"You're birthday's next week?"

Jane looked over at Kat with question, and the young teen nodded. They stood side-by-side in the kitchen, Kat washing dishes and Jane drying them.

"Yeah, I'm turning sixteen," she said casually, but Jane could hear the excitement in her voice.

Pursing her lips, Jane pondered the newfound information.

"So is there anything you want?" she finally asked.

Kat just shrugged. "Not anything particular I guess."

But Jane sensed the casual lie, and a glance in her direction confirmed her suspicions. Kat's eyes were lidded and her gaze was on the counter, eyes glazed with indecision, nervousness, and hope. Jane thought it an odd combination, but wisely kept to herself. She had hoped she and Kat were close enough friend's to tell each other what was on their minds, but apparently not. Though, she didn't blame Kat. They hadn't been friend's long enough anyway, and Jane respected her boundaries.

"Hi girl's, almost done?" Dr. Harvey greeted as he entered the kitchen, straightening the collar of his brown jacket.

Kat nodded to her father and said thanks after he offered to take her place. She then left Jane and James to do the rest.

"So her birthday's next Tuesday?" Jane began, taking a bowl and wiping off the remnants of water.

"Yes," he answered, grimacing at the lasagna sauce caked on the plates. "But I honestly have no idea what to get her. Do you?"

James looked at her hopefully, and Jane furrowed her brow in thought.

Then she smiled.

"Have you ever been to the beach?"

XxXxXxXxX

Stinkie hummed pleasantly as he floated down the hallway to the stairs, feeling strangely giddy and light. He'd had an oddly good day so far, hanging with his brother's, picking on Casper and the doc, and even pulling a few pranks on the fleshies in town. It seemed he was finally over the funk that had recently plagued him ever since the day of Jane's arrival…

His humming stopped and he frowned.

He hadn't seen Jane much since the…incident. Except for at dinner of course. He couldn't even remember how long ago it'd been. It could have been a couple days, or even a week. All he knew was that it was Tuesday, a little into Kat's summer break, and the two girls had been inseparable. It was like she was avoiding him…or vice versa. The fact was, he just didn't know what to do! Should he act normal? Like nothing ever happened? Or should he say something? Though, suppose he chose the latter, what would he say? Well, whatever he was going to do, all he knew was that it had to be done. Sooner rather than later, because if he didn't do anything at all, Jane would probably-

"Stinkie?"

Said ghost jumped, a sound of surprise escaping him as he looked for the source of the voice. His eyes instantly met with Jane's who was standing at the bottom of the stairwell while he remained in the middle. She was looking at him funny, as if to try and decipher his inner turmoil. He hoped she couldn't.

"Uh…" he dragged slightly, mind going blank. "Yeah?"

"You coming?"

He looked confused.

"Where?"

Jane blinked, looking confused as well. Then she quietly giggled, shifting her weight to allow her hip to jut out in a distracting way.

"To dinner," she said in a jokingly exasperated way. Stinkie's face immediately lit up with realization, then with embarrassment, and finally he gave a sheepish chuckle to highlight the emotion. Saying something that didn't even register in his own mind, Stinkie floated beside her as they made the short trip to the kitchen. The air between them was a little tense, or Stinkie could have just been imagining it. What he didn't know however was that Jane was feeling just as uncomfortable as he was. Though in a completely different way. By the time they made it to the kitchen and took seats as far away as possible from each other, both were exhausted. Nobody but Fatso caught on as everyone began eating, feeling the tension coming off Jane like waves in the seat beside him. Stinkie sat next to Stretch as usual, but on the notably farther side.

Fatso decided not to get involved.

"Honey," James began after swallowing his spaghetti. "Do you still like the beach?"

Kat looked up from her conversation with Casper.

"Yeah," she answered slowly, suspiciously. "Why?"

James looked away for a moment at Jane.

"What would you say for a trip to Florida for your birthday?"

Kat turned fully to her dad, pleasant disbelief slowly turning into excitement.

"Really?" she asked breathily. "You're not joking right?"

