"I'm home!" Jessie animatedly called as she opened the door.

Silence.

She frowned. Usually, during summers, the house was still up and running. She dropped her bags in the front hall and went to inspect the other rooms. "Hello?" she called.

She found Mrs. Evans in the kitchen. "Oh, my!" she yelped. "You startled me, Jessie!"

"I'm sorry," Jessie apologized. "But...have you seen everyone?"

Mrs. Evans frowned. "Well, Race went out to buy some things I told him to buy. The doctor's in the lab, I think. And Jonny and Hadji are in bed."

"IN BED?!" Jessie asked incredulously.

Mrs. Evans nodded. "Yes. I saw them myself going upstairs."

"Are you SURE they aren't in the lighthouse?" she pressed.

Mrs. Evans nodded once more. "I'm SURE." She frowned. "Wait! You haven't told me why you're back early!"

But Jessie was already on her way out of the kitchen and to the upstairs floor.

~ * ~

Jonny had FINALLY gone to sleep and he can hear a pounding in his head. He buried his head under his pillow. "Hadji Singh, I HATE you," he muttered.

The pounding continued.

"Go away, Hadji!" he yelled. "We'll talk tomorrow! Not now!"

"Jonny? It's me."

Jonny sat up. "Jess?" He went to the door and unlatched it. "Hi," he said dully.

Jessie glared at him. "Since WHEN did you lock your door?" she demanded.

"Since right now," he replied.

Jessie stared at him. "All right, tell me what happened," she said in a softer voice. "Did anything happen to your dad? Race? Hadji?"

At the mention of the name, Jonny flinched. Jessie took note of this. She touched his arm. "Hey."

Jonny pulled away. "Get out!" he said angrily.

"Jonny, what's WRONG?!" Jessie cried.

Jonny closed his eyes, feeling his blood pressure rise. "GET OUT!"

Jessie stared at him, then went out of the door.

~ * ~

"Jessie?" Hadji asked, staring at the figure in front of him.

Jessie smiled. "Hello, Hadj."

"You look pale," he remarked.

"So do you," was her curt answer. "What happened? Did something go wrong with Jonny?"

Hadji could feel his face heating up. "Uh--I have no idea what you're talking about, Jessie." His words were carefully pronounced.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?" Jessie asked.

"I said NOTHING," Hadji bit out, then backed away at the shocked look on Jessie's face. "I'm sorry, Jessie. Forgive me. I--I'm tired, that's all. We'll talk in the morning." He practically pushed her out of the room.

"But--" Jessie stared helplessly as the door slammed to her face.

Hadji felt hysteria rising inside him. "Keep your head leveled," he muttered. "Don't do anything stupid. Especially NOT going to Jonny's room."

It was all he could do not to scream.

~ * ~

Jessie walked by the beach, the wind whipping her face. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She didn't want the hair distracting her from her thoughts.

What had happened? It was as if...Jonny and Hadji were actually MAD at each other.

Suddenly, she saw a figure standing by the side of the beach. "Hey!" she called. "You! This is private property!"

The figure turned, and Jessie recognized that it was that boy, Eric Wilson, that she met a few hours ago. "Hey! What on earth are you DOING here in the middle of the night?"

Eric shrugged. "I couldn't go back to my house."

Jessie looked at him, suspicious. "You're not gonna try anything on the Quests, aren't you?" she asked in a low voice.

Eric looked puzzled, then disgusted. "What more can I try?" he asked angrily.

"It seems EVERY guy I meet today is in a bad mood," she said exasperatedly.

"Did you ever try to ask WHY your two friends are so INTIMATE?" he asked bitterly. He couldn't help it. Now, he had to live with that picture in his mind...haunting him wherever he goes...

Jessie blinked. "What—what does that mean?" she gasped.

Eric felt that he had to stop. But... "They were KISSING," he burst out. Then, clamped a hand over his mouth. "Oh no," he mumbled.

Jessie could only stare.