Quick Fanfiction Contest Archive

[QUIET ACHIEVER]

Thanks to those who took part in writing the entries and those that voted.

Quick Fanfiction Contest #35

Winner: Entry Two – The Misty Depths of Love, by Pembie

Runner Up: Entry One - One Spark Starts a Fire, by Jen

Good luck Pembie on hosting the next contest, and well done Jen.

[pembie]

Quick Fan Fiction Contest #36

Theme The Big Twist

Your story can have any characters any gerne of story. But it must

have a big twist to it. Try your best to shock the reader so they won't

see the twist to your story coming

Word limit to 3000

Thank you too both of the great writers for your entries and good luck to both of you.

Please leave feedback for both entries and vote for the one you like.

Entry 1

I Almost Do

April’s eyes widen, mouth agape and not in a good way.

She’s frozen underneath him, and Dex knows he’s said the wrong thing.

In one swift movement April is flinging back the covers, grabbing her bathrobe off the back of the desk chair and disappearing out the door without a backward glance.

Dex slumps into the mattress, letting the breath leave him. How is it possible that things went from unbelievably amazing we’re going to be together forever and have amazing sex to Dex should keep his big mouth shut and has just ruined the greatest thing in his life in less than 10 seconds? That has to be some sort of record.

He hears a loud bang from somewhere outside the bedroom and Dex knows he has to face her eventually – particularly since they are sort of living together again, even though ‘officially’ April is still living at Irene’s, but she may as well just move back into the farm permanently. She spends most of her time there anyway.

Dex is tugging his boxers on, grabbing his t-shirt off the floor as he goes to see what the source of the noise was.

April is in the kitchen, banging pots and pans around as she loads them into the sink – dishes they were going to clean up from dinner, but then they had got distracted.

“Is that my head?” Dex ventures.

April slams another pot down, the metal on metal clanks and Dex cringes. She spins around, “What do you want me to say?!”

It’s Dex’s turn to splutter. “I don’t know! I just thought that with how you were talking about everything looking up and seeing our future, so I just –“

“You just what?”

“What – I don’t – I got caught up in the moment!”

“Well, in that moment there were about a million other things you could have said. ‘I love you,’; ‘Oh my god,’” She rolls her eyes, exasperated, towards the ceiling, “Even calling out the name of your sister would have been a better thing to say. But the one thing you shouldn’t say in the middle of sex is ‘Will you marry me?!’

April is breathing heavily and Dex is just stunned. “Wait,” he says, “Why are you so mad? I thought you’d be happy.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Uh,” Dex says, not bothering to hide his irritation, “Because you were the one who started this whole thing, what with all your talk about us being together and having my babies. What was I supposed to think?”

April lets out a strangled breath, huffs a bit, crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head. “If I have to explain about our future, then maybe we shouldn’t bother at all.”

She tugs her robe closer to her body and stalks past Dex standing in the living room.

The bedroom door slams closed and Dex is left standing there, bewildered.

>><<

“I wouldn’t normally ask, but oddly enough, I think you’re the only person I can talk to about this.”

Romeo looks across the table at Dex, whose staring down at the straw in his chocolate milkshake. He doesn’t even care that Irene gave him a funny look when he ordered it; he’s depressed and confused, and the only cure to those two things, is chocolate. Now he’s got Romeo giving him an equally strange look.

Not that Dex blames him; he was very cryptic in his text message.

“Okay, man. You’re going to have to give me a bit more information,” Romeo prompts.

Dex sighs. “I, sort of, asked April to marry me.”

There’s a pause, Dex braces himself, and then – “Dude, that’s amazing! Congratulations! Indi will be pissed that she didn’t find out first but –“ Romeo notices Dex’s sullen expression. “Wait. Why the long face?”

“She didn’t exactly say yes.”

“What happened?”

Dex stops swirling his straw, glances up at Romeo. “I may have – blurted it out – when I shouldn’t have.”

“What, like, with a mouthful of food? Or when she wasn’t wearing any makeup?”

Dex shakes his head. “It was sort of, in the middle of, you know ...” He raises his eyebrows, hopes to god Romeo catches on. “It.”

He watches as the penny drops. Romeo’s eyes widen. “Oh.” Dex slumps down in his chair so his chin is nearly resting on his chest, pushes his milkshake away. “What are you going to do now?” Romeo ventures.

“How am I supposed to know? April is mad at me, and she won’t talk to me about it.”

Romeo nods, thoughtfully. “Maybe she just needs time?”

“What, like, a couple of hours?”

“Maybe a bit longer,” Romeo replies, indicating the small space between his thumb and forefinger.

“How did you know?” Dex asks, sits up a little so he can actually talk to Romeo. This is why he called on Romeo in the first place – as opposed to his dad or Indi or Sasha. “How did you know that it was the right time for you and Indi? And be very careful how you answer because she’s still my sister.”

Romeo smiles, looks down at his hands. “It was Hawaii,” he says simply.

Dex is not in a position to whisk April away to a tropical island or exotic location and try again on the off-chance that she’ll say yes. And if she does – would she be saying yes because of Dex and his Grand Romantic Gesture, or because she actually wanted to marry him? He doesn’t want this to become an obligation.

It would have to be Paris. They talked about going to Paris together.

“Look, dude. I really think April is the one you need to have this conversation with,” Romeo says.

“Like I haven’t tried?” Dex replies, a hint of a whine. “I try and bring it up and she just gets mad! I need to figure out what I did wrong.”

