Chase never liked barbeques. The perfectly chargrilled burger was a thin line between a still pink, one-way ticket to diarrhea or a burnt, tough block of leather.

The whole thing about cooking outdoors bothered him. If you didn't cover your food, a family of flies would feast from it. If you didn't douse yourself in insect repellant, the mosquitoes would suck your blood. And then there was the whole social thing. Kids running about, adults making chitchat, and the occasional drunk guy who would pick fights with all the guests. But the beer was good. That was the only decent part of the average BBQ.

Yolanda had asked him to cater the get-together at Harmonica Beach since he was the younger of the two and apparently more "hip". He had to laugh; he was no hipper than Gill Hamilton and his sweater vests and plaid khakis. Still, the offer of a raise was too much to turn down. Money is the greatest motivator after all.

It was early evening. The sun was setting over the ocean, painting the sky with a soft mixture of pink and orange. The bonfire blazed in the center of a few tires and logs arranged into a lopsided circle. Fireflies gathered around the fire, blinking with the crackles of the flames. Chase watched as a few villagers began to arrive on the beach: Renee and Toby appeared hand-in-hand. Luna and Julius arrived at the same time, but judging by the huge distance between them, he figured it wasn't intentional.

"Chase, you look sad."

The chef looked over his shoulder to see Maya twirling a cocktail umbrella with her finger while watching him with curious blue eyes. The raspberry cocktail bottle stood unopened, sweltering under the summer heat. He thought he had given her an easy assignment but apparently even that was too much for her. He bit his tongue as he remembered Kathy's threat to blackmail him if he didn't try to be nice to the girl. It wouldn't have been an issue if Yolanda hadn't caved in after her granddaughter begged to work with him at the party. Didn't she have any friends?

He decided to focus on her absurd observation. "How would you know? All my facial expressions look the same."

She looked down at the white plastic table holding a dozen cocktail glasses. Her lips pursed slightly. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings the other day."

"Huh?" He took the last burger from the grill and jammed a food thermometer in its center.

"You know...when I yelled at you and stuff..."

He frowned until he realized what she was talking about. If anything, he should have been the one to apologize for the cake incident. He found it hard to believe that she thought she could affect him, negative or otherwise.

"Trust me, Maya. You yelling at me is the last thing that would hurt my feelings." Chase cringed. He reluctantly turned to face her, racking his mind for a suitable apology. Instead of crying, a wide grin spread over her round, youthful face. She clasped her hands together.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're not mad!"

For a brief moment, he questioned whether Maya was truly optimistic or simply naive. Either way, he knew he couldn't connect with someone so fundamentally different from himself. From a young age, he learned that life was dictated by chance; optimism alone wouldn't change anything. Initially, this scared him, but as he grew older, that fear morphed into bitterness. He braced for the worst, convinced that was the only way to cope. So, seeing Maya blissfully unaware of his sarcasm unsettled him. He couldn't befriend—or even like—someone who refused to confront reality.

He sighed. "Yeah, great. So, about those drinks..."

"Oh right! Sorry!" She gripped the cocktail bottle and held it unsteadily over each glass as she filled them to the brim.

Chase stepped back and analyzed his work. Even with such a casual event as this, he still wanted to make sure everything was above average. Without a stove, his chili had gotten lukewarm, but he hoped the spicy, red peppers would make up for the lack of warmth. The coleslaw, relish, ketchup and mustard were all prepackaged much to his discontent but there hadn't been enough time to prepare them all. As he glanced up from the table, he saw that Luke, Bo and Owen had joined the small group around the fire. Despite himself, he focused on Owen. He never really knew the guy before the Akari incident. Sure, he was a regular at the Brass Bar, but it was Kathy's job to serve and talk to the customers. In fact, he never exchanged any words with the apprentice before that afternoon.

