never there Chapter 12: yellow moon, a lords of dogtown fanfic

Don't own the story, only my characters.

Thank you everyone for leaving me reviews that made me continue!!! You don't understand how amazing that feels.

The days passed into weeks, and the weeks slipped into months, and before I realized it, it was August. A slight cringe shot through my spine when I realized it was already August 16th, and I hadn't recognized it. School would be starting soon, and as I had already considered myself a dropout, I still knew I was smart. Hell, when I applied myself, which was rare, I got near perfect scores. Also, we had ceased waking early and going to surf, which seemed logical, due to all of the skating, but I missed it. And strangest of all, we began getting recognized, or, at least, Zephyr and the Zephyr team. Skip was getting orders from other countries, like Australia or Brazil, and it was beginning to grow into stressful work. He morphed into a drunken version of a businessman, while Montoya and Chino, still desired to surf all day.

These changes didn't affect me, though, because Jay and I had been blissfully happy. After our rocky start, we grew into a pleasant relationship. Our decision to move in together had brought us closer, and I was relieved. The only problem we had was trust; it wasn't that I didn't trust him, but sometimes I felt inferior, which I didn't like. With the slight fame, or notoriety, girls were forming a line to be with Jay. It annoyed me.

On this August 16th, I was lying on my back, allowing those thoughts to wash over me with my eyes shut. My hair was damp and wavy, as I had just showered, and was staining Jay's bed with water. The motion coming from the foot of the bed told me Jay had sat down on the bed with me. I felt his warm hand caress my calf, and it slowly moved up my leg, until he reached my hip. He then softly felt the side of my ribcage, and found his way to my cheek. As he was stroking it, I opened my eyes.

"Oh, did I wake you up?" he asked gruffly.

"I wasn't sleeping," I responded.

"Hard to tell," he replied, flipping over to stare at the ceiling with me. "Are you tripping or something?" he questioned with a laugh.

"Ugh," I sighed, turning to look at his profile. I snuggled into his shoulder, and he lifted his arm to put around me. He nuzzled into my neck, and I laughed, having always been ticklish.

"What?"

"Nothing," I lied, smiling. He grinned and leapt on top of me, and began tickling me at every spot he could reach. I managed to choke out,

"Stop! Stop!"

He collapsed on top of me, giving me a surprisingly gentle kiss, which became rough and passionate. He ran his hands smoothly through my wet hair, continuing to cup my face in his palms. We then stripped off our shirts and pants, and he was about to remove my bra when we heard,

"Ow, ow!" Both of our heads snapped apart, and beheld Tony standing in the doorway, smirking. I immediately let my arms fall off of Jay, and groaned. Jay chuckled and said,

"What, you wanna pick up some new moves?"

"You know I taught you everything," he answered as he plopped onto the bed. He picked up my damp shirt, wringed it, and folded it.

"Uh, man, are you gonna watch?" Jay snapped from on top of me. Tony looked at us as if he hadn't realized we were still there.

"Well, I'm supposed to tell you two something," he informed us, and then said, "Kimber, nice ass."

"What did you need to tell us?" I asked, exasperated. I was totally out of the mood now.

"We're leaving to Del Mar tomorrow." When Jay and I were silent, he carried on, "Oh, I guess you two wouldn't have heard, you know, 'cause you can't hear over the sound of Kimber moaning, but the team's going to the Ocean Front Skate Festival."

"Seriously?" Jay perked up. "Damn, you couldn't have told us sooner!" he growled, knocking Tony on the back of the head. The sight was slightly comical, being as Jay was in his boxers. Tony sprung up, rubbing his head.

"You guys can continue now, but there's a thing at my place later."

This was when I perked up. "Do you have tequila? Or should I bring my own bottle?"

"Nah, nah, I got it," he winked. Jay threw his sheet over me, as I hadn't noticed Tony eyeing me.

"Stop looking at her," he whispered, as he got off the bed and bumped Tony's shoulder.

"What, you starting to get protective, Jayboy?" he leered, while Jay slid on his jeans.

