Issue 41: Love Beach

Love Beach is the forty-first issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
A week-long vacation at the beach turns into one plagued with romance issues for Tecna and Timmy.

Plot
The story starts off at Alfea during another one of Professor Wizgiz's classes. Every student is watching the clock, impatiently anticipating the end of class. As Wizgiz continues to teach, Stella counts down the seconds until class ends when finally the bell rings, causing the whole class to cheer as the students spring from their seats. Confused by the sudden cheers, Wizgiz tries to figure out what is going on until he realizes that they are going on a school trip to a realm called Holimagix. Wizgiz also becomes excited, but he recollects himself to let the girls know that they will still be studying while on the trip. Stella comes back into the classroom, telling Bloom and Musa that they need to pack their bags. The two girls leave Wizgiz as he hastily packs his own bags for the trip.

On their way to their dorm, Stella excitedly talks about how they are going to the most beautiful realm in all of the known dimensions. Bloom asks if the boys are also coming, to which Stella reveals that the boys, witches and all of the professors are coming and they will all be spending three days in Holimagix. She further explains that the trip will be used to promote camaraderie between each of the three schools until Bloom asks if it really will be considered a vacation since Wizgiz told her and Musa that they will still be studying. Stella claims that they can study if they want and tells the girls that she certainly will not be studying.

The next day, a fleet of Red Fountain shuttles are flying just above Magix City. The shuttle flying at the head of formation opens up an interdimensional portal, leading it and the rest of the fleet into the realm of Holimagix. A few of the shuttles stop by at one of the hotels and Stella tells the group that that hotel will be the one that the fairies will be staying in. Bloom wonders who will be paying for the trip, to which Stella explains that all three schools will be paying for it and she shows the Winx to the front of the hotel, where Faragonda is giving a welcome speech.

Faragonda tells her students that every three years, the Fortress of Light sends the three schools of Magix on a vacation in order to promote camaraderie among the students. She then reveals that the schools have used the extra money left over to treat all of the students to something special, rewarding them for their courageous efforts when fighting against Valtor. As the girls all cheer, Faragonda announces that they will have the three days in Holimagix as a break from their studies since magic is not as effective in this realm, however, they will still have to write an essay describing their experiences once the vacation is over. She then sends the girls off to check out their rooms.

As they head for the hotel, Tecna complains about still having to write an essay but Stella believes that it is not such a big deal, as they can just copy off of someone else's essay when it is all over. Timmy asks Stella to help him carry her bags, to which Stella obliges by only taking the smallest bag out of the pile. Bloom and the rest of the Winx assure Timmy that they will help as they start picking up some of the bags. Later that day, the Winx head for the beach to have some fun, however, they are all carrying their equipment as Stella frolics around in the sand. As the girls put their stuff down, Stella catches sight of the boys coming their way. Stella runs up to greet them, mainly Brandon, until she notices that they are carrying surfboards. Brandon tells Stella that Codatorta is not willing to let them loaf around, so he and the boys are going to enter a surfing competition that will be held in two days. If they participate then Codatorta will give them school credits. Stella is upset at this fact, until Bloom suggests that they go watch the boys surf. Brandon clarifies that they are only training for now and the group heads off further down the beach. The Winx watch on the beach as the Specialists begin their surfing training. Stella cheers at how skilled Brandon seems but Tecna, on the other hand, does not seem too happy with Timmy's performance, as he is struggling to even stay on his surfboard. Soon enough, the wave overtakes Timmy and causes him to wipe out. On the beach, a group of other girls and boys make fun of Timmy's wipe out, as it has been the fourth one in a row. Helia asks if Timmy is alright and Riven encourages Timmy to keep trying, as he just needs more practice. Timmy knows this but he claims that he just needs to take a short break. As he makes it back onto the beach, the other group of girls and boys tease Timmy for his lack of surfing skills. When he meets up with Tecna, she brings him a towel and asks him if he hurt anything. Timmy claims that only his pride has been damaged as she tries to dry him off. Tecna tells Timmy not to be upset as he may just not be good at surfing, but Timmy take offense to that claim and asks Tecna is she believes that he cannot get better. Tecna tells him not to speak that way as she does not find surfing all that important. Timmy, however, believes that Tecna may find it to be more important than she realizes because girls are naturally more attracted to men who are winners. He further explains that it is just a matter of how well he trains and that he wants to become good at it like the rest of his friends, to which Tecna agrees and invites him to join up with the others for a snack.