This time Romeo sighs and Dex glances across to see him roll his eyes a little.

“Hey,” Dex points out, “If I recall your first marriage to Indi didn’t turn out so great either. I’m just trying to avoid the same mistakes you made.”

Romeo purses his lips, cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. He clears his throat, shuffles forward a bit in his chair. “I don’t know what advice I can give you –“

“Anything,” Dex says.

Romeo pauses, actually seems to consider this carefully for the first time since Dex brought it up. Then says, slowly, “Make sure you mean it.”

>><<

“I thought about bringing flowers,” Dex says when he arrives at Irene’s. “But it’s five in the evening and all the good ones are gone so there were just wilted daisies which isn’t very romantic.”

April looks up from where she’s reading on the lounge. Her expression is blank, unreadable, but as Dex slowly approaches he can see the pink around her eyes – has she been crying?

She quirks her mouth, tries to force a smile, but it falls flat. He can tell she’s only trying for his benefit. Dex approaches, slowly. This is new; he’s never really had to be cautious around April, now it feels like he’s walking on eggshells. Say the wrong thing again, and they will crack.

April puts her book down, and as she does Dex sees the cover – General Practice. It’s university reading. Dex knows how much April has been pushing herself to get ahead in her classes – he barely sees her some nights when she’s pulling late nights in the library doing extra research or meeting with other doctors-to-be to work on group projects. He knows how much this means to April, and why she’s willing to do anything to make sure she succeeds. But he can’t help but feel a little bit mad that she’s able to concentrate on prescribed reading when their relationship is hanging in the balance –

- At least, that’s how Dex sees it. Maybe he doesn’t have anything to apologise for after all?

He sits down in the arm chair, April crossing her hands neatly in her lap.

There’s a moment’s pause when they both hesitate, each waiting for the other to start.

Then,

“I’m sorry.”

April blinks, seems to take in Dex’s words. “What are you apologising for?”

“Well, you’re mad, so –”

“I’m not mad, Dex.”

“Then -?”

“If you’re going to say sorry you need to mean it,” April says, sighing.

“I do mean it,” Dex replies, “I’m sorry I asked you to marry me. I’m sorry I said it, and I’m sorry but I can’t take it back, but I wish I could.”

April is frozen, face unwavering, holding her resolve, but when she talks next her voice is thick, on the verge of tears. “You don’t want to marry me.”

“No, I didn’t – I didn’t say that,” Dex splutters, and April wipes at a tear that’s escaped, using the pad of her thumb to press it into her cheek, stop it from running. “Hang on, why are you upset? If anyone should be pissed it should be me.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“I proposed to you; you turned me down.”

“It’s not like it was a well-planned proposal,” April says, rolling her eyes skyward.

“So, it’s not the fact that I proposed,” Dex deduces, “It’s that I didn’t have a ring and get down on one knee?”

“It’s not about that,” April insists.

“Then what is it about, because I’m not going to be doctor so you’re going to have to explain your little ‘marriage-complex’ to me,” Dex bites out.

“I’m not going to be one of those girls who get hitched straight out of school, okay? I worked hard, and finally things are starting to pay off and I don’t want to throw it all away.” Her voice wavers, goes up in an inflection at the end. She’s trying hard to contain herself, keep her emotions in check, when she says, “When I was talking about all that stuff – having kids and settling down – I was talking about the future, our future. But that’s just it – it’s the future, not right now. I’m not ready now. And maybe it’s selfish of me but, I have other things I need to do first.”

Dex is quiet, considering, can’t meet her eye as he stands, saying, “I’m sorry I’m such an inconvenience.”

“Wait, Dex,” April calls after him, “I didn’t mean –”

“Yes, you did,” Dex replies with a nod, “And I meant what I said too.” He pauses at the door, looks back over his should at April, who seems to be frozen on the lounge, staring after him. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

>><<

Dex is nursing his second drink, and he must have been looking super depressed because Brax even put a little paper umbrella in it, without Dex even having to ask.

How did things go from so very right to so very very wrong in such a short space of time? How could Dex have read things so wrong?

Dex always thought he and April had a special connection – he’s not going to use the words ‘soul mates’ because he doesn’t necessarily believe in that sort of thing, but what he and April had was something special – complimenting each other in every way. She brought out his creative side, made him want to be better, aim higher, bring out those parts of himself that people had always told him were too weird, too quirky, that he spent most of his teenage years burying deep inside. And he allowed her to let loose, release the tension she always held in her shoulders, calmed the voice in her head that told her everything had to be perfect. The one thing she didn’t have to stress over was them.

They were easy – not in that way – but things felt easier with April around. But maybe Dex had come to take that for granted. Just assume that she would always be there, not realising she was unhappy or didn’t see their future in the same way Dex did.

April spoke of babies and being together like it was nothing; she didn’t worry about marriage – they’d never really spoken about it before earlier today – so of course, she was going to freak out when Dex brought it up in that way.

God, how could Dex be so stupid?

The next time he looks up, Xavier is sliding into a stool beside him, saying, “Heard you could use a boys night.”

“Really? Who told you that?”

“Romeo,” Xavier says with a shrug, signals to Brax at the bar to bring him and Dex more drinks. “I know what April’s like. I did used to date her, remember?”

“Thank you,” Dex dead pans, “For reminding me.”

Brax puts their drinks on the bar, and Xavier hands over the cash. “You guys having a big one?”