"Whatever," I remarked, instead of Jay. I glided out from under the cloth he had thrown over me, and threw on my shirt. I then turned to Tony, "Is just the team coming?"

"Yeah, unless they bring other people," he shrugged.

"'Kay," I said, and brushed past Tony, entered the kitchen, and began to dig threw the fridge. I received a sharp slap to my butt, and heard Tony laugh,

"Damn, it's hard too!" I popped my head out of the icebox, with the carton of orange juice in hand.

"Yeah, and you better believe your never getting it," I grinned. Standing behind Tony, Jay smiled at me. His eyes sparkled at me, and he started to form words, but I gulped some juice at that point, blocking my view of him. I brought the carton down quickly, too quickly, and some orange liquid spilled down the front of my shirt.

"Shit," I moaned, as the guys cracked up. While, I was cleaning my shirt, I couldn't help but wonder what words Jay wanted me to silently understand.

I sucked deeply on the bong, taking a hit that made the neck solid white with smoke. I held it in, forcing my face to go red, and burning the back of my throat. When I finally blew out the smoke, I could hear Jay saying,

"Jesus, I still can't believe you only told us today."

"Hey man, I'm sorry about it. Does that make you feel better?" Tony replied, with Blanca sitting on his lap. Jay swiped the bong from in front of me, and took his own hit. The Rolling Stones were booming from Tony's house, and even though it was one of their slower songs, it echoed off the walls perfectly.

It is the evening of the day

I sit and watch the children play

Smiling faces I can see

But not for me

I sit and watch as tears go by

"So, chica, I hear Tony walked in on you two," I glared at Tony through the smoke. Jay choked on his hit, and began coughing. Blanca simply stared at me, so I said smartly,

"Yeah…" while in my head I was thinking, 'Do you really ask someone you barely know that?'

My riches can't buy everything

I want to hear the children sing

All I hear is the sound

Of rain falling on the ground

I sit and watch

As tears go by

I saw red hair bobbing above me, and shouted without thinking, "Red Dog!" The head immediately spun towards me, and he came striding over to the couch Jay and I were seated on. He flung himself upon the chair beside us, and across from Blanca and Tony.

"I've got some coke, if you want any," he offered. I shook my head, knowing when I was on cocaine I got angry extremely fast. Jay nodded, and I cocked my eyebrow. I had nothing against cocaine, as I had done it quite a lot, but his temper flared while on it too. It is the evening of the day

I sit and watch the children play

Doin' things I used to do

They think are new

I sit and watch

As tears go by

When Red Dog started to create the lines, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist, so I got up, yelling,

"Shots, anyone?"

In an instant, I was pouring five shots, for Peggy, Biniak, Shogo, Sid, and myself.

"Cheers," I called out, lifting my shot glass. We all knocked them back, making faces, and chasing them with beer. The process kept going, and before I knew it, I had done six shots. My vision was blurred, and feet unsteady. There was a slack smile on my face I couldn't wipe off.

"Another," I yelled. I only poured one, and gulped it down.

"Body shots!" someone hollered, pulling me forward. My grin became looser as I let a guy I couldn't recognize drag me forward. He picked me up and swung me onto a counter. I propped myself up onto my elbows shouting, "Who's first?"

A flock of guys surrounded me, but one raced to the front. I pulled up my shirt, revealing my navel, and allowed him to lick it, and then sprinkle salt on that area. He was handed a shot, and I picked up a lime that was lying by me, and placed it between my teeth. He slobbered up the salt on my stomach, swallowed the tequila, and took the lime from my mouth. As soon as my mouth was free, I said loudly,

"I need another fucking shot."

"Like hell you do!" I heard someone answer. I turned my head quickly and the rest of my weight went with it, crashing to the floor. Being as drunk as I was, this didn't hurt, so I popped up and saw Jay.

"Jayboy!" I cried, falling onto him, but catching myself around his neck.

"What the hell Kimber? You're letting other guys lick you? You fucking slut!" he laughed maliciously. I looked up into his face confusedly.

