Author's note: In this chapter, my own character's (which obviously also entails Sheryl and Ben Parker) Michael and Neil steps in and just for some quick info; Michael is 21 like Stacey and Tony while Neil is 24. Michael is crazy about skating and has the luxury of coming from money. He's supposed to be a part of the boys' gang who've skated and surfed together since they were in their diapers. Neil is the protective older brother and you can't really know much about Neil until you see it further along in the story. Enjoy!
Chapter two – Sun Hits The Sky.
She whined loudly at the high ringing of her alarm clock and slammed the 'off' button.
She glanced out through heavy lidded eyes and found it still dark outside and chilly air seeping in through the open window.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, leaning her elbows on her knees, feeling her eyelids slowly drop. With another whine she stumbled up onto her feet and padded into the bathroom to relieve herself and brush her teeth. She went back into her room and grabbed a yellow halter-top and a pair of her father's old jeans plus underwear and locked herself inside her bathroom and changed, throwing her dirty laundry in the hamper and scrutinized herself in the mirror. She dabbed some concealing powder under her eyes and brushed some soft pink blush on her cheeks, brushed her hair and put it up in a new bun on top of her head, and grabbed her mascara brush. After a few brushes she crept down the stairs, grumbling to herself over the loss of coffee, and took a piece of bread before grabbing a cardigan and shivered through her first steps in the chilly outside air.
The sun had just started to rise and Sheryl couldn't find it in herself to complain over a single thing as the sun hit the sky. She shivered violently when the ocean air hit her face, but she got used to it quickly and it wasn't much later she unbuttoned her cardigan and let it fall to her arms as she rested in the sand, leaning back on her hands, and heard a booming but muffled voice yell something. She narrowed her eyes to the water and saw several figures gupping on the water on top of their surfboards, trying to catch a wave of their own. She could see Stacey under the pier, probably signed that "surfboard catcher" job Stacey had once told her about, since he caught a flying surfboard and handed it to a approaching figure.
She jumped distracted when there was a loud slam behind her from a car door and glanced at the two guys who spared her a single look before they continued down to the shore, and Sheryl scowled when she saw the familiar lurking figure around the car the two strangers just arrived in. She frowned surprised as Jay opened the hood of the car, and leaned in before holding up something (Sheryl knew nothing of cars) with a triumphant noise but froze when he turned to be met with Sheryl standing with her hands on her hips glaring at him.
"What are you doing?" He stared at her quietly nonplussed and passed her with an obvious tone of his voice. "Making sure I get to surf."
Again Sheryl found herself frowning in confusion as Jay paddled out to the others on the water who seemed to be arguing with the two lone strangers. She jumped when a big boulder fell from the air toward the two newly arrivals and crashed one of their boards in half, and asked herself why she wasn't surprised when she saw Tony standing on the pier with another boulder in his hands to throw.
"Hey girlie!" Sheryl turned her head from the unsettling scene and found a large Latin guy frowning at her in a wetsuit.
"Who are you?" She frowned at his tone and slowly walked up to the little area where he was resting and crossed her arms.
"Stacey invited me." The guy chuckled and lighted a cigarette and took a drag. By judging of the smell she concluded that it wasn't just regular tobacco in it.
"Who are you?" she found the courage to ask and made a small move with her leg to show that she wasn't going to back down. The guy took another deep drag, held his breath and answered as he let out his breath: "Chino." He smirked when she realized that the information gave her no true information but was pleased nonetheless.
"And you, girlie?" She could hear rowdy vices approach and answered distractedly "Sheryl" as she held the approaching group under her unwavering attention. They were four guys, probably mid-thirties and gave her annoyed looks as they passed. They looked to Chino who seemed to have forgotten her and breathed out another smoke.
"This is Peralta's girl Sheri-Sheryl?" Sheryl nodded in affirmative when Chino looked to her and continued.
"The only one you need to remember by name is Skip here." Chino pointed to a blonde man in wide glasses who's teeth fascinated her until she remembered her manners.
"Nice to meet you doll-face –oh look at Tony go!" Sheryl turned to the water with his exclamation to look with the men's rowdy arguing over beer bottles and sharing joints. She smiled when she spotted Stacey but winced when he got run over by a wave and glared at the group behind her who jeered at his expense. She gave him a soft smile in greeting and sympathy when Skip ordered him back to under the dock. She swung around angrily when Stacey had sagged to swim to the pier and stormed up to Skip and threw away his beer bottle straight from his hand.
