The second we made it to the beach, I knew the day was gonna be lit.
The beach was a blaze of parasols, hot colours to match the burning sand underfoot. Against the percussion of the waves was the laughter, coming in bursts and rolling like the ocean. The water was crystal blue, the sky was clear and sunny, and the weather was cool. In other words: it was a perfect beach day.
"Woohoo! Let's hit the water!" cheered Sky (Brandon), jogging down the sidewalk towards the beach. From the sandy hill the portal had taken us to, we could see everything. Running along the wide beach was the boardwalk city, complete with palm trees and a huge amusement park.
Stella gave a pleased sigh. "It's good to be back home," she said, putting on her sunshades.
"So, what are we going to do first?" asked Bloom excitedly. Like the rest of us girls, she was wearing a thin sundress over her swim suit and a pair of cute flip flops.
"Let's do some swimming first," suggested Flora (who I might add was wearing a bikini that actually fit this time), smiling sweetly. "The water looks refreshing." Thankfully, she'd gotten over the fiasco from yesterday and was back to her normal, sweet state.
"Oh, uh, I was just going to take a stroll around on the boardwalk," stammered Timmy, his face turning red. Like the other two Specialists, he was dressed in bright swimming trunks but instead of going around bare-chested, he sported a thin plain tank top. He didn't have to tell us why he didn't want to go to the beach because we all already knew; he didn't feel comfortable walking among a bunch of chicks in tiny, exposing bikinis. Typical nerd.
"Oh, I'll join you. I don't really do well in places this crowded," volunteered Tecna, taking her handheld out of her pocket. "I actually wanted to talk to you about this newest app that just came out…" And with that, the two started towards the boardwalk while in deep conversation about their phones and junk.
"Lettme guess. The Bitch Lover didn't want to come," I inferred as the rest of us made our way towards the beach.
"Riven was still in bed when we left," corrected Brandon (Sky), sliding on his sunshades. "We didn't feel like waking him so…"
"It's best he didn't come anyway," scowled Musa, "so we won't have to hear him and his stupid new girlfriend."
"Who gives a shit about them," I said, rolling my eyes as we stepped onto the soft sand. "At least now we don't have to-" All I saw a flying white orb and—
BAM!
Next thing I knew, I was lying on my side in the sand, my nose bleeding and a volleyball right there at my head. OH C'MON!
"Oopsie! My bad!" giggled the sickening voice. As Brandon and Sky helped me up, Mira skipped over. "I'm just not very good at this sport yet," she explained with another giggle.
I had two options: walk away and ignore her or SLAP THAT MOTHERFUCKER INTO NEXT WEEK! "Listen up, fucker," I hissed, approaching her like a cat readying to pounce, "I don't know what the hell's your problem but you better back the fuck off before I really come for your ass."
Mira clicked her tongue. "A bitch like you isn't capable of anything but stealing a girl's man. In fact, I'm surprised you still haven't jumped ship on these losers," she insulted, rolling her eyes at Sky and Brandon. "They must be easy or something."
"She's got you there, Sky," chuckled Brandon (Sky), slapping his buddy on the back.
"Haha, very funny."
"Don't you have other things to do with your bitch squad?" I snapped at her.
"Watch who you're talking to," hissed Mira, getting so close to me, I could smell her minty breath. "The girls and I still want revenge for what you and you're little man-izers did to us."
"Give us your best shot, mate," I hissed back.
We had an intense stare-off for a few moments until Brandon (Sky) finally decided to break it up. "O-kay, how about we go ahead and have some fun?" he suggested, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me away. "I think they're playing beach ball over there…."
As soon as we made enough distance between us and Mira, I started to calm down. How could I not be? The soft sand felt nice between my toes, the sun's rays were peacefully floating and resting on the warm waters, and all my friends were here with me to help me enjoy this nice weather. What more could I want?
While the others all separated to do their own things, I took the liberty of walking along the coastline. The fresh salty airs tickled my nose and light kisses from the occasional breeze sent tingling sensations through me. Yep, this was going to be a perfect day. And nothing could—
I froze the second I spotted them, my mouth hanging open and my eyebrows raised in disgust. Not that far from me—about a few meters—Riven was lying on his stomach on a bright pink beach towel. Hold up, it got weirder. Darcy was standing on his knees beside him, smearing lotion on his back. The fuck?
"Yo, Riven!" I called, storming across the sand over to them.
