Nobody's Perfect

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks so much for the comments, Danni02, soph1303, Kristen, Dingo x, once_upon_a_mind and ~JarlieFanEver~. They really do mean a lot. It's only a short one I'm afraid.

Chapter 21-

The sun was starting to set now and the air was getting chillier. The group sat around the remains of the small fire, desperately trying to warm up. Ruby who was curled up on a camping chair, emerged out of her bundle of blankets and pointed to the fire that was still shrinking by the minute and flickering uselessly.

"I think we need more firewood," she sighed, rubbing her hands together.

"Hey don't look at me," Casey grumbled, grabbing a marshmallow from the packet and tossing it into his mouth.

"Xavier?" Kelly asked, hopefully, looking over at the chair next to her. There was no reply apart from gentle snoring.

Casey smirked and pelted a marshmallow at Xavier's head, jolting him awake. "So what do you think Xavier? The giraffe or the elephant?"

"Um," Xavier began, not wanting to admit to falling asleep. "The giraffe, I think."

The other three burst into laughter. "Go on, Xav," Ruby smiled. "Fetch us some firewood."

Xavier looked at Kelly desperately but she just laughed. "Hey, if you snooze, you lose."

Ruby looked over at Casey who was rocking back and forth in silent laughter. "And you'll be helping him, Case."

The laughing stopped. "What?"

"Yeah," Kelly agreed. "Seeing as you're both always bragging about being stronger than the other. Why don't we have a little competition?"

"Whoever brings back the most firewood wins," Ruby said, simply. "Off you go!"

The two boys raised their eyebrows and looked at each other for a second before turning around and charging into the forest.

Ruby smiled at Kelly. "And that's how it's done."

Sid finished the last few tests and then smiled at Charlie. "You're doing really well," he smiled. "Better than I thought. It won't be too long now before you can go home."

Charlie smiled. "Thanks Sid. You don't know how happy I'll be when that day comes. I really need to be going back to work soon. I don't want to miss out on any more."

"Make sure you have a few days at home before going straight back," Sid warned her. "You may still be a little sore and achy for a while after."

Charlie shook her head. "I'll have to cope. I've dealt with worse."

"Just be careful, that's all I'm saying," Sid said, packing up his tools and opening the door. He nearly walked straight into Brax who neatly dodged out of the way, two drinks in his hands. "Here you go," he smiled, handing one to Charlie.

"Thanks," Charlie replied, taking the drink from Brax and resting it on her belly. She was about to take a sip when the door burst open again and Irene walked in, followed by Bianca and April.

"Charlie, love!" Irene sighed, rushing over to the bed. "I only just found out. You poor thing, what happened?"

"I guess I just wasn't watching where I was going," Charlie shrugged. "I didn't see the car..."

"Did you see who it was?" Bianca asked.

Charlie thought for a minute and tried to remember what she had told the police. "All I know is that it was blue and...wait a minute." She closed her eyes tight and then let out a breath. "I remember." She quickly described the numberplate to them all.

Brax jumped up quickly, eyes wide. "Tegan!" He shouted, running out of the room.

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks sooo much for the comments, Danni02, ~JarlieFanEver~, soph1303, Kristen, and Dingo x. They make my day

Chapter 22-

Brax ran out of the hospital doors, ignoring the angry glares from the staff. He was so angry that he was practically fuming. He couldn't believe it! Tegan! He snatched his phone from his pocket and searched through his contacts until her he found her name and then dialled her number. After three rings she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Tegan-" Brax began.

"Sam, is that you? I thought you'd never call! Last night was amaz-"

"No, Tegan, it's me, Brax. You know, you're ex?"

"Oh," Tegan muttered, her voice dropping. "What do you want?"

"I know what you did-"

"I didn't do anything!" She protested.

"So you can tell me where you were on Monday afternoon?" Brax asked, angrily.

"Y-yes, I was...at work-"

"And how did you get home from work?"

"I drove-" Tegan stammered.

"Did you drive past the police station on your way home?"

"N-no," Tegan said quickly. A little too quickly.

"How could you Tegan?" Brax demanded.

"I didn't mean to!" She screamed into the phone. "She walked right out in front of me!"

"And then you drove off and left her, lying there in the middle of the road, unconscious? You're lucky she's still alive you know."

"And why do you even care so much about this stupid woman? You don't even know her!" Tegan snapped.

Brax raised his eyebrows. "She's my girlfriend, actually. Anything else you'd like to say?"

There was silence until, "Look, I'm really sorry. I had no idea. Please keep this quiet! If you tell anybody, I'll...I'll..I'll hurt you."

"Tegan, I'll be letting the police know-"

"You can't!" She squealed. "Please!"

Brax shook his head and hung up. He took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the anger, still boiling up inside of him. He looked up into the dark sky for a moment before slowly turning around and walking back into the hospital.

Ruby's eyes snapped open and she panicked, wondering where she was until her vision became clearer and she saw the ceiling of the tent. She looked around, wondering what woke her up when she heard it again.

"Wooooooooo!"

A shadow appeared outside her compartment and she grabbed her blanket and pulled it up to her chin.

"Wooooooooo!"

Her breathing became heavier as she shuffled towards the corner. The zip on the door began sliding down and Ruby's eyes widened. A face appeared in the dark, a dim light, illuminating it. Ruby screamed. The zip came down all the way to reveal a bare-chested Xavier, a torch held under his chin.

"Whoops, sorry, Ruby. I thought this was Casey's room."

Ruby threw the blankets off her and stood up. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" she hissed. "It's three in the morning!"

There was a gentle grunting from one of the other rooms and Xavier jumped inside the room and zipped the door shut. He turned back to Ruby. "It was only meant to be a joke! I didn't mean to disturb you, I'm really sorry!"

Ruby sighed and sat down on the inflatable mattress. "It's okay, you just scared me, that's all."

"Ruby is that you?" came Kelly's voice from the other room. "Xavier?"

Ruby and Xavier looked at each other before flopping down onto the mattress and making soft, snoring sounds. They waited a little while before slowly opening their eyes again. Ruby jumped slightly as she saw how close Xavier's face was to hers. She could feel him breathing softly on her cheek. He paused before leaning in. She shook her head. "Xav-"

He frowned before leaning in to try again. She slapped him.

"Ow," he mumbled, rubbing his cheek and turning away. "I'm sorry."

Ruby looked at him for a moment. It didn't take long for the feelings to come back. Soon, it was like she had never left the bay. It was like they were still together. She took a deep breath before gently turning his face back around. She looked into his eyes, part of her saying, "Go for it!" the other thinking of Casey. Eventually the first voice took over and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

The next morning, Ruby woke up to find herself snuggled up with Xavier. Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened. She had kissed him! Then fallen asleep in his arms! She wasn't even with him! She looked down, feeling a bit better as she saw she was still wearing her pyjamas but still feeling terrible. She heard a yawn from one of the other rooms and shook Xavier awake.

"Xavier!" She whispered.

