FicWad

"Wow, this place is humongous," Herry said, staring dumstruck at the large array of shops. The gang walked slowly through the large aisles, observing all of the festive colours and souvenirs. Neil had run off, excited to see so many things he liked. The amount of local people walking around was monstrous, the group walked around, trying not to bump into the locals.

"God, I feel like a fish out of water here. Do we even know where were going?" Atlanta asked out loud, turning to Archie, raising her eyebrows questionally and shrugging her shoulders. Archie just shrugged back, confused as well.

"This place is so big, it's amazing that Neil hasn't lost himself yet," Odie said, trying to peer over the top of the heads of the people. As if on cue, Neil emerged from a crowded store, his arms flocked with tiny bags.

"Mexico is awesome!" he exclaimed, raising his baggaged arms and walking towards his friends, a wide smile on his face. The others chuckled as some locals stared at Neil and giggled as he walked towards the,. Neil arrived in front of the mystified six, still smiling proudly.

"It's amazing how even in a different country, Neil still manages to make a fool of himself," Archie said, rolling his eyes at Neil and turning his attention to viewing the visible shop signs.

"Well, if you guys are finished, I came here to shop," Theresa announced, eyeing the rest of the clan before taking a small step forward.

"Theresa, wait," Jay started, he held his hand out to tell Theresa, he then turned to the rest of the rest. "We'll split off here and meet back here in two hours. Got it?" A chorus of "yeah" and "sure" answered his final question. Jay nodded his goodbye and turned back towards Theresa, they walked together into the crowd, quickly disappearing in the large crowd.

"Ok, I'm going to the electronics store," Odie said, clapping his hands together and then saluting the rest with his two fingers before turning into the crowd as well, his small frame lost in no time in the crowd.

"Food court," Herry said, grinning sheepishly and leaving the three quickly.

Neil turned and smiled at Atlanta and Archie. The two stared back at their blonde friend, oblivious to his mind game. Neil stared back, winked and spun around, strutting and swinging his bag filled arms wildly.

Archie coughed and shifted uncomfortably next to Atlanta. Atlanta glared at the back of Neil's blonde head, wishing it would catch on fire. 'What an idiot,' she thought, mocking him...She could almost imagine the image in her head if Neil's head did catch on fire. He would be running through out the mall, shrieking his little head off. Atlanta chuckled quietly at the thought. Archie looked down at her, hearing her faint chuckle.

Archie smiled. "Where should we go?" he said, looking down at Atlanta again. She had stopped her quiet laugh and was looking around at the array of shop signs. She spotted one that sparked her interest.

"Might as well go there," she said, pointing to a sports equipment store. It was the one Archie had been eyeing.

"Sure thing," Archie smiled, walking next to Atlanta towards the store. It was your average sports store, but a little more. There was the more complex and extreme qear that kept Archie and Atlanta busy. They were halfway through the store staring at the impressing ski jets when ...

"Atlanta?" a cool voice interrupted their conversation. Archie and Atlanta spun around to the mysterious voice. Atlanta's cool grey eyes locked with light brown ones. She quickly scanned his face, trying to remember the the messy dark brown hair and soft features. It clicked at Atlanta when the boy smiled back at Atlanta's astonished expression.

"Car-Carlos?" she stuttered, her voice a high pitched whisper. 'What the hell is he doing here?' she thought angrily. Atlanta could feel the hot and angry heat coming off of Archie's arm, only inches away from hers.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he said cooly, taking a small casual step towards Atlanta. Carlos quickly glanced at Archie's face. He seem un-affected by Archie's dagger glares. Carlos quickly brought his attention back to Atlanta.

"What -," Atlanta gurgled, she quickly cleared her throat. "What are you doing here?" Carlos raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"I live here, don't I? I always come to the mall," he explained, watching Atlanta's face.

"Oh...yeah. I forgot..," she stuttered once more, moving uncomfortablly and accidently bumping arms with Archie. She quickly kept her place, her arm still close to Archies. 'You think this guy could take a hint...' Atlanta thought sarcastically, guickly looking at their touching arms and then back to Carlos, trying to identify if he understood. Carlos glimpsed down at their arms, and then shot his eyes back up to Atlanta.

"Mind if I ask you something Atlanta?" he said casually, watching Atlanta carefully. Atlanta opened and closed her mouth, but no noise escaped her throat. "Would you like to go to lunch with me?" he asked, not waiting for her first answer. Archie fumed. His eyes burned as he stepped forward, coming face to face with Carlos.

