This is the best night ever!

I don't think I've had Kira in my arms as many times in the last 12 years as in the few hours we've been here at the Founders' Day Dance.

I'm having a ball!

Almost literally, since it would've been an actual ball if this were 1623, and Kicks was wearing a ballgown, and I was wearing tights and poofy pants... like Hamlet in the Shakespeare comic book I read for school.

Yeah, didn't want to read the actual play; it didn't have pictures.

I'm so friggin' glad it's not the 1600s now because I don't want to look like I've farted in my diaper and turned it into a balloon!

Instead, I've put my shoes in the car with the wet towels and rolled up my pant legs to avoid the muddy puddles on the dance floor so I can look semi-decent. I have to, this is a special occasion... that's what Deli said when I wanted to come in cut-off jeans and a T-shirt. 'Ethe, you have to look at least semi-decent! Kira is going to look very pretty!'

So, here I am, all semi-decent and stuff.

I've concluded that it's the safest to dance with Kicks in my arms because whenever we dance in a group and some of the other girls around us get too close to me, Kira looks ready to launch enemy missiles at them. I tested it a few times to make sure I'm not just imagining it, and I'm now pretty sure my girlfriend might be a tiny bit jealous.

That's a good sign, right? Oh, yeah!

She's fine when girls we know from school talk to me because she knows them, and they're already aware that we're together. They don't become too friendly with me, take my hand, and try to drag me away. I have loads of female friends, and those from Egret's Rest know I'm unavailable and generally respect the boundaries. The girls from the other towns drive Kira's anger meter into the red until they figure it out.

She's so hot when she's mad at other girls... and not me, for a change.

Kira and Delia are returning from the restrooms, and they're glowing in the sprinkled lights as they approach. Seeing me standing at the side of the dance area chatting with Cathy and Joan - two girls from Palm Grove High I know pretty well - Kira's smile slips away and she is almost stomping towards us now.

She's a really cute fairy soldier in her pretty dress.

I love it and cannot help chuckling softly when she reaches me and unceremoniously wraps her arms around my waste. Score! I should keep girls she doesn't know or like around me all the time, just for this. Cathy and Joan are smiling and being friendly. They're a little confused - and amused - by Kira's glares. I just told them I'm dating her and they weren't flirting with me... anymore.

"Hey!" Jet says, leaning his forearm on my shoulder. "Who's in for a fire on the beach?"

I'm a little reluctant to leave the dance floor because, for Kira and me, it has turned into a cuddle floor, but I'm not blind to the tired shadows developing under her eyes. She is still recovering from yesterday's ordeal, and we've probably overdone it a bit already. I should take her home.

"Wanna sit on the beach for a bit, Kicks?" I ask, swaying her in my arms when Jet heads to the beach, taking all our friends with him. Kira tilts her head back to look up at me, her chin resting on my chest and I would love to stay here, just like this forever. "The rain is gone now. Or would you rather go home?"

"Sitting on the beach will be lovely," she says, stepping away from me to hurry to where she'd left her purse with Deli's under a chair. That's one of the many cool things about our community: Kira and Delia's purses are where they left them, unmolested.

"She's tired," Deli tells me, watching Kira retrieve their handbags.

"Yeah, we'll sit on the beach for a bit, then I'll take her home."

"Thanks, Kiki," Delia smiles, taking the purse Kira brings her and linking arms with her.

"No problem," Kira sighs, leaning her head against Delia's shoulder. They look so cool together. They're so different from each other and yet so perfectly matched. Fire and Ice. Well, in real life, those two things don't match well, but it's perfect when it comes to Kira and Deli. During the evening, I sent my mom and Uncle Joe many pictures of them together under the fairy lights. I will mount a couple of the best ones for each of them.

Many young people are keen to go to the beach, and soon a large group of us is building a bonfire with all the pieces of dry driftwood we can find. The rain made finding it more challenging than usual. When the fire is roaring, some of us sit on towels on the wet sand, while the rest of us sit on large rocks and dead tree branches long ago dragged to this part of the beach for exactly this purpose.

Bonfires on the beach are a regular occurrence. There are certain rules to stick to, and we always make sure not to break them, as they're all about safety and care for the environment. None of us have a desire to muck up our beach.