As the two of them hang out with their friends, Sky comments on how gigantic the waves are. Brandon agrees, calling the Holimagix realm beautiful, and Stella claims that the schools should simply move into the Holimagix realm instead. Musa claims that they would not be able to get much studying done if the schools do move, to which Stella claims that she does not want to get any studying done in the first place. Tecna asks Timmy if he would want to go for a walk with her, but Timmy has other plans; he wants to go to a gym that is near the beach in order to train for the upcoming competition. He promises to spend the rest of the evening with Tecna, which she agrees to.

And so, that evening, Bloom, Stella, Musa and Tecna hang out with their boyfriends in a nearby town. Stella is running from shop to shop trying to buy as many clothes as she can as Brandon struggles to keep up. Tecna invites Timmy to go to the movies with her but Timmy claims that he is too tired, so he and the rest of the Specialists leave to get back to the hotel they are staying at. The Winx see them off as Tecna becomes upset with the way Timmy has been acting. Bloom tries to cheer her up by telling her that boys just like compete in order to make themselves look good, however, Tecna is afraid that Timmy will act the same way tomorrow as well.

The next day, the Specialists head down to the beach again to do some more training. Timmy notices that the seas seem more rough today, but Brandon claims that they will just have to train through it if they want to be ready for the competition. Timmy decides that he will wait a bit since he is not as experienced, to which Brandon agrees that he should be careful as he sees Timmy off. Timmy walks back in order to meet up with the Winx but, as he makes his way there, he gets teased for "chickening out" by some boys and a group of witches; the Trix included. Tecna encourages Timmy by telling him that he should not take their teasing to heart, but Timmy suspects that Tecna does not want him to practice surfing because he is already bad at it. Tecna tells him that she did not mean any of that and asks why he is acting so difficult despite the fact that they are on vacation. Timmy explains that he had trouble getting through the recent trimester and he planned to make up for his low grades with the surfing competition, but now he is facing trouble because he is not experienced in the sport. Timmy then adds that Tecna's father, who is already not so happy with Tecna dating him, will try to come between them again if he were to find out that his grades have been slipping. Tecna insists that she can take care of her father if he causes problems for them again and confesses that Timmy has been ruining every chance they could have used to spend together. Timmy claims that Tecna is also against him trying to improve in some aspect of his life and he vows that he will win the competition. Tecna, however, does not care about the competition because she just wants to spend time with Timmy, and she urges him to take a walk with her since spending time with him is very important to her. Timmy claims that she is only saying those things now but she will end up changing her mind sooner or later, and end up making fun of him like the group of witches and boys on the other side of the beach. Tecna begins to get offended, asking Timmy if he really thinks that she will end up just like those "stupid witches," but Timmy begins to head for the ocean, telling her that he does not mean it like that and that he does not want to start a fight. He then suggests that Tecna go on her walk alone as he trains for the competition as he walks away.

The same group of boys that teased Timmy notice that he just got in some sort of an argument with Tecna and start talking about a plan that they got. Icy, who is sunbathing just behind them, warns the boys not to bother with Tecna because she is a tough nut to crack but one of the boys, named Jonas, believes that there is no girl he cannot attract and that he can get Tecna to fall for him in only two days. One of Jonas' friends also insists that Jonas has a special way with women. Icy accepts Jonas' bet for a free night at a renowned nightclub known as Don Juan. Jonas tells his two friends to keep Timmy busy as he tries to win Tecna over.

Jonas' friends catch Timmy practicing his surfing and swim after him. When they make it up to him, one of them offers to teach Timmy some cool tricks and Timmy takes them on their offer.

