Okay, I might as well say this... with the way I'm going with this story, it seems that it may turn out to be a Twister x Reggie fic after all - especially if you read my Christmas fic, Twister's Thoughtful Christmas Gift - even though I have it so that Trent likes Reggie and that Lars sorta does.
In reference to the last season for the Lasers stuff, they should all be getting ready to graduate and going off to college. I'm thinking of it as more so of a Junior League type thing. Roller Hockey League for those 18 and under, so after this year Lars and his cronies will be too old to participate in this particular league anymore because of their ages
Anyway, for this chapter, Sam have theories as to why Otto's acting the way that he is, but neither one of them can figure out what he has against Twister (even though mike2000 already guessed right). If you're wondering, Otto's not going to confide in Sam, Reg, or Twist with his problem. Instead, he's going to tell everything to another character that should be showing up soon. I'll explain that more later on.
Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Rocket Power. Klasky-Csupo has that honor.
Chapter 14: Observations & Sam's Secret Crush…
"Lars!" Reggie heard a voice call, her train of thought broken.
A woman with long brown hair walked out into the hall. This was Mrs. Sandy Rodriguez, the boys' mother. It was quite obvious that Lars took after her looks wise. They had the exact same hair types. Twister resembled their father, Raoul, more looks wise, but apparently, Twister's personality, when temperamental, was very similar to their mother's.
When the woman saw Reggie by the front door she smiled to her.
"Oh, mija, buenas dias!" she greeted as she hugged the girl.
"Mi hija?"
"Well Reggie, you are like the daughter I never had," she said as she let go of her.
"Well, good morning to you too, Mrs. Rodriguez."
"Do you have any idea where Lars is?"
"He left already."
"Oh, I guess I'll share the news with him later, or maybe I'll surprise both my boys with the special guest that's coming over this afternoon." She looked over at the wall clock, noting the time. "My, you are here early, would you like some breakfast?"
"No thank you, Mrs. Rodriguez. I'm not too hungry today; besides, on Fridays we normally go to the shack for a quick bite." This was true. The last thing on her mind was breakfast, especially since her stomach was incredibly nervous. It had been that way since she had first awakened that morning and made the decision on greeting Twister.
"It sure was nice of you to help Maurice with his homework."
"It was no problem. I knew he was having trouble with his math, so I didn't mind. I told him that I could tutor him from now up until we start our finals. His grades are a bit low, but if he manages to get a good grade on his final, he'll definitely pass! I'm determined to help him pass!"
"Gracias, Reggie, gracias! I'm sure Maurice will do very well with a good friend helping him."
Reggie nodded slowly. Did she really want to tutor him while alone? Why did she feel so strange around the boy now? It was like she constantly wanted to be near him. It had been that way for a while; the previous night just confirmed it since they had spent time together with only the two of them. She had been in denial up until then. She really wished someone could explain it to her.
"Why did he come back home last night? I thought he was going to stay over."
"Well, um, he remembered something he had to do for A/V and decided not to stay over."
"Oh," the woman said plainly.
"That's what he said to me," Reggie added on quickly. She had this feeling that Mrs. Rodriguez wasn't all that convinced. "So, is he around?"
"Yes, he should be coming down any moment now, unless you'd like to go up to him. You can if you want."
"I guess I could," Reggie said slowly. "Um," she was hesitant, "Twister said something yesterday and I'm not sure what it meant. It seemed to be a bit embarrassing to him because of how he reacted after he said it."
"Oh?" the woman asked, obviously curious.
"Yeah, he said something like...like...oh, I can't remember!" she said with a bashful laugh. The girl decided not to discuss such a thing with Mrs. Rodriguez. It'd probably embarrass Twister really badly if she did. 'I'll ask Lars instead. I wouldn't want Mrs. Rodriguez to worry about him.'
"Are you sure, dear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Right at that moment, they heard someone running down the stairs. Both turned to see Twister.
"Mamá, estoy…Reggie?"
"Hiya, Twist."
"What are you doing here? Usually the Squid and me come by and get you."
"I just decided to come by early today."
"Well, I'll just leave you two alone," Mrs. Rodriguez told them, heading back into the kitchen.
"So, what's up?" Twister asked uneasily. He hadn't mentally prepared himself for this surprise encounter.
"I wanted to talk...and-and to apologize."
"Apologize for what?"
"Apologize for the way Otto treated you. It was really harsh."
"Oh, don't worry about that, Reg. I'm sure he'll come around sooner or later."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Reggie asked, surprised as to how positive he was being. 'From the way Lars was talking, he seemed really peeved last night.'
