A World Apart

Hey guys. I posted this chapter and Chapter 16 the same day. So if you\'re just checking back, be sure to go back and read the previous chapter. Please review. I love to read them!



Chapter 17



It took my brothers a while to get me to go, but eventually I did give in. I went back into my room and stuffed a towel and a change of clothes in a messenger bag and threw it over my shoulder. I had changed into my swimming trunks and put on a t-shirt. I wasn\'t really the swimming type, but I guess I should go - for Ren. He was waiting for me downstairs, watching TV, when I entered. He looked excited, shut the television off and grabbed his bag.



"Should we bring some lunch or something?" I asked, heading over to the kitchen.



"I don\'t think so. I think they\'ve got food there, Rave," He said.



I shrugged and headed out the door. I hoped my younger brother knew where this little "swimming hole" was. I didn\'t want to get lost. I had done well so far, but only knew my way to school and back. Instead of going right, we took a road going the opposite direction. We walked down the sidewalk together.



"Raven?"



"What?" I asked, trying to shield my eyes from the sun.



"What were you doing last night?" He said and then on a more timid note added, “Robin said you left with Logan."



I frowned, “I told you. I went home."



He was silent a moment and then looked up at me, “But you weren\'t at home."



I shook my head and sped up, hoping to get him off my case.



"I was just wondering Rave," He said from behind me and I heard his footsteps running to catch up. He caught up to me and said it again, “I was just wondering. That\'s all."



I ignored him and continued walking.



"Rave?"



"WHAT?"



"Nevermind," He said in a little voice.



I took a deep breath, “What Ren?"



"Robin said you got mad at him yesterday and Logan talked to him. Logan was in the bathroom with Robby, trying to clean him up and he mentioned something...about you," Ren said.



"About me? What about me?"



"He likes you."



"No shit," I responded.



Ren looked startled for a moment, “You knew?"



"How could I not? He\'s always hitting on me!"



"So...are you going to tell me where you were last night? Were you with Logan?"



We had turned a corner, and I could hear the noise coming from the little lake. Kids, as well as teens were surrounding a little pond with a beach. It was a public beach, so we got in for free. I found a table with two chairs around it underneath a shade tree and sat down.



"Are you going to tell me?" Ren asked and settled down into his seat, “You were, weren\'t you!"



"Yes, dammit! I was at his house. Are you satisfied?" I said quite loudly.



"You were? Oh my God. Like...what were you doing? You lied to me and to Robin. He\'s going to be so upset-"



My chair was relatively close to his, so I grabbed his arm, “He won\'t be mad, because you aren\'t telling him a thing."



"But-"



"I told you. Isn\'t that enough?"



"Rave...I\'m confused. I mean, I know you two are friends, but..."



"Nothing else, Ren. Don\'t worry!" I said loudly.



I got out of my chair, pulled my shirt off. The scar on my chest, from the knife, was still apparent, but fading. I hadn\'t gotten much sun this summer, so my tan was disappearing. Ren was getting undressed behind me. A young girl approached me. She was only about 16 or something. She stood in front of me wearing a bathing suit top and shorts.



"Hi!" She said giddily.



"Uh, hi," I replied, trying to get away from her.



"I\'m your neighbor!" She said, glancing at Ren and then letting her attention fall back on me.



With that said, I realized who she was. She was the neighbor girl Sasha, the one that Robin had warned me about. No wonder she only glanced briefly at Ren. She thought he was Robin—and gay. He looked relieved though and I found it amusing.



She had long, dirty blonde hair and light brown ears. Her tail was long and really furry. Maybe a longhair. I briefly thought of Logan and almost laughed.



"My name\'s Sasha. You\'re Raven, right?" She asked with a bright smile.



"Yeah," I replied, trying not to cringe at her eager personality.



She and Rhea would go nicely together.



"Well, it\'s nice to meet you! And if you want to do anything anytime, just come on over! There are lots of places in town I\'m sure you haven\'t seen yet."



"Ah, sure," I replied.



"See you later then!" She chirped, waving and then walked back towards where ever it was she had come from.



Ren, who had been standing next to me the entire time began laughing hysterically, "Robin told me about her. She\'s really annoying. I\'ve never been so glad to be mistaken for Robby before in my entire life. If she knew I was straight, she\'d be flirting with me. Oh man...I don\'t think I could have taken it."