The fire soon sends bright orange flames into the night sky, bathing everything near it in its honeyed glow as it devours whatever we can find to feed it.

Kira and I are on the towel she used earlier to dry my hair since it was one of the dryest among our towels. I kept one for us and one for Delia and Sy when I put the rest in the car. She is leaning against my shoulder, holding onto my hand with both of hers and glancing down at her, I can tell she is feeling content.

I take that as a sign that things are going well. Being content is very important in a relationship. I heard an expert tell her friend that in the soapie, my mom always watches. I often watch it, lying on the couch with my head in her lap, when I want a back scratch. I usually fall asleep after the first few minutes, but I've heard enough to be an expert on good relationship requirements too.

For instance, I know not to be your girlfriend's father's son by another woman and to always make sure you don't accidentally sleep with your best friend's wife. You also need to have lots and lots and lots of money to buy fancy clothes and cars and live in a mansion... or your wife will cheat on you with the pool boy... and the guy who sells insurance door-to-door.

I think that soapie might be about Jet's family.

Kira peacefully listens to the mellow conversations around us but might fall asleep soon; her eyelids seem a little heavy. I'm only vaguely aware of the topics under discussion because I'm feeling content too. I'm far away enough from the fire to enjoy its glow without having to deal with its heat. All I'm fully aware of is feeling Kira's hands covering mine and smelling the gentle lemon fragrance of her hair.

At some point, the conversation has gone from sports to the boat race, and now they're finalising plans for tomorrow's camping trip. The talk of camping is starting to stress me out.

I don't want to go.

It feels like Kira and I are standing on the edge of a large tipping scale. It could tip either way, depending on which side becomes the heaviest. I can tell that I've gained a lot of ground with her. I've caught her more than once tonight looking at me in a way that sets a gazillion butterflies free in my belly each time I see it.

She's never looked at me like that before.

I don't mean she'd reached the point of no return where she looks at me as if she longs to rain violence and hellfire on me because she's fed up. No, the opposite. I'm truly starting to believe Deli, Burlap, and my parents were right. I think Kira loves me and not just as part of her extended family.

What's the saying? You bend an iron while it's hot?

I'm afraid that going camping tomorrow will give Kira enough chance to chuck the iron on ice, and when I return, we'll be back to 'I hate you, Ethan Fletcher.' I won't mind being hated by Kira as long as she loves me. She seems to love me right now. I want her to keep on doing that. I don't want to give the iron a chance to cool down before it is in the shape of a heart... permanently.

"I'm not going," I tell Barn when he asks me if I'm going in my dad's car so I can bring Lance Winslow and Reuben Olsen with me since the guys agreed for the kids to come along too.

"What do you mean you're not camping with us tomorrow?!" Jet suddenly explodes. He looks and sounds like he is about to tear out my liver and eat it raw. We've already eaten too many things tonight; I want my liver to stay inside my body and do liver-related stuff.

Besides, I don't get his aggression; what does it matter if I go with them or not? There's going to be a whole crowd. He won't miss me.

When we came to the beach, Akari was seated at a table under the tarps, chatting with some town council members. Jet said that's what she came here for. I wish she were here to stop him from looking like he's going to beat me up... and hurt... He looks hurt!

Why the hell does he look hurt?!

I don't like it when he looks hurt, except when he is hurt physically because I pinched him for being an ass. I don't like the sad look on his face. I might punch him just to make him look mad instead.

"Just what I said; I'm not going camping tomorrow night," I shrug, wishing he would just drop it. I don't want to talk about it. Jet won't understand what I'm thinking, no matter how many times I try to explain it.

"But we go every year!" Barn chimes in. That is true. We go camping after the church service on Founder's Sunday. Sometimes, Jet brings his boat around to moor it in the shelter of the natural inlet at our favourite campsite, and we go on rides up and down the coast. Most of the time, we just run around in the woods acting like cavemen. It's always really fun, and I will miss going, but I can't... there's that whole iron-bending thing to consider.

