Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 07:05:04 +0000
From: Chris Angel <moonknuckle@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Misadventures of Holly Raine, chapter six

**********

Stage Six: Holly and Sharon

**********

"Oh man. My head is killing me..."

It was a horrible site to see the state that Summer's house was left in the
night after her birthday party. Such a mess was the mark of a good time, but
was also going to be an utter  nightmare to clean up. Cans and bottles that
once contained alcohol were strewn over the tables, chairs and stands. Much
had been moved around. At least three of the beds upstairs had been unmade.
And you didn't have to be a genius to know why. In the hallways, the scent
of smoke still lingered. Pillows that were supposed to be on the three
couches  of the living room were scattered around the floor along with
dozens of bottle caps. The air still felt thick there; as if the party were
still on, as if the music was still banging. Fortunately for the three
people left in that house, the party ended over five hours ago.

Beams of light shone through the large windows of the living room that
overlooked the lawn of Summer's house. It was morning. Well, a little later
than morning. Holly-Raine released a groggy sigh as those beams hit her
face. And her eyes fluttered open with the realization that she was awake.
The brunette was strung out over the couch to the left of Summer's rather
large living room, while Jenny was doing the same on the couch facing
opposite, her hand held at her head.

Holly looked over at her friend, rubbing her eyes a little. "Huh? Did... you
say something?"

"I'm never drinking like that again," Jenny declared, "It feels like
someone's drilling in my skull... ugh..."

Yeah, Holly could relate to that. "Last night was awesome though, wasn't it?
I'm glad that Summer enjoyed herself. By the way, where is she?"

"In her kitchen," Jenny replied slowly, "Making breakfast for us. I know she
means well, but I really don't feel like eating anything right about now."

"I think I'll go see her."

Holly-Raine lifted her head upwards as best she could. It had escaped her
that she wasn't doing any better than Jenny was. Still, they were teens and
this was a party. These were the times in life where you got to enjoy
yourself the most. It was because of this that Holly didn't mind waking up
with the odd hangover now and again. The young woman yawned with
`unladylike' casualness, and proceeded to tidy herself up, standing upright
from the sofa. She smoothed out her skirt a bit, straightened her chestnut
hair by running her fingers through them, then walked out the room. Holly
passed through the hallway until she reached the kitchen door, then entered.

The nubile young brunette smiled as she saw Summer across from her, her hand
wrapped around the handle of a frying pan, while a quartet of eggs sizzled
on it. Summer looked back from the stove as she heard someone enter the
kitchen. The (former) birthday girl gave a generous and warm smile to Holly,
knowing that she and Jenny were finally starting to wake up.

"Morning, sunshine," Summer chirped. "How'd you sleep?"

Holly shook her head. "Not good. Remind me to bring some Pepto-Bismol the
next time I come to one of your parties."

Summer giggled deviously. "Sorry, but we're out. I'll try to keep that in
mind in future. But hey, I've always said that the best way to get over the
post-drink morning is to line your stomach with something strong. So grab a
plate. I don't fry like this very often."

Though Holly didn't quite see it that way, the girl did as she was told.
Holly went to one of the cupboards that surrounded the kitchen wall,
withdrew a plate (by now she knew her way around Summer's house) and went
over to the counter right by Summer. A few slices of toast had already been
made at this point. Holly snagged one as she waited beside Summer, nibbling
on it carefully.

"Hey Summer?"

Summer didn't look up from the sizzling frying pan. "Yup?"

"I meant what I said last night," Holly replied between bites, "I'm glad
that what happened between us won't get in the way of us being friends. I
wouldn't want it to."

"I understand, Holly," The taller girl affirmed, "I don't want things to be
weird between us either. So you shouldn't worry about it. We've been friends
since we were kids. Me, you and Jenny. Nobody or nothing is gonna get in the
way of that. Okay?"

Holly nodded happily. "Yeah."

For which, Summer was thankful. "Good. Now could you go get Jenny for me?
She's gonna eat some of this if I have to jam it down her throat and force
her to munch with my hands."

**********

"...Charlemagne's quest for power. Summarize three key objectives..."

