Me: A warm welcome to you all.
*Everybody stares weirdly*
Jimmy: Maybe she's running high on sugar or something.
Zoey: Let's not even ask.
Kenny: Nanny doesn't own Pokemon!
IMPORTANT A.N.-I APOLOGIZE IF THIS CHAPTER LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. I AM WORKING ON THIS CHAPTER FROM A DIFFERENT COMPUTER SINCE I'M ON VACATION NOW. NEXT CHAPTER, I'LL BE AT HOME, SO IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.
Khoury's POV
"Come on, Lyra, wake up." I shook her again lightly, and this time her eyes fluttered open.
"Huhhh?" was heard softly under the cover. She threw the blankets off and glanced at the clock. It read 5:00.
"What the heck Khoury? 5 AM! That is WAY too early!" She shot back down into the blankets and mumbled, "Wake me up in 4 hours…" I rolled my eyes. She's as sweet as rock candy.
"Come on, Lyra, we have to get ready if we want to see the sun rise. You can see some really cool pokemon this early in the morning!"
"Is that all you care about? Pokemon? I love pokemon too, but there's more to life, you know!"
"Yeah, but it's also supposed to be really beautiful." She swatted me away, and I sighed, exasperated. How she comes to school on time is a mystery to me.
I yanked the covers off, and she groaned and slowly got up, rubbing her eyes like a toddler. I smiled at her messy bed head. Her brown hair was all over the place.
Sure, I have a crush on Lyra, but it's obvious that she would reject me, because who wants a paranoid nerd for a boyfriend?
But then again, she did travel with me, and we were best friend, and she agreed to sleep with me, so maybe she likes me back…
Don't get ahead of yourself.
Yeah, I know, but-Hey! Where the heck did you come from?
I was in here the whole time, dumbo. Idiot much?
I'm just going to pretend you don't exist and pay attention to the more important things in life. Like Lyra.
She slowly swung her legs out, and then drowsily got out of bed. I helped her to the bathroom. When she wakes up, it's almost like she's drunk. She sleep-walks for a while until she finally wakes up in the shower.
I checked my watch. 5:10. We needed to get ready fast, if we wanted to see the sun rise at 6:15.
Lyra's POV
I stumbled out of the door, with Khoury following me. Everyone else was already waiting.
"What took you so long?" Leaf whined.
I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head while admitting, "I might've fell asleep in the shower…" They all rolled their eyes at me as we set off to the board walk.
"Khoury, what's the time?" Marina asked.
"6:05. We have 10 minutes."
"We can make it if we hurry guys. Let's go!" Marina broke into a jog and we all followed suit. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and sprinted ahead of all of us, with Piplup doing this kind of waddle run mix thing.
"Pikachu!"
"Piiiiiiiipppplup."
I was panting and sweaty by the time we reached the thin, long, flimsy, old wooden dock stretching out a few yards into the sea. It was pretty far from the cabin. Or, I was out of shape.
There. Just in time. The sun slowly peeked over the horizon. Ripples formed in the ocean as we silently gaped at the rising wonder. The orange ball of fire elevated higher and higher. The ocean turned from a midnight blue to an aqua shade. Pink, purple, and orange backdrops hazed all around the sun, and it was amazing.
No photographer, poet, or artist could capture such beauty. The only way to store it was in a memory. A gorgeous one at that.
I sighed at the spectacular sight. I was SO happy that Khoury dragged me here at 6:15 AM. I felt as if I could almost grab the sun in my fist, if I just reached out a little more…
Grab the sun in my fist? Huh?
What? Where did that come from?
Darn. That was SO weird.
I stepped forward a few paces, so I was about a yard away from the others. I was at the edge of the dock, pretty deep into the ocean (at least it looked like it was deep…You'll see what she means in a minute, folks.). This was truly awe-inspiring, to see the sunrise.
CRACK!
All of a sudden, there was a sickening crack as the boards split under me, and fell into the ocean with a plop.I felt no solid ground under me for a split second.
You've got to be kidding! When was the last time they fixed this thing anyway?
Probably the last Ice Age...eek!
It all happened so fast, and I screamed and made a huge splash in the water. I thrashed around violently, and bubbles kept popping everywhere. I kept shrieking and shrieking like I was mental or something and nobody was coming to help me. I watched my friend's just stare at me, smirking and laughing. And Khoury was laughing too, which hurt me the most.
Why wasn't he helping me? He always helped me train, and taught me how to make origami Pikachus. Not to mention he's an awesome alarm clock. But he was just standing there, laughing the hardest out of them all, doubling over and wiping a tear in his eye.
Why can't you see why they're laughing? It's obvious as day.
Hey, who's side are you on anyway?
Their side.
Jerk…
Anger surged through me, and tears stung my eyes as I bit my lip, and I kept flailing in the water. I let out my arms and slapped the water (that hurt on my side too, trust me…) and this huge tsunami wave formed and drenched all my friends.
They stood shocked for a few moments, before glaring at me, their hair dripping and their clothes soaked.
"And this was a new shirt too!"
Ahh, revenge was sweet.
Khoury looked at me sternly, and my insides drooped. I hate it when he's angry at me. Last time he got mad, he ditched me in the Ice Path. It was horrible!
