The sun had barely put its first beam of light over the horizon when Sabrina had woken up. It may be summer, but that didn’t stop her early rising. For her, in the tiny apartment of five, with two older sisters, her early morning hours were the only things that were really her’s, and her’s alone. It gave her time to reflect on things, or get things done that needed to be. Of course, lately, she’d been avoiding reflecting on most things, but like summer, it couldn’t break old patterns. And so did Sabrina find herself up before six, tiptoeing into the kitchen, grabbing a slice of bread, and then quietly sneaking out the door. It wasn’t that she wasn’t allowed out; but if she woke up anyone in the house- or the building for that matter- it would be hell for her.

Once she was outside, though, she had more freedom. Once she got far enough away from the apartments, she could have yelled and screamed if she’d wanted to. Instead, today, Sabrina was quiet, nodding her head to a beat in her head, bare feet steadily taking her towards the beach. She had shoes, a pair of worn ballet flats, hand me downs from Corina, and was carrying them in her hands. But what was summer without bare feet?

Blisters or cuts? Not a problem; this girl thought ahead. She’d dealt with those two months ago, building up the bottoms of her feet, making her summer shoes. Walking along the street was no problem; if anything, more comfortable. Still, getting to the beach and having her feet sink into the soft, cool sand was wonderful. She ran down to the surf, and with a smile stepping into a wave. Now this was heaven; a sunrise over the ocean, bare feet in the surf, nothing but the sound of the water. Sabrina could feel the stress from the year rolling off her already.

Making sure she was mostly out of reach of the waves, Sabrina took a seat, keeping her feet wet in the waves. Looking out at the painting the sun was making on the sky, she couldn’t help but think of how tense everyone had been in the past three month. Thankfully, the boys were coming home soon. With any luck, things would be a little better then, if not still crazy. After that, well, who knew? It was better not to think about that anyways. She came her to relax, not make herself even more stressed. Any more stress and she’d have to start seeing Jack Frost.

The thought, as unfunny a thought as it was, made her laugh out loud. Who in this town couldn’t use time with the shrink after the last three months?

Sighing, Julia laid in her bed, eyes staring at the ceiling as she tried to pick out patterns. First she spotted a soccer ball (no surprise) and then an odd cat-shaped thing, and then finally her initials. But that second 'J' kind of looked like another letter...

Getting up, she decided it was probably time to get out and about. She wasn't about to waste her entire life trying to figure out if her cottage cheese ceiling was subconsciously displaying Johnny Whitlow's initials. No, if it was a 'W', it was definitely saying 'Julia Whitlow', as in her name after she married Turner. Because she liked Turner, she liked Turner, she liked Turner.
At least, that's what she was telling herself as she pulled on her sweats and tied her nike shox. Today she was going to go for a run instead of play soccer. If it was possible, Jules was getting a little bored of her favorite sport.

Pulling her hair into a ponytail, Julia headed out the door and started jogging through their neighborhood. She didn't know where exactly she was going, but somehow she ended up heading toward the beach, which was strange as she had never been a beach-going type of girl. Unless there was volleyball to be played. Though soccer was her sport, she was basically an all-sports junkie, and volleyball was no exception.

As she ran along the tide line, she was glad she'd worn an underarmour tank today. Though it was still early morning, it was heating up fast and she would definitely need the shirt to keep her cool. Because it was so early, she hadn't expected to encounter anyone else, but she saw a figure in the distance, and she eventually identified her as Sabrina, the younger sister of her best friend. "Hey," Julia called out, waving and slowing down as she neared the girl.

"How're you doing, Sabrina?" she asked cheerfully.

Hearing her named called, Sabrina layed all the way back and tipped her head back. Reds, pinks, hazy greens, light blues, blues, browns... AH there! As a tall brunette appeared in her feild of vision, as pretty as ever even upsidedown, she had to smile. Rolling over, she peered up at Julia Jackson.

"Hey Julia. Pretty good myself. But what about you? What are you doing up so early?" she asked in return. Of course she knew the brunette. Between Connor and Landon, she only spent how much of her life at the Jacksons now a days? Not to mention that Julia was best friends with Corina. Yep, she'd seen a lot of Julia. Which made it no surprise for Sabrina to see her out running around. It was just the hour that was a little unusual.