Riven lifted his head and the second his eyes landed on me, his hissed. "What do you want?" he scowled up at me.
"Don't you wanna wear gloves?" I asked Darcy slowly, raising an eyebrow. "You might contract something."
"Haha, very funny, fairy." Darcy rolled her eyes and kept massaging her boyfriend's (*shudder*) back.
"I'm telling you, Icy. They just won't stop following us," hissed Stormy's voice. I whirled around to see the other two Trix sisters glaring at me with their hands on their hips. They sported dark-colored bikinis and even darker sunshades.
"Well, well, well. I didn't think you withes would show up today, considering that it's a known fact witches melt in the sun," I hissed back.
"Why you!" Stormy reached out to grab my hair, but I shoved her away. We were about to have a real fight but stopped when one of the lifeguards passed by, sending us you-fuckers-better-straighten-up look.
"Look, guys. Why can't we just get along?" asked Flora sweetly, appearing between me and Stormy. "We're supposed to be having fun, not fighting."
"The heck's wrong with you, Flora? They're witches and we're fairies! We're mortal enemies!" I snapped at her, "yeesh, don't you read?"
"For once, I agree with this troll," scowled Stormy, "it's instinct for fairies and witches to compete. And for you to not see that must mean-"
"Flora! Hey, Flora!" called Sky (Brandon), running across the beach over to us.
"The fuck does he want?" seethed Riven, quickly jumping to his feet. "And why can't you dumbasses leave me alone for once?"
"What is it, Sky?" Flora titled her head and smiled widely at him.
"You can thank me for this later, but I signed you up for one of the activities today," informed Sky (Brandon), smiling proudly and trying hard not to look at Flora's chest. To be honest, when you thought about it, he would be the pervert of Winx Club. Though being a kid's show, it was kind of obvious he had a thing for the ladies.
"How sweet of you. Which one?" asked Flora kindly.
"The swim suit competition," replied Sky (Brandon), looking even more proud of himself. "There's no way you can lose."
I facepalmed and Stella, who had been watching us (well, specifically Sky (Brandon), gasped as if she was offended. I rolled my eyes at him. So what he basically just said was: "you have big boobs, and who doesn't love boobs?"
Icy smirked. "Well, that was stupid. Your little group of fairy friends are just barely above average," she insulted (I think?), shaking her head. "No way she'll win."
"Oh…I…uh…" stammered Flora as if searching for something nice to say. It was kind of obvious she didn't want a part of the competition (especially after what happened yesterday) but of course, she was far too nice to tell that to Sky's (Brandon's) face.
"Tch, whatever. I could win that competition in my sleep," boasted Stormy, fluffing her storm-cloud hair.
"You wish. You ain't got nothing to show," I countered, looking down at her nearly flat chest.
"No, I could win that competition," exclaimed Stella, marching over to us angrily. She sent a mean look at Sky (Brandon), and then glowered at Flora (specifically her big boobs). "I am a princess after all. There's no way the judges will be able to resist me."
Oh boy. I could already tell where this was going…. I looked around for Bloom, Brandon (Sky), or Musa so they could break the fight up, but they were nowhere to be seen. I could always stop things, but you know me. I honestly loved a good cage fight.
"Is that a challenge?" snapped Stormy, getting all up in Stormy's face.
"What if it is?" growled Stella, matching the witch's aggressive stance.
"How about both of you sign up?" I suggested for Sky (Brandon), "and whoever wins gets bragging rights." Though to be honest, Stella was gonna brag anyway.
"Fine," snorted Stormy and Stella in unison, sending each other another I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass look. "Where do we sign up?" they both demanded of Sky (Brandon).
"Over by the coolers," replied Sky (Brandon) happily, "they have a whole bunch of signup sheets for all kinds of competitions and activities. I think Bloom and Brandon were signing up for the sand castle competition…"
"Hey, why don't we sign up for that, too?" Darcy asked Riven, latching onto his arm and rubbing her face against his bare skin.
"No way. I don't do that kind of stuff," spat Riven, looking away with a tough-guy expression.
"But if we win, we can prove to Brandon and the rest of your friends that you aren't the loser they all think you are," cooed Darcy, her voice sickeningly sweet.
Tch, it was gonna take a lot more than a stupid sand castle for Riven to win me over, but what the hell ever.