Cassie tapped her HB pencil on the edge of her bedroom desk quietly. History
homework. It was a personal habit of hers to clean up any unfinished
homework on a Sunday morning.  And since she had been out partying with
Alyshia last night, she had a lot to catch up on. But for the most part,
Cassie was glad that she had gotten out last night. Though she had made
absolutely no headway with Holly-Raine yet... not even so much as telling the
girl how she felt, and Shannon absolutely humiliating her... Cassie felt
strangely relaxed and loose at this point. She knew that is was no result of
her own making. It has something to do with Alyshia.

Cassie stared over at her bed. It was freshly made, since Cassie had fallen
asleep on the couch last night, much to her Dad's displeasure. But on that
bed were her clothes last night. And on top of those clothes was a piece of
paper. Cassie knew from memory that Alyshia's phone number was written down
on that little paper sheet. It surprised Cassie greatly to have hit it off
so well with Alyshia. Though she couldn't quite understand why that girl
would want to have anything to do with her. Cassie didn't have that many
friends, not real ones anyway, and up came this eager, confident girl, who
for some reason, really liked her. And Cassie liked her too.

To be honest, Cassie really did need this pick-me-up. After what Shannon did
to her at Summer's party, she was bound to experience waves of abuse and
teasing from that bitch's pack when she went to school tomorrow morning. The
fact that she had managed to enjoy the remainder of the party with Alyshia
made that idea easier to deal with. But that was something she would worry
about tomorrow.  Right now...  she had to think about the most pressing issue
on her mind.

And it was, as usual, Holly.

Cassie slid her History books to one side and pulled out her poetry diary.
The one dedicated to Holly-Raine. It was adorned in love hearts and little
scriptures of the beautiful girl's name, signs of passion which very much
did Cassie's feelings justice. She pulled back the cover and flicked through
masses and masses of poems and short stories, until she came to a blank
sheet of paper. Perfect for writing. And as this happened, Cassie thought
back in her mind about what she had seen of Holly last night. In her mind's
eye she could so clearly picture that stunning girl as she strode down that
dark night street. Dressed so sexily... walking so seductively... looking so
heavenly. Soon as those images came to mind, Cassie was already putting
pencil to paper and jotting down her feelings. Her passion. It was the best
way for her to vent those urges.

Yet, even though writing another poetic passage did much to cool Cassie's
yearning, she knew the obvious. Nothing was going to be resolved unless she
actually presented her feelings. But after last night, Cassie's resolve was
wavering. Not only had Shannon totally embarrassed her, but Holly-Raine
virtually ignored her. Plus, she had made a new friend out of Alyshia.
Telling Holly how she felt would upset all of that. If Holly rejected her,
then bang, Cassie's life was over. If word leaked out about Cassie's
homosexuality, it would add more fire to Shannon's engine. More ammo to slam
Cassie with. Only this time it would be a lot more hurtful. And what of
Alyshia? Would she want to be friends with a girl who had a crush on another
girl?

All those issues were not lost on Cassie. Which made her decision even more
important. Would she tell Holly-Raine how she felt and risk everything? Or
keep bottled up with little glimpses of Holly from afar when she knew that
wasn't enough for her?

Cassie was stumped. "What should I do...?"

**********

Monday.

Holly-Raine sighed as she made a desperate pitch across the stone courtyard
that enfolded the main building of Atlantic High. The girl dashed past all
of the other more casual students that just happened to be lazing around,
those whose idle nature was brought by their decision to skip class. But
Holly-Raine couldn't do with that. She was almost fifteen minutes late for
Miss Harding's History class. And Miss Harding lived up to her name when it
came to tardiness. For such a beautiful woman, she could be one hell of a
hard-ass. That was what made Holly run across the courtyard and rush towards
the glass-pane front door of the humanities department. Holly yanked the
door open and continued her desperate run, plying through whatever teacher
or student that just happened to be in her way. She really couldn't believe
that she had ended up waking up so late this morning. Rather than go home on
Sunday, Holly and Jenny decided to stay at Summer's for the rest of the
weekend. Which was a good idea, because it took more than a few hours to
clean up all the mess and disorder made during Summer's party.  But by the
time Monday morning had rolled around, Holly still felt wiped out for some
reason. So she adopted her time-honoured cure for that sort of thing. A
bubble bath. In the middle of the morning. Of course, Summer and Jenny went
straight for school, while Holly-Raine yelled and told them that she would
catch up before class. Well it didn't quite work out like that. And now she
was late for Miss Harding's class. Holly turned a corner and whizzed by
another startled teacher as she dashed for Miss Harding's History room. But
the moment Holly-Raine turned that corner...

