Quick Fanfiction Contest Archive

[Phoebe]

My vote goes to entry number two!

[Lucii]

Entry One - A fantastic idea but I would have liked to have seen it written with more description as things seemed to be happening a bit too fast. However I liked the twist, weell done to the writer!

Entry Two - Again another fantastic story where we got to see exactly how Ruby felt and then Charlie showing up and revealing she never loved Brax but realised she couldn't live without Ruby. Again I would have liked to have seen a bit more description about Charlie's confession. Well done to the writer!

So my vote goes to Entry Two

[Zetti]

I liked both entries but I couldnt judge entry one that well because it was too short for my liking but I did enjoy it.

I vote for number 2

[pembie]

Voting closed.

I would like to say Well Done to Eilkell and RooStewart for their entrys for Fanfic Contest 30

THE WINNER OF THIS CONTEST IS EILKELL WITH FREE WHICH WAS ENTRY TWO. WELL DONE.

Thank You RooStewart you had a really interesting idea. Don't give up keep entering the contest .

So it's over to you Eilkell to host the next contest.

[elikell]

Contest #31

An Alternate Summer Bay

This could be someone having a different personality, new people involved in Bay life, or something completely different altogether.

Please read and vote on the following entries.

Voting closes 25th May 6pm AEST.

---

Entry One

If things were different!

Heath walked happy up the stairs of his home. The reason he was so happy? Well he turned his life around thats why! When he and April got together something in him made him realize that what he was... Just a bad person! Now he had to beautiful children! And a fiancee!

"Daddy!" His youngest child greeted him at the door.

"Hey sweetie! Wheres mummy?" Lily must not of heard him because she just skipped away. Heath rolled his eyes and fell into the couch. He looked back over the past two years, he wondered what would've happened if April hadn't of come into his life. She was so sweet,and kind!

Heath never thought of going back to the boys! He knew that his life now was perfect just the way it was!

---

Entry Two

teenage dreams in a teenage circus

It’s definitely not a way to justify his now defunct music career.

It wasn’t about him trying to teach something that he was actually passionate about for a change.

It’s not about the fact that these kids would much rather be out on the beach than stuck behind desks in classrooms.

It certainly wasn’t cemented by the way Bianca’s face lit up and said, “It’s a good idea.”

***

Of course Ruby’s name was the first on the sign-up sheet.

Ruby knows what the other kids say about her; the way they whisper behind her back about her dysfunctional family and her diabetes. She’s tired of the other kids, her supposed peers, avoiding her in the halls in favour is scrawling their feelings about her into the bathroom walls. So Ruby is looking for opportunities to shine; to get the attention she deserves, and for all the right reasons.

So when Mr Murphy announces to the class that he’s starting a show choir and auditions will be after school on Wednesday in the gym, Ruby sits up a little straighter in her chair.

And when Mr Murphy concludes with, “It’s not about being the best, it’s about being part of something special,” Ruby lets herself smile.

***

Romeo knows he’s got everything a guy could want; he’s a good surfer, got friends, popularity, a hot girlfriend. Sure, maybe his grades could be better but overall things are good.

But Romeo knows it won’t last, it can’t, because soon school will be over. Romeo is under no illusion that this will all stick around after he finishes, and now he’s thinking about what happens after: after school, graduation, Summer Bay?

And the scary part is that he hasn’t got any idea about what he wants to do. He sees his friends talking about application processes and prerequisites for university courses and jobs, and Romeo’s got none of that.

Ruby approaches him while he’s stacking books back into his locker, all bouncing curls and enthusiasm, and despite the fact that most people think she’s sort of annoying (it’s hard to avoid what is said about her), Romeo can see she’s kind of cute.

“Mr Murphy is starting a show choir,” she tells him, and he nods sort of noncommittally, not really understanding how this affects him. “Are you going to audition?”

“I don’t think so,” Romeo replies, ducking his head and trying to turn away. His friends have already ridden it off as the lamest thing ever, so it would be definite social suicide to have anything to with it, but then Ruby is saying,

“I’ve heard some universities look at this sort of thing; extra-curricular activities. It can’t hurt to keep your options open,” and Romeo is suddenly mildly interested.

***

Romeo is under some misguided impression that being part of Mr Murphy’s choir is going to better his chances at getting into university. Sure, he’s not the smartest guy out there, but even he should be able to see what Ruby is actually thinking. Indi sees the way she looks at him, the way her eyes widen and cheeks flush whenever he forgets he’s cool and actually talks to her in the halls. Ruby’s got a crush, and Indi doesn’t blame her, but if she thinks she can come in and steal him away; then she’s got another thing coming.

So Indi is being the supportive girlfriend and going along with it. She’s watching Romeo scrolling through his iPod playlists trying to figure out the best song to sing for his audition.

“You did that play with Annie, right?” Indi asks, trying to gauge is interest. She doesn’t miss the way Romeo stiffens slightly at the mention of his ex.

“Yeah, but that was Romeo and Juliet and I wore a dress. I didn’t have to sing,” Romeo replies, not looking up from his screen.

Indi hums a little to herself and comes over to where he’s sitting on the lounge, sliding a hand along Romeo’s shoulders and dropping her voice. “Well, maybe we’ll have to find a dark corner backstage and rehearse.”

***

It’s not a secret that Dex wants to get out of Summer Bay as fast as possible. He knows what the other kids call him, and manages not to care on a daily basis because he carries with him the knowledge that he is better than them all, and unlike them, he’s going to make something of his life.

He’s got plans, big plans, and he needs to do everything in his power to make sure he achieves them. So as soon as Mr Murphy announced his show choir, Dex was mentally making a list of possible audition songs, removing dairy from his diet and sipping warm water and honey before bed every night. Sure, maybe he’s being insufferable to live with leading up to the auditions, and Indi is deliberately eating all the ice cream out of the freezer in front of his face, and completely ignoring his suggestions for songs that would be appropriate for her range. Because despite how much Dex wants things, probably too much, Dex also wants them for Indi too.

The only problem is that the first step in Dex’s plan to leave Summer Bay includes having to sit through the other auditions. He’s brought April for moral support, so she sits beside him, and lets him make his snide comments about the other auditionees.