He opened his eyes, looked and Ruby and then smiled. "Good morning."

"Xavier, you have to go back into your room before they realise!"

"Realise what?" He mumbled, sounding tired and confused.

"That you slept in here!" She hissed back.

He sat up quickly. "Oh my god! You're right!" He jumped to his feet, opened up the door and tiptoed out of it and into his own room, giving Ruby one last longing look.

Ruby waited a few moments before giving a loud, deliberate yawn and climbing out of her room too. She unzipped the tent's main entrance and stepped outside, grabbing her dressing gown that was hanging up nearby. She grabbed one of the fold-up camping chairs and opened it up, collapsing onto it. There was noise from another compartment and soon Kelly emerged out of the tent.

"Hey," she smiled when she saw Ruby. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very," Ruby said, feeling bad as she remembered waking up with Xavier. "Did you?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Something woke me up in the middle of the night though. I thought I heard voices -"

"I heard that too!" Ruby said quickly. "It was probably Xavier and Casey arguing again. You know how they are."

"Yeah, that was probably it," Kelly laughed. Just as she said it, the tent opened again and Xavier climbed out, tugging a shirt over his head.

"Morning," he yawned, smiling at Kelly. He nodded at Ruby, the two of them sharing a moment of guilt. It was broken by Casey's entrance this time.

Ruby tore her eyes away from Xavier so she could smile at Casey. "Good morning, Case."

Casey grunted in reply.

"I hope you slept well," Kelly said. "We'll be working on our assignments today."

Casey groaned. "I can't wait..."

A little while later, Ruby and Kelly had disappeared inside the tent to make a start on their assignment, leaving Xavier and Casey outside. They sat in silence for a minute, glaring at each other until Xavier finally said, "Sooo... how are we going to start it then?"

Casey shrugged. "Dunno."

They were silent for a bit longer.

"I have an idea," Xavier finally said.

"Yeah?"

"We'll spy on them for a while and listen to what they're doing. It might give us some ideas."

"How old are we? Eight?" Casey smirked. "...Yeah okay then."

They stood up and crept along to the side of the tent, pressing their ears against it.

"Great idea," Ruby was saying. "We'll shade it with greens and browns and outline the writing so it stands out and then...Hey! What are you boys doing?"

Casey and Xavier looked at each other before sprinting off. They crouched behind a clump of bushes and waited. They heard the tent open and the girls running out. There were footsteps and then Xavier heard a cough from behind him.

He spun around to see Kelly with her hands on her hips, frowning at them. "Spying on us, really? We can see shadows-" She broke off as the boys chucked a clump of leaves at her and charged off again. Ruby and Kelly sprinted after them, pausing at the tent to grab a handful of eggs out of the cooler bag. She and Ruby exchanged evil grins as they took an egg in each hand and caught up with the boys.

"Come here, Casey," Ruby said sweetly, opening her arms as if she was going to hug him and then squelching the eggs into his hair and rubbing it all in. Kelly squished her eggs into pieces in her hands and then flung the yolky mush at Xavier's face. The boys screamed in fury as the girls exploded into laughter and ran away.

Xavier looked at Casey. "They wanna play do they? Let's show them how it's done! "

He led Casey back to the tent and reached his hand into the same cooler bag to pull out two bottles of orange cordial.

He handed one to Casey. "Let's get them!"

They heard giggling and looked at the tall oak tree where the sound was coming from. The boys grinned and unscrewed the lids from their bottles as they crept over to the tree, egg still dripping down the sides of their faces.

They waited until they were right in front of the tree before jumping around different sides and tipping the cordial over the girls' heads. Kelly and Ruby screamed and tried to squirm away but it was already sloshing down their fronts, dripping down their tops and covering them in sticky liquid. Casey decided to finish it off by sprinkling a light layer of dirt all over them so it stuck to the cordial and made them unrecognizable.

"Oh my god! You cows!" Ruby squealed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You went too far!" Kelly spluttered, wiping the sticky dirt from her eyes.

The boys laughed and high-fived each other.

Kelly and Ruby looked at each other. It wasn't over yet. They were going to make those stupid boys pay.

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks so much for the comments, ~JarlieFanEver~, Danni02, Dingo x, soph1303, once_upon_a_mind and Kristen. They mean a lot

Chapter 23-

The boys clutched their aching stomachs as they continued to laugh at the two very sticky girls glaring at them. Ruby grabbed Kelly's arm and lead her away from the boys who were too busy laughing to notice them leave. They crouched down behind the tent.

"What are we going to do?" Ruby whispered. "We need something really good to beat their last prank. Something they'll never forget and we'll never let them forget."

"You're right," Kelly said slowly. "But what?"

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the boys laughter. Ruby watched as Kelly's eyes lit up and a huge smile took over the frown on her face. "Perfect," she breathed.

Ruby listened as Kelly quickly told her the plan.

"Kelly, you are brilliant," Ruby giggled, imagining the plan taking place in her head. "But we're in the middle of a forest. There are no showers!"

Kelly shook her head. "That's where you're wrong. When I came here a few years ago, they were in the middle of installing a shower block just outside of forest. Near to where we parked the car, actually. I just hope it's still there."

Ruby smiled. "We'll have to risk it. Come on," She helped Kelly to her feet and they went back over to the boys.

"Hey, you guys," Kelly said. "We've decided to call a truce. There are some showers back near the car. What do you say we head over there and wash off?"

Xavier ran a hand through his gooey hair and Casey looked down at the egg dripping down his arms. "Definitely," they agreed.

"I'll get the towels," Ruby said. "All you need to bring is a change of clothes."

The boys nodded and disappeared inside of the tent, Kelly right behind them. Ruby went inside too and grabbed the four towels folded up near the entrance. She also reached a hand into her handbag and pulled out her's and Kelly's mobiles, slipping them into her pocket and following the others out.

They had a steady stroll down to the car but then turned right and carried on walking until they reached a small brick building.

Kelly smiled in relief. "We'll meet you back at the tent when you've finished. Take your time." Ruby handed the boys their towels and watched as they walked through the entrance that read: MEN'S SHOWER ROOM.

"Do you have the phones?" Kelly asked Ruby.

"Yep," Ruby grinned. She handed Kelly hers and they both opened up their cameras. They waited a few minutes before checking nobody was watching and heading into the men's shower room too. Once inside they found the only two occupied showers and tiptoed over to them. "We'll go inside, plant the cameras in well-hidden spots, take their clothes and come back," Kelly told Ruby.

"Hopefully, they've pulled the curtains across," Ruby said. "We don't want to be caught."

Kelly nodded. "I'm guessing by the singing, that Xavier's in this one so the one on the other side would be Casey."

Ruby took her position outside Casey's shower cubicle and got on her hands and knees. "Ready?"

"Ready," Kelly confirmed, getting on her hands and knees two and wriggling under the door. The gap was small but she managed to squeeze through.