"Wh-What?" I hiccupped.

"You let guys do anything to you. I'm an idiot for thinking you actually cared about me."

"No, no, I didn't do that," I said, even though I had. I wasn't really sure of what I was saying.

"You did! I saw it!" he still wasn't yelling, but talking loudly.

"Why are you so mad at me?" I said softly, a tear leaking out of my eye. This surprised me, but I was always emotional when drunk. His face softened for a split second, but then the anger boiled back into his eyes.

"I'm in love with you, that's why! But you don't give a damn!" he spit, ripping my arms away from him. I stumbled, struggling to balance myself. When I finally had, Jay was nowhere to be seen.

"Jay," I whispered, staring at all of the people. In my drunken state, I clumsily led myself out of the house, tripping down the stairs outside of Tony's place, and falling on to the concrete. I pushed myself up and tottered down the dark sidewalk, not sure of what had just happened, or where I was. Though I knew I hadn't gotten far, as I could hear the opening notes of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire", and spun around, staring back at the direction I had just came. Before I could make up my mind on whether to go back or keep walking, my throat filled with vomit. I fell to my knees in a nearby bush, splattering everything in my stomach inside of the bush. It felt like I had been there an eternity, when lights flashed onto me. Fear bolted through me, thinking it was the police. I remained with my head down, spitting the traces the vomit left in my mouth.

"Kimber?" a familiar voice yelled.

"Stacy?" I bellowed.

"Yeah, do you need a ride home?" he trotted over to me with a concerned look.

"No," I shook my head three times. "I'm just gonna sleep here tonight…"

"Okay, come on," he said, dragging me to my feet.

"No, no, you don't have to," I said over and over again, thought letting him pick me up and set me in the passenger seat. When he slammed the car door, I let my head fall backwards, unsure if I was done puking. He hitched himself into the drivers seat and gasped,

"Jesus, what happened to your elbow?"

"Huh?"

"Your elbow, it's bleeding like crazy!"

"Oh," I said, taking a look at it. He was right; there was a deep gash I could see my bone through. There was dirt stained around the edge of the cut, and blood was trickling down my forearm. "Stace," I chuckled, "If I could lick me elbow, this wouldn't be bad! But I can't… I'm such a fucking failure!"

He started the car, and both of us stared ahead for about a minute before,

"No you're not."

"Yeah I am."

"Hey, I'm the failure. Me and Kathy just had a fight because I wouldn't have sex with her in front of Tony," he laughed dryly.

"That's nothing. I think me and Jay just had a fight because I was letting people do body shots, or something." I started giggling. "Then he called me a slut."

Stacy stiffened at this as my giggles broke into roaring laughter.

"He really called you that?"

"Well, it's not out of the ordinary," I said, swiping my hand across the air to prove I didn't mind. Tomorrow morning, I would wake up, and Jay and I would be fine; I was sure of it. "I'm always called a slut. Plus, he was on coke."

"You don't deserve that," he quietly said. Before I could absorb that statement, I leaned out of the window that was permanently stuck down, and threw up.

The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache. There was sunlight pouring in from a window, and it was hurting my head more, even though my eyes were shut. The bed I was lying in was incredibly soft, and I realized I was lying there alone. This fact wouldn't have bothered me normally, except it meant I wasn't in Jay's bed. Eyes still tightly closed, I attempted to remember if I had slept with someone else. Before I could retrace my steps far enough back to where I wasn't shitfaced, the sound of a door opening made me focus on keeping my body still. If it was another guy, I didn't want them to know I was up. I sensed that they were bustling around the room, and then drew closer to the bed I was using.

"Kimber, Kimber, wake up…" the voice drawled. 'I know that voice,' my beating head thought. "Come on. We gotta go meet at Sid's for the Ocean Front Festival. Wake up."

My eyes cracked open, and the pain in my head went to a higher level, but I breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Stacy.

"That's today?" I moaned. "But I'm so hungover…"

"I know. That's why I'm gonna get some weed in you, you'll be fine."