Ruby’s up first, very high energy and making a very obvious pass at Romeo when she sings, “Everybody stares at me/Boys,” but she’s good. Romeo stands on the stage with his hands in his pockets, shoulders slouching and looks like he wants to be everywhere except up on that stage. He sings something of the soft rock genre that Dex remembers hearing when his dad has control of the radio. And much to Dex’s surprise, he can sing. He’s obviously not trained or anything, but he sells the nonchalant jock down to a tee. Indi struts around the stage, growling her way through the Miley Cyrus song she’s picked out, despite Dex’s pleading to at least sing something from a musical. And Dex knows she only chose the song so she would have an excuse to wear cut-off shorts that are definitely not appropriate for school.

But then it’s Dex’s turn and as he gets up on the stage and sings, ”I’ll be right where I belong,” he knows he’s done enough to cement his place in the group.

***

“Okay, guys! Guys! Just ... stop,” Mr Murphy calls over the voices.

The first rehearsal is a disaster and definitely not what Ruby signed up for. Mr Murphy selects the worst songs, that don’t show off Ruby’s range nearly enough, and his ideas for choreography don’t extend past swaying from side to side and the occasional jazz hand. But most importantly Mr Murphy keeps telling her to “tone it down” because her voice is overpowering the others.

“We sound like a cat having its temperature taken,” Dex states.

“It’ll get there,” Mr Murphy says.

Ruby folds her arms across her chest, looking imploringly at their teacher. “Mr Murphy, this wouldn’t be a problem if you would just let me sing the verses. I’m sure no one else would mind.” Ruby glances around for support.

Dex is standing off to the side, hand on his hip, whispering something to April (who it seems Dex brought, and Ruby doesn’t even know if she can actually sing), while Romeo just looks confused as Indi pulls out her phone begins tapping at the screen. Ruby is clearing getting no help from them.

“No, look Ruby, we’ve been through this,” Mr Murphy replies. “This is a choir. That means all of you singing together.” Ruby rolls her eyes. “They’ll be more opportunities for solos, just not until we find everyone’s voices in this group.”

“No offence, Mr Murphy, but there is no way a group of five people can be called a choir,” Dex supplies.

“Yeah, we’re like a barbershop quartet, with an extra person,” Romeo adds.

“It’s called a quintet,” Ruby points out.

“Don’t even think about suggesting we wear those pinstripe suits, because they are not flattering on anyone,” Dex adds.

“Hey, no one said this would involve costumes!” Romeo says panicked, looking over at Indi frantically.

“Guys!” Mr Murphy runs his hands through his ragged hair. He heaves a sigh. “We’ll just ... We’ll call it a day. I’ll look over the arrangement tonight.”

So even if Mr Murphy can’t see it, Ruby is clearly the one holding this group together.

***

“Why did I ever think this would be a good idea?”

When Bianca agreed to go to lunch with him, Liam doesn’t think this is what she envisioned happening. Liam’s been recounting the disastrous progress of his choir, which still consists of only five kids, for the better part of fifteen minutes.

“Ruby is good, and she knows it. Romeo lacks the confidence to do anything more than mouth along, and Indi spends more time glaring at everybody else than actually singing.”

“Are you finished?” Bianca asks from across the table. Liam spears at a piece of lettuce before dropping his fork and then slumping back in his chair.

Bianca leans forward, clasping her hands and resting them carefully on the table. “Look, you need to give it time. You have five students who want to be there, so focus on that. Teenagers are all looking for the same thing; they want to do what they think is cool, but more than that, they want to feel like they belong. They’re all looking for acceptance in some form, and this choir is a way to get some of that.”

Liam nods thoughtfully. Up to this point, they’ve been rehearsing for weeks and made little progress. Maybe that has to do with the fact that they have nothing to work towards. Any sort of group needs a focus, something to aim for.

So that’s what Liam needs to do.

“You’re brilliant,” Liam says, and he sort of adores the way it makes Bianca blush.

***

“So, how’s the gay brigade treating you?”

Romeo looks up at the sound of Casey’s voice. He leans up next to Romeo’s locker and crosses his arms over his chest, while Xavier walks around to his other side. Romeo wouldn’t classify Casey as his friend, exactly, but at school Casey hangs out with him and calls him “bro,” and is always claiming to have his back. When they’re not at school though, Casey joins the River Boys at the beach and doesn’t look at him twice. He’s also the first to point out when Romeo’s popularity might be slipping away.

Romeo sighs at Casey’s jab, focusing intently on finding his English essay which he’s sure he put in his locker, somewhere.

“Have you turned into one of Murphy’s fangirls or what?” Casey asks.

“It’s not like that,” Romeo reasons.

Casey leans in closer. “Really? Because where I’m sitting the only thing I can see is that you’re spending all of your free time wearing lycra and singing show tunes.”

“Look, it’s not a big deal. Dex is there too,” Romeo tries to explain.

Casey raises his eyebrows and Romeo can see the sly smile creep over his face. “That doesn’t help your situation.”

Romeo sighs. He knows Dex is a little strange, but he is Indi’s brother so he has an obligation to stick up for him. “Leave Dex alone.”

The bell echoes down the hall and Casey straightens himself up. Romeo slams his locker closed, still without his essay. The corridor begins to fill with students returning from lunch, swarming their lockers to collect books and notes for their next class.

“I can only do so much to protect your rep,” Casey says finally before he disappears into the crowd.

Romeo slams his head into his locker door, enjoying the dull thud against his skull.

“Do you agree with Casey?” Romeo asks Xavier who’s still standing by him.

Xavier shrugs, his eyes unfocused somewhere past Romeo’s shoulder. Romeo tries to find what he’s looking at so intensely. He’s scanning the heads and faces of his peers, but the only thing he sees is Dex and April huddled in the corner, laughing at something Dex is showing April on his phone.

“Is April in this singing thing?” Xavier asks suddenly.

Romeo snaps his attention back to Xavier. “Yeah,” he replies slowly. “Why?”

“Do you think you could, maybe, talk to her for me?” Xavier asks.

Romeo’s eyes widen. “Dude, do you like her?”

“No!” Xavier replies quickly, but the faint shade of pink in his cheeks gives him away. “It’s just that she’s so much more sophisticated than me, and we don’t have any classes together, and she’s always hanging out with Dex, so ...”

Romeo smiles, knowingly.

“You know, I think April will like you a whole lot more if you actually spoke to her yourself.”

“How am I going to do that?”

***

Mr Murphy has them all seated in a circle in the middle of the gym. They haven’t started rehearsing yet so Indi has her legs kicked up and resting in Romeo’s lap, twirling his tie idly in her fingers. Romeo leans across and kisses her on the cheek, and Ruby forces herself to look away.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the suspenseful atmosphere you’re trying to create Mr Murphy, but are you going to tell us what this is all about?” Dex asks.

