Zoey woke up to the sound of a knock on her door. “Yes?” she asked. Her mom opened the door. “Rise and shine Zo!” her mother said. Zoey gave her a questioning look when she said Zo. Where did Zo come from? “Oh sorry Zo was your old nickname,” said her mother. Zoey just nodded.

When her mother left, Zoey took a shower. She used a really good smelling strawberry shampoo. Once she was done she blow dried her hair and went to her closet. She picked out a pair of light wash shorts and a pink blouse. She also put on a pair of white ballet flats. She went back in the bathroom and styled her hair in a half up half down style. She put on brown eye liner and mascara and pink eye shadow.

When she was done she walked down stairs. Her family greeted her and she just smiled and told then she was going on a walk. Once she was outside she ran all the way to a part of the beach that was empty. She sat there, just staring out into the ocean trying to remember.

lala

"I'm not 10 years old anymore!" Erica glared straight through her Mother as they went through their usual fight. She knew the exact outcome of every argument they'd had, and will have, but she always made sure to get her point across of how unfair she thought it was. Other than that one little rule, Erica loved her parents and found it difficult to disobey them, which is why her relationship status had not once ever changed.

Moments later, Erica pulled out of her driveway in her small red car her parents helped her buy after always occupying their own. She turned left at the upcoming corner and continued on driving until she reached a line of tiny boutiques, where she could buy a new much-needed pair of shorts and possibly a new swimsuit. After going through most of the stores, she finally headed back to her parked car with a pair of black shorts, and unfortunately, no swimsuit. She threw the bag into the backseat of her car while buckling herself into the front seat.

Now what.

Having most of her friends either away or working part-time, Erica realized she would need to find something to occupy her time with.

"You're back!" The lady working at the till of a small surf shop smiled at her. "Yup, I just can't stay away!" Erica laughed. "Are you by any chance hiring?"

"As a matter of fact, we are. Most of our employees have gone on some sort of vacation leaving me and one other to run the store. Want an application?"

"Please." Erica smiled, taking a piece of paper and pen from the girl and then sat down on a chair to fill it out.

Name? Erica Moretti. Age? 17. Any work experience? No. Work habits, Skills, Available Times... Done.

"Here you go." She smiled again, handing the finished application back. The girl working at the till took it and read over it. "Great. When can you start?"

Erica seemed shock, had she not expected to get hired at a place that was desperate for workers? I guess not. "Um, now!" The girl took her to the back and explained the basics and afterwards teaching her how to use the cashier. "My names Julie, by the way!" Julie grinned. "Glad we could have you, you could start off by putting the clothing from that rack over by the change rooms away."

"Okay!" And Erica was off on her first day of work.

"Are you serious?!" Liam yelled, "c'mon dude... you gonna tell me you don't wanna go to the party tonight?" Mike made a face at his brother. Liam had this thing about him, that sometimes made Mike want to strangle him... sometimes, like now. He was sitting in the couch in the hang out of the beachhouse they'd rented, reading "The Eldeste" by Christopher Paolini. Then Liam had come to be a pain in his ass, as if the guy didn't know Mike preferred peace when he was reading. The other four guys, Adam, Christian, Trent and Peter, had already gone to the beach - despite the fact that it was still only 9 am. They were hoping to 'score some ass'... in 9 in the morning. Mike had simply shook his head at them, and well... Liam had been asleep. He'd gotten up 10 minutes ago, and had immediately sat down next to Mike, starting to rant about this party they were all going to in the evening. When Mike had informed him he'd rather stay home - after all, they'd been partying the last 4 night, and Mike seriously needed a little time out, Liam had yelled.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm telling you... now get lost," Mike answered, returning to his book. Liam laughed, used to Mike being grumpy about interruptions, and not the least bit bothered by it.

"But... what about all the hot girls?" He said, a little whiny, "you're my wingman, remember?"

Mike snorted. Yeah right... the guy was perfectly capable to picking up girls without help. During the first 10 minutes, Liam was going to have left the party with a girl anyway, and they both knew it, so why was he so set on Mike going? Personally, Mike wasn't a fan of the girls here - not the ones he'd met so far, anyway. Shallow and egotistical pretty much described them, and they wore too much makeup. Try kissing a girl like that and you'd end up orange in the face.

"Whatever," Mike said, "I'm not going."

