Aurora looked around Philip's house; it was packed with students from both AHS and Camelot High. Aurora had been a little uneasy when students she didn't know from Camelot showed up, but Philip insisted the more the merrier. Philip was still mad about his parents missing his birthday and he was using the party as a way to "stick it to 'em".

So far, Philip had been dragged around the party by one group of people after another who wanted to wish him a happy birthday. Aurora hadn't gotten much time with him, but she didn't mind since she had him to herself all the night before for his actual birthday.

"Fight!" Someone shouted from outside.

Aurora hurried outside to see what was going on. Out in the yard a small group had gathered and she made her way through them. In the center of the circle Wendy and Tinker Bell were rolling around in the grass. A couple feet from them, Peter was watching them with a cocky smirk on his face. Aurora rolled her eyes at him, then looked back down at the girls. Tinker Bell now had Wendy pinned down, but Wendy had a handful of Tinker Bell's hair.

Aurora stepped forward and pulled Tinker Bell up. She struggled against her, but Aurora was much stronger than the petite girl and she shoved Tinker Bell towards Peter. Aurora then held her hand out to Wendy and helped her up. Wendy was unscathed, but she had grass stains on her clothes and dirt on her skin.

Aurora led her inside and up to Philip's parents' bathroom. Wendy sat down on top of the toilet seat and Aurora turned on the faucet to wet a wash cloth.

"What happened?" Aurora asked.

"Tink called me a boyfriend stealer and freaked out on me."

Aurora started cleaning the dirt of Wendy's face. "You guys realize he's neither of your boyfriends, right? He's leading you both on, but doesn't care about either of you."

"That's not true."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Yes it is, Wendy. He's an immature boy who will string both of you along until he gets bored."

Wendy sighed. "That's what Andrina said, too."

"You need to forget about Peter and just boys in general. Focus on your acting; that's what's going to get you a head in life. All you need is you; no one else can make you happy."

XXX

Belle giggled quietly as Adam pulled her across Philip's yard to a shadowy, secluded spot behind a tree. He sat down on the grass and pulled Belle down so she was straddling him. She smiled at him and then kissed him. Adam entangled his hands in Belle's hair and she wrapped her arms around him. They held onto each other so tightly and were kissing each other so passionately, as if this was their last moment together.

Belle sighed as Adam's tongue found hers. Adam made no noise, but he tightened his grip on Belle. His hand slowly slid down her neck and over the front of her shirt. Belle didn't stop him since she was used to him copping feels over her shirt. At first she had been hesitant about letting him touch her like that, but it felt good, so she allowed it.

Now Adam carefully slipped his hand under her shirt and gripped her side, pulling her closer to him. Their hips were forced against each other's and Belle was surprised at how good it felt. Adam moved his hand further up so it was now over her bra, but she didn't stop him. Adam gently lowered her down on the ground without breaking the kiss. His hand now slid down her body to her thigh. Belle's breathing became heavier and she had to break the kiss. Adam lowered his lips to her neck. He then slid his to her inner thigh and slowly up between her legs.

Belle grabbed his hand and pushed it away.

"Adam, stop," she whispered. "You're going a little too fast."

"I'm staying on the outside of your jeans," Adam muttered. He freed his hand from hers and slid it back to where it had been.

Belle wiggled out from under Adam and sat up. "I said stop."

Adam stared at her without saying anything and Belle couldn't read his expression. She pulled herself to her feet and walked away from him.

XXX

"Come on, Eric, you're in swimming trunks you may as well just get in the water."

"It's a little too cold for swimming."

Ariel, who never passed up the opportunity to go swimming, was shoulder-deep in Philip's pool while Eric was sitting on the edge with one foot in the pool and his other knee pulled up to his chest with his hands clasped around it. It was a chilly night and Ariel was the only one in the pool. Philip, or rather, Aurora had set a few floating fake candles in the pool and to Ariel it was the most romantic setting and really wanted Eric to get in the pool with her.

"If we stay close to each other we'll be warm," Ariel told him.

"Why can't we be close to each other outside of the water?"

"All right..."

Ariel breast-stroked over to the edge of the pool. She started to pull herself out of the water, but then grabbed Eric's arm and pulled him back into the pool with her. Ariel couldn't help giggling.

Eric resurfaced and shook out his hair. "Damn, that's cold."

"You're in the water now, so you may as well stay in."

Eric wiped the water off his face. "You're sneaky."

"I'm clever."

"Is that right?"

"Yuppers."

Eric gave Ariel a sly smile before grabbing her shoulders and pushing her under the water. Ariel dove further under the water and grabbed Eric's ankles, causing him to lose his balance and fall under the water again. She pushed herself up to the surface and swept her hair off her face. Eric slowly surface and wiped his eyes.

"You're good," Eric admitted.

"I have six older sisters; it's survival of the fittest in our pool."

"That explains why you cheat," Eric said. "You caught me off guard both times; I bet you wouldn't be able to dunk me if I was prepared."

"Maybe not. But, are you willing to risk it?" Ariel winked at him.

"Try me."

Ariel sprung across the water and lunged at Eric. When she hit Eric, he didn't budge at all. Instead he caught her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"Cheater," Ariel muttered.