"Okay, okay, gimme some space."

He glanced at me suspiciously, as though he thought I was going to go back to sleep, and left the room. I climbed out of bed unwillingly, and saw my clothes had changed. As I had no recollection of putting on Stacy's shirt and a pair of his boxers, I wondered if he had stripped me down, or if I had done it myself. I began searching the room, and discovered a pair of cutoffs, and my Zephyr shirt. I didn't care to think of how they'd gotten there; I would simply ask Stacy later. I dismissed the fact that I might have pranced around naked in front of Stacy and tried to pick up the pieces of last night. While I was dressing, I started thinking hard. We had gotten to Tony's, and… did Jay do some lines? I vaguely remember coke coming into play. Jay and I had an argument, and somehow I ended up puking in some bushes. By the time I was thoroughly confused by how little I remembered I leaned back on the bed, only to experience a sharp stinging in my left elbow. I glanced down at it, and noticed it had a wad of gauze taped to my skin. As if I hadn't been confused enough.

'I need to talk to Stacy,' I decided, exiting the bedroom. I hated admitting defeat, but I needed to know why I went home with Stacy and not Jay.

"Hey… Stacy?"

"Hey," he said hurriedly, brushing by me and handing me a joint. "Here, that's some strong shit, so you'll feel better."

"Thanks," I responded, puffing on it. "So," I began again, after blowing out a steady stream of smoke. "Mind telling me what the hell happened last night?"

"Dude, I don't even know what happened to your elbow. I just cleaned it," he chuckled, taking the joint from me and throwing himself across the couch. I perched myself gently upon a chair.

"Okay… So, how did I end up at your place?" I really didn't care about my elbow.

"Well, I found you hurling in some bushes right around the corner from Tony's house."

"Was I alone?"

"Yeah, you said you and Jay got into a fight," he averted his eyes when he said this.

"About what?" I persisted.

"Something like, you were doing body shots, I guess, and he was on coke, and he said some things… I'm sure you're fine," he sighed.

"Body shots? Jesus, I'm ridiculous," I said quietly. "Wait, what did say?"

"You said he said he called you a slut, or something," he replied hastily. A slut? Hadn't it been just yesterday he was covering me up from Tony's view? I must have looked as though I was going to ask more questions, because Stacy said,

"Hey, we need to get to Sid's."

He stood up, smashed the joint in an ashtray, and straightened his Zephyr shirt. "Come on," he added, when I showed no signs of movement. I got up, my head spinning slightly, and followed him outside into the blazing heat.

"Rufus, you're so beautiful," I cooed to the giant headed brindle Pit-bull. He belonged to Sid, but this dog didn't act like a dog. He had beautiful brown eyes that stared into your soul. I had always loved going to Sid's amazing house, but mainly because of Rufus.

We were lounging by the pool, which would be ideal for draining. Jay had sent Sid inside to ask his dad. Stacy was lying on his stomach, gazing into the depths of the pool. Tony was sitting on a pool chair, and Jay was beside Stacy, but on his side, shoving his face with crackers. I was the only one talking, and it was all directed at Rufus. There was an awkward feeling in the air that I had never felt between us. Jay hadn't even pretended to be concerned about my elbow.

Tony kept glancing from Jay to me, me to Stacy, Stacy to Jay, and back again. Stacy seemed to be in his own world. And Jay was being shifty. He hadn't said a word to me all day, and couldn't even bear to look at me. As much as this tore me up, I pretended not to notice.

Suddenly Jay sprang up. Sid was approaching us.

"Hey, what'd your dad say?" Jay asked.

"What'd he say? Sid, are you high? The pool's for swimming," Sid responded. Jay wasn't done though.

"Just tell him we'll fill it back in when we're done," Jay pleaded.

"Yeah he said if you get hurt you'll sue him." When Sid said this, I laughed out loud.

"We won't sue him," Jay said through mouthfuls of crackers.

"He said you parents will," Sid replied simply.