"Lyra, stand up."
I looked at him weirdly (sending the message, "Are you serious?"), but he tends to be right about most things, so I stopped my crazy dancing (I think what you're doing is too violent to be called dancing…Shut up.) and set my feet down, trying to find solid ground. To my surprise, I was already practically squatting, and the water was only like, 3 feet deep at the most.
...So, that's why they were laughing…
Thanks you, Captain Obvious!
Love you too! Not.
Khoury came up to me, knelt down, and gave me a hand. I glared at him before ignoring his sweet gesture and hoisting myself up onto the dock.
Everyone else was using each other for support, laughing their heads off. Snorts were in the air and I glared at them all. Ash suddenly became serious, and everybody became quiet because they knew something must be wrong.
"We're so gonna win 'Kanto's Funniest Home Videos'!"
"Pika Pika!"
Ash's mouth broke into a grin as he pulled out this random video camera out of nowhere. He turned on his heel and started sprinting away from a furious yours truly.
"You are going to PAY, Ketchum!" I roared as I dashed after him, everyone else running behind me as we set off back for the cabin.
Ash was a dead Ducklett.
Zoey's POV
"In line, troops! We're going to build a sand castle today, and it better be in ship-shape!"
We all organized ourselves into a single-file line (somehow) and saluted to our supposed superior (yeah right), Marina. "I want to see something real pretty, so we're going to have be fast and make good use of our time."
I was slipping off my flip-flops when Dawn came up to me. "Hey, Zoey, did you read that article about Wallace in 'Coordinators Weekly'? It was really cool. According to that, Wallace's first Pokemon was a Feebas!"
That's interesting. I mean, seeing he's a Champion, a Top Coordinator, and a world class entertainer, it's kind of weird for him to have a Feebas as his first Pokemon. But then again, if you work hard, Feebas can evolve into a Milotic, which is considered to be the most beautiful Pokemon ever.
I sighed. Wallace was sure dreamy, and his Milotic was amazing, but not as awesome as a certain brunette boy from Twinleaf Town…
"A Feebas? What good would that do? It's so ugly, and it's not very strong. Why would WALLACE'S first Pokemon be a FEEBAS? I mean, come on." May was suddenly next to us, hands on her hips, thinking hard.
"Well, any good coordinator would know that a Feebas evolves into a Milotic, one of the most beautiful Pokemon there is." Drew flipped his hair, and added, "But, like I said, any GOOD coordinator would know that, and YOU'RE certainly not one."
May's face turned so red, she looked like she had a sunburn overload. "Take that back!"
"Chill out guys, now get your butts over here before I get them here myself!" Misty screeched, and we all followed her orders and sat down on the wet sand (we were near the water, and it was low tide)
"Okay, we don't have a mold, which makes the job harder and more fun, so we'll have to shape the walls and everything with our hands." Marina started pacing back and forth in front of us while talking and making hand gestures. "Understand? I don't want any fuss, so let's get to work!"
We all let out a whoop (for me a hoarse cheer) and tackled the job.
Well, Marina was sure right about it being hard. Arceus, we can't agree on anything!
Well, what did you expect it to be, a cake walk?
No, but definitely something better than this.
Ash had made a pile of sand (a very pathetic excuse for a "castle" if you ask me…) and was sticking another Electivire Energy Bar Wrapper (I have no idea when he ate that…) on top, and Misty was bonking him on the head with Malletory for how stupid that was. May and Drew were arguing on whether there should be a moat or not. Jimmy was looking at all this and attempting to explain to Marina what a bad idea this was, but she would have none of it, and suddenly Kenny appeared out of nowhere next to me.
Wait, what?
"Our friends sure are crazy, but you gotta love 'em, right?" Kenny shook his head at them, and then grinned at me.
I found myself staring into his eyes. They were black, but shining with humor. I snapped out of it when he snapped (like, with his hand) in front of my face and asked if I was okay. I blushed and meekly nodded.
Good going.
Enh. I'll get better.
PHWEET!
A shrill whistle shrieked, and Giselle, the pretty life-guard, came over. "Uumm, sorry, but, you are like, making WAY too much noise. It's like, bothering other people. So could you just like-Oh, it's YOU guys again."
She walked over to Ash and trailed her finger down his chest, purring. Ash was taken aback, and was blushing furiously. "You know, I think I'll let YOU off…"
Misty was starting to blow up. She grabbed Ash's hand. She's gonna make her move (oh yeah!)! This is so thrilling! "Go Misty!" I silently cheered.
"Back up girl, you're messing with the wrong person! One more time and you'll find yourself at the bottom of the ocean!" Woah. Did not expect that, even from Misty…well, then again, this IS about Ash…
Giselle looked shocked, and stepped back looking weirdly at Misty before gazing at Ash longingly. "Fine, then, I didn't know he was taken…sheesh, give me a break…" Misty chose to ignore this comment.
Giselle had now moved over to Gary, but when she saw Gary's arm, she made a disgusted face. Leaf grabbed Gary's hand and glared at her. Who did she think she was?
