Okay, it's time for the next installment! I hope I'm doing okay so far and not boring you all with the pacing of this fic. Oh, and I should apologize for this now. Whenever it comes to surfing and skateboarding tricks, I don't really know the names of them or one from the other. That's why I was so hesitant to bother writing a Rocket Power fic in general, but I'm going to keep going anyway and try my best.

For this chapter, Twister meets up with Reggie and Sam. They go home, pretty much. Lars also makes his debut in this chapter. Age wise, I would say Lars is probably about two years, or so, older than Reggie, but I wanted him in school with them, and I really wanted Reggie's character to be 16 for this story, so now you know why I have Lars aged in the way that I do for this story.

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Rocket Power. Klasky-Csupo has that honor.

Chapter 03: Decisions…

The clock struck 3:00 and the bell finally rang. School was over and all of the students piled out of the classrooms all over the school to head home or to a club activity. Twister was more than glad to leave. His last class of the day was study hall, but before it was English 10, and he didn't feel like analyzing another boring – to him – Shakespearean play that he didn't understand anyway. Instead of doing any of his English homework, he spent it thinking, doodling, and goofing off.

'Why do we even need to know that stuff,' the boy complained as he headed out of the classroom, recalling his English homework. He was annoyed over the fact that for homework, he had to finish reading the first act of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and answer the questions at the end of the act. 'If I wanted to read something long and boring, I'd go to the library! There has to be an easier way to get out of reading it.'

While he walked down the hallway, anxious to meet up with Reggie and Sam, he heard a familiar, taunting voice call, "Hey Twister!"

The boy turned to see a currently 18-year-old boy who was a bit taller than him, and definitely had a better build than he did. The individual had dark long brown hair tucked underneath a ski cap, a long sweatshirt, and a pair of baggy beige shorts. The look he wore on his face, always seemed to make one think he was up to something devious, even when he wasn't. Other than that, he was a pretty good athlete. He was a part of the school's surf club and captain of their soccer team.

"Oh, hi Lars," the boy responded unenthusiastically. He was already bothered that Otto didn't show up and having to deliver that news to Reggie, the last thing he wanted was to put up with any of his brother's taunting. "What do you want?"

"Now now, baby bro," Lars "the whompinator" Rodriguez smirked, "why the long face?"

"I'm fine," the redhead answered quickly with a shrug.

He grabbed the smaller, slimmer boy, and put him in a headlock. "I don't think so. I want to know what the deal is."

"What deal?" Twister demanded while trying to free himself of his older brother's grasp.

"The deal with Rocket Dork!"

'Even Lars has noticed Otto's bad attitude?'

Since Twister had stopped squirming and gone quiet, Lars let go of him. It was strange that the boy had stopped trying to break free of him. "Well, I was just wondering why he hasn't been bragging about our upcoming match. He always brags about how you guys are going to beat us, and I also noticed that you guys aren't hanging as much."

"I guess he's busy."

Lars wasn't convinced. "I don't think so. Are you three dorks trying to psyche us out or something by acting like this game isn't an important one?"

"Three dorks?"

"Yeah, you, Rocket Dork, and Squid Dork."

"What about Reggie?"

He shrugged. "What about her? She's not as much of a dork like you three losers," he cruelly laughed.

Although Lars seemed to enjoy teasing Twister and his friends, *he never had a need, nor did he feel the need, to really tease Reggie much. The only thing he could tease her about, when younger, was that she was a girl and couldn't do what the boys could, but she always proved him and the others wrong. Usually, whenever he did call them all "dorks", it was mainly aimed at Twister, Otto, and Sam; she just happened to be around. That was about the only "dorky" thing Lars really could think of whenever it came to her; hanging with the other three. She wasn't gullible like Twister, egotistical like Otto, or downright nerdy like Sammy.

There just wasn't anything there for him to really tease her about. He couldn't call her ugly, because she wasn't, and guys around Ocean Shores made it quite apparent with the way they would sometimes glance at her, unbeknownst to the young girl. Lars found it strange that even he couldn't help but stare at her every once in a while because this was, "Rocket Dork's sister". He couldn't call her dumb because she was quite intelligent. She had book sense and common sense, and she was definitely one of the best female athletes Ocean Shores had to offer.

"Oh well, anyway," Twister began, ignoring his brother's laughs, "I don't know anything about Otto, why he's not showing off, or what he's up to. He didn't even show up for school today."

"Whatever," Lars snorted. He knew there had to have been more to it. "I'm out of here. I have a practice to get to anyway. Pi, Sputz, and Animal already left."

'The Giant Goon patrol…'

Lars gave his brother a quick smack to the back of the head, and walked off. "Later much!"

The older boy noticed the way his brother and Otto had been lately, and was genuinely curious as to why. He wondered if the two could've had a fight. He didn't understand why he cared so much, he just did. He'd also noticed that his brother had been pretty mopey, which took the fun out of teasing him. Twister would rarely fight back, and he wouldn't argue back as much. What fun was it to tease your brother if he doesn't react to it?