...She would have had no idea that that moment would turn her current life on
its head as well. The girl only stopped running as she felt her body collide
with someone else's. She let out a little `oof' sound before landing square
on the ground, hiking up her standard black mini-skirt. The brunette
launched a squeal of embarrassment, knowing that she had just given the
person standing above her a flash of her panties. Of course, Holly-Raine's
concerns switched from embarrassment to awe as the girl she slammed into
finally spoke.

"Sorry about that," She told the floored teen, "Here, let me give you a hand
there."

The girl projected her hand at Holly-Raine. Holly was about to make a little
remark about her own clumsiness, until she actually stopped and looked at
the girl whom she had bumped into. Holly-Raine's marvellous bright green
eyes widened as she took in the sight of the woman standing above her. She
was... beautiful. And from the instant that their eyes connected, Holly
started to take little glimpses of this young woman. There was something
about her... that silky jet black hair, passing down to her shoulders and
spilling off them in thick tresses. Those pouting but somehow mature cheeks,
brandishing a rosy shade, which somehow melted against the pale ashen tone
of her skin. This also contributed to highlighting the sweet sky blue of her
eyes, ones that held youth but at the same time; cunning and intelligence.
Her bodily form followed the path of beauty that the face had set for it,
from the heart-shaped ass and the long, smooth legs enswathed by denim, to
the radically thin waist and small yet firm breasts clinging to her torso in
the boundaries of that somehow revealing black tank top. Though this girl
was not dressed in clothing that would be considered seductive, she was
working a spell on Atlantic High's trademarked necromancer, Holly-Raine.

When a few seconds passed, Holly realized that she was just now staring at
the girl, so quickly grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled herself up
onto two feet. And upon touching the girl's hand, Holly-Raine was left
speechless by the softness of her sweet flesh. Suddenly she started feeling
so light-headed. Light-headed enough to render her (almost) speechless.

...Who was this girl?

"There you go," The teen spoke, helping Holly up, "You should slow down a
little in these corridors. You might hurt yourself or something. So... what's
your name? I don't think we've met before, have we?"

Holly couldn't find the words to say anything. Not even in the least. For
some reason her focus lay solely on this stranger's eyes. Goddamn her eyes.
Those pools of crystal blue. Holly could envision herself staring at them
for hours. That was until the girl playfully waved a hand in front of
Holly's face.

She chuckled between the two of them. "Hello? Anybody home? Not feeling
dazed, are you? I said what's your name?"

That, Holly began to understand. "M-Me? My... name is Holly-Raine. Holly-Raine
Johnson."

"Holly-Raine, huh?" The girl took a second of thought, "That's a pretty
name. Well, since I asked you your name, it's only fair that I dish out my
own, right? The name's Sharon Daniels. Just for the record.  Well, I'm late
for class, and I guess you are too, so we better cut this short. But it was
nice meeting you, Holly-Raine."

After leaving behind a somehow knowing smile, Sharon hiked the small pack on
her shoulder back into a tighter position, slinging it into place. She
strode forwards, passing a stunned Holly by, not trading another look back.
Holly finally regained her senses just enough to look over her shoulder.
That gorgeous young woman, who seemed to be about a year older than Holly
herself, turned the corner of the corridor and walked off to whatever
classes she had in her year. And Holly-Raine was left standing there, her
senses still ringing from her meeting with Sharon Daniels. And now Holly was
only sure of one thing. She had to become a part of that girl's life.

But before she got ahead of herself, there was still the matter of History
class. Holly had kinda forgotten about it. After all, from meeting someone
like Sharon, who could blame her? The auburn-haired Holly took a few moments
to get her head together and then continued her journey to Miss Harding's
room, this time walking slowly. Once she came to the door, the girl gave an
embarrassed and mild smile as she peered into the classroom. All students
there, including Jenny and Summer, cast a look over at the sheepish Holly.
And Miss Harding gave her a glance too. But hers seemed far more forgiving
this time around.

Holly ran a hand through the back of her hair. "S-Sorry I'm late, Miss
Harding."

