Happy New Year! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Five Hundred and Thirty Five

"Good morning!" Ruby said cheerfully.

Charlie and Joey exchanged curious glances. Ruby was never this jolly in the morning. She came to sit with them at the table and put and envelope in front them.

"Surprise!"

"This had better not be a court summons or something," Charlie said suspiciously.

"As if," Ruby said. "It's a gift."

Charlie looked at Ruby and then at Joey, who shrugged. She had no idea what was going on. Charlie opened the envelope and found theatre tickets to see Hairspray.

"Ruby!"

"Well, you guys enjoyed Wicked so much when you finally got to go that I thought you'd enjoy this," the teenager explained. "And I thought I kind of owed you after everything that's happened. Plus you've really been through it the past few weeks. I wanted to treat you. And…"

She gave them another envelope.

Joey opened it.

"Ruby, this is too much."

It was a hotel reservation.

"It's not a posh hotel," Ruby said apologetically. "But it means you can have a drink and stay the night. I wasn't able to provide food though. Sorry."

"How did you even pay for this?" Charlie asked. "Let us pay for some of it. Please?"

"No way," Ruby said. "I paid for it from the shifts you've been giving me at the restaurant."

"But that was for you to save towards a car and for things that you need," Joey pointed out.

"And I will," Ruby told her. "But first I wanted to get something for you guys. But the tickets are for tonight so you'd better clear your diaries."

"Ruby, are you sure?" Charlie asked.

"Absolutely," Ruby said, hugging both her mothers. "I'm staying the night with Claire so you don't need to worry about me. Just have fun, okay?"

Joey hugged her too and thanked her, genuinely touched by the gesture.


Indi was trying not to show how excited she was at the prospect of attending the University open day that day. The problem was that she was currently having breakfast with Romeo who was not attending the open day because he had failed his exams. On purpose. In some ridiculous attempt at solidarity because he believed that Indi was going to fail hers.

So today, Indi and Nicole were going to the open day without him and she was trying very hard not to show off about her future and make him feel like she was leaving him behind.

"What are you up to today?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Dunno," Romeo said vaguely. "Maybe go for a surf."

"Well, I think Ruby, Dex and Xavier are hanging out today," Indi said.

She genuinely did know that they were hanging out today and she had secretly arranged that they would include him in their plans.

"Why don't you go and spend time with them? I think they're making the most of the last of the holidays. Playing pool, going to the beach and stuff."

"Yeah, maybe I will," Romeo said.

He liked Xavier and he had been spending quite a lot of time with Ruby lately, what with working at the restaurant. Ruby did the odd shift there and even when she wasn't working, she always seemed to be there with Claire or Joey. He enjoyed spending time with her.

"Great," Indi said, satisfied that he wouldn't be alone all day. "Then Nicole and I can meet up with you later."

"Great," he agreed with a smile, leaning in to kiss her.


Ruby pulled a face when she saw Xavier stalking towards her with a face like a slapped bottom. He had been miserable for the entire holidays, ever since April had been whisked out of town by her mother. He had heard nothing from her and he didn't know where they stood anymore; whether they were even together or not. Ruby felt sorry for him but she was also bored of the whinging. The last thing she wanted to do was to spend the day with him but Indi had specifically asked that she, Dex and Xavier hang around with Romeo while she and Nicole went to the University open day. And well, she didn't want to abandon Romeo in his time of need.


Charlie and Joey left early for the city, still very touched that Ruby had arranged such a special surprise for them. It was so thoughtful and so kind of her to book them a hotel and theatre tickets. They didn't feel it was necessary and they were worried about the money she had spent on them. But they accepted the gesture and they were excited to enjoy their day.


"I do know what you're doing, you know," Romeo said, walking hand in hand with Indi towards the Surf Club.

Dex trailed behind them.

"What do you mean?" Indi asked innocently.

"I know you're setting me up on a play date so I don't feel left out while you go to your Uni thing."

"I am not!" Indi protested.

They stopped to face each other, holding both of each other's hands. Dex yelped as he walked into them. Swearing at them, he stalked past and headed off to the Surf Club.

"You are and I'm touched that you care so much," Romeo said. "But I am okay, you know?"

"Don't you want to spend time with them?" Indi asked worriedly.

"No," Romeo said. "I will. It's as good a thing to do as anything. But I would have been okay. I am okay. I'm going to go back to school and I'll hopefully keep some shifts at Bucktons' when things go back to normal with Alf. I don't know but hopefully. You'll go to Uni and we'll be happy together the way we've always been. Okay?"

"Okay."