'Dude, I wonder what the deal is with Rocket Dork. Something's definitely going on, and I want to know! I miss the old Twister. He's acting the way he did when he lost that stupid hat of his, and that's definitely not cool.'

After Lars left, Twister held his head where his brother had smacked him, muttering a few obscenities under his breath. He was glad that no one was around to see the unusually scenic confrontation between the two since Lars was usually a bit nicer when in public. Lars bugging him in any way or form was embarrassing. Most of the other kids had definitely gone home, as the halls were pretty empty. When he exited the school, he looked around for Sam or Reggie. He spotted the two sitting at one of the benches where students could sit when waiting for a ride home. Reggie had her nose buried in her Journalism textbook, while Sammy was typing away on his laptop. Twister never understood why Sam bothered bringing his bulky portable computer with him.

"Hey guys!" he called.

Reggie closed her text, and stuffed it into her backpack. "Hi," she answered plainly.

Sam closed up his laptop, and slipped it into his case. "What's up, Twist. Did you talk to Otto?"

Twister just stood there in silence.

"Well?" asked a fretful Reggie. She stared up at him eagerly.

The redhead felt a bit guilty since he didn't have better news for the girl. He shook his head slowly.

"Oh." She lowered her head. "He wouldn't let you talk to him, would he?"

"He never showed up," he uttered quietly as he started to walk off. The look on Reggie's face was too much for him; the look of disappointment and grief. He felt a little responsible for it as he'd failed to talk with Otto and to get his best bro to come back to his senses.

Following his cue, the other two tagged after him.

"Hold it! What do you mean my brother didn't come to school?! Raymundo would totally freak if he knew that!"

"Well, we have lunch and three classes together and he didn't show up for either of them."

"That's very odd," Sam started to point out, "since it's not like O-man to miss school. Being late is one thing, missing it is a completely different story."

"I know what you mean, dude! I bet he goofed off all day at Madtown! I know he couldn't get away with surfing or hanging out at the Pier all day since Raymundo and Tito would've seen him...but there is the boardwalk..."

Sam adjusted his glasses and coughed a bit as they walked past a man who'd just lit up a cigarette. "Should we go question him now? I suggest we go to Madtown and look for him there." He sneezed, the smell of the cigarette smoke still lingering in his nose, causing his allergies to start up slightly. Reggie shook her head. "If you don't mind my asking, Reg, why?" the boy asked in surprise while trying to hold back another sneeze.

"Why bother, he'll just skate off again." The girl stuffed her hands into her pockets as they continued their brisk walk, reaching the Pier's entrance near the Shore Shack. Normally, after school, they would head over to the Rocket-owned restaurant to get a bite to eat, or what Sam called it, "brain food", which consisted of a Shack Burger, fries, and a shake.

"That is true," he admitted, "but what do you suggest we do?"

A big grin spread across Twister's freckly face as he stopped walking. He looked towards the Pacific, his eyes shining and the salty sea air tickling his nose. "How about we go for a surf, you guys? Just look at those awesome waves! They're perfect, and think of all of the great footage I can get of you, Reg! I have to make another video for the AV club anyway, so maybe I could get some shots of you!"

The girl sighed. "I'm not really in the mood, Twist. I'm still a bit bummed out about Otto."

"Squid?"

"Well, I do have some homework to do, and with your math grades, Twist, you probably should do yours too."

"Aww, Squid, how'd you know I had math homework?"

"You always have math homework and you asked me to help you that one time too."

Twister bashfully laughed. "Hey yeah, you're right!"

"You guys do what you want. I should head home. I'm expecting a call anyway from Sherry about-" she stopped herself. She didn't want to get into something so personal with the two.

"About what?" Twister asked, staring right at her.

She felt Sam's eyes on her as well now, and her face started to grow hot as a small bit of red made its way to her cheeks. Reggie then turned her head away from Twister, and stared at the ground. "Well, um, nothing m-much. Just about something in our-out class," she said quickly, a nervous whim in her voice.

Before either boy could question her sudden, peculiar behavior, Reggie told them, "Later" and jogged off towards home…
x x x

Author's Note

Note 1: This isn't really much of a note, but rather a question for you readers. Out of curiosity, has Lars ever been shown teasing a girl in general? I honestly don't recall him ever teasing a girl, outside of maybe Mackenzie and he learned not to do that. Also, even when he did tease her, he teased her for being Twister's girlfriend (nothing condescending) and right before she punched him, he asked for her to give him five in a patronizing, you're a little baby, type voice. In that ep, Lars and Twister got it the worst. She only tripped Sam. Poor Lars was punched out and Twister was thrown by her and kicked. lol

Anyway, in all honesty, though, I couldn't really see Lars doing that for some reason, especially when older. I just feel that even Lars has his limits. I also don't recall a time where he's directly teased Reggie, like he has with the other three. I still feel that there's a good side to Lars, and I also never felt he was as bad as others make him out to be.