Everyone piled out as soon as Joey parked, and Lance pulled Clara aside. "Try not to distract Joey if you're on the beach and he's in the water. Last time that happened, a loose surfboard smacked him in the head." He gave her a cheesy grin and started for the water.
"Joey, a surfboard hit your head? Awww... I'm sure it didn't hurt that much. Nothing can pass through that thick skull of yours." Justin flushed and turned away to get stuff out of the back, shoulders slightly hunched.
"It knocked him out. Scared Marissa," JC stated, reaching around Justin to grab something himself. "Not to mention the rest of us. But you're right; the only thing that's been affected is that... well, he's latched onto you, so it must have been a good thing."
"Thanks, JC," Clara grinned. "I'll make sure nothing but my hand hits his head today."
"Gave me a headache for three days," Joey muttered, then looked at her in disbelief. "Don't distract me, didn't you hear what Lance said?"
Chris lifted an eyebrow. "Good luck on following that suggestion, Clara."
"Well," she said musingly, "if I don't want to distract Joey, I'll have to go swimming with Justin." She gently pulled him out from the truck, where she had the impression he'd been hiding. "Up to teaching me how to surf?"
Justin gave her a helpless look. "No, I don't think that's a good idea," he said softly, and backed out of her grip. "It was my board that hit Joey. Better ask JC or Chris."
"Just don't ask Lance," Chris advised. "Give him anything with a motor and he's fine, but surfing is not his thing."
"Justin, you damaged my man's head? Fine.... JC or Chris, either of you feel like helping me learn to surf? If not, I suppose I could stay up on the beach... away from the sharks. I like that idea!" Clara announced. "Joey, why don't we just build a sand castle and bury each other?"
Joey gave her a confused look, then smiled. "I like that idea. Even if the only sharks you're likely to find are the ones you just invited to teach you to surf."
"There are sharks!" she insisted adamantly. "My Dad said so! Although I'm sure Chris and JC don't like being referred to as sharks. They're more like dolphins."
Chris gave her an amused look. "And your dad is from where?"
"Portland."
Chris nodded. "Right. We're from here. There are no sharks."
"Fine. I still want to stay out of the water," she said flatly.
"Dolphins?" JC asked, incredulous. "So, I'm a full blooded, noble human, a dwarf named Sleepy, and a dolphin. And all I ever wanted to be was an entertainer. Great." He threw his hands up in the air and started toward the water.
"You forgot idiot," Clara called after him, but he didn't react to it. She actually wasn't sure if he'd even heard her.
"I like the idea of staying on the beach," Joey said and offered her his arm. "Where do you want to start the sand castle?"
"How about over there?" She pointed to an area that had a bunch of little kids. "We can have a contest or something."
Joey nodded. "That looks about perfect."
"Have fun...." Chris paused. "Hey, can I join you?"
"Sure," Joey grinned. "Come on." He nodded and raced towards the kids. Joey escorted Clara over.
They organized a minor competition, but soon everyone was working on the same sand castle, and it began to get very large. Clara noticed that Chris wasn't helping much, but when she looked around for him, she found him wrestled to the ground by two little girls not even old enough to care who he was. She smiled and went back to the center of the courtyard.
The walls started to go up, and Clara stepped back to get a look at their creation. She accidently ran into Chris, who grinned at her. "Wow," she said softly.
"That's quite a thing, isn't it?" he asked. He started brushing the sand off of him; he was covered with it. "I'm going to have to do this more often. It's more relaxing than anything else I've done."
Clara smiled, watching the two little girls Chris had been playing with go help Joey with the tower he was working on. "That's why I teach. Little kids are so much fun to be around."
Chris gave her a considering look, serious for an instant, then he grinned again. "No wonder you're so good with Joe."
"Hey, I heard that!" Joey protested, but he didn't look up, focused on the sand in front of him.
A girl, slender and in a deep green bikini, walked over to Joey and touched his shoulder. Clara's brows drew together; Chris scowled. Joey turned around, careful not to brush the sand castle. Clara couldn't see his face, but she did hear him.
"Go away," he told the girl flatly, and turned back around, just as carefully.