The camp breaks up Monday when we head to the cove to launch tiny wooden boats with our hopes and dreams written on some recycled paper Lurch's mother sells in her witchy shop along with the eye of newt, mandrake roots and cauldrons.

Everybody constantly tells me she sells organic stuff and there's no magic involved, but I see her. I know her.

We use her paper as sails for the boats. It's pretty fun, though most of us don't see how launching your dreams on a flimsy, biodegradable boat will make them come true. We don't care; we just like playing with little boats... and big ones. We usually end up on Jet's boat after the ceremony.

This year, I'm launching my dreams with Kira's, and I hope we have the same dreams. The kind that will result in our grandchildren playing with the little boats while we tell them not to try and sink people's boats. Just like the parents tell me and the guys every year.

An announcement and community messages earlier told us that the various religious services will be taking place in Scarlet Park tomorrow morning because there will be gale-force winds along the coast until around noon. Nobody wants to be near the beach while those winds are having a blast. You end up with sand in nasty places, and you can get blown off your feet.

"If we leave from Ghosties, we don't have to travel that far before we can make camp," Lurch misses the point by a whole kilometre. He's trying to be helpful, though, so I'll give him that.

"It's not the distance, Lurch," I shrug, and then I just blurt it out and wait to be mocked. "I want to hang out with Kira."

Kira's hand convulsively tenses in mine, and then there are a few minutes of complete silence, during which I feel her growing increasingly unrelaxed.

"You are so whipped," Jet laughs, snapping the bands of uncertainty tightening around my heart. I lean away from Kira to punch him in the ribs, making him laugh louder, completely unfazed.

"Come on, Kiki," Barn begs, and I can feel Kira tense even more. I shouldn't have dragged her name into this conversation; she doesn't like this kind of attention. What was I thinking, being so honest? "Please talk to the guy! This might be the last time we get to do this, all of us together."

"What?!" I exclaim, not happy to hear that at all. "Five minutes ago, you all said you'll come back for Founders each year!" Well, it wasn't five minutes; it was after the race when we were celebrating our victory with burgers, ice cream and slushies. We all agreed that we would make sure to be here for Founders Weekend each year, no matter where we go.

What changed?

Yeah, we've been on outings where we swore to visit the place every year or often and never went again, but the Founders' Day Festival is different. Isn't it? It has to be. I'm feeling sick now, torn in too many directions.

"Who knows what will happen next year?" Lurch shrugs miserably, and Tonia wraps her arms around him, hiding her face in his shoulder. I'm not sure what is going on with them. Lurch has been seriously possessive and insecure all weekend. He is constantly giving her sad looks and keeping an eye on her like he's afraid she might disappear.

I haven't had a chance to speak to him yet, to hear what's going on. I think Tonia probably got that scholarship to attend the art academy in Paris, France, next year, which she once said she'd applied for. Maybe she won't be studying at Silverview anymore.

Lurch will study in Hummelton next year since the organic hair and skin care production course he wants to do so he can join and improve his mother's magic potion business is only available at a college there. On the other hand, the art college in Silverview is much better than the one in Hummelton. I think Lurch and Tonia would've been able to make it work since Hummelton is only a few hours away, and Lurch needs to be home on weekends.

France, though...

Jet plans to disappear off the face of the Earth but said he would reappear in stealth for Founders' Day. I'm not entirely sure what Burlap's plans are. Neither is he. He wants to study neuroscience and behaviour; that is all he is sure of. His dad is encouraging him to go to University College London since that is where he and Burlap's mom studied and met. Most of his dad's family lives in London, and they visit them every Christmas break.

UCL's neuroscience program is rated as one of the best in the world.

I don't like the idea of Burlap leaving Egret's Rest for any reason. He might not be back. Fine, that was an understatement. I panic when I think about it, but I'll never tell him that. He needs to follow his heart, not mine.

If his heart is anything like mine, he could never leave me either.

"Kiki, please," Jet pleads, leaning past me to mess with Kira's hair. I'm about to tell him to keep his hands to himself, but then I see his eyes flickering in the light of the fire, and my heart contracts so tightly I lose my breath.