"Dude, our parents can't even afford lawyers," Stacy piped up. So he had been listening, and made a really good point. Tony jumped from his chair and to Sid's side.

"Hey man, hey man, let me talk to your dad," he chimed in.

"Hey man, the only Mexicans my dad talks to push lawnmowers," Sid joked, swinging his arm around Tony's neck. Tony started playfully fighting him. Before they could get far, honking blared in the distance.

"Hey, you guys, it's Skip, come on," Tony said, pausing from the fight him and Sid were having.

Everyone leapt up and began sprinting in the general direction of the noise. Rufus ran beside me barking, while shouts of, "Hey shotgun!" and "No I get shotgun!" rang through the air.

Somehow, in the shuffle, I had ended up in the middle of Skip and Stacy in the front-seat. The smell of Skip's burger was nauseating me, and I was thinking about asking Stacy to switch seats with me, so that I could hurl some more. The conversation of the backseat floated up to reach my ears.

"Seriously, we should drain it when he goes on his next business trip," Jay was saying.

"Yeah, and have you all killed, good one though. Good idea, but no," Sid said sarcastically. As much as I wanted that pool drained, I was becoming increasingly annoyed with Jay, and chortled at Sid's remark. I could practically feel Jay's topaz eyes burning into the back of my head. Even though I wasn't facing him, I knew he was gnawing on his nail, because it was a habit of his. He only did it when he was preoccupied or nervous. I couldn't tell which one. Suddenly, Jay leaned out the window, shouting on the top of his lungs,

"Kiss me granny, love to get me some of the gray beaver!" Despite my indignation with Jay, I spun around in time to see two elderly women in long fur coats standing on a street corner. A smirk crept onto my face, turning into a burst of laughter, along with the rest of the guys.

"Come back when your balls drop!" one of the ladies yelled back. This only made everyone laugh so hard our stomachs hurt.

"Ooh yeah, you lookin' good!" he jeered, shaking his fist. He emitted some short cheers as we passed the two.

"Go back! Go back!" Sid commanded leaning forward and bellowing in Skip and my ears. By now all of us were cracking up, and for a second, we forgot what had come between us.

It was then I realized something was between all of us. I glanced in the backseat, and caught Tony's eye. He appeared to be studying me. He snapped his head away as soon as he registered I was staring back.

Something had definitely found it's way in the middle of us. I wasn't sure if it was anything to worry about, or how it involved all of us, but it scared me. A sharp honk from behind made me jump. I turned around in my seat and saw Red Dog driving Peggy, Biniak, and Shogo. I grinned slightly, the thought still plaguing my mind.

When we finally pulled into the parking lot, Jay had hopped out, hanging onto the bumper while riding his skateboard. For once that day, the thought of what was going on with Jay and I was chased from my mind. There were so many teams there, and shockingly, fans. My mouth dropped open and Stacy lightly pushed me smirking,

"Snap out of it." I followed him out of the car, and blinked in the sunlight. We were in Huntington Beach, and it I was surprised how clean it was. The sounds of girls shrieking "I love you Tony!" made me stare at him. He was taking it all surprisingly well, signing boards, and smiling at all of the girls. Skip was striding through all of the different companies, ignoring them. Stacy stayed by my side, and I had already loss track of Jay.

"Come on," Stacy whispered into my ear, his breath tickling it.

We approached the throng of people surrounding the area all the teams were to skate on. Tony was already preparing himself, so I pushed to the front of the crowd, with Stacy right behind me.

"Oh I'm sorry," a gray-eyed boy apologized as he bumped into me.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," I said nonchalantly. He then did a double-take.

"Whoa, you're on the Zephyr team?"

"Yeah," I snapped, knowing it was because I was a girl. No one ever treated Peggy like she didn't deserve it; why did I always get that? "Why?"

"Well, I mean-"

"Hey man," Stacy interrupted, stepping in front of me. "She's a great skater who could probably kick your ass. Not to mention, she's better looking. So lay off."

I was shocked. Stacy noticed I caught hell for being a girl? The guy looked a little offended, and stalked off.