She walked over to Paul swinging her hips, trying to show off her "rear end" (that's a nicer way to put it) to the boys on my side, and I cringed in disgust. Doesn't she get that we don't want her here?
She started to stare at Paul, and Dawn shoved her away and stuck her nose in the air. Giselle scoffed in mock hurt and looked over at Kenny. Uh-oh. I was hoping she wouldn't target Kenny…
Bad hair day, I suppose.
Are you kidding? I shampooed it this morning, and it looks absolutely FABULOUS!
Back to the point. Giselle was already in front of Kenny checking him out, looking him up and down as if he was a piece of food or an interesting pokemon or something. I was seething in rage. How dare she!
I shoved Kenny behind me and snapped, "Excuse me, but could you just leave us alone, because we're obviously NOT interested with you! So go and do your lifeguard duties, someone may be drowning or something!"
She stepped back in shock, trying to figure me out, but then shot me an angry look before mouthing, "I'll be back." She walked off, humming a song totally off-key.
"So…where were we?"
Still Zoey's POV
Things started going well after that. After everyone got over that outburst of mine, we all got down on our knees, even Dawn, and started sticking our hands in the sand and shaping things together. At one point, May threw sand at Drew, and we all got involved in a sand fight. But it was over, and with sand dripping and hanging from all of our hair, we were already done with the basic walls of the castle and the outer wall around the castle.
"I'm so tired. Can't we take a stretch break?" Dawn whined while flopping away from the castle.
"Troublesome, we've barely started! How can you be tired?" Paul retorted, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. It was mid-afternoon, the hottest part of day, and we were smack in the middle of the beach, right in direct view of the sun.
"I can't take this anymore. See ya at the water!" Dawn shouted, before taking off for the sparkling ocean. We all dropped our pails and shovels and ran for the ocean too.
I jumped into the water with a huge splash, and Misty dived in without a sound next to me. We both waved to each other underwater before coming up at the same time.
I gasped for air, and moved the hair out of my eyes. Instead of its usual spikes, it was all damp, and sagging to below my shoulders. It was heavy as I moved it out of my eyes.
Khoury asked me something, and me, Lya, and Khoury started a heated discussion before I excused myself and just flopped down on the water with a splash. I was floating aimlessly for a couple minutes when I suddenly bumped into Kenny.
"You know, umm…" Kenny looked down, blushing, twiddling his thumbs.
What?
I have nothing annoying to say right now.
Gee, good going there, conscience…
"Did you say something, Kenny?" Kenny looked up at me, his ears all red (I don't think that was sunburn) and mumbled loud enough for me to hear, "You…you…never mind."
I frowned at him as was going to ask him to spit it out anyway, when out of nowhere, water sprayed all over us. I shrieked girlishly (I don't know why, maybe my inner fan girl?) and found Ash grinning like a mad man. He was shaking his wild soggy hair to get the water out of it, and it was coming all on us. What the heck?
I dunked him under water for that, yelling, "You idiot!" and he resurfaced, coughing.
Misty splashed me for that, and I screamed, "It's on!" Soon, everyone had joined in, and the sand castle was forgotten.
Nobody's POV
The large group of teens in the water came out after a while, and went back to their castle, which was surprisingly intact. They got back to work, and there was hardly a sound between them as they toiled hard to make the best sand castle ever seen at the Kanto Lance Beach.
For a while, it looked like they were going nowhere, because every few minutes, some of them would start arguing on what to do, and they didn't get a lot done. But about an hour later, kids and adults alike kept stopping by their work site and complimenting their castle and telling them to keep it up. They also seemed to be a great motivation, because everyone else got out of the water eventually and started to make their own sand castles.
For the first time since the beach was opened, the only thing that could be heard were the breaking waves and the squawking Wingull, since every kid and a number of adults worked just as hard on their sand sculptures as the fourteen teenagers. A couple of quiet conversations passed around, and once in a while someone started arguing, or a little baby started crying. But that was it.
All of a sudden, one of the teenagers working on the castle got up, the aqua-haired one, who seemed to be in charge. She clasped her hands together, and smiled while saying, "All done!"
Ash's POV
I fell back in exhaustion, while everyone was admiring our creation. I panted, but grinned. It was finally done.
It had an outer wall, with a gap to go into, and then a moat, which was basically a ditch all around the castle. Then there was a small piece of driftwood that we had found that was laid across the moat right into the tall arched door. They were complicated designs carved into the wall (first time we tried that, all the walls crumbled down. Courtesy of yours truly!) on both sides of the door, and there were two wide windows as well (a hole in the wall). The pattern went on, and for all four walls, there were windows (both wide and tall) and flowing pictures.
The roof was much harder to make, since it could cause the whole structure to go crumbling to the ground (it did a couple times too). It was a boring flat roof until Khoury dug out a plastic cup somewhere from his bag, and we used it as a mold (we put sand in it, turned it upside-down, and popped it out onto the roof) and put four towering…towers, on the four corners of the roof.
After that, we sent out a search team (a.k.a. Dawn, Leaf, and Lyra) to find pretty shells, sea glass, and some sea weed. So, now, on each of the towers, there was a short stick stuck into the top with some sea-weed tied to it, so it waved in the air like an epic flag. We stuck the shells on the walls, so a lot of the designs kind of spiraled around them, and we put the sea glass as borders around the windows and doors.