Mr Murphy smiles and nods. “All in good time, Dex. Indi, can we focus please?” Reluctantly, Indi extracts herself from Romeo’s person and sits in her own chair. Mr Murphy clears his throat before he begins. “Okay, first of all, I’ve realised something. We’ve been rehearsing for a while now, so it’s time we actually got a chance to perform. I’ve spoken to Mrs Austin and she’s agreed to let you guys perform at the end of term assembly.”

Mr Murphy is looking around the circle expectantly. Ruby can hardly contain her excitement, but it seems like she’s the only one.

“Wait, we’re performing?” Dex asks.

“In front of an audience?” Romeo adds.

“Yes and yes,” Mr Murphy affirms, pointing at each of them in turn. “I know some of you have been feeling a little dejected with how things are going so this is something we can all work towards. You will be performing at that assembly, in front of the entire school, no excuses.”

Ruby watches as Romeo slides down further into his chair; his chin is practically touching his chest. “I’m dead.”

Mr Murphy claps his hands and exclaims, “Let’s get to work!”

Ruby scrambles to be the first on the stage, taking her position in the front and centre of the group. The others take a little longer; Dex taking April’s chair from her and stacking it on top of his own, Indi slipping her hand surreptitiously into Romeo’s back pocket as he stands.

Suddenly, the door to the gym creaks open and they all turn towards the noise. Ruby sees Xavier poke his head around the corner, eyes gazing around at all of them before he steps into the room.

“Are you lost, Xavier?” Ruby questions, her voice echoing in the open space.

Xavier pointedly ignores her as he announces to Mr Murphy, “I heard you guys could use another male voice.” Romeo practically bounds over to him, shrugging off Indi’s affections and offers his hand in a high-five.

“Not that this isn’t cute and all,” Ruby interrupts, “But we have a performance and we need to rehearse.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Mr Murphy adds, picking up his guitar and moving to usher the rest of the students onto the stage. “Welcome to Sound Waves, Xavier.”

***

So apparently they are called Sound Waves now, which even to Dex is the most ridiculous name ever. Mr Murphy clearly thinks he’s being clever with the double meaning, but all Dex can think of is the fact that sound doesn’t travel in a vacuum and Dex is going to get his head flushed down the toilet if he has to perform in front of the entire student body.

Romeo is clearly happy to have some more testosterone floating around, because he keep shooting Xavier grateful looks as Mr Murphy hands out the sheet music to the song they are going to perform. Xavier just seems to situate himself on the outer edge of the group, nearest to April and hovers there, making April blush. But overall Xavier seems pretty stoked, particularly as soon as he realises that the song they’re about to sing has the word “breast” in it, which brings Dex to his next issue.

Despite the fact that the song is called Somebody to Love, Dex is fairly certain it is not appropriate for teenagers to be singing. But Mr Murphy is trying to be engaging or whatever, even though the song is from like, the 70s.

“Ruby, Romeo, can we run through the verses?” Mr Murphy asks and Ruby smiles broad and bright and grabs Romeo by the wrist and drags him over to the piano.

Dex has seen Indi first thing in the morning before she’s had coffee and the look she’s currently giving Ruby is ten times scarier. She’s glaring at her, crossing her arms and just watching as Mr Murphy sits at the piano to the side of the stage and begins playing chord progressions.

“Put the claws away,” Dex hisses to Indi.

“I will if she will,” Indi whispers back, not taking her eyes off where Ruby is smiling up at Romeo as they sing, “Don’t you want somebody to love/Don’t you need somebody to love.”

***

Mr Murphy is running late for rehearsal; not that Indi cares. The longer he takes, the more time she gets to spend with Romeo. They are currently snuggled in a corner, away from the stage where Ruby is trying to run through dance moves with Xavier, while Dex and April do homework or something equally nerdy.

“This song is terrible,” Dex complains.

“It’s not the song,” Ruby explains, “You just need to commit to it.”

Indi doesn’t want to be the jealous girlfriend, but she’s seen the way Ruby beams when she gets yet another moment of rehearsal time with Romeo. But what is even more concerning, is the way Romeo actually looks back. He smiles and laughs, ducking his head in that adorably shy way, before he showers her in compliments, saying that she’s so much better than him and he’s just holding her back. She swats his shoulder playfully and insists that he’s just as good as she is, and Indi feels sick.

Even when Romeo comes over for a ‘study session’ Romeo spends his time memorising lyrics instead of hanging out with Indi, so Indi is currently making up for lost time. She’s got one leg kicked up into Romeo’s lap, the dress of her skirt lifting dangerously high and she can feel Romeo’s hand just there above the hem. It’s warm as he presses his palm into her skin and she obliges by shifting down into Romeo’s lap, hand tugging lightly at the back of his neck and kissing him.

He opens up immediately, allowing their tongues to meet, and Indi hears the way he sucks in a breath as Indi scrapes her teeth along his bottom lip.

There’s a loud bang and Romeo pulls away and Indi tries not to pout. She swivels around to find the source of the noise.

It seems Xavier tripped over his own feet and is now in a heap on the floor of the stage.

“Sorry,” Ruby says, with a meek shrug, although she doesn’t look very sorry.

Xavier stumbles to regain his footing again, dusting off his pants and shooting a look towards April who is holding a hand to her mouth to stop herself from giggling.

“You know, this would work so much better if you would join in too,” Ruby says to Indi and Romeo. Romeo is shifting uncomfortably under Indi’s weight. He slips out from underneath Indi and begins to make his way to the stage, but Indi is fast and she reaches out and grabs his hand.

“We don’t have to do what she says,” Indi explains, then she looks up to the stage and speaking directly to Ruby says, “No one here voted her the queen.”

“Indi,” Romeo warns.

“I’m just trying to make sure you don’t get up on that stage in front of the entire school-” Romeo blanches, “-and make giant fools of yourself,” Ruby says defiantly.

“Of course, because you’re just looking out for us, right?” Indi raises a questioning eyebrow.

“Of course,” Ruby affirms.

“So, it has nothing to do with wanting to get close to my boyfriend?” Indi challenges, and Romeo instantly swivels his head around to scold her, simultaneously pulling himself out of her grasp.

“Indi!”

“No, I know what she’s doing. This whole choir thing is one big excuse to get close to you and I’ve put up with her making googly eyes at you for too long.”