"It's not even seven o'clock in the morning!" She stormed off to the childish 'ooing' and cheers to Jay who seemed to be doing a good job on a wave. She couldn't care less about that boy.
The four boys sat in various positions, Jay loosely up curled in his seat with a huge grin and had been the last to sit down, Tony was leaning back in one chair and resting a leg on another in front of him, the tiny brown haired boy sat slouching in his seat with his arms hanging down to the floor on each side of the armrest and Stacey was sitting somewhat properly in his chair with his legs spread tiredly, all waiting for Sheryl to finish their orders. It was ten to five and Stacey had promised the guys some food and had begged Sheryl to fix it for them. Innocent and naive she was she'd agreed under his pleading eyes but were now ready to kill herself, or him.
Tony was smirking at Stacey, as he commented on Stacey's lack of womanizing, and winked at the boys when Sheryl came out with the four plates from the kitchen.
"I'm telling you Stace, you gotta grow a pair or you'll end up like, or god forbid, with, nun Parker here." Sheryl scowled and looked down at his plate while she made a sound that clearly displayed that she was collecting saliva to spit on his plate. She glanced at Jay when she saw him move and glared at Tony who'd caught that moment to grab his plate, and placed her hands on her hips to dare him on the glint in his eyes.
"But Sheryl here is no nun, she's wearing black lace panties. Saw them when she changed into her jeans didn't I?" Jay spasmed, pleased with his involvement, in his seat after grabbing a frites and the rest of the boys stared at her imploringly when she merely blushed. She turned swiftly and as she stormed in to the kitchen she yelled: "Sod off and do your own dishes!"
She hoped he would cut himself so the salt water would sting him.
She stomped off to the food court and smiled in greeting to her boss Larry who handed her a freshly made cup of coffee. In spite of being the owner, he always worked the first shift every morning and had always freshly made coffee waiting for her those shifts she worked with him or after.
"Morning Sheryl, you seem.. Awake?" He frowned at her surprised; usually she was like a zombie coming in and therefore the coffee tradition hade begun. She slumped in the stool in front of him and the counter and grumbled.
"Stacey invited me to hang out with him and the losers, but it ended with him getting ridiculed for failing a wave and me throwing away a 'Skip's' beer bottle. It wasn't even seven for crying out loud!" Larry hummed in to his cup in his own way that said he had a opinion and Sheryl made a 'give-it' motion with her hand.
"Be careful around all of those, they might appear to be brainless surfers but they're not harmless and know how to make people do what they want. Look at Peralta." Sheryl sighed and snorted to herself.
"Who names themselves Skip? Skipper." They both shared a few chuckles and as the time struck nine Larry said his good luck's and goodbyes.
Around lunchtime another guy showed up to cover for her and physically shoved her out of the establishment so she could take a real break. The noise of skateboard wheels and hollering voices drew Sheryl closer to a tiny playground where Skip stood on a bench with a skateboard over his head smirking down at all the pleading kids around him.
"Here Skip!"
"Me, Skip!"
"I do, please Skip!" It ended with Tony jumping up and grabbing the board and skating off along the boardwalk and then back and ending with a fancy move. He smirked pleased at all the admiring looks and Sheryl shook her head with a sigh, she didn't like the asshole but he did know how to skate. She could see Tony, Stacey and Jay gather next to each other, a picture that made her smile at how good-friends they seemed to be in spite of being so different, and looked as a pretty girl rode up on a bike and smiled at the three boys.
"I grew up Stacey." Sheryl shook her head at the girl's courage and saw Stacey and Jay look at each other and then back at the girl. She saw Jay shove at the boy who were skating on the board Skip had been holding up, and grab the board himself to skate off before he was cut off. He leaned back on his forearms to watch Stacey hold the girl's hand as she tried to skate.
"Go Kathy!" alerted Sheryl of the girl's name and she snorted as Tony skated between the two lovebirds. From the corner of her eye she saw Jay's top hat, which suited him, turn in her way and she was about to look back when a hit to the wire wall beside her and alerted her of a boy's presence.