"Whoa, dude, thanks," I said lamely. He contemplated me briefly before we both heard the screams of "Tony! Tony!" and focused our attention on him.

He went over the ramp, sliding in front of some loud girls, who appeared honored by his presence; I rolled my eyes. The crowd had started chanting, "Tony. Tony. Tony." He finished his run with another slide, where he remained basking in the attention with an enormous smile plastered on his face.

Out of nowhere, I saw Jay's face, contorted in concentration. He flew off the ramp landing it, slid in a circle, touching his hands to the ground, while the crowd sang his own name. For some unexplainable reason, it ripped at my insides to watch Jay. So instead, I studied the crowd. I found Tony, who was examining Jay as though he was thinking how he could do everything better. Maybe this was only my imagination though.

After Jay had finished his run, I gave Stacy a reassuring smile. He then tucked his shining hair behind his ear, a girls voice cried, "Stacy!" and he pushed off. He slid, accomplished two full spins, and continued with a zig-zagging motion. I noted that Tony was still watching intently. Stacy completed with a double slide, his hair flying everywhere. He stood up and moved off of the area, when no sooner, Tony came flying from off of the top of a lighthouse, landing his jump perfectly. The entire crowd was screaming as he yelled, "Alva!" while flipping his hair, and fiddled his tongue out if his mouth. The photographers were going crazy, and a mob of girls flocked around him. He somehow got a hold of a marker and was signing the girl's thighs, stomachs, and chests. I caught a glimpse of Stacy and Jay, who looked both proud and baffled.

My stomach gave an uneasy flip. I couldn't compete, not today. I walked away from the mass of people, and noticed Skip was selling Zephyr gear for unreasonable amounts. I had to grin a little. I moved over to where he was sitting, and stood next to him.

"Thought I needed a model, baby?" he said sarcastically, eyeing me through his sunglasses.

"She certainly could be one," a male voice said. "Hi, Marvin Perez, from Time Magazine. I was wondering if you'd consider posing for a cover, and then maybe doing a spread inside? Of course, an interview would be ideal also," He told me. My mouth dropped open, as Skip laughed out loud. "You have a beautiful face," he went on, "And a very nice shape," he seemed to believe compliments might push me to say yes. I stared blankly.

"You're serious?"

"Why, of course. You and this team are getting big, fast. It'd be amazing to have such a gorgeous girl who is also a part of skateboarding in Time."

When I still appeared to not be able to grasp what he was saying, he hurriedly said,

"No exposure, of course. I mean, a swimsuit, if your comfortable, and your Zephyr shirt, if that's why you're worried. Here, let me give you my card, and you call me when you've made up your mind, okay? Nice meeting you," he finished, handing me a glossy card with his name, number, and Time Magazine printed on it. I looked at Skip, stunned, and he grinned up at me.

"Ooh, gonna leave the team and strip down now, are you? Make some quick cash?" he drawled jokingly.

"Shut up," I groaned. Of course the guy's would get other skateboarding companies offers, and I was stuck with a magazine. I shoved the card forcefully inside the back pocket of my shorts, not planning on taking it out.

Eventually, the festival drew to a close. Stacy, Tony, Jay and I decided to ride back with Skip; Sid drove home with Red Dog. Jay had yet to make direct conversation with me, or even look me in the eye. By this point in time, it was killing me. I honestly didn't think something so trivial as me being a drunken slut, that he knew I could be, would tear us apart.

On the way back, we stopped at a gas station. I was gazing out the window of the store, watching as Jay set back the price while the employee washed the car. This upset me even more, for I had taught him that trick. When Jay had finished, he headed into the store. Skip, whom had been surprisingly quiet, spoke,

"Tell me about Larry man, huh?" he directed this at Tony, as they were squeezing cheese and chili out of the tubs. I cast my gaze to Stacy, who was asking questions to the man at the register. He was the only one who would talk to me. I didn't dwell on this, and went back to eavesdropping. I observed that Jay was watching intently from behind them.

"What about him?" Tony questioned.