Ruby crosses her arms over her chest and shifts so she’s standing a little taller as she slowly replies, “I can assure you that my intentions have been nothing but pure. I just want to give the most authentic performance I can, and Romeo clearly knows that.”

Indi scoffs and rolls her eyes and Romeo turns to face her fully.

“Indi, where is this coming from? There is nothing going on between me and Ruby.”

“You’re defending her?!” Indi is practically irate. She can see Dex, April and Xavier shift uncomfortably, none of them wanting to move, but it’s like Indi only has tunnel vision. She sees Ruby up on that stage, gloating her talent and connection with Romeo over her, and everything goes red. “You’re obviously more gullible than I thought if you think that she hasn’t stopped flirting with you since you first spoke to her. So, Ruby, I’m going to say this as nicely as I know how; Stay. Away. From. Romeo.”

Ruby looks up to the ceiling, blinks once and bites down on her lip. Her eyes flick from Indi’s angry face to Romeo’s confused one and then she turns and runs out of the hall.

“I hope you’re happy,” Romeo says flatly, before he stalks off as well.

***

The door slams shut for a third time and the three remaining members of Sound Waves are left alone.

“Well, they’re not coming back any time soon,” Xavier says, looking around at the other two. “What are we supposed to do now?”

April shrugs and Dex just sighs.

“Mr Murphy is still going to make us perform, isn’t he?” Dex asks, reluctantly. April and Xavier are just staring back at him grimly and he collapses to the floor of the stage, tucking his feet under his body and sitting there. The sheer volume of drama in the past fifteen minutes has completely worn him out.

“I hate to admit it,” Xavier says slowly, “But we can’t do this without them.” The others nod in agreement.

“How are we supposed to get them to come back?” Dex asks from his spot on the floor.

There’s silence as April and Xavier just look down at him blankly. Then, when it seems there is nothing to be done, April speaks up.

“We have to convince them.”

“Look, I’m all for optimism, but trying to get those three to come back to this sinking ship is like trying to get Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort to sit down for a friendly dinner,” Dex says.

“Well, we can’t do nothing,” April says determinedly. She turns to Xavier, “You’re Romeo’s friend, you need to talk to him. Say whatever you need to.” Then turning to Dex she says, “Indi’s your sister, surely you can think of something. I’ll take Ruby.”

“What about the song? Even if we get them to come back, that song is going to get us killed,” Xavier says.

“Leave the music to me,” April says finally.

***

Xavier finds Romeo looking very morosely at a plate of fries in the Diner. He’s sat himself in the far corner, back to the door, so he doesn’t even see Xavier come in. Xavier ignores his glare and sits down opposite him, stealing a chip off his plate.

“Things must be bad,” Xavier comments, “If you’ve resorted to junk food.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Romeo says, not looking up from where he’s picking up and replacing the same chip.

“Okay fine,” Xavier concedes. There’s a beat of silence before he says in a rush, “So, you don’t have to say anything, just listen.”

Romeo looks up like he wants to argue, but Xavier just holds up a hand to silence him. Romeo heaves a sigh, glances down at his plate once more before pushing it away and slumping into his chair. Xavier reaches over, takes another chip and chews on it thoughtfully.

“Okay, so Indi was way out of line,” Xavier begins. “But seriously, even a blind man could see Ruby had a crush on you. And you know how intense Ruby can get when she wants something.”

“I just –”

“Uh-uh,” Xavier says, pointing a chip at Romeo, “Not finished. Forget about them both and think about why you wanted to do this show choir thing in the first place. Even after all the crap Casey gave you and what you knew it would do to your reputation, you still kept going back. Not because Ruby said it was a good idea, but the real reason.”

Romeo sighs. “I don’t know, I just keep thinking about the future, and what happens when all of this,” he gestures vaguely around him, “is gone. What have I got then?” Romeo shakes his head sadly, more at himself than anything. “I just thought that this could be something I was good at, you know?”

“You know that even when schools over, me and you are still going to be mates, right?”

Romeo rolls his eyes, but nods.

Xavier takes a fistful of chips and stands from the table. “You are good,” he tells Romeo, “It’d be a shame to throw all that away.”

***

Dex is hunched over, heaving deep breaths in and out, clutching at his sides in the entranceway of his house. Indi is looking at him very peculiarly from where she’s standing just inside the lounge room.

“I’m not –” gasp, “meant for –“ gasp, “physical activity,” Dex wheezes out between breaths.

“No one asked you to come after me, Dex,” Indi replies.

Dex sucks in another breath, swallows and tries to stand upright. “I totally get why you’re pissed,” Dex starts, following Indi into the kitchen when she walks away from him.

“Great, then we skip this whole conversation. I’m not going back,” Indi states sharply.

“Okay, fine, I get that,” Dex agrees, holding up his hands in surrender.

Indi nods minutely, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and making her way back into the lounge room. She sinks into the couch, kicking her feet up under her body and definitely not glancing in Dex’s direction. She inspects the apple carefully, running her fingers lightly over the red skin, but she doesn’t take a bit.

“I always thought you were too good for Romeo anyway,” Dex says conversationally. “Like seriously, a guy who looks like that obviously spends too much time in looking at his own reflection. I couldn’t say anything while you were still dating, but now that you’re not together –”

“Who says we’re not together?” Indi’s head snaps up.

“Oh well, I just assumed, after today. The amazing public humiliation and all ...” Dex trails off.

“I don’t want to lose Romeo because of this,” Indi says quietly.

“You don’t?”

“No! I just didn’t know what else to do, with the way Ruby kept looking at him; I could feel him pulling away.”

“So, you’re going to let her have him?” Indi looks scandalised, but Dex continues quickly, “Because that’s what it certainly looked like.” Dex walks over to the couch and sits beside Indi before continuing, “And that’s how Romeo probably feels right now.”

They are silent for a moment, before Indi asks quietly, “What am I supposed to do? I can’t go back to the choir, Dex.”

“I’m not asking you to. Just -- You need to figure out how much you are willing to fight for this. You storming out of rehearsal? Not one of your finer moments, sis. But facing the music, and putting things aside for Romeo’s sake? That would be enough to impress anyone.”

He doesn’t say any more, just takes the apple from her hand and takes a large bite.

