A/N: Dun dun...dun dun...dun dun dun! *dramatic drum music plays in background* Ahem...well, yes...There's really only one I can say this...
IT'S HERE, BITCHES! IT'S HERE!
Haha, its my super-belated Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzah gift to you guys, I guess, 'cause I was suddenly struck with intense determination to start writing this. It has some big shoes to fill, being the sequel to Just One of the Guys and all. Hopefully, it will live up to (and possibly even exceed) your expectations. I'm giving it my all. Just for you, my little flower children. :D
Just a few things to straighten out before we begin:
1. I can't say how consistent updates are going to be. With school and homework and all that jazz, there's just no way to know when I'll have time to sit down and work on it. For that, I'm sorry, but it will still be awesomely awesome! Just add this to your story alert subscription!
2. IMPORTANT!: Do not read this story if you have not read Just One of the Guys! SERIOUSLY! A lot of stuff will be mind blowingly confusing if you are naughty and read this story first. Just warning you.
Okay, formal stuff is over now guys. Go ahead and read to your little hearts' content.
Chapter 1: Unfortunate Events That Unfortunately Weren't Unfortunate Enough
Blair's POV
Since the dawn of time, parents have been lecturing their kids about the importance of school. They tell us the we need to go to school to get a good education so that we can get super awesome jobs someday and make a shit ton of money. (Okay, they don't say it exactly like that, but you get the idea.) But in my opinion, school is really just a big waste of time and money. If I, Blair Hunter, had it my way, I would learn everything I needed to know by playing video games, goofing off with my friends, and everything else would be supplemented by watching a Bill Nye the Science Guy video every couple months. Just for good measure.
But of course, I DON'T have it my way, so I was, at this moment, slumped over at my desk, trying to tune out whatever my teacher was rambling on about. Luckily, I have this kick ass thing called imagination to help me out. I'd been daydreaming a lot lately about everything from unicorns to giant Poptarts to me falling into a vat of toxic waste and getting superpowers. Today, however, I was lost in thought trying to imagine my perfect Spring Break, since it begins as soon as school is over today.
I was sitting on the beach in one of those long chairs, watching the waves crash onto the shoreline. I had a piña colada in one hand and a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos in the other. A stereotypically French waiter named Pierre was fanning me, and my favorite band, Muse, was putting on an exclusive private serenade just for me. This was the life. So what if it just a daydream? It was still awesome.
I sighed contently and was just about to ask Pierre to grab me another piña colada when someone (a certain someone with fiery orange hair) just happened to interrupt me. "Blair!" my best friend, Maggie Wheeler, cried as she dashed towards me across the sandy beach. I stared in confusion.
"Maggie? What are you doing in my daydream?" I asked, standing up from my seat. "I'm trying to imagine my perfect Spring Break." A devious smile spread across Maggie's face. I felt my eyes go wide.
"What are you talking about, Blair? You know perfectly well that you're not going to the beach for Spring Break to relax..." she said, smirking.
"No...no..." I pleaded, knowing that my beautiful daydream was about to crumble.
"That's right. Because...I'M DRAGGING YOU TO ALABAMA TO HELP ME WITH A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE!" the red head cried, laughing maniacally.
"Nooooooooooooooooo!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as the beachy setting shattered like glass around me...
My eyes shot open suddenly, nearly blinded by the bright lighting above me. I found twenty pairs of eyes staring back at me. My hand came up to my face and felt a little trickle of drool at the corner of my mouth. Reality came rushing back to me. I wasn't on a beach with an evil Maggie. I was in school! In Mr. Glass's English class, to be precise. And apparently...my daydreaming exploits hadn't exactly been silent.
"Umm...hehe." I laughed awkwardly as my classmates continued to stare back to where I was sitting with expressions varying from total confusion to sheer amusement. Mr. Glass's voice broke the silence from the front of the room.
"Miss Hunter...would you care to explain to us all why you just screamed 'no' at the top of your lungs in the middle of my class? Surely my discussion on iambic pentameter can't have been that devastating." The entire class snickered.
"I...well, the thing is..." I stammered, trying to come up with an explanation that didn't make me sound COMPLETELY psycho. I was saved from thinking of one by the shrill ring of the bell, ending class and the school day. I let out an immense sigh of relief as everybody shot out of their desks and started to pack up and leave. Mr. Glass just smiled at me in exasperation and shook his head.