"Well you tell me," Skip countered. It was at that point Jay cut in the middle of the two, roughly punching cheese into a small bag.

"That dude told me some shit about how great I was, dude, 'you may be the best skater in the world someday, fact is, I think you are the greatest,' he said, in a mocking tone as he slouched outside. I caught the back of Tony's head droop in the slightest after Jay walked out, before he rushed out. Stacy left the counter, and was cornered by Skip in the doorway, with me right behind them.

"So, what'd he say to you Peralta?"

"Well, I guess, uh, we're all the best skaters in the world," Stacy laughed, smiling at me, prior to joining the other two guys outside.

"Yeah…" I knew Skip was trying to see whether or not a company had bought the guys out, and hadn't gotten an absolute answer.

When Skip and I strolled out, Jay was sitting on the huge gas tank, with Tony and Stacy leaning against the wall. Tony was eyeing his half eaten hot dog with a look of disgust.

"Well it's all working out for you boys," Skip said, with a hint of anger in his voice. "And girl. Kimber here's gonna be a fancy model," Skip sneered. The looks of bewilderment on Tony and Stacy's faces seemed like they would ask a question, but Jay was already on a new topic. It was as though he hadn't heard that ludicrous statement.

"You know what I'm thinking bro's? We're gonna be on summer vacation for the next twenty years," Jay mused.

Stacy turned to Tony, a look of excitement on his face. "Yeah," he chuckled. Tony threw a piece of his hot dog at Stacy. I could tell I wasn't the only one in a bad mood.

"Oh! Dude, that's nasty man!" Stacy snorted, shaking it out of his hair.

Without warning, Jay leapt off the gas tank, slamming his skateboard onto the bad filled with cheese, splattering a car nearby. The man who owned the car was talking with a girl, but immediately halted, darting at us, yelling. We sprinted to Skip's car amidst several screams.

It was odd to me that only yesterday Jay was kissing me, holding me, speaking with me.

I had no idea what had happened.

The car rolled to a halt.

"I'm not taking all of you punks to your houses. You can walk. I'm gonna go sleep. Later maggots," Skip stated waving us goodbye.

We all stood there, on some sidewalk, and started walking in the general direction of our homes. No one was skating, as our legs had fallen asleep on the way home. I didn't actually remember too much of the drive, as I had passed out on Stacy's shoulder. Once again that day, a barrier seemed to have grown between us as we were walking.

"Hey, dude," Tony broke the silence. "Can we all just hang at your place, Stace? He dropped us near it."

"Yeah, whatever man." I didn't mind that we would be sleeping at Stacy's, considering that's what I had done last night. And then it hit me.

Did Jay think I had done something with Stacy? If I wouldn't have felt so lousy, I might have laughed. 'When we get there,' I thought, 'I'll set him straight. Everything will go back to normal.'

"I'm gonna go shower," Tony sighed, leaving Stacy's front room. I was spread on the couch, with Stacy propped up against it, and Jay on the chair.

"Kay," Stacy yawned. He then pushed himself off the floor. "I'm gonna crash. Jay, hope you have enough room in that recliner, and tell Tony to come into mine for pillows."

Jay nodded.

"'Night," I called to Stacy, as he departed the room. Immediately, there was tension. I rested myself on my elbows, so as to face Jay.

"Jay," I started, not really knowing how to say what I wanted to. "Look, about last night," there, that was a good place to start. I took a deep breath. "I was wasted, and I know being a whore, but I didn't do anything with anyone. Unless you count a body shot. But nothing happened between me and anyone."

He had finally turned my way, but his face was sullen.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, moving over to peck me on the lips. "I knew nothing happened, I guess I was… overreacting," he locked my mismatched brown eyes with his shocking topaz ones. I smiled; I hadn't expected my apologizing to work so quickly, but was relieved, nonetheless.

"Holy shit," I said, awed. The next day we skated to an empty pool the team told us about, and we're stunned to find reporters and photographers present. They told us they were from Skateboard Magazine, and I grew excited. That was a magazine I wanted to be in. The woman first took Tony aside, then Jay, and then Stacy. Surprisingly, they also wanted a short bit with me too.

