"like sands through the hourglass so are the...Days of our Lives"

Christyne's

"The Teens" Fan Fiction Site

Chapter 6

"Chloe!" Belle waved to her friend. As the three approached Chloe and her companion, Brady turned with a wide grin.

"What's up, munchkin?" greeted a glowing Brady.

"Brady!" Belle ran and hugged her big brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging and checking out some music."

"Hey, watch the hair!" admonished Belle, when he playfully ruffled her blond locks.

Brady only smiled. Where there was Belle, there was sunlight.

"Hey, man," greeted Shawn, as the boys exchanged grunts and punches.

"Hey, Phil," smirked Brady, "How's Grandpa Vic?"

"Taking over Japan or something, so he's doing alright." Philip casually walked to Chloe and kissed her cheek. "Hey."

She gave a hesitant smile, nearly blushing. Then, he turned back to the group while setting a possessive arm around her.

Belle gave her brother a playful shove. "You didn't tell me you knew Chloe."

"Chloe. Actually we just met, didn't we?" announced Brady, turning to Chloe.

Chloe blinked. "Uh, yeah. I didn't realize that you were Belle's brother."

And Brady hadn't realized this was the infamous Chloe. He watched, as Philip raised his chin another notch. So, this was the chick that had Uncle Phil all tied in knots. Who could blame him, thought Brady, after a perusal of her body.

"Well, little sister, what are you up to?" asked Brady, turning back to his sister. "Or do Dad's credit cards already know?"

"For your information, loser, I'm meeting Chloe here to shop for a party on Friday."

"Ah, the chick with the legs pool party."

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Because me and Jason are the ones that got those invites. You guys are just tagging along."

Belle set her hands on her defiant hips. "Aren't you a little too old to be playing with high school girls?"

"You know what they say, Belle. Age ain't nothing but a number." He laughed, when she smacked his shoulder.

"Well, Chloe and I need to get going. We've only got a couple of hours, before we head over to Mimi's," said Belle, as she hooked her arm with Chloe's. "So, we'll see you guys later."

"Me and Phil are coming, too, remember Belle?" grinned Shawn.

"What?" laughed Brady. Then, he saw the way Shawn looked at his sister. But even doting brotherly love couldn't rope him into girl shopping. He'd have to have a little talk with Romeo later. "Well, I'm gonna check out some CDs. I'll see you ladies later." With that, he headed for the music store.

"Come on, girlfriend. We've got some serious shopping to do," announced Belle, as she pulled Chloe toward Barron's.

Shawn and Philip sighed, "Women." They shrugged and followed the girls into the department store.

*****

An hour later, the two exhausted boys sprawled on plush chairs outside the ladies' dressing room. They'd all followed Belle from rack to rack as she oo-ed and ah-ed, selected and discarded items. The teeny handful grew to a laughable two-armed mound, which in the end the boys were relegated to bear. Although the guys gave the token grumbles and eye rolls, their blood pressures spiked, particularly when Belle held out a string bikini with enough material for an eye patch. The girls giggled, while the boys concentrated on their shoes to keep the imagination in check. Finally, they finished their rummage through the out-of-season clearance racks and headed for dressing room. The girls disappeared behind the panels, while the boys collapsed on seats, sympathetic to nature's hunters out of their element.

"You still alive over there, Phil?"

Philip laid a weary hand over his eyes. "Comatose, maybe, but alive. You?"

"Hanging on by a thread. Man, for such a small person, she's sure got energy."

"Dude, at least she didn't have to read every label for material and care instructions. Thank God, Chloe's a fast reader."

"Whatever, man. Your eyes were as big as saucers, when she dangled that red number in front of you."

"Like your tongue wasn't on your shoes, when Belle held up the thong."

"Yeah… I mean, whatever, man," stuttered Shawn.

Philip chuckled. Nothing like ribbing on his buddy to lighten the mood.

When familiar giggles came from the ladies room, Philip smiled. Chloe was happy today. Even though she dropped the dark, baggy clothes and impenetrable antisocial wall, she rarely exuded complete ease. Age-old defenses were still up and she was still learning how to be with friends. With him.

His lighthearted mood soured. Philip restlessly rose to pace in front of the dressing room entrance. He needed to talk to her. If he could just make her see, how much he really cared for her, that she could depend on him, then maybe everything would be alright. He ran his nervous hands through his hair. Why couldn't it all be simple?

Philip watched, as the Barron's saleslady left her post, when a customer summoned from the designer racks. Shawn was nearly unconscious, his head dangling off the back of the chair. Philip stealthily looked from side to side to make sure the coast was clear. He took a wary step into forbidden territory, waiting for a panicked scream. When none came, he took a couple more steps to find a line of stalls with bare feet stepping in and out of clothes. More cautious than turned on, he searched the line of feet for surrounding swimwear. Unfortunately, three stalls at opposite ends of the room had bikinis and suits. Clearing his throat, he did his best imitation of a high-pitched girly voice, "Chloe?"