All in all, it looked fantastic, and I was seriously proud. It was amazing what you could do when you work together!
You sound like a kindergartner when you say that. Then again, you always act like one…
And what's that supposed to mean?
"Okay guys, I want pictures!" Marina pulled a camera out of nowhere, and I groaned while face-palming. Marina glared at me, and I took my place. Honestly, I hated taking pictures (if that wasn't already obvious enough…).
First, she took a couple pictures of the sand castle alone. Then we all posed (or just formally smiled, since Marina wouldn't let us be silly unless she was okay with it.) and she took a picture. Then she gave it to Jimmy, who took a picture of us again.
Then Dawn proposed that we each have a couple photo. Nobody agreed to that (surprise surprise) Marina thought it was a good idea, and Dawn changed her words to "who you're closest to".
Well, everyone started rushing, and once the dust cleared, the results were more than obvious. Gary was ruffling Leaf's hair, and Kenny and Zoey were flirting. Marina and Jimmy were blushing, and Khoury was lecturing Lyra on another boring subject. She was yawning, but smiling.
Paul had this awkward arm around Dawn's shoulder (okay, THAT was unexpected!), and as predicted (more like known since the beginning of time!), May and Drew were arguing but holding hands.
Who was I with? Well, I had rushed for carrot-top as soon as Dawn said that. If I had to be with a girl for ANYTHING, make it dancing, battling, or even watching T.V., I would try to be with Misty. Sure, there's Malletory that I've gotta worry about, but honestly, it's a part of her, and it's not really that bad if that's what it takes to get closer to Misty.
I know that I've known Leaf since childhood, way before Misty, but once we three started our journey, and me and Gary became rivals, we started to drift apart. Leaf kind of stayed with Gary, but with Misty beside me, I didn't even THINK about any other girl. I had completely forgotten about Leaf till I came home and Gary was talking about her.
Well, we took turns taking pictures. When I and Mist took our picture, we both did peace signs at the camera. May pumped her fists in the air, and Drew was standing on his toes and doing bunny-ears on her. After Marina shot the picture, May ran off to murder Drew, but she didn't ask for a retake.
Anyway, Dawn did this really cute grin and pretended to be waving to the camera, while Paul smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. Leaf was clinging onto Gary, and both were grinning. Kenny pretended to be fainting dramatically with Zoey trying to catch him (reverse rolls…). Jimmy ruffled Marina's hair, and Lyra and Khoury were doing this alien symbol thing with their hands (maybe some paranoia rubbed off on her…).
Finally, for the finale, Marina ran up to a random passerby and asked nicely if they would take a picture. He immediately agreed ("I couldn't reject such a pretty young girl like you!" Jimmy cares for Marina so much that he gets jealous when an OLDER MAN WHO'S ALREADY MARRIED says that. Ha!) And we all posed in a way where the whole sand castle could be seen, and he clicked some photos, about three of them. We thanked him before he walked away.
We all grinned, until Khoury absentmindedly checked his watch and whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, high tide starts right about…now."
As if on cue, this huge wave reached so far up shore, that it tickled the outer walls of our castle. We gasped, and just when we were going to rush out and do something to protect the castle, another huge wave came up.
Except this one had a lot more power. It curved up, and then like the ferocious monster it was, swept the structure right off its feet. When it backed away, all that was left of it was a piece of seaweed, a broken shell, and a twig that had snapped in half.
My eyes widened in shock. No way. That did not just happen. Someone tell me it didn't.
As if to rub salt in our wounds, a bunch of Krabby and Chorphish came out of nowhere and stomped right over what used to be our proud castle. Ouch.
Oh, come on! Why, Arceus, why? Dialga, darn it, why?
I broke my back working on that thing, and it just crumbles away before my eyes! I swear, if this is a punishment for eating Misty's chocolate bar, it's not fair! Because I didn't eat it, I only ate her crunchy caramel peanut butter thing-a-majig dark chocolate one! I don't know who ate the other one!
Why is everyone staring at me? Why is Misty looking dumbly at me?
Oh crap.
I said that part out loud, didn't I?
"Sorry, Ash, now I know it wasn't you. It must've been Gary or something," Misty said with a sarcastic sweet voice. (Gary in the background: "What? It's not like that, you see..."). "But…ASH KETHCUM, YOU'RE GOING TO WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU!I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ATE MY CRUNCHY DARK CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PEANUT BUTTER THING-A-MAJIG BAR!YOU LITTLE JERK!*SMACK*THAT'S YOUR PUNISHMENT!*SMACK*AND THAT'S TO MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER!*SMACK*AND THAT'S FOR GOOD MEASURE!"
Misty was panting, and I was suffering brain tumor. But I still couldn't get over the loss of our beloved sand castle.
My Mew, it's making my blood boil! How could that just happen-a freak hurricane wave sweep our amazing sand-castle to oblivion, right in front of our eyes, and then expect us to be OKAY with it? I don't think so.