Pushing herself up a little, she walked back on her hands till she was sitting on her legs. Brushing herself off a little, she grinned at the older girl. "Don't tell me that they kicked you out of the house cause you woke them up."

Laughing, Julia shook her head, "Nah, they don't ever kick me out. They know I'd probably kick some ass if I was kicked out..." sitting down next to Sabrina, she looked out over the water. "I'm used to being up early. Soccer practice, you know? It's a habbit that I can't break even over summer vacation. So I was laying in bed, bored out of my mind. I was looking at the textures on my ceiling! Can you say bored?"

Reaching behind her to grab a stick, she began writing her name next to her in the sand. 'j-u-l-i' was spelled out when she turned to look at Sabrina, "So did they kick you out of the house?" Raising her brows, she added, "I could see Cor doing that."

Then, she reached back to add the 'a' at the end of her name, biting her lip for a moment as she looked it over. Deciding she needed something added to it, she put a nifty little swirly thing beneath it. Finally satisfied, she chucked the stick out into the ocean.

"How is life around your house lately? I haven't stopped by in a while." Frowning, she added, "I miss Corina... lately the only bonding I've done has been with Robyn and Bambi. God knows I love Bambi, but Robyn... ugh. She's been irritating me." With a smile, she added, "I haven't seen you around our house that much either. Who are you dating these days?"

"Early rising habits then must be realy hard to break, cause I can't get rid of mine either. And Corina couldn't have kicked me out. She's still fast asleep, the lazy bum." Actually, it wasn't that Corina was lazy; it was that she'd been out really late last night, going Lord-knows where, and doing God-knows what, and probably completely forgetting the fact that she's engadged. It was rather sicking to think about. So, Sabrina didn't.

"Bored," she said instead, lifting her feet up as a wave crept up her legs. "And life has being blissfully quiet around home. It like everone fell asleep for the first few days of summer. Corina hasn't even tried to stick either of us with needles for days." It was a bit of a miracle.

Sabrina frowned, splashing in a small wave with her feet. She didn't really like Robyn. Maybe it was the age difference. Or maybe it was because she'd slept with nearly every guy who woul have her, and she wasn't afraid to share it. "Well, Robyn's Robyn. What do you expect?"

And it was true that she hadn't been around the house lately. She hadn't seen a whole lot of Connor since school had let out, and most of the time she had meet Landon out in town. "Yeah, well... with some luck I'll be able to come around a bit more. And for your other question, Markus Reynolds." Just thinking about Mark made her a little happier. Though, she hadn't seen him in a couple days. She really had been hermeting a little bit, she supposed.

Moving past the warm, bubbly feeling in her stomach that was associated with Markus, she smiled slyly. "And how about you? How's Turner doing?"

Listening to Sabrina, Julia laid back in the sand, her shoulderblades sinking back into the moist sand. Closing her eyes, she occasionally nodded in agreement, pursing her lips a bit as she let the younger girl do most of the talking. When she said that Corina hadn't stuck them with needles lately, Julia had to interject, however. "Wow, that's different!" she exclaimed, "Like every time I come over, she tries to 'alter' my clothes somehow. She even tried to take in my soccer jersey. Apparently, it was a bit too wide around the waist area, and I absolutely need to have my waist accentuated when I'm scoring goals."

Sticking her tongue in her cheek, she tried to bring up a mental image of Markus. She could picture his older brother, but not him. Pulling her legs in, she draped her arms around her knees and narrowed her eyes just a bit. "Oh!" she said after a moment, "The blonde one. Kind of pointed chin?" Her eyes sparkled a bit. "He's a cutie!" she gushed, winking at Sabrina. She could see how the girl brightened as she spoke about him. That was what dating someone was supposed to be like. It made her happy for Rina, but it made her a little saddened because she wasn't really sure if that was what she had with Turner.