“Yes,” Xavier replies, at the say time Dex says, “No,” and Brax huffs a laugh at them both.

“Well, when you make up your mind, let me know.” He turns back to them, momentarily, “Just remember, it’s a school night.” Brax is then called away to the kitchen, leaving Xavier to nudge Dex’s new drink in front of him.

“He has a point,” Dex says, eyeing the full glass. “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“Late shift,” Xavier replies, raising his glass towards Dex. “Now, are we going to have a girl-free night, or what?”

>><<

“So, who exactly wears the pants in your relationship?” Xavier asks, all seriousness as Dex drains the last of his drink, smacking his lips to get the tiny droplets at the corner of his mouth. No sense wasting it when Brax keeps supplying them.

“Me,” Dex says, “Definitely me.”

“You may wear the pants, but I’m pretty sure April’s got your belt,” Romeo chimes in. Xavier had texted him after the first round, and after finishing work had joined them at Angelo’s. His tie is now loose around his neck, suit jacket hanging off the chair and he leans across to talk directly to Dex.

Xavier barks a laugh, “From what I hear Indi keeps you on a pretty short leash, man.”

“Oi!” Romeo retorts, clumsily reaching over to punch Xavier in the shoulder. “Shut it! How’s your love life going? Oh, that’s right. You don’t have one.”

“Just because things didn’t work out with Sasha doesn’t mean –”

“Careful,” Dex warns, “She’s still my sister.” The initial buzz of his drinks has started to wane, the sleepiness and exhaustion creeping into his bones, tugging on his eyes, making him tired.

“You know,” Romeo says, slowly, “If Xave and Sasha had gotten married then you guys would have been brothers.”

“Brothers-in-law,” Dex corrects automatically, staring off into space.

“Maaate,” Xavier replies, drawing out the vow, “We could have been family!”

“Not to mention the fact that you dated for like, a month. That’s hardly grounds for a lifelong commitment,” Dex says. “Now, four years,” he ponders, “That’s long enough to know what you want. To say, ‘yes, I want to spend my life with you and no one else.’”

When Dex stops, both Romeo and Xavier have gone quiet. Dex doesn’t look up from swirling his thumb around the rim of his empty beer bottle.

“Don’t worry, this is for the best. You don’t want to be married anyway,” Xavier says, clamping Dex on the back.

“I don’t?”

“No! No, you don’t want to be tied down for the rest of your life,” he emphasises.

“Woah,” Romeo cuts in, “Tied down? Dex is not being tied down. They love each other. If they want to get married then they should get married.”

“Says the marriage expert - How’d that first separation from Indi go? Yours is not the marriage Dex wants to imitate.”

“My marriage is fine. And sure, maybe we got married young, but everything worked out in the end.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what Dex is going for; things ‘working out’ in the end.” Xavier rolls his eyes, and Romeo scoffs.

“You’re just jealous.”

“Jealous? Of what?”

“You’re just jealous that both Dex and I are settling down and you’re still bouncing from girl to girl.”

“I fail to see how that’s a problem.”

“You’re scared of commitment, and are worried that no girl is ever going to want to marry you, so you’re trying to stop Dex –“

“-From making the biggest mistake of his life-“ Xavier interjects.

“Uh, guys?” Dex pipes up.

“-It’s not a mistake to want to say to someone, “I want to spend my life with you,” –“

“-He’s twenty! He’s got the rest of his life to get married. It doesn’t mean he has to do it right now!-”

“Guys?!”

Romeo and Xavier stop, stare at Dex like he’s the crazy one.

It’s like this conversation that was once about cheering Dex up, assuring him life isn’t as bad as he thought it was, and he’ll be okay no matter what happens between him and April. You know, the sort of thing you would expect from a night out with two mates.

But now, it appears that Dex has lost his two friends and gained an angel and devil sitting on each of his shoulders debating his future. Although, in this scenario, Dex isn’t sure which is which.

“You’re forgetting one very important thing,” Dex says slowly, “April didn’t say yes.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Romeo replies immediately.

Xavier snorts. “I’m pretty sure it means she doesn’t want to get married.”

Romeo promptly leans over and hits Xavier in the arm, promptly shutting him up. He hisses, goes to retaliate, but Dex just sighs. Both boys notice Dex’s sullen expression.

“Dex.”

“No, don’t,” Dex says, shaking his head. “Don’t. We’re not broken up, we’re not. We can sort this out – I want to sort this out.” He stands on unsteady legs, getting up from his stool, while Xavier and Romeo share a pointed look. “I’m going to go home.”

“Home?”

Dex nods, says, “I’m going to go talk to April. I need to talk to her.”

“What are you going to say?” Xavier asks.

“Yeah, what’s changed from this afternoon?” Romeo queries.

“Nothing,” Dex says, finally, “Nothing’s changed, but I love April and I need to know if we have any sort of future together, whe--whether she wants to marry me or not.”

“Are you okay to get home?” Xavier asks, glancing between Dex’s tired face and the aggregate of empty bottles at their table. It’s a pretty even split between the three of them, but it is more than Dex normally drinks. As he stands he realises how woozy his body feels – his legs too weak, head too light – and he staggers a little as he shakes his head and goes to the door.

“You sure, Dex?” Romeo calls after him, but Dex can do little more than just hold up a hand in some sort of salute and keep his eyes trained to the floor as he puts one foot in front of the other, making his way down the stairs and out of the bar.