"Ugh, I hate your guts, ocean! In fact, I hate you so much, I'm gonna do something so bad to you, you'll never forget it!" My friends were surprised by my sudden outburst, but I bowled straight toward the ocean.
This needed to be done. One word-payback.
Is payback one word or two words? I know we're spelling it as one, but it's also okay as two.
Look, does it look like I'm interested in spelling and proper grammar right now?
Yes.
Why did I even ask?
As soon as I came to the water's edge, I made my move.
"Take that, you insignificant piece of trash! And that regards to both of you!"
Why both? Well, I had just thrown a random Electivire Energy Bar Wrapper from my pocket into the ocean. I had done a most heinous crime. I HAD LITTERED.
Dun dun dun!
…I'm not really seeing the thrill.
…Way to ruin the moment.
"Whatcha gonna do now, huh? Huh? Where are you at? Where. Are. You. At?"
I was doing this weird victory dance with all of my friends sweatdropping at me. That's when I noticed this little three year old kid looking at the wrapper. He went into the ocean and got it, and then walked to his mommy and said, "Mommy, look! Someone bad littered!"
…Oh, come on!
That's actually quite funny, if you think about it.
Funny? FUNNY! I finally get back at the stupid water, and then some environmentally friendly kid goes and picks it up! What the freaking fudging hell?
I saw the kid walking toward me, pouting. I gulped. The last thing I want is a little toddler bawling his head off and the angry mom coming after me. Believe me, I speak from experience (Babysitting is NOT for me…)
I looked behind me to see Gary snickering, and everyone else packing up with a sour expression. "A little help here?" I begged Paul. He nodded stiffly before saying,
"Hey, kid, this guy over here threw that wrapper into the ocean." He spoke in a gruff voice, but for Paul, this was like a lecture.
… and I'll kill Paul later for that.
I glared at him before looking at the kid with wide eyes. He was in front of me, his mouth open, the mother coming from behind, his eyes starting to overflow…Paul running for his life away from me, following the others back to the beach house. There was no escape for me.
Oh crap. Here it comes.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! MOMMY THIS BOY LITTERED!"
Khoury's POV
Well, after the crazy fiasco of saving Ash from a killer-boy and a rabid mom, we were all pooped. When we came back to the beach house, we all flopped down on the couch (or, to be more accurate, FOUGHT over it) while a bruised Ash landed face-first on the floor.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," Dawn randomly remarked, swaying her hips to a tune she was humming, and heading for the bathroom. When she had disappeared into the room, Paul's face suddenly heated up drastically.
Well, according to my weather measurements this morning, there was a slight chance of passing showers, and there was supposed to be a southern breeze today. It shouldn't be that hot.
You know, for someone who's the Champion of the Orange Island Spelling Bee, it's really weird that you can't see even the most obvious of crushing.
Wait, what? Crushing? What is there that I don't see? There's the fan, the counter, the sofa, my friends, the beautiful Lyra (I think I'm disoriented from the heat…), the cold fridge, the soda, the-
Never mind. I regret even asking.
"Paul, we don't even want to know what you're thinking. It's probably rated R anyway." Gary said, as Leaf rolled her eyes.
"If it involves Dawn, hips, a short skirt, and a shower, count me out." Drew lazily remarked, kicking off his shoes and hitting May in the face with them, causing an angry chase to the death and the open bottle of soda to fall off the table and spill.
As soon as Drew and May were done grumbling and wiping up their mess (that sounded wrong in a wrong way), I turned back to Paul. He was still oddly red, and his hands were trembling, and he was kinda…in a trance…
To be, or not to be, that is the question (A.N. Quoted from Shakespeare's play, Hamlet)-or in this case, what is Paul thinking, that is the question.
You'll never get it.
"I still don't understand. What's wrong Paul?" Ash asked, stuffing food into his already full mouth. Misty rolled her eyes and whacked him with Malletory.
"I agree. I don't get it either." Ash looked at me gratefully, while everyone else groaned. Paul became himself again by taking on an angry look and storming away and slammed his bedroom door shut.
A shrill scream was suddenly heard, followed by a loud thud, a yelp, a sound beating, and a shaken up Paul tumbling out the room with the door locking behind him.
He was a bit pale, but got a stormy look again and yelled, "You should've locked the door, Troublesome!"
"Don't use that tone with me, Paul! That was entirely your fault, and you know it!"
"You sound like my mom!"
"I feel bad for your mom, who has to deal with you every day!"
I just decided to scram, and everybody else followed along. We all knew where this was going. Even so, it looked almost as if…as if Paul was HAPPY arguing with her. Maybe it's just a smirk, but I'm positive he's actually enjoying it…that's so weird, I don't understand why, I mean he and Dawn hate each other…
Ugh…don't you have ANY kind of experience in the matters of love?
No, I'm way too busy for a relationship.
Take some time off, get a life, and THEN take a look back at this stuff. You'll have a whole new level of understanding, BELIEVE ME.
Since I'm not dead yet, I clearly have a life. So, I can't get another one. And I told you, I have too much work to take time off. I'm even studying on this vacation.
For what? It's summer if you haven't noticed.
It's always good to be prepared. Teachers tell you to keep up with your studies during the summer, after all.
