Anne Lasky was dragging Kathryn Lasky very painfully by the wrist.
"Honestly," Anne grumbled, her long fingernails digging into her sister's wrist sharply, "do you ever get out and have fun? What kind of person hasn't heard of National Treasure? Have you been living under a rock and studying like the little nerd you are for the past months, you loser?"
"Well, apparently," replied Kathryn loftily in the slight British accent she had acquired from five years of living in London. "Since I had no idea there was even such a thing as a movie called National Treasure. Rather cheesy name, isn't it?"
Anne gave a gasp, as if her sister had just insulted her instead of the movie. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Disgraceful."
She pushed, or rather forced, her sister down on the couch and inserted the National Treasure DVD into her Sony DVD player she had bought for ten dollars from a garage sale. Anne couldn't help but roll her eyes when she spotted Kathryn looking around her small flat worriedly. Yeah, she knew her flat was a total and utter mess but that was just a small thing that worried nobody except her neat freak sister. Her flat was homey and it showcased Anne's personality perfectly. It was just impossible to hate it.
"Anne," said Kathryn timidly, ignoring the fact that she was the big sister and that she shouldn't be afraid of her little sister. Anne could be frightening, due to her exploding temper. "Are you sure you chose the right, um, environment? It's, um, quite messy. Not that I'm nagging or anything!"
Grinning, Anne sat on the couch besides her sister, chomping on the popcorn that she had shoved into the microwave two minutes earlier.
"It's either here or Dylan's place,"
"Who's Dylan?" asked Kathryn, looking at Anne quizzically. In all those conversations that the sisters had had on MSN or on the phone, there was never any mention of a Dylan. Almost instantaneously, Kathryn's love for the name Dylan dissolved. Who was this mysterious Dylan that could be a potential hazard and heart-breaker for her little sister? In the privacy of her own evil little mind, Kathryn was already plotting the demise for this so-called Dylan.
"He's the dude that I told you about who chomps through two packets of cigarettes every day," Anne answered, shrugging and leaning back to bask in amusement at her sister's response.
Oh, so there was a mention of this Dylan.
Gasping loudly, Kathryn said slightly mockingly, "And you hang out with him? You could get cancer!"
Anne was proud. If she wasn't concentrating on her sister's reaction, she would have never caught the subtle mocking tone in her voice. So Kathryn had slipped out of her flaw of being close-minded, after all. That was an accomplishment, considering Kathryn almost never abandoned her habits and everything that made her the Kathryn that Anne knew.
"Just watch the movie," the younger girl commanded.
Sighing, Kathryn obeyed. She wished she hadn't now. There was an ear-shattering BANG! that sounded eerily like a gunshot. Instinctively, she clapped her hands against her ears tightly, trying to block out the loud noise that sent a painful sting through her ear. Then, she fell.
NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT
Pushing her jet-black hair out of her face, Kathryn fell to the floor with a painful grunt. She hurriedly scrambled up and looked around, confusing clearly written on her face. One minute she was in her sister's messy flat and the next she was in some van. Falling once again as the van jerked around, she quickly concluded that she was in the midst of a car chase. One of the backdoors of the catering van was open, swinging dangerously.
And there was a woman clinging on for dear life.
Kathryn jogged towards the pretty lady, reaching out a hand as she hoped to pull the woman back into the safety of the catering van. Her plan was quickly ruined, shoved to the side by rough coarse hands that felt like leather. Looking up to yell at the person that had pushed her, she was met with a handsome man with the nicest, fluffiest dirty-blonde hair. Feeling rather sophomoric, Kathryn wondered if you looked up 'handsome' in a dictionary, whether you would find his smiling face right beside the definition.
"You," hissed the blue-eyed man. "I don't know who you are or where you come from but whatever you do, you have better NOT interfere with my plan. Got it, bitch?"
The thought, 'I wonder whether he'll tell me what conditioner he uses,' diminished the moment he opened his rude mouth and started talking. Glaring at the man, Kathryn quickly thought of something witty to do or say. Baring her teeth would be incredibly childish and would probably get a short laugh from the man. She settled for a vicious but horribly cliché "Bite me."
Ignoring Kathryn, the man swiftly ran to the van and grabbed the document from the lady's tight grip. A boyish heart-shattering grin appeared on his lips and he said cheerfully, "Thank you, got it. Go on." For one quick second, Kathryn's heart pounded heavily as she thought the lady was left to fall off and die. A look of relief was evident as a hand clad in elegant-looking black sleeves reached out to pull the lady in to another ugly van.
So what am I going to do with these jackasses? Kathryn thought, finally noticing that there were more men in the catering van.