James shook his head, absolutely beaming at the sight of his daughter's grinning face. Kat then proceeded to explode with questions, one's like "Where are we staying?" and "Do you have the money?" Jane was quick to clear her throat.

"Oh, yes, um it was actually Jane's idea. It's her gift to you."

Kat's jaw dropped and head snapped to her friend. Jane cut off her protests.

"I have a beach house in key west, complete with it's own private beach. There's really no money involved. I'm just gonna pay for our plane tickets and gas."

Kat's smile threatened to split her face in two. In fact, her cheeks were already numb. She was at a loss for words, and the only thing she could think to do was get up and give the two adults hugs. Stretch shouted "Road Trip!", and Stinkie whooped along. Fatso clapped his hands and boomed with laughter, and Casper cheered like the child he was.

"When are we leaving?" Kat asked breathlessly.

"Tomorrow if you want," Jane answered.

Kat squealed, exclaiming the need to pack her bags. She didn't even make it to the door before a crisis hit.

"WAIT!" Fatso shouted, effectively silencing the chaos. "What about Jane?"

There was a beat, and then everyone understood what he meant.

"Yeah! Da press is gonna find out you's is here!" Stinkie yelled as if it were the end of the world.

"Damn it! How come I didn't think a dat?" Stretch grumbled, scratching his bald head.

James's and Jane's eyes widened before relaxing again.

"I guess I forgot to tell you guys," Jane said, smiling but rubbing her right temple as if she had a headache. "The press know I'm in Maine, just not where I'm living. My mom broadcasted this televised 'apology' (Jane emphasized this by bending her fingers) and begged me to come home. They had this whole two hour marathon about me yesterday while everyone was out and I guess I just forgot to say anything. Well, except to James. We planned this whole thing yesterday."

Fatso gave her a kicked puppy look, and Jane apologized sincerely for not telling him. Kat sighed in relief now that her trip was back on track. Stretch just shrugged, pleased as punch that they were going, and Stinkie tried to act casual and hoped his little outburst continued to go unnoticed and eventually forgotten.

It didn't.

XxXxXxXxX

Stinkie checked the wind-up timer near the stove as he stirred what was beginning to become icing. He pondered whether to either ice his baking cinnamon rolls and leave them in the oven for warmth, or just put them in the fridge. Honestly, he liked them better cold. The icing wasn't gooey (though he had absolutely nothing against gooey), and the warm contrast of a person's mouth allowed the icing to melt in a lovely sensation. And the more solid form helped the taste linger longer on the roof of your mouth. It was like a sugar explosion.

Now done with stirring but still waiting for the rolls, Stinkie leaned back against the counter and closed his eyes. He knew Jane was with Stretch right now. They were up in his piano room, his ghostly senses able to pick up the soft music even through the floors and walls of the mansion. His buck teeth bit slightly into his bottom lip as he felt a rise of envy. He was the only one who didn't really…well…spend time with her. Granted Casper was busy doing top-secret-only-Kat-is-allowed-to-know things, he still felt miffed that even the Doc had a closer relationship with her. It wasn't like she was the constant center of attention. No, she'd blended in quite nicely and even made it seem like she'd always been there. But everyone always seemed to fill in at least some part of her time each day, where he himself rarely ever got the chance. Sure, they used to talk over lunch every once in awhile, but ever since his little…unvoiced confession of being attracted to her, they hadn't had any one-on-one time together. He felt like an idiot about the way he was acting over a girl, but it was the first time he ever had a friend who was a girl. A girl who could potentially be…something.

He was so caught up with his thoughts Stinkie didn't hear the kitchen door open, and the light pitter of bare feet went unnoticed. Jane studied Stinkie as he leaned on the counter, oblivious to her presence. She looked him up and down, noting there wasn't really anything to look at considering his ghostly form. He didn't have hair, though she remembered, in life, it'd been shoulder length and always tied in ponytail. The pictures she'd seen had not been in color, but she assumed it'd been brown and greasy. Her grandmother had told her he had almost never taken a bath. She said he had a fear of water, and that worried Jane. Was he okay with going to the beach? Would he have fun? Deciding to just get the confrontation over with, Jane loudly cleared her throat, effectively scaring him to death.