Chris' eyes narrowed. "Excuse me," he said softly, and started over.
Clara grabbed his arm. "What's going on?" she whispered.
He looked at her. "I'm not sure."
"But Joey, please. I don't understand," the girl said. Joey continued to ignore her, looking up as Clara and Chris got closer.
"Hey, what would look better here, this feather" he held up a white and grey feather "or David's flag?" He held up a stick with a piece of seaweed attached that the grinning little boy next to him had made.
"How about both?" Clara asked, smiling slightly. "One on this tower, and one on the one Kellie's making?"
Joey glanced towards the little girl, then nodded and got up. "Okay."
The girl touched his shoulder again, and he flinched. "Chris, would you put this in that tower there?"
Chris gave him a narrow eyed look, but he took the feather and went to stand near the little girl. He said something and she laughed.
"Joey, please. This isn't fair," the girl said, impatiently. Chris flinched.
"Joey, I think you should talk to...." Clara looked at her, "whoever this is. When you're done, we can finish the castle with David and Kellie. All right? I'll be over there with Chris." She ignored the terrified look in his eyes and stepped carefully over to where Chris was.
He watched her go, then stepped away from the castle and looked at the bikini clad girl expectantly. "I don't understand. All of a sudden you aren't talking to me."
"All of a sudden?" The stress he was under carried itself clearly to Clara, and to Chris, who slowly straightened. "It wasn't all of a sudden, Gina. I told you about the rumor, right?"
She nodded. "I told you, that was a lie."
"I heard what you said, before you hung up." She still looked confused. "Does the phrase 'someone ratted on me' mean anything to you?" She shifted a little, looking less confused and more worried. "Besides. The rumor wasn't just from some random person. It was my brother's best friend. I couldn't figure out why he'd start a rumor like that, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt." He swallowed, then leaned closer. "It just about killed me," he said softly, but Clara could still hear him, and she tensed up at his words. "I really don't want to talk to you again."
Chris leaned over to Clara. "Are you okay?"
"I don't want to hear this," she replied. "I can't understand why someone would treat him like that... Chris, when he's done, tell him I'm over by the car, okay?"
Chris nodded. "Actually, why don't you go keep Lance company?" He pointed; Clara turned to see Lance sitting near the water line a ways away, staring out over the water. "It's a shorter walk."
"Okay." She walked down the beach and sat down next to Lance. "You know, you could have made sand castles with the rest of us," she said softly.
He started and looked at her. "Hi. What are you...." He glanced down the beach and stopped. "Oh. She's part of the reason he got hit last week," he told her, and looked back out over the water. "I just wanted to sit and look," he added quietly.
"I understand," Clara said. "Sometimes things move too fast, and you have to sit back and just... take it all in."
Lance chuckled a little. "I wish I had more time to do that."
"Make time for yourself."
"Oh, I do, in between everything else. Why do you think I know exactly when we do things? The guys laugh, but at least I know when I have time to relax. They have to ask me..." He shrugged, grinning.
"Has Joey learned to take time for himself yet?" She glanced back towards the sand castle, but Joey was still talking to the girl.
Lance shook his head slowly. "I have a hard enough time keeping track of me. But I think so. At least, if he hadn't, he would have snapped by now, according to a couple of people. The last few weeks have been nice, though. Nothing going on."
Joey started toward them, only to be stopped by Chris. The girl was left standing near the castle, looking angry rather than hurt. "Who is she?"
Lance looked over. "That's Gina. She was a friend of Joey's for about a year until... maybe four months ago?"
"What happened?"
Lance shifted a little. "I didn't get all the details. But apparently, they were friends. Um... Joe's brother Steve heard a rumor, from a reliable source, that the only reason she'd made friends with Joe was because she wanted him to get her pregnant." He shrugged uncomfortably at her horrified look. "I guess Joey called her, and something made him think she'd confirmed it. I didn't ask too many questions. Chris knows more, I think, but he doesn't talk about it either."
"Is he all right?"
"Joey?" Lance laughed. "He had been for the last... week or so. He was getting over her. He's been fine lately, so yeah, he's all right."