NTNTNTNTNT
Anne Lasky arrived at this odd place a lot later than Kathryn arrived in the catering van. When she landed on the messy floor of Riley's red van, Ben Gates and his geeky yet adorable accomplice had already managed to save the beautiful, smart, and love interest Dr. Chase. Brushing away her thick blonde locks from her eyes, she demanded rudely, "Where am I?"
A young man with mussed brown hair turned around. He looked oddly familiar. "You're in America, obviously," he said dryly.
Glaring at him, Anne replied with an even ruder tone than before, "I know that, you stupid freaking dolt! How 'bout you tell me what city I'm in or I don't know, tell me why I'm in a messy stupid van when I'm supposed to be back at home in my flat, watching a sister with my sister?!" The angry words spilled out of her mouth before she could register who the man who answered her question was.
It was Riley Poole. He was a fictional character from National Treasure.
Oh crap. Shit, shit, shit! She was in National Treasure! Usually, she would've jumped with joy. After all, her lifetime ambition was to become rich and famous but it seemed like these fictional people were actually real. They existed. It was like a parallel world where events that had happened in National Treasure was happening now, in the real world.
She didn't know how right she was.
"I'm in Washington, aren't I?" she asked, her heart pounding.
"If you mean the state Washington, no, sadly. Although if you are referring to the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., then yes," replied Ben Gates in his signature calm voice, as if the car chase that had ended minutes ago was a simple mirage or a trick of the eye. "If you mean the latter, it usually tends to clear up any confusion if you include D.C. after it. Did you know that Washington, D.C.-"
He was interrupted by Anne saying, "Thanks but I really don't need the whole history of Washington, D.C. right now. I get enough from my sister."
Riley chuckled and mumbled, "I like her."
Giving him a small smile, Anne apologized for her frustration that had been thrown at him and she went back to her thinking. It wasn't her fault that she was under stress. How many people were transferred from their comfortable rose-colored couch to a van in a movie? Nobody Anne knew, that was for sure.
I don't want people thinking I'm a loony, thought Anne, But if I tell them how I got here, they will think I'm a loony. Oh gosh, what to do, what to do… I can either play the part of somebody who doesn't know them at all and doesn't know how she got here (which is partly true) or tell them my story. Let's stick to the first one. I wonder what happened to Kathryn…
NTNTNTNTNTNTNT
"Is this really necessary?" Kathryn asked weakly, pouting slightly as a man introduced as Ian tied her to a chair that he had miraculously found in the catering van. Why the chair was there in the first place was a mystery that would never be solved.
"It'll have to do until you tell me your name, where you're from, how the hell you got here, and whether the bloody hell you're with Gates," answered Ian, finally taking a breath. He glanced at his hostage, oddly amused by that cute little pout on her face. WHOA THERE! Did he just call a pout cute? Usually, Ian found them rather annoying, telling the people that pouted that they looked like a bunch of ugly fishes.
"Fine," said Kathryn, rolling her eyes at this paranoid man and taking a breath before answering his long question. "I'm Kathryn Lasky and I was on a vacation in the United States, celebrating the fact that I finally got my masters degree in American History at Kingston University. That's in London, by the way, if you didn't know. I was watching a movie 'bout a national something with my sister when I fell into a catering van. Is that good enough for you?"
"You still haven't answered my question about Gates, Kath-ryyyn," Ian said nastily, drawling out her name.
"Gates?" Kathryn asked, cocking her head to one side as she contemplated why the hell this man asked her about gates. "According to the dictionary, gates is the plural form of gate, which I hope you know the meaning to because I won't be explaining it. And if you don't know the meaning of the word gate, I hope you don't mind if I burst out laughing in your face."
Ian sighed exasperatedly and he started clenching his hand. No matter how amusing this woman was, she was annoying and all Ian wanted to do was to throw a pot at this irritating woman. "Come on, woman! You can't say that you've never heard of the Gates family."
"Well, yes, I can, actually, because it's true. I have yet to meet a family with the unfortunate surname of Gates. If I did, however, meet a family with the last name of Gates, I'd laugh in their face. And then start teasing them, of course. That wouldn't last long. I'm really not that mean but you must admit that it's nice to have some fun now and then, isn't it?"
"Stop rambling. You've never heard of the crazy family with those bloody crazy conspiracy theories?"
"Nope," Kathryn chirped happily, as if she wasn't being tied up right now. "I have yet to meet a crazy family that will agree with me about conspiracy theories. They all think I'm crazy, for some odd reason. Do you think I'm crazy? I don't think I'm crazy…"
So this crazy woman believed in conspiracy theories. Figures. She was just the crazy type. Ian looked at Kathryn and gently rubbed his stubble, deep in thought. She could prove useful and she had mentioned that she had received a masters degree in American History at Kingston University earlier. Smirking, Ian quickly threw the hostage a riddle.
