AN: Another chapter because I can. Enjoy! I hope nobody judges Lil too much, sheesh. _
Maya McNulty
August 29th, 2009
"So... this is what you guys do the night before school starts? I'm usually picking out my outfit and going over my schedule for the 25th time by now."
Charles laughs and playfully jabs me in the shoulder. "Oh, really? Sounds like you're pretty school savvy." I shrug at this and he continues. "But nah, we don't usually do this. Actually, this is the first year they've had this little firework show on the shore. It was a pretty awesome idea though."
Right when he says this, a blast of color explodes in the air and I jump back with my camera like it's nobody's business. Chuck laughs again while I'm snapping pictures until I'm satisfied and think I've had enough. "Hey! You guys wanna pose for a few shots?" I say, flagging everyone in to take pictures.
Once everybody's standing in front of me, I'm like; "Who wants to go first?" And Kimi damn near jumps at the opportunity.
"Tommy and I will model for you!" She laughs and I grin along with her. The two of them stand in front of the blasts and I take like 5 or 6 shots of them doing cute things like holding hands, kissing and stuff. It's pretty traditional.
And then I'm like, "How about one with all of you guys in it?" Everyone goes dull. So I'm like, "Aw, come on, guys. Be civil."
"Who's not being civil?" Lil snaps in Tommy's direction. "I'm perfectly fine with it. Come on, guys." And she smiles and stands in front of my lens' firing rage. Chuck starts making his way toward the imaginary frame along with Carter but Kimi and Tommy stay put.
Before Lil can open up her big mouth and say something about it, I cut her off. "Man, never mind. You guys do better candids anyway." And the group slowly begins to break up. But then Tommy puts an arm around me.
"Lemme see that camera," he says and I slowly hand it over. A few minutes pass and we're all sort of just looking at the show above us. All of a sudden, I realize I hear the lens of my camera clicking. I look back at Tommy and he's lowering my camera with a coy smile.
"Well, look at that," he says. "You were right. They do take some pretty good candids." He inches towards me and scrolls through the shots and there's a picture of me, looking off into the distance with a gigantic flash of blue and green behind my head. "I like yours the best though." And he winks at me when Kimi isn't looking.
This is a high risk playing field here. Normally, I don't mind a little harmless flirting on Tommy's end but when his girlfriend is around, it's a completely different story. I've just built somewhat of a friendship with Kimi from nothing, it seems and It's functioning pretty well. I don't wanna get on the wrong side with this girl.. because from the looks of it, it doesn't result to much good. I mean, Lil can't help but squirm every time she says something or cuts eyes at her.
I wonder in what realm of "girlhood" these two are in when they decide to stand side by side and be catty towards each other instead of just confronting the issue, but instead I decide not to dwell on it. If I put myself in the middle, I'll probably just end up getting myself into some trouble. So I nod at Tommy and make my way towards Charles as the explosions in the sky increase two-fold.
He's smoking a cigarette, just observing from the background like he does normally when the finale starts. The sky is pouring color all around us and the next thing I know, I'm huddled underneath his arm looking off into the distance.
As the fireworks end, I hear Tommy say: "Hey... here's your camera," and he's got this weird look on his face like he wants to tell me something. But he just turns the viewfinder in my direction and scrolls through some shots of Chuck and I standing together. "I kinda just kept shooting through the finale. Hope you don't mind or anything." And a weird grin cuts across his face. Charlie doesn't notice a thing, but when I look up at Tommy, his eyes are darkened and he's looking a little more dejected than I'm used to seeing him look. Is this what I think it is?
Instead of trying to figure it out, I'm like, "Thanks... man." And he nods his head. I find myself taking a quick look around and I notice that Lil and Carter have disappeared and that Kimi is engaged in conversation with someone else. By the looks of it... it looks just like Philip. I want to go say hi but Tommy chuckles a little bitterly and crosses his arms.
"There's the Captain of the Football Team right over there," he says to Chuck and I... so I guess I was right. "Don't you guys wanna go ask for an autograph?" Charlie laughs too, but it's gentle and it isn't as if he's trying to mock anybody the way Tommy is. I feel like, even though Tommy portrays himself as this really cool kid most days, he's really insecure and it's weird. He doesn't like being upstaged or outdone by anybody and it shows. I try to ignore it though.
"Hey, man. Relax," I chide. "What's your big issue with Phil? I mean, you're the one who fucked his twin sister." I don't even mind how blunt I am when I say this, but Charles looks down at me like I should have held my tongue. For an extra measure, I look up at him and shrug my shoulders.
But once the look of shock is wiped off of Tommy's face, as quick as it appeared, he starts laughing and he kisses my cheek. "You don't hold back at all, do you? I like that." I'm way too dumbfounded to say anything, and Tommy squeezes my hip for added measure. It makes me squirm. "You're never afraid to come at me head on. That takes guts, sweetheart."
And I don't know what it is, but now I feel like Tommy is challenging me. It's sort of getting beneath my skin, but I'm not going to just shy up and let him win. We lock eyes and once again, something passes between us.. but now don't feel so intimidated. He's the one who breaks gaze when Kimi calls him from a distance. This immediately snaps me back to reality. She and Phil are standing side by side as they approach.
And I think it catches all of us by surprise when she says, "I'm gonna catch a ride home with Phil. You don't mind, do you? He lives closer."