Ruby wriggled under Casey's door too and was happy to see the curtain pulled across. She grabbed Casey's clothes and towel from the little bench and tucked them under her arm. She looked around, wondering where she could put the phone when she spotted an old sock under the bench. She pressed record, tucked her phone into the sock, making sure the camera was poking out and pointing in the right direction before crawling back under the door. Kelly was already waiting outside and Ruby gave her the thumbs up before following her out of the room.

"Excellent," Kelly smiled once they were safely out. "Now we wait."

Ruby spotted an big bush a few metres away from the door and they both crouched down behind it, the clothes and towels at their feet.

"How did you hide the phone?" Ruby whispered to Kelly.

"I had some old chocolate wrappers in my pocket," Kelly shrugged. "I just used them to cover most of it up. Hopefully Xavier won't be smart enough to spot it." She fell silent as they heard a shout from the shower block. They heard loud, annoyed voices moments later and Ruby and Kelly grinned at each other. It had begun.

A few minutes later they saw Casey's head stick out from behind the door. "Ruby? Kelly?" He called. "Are you there?"

The girls stayed silent, trying their hardest not to laugh.

"Give our clothes back!" Casey demanded. "It's not funny!"

Another head stuck out from the other side. "We know you're there!"

Ruby stood up so they could see her and dangled the clothes out in front of her. "You want them?" She smiled. "Come get them."

"No!" Xavier shouted. "We'll stay in here then!"

Kelly stood up as well. "You can't stay there forever," she teased.

"Fine, we're sorry!" Casey called. "We're sorry for spying on you. We're sorry for soaking you in cordial. We're sorry for covering you with dirt. We're sorry! Now please, give us our clothes!"

Kelly and Ruby looked at each other. "Fine." They threw the clothes towards the entrance and watched as a hand snaked round to grab them.

"And they think it's over," Kelly chuckled. They ran around the back of the building and waited until the boys emerged and began walking back to the tent before sneaking back into the shower room, walking back into the cubicles and grabbing the phones from their hiding places. They stopped the phones recording and clicked save.

"We are good," Kelly grinned, slipping the phone into her pocket. Ruby nodded, pocketing hers too.

That night, when Ruby was lying on her blow up air bed, she thought about the phone in her pocket. They hadn't told the boys about the videos yet, deciding to use them for blackmail when the right time came.

Ruby crawled over to her trousers and took the phone from her pocket, selecting the video and clicking view. She knew she shouldn't watch it but she couldn't help it. She didn't particularly want to see Casey without any clothes on, she just wanted to see his reaction.

Eventually, the shower curtain slid across and Ruby was about to cover her eyes when something stopped her. The naked person stepping out of the shower wasn't Casey...it was Xavier!

Ruby went red and clicked off the video, eyes wide. She must have got the wrong cubicle! It was obviously Casey singing, not Xavier. She should have realised it was Xavier when she took the clothes but they had both brought clothes that Ruby had never seen before. She tossed her phone to one side and turned over, trying to get to sleep but she couldn't block out the image of Xavier stepping out of the shower without any clothes on. Ruby groaned. What had she done?

Ruby felt someone shaking her and woke up. It was Kelly.

"Ruby!" Kelly said frantically. "The boys have left. They took the car!"

Ruby sat up quickly. "What?"

"I woke up early this morning and I was just going to the toilets when I noticed the car was gone. I came back to the tent and Xavier and Casey were missing. They haven't taken their things, just the car."

Ruby ran out of the tent and out of the forest, towards the spot where they had parked the car. Kelly was right, it was gone!

"Oh my god!" Ruby groaned. "What are we going to do?"

Meanwhile, Casey and Xavier were driving away. They knew it would spook the girls when they found the car was gone. They were planning on coming back after a while but for now, they would enjoy themselves. Xavier smiled and turned up the radio. He carried on driving. He wasn't really sure where they were but he didn't care. As long as they were far away from the forest for now. They weren't on proper roads yet, they weren't even sure how much further they could go in the car with all the bushes and trees around but cross country suited them fine.

"We can always work on the assignment after a little while," Casey said. "I grabbed a sheet of paper and some colors from their pile before we left."

"Cool," Xavier nodded. "I bet we can make ours better than theirs if we tried."

"Mr Copeland did say there would be a reward for the best assignment in the class. It would wipe the smiles from the girls faces if we won."

Xavier was about to say something else when the car made a strange noise and began to slow down. "What's it doing?" He grumbled. "My foots on the accelerator!"

Casey's mouth opened. "We have no petrol left!"

Xavier looked to where Casey was pointing as saw he was right. "Don't worry, we can call someone."

Casey raised his eyebrows. "With what? The girls have the mobiles."

Xavier looked at Casey. "...SH*T!"

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks so much for the comments, Danni02, soph1303, ~JarlieFanEver~, Kristen, once_upon_a_mind and Dingo x. I really love reading them xx

Chapter 24

Kelly tore her eyes away from her watch to look at Ruby. "I don't think they're coming back," she sighed.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should just pack up the things and leave now. There's no point staying here if the boys are gone."

Kelly nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. We can head straight back to my place if you like so we can get the assignment out of the way. Then we'll drop by at the boys houses to see if they're there."

"Sounds good," Ruby replied. "Better get started on taking the tent down then."

They packed all the things up and took them out of the tent so they could carefully take it down and pack it up too before carrying it outside of the forest.

"Umm...now what?" Kelly asked as she stared at the space where the car used to be.

Ruby pulled her mobile out of her pocket. "We call someone."

"Who? My parents don't live in the bay and your Mum is in hospital."

Ruby thought for a moment. "Brax," she said finally, dialling his number and waiting for the ring.

Brax looked over at Charlie who was still fast asleep. He had told her about Tegan and she had taken the news a lot better then he had expected. He had told the police as well who had promised to chase down Tegan to question her. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his mobile ringing and he quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi Brax, it's Ruby!"

Brax looked over at Charlie who had stirred a little but was still asleep and then said, "Hold on a minute," and took the phone call outside.

"Okay, Ruby, what's up?" Brax asked.

"I'm really sorry, I know it's early but I was just wondering if you would be able to pick me and Kelly up?"

Brax hesitated. "Uh-yeah-okay sure. Where are you?"

Ruby quickly gave him directions and then hung up, giving the thumbs up to Kelly. "He said he'll be here as soon as he can," she smiled.

"That's not going to help," Casey told Xavier as he watched the other boy kick the car angrily.

"Why aren't you panicking?" Xavier demanded. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication! It's hot, it's sticky and we have no food or water!"

"We're not in the middle of nowhere!" Casey scoffed. "I bet if we went for a walk, we'd find we're not that far off from the main road."

Xavier swung open the car door and climbed out. "Fine, we'll walk but it will get us nowhere! If we were near the main road, we would hear cars," He cocked his ear to one side. "And I don't hear anything, do you?"

Casey listened. "Nah, I guess not but there might just be no cars around. It is quite early!"

"Okay then, let's walk and we'll soon find out!"