And then, of course, the Lillies girl had to bring up said Whitlow boy, almost as if she had read Jules' mind. Sighing, she said softly, "Well, Turner's doing good, I think. We write letters, so I guess he hasn't died yet. But..." she sighed again. "I don't know. I'm not so sure if we're really the ideal couple." Shrugging, she pulled her shoes and socks off. Stretching her legs out and pushing her sweats up to her knees, she let the waves wash over her feet. It felt surreal to be voicing the thoughts she'd been thinking for the past while, and it was even weirder to be talking to her best friend's younger sister about it. Jules decided she'd just leave her statement at that, unless Sabrina pushed for more.
Glancing over at her, Julia figured she probably would, so she began thinking of exactly how to put into words the confusion she was experiencing.

Sabrina could only blush as Julia pronnounced Markus a cuite. Having her say that was special; it almost as if being accepted by someone older made it more real. How strange... But it was still a definite good thing. Not that much about Mark wasn't. Yet, there were somethings about him.

As Julia, mimicking her thoughts, voiced concerns about Turner, Sabrina could only listen and nodd. She supposed it made sense, especially with him being gone. That absence, and the seperation only gave room for uncertanty to grow. But why was Julia telling Sabrina? Sure they knew each other, add the other's siblings was the girls' best friends, but that wasn't a whole lot when you thought about it.

Something made Sabrina what to reassure Julia. BUt part of her wasn't sure if she could. How does that work? Not feeling like you should comfort somebody; what was wrong with her? "Maybe things will get better when he gets back," Sabrina said. Continuing with the but that hung on the end to that statement, she said, "But, if it doesn't, remember. All the boys are coming home. There has to be someone in the town who'd give you that... right feeling. If you don't think it's Turner, it's not the end of the world." That was pretty nuetral, right? Keep trying, but if it's just not right, it's okay. It sounded like it to Sabrina, but then again, what did she know? She was the baby.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Julia wondered if all the Lillies sisters could read her mind. Somehow, Corina always knew what she was thinking, sometimes even before Jules thought it herself, which was actually pretty scary. And now it was starting to appear that Sabrina possessed the same talent as her sister.

"That's what I'm afraid of. It's not so much Turner..." Julia paused, pushing her hands into the sand and wiggling her fingers around, loving the feeling of the sand between them. Looking over at Sabrina, she continued, "I think I might already be having those feelings for another guy. Is that wrong? I know I probably shouldn't be dating Turner if I like someone else, but Johnny's already got Cora, and-" she stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. She'd been simply talking and she hadn't even realized what she was saying.

"Fuck, just forget I said that, please?" she asked after a moment, a look of uncertainty on her face. Why did she have to go and ahve such a big mouth? Frowning, she added, "Or, if you can't forget it, just promise you won't repeat it to anyone. I shouldn't be feeling like this, especially about my boyfriend's freaking brother." Wrinkling her nose, she laid down and laced her fingers together, putting her hands behind her head.

Closing her eyes, she asked rhetorically (spelling? I'm too lazy to spellcheck... xD), "Why am I so completely messed up?!"

Could Julia tell what was on someone's mind even when they weren't thinking about it? As she spoke about likeing someone else while having a boyfriend, Sabrina started getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. She felt it grow into a heavy stone as Julia accidently spilled that she was crushing not on just anyone, but her boyfriends brother, of all people.

Why the uncomfortable rock in her gut? As much as Sabrina might love Markus, she'd been noticing other boys lately. And not just any boys. Her boys; both Connor and Ricky had been seeming a little different lately. She'd been chalking it up to not seeing them as much, noticing similarities in the two and Markus, and just normal teenage hormones. Had Connor's smile alway been that cute, and was Freddy always that funny and sweet? No, it was just weird hormones, and maybe a little stress. It was just normal for a teenager, it didn't mean anything. Or did it?

"Julia, I'm sure you're probably one of the least messed up of the people in this town now a days. Really, think about it. And besides, it's normal to notice others, even if they are close. Right?" Sabrina said it just as much to reassure herself as to comfort Julia. Of course that was right. She really cared for Markus; she was just missing her two best friends. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that at all.

Nodding, Julia led Sabrina's words sink in. She even repeated them to herself, It's normal to notice others, it's normal to notice others, it's ABSOLUTELY normal to notice others. But, for some reason, she just couldn't believe that it was this completely normal to notice others, especially the way she was noticing Johnny.