"What happened a week ago?" Clara asked.
Lance turned to look at her with a grin. "Why, you did."
"She did what?" Joey asked, and they both jumped.
"Hey!" Chris protested. The three of them turned to look at him. He was staring after Gina, who'd kicked the tower down that Joey had been working on; not too far away, Kellie was trying to put the tower back together. The little girl was crying when Chris reached her, but they couldn't hear what he was saying.
"Really?" Clara asked Lance as they got to their feet. She gave Joey a hug. "Hey, everything all right?"
"Really," Lance said with a knowing grin, and jogged towards the castle.
"Fine now," Joey said softly. "Just fine." He hugged her tightly, perhaps the first time he'd actually reacted strongly to her.
"You sure?" She drew back, eyes fixed on his.
He nodded, grinning. "Fine. That's all cleared up. And since she was mean enough to knock Kellie's tower down, wanna go help rebuild it? Chris is so mad he's almost shaking."
Clara smiled. "Yeah. Let's go rebuild it. Together." A mischievous look glinted from her eyes. "Race you." She took off at a run before he could respond.
All five attacked the fallen tower; the tension drained out of Chris so subtly no one noticed until he set the flag David had made for this tower on top with steady hands. Clara stepped back and grinned at the little girl. "Wow, Kellie, that looks great!" The others nodded, adding their praise, and the little girl beamed at them.
"Thanks for your help," she said solemnly, then someone called her name. She ran over to a woman who was likely her mother, talking excitedly, then returned, downcast. "I have to go home." She gave them all hugs, then looked at Lance critically. "I don't think you're supposed to be red," she told him in a whisper loud enough for them all to hear.
"Hm... Lobster," Chris said in a dreamy voice.
"I'm not edible," Lance warned him.
"Maybe you'd better go get some aloe on that," Clara said, managing to keep a straight face. "Good bye, Kellie. It was nice to meet you."
"Bye!" she called, and ran off.
"Aloe, right," Lance mumbled, and headed for the towels.
"Now what?" Chris asked, glancing around and noticing that David was gone as well. "We lost a builder, and barely got it done before we did."
Joey turned to Clara. "Interested in those surfing lessons?"
"If there are no sharks, then sure."
He shook his head. "Let's go find Justin and find out." He reached out to take her hand.
"What? So I'm scared of sharks," she said defensively, clasping his hand. "You would be too, if you saw Jaws when you were six."
Chris chuckled. "One, there are no sharks here. Two, Joey, if you go near Justin while he's surfing, you'll give him a complex."
Clara perked up, interested. "What kind of complex? It sounds interesting."
Joey shrugged. "Oh, last time we were here, I got hit in the head, remember? And Justin's real nervous with me around now, I guess. At least when he's surfing."
"Wanna freak him out?" Clara asked, smiling evilly.
Joey grinned slowly. "Tell me what you're planning...."
"And I wanna hear this too," Chris said from her other side. "Justin's fun to give complexes to."
"Just... a little surfing lesson for me. And maybe a surfboard might accidentally hit Joey again... or something similar."
Chris grinned. "That, I'd like to see."
"Yeah, well...." Joey grimaced. "We could get into real trouble with the life guard if we create a false emergency."
Chris stuck out his tongue out him. "You spoil all my fun!" he protested.
"No," Joey denied. "That's JC."
"How about something else, then?" Clara said. "Like... attacking him with water balloons. I'm sure we can get JC, too."
Chris' grin turned evil. "I happen to know where we can get some."
Joey laughed. "I'm so glad I'm on this side of the plans!"
"Joey, Joey, Joey," Clara said, shaking her head regretfully. "You might want to watch your back, too. Come on, lets to get some."
"Oh, I know that," Joey said. "But at least I know it's going to happen. Those two aren't going to know what hit them."
"This way." Chris started up the beach toward the road.
"Ahh," Clara said, and went after Chris. When Joey didn't catch up to her, she turned to see him still standing there, watching them go. "Joey! Come on!"
Joey followed, glancing one more time around the beach. He waved once to Lance, who didn't seem to see him, and caught up fairly quickly. Chris led the way to a small store and went right to the balloons.