"Have an excellent Spring Break, everyone!" he called as I scooped up my books and sped out into the bustling halls. I ducked into the nearest bathroom, catching sight of myself in the mirror. I looked frazzled. My signature multicolored light brown, yellow, and pink hair was sticking up in all directions and my almond colored eyes were wide with embarrassment. I shook my head at my reflection.
"Way to make an idiot of yourself, Blair." I muttered, fixing my hair. That had not been the first time I'd daydreamed of situations like that in the past couple of days. Why was I constantly dreaming of Maggie bursting in and ruining my ideal Spring Break, you ask? Because it's true. Yes...Maggie was indeed dragging me to Alabama to assist her with an article she was going to be writing for one of the local Alabama papers. It was going to be me, Maggie and her parents, and my other best friend, Devon Wilde, all flying down to dear old Mobile, Alabama to stay with some cousins of Maggie's. One of them (Ashley, I think her name is) was going to be competing in a competition called the America's Junior Miss Pageant. Think Miss America, but with teenage girls.
And the lovely pageant just so happened to be what Maggie was doing the article on. As she would tell anyone who'd listen for longer than five seconds, a Mobile newspaper was willing to pay her to write a piece that gives an insider's viewpoint into the world of America's Junior Miss contestants. And, of course, for some unfathomable reason, Maggie needed MY assistance to do so. I know, I know...don't ask me about what goes on inside that head of hers. But anyhow...so her uber-rich parents had bought me and Devon plane tickets to go with her and we were set to fly out for Mobile two days from now. That's two straight weeks of excess sleep, Chinese take-out, and baggy sweatpants that comes with Spring Break, wasted.
I finished up in front of the mirror and slid back out into the considerably emptier hallways, making my way to my locker to pack up anything I would need. Thankfully, the teachers had been friendly (for once) and decided not to give us any homework to do over the break. I was attempting to jam my lock closed and swing my backpack onto my bony shoulders at the same time, when a familiar voice echoed down the hall. "Blair!" Deja vu struck as I saw Maggie sprinting towards me, her shoulder-length, vibrantly orange hair flying behind her. She was closely trailed by a smiling Devon, whose nearly-as-long dark brown hair was also being whipped around.
"It's Spring Break! It's Spring Break!" Maggie squealed, doing a sort of shuffle dance in front of me. "No more school, 'cause it's Spring Break!" She was singing now. I had to end this before it got out of control and a flash mob came down the hallway or something.
"Yes, Mag, I'm well aware that it's Spring Break. Thank you for the singing memo." I said sarcastically, swinging my backpack further up onto my back and nearly falling face first onto the ground in the process. Devon quickly steadied me. Maggie, meanwhile, pretended to look hurt as we made our way towards the main doors of the school.
"Well, jeez...SOMEBODY'S being a real party pooper." she said, nudging me in the ribs. "Maybe you need more sleep. I heard you dozed off in English class today and then started screaming things at the top of your lungs." I felt my eyebrows raise. Damn...news travels fast around here.
"Okay, first of all," I said exasperatedly, "I didn't SCREAM at the top of my lungs. I lightly yelled." Maggie gave me a look that could only be interpreted as 'lightly yelled, my ass'. "Second of all," I continued in a slightly higher voice, "Maybe I wouldn't be having these outbursts if I wasn't daydreaming about the Spring Break I'm being forced to spend in motherfucking Alabama, of all places!"
"Oh my God...are you STILL pissed about that?" Maggie asked, rolling her frosty blue eyes. I shot her a pointed glare. "It's not going to be THAT bad, Blair." she said. "We'll fly down to Mobile and I'll interview some chicks at the pageant, and all you have to do is convert carbon dioxide into oxygen while I scribble some shit down on a notepad. Easy as pie."
"Yeah...until you ask me to do you some ridiculous 'favor' that involves me jumping into a tank filled with pirannahs, or finding you a moon rock or something." I said. If there was one thing I knew from experience, it was that Maggie's little plans were never as easy as she made them sound. Her last article had morphed into a twisted scheme that involved me impersonating one of Devon's dead cousins (who, by the way, was a BOY) and enrolling in an all-boys boarding school for a week. As a result, I had lived for five days amongst prep school douche bags, and had very nearly been raped by the pedophilic headmaster. All in all...it had been a very interesting, dangerous, and mentally-draining week.