>><<

“Still no word from Dex,” Bianca says, coming over to sit beside April on the lounge. She tried reading – she’s been trying to read since the early afternoon and Dex left – but after reading the same paragraph a dozen times has since given up. Bianca holds out a steaming mug of tea, and April takes it gratefully.

She’s done crying, has been tearing up on and off all day, at just the thought of Dex and the look of absolute sadness on his face when she’d turned him down. Like a slap to the face, and she’s been turning that moment over in her mind, over and over.

“I didn’t want to hurt him,” she says, when Bianca settles beside her with her own cup. She takes a sip, but doesn’t know how to explain. “But the thought of marrying Dex – it’s scary. You shouldn’t feel that way about a person when you’re my age. When we’re both this young.”

“Feel what way?” Bianca asks.

“Like, they’re the only person that matters. That the thought of them not being around is worse than anything. Like, you don’t know how to be yourself when they’re not there.” April holds onto her cup with one hand, uses the other to comb through her hair. She’s been over all of this in her head already, and it doesn’t sound any less terrifying saying it out loud.

She shouldn’t feel like this. She can’t feel like this – so dependent on another person.

But it’s not just another person. It’s Dex. He’s always been her exception.

“But you can’t agree to something to just keep someone else happy,” Bianca reasons, as if she’s reading April’s mind.

“You’re not going to tell me I’m making a mistake?”

“You need to do what’s right for you,” Bianca says, leaning a little into April’s shoulder reassuringly, “And if that means needing more time, then Dex will understand.”

April nods her head minutely. “It’s not that I don’t want to marry him,” April says, because she needs to say this bit out loud. “It’s just that I don’t want to do it right now. I could do it, you know. I could say yes, but I need to know for certain. It’s like I ...” she struggles for the right words, “It’s like I almost do, you know?”

She looks over at her sister, whose expression is contemplative. Bianca nods in understanding.

There’s a knock at the door and April startles a little.

She hesitates for a moment, glancing over at the closed kitchen door, and Bianca gives her a soft nudge in the side. “Looks like you’re going to get your chance to tell Dex that you almost do.”

April puts her tea down and gets up from the lounge, going to the door.

She knows they have to talk, and feels better than she did that afternoon. The shock worn off, and she’s finally left with an understanding – her whole future laid in front of her – and all the time in the world.

April opens the door with a small smile already creeping onto her lips. “You know you don’t have to knock –“ she begins, but then stops, smile dropping when she sees that it’s Xavier on the doorstep.

“I thought you were going to be Dex,” she says, and then she notices the way Xavier shifts on his feet. He’s dishevelled, hair sticking up, dark circles around his eyes, but he can’t seem to meet her gaze. April’s stomach drops, and she vaguely hears Bianca shift, come and stand behind her. “Xavier, what’s going on?”

Finally Xavier looks up, voice trembles as he says, “Dex was coming to see you. He got hit by a car.” April feels the hot prickle of tears already forming behind her eyes. She has to swallow around the lump in her throat, shrug off Bianca’s touch to her shoulder, focus on Xavier in front of her, lips forming the words, sound coming out, but April doesn’t understand.

“He’s dead.”

Entry 2

Summer Is Over

‘Has she settled?’ Bianca asked as Heath came down the stairs ever so quietly so he didn’t wake a very grumpy Darcy who had only just fallen asleep. He nodded as he sat on the sofa and leaned back in order to relax.

‘I can’t believe that the summer is nearly over.’ Heath commented as Bianca handed him a beer. He took a swig of it and looked at Bianca.

‘I know Darcy is going to be grumpy in the morning..’

‘Don’t.’ he groaned covering his eyes with one arm and sighing. ‘She was a nightmare when I was getting her into bed.’

Bianca giggled and smiled at his glare ‘She’s a kid, it is their default setting.’

‘Seriously though, no beach.’

Bianca gave him a pointed look as he took another swig of his beer.

‘What?’ he feigned ignorance so that he didn’t have to answer to that look. He hated that look, it really did annoy him especially since it meant that Bianca really wasn’t happy with him.

‘You can live without the beach.’

Heath looked wounded. ‘No beach ever? Don’t scare me like that!’

‘Funny.’ Bianca scowled but she was enjoying the banter with him, it made her smile more than usual. Their lives together were so much better now that they both talked to each other. Harbouring secrets just hurt their relationship more than just being honest with each other. Honesty was easier for them both, it just made life simpler for them both.

‘Darcy will be a grumpy little girl.’

Heath shushed her theatrically trying to make her giggle but failing. ‘I don’t think the little monster is asleep yet.’

‘I am not surprised.’

‘Don’t blame me, I have been getting her to asleep early for the past week…’

Bianca smiled at him and pointed out ‘That is only because you wanted an early night yourself.’

‘True’ he smirked as he added ‘I didn’t see you complaining last night.’ He leaned in for a kiss and she leaned into him to receive it. His hand went up her thigh and she pulled him towards her. Heath put his beer down awkwardly before kissing her even more passionately. She smiled against his lips before she pulled away causing a groan to emanate from Heath.

‘Come on, we need to get the lunches sorted for tomorrow.’

‘Yep, there is a place called the diner, we can order food and magically it turns up on the table!’

Bianca whacked him playfully on the arm and stood up. ‘Come on.’

‘Cant I just enjoy my beer?’ he asked as he warred with the temptation to pull her down to him and kiss her into submission, or at least have a lot of fun trying to.