"Hmm, been here before?" Joey asked.
Chris gave him a grin. "Yes. I think Emily hasn't forgiven me yet for the prank I pulled on her a while ago, and she's pulled Molly into it. It's a blast when I go home." He grabbed two bags and went to the cash register.
"Who are Emily and Molly?" Clara asked.
"His sisters," Joey told her. "The only reason Kate and Taylor aren't in it is because he still has to get Kate back, and Taylor is seven. She's off limits for another few years."
"Not that she isn't trying things," Chris added, then turned to the two of them. "Did any of us think of money?" The other two shook their heads. "Okay. Hang on." He left the store, and returned a few minutes later, somewhat out of breath. He paid and they went back down to the beach.
"Hey, are we getting Lance, too, or not?" Clara asked.
Chris shrugged with a grin. "It depends on how many people you want to swear revenge on you."
"Revenge I can handle, trust me on that one. Two summers ago, Ben and I had an all out prank war. Boy was that fun..."
Chris turned to her, his interest clear to see on his face. "Prank war? Oh, I've got to meet his guy...."
"If anything happens to me or my stuff on this next tour, Psycho, I will burn your prize possession," Joey warned him. Chris stared at him, eyes wide with horror.
"What is your most prized possession, Chris?" Clara asked.
Chris turned to look at her. "An autographed picture of Bruce Lee." He looked back at Joey. "You wouldn't."
Joey smiled evilly. "Just try me," he said. "I don't want anything to happen to me or my stuff while we're on tour."
"What if it's not my fault?" Chris protested.
Joey scowled. "Darn. I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that." Chris gave him a triumphant grin.
"Chris, can I talk to you?" Clara asked.
Joey lifted an eyebrow. "Alone, I suppose. Well, okay. I'll go see how Lance is doing. But I'm taking these." He deftly snatched the balloons from Chris' hand. "I'll hide them." He grinned at them both and started toward the blankets.
Chris turned to Clara. "Yes?"
"What's Joey's prize possession?" she asked softly, even though there was no way Joey could hear her.
Chris sat down in the sand. "Probably one of the original Superman comic books, or an old jersey of his. Why?"
"Maybe someone should just... hide it for a while, at least until you have a chance to hide that picture." She sat next to him. "The whole blackmail thing."
Chris grinned. "I like your thinking," he said admiringly. "Dunno if I could...." The grin turned evil. "And getting it won't be a problem. Wanna be a decoy?"
"A decoy?" she asked. "How?"
Chris laughed. "Distract him, of course. Practically all you have to do is look at him, and he'd be so oblivious..."
Clara looked at him doubtfully. "I don't think so. I doubt anything could make him oblivious."
Chris nodded emphatically. "A pretty girl smiles at him, and the whole world goes away. I've seen it before. We even documented it in a video once."
"Really? You might want to get a pretty girl then."
"I think the one I'm talking to will do just fine. He danced with you, you can't be all that bad." He grinned cheesily at her, and stood, brushing sand off of him.
"If you say so," she said with a grin, and held her hand out. He took it to help her up, and found himself face down in the sand. It didn't take him long to recover, and he was back on his feet after her.
She'd nearly reached the blankets, where Joey was watching them and Lance was oblivious, when he caught up to her. She shrieked as he threw her over his shoulder and kept going until he was deep enough to drop her in without hurting her. She sputtered, breathing threats against him, and he gave a short nod, trying to keep a smile off his face. He wasn't very successful, and he knew it. He began backing out of the water, keeping his eyes on her.
Joey slammed into him from behind, but Chris had expected that, so the only result was that he lurched forward a step. With a short struggle, he tossed Joey off and backed up even faster until he was quite out of reach. Clara, still very astonished, glared at him, her eyes narrowing at his smirk. "Chris, get your bony butt over here and help me up!" she shouted.
"You okay?" Joey asked as he helped her up.
"Yeah." She grinned at him, then turned to find Chris, who was still backing up. "Tag team?" she whispered up to Joey, with a nod at his friend.
Joey grinned. "What do you have in mind?"
"Use your imagination," she said. "What do you think we should do?"