I met Jet when I was about two years old, and his nanny decided that he was a sad, lonely boy who needed to mingle with the commoners so he could be a pain in their butts for the next 16 years. Though I don't remember that meeting, he quickly became my brother and has just always been there.

I met Lurch and Barn about two years later. I don't know what I'll do if Jet really leaves at the end of this year and disappears out of my life forever.

Honestly? I don't think I could handle it.

"I can't tell Ethan what to do," Kira mutters, snuggling into me as if trying to hide from all the eyes directed at her. "He is free to do what he wants, but I agree with Lurch. Who knows what will happen in the future?" she suddenly adds, looking up at me, and I blink, trying to hide how miserable I am right now. "This could be the last one, Ethy; I don't want you to have any regrets later."

"She's right," Barn agrees, and some of the others pick up the chorus. I hang my head, listening to all of them, trying to fill my mind with doubts about my decision to sit this one out so I can make sure I reach my goal of cementing my relationship with Kira.

I barely hear them. There's a loud droning noise in my ears, and my brain is swirling with the full force of the implications of Jet disappearing, Burlap going to the UK, and Lurch probably following Tonia to Paris.

I'm losing my brothers!

I can see Barn, Wendy and me, trying to play console games or riding our skateboards... all by ourselves without Burlap telling us not to be idiots and Jet trying to wipe me out, while Lurch falls around laughing.

I don't like these visions!

I know Barn is going to stay. He'll handcuff himself to the Egret's figurehead in front of the town hall if someone tries to make him leave the district. I'll help him do that.

Is Wendy going to stay?

I highly doubt it. She wants to get out of her home. She might be more serious about leaving with Jet than we realise. She definitely won't stick around if Burlap leaves.

She can say what she wants about love and romance and her impressive immunity to it. She can go on and on about the number of levels she is above that garbage, but she wouldn't be able to stand it if he left. I don't think she'll be able to handle Jet leaving, either.

Wendy loves Burlap.

I'm convinced of it. Being in love with Kira, I have superior knowledge about these things, and I, therefore, know she has been in love with the guy for at least the last two years. I noticed! She couldn't stand Tertia, and not for the same reasons the rest of us didn't like her much. Those reasons too, but mostly, she was on fire with jealousy.

I need to see Wendy and Burlap now.

He sent me a message earlier saying his mom gave Wendy a once-over and said she'd be fine; she just needs to sleep it off. He got her to take a shower and put her to bed.

Pleased that they've stopped trying to change my mind, I only half listen to the guys discussing all the snacks they must remember to bring along tomorrow. When Kira relaxes against me again, I let go of her hand to wrap my arm around her, drawing her closer.

Having her in my arms is comforting. It's loosening the hard knot in my throat. Her subtle fragrance is soothing my soul, and I know I'll be able to deal with all the changes waiting for me as long as I have Kira in my arms.

I'll survive... probably.

I'm beginning to feel a bit better, and when Barn and Jet start shouting about playing volleyball in the dark with the glow-in-the-dark ball Paul brought along, I agree that it will be fun. It might blow me right out of the melancholy trying to take over my heart. I'll play a short while, take Kicks home and go to Burlap.

"Ethan, I'm going to ask the Winslow's for a ride home, okay?" Kira suddenly says, moving away from me, and I turn to her in surprise.

"What?" I ask, not sure I like this new development. Why would she want to go home with them and not with me? "Oh! You want to go home?"

She's looking at the dance area where people are still having fun, but many with younger kids are starting the trek to the car park. I can see the Winslows and their two kids saying goodbye to their friends and preparing to leave.

I'm surprised that Lance is not down here at the beach with us, but I guess his dad had something to do with that. He is always asking us to encourage Lance to make friends with kids his own age because of that whole wanting to grow up too fast thing.

His dad is obviously not keen on that idea. It is one of the reasons why we decided to take Lance and Reuben along tomorrow when we go camping. The two boys get along pretty well, and we want to nurture that friendship. I know Lance is afraid of having a best friend again.

Who can blame him?

"Yes," Kira says. "I'm drained. I just want to go catch up with Daddy and go to bed." I can see that she means that. Her eyelids have become completely droopy. I suddenly realise how selfish I am, sitting here by the fire, thinking about playing ball when Kira might be developing a headache. She's been uncharacteristically social this weekend, and she had that fall yesterday.