Xavier marched off through the bushes and Casey sighed before reluctantly following. They crunched along fallen leaves and waded through sticky mud, finally stopping at a large tree stump.

"See, I told you," Xavier panted wiping a clump of mud of his shoe with a nearby stick.

"We might have just come in the wrong direction," Casey reasoned, looking around.

"Always thinking on the bright side, aren't you? Have you actually stopped to think about the situation we are in? You need to come to terms with the fact that no matter what you keep on telling yourself, we are well and truly bug***ed!" Xavier exclaimed.

"People will come looking for us eventually," Casey carried on, ignoring Xavier's last comment.

"They'll come looking for us but they won't find us. Seriously, we're in the middle of nowhere. I don't even know where we are!"

Casey sighed and shook his head. "Let's just go back to the car. If we have to spend the night out here, at least we have somewhere to sleep."

Xavier nodded in agreement and they turned around and began walking back the way they came.

The girls looked up as Brax's car came rumbling towards them. They picked up all of the luggage and heaved it over as Brax parked the car and opened up the boot. He helped them load the bags inside and then they all climbed in as he began to start the car.

"How was the trip?" He asked them as he began speeding down the bumpy roads.

"It was...good," Ruby said slowly.

"...A great experience," Kelly added.

"Did the boys already leave?" Brax asked, sounding confused. "Why didn't you go with them?"

"Well...they wanted to leave a bit earlier so we said we'd stay behind a little longer and then follow them home. The thing we didn't really think through was that we only had one car so...yeah."

"And the boys weren't smart enough to figure that out either?" Brax asked, suspiciously.

"They didn't really figure much out at all," Kelly said.

Brax frowned but didn't mention it again, instead he changed the topic.

"Sid said Charlie would be able to come home soon," He told Ruby. "You won't have to live with me for much longer which I'm sure you'll be happy about."

"Nah, it's been fun living with you," Ruby said truthfully. "I really appreciate you letting me stay. I know I'm a handful sometimes."

"Not at all, it's been a pleasure. Where are you staying at the moment, Kelly?"

"I'm still renting at the moment but I've got a job at the diner now so hopefully I'll be able to afford a proper place soon," Kelly replied.

Brax nodded and carried on driving in silence. After a little while they were back in Summer Bay.

"Where do you two want dropping off?" Brax asked as he spotted Heath chatting up a tall blonde haired lady near the beach.

Kelly gave him directions to her house and Brax followed them, pulling up outside her house and helping them take their things out of the back.

"Thanks so much for coming all the way to get us," Kelly smiled.

"Yeah, thanks Brax," Ruby grinned. "Please tell mum that I'm back and that I'll come visit her later tonight."

"Will do," Brax chuckled, climbing back inside the car and waving as he drove off.

The girls took the stuff inside and then Ruby unpacked the things for their assignment while Kelly went to fetch them some lemonade and blueberry muffins.

"Wait a minute..." Ruby said, examining the contents of a pencil case. "Some of our things are missing."

"What things?" came Kelly's voice from the kitchen.

"Scissors, glue, a brown pencil, a green pencil, a black marker, a blue biro and a sheet of paper," Ruby replied, ticking the things off on her fingers.

"I bet the boys took them for their assignment!" Kelly responded, coming out of the kitchen with two glasses in her hands and a plate of muffins balanced on her arm. "Maybe they did think some things through after all."

"Still, they're not going to get very far with seven things," Ruby pointed out. "If they think they're going to beat us, they're wrong."

The boys settled down in the car and emptied one of their bags with all the stolen stationary in. "Let's get started," Xavier said, using the brown and green pencils to sketch out a big title on the sheet of paper. Casey helped him colour it in and then they outlined it with the black marker to make it stand out. They worked together to remember some of the information Miles had told them about the environment and then Xavier wrote it neatly down underneath the title with the blue biro. Xavier suddenly stopped writing.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked.

"It's going really well and I think we have a good chance of winning this prize but we need something really creative to secure it. The girls are smarter than us, they'll have good information but they won't worry about the other things as much. We need to come up with something really clever to help us win."

Casey nodded and they both sat in silence for a while, racking their brains for a good idea.

"Ah ha!" Casey suddenly said. "I have the perfect solution..."

The next morning, Xavier woke up to find himself in the car, bent over the finished assignment. Casey was asleep next to him, drool escaping out of the corner of his mouth.

Xavier glanced at his watch. Six o clock! He was about to relax and go back to sleep again when he remembered what day it was. Monday! And if they didn't find their way back home soon, they would be late for school and they'd never win the assignment!

"Casey!" He hissed.

Casey let out a loud snore before opening one eye. "Whassupsavieer?" he mumbled.

"It's Monday! We have school soon and if we don't get out of here right now, we're going to be late!"

Casey sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. "Um-yeah-right, okay. We need to-um-we need to-we need to go!" He pushed open the car door, grabbed the assignment, rolled it up and put it in the bag. Xavier climbed out of the car too. "Which way should we go?"

Casey looked around. "I don't know. We'll have to leave the car though."

Xavier was about to say something else when he heard the sound of a car whizzing past. Then another. Then another. The boys looked at each other before picking up the bag and walking towards the sound. They went through a small arch of trees and then craned their necks around a big bush and almost laughed out loud.

There was the main road, a couple of cars just going by. The boys grinned at each other and watched as a couple more cars went by, probably on their way to work.

"Lost are we, Xavier?" Casey asked, looking back at where the car was, less than ten metres away.

Xavier just laughed. "Come on, time to get to school and win this thing!"

A while later, Ruby walked into class and found Kelly who had saved her a seat near the front.

"Hey," Kelly smiled. "Nearly time to kick some butt and claim our prize!"

"Can't wait!" Ruby laughed. "Imagine the looks on those guys faces if we win!"

"When we win," Kelly corrected.

Miles walked in and yelled at everyone to settle down. "We'll be presenting our assignments first thing this morning so quieten down."

As the rest of the class took their seats Ruby noticed that Xavier and Casey were missing.

"I wonder where those trouble makers have got to!" She whispered to Kelly as the first people went to the front of the class to show their assignment. Eventually it was their go and they headed to the front of the class to present. They unfolded the sheet of paper and read out their information, pinning their poster to the wall while they talked about it a bit more.

Miles seemed impressed as they went back to their seats and they high fived, feeling confident they had won.

"Well," Miles said as the girls took their seats. "I have made up my mind whose assignment was the best so I would like to give the prize to Ru-"

"Wait!" They were interrupted as Casey and Xavier came running into the class, clothes torn and dirty, assignment clutched in Casey's hand.

Kelly and Ruby frowned as the boys apologized to Miles for being late and begged him to let them show the class theirs.

Miles sighed. "Okay then, go on boys, let's see what you've got."

Xavier and Casey stood at the front and began to flatten out the paper, ignoring the whispers from fellow students.