Yeah, but they also tell you to do this thing called PLAY. Ever heard of it? It's where you don't do anything that involves school and go do something fun!
School is very fun! It's just that I wish others would feel the same…
Look, if you're going to be so gloomy and stupid, then go and have fun with Conway. Honestly, I don't even remotely understand why everybody else is friends with you anyway.
I never thought about it that way. Do they really want me around?
I'm guessing probably not. I mean, the only reason you're here is because Lyra dragged you in.
But they have lots of other friends too. If Marina decided she wanted me to come along on this vacation too, may be they do like me.
Or maybe they're just using you to do their homework.
Yeah…they probably are…but I'm positive that Lyra cares! I know that Lyra really DOES think of me as a friend, whether the others do or not….right?
But, I've gone way off subject. If Paul is happy arguing with Dawn, then it's almost like…he REALLY likes her, like the love-like kind, not the friend-like kind.
Well, that's a pretty odd match-up if you ask me, I mean a bubbly, pink, positive, cheerful, hyper, talkative girl with a cold, cruel, inactive, strategic, mean, jerkish guy-that's a recipe for disaster. Yet, love knows no boundaries.
And if that's true, then maybe, just maybe, Lyra might get to see me in a different light too.
Still Khoury's POV
I groaned for about the millionth time before sitting up on the couch.
We were at the beach, yet everyone was playing games on their cell phones, texting, reading, or training on the patio. It was gorgeous outside, yet we were cooped inside for no reason at all! When you're at the beach, you try to spend every possible moment outside. This was stupid.
"Khoury, shut up."Gary snapped, as he kept tilting his IPhone for some racing game. He was biting his lip in concentration, and Leaf was behind him, worried, and wanting to make sure he won. She was like his silent personal cheering squad.
I groaned super loud at that and then went back to moping around. But that all changed when Marina came in.
"I thought that when I came out of the shower, you guys would at least get off your games and start talking or something. But no, you're still playing. We're at the beach, and you're still cooped up on your video games! You can do this all at home; right now, we're at the beach, and you can't come back here during the school year, can you? So I want those butts off the couches and moving back towards that dock! We've got to see the sunset too if you want to get another item crossed off my list!"
Quite true, what Marina said.
As we were jogging toward the dock, I wondered if something would happen again like this morning. You gotta admit, Lyra was hilarious! I hope I didn't hurt her feelings or anything, but it was just so funny!
Oh well, let's just hope this time, we'll just get to enjoy it like in a normal circumstance.
With normal people.
And what are you trying to get at?
Anyways, we took the sea route to the dock and all stood together in a group watching the sun set.
It was simply breathtaking. The heat of the day slowly transformed into a chilly gusts. The blue sky faded to a darker blue and finally, a midnight blue as the sun went lower and lower. The sun seemed to make a pathway for its self; even though the blue sky was slowly growing darker, around the sun, it was all golden honey, juicy oranges, and blossoming flowers.
But sure enough, the sun brought its glorious self down, finally disappearing under the horizon. The serene aqua waves reflected the light, and soon became a navy wasteland, rippling and still, small waves breaking on the shore under the slightest breeze.
I gazed in awe as the show finally ended and the sun slipped away under the horizon. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard teeth chattering beside me. I saw Lyra, hugging herself and jogging in place.
I shook my head as I pulled off my blazer and pulled it over her. She didn't even notice it until, after a couple of seconds, the warmth hit her and she stared in shock before murmuring, "Thanks."
I then looked around me, to find an oddly peaceful atmosphere around us. Ash was laughing at Misty, who was surprisingly wearing a pink hoodie (A.N. In the second Pokemon movie, "The Power Of One", she wore one), and she was bonking him on the head with Malletory. Even in the dark, anyone could see her cheeks were tainted red.
May had suffered the same fate as Lyra, but Drew had come to the rescue, being the pervert gentleman he was and had draped his purple jacket over May, who was blushing under his gaze. Dawn was "awing" with stars in her eyes, while Paul glanced over at her with something that was, sure as a Gible, a small, yet certain smile. Marina and Jimmy were both holding hands, stealing glances at each other from time to time, and, honestly, we were all acting like love struck ditzes.
Who's talking here, lover boy?
Will you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate here!
Oh, and I suppose the subject is Lyra, right?
…Yeah…
Lyra looked beautiful, basked in the glow of the setting sun. With her hat off, and her short brown hair swaying in the breeze, any guy would want her. She had on my blazer, which was over her purple spaghetti strap, and she had on short white shorts. All in all, she looked amazing.
But, who was I to think that she might like me like that? After all, I'm just a nerd with no clue about reality. Heck, I didn't even know if the gang even liked me as a friend!
But, there was a first for everything.
And now's the time.
To find out, well, whether everybody really does like me and wants to be friends with me or not.
Time to speak up. Tell people what I think.
Let's go!
Nice pep talk you got there.
Thank you.
I nudged Lyra with my finger, and she looked up at me, drowsy. She must've been drifting off to sleep. Normally, I would've let her go back to sleep, but this was important.
"Lyra…do you think…do you think of me as a friend? Does everybody else think of me as a friend? Or am I just an annoying nerd that's always at the back of the group?"