Ryan kissed his mom on the cheek as he left the house. "See you later! Going to Zoe's." he waved farewell. His mother gave him the look that everyone else gave him. 'poor boy...when will he realize she's gone.' he put up his wall, preparing for the worst, as always. His hand migrated to the back of his neck. "If only she would." he whispered to himself as he felt the long thin line of scar tissue.

He walked along the sidewalk beside the beach, gazing out watching the happy couples. One tear threatened to fall. Then the familiar blond messy hair leaped out at him. It was Zoe. He increased his pace to a jog and headed for the entrance.

Amerelle woke up from her light rest, she was curled up on the arm chair in the baby room. Her eyes flickered open slowly to adjust to the light that was spilling into the room through the cheap curtains. She rubbed her eyes and squinted at the digital clock which read 6:31 am. Time to get ready for work.
It had been a long, almost sleepless night for Amerelle, her one month old son Gavin would wake up crying at all different times during the night, and Amerelle kept having to get up to make sure he was alright, then it would take her forever to drift back into sleep, only to be awoken again before too long.
Slowly she sat up and stretched her arms above her head, then got up off the chair. Walking over to Gavin's crib, she saw he was now in a sound, peaceful sleep. She smiled weakly and walked out of the baby room, quietly closing the door behind her. She went into the kitchen and quickly whipped up some pancakes with leftover batter that was in the fridge and made herself some instant coffee. She stood at the counter as she scarfed down her breakfast, since there wasn't even a table in the kitchen. Then she went to her small, messy washroom where she stripped herself of the bright orange sweatpants and whit v-necked t shirt she was wearing. She had a quick, lukewarm shower, then wrapped herself in a towel as she dried her hair and did her makeup, which consisted of brown eyeliner and mascara, coral blush, red lipstick, and a little bit of bronzer. She tied her hair back in a low ponytail and then went to her room to get dressed. Her waitress uniform simply consisted of some black pants (she took out her favorite pair of black, fitted flare dress pants), and any white top (she chose a thin, loose fitting sweater with elbow length sleeves). She got herself dressed and then got her watch off her dresser and quickly put it on before checking the time, 6:58.
Her dad was coming at about 7:00 to watch Gavin while Amerelle went to work, which started at 7:10. She back to the baby room to say goodbye to Gavin, as always, bending over and softly kissing him on the forehead and making sure he was sleeping comfortably. She smiled a little bit before she closed the door on the baby room and headed through the halls to the front door. She put on her black TOM's and then walked outside, sitting on the porch to wait for her dad. It was taking him a while to show up, and she kept constantly checking her watch. It was just past 7:10 when her dads black Tacoma pulled up. Amerelle raced down the front lawn as he stepped out of the truck.
"I'm so sorry, my alarm, it didn't go off this morning. I rushed here as soon as I could."
"Don't even worry about it dad, I really appreciate you coming to help out. Gavin's asleep in his room right now, he might just sleep the whole day because he was up pretty much the entire night. Anyways, I really have to go now, thanks for coming by!" she quickly backed towards her silver Sunfire and got into the drivers seat.
"Have a good day at work!" her dad called.
"Thanks, I'll be back at around 10 pm." Amerelle said just before she shut the door and sped off down the street.

Sebastian awoke around 8 and sauntered down stair in his pajamas to find his father had already gone and his mother was on her way out the door. “Oh thank goodness you’re up.” She told him. “I’m just about ready to leave; I’m taking an early yoga class and playing tennis with Irene this morning. Your sister is being difficult and the new caretaker isn’t here yet.” Although she was twelve, her severe case of cerebral palsy left Allie in need of constant care. Her speech, mental development and fine motor skills were lacking and she had no sense of smell. “Yeah, okay. “ Sebastian told his mother and watched as she grabbed her gym bag and disappeared out the door.

Sebastian found his sister in the kitchen sitting in her chair. “Look at you, what’d you do yourself Al?” He bugged grinning at the girl in front of him causing her to giggle. She was covered in her breakfast, a mush of peaches and oatmeal was plastered her face and clung to her hair. He grabbed a wash cloth and wiped the mess away gently. He then helped her roll her wheel chair towards her play room, where she picked up a book and began to read it aloud to herself. Sebastian quickly got changed into a pair of dark jeans, a white t shirt and an unbuttoned black shirt and then began to clean up the kitchen, every once in while glancing through the door way to check on Allie. Just as he was finishing up the caretaker arrived. He let her in and watched as she said hello to his sister.