"What do you think about Venice?"

"It's my home," I grinned. When I was younger I rehearsed this millions of times.

"What's it like being around so many guys?"

"They're like my brothers, I've known them so long."

"How do you look like you do, and do what you do?" I hadn't been prepared for this question.

"Huh?"

"Well, you are stunning, and yet you just hang out with your friends and skate! How?"

"Um… I don't know," great, now I sounded like a bimbo.

"Okay, great, we just need a few shots."

She told me to stand on the outside of the pool, while the photographer shot me from inside of the pool. We had only snapped a few, when she yelled,

"Can we get some shorts? And a small, black shirt? And some makeup?"

These supplies in hand, she ran over to me, telling me to change, while a makeup artist smeared things on my lips, dabbed my face, and drew on my eyes.

"But, this isn't my Zephyr shirt," I protested, when I regained use of my face.

"We'll be shooting you from the front, no one will be the wiser."

"I can't believe we're gonna be in Skateboard magazine!" I shrieked. We had headed to Jay's after all the chaos, but it was only Tony and I there, at the time. He had sent Stacy and Jay to go get us something to eat. It was almost as if he was trying to get me on my own, but I was on such a high from being recognized, I didn't care.

"Yeah, it's unreal, huh?" he grinned weakly. "Look, Kimber, I gotta tell you something… I was going to tell you yesterday, but Jay told me he would, and then ya'll are all fine today…" he trailed off. When he mentioned Jay, he had received my full attention. What had Jay not told me?

"What Tony? Tell me."

"Okay, well at my party, you know, you and Jay got into a fight, and well, he was out of his mind high and drunk. And really pissed at you, 'cause he was doing coke…" once again, Tony paused. I was becoming frustrated by now, and was looking daggers at him.

"And?" I pressed.

"Well, my sister was there, and I saw it, I just didn't say anything," Tony moped.

"Tony? What the fuck, are you trying to tell me?"

"Jay cheated on you," he finished. My insides went cold.

"Wh-What?" I stuttered.

"Look, I wouldn't have said anything, but it didn't seem like he was going to."

I felt as though everything in my body was screaming. My eyes became blurry, but I blinked the tears away. There was a lump building in the back of my throat, that I tried swallowing with no success.

How could he? How dare he? And here I was thinking it was my fault. That motherfucker.

"Tony," I was shaking, but luckily no sobs had been released. "I need you to help me get my shit."

"Kimber, shouldn't you wait for Jay to get back, you know, so you can talk about it?"

"Hell no, come on," I forcefully said. When in Jay's room, I began rummaging through everything, snatching up anything that was mine. This didn't take longer than fifteen minutes. I zipped my duffel, and stared at Tony.

"Thanks for helping," I said coldly. I knew better than to trust anyone, and I fell into a trap. But I sure as hell wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. I stormed out his front door, only to run straight into Jay. The look on his face was one of pure shock, but I kept moving, determined to let no one see me cry.

I began running as soon as I was down his stairs. When I thought I'd gone far enough I cut into an alley, throwing my duffel and falling to my knees. I would head over to Stacy's when it got dark, after I had finished my sobbing.

Hot tears seeped from my eyes and stained my face, but I didn't mind. How could I have been so naïve to trust him? To think, I thought there was something there… Something beyond anything I'd ever felt…

The worst part was, there was. And I couldn't let it go.

I stayed in that alley long past nightfall, underneath the yellow moon, wishing more than anything that the one person who I thought cared about me, hadn't betrayed me.

AUTHOUR'S NOTE. PLEASE READ:

I will be leaving for the month of August on vacation! I realize I finished with a cliffhanger, but I was about to give too much information, and make people hate me for leaving on vacation with that in mind.

My next update will be in the first week of September. I'm so sorry! If there's a computer where I'm going, it will be soon.

Don't give up on me! Please.

And review! Because, those will push me to write in August.

I love you guys!

-lette.