‘No, get off the sofa, and move!’

Bianca pulled him off the sofa and led him into the kitchen.

‘Peanut butter sandwich for Darcy.’ Bianca told him as she began to prepare the sandwich.

‘Orange juice.’ He said as he got two small plastic bottles out of the fridge and placed them in the two lunch bags on the kitchen worktop.

‘Actually apple juice for Darcy.’

‘Hell no.’

‘Language.’ She said without hesitation and got an answering grimace from Heat as he swapped a bottle of the orange juice for the apple juice.

‘Stop grimacing.’ She told him without even having to turn around.

‘How did you? Actually never mind, don’t answer that..I don’t think I want to know.’

Bianca chuckled as she sorted the sandwiches out and placed them in the bags. Heath pulled out some chocolate and crisps.

‘None of those, she can have a banana.’

He nodded but snuck a chocolate bar in the bag hidden underneath the sandwich and smiled, Darcy would thank him for it tomorrow.

**

‘Dad!’ Darcy screeched as she banged on the bathroom door causing Bianca to wince in pain from the unnaturally loud noise coming from Darcy.

‘Darce. What is it?’

‘Dad has been in there for 1 hour and I really need the toilet!’

‘Heath! Get your bum out of there right now or I will kill you. Do not mess with me.’

A few seconds later, the latch slid open and Heath stood there smiling. ‘all done, have fun.’

‘It stinks!’ Darcy complained but banged the door shut so she could have her privacy.

‘When a man has to go, he has to go.’

Bianca shook her head in annoyance and made her way down the stairs. Once Darcy had got herself ready, they all started rushing around trying to get ready to get out of the door.

‘Have a good day at school Darce!’ Bianca called out as she got into Heath’s car.

‘Urgh..its school.’

Bianca laughed and accepted a kiss off Heath.

‘Have a good day at college Heath..’

‘I will, you missy, take care of yourself and our little one.’ He placed a hand on her swollen abdomen and whispered. ‘Blob, be nice to your mum.’

She pushed him out of the door and smiled.

Voting closes 14th April at 6pm Uk time

[Red Ranger 1]

Entry #1:I Almost Do

An interesting story with a good grasp of Dexter’s confused character and a nicely engaging writing style. The use of other characters worked well, although it did feel at times as though they were being forced into the role the story demanded, especially Xavier.I’m tempted to say it was a bit long but it’s hard to say what could be cut out since each scene moved the story along well.The ending was a huge shock, with the build up nicely fooling the reader into expecting a different ending to the one they got.

Entry #2:Summer is Over

A nicely written story with some believable and in character banter between Heath and Bianca.The ending was a surprise but the story hadn’t really set the reader up to expect something else so it didn’t quite have the impact it could have done.I didn’t quite grasp that they were preparing for the first day back at school. It’s a nice idea though and an interesting twist on the characters.

My congratulations to both writers but I vote for Entry #1.

[Inactive User]

Had been reading both entries and they are really both good. Well done to both writers. I vote for Entry One because it shows Dexter's confused character and whoa the ending really shocked me.

[QUIET ACHIEVER]

Voting closed

Thanks for both the entrys and thanks to Red and Sarah for voting.

Fan Fic contest 35

Winning Entry I Almost Do... By Jen

Runner up Entry Two ....Summer is Over...By Zetti

Well Done to both of you.

Good luck hosting next contest Jen

[Jen]

Quick Fan Fiction Contest #37

Theme: Alternative First Meeting

Voting closes Friday, 7th June, 2013, 8 pm (WST)

Authors appreciate feedback, so please leave a short comment with your vote or for each entry.

>><<

Entry One - Untitled

He drove at a high speed down the deserted road, farther into the outback, there was no one around here, it was the perfect place, his speed continued to increase and his wheel manoeuvring was sloppy, he didn’t care, there was no one else here.

He found a spot with an old tree and an abandoned car, it was far out of the way and he liked it, he stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind him, he took a look round the car and sinister grin appeared on his face, he could imagine him there trapped, nowhere to go, locked to the car, he could get the revenge he wanted, the revenge he had planned since the day he found out what happened, he had scoped out where he lived, he knew his daily routine, where he would be at every moment of the day, he spent hours driving around SummerBay, sitting in his car watching him. Casey would pay for what he did to his dad.

He moved to the boot of his car and checked he had everything he needed, he smiled and closed the boot, revenge was getting closer, he could almost smell it in the air. He drove the closest town, which was a line of about 5 buildings, a small motel on the end, there was a hardware amongst the buildings, he bought some rope and duct tape, putting them in the boot of the car he made his way back to the abandoned car, he sat on the bonnet and opened a bottle of water, sipping it slowly.

His eyes were narrow as this far out there wasn’t much shielding the suns beams, he blinked a few times as he noticed a body frame walking towards him from a distance, he moved his hand above his eyes to shield the harsh sun trying to see the body more clearly, it was a small girl and she was closer to him now, she was walking right towards him.

“Hey” she said when she approached “I thought I was the only one out here” she told him

“I thought the same” he replied

“What are you running from?” she said setting her small body beside him on the car “Do you mind?” she asked smiling, her hand was reaching for the water bottle in his hand, he looked at her and then at the bottle and offered it to her, she took a long drink and placed it back into his hand.