He grabbed his keys and headed into his sister’s playroom. “Hey Al, I’m going go out for a bit and let you two have some girl time okay? I’ll see you later.” His sister nodded in response and went right back to playing with her caretaker. Sebastian then got into his car and figured he would go get himself something to eat.

Amerelle pulled into an employee parking spot and quickly scrambled out of her car, and ran in through the backdoor, entering the kitchen, which was quiet and sparse, like it usually was at this time in the morning. She quickly grabbed an apron and tied it around her waist, then said hi to the few people who were in the kitchen, before heading out front. She grabbed the waitress note pad thingies along with a pen. She looked around but saw that only a couple tables were occupied, one already had their food. As she wondered if the other families order had been taken yet or not, one of the other waitresses came up to Amerelle, "Good morning."
"Morning," Amerelle smiled, but it felt forced, "Hey, did you already help that family over there?" she nodded to the other table, the one that didn't have their food yet.
The girl shook her head, "Go for it." Amerelle nodded and went over to them, putting on her best smile, "Good morning, I'm Amerelle and I'll be your server today, can I start you off with some drinks?" She took their drink orders, coffee for the parents, apple juice, orange juice, and milk for the kids. She finished writing everything down then put the pad and pen into the pouch in her apron. "Alright, be right back." she did another forced smile once again and disappeared into the kitchen to get the drinks.

Sebastian locked the front door of his lavish and over the top home and got into his shiny black Ford. He sunk down into the seats and shut the door. He sat there for a moment in the silence. He really loved this car, it was fairly new and was a nice car but not flashy, it was his baby. He breathed out a breath and put the keys into the ignition, he felt a little bad for just leaving like this but his mother stressed him out and left him feeling in need of a break sometimes. He pulled his car out of the driveway and headed toward their local diner. Going there had become somewhat of a custom for him, it was one of those places he knew he'd never see his parents and he loved to watched the families come in. He loved to watch them, seeing the kids laughing and actually enjoying spending time with their families.
He parked his car in the lot beside the diner and got out, closing the door behind him. He entered the diner and sat down at his usual spot at the counter. He picked up a stray menu and began to read over it as if he didn't already have the entire thing memorized.

The first hour turned out to be really slow, but when noon hit, people of all ages started piling in. Only 30 minutes until my break. Erica kept telling herself. The room was boiling with only a single fan circling where Erica spent most of her time during her shift. When Julie came back, she finally dismissed Erica, allowing her a one hour break for being such a great help. Erica smiled then left the store into the beautiful cloudless day.

Grrrrowl. Erica’s stomach screamed up at her as she walked down to the beach where a busy concession stand was. She stood behind a young girl with a five dollar bill in hand, waiting as she ordered two bubblegum ice cream cones. The girl smiled at her before skipping off, allowing Erica to have her turn.

“I’ll have one hot dog and an orange juice, please.” She smiled at the boy taking the order. The boy winked as he handed over her food and one of their thin crappy napkins underneath. She walked over to a nearby bench and took a long sip of her orange juice and a few bites of her hotdog. As she lifted her napkin to wipe away any excess crumbs when she finished, she noticed a smudged phone number scribbled across it and a winky face drawn underneath. Erica rolled her eyes, though not at the number, but at her mother’s words circling through her mind. She stood up, scrunching the napkin into a small ball, and tossed it into the trash can as she headed back to finish her shift though she had a little over 20 minutes on her break.

"Shit, my phone." Erica turned around and started jogging back to the beach, thinking back to where she last put it down. She ran down the sandy pathway and towards the bench she was previously sitting at. "Thank goodness." She sighed in relief, placing the phone back into her pocket. Erica sat back down onto the bench to rest after her short little run, her shift didn't start for a little while anyways.

Amerelle walked out of the kitchen, carrying the loaded drink tray with ease as she approached the young families table. She balanced the tray steadily on one hand as she used the other to distribute the drinks. After handing them out, she took their meal orders.
"Great, thank you." she smiled charmingly and clicked her pen closed and slid her notebook back into her apron pouch. As she went to bring the order to the kitchen she saw someone else had just arrived, and it happened to be a boy that looked to be close to her age. That was a bit unusual, because normally this small diner only got older people or families, never smaller groups of young people, let alone by themselves. She went over to his table, putting on that forced smile of hers the second he turned to look at her.
"Good morning, how are you?" she asked as she took out her notepad and pen again. "My name is Amerelle and I'll be your server this morning, can I start you off with something to drink?" she looked at him, continuing to wear that strained smile as she held her notebook in place with her pen hovering above, prepared to write down the order.

