“Ash, you’re not wearing pink!”

She received a very groggy glare just as Aaron approached them, looking very awake and freshly-showered.

“Did someone die?” He asked his sister, motioning to her black shirt.

“She dressed in the dark,” Skylar explained, hoisting Ashley to her feet (she had been leaning on Skylar for support).

“It was dark only because I had my eyes closed,” Ashley replied, blinking back tears as she yawned widely.

Though Aaron would normally have a very witty brotherly retort to this (and most everything) he chose to bypass it and head straight for the business matters at hand. “So, we’re being picked up. Probably in a few seconds.” He started walking toward the front doors, expecting Skylar and Ashley to follow, but they didn’t.

Skylar waved her free arm around helplessly. “A little help here?” Just as she said it, she stumbled over, crashing both herself and a very tired Ashley to the ground; as there was no one around, this was not cause for any embarrassment…it was simply unfortunate for Aaron, who was trying to disentangle their limbs and get them to their feet.

“You need a little help?” A man’s voice asked, laughing as he approached.

Aaron looked up gratefully. “Yeah, you take her.” He pointed to Ashley, who had curled up in the fetal position with an arm flung across her eyes.

“Looks like you were busy last night, Peirsol,” he said, attempting to wrap Ashley’s arms around his neck for easier hauling.

Aaron was helping Skylar to up; she stumbled slightly over Ashley’s feet, but Aaron managed to right her before she fell over again.

Meanwhile, Ashley was sleeping, standing up, against the unknown rescuer.

Chuckling, Aaron motioned to Skylar, letting his arm drop from her waist (it was there simply as a precaution). “This is Skylar; the girl whose drooling on your shirt is Ashley, my sister. Sky, this is Ian. Thorpe.”

He held a hand out smiling. “Nice to meet you.”

She grinned. “You too.”

“Ashley’s going to hate it when she finds out she was unconscious for her meeting with Ian Thorpe.”

Skylar laughed a little, then cleared her throat, feeling she was betraying her friend’s honor or something.

A car pulled up in front of the doors and a man in a suit stepped out of the driver’s side. “Oh, that’s the car. I’ll take her.” He reached out for his sister, who fell against him; he began dragging her out the door, Skylar behind him with his bag and Ashley’s purse.

Ian was laughing in the middle of the lobby. “See you later, mate.”

Aaron hollered a strangled, “See ya!” over his shoulder and pushed through the doors to the car.

*

“I WHAT?” Ashley demanded for the seventh time.

“You fell asleep, fell over with Skylar, and then Ian helped you up,” Aaron repeated blandly, watching out the window as they approached the venu.

“And then what?” Ashley asked again, her eyes wide.

“You drooled on him.”

“I drooled on him? I do not drool.”

“You do, actually,” Aaron replied simply.

Skylar was remaining silent, completely out of their sibling conversation because she knew it was safer that way.

“I cannot believe it,” Ashley muttered, running a hand through her hair. “I’m such an idiot. I should have had coffee immediately after I woke up.”

“I didn’t think you drank coffee,” Aaron commented, slipping out the door and onto the curb; Skylar followed him, and then Ashley pulled herself out slowly.

“I only drink it when I need to be awake early.”

“Which is never,” Aaron joked, starting toward the back entrance. He turned around to face them, smiling. “I’m off. You’ll have to go through the front.” He pointed around the side of the building. “Have fun.”

“Good luck,” Skylar replied, smiling.

“Thanks.” With that, he jogged over to the door and was inside within seconds.

“Sometimes, I could kill my brother,” Ashley mumbled, her flip flops clicking and clacking against the pavement.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Skylar said reasonably. “You’re the one who fell asleep.”

A moan. “On Ian Thorpe!”

“He probably didn’t notice.”

“Oh, come on. Wouldn’t you notice a huge drool spot on your shirt?”

“Yes, but I don’t recall seeing any such thing on his shirt.”

She let out a breath of relief. “I knew Aaron was lying. Ass.”

Skylar shrugged, not wanting Ashley’s wrath upon her at that very moment. “What color shirt was he wearing?”

“Gray,” Skylar replied obviously, glancing back at the door through which Aaron had gone.

“I mean Ian,” Ashley stated, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, blue I think. Maybe black. I only met him for about five seconds.”

“You’re hopeless with details,” Ashley sighed. “Why are you hobbling like that?”

Skylar cleared her throat. “I’m not hobbling. I’m walking normally.”

Ashley narrowed her eyes. “Did you bring your books?”

“Of course not!”

“You did!”

“I didn’t, Ashley. Why would I bring books to a swim…thing?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Because you’re Skylar Whitman, that’s why. Which books?”

“Not plural,” Skylar replied, giving in. “Just Psych.” Ashley groaned loudly. “I’m behind in the class, Ash! It’s important I do well! It IS my major, after all. It’s sort of important to do well in your major.”

“In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve NEVER been behind in a class. I don’t believe you’d start now.”

Skylar remained silent as they approached the front of the building; a car was pulling up to the curb just as they reached the front doors.

“Hey there,” Ian greeted them, smiling as he jogged up. “We meet again.” He grinned at Ashley. “This time you’re conscious.”

Ashley laughed nervously, but couldn’t seem to say anything. Skylar opened the door and stepped through, pulling an apparently stiff Ashley along behind her.

“I’m sorry about your shirt,” Ashley said eventually, just as Ian was about to head one way, and them another.

He laughed. “No problem. We didn’t properly meet before. I’m Ian.”

“Ashley.” This was said in accompaniment with a girlish giggle.

With a wave, he disappeared down a dark hallway and the girls turned to a line of adults, screaming children and more than enough teenage girls to fill an entire mall.

“Ah, good,” Skylar said, sliding her book from her enormous bag. “I have time to study while I’m in line.” She uncapped a highlighter and began to read and highlight, concurrently.

Ashley rolled her eyes heavenwards. “Honestly, Skylar.”

“Shhh. I’m reading.”

“Those girls up there are giggling and you’re not shushing them.”

“I would be if they could hear me, but they can’t, since they’re giggling.”

Another sigh. “Skylar. We’re twenty minutes away from half-naked hotness. And you’re studying…ew…the eyeball.”

“Myopia,” Skylar muttered, highlighting some more. “What’d you say?”

“Hotness.”

“Yeah, I’ve got twenty minutes of prime studying time.”

Ashley shook her head, sighing dramatically. She would never understand the interest Skylar had in studying.