A familiar voice answered from the far side of the room. "Belle, I don't know about this." He cautiously walked toward the stall, as she talked. "I'm more out of it than in it. What do you think?" Then, the stall door opened and out came voluptuous Chloe, inspecting herself in a sea blue string bikini. Philip almost fainted.

"Well, Belle, what do you think?" asked Chloe, as she looked up. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of her boyfriend in a ladies' dressing room staring at her scantily clad body. Before she could scream, Philip pulled his senses together. He quickly covered her mouth, dragged her back into her stall, and closed the door.

"Shhh, you start screaming and some hysterical women are gonna lynch me," whispered Philip with Chloe on his lap. When she nodded, he slowly removed his hand from her mouth.

"Philip! What are you doing in here?" asked Chloe in a harsh whisper. She tried her best to cover herself, but she only blushed to her roots, when he grinned in male appreciation.

"I need to talk to you, but I'll tell you right now that you're not wearing this to the party."

Confused, she looked about and found her shirt farther away than virtuously possible. "What? It looks bad?" She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"Um, no," answered Philip, trying his best to keep his eyes and hands from straying. Having his barely dressed girlfriend in his lap wasn't helping his dignity either. "I just figure, I'd have to beat up way too many guys for coming onto my girl. How about that one-piece Speedo?"

She almost pouted. "What? That one makes me look like an old frump." When he grinned in approval, his motives became clear. And her heart did a slow swirl in her chest. Nevertheless, she raised a defiant chin. "Well, Philip Kiriakis, I like this one and I'm wearing it to the party and nothing you can say will-"

He cut her off with a hungry kiss. She felt his strong hands skim her bare back and waist, sending shivers down her spine. He'd never kissed her this way before, so desperately, mindlessly. Then, all thought vanished and she was as enthralled as he. She pulled herself flush against him, yearning for the first time to give herself completely.

A sudden knock on the stall door startled them. "Chloe, are you in there?" asked Belle.

Barely containing his laughter, Philip gently wiped her smudged lipstick with his thumb. Then, their eyes met, full of passion and hilarity.

"Um, yeah, Belle. I'm in here." She rose to open the door, but then realized Philip had nowhere to hide. "Um, wait a sec." She turned, wordless asking what to do. With awkward effort, he stood and gave a clueless shrug. Then, he saw that the adjacent stall had no feet. He gave a cocky salute before crawling to the empty stall. Chloe cautiously opened her stall door.

"Wow, Chloe! That looks great on you!" exclaimed Belle. Then she tilted her head. "Hey, are you ok?"

Chloe nervously smoothed her hair. "Um, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You're really flushed. I hope you're not coming down with anything," said her concerned friend.

"Um, no. I guess, it's a little hot in here. Hey, that looks great on you!" said Chloe, hoping to distract her.

Belle did an excited pirouette in the strapless red bikini. "You think? I already have like five at home, but it's so pretty and such a good deal…" She gave Chloe an entreating look.

Chloe laughed. "I think, it looks perfect. You'll have Shawn drooling like a lovesick puppy."

"Oh, whatever, Chloe," blushed Belle, "Like I care what Shawn Brady thinks." She took another look in the three-way mirror and slanted Chloe a gleeful smile. "I'm gonna get it. And you should get the one your wearing. It's so much better than that fuddy duddy one-piece."

A smack to the forehead came from the next stall and Belle turned to look curiously.

"Um, what time is it, Belle?" asked Chloe.

"Oh," exclaimed Belle after a look at her watch, "We'd better get going. The boys are probably bored out of their minds and we need to get to Mimi's." Belle hurried to her stall to change.

Philip peeked out. Chloe waved for him to sneak out. He stole a quick kiss before darting out the dressing room.

*****

Shawn and Belle squabbled while tiling the bathroom. In the meantime, Philip worked alongside Chloe, sanding the Lockhart master bedroom. On a ladder, Philip sanded the ceiling, while Chloe stood on the floor, sanding the walls. Each wore protective goggles and masks to ward off the spackle dust. Chloe was known to be one of the most dedicated workers on site, particularly since she had a vested interest in getting the Lockharts into their new home as soon as possible.

However, no one could have guessed an enthusiastic hard worker could be found in spoiled, rich boy Kiriakis. Originally, he'd joined the project to get closer to Chloe but discovered unexpected rewards in giving his time to helping the less fortunate. He'd been born into the wealthiest family in Salem and could barely imagine a life without limousines and servants, much less food and shelter. Such a plight was not only frightening, but also unimaginable. However, what moved him was the number of people, who were not necessarily financially blessed themselves, but were willing to volunteer their time, in order to make the life of someone else better. Mimi and Philip weren't close, but he'd known her a long time. He took pride in knowing he was making a difference and now appreciated the honor of doing something without selfish motive.

That didn't mean there weren't perks, as he stole a dusty glance at Chloe's bottom moving up and down with the electric sander against the wall. Remembering her in that blue bikini, he lost grip of the sander, which landed squarely on his head. Disoriented, he fell backward from the ladder to the powdery floor.

