A/N: Thank you again for your continued support! It means so much to me :)
Marie shot up in bed, breathing hard as a couple drops of sweat trailed down her forehead.
"Just a dream, just a dream… Ugh, what a nightmare," she muttered, gripping her comforter before rubbing her arms. After effectively regaining her breath, she flopped back onto her pillows, gingerly touching her necklace. It was the same nightmare as always when she first moved to a new place. Abandonment. Being turned to the street. Being all alone. No friends, no family. You'd imagine after 10 years of the same nightmare it wouldn't have the same effect. You'd be wrong.
Marie turned her head to the right and looked at the alarm clock sitting on her desk. Seven thirty in the morning. Wonderful. Knowing she wasn't going to sleep again that morning, she flipped her blanket off of her and tossed her legs over the side of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and then stretched as she stood up slowly.
"Might as well make some breakfast while I'm up. I hope Violet and Merv like pancakes… Hm, I wonder if they drink coffee," she yawned, opening her door and quietly making her way to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, Merv shuffled into the kitchen to find Marie making pancakes, drinking coffee and singing along to music on her tiny speaker via her mp3 player.
"Good morning, Merv! I hope you didn't leave your appetite in the dream world! I made pancakes!" She chirped, placing a few pancakes on a plate before setting it on the table with a bottle of syrup and some butter.
"These smell delightful, thank you, Marie," Merv mumbled, pouring himself some coffee and taking his seat. "You're up quite early. Did you sleep well?"
"Eh, for most of the night, yeah," Marie replied quietly, getting goose bumps when she thought about her nightmare. She shook her head slightly then smiled. "Yeah, I'd say I slept pretty well. I did tire myself out pretty nicely yesterday."
"I'm glad to hear. How're you adjusting here?"
"It's early, but so far, so good. I don't think I've ever made friends faster, which is really nice! Thank you again. I know how weird it can be to totally open your home to someone. I really do appreciate you guys taking me on," she smiled slightly, making a plate of pancakes for herself before getting another cup of coffee.
"We're more than happy to have you here, Marie," Merv told her, also smiling. They finished eating breakfast in quiet until Violet came bubbling into the morning.
"Oh, good morning! My, breakfast smells delicious! Marie, did you make these pancakes? You are just spoiling us with your food!" Violet giggled, getting herself a plate before sitting at the table. She and Marie talked about Violet's various hobbies through breakfast and clean up.
"So, do you have any plans with the kids today?" Violet asked, washing the last dish and handing it to Marie.
"Reggie said something about seeing a movie today, but I don't know. I'm sore from learning to skate yesterday, and I've got some reading I want to catch up on," she pondered, remembering the five books she'd started and had yet to finish.
"Oh, I see. Well, a day of relaxation sounds nice! What book are you thinking of reading today?"
"Hmm… I've put off Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close the longest, so I think that one." Marie finished drying the last dish and put it away. She gave Violet a side hug before heading into the bathroom. She showered quickly and threw on a flowy pink tank top and black shorts. Rummaging through her desk, she found her book and grabbed a beach towel. She walked out the front door and found a good sunny spot on the lawn to lay in. Flopping down on her back, she flipped a few pages before the bookmark and settled in.
Half an hour later, a shadow loomed over Marie. She glanced up and saw Lars standing there. Turning back to her book, she mumbled, "Can I help you?"
"It's a nice day out. Great for skating. Why would you waste your time reading?" Lars asked, crossing his arms.
"I like reading. It's a good book. Therefore, it's not a waste of time."
Lars exhaled through his nose a bit before taking a seat next to her. "Okay. If it's so good, what's it about?"
"A boy finds a very old key after his father dies in 9/11 and he searches all of New York to find the lock."
"That sounds dumb."
"That's your opinion. It's a very interesting book. The writing style is non-traditional."
"Still sounds dumb."
"Uh huh." She turned back to reading, waiting for Lars to get bored and leave.
"Marie?"
"Yes?"
"Can you, uh… can you read some of your book out loud?"
"No. But I'll lend it to you once I've finished. Which could be the end of today if you'd let me read in peace."
"Geez, just trying to be nice…"
"Why?"
"Do you want the smooth answer or the honest answer?"
Marie snorted and put her bookmark in her new stopping place. "Smooth, huh? Somehow I doubt that. I'll take the honest answer."
"The boys and I want to start a band. None of us can play drums. You can. We have a set for you to play on. What do you say?" Lars took his hat off and played with his hair for a second before putting it back on. Marie chewed on the inside of her lip, mulling over it. She did miss playing drums…
"Yeah, I'm in. But not for you! I'm doing it for the music, man," she said as she picked her book back up. Lars smirked and stood up, brushing his pants off. "Cool. We're having our first official practice tomorrow. Be at my house at 4. See you, loser." Marie rolled her eyes as he stalked off. What had she just agreed to? Oh, right. Music. Beautiful music. Setting her book down, Marie went into the house and retrieved her mp3 player and her headphones before laying back down on her stomach outside, picking her book back up. She must have dozed off eventually, because suddenly someone was shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes and stared up at Reggie.
"Oh, hey, Reg. What's up?" Marie asked, pulling her headphones out of her ears.
"Hey there, sleeping beauty!" Reggie laughed.
"You are aware of the dangers of sun poisoning, right? Because napping in direct sunlight for too long will do just that," Sam sighed, looking worriedly between Marie and the sun.
"Ugh, yeah. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I guess I was really tired," Marie mumbled, sitting up. Reggie and Sam sat on the grass with her. Sam picked up her book and nodded approvingly at her choice.
"Huh, I remember that book. It was kinda weird," Reggie commented, glancing at the cover. "Enjoying a calm day, then, huh?"
"Yeah, it's been nice. It's been a bit since I've been able to do absolutely nothing. I moved right after school ended this past time, so things were hectic for a couple of weeks," Marie explained, stretching back out on the grass. Her friends followed suit and they all stared up at the sky for a bit. It was so incredibly blue and clear.
"It's like the ocean," Marie stated softly, reaching a hand up towards the sky to point at a cloud that looked like a wave tunnel. "I've always loved the ocean. Maybe because it reminds me of home. Well, my original home. I always dream about the ocean when I get too exhausted."
"Do you surf, Marie?" Reggie asked, flipping over to her stomach. Marie tilted her head back to try and look at her purple haired friend and laughed.
"Nah, you've seen my coordination!"
"It's not that bad. I think skating is worse," Sam said, also rolling over. Marie decided to follow suit and pulled her hair to one side. "Well, if that's the case, do you guys want to teach me sometime this week?"
"Of course! There's a lot of people in Ocean Shores, a lot of surfers, and a surprising lack of female surfers. I bet in a month you can kick Otto's butt in a surf contest!" Reggie cheered.
"Speaking of Otto, where are the other two?"
"Getting ready for a date," Sam chimed in.
"Hm, I knew they were close, but I didn't think that close." Marie covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled, nudging Reggie, who cracked a smile.
"That's not… oh! Ah, you got me. Nah, Otto is dating Twister's cousin Clio, and Twist has been seeing this girl from school. I think they'd break up in a heartbeat if they did date, though. They're way too much alike." They all shared a good laugh and finished the day off just like that. Laying on the Stimpleton's lawn, talking and laughing and getting to know each other better.