It feels like it happened a million years ago. I'm really glad the memory is fading, replaced by so many happy ones.

"S-sure, I'll take you-" I start to offer, but she hurriedly interrupts me.

"No, Ethy, please stay and play Glow Ball and have fun the way you always do. I'll see you in the morning."

Leaning closer again, she gives me a soft kiss, gets to her feet and says a general goodbye to everybody. She is hurrying away, probably afraid people will ask her why she's leaving and nag at her to stay. I catch Delia's eye, where she sits, wearing Simon as a jacket against the cool sea breeze, and she just shrugs at me.

I jump to my feet and run to catch up with Kira, and falling into step beside her, I take her hand. She was here a lot longer than usual. Normally, she comes to the dance with Delia but always leaves after only an hour or two, either with her dad or by catching a ride home with people living in our neighbourhood. I'm really grateful to her for sticking around with me. I had loads of fun with her, and she seemed to enjoy it too.

When we step onto the gravelly tarmac of the parking lot, I see her wince, and she laughs nervously when I scoop her up. I know we're getting amused looks, and Lance, the bastard, is almost falling out of his dad's car, laughing at us, but these stones are friggin' sharp, and Kicks is barefoot. So am I, but I'm used to it.

Boy, do I have news for Lance?! He'll find out in a few years.

"Uncle Ben, do you have room for one more, please?" I ask when we reach the car just in time, and I let Kira put her feet on the ground. Aunt Mable and the boys are already in the car while Uncle Ben is closing the boot where he'd dumped a stack of towels.

"Of course!" he smiles, walking around the car to the driver's door while Lance jumps out of the car. He cheekily holds the back door open for Kira, looking like he's picking her up for a date.

"You're sitting in the middle," he tells her, giving her a saucy smile, but tonight, I don't even care that an 11-year-old monster is trying to flirt with my girlfriend.

"Kicks, is everything alright?" I ask, stopping her from getting into the car.

"Yes, it's all good, Ethy," she smiles, and I believe her because, although we have a brat watching us with a smirk, she wraps her arms around me, hugging me close.

"Seriously, people! There are children and old people here!" Lance bellows. "And me! I'm here too! This PDA is seriously gross. Please tell me that if you're going to kiss, too, you're at least going to use your tongue, Ethan. I might be in the market for some lessons... I mean to give you some... I'll demonstrate on Kira, you can just- Ow!"

I shut the boy up using Delia's signature finger-flick on his ear. "Hey! Behave around my girlfriend," I tell him, and now the punk is laughing at me. Sure, I get told to behave a lot, but... uhm... whatever! This is Kira, and I'm the only one allowed to kiss her.

I feel lonely when she lets me go and starts to get into the car. She suddenly stops and turns to look at me with that stomach-fluttering look on her face again. I suddenly fall into a weird dream where Kira gives me a thumbs-up with one hand while the other hand does my favourite hang loose sign.

"I love you, Ethan Fletcher!" she shouts, and before I can fully register what is happening, she crawls into the car with Lance on her heels. He is laughing so raucously that he knocks his head on the door frame and almost misses the seat. He finally manages to dive inside and shut the door.

I watch the car pull out of the parking space, lifting my hand in a goodbye wave, answered by Aunt Mable and Uncle Ben. As the car turns its nose towards our neighbourhood, I see Kicks swivel to look out the back window.

I watch until the car's red rear lights are no longer in sight. My heart is slowly waking up again, throwing off the thick blanket of sadness that has been cloaking it since I saw Jet's tortured eyes and started to spiral down a tunnel where my close circle of mates were falling apart.

Kira just mimicked something I do all the time, but I'm pretty sure she did it on purpose because she knew me so well and wanted to speak the language of the inhabitants of my brain.

I'm grinning like a happy idiot by the time I run back to the beach, where I can see dark silhouettes chasing a neon-green ball. It's like seeing shadows making the moon bounce above darkly glittering water. Their laughter rings in harmony with my singing heart.

I think Kira just told me she loved me... and meant it!

This is still the best night ever!

♂♀