"She's not interested," Archie growled through his clenched teeth, glaring at Carlos menancingly. Carlos glared back.

"Why don't you let her answer?" Carlos breathed in Archie's face, turning his head to Atlanta.

Atlanta stood still, staring at the two rivarly boys in front of her. She took a deep breath and glared at Carlos.

"Just go, Carlos. I'm not interested," she said, her face starting to turn a light shade of red. 'This is embarassing! Why is this even happening?!' her mind blared, the anger factor raising up. Carlos gaped at Atlanta, honestly suprised by her answer. He then turned back to Archie's feirce eyes. Archie's eyes sent back more hatred filled daggers, making Carlos step back. Carlos glanced back at Atlanta, hoping to get a second answer. She just shook her head and closed her eyes, raising a hand and putting her head in it, hiding her face. Carlos turned away and stormed out of the store, his shoulders hunched.

Archie exhaled loudly, relaxing his tense muscles and releasing his angry fists. He could feel the nail imprints on his skin. He took another large breath and turned to Atlanta. She had lowered her hand from her face and wrapped her arms around self. She was breathing heavily, trying to calm down her anger. Atlanta was mad. She looked up at Archie as he turned to her.

"Atlanta, I -, " he started, only to be interuppted by Atlanta's feirce voice. Her breathing hadn't succedded in calming her down.

"What were you thinking?" I can take care of myself Archie! I don't need you to fight my battles!" she yelled, causing some people around them to stare. She was breathing heavily again, but the loud outburst had seemed to calm her down a bit. Her breathing was slowly beginning to decrease.

Archie stared back at the girl of his dreams. 'I just saved her from something disastrous! She should be thanking me!' he thought angrily, he breathed heavily and looked at Atlanta. "That guy was a creep and you knew it Atlanta! You should be thanking me!" Archie took another step towards Atlanta and looked down at her.

Atlanta's mind danced around. An apology from her would make sense. 'I shouldn't be mad at him...He did sort of "rescue" me from that...' she pondered. Atlanta sighed and looked up into Archie's soft blue eyes, apollegetically.

"Okay, thank you for sticking up for me and ... I'm sorry I said those things," she said softly, shifting her weight oddly. Atlanta wasn't used to apologising, but with Archie, she didn't feel odd to be apologising to him. It felt right.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Archie smiled, accepting Atlanta's kind apology and resting his hand gently on Atlanta's shoulder and walking her towards the exit. Archie led the way to a small coffee shop and ordered two small coffees. Once they had their coffees, they sat across from each other at a small table, enjoying each other's company. Their little incident in the sports store was already years behind them.

"How much longer do we have?" Atlanta said, holding her coffee with both hands and raising it to her lips. Archie set down his own coffee and looked at his watch.

"We have ... about 45 minutes till we meet up with the rest," he said, raising his coffee and looking at Atlanta thoughtfully. "Where else do you want to go?"

"Hmm ... I wouldn't mind getting some stuff for my family," she said, raising her eyebrows, analyzing Archie's face for his reaction.

"Sure, why not. I could get something for my Dad too," he smiled, draining his last remains off the coffee. He tossed the empty cup at the garbage can, dunking it easily. Archie turned his head slowly to Atlanta, grinning and raising his eyebrows challenging.

Atlanta grinned back and turned towards the garbage can. She closed one eye and concentrated. Atlanta tossed the can. It arched up highly and dropped right in. She turned smugly to Archie and stuck her tounge out mockingly. Archie smiled and started to clap slowly. Atlanta scoffed and reached across the small table to punch Archie playfully on the shoulder.

"Ow! Alright! Lets get out of here and get those stupid souvenirs," he cried, pretending to rub down his painful war injury. Atlanta laughed and grabbed his hand, dragging him up and out of his seat. They laughed together as they half rain towards the shops.

The pait ended up in a typical souvenir shop. Archie hated these kind of stores, but couldn't say no to Atlanta's begging face. He followed her slowly as she bounced around the shop, shooting back to Archie for his opinion on things.

"Are you even looking for your Dad?" she asked annoyingly, she stood in front of him, holding an array of objects that were left undecided in her mind.

"Don't worry about me, you're having enough trouble as it is. How many people are in your family anyway?" Archie asked, ignoring his Dad for the time being.