"Forget it, Holly," Miss Harding spoke, adjusting her glasses, "You've been
improving your tardiness in the past five months so one slip-up can be swept
under the rug. Just take a seat and try not to disturb the rest of the
class."

Holly nodded to her. "Yes miss."

But as she began walking over to her desk, Miss Harding said something else.
"Oh, Holly?"

"Yeah...?"

"Did..." Miss Harding's voice happened to become a bit more emotional, "...You
happen to see Miss Blake on your way to class?"

Holly-Raine shook her head. "...No, miss."

It was safe to say that no one was imagining the brief look of confusion
that passed over Miss Harding's face from hearing that. But no one said
anything regarding it. "...Fine then. Take a seat, Holly."

**********

Lateness seemed to be a Monday morning trend in Victoria. Because Sharon and
Holly-Raine were not the only ones to be late for their classes. With a
science book slung under her arm and a nervous quiver in her throat, Cassie
stood before the door to her Chemistry class. She was late this morning
because she had to help out her Dad with a few things before he left for
work. Normally he wouldn't have asked because he knew how important school
was to Cassie, but she was his life-line when it came to the books. But that
wasn't really important to Cassie at this moment in time. What happened to
be of interest to her now was getting inside that Chemistry class without
making a scene. Classes had already started, and Cassie knew that Atlantic
High's bitchiest trendy, Miss Shannon Marson, would be in there. And Cassie
could barely take the idea of coming face-to-face with her again. Shannon
had effectively humiliated her in front of God-knows-how-many people at
Summer's party. Could she really go in there and face that woman after what
she did? Cassie couldn't imagine herself plucking up the courage to do
something like that. Not at all. Normally she would be the first in and just
find a small seat for herself which put her a hell of a way away from
Shannon. Now she couldn't do that... and Cassie felt fear sneak up inside her
from having to deal with another round of Shannon's digs. But what choices
did she have? Cassie couldn't cut class, she was not that kind of person.
The girl swallowed the lump of anxiety in her throat and pressed her hand
against the door. She had to go in. Even if that meant facing Shannon. The
wood and glass door began to creak open, until Cassie heard a voice call out
to her.

"Hey, Cassie!"

Cassie stopped and turned around. She knew that voice. And by golly, the
voice fit the face. It was Alyshia. The blonde girl eagerly jogged down the
corridor of the Sciences department, stopping only to catch her breath as
she came towards the pensive Cassie. Alyshia pressed her palms into her
knees and caught her breath as intended, then looked up at Cassie through
those thick bangs of hers.

"You okay?" She asked, watching Cassie's facial anxiety, "Why are you just
standing there?"

The blonde genius looked through the glass of the door. "...Shannon will be in
there..."

"Shannon?" Alyshia finally stood upright, "Forget about her. Don't let her
spoil your day. Look, if it bothers you so much, I'll sit with you today.
Okay?"

Cassie could only nod her normally shy way. It was nice that she had
Alyshia's support in this. Because she really needed it. But Cassie did not
assume that her support would amount to much. There was very little that
seemed to ease the intimidation that Cassie felt from Shannon Marson.
Alyshia acted first; pressing open the door and walking inside. Cassie
followed along. The whole class turned and watched the two girls amble into
the room with their Chemistry books in hand. But needless to say, their
teacher, Miss Susan Brooks, was less than cheerful to see them.

"Alyshia, Cassie," Miss Brooks recited, "You're both over twenty minutes
late. Do you care to explain that to me...?"

Alyshia went first, releasing a nervous giggle. "Oh well, you know me, Miss
Brooks, I'm such daydreamer, I kinda got on the wrong bus to school, and
came late! Sorry about that..."

Miss Brooks just ignored the childish giggles of the class and turned her
attentions to Cassie. "Well, what about you? Normally, you're the first to
get here, Cassie."

The expression on Cassie's face reflected her awkwardness. She didn't even
have to look up to know that Shannon and her cohorts were already picking
fun at her. The girl let her cute blue eyes lower to the ground, hoping that
the redness in her cheeks would die down at some point. "...I'm sorry, Miss
Brooks. I had to help my Dad with something before he left home and it took
longer than I expected. I'll make up whatever work I missed."

"...It's fine," Miss Brooks offered with delay, "Just don't make a habit of
it."