Liam wouldn't leave Mike alone the entire morning. He kept ranting about the party, and then... after a while, he started talking about them both joining the others at the beach. So Mike had gotten absolutely zero reading done in the last two hours. In stead of making a deal of it though, Mike had sighed, put down his book and gone to the beach with his infuriating brother. The beach was okay, he guessed... it was almost noon, so people were beginning to arrive. Girls in bikinis, guys in shorts and old people who really shouldn't be showing themselves that scarcely dressed in public places. Gave him the creeps. When he got old, he'd decided he'd lock himself in his house with hid beloved books, maybe a wife too, if he ever found someone to light that untouched flame. Yes, Mike had never been in love. He hated to admit it, but it was true. He was some sort of freak of nature - he probably wasn't even able to feel like that. He was 19 with no real girlfriend to speak of. Sure, he'd done the dating scene, and he was definitely no virgin, but no. Love, as it turned out, was an exclusive party not meant for him. Maybe that's why he liked to read about it.

At the beach, he and Liam had bet up with the others. Trent, as he found, had actually managed to get a girl already. They were busy making out on the blanket this moment. Mike glanced at them, smiling wryly. Trent was a whore, really. He never dated, but he gladly slept around. He'd broken quite a few hearts already, but he wasn't a bad guy. Not really... not with his friends. Peter, Adam and Christian were in the water, messing around. They'd found a couple of others to push a bathing ball around with. Liam was... well, he was working on his tan, as he liked to put it. Mike himself, was sitting on a blanket next to the one sporting Trent's make-out-session, music blasting in his ears. He liked to just watch the beach. Observe. Think. Listen to... Linkin Park at the moment, apparently. It was one of their old songs; in the end. A favorite of his. He actually hadn't fancied their newest album, so he hadn't bothered putting it on his Ipod. But the classics? Those, he loved.

He'd been sitting there for a while, thinking that maybe he should go to that damn party anyway, except... Liam had been adamant about the matter, which made Mike want to do the exact opposite - something his twin knew very well. They didn't look entirely alike. They both had darkblonde hair, and the same nose and chin, but that's where their similarities ended. Mike had brown eyes, Liam had grey, Mike had a lean build, Liam's was broad, and so the differences went on. Even their clothing styles were different. Mike wore stylish, yet casual clothes, where Liam was all about jeans and t-shirts. Their personalities were opposites too... in most ways, anyway. They both preferred brunettes, though Liam didn't care whether they were superficial sluts, or virtuous girls. Everyone was good for a fuck. He was a lot more like Trent in that department.

"Hey... dude," Mike heard Liam say, and as he glanced in the direction of his brother, he saw the guy get up. "Wanna go get some food? I'm starving." He continued. Mike chuckled, Liam was always 'starving'. "Sure... why not? I'm starting to feel a little hungry myself" he replied as he stood. Liam suggested this concession stand just down the beach, and Mike merely shrugged and followed. He wasn't really a big fan of fastfood. He preferred a meal that had actually been cooked, not just thrown into a deep fryer, but it was the best he could get at this moment, so he'd deal.

As the two guy stood in line, Mike caught sight of a beautiful brunette running down the beach towards the stand, or a specific bench, he soon realized. She looked panicked, like she'd forgotten something, and when she stopped at the bench she'd been locking at, he saw her pick up a small device. Some sort of music-player or phone, he figured, smiling a little as she put it into her pocket and sat down. He would've been panicked too if he'd forgotten his phone here. Mike was still looking discretely at the girl, when an elbow poked him in the stomach. "Hey!" Mike said, sending his brother a glare. Liam smirked, "do you want food or that brunette over there? 'cause... you know, it's our turn." As he said it, Mike realized it was indeed. He cleared his throat, not bothering to answer Liam's little joke, and ordered a bottle of water along with a chicken-sandwich. The guy in the stand cast Mike a smile saying 'why are you wasting my time, idiot?' as he gave both guys their lunches. Liam, of course, had a coke, two hotdogs and a twix. They paid the guy and moved out of the way, letting the next in line past.

