Tuesday Afternoon...
Even though Eric's house was on the beach, he decided to take everyone to a more touristy beach spot. Aurora couldn't believe how crowded the beach was. They all wandered around until they found enough empty space near a volleyball court. After they set up all the blankets and a couple umbrellas, everyone set out to start their activities. Philip, John, Pocahontas, Tinker Bell and Peter went straight into the water. Aurora sat down under an umbrella and watched Philip play in the water. Aurora had very fair skin and didn't like spending too much in the sun because she burned easily. Belle joined Aurora under the umbrella and started reading Treasure Island.
"Ariel, honey, please put some suntan lotion my back," Charlotte said, handing the bottle to Ariel. "I think today is the day I'm going to make my move with Rolfe."
Charlotte adjusted her bikini to give herself more cleavage, then lied down on the blanket to sun herself until Rolfe returned. Eric, Rolfe, Giselle and Edward had gone to the concession area to get drinks and snacks for everyone.
"Rolfe is such a gentleman," Charlotte said. "He actually slept on the floor and let me have the bed."
"That was nice of him," Ariel said.
Ariel stared out at the water. She couldn't wait for Eric to get back so they could go swimming. As if on cue, Eric and his friends returned then. Eric and Rolfe packed loaded the cooler while Giselle and Edward walked away, eating their ice cream cones. Charlotte pretended not to notice Rolfe, but Ariel could see her peeking out at him through her over-sized sunglasses.
"Hey, babe, you ready to go swimming," Eric asked Ariel.
Ariel nodded and jumped up. Eric took her hand and they walked down to the water. Ariel immediately ran in. The water was cold, but she didn't mind. Ariel and Eric waded out until the water was at Ariel's shoulders, then she went under the water. Eric went under as well and they resurfaced together.
"I love being in the water," Ariel said. "Charlotte calls me her little mermaid."
Eric laughed, but before he could say anything a beach ball hit him in the head. He turned around to see Peter, Philip, John, Pocahontas and Tinker Bell swimming towards them.
"Sorry about that," Peter said. "Tink can't catch to save her life."
Tinker Bell shot Peter a dirty look and then splashed him. Peter splashed her back and she swam away. Peter laughed and chased after her. Philip grabbed the beach ball and swam away as well. Ariel glanced over at the shore and saw Charlotte walking along the beach with Rolfe. Ariel gave her a small wave and turned her attention back to Eric just as Pocahontas and John swam away from them.
Ariel wrapped her arms around Eric's neck and kissed him. "I'm having so much fun with you."
Pocahontas and John swam back towards the shore. When the water became shallow, they stood up and started walking. When they got to the shore, John picked up Pocahontas and then lied her down on the wet sand. She smiled up at him, then rolled over so she was laying on top of him. She went to give him a kiss, but a wave crashed over them, startling her. John propped himself up on one elbow, then reached up and pulled her face down to his. Pocahontas sighed as he kissed her. John lied back down, bringing Pocahontas down with him. This time when the water splashed over them, they didn't notice.
Meg collapsed on the sand and opened a bottle of water. They had just finished the first volleyball game and Helga's team won.
"We got creamed!" Vanessa said, sitting down next to Meg.
"Only because Helga cheated," Thomas said. "Every time she served, she hit Meg in the head."
Vanessa nodded. "We need to figure out a way to prevent that during the next game."
"Well, Meg could always just hit the ball instead of letting it hit her," Gothel said.
Meg rolled her eyes and then splashed some of her water in Gothel's face. Gothel went to slap Meg, but Hades grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
"I'll take up position next to Meg and block the hits," Gaston said.
Gaston's plan worked. Every time Helga served, Gaston intercepted the hit. Vanessa's team was now winning ten to five. Meg was positioned in the center of the front row with Gaston on her left and Thomas on her right. It was Helga's turn to serve again. She spun the ball in her hands and gave Meg a mischievous smile. Meg prepared to move quickly to get out of Gaston's way. Helga threw the ball up in the air and hit it as hard as she could over the net. Meg braced herself, but instead of the ball coming at her, it was aiming for Thomas. Before he had a chance to react, the ball hit him in the face. Thomas stumbled back and put his hand over his eye.
Meg rushed over to him. "Are you all right?"
Thomas nodded and moved his hand. A bruise was starting form under his eye. Meg looked over at Helga and shot her an angry look. Helga winked at her and got ready to serve again. This time, when the ball came over the net, Meg spiked it as hard as she could. She wasn't really aiming the ball, she just wanted to let out her anger, but it went straight down and hit Hercules. Meg couldn't help but laugh.
Vanessa's team won that game and the one after that, ruining Helga's undefeated title.
"Our sandcastle turned out great," Belle said as Adam was finishing up a couple last minute touches.
"You guys did a good job," Aurora said. "Here, let me get a picture of you two with it."
Belle and Adam stood next to the castle and Adam put his arm around here. He was wearing all black and he was almost too hot to touch.
"Aw!" Aurora said. "Princess Belle and Prince Adam!"
After Aurora took the picture, Belle turned towards Adam.
"You feel really hot," Belle said. "You should take that t-shirt off."
"No. I'm fine," Adam muttered.
"Adam, honey, it's not good for you to get that hot. You're gonna get heat exhaustion," Belle said.
"Leave it alone, Belle."
"I'm just lookin' out for you."
Belle started to pull Adam's t-shirt off, but Adam grabbed her wrists and shoved her down. Belle fell into their sandcastle and watched as Adam stormed away. Belle glanced over at Aurora, who was staring at her in horror. She noticed everyone else had seen Adam shove her to the ground and they were also all staring at her. Belle narrowed her eyes and went after Adam. When she caught up to him, she pushed him from behind. It wasn't a hard push and he didn't even stumble. Adam turned around with an angry look on his face. When he saw it was Belle, he stopped walking.
"What the hell was that all about?" Belle demanded. "You don't push your girlfriend onto the ground; especially when she's the only one on your side. I was just trying to look out for you and you-"
"I'm sorry, Belle," Adam said.
"You're sorry? That's not really good enough, Adam," Belle stated. "I don't understand what's going on with you."
Adam took Belle's hand and led her away from everybody. When he was sure no one from their school could see them, he stopped. He turned to face Belle and slowly took off his shirt. Belle gasped. Adam's entire torso was covered in bruises and cuts. It looked worse than the night he had come over to her house. She walked around him and saw his sides and back were completely covered as well.
"I didn't want anyone to see this," Adam said.
"What happened?"
"Me and my dad got into a fight on Easter. I stormed out and went to the treehouse. But, he followed me and was pissed when he found out I had a secret hiding place," Adam said. "He grabbed a thick stick and beat me with it. Eventually the stick broke and he continued to hit me with his fists and then started kicking me in the sides."
Belle couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "Adam, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I-I shouldn't have-"
"It's okay, Belle," Adam said as he put his shirt back on. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who acted like a jerk. I'm really sorry."
Belle hugged Adam and buried her face in his shirt. He winced in pain. She didn't want to hurt him, so she started to pull away. But, Adam wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close to him.