To that, both Cassie and Alyshia nodded. Then began walking to the only two
seats that were left in the classroom. And, strangely enough, they were
directly parallel to where Shannon  and some of her friends were sitting.
The exact kind of set up that Cassie was dreading. But she still tried her
hardest to keep from looking at Shannon. Or listen to the inane giggles that
Shannon exchanged with her friends. Alyshia took a seat on the stool at the
chosen chemistry table. Cassie took the one next to her, which was adjacent
to Shannon's seat by about a metre. Cassie's mind was precise like that.
Miss Brooks began addressing the class again, and the students started
pulling up hands to answer questions. While Alyshia slapped her thick
Chemistry book on the table, Cassie did the same. And then she froze as she
heard Shannon call out her name.

"Hey Cassie," She whispered deviously, "Didn't you enjoy your wet t-shirt
contest last Saturday...? I know we did!"

Cassie tightened up from the inside. Just as Shannon started laughing. She
couldn't take this anymore. Why did Shannon seem to enjoy making her
miserable? But while Cassie was willing to reluctantly accept that kind of
crap, Alyshia was not ready to watch a friend take it.

Alyshia turned and gave a hateful glare at the trendy. "Hey Shannon, why
don't you just back off for once, alright? Unless you get off on being a
bitch."

The glare that Shannon cast back was even more hateful. "What did you call
me?!"

And of course, that little verbal scrap would have continued if not for the
influence of Miss Brooks. The whole class stopped as Miss Brooks stopped,
then she gave a look down the aisle of tables to the back. Alyshia and
Shannon both silenced themselves as Miss Brooks was made aware of the noise.
And neither wished to incur *her* wrath. There was no need for the teacher
to say anything. Shannon and Alyshia dipped their noses back into their
Chemistry books. Miss Brooks went back to teaching. And Shannon was
effectively silenced. For now, anyway. Cassie remained silent, but opened
her book to the chosen page and kept her head down. Though in her mind, she
was thanking whoever needed to be thanked for making Alyshia her friend.

**********

Lunch break.

The all-female, all-teen populous of Atlantic High buzzed around from the
lunch line to their respective tables. Each tray they carried was packed
with the junky yet semi-appealing foods that had come to be trademarks of
American schools. And this was not lost on high schools in Victoria.  Like
usual, all the tables were divided into high school `class' system. The
trendies stuck with the trendies, the cheerleaders stuck with the
cheerleaders, the geeks stuck with the geeks, and those on the fringe stuck
with those on the fringe. Over in the centre of the room was the table that
Summer, Jenny and Holly-Raine usually sat by. And all three got their chance
to sit there. Summer was in a bright mood, as usual. But even more so today,
because every once in a while, someone would come up and congratulate her on
how great her birthday party was. Which felt great. Because her parents came
back tomorrow and she would have liked to have thought that her time while
they away wasn't wasted. Jenny was equally happy. Mostly because she had
made a huge result on Saturday. She met a guy!

And it occurred to Summer that she didn't know how that went for her. "Hey,
Jenny. Now that I think about it, what happened between you and that guy?
>From the smile on your face, I can tell he worked a number on you, right?"

Jenny blushed vividly. "I guess love must be in the air or something if you
could guess. God, he is so sweet, Summer. And so kind, and so funny... I can't
believe he was actually single."

"Well are you going to give me a name?" Summer prodded.

"Nathan," Jenny answered timidly, "Not only is he cute, and funny, and
smart, he's captain of his Football Team at Saffron Jameson High. And he is
so fine... I can't believe I met him at a party..."

Summer ran a hand through her hair, smiling. "Uh oh! Why do I get the
feeling that I can hear wedding bells ringing?"

"...S-Shut up!" Jenny jabbed sweetly, "I ... don't know if he wants to start
anything serious with me just yet... but I can see Nathan and I going steady
in the future. He called me last night and said he had Football Practice
today. Once he's finished, he's going to pick me up so we can go someplace.
I don't know where he's taking me... but I know it will be special..."

Summer's hand rested against her cheek, propping her up. "Oh man. You are so
sprung. Hey, are you hearing this, Holly?"

