Author: Twstrzgirl
Rated: PG13 for language (later on) and situations
A/N: I got the idea for this fic from the song "Picture" (thanks to those who corrected my mistake) by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. It's a sequel to Matters of the Heart that I wrote last summer. That fic is summarized in the first chapter (from Otto's point of view), but it would make more sense if you go back and read the whole thing. Well, actually this is the third installment because Twisted Fate was first, but that doesn't really have much to do with this one. Anyway, Here goes...PLEASE REVIEW!!!
A/N2: Don't read if you hate Rocket Power. It would really be kind of pointless.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rocket Power or the song "Picture". You can sue if you want, but I don't have any money so you won't get much.
Chapter 1: MemoriesOtto Rocket set up in his bed and groaned. His head was pounding and the muscles in his arms felt like they were on fire. He flopped back down on his pillow and let his mind run through the events that led up to the reason that he felt this way.
'It's all Twister's fault.' Otto's face would have distorted into a scowl at that thought if his head didn't hurt so badly. If Twister hadn't decided to date his sister none of this would have happened. Realistically, Otto knew that it wasn't all Twister's fault. Reggie is as much to blame for returning Twister's affections and his brother, Lars, is the one who ultimately sent Twister over the edge. In fact, the only person who couldn't be blamed was Sammy, who is usually clueless to what's going on unless it involves Robot Wars or the latest version of Microsoft Windows.
'Well, Sammy and me, of course, it definitely wasn't my fault' Otto thought to himself as he replayed the scenario in his head for the hundredth time. Otto wasn't really one to accept the blame for anything.
It all started when Lars told Otto to go to the pier where he knew that Twister and Reggie would be hanging out. According to Lars, Twister wanted to meet Otto there to "spend some time with his best bro." Little did Otto know that the whole thing was a just setup for him to see Twister and Reggie alone together. Lars had conceived the evil plot out of jealousy because he had feelings for Reggie and was willing to do anything to break them up. Knowing how Otto would react, Lars stabbed his own brother in the back by making sure that Otto found out about their secret. Otto was totally clueless of the relationship until he saw the two of them kissing with his own eyes. And that's when the shit hit the fan.
"Are you going to lay in bed all day, or what Rocketboy?" Reggie's voice startled him. He opened his eyes to see her glaring at him impatiently from the doorway. "Raymundo called and said that the surf's awesome today. Get up!"
"I'm coming, just give me a few more minutes, Reg" he said and reached for the bottle of Tylenol on his nightstand. He downed two of the pills with a glass of warm water from the previous night, and then settled back into his thoughts.
The next part of the memory was mostly a blur because he had been in such a rage after seeing Twister kiss Reggie. He remembered a lot of yelling, cursing, and threatening to pound Twister into the ground. Sometime during the mist of all this, Twister actually did something intelligent and said that he would stay away from Reggie if she and Otto would stop arguing. Then he just walked away. Otto still couldn't figure out why Twister gave in.
After the incident, Otto had left Reggie in tears to go to Madtown and blow off some steam. He couldn't believe that Twister and Reggie were going out. It was Twister—for crying out loud—not exactly the most likely choice for Reggie's affections. Although they had known Twister for as long as Otto could remember, he just couldn't picture them as a couple. He was always under the impression that Reggie thought of him as a brother—definitely not a boyfriend.
Otto had spent that entire night tossing and turning. He kept thinking about the look on his best bro's face and the pain in Reggie's eyes when he'd left. Then Otto realized that it wasn't just because Reggie was dating Twister. It probably could have been anyone and he would have reacted the same. Although Reggie was a year older than him, he still felt a strong brotherly need to protect her. He couldn't protect her forever though. At sixteen, Reggie was still a tomboy on the inside, but her appearance had blossomed into what most guys would call "hot." He couldn't bring himself to accept the fact that his only sister was dating—especially dating Twister. He felt like he was losing both of them.
Guilt washed over him as the minutes on the clock ticked the night away. The whole situation still had his blood boiling, but for the first time ever, Otto Rocket was actually thinking about other people's feelings.
First thing the next morning, Otto had apologized to Reggie and said that he would be cool with she and Twister seeing each other. He wasn't really okay with it, but he did it for Reggie's sake.
That should have been the end of it, but then there was this little problem called Lars. Reggie went over to see Twister that morning and Lars, thinking that she and Twister were broken up, kissed her. Unfortunately, this happened at the exact moment that Twister was coming downstairs and he saw everything.