With Timmy occupied, Jonas follows Tecna by taking a higher road. He makes it farther down the beach than she does and sits on a stone before she arrives. When Jonas catches Tecna approaching, he pretends to be sobbing to himself. Tecna hears this and wonders if he is sick. Jonas insists that nothing is wrong, but Tecna does not buy it and offers to help him. Jonas claims that no one can help him now that a girl named Hellen has left him and that the only thing he can do is close himself off from people to try and forget about her. Tecna tries to encourage him by claiming that relationships come and go naturally until Jonas claims that they were supposed to get married but Hellen fell ill and passed. Tecna apologizes for not knowing but Jonas claims that it is not important. He then thanks Tecna for being concerned for him and asks if she would like to go for a walk with him.

Once Timmy is done surfing, Jonas' friends see him off, promising that they will surf with him tomorrow. Timmy asks Bloom if she has seen Tecna anywhere but Bloom has not and suspects that she returned to the hotel. Just as he is about to look for Tecna, one of Jonas' friends invites Timmy to come to the nightclub with them and urges him to come with as some girls want to get to know him. Timmy reluctantly agrees to go with as he is dragged by the arm by one of the girls. Much later, Tecna finally arrives back at the hotel, where the rest of the Winx are waiting. Stella mentions that they already had supper and Bloom lets Tecna know that Timmy was looking for her earlier. Musa asks if she is okay since she seems so out of it, but Tecna insists that she is fine and reveals to the girls that she was meeting with a boy at the beach. She explains that he needed someone to confide in and that they spent the whole evening talking. Bloom mentions Timmy again, which prompts Tecna into calling him, but when he picks up, there is a lot of noise on his end, as if he were at a party. Timmy tries to explain that he was dragged into coming but Tecna tells him to just keep enjoying himself because she is the one who is tired this time and hangs up the phone. Bloom asks if everything is okay, to which Tecna claims that everything is not okay and that she will head straight to bed after having an ice cream by the bar. Just as she is still thinking things out, Tecna gets another call. She tells Timmy that she really is not in the mood to talk until she realizes that it is Jonas who is calling. He asks if they can meet up tomorrow as she has helped him feel better. Tecna agrees to meet with him tomorrow afternoon at the beach and hangs up. Afterwards, Jonas and his friend celebrate at how close he is to winning the bet and Jonas brags about how the "grand finale" will begin tomorrow night at the nightclub.

The next day, everyone is back out on the beach as Timmy approaches Tecna, introducing her to his new "friends." He tells her that he is doing much better and that these new friends of his have taught him a bunch of cool tricks. Tecna does not seem interested and Timmy starts to get pulled away for more surfing practice. As he gets dragged away, Timmy promises to meet with Tecna later that day. Once Timmy is gone, Tecna catches sight of Jonas further down the beach and runs up to meet him. Stella wonders where Tecna is headed and Bloom suspects that she is just going to take another one of her usual walks on the beach.

Tecna quickly catches up with Jonas and the two greet each other. Jonas expresses his joy that Tecna could meet with him again as he tries to grab her hand. Tecna, however, moves her hand away, telling Jonas that she would prefer if they did not do something like that, which confuses Jonas because Tecna told him that she likes being with him. Tecna explains that it would not be right because she has a boyfriend, to which Jonas apologizes and then claims that he could not help it because he wants Tecna all to himself. He asks if it may be possible for that to happen but Tecna is confused and does not know what to do. Jonas then tells her that she should listen to her heart as Timmy does not deserve her, and he continues urging Tecna to be with him by claiming that they were made for one another. Tecna asks for some time, believing that she would not be being fair to Timmy if she did this behind his back, and Jonas claims that they will meet together that evening at the nightclub, where he will announce to everyone that Tecna is his girl. Tecna agrees to this and the two see each other off, anticipating the coming evening. On her way back, Tecna runs into Timmy, who is anxious to tell her about how well he has been doing. Before he can say any more, Tecna tells him that she has something important to tell him and reveals to him that she wants to break things off between them. As Timmy tries to figure out what she means, Tecna claims that she has found somebody else and that she can no longer see him. She then runs off before the situation becomes harder on the both of them.