He smiled and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Ugh, what's wrong with you?" Ruby complained when Dex stomped into the Surf Club. "I've already got Stroppy over there. I don't need to deal with Grumpy as well."

"Just Romeo and Indi humping all the way down here," Dex said, rolling his eyes and throwing himself into the chair beside Xavier.

Both Xavier and Ruby pulled a face.

"Why does everyone have to be so loved up all the time?" Xavier complained.

"Well, that was you not so long ago and you weren't very apologetic about it," Ruby reminded him. "In fact, you deliberately showed off about it."

"Yeah, well, things change, don't they?" Xavier snapped.

"Guessing you haven't heard from April?" Dex said.

"What do you think?" Xavier said sharply.

"Sorry!" Dex said, holding up his hands in protest.

"It's just not fair!" Xavier said desperately. "How could she just leave like that? And not even try to find a way to contact me? It's not like the Internet doesn't make it easy. There's a million ways to get in touch now."

"Maybe her Mum has cut her off," Dex said. "Maybe she wants to and she can't?"

"Maybe rather than being pissed off and selfish, you should be concerned about her," Ruby pointed out.

They all looked up as Indi and Romeo, followed by Nicole walked into the building.


Having left the car at the hotel, Charlie and Joey were determined to relax and have genuine fun. Their first attempt at seeing Wicked had been thwarted by Ruby's bad behaviour and when they had finally seen it, as much as they had thoroughly enjoyed the show, they had still nearly cancelled as it had been in the midst of Ross's illness when he and Morag had come to stay with them. They had been temporarily swept away into the land of Oz during the show but then come crashing back down back into Summer Bay that very same night, feeling the need to come home straight away to continue looking after their family.

Today, with Ruby back on track and things a little more normal in their world, they hoped that they could fully let their hair down. And Charlie's first priority was to have a glass of wine with lunch so that she couldn't be dragged back home at the first hint of a crisis. She wanted to focus on Joey and their relationship instead of every single other person in their lives for a change.


Romeo and Ruby were playing doubles at pool with Dex and Xavier and Ruby was pleased to be winning. She was having a really nice day. She was glad to have sent her parents off to have a special day of their own and for her part; it was nice to be occupying Romeo, so to speak, while Indi and Nicole were checking out the University. Then this evening, she had arranged to have a girls' night in with Claire, which they hadn't done for ages, mostly because Claire had girls' nights of a different kind these days with Hannah.

"Yes!" Xavier said jubilantly, as he potted a ball.

"Nice shot," said a silky sounding voice.

He turned and blushed a little as Summer, a girl they vaguely knew from school approached him. Ruby rolled her eyes as Xavier puffed his chest out a little, trying to look as manly as possible.

"Thanks," he said.

"Well, it is the first one he's got all game," she commented.

Romeo nudged her.

"Don't ruin it for him," he hissed. "It's the first time he's smiled all summer."

"Good point," Ruby said. "He's been very irritating."

Romeo laughed.

"We might be a while waiting for his next shot," he said. "Do you guys want a juice?"

Ruby and Dex followed him across the room. Xavier and Summer remained oblivious. April seemed to have been forgotten for now.


Charlie and Joey had very much enjoyed their lunch. They had even shared a bottle of wine! Now Joey had agreed to indulge Charlie in some shopping so long as Charlie promised to do at least one museum. Then it was back to their hotel to get ready for the theatre and whatever else they had time for before they were due to head out for the evening.


The group had headed out to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. Xavier had become wrapped up in conversation with Summer, a girl he had never looked twice at before but now seemed very content with her attention. Ruby had attached herself to Romeo although she was trying not to be too obvious about it. And Dex felt like the odd one out. As usual. But he was beginning to resign himself to this being his life. The oddball in the corner. The one who couldn't make the connections. The guy who didn't quite fit in.

"Liam!" Romeo suddenly called, spotting his friend strolling along the beach hand in hand with Bianca.

Ruby rolled her eyes. She would never be Bianca's number one fan and spending time with Liam, after everything that happened was not top of her agenda. But still, the sappy, happy couple approached them.

"Hey, guys," Liam said. "What are you up to?"

"Just hanging out," Romeo said. "Indi and Nic are at their Uni open day."

"Oh, right, that's today," Bianca said. "Do you know how it's going?"

"I've had a couple of texts," Romeo said. "I think Indi's trying to play down how much fun she's having."

Bianca smiled. She felt bad for Romeo having to repeat the year when she knew he could easily have passed.

"What are you guys up to today?" Dex asked conversationally.

"We've just been for a walk and now we're heading back home," Liam said.

"To the tent?" Romeo teased.

