Author's Notes: In June of 1996 (I believe), I, Kookie-Bananas walked into my living room, where I could clearly hear music that I had never heard before. The words "Hey Hey!" were coming from my television set. My little sister was watching one of the most ridiculous opening themes I had ever seen. Four boys that walked strangely, ran up to the water and then away because it seemed to scare them, swing on vines, and every single one of them was named Peter! Since I am bit ridiculous myself, I sat down a watched. It was then that I learned that the boy's names weren't all Peter, just one of them. The others were Davy, Micky, and Mike. I asked my sister what the heck we were watching and she said, very simply, "The Monkees."
"Who the heck are the Monkees?" I raised an eyebrow.
"A band from the '60s," she mumbled since both of us were born in the '80s, the '60s were estranged to us.
I gazed intently upon the screen, entranced as these four "Monkees" ran in and out of hotel rooms, carrying such objects as a giant pair of scissors and a stuffed tiger. I asked aloud, "What's wrong with these people? They need some major medication!"
"They're funny, watch," my sister kept her eyes glued to the television.
So I watched and laughed. I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. And not at the jokes, mind you, but at the way they did things and how they looked. Mike had an obsession with a green hat, Micky's speaking voice wasn't finished changing, Peter's dimples reminded me of Shirley Temple, and Davy's height was pathetic. But, I was crying laughing. It was hilarious!
It didn't last long. All of a sudden, The Monkees were gone. They had disappeared and with it, my love for them.
Then, in February of 1999. My best friend Katy and received a taped version of "The Making of CATS" from another friend. She watched it and after the credit's, the tape jumped to let us see a tall boy with a Texan accent and a green hat. It was an interview with Mike Nesmith! Besides the interview were two Monkees' episodes: "Monkees a la Carte" and "I've Got a Little Song Here." Katy showed them to me right away and my love for them was renewed.
In fact, I got so into them, that my own Monkees story started brewing in my mind. Soon, it was too large to handle and I had to begin writing it. And so...

In her last letter to Mary, Katy explained that she and Bridget had become roommates in a small, but well kept apartment building. The letter also invited Mary and Christine to come and live with them on Beechwood Drive, back in the city. The two teens had asked their parents about it. After all, Mary was almost nineteen and her sister, sixteen. Mrs. Starrs said it was fine for Mary to go, as long as she got a job, but thought Christine was too juvenile. In the end, Bridget's mother had to promise to visit the girls every week and update the Starrs' on their daughters' status. And along with that, Christine wasn't ever allowed to be on her own. Since the other girls were all the same age, and older, they had to watch her carefully.

And today was the day. Today, Mary and Christine would leave the country and re-enter the wild world of independence. They were waiting at a dusty bus stop, luggage in hand, excited about what adventures lay before them. Both teens knew that the hour-long trip would be tiresome and that starting a career would not be easy, but they didn't let that bother him. Mary and Christine had their dreams. The older one wanted to do something meaningful and make a difference; but it was1968, and women weren't exactly at the top of the "people to listen to" list. Christine was more carefree, most likely because of her age. She just wanted to get a job that would make money and lots of it. The young girl wanted to live in perfect comfort without ever worrying about hunger or displeasure. Joy was very important to her and she had found many ways of finding it. Mary ordinarily had a terrific sense of humor, yet what had happened to her recently had dampened her mood a bit.

The two were very different, not only in personality, but it appearance, too. Although Christine was younger than her sister was, she was taller, only not as thin. Mary was exceedingly lean, but this isnít frightened some of her friends. They knew Mary's eating habits were ones that asked for a good quantity of food, but her metabolism rate was so high and she was so physically active that there wasn't a scrap of fat on her body.

They didn't dress alike either. At this moment, Mary was attired in a tight yellow v-neck shirt, a skirt that ended just above her knees and boots that ended just below them. And to top it off she wore a red vest on her shoulders and a matching rose in her hair. Christine outfitted in a loose tie-died top that spelled the word "Love" across her chest, bell-bottoms, and a pastel headband.

The bus pulled up and the sisters boarded. It was pretty much empty, with a grimy floor and unkempt seats, but a bus no less. Mary took a seat and settled her head against the window. The California sun glared through her shut eyes, but she tried to ignore it and ended up sleeping through the ride. People she was now leaving behind visited her dreams.

