during our graduation ceremony years ago...while you were too busy sleeping, during the whole event.'

'You're still not going to let me hear the end of that day, aren't you?' Chaz asked in his next text, before following it up with another, explaining his reasons for what had happened that day. 'I've spent the whole night trying to fix the air-conditioner to my uncle's house, because there was no way I was going to sleep in a hot ass bedroom; and I didn't end up sleeping until five or six in the morning.'

'Anyway, are you sure that a girl like her is really somebody we should be hanging out with?' Summer then asked in her next text, completely ignoring what her boyfriend had just said in his previous text, before sending another one soon after that. 'From what I was told about her via some of my other friends, this Katie girl seems like a total nerd.'

'I totally agree with you on the nerd stuff, but at the same time though, she seems like a totally cool girl as well; the fact that she skateboards for a living's got me interested so far.'

'Cool or not, I still don't know about her, babe.' Summer texted back, staring at her phone with a look of clear uncertainty on her face, before sending her boyfriend yet another text. 'Are you sure she's really worth your time?'

'Well, all I can say right now is this: if she's as cool as she says she is, then she gets to hang out with us; but if she turns out to be a total chump dressed as a cool girl, and if it turns out that everything Liberty's said about her is 'all talk', then we can forget about her.' Chaz explained in his next text, before concluding the conversation with one more text. 'Anyway, I should be pulling up to the house now; I'll call you later when I've made up my mind about her.'

'Good luck with her then.' After that was said, Summer puts her phone back into her sports-bag and went back to looking out to the ocean ahead of her.

"Katie Morris; straight-A student and valedictorian, and she's somehow managed to impress my boyfriend without even doing anything." Summer mutters to herself as she glanced around the small crowd of people along the beach. "All I can really say to that is...who knew."

Meanwhile...

"So, let me get this straight; the only thing that this cart sells turkey legs stuck to a fork, and nothing else?" A blue-haired woman asked Goth Boy, who looked seemingly annoyed with her presence.

"Well, what were you expecting from a cart like this other than 'Turkey-on-a-Fork'; ice cream or something?" Goth Boy asked her rhetorically, looking away from the book that he was currently reading. "If you want something that it isn't turkey or on a fork, then I'd suggest you'd go eat at one of the other restaurants around here instead."

"Whatever..." The blue-haired girl muttered as she was prepared to walk away from the cart, only to immediately notice Luke coming up the steps behind her. "Hello..."

"Oh, don't mind him..." Goth Boy told the girl as he kept his eyes focused on his book this time. "That's just some new guy who just started working here the other day; so far, he ain't that interesting to me."

"Well, he's certainly got my attention, I can tell you that." The girl then noticed that the man was going into the 'Surf-Shop'. "So, what can you tell me about this new guy anyway?"

"How should I know?" The goth then asked the girl. "Like I said, he's new in town, so...I don't know anything about him yet, other than the fact that he surfs for a living, according to the manager."

"He's a surfer, eh?" The blue-haired girl asked, rubbing her chin as she thought about this piece of information. "Do you know if the 'Surf-Shop' is still offering surfing lessons to its patrons?"

"You could always ask them yourselves."

"I think I will, because you are seriously no help at all, sir." After that was said, the girl headed off to the 'Surf-Shop', leaving a completely dumbfounded Goth Boy behind to glare at her for making that remark.

"What a bitch..." The former clique-leader muttered as he just stood there, watching the blue-haired girl head off to the 'Surf-Shop a few feet away from him, all while Yuki was making her way over to him right as he speaks. "Don't you just hate it when stuck-up people like her come around your workplace?"

"Oh trust me...Yuki knows..." Yuki replied, before she turned to look at the girl who her boyfriend was previously talking to a couple seconds ago. "Oh no...you're lucky your conversation with her didn't last that long, because look what's written on her jacket there."

Goth Boy looked towards the blue-haired girl again, seeing what his girlfriend was currently pointing at; and the sight of what was printed on her jacket made him shake his head in disgust. "Simport Prep; our rival school..." He muttered as he kept his glare focused on the prep. "It's no wonder why she acted like a bitch towards me for no reason..."

"Actually, she probably got angry with your pessimistic attitude rather than..." Yuki's voice trailed off as soon as she saw her boyfriend's usual expressionless stare, which made her unsure if he was getting annoyed with her or not; but it was most likely the former. "Yuki's just saying, sweetheart..."

"Well, new guy's in for a real treat with that preppy bitch if she decides to bust a move on him in there, that's all I can really say about all of that." Goth Boy then gripped onto the handle of his cart, before turning to give his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "I think I'm just gonna get back to work now. Let's talk some more during our lunch-break, okay?"

"Okay." After that was said, the goth couple dispersed from each other and went back to continue doing their jobs.

Back at the Louiston's House...

"Look, I'm just going to tell you the exact same thing I've been telling everyone on the matter: what happened during the court case had already happened, and the boy who was responsible for that race was found guilty." Nancy said on the phone to one of her previous caller's relatives, who started angrily berating her once she stopped talking. "Well, it wasn't part of my job to clear his name during that session; I was supposed to present some of the evidence that were given to us, let some of the witnesses say their side of things, and then let the jury decide from there; and I hate to be the bearer of bad news to you, but everything points to your nephew being the one responsible for-"

It was around this moment, James came walking back into the house, package of water-bottles in hand; which was also when the caller started scolding Nancy once again. "Hey, mom..." The emo greeted, before suddenly hearing the sound of the angry caller on the latter's phone. "Let me guess...Richard, again?"