Riven thought about it for a moment and frowned even deeper. "Fine. But only because I wanna beat that chump," he said harshly. I wanted to insult the soul out of his ass, but I stayed quiet as the couple followed after Stormy and Stella.
Flora, who was still surprised by Sky's (Brandon's) announcement, just stood there staring into open space. This was good for me. I didn't want her to hear what I was about to propose. "Yo, Icy," I said, turning around to face her. "Feel like making a little bet with me?" I was kinda low of cash and somebody still owed me twenty dollars so I had to take any opportunity that presented itself.
"What kind of bet?" Icy narrowed her eyes at me.
"Oh, it's nothing too fancy," I informed casually with a shrug, "just a little wager on who's going to win the swim suit competition."
Icy smirked. "In that case, I'm game. I'll bet twenty dollars on that pesky little blond friend of yours."
Stella? For real? Boy, Icy was stupider than I thought. "And I'll place mine on Flora," I announced happily. I snorted back a laugh. "May the best girl win." I spat in my hand and held it out or her to shake.
"You're out of your mind," jeered Icy, looking at my saliva-coated hand in disgust.
"Fine." I held out my dry hand instead.
"You're so gonna lose," taunted Icy as we shook. "The flower girl doesn't have a chance. So long, fairy." And with that, Icy held her chin high and sauntered away.
Well, I just made twenty dollars. No way in heck Stella was going to win instead of Flora. Sure, there was a good chance another girl could win but when it came to chest size, Flora had nearly everyone beat. And if the judgers were guys, the competition was as good as Flora's.
"Cadey! Cadey!" Musa's voice pulled me out my thoughts of victory.
"'Sup, Musa," I nodded at her.
"I heard there's a sand castle competition in a few hours," said Musa excitedly, "wanna be my teammate? Bloom and Brandon have already signed up, and I'm sure Tecna and Timmy won't want to."
Hell, why not? Bloom, Brandon (Sky), Darcy, and Riven were going to compete, so why not become a part of the action? "Sign me up," I declared confidently.
"Sweet! I'll go do that. By the way, what's wrong with Flora?" The music fairy raised an eyebrow at Flora, who was still standing there staring at nothing.
"Sky signed her up for the bikini competiton," I explained, "Stella and Stormy are signing up, too."
Musa wrinkled her nose. "Competitions like that are stupid. It only makes girls feel insecure about themselves and that they have to look like everybody else. I can see why Flora wouldn't want to be a part of it."
I totally agreed with her but hey! I wasn't going to be participating in it, so…. Besides, I needed Flora to be in this thing for the sake of my twenty dollars. Flora was an independent girl and wouldn't let some stupid-ass irrelevant bullshit like that change her outlook on things. Hopefully.
"Hey, how about we get some ice cream?" I asked as a devilishly idea sparked into existence in my mind. Stella and I were sauntering through the boardwalk town, while the others were back on the beach playing volleyball or whatever.
"No way. I can't eat anything until after the competition," insisted Stella, holding her chin high. "I might get bloated or something."
I eyed the ice cream vendor again. "Oh, c'mon!" I whined, "just one tiny scoop won't hurt you. Besides, it's hot out. You'll burn it off well before the competition."
"No can do." Stella shook her head stubbornly. "Seriously, you don't know anything about being a model. In the fashion business, your figure means everything."
For a second, I felt bad for her but that guilt immediately faded. "In that case, you definitely need ice cream," I informed her, "ice cream is full of diary, which has estrogen. And estrogen makes your boobies bigger. That and it's also very fatty, and will also make your boobs look bigger."
"Really?" Stella eyed me suspiciously.
I almost told her to Google it, but then I remembered that probably didn't exist in this universe. "Absolutely," I assured her with a nod, "estrogen is a natural and primary female hormone. If anything will make you bigger up top, it's estrogen." Thank you, health class.
Stella thought it over for a moment and then sighed loudly. "Fine. But just one scoop, okay?"
Yes! I worked out the next parts of my plan in my head as we made our way over to the ice cream vendor. "One scoop of vanilla on a waffle cone, please," I told the vendor. Stella was about to place her order, but I interrupted her. "Hey, is that vendor selling the latest at reasonably low prices?" I gasped, looking over my shoulder.
And as planned, Stella took the bait. "Where?!" she exclaimed, whirling around.
While she was occupied, I leaned in closer to the vendor. "She'll take a scoop of pistachio on a plain cone," I whispered to him. He gave me a thumbs up and opened up his cooler.