Mary saw Matthew Barns, a tall countryman, but conceited like a snake. He was obsessed with himself and didn't have much time for Mary, who was his girlfriend a week ago. When she had told Matthew that she would be leaving, he broke it off and walked away from her. He didn't even visit her to say goodbye before Mary left. In fact, his last words to her were, "So you're saying you won't have time for me anymore?" Mary was glad to be rid of such an arrogant man, but still missed him. She didn't know why, but she did; very deeply. Mary guessed it was because she needed someone to hang on to and with her friends so far away, Matthew was the only one. She wasn't to keen on explaining her love life to her sister.

"Mary? Hello? Mary, come on. We're here."

Groggily, Mary woke up to see her sister's face, "Huh what?" She twisted to look out the window. It was late afternoon and the setting sun cast a golden glow over the skyscrapers.

Skyscrapers? Mary jumped from her seat. She was in the city and it was beautiful! It felt so good to be home again; back where she belonged. Christine felt the same way as they raced from their seats and off the bus. Katy and Bridget were waiting for them at the station and all four embraced.

"You're finally here!" tall Katy declared. The spunky but somewhat shy teen was clothed in a tie-dyed dress similar to Christine's shirt and her hair was pulled back in a braid that extended to her waist.

Bridget added to the greetings, "What took you so long?" Bridget was also tall, and stronger than the rest of the girls. She was also the best dancer and always wore leg warmers. Today, however, a pair of blue jeans covered up the warmers and Bridget's shirt was a heavy sweater. The other girls thought that she was dressed a bit warmly for the June weather, but Bridget didn't seem to mind so they dismissed the idea.

"Do you have all you're things?" Katy asked.

Mary looked around to check, but it was Christine who answered, "Yep!"

Bridget leaned over and picked up the largest suitcase.

"You don't have to do that," Mary protested.

"I like to," she stated and that was the end of that situation.

Katy took a smaller bag and Mary took the rest, leaving Christine to walk freely. The child laughed at this, but was quiet for the rest of the walk.

"Our apartment's out-a-sight!"

"It was rotten when we got it, but we fixed it up real nice," Katy declared smugly.

Mary tossed visions of her new home around in her mind, "Groovy."

The walk was short, maybe five blocks, and then they reached Beechwood Drive. The entire apartment complex seemed to glow with a light of opportunity. Mary wanted to stay outside and gaze upon it for a while, but her friends persuaded her to go in and begin to unpack. They were on a low floor and the stairs weren't difficult for three of them, but Christine began to feel out of breath along the way. Mary laughed at the fact that she wasn't even carrying anything, but Christine's comeback stung.

"Well, at least I can hold onto a boy!"

Mary's face flushed. Not so much because of the loss of Matthew, but because her friends knew.

"You and Matt broke up?"

Mary hadn't told her friends about how her boyfriend dumped her. In truth, she had said that Matthew would be visiting them often. "Yes, we broke up," she turned toward Christine. "Thank you, dip-wad."

Bridget shook her head, "I'm really sorry, Mar."

With a heavy sigh, Mary hiked up her two bags and stood as if she was at attention, "Guys listen. What happened, happened and it's over. Don't be sorry, because I'm not. I deserve better than Matthew!"

Katy and Bridget cheered their friend on, while Christine frowned. She didn't like her insult being turned into a way to boost her sister's confidence.

Katy took a key from her shoe and unlocked the door. The apartment was ranch, but had a good number of rooms. The walls had been painted yellow with a green paper border in the sitting room, which gave it the look of a sunflower. A column lamp and several ones containing lava supplied the light for this room and several others. There was a little, black and white television set in the far corner and a radio on top of it. From the doorway, Mary could see a small, but fairly well equipped kitchen and two bedrooms, also furnished pleasantly.

"Where do we sleep?" Christine asked rather rudely.

Katy scowled, "We're not too sure yet. We have plans to divide the two bedrooms up eventually, but until then we have a cot and the couch folds out."

Bridget when over to the sofa to demonstrate. With hardly any effort, she pulled at the cushions and a bed emerged. The strong teen smiled at her feat, proud at what she could do.

"I claim the sofa!" Christine declared and her friends perceived that she was being imperious once more.