The couple had enjoyed their time travelling over the summer that they had decided to abandon traditional living and set up a more natural home down by the river. So far, it was working for them, although Bianca was becoming a little nervous as the school term approached and she knew she would have actual work to do. The whole thing was fun while they were on holiday mode. When they were back in the real world, she could help but wonder if they would need to be… well, in the real world.

"You mock but we couldn't be happier," Liam said, putting his arm around Bianca.

"Are you really camping?" Dex asked. "Like, for real?"

"You should come and see the place," Liam said, extending the invitation to them all, including Xavier who had quickly forgotten all about Summer now that April's sister was around.

He finally had someone he could interrogate.


"I think we might be running out of time to get ready for the theatre," Charlie whispered.

There were only so many paintings she could look at. Her eyes were starting the blur.

"We have loads of time," Joey said, looking at her watch.

Charlie raised her eyebrows.

"Oh!" Joey said a little louder than she intended. "Oh, yes, we need to get back to our room immediately!"

She all but dragged Charlie out of the gallery.


Ruby, Romeo, Dex, Summer, Xavier, Liam and Bianca had all relocated to Liam and Bianca's home and despite herself, Ruby had to admit that it was actually quite nice. Apart from obvious things such as electricity and WiFi, they had pretty much everything they needed. They had a cosy place to sleep and it seemed lovely to live in the open air and cook on the fire, right by the running river. But then she thought about the difficulties of charging her phone and not watching TV and decided that the outdoor life wasn't for her.

Visiting it was nice though, especially as she was sat on a blanket beside Romeo feeling like she didn't have a care in the world. Xavier, however, did not seem to be in the same mood. He had forgotten all about Summer and had spent the past half an hour badgering Bianca for any glimmer of information he possibly could about April.

"Xavier, please!" Bianca begged desperately. "I have told you all I know. April hasn't been in touch with me either. I didn't know anything about what happened after the wedding. I assumed she was just here."

"Didn't you think it was weird that you hadn't heard from your own sister for weeks?" Xavier demanded. "I thought you were close."

"We are," Bianca said defensively. "I mean, I've had the odd text just to say she's fine. She's just been a bit monosyllabic. You know, not really given away very much. We weren't really getting along before the wedding. I know she was happy that Liam and I decided to make a go of things but when she went quiet on me I thought it was because I skipped town before we'd had a chance to talk properly. I just thought that when I came home, she and I would be able to sit and talk and make it up. But then I came back and she was gone."

"And have you spoken to her?"

"I tried to," Bianca said. "But I just got a text back to say she was fine and not to worry. She said she'd call when she could."

Xavier sighed heavily.

"What do you think then?"

"I don't know," Bianca said. "Except that my Mum doesn't bring joy."

"Have you spoken to your Mum?" Xavier asked urgently.

"She isn't taking my calls."

Xavier growled in frustration.

"What the hell is wrong with your family?"

"Um… do you really want to poke that bear? When was the last time you spoke to your eldest brother?"

Xavier glared at her. From a short distance away, Ruby smiled quietly to herself. It wasn't often that Ruby was on Team Bianca but that was a good shot – right on target.

"I just want to know where my girlfriend is," Xavier said. "If she even is my girlfriend anymore."

"I don't know what to tell you," Bianca said. "I'm sorry."

"Has she even mentioned me?"

"She hasn't mentioned much."

"No then," Xavier said. "I think that's all I need to know."


"Mmm… we're going… to… be… l… late…" Joey mumbled between kisses.

She and Charlie had made very good use of every inch of their hotel room. They'd then got dressed. Then undressed again. Then dressed and now, halfway towards the door, they were at risk of finding themselves undressed and late for the theatre.

"I don't care…" Charlie moaned into Joey's neck. "We can Google some reviews or something and tell Ruby it was good."

Joey laughed and kissed Charlie's lips, running her hands through her hair, which she'd already styled and messed up once and so decided to leave loose for the night.

"Okay, one of us needs to resist," she decided.

Charlie frowned.

"How about we go to the theatre and enjoy the amazing show?" Joey suggested. "And then we do more of… this when we get back?"

"Let's go quickly!" Charlie said, taking her hand and leading her out of the room. "Then we can come back quickly and continue!"

Laughing, Joey followed her out of the room with just enough time to grab their key card on the way.


"I don't think I can keep up with him," Romeo said, shaking his head as Xavier sat across from them, his arm around Summer who was thoroughly enjoying his attention.

"Well, I think it's really disrespectful to April," Dex said sourly. "He should be worried about her, not pissed off and moving on with some other girl."

"Well, she does seem to have ditched him," Ruby said. "And Bianca said she had heard from her so she must be safe, I guess."