" You must have missed it," I lied as Stella turned back around, obviously disappointed. "I'm sure you'll see it later. And don't worry; I already ordered for you."
"I better. I hate missing a sale," said Stella grumpily as the two of us paid for our ice creams. Stella wrinkled her nose as the vendor handed over her ice cream cone. "What's this?" she asked as we started away.
"Lime," I lied, "I didn't want to get you anything too fatty." See, this was the deal: I knew Stella was somewhat allergic to pistachios, so I needed her to eat the ice cream so she'd break out in bumps or something so she couldn't compete in the contest. Evil, I know. But I needed to secure my victory.
"I don't know. It smells a little…nutty," scowled Stella, observing it closely. "Are you sure?"
Oh shit. I was about to lie again, but I was thrown off when a trio of young men got in our way. "Well, well, well. Just the girls I was looking for," said Miller, looking the both of us up and down with a perverted look.
Double oh shit. "Back off, bro," I warned, forgetting all about my elaborate scheme. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't want you."
"That's not what you were saying the night of that party," smirked Miler.
"Where's Flora?" asked Harry, looking around expectantly. "We have unfinished business."
"Don't go anywhere near her," I snapped at him, "she doesn't want anything to do with you either. It's obvious you guys don't remember why we hate you in the first place, so let me refresh your memory: you'll are womanizers."
"Jeez, that hurt," pouted Miller, grinning tauntingly. "You're so mean, Acadia."
"If you wanna see Flora, then come to the bikini competition on the beach later," said Stella flirtatiously, winking at Harry like she was sexy or something. "The both of us are competing so if you wanna see more of us, that's definitely the place to go."
I facepalmed. Leave it to Stella to ruin things.
"A bikini competition, huh? Like hell I'll be there." Liam winked back. "I don't wanna miss out on the beach babes."
"You're looking at one," insisted Stella, strutting a little "sexy" pose.
"Miller!" shouted a voice. We all turned to See Mira marching over with a I'm-bout-to-murder-some-bitch look on her face. Grreeaaaatttt. Her again. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HANGING OUT WITH THIS BITCH!" she raged at Miller, pointing at me.
"Uh, last time I checked, he already broke up with you," I joked rudely. Apparently, Mira didn't catch the insult.
"For the last time, Mira. We're through. I can see other people," said Miller carelessly, brushing Mira off.
"No you can't! You're my man!" Mira stomped a foot angrily "Mine, mine, mine, mine!"
I didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her. "Just move on, Mira," I said in the softest tone I could force, "Miller's not worth your time."
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT SO YOU CAN HAVE HIM!" Mira yelled at me, her eyes wild and deranged.
"Oh, puh-leez. Grow up," sassed Stella, twirling her hair around a finger and rolling her eyes up at the sky. "So what if he's with Acadia now?"
"Wait. This is Acadia's boyfriend?" said a disgusted voice.
Triple oh shit.
Within seconds, Stormy was latched on to Miller's arm like a bloodthirsty leech. "Hey there, big boy," she giggled, rubbing under his chin like he was a puppy or something. I facepalmed again. Stormy obviously thought Miller and I were a couple and being the witch she was, she was going to try to "break" us up just for the heck of it.
"GET. YOUR. HANDS. OFF. MY. MAN!" Poor Mira reached out faster than we could react and pulled Stormy's hair by her lightning bang.
Quadruple oh shit.
"Oh, I know you did not just go there!" Stormy yelled at Mira, gearing up to fight. "You're going to pay for that!"
"Ladies, ladies. There's no reason to fight," said Miller freshly, stepping in between the girls. "There's enough of me for all three of you."
This was literally my face right now: -.-
"Someone done told you wrong, buddy," I hissed, "I don't want any of you."
"Oh, stop lying, baby." Miller made a kissy face at me. "You know you love me."
Stormy let out a sound of disgust. "Why would you want her when you can have this?" she smirked, striking the exact pose Stella just struck.
"Because you're unattractive," I said bluntly.
"What did you just say?" Stormy clenched her fists and glared at me hardly. "You're asking for it, fairy."
"You wanna go, mate?" I snapped at her.
"Oh, hell no! I'm the one you should be worried about," interfered Mira angrily. She and Stormy smashed their heads together, growling and hissing at each other.