The whispers stopped as Xavier pinned the assignment to the wall, giving everyone a clear view of it. Scattered around the writing were different coloured leaves, some big and some small, surrounded by tufts of bright green grass, flowers, petals and weeds, turning the assignment into a bright collage..

But that wasn't all they had planned. Instead of reading out the information, they began to sing it, throwing in little actions now and then.

At the end, the applause they got was almost deafening and they bowed, happy with their finished project.

Miles had to stand up and yell loudly to quieten everyone down.

"Okay," he said once the class was silent. "That was a very entertaining performance. I'm going to have to change my answer and give the prize to these two boys! That was really something."

Everyone cheered apart from Ruby and Kelly who were glaring at Xavier and Casey who were now doing a little victory dance.

After school the boys found Kelly and Ruby walking quickly out of the school gates. They caught up with them.

"Look what we've got!" Casey said, happily, shoving a jumbo bag of jelly snakes in their faces.

Ruby was about to say something rude but instead thought of a better idea. She whispered something to Kelly and they both took their phones out of their pockets, opening up the videos of Xavier and Casey in the shower room.

"Look what we've got!" They sniggered, shoving the phones in the boys faces and then running off.

Casey and Xavier exchanged horrified looks before charging off after them.

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks so much for the comments, Danni02, ~JarlieFanEver~, once_upon_a_mind, soph1303, Kristen and Chax47(thanks for reading!). They're really nice to read I apologize again for lack of updates.

Chapter 25-

The girls led the angry boys out of the school grounds and onto the beach where they eventually stopped to wave the phones above their heads.

"W-what-h-how, give those to us!" Casey finally burst out, making a wild grab at the phone in Kelly's hand.

"You better not have seen any-" Xavier began.

"One word and we send these videos to the whole school," Kelly threatened.

"Our fingers might just slip..." Ruby said, making her finger hover threateningly over the send button.

"You wouldn't dare-" Casey started to say, but Xavier slapped a hand over his mouth.

Ruby smiled and edged her finger closer to the send button. "What was that, Casey?"

He scowled and made another grab at the phone in Kelly's hand. Kelly tried to pull it away but she wasn't quick enough.

"Aha!" Casey laughed, triumphantly, quickly deleting the video. "Thanks, Kelly."

Kelly groaned and looked over at Ruby. "I'm really sorry," She said.

"It's okay," Ruby shrugged. "Casey may have got lucky but I can't say the same about Xavier."

"Aw, come on Rubes," Xavier pleaded. "I don't deserve this."

Ruby sighed. "I guess you're right." She went for a jab at the delete button but the edge of her finger hit send first.

She clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god, Xave, I'm sooo sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!"

Xavier rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Ruby. Just delete the stupid video and lets all go to the diner or something."

"No, really!" Ruby squealed. "I accidentally pressed send!" She showed Xavier the phone which said:

Sending... 85% complete

Xavier's eyes widened and he snatched the phone from her hand and started punching random buttons. "Nooo," he groaned. "This can't be happening!"

Ruby bit her lip and tried creeping away slowly but Xavier spun around and grabbed onto her hand. "Ruby, how could you?! Soon the whole school's gonna see that video and I'm going to be so badly humiliated! It's all your fault!"

"I'm sorry!" Ruby said, hysterically. "It was an accident! And if it helps, the only person I sent it to was April. You know that girl that lives with Irene. She was the first on my contact list so I just-"

"Then we need to find April and get her to delete the video before the whole school finds out!" Xavier shouted, running off.

"Seriously, he's just paranoid!" Ruby said. "It's not like April's going to pass the video on!"

Xavier knocked on Irene's door and waited until it swung open to reveal Dexter Walker, standing there looking pretty shocked.

"Seriously dude, that video's not cool!"

"April showed you?" Xavier groaned.

"Um well she's in the shower. I don't think she's seen it yet but-"

"Dex, please don't show it to anyone. If you could just delete it, I'd be really grateful."

Dex shifted his feet guiltily. "I didn't realise that when I was watching it, Bianca was standing behind me."

"Did she-" Xavier interrupted.

"She saw a bit of it yes," Dex sighed.

"I thought she would still be at the school," Xavier said.

"She came back home to get some papers that she needed to mark or something. But she rushed back off to the school as soon as she saw the video."

Xavier's mouth snapped open. "Mum! What if-what if Bianca tells her?" After reminding Dex to delete the video, he raced out of the door and back towards the school.

He ran inside an open door and along the empty corridors, wondering where Bianca would be. He was just about to turn back the way he came when he bumped into her, coming out of a classroom.

"Miss Scott, about that video you saw-"

"I have every right to tell your mother about that Xavier. What were you thinking sending Dexter that kind of-"

"No! It was sent to April not Dex! He was looking at April's phone."

Bianca blinked. "Well why were you sending April a naked video of yourself? She's with someone else now, Xavier-"

"I didn't send it! It was Ruby! She hid a camera in the showers and-"

"I find that very hard to believe," Bianca frowned.

"I swear, I'm telling the truth!" Xavier groaned. "You can even ask her!"

Just as he said that, Ruby, Kelly and Casey came running down the corridors. "Xavier!" Ruby shouted. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Oh...hey Miss Scott!"

Bianca shifted her gaze from Xavier to Ruby, the same disapproving look plastered on her face.

"Is it true?" Bianca asked her.

"Is what true?" Ruby said quickly, looking over at Xavier and then back to Bianca.

"Did you send an inappropriate video of Xavier to April?"

Ruby bit her lip. "Um, well, you see Miss Scott...it was an accident..."

Bianca raised her eyebrows. "An accident?"

"Sort...of...yeah," she said slowly. "But if you could just forget about it that would be great-"

Bianca sighed and shook her head. "There's not really much I can do so I'll let you off this once-" She cut off as the four teenagers exchanged relieved looks. "-but...if anything like this happens again, don't think I won't be talking to your mothers."

Xavier sighed in relief and nodded. "Of course, it won't happen again," he promised.

Bianca shot them one last weird look before turning around and walking away leaving the teenagers in an embarrassing silence.

Finally Ruby said, "Well, we did it."

Xavier glared at her and walked away muttering, "Yeah and the awkwardness between us and Bianca is totally going to vanish."

The other three exchanged a slightly amused glance before following Xavier out of the door.

Two years later.....

Ruby led her boyfriend, Casey up the pebbled pathway to her house. They had just come back from lunch at the surf club with Xavier who had just come out of a recent break-up with his girlfriend Kelly. They had been arguing for a while now and finally decided that things weren't going to work out. Tomorrow they were going to Kelly's house, after deciding it was important to stay in touch with both of them. When Xavier had told them the news, Ruby couldn't help feeling a jolt of happiness which she couldn't get her head around. Ruby shook her head just thinking about it again and dropped Casey's hand so she could open the front door. She cringed as the sound of shouts hit them from inside.

"Sounds like Brax," Casey said as the two voices got louder. Ruby closed the door behind them both with a loud bang and the shouting stopped immediately. They walked into the kitchen of her's and Charlie's gorgeous new house to see a flustered Charlie still staring angrily at Brax.