"Of course I'm fine, now let's head over to the Shack! I'm in the mood for some of Tito's breakfast burritos!"
The boy picked up his backpack and opened the front door. "Mom, dad, I'm leaving now."
"Okay, mijo, have a nice day at school!" his mother called back to him.
"See you later, Maurice."
Reggie followed Twister outside, shutting the door behind her.
"Let's go meet up with Squid," he said, walking ahead of her towards the neighboring Dullard home. With more people around, the less anxious and nervous he would feel around Reggie.
They were right at the driveway of Sam's place when Reggie called to the redhead. "Twister, wait!" He stopped walking and turned to face her. "I never did thank you for yesterday."
"Oh, that again? I said it was no problem." He felt his heart skip a beat since she stepped closer to him.
"No, you really deserve something." The girl braced herself. 'It's now or never.' Before Twister knew it, Reggie had wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks again for everything, Twister," she whispered to him gently.
The boy was mortified and could barely utter out a "You're welcome". Reggie was hugging him. He awkwardly hugged her back, pulling her closer to him. This was just what Reggie wanted. She wanted to be close to him again. She was enjoying this embrace, and seemed to love being in his arms, no matter how unusual it was.
As for Twister, he didn't know what to think, he just knew that he loved holding Reggie this close to him.
Reggie continued to hug onto Twister, but then looked up at him, wondering if he was going to say anything. He looked down at her, both caught in one another's gaze. It was like time was standing still for the both of them and they were the only ones in the world currently. Neither one cared if anyone saw them embraced in such a way. At this point, Twister had the sudden, and strong urge to kiss her. Ironically, Reggie felt the same way. She couldn't quite explain it.
They started to lean in slowly, inching in closer and closer, instincts starting to take over, when both heard someone groan in slight frustration, "Mom, I am not going to get overheated wearing jeans today!"
They broke their embrace quickly and stared down at the ground, their faces red and their hearts racing. The person to complain was Sam. He was on his way out of the house, his mother, once again, acting like the over-protective parent that she was.
Sam shook his head and closed the front door. He really wished his mother would lighten up. Ever since his mother and father divorced years ago, she remained overly protective of him.
He smiled when he saw Reggie and Twister already there. Luckily, for Twister and Reggie, he hadn't seen their almost kiss. Both, though, were secretly disappointed that they hadn't kissed.
'Oh my gosh! I almost kissed Twister! What's wrong with me! He's my bro! I mean...it probably would've been nice...no no no, I mean...why am I feeling this way around him? I've always felt a little something, but not as much as now! It's all yesterday's fault!'
'Oh no! This isn't right! I can't believe I almost kissed Reggie! She's like my sister! My very pretty, wonderful sister...no, eww, gross dude! Reggie is like family! I'm not supposed to fall for family like that!'
"Ohayou gozaimasu!" Sam greeted with a wave.
"Oh hi yo go za wha?" Twister asked; trying his best act casual.
"Ohayou gozaimasu!" Sam repeated.
"He-he's practicing his Japanese, Twist," Reggie explained to the boy.
"Hai, Reggie-san," Sam nodded.
"Ugh, Squid talk!" Twister groaned while holding his head. "I can barely understand what you say in English!"
"It's Japanese, and it is a polite way of saying good morning," Sam lightly corrected, "and I should practice outside of class as well." Sam studied the two before him. "Hey, are you two okay? You both look a bit red."
"Um, well, it is kind of warm out, so I guess the heat is getting to us early," Reggie said nervously while fanning herself.
Sam stared at her, not really believing her. 'Something's up,' he thought as he looked from Twister to Reggie. "Yeah, I guess so," he finally said. "Anyway, let's head over to the shack for some major grindage! I'm starved!"
Reggie put an arm around Sam and smiled at him. "You're always hungry."
"You make it sound like a bad thing," Sam laughed. "Saa, ikimashou!"
Twister blinked in stupidity.
"It means 'come on, let's go.'"
"Why didn't you just say so?!"
"I did!"
"I meant so I'd understand what you said!"
"So, in other words, you prefer that I speak in either Spanish or English?"
"Um, doesn't matter, as long as I understand you," Twister said with a timid laugh.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Let's go."
With that, Sam led the way to the Shore Shack, Reggie and Twister on either side of him. Both were pretty quiet. Sam found this pretty weird. It was a pep rally day, Twister normally bragged on and on about them and how he would plan on filming the event. He also found it odd that neither one of them had mentioned anything about Otto.
"So," Sam began, the silence was driving him crazy, "what happened with Otto yesterday?"