Maggie interrupted my reverie. "Come on! I never ask you for anything!" Even Devon, who was usually eager to jump on the bandwagons of Maggie's 'this will be easy' ploys, gave her a look this time.
"Right. I just enjoy crossdressing as a side hobby." I said bitterly. Maggie smirked sheepishly.
"Come on you guys, stop arguing." Devon interjected. "We're gonna miss the bus." We nodded in agreement and took off at full speed in the direction of the yellow vehicle parked a ways ahead. We swiftly apologized to the scowling bus driver, who looked as though he would have more than enjoyed running us over repeatedly for making him wait so long. I pushed past dozens of pairs of knees sticking out into the aisle between the seats, looking for one that wasn't occupied. Maggie grabbed my shoulder just I was sitting down in one of the only vacant spots. She looked down at me and smiled lightly.
"Blair, everything's gonna work out fine this time. Just trust me." she said in a reassuring voice. I nodded, but I couldn't stop picturing myself ending up stranded in the middle of nowhere in Alabama with Maggie and nothing but a bottle of water and the remaining stub of Maggie's eyeliner between us. The saddest part was...this scenario was not entirely unrealistic.
Later that night, after about an hour spent in denial that I was going to Mobile, Alabama for Spring Break, I had finally accepted my fate and was currently occupied with shoving everything I would need into my tiny little suitcase and duffle bag, which were the only two pieces of luggage that I owned. Maggie was "helping", which actually meant that she was just rummaging through my stuff and asking a ton of annoying questions. I hummed some Muse to myself while I packed to take my mind off of things as Maggie rambled.
"You should come over later for dinner. I think my dad said he was actually gonna cook for once, and he's making veggie lasagna. Mmmm...my favorite. I can't wait. Hey, what's this?" Maggie asked out of the blue, turning around from the drawer she was sifting through and holding up a crumpled piece of paper. I squinted at it, but it didn't look familiar.
"How am I supposed to know? What does it say?" Maggie smoothed it out a bit and then began to read it out loud.
"House B class schedules. Class one." she read, "8:00 a.m. Chemistry, 9:00 a.m. History of Art..." A flood of memories poured into my mind. Maggie had unearthed the schedule for my classes at St. James, the all-boys boarding school I mentioned earlier. Maggie was suddenly giggling. I looked at her, confused. "Why is the name 'Gerard' doodled all over this with little hearts?" she asked, laughing. I felt my face flush bright red and I lunged at her, grabbing the schedule from her hands. She continued to laugh at me while I tried to regain my composure.
"No reason..." I lied, though there was a very big reason indeed. My time at St. James hadn't been all bad; not by a long shot. In fact, it had actually been one of the funnest weeks of my life now that I think about it. Not only had I gotten to play super-secret-spy by snooping around for Maggie, but I'd also met some of my best friends there. Don't get me wrong, Maggie and Devon will always be my very closest friends and partners in crime, but the guys I'd met at St. James were beyond awesome.
I'd met Frankie Iero first after he'd defended me when I accidentally spilled my food on some jerk's shirt. Then there was the adorably awkward Mikey Way who had been my roommate and closest confident. I'd also met Ray Toro, a very tall, very awesome dude who sort of looked out for everyone. And Bob Bryar, who was pretty quiet but super cool and actually really hilarious. Last but not least was Gerard...Oh Gerard. He was Mikey's older brother, and there don't seem to be enough words to describe him. Gerard is very observant, sensitive and compassionate by nature, imaginative and an absolutely amazing artist. He's also kind of...sort of...super hot.
"Now, stop digging through my drawers and do something productive." I told the smirking Maggie, re-crumpling the paper and tossing it back into the drawer it'd come from. "Here. You. Take this. Downstairs." I said, pointing from Maggie to the zipped duffle bag on the floor of my messy room. She sighed heavily, but complied and disappeared from the room with the bag. I returned to packing, and was attempting to shove my pair of black Chucks into my already crammed suitcase when I felt my phone, which was wedged into my back pocket, begin to vibrate. Giving up on my efforts to somehow origami-fold my shoes so they would fit, I whipped out the humming device and flipped it open. A text from Devon flashed on the screen:
Can I come over?
I stared at the message and tried to think of what he might need. He and his boyfriend, Patrick, were supposed to have been going out to see a movie and spend some time together before Devon had to leave for Mobile. I wondered with slight concern if everything was okay, but before I could reply, another text popped up:
Never mind, I'm coming over anyways. I'll be there in a sec.