Lyra's brown eyes had lit up for a second, like an old spark ignited, but then it died down, and her eyes softened, in this kind of sad way. "What are you talking about Khoury? Of course you're a friend. You're my best friend! What do you mean, an annoying nerd? No way! It's good to be smart you know!"
I smiled, but I already knew she'd answer that way. Of course we were friends, but what about the others?
"You want to know if the others think of you like that, don't you? I know! I'll ask them! HEY, GUYS, KHOURY WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU THINK OF HIM AS A FRIEND, OR AN ANNOYING NERD!"
...I'm not one to use "bad words", but now's a good time.
Crap.
I want to die in a hole.
NOW.
Everybody stared at me quizzically, while Lyra beamed like the setting sun. I shrunk away, hoping to not be seen.
Yeah right. Tough luck kid. They're on to you.
Give me a break. I'm trying to avoid total public peer pressure humiliation right now.
…Okay, you REALLY need to get outside more.
Marina was the first to snap out of it, smiling. "Khoury, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. What did you think, that we were using you for homework or something?"
...I always knew she was psychic...
"No way! Khoury, you're a part of the group, and nothing will ever change that. Sure, you're a little new, but all you've got to do is ask, and we'll do anything!" Zoey paused. "Within reason of course, so don't get any ideas."
Soon enough all of them were nodding and giving words of encouragement. The boys thumped me on the back, and did foreign "guy stuff" (a.k.a. weird punk talking, rapping, etc.).
Gary said, "Actually, having you for homework was really-", but Leaf stomped on his foot, so he grinned and said, "I was just kidding man! Jeez, Leaf, take it easy, will ya!" I'm still not sure about him though. He has some kind of weird hatred for me, I'm positive.
That's just you and you're overactive imagination and creepy paranoia senses.
Maybe so, but still.
But, it's really great to know, that the gang are really friends, and they're not just using me…
But you know, they really seemed like they were ready to get to know you. Maybe it's something else that's making you suddenly think so hard about your relationship with them.
For a seemingly dumb conscience, you may be right.
Well, I am-Wait, what! Back up! Dumb? Well, excuse me, I'll have you know that I-
Just shut up. I think I've figured it out.
Figured what out?
The gang is ready to know me. They want to be good friends, close and tight just like they are with the others. But the only reason we're still just "buddies" right now is because I haven't opened up to them yet. I'm the one who's closing up and not letting them see who's inside and get to know the real Khoury.
If I really wanted to be true friends with them, it's not them who needs to change, it's me. I need to open myself up more, try new things, and maybe, I will gain something out of it. It IS useless to stay inside all day when you can accomplish so much more outside.
I feel like a proud mom right now.
I'll choose to ignore you right now.
And when I decide to change, I've already begun to change, haven't I?
Maybe this beach vacation is a good thing. It'll give me a chance to get the brothers and sisters that I don't have-from the "acquaintances" I have now.
And with that, my learning experience and the sun, went out like a candle.
Drew's POV
As the sun disappeared under the horizon, I looked over at May. I was surprised to find she had actually dozed off, using my shoulder as a pillow. She looked so cute, the way her bangs fell in the naive fashion over her eyes, and how she was clutching the jacket I gave her as a blanket, and shivering in the wind.
Darn, I find it impossible to believe she HASN'T been taken yet. Who wouldn't want her, and dream about it all the time?
Apparently the general public.
Shut up. It was a rhetorical question.
I was afraid. If I shifted my shoulder to get up like the others were, then I would wake her up. And I DEFINITELY didn't want to do that, believe me.
I sighed. It would have to be done, as everyone was waiting for me now. I moved my arm, and her head started falling to the ground before she woke up, startled. She got up, rubbed her eyes tiredly, and yawned.
"Good evening, you're Highness. Have you enjoyed your hundred years of sleep on my shoulder, dear Sleeping Beauty? 'Cause I sure didn't." I remarked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Now all I had to do was wait for the explosion.
But surprisingly, that didn't happen, and she held out her hands to me while groaning, "I'm too tired for that. Piggyback me, Drew!" her head rolling on to her shoulder.
I stared at her with wide eyes, an obvious blush creeping on my face. I guess that was better…in a way.
In a GOOD way. You're never gonna get her to like you if all you do is get her angry and be her enemy.
But I'm so much more to her than that! I'm also her best friend! You know, she once told me she'd give me a BFF bracelet on Friendship Day if I wasn't a boy and that wasn't "unmanly".
I'm very happy you're a boy too. The host I had before you was a freaking princess of the world! Honestly, Dawn would be a punk compared to her. Worst part of my life.
Ouch. Seriously, is that even possible, a girl girlier than Dawn?
Yeah, I know. Tell me about it.
Well, back to reality. Everybody was smirking at me (I have copyrights on that move, you know!), I could just feel it.
I sighed, before smiling (yeah, I know, as much as I was scared, I actually DID want to do it) and picking her up and putting her on my back (carrying bridal style was out of the question!).
"You know, for someone who pigs out every day, you're not that heavy." I told her, but she was already asleep in my neck, her cheek nuzzling my nape.