"I suppose it's normal to notice others," she began, "but I don't really think it's normal to have stronger feelings for others than you have for the one you're dating, you know?" She shook her head, rolling her shoulders back a few times. This whole situation made her tense, and a stress headache felt like it was coming. That really wouldn't be a surprise, though. It felt like she had had a constant stress headache over the past few months.

Rubbing at her eyes, Julia lamented, "I feel bad because Turner's a great guy, you know? But..." she sighed, "sometimes I get the feeling he likes someone else, too. He's so close to so many girls, and I'm afraid we're going to have a big, messy breakup. And I really, really don't want that. Like I said, he's a great guy, and I want him to still be my friend. I wish we could end it and 'stay friends', but that line never works." Shaking her head, she sat up and squinted slightly, looking out over the water at the sun, which had risen slightly over the horizon.

"I can't help but feel like things are changing. Kind of like the calm before the storm or something." She shook her head, "I don't know, I'm just weird."

Smiling slightly, she said, "Sorry I'm kind of unloading on you, Sabrina. It's just, I've had all this stuff all bottled up inside, and you're the first person who I've really been able to talk to. If you've got anything you want to vent about, feel free to do so." Laying back down and rolling over to her side, she propped her head up on her hand, elbow resting on the sand.

If Sabrina was feeling anything, it was feeling like falling over in surprise. Were she and Julia in the exact same situation? Besides the fact that Julia was noticing one other guy, an she just wanted to stay friends with Turner, and ... Alright, maybe not the exact same. But there were certianly similarities!

"You're not weird, Julia," Sabrina protested. "Or, if you are, then we both are." A growing headache and an irritaged anxiety was taking her over. Unable to stand it anymore, Sanrin got up and walked forward into the surf. Stopping when the water was easily halfway to her knees, she turned back to Julia.

She had to get something off her chest. It had been bothering her for a while, but he'd kept shrugging her off about it, so she'd tried to ignore it. But she couldn't take it anymore. "Julia, if you really care for someone, and you're worried about them, you have to say something, right?" She paused there, and took a deep breath. "I'm worried about Markus. He keeps getting these new... scars. All over. It's scaring me."

Another pause, and another breath. "I don't know what to think. Maybe he's just doing something stupid, like jumping off rocks. Or maybe it's self inflicted? Or might just be from Frederic- ever time he see Markus now a days, he starts beating him! And I can't always be there to stop him. And even when I am, I can only do so much." By now she was pacing through the water furiously. Stopping, she looked helplessly at teh older girl." I don't now what to think Julia." If there'd been a chair nearby, Sabrina would have sat down in defeat. As it was, sh nearly sat down in the water.

Frustrated at her own pathetic ness, she shook her head. "No, I should just forget about it. Markus doesn't seem to think it's a big deal, and nobody else seems to notice. Maybe I'm just being an overprotecting girlfriend.' The stress of the summer was giving her mood swings.

Blinking up at Sabrina and watching as she wandered off into the water, Julia tilted her head to the side. It appeared that what she was saying was having an affect on the younger girl, and it wasn't exactly pleasant to watch her like that. Jules was suddenly feeling protective of her and she wanted to stand up and hug her. She'd never really been the motherly sort, though, and hugs weren't something she simply gave out. Though it made her feel rather guilty, she stayed where she was.

She listened intently, her eyes widening as Sabrina went on talking about Markus, and she was immediately struck with how... mature Rina was coming across as. Jules didn't think that two years ago she'd be able to deal with that kind of knowledge. In fact, she struggled to deal with all her soccer practices, which was kind of lame. Frowning, she tried to think of what to say to console Sabrina. Much like her inability to hug properly, she had a hard time figuring out how to properly verbally console others. You could say she simply had a hard time with sympathy in general. But, that was to be expected of a tomboy, right?