Uh oh...this couldn't be good. I hoped upon highest hope that it was something stupid like he couldn't find anything to wear and needed my advice. It would have been catastrophic if he and Patrick had broken up. Devon's father had died in a car crash a few years ago, and Mrs. Wilde had not taken his death well. She'd turned into a pretty severe alcoholic and spent most of her time shut up in her room in their apartment. I was pretty sure that Devon felt lonely most of the time, which was why he'd been so promiscuous in the past, dragging home new guys left and right. And then, it was as though a miracle had happened.
Frankie had introduced Devon to one of his bisexual friends, Patrick, and they had hit it off right away. The two were practically inseparable now, and Devon had been seeming even happier than usual lately. It would break my heart to see all of that come unraveled again. Maggie reappeared in my bedroom once again, looking cross. "Anything else you want me to haul, master?" she asked before catching sight of worried expression. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"I think something's wrong with Devon." I said, showing her the two texts. Maggie studied them for a moment, but then shrugged her shoulders.
"Sounds like he just wants to come over, to me. Probably got bored and needed someone to annoy." Maggie's reassurances did little to decrease the gnawing concern in my stomach. I heard a car door slam outside the house, and then the sound of the front door opening and feet thumping up the stairs. Devon had let himself in and was making his way up to my room. The door flew open and Devon burst in, an odd expression on his face. It looked halfway between extreme sadness and relief, with just a touch of joy. My eyes widened, as did Maggie's. We both climbed up off of my bed and approached him tentatively.
"Dev...you okay?" I asked, reaching out to touch his arm.
"You guys are never going to believe what happened." he whispered, looking a little shaken. Me and Maggie looked at each other before taking his arms and sitting him on the bed. Maggie crouched down in front of him.
"What is it? What happened? Is everyone okay? Are YOU okay?" She looked like she was checking him over for bruises and scratches. Devon shook her off.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." he said quickly. "It's just..." We looked at him expectantly. "Okay...so I went home after school, right? And everything seemed normal at first, but then I saw these two police cars parked outside the apartments." Maggie and I shared a discreet glance again. Devon continued with his story. "So I ran up to our floor, and when I got to our door, there was this big police officer guy waiting outside of it.
"I asked him what was going on, and he said...he said..." Devon looked on the verge of tears. We waited anxiously for him to go on. "He told me that some of the neighbors had called the cops because they heard lots of screaming from our room. Turns out my mom and her boyfriend got into a huge fight. But when the cops showed up, they were both drunk out of their minds, and my mom kind of...well...she hit a police officer. Hard. Actually, she sort of punched him in the face, really." My jaw dropped open. There was a moment of silence, and then Maggie broke in.
"So what are they gonna do?" she asked. Devon shrugged a little wildly.
"I don't know!" he cried. "They have to hold her in jail because she 'assaulted an officer' or something. Then she gets a hearing and they decide what the penalty is." I gulped. The situation was not looking bright. Mrs. Wilde had always been a nice lady if you could catch her at the right times, but when you caught her at the wrong ones...well... Devon huffed loudly and burried his face in his hands, his shoulders beginning to shake. "Everything's just so fucked up!" he yelled miserably. I immediately threw my arms around him.
"Oh, Devon! I'm so sorry!" I said, squeezing him in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. "If there's anything we can do, just let us know. Do you need a place to stay? You know my mom would let you stay at my house for as long as you need to." Devon just shook his head miserably, his face still hidden.
"I can't." he half moaned. "The cops said I need to stay with a designated relative. Something to do with paperwork from a long time ago. I have to go to my Aunt Lisa's house, though."
"Well, that's not so bad." Maggie piped up. "Your aunt's really nice. And she makes the BEST cinnamon rolls. You should totally ask her to bake a pan for me-" I cut her off by giving her a severe 'not right now' look. She shushed instantly, then cleared her throat and tried again. "Well, what I meant was...everything will work out in the end. And on the bright side, you only have to stay with your aunt for like one day. We're leaving for Mobile in two." Mobile, Alabama had been driven completely out of my mind for the past few minutes. I'd completely forgotten about it. But Devon was shaking his head again. He looked up this time to speak.
"You guys, I can't go to Alabama right now. My mom is in fucking jail! I need to be there for her." His eyes welled up with shiny tears. "I know she's not always the greatest mom ever, but she tries and...I still love her no matter what."