Joey stared down at the surf moving around their legs. "Ignore him for now. That will drive him crazy. Besides, he's ready for us. Let's just wait a little, and see if we can lure him out here."
She nodded. "All right. Well, let's go find Justin. I want to warn him that I'll be trying this whole... surfing thing, and to tell him to keep an eye on his board."
Joey shrugged. "Ask him if you can use it. Tell him I'll be around, and he'll give it to you."
Clara looked at him, surprised and hopeful. "You'll teach me?"
Joey grinned. "Of course. I wouldn't turn you over to Chris right now, and I really don't think JC is interested in teaching anyone but Anika. Whether she's here or not."
"He and Anika must be really close."
Joey nodded. "They're getting that way, in spite of Chris or because of him, I'm not entirely sure."
"That's great," Clara said, smiling.
"It's interesting."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because..." He paused, looking out over the water. "It's not really like JC, but Chris has been such an idiot lately it's like a rebellion thing. Which," he added musingly, "is really weird for JC."
"Why would JC care about Chris rebelling? And what is he rebelling from?"
"Not Chris, JC. Chris had a.... What does my Dad call them when Mom has them... hissy fit about four or five months ago, and it's been going on since then. JC more or less is rebelling against what Chris probably thinks is his better judgement." He shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. "In other words, JC is opening himself up to a lot of hurt if Anika turns out not to be what she's said she is."
"Why wouldn't she be who she says she is? Do you think of me that way? That I'm not who I say I am?"
Joey turned and pointed down the beach, past the sand castle. "Gina was not what she said she was," he said softly. "Neither was the girl who was touring with us last time, and Chris got burned, bad. You've heard the song ‘Once Bitten, Twice Shy'?"
Clara reached around him, hugging him from behind. "Yeah, Joey, I know the song. Do you know the song "Just Once"?"
He didn't turn, his body stiff but relaxing. "No, I don't think I do."
"It's about love finding each person once." She stepped around him, not letting go, until she stood in front of him. "And I think it might have found me." She leaned up and gently kissed him.
Joey was completely stunned, torn in half. Part of him wanted to run far away, but the other part of him had her on it's side, and he finally gave in and kissed her back.
"Ahem."
It sounded to Joey like her father might have, if he had caught them, and he jumped back at the same time she did. Before either could turn around to see who it was, very cold water splashed them both, in the form of water balloons.
"What the...." Clara screamed, then she laughed and gave Joey a hug. He hugged her back, chuckling as well. "Who was that?" she asked.
"I would guess it was Chris. I left the balloons with Lance, and he didn't look like he was going to be moving anytime soon," he whispered back.
"Mmm... You know this means war, right?" Clara asked, then leaned in and kissed him gently again.
"I thought war was already declared, and for some wacked reason you and I were on the opposite sides," he grinned.
"So? I wanna declare it again. War goes both ways, idiot," she told him, tapping him gently on the back of the head.
"Only if I'm on your team this time," Joey said. "And I'm not an idiot. That's JC."
"What's me?" JC asked, coming to a stop next to them, his surfboard in his hands. There was an expression on his face that Clara couldn't clearly identify.
"You're the idiot. Joey's the geek," she said easily, with a laugh. "What's wrong?"
He seemed to snap out of a daze and smiled at her. "Nothing."
"Hey, can I borrow your board? Clara wants to learn."
JC handed the board over and started up the beach. "See you, JC," Clara said. "Come on, Joey, I wanna learn. Just watch out for the sharks."
Joey scanned the beach, and grinned. "There they are, see?" He pointed to JC, who hadn't yet reached the blankets, and Chris, who was sitting stretched out next to Lance, head bopping to music no one else could hear.
"Geek," Clara protested. "I meant in the water. Real sharks."
Joey nodded. "Right. Real sharks." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the water.
"Okay, that's enough," he said a couple of hours later at her obvious exhaustion. "You ready to get out?"
She nodded. "Yes, please."
They were met at the water's edge by Justin. "Lance made himself sick.. You guys ready to go back?"
"Sure, Curly," Clara smiled.
Justin grinned. "Anytime, Moe."