Katy turned to Mary, "The cot's in my room. I wheel it out for you."

"I'll do it!" Bridget raced off to get the small bed and returned with it a few seconds later.

"Ok Guys! From the top," A strong voice came from above their heads. Christine jumped back as music began to play. "You're trying to make your mark in society. You're using all the tricks that you used on me. You're walking around like the front page news!"

Mary listened; trying to figure out of the song was made up of one voice or many.

Someone else spoke from the floor on top of the girls, "No no no, Micky! The line goes, 'You're reading all those high fashion magazines. The clothes you're wearing, girl, are causing public scenes.'"

Katy walked over to and banged on the radiator. "Hey! Could you keep down, up there?" she yelled.

A boy's voice, with a thick British accent, could be heard clearly back through the vent, "Sorry about that."

The musicians continued their song, but played at a much lower tone. Mary stood and took the sound in. It was very smooth and had a nice melody, the type that she liked and could easily dance to.

"Who were they?" Christine inquired.

"Just some green band that just moved in. They play well, but they ain't big yet," Bridget began to hop around to the tune. "They could be, though."

The rest of the night went smoothly. The girls talked for a few hours, eating take-out Chinese food. Mary was tired by nine o'clock, for she had had a busy day and she wanted to wake up early tomorrow. She had always jogged in the morning, no matter where she was. It was her way of keeping in shape. The other three girls decided to get ready for bed also. Neither Mary nor Christine had trouble sleeping away from home, which was usual, since they usually did. Mary's dreams were filled with more thoughts of Matthew. This time he was leaving her and moving away. She felt so alone in her dark dream and was glad to be awakened by the early morning light.

Her thoughts drifted back to Matthew for a moment and how he had taken the time to run with her once or twice. Maybe he's not so bad. I'll call him later today!

She was so rapped up in her thoughts that Mary didn't realize she was crossing a street... against the light. A loud horn blared, Mary jumped to face a large an expensive black car. Her body froze, locking every limb but her mouth. She screamed. The car came to be just a foot away and then swerved around her at the last minute. Mary began so shake as she realized what had just happened. She was able to make it to the sidewalk and then passed out.

What was that? Davy Jones thought to himself. It took him another second to realize that someone had just screamed. He sat straight up in his bed and banged his head on the bunk above him. Davy rubbed the sore spot--he wasn't used to sleeping in bunks again. Ever since his roommate Peter Tork had gotten into Micky Dolenz's chemical set and had caused a small explosion, they had been staying in an apartment complex down the street from his beach house.

He then ran to the window, just in time to see someone collapse to the concrete ground.

"'Oly frogs legs!" he exclaimed with his eyes bulging out. Davy took off out of his bedroom--which he actually shared with his three best friends for the time being--and onto the street in his pink nightgown and boots. He raced as fast as he could, not stopping for lights or signs. At one point, two cars coming down the street screeched to a halt as he ran in front of them. Davy was thrown off a bit by his near accident, but he still kept his eyes on the person lying down in the curb.

He finally came up to the person and was relieved that he or she was not dead. Davy pushed the person onto his or her back and found right away that it was a girl. A very beautiful one at that, but her face was scratched from her fall. He gazed at her for a moment more and then scooped her up in his arms. She was very thin and light...and pleasant to hold for some reason. Davy curved his arm around her head and turned her face towards his chest to protect her as much as he could from any more harm.

He carried her back to his apartment and laid her down on the couch. Then he got a clean washcloth from the towel closet and soaked it in hot water. Davy re-entered the living room and used the cloth to dab her scrape. The scrape was very close to her lips. His heart began to pound as he looked as them. They weren't make-up, but still red, and very...inviting.

One kiss, that's all I want. Although Davy had met many, many girls, there was something different about this one. He looked around the room to make sure none of his friends were watching and then licked his lips to wet them. He leaned over and delivered sweet kiss to the girl. For a moment, he felt like to prince in Sleeping Beauty and as soon as he pulled away, she eerily woke up.

She moaned and touched the painful part of her face. Her eyes drifted open and looked smack into Davy's. He smiled a warm, goofy smile. She's even more beautiful when she's awake.

"Who are you?" she sat upright and then yelped in pain, clutching her sides.

Davy took her by the arm to steady her. She must have fallen hard to be in so much pain. "I'm David." He waited for a moment and then explained why she was here. "What's your name?" he asked.

