Chapter 16
Lucky was silent for a moment, and then pulled the
screen up again. On it was a picture of a fair-headed man about 35. “I found
this other disk on the yacht tonight.” Lucky said in a sullen voice. “I didn’t
tell dad about it. It was marked ‘Employees’. You see Daniel kept track of
everyone that worked for him. This is the guy that I… that Daniel killed with
me there.”
Jason sat down beside him and took the disk out of
the computer, leaving the screen blank. “Don’t do this to yourself, Lucky.” He
said, staring straight at him. “You have no reason to feel guilty for anything
that happened back then.”
Lucky nodded, but didn’t look up. Jason reached
out and turned Lucky’s head towards him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jason leaned back a little. It looked like Lucky
was starting to believe him. “Jason, can I ask you something?” Lucky asked.
Jason nodded. Taking a deep breath, Lucky rested his elbows on the table.
“What, uh, what was it like when you first woke up in the hospital?”
“Well, it was very confusing. I couldn’t remember
anything. All I wanted was one thing that looked familiar to me, to reassure
me.” Jason said.
Lucky nodded. “Were you scared?” He asked.
“Yeah.” Jason replied. “It was one of the scariest
things in my life. I felt so helpless, like I couldn’t do anything.”
Understanding why Lucky was asking all this, he placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Is that how you felt when you woke up in the hospital after the bombing?”
Lucky nodded, a few tears coming to his eyes. “It
seemed like I woke up from a bad dream that I couldn’t remember, and for the
first time, my parents weren’t there to make it better. It was different
because I didn’t forget everything, but it was still horrible. I didn’t know
where I was, why I was in the hospital, or where my parents were. All I knew
was that whatever had happened, it was bad. When mom and dad finally found me,
I told them I got lost and found Luis, and we somehow got caught in a house
that had been bombed. I just didn’t want them to know that I couldn’t remember.
Cause even though I didn’t, I still felt guilt when I woke up. I just wanted to
go back to my life before all that, when I was happy. I thought if I pretended
it wasn’t there, it would go away.” Lucky leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Sometimes I still just want to go back. To those times on the run. When all it
took for me to be happy was to be with my parents. We were all each other’s
lives, back then, and all that mattered in life was that we stayed together.”
“Can I ask you something now?” Jason said. Lucky
nodded. “Sure, anything.”
“What was it like to remember everything”
“It was scary. It would all come to me in dreams
for a while. I didn’t think it was real. Then I started having flashbacks when
I was awake. They would really shake me up. It was like someone else’s life had
gotten into my mind. I still couldn’t believe I had lived all those things. But
when I saw Daniel, everything kinda clicked, and I could finally piece it all
in as it happened. It was real. Of course, then I freaked out about all of it.”
Lucky said as he gave a short laugh.
Jason smiled at him for a moment, and then let it
fade. “Sometimes I worry about remembering my past. I’m afraid it could wreck
the life I’ve struggled to have since the accident. What if it meant that I’d
have to go back to being Jason Quartermaine? Or what if things I remembered
were horrible.”
“I don’t think it would be like that.” Lucky said.
“It would take time to get used to it all. And there would be moments when you
couldn’t believe it was really your past. But it wouldn’t change you. You’d
still have control. It’s hard, but I didn’t let all this turn me back into the
scared uncertain boy I was when I got kidnapped. And I knew Jason Quartermaine.
You wouldn’t remember anything too awful, except for living with the Q’s.”
Jason chuckled. “Thank you Lucky.” He said
seriously. “There aren’t a lot of people I feel too comfortable talking about
all of this with.”
Lucky shrugged. “Hey, I brought it all up. It
helped me a lot to talk all of this out.”
Reaching out and picking the disk up again, Jason
held it up. “It okay if I hold on to this now?” He asked. Lucky nodded. “Yeah,
I don’t think I’ll need it anymore.”
“All right, it’s getting late now, why don’t you
go get some sleep?” Lucky smiled mischievously as he spoke. “Yes, mother.”
“Very funny, you little rat.” Jason replied as he
playfully wrestled with Lucky. “Seriously, though, I’m beat myself. I’ll see
you in the morning, okay?”
“Yeah. Good night Jason.”
“Night Lucky.”
Lucky walked up the stairs to his room then, and
Jason lay back down on the couch. He was feeling a lot more at ease now about
something he never even realized had been bothering him.