Jonas' friends are coming out of the ocean as they warn Timmy about a large wave coming towards him. Before he can even turn around, Timmy is knocked onto the sand by the wave. As Jonas' friends laugh at him, Timmy thinks that he should get going, in order to talk to Tecna before it is too late. However, Jonas' friends urge him to continue practicing and Timmy ends up coming along, believing that there is no longer any point in running after Tecna.

Meanwhile, Bloom asks Stella if she knows where Tecna is going, but Stella does not know as she had been taking a nap until Bloom woke her up. Bloom mentions that Tecna looked upset as she was leaving the beach and tells the girls that she will be going back to the hotel to cheer her up. Stella and Musa decide to come along with.

In their hotel room, Tecna reveals that she broke up with Timmy. Stella asks Tecna if she was crazy but Tecna insists that she is fine and that she is fully capable of deciding who she wants to be with. She then reveals that she had fallen in love with another boy and she broke up with Timmy because she believes that she cannot have more than one boyfriend. Bloom encourages Tecna by telling her that she just needs time to think about the decision she has made, but Tecna insists that she has given it thought and she believes that things with be better this way. She then tells the girls that she feels sorry for Timmy, but believes that she could not have done this any other way. Bloom tells Tecna that if anything happens, she will always have the Winx by her side to talk to and that she can always count on them. Tecna thanks Bloom for the encouragement and then asks that she be alone for a bit. The girls respect her wishes and leave the room.

Outside of the room, Stella starts to complain about their vacation becoming more and more stressful with each day: Tecna is not acting like herself and their boyfriends are too occupied with the upcoming surfing competition. Bloom tells Stella that vacations can also be stressful and claims that if they cannot seem to slow down, then they will end up even worse than before the vacation. Musa adds in that everything should be fine after a few days of relaxation. As the three of them make their way back to the beach, Stella hopes that Tecna will not regret her decision.

Soon the sun sets and Tecna wakes up from her nap. Rather than worrying herself over her situation with Timmy, Tecna decides to get ready for her meeting with Jonas at the nightclub. Even though she is arriving earlier than the time they had agreed on, Tecna wants to get there early in order to surprise him.

At the nightclub, Jonas, his friends and the Trix are hanging out until Icy asks Jonas if he is confident that Tecna will be coming. Jonas claims that Tecna is so in love with him that he finds it a bit scary. Just as he is bragging to his friends, Tecna finds her way inside and overhears his bragging. Icy asks Jonas if he is really sure that Tecna left her boyfriend for him and Jonas begins bragging about how much of a great actor he is because Tecna fell for all of his lies: his lies about Hellen and his lies about loving Tecna more than anything. He then claims that Icy will have to pay up because he will be winning the bet they made in a few minutes, but then Tecna interrupts them, confronting Jonas for stringing her along. She slaps Jonas, causing him to fall and knock the chairs behind him over as she storms out of the nightclub, ashamed.

Back at the hotel, Tecna is sobbing in her bed as she refuses to talk to the Winx. She cries about how much of a fool she was to fall for someone who was stringing her along and she berates herself for dumping Timmy in the process. Stella claims that she could have kept Timmy on the side, just in case, but Tecna believes that it would not be fair to Timmy to cheat on him behind his back. She cries about how she did not want to fool him because that she still loves him, and Stella urges her to tell Timmy how she feels. However, Bloom insists that Stella calm down because yelling at Tecna would make her feel worse. She then tells Tecna that Stella is right about telling Timmy, believing that he will forgive her if she just explain everything, but Tecna claims that she is too ashamed of herself to face Timmy. Flora offer to have them tell Timmy for her, but Tecna does not want them to do that either and asks them to leave her be for now. Bloom reluctantly decides to leave her alone for the night, but she tells Tecna that they will talk about the situation tomorrow morning.

