CHAPTER TWENTY

"Bikini or one-piece?" Jessica was asking, searching her suitcases.

"One-piece." I said.

"Bikini." Jamie said.

"One-pieces are daggy." Jessica said. I held my one-piece up and stuck my tongue out.

"Who was the one who fought me for this in the middle of Surf's Up?" I asked. "By the way, wearing a bikini might be a bit sla... forward when Isaac's around."

Jessica cried out, and kept searching.

Jamie pulled her black one-piece from her suitcase, and sighed. "I don't think I-"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I can't." Jamie pleaded with me.

"You'll look ravishing." I told her.

"I don't believe you." she murmured as she pulled it on.

I shook my head and pulled on my dark green suit. It had large black straps that crossed behind my back. I absolutely loved it.

"What should I wear?" Jessica shrieked.

"A plastic bag?" I suggested, pulling a shirt over my head.

Jessica groaned and kept searching.

Jamie cleared her throat, and I looked at her. She had lost a lot of weight, and looked skinny in her suit. Her suit was black, went up to her throat and around, had no sleeves, and a zipper down the front. It looked great on her. If she was any skinnier, she would have been skin and bones.

"It's enough, Jamie. It's enough." I told her, and she got my meaning. We waited as Jess finally put on a lime green one-piece.

"If you drown in the deep end, at least we'll find you." I said dryly, and we walked out, towels over our arms.

Zac sat on a clean spot on the couch, flipping through the channels. "Ready? Finally?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Let's go."

"Too bad you didn't leave the soup in your hair, Isaac." Jamie said to Ike. "I got you real good there until you pinned me."

"Nah, it was too yuck." he said. "Getting cold." He made a face.

"We gonna go?" asked Jess.

"Yeah." I said, and stopped at the phone. Looking on a small plastic card, I dialed up room service. "Yeah. We need someone to come and clean up our room. What room? Umm..." I covered the receiver. "Which room?"

"1298." Isaac replied.

"1298." I recited into the mouthpiece. "I recommend you bring carpet cleaner. Or just a whole new carpet." I hung up.

The group laughed, looking around at the mess our fight had made.

"Ready now?" Jamie asked.

"Yep. Off we go."

The pool was busy, but hardly anyone was in it. They were all around it, catching the sun.

"Last in's a dirty chook!" I yelled, running for the pool. I threw my stuff on an empty table nearby, shed my shirt, and dove in deep.

The chilly water drowned out the sound, and I opened my eyes. Jamie swam by rapidly, pursued by a flailing Zac. Jessica dove in neatly beside me, and Isaac bombed in next.

Where's Tay boy?, I couldn't help thinking. The answer came with a tug on my hair. I spun around to find Taylor grinning at me.

I would have decked him, but my lungs needed air, and I rose to the surface.

I looked around, and saw Zac on the diving board, Jamie watching. Isaac was running around the pool's edge, flinging water everywhere, and Jess was probably underwater. I began to swim to the diving board, but gasped as I was pulled under.

Taylor pulled me to the bottom, and I reached out to throttle him. I hadn't gotten a good enough breath, and was about the swim back up, when something happened.

My vision blurred as his face came into view, and he pulled my head to his, my lips to his.

I pulled back, stunned.

"What the hel-" I tried to say, but water gushed into my mouth, and I desperately kicked to the surface for air. Someone was helping me up, and they pulled me to the side of the pool.

I clung to the side, gasping and coughing the sour water. Someone banged on my back, but I ignored it. I rested my head against the edge, breathing deeply.

Taylor stared at Kris, hoping he hadn't killed her. He kept patting her back. "Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry."

She said nothing.

"I shouldn't have done that..." Taylor said after a while.

She shook her head.

"What got over you?!" I asked, voice hoarse from coughing. He was awful fast.

He was quiet. "Do I get off if I blame hormones?"

"No."

"Okay. I don't know."

"Aren't you cheating on someone?" I asked.

He looked confused, and I pulled myself out of the water. "What?"

"Yvonne someone." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yvonne?" he repeated, eyebrows knit.

"Yeah, Yvonne." He thought, and then laughed. "No! She was some fantasy girl Zac made up for me."

"Liar." I said, and walked away. I heard someone pull out of the water, and didn't look to see who it was.

"I'm not lying!" he said.

"Fine then. You're not lying." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Look, if you're going to be that way, I won't do it again."