"Oh, my God, Philip!" Chloe turned off her sander and dropped it on the floor. She ran over and cradled his head. "Are you ok?"

He gave a confused groan. After wiping the dust off her goggles, she saw the reddening bump on his forehead. He hissed in pain, when she touched it. "Does it hurt anywhere else?"

He laid a gloved hand on his throbbing head. "No, just got the wind knocked out of me. But my head hurts like hell."

"I'd better get someone," she said, but he grabbed her arm, before she could rush out for help.

"Chloe, I'm alright, seriously," he said, as she helped him to sitting.

"I really think we should have a doctor look at you," she said, wiping the dust from his goggles and cheeks. When he shook his head, only to groan in pain again, she compromised. "Ok, come home with me and Craig can take a look at it. Or else I'll knock you out myself and take you to the Emergency Room."

He relented. She helped him up and took him to a dust-free room and chair to sit.

"I think, we should definitely call it a day then," suggested Chloe, as she gently removed his goggles and mask. He sighed in agreement.

"Hey, what happened?" asked Belle, as she and Shawn walked in.

"Philip fell off the ladder and the sander hit him on the head," said Chloe.

"Other way around," corrected Philip, holding his throbbing head.

"Damn, and I thought Belle was bad," said Shawn, earning him a smack in the arm.

*****

A fellow Habitat worker dropped the couple off at the Wesley house. Chloe led a weary Philip into the living room and sat him gently on the sofa.

"Stay awake, ok? I don't think you're supposed to fall asleep."

"Then, maybe you should put on that bikini for me again. That'll get my attention," joked Philip.

"You must be ok. You're back to cracking bad jokes." She kissed the tip of his nose and went to find Craig. Chloe and her stepfather returned with his medical bag and with Nancy in tow.

"Oh, dear, my couch," gasped her mother, when she saw the dusty boy on her prized furniture. Chloe shot her a cold glare.

"So, what have we here?" asked Craig, as he sat on the coffee table in front of Philip. He inspected the big red bump on his forehead. "Nancy honey, could you get a bag of ice for his head?" His wife hesitated a moment before rushing to the kitchen. "So, Chloe tells me you fell from a ladder and got hit with a sander," said Craig, as he shined a light into Philip's eyes.

"Other way around," corrected Philip.

Nancy returned with the ice, to have Chloe place it gently on the bump.

"Did you hurt anything else in the fall?" asked Craig, as he lifted the boy's shirt to check for other injuries.

"Maybe you shouldn't be here for this, honey," said Nancy, as she tried to shuffle Chloe from the room.

Chloe shook her mother off. "Relax, mother. It's not like I've never seen a boy bare-chested before. I need to make sure Philip's alright." She walked closer to the couch and saw Philip wince, when Craig touched his ribs.

"Well, Mr. Kiriakis," began Craig, as he replaced his tools in the medical bag, "You've got an impressive bump on your head, but no apparent concussion. You've got a couple of bruises on your ribs, but nothing significant. Just take it easy for the next couple of days. That means no strenuous activity tomorrow. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or faint, see a doctor immediately. You'll probably have a huge headache tomorrow-"

"How about now," said Philip, as he shifted the ice on his forehead.

"Well, that was a small, but pretty heavy piece of machinery to drop on your head, so it's expected. Take two aspirin for the pain and call me in the morning," smiled Craig.

Afterwards, Craig led Nancy out of the room to let Chloe have her privacy.

"I'm glad you're alright," said Chloe, hesitantly taking his hand in hers.

He smiled. "Takes more than a bonk on the head to take a Kiriakis out." His thumb ran tenderly over her knuckles. "Thanks for all this," he gestured to the ice bag. She blushed, when he brought her knuckles to his lips. They laughed, when the ice dripped on her hand.

"So, about that bikini…"

Chloe rolled her eyes in dramatics.

"Since I'm not in the best shape to fend off drooling idiots…"

"Philip…"

"Why not take pity on the injured…" He grinned, as she cocked an incredulous brow. "…and let me buy you that one-piece for Friday?"

"I am not taking my suit back."

"I didn't say you had to take the blue one back," he said, with dimples winking. "Actually, I'm kind of partial to it myself." He enjoyed her flustered blush to no end. "That's why you should give it to me."

Her eyes widened in shock.

He laughed, despite his headache. "Don't worry. I'm not into women's clothes. Wearing it, anyway. I'm just suggesting I keep it for you for special occasions, like when you come over to my house to swim or whatever." His devilish grin had her laughing. "Come on, Chloe. Heated indoor pool with all the privacy I-I mean-you could want."

Shaking her head, she took his hand. "Come on, Casanova. I'll introduce you to Merlin."

"Isn't he that mutt that's trying to steal my girlfriend?" Philip followed Chloe to Craig's home office. When she gave a soft laugh, he recalled her laughing with Brady at Salem Place. Philip hadn't missed how Brady had looked at her. "Yeah, no one messes with my girl and gets away with it."