Eva Longoria is now playing Principal Wednesday and Ash Stymest is playing James Winchester.

"I'll miss you, too, Shawny," I said through the phone, "Enjoy your holidays."

"I will. You too, Tals," he replied.

"Tell Christian I said 'hi'," I finished, before hanging up. 

For the trip to the Gold Coast, instead of packing away everything like a person would do most holidays, Emily and I left most of our stuff here in the dorm. I just packed my suitcase with bare essentials, a few swimsuits and clothing. I hardly had any luggage except for the suitcase and a small backpack with my new wallet in it when Em and I headed down the stairs on the afternoon of the last day of school. 

Principal Wednesday - or, rather, Marie, now that school was out - smiled as we met her in the entrance hall. When it was holidays, she always lightened up, smiled more and added a small bounce to her step. 

"Ready to go, girls?" she beamed.

Emily gave me a high-five, "Let's go rock this beach!"

***

It took half an hour to drive in the limo to the airport, where we waited for forty minutes at the terminal. We boarded the plane immediately and found our seats near the front. I scored the window seat with Emily next to me and Marie next to her.

We got to watch the sun set over the horizon far, far below as we began landing in the Brisbane airport. Emily cooed, "It's so gorgeous... all those colours in the sky..."

Her mum chuckled slightly, "It's called a spectrum, Emily."

Once a teacher, always a teacher, I thought to myself as I watched the sky. 

It wasn't until after the ninety-minute limo drive into the Gold Coast that Emily and I could talk about the holidays. We were staying in their private beach house like always. It was along the beach with many others that looked identical bar the golden numbers over the doorknockers. 

Emily and I walked into our room that faced the ocean with large floor-to-ceiling windows and dumped our stuff, promptly closed the door and began to have our inevitable talk. Sitting on the carpet, cross-legged and facing each other was when we got into serious mode.

"No more trouble this holiday," Emily began.

"I watch out for you and you watch out for me," I continued.

"If that bastard comes near you I will blow his head off."

"And I will be thankful."

Emily smiled shyly, "You okay?"

"No," I said truthfully, "But I will be."

"What happened the other night?"

"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

Emily went on, "Opal said you must have had a bad nightmare or something but I know that with what those doctors did to you that it's impossible."

I shrugged minimally, "It just wasn't... a normal dream."

"Did you find Christian... dead again?" she stumbled for words.

I shuddered involuntarily but shook my head, "Christian wasn't in it."

"What?!" she shouted, "But he's always in it. For the last three years."

My eyes flitted around the room before landing back on Em, "I think it's part of the withdrawal period. I'm not seeing him in real life so I'm not seeing him in my dreamscape."

"Oh yeah?" she frowned, "What replaced Christian, then?"

I winced. I'd actually been hoping she wouldn't ask. 

"Natalie Ann," she said warningly. 

I sighed lightly and then whispered, "James Winchester."

"NO!" she abruptly shouted.

And she had good reason to.

One: he broke my heart.

Two: he stole my virginity. 

Three: we haven't heard from him in a year.

And the reason that number three is so bad is because he also used to be Emily's best friend. 

"Girls," Marie popped her head into the bedroom door, "It's time for dinner."

"Do we have groceries?" Emily's eyebrows popped up.

"No," Marie shook her head, "By, it's time for dinner, I mean we're walking up to the shack."

***

The shack was built about thirty years ago, right on the grass near the beach. It's a single building, one storey with no inside room. You stand outside whilst the workers take your order through a chalk-ridden window and you sit at a metal table beneath a big beach umbrella, feeling the heat against your skin. They've had the same special for the last three years - grilled salmon and chips - and only serve two types of drinks - lemonade or alcohol. 

There we were, the three of us, enjoying our salmon and chips. Emily and I had our large glass of lemonade with ice cubes and Marie was delicately sipping a Somersby Apple Cider. In fact, I've never seen her drink alcohol that wasn't Somersby Cider. 

She claimed it wasn't too bad for you but our health teacher would probably say otherwise. I took another sip of my lemonade when Emily promptly began choking on her own drink. 

I patted her back gently, "Em?"

She coughed and heaved a moment longer before taking a deep breath and straightening up. Her harsh glare was frightening me though it was trained elsewhere. Her bright green eyes were dark and dull, filled with a hate one could only begin to imagine. I'd only seen her look like this a few times. 

And that was when the topic of James Winchester was approached. 

I turned my gaze to follow hers and, sure enough, she was focused on a tall, fit boy with jet black hair playing with a rugby ball on the beach with a few other guys. 

James had been scrawny when I first met him but he was still pretty. Yes, pretty. Eventually, he turned hot but at thirteen he'd had the face of a Caucasian boy in a K-Drama. The same hair too.

His hair was still floppy around his face and he was still pale but he'd become fitter in the last few years. Staring at him, it wasn't hard to see why I'd been attracted to him but right now I was filled with such an intense burst of hatred for the guy that I couldn't focus properly. 

I heard Marie ask, "What on earth has gotten into you two?"

I presumed Emily was going to answer but she didn't. That left Marie to ask, "You look like you're about to kill someone; are you?"

"Possibly," I managed to squeeze out before standing up from the table. 

Emily reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me back down, "No. You've got to be strong, Nat. Don't give in."

"In to what?"

"In to showing him just how much he messed with your emotions."

"Who on earth are you talking about?" Marie moved her gaze to look around to see where we were looking, "Those boys? ... Wait, is that James?"

"Yes, Mum," Emily replied curtly, "And we'd appreciate if you didn't-"

"James!" her mother decided to shout anyway. 

I curled my hands into fists beneath the table and focused on my salmon. 

"James, it's Marie!"

I heard his silky voice shout back, "Marie Wednesday? You guys are up here already?"

I heard footsteps approach through the sand and then grass and I gradually went to take another sip of my lemonade. 

"Hey girls, how are ya?" he asked. 

I wasn't going to give him a reply and apparently Em wasn't either.

"What's wrong with them?" James went to ask - probably Marie.

Marie sniffed, "Don't know. They've been upset for the last few minutes, actually."

"We're not upset, Mum," Emily interrupted, "We're angry. Very angry. If you don't mind, we're going back to the house, now."

I heard Emily stand up and then she said softly, "Come on, Nat."

I looked up into her eyes and nodded, following after her. I heard the footsteps coming after me and broke into a sprint. 

"Natalie!" James shouted.

"Leave her alone, dick!" I vaguely heard Emily shout before I stormed into the house.

If I could last these holidays without bumping into James again, it would be a miracle.

***

Song: Holy Grail - Hunters and Collectors

I bet everyone's going 'curse you, James' right about now?

xx Sharky.