“Well, that was close,” Adelaide said as soon as they were out on the street and walking back to their hotel.

“What was close?” Sydney questioned, digging a piece of gum out of her bag. “He wasn’t going to kill us or anything. He was very sweet.”

“No, I mean we could have been caught by someone a lot meaner than him.”

Sydney considered this while she popped the gum in her mouth and chewed. “True. You know, he’s really hot. I‘d never noticed before. Well, obviously I‘ve noticed he has a nice body, but---”

Adelaide looked at her from the corner of her eye, a knowing smirk on her lips. “Yeah? What about Thorpie?”

Sydney shrugged. “We’re not in a monogamous relationship.”

She laughed. “Or any relationship.” Adelaide missed the sour look that was thrown at her because she was busy contemplating her next sentence. “Syd?”

“What.” Disgruntled Sydney was probably not the most popular of the moods of Sydney, and lesser folk would step away slowly, but Adelaide, being a friend of hers since birth, didn’t allow Sydney’s moods to dissuade her. In fact, ever since they started kindergarten together, Adelaide had been in tune with Sydney’s moods…and vise versa. They assumed it came from the fact their mothers (best friends for years before they had the girls) conceived them both on holiday to Australia (quite coincidently) and named them after Australian cities nine months later. The name thing had, of course, gotten quite a lot of attention in school, but mostly the girls loved having something so large in common.

“If we had gotten caught by Ian, we’d be in such hot water.”

Sydney crinkled up her nose in thought. “I hate that saying. And, anyway, we weren’t caught.”

“We were, though.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “Only by Michael Phelps.”

“Yeah, who you didn’t even RECOGNIZE!”

“Don’t blame me. I’m used to seeing him barely dressed! He had on----clothes.”

Adelaide rolled her eyes and exhaled slowly.

“Just think!” Sydney announced, skipping ahead a little. “If we had gotten his underwear, we would have his underwear!”

“That’s so articulate, Syd,” Adelaide replied wryly, half laughing.

“But they say Ian Thorpe on them! How cool would that be to, like, hang on your wall!?”

Adelaide made a face. “It’d be weird and creepy.”

“But you’d love it,” Sydney joked, poking her friend in the side.

“HEY!” There were frantic footsteps sounding behind them, and the two girls turned in surprise; Michael was jogging up to them waving a pair of goggles.

“Oh, my God,” Sydney put a hand to her mouth. “He’s going to think we’re stalkers!”

“Stay calm,” Adelaide advised, putting on a fake smile. “Maybe he won’t know what they are.”

Sydney looked dubious. “What else would they be?”

“Special, high-tech swimming goggles?” Adelaide suggested meekly, as Michael slowed to a stop before them.

“Hey,” he smiled. “These dropped out of your pocket as you were being hauled off.” He extended his hand, in which Sydney’s goggles were clutched.

“My high-tech swimming goggles!” Sydney cried happily, taking them from him. “Thanks!”

“Sure.” He shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets. “High-tech swimming goggles?”

“Oh, yes,” Sydney nodded fervently. “They help with, er, the drag.”

“The drag?” Adelaide echoed, turning to stare at her friend. “What are you ON?”

Michael put a hand over his mouth to stifle the laughter that was threatening to bubble out. Sydney scowled. “I’m not on anything, thank you. I used to be a swimmer, you know!”

“I know,” Adelaide replied solemnly. “It was all you did for years. You were lucky I liked swimming so much or I‘d have gone to find myself a friend who just wanted to play Barbies like normal 7 year olds.”

Sydney gasped loudly, but chose not to comment. She figured Michael thought she was crazy enough, and anything she said from here on in would just make her look crazier.

He cleared his throat. “You wouldn’t really put Thorpe’s underwear on your wall, would you?”

He watched in amusement as Sydney and Adelaide turned bright shades of red, then turned completely pale, staring at him openmouthed.

“Wha---?” Sydney whispered, clutching onto Adelaide’s arm.

Simultaneously, Adelaide breathed, “Come again?”

Michael motioned with his head to where he’d come from. “I overheard.”

“Oh dear Lord.”

“I don’t think even he can help us now,” Adelaide muttered, swallowing hard.

“Those look like night-vision goggles, you know,” Michael commented lightly, tapping the goggles with his finger. “I’ve never seen swimming goggles with red lenses before.”

Sydney pouted slightly and put a hand on her hip. “We can’t get away with anything with you, can we.”

Michael smiled good naturedly. “‘Fraid not.” He leaned forward conspiringly. “Listen, if you really want Thorpe’s underwear---he’s practicing right now, doing some laps in the small pool. If he catches you, for God’s sake, don’t tell him I told you where he was.”

Sydney stared at him, completely enthralled. “I love you.”

Michael raised an eyebrow; Adelaide elbowed Sydney in the back. “I mean. Um. Thanks.”

“We can’t go get his underwear right out from under him! He’ll have to go commando!” Adelaide’s voice was a higher pitch than usual, and her fingernails were digging into the skin on Sydney’s upper arm.

Sydney pulled away, massaging her bruised skin.

“He doesn’t wear underwear very often anyway,” Michael offered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “So there’s a chance there won’t be any there to steal.”

“He doesn’t…wear…underwear?” Sydney whispered, nearly passing out from shock.

Adelaide trudged on bravely. “Actually. We’ll just go on back to the hotel now. We don’t want the actual underwear he wears.”

“Speak for yourself!” Sydney hissed, but was silenced with a Death Glare.

“He often sells the underwear he wears,” Michael replied, smirking. “Oh Ebay.”

“NO WAY!” Sydney gasped, taking a step towards him.

Michael nodded seriously. “Way.”

“Sydney,” Adelaide said sternly, using the voice she reserved for just these types of situations. “We are not stealing Ian Thorpe’s underwear!”

“But Michael gave us permission!”

“Not really permission,” Michael said matter-of-factly.

“Well, that’s just an unimportant fact,” Sydney replied.

Adelaide shook her head. “You’ve lost your mind.”

Sydney frowned. “Oh, fine.”

Michael smiled nervously. “I’ll leave you two to…duke it out. I’ve gotta get some sleep.”

“Are you swimming tomorrow?” Sydney asked when he turned around to walk away.

“Yeah, early,” Michael nodded.

“I’ll set my alarm then,” she said more to herself than to him. “I don’t want to miss it.”

He grinned. “See you there, then. Bye.” He waved and then sloped off back to his awaiting bed.

“Okay, you can stop the act now!” Sydney clasped her hands together, preparing to take off to the building which housed Ian Thorpe at that very moment. “Let’s go get us some Thorpie underwear.”

“Sydney, please.” Adelaide yawned loudly. “I’m going to bed. You can get his underwear tomorrow.” She started stalking off.

Sydney blew some hair out of her face.

“It wasn’t an act, by the way,” Adelaide tossed over her shoulder, smirking. “And I think Michael Phelps likes you.”

The only sound heard for miles was the very loud squeaky squeal of Sydney as she ran to catch up with her friend.