Chapter Seventeen
Sher wrapped her arms around the guy's neck and kissed him passionately. "So, stranger, where have you been all my life?" She laughed using a Mae West accent.
"I've been looking for YOU! You disappear after the party and some blond shows up in your place. It's been really weird, Sherry." Luis took her hand and they walked down the hall way.
"What did you do to your hair anyway?" Sher ran a hand through the long, wavy, jet black hair and laughed.
"I'm in disguise." He said, pulling up his surgeon mask so that no one could tell it was him. "I was listening to your conversation with your doubles just now. Last night, Mama finally got me to go home and go to sleep because I'd been looking for you for three days straight. I woke up with this hair and a note that explained all this business with the Witches Stand."
"Yeah, they hit me over the head when I was taking a shortcut through the park and I wound up here." She rubbed the spot that was still sore.
"You were walking through the park in the middle of the night? Do I have to babysit you wherever you go now?" He winked and looked down at her stomach.
"I think I'm back in my own body now. I felt a kick a little while ago." She smiled and kissed him quickly. She added with a cute baby voice, "So you missed me?"
"Yeah, I thought someone had mugged you and beat you up or worse. You just disappeared and no one knew where you were." Luis wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I gotta get back to the girls. Can I meet up with you somewhere?"
He leaned over and let their foreheads touch as he looked in her eyes. "Yeah, I'll be at the prom tonight. You can't tell Theresa and Kay I'm here though." She looked at him curiously wondering why. "You'll see why later. I'll meet you at the prom." He gave her a kiss, pulled up his mask and left. Sher turned around happily and walked back to the room, humming a tune to herself.
~*~
"Guys, we need to get ready for tonight. We are all going to the prom and, with our differences in looks and seeing as how everyone in town already knows by now, we can pull it off." Kat advised and quickly changed.
Sher walked in the room with a large smile on her face. "Okay. Kay, since Simone got you a dress, you go meet up with her. I'll talk to some people and try and get the rest of us some quick gowns and we'll meet up behind the Youth Center (I don't like the idea of having prom on a boat) at 6:30, a half hour before prom starts." Sher ushered everyone out of the room and they got to business.
~*~
Kat walked silently behind the Youth Center, fifteen minutes early. A guy, around 16 or 17 years old moved up to her and offered her a cigarette. "No, thanks. I don't smoke. It's a dirty habit and if I could get my boyfriend to quit, then I would live longer."
The stranger lit up the cigarette and you could see his hair shaved on the sides and spiked on the top with dark roots and blond tips. "I know I should quit. My girlfriend lectures me all the time. She disappeared a few days ago..." He threw down the cigarette and squashed it under his shoe. "I think I'll quit just for her."
Leaning against the wall, she turned her head and gazed at the guy. He was wearing a smart lookng tuxedo with a bowtie left undone around the collar. "Let me do that for you." She turned and stood in front of him. "My boyfriend never could tie one of these things. I tease him about it all the time." She smiled when she finished and looked up.
"Did you just miss teasing me or what?" Miguel took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
"I just missed you and only you. What's with your hair?" Kat touched over the spikes.
"He's in disguise. Even though everyone can clearly see his face." Sher said laughing as she walked up with Luis in tow. He was uncomfortable dressing as a penguin.
"That's what these are for, Sheridan." Miguel put on some gucci sunglasses that Kat got him last christmas and smiled.
"Aw, I thought you hated those." Kat cooed.
"Well, now I have a reason to wear them." He bent down and kissed her quickly.
"Okay, so I have Luis, you have Miguel. What about-" Sher started.
"My sister is going to be quite happy. Don't worry, Sherry." Luis put an arm around her and they leaned against the wall, waiting for the others to arrive.
~*~
"I am so late. I am so late." Tree chanted as she tried to get ready. Theresa and everyone left and Tree just finished her hair. She grabbed her purse and slowly walked down the stairs to the living room, the over powering smell of roses consuming her. She looked around her living room, seeing flowers wall to wall and a shadow in the corner.
A familiar voice answered her questioning stare. "Well, I guess being a Crane means something everywhere nowadays." He smiled and she ran to him, throwing herself in his arms.
"Ethan Bennett, when did you get here? HOW did you get here?" Ethan laughed.
"Us guys, we went to sleep last night and woke up here. So this is where you've been all this time. I've been looking everywhere for you. The whole town was turned upside-down when you three disappeared." He hugged her and then pulled her away so that she could look at him. "How bad do you think I look with this hair?"
She looked at his hair in a bowl cut and ran a hand through it. "It's nice. I think you should keep your hair like this. I love your suit, too." Tree giggled and straightened his jacket. He was wearing a tuxedo with no tie and the collar up.
"We better get going, Theresa. We're going to be late for the prom." She took his arm and they went out to the black limo and sped off.
~*~
Kat, Migel, Kay, Tree, Ethen, Theresa, Sher, Louis and Sheridan all walked through the doors of the Youth Center into the prom. After collaborating, they decided that Tree's Ethan would now be Ethen, Sher's Luis would now be Louis and Kat's Miguel would now be Migel.
Luis walked up and Louis turned away quickly looking down. "Sheridan, may I have this dance?" Sheridan nodded and was led off.
"What that all about, Louis?" Sher asked him.
"It's just weird. I mean, he's my exact twin pretty much. I just rather him not see me." He took her hand and they walked off to dance as well.
Ethen grabbed Tree's hand and spun her off to the dance floor as Marcy Gray's 'I Try' came on. Migel also started dancing with Kat.
"Kay? You look really nice." Miguel went up to Kay and smiled timidly.
"Thanks, Miguel." She got closer to him.
"Do you wanna dance?" She eagerly nodded and they were dancing happily...
"Well, this is fun." Theresa said and sat down, when she was grabbed from behind and a knife was held to her throat.
"Stay still or I will kill you." Theresa turned her head slightly and saw someone she was not expecting.
"Mrs. Bennett?!"
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