"I've got my Dad, my Step-Mom and my two brothers Luke and Paul," she said quickly, trying not remember her family. How long had it been since she last saw them? Seven months? Maybe longer? Atlanta shook her head and brought her attention back to Archie.

"What have you got so far?" Archie asked, trying to actually sound amused. Atlanta was lucky to have a large family. Atlanta held up a large shell necklace with green beads and thread.

"That's all?" Archie asked, staring at Atlanta. "How hard is it to get something for your Dad and brothers?"

"Fine! Then you'll help me pick something out," Atlanta said, turning around to put the bundle of nick-nacks away. Archie watched her walk away and decided to help her. She needed all the help she could get. Atlanta wasn't exactly the shopping type. They needed Theresa the Drama Queen. Archie pushed the thought away. He didn't want anyone disturbing the two of them right now.

"Hey Atlanta! What does your Dad do? Maybe we could find something that suits his job," Archie said to Atlanta, watching her rush between the isles blindly.

"He specializes in hunting gear. Where else do you think I learned archery?" she said, analayzing a large painting. She tilted her head to the side, trying to depict the odd shapes, looking for the 'meaning'.

"What about this?" Archie called back, holding up a tradional wooden crossbow. His luck was really pushing it today. Alone time with Atlanta, how lucky could he be right now?

"Oh wow! How could I of not seen that? That's perfect!" she exclaimed, rushing forward to Archie. She quickly ruffled his hair before grabbing the crossbow from him and analyzing it up and down carefully.

"Alright, now just the brothers," Archie sighed. As he and Atlanta searched, he ended up hearing practically Atlanta's life history. He was sorry to hear that Atlanta's birth mother had died giving birth to her. Atlanta didn't seem that affected. She kept saying that her Father was happy with his new wife, and Atlanta was happy for him. Atlanta seemed to be having trouble picking something for Luke and Paul. Archie learned that Atlanta was the youngest in the family, and having two older brothers, she often joined in their rowdy behaviour.

"This is so frustrating! Have you found anything Archie?" Atlanta exclaimed, her voice edging on the frustrated side. Archie walked towards Atlanta holding up two wooden figurines making obscene faces and gestures. Archie had randomly chosen them off the shelf, hoping that this souvenir shopping would end soon. Atlanta stared at the little statues for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! It's like you got into their minds and uncovered their raunchy sense of humour! Those are perfect!" she laughed, grabbing one statue that was oddly fat and had it's fingers in it's ear, sticking it's tounge out in a silent mockery. Archie laughed at the statues as well. 'Today must be my lucky day!' he thought, grinning at his remarkable success.

"Ok, ok. You helped me, now I help you," Atlanta said, throwing the crossbow over her shoulder and taking the funny little men from Archie's hands. "What do you have in mind?"

Archie shoved his hands in his pockets nervously. "Well, I live my Dad and all, but we don't get to spend that much time together. He's always at work," he said, keeping his head down. Atlanta set down one of the statues and patted Archie's shoulder sympathetically.

"How 'bout a nice picture? Find a good picture of your family and make him feel guilty about spending so much time at the office?" Atlanta said, patting his shoulder gently againd and smiling kindly.

"Are you sure that will work?" he asked, looking up to look Atlanta in the eye. She raised her eyebrows.

"Are you kidding? It's fool-proof," she chuckled, picking up her statue and walking towards the picture frame sections.

Archie shrugged and followed her. Archie shared the same sad fate as Atlanta. His mother had also died when Archie was young. That was when Archie's irrational fear of water started. He was 12 when it happened. Just a normal sunny day on the beach
. . . . . . . .

Archie watched his mother wave to him and his father from the floating dock. His father next to him wasn't much of a swimmer. His mother on the other hand, was the more adventerous type. She always said that she brought out the 'wild' side of his Father. She always took risks, and his Dad could never say no to her. Archie's Mother waved once more before steadying herself and jumping off into the dark depths. Archie and his Father clapped and laughed for her, as did the others on the dock. They all procedded to jumping off the dock, not taking a second glance at the water. Archie watched with waiting eyes for his Mom's head to break the surface.

But something wasn't right. Archie's mother hadn't emerged from the surface yet.

Was this just another of her practical jokes again?

Archie's father stood up slowly, his eyes fixated on the area of water she disappeared under.

Something definetly wasn't right.

"Where's Mom?" Archie asked, looking up at his Father's worried expression. He turned to look at the floating dock once more. Where could she be?

It was on that day that Archie's mother drowned. She had swam to much to the side and ended up underneath the dock. The dock was so large she never managed to find the edges for her to surface.

