Enemies at the Door

Light bantering embraced by soft giggles flowed through the cozy apartment of A905. Inside, a tall brunette stood just on the threshold of her kitchen and her living room, leaning against the door frame, barking at her shorter, blonde friend, splayed across the brunette's love seat. She cradled a Sailor Moon cushion and a Tuxedo Kamen cushion, belonging to the brunette, under her arms as she smiled audaciously at her tall friend. Both of them were in their pajamas. The blonde wore her silk, sky blue pajamas and the brunette wore a pink apron over her forest green, white polka dotted pajamas.

"Lita, you have no sensible judgment. Michael lasted longer than Jerry, so he obviously is the better choice," said the blonde.

"Yeah, but Michael looks as attractive as a pug," Lita said. "And don't you think Jerry was chivalrous, something you don't see in men anymore these days? Valerie should have went with him, period."

"Pugs are cute!"

Lita shook her head and laughed. "You'd go with anything that picked you up, Girl. That's something that gives me the Goosebumps."

"We're all desperate," she said, placing the back of her hand against her forehead. "You'd do the same thing."

"Not true!" Lita cried shrilly, as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Lita is just like what everyone in town says she was like in her teenage years; a flirt. You really should be desperate unless you plan on being a spinster."

"I can't hear you!" Lita lied, over her banging kitchen ware around like a maniac.

Her friend rolled her eyes at the doorway and turned her attention back to the television set. Her eyes were glued to the set when suddenly she sat up straighter and eyeballed the T.V. with a look of horror on her face. Her jaw tended to drop.

"Dinner's ready!" Lita hollered merrily. "Come on, Girl!"

When she did not run to the table, Lita had to turn in surprise. She took up a glass of cranberry juice and walk towards the love seat. "What's the matter? Nothing's on except for the local news."

Lita brought her drink up to her lips and tipped the juice down.

"Lita, isn't that your farm? Why are men on your farm?"

Without swallowing, Lita looked back at the T.V.

The reporter was standing outside the farm in the dark as she spoke. "… Some of the land will be cleared for the contractors, who are planning to build a new shopping center for the town. However, it also runs by an unused farmland, which has been stalling the project for quite some time. The owner has been gone for a very long time… With me, I have here the surveyor of the project, Mister…" The reporter tipped the microphone to the two men standing next to her.

The man in a navy blue jacket smiled as he bowed his head to the mike. "Shields. Darien Shields."

Lita spat her juice out, spraying it all over the T.V. Her friend got up and started thumping her back as she coughed out the rest that was stuck in her throat. "Whoa, easy there!"

Lita recovered with perspiration beading her brow. "Cripes!" Then, without really catching her breath, she rushed to her closet for her faded jean jacket. "What the heck do they think they're doing there!"

"You're not leaving, Lita! This is our girls' night together!"

Lita threw on her jacket in, a hurry, even as she was tugging her stockings on with one hand. "Take care of that, will you Trish?"

"Ew! No!"

"Finish dinner and make yourself comfortable."

"I was!"

Lita was running to the door and almost fell on her back from slipping over the sprayed juice. "Cripes! How did it drizzle here?" She asked herself.

"Um, Trish?" Lita looked up and grinned. Her friend was already leaning against a mop. In one hand dangled an empty bucket.

"Hurry back, K?" She called as Lita shut the door on her way out.

Lita Knightly climbed into her red, with the rusting bumper, favorite ford pick-up. She didn't mean to, but in frustration she slammed her door with so much power, her truck rebelled by not starting right away. It whined before she could get the engine rumbling. Once again mistreating her baby, she slammed her foot on the gas and pulled her car out of the lot of her comfortable apartment.

Meanwhile, Darien was talking to his partner with a smile that made women swoon, as they stood off to the side of a sad, sad cottage. The news station, which had arrived in a van, was packing up their technological supplies and creating a silent show of amplified hard workers for the city men. They were cameramen and reporters probably seeking an entertainment spot or journalistic opportunity in New York City by impressing the two entrepreneurs with their professionalism. Of course Darien and his partner, Nephrite, were two incredibly hard men to press and please. They had only called up the team for the localized news station to find out this owner of the abandoned land that aught to be theirs. They had no interest in networking; never had, never will.

All movement stilled when a red pick-up pulled up abruptly next to the news van. It brought dust into the night air, settling on all the equipment and people in the general vicinity. The bright, yellow headlights glared at the two men nearest to the door of the cottage. Both Darien and Nephrite shielded their eyes as they heard the creaking of the red pick-up door opening. They were expecting the stereotypical muscular man to come out, but were gladder to find a young woman jump out; she had to be the one.