Tommy's jaw damn near falls open, but he fights it and smirks. His arms fold across his chest and he starts putting off a vibe of indifference. "Sure, Kimi. Go ahead. Call me when you get home though. Promise?"
She looks a little surprised too. "You're not mad, are you?" She asks innocently, and Tommy makes himself busy by asking Chuck if he can steal a smoke.
"Huh? Oh. Nah, I'm not mad. Just... be safe and stuff." And his eyes quickly shift towards Phil. Of course, I can already sense some shady shit going on, so I quickly jump in before Tommy can start a fight.
"How's it going, Phil?" I chirp, stepping in front of Tommy as if I can obstruct Phil's view of him. I'm pretty short, but I still bump 6 foot Phil with my shoulder as if I'm the same height and 40 pounds heavier than him.
My neighbor smiles at me and basically buries me in his strong chest in a hug. Luckily, before I suffocate myself to death in his Gucci cologne, he lets go. "It's going awesomely. Are you excited for school tomorrow? Your first year as a Werewolf, huh?" And he howls into the night. To my surprise, a few guys behind him howl as well.
I look back at Tommy and quirk a brow, to quietly mention how I saved his ass seconds ago. He would have been vastly outnumbered if say a brawl would have broken out between the two of them, but he just about ignored me and engaged Chuck in conversation. "I'm actually pretty nervous," I laugh and brush a hand behind my head, nearly knocking the hat on my head clean into the sand. I catch it just in time though and Phil laughs at me.
"Don't be," He says with a genuine smile on his face. "If you need anything, the guys and I will be around." He points a thumb back at the football players and all their brute strength. I guess I must have shied away because Philip looks determined to reassure me. "Hey, what's that look for? We don't bite."
He seems pretty into the whole "collective" idea of his football team. They're like one large family with some sort of crazy growth gene. Brothers with big, broad shoulders and an identical walk that boasts confidence and power. I don't know if I trust any of the other guys, but I feel comfortable enough to approach Phil just in case I need help tomorrow. I shrug my shoulders. "Well, that's obvious. I'm standing right here and I've managed not to get a chunk ripped out of me." And we laugh and I switch subjects. "Hey, where's Lil?"
"Lil..." He says slowly and rolls his eyes. "She went off with Suzie's little brother, Carter. You know him..." And he trails off in distaste. "I hope she's not getting herself into any shit. I'm not helping her out this time."
And I sigh, because by default, that puts me in charge of Lil for the night. Before I can even reprimand Phil about this, he's pulling me into another hug. He says, "Well, alright. I've got to get Kimi home. They have a curfew... so, I suggest you tell Chuckie to get home too."
It's weird that he calls him Chuckie... since the lot of them have pretty much given up that nickname years ago from what I've been hearing, but I don't call him out on it. I say my last goodbyes to them and wave as he and Kimi weave themselves through all the bodies retreating from the shoreline.
"What was that about?" Chuck says to me and I shrug. So he looks over to Tommy and sort of repeats himself, in a rephrased fashion.
"It was about Phil trying to take my fucking girlfriend back, that's what it is." He damn-near snarls and I feel discomfort threatening it's way up my spine. I stifle it though and try to catch more of this story before I go off to find Lil. "He dates her for like two months after we split for a little while and just thinks now that whenever we go through some shit, he can just convince her to get back with him. He's a piece of shit."
I fight the urge to let out a heavy sigh. These people probably couldn't survive a day without some sort of drama affecting their personal life. Instead of making any input, I turn half-way out of the conversation and I tell them I'm going to go find Lil.
"We'll come with you," Tommy says. "I have to get my mind off of all this bullshit."
So we walk down the shoreline, which is no longer cluttered with all of the people and their towels and coolers and boomboxes and stuff, and we make small talk trying to avoid the subject of Lil's doings or Phil's grand scheme to swindle Kimi away from Tommy. Instead we talk about school tomorrow. We talk about our classes and where we'll be sitting in lunch. We talk about this until we find ourselves at the pier. And in front of us, we see Lil, on her knees in front of Carter, who is standing and holding her hair back into a makeshift ponytail.
Tommy is the first to interrupt by clearing his throat, to which Carter jumps back and buttons up his pants, faster than I've ever seen anyone ever move.
He whips toward us and says some jibberish about officers and being arrested until he notices that he's not in the least bit of danger. He starts cracking up. "Good lord, guys... Couldn't you have been a bit more... I dunno, timely? Or something?"
Tommy and Chuck are laughing equally as hard, but Lil and I are just too shocked to do anything but stare at each other. She gathers herself from the ground, wipes the sand off of her clothes, her knees, and strides toward me. She's still red in the face, but manages to look completely nonchalant about the whole thing. "Well, this is awkward." She laughs quietly.
"Pretty much. Never would have figured you'd be the type for an outdoor sexcapade." I say, looking out into the dark ocean in front of us. When I look back, I notice Lil look directly at Tommy and I can see this burning look of victoriousness in her eyes. She actually thinks she's made him jealous. I'm dumbfounded as soon as I notice. I don't know why she put herself in such a low situation just to get back at Tommy Pickles. As if he even cares an ounce about who she blows underneath a pier.
"Well, you know what they say... spontaneity is the spice of life." She chides coolly while she fixes her hair.
I raise an eyebrow. "Is that what they say?"
And she shrugs. "If they don't, then they should start."
We actually share a laugh.