Chapter 17
A little nervously, Nikolas knocked on the Spencer’s’
front door. Luke had told him he was welcome now, but it didn’t make him feel
all that much better about being there. Just his luck, too, Nikolas thought, as
Luke answered the door. For a few seconds both of them just stood there
awkwardly.
“Well, come on in.” Luke said as he stepped aside.
Closing the door after Nikolas, he turned around and continued, “Laura took
Lulu to the park, but they should be back any minute. Lucky’s in his room. You
can go on up if you want.”
“Um, thanks.” Nikolas said. This felt too strange
to him, Luke Spencer welcoming him into his home. “I guess I’ll go upstairs,
then.” Nikolas turned towards the stairs when Luke spoke up.
“Hey, uh, I just wanted to let you know, that,
uh...” Luke trailed off, finding this extremely difficult. Nikolas stood still,
wondering what Luke was trying to say. Luke finally just forced the words to
come out. “I wanted to let you know that I meant it when I said you could come
by whenever you want. You’re part of my wife, so you’re part of my family.”
Luke turned around and walked into the kitchen as he finished, but Nikolas
still heard him. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure that out and accept
you.”
From his spot on the top of the stairs where he
had been listening, Lucky smiled. Nikolas looked up and smiled back at him.
They both realized for the first time just how much they had wanted this. For
their families to stop fighting and become one. It was doubtful that Stefan and
Luke would ever be close, but that wasn’t important. It was enough that each of
them could be close to their mom and sister, and become the brothers they
should have been all along. Lucky had just finished walking down the rest of
the steps when the doorbell rang. Opening it, he grinned as he saw Emily and
Liz standing on the steps.
“So are you two just joined at the hip now?” He
joked. “Seems every time I see one of you, the other isn’t far behind anymore.”
“Well, I guess we realized we had a lot in
common.” Liz said.
“What would that be?” Nikolas asked coming up
behind Lucky.
“Stuff you will never know about, because it would
be breaking our girl code if we told you.” Emily said.
“Well, come on in.” Lucky said. “Our house seems
to be the meeting place for all of Port Charles anymore. With you three over
all the time, and Jason and all his bodyguards, we might as well just turn the
house into a hotel.”
Before Lucky could shut the door, though, Lulu
came bounding in, with a very exhausted Laura behind her. Nikolas swept her up,
laughing at all the ice cream smeared across her face.
“Did you think the ice cream would be better on
you than in you?” Lulu just smiled back at him and giggled.
Liz looked at how tired Laura looked, and took
pity on her. “Laura, would you like it if Emily and I cleaned Lulu up? I think
you could use a break.”
Laura managed the best smile she could. “Thank you
girls. I think I’ll go take a nap.” Luke came out of the kitchen grinning at
Laura.
“You know, darling, it’s the children that are
supposed to take naps.” Laura frowned at him. “Yes, but children also seem to
run on sugar, while I require rest.”
“Well, I’ll come up and rub your shoulders, okay?”
Luke asked as he chuckled.
“That would be wonderful.” Laura replied. “Nice to
see you here Nikolas.” She said as she quickly gave both of her sons a quick
peck on the cheek before following Luke upstairs.
Emily and Liz, each taking one of Lulu’s hands,
took her into the kitchen to clean her up. Nikolas gave Lucky a teasing look.
“So, when are you going to ask Liz out?”
“What?” Lucky asked, blushing a little.
“Well,” Nikolas continued, “she seems to be pretty
much over everything, and you can’t tell me you don’t like her.”
“Okay, then, I guess I’ll ask her right after you
ask Emily out.” Lucky said, turning the table on him.
Nikolas looked down, a little embarrassed. “Okay,
I guess I deserved that. But really, Liz would go out with you. Emily on the
other hand..”
Lucky cut him off. “Oh, come on, Niky, Emily likes
you back just as much as you like her.”
Nikolas smiled. “All right, you ask Liz, and then
I’ll ask Emily.”
“No, no, I said I’d ask after you, remember?” Both
brothers looked at each other for a moment, then burst up laughing. “We’re
pretty pathetic, huh?” Lucky asked.
Nikolas agreed, and then Lulu ran into the room,
her face spotless now.
“I have a message for both of you.” Lulu said
shyly.
“Really?” Nikolas asked. “Well, what is it?”
“Lizzie and Emily said neither one of you have to
ask first, and they’ll both be waiting for you to pick them up at Emily’s house
at seven tonight.”