She looked around the room and then spoke with a quivering voice, as if she didn't fully believe his reason for her being here, "Mary."

Time stopped.

Mary.

He liked that name. It sounded so nice. "Do you have a last name?"

Again Mary hesitated and told him that she wouldn't tell him hers unless he told her his. Davy smiled again--it was coming naturally, "Jones. Don't worry, I didn't do anything to you. I'm not that kinda guy."

"I'm Starrs."

Mary Starrs. He looked at her hand to see if she was wearing a ring. She wasn't. Miss Mary Starrs. "Do you live far from here?" he asked, hoping that she did and could stay.

Mary's answer revealed that she lived in the same apartment complex that he did, but that she didn't have a key.

"My room mates won't be up yet."

That meant that she had to stay for at least an hour. Davy liked this.

So, she tried to put Davy out of her mind and spend more time trying to decide what to do with Matthew. Yet, the more she thought a Matthew, the more she didn't want to. Mary became sad every time she remembered her first and only boyfriend. She had felt somewhat ugly and alone before she met him and that fact that he wanted to date her made Mary feel good; almost pretty. Now that he was gone, she felt ugly again, but Mary wouldn't let her friends know that. No, that was the last thing she wanted! Mary had built up a strong self-confidant image for herself--by hiding her true feelings on everything--and she wasn't about to let any depression knock it down. If fact, the only thing Mary didn't like about herself and people knew about was her hair; even if it wasn't entirely hers. She had begun to dye it blonde when she was sixteen and still did.

The mail came at noon. Bridget passed out letters, but kept one advertisement in her hands to read. Mary watched as her friend's eyes lit up.

"Hey, the Country Club's hosting a fund-raiser dance tonight!" she exclaimed.

"How much does it cost to get in?" Christine asked, worried about where her precious funds would go.

"A dollar."

Christine was pleased with the low price, while Katy was wondering what the club was raising funds for. She asked this aloud.

Bridget looked back at he letter and raised and eyebrow, "For homeless families in... Trish-aba-daily-nightly-jan-fram-asia?" She passed the letter to Mary who correct the Bridget's pronunciation.

"That's Trishanog'frimsa. It's a city in...um...Australia?" Mary guessed.

All the girls said that they wanted to go, except Mary. Why should I go? I don't like going to dances without a boy to dance with? But if I don't then they'll know there's something wrong. So she agreed to go to the dance with her friends.

Christine wanted to fix her hair up a bit. Katy styled it into a French braid, with ribbons twined through hair itself. Then Katy talked Mary into letting her do her hair too. Even though Mary's golden tresses were short, she was able to fashion them into something that resembled an Egyptian: straight and tightly in place. When it was time to leave, the teens took a short bus ride to the dance hall. It was darkened inside, but the bright colors of the walls could be made out well. The Disc Jockey was playing the Beatles' number "Help!" one of Christine's favorites and she immediately began to dance, although not as well as Bridget could.

Mary felt a bit out of place, as if she didn't deserve to have fun. She had just broken up with her boyfriend. Shouldn't I be crying into my pillow just about now?

Katy noticed her friend was unusually silent and inquired as to why.

Mary didn't acknowledge the fact that she was quiet at all and to prove it, began to dace wildly to Frankie Valley's hit, "Big Girls Don't Cry." She allowed her voice to go all over the place, trying to mimic Mr. Valley's method.

"Hey, you're pretty good, " Katy remarked. Then she to began to sing. The two girls say together and Mary broke off into harmony. Christine and Bridget joined in, each singing a part of the Four Seasons. They mastered it perfectly and that gave Mary an idea.

"Maybe we should start our own band!"

"Maybe," Bridget took the time to add and then went back to singing. It wasn't the answer Mary had hoped for, but she still valued the thought. What would we call ourselves? What kind of music should we sing? Those guys who live above us formed a band, why can't we? For a few moments, Mary forgot her worries about Matthew, but they came back as a group of four boys entered the hall. They were dressed identically with maroon shirts that displayed eight button's doubled down the front and black pants that flared out neatly at the bottom, but one of them wore a green hat that stood out dramatically. Three were tall, but the boy on the left was much shorter. Even smaller than Mary, who was lowest in stature among her friends. She couldn't get a good look at their faces or hear what they were saying over the music, but it was easy to hear her friends speak for they were next to her.