"So," Mike said, "back to the others, or?" There were no available tables, so they didn't have much of a choice really. Liam grinned, "nope... not a chance. You're finally interested in a girl here, and I'm not just walking away," he said, striding towards the brunette Mike had been gauging mere minutes ago. Uh oh, was his initial reaction, but then he just shook his head and followed. Liam could not be stopped once he set his mind to something, besides... Mike was sort of curious as to what he'd do.

Liam stopped next to Erica, smiling down at her, "hello sweetpea... it appears there are no available benches, so my brother here, and I, were wondering if we might be able to join you?" Mike snorted on a half laugh, glancing from Liam to Erica. "What he means to say, in common English is; do you mind if we sit with you, since there are no other benches? And don't take offence at the nickname, please. Our mother did a terrible job with him." He said, smiling wryly. Liam shrugged, looking at Mike, "yeah, but I said it with feeling, dude."

"Good morning, how are you?" The girl pulled out a notebook and a pen "My name is Amerelle and I'll be your server this morning, can I start you off with something to drink?"
Sebastian couldn't help bit smirk at the young waitress standing in front of him, her pen hovered above the pad awaiting his answer. The strained smile on her face was the same that all the waitresses here had plastered on their face. He hadn't been to this place in so long that he had forgotten how amusing he found their expressions.
"Unique name." He commented somewhat absentmindedly. "Uh yeah, Can I get a chocolate Milkshake?" He put the menu back onto the table since he didn't really even need it in the first place. He knew it was an odd order, especially at breakfast time where the most common drinks were milk, orange juice or coffee. He didn't really care though, he couldn't care less if it wasn't common or seemed odd. Also because he knew that this diner had the best milkshakes in town. And besides, he wasn't about to start caring about the nutritional value of his food now.

Erica sat on the bench staring out into the water completely distracted by the hypnotizing waves continuously crashing onto the shore. "hello sweetpea... Erica snapped out of her trance and turned her head to find two guys, both holding lunch they had obviously just bought from the concession. ”It appears there are no available benches, so my brother here, and I, were wondering if we might be able to join you?” She looked around the beach, it had gotten a lot busier since she last noticed, and then looked towards the guy standing next to the one that first spoke to her. He was definitely cute. "What he means to say, in common English is; do you mind if we sit with you, since there are no other benches? And don't take offence at the nickname, please. Our mother did a terrible job with him."

Erica smiled and laughed slightly; especially at the fact that her Dad still called her that. “No problem.” The brothers' attitudes towards each other entertained her. She wished she could have a relationship like that with her nonexistent sibling and be able to vent all she wanted about their parents without having to feel embarrassed by their rules. Oh well. There's always her dog, though he never was much of a help when it came to taking sides.

She stared up for a few seconds too long before she scooched down a bit. She figured they must be visiting from out of town since their faces never peaked her memory, and who wouldn't remember someone with a smile like that AND beautiful brown eyes?

Amerelle suddenly felt very self conscious standing in front of this guy as she could noticed his skeptical smirk on his face, which almost said Don't even bother, I can see right through you... Of course, her and her smile both probably looked unnatural, but if she were to walk around here doing what was natural do her she'd be sulking around, looking like she'd rather be dead. Work was the one place where she had to do her best to act otherwise, she couldn't lose this job, it was important to her.
She kept smiling, though her lips twitched as if she was growing nervous.
"Chocolate milkshake? Sure thing, I'll be right back with that." she put her notebook back in her pen, thinking 'Well duh, I can remember one drink order, what was I thinking?' she sighed as she entered into the kitchen, letting the door slam behind her. She got herself a glass and went to the sink, quickly getting a drink of water and gulping it down. She put the glass in one of the dirty dish bins, then went to prepare the milkshake.
She walked out of the kitchen a few minutes later and went to Sebastian's table, handing him the milkshake, "There you go, one chocolate milkshake... Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked, not sure whether she could even attempt the smile again or not so she just kept a straight, normal face as she looked at him.