"Oh, hey guys," Brax said, turning around to see them standing there.

Charlie forced a smile onto her face and fixed her hair, quickly. "How was Xavier?"

Casey grimaced. "Not too great. He's still a bit confused about it all but he was the one that broke it off after all."

"Well, he's lucky to have you two to cheer him up," Brax said.

Ruby smiled, feeling a tingle go up her spine at the thought of Xavier. She shivered and cast it away, trying to focus on Charlie and Brax who still didn't look too happy. She wanted to ask them what was wrong but didn't want to admit to hearing them argue. Before she could decide what to do, Casey was already there.

"What were you guys arguing about anyway?" He demanded, as Charlie and Brax looked at each other guiltily.

"We have some good news," Brax said.

"Didn't sound like good news," Ruby muttered.

"That's because it wasn't," Charlie said, shooting Brax an annoyed look.

"Well, we're a bit confused about it all," Brax sighed.

Ruby waited for him to say something else but he didn't so she pressed on. "And?"

Charlie took a deep breath and led them all into the living room where she sat awkwardly on the edge of an armchair. "Well, sparing all the details that you probably don't want to hear about, Brax and I...well...I'm pregnant."

Ruby and Casey looked at each other in shock and then began to smile. "That's great!" Ruby laughed. "Oh my god, it's amazing! I'm going to be a sister!" She was about to start the squealing and question asking when she realised that Charlie was looking upset.

"Charlie what's wrong?" Casey asked, noticing it too. "Why aren't you happy?"

Charlie put her face in her hands. "I don't know," she sighed. "I'm just confused about it all. I mean, it's happened so quickly and...so many things are gong to change and there's so much to think about and-"

"It'll be okay!"

"...Oh, I don't know Rubes. It's such a big thing!"

Ruby went over to Charlie and gave her a hug. "Mum, it's okay. You have me, Brax and Casey. We'll all help you get through this, there's nothing to worry about. You should be excited!"

Charlie looked up at her. "You're right. I can do this...I can..."

"You can," Brax said, giving Charlie a hug and kissing her forehead. "Come on Charlie, we're having a baby!"

Charlie smiled back at him. "We're having a baby!" She laughed. "We are having a baby!!!!" She threw her arms around Brax's neck and he lifted her up into the air. "We're having a baby," he confirmed.

Ruby and Casey smiled at each other. "Maybe we should leave them in peace," Ruby whispered.

Casey nodded and they stood up silently and crept out of the room and towards the front door. Ruby carefully opened it and they ran out and towards the beach. "I'm going to be a sister!" Ruby screamed into the wind as they were a safe distance away from the house. Casey laughed and they carried on running, until they were at the edge of the beach. Ruby took Casey's hand and pulled him down onto the sand.

"I'm going to be a sister," She smiled.

They sat in silence for a while. After a few minutes Ruby gasped and stood up quickly. "I need to go to the toilet. I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay," Casey said, feeling confused as he watched Ruby run away.

Ruby charged up the hill but instead of going to the toilets, she ran behind them and crouched down, pressing her back up against the brick wall.

She had been too busy daydreaming about being sister, she hadn't thought of the obvious problem. If Charlie and Brax had a baby, they would most likely want to get married. That would make Casey her step brother! Wait...no, even worse...her step uncle! How could she be in a relationship with him then? That would just be weird. She knew she should head back to the beach but she couldn't. It shouldn't matter but she couldn't help letting it get to her. Instead, she took a deep breath before running away from the beach. She didn't stop running. She finally turned and ran up to a house and knocked hard on the door.

It swung open to reveal Xavier.

"I need to talk to you!" Ruby sighed.

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks so much for the comments, ~JarlieFanEver~, Danni02, soph1303 and Kristen. They mean a lot xx

Chapter 26-

Xavier looked a bit confused but invited her inside all the same.

"Look, I'm really sorry to bother you, especially after what you've just been through," Ruby said, glancing at his blue flannel pajamas. "But I had to talk to someone and you just seemed like the best person."

Xavier gave her a small, lopsided grin. "I'm flattered that you think that much of me."

"Of course I do!" Ruby sat down next to Xavier on the sofa. "You're my best friend...well one of them."

Xavier stuck his hand into an opened bag of popcorn on the coffee table. "So what's the problem?"

Ruby snatched the bag of popcorn away from him. "Xave, eating cr*p, won't solve your relationship problems."

He rolled his eyes. "And changing the subject won't solve your problems, so spill!"

Ruby sighed. "Well...it's to do with Casey-"

"-Ruby, whatever it is, I don't see how I'm going to be able to help. Why don't you just talk to Casey? Obviously, I'm not exactly the expert on relationships."

"Look, Xave, it's not really a big deal, it's just-well...Charlie's pregnant and-"

"Charlie's pregnant?" Xavier gasped. "Oh my god, Ruby, that's great!"

"-with Brax, and that means they'll most likely want to get married-well unless they want a bast-"

"-Yeah, get to the point!"

"And..." Ruby hesitated. "That would make Casey my step-uncle."

Xavier's eyes widened and he chewed his lip furiously for a moment before not being able to hold his laughter in and breaking out in loud guffaws of amusement. "Y-your uncle!" he spluttered. "That's hilar-"

"Step uncle!" Ruby corrected him. "And Xavier, I came to you because I thought you'd be supportive! I can just go-"

"No!" Xavier protested. "I'm sorry, it just wasn't what I was expecting you to say."

"Well? Any advice?"

"Look, Ruby, it shouldn't matter if he's your step-uncle, step-grandfather or whoever! The only thing that matters is if you love him."

Ruby thought about this before throwing her arms around his neck. "Thanks Xave. What would I do without you?"

He shrugged and hugged her back. "Not much by the looks of it."

Ruby rested her chin on Xavier's shoulder, breathing in his lovely, familiar scent. Before she knew what she was doing, she was pulling him closer and kissing him, passionately.

Xavier went with it for a second before thinking about it more and pulling away sharply. "Ruby, what are you doing? Have you forgotten the talk we just had?"

"I haven't forgotten anything," Ruby said, leaning in again.

"Look, you know how much I want to kiss you back right now but you also should know that I can't! I've developed respect for Casey over the last couple of years and I can't let you do this to him!"

Ruby blushed and looked down. "I thought you wanted to be with me."

Xavier groaned and had to use all his strength to resist kissing her and instead doing the right thing. "I do...but I can't. You need to go home and think about this some more. You're obviously not thinking straight. If you come back, after having a long think and talking to Casey about it then we'll see, okay?"

Ruby sighed. "Okay. But my answer will still be the same." She stood up. "Thanks for the talk."

The next day, Xavier woke up to find himself lying on the couch in the same position. He stretched and looked down at his phone. It was twelve o clock! He must have been tired. He also saw that he had a message from Ruby and opened it, eagerly, a part of him desperately hoping she had thought about it and decided that she really did want to be with him. He scanned the message and his face fell.