I shivered (it wasn't that cold…) at her touch and started to move with the others.
It was actually fun. I liked this. We should do it more often. Though having everybody stare at me, smirk, and gossip was not fun.
"Shut it! You'll wake her up!" I hissed at them, but they only giggled and talked louder. Jerks. When I take care of May, nothing happens!
Yeah, right. You're not a tough guy like that at all.
You're right...but still. I wish I could do something more.
"Woah! Check that out!" Ash suddenly yelled randomly, and I shot my head around to glare at him, but I was silenced at the sight.
"Huh! Mom, I swear I was doing my homework!" May shouted, falling off my back with a sickening thud (that I cringed at) but then stopped as she gazed on the wonder before us.
It was pitch black now, but the night looked decked up for a party, with millions of Volbeat and Illumise buzzing around, and their lights shining brightly. Gentle breezes carried couples off, while some playful ones danced around each other. The sounds they made seemed to be musical, and everything was all like a dream.
It was magical. (A.N. Fireflies by Owl City, with a few words altered…)
May: You would not believe your eyes…
I heard May start softly next to me, though no one else noticed. She didn't see me though, she was still mesmerized by the light show. But, if only she knew that I thought she was more beautiful that anything…
That was so corny.
The way to a girl's heart IS being corny!
May: You would not believe your eyes
If ten million Illumise
Lit up the world
As I fell asleep
May sang more powerfully this time, and we all smiled. These kind of moments were rare, when honestly, we were just being friends, and not laughing, or fighting, or eating or whatever. We were just being friends, in silence, and enjoying the moment for what it was.
'Cause they filled the open air
Left teardrops everywhere
You'd think me to be rude,
But I would just stand and stare
The Illumise were swaying, enjoying the music, while leaving sparkles glistening in the air…like teardrops. It was like they knew! And all we could do was be, well, impolite, and stare! Who knew!
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance
May was grinning like a little kid, and she squeezed my hand. I looked over at her, flustered. I nervously tried to wipe off the blush from my face, and the silly smile (May was rubbing off on me), but all was in vain.
Everybody else was gazing on at the Pokemon, while Marina and Jimmy were dancing around, pretending to be gentleman and lady. But of course, everyone could see that it wasn't just funny for them, and the obvious redness on their faces totally DID NOT give it away.
A Bidoof above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything's is never as it seems
When I fall asleep
I couldn't help myself now. It was too much. I wanted to do this for a long time, and well, now seems like a pretty good time to do it. There's a first for everything, right?
May: Leave my door open just a crack
Drew: Please take me away from here
My voice came out a little hoarse, but strong. May looked over at me surprised (as did everyone else) but I just shook it off. Then May beamed and seemed to light up the entire world. Or at least mine.
May: 'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
Drew: Please take me away from here
May: Why do I tire of counting Mareep
Drew: Please take me away from here
May: When I'm far too tired to fall asleep
May: To ten million Illumise
I'm weird 'cause I hate good-byes
I get misty eyes as they said farewell
But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar
The Illumise were drifting away now, and we were all running after them, still quiet, listening to the sounds of the night and May's beautiful singing. We didn't want them to leave!
But I did smile when I saw a little kid trying to catch an Illumise in a giant net. Thankfully, he missed (I don't think it'd fit in a regular jar…)
May: I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Awake when I'm asleep
'Cause my dreams are bursting at the seams…
May reduced to a whisper when she sang the last verse, and we all became sad as the Illumise finally flew away for good at the closing of the song. I guess they were only here to listen to May.
May giggled, and all of us, fourteen teenagers, seven boys and seven girls, best friends to the end, stood hand and hand on the beach, breezes slowly ruffling our hair, gentle waves breaking on the shore, and peaceful thoughts and touching songs ringing thorough our heads and our hearts.
"So…what's for dinner?"
Me: Okay, so MAYBE I forgot to mention that this was a super long , random, kinda pointless, fluffy chappie in the beginning…
May: Thanks for making me have an awesome voice!
Dawn: What about me?
Leaf: Oh, don't get so full of yourself, us other girls want to sing too!
Me: Don't worry, I've got it all planned out.
Marina: If you have it planned out, then it's obviously going to go wrong…
Me: What?
*Everybody rolls eyes*
Me: No seriously, what do you mean by that? R&R plz? *still puzzled*
ANOTHER IMPORTANT A.N.-IF ANY OF YOU READ MY PROFILE (I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU DIDN'T), YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT I SAID I ALREADY HAD CHAPPIES 1-11 WRITTEN. SO, NOW, CHAPPIES WILL BE UPDATED ON A WEEKLY BASIS. EVERY SATURDAY, 'KAY? EXCEPT THIS SATURDAY. CHAPPIE 12 WILL BE POSTED ON JANUARY 21. THEN ALL CHAPPIE WILL BE POSTED ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
Sign up for Beach Madness-today! Next chappie comes free if you review now! COOKIES FOR REVIEWERS!
P.S. PLZ check out my new blog! You can access it from my profile page, at the top where it says Webpage. The blog has info about my stories and stuff, so you might want to see it. IT ALSO GIVES COOKIES!0.0