“I’m way too old for her anyway. She was like 15, maybe 16 at most. Even you\'re too old for her—and that\'s a first," I remarked.



We talked for a while and eventually ended up in the little lake. Ren had been right. It was a clear, ocean like blue. They must filter it or something—even if it\'s just for swimming in. There was even a deep end and a shallow end. The two of us swam around for a while, and eventually got bored.



Ren and I got out of the pool and went back to our chairs. I pulled out my towel and rubbed it over my ears and hair. I was soaked. I picked up my tail and tried to dry it off.



"I\'m hungry," Ren whined to me.



"Well, let’s go get food," I said.



"Somebody\'s got to stay here and guard our stuff. Can you go? You\'ve got the money," He said, sitting down next to our two bags.



I stared at him, shaking my head at his laziness, "Fine. I\'ll find something for you to do later on."



I walked over to the little concession stand and stood in line to order. I felt a strong hand on my wrist and gasped. I looked over to see Logan grinning at me. I pulled out of his grasp and frowned.



"Are you stalking me?"



He laughed wholeheartedly, “No. I\'m not the obsessive type. You\'re just always at the right place at the right time. I\'m actually here with the girls and my cousin, Gabe...and apparently you."



Logan was dripping wet, like he just got out of the water. His board shorts and tail were making little puddles of water on the concrete.



"Did you come alone?" He asked.



"No, I came with Ren," I replied, trying to stand as far away from him as possible.



I couldn\'t help but notice the way he was staring at me. After all, I was only in my swimming shorts. He was standing in line and the person at the concession stand asked what he wanted. He looked up and ordered a huge meal and I wondered who the hell he was feeding with all that food. It took a few minutes and I waited for my turn to come up.



"Here\'s your food," The guy behind the window said to Logan.



Logan said thanks and picked up all the food. He shoved two sandwiches and bottled waters my way.



"I got these for you," He said, giving me some napkins.



I could smell the sandwich -filet of fish. I held them, standing there like an idiot, holding on tightly to the food.



"Why\'d you have to do that?" I snapped, “I\'ve got my own money, you know."



"Cause I felt like it," He replied, picking up the rest of his food.



He turned to me and sighed," You\'re still mad at me, aren\'t you?"



"I have every right to be mad at you," I replied with anger.



"It was only a kiss, Raven," He replied.



"Only? I sure as hell didn\'t ask for it!"



He took a quick drink of soda, “But you didn\'t say no, either. In fact, if I recall, you were kissing me back."



"I was not!" I argued.



"Shh...all right. Whatever you say," He said, glancing around at the group of people that had been watching us.



Ren came sifting out of the crowd, looking for me moments later. I watched someone stepped on his tail and he yelped, pulling it up from the ground and hanging onto the orange appendage. Logan chuckled and Ren noticed him. My brother raised an eyebrow and stared at me. I realized how close Logan had got to me and what we must look like. I grabbed my brother\'s upper arm and dragged him away, back onto the road towards our house.



"What are you-"



"Come on. We\'re leaving," I said, feeling like a repeat of last night.



"But Rave I\'m hungry," He said, looking back towards the concessions, “And we gotta get our stuff."



I shoved both the sandwiches his way and could still hear Logan following us.



"Raven, are you going to ignore me the rest of the year?" He asked.



"Maybe," I responded, hoping he wouldn\'t say anything about our kiss, while my brother was around.



"Stop," He said, catching up to me, and giving me both of our messenger bags, "Just don\'t be mad about last night, okay? You acted like you wanted it as much as me."



He left, just like that, and crossed down a side street to go to his house. I had to listen to my brother rattle on about what it was that we did last night that I hated so much. And I ignored him, too, all the way home. By the time we got home, it was afternoon already. I went straight upstairs, dumping my stuff on the floor and falling onto my bed.



Little Oreo, my cat, came in moments later, jumping on my bed and rubbing her head against me. She had become attached to me the last week for some reason. I wasn\'t sure why. I rubbed her ears and she lay down next to me. Truth be told, I felt guilty about what I said to Logan. I had enjoyed it as much as him, but I would never, ever let him know that!