"It's his brother this time..." Nancy quietly told her son, before turning her attention back to her phone-call. "Look, I know there were other kids in that car other than that one kid who willingly testified during the trial, but here's the thing: he was the only one out of the seven who wasn't intoxicated with any alcohol when it happened; and even he vouched that your nephew was the one who-" She paused again, because the caller was once again screaming at her in pure anger.

"It must run in the family to waste their time getting angry at the wrong people, huh?"

"Oh, would you save your breath?" Nancy asked her son in an irritated tone; little did she knew, she accidentally said this while she was still on the phone.

"EXCUSE ME?!!!" The caller asked in an angry and offended tone. "IS THIS HOW YOU TALK WITH EVERYONE?!!!"

"W-Wait, I wasn't talking to-" Before Nancy could finish the rest of her sentence, the caller quickly hung up, ending their already-heated conversation there; after that, the attorney turned to glare at her son, who was currently placing water-bottles into their refrigerator. "Did you really have to make a comment like that during one of my phone-calls?"

"Hey, let's be honest here, mom: someone was probably bound to say that to him one way or another." James told his mother in a nonchalant, yet unusually happy, tone of voice; the latter of the two emotions Nancy took notice of. "By the way, you want one of these already?"

"Sure." Nancy replied as her son handed her one of the bottles. "You know...earlier this morning, I can't help but recall you feeling disgruntled with me after I told you to go out to the store, and now here you are; more radiant than before. You're usually only happy whenever you've-" It was at this moment, Nancy immediately paused, as a sudden horrific thought came to her head; afterwards, she gave her son a serious glare. "Did you and Derek get into another fight?"

"Actually, I haven't stumble upon him today, nor have I came across any of the assholes who've done me wrong throughout high-school." James assured his mother as he gleefully walked over to the hallway closet, pulling out the vacuum-cleaner from it once he was over there.

"Oh, thank God..." Nancy said with a sigh of relief, before she followed her son into the living-room. "So, what's gotten you so...you know, contented?"

James placed the vacuum aside for a second, then turned to face a mother, a smile dawned on his face as he spoke. "I have reunited with Jenny back at that convenience store." He told her happily.

"Really?" The attorney asked with an eyebrow raised. "Before the reunion party?"

"That would be correct." The emo then plugged the vacuum-cleaner into the nearest socket, before standing back up to reassure his mother of something that was probably on her mind, thanks to this sudden news. "Don't worry though, Jenny and I are still going to that get-together this week; in fact, we both mutually agreed to go attend it right before I came back here-"

"Did you two agree in unison?"

"Y-Yeah..." James answered as a blush came to his face. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that you and her seem to have a thing for doing that; it's as if you two share the exact same mindset whenever it comes down to agreeing on certain things, or whenever one of you is about to speak." The attorney explained to her son as she crossed her arms, a smile appearing on her face as she spoke. "It's almost as if you two were just...well, born to become best friends with each other."

James scoffs out a restrained chuckle, before replying to what his mother had just said. "You know, Sapphire told me the same thing after I've informed her about my friendship with her once; except, unlike you, she assumed that I had a crush on Jenny the moment her name came out of my mouth. Don't you believe that?"

"So, you don't have feelings for Jenny?"

"W-What?" James stammered, before tilting his head to the side. "You think that I have feelings for her too?"

"Well, it's not far-fetched to assume such a thing, dear." Nancy answered, before leaning against the back of the couch and proceeding on with her explanation. "Out of everyone from all three of the schools you've went to back then, you weren't close to anybody else except Jenny; and not to mention, you and her have a liking for the same hobbies, movies, TV shows, music, and even ice-cream flavor of all things; so, yes, I think I do believe that you have feelings for your best friend deep down."

"I, uh...um, w-what do you know?!" The emo asked, clearly in denial, all while another blush appeared on his face.

"James, I'm your mother." Nancy told her son in an assuring tone. "If you do have feelings for Jenny, then you have every right to inform me."

"Well, I-uh...I think I'm just gonna go and vacuum the entire house now." James quickly said as he turned the vacuum-cleaner on, then proceeded to go upstairs to clear the second-floor's hallway.

"Oh, he's SO in love with her..." Nancy whispered to herself as she went back to the dining-room to presumably call Richard, or his brother, back.

Note: So, I'm a little iffy with this chapter, one part because of the fact that it's mostly just conversation-based (or at least more conversation-based than other chapters), but mostly because I feel like the pacing in this one might seem a bit...rushed or too short. I know I probably shouldn't doubt myself, but as I've been saying a couple times, I've been a little more insecure with how I'm writing lately; but if I'm doing fine, then...maybe I'm just worrying for nothing.

Anyway, Summer is now aware of Katie, but she doesn't know about her friendship with Crystal yet; somebody's already got eyes on Luke, and it's not even Summer...yet; and last but not least, James is more happier than he was before, with feelings for his best friend they are, for now, completely left up in the air. What will happen from there? You'll just have to wait and see, my fellow readers.

Anyway, let's see what reviews we have for today...

lordgemini: I kinda wanted Luke and Summer's relationship being formed to be a little more built-up, rather than 'the new guy's hot, I gotta date him now'; although, whether I want her to 'cheat on Chaz' or 'break-up with Chaz then go out with Luke' is still up in the air right now. Also, I'm gonna be real about the JamesXJenny subplot, the subtlety there was nowhere, like it should've been obvious to both of them that their own best friend is in love with them; but I still like how it turned out nonetheless.

We return to the ChazXKatie subplot in the next chapter, my fellow readers. Until then, I will see you all next time.