***

The waves crash to the shore with a loud thump, the sand stirs at her feet, and Ruby appreciates how the sand must feel; beaten, trod on, messed up. The wind blusters around her body so she hugs her arms closer, bracing herself against the weather. It’s whistling past her head, tossing her hair about, causing enough noise to block out her thoughts. If she focuses on the push and pull, the rhythmic tug of the water surging in towards the beach, coming down with a crash before ebbing away, then she doesn’t have to think about the embarrassment. She blinks, determined not to cry again.

It’s not until she senses someone else at her side that Ruby finally pulls her gaze from the horizon. Much to her surprise, April is standing beside her.

She doesn’t say anything, just stares out to the deep blue water, and waits.

“I guess you got the short straw?” Ruby finally asks, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Sorry?”

“Who came after me,” Ruby clarifies.

April smiles slightly, “Not at all. I volunteered.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

April considers this. “A situation like this calls for the right backdrop,” she says, and Ruby’s surprise must show on her face, because April says, “You and I are more alike than you realise,” with a wry smile. “You think you’re the only one who has horrible things written about them on the bathroom walls?”

Ruby doesn’t quite know how to reply. She considers April carefully, how they’ve never really spoken outside of Show Choir, and she doesn’t really know why that is.

“Before you ask me to come back to Sound Waves, I’ll save you the trouble. My talents are clearly too big for the group. They intimidate others and I’m not appreciated,” Ruby says.

“I thought the show must go on?” April quips, and Ruby hates the fact that she seems to know her enough to use that against her.

Ruby drops her head sadly. She doesn’t normally admit her weaknesses; that she knows she can be abrasive and bossy, and just how unpopular that can make her. “Even if I wanted to come back, I don’t think they would take me.”

“You don’t know if you don’t try,” April reasons.

Ruby has got through high school thus far by always looking out for herself. She realised early on that you couldn’t rely on other people to have your back, so she had to do that for herself. It meant isolating herself from her peers, but it was a small price to pay to prevent getting hurt in the long run. But being part of Mr Murphy’s choir was different. She could talk to Romeo and Xavier without needing to look over her shoulder for Casey Braxton. She could find herself holding her sides in pain as she laughed so hard she cried at something Dex said. Mr Murphy could pull out his guitar and they would do impromptu medleys of pop songs and no one even battered an eyelid when Ruby knew every word.

Without realising it, being part of this group meant more to her than anything else.

“What do I need to do?”

***

They can all hear the hall filling with students. The chatter indecipherable from white noise, but gradually growing in volume, the occasional scrape of a chair against linoleum, and Romeo has never been this nervous in his life.

April had emailed them all with a youtube link and attachment of lyrics, and they’d used Dex’s shed at the farm to practice. It was still tense; Ruby deliberately positioning her between Dex and April, but she was making an effort to tone down he compulsive need to control everything.

Mr Murphy was oblivious, and according to April, was spending most of his time trying to seduce her sister, so he didn’t really notice if anything was off. Or maybe he had just resided himself to the fact that they weren’t going to get any better.

Regardless, Romeo is now backstage, the curtain pulled and he can feel his palms start to sweat.

“Are you okay, man?” Xavier comes up beside him, slapping him lighting on the back.

“Yeah,” Romeo replies, but it doesn’t sound all that convincing.

“Have you seen Dex?” Indi asks, joining them.

“He’s in the sound booth now,” April replies, sneaking a look around the corner of the curtain. “I don’t think Mr Murphy saw him.”

“I think we should begin with a show circle,” Ruby says stepping up to the small circle they’ve started to form. Indi looks wearily from Ruby to Romeo but doesn’t say anything. They are interrupted by Dex bounding up to them, deliberately squeezing his way into the group.

“We’re all set. I felt like a ninja.”

Ruby clears her throat, looking around at the members of Sound Waves.

“You’re not going to get emotional, are you?” Xavier questions, noticing the way Ruby’s eyes are starting to glisten, like she’s verging on tears.

She swallows hard, “No.”

“Ready guys?” Mr Murphy appears from seemingly nowhere. He’s standing between Xavier and Romeo, one hand on each of their shoulders, grinning at them. “It’s a full house.”

“Captive audience, you mean,” Dex mutters and it gets a giggle from the group.

“I’ll see you out there,” Mr Murphy says, and then he disappears as quickly as he appeared.

Standing in a tight circle they can hear Mrs Austin clear her throat at the microphone and announce to the population of Summer Bay High that they have a very special opening act for their assembly. Without saying a word April places her right hand in the centre of the circle. Dex stacks his on top, followed by Xavier and Romeo. There’s an awkward moment when both Ruby and Indi go to put their hands in at the same time, but Ruby pulls away so she’s the last one, placing her small hand on top of the pile.

***

Liam hurries back to his seat just as the curtain is drawn. He scoots in beside Bianca who smiles at him briefly before gazing back to the stage.

The six students are in a line, backs to the audience, and even though Liam knows it’s not him up on that stage he feels the nerves kick in. He starts bouncing his knee rapidly, waiting for the music to kick it.

There’s a wolf whistle from somewhere in the audience, and instantly Gina swoops in and practically hauls Casey Braxton out by his ear.

He feels a warm touch and looks down to see Bianca resting her hand on his knee, slowing his motion. As the lights dim, Liam holds his breath.

It starts with a single voice; Ruby’s.

We are not what you think we are/We are golden/We are golden

A second voice joins in (Romeo) and the chant continues, gradually building in clarity and volume until all six of them are singing this one line. Liam is confused, glancing around at the small sound booth at the back of the hall then back up to the stage. This isn’t the song they rehearsed.

But then Romeo turns around, facing his peers and teachers, and opens his mouth.

Teenage dreams in a teenage circus/Running around like a clown on purpose

The entire audience is silent. There’s no snickering or giggling; every pair of eyes is glued to the stage as one by one the remaining members of the group turn around, changing their formation into a triangle, Romeo in the front.

Ruby steps out to the side, Dex and Indi supporting her with harmonies as she sings,

Running around again/Running from running

And this is them to the core. This is their song, a message they want to send. Liam wanted to be appealing, basing their performance off hormones and short attention spans, but this is louder and more engaging than anything he could have choreographed.

He doesn’t realise it’s over until the hall erupts in applause and Bianca is squeezing down on his knee, beaming at him.

“I think you did it,” she says as Liam claps until his hands are sore.

***

They’ve been ushered off the stage, Ruby being dragged by Xavier, preventing her from taking a third round of bows. As soon as they’re out of sight Dex exclaims, “Nobody threw fruit!” like it’s an achievement and that sets them off.

