What You Least Expect
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endymion -
Disclaimer:School of Rock (and its characters) is, never was and never will be mine, although I very much want to own Freddy and/or Zack.
Note:Names in bold and italics mean a change in POV.
On with the story!
.::Epilogue::.
Billy
I suppose few people would protest when I say that the beach is the best place to be canoodling with your hubby. Forget sultry music and scented candles; the sound of waves crashing and the saltine breeze is just the thing to create the perfect ambiance for romance.
Take it from me, who is currently very much pleased with being snuggled up to my lovely beau, Gordon. We were both comfortably seated on a beach towel a few feet away from the shoreline, both of us in board shorts, with me beside him, his arm around my shoulders as I leaned into him.
It's one of those quiet moments in between conversations; you know, the kind that has you talking nonstop about something for one minute, and you're completely silent the next. We've been lazily (and somewhat flirtatiously) discussing my ideas for a line of swimwear and summer clothing and possible themes for the website he's supposed to design for a new music label when we lulled into silence once more, just soaking up the afternoon sun.
"You okay?" he murmured in my ear. I shrugged and pulled his arm tighter around me. He began to plant kisses on my ear and down my neck and I sighed contentedly, snuggling closer to him. Oglers and tourists be damned, I actually like these affectionate moments with Gordon. We rarely get privacy lately, and we grab every opportunity we get to…well…yeah, you're intelligent kids, you get it.
Yup, Fort de Soto beach of Florida is doing a fine job on the romance department thus far.
Not that we're here just for the PDA. It's a school gathering, kind of. The college organized this event exclusively for their students because Culvert is celebrating its 75th year of existence. We all had to pay our own flights and/or road trips here, but the college paid for the three-star lodging and is sponsoring a few events like beach raves and sportsfests. Who knew the college was this loaded, huh?
Gordon just moved so he could kiss me on the mouth when we were both rudely interrupted by two squabbling voices.
"Well I didn't want to play the stupid game in the first place."
Summer appeared in my line of sight quite suddenly, snapping at an irate-looking Freddy at her heels. Gordon cursed under his breath and pulled slightly back so we could make room for the newly-arrived couple.
"Beach volleyball didn't go too well, I take it?" I said, raising an eyebrow when Summer and Freddy plopped down on the blanket, glowering at each other. On a whim that made absolutely no sense, they've decided earlier to join a couples' volleyball game with our other blockmates. Why they joined in is a mystery to me; neither of them is particularly athletic.
"We lost," Summer announced gloomily, adjusting of the graphic blue bikini top that she was wearing under her sarong. It's such a pretty color and I'm so glad I chose that for her. She was insisting on wearing her horrid hot pink one piece that she's been using since she was in sixth grade to this gorgeous beach. I wouldn't let her of course; it would be a crime against nature.
"Yeah and it's her fault," said Freddy, who did not look at all pleased with their defeat.
Summer's jaw dropped in indignation. "How is it my fault that you can't spike to save your life?"
"I can spike perfectly, thanksverymuch," Freddy shot back. "It's you who can't volley inside the court's boundaries!"
"Says the one who can't serve past the net! And I'm supposed to be the short one!"
Gordon and I shared a look and promptly rolled our eyes. Just another exciting yet impossibly annoying day in the life of Summer Hathaway and Freddy Jones.
"They never get tired of it, do they?" Gordon said, partly in amazement, and partly in frustration.
"I think they never will," I agreed.
When they officially got together about a year ago, I thought the bickering would be toned down a notch or something. Ugh, was I ever wrong. If anything, the bickering stayed as it was, if not worse. They still annoy the hell out of each other, only now they also have all the, shall we say…benefits of being in an exclusive relationship. And if you think they're noisy out in the open, you should hear them in bed. God, the two of them are so darn loud, it's a wonder that the people down the street didn't complain.