"There're the noise-maker's, now. They must have just come form a gig," Bridget remarked.

"What do you mean?" Mary asked, turning back to her friends and beginning to wonder who the boys were.

"It's the band that lives above us. What do they call themselves, Katy?"

Katy didn't know, but Mary knew something. The short boy in the group was Davy Jones from upstairs and she had some questions about music for him.

Boy am I tired. Davy yawned. He and his friends, who had formed a band called the Monkees, had just come from a music job. They had thought dancing would be a great way to loosen up, but, frankly, Davy was to tired to stand. He took a folded chair from its place leaning against the wall, set it up, sat down and closed his eyes. He drifted off and fell into a deep dream. In it, he was with Mary, that girl he had met just a few days ago. They were on a white boat in the middle of the sea. Neither of them spoke, but Davy had his arm around her as the stood at the bow. The only sound came from the sea, as it sung to them and rocked them back and forth across the water.

"Dave, are you asleep?" Michael Nesmith's voice cut through the dream.

Davy fluttered his eyes open and shook his head, "No, I'm awake."

Peter raised his eyebrows and turned to Micky, "I didn't know people snored while they were awake." It earned him a jab in the ribs from Mike.

"Fine, I was asleep, but I'm up now." He suddenly became very thirsty for a soda, "Where's the refreshment table?"

Micky looked around for a second and then pointed to an area a short distance away. Davy followed the direction of his friend's arm and found a small both where they sold a wide variety of snacks and drinks. He purchased a root beer and then went back to sit with his friends.

"How much was it?" Peter asked.

"Fifty cents," Davy replied and then took a long drink. Through the neck of the bottle, he could see out the clear, glass bottom. On the other side of the room was a group of four girls, separate from everybody else. The smallest one, who had had her back to him, suddenly turned around and he got a good look at her face. He choked in mid-sip. Michael hit his coughing friend on the back several times.

"Mary!" Davy exclaimed.

"Where?" Micky asked, remembering the story Davy had told about the girl he'd met.

"Right over there," Davy motioned to where he had seen her. But, she was gone. "Where did she go? I have to find her!"

Memories of Matthew had drifted back to Mary's mind. She didn't want to be at the dance any longer and was about to say so when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was a boy, about her age, but a few inches shorter with dark hair and teddy-bear brown eyes. She recognized him immediately, "Davy."

"Hi Mary," he appeared shy and bit at his lip. "Do you want to dance?"

Right away Mary answered, "Yes." Although she missed Matthew, Davy was really nice and she wanted to get to know him better. Mary let him take her hand and Davy led her to the main dance floor. They embraced, swaying to a slower number. Mary felt so peaceful in his arms, as if she could stay there forever, but this feeling only lasted for a few moments. Her heart began to pound inside her chest; she felt dizzy. So dizzy that Mary stopped dancing. It took Davy, who was it in ecstasy, a few moments to notice this.

"What?" he asked.

"I guess I just don't feel very well, tonight."

"Oh," he slowly let go of her. "I'm sorry."

Mary sat down in a chair.

"Would you like me to stay with you?"

Mary shook her head, "No. Maybe I should just go home."

Davy helped her up, "I hope you feel better."

Mary told her friends that she would take the bus home and let herself in with her new key. This she did and was soon trying to sleep on her cot. Mary had lied to Davy. The dizzy feeling wasn't making her feel sick, it worried her.

Scared her.

When she had first met Matthew, Mary had had the same feeling. It's the type of thing you get when you really care about someone and you really like them. Enough to love them. Mary had loved Matthew, but he hurt her so much. If she felt the same way about Davy ...if she loved him... there was a chance they could hurt each other. Mary didn't want to be hurt anymore! I'll just be his friend. Friends don't hurt like lovers do. But, she didn't want to only be his friend if she could be something more. I don't think he'd hurt me...but I can't take a chance. I don't know what I'd do if I had more pain.

She cried herself to sleep.

From the bathroom, she could hear a knock at the door. Footsteps went to it and the door opened. Mary strained her ears to hear any clues as to who it was, but there was nothing. A few moments later, someone knocked at bathroom door. Mary put her brush down and stood close to the door to speak, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Bridget verified. "Do you feel better?"