April is hugging Dex, Xavier is slapping Romeo on the back, and Ruby is smiling at Indi and talking at about a million miles per hour about future performances and trying to add more songs to their repertoire so they can perform at nursing homes or enter competitions.

“One step at a time, Rubes,” Romeo says with a laugh.

---

Entry Three

ISMS

Dex sat on the edge of his sofa grumbling to himself, as he cast an eye round his small flat what a total mess it was. The small little yellow bin was overflowing with rubbish which had attracted a smarm of flies.

Dex couldn’t quite put his finger on the reason why he hadn’t emptied its contents. Or why he had taken to relieving himself on his white fur carpet instead of grabbing his plunger and unblocking his smelly disgusting toilet.

I guess I’m depressed Dex thought as he looked over at his flatmate Xavier. It had seemed a great idea to start with get a flat with Xavier, oh yes what a barrel of laughs that would be.

Dex still couldn’t believe that his Dad had agreed so easily to him and Xavier getting their own place. But never the less Sid had grumbled something that Dex didn’t quite understand and pulled out his wallet and shoved £20,000 into his hands a beaming wide smile plastered on his face all the while. Dex had then grumbled his thanks well he took what he had said as thanks, but wasn’t quite sure he understood this grumbling language that everyone in the bay seemed to speak.

Sid had grumbled something back to Dex. Dex had only stood there and nodded as Sid grumbled away. What ever Sid was saying he seemed happy well overjoyed in fact as he gave Dex a quick pat on the back.

For where his Dad had got £20,000 Dex had no idea. Maybe it had something to do with his Dad’s promotion at work, but even so that seemed a very unbelievable salary for a small town doctor.

Dex had a job in medicine. Yes that’s right had a job in medicine but as he had grown more and more depressed with the state of his living conditions, he just couldn’t find the desire to go into work, resulting in him getting fired.

Dex looked over to Xavier. Who now come to think of it had been extremely quiet for the last few days. Dex hadn’t heard a peep out of him. Dex grumbled something across to him but Xavier only sat in his armchair with a glassy eyed stare. Dex couldn’t deny he felt worried for his friend. Had Xavier died somehow without him noticing? Dex suddenly realised that he hadn’t seen Xavier leave for his job in law enforcement for at least a week.

Dex stood as he felt the desperate need relieve himself on the carpet again.

Xavier woke with a sudden jolt. Giving his eyes a quick rub and as he took in his surrounding he couldn’t be sure but was that his flatmate Dex weeing on the carpet?

Xavier let out a grumble of disgust. Dex jumped back in fright at seeing his friend was all of a sudden back in the land of the living. Dex had the sudden urge to run forwards and give Xavier a big hug, but Xavier stopped him mid stride and ushered him away with a quick flap of his hands. Which Dex took as it must mean he stinks. Grumbling Xavier edges away from Dex, He is still shaking his head and grumbling as he places the telephone to his ear and begins to dial.

April was in the middle of sobbing her heart out to her favourite soap opera Neighbours as the phone started to ring. Grumbling to herself April went to answer the phone.

Xavier suddenly felt happy and began to leap up and down as he heard his girlfriend’s voice. April grumbled something into his ear. Xavier took it as she had just said hello.

April listened as Xavier spoke a very long grumbling sound to her. This could only have meant one thing he wanted her to go over and see him.

Xavier stood there at his end of the phone waiting for April’s grumble back, oh and what a grumble it was April sounded quite annoyed and put out that he had called her that made Xavier feel sad

Groaning Xavier turned to a depressed looking Dex sat on the sofa watching TV. He didn’t look like he was really enjoying the programme. But to come to think of it Dex had been so depressed over the last week or so, that he had been watching the same TV channel not seeming to have the energy to even flick to other channels.

Turning away from Dex and after seeing what he was watching Xavier understood why April sounded angry. It was because she was watching her favourite soap opera.

Xavier grumbled some more, April grumbled back to him. Xavier didn’t quite understand what it was exactly that she had said but it was probably something long the lines of she would be right over after her soap opera this made Xavier happy.

April was feeling excited and really happy after watching her soap opera. Thank goodness for subtitles because without them April wouldn’t for the life of her have any clue at what was happening, what with the actors grumbling.

As she skipped along to Xavier and Dex’s April spotted Brax and Heath. It looked like they were crying. As she drew closer she could hear Heath grumbling something while he showed Brax an empty beer bottle. Brax fell to his knees amongst the pile of other empty beer bottles, he then went about bringing each bottle up to his mouth in the hope of tasting beer. Heath grumbled something shaking his head sadly. Brax started to cry soon followed by Heath.

No beer boys April thought as she carried on her way. Yes the fact that they had no beer left to drink made Brax and Heath very sad.

Xavier was out by his mailbox colleting the unpaid bills that Dex hadn’t bothered to pay when April walked up the path. Upon seeing one another Xavier and April ran towards each other and fling their arms round each other. Xavier grumbled with glee as he smiled at April and she smiled back. April and Xavier were very happy.

Xavier picked a red rose from his garden and handed it over to a blushing giggling April. Who took the rose from Xavier and smelt it.

For some sudden unknown reason Xavier had the feeling he had something in his pocket for April. As he felt round in there Xavier was shocked to feel what very much felt like a little box. April waited for him to stop fiddling round in his pocket.

Pulling the box from his pocket Xavier had for a unknown reason the urge to get down on one knee. April let out a cry of joy as Xavier opened the small box he then very carefully took the little sliver ring and placed it on April’s finger. Xavier grumbled something to April which to her could only mean will you marry me. April grumbled something back which to Xavier sounded like a yes and then there was a lot of kissing and laughing as they grumbled happily away to each other.

Toby laughed as he could hear Mark’s frustrated cry loud and clear through his headset.

“That is so not fair dude, how did you ever manage to make yours so happy?” Mark groaned

“I don’t know it was easy, I’m sure you will get to this level isn’t that right Lisa?” Toby said chuckling.

“Yep aww how sweet our Sims are getting married.” Lisa cooed.

“Xavier and April what a couple of stupid names for Sims, and what a stupid game.” Mark moaned.

“Hey don’t get so wound up Markie boy it’s only a game.” Lisa laughed.

“Well that’s easy for you to say your not the one with a depressed Sim who I can’t get to do anything.”

“Awww poor Dex.” laughed Toby and Lisa.

“Look I can’t even get him to come outside he won’t move stupid, stupid game.”

