chapter three: Singing In the Rain Umbrella trailing on the asphalt behind him, Ryan skipped along the side of the road. He very well could have been in yet another "Dancing Freaks" segment-- if only they had thought to bring their camera. "You hear that?" Brendan said, looking through the brush as he parted it with his hands. "Humming!" "Typical Ryan," Tate laughed, shaking her head. "Come on!" Joey whispered, darting out from behind the bushes and jogging towards the singing Turner. Ryan grinned at Joey and tapped the ground with the tip of the umbrella as he counted aloud, "A one, a two, a one, two three--I'm siiiinging in the rainnn, just siiiinging in the rainnn!" To her amusement, he began walking circles around a lamppost, an open umbrella now draped over his shoulder as he swung around, clinging to the post with one hand. "Is that all?" Joey inquired, eagerly wanting to see him perform more. "Don't know the rest of the words." "Well, I do!" "Are you willing to sing, then?" Ryan asked, still hanging from the lamppost. She shrugged. "Well, too bad, because you're going to anyway. You can't just say that you know the words and not prove it." "Can't I just write it down?" Joey whined. "NO!" Ryan said, as if that were such an outrageous thing to do. "It's raining. If you wrote it down, which you will not, the ink would smear. Besides, hearing you sing would be sooo much fun!" Frowning, Joey folded her arms over her chest stubbornly. However, Ryan wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer and reached out with his umbrella to poke her, which she just barely avoided. "All right, all right." She hesitantly cleared her throat and began, "What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.. I'm laughing at clouds so dark up above. The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love. Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place.. Come on with the rain--" "I've a smile on my face!" Ryan piped in, finishing the lyric for her. Laughing slightly, she continued on--partly because she was on a roll, and partly because she didn't want to get jabbed in the eye by an umbrella. "I'll walk down the lane with a happy refrain.." "And just singing, singing in the rain!" the two chorused. Grinning afterwards, Joey asked, "I thought you didn't know the words!" "You assumed I didn't." "No, you said it yourself that you didn't know the rest!" Ryan smiled sheepishly. "Did I?" "Yes!" "Oh, well, I lied." And with that he hopped off the streetlight and ran off in Brendan and Tate's direction. "Time to go home, Ryan," Brendan said, stepping out in front of him. Ryan stopped just in time and said, "Is it?" Tate nodded. At the sight of her, Ryan couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What happened to you, Tater-Tot?" Brendan grinned guiltily, but took a step back as an umbrella just about grazed his cheek. "Geez.. watch it, Penguin!" At this, Tate couldn't help but laugh as she passed the accessory back to the newly-arrived Joey. "Penguin? THE Penguin from Batman?" Brendan chuckled and watched as she bent over double from laughing so hard and so much. "You're hopeless!" he commented. Tate looked up at him and opened her mouth to reply, but Ryan cut in with, "DON'T say it, Tate. I'm in no mood for mushy-mushy gushy-ushy stuff right now." Tate smirked. "Says Mr. Sinatra over here." With an embarrassed laugh, Ryan scratched the back of his head. "You caught me." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What, did you guys swim all the way over here or something?" Kerry laughed as she opened the door for them. Tate, Brendan, and Joey sauntered inside the house, kicking off their shoes in the kitchen once they had arrived. "You guys look like you sure had a lot of fun," Matt observed, looking the three up and down. "I take it that Kevin, Kevin, and Ryan are at their rightful homes?" Brendan nodded and collapsed into a chair at the table. "So...t-t-tired," he yawned. And suddenly, a gasp sounded from the foyer. "My floors! ... BRENDAN!!" As his name was summoned, Brendan winced. "Mud!" Mrs. Leonard wailed.  "Mud on my newly done floors! BRENDAAAN!"