"GAAAH!" he cried, slipping off the counter and tumbling to the floor.

Jane let out a small noise of surprise as well, covering her mouth and apologizing while reaching out to help him. Stinkie stuttered from his place on the floor, watching Jane bend down to his level.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern. He gave her a look that made her cheeks flush. "Oh right, ghost."

Jane stood back as Stinkie floated upright, both unable to meet eyes.

"Sooo…" Jane began, shifting uneasily on her feet. "Are you excited about the beach?"

Stinkie noticed her behavior, confused by it. Was she uncomfortable around him because he sort of liked her? His self confidence died a little.

"Sure," he answered honestly. "Been awhile since we's been to da Florida beaches."

"So you've been before?" she asked pleasantly, happy about the start of a seemingly decent conversation.

"Yeah sure, plenny a times! Me an my bros love scare'n da fleshies an mess'n wit da babes."

He seemed excited, and Jane felt relieved. He wasn't going to feel left out after all.

"Guys are all the same," she said while rolling her eyes. "Well, I guess I better get to bed. We got a three hour flight tomorrow."

Stinkie was about to say goodnight when the timer dinged. He'd forgotten all about his cinnamon rolls, and the sweet smell filled his stomach with dread.

"Those smell delicious," Jane complimented with quiet excitement as he quickly took them out to cool. He inwardly scolded himself for not paying attention, and now she probably knew he'd been the one to make that cupcake. Unless…she forgot? Well, it was a pretty long time ago. Perhaps-

"By the way Stinkie, I never thanked you for that cupcake."

He turned in shock, briefly wondering if she'd read his mind. She was looking at him with soft eyes, and he felt like melting into a puddle of goo. She was so beautiful…Oops, she was still talking.

"It was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. Why didn't you want me to know it was from you?"

Stinkie swallowed and chuckled nervously. His excuse was lame, he knew, but it was true.

"Well, I guess I figured if…you knew it was from me den ya wouldn't of tried it."

Jane looked confused.

"I'm gross, and disgusting, and…Stinkie!" he elaborated, and Jane finally understood.

"Oh! Oh Stinkie don't think like that! I know how you are but…honestly? Through all my stay you haven't really even been all that…gross."

Stinkie's eyes widened, thinking back all the days following Jane's arrival. She was right…he hadn't been himself.

"I mean really, Kat told me you guys have really been…pretty mellow I guess. She said it's really weird."

Stinkie had been icing his cinnamon rolls while he listened, nodding along and thinking. He mulled over her words for a moment, briefly forgetting she was in the room. Yeah…they hadn't been pranking many people lately. Not until today had they really gotten back into the swing of things. Then his face twisted in slight annoyance. Not gross huh? Well, if that's what she thought…

"So, ya wan us ta start act'n like da trio again?" he asked, his face pleasant but voice carrying an undertone.

Jane hesitated.

"Um…sure?" she replied, suddenly unsure if what she said had been a good idea. Stinkie smirked, offering her an iced cinnamon roll on a plate. Jane took it warily, but Stinkie didn't relinquish his grip. He pulled from the opposite side and brought there faces closer. Jane could feel his breath ghosting over her cheeks as he spoke.

"If you say so," he said simply, but Jane swallowed at the subtle menace in his voice.

Oh dear…what have I done?

Jane stepped away quickly when he let go, and Stinkie watched with satisfaction as she shuffled nervously towards the door.

Oh yeah, he was back in business.

But Jane didn't leave the kitchen with her treat. Instead, she stopped in front of the refrigerator and placed the plate in an empty space.

"Whatcha doin?" Stinkie asked, all of his scary pretenses dropped.

Jane looked embarrassed for a moment, but she explained.

"Back home, my chef used to sneak me cinnamon rolls every now and then. A lot of the times he had to hide them from my mother, so he stuck them in the fridge. Turns out I liked them better cold anyway."

Jane left too soon for him to reply.

She missed his smile.

A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but don't worry. The next one's gonna be pretty juicy. Clear oceans, girls in bikinis, the trio being nasty, and plenty of alcohol. I'll leave you to your imaginations.