"What?" I asked angrily.

"That." he mumbled.

"That's explains it." I rolled my eyes again.

"I won't try to kiss you in the pool." he whispered as I walked on.

"Where then? While I'm on stage? In the recording booth?" I snapped.

"Don't get touchy!" Taylor said, following Kris to her table. She pulled on her shirt, and glared up at him.

"I'm not." she said tightly.

"What's wrong with a guy kissing a girl?" he asked.

"Everything! Especially when you pull her down before she can breathe, then scare the shit out of her by kissing her."

I looked up at him, and sighed. "Blame it on your hormones, then."

"I'm sorry. Okay?" Taylor repeated. "It's just that I l-"

I noticed some guy walk by, and my eyes widened. "Verrrrrry nice." I murmured, forgetting Taylor.

Taylor turned around, and saw what Kris was talking about. His shoulders slumped. It was no use to try.

I jumped up, and began to follow the guy. Falling into step, I grinned. "Hey."

He stopped, and looked down at me. "Hey to you too." he grinned.

"I'm Kris." I said, flipping my hair back. I could feel Taylor's eyes on me.

"I'm Geoffrey."

"Hey Geoffrey." I smiled.

"Hey Kris." he echoed. "Cool accent. Australian?"

"Yeah."

"Water nice?" he asked.

"Cold." I answered, and we walked away to the pool.

Taylor stood there, and then sat down hard. "Fine then." he heaved a sigh, and banged his head against the table a few times.

Zac ambled over to grab a Coke. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." Taylor answered.

"I can see the hormones are flying around, and you're eyes are stuck on..." Zac went behind Taylor, following the path of his eyes. "...Kris. Oh, man! You've gotta learn to leave that girl alone, Tay."

His brother said nothing.

"Look at all the other babes around here!" Zac directed, pointing to the other side of the pool. Taylor's eyes moved, and focused on the girls on the other side.

"Yeah." he mumbled.

"Yep. Look over there." Zac directed, taking one last sip, and running back to the pool.

Me and Geoffrey chatted for a while. He was 18, working as an electrician's apprentice.

"What do you do, Kris?"

I laughed. He wouldn't believe me. "I'm an artist."

"You paint?" he asked.

"No." I chuckled.

"I don't follow." he asked, confused.

"Artist as in music."

"Are you?" he asked increduously.

"Yeah."

"You in a group?" he asked, vaguely recognising her.

"Yeah. Zodiac."

"Zodiac, Zodiac.." he murmered, trying to remember if he'd heard of Zodiac. "Are you a small group?"

I burst out laughing. "Yeah. We've just conquered Australia, that's all."

He whistled. "Then I should have heard of you." he raised an eyebrow. "You putting me on?"

"No." I said honestly.

"Then why-"

I motioned to him to be quiet, and pointed to a small boombox blaring a song on the radio. 'Big Deal', a single from our last album was playing.

"Ironic." I muttered. Pulling him up the pool's steps, I led him to the boombox, and cranked up the volume. The owner just stared at me.

I sang to the song, blending with it. My voice matched the one on the CD, and I inwardly laughed at Geoffrey's reaction. I added in the dance moves that we filmed for our video, and the whole poolside was watching.

When it finished, everyone clapped, and I bowed.

Geoff was still suspicious. "You could be a good singer, that's all."

"Can I borrow your cover?" I asked the owner of the player, and he handed it over reverently.

"There. I painted that picture on the cover." I pointed to the picture of us on the booklet.

"You could be a look-alike."

"No. I'm the real thing." I muttered as he opened the booklet.

Inside was stacks of pictures of us. There was also a bio about us; and me. He read it, and looked up from the bio to me.

"It is you!" he yelled.

"Yeah. That's what I've been trying to tell you all along."

"Wicked! I know a superstar!"

I laughed, and stopped as Taylor came over.

"Kris? Can we talk?" he asked, looking from me to Geoff.

"Who's this?" Geoff asked. "Boyfriend?"

"No!" I said quickly. "A friend. Geoffrey, this is Taylor. Taylor, Geoffrey."

"You're that little Hanson poof, huh?" Geoff asked.

Taylor's hackles rose, but he kept silent.

"Hey, calm down. I'm coming, Taylor. Be back in a minute, Geoff." I told him, and followed Taylor back to the table and chairs.