"Otto?" Reggie absent-mindedly asked.
"Well, yeah. I saw him yesterday afternoon skating off. I figured that he must've had some kind of an argument with you."
"Oh, that. Well, yes, he did. Twist came over and both of us caught him on the pipe. He said so many harsh things to the both of us, Sam. I'm just glad you weren't there for him to rag on you like he did Twist and me."
"What'd he say?"
Reggie, who had calmed down considerably, told Sam about everything that had happened that afternoon with Otto and of the previous night, minus the part about Twister holding her in his sleep. She knew about it after Otto had awakened them. She had woken up earlier, but thought she was dreaming of Twister hugging her, and how she had been enjoying it…feeling safe and protected. Otto's irrational anger over the situation pretty much confirmed that she hadn't been dreaming.
"Man, harsh! That's definitely not like Otto. We still should try to figure out what the problem is and what he means by 'traitor.'" Sam glanced to his right to his taller friend. "Any ideas, Twist?"
"Oh, um, no, not at all. I don't know what's with O-man," he answered quickly, his mind wandering back to his almost kiss with Reggie.
"Oh-kay," Sam said slowly, still finding Twister's behavior bizarre. He would never remain quiet for so long in thought, unless he was upset about something. Like the time he thought he had cracked his voice. "Anyway, after Otto left, I saw you and Twister run off. Where'd you go?"
"Oh, um, Twister and I just decided to go to the Pier, that's all, and while there, we went to the Shack and the amusement park."
"Speaking of the Shore Shack, we're almost there and I have an appetite today so I'll race the both of you there!" He walked a bit ahead of the two and stood in front of them. "The last one to the Shore Shack is a lame-o!"
"Dude, the Squid wants to race?" Twister asked in amazement.
"Finally, I have your attention!" Sam said, pointing a finger at Twister. "You've been spaced out the entire time."
"Maybe I have some things on my mind, Squid!" Twister snapped at the shorter boy.
"Gomen, gomen," Sam apologized hastily. The last thing he wanted to do was to piss someone like Twister off. Just like what he said about Lars, he had also said about Twister. About how no one knows what he's capable of since he could be a bit temperamental at times like his brother. "Let's just hurry up and get there!"
The three friends finally made it to the Shore Shack. Since it was still early, the crowds weren't overbearing as of yet.
They took a seat in front of the counter, Sam separating Twister and Reggie by sitting in the middle of them.
"Why hello there lil cuzzes," Tito greeted. "I'm sure you're here for a nice hearty breakfast!"
"We sure are, Tito!" Sam said anxiously.
"What about you two?"
"Of course," Twister said with a weak smile.
"Same here, Tito," Reggie said distantly, her mind back on the kiss. "So, Tito, where's dad?"
"He's down at the shop doing some stocking, but he'll be back soon, so until then, I can handle your orders. Pancakes, bacon, and eggs for you and Sam and breakfast burritos for Twister, right?"
"Correctomundo!"
"Affirmative," Sam nodded.
"No thanks, Tito. I just want a bagel and cream cheese."
"A bagel and cream cheese?" all three asked in unison.
"Yeah, I'm not too hungry today."
"Are you sure everything is all right, lil cuz?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Tito. Why?"
"Well, you have been eating a bit differently lately," Tito noted, "you aren't dieting, are you? You do know that you're a nice normal weight and-and that dieting isn't really necessary, lil cuz." Tito felt awkward having to ask such a question.
"No, I'm not dieting, Tito. Just eating healthier. No reason."
"If you say so." He sounded relieved. "Oh, Sammy, how is your mother doing?"
"She's doing a bit better. That pineapple coconut tea you gave us is working pretty well. Her throat is no longer sore. She was even well enough this morning to tell me that I shouldn't wear jeans today due to how warm it's supposed to be."
"It's my own special blend. A not so ancient Hawaiian recipe," he laughed.
"Mom should be coming around pretty soon. She still hasn't recovered completely."
"Good ole Paula," Tito smiled lovingly. "Maybe I'll go by later and see if there's anything else I can do for her."
"Yeah, I guess you could," Sam stated simply with a shrug.
The boy didn't know how to respond. Tito and his mom had been dating for a long time now and he still wasn't really used to it. Sam didn't hate Tito; as a matter of fact, he acted more like a father to him than his real one did, but it was still awkward for him to be dating his mother.
He always wondered what would happen if the two married. Would Tito change? For the past couple of weeks or so, Tito seemed to want to ask Sam something, but would always chicken out at the last minute. Sam figured that Tito wanted to ask him how he would feel if he married his mother, but he didn't even want to get on the subject with Tito.