“Well guys I’m logging off for the night, play again tomorrow? Mark said.

“Yeah sure goodnight husband” Lisa laughed.

“Goodnight wife” Mark laughed.

Toby groaned.

And with that their Sims game went offline which meant that Xavier, April and Dex zoned out until their next session of play.

[soph1303]

Three great entries.

The first one was short, sharp and sweet, but perhaps a little too sweet for my liking.

Entry 2, I loved, mainly because of the whole glee parallel, which I think was an awesome idea.

Entry three, I started off confused, but loved it as soon as I got the whole sims thing.

It was really close between the last two for me, But I'm gonna have to go with entry 3, purely because it was such an original and hilarious idea.

[Red Ranger 1]

Entry #1:If things were different

I read the opening paragraph of this and was very intrigued but then I realised how short it was and I found myself a little disappointed.The idea of Heath turning himself around for April and them having a family together was one I would like to have seen explored more but there wasn’t really enough time to tell the story.

Entry #2:Teenage dreams in a teenage circus

This one felt a bit too long and involved at times, as at the opening it seemed like each scene was introducing a new main character.It improved when all the characters began interacting and the roles assigned to each one fitted perfectly.I found myself intrigued by all the interpersonal relationships, with Romeo dating Indi but Ruby liking him and Xavier liking April who’s friends with Dexter, and wondered how they would be resolved.I was surprised to find that they weren’t really and instead the climax focused on the performance but I guess the point was that they all managed to come together despite their differences.

Entry #3:ISMS

I found the opening of Xavier and Dexter sharing a flat intriguing along with much of Dexter’s odd behaviour.Possibly my ignorance of computer games meant I was a bit puzzled at times(I thought it was a commentary on actors not speaking clearly to start with…)but the twist was a good one and this was certainly an original idea.

Another hard fought contest and I loved all three ideas but I’m going to vote for Entry #2.

[elikell]

Only a couple more hours to vote people.

Come on and give a vote and some feedback for the people who've taken the time to write something and enter.

[elikell]

Okay, voting is now closed. I must admit that it's pretty disappointing seeing only two people vote when people have taken so much time writing for everyone to enjoy. Very disappointing indeed.

So to the results...

It was a tie between Jen and pembie, who both scored one point.

And the writers were...

Entry 1 was written by Beezzz

Entry 2 was written by Jen

Entry 3 was written by pembie

Congratulations to all three authors and I hope next time people will enter and vote.

So now, it's over to Jen and pembie to decide who will host the next competition.

[Jen]

Quick Fanfic Contest #32

Theme: Trapped

Please read and leave a comment on the entries below.

Voting closes Monday, 16th July, 2012 at 7 pm (WST)

--

Entry One - Trapped in school!

Sasha tries opening the front door, it won’t budge! She lets out a scream of anger.

“It’s useless Sash!” Casey calls out to her. Sasha hated school! The only kid she knew who didn’t hate school was Dex! And he can hardly count can he? What the hell! Why is Sasha thinking about Dex when he is the last person or thing she should be thinking about!

“This is all your fault!” Sasha screams at Casey from down the hall. Sasha hears loud footsteps coming closer.

***

“Answer me this! Who was the one who needed to study?” Casey hadn’t even been stuck with Sasha for more than two minutes and she was already driving him mental.

“True! But! You were the one who was supposed to keep track of the time!” Casey narrows his eyes into a glare.

“Since when?” Casey’s voice becomes low and slow. Sasha just rolls her eyes and opens her bag and grabs out a packet of chips.

“Want one?” Sasha asks Casey holding open the packet towards Casey.

“Sure thanks.” Casey grunts taking a chip.

***

Sid looks up at the clock on the wall. It was 5.00pm. He hadn’t heard from Sasha at all, something strange was going on… Dex walks into the lounge room whistling a tune a slightly familiar tune, but still a tune! Dex suddenly stops whistling and stares at the couch.

“What? No Sash hogging the couch reading magazines? Is she sick or something?” Sid shakes his head at his son.

“She hasn’t come home from school?” Suddenly and Idea pops into Sid’s head.”I’m going to ring the Braxtons!”

***

Sasha was shivering, the classrooms were all locked so Casey and Sasha were forced to sit in the freezing cold hallway.

“Can’t we just go to the library?” Sasha asks in an agitated tone

“I refuse to stay in a room filled with books!” Sasha sighs loudly.

“Good to know! Can I at least have your jacket?” Casey rolls his eyes and chucks Sasha his jacket.

“Happy now princess?” Sasha rolls his eyes. This is the worst possible thing that could happen to her! Casey and Sasha broken up just this afternoon! And now they are forced to spend the night together!

--

Entry Two - One Thing in Common

The wind whipped around outside with brutal force, a piece of timber flying and bouncing across the path, narrowly missing Ruby as she ran as fast as she could toward the Diner. There was no way she could make it home in time to miss the cyclone headed their way, the rain pelting down so hard it was almost piercing against Ruby’s skin with her white dress now soaked completely.

She could see the Diner in view as she ran toward it, again missing a chair now flying her way as the wind picked up another notch (or ten). The weather man wasn’t wrong when he said fierce gale winds and rain at first Ruby thought to herself as the Diner door came into view, grabbing it she pulled hard before beginning to bash on the door, there had to be someone inside.

Finally she could see someone running over to the door and she yelled. ‘Please... open up it’s bad out here,’

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The winds were so fierce she could hear the roof moaning, thinking the roof was going to go at any minute she sat underneath the Diner counter, eyes closed she didn’t want to move, why did she agree to close up, knowing that a cyclone was on its way.

Because she had no one to go home to; that’s why.

A sudden bashing on the door made Indi jump as she held her breath, waiting for the glass or something to shatter but then realizing someone was outside, Indi leapt to her feet and ran toward the door.

She could hear a voice screaming to please let her in and not hesitating a second longer she unlocked the door catching it as it began to fly open as the girl ran inside, quickly helping her to pull the door closed again and re-lock it. Turning, both girls stood in front of each other, the brunette standing in front of the blonde.

Indi looked at Ruby for a moment before a crash hit the roof so hard Indi took off back to where she was previously hiding, Ruby quickly to follow as they both hid underneath the counter.

“Um, thanks,’ Ruby hesitated before looking at Indi who was just staring at her. ‘You could’ve left me out there but you... didn’t.’