"You okey?" She crouched down next to him; a tall barbed wire-fence between them, as he sat on his heels and studied his hands and knees.
"Yeah" he breathed and softly blew on his flushed palms.
"You sure?" she chuckled, not unkindly.
"Seems like you had a little tumble." She bit her lip and hoped the guy understood she was just teasing. His embarrassed chuckle comforted her and she smiled as his brown eyes settled on her.
"What's your name?" Sheryl laughed at the direct question but he just shrugged carelessly and Sheryl slowly stretched out her hand to press against the wire fence, palm up. He stared at her cheeky smile, amused, and gently placed his burning palm against hers on the other side of the wire fence.
"I'm Sheryl, nice to meet you-?"
"Michael." He smiled and looked at her with a cocked head.
"Nice to meet you too. You're not like most girl's huh?" Sheryl shrugged, unsure if a response was necessary, but narrowed her eyes at his watch. Her eyes widened and she jumped up to stand quickly.
"I'm sorry Michael. My break ended five minutes ago, gotta run. Nice meeting you!" She smiled before turning and jogging off.
"A little late are we?" Sheryl looked up at the twenty-four year old who was smirking at her teasingly and Sheryl blushed under the attention.
"Sorry Neil" she mumbled and retied her apron around her hips.
"Why? Saw that guy meckoning on you, pulling the 'hurt-puppy' move". He laughed at Sheryl's indignant gasp and danced away from her slap.
"He was not-"
"He was too!" Sheryl smirked right back at his childish statement and Neil scowled.
"Don't underestimate yourself. There are dishes to be picked up at table seven." Sheryl remade her hair into a ponytail and started piling the dishes in her arms.
"I don't get why you're working two shifts in a row all the time, you should be out chasing boys." Sheryl raised her eyebrows amused at the tall boy who grinned charmingly.
"Need the money." He looked to be about to ask something more but Stacey came bustling in, looking flushed. Sheryl shared a mischievous look with Neil and turned to Stacey teasingly.
"Things went good with Kathy?" Stacey looked up at Sheryl who had her eyebrows raised expectantly and a smirk on her lips, progressing in the same pace as his blush.
"It went fine" he mumbled and tied his apron.
The next hour was spent with amused teasing, from both Sheryl and from Stacey who had heard Michael talk about her.
"You cut the check! Thanks!" Sheryl snorted at Stacey's stricken face and smiled at Philaine, Jay's mom, when they locked eyes.
"Sherry! My favourite wine girl!" Sheryl smiled at the radiant woman who stood to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She stumbled and sat down with the help of Jay and Sheryl's hands.
"Boys, this is dear Sherry. Such a sweetheart." Sheryl smiled brightly at Philaine before looking up at Jay's curled up form and a brown haired boy she remembered meeting before, with a smile and a blush.
"You're exaggerating, but thanks." Sheryl smiled and waved goodbye as she left to the sound of Philaine's:
"Far Out!" She'd met Philaine one night when walking home from work and caught one of her groceries as Philaine's paper bag had broken. They'd started talking, it was easy to befriend someone with Philaine's disposition.
"Hello daddyioo." She smiled as she heard her father yell from within the kitchen and hung her jacket over a kitchen chair. Her dad was cooking chicken in the oven and frying vegetables in a frying pan, wearing a huge smile at his daughter when she came in.
"I got it! First interview. I am now a head mechanic." Sheryl squealed and jumped up to throw her arms around his neck in congratulations, both of their spirits lifted and they spent the evening joking and laughing.
****
The next day as all the kids were at their skating, surfing and horsing around sessions, Sheryl stood joking with Michael and his friends who'd skated by the 'Foodcourt' and swung around when catching Sheryl's light-brown hair from the corner of his eye. Her co-worker Neil stood inside leering behind Michaels back, facing her through the glass, and teasing her.
"So what are you guys up to?" Michael smiled at her, he could easily see that she wasn't interested in him more then as a friend but made a inward shrug. He knew she'd be a good friend. He stepped on his skateboard to grab it in his hand and made a gesture to his friend's boards.
"Skip's just started a skateboard team, so we were out training with our new skateboards." Sheryl smiled at the guys' enthusiasm and made a move to return back inside.