Stella yawned. "C'mon, Cadey. Let's go before it gets late," she suggested boredly. Mira whirled around to bark at her, but Stella nipped everything in the bud by flinging her ice cream on Mira's bikini.
While Stormy laughed and Mira gasped, Stella grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "I can't stand those girls," she muttered under her breath, "they're always ruining things for us."
I nodded, but I was inwardly swearing. Little did Stella know that she was the one to ruins things for me. Looks like I was going to have to come up with something else….
Plan #2
"Look at them over there," scowled Musa, glancing over at Riven's and the Trix's table for the umpteenth time. It was around noon and we were all having lunch on the boardwalk. "How can he even stand to be that close to a witch?"
"Maybe because she's his girlfriend?" I suggested, rolling my eyes at Musa's obvious (I use that would a lot, don't I?) jealousy. "Love works in weird ways."Musa, who was sitting across from me, gave me a shut-your-ass-up look. I countered it with a make-me expression.
"I don't see what the problem is. I've been with plenty of witches," chuckled Sky (Brandon), stuffing his face with French fries. "They aren't that bad once you get past the dark makeup, the lacey clothes—actually, that's kind of sexy-"
Stella pushed her plate away from her, frowning with disgust. "I can't eat," she insisted, finger combing her hair again. "The competition's in an hour and I need to watch my figure. One of you get it."
I wanted to shoot something. C'MON, WOMAN! Before we all sat down, I'd been sure to sneak laxatives into the cheesy insides of Stella's grilled cheese sandwich. The plan was—more like had been—to get the squirts right before the competitions so she couldn't compete. But it was obvious THAT WASN'T HAPPENING NOW.
"Don't mind if I do," chuckled Brandon (Sky), helping himself to Stella's sandwich. "I need all my strength for the sand castle competition."
Quintuple oh shit.
I cringed as I watched the blond happily much on Stella's sandwich. He was fucked up for sure.
"Tsk, it's not gonna matter," giggled Musa, "Acadia and I are gonna kick you and Bloom's ass."
"Damn straight!" I agreed.
"I wish all of you good luck," smiled Flora sweetly, carefully tearing the crusts off her sandwich.
Stella snorted at her "ignorance". "You don't think like a model at all. No way you'll win if you gorge yourself like that."
"But I haven't even started eating!"
"I honestly think the swim suits competition is stupid," commented Brandon (Sky) between a mouthful of grilled cheese. "Who cares about chicks in bikinis anyway?"
"Uh, I do." Sky (Brandon) knitted his eyebrows at his buddy. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought Brandon (Sky) was nutty. The other guys at the surrounding tables gave him you-stupid and you-must-be-gay looks.
"I'm just trying to say it's not about a girl's figure or her looks," reasoned Brandon (Sky), "it's about her heart."
Bloom smiled at him and nodded, but she apparently was one of the only ones who felt like that. Stella let out a sound of disgust and someone even chucked an empty soda can at Brandon's (Sky's) head.
"Hey, speaking of girls, has anyone seen Tecna and Timmy?" questioned Musa, raising an eyebrow.
"They're probably hitting it off at that hotel downtown," I insisted, chewed food flying out of my mouth and landing on Stella.
"I doubt it. Timmy's too modest," said Sky (Brandon), "he's sixteen and hasn't even touched a girl's-"
SPLAT!
Next thing we all knew, a cream pie was sliding down Sky's (Brandon's) face. A few tables away, Stormy was laughing and pointing at him in a taunting matter.
Oh sextuple shit. It was finna get real.
"Oh, hell no." Next thing we knew, Stella was reaching over and grabbing Flora's sandwich off her tray. Seconds later, it was soaring through the air towards Stormy. But instead of hitting the witch of storms, the sandwich landed on Riven's face.
OH SEPTUPLE SHIT.
The Long Wolf stood up and scanned the crowd like a predator looking for its prey. When his landed on his, they narrowed and a huge scowl spread across his face. Without saying a word, he seized some random dude's plate and hurled the whole thing towards us (specifically me).
I ducked just in time, causing the food to fly past me. When I heard another splat behind me and Mira's giggly scream, I knew we were even more fucked up.
"You did that on purpose, you jerk!" she screamed at me when I dared to turn around and look at her. She grabbed the energy drink she had been drinking and splashed it all over me.
Everyone turned in their seat to stare at us. We all exchanged looks.
And less than a second later, we were all up hurling and chucking food at each other.