"Well then, I'll get to those orders right away!"
Tito headed over to the grill and prepared Sam and Twister's orders and while the grill heated up, Tito prepared Reg's bagel and cream cheese. After Tito got that together, he put eggs and bacon on the grill; he then handed Reggie a plate, which held her bagel, cream cheese, and a plastic knife.
"Thanks Tito."
"You're welcome 'lil wahini cuz, now let me get back to the grill before their food burns."
"Are you feeling okay, Reg?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
"Because you've been spreading cream cheese on that same half of bagel for like the past two or three minutes."
"Oh!" She looked down and realized that she had. "Silly me." She took a bite.
"If you say so," Sam muttered. "So, what will be our next plan of strategy?"
"Plan of strategy?" Twister asked.
"Yeah."
"You mean you want to scrimmage now? We wouldn't have the time since we have school."
Sam smacked his forehead. "NO! I'm talking about O-man, not street hockey. What are we going to do about him?"
"After last night, I don't think I want to see him," Reggie murmured quietly.
"But we have our big game next week, Reg! We have to get Otto back somehow. We have a very large winning streak, and the reason for that is because we've always played together as a team. I know we've been practicing three-player plays, but if we're a player short, we'll be disqualified!"
She sighed. "I know, Sam, I know!"
"So what are we going to do? He'll definitely have to show up for the pep rally this afternoon since he, Trent, and Trish are in that surf competition to represent Ocean Shores tomorrow."
"So?" asked Twister.
"So, he'll have to go to school today. One of us will definitely see him, and one of us should really talk to him. We must find the source of the problem."
"I really don't feel like talking to him, Sammy…"
"But, we shou-"
"Lay off, Squid!" Twister snapped at the boy. "Can't you see Reg doesn't feel like talking about Otto!"
"Hold it, hold it!" Sam protested. "I didn't mean any harm, I just-"
"It's okay, Twist. Sam's right. We should find the source of the problem."
Sam straightened up his glasses. "Well, it's quite obvious that we are the source of his problem."
"I don't really think so now, Sam. I think it's something else. He said something about a promise last night…if I only knew what he meant, that might explain what his malfunction is."
"Okay, so he's made a promise to someone to be the best, but that still doesn't explain why he keeps insisting that Twister is a traitor."
"Okay cuzzes," they heard a voice call. Sam stopped talking about Otto abruptly as he saw Tito approaching them. "Breakfast is served!" Tito walked up to the counter and put down a plate stacked with pancakes along with another plate that held bacon and eggs. He then walked back out, and then returned quickly with a plate filled with about eight of his breakfast burritos and a pitcher of orange juice. "Eat hearty!"
"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Sam exclaimed, his eyes lit up as he saw Tito setting down three cups.
"Wait...I think I remember what you told me," Tito rubbed his chin. "Oh yeah, dou itashimashite, bruddah."
"Hey, you remembered!"
"Of course! The wise Tito Makani Jr. never forgets."
"And what does all that mean?" Reggie asked, nibbling on the other half of her bagel.
"I said 'Thank you very much,' and Tito responded by saying, 'you're welcome,' but in a very polite, formal way."
"Well, I have some dishes that need washing in the back. Aloha 'lil cuzzes."
"See ya, Tito," all three called to him.
"Okay, back to what I was saying earlier, we have to figure out why Otto is so pissed at Twister. With you, it could just be sibling rivalry."
"Sibling wha?" Twister asked, his mouth filled with the egg, cheese, & sausage breakfast burrito.
"Sibling rivalry. It normally occurs between siblings," Sam responded sarcastically.
"That junk doesn't happen with me and Lars," Twister insisted while pouring himself some juice.
"On the contrary, it happens with you two every time you face off in a hockey match or any other sport where you are paired up against each other. What happens when you go home after your matches against one another?"
"Um, we yell at each other about who the better player and team is, I always make the mistake of punching him since he pisses me off, and then he starts to whomp me until mom tells us both to shut up and for him to stop whomping me. Later, we always end up getting back into it and then we challenge each other to see whose team is better every season!"
"See, there you go. You and Lars just get physical with your confrontations; apparently, with Otto, he just gets verbal and sometimes closed up. With Reg, he wouldn't dare hit her so instead, he argues and then ignores. I personally think that the stress for the upcoming competition has a lot to do with his bad attitude and that he didn't mean anything he said to us. I thought about this a lot yesterday."
"But he's never stressed this much over a surf contest before," Twister pointed out.