"Have fun, be careful" she warned and he chuckled at her well meaning. He gave her a "Yes ma'm" and a two finger salute before they were off.
"What did you do?" Sheryl looked at Neil who'd sounded just like a thirteen-year-old girl, mad for not having any gossip material.
"He just changed his whole demeanour. He was totally coming on to you and then 'poff!' Nothing!" Sheryl rolled her eyes and tried to hide her amused smile at his waving arms to follow his exclamation.
"Oh would you shut up! He's just a potential friend. He's nice." She still got a mumbled "you're so naive" and then the conversation was dropped. For a few minutes they were busy on both direction and when it finally seemed to quiet down Stacey flew down on his knees in front of her with a pleading face that didn't falter even as Sheryl screamed murder in surprise.
"Oh my god! What the hell are you doing Stace! You scared me half to death!" Stacey remained still in his position, pleading face with entwined fingers in front of him in prayer.
"Please you amazingly beautiful-" Sheryl sighed and crossed her arms "-the very bestest best-friend." He had her there, it was such a compliment and a sweet one that her arms fell and she gave him a bobbing motion with her head, scowling to herself as he smiled and stood up to grab her arms.
"Could you please take my shift?" Sheryl frowned and Stacey held her tighter and hurried to explain.
"Kathy and I are going surfing" and she was powerless to do nothing but smile at his radiant grin. It was infectious. So she nodded and made a head nod for him to go and shook her head amused at his bubbly happiness.
"Go" she laughed and made a move to redo her hair and retie her apron around her waist and rolled her eyes amused when he hugged her with her arms behind her and then rushed out with a nod and greeting to Neil.
When her shift was over, or Stacey's depending on how you looked at it, it was dark outside and since Neil lived on the other side of the town, she was alone. She heard somebody yell out in rage a distance away and was followed by a crash, that didn't sound too far away. She hurried her steps, she hated Dogtown at night, it was such a awful place, and glanced behind her when she heard something behind her. She dug out her keys; the three of them she had, and let them fall between her fingers in preparation of defence but exhaled a relieved breath when she spotted Jay rolling down the street, as she glanced behind her again.
"Well if it isn't little Sheryl Parker?" She rolled her eyes, letting all her anxiety roll off of her in pure relief that it was just Jay. She kept on walking, not stopping to greet, and he followed beside her on his skateboard with his hands clenched tightly beside his hips.
"You okey?" His face tensed at her concerned question and he looked away for a few seconds before turning back and staring at her sneeringly.
"You say you've lived here all of your life but I've never seen you around, what's up with that?" Sheryl shrugged and made a small face but made no other response to his sneering face.
"Guess you've never looked hard enough, besides; I have obligations" she murmured and hugged her arms to quell the chilly air. She glanced at him when she heard him give off a loud sardonic laugh.
"Yeah well so do I." Sheryl gave a nonplussed shrug. She knew his mother but she's never seen him looking for a job or doing anything constructive with his time beside skating and surfing.
"I'm sure you do. But unlike you I have to work." She can see Jay stare at her, scowling, and she admits that it came out a lot more haughty and insulting then she meant, but still. She didn't have time to skate around whining, she had to work, while he seemed to be able to take all the time in the world. His speed slowed down, from lack of pushing up and she turned around to look at him when he'd stopped completely. They looked each other in the eye for a few seconds and Jay's posture seemed more relaxed and open as he spoke:
"You're probably a good friend-" Sheryl smiled softly but froze when his posture tensed and straightened and he resumed his sneer "-but then you're always panting after Stacey." She gave him a cold stare and shook her head with a scoff.
"God, why am I not surprised. You are such an asshole." She turned away and continued her way home, with somewhat hurried steps then before, and felt oddly more disappointed then she'd ever thought she would when Jay was involved.
****
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Sheryl smiled at her guests as she sat down their plates before turning back to Stacey with her question to his slumped form over the counter.
"I thought you were going to surf with your lady friend today again?" She wiggled her eyebrows, not that he saw it with his face buried inside his arms, and looked at him as he sat up and leaned his chin on his palm.