"The legend writ,
the stain affected.
The key in Silence undetected.
Fifty-five in iron pen,
Mr. Matlack can't offend.
"Figure that one out," Ian ordered, "Get it wrong and you'll be dead within minutes. Get it right, you can go." He nodded his head at Kathryn, gesturing for her to begin solving the riddle. He conveniently 'forgot' to mention that if Kathryn solved the riddle, she would stay. But hey, it was a step up from being killed, right?
Kathryn couldn't help but think that this riddle was very interesting. She racked her mind for the answer and everything she had learned from Kingston University was whirling around her unorganized mind. "It's a map!" she cried suddenly, after moments of silence, sporting a triumphant grin. "On the Declaration of Independence, which is weird, because I have personally handled that important document and there was no map on the back. That means it's invisible. The key in Silence undetected could be Silence Dogood…" She looked back at Ian questioningly.
"Who's he?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.
"Silence Dogood is Benjamin Franklin. At age fifteen, Benjamin Franklin secretly wrote letters to his brother's newspaper, the New English Courant. He was posing as a middle-aged widow called Silence Dogood," answered Kathryn, a faint superior tone evident in her voice as she tried to solve the riddle.
"And where are the letters now?"
Kathryn shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Ian's probing gaze settled on her. "I'm not sure," she said, "Seeing as I still don't know where the hell I am." She shot Ian a steely glare, one that could rival the Death-Glare champion of the universe. It wasn't that she was particularly enthusiastic to return to Anne's flat but her sister was gone and Kathryn was in a stressful situation.
Smiling mockingly, Ian turned to look at one of his large lackeys. All of them looked like they lifted weights everyday and Kathryn bet that they would be able to fill up two football fields. They were just that big. "Shaw!" Ian yelled, pointing to Kathryn. "The girl stays, alright? She's got useful information."
"Okay, two problems," Kathryn said viciously. "One, I have a name. It's Kathryn. Use it, you idiotic arrogant chauvinistic pig. Two, I recall you saying that if I figured out the riddle, I was able to go. So, now, are you a liar as well as an idiotic arrogant chauvinistic stupid pig?"
Smiling again, Ian drew himself down to Kathryn's level. He ignored the pain shooting up his back. Inching closer to Kathryn until their noses touched, he breathed, "I am a liar, Kathryn. Deal with it."
Her name rolled off Ian's tongue and came out as a casual drawl. Brushing away his soft blond hair, he sighed, looking at his employers that looked more like bodyguards. He assured them that them not having the Declaration of Independence was a minor setback. No one could say that Ian didn't treat his employers well because he did. After all, encouraging and assuring your cronies that nothing would go wrong was something that not many people could do.
A/N: Yes, I am aware that there is another story out there named Stuck in National Treasure. I know because I was the author of that story. However, I've just recently looked back on it and found the writing and the characters horrible. I've changed a lot of things in the story so if you have read the old version of SINT, I request you to read this one. It's a lot better, although there are things that have stayed the same. I guarantee that you will like this so much better.
Kathryn and Anne have changed a bit. Kathryn is crazier, weirder, nicer, more blunt, sweeter, and a lot more likable. That's why I think, anyways. She will definitely not be so undeveloped and ununique. After all, she is the main character of the story and I don't want anybody hating her because she will turn up a lot. If you don't like this new development, I apologize but she's not going to change anytime soon. I like Kathryn the way she is right now. She might change in the future but currently, she stays the same.
I don't think Anne's changed a lot. She's one of those normal characters that nobody has a problem with. She teases, of course, and she loves laughing. She's a social butterfly, although she was never that popular in high school. Anne is smart, but her brain presents itself in completely different way than Kathryn's. Creative, playful, strong, and athletic are all adjectives that describe Anne Lasky. She's completely normal and she doesn't have skeletons hidden in the closet. Even though Anne is athletic, she despises team sports. She likes being herself, being an individual. That's why she prefers sports like swimming, badminton, ping-pong, and tennis.
Ian will be written a lot better. And there will be fluff between him and Kathryn. It'll be obvious but hopefully, it will be cute. I'm not going to have Kathryn brush her lips across her ear or anything because I think that's MUCH too obvious. You will, however, see Ian with Kathryn a lot, smiling a lot more, and even teasing her in the later chapters. Of course, there will be some bitchy lady who's forcing Ian to hunt for the treasure because you have to admit, even though a bad Ian is pretty hot, a relationship pretty much HAS to be Good!Ian and OC.
This author's note is very long because I wanted to point out some things.
Review please!