“What makes you think I’m running from anything?” he asked her

“No one would be out here with a look like your wearing if they weren’t running from something... Or someone” she told him her tone sounding slightly sad

“My dad died” he replied, without any hints of emotion

“I’m sorry”

He shrugged “What about you?”

“My family” she sighed “They hate me, my brother died a while ago and it was my fault, they can’t look at me without blame, I just don’t see a point being there”

“Sucks” he shrugged

“Yeah it does, it really does” she had a look of sadness that he could tell was a constant thing

“So you’re just out here alone?”

She nodded “It’s not like I have anyone, I’ve just been moving round from place to place, picking up a bit of work to get me by, what about you. You don’t look like you’re a desert kid” she said motioning to his jeans and converse shoes

“I’m just looking for a place” he told her

“What kind of place?” she questioned “Maybe I could help, I’ve been around a few places”

“Somewhere quiet, no other folk around. I thought I’d found it until you showed up”

“Oh, I’m sorry” she kind of laughed “I’ll remember next time to go someplace with folk around in case I upset people who aren’t looking for anyone”

“Sorry, it’s just important that I find the right place”

“Ah right, I’m sorry then for messing that up for you” She laughed “Hey I didn’t even catch your name?”

“Kyle”

“’I’m Tamara”

He nodded “I better go, I’ve a long drive back”

“Back to where?” she asked him

“I’m heading to a place on the coast called SummerBay” he told her moving of the bonnet of the car, disgracing of the now empty water bottle on the ground

“I see you’re not an environmentalist” she said her eyes on the ground where the bottle now lay

“You think that’s gonna do anymore damage out here” he said looking at the abandoned burnt out car

“I guess not, but you never know” she said moving alongside him “Em, could I ask you a favour? Could you take me to that coast place with you?”

“Ah, I have some stuff to do there and..”

“Oh come on” she cut him off “I won’t hang off you when we get there, I just need a ride.”

He shrugged “I guess so”

“Thanks” she grinned, she walked to the boot of the burnt out car and lifted a bag from it

“Have you been staying here?” he asked her, a puzzled look written on his face

“Just a night, I didn’t realize how far I’d come and it got late”

“I’m sure it was cosy” he said looking at the car

“I’ve experience worse” she shrugged moving to his car, she opened the back door and threw her bag in before getting into the passenger seat, he sat in the driver seat and started the car, he was about to put his foot down when he realized he wasn’t alone this time and decided to drive slightly more carefully, still not as carefully as he should.

“So you’re a rough driver” then, she said her hand gripping the handle on the door beside her so hard her knuckles had turned white.

“Sorry” he replied releasing his foot a little from the pedal “I’m used to being alone, I actually thought that was my safe driving” he laughed a little and she laughed with him.

“Have you been doing this long?” she asked him

“Couple of weeks, I’ve got some stuff to do and I wanted to make sure it went smoothly” he told her

She nodded, he was cryptic and if she was anywhere else she would think he was a little bit creepy, but compared to some of the other people she had met on her travels, he was one of the normal ones.

“Have you got plans for when we get to the Bay?” he asked her, trying to make sure she didn’t want to hang around with him. At all.

“Don’t worry Kyle, I’ll be gone as soon as we get there, unless we bump into each other you won’t see me again, I’m not looking for a friend, just a lift to somewhere different, I don’t even know if I’ll stay long” she said feeling his vibe that that was the answer he wanted to hear

He nodded “I wasn’t meaning to be rude, just I won’t have a lot of time once we get there”

“What is this thing you’re doing anyway?”

He became uneasy when she asked; squirming a little in his seat “just some family stuff” he said changing the gear swiftly in the car

“Oh so you have family in SummerBay”

“Yeah, you could say that” she didn’t understand what it was supposed to mean, she just smiled and nodded “We’re pretty distant” he added, sensing her feeling a little uncomfortable.

“Ah, so getting to know them or something?” she asked

“Yeah something like that” he smiled at her

The rest of the journey was quiet, both feeling a bit tired. It wasn’t long until they got to the bay, he pulled up in a carpark next to the beach “Well this is SummerBay” he says to her, he looks to the ocean and she follows his gaze, “There’s a caravan park just up that way” he points out of his window

She nods “Thank for the ride, it’s pretty nice here” she smiles looking out her window “I hope you find your family and stuff” she says getting out of the car retrieving her bag from the bag, she put it over her shoulder and made her way towards the path to the beach, waving at him still in the car behind her.

He sat in the car for half an hour before he opened his door to exit, stopping when he saw Casey walking along the path in front of him holding onto the hand of a girl, he eyes narrowed and anger rose in him. He stopped himself and got himself back in the car and drove away, it wasn’t the right time yet. He drove to the diner to get something to eat, sitting at a table alone he noticed a few people he had seen with Casey over the time he had watched him, a few minutes later and Heath Casey’s older brother and well his older brother walked in, he glanced over at the table he sat at before ordering at the counter.

For a second when he glanced over Kyle felt uneasy, thinking he had maybe noticed him hanging about, especially as he was always hanging about his family, but Heath didn’t seem to bright.

He waited until it was late, parking in the caravan park, it was dark and empty and no one was about, but in half an hour Casey usually passed through here on his way home from where Kyle assumed was his girlfriend’s house. And right on time he could see Casey walking from a distance, he reached into his glove compartment and pulled a gun out, he looked at gun and sighed. The time was now. He stepped out of the car, shoving the gun down the back of his jeans out of sight, he leant against the car before Casey got close, when he merely inches away Kyle pounced, he punch him causing him to fall to the ground, Casey retaliated and suddenly Kyle was knocked to the ground with Casey fist around his throat.