Sebastian couldn't help but smile, hearing the girl mumble something to herself as she walked away. While he was waiting for her to come back, he fiddled around with the salt and pepper shakers on the table. He glanced around the diner a bit uncomfortably, he was the only one in here alone, even the elderly man who had been alone had a friend come and meet him. He had no clue what to do with himself while he waited alone at his table. His eyes fell upon a young family, their daughter giggling and scribbling on a page from a colouring book with bright coloured crayons. He smiled and watched as she proudly showed off the picture to her parents, and the corners of his lips turned up in a slight smile.
When Amerelle returned with his order he smiled. "Thank you." He said. Upon her question, he had to think a bit. "Um, maybe in a few minutes I'll take a small order of chicken strips to go." He figured he would bring them home to Allie and she could have them for lunch, it would probably make her excited. He took a sip of him milkshake and smiled. "Mmm, better than I remember." He mused to himself. It was good, but taking as big of a sip as he did was beginning to give him brain freeze, causing a burning and stinging sensation to start in his temple.

Amerelle actually smiled a bit as the boy thanked her, she had learned to appreciate people with good manners and respect, after all, not all her customers had it. She normally had to deal with at least a few unpleasant people during an average shift, and today she was in for a long, all day shift. At least she was off to a good start, it seemed.
"You're welcome," she said with a nod, before asking him if there was anything else he wanted to order.
"Um, maybe in a few minutes I'll take a small order of chicken strips to go." he told her, before taking a sip of his milkshake.
"Sure, no problem." she nodded and a small amused smirk appeared on her face when she saw him make a face that she guessed was due to brainfreeze. She half smiled, as she took his menu, she took his menu, "Thanks you." she said, before going to put the menu away at the front desk, then went back into the kitchen.
"Small order of chicken strips to go." she told the chefs before she took two large, fully loaded trays which were filled with the meals of the family. The second she pushed open the swinging door and stepped out of the kitchen, she realized that grabbing two huge trays at once might have been a bad idea that could likely result in disaster. Too late now. She slowly, carefully shuffled over to the family, sighing in relief as she successfully set down the two trays on a nearby table. She then distributed the meals throughout the family, smiling in a sad sort of way at the adorable little kids. Once she was done, she tucked the trays under her arm and headed over to the table of the two older people who were eating together.
"Are you done with these plates?"she asked them, flashing her smile. They both nodded and thanked her as she loaded their used plates onto the empty tray and carried them back into the kitchen. As she left the dishes by the sink, one of the chefs said, "Chicken strips are done."
"Thanks." she said to them quickly, taking the paper bag and neatly rolling up the top. She emerged from the kitchen, going over to Sebastian's table, "Here you are, chicken strips to go." she said, deciding she didn't even need to pretend to act smiley and chipper around this guy. It was weird, how quickly he had seemed to figure her out, when so many people couldn't. "Are you ready for your bill?'' she asked him.

Mike was staring. He knew it, Liam knew it, and the girl probably noticed too. It was just... Liam was right. She was the first girl he'd taken an interest in, since they got to the little town, and it was weird. Not that he was into her, but that he was that into her... plus, Liam would bully him the next many weeks, he knew that much for sure. The smirk on his brother's face when he glanced at him, spoke more than words ever could. “No problem.” the girl then replied, looking up at him, laughing a little adorable laugh, and he couldn't help a little inward victory-dance along with the smile he sent Erica, mostly because she'd looked at him... not Liam. Liam always got the girls.

"You may as well give up," Mike said as he sat down in front of her, Liam on his side, "we've only been here a week, you probably wouldn't know us." He'd noticed that her gaze had had that usual tint of attempted recognition, the usual 'where the hell do I know you from?' Liam took a swig of his coke and mock-pouted. "What're you talking about? All the girls know us!" That comment made Mike half snort, half laugh like before... basically like he always did around his brother. "If they do, it's only because you and Trent have already," he paused, and looked at the brunette, "excuse the language," he added, then glanced to Liam, "fucked half of them." Liam laughed, "so?"

Mike smiled wryly at his brother, shook his head and took a bite of his sandwich. As he finished chewing, he looked at the brunette, smiling again. "So anyway... I'm Mike, and this obnoxious creature," he said, gesturing towards Liam, "is my twin brother Liam. We're just here for the summer. You are?" He smiled at her, a little charming glint in his brown eyes. Liam made a face, muttering "obnoxious... pff. I'm awesome you know." Then he stuffed his mouth with hotdog.