Mary had told her friends she was sick at the dance the night before. Another lie. "I feel fine."

"Do you want to go to the beach today?"

"Sure!" Mary loved to swim.

"The guys upstairs invited us."

She frowned. That meant Davy would be there. Mary reminded herself about her "Just Good Friends" policy, but there was another reason she didn't want to go to the beach. She had just remembered that her only bathing suit was a black bikini. She had worn it back home only because she thought it would make her look pretty. Besides that, there weren't very many people on the beach. Now, in the city, not only would there be swarms of people, but four boys that she would be spending the day with. Yet, she had still agreed to go. There was no backing out now without making her friends suspicious.

Mary left the bathroom just as Katy closed the front door.

"I can't find my bathing-suit!" Christine declared.

Mary looked over he sister's shoulder into her suitcase. Within a minute, she had found Christine's suit. It was purple and in one piece. Then she found the two parts of her bathing-suit. Even touching them made her feel dirty. She wanted to run to the store and get a new one, but there was no time and she didn't know if she had the money. Mary took her bikini back to the bathroom and changed there. Then she tied a white robe tightly around her. I'll just sit on the beach and stay out of the water.

The four girls walked down to the street to the beach, not bothering to take Bridget's red VW Beetle which had been painted over with peace signs, because they live so close to the water. Waiting for them were four boys. They where each holding a surf board. Mary got a good look at them for the first time.

The tallest, at least six feet, wore a green, wool, hat. He had black hair with very intriguing sideburns. The boy shyly introduced himself as Mike with an adorable Texan accent.

Another one had blonde hair and a large smile. He ran over and bestowed a bear hug on each one of the girls. "Hi-ya, I'm Peter Tork!"

"Micky," said the third one as he extended his hand to each girl--taking some time with Christine, Mary noted. He was a bit above average in height with dark curly hair and his voice had seemed unnaturally low. Mike poked him in the ribs and he let out a high pitched squeal that fit his giddy appearance better.

And then there was Davy. He took the time to introduce himself everyone, leaving Mary until last so he could walk with her to the beach.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah... I'm fine," she replied and made sure her cover-up was still tied.

The eight laid a bright blue blanket a few feet from the shore and an umbrella over it. Christine ran into the water, giggling like a young child. Micky and Peter followed her and laughed, spraying water about. Mike took the time to rub some suntan lotion on his skin, and then ran in after his friends, not bothering to take his hat off. Katy and Bridget exchanged confused glances, raised their eyebrows at him, and then ran into the water. Mary sat down on the blanket with a despondent look on her face.

Davy crouched down in front of her, "Are you coming in?"

"Um..." Mary stalled, looking for an excuse, "I will... later. Yeah, later."

He waited for a moment and then went into the ocean. Mary stayed on the beach for an half hour, board to tears. I'll just go in for a few minutes? I don't want them to think something is wrong with me. She untied her cover-up and stood. In the water, all the boys caught sight of her and stopped what they were doing. They stared. Micky and Davy's mouths hung open in astonishment. Mary felt embarrassed and dirty. She wanted to bury herself in the sand, but kept her simper plastered on.

Davy, who was holding a red beach-ball, dropped it into the water. He started to say something, but Mary cut him off.

She picked to the floating ball and tossed it to Peter, "Think fast!"

Unfortunately, he didn't and the ball bounced off his head. Peter fell into the water. Mike helped him up, while everyone laughed. Peter grabbed the ball and threw it with all his might back at his attacker.

Davy jumped in front of Mary and caught the beach-ball, "Whoa!"

"I could have handled that, Davy," Mary reassured him in a bitter tone. She didn't want him to think she was week because she was a girl.

He turned to her and commented to her bathing suit, "I'm sure you could."

Mary snatched the red ball and bonked Davy on the head with it. He fell and Mary stormed back to her place on the beach.

Davy ran after her, yelling apologies. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that!"

"I'm sure you didn't," she snorted and put her cover-up back on. Mary faced him again, her look as cold as ice, "What? Did you think I couldn't have handled that? That I just some kind of weak girl?"

"No," Davy blushed till he was as red as the beach ball, "I was just...worried that if the ball 'it you too 'ard you might...well, get knocked out of your 'suit." He look her hand, "Come for a walk with me so I can make up for it."