“Who the hell are you?” Casey yelled, before Kyle could answer he heard a voice scream his name and he felt someone tugging at his shirt, and not doing a very good job to get him out of the current situation. Casey let go and jumped to his feet watching Kyle get up, assisted by a girl with a tiny frame

“What the hell man?” Casey asked his eyes wide staring at Kyle, who’s teeth and fists were clenched

“Don’t call me man, you murderer!

”

“Kyle what the hell is going on!” Tamara yelled

He didn’t answer he reached to his back and pulled a gun, pointed it at Casey “Get in the car now” he said his tone filled with rage

“Kyle!” Tamara yelled, seeing the gun in his hand

“Tamara go away, this had nothing to do with you” Casey was slowly walking to the car, Kyles gaze following him the whole way, he slowly opened the door to the back seat and slipped in.

“No” Tamara said, climbing into the front of the car

Kyle grunted, “Get out” he yelled opening the driver door and peering his head in

“No, I won’t let you do anything stupid” Tamara shot back

“Fine” Kyle mumbled, getting into the car and putting the lock on all the doors

“Look mate, I don’t know what the situation is here, but I think you’ve got it wrong.” Casey said from the back seat, worry etched on his face

“No I’ve got it right, you see you’re nothing but a dirty killer.”

“Kyle what are you talking about, your scaring me”

“See this guy here, he said motioning to Casey with his gun, he killed my father” he said his teeth clenched together, eyes full of hate

“I what? Danny...”

“Was my dad too” Kyle interrupted “And you took him from me”

“You’re my brother?” Casey asked

“Congratulations Sherlock, you’ve discovered the mystery” He spat back at him

“Kyle, look I’m sorry, I regret it, but he was going to kill all these other people, I had no choice”

“Of course you had a choice!” He yelled, anger was clear on his face, and he was waving the gun around

“Kyle, please stop. You’re scaring me, you don’t want to do this, you don’t need to do this, please give me the gun”

“You don’t know me, you met me a few hours ago, don’t tell me what I need to do!” he yelled at her, taking his eyes of Casey, Casey looked towards the window trying to find someone that could help, but the place was empty.

“Is this what you want? Really? To take him to the desert and what kill him? The same thing he did, you’ll be just like him. I know how you must be feeling, believe me I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, to want revenge, but it’s not worth it, please Kyle just put the gun down.

He turned his attention to her, looking from her to the gun in his hand until he returned his gaze to Casey, he dropped the gun down and it fell between the seats, Tamara quickly grabbed it and held it tightly.

“Get out” Kyle sighed looking at Casey, he let the lock go and watched Casey quickly exit the car and run towards the path, he was quickly out of sight,

“You ruined everything” He said looking at Tamara a tear rolling down his eye, he hadn’t noticed the tears that stained her face

“Was killing him really what you wanted? To go to jail and never be able to live your life and make your dad proud?” she asked

He scoffed “Proud? Of me? That would never happen, I was all second best to his other sons, barely came to see me and when he did he left to see his other precious sons, I hated him, I just wanted him to notice me for a change, instead of being his dirty little secret”

“Kyle” Tamara sighed sadly “If he treated you like that then he was never a good father was he?” she placed her hand on his leg

“I always wanted to meet my brothers, have someone to look out for me and stuff, someone to hang with and to moan to about how much of a tool our dad was, but he would never allow it”

“So why try to kill one of them?”

“Because he took him away from me, without even knowing I existed, thinking about the affect it would have on me, whether it would affect me, and I didn’t like it”

“Kyle I can see your not that kind of person, your sweet, you wouldn’t have given me a lift here if you were some sort of crazy killer” she laughed “Go and find your brothers, without the gun this time, if you want to get to them you have the chance now!”

He nodded “I think I just blew that chance”

She laughed “You let him go, you never know he could be forgiving”

He laughed “Will you come with me?”

She looked a little shocked, but nodded

They both exited the car “This stays here” Tamara said placing the gun in the glovebox.

They made the short walk from the car to the Braxtons house, he knocked the door and the oldest brother answered “Can I help you?” Brax asked

“Hi, I’m Kyle. I'm your brother" He said, unease etched on his face

He waited for a response, Tamara standing by his side looking at the changing expression on Brax's face

"What mate?" he finally replied

Casey walked from his room to the living room passing the door and glancing at the person Brax was talking to, his eyes widened as he seen Kyle standing there "Brax close the door, that guy is crazy" he said rushing to Brax's side

"Casey, It's okay. that was stupid I know, I came here to introduce myself, I don't want to hurt you"

"Wow can someone explain something to me here?" Brax cut in

"Right, well basically Kyle here went a little crazy for a bit, planning to kill Casey who happened to kill his father that you all apparently share, but he's cool now with a little thanks to me, and I guess he wants to get to know you guys, after all your family" Tamara smiled as she finished, Kyle half glaring at her, Casey still his looked fixed on Kyle and Brax looking very confused.

>><<

Entry Two - Another Time, Another Place

You do realise that will kill you.’ A voice piped up causing Bianca to turn around and pinpoint the source.

‘It might do, but that’s just the way it goes.’

‘Are you planning to kill yourself?’

Alf noticed there was a hint of amusement in the voice but she just replied calmly. ‘I might be but you ruined the opportunity.’