Otto didn't know what happened at that point, but that afternoon Lars was pounding on their door clutching a note in his hand. It turned out that Twister had this crazy notion to jump off a cliff, literally.
Luckily, they managed to get there before Twister actually jumped. Chills ran down Otto's spine at the thought of what happened next. He remembered Twister teetering on the edge of the cliff. In slow motion, he saw his own hand reach out and grab Twister's shirt. In the process, he lost his balance and went tumbling over the edge himself. He banged his head on the sharp rocks several times as he fell. On the brink of losing consciousness he managed to grab hold of a branch on the way down. Otto had never been so scared in his life, but he would never admit that to anybody.
After what seemed like eternity, Twister was able to climb down and help him up. It was a miracle that no one was seriously hurt when it was over.
As the memory came to a close once again, the pounding in Otto's head had finally stopped. He knew that Reggie was probably fuming by now so he threw off the covers and rushed to get ready. He bounded down the stairs and into the living room where he found Twister and Reggie on the couch, holding hands. The sight made him cringe, but he quickly tried to shrug it off and act normal. Maybe eventually he would get used to seeing them as a couple. Right now though, he couldn't stand it. He struggled to act like it was no big deal.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Otto said, flashing a huge grin and hoped that they couldn't tell it was completely phony.
"Waiting on you Ottoman." Twister said.
"It's about time! What were you doing up there?" Reggie asked.
"Nothing" Otto shrugged. "I just had a headache, thanks to my best bro here" he said and slapped Twister on the back.
"Yeah, sorry again about that dude." Twister said as he examined the cuts and bruises on Otto's forehead.
"No problemo. I'm fine. Now lets go get the Squid and catch some gnarly waves!" Otto said, trying to quickly change the subject.
"Yeah Raymundo said there's eight foot swells today. I can't wait!" Reggie said. She grabbed Twister's hand and pulled him off the couch. They followed Otto out the door.
They arrived at Sammy's house, only to find his mother rubbing sunscreen all over him and giving him the whole "be careful" speech for the billionth time. When Sammy saw his friends at the door he frowned and looked away, blushing. He didn't mind being thought of as a nerd by most everybody in Ocean Shores, but the way his mother still treated him at fifteen was downright embarrassing. He had come to terms with the fact that he was a computer geek compared to the cool, surfer crowd that most of the teenagers who lived there belonged to. He would never be like Otto and Twister, but he had come a long way since moving there from Kansas. But just because he wasn't carefree and laid back, didn't mean that his mother had to treat him like he was five years old.
"I gotta go, Mom. I'll see you tonight" Sam said when he saw Otto snicker on the other side of the glass door.
"But I'm not finished with your back Sammy. Hold on a second!" She said, trying to pull him back.
"They're waiting on me Mom!"
"Okay, but take this and have one of your little friends put it on you when you get to the beach." She said and shoved the bottle of seventy-five strength sunscreen at him. He hesitated, but took the bottle. He told her bye one last time then ran out the door. He could still hear his mother calling "you be careful now, honey" as he tossed the bottle of sunscreen into the flowerbed behind a large bush.
"You be careful now or I won't buy you anymore smoopy-woopy-bear pajamas!" Otto said mockingly.
"BUST!" Twister yelled, then he and Otto fell to the ground laughing hysterically.
Reggie had to struggle not to laugh herself. The only thing that held her back was the knowledge that she had to stand up for Sam, or Otto and Twister would tease him mercilessly for the rest of the day. She felt sorry for him in a way, but she also envied him for having a mother to fuss over him and tell him to be careful.
"Can it, dorks!" Reggie said sternly. "It's not Sammy's fault that his mom still thinks he's five."
"I know, but it sure is funny!" Otto said, clutching his sides from laughing so hard.
"And for your information, I haven't worn smoopy-woopy-bear pajamas in almost three years." Sammy said.
"Oh, so you're saying that you finally graduated to superman pj's!" Otto said. He and Twister fell into another fit of laughter.
If he were still the same person that had moved here from Kansas four years ago, Sam probably would have run crying back to his room. Now he just shrugged it off. He was used to being busted on by Otto and Twister. He knew that they didn't mean anything by it.
"Are we going to discuss sleepwear all day, or are we going to surf?" Reggie asked, putting on her blades. "Come on Sammy, let's go."
"Okay, Okay, we're coming." Otto said getting up off the ground.
The four friends bladed to the beach were they spend the rest of the morning surfing.
A/N: I know, kind of a lame way to end a chapter. This chappie was basically just an intro to summarize Matters of the Heart. It doesn't really get started until next chap.