The next day, however, is the same day as the surfing competition the boys were training for. Timmy asks Bloom where Tecna is as he was hoping she would come watch him compete even if they are not together anymore, but Bloom claims that Tecna stayed in their room because she was not feeling well. Timmy then frantically asks what is wrong with Tecna and, when Bloom tries to come up with something to say, Stella suggests that she just tell him already. Confused, Timmy asks what she means, to which Stella reveals that Tecna feels sorry but she does not have the guts to come back to him because she feels ashamed for being led around by a boy she fell for. Timmy asks if this means that Tecna still loves him and Stella reveals to him that she does, but she is too busy crying in their room. Timmy asks Sky to hold onto his surfboard as he rushes towards the hotel the Alfea fairies are staying at in order to see Tecna, but he is suddenly stopped by one of Jonas' friends, who claims that Timmy should not give Tecna the time of day because she was the one who threw him away. Timmy tells him off by shouting about how much he loves Tecna and how he does not care what Jonas' friend or anyone else thinks. He then continues to rush for the hotel.

Climbing up the stairs and running through various hallways, Timmy manages to find the Winx's hotel room, where he bangs on the door as he begs Tecna to open the door. Tecna opens the door and is surprised to see Timmy. She tries to ask why he is not at the competition but Timmy interrupts, claiming that he could care less about it because she is all he cares about. As Tecna tries to get Timmy to leave, Timmy begs for her to come back, forget everything that happened and to forgive him. Tecna insists that she should be the one who needs forgiveness but Timmy tells her that he understands that she was being tricked, while he was in the wrong for not spending time with her like he thinks he was supposed to do.



Back on the beach, the announcer demands to know where Number 12 (Timmy) is. Brandon tries to come up with an excuse, claiming that Timmy just got news that his baby brother had just been born, as Riven rushes towards the hotel to get Timmy back before he ends up disqualified.

He makes it to the Winx's room, where he finds Timmy and Tecna hugging each other and asks Timmy if he is still going to participate in the competition since it is his turn now. Timmy claims that he has other things to do but Tecna urges him to compete because he cared a lot about it. She tells him to go with Riven and that she will come watch as soon as she gets dressed but, before he leaves, Timmy asks if everything really is okay between them. Tecna confirms this, telling him that they are together again, and Riven drags Timmy back to the beach as he cheers. As the two of them rush for the beach, Riven tells Timmy that he has to have an excuse otherwise he will be disqualified. He then explains that Timmy has a new baby brother and Timmy wonders what type of excuse the guys may have made while he was absent.

Later, the surfing competition concludes with Timmy coming in third, another boy coming in second, and Brandon winning first place! As everyone congratulates the winners, Tecna jumps into Timmy's arms as Brandon claims that them making it into the Top Three should be able to make up for their academics. Brandon then laughs as he tells Timmy to talk to him about it later, as he and Tecna are a bit preoccupied with one another. Bloom, Stella and Musa happily watch Tecna and Timmy kiss by the sunset as they claim that true courage is knowing how to forgive someone and to do what you think is right, even if others think otherwise.

Spells Used
None.

Mistakes

 * As the Winx arrive in the Holimagix realm on page 5, half of the land is colored pink instead of green.
 * As Faragonda gives a welcome speech to her students on page 6, Griselda has been colored in with DuFour's color palette.
 * As the Winx settle down and Stella runs up to greet the Specialists on page 8, there are large brown mounds in the ocean. They could be pieces of land sticking out from the shore, but they are never seen again.
 * As the Winx and the Specialists talk about how great the Holimagix realm is on page 13, Stella's eyes turn blue in one of the panels.
 * As Jonas fall over on the chairs after being slapped by Tecna on page 38, the lighting of the nightclub and the missing lines for Icy's top makes her appear topless.

Debuts

 * Jonas

Characters

 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Musa
 * Tecna
 * Flora
 * Aisha
 * The Specialists
 * Sky
 * Brandon
 * Helia
 * Timmy
 * Riven
 * Enemies
 * The Trix
 * Icy
 * Darcy
 * Stormy
 * Alfea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Griselda
 * Wizgiz
 * Red Fountain Staff
 * Codatorta (mentioned)
 * Humans
 * Jonas
 * Royalty
 * King Cryos (mentioned)

Trivia

 * The outfit Stella wears on pages 33 through 35 is very reminiscent of her Season 1 outfit.
 * This issue is the only case where Tecna has her heart broken by another boy.
 * This issue shares the same title in both the Italian and English release.