No I do not have voyeuristic tendencies. I just happen to sleep in the room next to Summer's and let's just say that the walls aren't exactly soundproof. And Freddy hasn't even moved in with us yet! Just imagine what would happen if he does. Yeesh.
But I guess I've gotten used to them long before they admitted into having a thing for each other, so it wasn't all that difficult to tolerate them.
"How do they do it?" Gordon suddenly commented and I glanced up at him, wondering what he was talking about. He gestured toward the couple beside us, looking as mystified as he sounded.
I found them sitting closer together, glares altogether gone. Summer sat leaning on Freddy's chest, the said boy's legs on her either side. Summer laughed at an observation Freddy made. Their interlaced hands rested on Summer's sarong covered stomach and it seemed that they weren't aware of their surroundings anymore, just each other's presence.
Now that right there is another thing about them that puzzles me so, and I swear it will puzzle me to my dying day. How they could go from being all snarky to sweeter-than-a-toothache is a phenomenon of the universe.
Maybe it's because they're both completely smitten with each other. It's no secret that even though they drive each other up the wall, they're crazy in love. I mean, just by looking at them, anyone could see that they're positively whipped. They could fight about the most mundane things, sure, but that's more of a pastime than anything else. They'll both die from withdrawal symptoms if they don't get their daily fix of sarcasm from each other.
I also never thought two severely opposite people could be so in tune with each other. Like the way Freddy always understood when Summer had her rare spells of depression about the breakup with Zack. Freddy knew that Summer wasn't regretting that she broke up with the said guitarist, just that she had self doubts because of the reason for the breakup. He gave her the space she needed, and was just generally understanding about the whole thing. So un-Freddy-like.
And then there's the way Summer always knew when Freddy was uncomfortable with something, which happens about as often as snow in Southern California. For instance, that time when we went to see Zack and Katie when the child was born. Katie was still in recovery, so only Zack was there to show them the kid through the Nursery window. Summer had been gushing about how adorable the child is, and how much he looked like Zack. To me, Freddy looked unaffected by the entire deal. A bit quiet, but he seemed all right, even smiling. Out of nowhere, Summer just grabbed his hand and stood on tiptoe to give him a lingering kiss, mouthing an I love you before she turned her attention back to Baby Girl Mooneyham. Now I know Summer is never one to support public displays of affection so I knew she did it to assure Freddy of something. After that, Freddy seemed to brighten up and was soon back to his normal noisy self.
Kinda like the way he is now.
"—and really, why name a kid after a goddamned Incubus song anyway?" he was saying.
Summer let out a long-suffering sigh. "It's their kid, Freddy. They can name it whatever they want to."
"Yeah, but Anna Molly? That's just wrong Sum, you know it is."
"Well, Katie had always been a big Incubus fan and Zack never was able to say no to Katie."
"Still doesn't make it a good name. You do realize it sounds like anomaly don't you?"
Sensing that Freddy would not back down from the argument, Summer just shook her head and looked down toward the shore. A familiar figure was quickly walking – almost running – along the edge of the water.
Gordon was first to recognize him. "Hey isn't that that Andrew Kohlberg dude?"
"Oooh, Summer's old boyfriend." This came from Freddy. Notice the immaturity.
"Ugh, please. I do not want to be reminded of that sleazeball," Summer frowned, elbowing Freddy on the stomach. "He never actually talked to me again after the Halloween party anyway. I think you really scared him off."
"Well I can be pretty intimidating," Freddy smirked, looking very pleased with himself.
"Intimidating, right," I snorted, resisting the urge to throw a handful of sand at him. "To two-year-olds and puppies, maybe."
"Real funny, William," Freddy glared and I smiled right back.
"He's walking pretty fast, though," Summer commented. Sure enough, there he was, breaking into a full-fledged run, looking nervously over his shoulder every once in a while. "I wonder what he's running away from."
As soon as Andrew went past, another person came into view. It was a girl. A very pale girl in a black one piece, her straight black hair pulled into a ponytail. She seemed to be following Andrew. I squinted to see her face better and immediately regretted it.