‘Just, do me a favour and please don’t talk until this is over, I don’t want to have to spend more time with the woman who stole my husband then is necessary okay!’ Indi mutter, bile rising in her throat until she realised it was anger.

She was going to vomit! Grabbing the first thing Indi could think of was the rubbish bin before she emptied the contents of her stomach into it, instantly feeling better she pushed the bin away but not too far just in case she’d need it again.

‘Are, are you okay?’ Ruby asked as Indi shot her a look. She’d only been with Romeo a few weeks but something was going on with him and he wasn’t telling her what it was. Indi was about to speak when he phone beeped, sounding out that she had received a message. Reaching into her pocket she pulled it out and looked for a moment before quickly turning to look at Ruby and back at her phone.

Romeo

We need to talk about what happened. Please.

Pressing ignore on the message Indi put the phone back in her pocket and sighed, she could feel Ruby’s eyes boring into her and the guilt was eating her up, yes... sure Romeo is still her husband but Ruby is his girlfriend and Indi had been hiding a secret for the last couple of weeks.

‘Indi I...’

‘...Don’t!’ Indi looked at her, eyes fuming and every feature etching her anger. ‘Don’t apologise to me again... please,’ Indi replied as Ruby nodded and turned away to look at something, anything to pass the time.

2 Hours Later

The silence was doing Indi’s head in, the roof moaning and the whistle of the wind made her scared and not once since she had let Ruby in had she received a message from Romeo. Indi however, had received more than ten, begging her to talk to him, or reply to him.

The last message from Romeo made her reply back to him. He had sent her a message with the words “I love you Indigo Walker-Smith!” which had brought tears to her eyes but she quickly wiped them away and typed her own message back to him.

“Ruby’s here!”

“Ruby...’ Indi started but then stopped when Ruby looked over at Indi and half smiled. She couldn’t say anything, not yet. ‘Are you hungry?’

“Oh I’m starving,’ Ruby blurted out as Indi popped her head over the top of the counter before leaving her position and quickly racing into the kitchen to get some food. Ruby waited patiently and then Indi’s phone vibrated as Ruby looked, curiousness taking over as she quickly grabbed Indi’s phone and saw the message from her boyfriend.

‘I don’t care if Ruby’s there; please we need to talk Indi. I love you, please. Xxx” Ruby instantly regretted it and put Indi’s phone back in its place before Indi got back, tears threatening to spill over but she took a few deep breaths and faked her best smile.

Indi soon arrived back with bags of chips and a few pre-made sandwiches’ from the fridge and sat them all between the two of them when Ruby blurted out her question. ‘Do you still love Romeo?’

“What do you think...Ruby?’ Indi replied solemnly staring straight at Ruby. ‘You’re dating my husband, you were the reason of half our fights started because after the last time I didn’t trust, you! It had nothing to do with my trust for Romeo because I trusted him fully but you, no not you.’

Indi took in a deep breath, not even realizing the wind and rain had died down until both girls were startled with more bashing on the Diner door. Indi didn’t say another word, getting up she raced over to the door and unlocked it to find Romeo, Alf and Liam outside wearing SES uniforms.

‘Romeo!’ Ruby yelled as she raced toward him, throwing her arms around him, instantly making Indi feel nauseous as she raced toward the rubbish bin again. Ruby quickly broke out of Ruby gasp and raced after Indi, Ruby quick in pursuit, catching as Indi emptied the contents of her stomach into the bin again.

“Indi are you okay? That’s twice you’ve done that now?’ Ruby asked as Indi finished and spun around, tears engulfed in her eyes as she stared at Romeo and then at Ruby, realizing Alf and Liam were still outside, probably clearing the area.

‘No I’m not okay! I’m pregnant...’ her anger soon faded into a whisper as Ruby looked at her in shock and Romeo just stood there, Indi looked up at him.

‘I’m pregnant to you... Romeo,'

--

Entry Three - Stuck with You

The moment April stepped foot inside the elevator she wished she hadn’t. The awkward glance she gave to the guy who occupied the same small space, the one person she shouldn’t be stuck in an elevator with. She thought it a mere coincidence that Dexter would be there too.

She pressed the button to open the doors but nothing happened. She tapped several other buttons, but the doors only stayed shut. “I can’t believe we’re stuck here. We could starve to death.”

The first thing Dexter did was offer her some sugar-free gum.

“Really Dex, chewing gum? Have you any idea what happens to people in films when they are trapped, especially in an elevator?”

Dexter gave her an uneasy smile. “April, are you sure you’re feeling ok? It’s just you’re rambling.”

April wafted the air. “I’m dehydrated, not to mention the oxygen as our lungs know it is slowly decreasing.”

“Could be worse. At least we’re not stranded on a desert island. Then we’d have to decide on who to eat first.” Dexter chuckled lightly.

“You think this is funny?” April folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, and just for the record, we’re not going to fall back in love out of this.”

“The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. What made you say that?”

“We shared a kiss a kiss at the hospital, remember?”

An awkward silence fell between them as they reminisced on the memory.

“So were you on your way to see Lottie?” April asked.

Dexter nodded. “The truth is, the girl I want to be with is head over heels in love with some tattooed criminal, who she lost her virginity to. So up to now the sex gods have been smiling on him and she’s like, in sin. There’s no way I can compare with that. I know Lottie isn’t what I thought I’d get, but at least she wants me.”

April glared at him. “You just sounded like a chauvinistic pig.”

Dexter stepped toward her. “I’m sorry.”

April stepped away, back against the grey elevator wall. She took out her phone from her shorts pocket. “There must be some kind of reception. I need to let Bianca know I’m stuck in here. Maybe she can get onto someone who could help us get out.”

“Us being the key word. I thought I was supposed to be a chauvinistic pig?”

April sighed. “I guess it’s time for me to tell the truth now. I made a mistake being with the wrong guy, but I seriously thought you’d cheated on me with Dallas. I was hurt.”

“But you didn’t have to sleep with Heath just to spite me.”

“I know. That was foolish. Guess we’ll never know what might have been.”

Dexter approached her and placed a hand against the metallic wall above her head. Suddenly everything felt different between them, as they stared at each other for several seconds. It was like they realised this is where they should be.

April looked up into Dexter’s eyes, his face inches away from hers. “If you could do anything in the world. What would you do?”

“This.” He leaned in close and began to kiss her soft lips; to him they tasted like strawberries.

April felt swept off her feet by the surprising beautiful kiss, and just at that moment the elevator began to shift and drop.