Lucky and Nikolas started laughing again, blushing
uncontrollably. “Are they still in the kitchen?” Lucky asked.
“No.” Lulu said. “They said they had to go home to
get ready.”
“I guess I’ll go home to do the same, then.”
Nikolas said. “I’ll be back here for you at about 6:30, okay?” Lucky nodded.
Nikolas left then, and Lucky grabbed Lulu up in his arms, tickling her as he
walked up the stairs.
Penthouse
Jason walked over to Alexis and Stefan, who were
seated at the table staring at a computer screen. They had decided combine
their resources to find out more about Daniel and Helena.
“You two find anything out, yet?” he asked.
“No,” Stefan said frowning, “we don’t have a clue
as to who...”
“Wait, look at this!” Alexis cut in excitedly.
“Stefan, you kept a record of when Helena tried to see Nikolas. Well, one week
after Lucky was taken at the airport, she contacted you asking to see Nikolas.
You said no, of course, but she was very persistent. She asked again and again,
every week, for nearly four months.”
Stefan looked at the screen worriedly. “You’re
right.” He said. “And look here. She invited both me and Nikolas to Colorado,
saying it was urgent. It must have been to Polk. I didn’t remember it, because
I just tore up the invitation without looking at it closely. But that would
have been nearly the exact time as the bombing that Lucky and Daniel were in.”
“Which could only mean one thing.” Jason said.
“The other person Helena was after is Nikolas.”
Chapter 18
“Reginald!” Edward yelled. No answer came, and he
threw his arms up in the air as he got up out of his chair. “What use is it to
have a butler if I still have to answer the door myself?” He asked aloud. He
snorted when he saw Lucky and Nikolas on the front steps. “What do you rapscallions
want?” He growled. Nikolas stepped back a little, but Lucky swaggered in
confidently.
“We’re here to pick up Emily and Liz, Edward.”
Edward frowned at them. “What those two sweet
girls would want with you two is beyond me.”
“Grandfather!” Emily yelled, as she and Liz
descended the steps. “Butt out!”
“Oh, come on, my dear, I’m just looking out for
you.” He replied.
Lucky stepped forward, and slapped Edward on the
back. “I promise you that Niky and I will not let any harm come to Emily or
Liz.”
Edward glared at Lucky, but kissed Emily on the
cheek and bid her farewell. As soon as the teens were out the door, he allowed
himself a small smile.
Spencer House
Laura answered the door to find a rather frantic
looking Alexis and Stefan on the steps. “Is something wrong?” She asked
hurriedly. “Come on in and sit down and tell us.”
Luke looked up from his chair, and was immediately
as concerned as his wife. “You’ve found something out, haven’t you?” he asked.
“What is it?”
Stefan took a deep breath. “Well,” he said, “we
went through some old records that I kept of when Helena tried to see Nikolas.
It seems she was very persistent around the time that Lucky was taken.”
Realization dawned on Luke quickly. “So Helena
also wanted Nikolas?” Stefan nodded. They both looked up as someone at the door
knocked, and Jason entered.
“Are the boys here?” he asked. Laura shook her
head.
“No, they went to the movies with Liz and Emily.
Why?”
Jason shook his head. “We need to get them back
here. Daniel’s planning something. We’ve seen him and Helena move stuff, like
their planning a trip. And Helena made sure her jet is ready, only she told the
pilot to expect two other passengers along with them.” Luke barely waited for
Jason to finish, before he was out the door, Stefan following close behind.
Outside of Movie Theater
The four teens came out of the theater, still
laughing and joking. Lucky walked over to a trashcan to throw away their empty
popcorn tubs and cups. A black car pulled up beside him, but he thought nothing
of it and turned to walk away. He and the rest of the teens looked up surprised
when Stefan, Luke, and Jason showed up at the other end of the parking lot.
Lucky frowned. They were shouting at him, but he couldn’t hear from this far
away. Turning around, he saw two big men dressed in black coming towards him.
He tried to run when they each grabbed one of his arms. Looking up, he saw two
others going after Nikolas. Stefan and a few of Jason’s men were taking care of
them, though. As he struggled, he saw Luke and Jason running to him, and tried
to stay out of the car long enough for them to reach him. Kicking with all his
might, he had almost broke free, when he felt a sharp pain in his head, and
blacked out.
Spencer House
Alexis and Laura waited anxiously by the door.