‘Oh I do apologise, should I pretend I never saw you, standing on the edge of the pier then?’

‘Please yourself, doesn’t bother me.’

‘Want a helping hand?’

Bianca smiled ruefully and stepped away from the edge. ‘I can manage just fine, don’t you worry.’

‘So want to tell me why you’ve decided jumping off the pier is a good idea?’

‘Spill all my secrets out to a stranger, why would I do that?’

The stranger smiled at her and she felt a strange glow materialise causing her eyes to twinkle, which didn’t go unnoticed.

‘Twinkling eyes, got something to tell me?

‘I think you’re full of yourself.’

‘That’s old news.’

‘What’s your name?’ she enquired

‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’

Bianca knew they were playing a game and that she wouldn’t get a straight answer but she was curious to find out what it was about this person that made her feel good.

‘I do. Hence why I asked.’

‘Meet me here after dark. I might just tell you.’

The stranger walked away and Bianca just stared at their retreating figure trying to work out what had actually just transpired, did she dream it or did it actually happen. She shook her head, looked at the water once more and then walked away wondering why she was actually seriously considering coming back. She had no idea who they were, what they wanted or if it was even a good idea to go.

**

Sitting in her office, marking some mock exam papers was not helping Bianca take her mind off the stranger. A knock on the door appeared.

‘Come in.’

Gina entered. ‘Miss Scott, I have an emergency departmental meeting to go so I cannot do detention, is it possible for you to supervise for me?’

Bianca sighed and nodded. ‘You owe me.’

‘I do. Thanks.’

Gina walked out. Bianca kept looking at her phone just waiting for something to happen. She didn’t know why she kept staring at her phone but there was something telling her to keep looking.

She stood up and gathered her things to make her way down to the detention room.

‘Sit down, and get on with the work you have to do. Quicker you get it done, the quicker you get to leave. Got it?’

The students grumbled and nodded.

**

‘So you came?’

‘I came. Who are you though? I warn you, I am not interested in playing games. I am curious which is why I am here.’

‘Who do you think I am?’

‘I think you’re an idiot, beyond that I don’t know to be honest.’

‘My name is..’

Bianca heard a large bang coinciding with a hand around her mouth and her being dragged into the water She kicked out as hard as possible but it was futile. She saw the faint outline of a boat before passing out.

She came around a few moments later and automatically edged away from the male figure in front of her.

‘What do you want? Who are you?’ she demanded as adrenaline coursed throughout her body.

‘I was helping you. I was there to warn you.’

‘Warn me of what?’ she asked suspicious and not trusting this man at all.

‘ Your ex.’

‘Who?’

‘The famous one.’

‘Narrow it down.’ She asked as the throbbing in her head prevented her from being aware of who he was actually talking about.

‘The prince.’

‘Vittorio, that cheating two-timing piece of scum?’

‘The very one.’

‘What does he want?’

‘To force you back to Italy.’

‘After all this time?’

‘You humiliated him in the eyes of the country.’

‘Who are you? How do you know this?’ she rubbed her temple trying to make sense of what she was being told. It didn’t make any sense to her whatsoever.

‘I was his bodyguard until I realized what he was planning.’

‘What’s your name?’

‘Heath Braxton.'

**

[pembie]

Entry One - Untitled

This story was really good. I liked the way Kyle came across Tamara living out in the outback in the burnt out car. Makes more sense than her just appearing out of nowhere like she did on the show. So that was a very clever idea.

It was lucky that Tamara was there to help Casey, and I guessed she helped Kyle as well in the end. By stopping him from carrying out his revenge. It was a good job Kyle gave her that lift to town.

I found the ending abit short and was expecting to get abit more of a reaction from Brax after hearing Kyle's news but other than that. a very good story

Well done.

Entry Two - Another Time, Another Place

I did like this story but why was Bianca standing on the edge of the pier at the start was she going to jump? I sort of wanted to know.But saying that the twist at the end with Heath was cool as well as being very amusing. I don't know if it was mean't to be funny but It made me laugh.

Well Done

So both stories were great and I enjoyed reading them. Both writers did a brilliant

job but my vote goes to Entry Two - Another Time, Another Place.

[Red Ranger 1]

Entry #1:Untitled

There’s a very intriguing “what if” scenario at the heart of this:Basically, what if Tamara had met Kyle before Casey?What followed from there was a believable if somewhat straightforward examination of that idea, with Tamara stopping Kyle from making his big mistake.It did stretch credibility a bit that Tamara would happen along as Kyle tried to kidnap Casey but then that happened in the show as well so I guess it was inkeeping.A nice idea.

Entry #2:Another Time, Another Place

I admit I found the opening to this a bit confusing, there’s a reference to Alf which suggest he’s there watching but it wasn’t really clear.The scene at the school seemed a bit redundant, I was expecting Bianca’s stranger to turn out to be one of the students but it ended up as a bit of a blind alley.The ending presents an intriguing AU scenario of Heath being Vittorio’s bodyguard and switching sides to help Bianca.It would be a great springboard to a longer fiction but as the payoff to a one-shot it didn’t quite pack enough of a punch.But it’s another nice idea and one I’d like to see developed further sometime.

Two good entries again but I vote for Entry #1.

[Jen]

Sorry I forgot about this!

We currently have a tie. Would someone be so kind as to place one final vote so we have a winner?

[Jen]

Contest closed. Results announced in other thread.