Taking in a deep breath, she began, "Oh, Rina. I think... I think you need to talk to someone about it. Maybe Jordan? Corina would probably try to make him a shirt to cover up the scars. Really, though. I... I can understand how it might be hard for you to... to come out with it. I would help if I could, but I really don't know Markus or Frederic, and knowing me, I'd probably make the situation a lot worse. You could talk to Markus about it... if he doesn't think it's a big deal, you should try to convince him it is a big deal. Because... because I think it's pretty big. If he's doing it to himself, he could go too far some time and end up bleeding to death. And if someone else is doing it to him, they could take it too far as well. Either way, there's a possibility that he could die."

Saying those words felt... strange. It made her put her own problems into perspective. Sure, her relationship with Turner might end, or she might end up sticking with him because she simply couldn't leave him, but either way they would both be alive. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she shivered slightly, though she wasn't all that cold. It was a chilling thought, however, that a boy around here could die. She really couldn't wrap her mind around it.

Sabrina was quiet for a good long time, only nodding a bit as the waves climbed up her legs. After spill that, for some reason she felt like crying. Of course, that always happened when ever she even thought about Markus getting hurt, but now it seemed a little different. Almost like spilling about Mark open the lid to everything she'd been pointedly avoiding over the past three months.

She couldn't let that happen. No point in being a mess when everyone was going to be so happy with the boys return. Doing the mental equivalent of slamming the lid down on the emotional can of worms, Sabrina slowly dragged herself out of the water back to her seat next to Julia.It took her a moment longer to just calm down and get her thoughts in order.

"I think I will talk to Jordan about it. And I can try speaking to Mark about it, but I'm not sure it would do anything. One thing I can promise to do is talk to Freddy. It's just not good when your best friend is beating up your boyfriend; he has to stop. Whatever his reason for doing may be, I don't care. It just needs to stop," Sabrina said decisively. It was the one thing she could be decisive about. There was no reason for the beating in the first place, and so there was no reason for them to not stop. Simple as that.

"Thank you Julia." What more could really be said?

"You're welcome," Julia said softly, standing up and brushing off the sand stuck to her butt. Readjusting her form-fitting top, she turned around and squatted down so she was at Sabrina's eye level. "And thank you, too. For letting me vent... it really, really means a lot." She reached and gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder, doing her best to offer a sympathetic smile.

Though it made her feel bad, leaving like this, she really had to continue her run. And, she was afraid if she stayed any longer, she might end up pouring out even more of her soul. Though Sabrina had proved to be a great listener, Jules didn't want to burden her, as she had more than enough on her plate already. She was also sort of afraid that Rina might tell her something else, and even though Julia liked to try to help her out, the fact remained that she wasn't that good at making people feel better.

Returning to her standing-up position, she gave Rina one last concerned look and said, "If you need anything... someone to talk to, complain to, whatever, just call me, okay? I'll probably start going to your house more often once things get... less confusing with my love life." Nodding, she figured she liked' the sound of that. She wasn't saying 'if things get less confusing', she was saying that things would get less confusing, that this whole mess would be sorted out, and life would get back to normal. That reassuring thought was enough to make her feel a bit better.

"But, I've really gotta get going... my legs aren't going to tone up themselves!" Laughing, she gave Rina a quick wave and resumed the running she'd been doing before encountering the girl.

ooc: eep, sorry that was kind of a crappy way to have her run off (literally !) but it kind of... felt right? I dunno. xD

Waving as Julia left, Sabrina was mildly surprised at how much better she felt. Venting really did help. If you asked her opinion, their talk was good for them both. She'd look forward to seeing more of Julia, and on happier terms too. It would be really nice.

By now, the sun was sitting just above the blue horizon, it's pair winking on the waves. A couple birds were flying overhead, sining the sratchy song of the seagull. Looking down the beach, you could see the dock, and on it, a lone figure standing at the very end. Looks like she and Julia weren't the only ones up this early. But then again, it wasn't so early anymore.

Standing up and brushing herself off, Sabrina wished that she'd thought to ask Julia where Landon and Connor were. Now she'd have to look for them. Better start with the house.

As she turned to start walking, Sabrina gave the ocean one last look. Things would get better. They had to. They may get worse first, but eventually they'd get better. Right?


Right. With that in mind, Sabrina turned away with a smile a jogged back to the road, finally slipping on her shoes once she reached the pavement. Tough feet or not, the tar was going to get hot fast.