Hey Xave,

thanks 4 the talk yesterday

ur right, I wasn't thinking straight!!!

I <3 Casey and it shouldnt mattR if he's going 2 be my step uncle!

Thanks 4 helping me figure that out!

ur a gr8 friend!!!

Ruby xx

Xavier closed the message and threw his phone onto the floor, angrily. Of course this would happen! He should have just gone with it yesterday...no he shouldn't of...he did the right thing, even if it did hurt.

He took a deep breath before having a quick shower, going into his room and changing out of his pj's and into his best jeans and shirt and throwing his pajamas in the wash. He had been wearing them for practically weeks. He sprayed on some deodorant, gave his teeth a brush, splashed his face with cold water and spiked up his hair with some super-hold hair gel. After checking his appearance in the mirror, he raced out of the door.

It was time to move on!

He climbed inside his car and went for a quick drive around with the windows open to get some fresh air before heading to the diner for some brekkie.

Ruby flopped down on the cream, leather sofa and put her head in her hands. She had regretted that text message as soon as it had been sent. She shouldn't lie to Xavier! Of course she wanted to be with him, she just couldn't stand the thought of breaking up with Casey. She knew she was just being selfish but she couldn't help the way she felt.

A knock on the door, interrupted her thoughts and she rushed over to answer it. It was Casey.

"Hey Rubes, do you want to go to the diner to hang out?"

"Um, well...I was thinking of just staying at home. I'm still pretty tired," Ruby answered back, feebly.

Casey shook his head in annoyance. "First you run off from me at the beach yesterday and leave it until the last minute to call and now you won't even go out with me? Seriously, what's up?"

"I told you, I'm just tired!" Ruby lied.

"Oh of course you are," Casey said sarcastically. "No, you know what Ruby? I have a feeling you just don't want to spend time with me anymore. Not good enough for you, am I?"

"No, of course not, Case!"

"Then come with me! Just for an hour or two!"

"Fine!" Ruby snapped, storming past him and out of the door.

When they arrived at the diner, Ruby had calmed down a bit and had agreed to let Casey hold her hand on the way. They pushed open the doors and went inside. Ruby scanned the building, looking around for an empty table but what she saw made her drop Casey's hand.

Xavier was here. But he wasn't alone. He was with another girl and they looked like they were having a very good time indeed.

Brax and Charlie walked into the Buckton household, laughing and holding hands. "What about Tessa if it's a girl and Joshua if it's a boy?" Charlie suggested, closing the door behind them.

"Or Jane if it's a girl and Ryan if it's a boy?"

"What about Bella for a girl?" Charlie said. "It means beautiful."

"Or Daniel for a boy?" Brax replied. " That means attractive."

"I still like Tessa for a girl," Charlie told him, sinking into the comfort of the sofa.

"I prefer Jane," Brax smiled.

"Don't you like the name, Tessa?" Charlie asked him. "I think it's perfect."

"I would rather our child be called Gertrude," Brax chuckled.

Charlie elbowed him playfully.

"Well, okay then, I like Tessa," Brax grinned. "But I like Jane as well."

"Well maybe Jane could be her middle name?" Charlie said, thoughtfully. "Tessa...Jane...Tessa Jane?"

"Tessa Jane!" Brax said, happily. "I like it."

"Tessa Jane Buckton," Charlie smiled. "I love it."

"And if it's a boy?" Brax asked.

"It won't be!" Charlie protested.

"Charlie," Brax groaned. "Don't get too attached to the name. What if it is a boy?"

"Then we give it to the adoption center and try again."

"Charlie!"

"Just joking," Charlie giggled.

[Chickiboomxx]

Thanks so much for the comments, Kristen, ~JarlieFanEver~, soph1303 and Danni02 They mean a lot! xx

(Sorry, it's been a while since I last posted. I've been a bit preoccupied with Christmas things) I've decided that this will be my last chapter because I'm running out of places to take this story. Once I sort some things out and get more organised I'll start a new fan fic which will probably involve the same characters but hopefully be a lot better and the updates will be more frequent Thanks to these people ^ above for always reading. It's really nice to know that I do have some people who (I'm hoping) enjoy reading it. So hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint... xx

Chapter 27-

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Casey asked, noticing Ruby's horrified expression. He followed her eyes and saw Xavier sitting on a chair in the far corner, a pretty blonde girl sitting on his lap, the two of them kissing passionately.

Casey chuckled. "It's Xavier! Do you want to go say hello?"

"Um, have you seen what he's doing?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, he's obviously found himself a girlfriend. I mean, I don't blame him really, he's just come out of a break-up."

"Exactly," Ruby said. "He's just come out of a break-up. It's a bit soon to be finding someone new."

Casey shrugged. "Well, okay maybe it's a bit soon for another girlfriend. But Xavier might not be looking for a girlfriend. He's just gone through a tough break-up and it's normal for guys to be kissing ...randoms."

"A tough break-up?" Ruby said, raising her eyebrows. "He was the one that broke it off in the first place, not Kelly!"

"Speaking of Kelly," Casey said, quickly changing the subject. "We're supposed to be going round for lunch a bit later, remember?"

Ruby didn't hear him. She was too busy staring at Xavier and that blonde chick. She felt hurt. Hurt, that he would do that to her. He was the one that said he still liked her! Though maybe it was her fault. Maybe she should have told him the truth in that text. Said that she had thought about it and still wanted him. But obviously it was too late...

Xavier groaned and broke away from the kiss. Why was he doing this? It wasn't helping him get over Ruby at all. Instead it just made him feel guilty.

He was about to tell the pretty girl, Zara, that he had to go but then saw Ruby out of the corner of his eye. He had no idea she was here! Xavier noticed Ruby staring and quickly pulled Zara closer and began kissing her again. She smiled and kissed him back.

Why did I do that?", Xavier thought, easing the girl away.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sliding off his lap with a hurt expression on her face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I did," Xavier sighed. "Look, I'm not ready for a relationship. I just came out of one very recently and that's the only reason I was flirting with you."

The girl pursed her lips and perched back onto his legs. "That's okay with me," She smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and leaning back in.

Xavier pushed her away. "That, and the fact that I like someone else. Nearer the end, I was just trying to make her jealous."

Zara rolled her eyes and looked around. "Where is she then?"

Xavier scanned the diner. Ruby and Casey had vanished. "She must have left," he mumbled.

"Perfect," Zara grinned. "She's gone, so there's nothing to worry about."

Xavier shook his head and stood up. "Thanks but I have to go." He forced a smile for the girl and hurried out of the building.

Ruby pulled up her car outside Kelly's house and she and Casey climbed out. "Okay, rule number one, no talking about the break-up unless she indicates that she wants to," Ruby told Casey, firmly.

"Rule number two, if we do end up talking about it, you have to act like we're on her side. And rule number three...look, just don't do or say anything stupid that's going to make her cry. One thing I can't deal with right now, is somebody going all emotional on me."