"But physically safe doesn't mean she's okay," Dex said. "It's not normal that she would just blank us all. None of us have heard anything from her. Her social media hasn't been touched. I'm worried. Even if he isn't."

"To be fair, he's not exactly forgotten her the second she's walked out the Bay," Ruby said, surprised to find herself standing up for her ex. "He's been a miserable shit all summer long."

"What she said," Romeo added. "But nicer."

Ruby laughed. Even Dex smiled.

"I don't know," the dark haired boy said. "Something just doesn't seem right to me. Joanna dragged her out of here practically by her hair. Nobody has heard from her. She's obviously been fobbing Bianca off. I mean, where the hell is she?"

He looked over at Xavier who was now actually kissing Summer. He pulled a face, as did Romeo and Ruby. Dex stood up and walked away from the group, pulling out his phone, hoping to get through to April. Romeo pulled his own phone out, wondering if he might have heard again from Indi but there was no message there.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Romeo said brightly. "I hope she's having a good time."

He smiled cheerfully.

"Thank you for spending the day with me," he said.

"My pleasure," Ruby replied honestly.

"I mean it," Romeo said, touching her hand. "I know Indi orchestrated the whole thing but I do appreciate your support. Indi starting Uni and me restarting high school isn't the highlight of my life but knowing that you and I are going to pull together is making the whole thing a lot more bearable."

Ruby rested her head on his broad shoulder for a moment.

"Well, I'm using you really," she joked, lifting her head up quickly to ensure it was merely a friendly gesture. "You've already done all the work so you're the perfect study buddy."

They were interrupted by a taxi pulling up. Nicole and Indi came bounding out of the back of it, laden with Uni paraphernalia. Ruby's heart sank. She wasn't ready for them to be back yet. She wanted to spend more time with Romeo. Unfortunately, he had leapt up and bounded across the green to sweet Indi up in his strong arms, swing her around and kiss her.

"Gross," Nicole teased, coming to plonk herself down beside Ruby.

"How did it go?" Bianca asked excitedly, thinking back to her days at University and how much fun they had been.

"Really good!" Nicole said equally excitedly.

"We had such a good time!" Indi burst out, leading Romeo back to the campfire Liam was perfecting.

Dex returned miserably to the circle having failed to get through to April.

"Oh, you're here," he said to his sister.

"That's a pleasant greeting even for you," Indi replied.

"He's not in a good mood," Ruby said.

"Someone else is!" Nicole remarked, nodding over at Xavier, entwined with Summer.

"Who even is that?" Indi wondered.

"Summer… can't remember her surname," Ruby said. "You know her. From school."

Nicole and Indi nodded. They vaguely remembered her.

"And how did that happen?" Nicole asked.

"He forgot he had a girlfriend," Dex snapped.

"Well, as long as nobody else did," Indi said, leaning against Romeo and kissing him.

Ruby pulled a face. She grabbed her phone and messaged Claire, urgently calling her to meet her at Liam and Bianca's. Between Xavier and Summer, Liam and Bianca and Romeo and Indi, she didn't think she could survive the rest of the evening without her best friend.


Charlie and Joey left the theatre in a state of euphoria. The show had been absolutely brilliant and the songs were buzzing in their heads. They knew they would have to get the soundtrack immediately. The whole show had been so lively, energetic, fun and affirming. They wanted to see it all over again, just as they had with Wicked. However, they both knew they were on a promise so it didn't take them long to get back to the hotel.


"We should probably leave you guys to it, I guess," Romeo said.

It was getting late and he didn't want them to all outstay their welcome.

"You're more than welcome to stay but yeah, it is getting late," Liam said. "I don't really want to be responsible for a bunch of kinds wandering around Summer Bay…"

Romeo stood up and pulled into to her feet. Claire, Ruby and Dex also gathered themselves. Ruby looked down at Nicole.

"Oh dear," she teased. "Are we going to need a truck to lift you?"

"Hey!" Nicole protested. "I mean, a little help would be nice…"

Romeo and Liam both pulled her to her feet. The group were about to impolitely interrupt Xavier and Summer who had barely surfaced for air all evening when another taxi pulled up. Dex's eyes widened when April climbed out of the cab. She paid the driver and slung her bag on her back. She smiled at first, happy to see her sister and her friends but then her face fell at the sight of her boyfriend in the arms of another. The sadness turned to anger as she marched up to him and dropped her bag at his feet. He jolted away from Summer, eyes wide with shock and panic.

"April!" he yelped.

"Miss me?" she demanded.


Next time… Three's a crowd at Liam and Bianca's tent, Robertson gives Will some advice and Morag continues to build Alf's defence…