Holly-Raine didn't answer. The girl simply looked down into her plastic
plate full of cafeteria food, twirling her fork in it. A dreamy sigh escaped
her lips. And her eyes felt somehow heavier than they usually looked. Summer
began to notice that something was bothering her. But even Holly-Raine
couldn't completely understand what she was feeling here. The brown haired
girl felt so desperate and mild ever since she saw Sharon this morning.
Sharon was just so earth-shatteringly beautiful. Holly felt like slapping
herself the moment she first laid eyes on her. But yet... it was different
from the girls she had crushed on before. Take Ella for example. Holly-Raine
found Ella to be hot, that was for sure, but she didn't have any real
feelings for her. The same went for all her other past sexual conquests. But
this time... something felt different. This felt... special. Real. Just the idea
of seeing Sharon made Holly felt all tingly and numb inside. What was she
feeling?

She tried to catch up with Sharon as soon as History Class was over. But
Holly couldn't find her anywhere. And now Holly-Raine was just left with
this aching, binding feeling of longing. And because of this, Holly could
barely look up from her plate to respond to her friend Summer. Until she
heard something that caught her interest...

"Hey, it's Sharon."

Holly blinked as Summer spoke that name. "W-What...?"

True to form, Summer was speaking the truth. And Holly-Raine's stomach began
stirring with that classic sensation of butterflies. The auburn-haired
seductress sat wide-eyed and speechless as that beautiful girl, Sharon
Daniels, walked past the surroundings and strode to their table, a lunch
tray in hand. Holly tightened up again, forcing her palms into her lap and
lowering her face as Sharon came up to their table.

The girl slapped hands with Summer. "How are things, Summer? You staying out
of trouble? I hear you had one big bash last week."

"Oh, you know how it is, Sharon," Summer began to reply as Sharon took a
seat next to her, which put her in front of an uncharacteristically nervous
Holly-Raine, "Same old, same old. You should have come to the party on
Saturday. It was a blast."

Sharon nodded. "I can imagine. But my Mom was kinda busy with the move, and
all. She made me and my Dad help out. It sucks but, it's not like I had much
choice about it."

"No problemo. There's always next year for another birthday bash. Oh yeah! I
haven't really introduced you all yet, have I?" Summer turned to Jenny and
Summer, "You guys, this is my friend, Sharon. We met a 90's Rock tribute a
few months ago. And Sharon, these are my two best friends, Jenny..."

Sharon gestured to Jenny. "Hiya."

"Nice to meet you." The other girl replied.

"And," Summer then turned to Holly-Raine (who still remained quiet). "This
is Holly."

Sharon smiled at Holly, waving Summer off. "...We already met this morning.
Right?"

Holly-Raine simply nodded. She had never acted like this in her life. She
could hardly speak for fear of saying something stupid. And yet she could
barely bring herself to tear her eyes away from Sharon. Talk began to spring
up around the table. Jenny was rather curious as to the connection between
Summer and Sharon, for unknown reasons. But she seemed cheerful enough about
it. But while the other three spoke, Holly-Raine kept quiet, exchanging a
bite of her food with a glimpse of Sharon every few moments. She could
hardly stand it. And it was so different to what she had experienced before.
In the past, Holly would just make a move on a girl that she liked. With
Sharon she felt so... hesitant. What if Sharon wasn't interested? A girl as
pretty as Sharon was; had to have had a boyfriend or girlfriend, right?
Holly-Raine squirmed on the inside from thinking that. Just the idea of
someone else with Sharon actually made her angry. But despite the tornado of
startling emotions that Holly was enduring, she managed to keep a lid on it
without making herself look too anxious. This lasted through the seemingly
elongated twenty minutes that the four girls spent together, eating lunch.
Until...

"...Oh man," Summer took a gander at the watch on her wrist, "Jenny, we forgot
about that extra credit work we're supposed to be putting in for Home-Ec.
Dammit!"

Jenny reflexively stood up as Summer did the same. "You're kidding me? We're
late for the first day?"

"Yeah, so c'mon," Summer slapped her fork down on the tray and sighed,
"Holly, Sharon, we'll have to catch up with you guys later. If my brilliant
friend Jenny could remember these things it wouldn't be a problem..."

Jenny pouted and followed Summer as she began walking. "Oh no you don't! You
aren't blaming this one on me, Summer Andrews!"

Sharon pointed over her shoulder at Summer & Jenny as they walked away
quickly. "What's up with those two? They're like a pair of catty sisters
that can't do without each other at the same time."