"I'll try," Casey said, looking nervous as they walked up to the house, cautiously. The sound of loud music hit them as they reached the door. Ruby knocked loudly and waited but nobody came to the door. She tried the handle and it turned easily so she pushed open the door and they walked inside.

They went into the living room where the source of the music was and found Kelly wearing mini shorts and a sports bra, bashing a large punching bag in time to the music.

Casey looked over at Ruby awkwardly. She motioned for them to return to the door. Ruby walked outside, shutting the door behind her, stopped and walked back in again, making sure the door banged loudly as she swung it open. Casey, catching on to what she was doing, made sure he stomped his feet loudly as they made their way back into the living room. "Hello?" Ruby shouted loudly. "Anyone home?"

The music stopped as they walked in and Kelly smiled. "Hey, guys! Sorry, I had forgotten all about lunch!"

"Oh, um that's fine. We can just go-" Ruby began.

"No, no that's okay, have a seat," Kelly insisted.

Casey sighed in relief and sat down on the sofa. "So, how are you?" He asked her, politely.

"I'm great thanks," Kelly said brightly.

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Kelly sighed. "No! I'm just so angry at Xavier!"

"I can see that," Ruby said, looking over at the punching bag which had a picture of Xavier taped to the front.

Kelly blushed. "I just can't believe he would do that! I thought everything was going great and then he just dropped the bomb on me that he wanted to break up. I mean, what kind of a jerk does that?"

"I know right, such a jerk!" Ruby lied. "I wonder why he did it..."

"He said to me that he liked someone else," Kelly said, sadly. "He didn't say who, though!"

Ruby felt a spark whiz through her. Xavier broke up with Kelly because he still liked her! Her!

"I know this sounds pathetic, but I sent him a text later this morning asking if anything had changed," Kelly continued. "I wanted to know if there was any possibility he didn't like this girl after all. Or maybe she didn't like him so nothing could happen? He said that he always had liked her and always will. He told me that last night, she had said she did like him back but this morning things had changed. He now knew there was no possibility she would ever like him back because she was with someone else. So I asked him if that meant we could get back together. And he said, no! He said that even though he knew they could never be together he would never stop hoping. I mean seriously, how lame is that?"

"But what he doesn't know, is the girl really likes him back!" Ruby blurted out before she could stop herself.

"What?" Kelly and Casey asked in unison.

"She likes him back! In fact she more than likes him back! And the only reason she didn't tell him was because she couldn't bear the thought of her boyfriend hating her for it. But now he will because she's going to do something about it!" Ruby cried.

"How would you know?" Casey asked slowly.

"For goodness sake, Casey! Because it's me! I am the girl! And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry because I know this is hurting you but I can't go on pretending anymore. I like you, I really do and I hope we can still be friends-"

Casey bit his lip hard and shook his head. "No chance!"

"Casey, please-"

"No Ruby! You're wrong about this hurting me cos it's not! It's physically tearing me apart! So I want nothing to do with you ever again!"

Ruby sobbed, letting the tears roll heavily down her cheeks. She didn't even have the heart to tell him that there was nothing he could do about the last thing. They would have to see each other again with Charlie and Brax's big plans. Instead, she just watched him run out of the house, crying even more when she noticed a tear dripping down his cheek.

She buried her face in her hands and sobbed even more, finally stopping when she remembered Kelly. "Yes I know, I'm sorry, and I'm leaving! I never meant for this to hurt you Kelly You're my best friend and I know I should have told you but I was just so weak! I was selfish and-"

"No Ruby, it's okay," Kelly said softly, surprising her.

"Ruby sniffed and wiped her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Kelly sighed. "I guess, if Xavier had to go off with somebody, I'm glad it was you."

Ruby shook her head, sadly. "Why are you being this nice to me? I don't deserve it."

"Ruby, you didn't really do anything wrong when it comes to Xavier. I mean, you like him, he likes you. You're doing the right thing. It's a lot better than ignoring your feelings and living a pretend life with Casey. So, I think you should go find Xavier quickly and tell him the truth!"

Ruby wiped away the last of her tears, and hugged Kelly. "You're the most amazing friend," she smiled.

"I know," Kelly laughed. "Now go!"

Ruby gave her one last grateful look before running out of the door and into the sunshine. She had work to do.

Just as Ruby was running along the beach and towards Xavier's house, she thought of something. She had forgotten all about that blonde chick that Xavier was with! What if he was still with her! He might have moved on and she might be his new girlfriend! Then she'd have lost him and Casey!

She was still stressing when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby, we really need to talk."

She spun around to see Xavier and before he could say anything else, she kissed him.

He looked very surprised at this but finally when they pulled away he smiled.

"What did you want to tell me?" Ruby asked.

He swung her into his arms and grinned, cheesily. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

TWO YEARS LATER...

Charlie grinned and looked down at the beautiful little girl in her arms, who was gurgling happily. "You're mummy's little girl, aren't you?" Charlie cooed just as the door swung open to reveal her husband.

Brax closed the door behind him and made his way over to Charlie kissing her forehead. "Hey, babe," he grinned, before turning to the baby girl. "Hello Tessy. How are you?" He asked, laughing as the baby gurgled in reply.

"Where's Rubes?" Brax asked, taking the baby from Charlie and cradling her in his arms.

"She's hanging out with Xave in her room," Charlie smiled. "I swear that boy spends more time in our house then he does, his own."

"Don't worry they'll both be gone in a couple of months," Brax laughed. "But knowing Rubes, she'll be coming round to see the baby everyday."

"If they're not thinking of having a baby of their own..." Charlie said, shivering at the thought of her daughter growing up so fast. It was scarier enough letting her and Xave buy a place of their own without the added stress of a granddaughter! A granddaughter! That would make Charlie a grandmother!

"Hey," Brax chuckled, taking one hand of the baby to stroke Charlie's hair. "Don't think ahead of yourself. That time will come when it comes."

Charlie nodded and let the thought drift away. Instead she focused her attention on her daughter still gurgling away in Brax's arms.

"What's happening with dinner tonight?" Brax asked, trying to take Charlie's mind of her eldest daughter's plans for the future.

"Your youngest brother and his girlfriend are coming over remember?" Charlie asked. "Ruby insisted that she wanted to cook for us all."

"Didn't they come over last week?" Brax asked. "And the week before?"

Charlie nudged him with her foot. "It's important for Ruby to stay in touch with them both. I mean Casey and Kelly are her best friends and now that they're together it's nice for them to double date and stuff," Charlie told him.

"Alright," Brax said, passing Tessa back to Charlie. "But please can I have some male bonding time before then?"

Charlie laughed. "With who?"

Brax raised his eyebrows. "You know who!" He whistled and their chocolate Labrador, Milo came running to his side.

"Come on, Milo, let's leave these girls in peace," Brax said, as he headed for their games room, Milo trotting along behind him.

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