"Of course you do!" I said warmly, "But...I'm not really sure there's much you can do for her right now." Devon grabbed my wrist and looked into my eyes with complete desperation. It shattered my heart in two and I felt my own eyes get wetter.
"I talked to the police officer who dropped me off here while I was in his car." he said in an anguished whisper. "He said there's a chance that instead of prison, she could get a court-ordered stay in rehab, and that's it." He gripped my wrist even tighter. "If there is ANY chance that I can get her to agree with that and go through with a program, I have to take it. I can't live like this forever, Blair. This could change my whole life."
"Oh my God, Devon! This is worse than the movies!" Maggie wailed sorrowfully, flopping onto the bed. I rolled my eyes at her melodramatics. "We understand completely!" she cried, her voice slightly muffled in my blankets. "You should stay." She suddenly picked her head up and turned to face me and Devon. "Maybe we should stay back too and not go to Mobile. You know...so we can be there for you."
"I second that idea!" I said loudly, my hand flying up. Anything to get me out of Alabama and on a couch somewhere with a pan of cinnamon rolls was A-OK with me.
"No...you guys should go without me. I'll be fine at my aunt's house. And besides, I'll have Patrick. I already called him and he said he'd come stay with me if I wanted. So...you guys go and have a good time." I felt my heart sink.
"Are you sure, Dev?" Maggie asked with concern. She may have been eager to get everyone to go with her to work on her article, but she could also be very understanding and compassionate if a serious enough situation arose.
"Yeah, Devon, are you absolutely POSITIVE you don't need anyone to stay back with you?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate and failing pathetically. Even Devon laughed at my attempt to get out of the trip.
"No, seriously, you guys. I'm gonna be just fine." Maggie studied him for a moment, but then seemed satisfied with his answer.
"Well, alright, but if you need ANYTHING, you just call us and we'll come straight home." Devon nodded obediently. Maggie sighed heavily and shook her head. "Well, I'm gonna go call my dad and tell him to cancel Devon's ticket." She got up to leave the room. "I'm really sorry you're gonna miss the trip. It's going to be so fun."
"I know I'm heartbroken." Devon said, frowning. However, he leaned in to whisper to me after she'd gone downstairs. "Like hell am I heartbroken. Now I get to stay at my aunt's house all week with my super hot boyfriend and eat her fucking delicious cinnamon rolls." I gaped at him in shock and then elbowed him fiercely in the ribs, laughing.
"Don't rub it in." I chided.
"I'm just kidding." he said, though I could tell from the look in his eyes that this was only partly true. "I should probably get going, though. That police officer guy is still waiting outside to take me to my aunt's. He said he felt bad so he was letting me stop in and see you guys." I nodded.
"Okay." I wrapped him in another gigantic hug, wishing that I could take away all his worries, but knowing that I couldn't. "But, seriously...what Maggie said. If you need anything, anything at all...you know the hotel number."
"Thanks." He gave me a quick, friendly peck on the cheek and then vanished. I heard a car driving away a few moments later and sighed loudly, massaging my temples. There was far too much going on at the moment. The angry thumping coming up the stairs just now was not helping my headache either. Maggie suddenly burst into the room looking furious. She flung her phone down in the general direction of my bed and I was forced to dive out of the way to avoid being pelted with the flying object.
"Whoa! Calm down there, Mag! There's no need to go around nearly decapitating innocent bystanders with telephones." I said, watching her pace around the room in a rage.
"Oh, those dirtbags!" she fumed poisonously. I stared at her in confusion, completely lost as to who she could possibly be talking about. "Those money-crazed slimeballs!" She turned on me and advanced in my direction, looking just about ready to kill something. I backed up against the wall and threw my arms up for my own safety. "Do you know what my dad just told me?"
"Umm...you're not having lasagna for dinner?" I squeaked.
"No! He just told me that he and my mom have important business meetings that they absolutely CANNOT miss all this week!" I couldn't see where this was going.
"Okay..."
"They said they're not gonna be able to go to Mobile with us! They're staying behind to go sit in on their fucking meetings!" Though Maggie's fury was scaring me, I could see a flicker of hope in the circumstance she was informing me of.
"So the trip's cancelled?" I piped up eagerly. Maggie shot me a bitter glare. "I mean...oh dang...the trip's cancelled?" I tried again, trying to add a note of sorrow to my voice.