She came out and stampeded toward the crew with a furious cry of outrage. "Get off! This is called trespassing! Who gave you the right of passage to conjugate here!"

One idiot cameraman raised his camcorder at her and was about to hit record, but she threw a curse at him that made him tumble back. "Who wants a piece of this?" She glared at the rest of them, who still did not budge from the area.

"It's very much alright, ladies and gentleman. You've done your job, thank you very much." Darien snapped his fingers, the cue for them to disappear, which they did reluctantly and despondently.

After they had taken off, Lita turned to the two men left on her family's land. She pulled up her sleeves and spat in her palms.

Darien flinched and coughed at the action, while his partner frowned in apparent distaste.

"The two of you are still here," Lita stated bluntly, slapping her hands together and grinding the saliva between them.

She had to admit, Darien looked better in real life. Totally capturing that dark and seductive look about him that probably could have landed him a job in the modeling industry over the crappy job he had with ruining people's lives in order to gain his wealth and happiness. She wanted to smack him upside the head and run him over with her truck, never mind consequences and all. Why were hunks always after everything she loved and cherished? Lita wished they would all just vanish off the face of the earth.

Lita Knightly was not, who everyone made her out to be. She was not a man hater. She had always liked looking at men and believing that they were the greatest creations of God. However, vanity never did much good to the heroes, who turned out to be the "tragic" heroes. Lita was not too fast to be victimized by vanity. She much preferred that men existed only in the back of her mind, now, and not in reality.

They saw a sprouting girl in green, polka-dotted pajamas. It was scary, but funny at the same time.

Darien stepped forward, plastering on a weary smile. "Ms. Kinghtly, I presume."

Lita felt her legs turn to jelly at the sound of his treble voice. He really was something out of this world. Before she could really continue with that thought though, she snapped herself right out of it. "Why are you still here?" She asked, slight irritation in her voice. "I thought I made the impression that I am not in the mood for land eating maggots."

"Well, so much for well-mannered introductions," said the man in the blue and grey plaited business suit.

Lita settled her eyes on him for the first time. Once again she was rattled by another one of God's greatest work. He was two inches taller than Darien and had a bigger built as well. His dark oak colored tresses, curled down the front of his suit.

"I do not entertain the idea of introducing myself to maggots after my crop."

"Ms. Lita Knightly, we only come with a proposition in mind. We have no will to raise a fight tonight," he said, brusquely.

"Well, you're asking for one by picking my home for your little game in your stupid little, closed up money-making world! This is a violation and I could have you arrested!"

"We are only visiting on the terms of business," Darien consolidated, coolly. "If you would please, just allow us inside to discuss this matter within. It would be greatly gratifying."

"I could if I didn't know you were after my land!" She screamed out again.

Lita walked up to the door and plopped herself onto the dirt ground, Indian style. "Even though I have work tomorrow, I guess I'm stuck here for the night, 'til you maggots decide to leave. The battery of my truck might die out, but who is to blame, but you?" She glowered at them as she spoke.

"I would never force a damsel like you out at night," Darien said. "We can probably discuss this some time tomorrow."

"You have no right to be broadcasting on my home!"

"You mean your former home," Nephrite corrected. "We were told by the neighbors no one lived here anymore."

"It's only been a couple of years," Lita snapped. "It's still mine!"

Darien started approaching the navy blue Lamborghini parked just outside the fence. Lita wished she had smashed into it on her way into the paved driveway, but in her blind fury, she totally missed seeing it. "We're leaving alright, Ms. Knightly? No harm done, I hope?"

"You wish!" Lita hollered into the night. "Now, get off and don't come back!"

Nephrite hung behind a bit and glanced back at her a while. With a smirk on his face, he saluted her. "Nephrite Ripstone and Darien Shields will return."

"And Lita Knightly will be armed and ready if they do." Lita spat and squished the mucus between her toe and the ground.

Nephrite looked down. "Charming."

Lita hated only the men who squeezed the last word in after a fight. They had no right to stomp on her love and she was hoping that her gruffness was an off-switch to their gender. Let them leave feeling ill. And they better not return.

Generally, I write much shorter chapters. I wrote this yesterday and posted i today O.o. I do believe this is my first update since school started! School's a handful. We'll have to see when I can write the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews.

OOOO MistyWing