Sebastian noticed her amused smirk, no doubt at the slight cringing of his face and his pain. After she left he quietly drank his milkshake, finishing a large portion of it.
She once again returned through the swinging door on the other side of the diner, this time with two large and fully loaded trays. He watched her careful shuffle over to the table with the family. He sucked on his straw, watching the occurrences like television. He couldn't help but be curious as to the cause of the sad smile, she had safely made it with the trays of food, which in his mind meant she should be happy not sad.

He was snapped back into reality when a brown paper bag was placed on the table in front of him. "Here you are, chicken strips to go." He looked up, his mind quickly put the pieces back together again and filled in the blanks. He had almost forgotten he'd ordered those. "Oh Thanks." He told her. He knew the chicken strips would please his sister, somewhat of an apology gift for leaving her stuck with their mother for so long that morning. "Are you ready for your bill?''
"Yeah, sure." Sebastian answered, nodding. He noticed, however, how the smile had quickly faded from her face. "What no smile anymore? You don't seem to be enjoying this as much as you were fifteen minutes ago." He told her, remembering the smile plastered on her face from earlier, fake, but there none the less. He smiled at her again. Feeling his cellphone vibrate in his pocket, he pulled both a twenty dollar bill and the vibrating contraption out of his pocket. He added a ten, making it an even thirty dollars and tossed the money on the table and squeezed out of the booth.

A smile reached Erica’s face again, not that anyone had said anything, just a reaction she just recently developed (within the 10 minutes) as the brown-eyed-boy smiled at her again. Brown eyed boy... Sounds like it should be in a song or something. She thought to herself. Seconds later, Erica wiped her face of the curiousity of where these guys were from after the male clarified they were only visiting.

"What're you talking about? All the girls know us!" His brother responded.

“If they do, it's only because you and Trent have already... excuse the language... fucked half of them.”

Erica laughed, though was relieved he hadn’t added himself in there, but why? It’s not like it would matter anyways. Erica’s eyes had wandered into thin air as she zoned out again, which she seemed to be doing quite frequently in the past few minutes. Her gaze returned to the brothers as they introduced themselves, or brown eyes introduced them. Mike. Liam’s name had flown right over her shoulder, not that she meant to... “Erica Moretti.” She smiled again, mentally face-palming herself as she added her last name in there as well. “I live here, though to be honest, within the week you’ve been here, you’re name hasn’t come up within the few...” And artificial. “Girls that are here.” She directed towards Liam, though it would be unfair to say all the girls here were artificial, though almost too many of them would waste every single dime on bronzer that’s too dark, or push-up bra’s that you would swear had two full water balloons attached to them. “You’re name, on the other hand...” Erica laughed again as she looked back to Mike, though she surprisingly really hadn’t heard of them.

Mike sent Liam a skeptical look and took another bite of his Sandwich as the girl said her name... surname too. He would've grinned if he hadn't had his mouth full; it was sort of adorable. He finished chewing and smiled at her, "Erica... that's pretty." He noted, sounding sincere. He actually did like her name... it suited the chocolate-haired beauty in front of him. Yes... he was a sucker for cute brunettes with great smiles, cute laughs, subtle make-up, and gorgeous lightblue eyes. It just so happened to fit the girl currently smiling at him... which was in no way the reason... not even a bit... nope, not at all... okay, so if he had to be honest, she was perfect. She appeared to be exactly the kind of girl Mike could see himself falling for... hell, he probably was already.

He did believe in love at first sight... he was a romantic after all, but he'd never experienced it. Not until now, or... well, it wasn't like in the books. Not like he instantly loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but he could tell she was amazing already. Maybe it was just the way she looked, but Mike didn't think himself to be that kind of guy. He'd been with beautiful women before, without experiencing this level of interest. It was eerie, but kind of nice too...

Then she made a comment about never having heard of Liam, but having heard of Mike, which made him laugh. Liam pulled back, putting a hand on his chest in a mock display of hurt, "you wound me deeply, sweet-cheeks." He said teasingly, then laughed. Mike chuckled at his brother. "Really? I think she's funny..." he commented, smiling at Erica. This made Liam shoot Mike a look of mock-menace, scoffing at him. "You're a terrible brother you know." He said, before returning to his hotdog, seemingly eating without a care in the world. Mike smiled wryly, "sure I am," he said and looked at Erica, "so... what do you do, Erica Moretti?" he asked, smiling at her, with a playful yet charming look in his eyes. "school, work, nothing?" He was actually curious about this girl. For once, he wasn't just asking because he hated silence, but because something about her was just so... new.