"Of course not." Maggie said, seeming to have calmed down slightly. "We're totally still going. I wasn't about to let them cancel it. It's just annoying that they can't even set aside their stupid jobs for one week to do something with their only daughter. They don't even do anything at work! They just sit there and look important!" Damn! My plans to get out of the trip had been foiled again. I seriously suspected that even if every single plane at the airport were to be struck down by lightning and rendered useless, the ONE plane that would still be working would be the one flying to Mobile, Alabama.
"Maggie, I don't know if my mom will even let me go if there's no adults going with us." I knew that she probably would, but hey...it was worth a shot.
"Nice try, Blair, but my dad already talked to your mom and she's totally fine with it since we'll be staying with my aunt. You are NOT getting out of this trip, Blair Hunter. You might as well just accept it."
"Fine..." I huffed, "I'll cooperate." I slid off of my bed and reluctantly began to pack again while Maggie watched me with approval. Making sure she couldn't see me, I peeked at the schedule Maggie had pulled out earlier. Sure enough, Gerard's name had been scrawled all over it in my curly handwriting. I couldn't help but grin at it, remembering him and the rest of the guys. It'd been at least a week and a half since I'd talked to any of them. We'd all been so busy with school and stuff. Maggie's voice broke the quiet.
"I don't know what to do with those three extra plane tickets, though. My dad said it was too late to cancel them, but it seems like such an awful waste...I feel like we should give them to somebody or something..." It was as though a little lightbulb had flicked on over my head. The perfect solution! I turned around in excitement to face my best friend.
"I think I have an idea..."
"Way, Way, Way..." I muttered to myself as I scrolled through the list of contacts on my cell phone. Finally, I found the one I was looking for: the number of my dear friend, Mikey, respectfully labeled on my phone as Mikey Fuckin' Way. I pressed the call button and then waited impatiently as it rang on the other end. "Come on, Mikey...pick up." Maggie was watching me from my bed with anticipation. I was just about to hang up, disappointed, when I heard it pick up, and Mikey's voice suddenly filled the line. It was nice to hear him after not having talked to him for awhile...that is until I heard what he was actually saying.
"For the last time, Gerard," he was yelling intensely, "I am NOT putting on the fucking skirt again so that you can work on your drawing! I did it yesterday, but I WILL NOT do it again." I froze, speechless, not sure what I was supposed to say to that. After a few awkward moments, Mikey's voice piped up over the line again, though this time it was much quieter. "This...isn't Gerard, is it?"
"Mikey...you worry me sometimes." I said, shaking my head.
"Blair? Is that you?" he said, his voice lighting up with excitement. "Oh my God, I haven't talked to you in so long. Listen...about what I said before on the phone...Sorry, I thought you were Gerard. He called a few minutes ago to ask me-" I cut him off before he could complete his sentence.
"Mikey, I REALLY don't want to know what he asked you. But listen, I have a question for you."
"Shoot." Mikey said through a mouthful of what sounded like popcorn or some other crispy junk food.
"Well, me and my friends were gonna go on a little...vacation over Spring Break, but a few of them had to cancel at the last minute, so we have some extra plane tickets. I was wondering if maybe you and the rest of the guys wanted to come with us on the...vacation." There was a few seconds of thoughtful crunching and then:
"Sure! That sounds awesome. St. James just got out for Spring Break yesterday, so I guess it works out. Where are we going?" I bit my lip. I somehow didn't think that telling him that we were going to Mobile, Alabama would increase his desire to go with us in any way, shape, or form.
"Well, it's er...kind of a non-traditional vacation spot. Umm...I hear they have really nice weather, though, and it's a...safe environment." I said cautiously, hoping that he would be satisfied with my vague answer. Apparently, this wasn't the case.
"Oh God, Blair, where are you going? Idaho? Nebraska? One of the other insanely dull, soul-killing states?" Mikey asked in feigned dread.
"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's 'soul-killing' necessarily..." I squeaked.
"Blair..."
"Okay, okay...we're going to Mobile, Alabama. It's so that Maggie can work on an article for the America's Junior Miss Pageant." I said quickly, praying to whoever was up there that Mikey didn't give me a definite 'no' in light of the Alabama situation. He hadn't yet responded, so I floundered on, practically begging him to say yes. "Please, Mikey! If you guys don't come, I'll be stuck with Maggie the whole time!"