Mary wasn't sure what to do. She had accepted that he didn't mean anything by what he said...and really wanted to go for a walk with him. But what if something happened.

Just Friends.

She nodded and he led her down along the shore. They walked in silence for ten minutes until they came under the pier. Davy leaned himself against one of the dock's columns and looked out to the sea, only his eyes were closed. He appeared to be in some sort of trance. She sat down on the damp sand under the pier and after long moment Davy joined her.

"I come here a lot," he said. "Whenever I'm sad or need time to think. I think you could use a place like this?" He took her hand and rubbed her fingers gently; his smile was heart-melting.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem very sad. Are you?"

Mary hung her head, "Does it really show?" She became worried that if Davy was able to see through her mask, then so was everybody else.

"No, you hide it well, but when you where up stairs a few days ago it showed. You were so quiet when you were with me. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No." Mary didn't want to talk to anyone about Matthew, especially to another boy.

He mentioned that people feel better after they talk about something.

Mary snapped back, "I don't want to talk about it!" Their eyes met. Mary's heart began to beat faster, but she couldn't look away. Davy moved closer and kissed her in an aggressive manner.

She pushed him off, "No!"

"I-I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have done that." He stood, "I'll go."

The pain inside Mary was growing worse by the minute. She took Davy's hand, brought him back down to sit next to her, and began to cry.

He took her by the shoulders, "What's wrong."

All Mary could do was sob.

"Please don't cry, Mary," tears started to flood his eyes. "It's making me hurt, too."

She swallowed her pride and told him everything. Mary let out all her pain and grief about Matthew.

Davy listened to every word and then was quiet. "No man is worth crying over, but the one who is won't make you shed a tear."

The words were profound and they touched Mary's broken heart. They began to heal it.

"Someone as beautiful as you should never have to cry."

Mary cried a bit harder, "Please don't say that."

"It's the truth! I wouldn't lie to you."

As much as she wanted to believe him, Mary couldn't, "Don't tell me I'm pretty, 'cause I'm not and you know it! That's why I wore this," she motioned to her bathing suit. "It makes we looked prettier that I really am!"

Davy looked at her and shook his head, "Sexy doesn't equal beauty, no matter wot you say."

"But I'm still not pretty."

He placed his hand on Mary's cheek and used his thumb to wipe away a tear, "You are, but that's not why I like you." Mary's heart began to pound again. That mean's he has something going for me. Oh, I want to tell him how I feel so badly, but I'm too afraid. I don't want to get hurt again. She turned her eyes away from him and towards the sand.

A folded up piece of paper fluttered by. Mary reached out and grabbed it. It looked very familiar. She opened it up and found a few paragraphs written in pen; in her hand writing. It was a song she had written a long time ago, back in the country. A duet for a man's and woman's voices. "I haven't seen this in ages! It must have been in my cover-up pocket."

"What is it?"

"A song," she told Davy and passed the yellowed paper to him.

He read it, muttering the lyrics to himself, "You have some good rhyme and rhythm here." Davy handed the paper back and asked a surprising question, "Could you sing it for me?"

Mary blinked a few times, "I'm not very good at it."

"I bet you are," his smile lit his eyes up

She sang the song quietly, but well. It was titled "A Duo" and told the story of two lovers who drifted apart, but got back together once they realized they were meant for each other.

"That was really good," Davy smiled and then asked another surprising question. "Would you care to sing it next week on the Forth of July."

Mary raised an eyebrow.

"Me friends and I are in a band, The Monkees, and we have a gig on the beach for the 'Forth.' I'd like to fit your song in."

She shook her head, "I don't think so. I don't have and music written, just words."

"We could do that. We're pretty good. Please!" he begged like a small child on his knees until Mary agreed. "Good," He looked around. "Hey, we better be getting back."

Peter came up on the sand, bent over and flung his head backward. The water from his hair flew out and onto the ground below.

"Want to try?" he asked Katy.

She looked around. There were Davy and Micky's surf boards lying around without either owner in sight. Christine and Mary were gone, too. Katy took one of the boards and ran up to Peter. She turned around and called to Bridget, "Wanna come?"

Bridget shook her head. She was enjoying the hot sun too much to move.