"There were no waves, well some small but no good ones, and wasn't all up for it after Jay came by and told me that Skip's started a skateboard team." Sheryl bit her lip, she had hoped that he was just going to be informed later of his spot but the sad eyes in front of her told her now that he wasn't getting on the team.
"So." Stacey glanced up at her; her cheek smashed against her fisted hand amusingly, and focused on her encouraging eyes.
"Kathy told me there's a contest in Del-Mar in a month." Sheryl slowly smiled and let it progress until there was a full-blown grin that made Stacey laugh at the Cheshire cat resemblance.
"Then may I be so bold to suggest that you get going on your practicing Mr. Peralta." Stacey sighed wearily and somewhat self-consciously, and separated the hair in front of his face to behind his ears.
"But you heard Skip, I'm not good enough-"
"Then become better. Are you honestly telling me that you're gonna let a dude that's named 'Skip' tell you of your abilities? It's a ridiculous name, does that not tell you all you need to know?" Stacey chuckled at her incredulous look and gave her a decisive nod as he stood up, and received a excited grin in return.
"You're a good friend." Sheryl's face made a small tick, the words he'd used was far too déjà vu for her, but smiled softly at the boy in front of her. He looked just like a small excited five year old who were being polite in waiting for a response before rushing out and doing god knows what.
"So are you, a really good friend." She nodded to the door with a sigh and rolled her eyes at his jumpy enthusiasm.
"You'll come with to the competition right?" He was already on his way out the door when she laughed and nodded at his disregard if she'd said no.
"I'm glad you were the first I came to, and don't tell anybody about this." Sheryl smiled affectionately and made a zipping motion to her lips.
"Have fun!" She chuckled to herself and sighed when she spotted a table that wanted their check.
****
Two hours later she said goodbye to the two who had the last shift and smiled when she turned as she recognized Michaels voice down the street. She bit her lip in indecision before walking towards him, a voice (remarkably too much alike Jay) reverberated in her head; 'I've never seen you around.'
"Hi." She took her hands out of her sweather-pockets and swung her hair out of her face and into a new bun on top of her head. Michael looked up and smiled friendly, giving her a quick hug, surprising her. She laughed quietly and looked at the others in the group, finding Tony a small distance away smirking at her nastily. She scowled right back and caught the attention of Stacey's lady friend, Kathy.
"Hey, you don't like Tony?" The girl next to Kathy asked Sheryl and Sheryl cleared her throat.
"No, I really don't." Tony's pleased grin fell as Kathy and the other girl laughed and placed a hand in hers.
"He's my brother so the feeling is mutual, and this is Blanca." Sheryl grinned in humour and by the look of the girl's hawk-eye on Tony, Blanca had to be Tony's somewhat girlfriend.
"Well, this is my Sheryl" Michael cheekily claimed and placed an arm around her waist. She snorted and looked down at him with raised eyebrows but he was unfazed.
"I thought she was Stacey's" Jay jumped up and gave Kathy a shove, one that Kathy teasingly replicated.
"Sorry, but that would be Kathy." Sheryl smiled as the girl blushed and the crowd leered at her, but Sheryl gave Jay a long stare as he looked back at her. Michaels arm seemed to tense around her waist before he slowly retracted it, his gaze locked on Tony's who was openly sneering, but also flickering to Jay who looked coldly composed.
"So do you skate Sheryl?" Sheryl shook her head violently, much to the group's amusement.
"Hell no! I'd probably spend most of the time on my ass so I've forfeited on that one" she added sheepishly and smiled down at Michael who patted her on the arm.
"I'll gladly have your ass in my lap instead" Tony leered and Sheryl widened her eyes shocked at him before narrowing her eyes.
"Tony!" The girl named Blanca started yelling in Spanish after exclaiming his name and Sheryl mused to herself that he was receiving the punishment he deserved.
"I gotta go anyways-" she glanced up at Jay who'd zeroed in on Kathy again and interjected "-say hi to Philaine for me?" He gave her an unreadable stare for a few seconds before he nodded, and she couldn't help herself when she'd spotted Tony calming Blanca down.
"Bye Ass-wipe!" She laughed unrestrained as he turned to the name and she patted Michael's shoulder before she went on home.
Hi all! So, what do we think?
Reviews are greatly appreciated so I can make the best of this story :)
//Tilly Tah Tah