When it opened they both relaxed a little as they saw Nikolas, with the girls
behind him.
“Oh, Nikolas!” Laura cried, as she hugged him. “I
was so afraid they had gotten you. Where’s you brother?” she asked. When no
response came from him or anyone else. She nearly dropped to the ground. “No!”
she screamed. “Tell me they don’t have him again.”
Nikolas put an arm on Laura’s shoulder, and talked
to her gently. “They didn’t get him again. They tried, but Luke and Jason got
there in time to stop them.”
Laura didn’t calm down too much. “Where is he,
then?” She looked up in fright as she saw Luke entering the house, with Lucky
in his arms. “Luke, is he all right?” She asked.
“I think he’ll be fine, darling, but he got a
nasty bump on his head.” Luke replied, as he laid Lucky down on the couch. Even
though he reassured Laura, he was still pretty worried about his son. He should
have woken up by now. “Laura, sweetie, go get me a cold rag, and an ice pack,
okay?” Laura just nodded, and ran into the kitchen.
“Luke, is he really okay?” Jason asked.
“I’m not certain.” Luke replied. “But we can’t
take him to the hospital, there’s too much risk of Helena and Daniel getting
him.”
Laura came back in, and held the ice pack to the
bump on her son’s head, as Luke wiped his forehead. “Come on, cowboy.” He said
softly. “Wake up now.”
Lucky found himself in a dark place. He couldn’t
remember. His head hurt. Two men trying to drag him into a car flashed before
his eyes. Not again. They couldn’t have gotten him again. There was no way he
could live through that again. Then he heard voices. They were voices he knew.
They were his parents. They had saved him this time. Slowly, he opened his
eyes.
“Dad?” He asked hoarsely.
“Yeah, yeah it’s me.” Luke said happily. “How are
you feeling?” Lucky came to a little more, and saw all the people standing
around him anxiously. He tried to sit up, but soon realized that was a mistake.
“My head hurts.” He groaned. Everyone laughed,
relieving the tension they all felt.
“Well, you got a nasty bump up there, but I think
you’ll live.” Laura said. “Do you remember what happened?”
Lucky nodded carefully. “Yeah, some men came after
me, and tried to get me in the car. I tried to get away, but…” Lucky cut off,
and Luke squeezed his hand.
“But it had a different ending this time. They
didn’t get you.”
Lucky smiled. “Nope, they didn’t. You got me away
from them.”
Luke smiled back, and noticed Lucky looked pretty
tired. “Why don’t you get some sleep, okay?” Lucky nodded, and was out in
seconds.
Luke got up and turned to everyone else. “Okay, we
got our sons back for the night, but Helena is going to keep trying. We need to
get out of this town, and fast. And that means all of us in this room.” Luke
said, as he turned to the girls. “I’m sorry, but Helena know you two are close
to us, so you’ll be at risk.” He then turned to Stefan. “I hate this, but
you’ll all have to come too. Helena obviously knew Nik and Lucky were together
tonight.” Stefan nodded in agreement. “Jason,” Luke continued, “I know you can
take care of yourself, but we could sure use you.” Jason nodded. “I’ll be
there.”
“All right, Luke, so when do we leave?” Alexis
asked.
“Tonight.”
Chapter 19
Waking up, Lucky looked around him a little
confused. He was in a strange room that he didn’t recognize, by himself, not
knowing why he was there. So why did it all seem so familiar to him? Because
it’s just like old times, his mind screamed. This was a somewhat comforting
thought. So many times before, he and his family had been in trouble one night,
only to wake up in a new unfamiliar place, safe. He missed that about his old
life. No longer could he just run to some place new and have all his troubles
vanish behind him. He realized what must have happened. After Helena had gone
after him, his father had moved them. It was serious now.
Getting up, he got dressed and walked out into the
hallway. He was in some strange old house. He walked down the stairs, and found
everyone in the living room. Everyone was right, he thought to himself; even
the Cassadines were there.
“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked, as he walked
over and took a seat next to Nikolas.
“We’re just doing a little planning.” Luke
answered him. “We need to keep moving, make sure Helena doesn’t follow us,
before we figure up what she’s up to and beat her at her own game.”
Lucky leaned back. His head still hurt a little,
but he tried to ignore it. “Where are we?”
“In Kansas, where no one will find us.”
“Awful close to Colorado, aren’t we?” Lucky asked.