"Hey!" Maggie said defensively, glaring at me. I shot her an apologetic glance.
"I don't know, Blair..." Mikey was saying slowly on the other end. "It doesn't exactly sound like the most exciting Spring Break ever. I mean...I could be at home playing Dungeons and Dragons, and watching the Home and Garden channel..." I wanted to punch him for sounding so serious. And then something occurred to me. I smiled mischievously at Maggie, who cocked her head in curiosity.
"Well, I guess if you'd rather stay at home, then me and Maggie will just go to Mobile by ourselves. We'll have to find someone else to help us interview all those girls at the pageant, though..." I could feel Mikey's interest pique even over the many miles that separated us.
"Girls?" he asked tentatively.
"Oh yeah..." I continued, "Loads of them. The pageant contestants. They'll be all over the place. And we'll have to go backstage, of course. Probably into their dressing area. And I'm sure we'll have to talk to a lot of them, especially during their swimsuit competition." There was a moment's pause.
"Mom! Get my suitcase!" Mikey was yelling in a slightly muffled voice, his hand probably covering the receiver. "I'm going to Mobile, Alabama!" I heard him pull his hand off of the phone, and his voice came in clearer. "Okay, I'll go. I'll ask the other guys and see if they can, too." I smiled to myself in satisfaction. Something had told me that once Mikey found out exactly WHERE in Mobile we would be spending our time, he would be much more eager to go.
"Great!" I said, "So, we leave on Friday. Call me when you know who else is coming, and I'll tell you when our flight leaves and stuff."
"Awesome." Mikey said. "Can't wait. I'll call soon." We bade each other goodbye and hung up. Maggie jumped off of my bed, looking expectant.
"So?" she asked eagerly.
"He said he'll come." Maggie grinned broadly. "And he said he'd ask the rest of the guys if they wanted to come as well." I wanted to jump up and down. If the St. James guys came, that would make the trip about a gazillion times better and WAY more interesting. It's not that I don't absolutely love Maggie and spending time with her, but when she works she tends to get wrapped up in what she's doing and locks herself in a room to "let her creative juices flow, undisturbed". Of course, she'd most likely procrastinate and not get any work done anyways, but still...
"So if all of them come..." I continued, "We'll have Mikey, Gerard, Frankie, Bob...Ray..." My face fell with each name I said as a small problem was realized. "Oh, no! Maggie!" I cried perilously. "We only have THREE extra tickets! There's five guys in all." It seemed that all was lost, but Maggie's grin did not falter in the slightest.
"Chill, Blair." she said confidently. "My parent's may leave me alone all day so they can sit around their stupid offices, but there are several benefits to having neglectful, obscenely rich parental units." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a slick, silver plastic rectangle. "Such as being a credit card kid." She waved the card under my nose. "This baby is loaded with all the money my parents leave me to buy things like food and clothes, or taxi cabs and stuff. I can just use this to buy two more plane tickets, and they'll never even know. They're so rich, I suspect I could buy an entire country and they wouldn't even notice." I gaped at her.
"But Maggie...don't you NEED that money to like...I don't know...EAT. Or CLOTHE YOURSELF." I said incredulously. She just shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Trust me, Blair. Money is not an object. Besides, I'm pissed at my parents. I'm glad to be spending any amount of their money without their knowledge." She had a vengeful glint in her eyes. I was still tentative to use her money, though. "Well...I guess if you'd really rather not use it, we can just forget inviting the guys." She looked at me with raised eyebrows. "You know...just forget inviting Gerard." I glared at her smug little expression. "It's entirely up to you, though." she said in a falsely sweet voice. I stared from her to the credit card in her hand, weighing my options.
"Gimme that." I finally said, swiping the credit card from her palm. "Let's go buy some plane tickets."
A/N: Well there you have it, ladies and gents. Chapter 1 of the sequel. It's gonna be kick-ass! I honestly can't wait to dive into this story and start thinking up some great ideas. Unfortunately, the heavy burden of school will most likely get in the way of any possibility of regular updates, but I swear to Ghandi that I will do my best to get updates up as soon as I possibly can manage them.
It's a brand new year, and I hope that all of you beautiful people are enjoying it and that you will stay fabulous like you always have been. Here's to another 365 days of awesomeness and doing things that you love. (Which I hope includes reading my fanfics. Hint hint...) :D
Cheers!
Quote of the Week:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go out and do that. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive." - Howard Washington Thurman