"True, but he must have more of a reason to want to win this one. It's almost like he's trying to win it for someone other than himself, hence the promise factor that Reggie mentioned."
"Wow, Squidman, you may be onto something!"
Sam gave Twist an arrogant smile. "I know."
"But that still doesn't explain why he's so tweaked at Twister," Reggie said sullenly.
"Okay, for that I haven't any theories as to what could be wrong. I think it's a whole separate issue."
"I guess," the girl mumbled. She finished her bagel and gulped down some of the juice. She then hopped off her stool. "I think I'll head to school."
"How come?" Sam asked as he swallowed down three strips of crisp bacon.
"No real reason."
"Well, okay Reg. I'll see you at lunch."
"Oh yeah, about that, Sam...I'm not going to be around for lunch today."
"But today is pizza day!" Twister exclaimed. "No one misses pizza day!" He then got a dreamy look. "And they always sell Freezy Freezes on Friday! I sure love Freezy Freezes!"
"Well, it doesn't really matter because I'm still going to miss lunch today."
"But if you leave that means I won't have a reason to sit in my usual spot! I-I mean I'll be with Sherry by myself."
"What about Sherry? She's your friend, isn't she?"
"Of-of course she is!" Sam sounded very nervous, which Twister noticed.
"Well, Trent and Trish'll probably be there, Sammy, don't worry about it. I don't know why you're so worried to begin with." With that, she waved to them, "Bye guys," and took off.
Sam took out his inhaler and started to breathe through it.
"Yo, Squid, are you okay?"
"I...am...fine..." he said between breaths. He put his inhaler down. "Lunch...with...Sherry...without...Rocket Girl...around..."
"So? What's the big deal? You heard what Reg said."
"With Reg around, I'm not as nervous around her." He ate his last pancake as Twister finished his final burrito.
"What's there to be nervous about?"
"What if I embarrass myself in front of Sherry? I never know what to say to her unless she and Reg start up a conversation first and I just join it!" Sam started to breathe through his inhaler again.
Twister grinned and put an arm around Sam's round shoulder. "Squid likes Sherry, Squid likes Sherry!"
"I-I-I do not!" he stammered, his face a light shade of magenta.
Tito walked back out at that moment. "Oh, Reggie's gone, huh?"
"Yeah, she-she left after she ate her bagel. W-wanted to get to school early."
"Whoa, easy there Sammy. What's wrong? Your face is redder than a roasted pig at a luau."
"Um, nothing's wrong. It's just getting hot out, that's all! Thanks for the meal, Tito! Sayonara!" Sam took off down the Pier.
"What's with him?"
"I'm not too sure, Tito, but I have an idea. Later and thanks for the burritos!"
Twister grabbed his backpack and ran to catch up with Sam. When he caught up to him, he was still puffing on his inhaler.
"So, Squid," Sam screamed and jumped, "when are you going to tell Sherry that you like her!" he asked in a mocking voice.
"I do not like Sherry in that way!" Sam insisted, his cheeks reddening even more.
"Sure you don't," he said with a sly grin. "I don't notice stuff like this, and even I can tell that you like her!"
Sam gave Twister a look of annoyance, finally growing tired of his friend's innocent taunts. "You mean like how it's obvious that you like Reggie!"
Twister's face went just as red as Sam's; even redder. "I do not like Reggie! She's like my sister! She's like family! She's like one of my gajillion cousins!"
"And yet, you like her as more than a friend," Sam retorted. "I've known this for a long time, Twister. You never had to say anything, your actions alone are enough to show that you have a thing for her!"
"I do not like her like that! She-she's just a friend!"
"Whatever," Sam muttered. "Let's just get to school."
With that, the two continued to OSH in silence, lost in their own thoughts.
'Oh man, if someone like Twister can see that I like Sherry, then it must be obvious!' He inwardly gasped. 'What if she knows?!' He took out his inhaler and started to puff on it again.
'I don't like Reggie! Sure she's always on my mind and I wouldn't mind being close to her again, like how we were earlier…and…no no no no! Damn you Reggie! Get out of my head!'
x x x
Author's Note
So everyone, another pairing that I like. I am a Sam x Sherry fan for some reason, and to be honest, I have no idea why. I also like Tito x Paula. You guys have to admit, though, that Tito and Sam get along like a father and son, don't you think? They possibly could.
That aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing it, and hinting at Sam x Sherry. If you all read the fic I put up on Christmas (Twister's Thoughtful Christmas Gift) then you'll know whether or not Sam got together with Sherry and if Tito finally got the courage to ask Paula to marry him.