Luke nodded. “Yeah, but I wanted to be close so if Helena tries to get you and
Nikolas there, we won’t be far behind.”
“So she’s after Nikolas too, huh?” Stefan answered
him this time. “Yes, she tried to grab him the other night in the parking lot
too. And it would appear that she was trying to get him to Polk the same time
she had you.”
“So what we do now is wait for my men to report on
where Daniel and Helena are. They packed up and left last night, too.” Jason
said.
“Why don’t we just stay here, then?” Lucky asked.
“Helena isn’t stupid, she’s not going to let things slip. The only way to
figure out what she wants is to let her think she has it.”
Nikolas looked at him curiously. “What are you
suggesting, Lucky?”
Lucky nervously leaned forward, and glanced up at
his father. He wasn’t going to like this. “Let Helena get me and Nikolas.”
Luke held back his anger the best he could. “No
way. I’m not letting that old bat near you again.”
Laura looked at Lucky sadly. “Your father is
right, honey. It would be to dangerous.”
Alexis watched them all closely. She understood
Luke and Laura. They just wanted to keep their son safe. But she understood
Lucky, too. He wanted this ordeal to be over. He wanted to bring down Helena,
and face Daniel himself. No, she decided, he didn’t want that. He needed it.
“Lucky, we’ll figure something out. Why don’t we
all spend the rest of the day not worrying about this, okay?” Stefan asked.
Everyone else agreed. Luke and Laura went out for a walk; Liz and Emily went
upstairs with Jason to let their families know they were all right. Stefan left
to see if he could find out anything else about Helena on his computer. This
just left Nikolas, Lucky, and Alexis in the room.
“You weren’t actually serious about letting Helena
get you again, were you?” Nikolas asked his brother.
Lucky nodded, and didn’t look up. “Why would you
want to do that?”
Alexis spoke up for him. “Because he needs to.”
She said. Both boys looked at her surprised.
“Don’t tell me you actually agree with him.”
Nikolas said.
“I know it’s dangerous, and probably crazy.”
Alexis said. “But Lucky is right. There is no other way to find out what
Helena’s up to. And he has to face her and Daniel. I know what it’s like to
have someone dangling your life over your head. Helena has threatened me for
months just for who I am. I understand what its like, Lucky. You have to take
your life back, and that’s something you need to do on your own.”
Lucky looked at her and smiled. “Your good at
hitting the nail on the head.” He said. “So will you talk to mom and dad about
it?”
“Sure, I don’t know if I can convince them, but
I’ll try my hardest.” She replied.
Nikolas looked at both of them and shook his head.
“I don’t believe either one of you. Your both crazy.”
Lucky looked at him, but ignored what he said.
“I’m doing this. You don’t have to come too, though. I can do this alone. I’m
not going to force you to do this if you aren’t comfortable with it.”
Nikolas studied his brother, and realized he
couldn’t talk him out of it. “All right. I’ll go along with you. If you’re
crazy enough to go through with this, someone is going to have to go with you
and keep an eye on you.”
Outside the House
“Are you completely crazy Alexis?” Stefan shouted.
“You actually want to send those to two boys into Helena’s hands?”
“I don’t want this to be a habit or anything, but
I agree with the Count.” Luke said. “You’ve lost your mind, ‘Tash dear.”
Alexis sighed. This was going to be even harder
than she thought. She turned to Laura. “I know this idea worries you, but you
have to see that Lucky needs to do this. And it wouldn’t be like we wouldn’t
know where he was. We’ll take precautions. Lucky and Nikolas will both have
tracking devices and bugs on them, and Jason’s men will tale them.”
Laura shook her head. “No. I’m not going to risk
my son’s lives. I thought the whole point of this was to save them from Helena,
not hand them to her.”
Luke walked over and put his arms around her
shoulders. “Your right, darling. We are doing this to protect them.”
“Stefan?” Alexis asked. “Please, you must see how
this could be vital to saving them in the end.”
Stefan crossed his arms. “I’m sorry, Alexis, I
won’t put Nikolas at risk.”
Alexis took one last deep breath, and pulled her
last card out. “So what’s the alternative?” She asked. “To just keep moving,
hoping Helena doesn’t find us?” She turned to Luke and Laura. “You want to put
your son back on the run? Don’t you think he deserves a life where he’s not
always worried about being separated from the people he loves, or worse? You’ve
already left your daughter with Bobbie. Its not enough to just stay alive,
don’t you see that? Both of these boys need their family, their entire family.