Holly finally found the words to say something worthwhile. "...Yeah... but
that's how I like them. Because it's how I've always known them."

"So..." Sharon smiled curiously at the slightly younger girl, resting her
cheek in her propped up palm, "You can speak then? I'm glad to see that you
can. After all, you don't strike me as a shy girl. Especially after what
Summer told me about you."

Holly blinked, looking up. "W-What did Summer tell you... about me?"

"That you're the most confident `member' of your little group. And despite
the fact that you can be a bit selfish sometimes... your heart's always in the
right place when it needs to be."

The auburn-haired girl smiled to herself. "She really said that about me?"

"Yup," Sharon nodded, "She thinks really highly of you and Jenny. Makes me
kind of jealous. I don't really have any childhood friends. Since Mom & Dad
moved here from Sacramento, I haven't spoken to or seen many of the kids I
knew back then."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Holly offered.

Sharon just waved that off. "Ah, don't be. None of those guys were really
all that charming to be honest. Besides, I like it more in Victoria. It's a
sleepy kind of town compared to what I'm used to, but, it feels like home."

Holly-Raine marvelled at that look of distant nostalgia that flashed in
Sharon's eyes. Even that little quirk was appealing to Holly. And now that
her atypically timid shell was starting to break a bit, Holly became more
open. The girl pushed aside her tray for the moment and tried to get a bit
more comfortable. If she was going to make any headway with Sharon she at
least needed to be a bit more talkative.

"I'm glad you like it here in Victoria," Holly-Raine fidgeted with her hands
a little bit, "And I hope you like it at Atlantic High. Saffron-Jameson
might be a bigger school, but, I like this place a whole lot more. It's easy
to make friends here."

Sharon smiled. "You've given proof of that, right? But we still don't know
much about each other. And if my watch is right then we have about ten more
minutes till class starts. So I'll tell you what. How about a movie? Just
you, me, and the Big Screen. You can clue me in on this school and, I'll
even pay. So what do you think?"

"...Sure. I'd love to catch a movie with you," Though Holly's face was rather
relaxed, inside she singing to the angels. She and Sharon alone together?
"...How about tomorrow? I know it's a school night... but... I can always sneak
back home without my Dad finding out."

"Perfect!" Sharon then stood up, taking one last sip of the carton orange
juice on her tray. Holly watched her throat bob up and down with each gulp
of juice swallowed by those gorgeous pursed pink lips. By the time Sharon
was finished, Holly-Raine was beginning to notice a wetness between her
thighs. Which she ignored until Sharon spoke again, "I guess I'll catch you
later, okay?"

Holly gave a muffled grunt of understanding and watched as Sharon walked
away, slowly darting through all the noisy tables towards the exit on the
other side of the room. And the jade-eyed girl sighed longingly. Tomorrow
she would be alone with Sharon. Outside of school and free to do what they
wanted to. Tomorrow...

**********

A sparkling illumination shone down on the two lovers from above. The light
of the moon. It was beautiful here in St. Lucia. The sun-kissed beaches and
smooth crashing sounds of the sapphire blue waves were just so romantic.
Especially at night. That was when all the loudness of the tourists ended
and those who took note... could sample the sweetness of the whole beach. It
created an atmosphere that Holly-Raine just soaked up with open arms.
Because what more could she ask for? After all, she was accepting this
beautiful place within the arms of her lover...

She loved this. Just being with Sharon in this way. The two young women held
each softly, no words being spoken, just holding each other. They clung
together across the multi-coloured blanket that had been smothered out over
the layers of golden sand that made up the beach. They were just a short
distance from the edge of the sea, the waves splashing about a short few
metres ahead of them. Holly-Raine had her head nestled on the small cleft
between both of Sharon's pert breasts, a careless smile on her face. Holly
had been waiting for this for so long. Just the chance to be alone with
Sharon, to be next to her.  To hear her breathing, to feel her heart
beating. After waiting so long.

Sharon tightened the binding hug that she had around Holly's torso, just
looking out into the crashing waves of the sea. "Everything okay? You seem
sort of quiet right now."

"I'm..." Holly gave herself the time to speak, "...I'm just happy to be here
with you. To be with you like this. It doesn't work back home. With so many
things standing in the way..."