"What no smile anymore? You don't seem to be enjoying this as much as you were fifteen minutes ago."
Amerelle's eyebrows raised at the interesting point that the customer had made. It was a bit odd how he seemed to notice more about her than some people she had known for ages. She looked at him, looking a bit confused for a second, then dropped her gaze and let out a small, sort of nervous laugh but didn't respond or look up at him. She watched as he placed the thirty dollars on the table, which was a little weird because his meal was less than ten dollars. As he got out of the booth and looked ready to leave, she said, "Hang tight, I'll go get you your change." she couldn't help it, a small smile appeared across her face but she seemed a bit uncomfortable now, she was wondering how this guy who she didn't even know could just see right through her so easily.

(Short post, sorry... but I really couldn't think of much and a small post is better than no post at all I guess?)

Sebastian shook his head at Amerelle's offer of change. "No, it's okay. I'm not much of one for carrying change." He told the girl, remembering how his mother has always scolding him about jingling pockets when he was younger. He made a slight waving motion with his hand. "Don't worry about it, you keep it." He insisted giving her a slight smile. He then picked up the little brown paper bag of chicken strips for his sister from the table. He then headed towards the door that served as both the entrance and exit to the little diner. He walked outside into the warm summer air. He found his car in the parking lot and strode over to it. He put the key into the passenger's side door and pulled it open. He placed the bag of chicken trips on the seat and pushed the unlock button on the door. He then closed the door and went around to the drivers side. He got into his car and started it. On the way home he couldn't help but wonder about the girl he'd met. She just seemed so different, like she was keeping something locked away, buried beneath the smile. It intrigued him, he always loved mysteries, or attempting to solve them anyway.

When he got home he brought the still warm chicken fingers into the kitchen. "I'm back, and I brought lunch." He called out. He poured the chicken strips from the bag onto a plate. He placed the plate on the counter and walked into the playroom to find his sister and her caretaker engrossed in a game of chess. He smiled and chuckled a bit to himself, chess was one of his sister's favourite games. And he had to admit she was pretty good, she had even beaten him a few times and he was the only person who could beat her. "It's in the kitchen when you want it." He told her. He would probably end up going out again, pretending to be a tourist and doing touristy things for a while to occupy himself.

Erica continued to smile and laugh as the two brothers’ threw back words. She sighed, annoyed at the attraction she had for Mike, especially since it would never be able to go any further than this. Though, truth be told, breaking this rule was a major temptation in Erica’s mind right now.

Erica listened as Mike asked her about herself. “I just got out of school for the rest of the summer and I now work at a surf shop just down the road.” She gestured in the direction she had come from earlier. “What about you, what brings you here to this little boring town?” She asked Mike. She really did wonder why people visited here; maybe it was just her after living here all her life, stuck with the same few stores, and the same people.

“I just got out of school for the rest of the summer and I now work at a surf shop just down the road.” Erica said, and Mike gave her once-over, trying to decide what school... probably high school, he concluded. If he had to guess, he'd say she would be a senior next year, so she was probably around 17 or so. And she worked at a surf shop... he looked in the direction she was pointing, and then smiled at her. He didn't get to reply as she asked him why he was even there. It made him chuckle, because he actually had no clue... except that the beach house was cheap, because Peter's uncle owned it. He actually like the place, though. It was nice. Had a little bit of everything.

"Well," Mike began, "I actually like it here... though I probably wouldn't want to live here." He sent her another great smile, eyes warm and friendly. "Besides... the house was cheap," he then added on a little chuckle, not wanting to leave anything out. "And Liam insisted." Liam made a sound with his mouth full, which made Mike laugh. "What? no clever comment?" He asked his brother, taunting him. Liam glared at Mike and finished chewing, a look in his eyes that Mike knew, but rarely liked. "So, Erica," Liam said, swallowing the last bit, "we're going to this party at a beach-house further down the beach... some chicks are hosting it. You should come. Mike'll be there." The last bit, he said with a glance at Mike and in a very teasing tone. Then he got out a piece of paper from his wallet and gave it to Erica. Mike made a face at Liam when Erica didn't look, knowing it would be a flyer for the party. Address and the works. Probably had Liam's phone-number on it too, if Mike knew the guy.. and unfortunately, he did.