And they deserve to live a life with them in peace.” Alexis looked at all three
of them, and continued. “Sometimes to get you kids’ nightmares to go away, you
have to let them face the monster themselves.”
Stefan and Luke and Laura looked at each other,
and knew she was right.
“All right.” Laura said. “ I don’t like this one
bit, and I want Lucky and Nikolas to be as safe as we can make them in Helena’s
grasp. But if my boys really need to do this, I won’t stop them.”
Chapter 20
“Helena is about two towns away, but could be here
in a second if she wanted.” Jason said.
“Tomorrow night would be a good time to, uh, set
the bait, I guess.” He looked up at Lucky and Nikolas.
“If you want to rethink this, I’d speak up now.”
“No, I’m ready.” Lucky said.
Nikolas sighed. “I’m ready too, then.” He said.
“All right. Then tomorrow, you two will go out
around town, like you’re just shopping or hanging out or something. Well have
guards on you so Helena won’t think it’s to easy, but they won’t be able to
stop her from getting you. Now, she shouldn’t think this is a set up, so I
don’t expect her to search you two for bugs or tracking devices. If she does,
though, we have a back up. Nikolas, we’ve installed both in your medallion. She
wouldn’t take that away from you.”
Stefan picked up from there. “All you’re there to
do is to figure out why she needs to get you to Polk, where the Ice Princess
is. After that, we’ll come after you, and if all goes well, this should all be
over.”
Laura cleared her throat. “Since this will be our
last night all together for awhile, then, the girls and I decided to make a
party of it.” She left the room, and came back with Liz and Emily, their arms
full of food and movies. “Luke, help me move the furniture.” Luke looked at her
questionably, but helped her. Once the room was cleared, Laura spread sleeping
bags and blankets and pillows all over the floor, and put all the chips and
junk food in the middle.
“Exactly what kind of party is this?” Jason asked.
Emily looked at him as if he had three eyes. “It’s
a slumber party, silly.”
“Slumber party?” Stefan asked. “I must say I’m as
confused about this as Mr. Morgan.”
“I believe it’s an American custom where kids
invite their friends over, and they all sleep on the floor, uncle.” Nikolas
said.
“Doesn’t seem to me that it would be much of a
party if you had to sleep on a hard floor all night.” Jason said.
“People rarely get any sleep.” Liz spoke up. “They
normally stay awake all night talking or watching movies.”
Stefan looked at her dumbfounded. “Why in the
world do they call it a slumber party then, if no one ever sleeps?”
“Why don’t you just learn as we go along, okay
Stefan?” Alexis asked, barely containing her smile. “We need pajamas, though,
right?”
“Yes.” Laura said. “I took the liberty of going
shopping this morning while most of you were asleep. I think I guessed the sizes
pretty well.” She opened a bag and handed flannel pants with matching shirts to
everyone.
Stefan stared at the clothes Laura gave him, then
back to her. “You expect me to wear this ridiculous outfit?”
Luke chuckled, thoroughly enjoying this as much as
he could. “Afraid you might look more human out of you dark suits?”
Stefan glared at Luke, and walked away to go
change in his room. Luke laughed even harder when he reappeared, looking more
than a little uncomfortable. “Well it’s not like you look any better.” He said.
Everyone else came back from changing, and Luke’s laughter caught on. Stefan
did look rather funny wearing color, after seeing him wear only black for so
long. Eventually Stefan started laughing too, after seeing how happy Nikolas
looked right then. The good mood of the room was contagious. Everyone sat down
eventually, and spread the food around.
“So what do we do first?” Alexis asked. “I
attended a few of these in college, but it’s been awhile.”
“Well, we could watch a movie, or start on the
other slumber party rituals.” Emily said.
“What rituals would those be?” Nikolas asked.
“The first would have to be the makeovers.” Liz
replied.
Lucky groaned from his spot next to her. “No way.
That’s only a ritual at girls’ slumber parties. We’re not doing that here.”
“Oh, come one, it’ll be fun.” Liz coaxed. “Emily,
let’s put everyone’s name in a bowl. The first person picked will do the
makeover. The second will be the makeover-ee.” While the girls were doing that,
Laura and Alexis went and got every piece of make-up they had with them.
“Are we ready?” Laura asked. Liz nodded, as she
pulled the first name from the bowl. “And the person who will do the makeover, is…
Stefan!”