"Come on!" Peter tore through the ocean water, laughing loudly as he did so.

Katy stayed closed behind, dodging the boys splashes from running. When the water was up to her knees, she correctly positioned herself on her surfboard. Lying down, Katy used her hands to paddle her out to where the largest waves were forming. Peter did the same. That looks like a good one. A heavy wave began to swell just a few feet away. It was perfect. Katy jumped up on the board to stand. So did Peter. She glanced over to him just as the wave hit. The look of determination on his face let Katy know he was going to try and beat her back to the beach. She wasn't about to let that happen. With a twist of her board, Katy hit a smoother part of the wave. Peter found the same part, but a little to late. Katy was now five inches in front of him. She laughed and closed her eyes in on the shore. Bridget and Mike well yelling something to her from the sand, but Katy couldn't hear them. They're probably cheering me on.

Katy reached the beach first and held up her hand in a victory sign, hooting wildly.

Mike ran up to her, "Where's Pete?"

Katy looked to her side - where he should have been. He wasn't there. Peter wasn't riding waves in the ocean, either. He was gone!

"Ohmigosh!" the three of them watched in horror as Peter's surf board washed up at their feet. They ran back out into the water. Katy franticly dove through the waves, but couldn't find him anywhere. Mike waded out into the deep water, swearing along the way. Suddenly something brushed against his leg. A hand. He reached down, grabbed it, and pulled with all his might. Peter came to the surface, but he did not suck in air like Mike had expected him to. He swore again as he plainly saw that Peter's lips and closed eyelids were blue. Bridget and Katy hurried over and helped carry Peter back to the beach. He flopped down onto his back. He didn't move.

He didn't breathe.

"I don't know CPR!" Katy exclaimed. "Bridget?"

She shook her head and then looked over, Micky and Christine had just arrived, but they were frozen. They didn't know what to do.

Running footsteps could be heard as Davy and Mary approached. Mary immediately got on her knees and checked Peter's wrist for a pulse. She swore when she found none.

"He's dead!" Katy sobbed and took Mike's hand, hoping for some comfort.

"He isn't leaving us, yet." Mary positioned her hands on Peter's chest. She pressed down hard several times. Then she executed mouth-to-mouth.

Peter coughed and rolled over on his side, wheezing loudly. Mike hit him on the back once, "You're gonna be okay, Shotgun."

Davy couldn't believe what he had just seen. It was so overwhelming. "'e was dead an' you brought 'im back to life!"

Mary stood up and brushed the sand off her legs, "It was just CPR."

"Maybe so, but it shows 'ow valuable you are."

"What?"

"You were the only one out of all of us who knows it. 'e would 'ave died if it 'adn't been for you."

Katy, who had been listening to them speak added her own agreements. Mike did the same. Mary looked from them to Peter, "I did what I had to do. He's too young to die."

"We're all to young to die. Don't kill yourself," stated Davy.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll tell you later," he motioned to the clutter of people surrounding them.

Mary took Davy's hand and dragged him away from their friends. "Tell me now!" His words were frightening her.

He stalled, but not for long. "I guess wot I'm trying to say is that there's most that there's a few ways to kill yourself and putting yourself down is one of them. I'm sorry if my choice of words was too strong."

Mary's stare went blank as she though about Davy's words. Was he right? Was she killing herself? Was is possible to be dead besides physically?

While she was thinking deep thoughts, so was Davy. He was diving into her earth-toned eyes and finding himself in a place more beautiful than any he had ever seen. He was floating on could nine and wasn't about to try and touch down on earth anytime soon. Davy found himself think what it would be like to hold her in his arms and kiss her again. The first two times had been pure magic. They had engulfed him an a swirling mass of flame and sparkles. The more he relived the moments, the more he wanted to run his fingers through her hair and hold her hand. But it was more than that. Davy felt--he knew--that he wanted to protect Mary. He wanted to make sure that she would be safe in his arms till the end of time.

And even after that!

Davy's friends Peter, Mike, and Micky had always teased him about falling for ever girl he met. And even Davy had begun to believe that he was a hopeless playboy.

Until now.

There was something about Mary that made him willing to give up seeing another girl ever again, as long as he could be with her. That would be a giant leap for Davy--and possibly a hard one--but he was sure he could handle it. He was madly in love with Mary Starrs.