"Hey!" Clara protested. "That's Miss Moe to you, Curly."
He shook his head. "Nope."
"Why not?" she mock pouted, then shot a look at Joey. He was smiling, one of those ‘you guys are so funny' smiles. "Wait! Isn't that Joey's nick name?"
"No," Joey said immediately.
"If you say so," she said doubtfully.
"I say so," he reiterated, offered her his arm, and escorted her back to the blankets. By the time they got there, almost everything else was packed up. Clara collected her stuff quickly, not wanting to hold them up.
"No, Justin, don't touch me," she heard Lance mutter, and looked up. He and Justin were a short way up the beach, on the way to the car.
"Weird," Clara said softly to Joey, watching them go. "I hope Lance isn't burned too badly."
Joey straightened. "Sunburn for sure, and probably dehydration, but you'd think he'd know better," he said. "You'd think we knew better about that, we have to watch for it when we're performing."
"Ouch," Clara mumbled. "Maybe you ought to go help him."
"I don't think I can help him," he said slowly. His eyes narrowed as Justin steadied Lance, and got his hand slapped away for his trouble. "No, he doesn't want anything against his skin right now. The car is going to be torture for him, but once we get back, Lynne will take care of him."
"If you're sure," she said doubtfully. "Want to do something tonight, just the two of us?" He turned to look at her, and she got the idea that he was measuring her for something. She just didn't know what it could be. "What?" she finally asked.
A slow smile covered his face. "Can I see you in that dress again?"
"Geek!" Clara exclaimed, and slapped him in the back of the head. Then she reconsidered. "If I get to see you in that tux again." He continued to look at her, and she looked back at him in curiosity. When his expression didn't change, she began to get uncomfortable. "Joey, why are you looking at me like that?"
He blinked and shook his head. "Sorry. I was trying to come up with a place where we wouldn't stick out like sore thumbs. And... imagining you in that dress again," he admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Oh, how sweet," Chris said from next to them, and batted his eyelashes coquettishly. "You guys ready?"
"Yeah, Bonehead. And by the way, thanks for the refreshing shower," Clara told him.
He smiled. "I thought you might enjoy it. Besides, you both looked like you needed to be cooled down a bit. Come on." He turned away and started after JC; Justin and Lance were already out of sight.
"He is sooo dead," Clara whispered to Joey as she took his hand and lead him up the beach towards the road. "We could always stay in, you know. That way we won't stick out."
"We could, but my culinary skills suck. Trust me on this, and if you don't believe me, ask JC. He'll tell you. No, out is good. I just gotta think of a place. All I know is clubs." He flushed slightly. "I'll ask..." He trailed off, then grinned ruefully. "I'll ask Lynne. She knows everything."
"If you say so, but Joey, remember this. I don't care if I eat rubber, as long as I eat it with you."
"Still, I'd rather not poison you," he responded, but the flush grew redder. "I'd like to keep you around a while."
Clara grinned. "I'd like that, too. Being around you, that is."
"Oh." He was blushing almost furiously now, trying to keep his composure in spite of it. "Well, I'm glad it's not that you want to be poisoned." He opened the door and helped her in.
The drive back to the hotel was quiet; when Joey checked the back seat, Justin and JC were both asleep, and Chris looked like he was getting that way pretty quick. Lance sat stiffly, away from the seat. Joey pulled to a careful stop, got out, and helped Clara out. "I'll be right back," he said to the car in general, and escorted Clara in. "I'll pick you up at seven, or call and let you know if there's a change in plans, okay?"
"Sounds wonderful," Clara said.
"All right. Until then." He hesitated, then leaned down and gave her a soft kiss.
Clara enjoyed it, fully aware of how seldom that happened, then opened her eyes and smiled at him. "We need to do that more," she said softly, and gave him a kiss of her own.
"Um, yeah, I'd like that." She almost laughed at the stunned, almost scared expression on his face. "I'll see you at seven."
"Great." She turned and opened her door, waving at him once before closing it. Joey stared at the door, asking himself if he'd lost his mind completely, then turned and walked back down to the car.
Go on to Next Chapter | Chance