I know that girl. Seriously, I know that girl…more intimately (ugh, eww) than I'd like to admit. I only saw her once in my entire life and never thought I'd see her again. Well…I didn't actually know her name but at the time, the thought of asking her name didn't cross my mind. But as I look more closely, the memories all came back…
She…well let's put it this way…she's the only girl to ever see Billy Junior.
Okay, okay, here's the scoop. I met her at a summer art camp of sorts. She was into painting and photography, and I was in design. I was straight, believe it or not. A little confused, but I called myself straight. There was a farewell party. We got positively smashed, and she went up to my room. I was a young, drunk virgin and she was drunk, a little stoned and willing. So we did it
But the thing is…she freaked the hell out of me. Like, majorly. I'm not going into details, because the experience is not something I wish to recall, but she's actually part of the reason why I realized I'll never be into women.
Now I'm gay, and I love it. If given a chance, I think I'll thank that nameless freak for turning me into a fairy.
"Frilly, are you checking that girl out?" Freddy followed my gaze and grinned. "Not really my type, but we all have our tastes."
"Whatev Wilfred," I snapped. "I don't swing to that side of the dance floor, thanksverymuch."
"You did so once," he went on, a sneer plastered annoyingly on his face. "You can do it again."
I would've kicked him in his happy place if Summer hadn't gone to intervene.
"Don't be an ass, Freddy," she scolded, jerking her head in Gordon's direction. Gordon, however, didn't seem to be listening at all. He kept staring at the girl even as she went past.
Deep breaths, Billy. You are an understanding lover; you will not smack him in the head for looking at a girl.
"You guys, am I the only one here who thinks she looks familiar?" he asked, turning to me.
I paled. Nobody knew about her but me…right? Starting to panic here, people! That little rendezvous with her is something I'm not proud of, and I do not want anybody else knowing about it.
"Of course she looks familiar," Summer interjected, chuckling softly. "You may not recognize her without all the white makeup and eyeliner…but that's Olivia Warren."
"What?" I'm not sure whether it was Freddy who said that, or if it was me. Maybe we both said it. We were both shocked, after all. Saying it's a small world isn't even enough to describe this.
But I guess knowing that my catastrophic first time was with Olivia Warren, it made sense that I'd sworn off women forever.
Then again, maybe I'm the only one who was shocked. Freddy was just kind of traumatized by all the stalking Olivia did to him. (Eww, isn't it creepy that we were both Olivia's type?) On reflex, he yelped and ducked his head to hide behind Summer.
"Oh, don't flatter yourself too much," Summer rolled her eyes, nudging Freddy off her shoulder. "If you hadn't noticed, she's over you and Andrew's her new target."
"Aww, baby, no need to be jealous of her. You know I love you," he said in a mock-soothing tone and dropped a kiss on Summer's shoulder blade.
Summer smiled, looking every bit contented. "Of course you do."
Within seconds, Olivia and Andrew were forgotten. Freddy and Summer had now engaged in a vicious thumb war and I was back in Gordon's arms. I wondered for a moment whether I should tell them about what happened at art camp.
On second thought…Nah. If they ever ask, I'd tell them, but right now they didn't really need to know that. It's all in the past.
And right now, I think our present -- and possibly our future -- is just perfect.
A/N: SURPRISE!!!
How'd you like that, huh? Billy's POV! I've always wanted to write him so now I have, and I'm happy with my work. And surprise,it was in the 'I've Never' chapter that Billy has done it with the opposite sex, I just never mentioned who it was. Just thought it'd be a funny little twist.
But before I forget... Where are the updates?? Where are the new stories? Where is the Frummer love? Where is everybody? The fandom is dead once again, people, do something.
I've been gone a pretty long time, but I still love to get REVIEWS! So put that dandy Review button to use and tell me what you think!