Nikolas looked at her amused. “You put the guys’
names in there too?”
“Of course. Everyone here must be included in the
rituals. It’s a rule.” Emily said matter of factly. “And now for the
makeover-ee. Dun-dun-dun-dun… Luke!”
Everyone in the room except for Stefan and Luke
broke out in giggles.
“No way!” Luke shouted. “First of all, I ain’t
wearing make-up, and second of all, I’m not letting the Count apply it!”
Stefan grinned, seeing how he could enjoy this
now. “Come on, Spencer, it’s one of the rules that you have to go along with
the ritual, right Miss Webber and Miss Quartermaine?”
Liz and Emily nodded, laughing to hard to reply.
Stefan joyfully picked up some blush, and brushed it heavily onto Luke’s
cheeks. Five minutes later, he was done, and Luke looked absolutely ridiculous.
Stefan had never put make-up on anyone before, and it didn't help that he had
been laughing the whole time. The whole room was in hysterics, and Luke got up
and ran to a mirror.
“Gee, Count, you didn’t have to make me look like
I should be standing on a street corner!” He complained, as he walked into the
bathroom to wash his face. When the door was closed, he looked at himself in
the mirror again, and chuckled to himself. He was pretty funny looking. When he
came out, everyone was settling down to watch a movie.
“Get all your make-up off, Luke-trina?” Lucky
teased. Luke picked up a chip with dip on it and smeared it down Lucky’s face.
“Hey now, new rule!” Lucky shouted. “You can’t be bitter if someone teases
you.”
Laura laughed and tossed a napkin to Lucky. “No
food fights, boys.” She said. “Too hard to clean up.”
“Aww, but isn’t it a ritual darlin’?” Luke asked.
“Yes, but your forgetting a rule. Whatever mothers
at slumber parties say is automatically a rule.”
Jason laughed from where he sat. “It seems to me
the main purpose of a slumber party is to embarrass people, and make the rest
up as you go.”
Emily smiled. “You’re starting to get it now.”
“So what movie are we watching?” Luke asked.
“Scream.” Liz said.
“Scream?” Luke repeated.
“Another ritual.” Lucky responded. “You always have
to watch a scary movie.”
Towards the end of the movie, Alexis looked over
to Stefan to see if he was enjoying it. She grinned broadly as she saw him
staring straight at the screen with his eyes wide. Looking over, she caught
Jason’s eye, and silently communicated with him. Jason picked a duster from
behind the couch. He slowly and carefully moved it over and behind Stefan’s
neck. Everyone else in the room saw what was going on now, and watched in
interest. Jason moved the duster closer, and brushed it by his ear. Stefan
screamed and threw the bowl of popcorn he was holding. He looked around
frantically, covered in popcorn. For the zillionth time that night, everyone
cracked up.
“You know, Count, we should have come to a truce a
long time ago.” Luke sputtered as he tried to catch his breath. “You sure are
good for a laugh!”
Laura looked at her watch, and quieted everyone
down. “Okay, it’s late now, I think we should all get some sleep.”
Liz, Emily, Lucky, and Nikolas all groaned. “But
no one sleeps at a slumber party, remember?” Nikolas whined.
“And what the mother says goes, too, remember?”
Laura replied smiling.
“But wait, we’re forgetting one of the most
important rituals.” Luke cried.
Laura turned to him smiling. “You know one of the
rituals?” She asked.
“Of course,” he said, “the pillow fight!” With
that said, Luke picked up his pillow and knocked Jason in the back of the head.
Soon, everyone was hitting everyone else, and trying to duck from oncoming
throws. Once they all were exhausted, they got ready to go to sleep. Alexis,
Laura, Liz, and Emily gathered into a circle, and were soon giggling and
whispering.
“Hey!” Jason yelled. “Don’t tell me girl talk all
night is part of a slumber party.” He said.
Lucky laughed as he rolled over. “Yep, it’s the
whole reason no one gets any sleep.”
“So it’s like living on a farm, huh?” Nikolas
asked. “You have to listen to chickens cackling all night.”
The guys laughed, ignoring the yells from the
girls.
“All right, we get the hint.” Alexis said. “We’ll be
quiet now.”
“Thank you!” All the guys said together. Two
seconds later, the girls were laughing again.
Stefan said, and turned toward Luke. “Well,
Spencer, looks like this is going to be a long night.”