By the time the lifeguards tried to perform CPR, it was too late. She was gone.

. . . . . . . .

"Oh, that's awful Archie. I'm so sorry," Atlanta whispered. They had finally finished their souvenir shopping and were now sitting at a table once more waiting for the others to arrive shortly.

"Don't be, I got over it, besides, death is nothing to talk about on vacation," Archie said, trying to edge away from his horrible memories. Atlanta nodded slowly, reaching out and patting Archie's hands. Archie looked at Atlanta and then down to their hands. He took one of his hands and laid it on top of Atlanta's. He slowly traced his index finger up and down her hand, keeping his eyes down.

Archie didn't really expect a reaction from Atlanta. He was suprised when she laid her other hand on top of his. Archie looked up slowly, locking eyes with her. Archie couldn't of imagined a more perfect moment. He stared into her eyes and leaned towards her carefully.

Atlanta's mind processed Archie's actions slowly. She watched slowly as his hand traced circles on hers. In the back of her mind, she kept asking herself : 'Is this right?'. But as her hand rested on his, the nagging voice faded. All that could be heard was the feirce beating of Atlanta's heart. Her eyes locked with his as he leaned towards her. The voice came back with a vengence, screaming, This is your best friend! Archie!' Atlanta refused to listen. 'This feels right, why would I be worried? If he's my best friend, isn't that the right thing?' her consious spat back.

Atlanta leaned forward, closing her eyes.

Archie closed his eyes and closed the gap between them. Their soft lips touched gently against each other. Their hands twining together underneath their moving lips, their hearts beating as one as months of lust finally meeting.

They both broke apart, gasping for air, their heads spinning. Archie leaned his head forward again, resting his forehead against Atlanta's, staring into her eyes.

"Well, that was ... different," Atlanta mumbled, staring back at Archie. Archie laughed guietly, releasing on of his hands to gently stroke Atlanta's face. She sighed and turned her face into Archie's hand, breathing in his scent.

Archie's PMR buzzed. He sighed heavily and dropped his hands from Atlanta's face, bringing his head back slowly. He stared at Atlanta before reaching for his PMR.

"Yeah?" Archie said, annoyed. Jay's voice answered back.

"You guys all finished?"

"Yeah ... were done," Archie replied, grinning to himself as he glimpsed up at Atlanta. She still had one of her hands twined with his, massaging his thumb softly. She was pearing behind Archie's shoulder at something, a small smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

"K. Cya in five," Jay said quickly before cutting the line dead. Archie snapped his PMR shut and turned to Atlanta. She was staring at him once more. Archie smiled back and leaned in to brush his lips softly against Atlanta's chin. Atlanta breathed in deeply and kissed Archie's nose.

"Are we going to tell the others?" she said softly, leaning her forehead against his once more.

"Let them figure it out themselves," Archie replied, staring into Atlanta's eyes, starting to raise up and out of the chair, his hand still in Atlanta's.

"We should ... stop now," Atlanta mumbled, motioning to their hands. Archie nodded and let go of her hand. His hand immediately felt cold once he released her warm one. The seperation pained him as he walked closely next to her.

They spotted Herry's large frame as they neared their meeting spot. Herry must of spotted the approaching two, as he waved at them over the heads of other locals. Neil's blonde head bobbled up and down as he tried to find Archie and Atlanta. They finally reached the rest of the group. Herry looked satisfied from his time in the food court, he kept burping and patting his stomach. Neil had added onto his large collection of bags, all ranging in different sizes. Odie was fiddling with what looked like a new electronic gadget; another one to add to the collection of his. Theresa had a few in her hands, and suprisingly Jay had a bag of his own.

Jay turned his head away from Theresa and directed his attention to Atlanta and Archie. "What did you guys do?"

Archie shrugged. "Not that much," he said, hiding his excited voice and managing a quick glimpse down at Atlanta. She looked up at him and smiled, reaching up to punch his arm.

*****************

I have finally succedded! Thank god, I know! I've been really busy and my social life has kind of been WHOA! I'm proud of this chapter, and I'm so sorry Carlos! He's still the love of my life and still lives in my closet. I felt bad for bringing back Archie's horrible memories. I don't know what else to say but :
RATE AND REVIEW!
I'm not sure when the next chapter will be coming, but like I said, this one is A/A and the {Evening} bit will be J/T. Too bad there's no flame there. HeHe.
Enjoy!