He looked sober enough, Chase figured, although Owen was loud whether he was as sober as a nun or as drunk as a sailor. Chase was an adamant disbeliever of the "opposites attract" theory, and he really couldn't understand why Akari would be interested in someone like him; however, his thoughts had no merit since he was unusually critical of everyone he met. Of course, no one from the outside knew this, because he was reserved and aloof regardless of whether he liked someone or not. His many years of working with food had made him a pro at dealing with people. Hungry customers were some of the most hell-bent, vicious folks he had ever met. His motto? Just smile, don't say anything, and focus on the job…

"Chase," Maya sang. She started wiping the small spills from her unsteady pouring of the cocktail bottle with napkins. "I'm done! You need me to do anything

else?"

He shook his head as he placed the last piece of meat on his pyramid of hamburgers. "Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been surer in my life." Another subtle insult was hurled her way, and she was predictably oblivious.

Maya's eyes darted toward the group around the bonfire. It looked like Luke was telling a joke; all eyes were on him, and everyone was laughing. Chase didn't have much of an opinion of Luke. He would come to the bar occasionally with his father Dale and rarely with Owen. He would never order alcohol, but with his amount of energy, he didn't need to get drunk. Or maybe he was in a permanently induced state of drunkenness…hmm…

"I'm going over. You coming?" Maya asked.

Chase shook his head. "Nope. You can go now. You have my blessing."

"But w—"

"And before you ask why, don't ask why."

Maya hung her head, and Chase felt that foreign emotion of guilt again. She was trying to be his friend, and even though he knew that was never going to happen, he didn't have the right to treat her like the slime of the earth. Besides, she wasn't a bad person. She was just naïve, childish, ignorant, bratty…

He couldn't join the others by the fire even if he wanted to. It had almost been a year since he returned from his several months of traveling, and he still didn't know anyone. Sure, he knew names and faces. It would be impossible not to. At this point, it would have been awkward to make friends. He locked himself indoors during festivals, turned down offers to visit his neighbors, and only spoke to his coworkers. Even then, Kathy was probably the only person he could call a "friend" in the watered-down sense of the word. They didn't really speak outside of work. Selena and Maya were just obstacles he had to conquer during the workday. He respected Yolanda and Hayden, but he didn't want to hang out with people thrice his age. Shyness wasn't the problem. Chase was far from shy.

But why did it even matter if he had friends or not? He was used to being alone. Okay, so maybe it could get lonely. Boring, perhaps. But solitude had its perks.

Other people just drained his energy, and he had all the time in the world to master his cooking. Sometimes, however, he wondered what would happen to him once he completed all his goals. What then? He'd probably leave and go traveling again. But to where? And for what?

He had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Maya had already left him. He spotted her bouncing pigtails heading toward Selena, Kathy and...Akari?

His eyes focused on Akari. She looked tiny compared to Kathy and Selena. Her appearance had upgraded from the last time he'd seen her. Her hair was styled in loose curls, and she was wearing a long yellow sundress which looked great against her slightly tanned skin. Chase had always viewed women in a clinical way when it came to beauty. Selena was attractive. Anissa was attractive. Hell, he even thought Kathy was attractive. But none of them had the "wow" factor. Akari was more cute than sexy, but at that moment, he couldn't help but think: Wow, she's very pretty.

Chase shook his head. He couldn't allow himself to think like that. Nevertheless, he watched the trio approach the group. He observed Owen especially. He stood up and hugged Akari. Selena and Kathy glared at him like two vultures waiting for roadkill. She returned the gesture with one awkwardly held arm. That was the only sign of acknowledgement between them that Chase could see. Owen returned to his place beside Luke and Bo, and the three girls stuck together. It was really none of his business. He found it pretty disturbing that he was so interested in these two's dramatic love affair.

Chase decided this would be the perfect moment to leave. All the young adults (minus Candace, Gill and Phoebe) were there, and he didn't want to be noticed.

Although he was previously against it, he decided drinks with Hayden wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.