That she understood. The slightly older girl ran one of her soft hands
through Holly's equally soft brown hair, soothing her. It wasn't like Sharon
was completely oblivious to what they had to go through in their
relationship. So many obstacles to fight through, so many tricks to deal
with. But that was one of the reasons they came to St. Lucia with their
parents. To get away from all of that nonsense. This was their time. What
else could they do but enjoy it?

"Don't worry so much, Holly," Sharon whispered, continuing her smooth
stroking of the younger girl's hair, "...We can worry about that stuff when we
go home. Right now... we should just concentrate on each other now. For
starters..."

Holly released a tranquil sigh as Sharon's probing hand moved from her silky
chestnut hair toward the south. That gentle hand moved down the clear tones
of her neck, then down to her chest where it remained. Sharon gave a playful
squeeze of the small, firm mound, all the while a frank wetness began
emerging between her thighs. Holly-Raine could pretty much sense that Sharon
was burning for her. Because her own body reacted in the exact same way.
Sharon shuffled her body around so that Holly's torso was laid flat across
the towel on the sand. And the older girl gave a confident smile, mounting
Holly from the waist, her legs seamlessly straddling Holly's hips. And as
Sharon looked down at her, Holly took note of that look of desire and lust
that raged around her dark blue eyes. It pleased Holly immensely to know
that she could bring forth such a reaction from her girlfriend. But it
wasn't just because Holly was decked out in a skimpy black two piece bikini.
It was because there was something between them... something special...
something that neither of them had the power to resist. Holly-Raine smiled
to herself as Sharon lowered her face a little. Before she reached within
kissing distance, the younger woman rested her left palm against the smooth
pale cheek of her lover.

...And Holly felt her heart throbbing... "I love you, Sharon..."

**********

Holly's head jerked up in realization. Things felt dazed. All she knew was
that she felt something wet, and it wasn't the waves of a sea crashing
against a beach. The young woman looked down to see what was causing that
`wet' feeling. Her elbow had knocked over her  carton of orange juice. And
that same elbow was swimming in the orangey liquid that had filled her lunch
tray. Suddenly she remembered just where she was. In the cafeteria, sitting
by her usual table, on her own. Most of the other students had packed up and
headed for class, aside from a few stragglers. So she got her head back into
focus. She would probably be late for her next class if she didn't hurry it
up a bit. Holly-Raine stood from the plastic chair she had sat down on, then
lifted her tray and made a short-paced dash for the lunch line. She chucked
her unwanted remainder of lunch into the large trash bin at the side of the
lunch line counter, then put her tray on the pile of others. With that done,
the brown-haired girl exited the lunch room. But her thoughts were running a
mile a minute. What was she feeling here? Why was she thinking like that?
Holly-Raine was a dreamer, but her dreams and fantasies were never anything
like that. They were always playful and sexual. But that... vision of her and
Sharon together didn't feel the least bit sexual. It felt... romantic. And
from thinking of that scene, of Sharon laying over her on a Caribbean beach,
the teen experienced another of those butterflies-in-the-stomach sensations.
It was becoming overwhelming. And it grew in strength every time that
Holly's mind came to Sharon Daniels.

...Sharon...

Before she made it to her next class, Holly-Raine slumped against the wall
of the corridor she was walking through. A few other students passed her by,
giving her odd looks, but she ignored all of them. All her mind was centred
on was Sharon. And the sudden feelings that were springing up in her heart
from meeting her.  What did all this mean? Was she...?

Holly had to ponder the question in words. "...Am I falling in love with
her...?"

**********

Chris Angel says,

* As you can see, there's no sex in this chapter. I think it would have
cheapened the seriousness of Holly's sudden change in emotion. And there's
very little Debbie/Linda in this chapter, mostly because they dominated the
last one.

* Thanks to Jackie. B for her request. It's about time that Sharon made an
appearance. Keep those requests coming and I'll keep churning out chapters
for ya. As usual if you have any comments, e-mail me. I'd love to hear from
you.

* Just to clear up a few confusions, `Shannon Marson'  and `Sharon Daniels'
are two completely different people. I apologize for the similar names, but
I pick names that suit the personality so I was caught in a bind, really. Oh
and to re-affirm the point, the Misadventures of Holly-Raine takes place
*before* the Misadventures of Anna. That's all! ^_^