Beta Reader for this Chapter: Missbooradley.
"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."
~ Linda Grayson
When Luna woke the following morning, she discovered that her sister was missing.
"Ariel?" Luna slurred as she lazily blinked her blurry eyes. "Ariel?"
She brought her body up in a sitting position while she scanned the bedroom for her sibling. When Luna saw the time displayed on her alarm clock, she figured that Ariel had gone to the living room to watch cartoons. Satisfied with her answer, Luna raised her arms above her head for a stretch before making her way towards the kitchen. Once there, Luna heard noise coming from the sitting room.
Peeking around the corner, Luna saw Ariel sitting in front of the TV. Her sibling was using their dog, Bernerd, as a back rest. A laugh escaped Ariel when Daffy Duck was shot after being tricked to say 'duck season' by Bugs Bunny.
Luna couldn't help but smile. Her little sister always made her feel better, even if it was unintentional.
Walking up to the kitchen's doorway, Luna called out in an enthusiastic diner gal accent, "Hellooo! Welcome to Luna's Diner, where everything is served, except disappointment and bacon. I'm your chef, and waitress, Luna Griffith. What's your order?"
As she said this, Bernerd gave a startled 'woof!' while Ariel jumped in the air and turned towards her older sister. Ariel smiled, having realized it was Luna. "A cheesy tuna melt, please."
Luna gave a thumbs up. "Alright. One grilled tuna coming right up."
Leaving her sister and pet, Luna began to gather what she needed to make the meal. Once everything was out, she turned on the radio that sat on the counter. She soon settled on an Aerosmith song, which she moved her hips to while she cooked. When she placed the first melt into the frying pan, the phone rang. Thinking it was her mother checking in, the teenager wiped her hands on a towel and answered it. "Hello?"
"Luna Giselle Griffith. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
Not Mom.
"I could give you a few, actually."
"Oh, really?"
"Really."
"Okay, then. Shoot."
"Well, first off, you can't kill me at the moment because you're not physically here."
"Smart aleck."
"Second, I don't know what I did so wrong that it gives you the right to seriously harm me."
"I'll tell you why: you didn't answer your cell."
"That's because I just woke up."
"Lazy bones. It's almost eleven."
"Third, you love me too much to kill me."
"You don't know me, then."
"Sure I do. Fourth, I'm in the middle of making my sister lunch, so would you be kind enough to wait until we're alone? I would appreciate it if my kid sister didn't witness my unnecessary, and terribly early, demise."
"Wait. Did you say that you're making lunch?"
Luna sighed, knowing what would happen next. "Come on over."
"Great! See you in a few."
The line went blank.
Shaking her head, Luna hung up and got busy making another sandwich. True to their word, the fiend banged their fists against the back doors minutes later. Leaving the food, she walked over and unlocked the sliding doors before going back to the stove.
"Why on Earth do you have the sliders locked?" they asked in an annoyed, yet perplexed, tone.
"To keep people like you out," Luna answered without turning away from her task.
The guest brought their lips out in a pout. "But I'm your best friend!" they whined.
"Which is exactly why I had them locked, Winifred dear."
Winifred Samuelson was a neighbor of the three remaining Griffiths. She was also Luna's closest friend since childhood.
Winifred glared at her friend. "Since you seem to have forgotten, I'd like to remind you that I strongly dislike the name my parents picked out for me."
"Whatever, Fred. And you know the reason our doors and windows are always locked at night."
Fred rolled her eyes. "Which I think is absolutely ridiculous. There hasn't been an animal attack in town for years - as in not since our grandparent's parents were kids."
"Yeah, well, try telling that to my mom. Since Beacon Hills had those mountain lion attacks last fall, she's been paranoid that they'll come here next."
"What!? She doesn't think mean, old Bernerd will attack the nasty beasts who'd dare try to enter this threshold?" Fred asked sarcastically as she grabbed a tuna melt from the serving plate that had been set on the kitchen table.
"Oh? Bernerd? What makes you think he won't do his noble duty?"
"Well, let's see. AHHH! HELP! HELP!" screamed Fred at the top of her lungs.
Instead of a Bernese Mountain Dog coming to the rescue, Ariel asked if everything was alright.
"Yes, mermaid. We're fine," answered Luna. "But I thought he was a super hero?" she told her best friend in pure dismay. "Isn't hiding under a bed during a thunderstorm the opposite of cowardice?"
Fred laughed at the fine specimen's behavior from the previous evening. "Really? Chicken Dog hid under a bed last night?"
"Yep."
"Where?"
"My mom's. It's a wonder that he didn't wake her up. Then again, nothing seems to ruin my mother's sleep. Even crying babies don't do the trick."
"That is hilarious."
"But wait. There's more! Watch."
They turned their attention towards the living room before Luna called out, "Ariel! Bernerd! Lunch!"
A loud bark came from the other room. Sure enough, Bernerd came bounding in with his youngest mistress close behind him.
"See. It's clear that Bernie here is the fiercest attack dog."
"Well, obviously," chuckled Fred as she played with her leftover crust. "I guess this means that I better watch out, or else I'll be mauled to death."
"Definitely. Hey! Where do you think you're going?"
Ariel looked at Luna. "Back to the livingroom?"
"Ariel, you know how Mom feels about people eating on the carpet."
"I promise that I won't spill, Moon Moon."
Luna felt unsure of how to answer to her baby sister's pleading look.
Fred, seeing this, sighed dramatically. "Lunatic, let the kid eat her freakin' meal in the freakin' living room. She said that she'd be careful. Besides, I have to talk to you."
Eventually, after shaking her head, Luna gave in. "Fine. Eat off of the coffee table. We don't need Mom coming home from work and seeing food stains on the floor."
"Okay. I will," agreed Ariel, before leaving the two friends alone.
Before they could start their conversation, Bernerd made himself known.
"What? What do you want?" asked Luna.
Bernerd barked as if his statement was quite clear on what he wanted.
"I think he wants a sandwich, too," remarked Fred as she drank from her glass.
"Right. I forgot." Grabbing one of the two remaining melts, Luna pointed a finger at him. "Sit, Bernerd."
Bernerd gave her a look, as if to question his owner's sanity.
"Fine. Here," grumbled Luna, tossing the meal at the lazy canine.
Bernerd caught it with his mouth, plopped down on the tiled floor, and began chewing on his treat.
"Stupid animal," mumbled Luna as she sat down in a chair and began to eat. "So what did you want to talk about, Fred?"
The green-eyed girl gave the munching woman across from her a look as if to say 'are you for real?' "The beach party that's happening on your birthday. You know, with volleyball and a bonfire that our entire school will be attending."
"Yeah. It's going to have half of our school there because hardly anyone lives in this town."
"Oh. My. God. Forget that we live in a crappy little town that everyone hates and can't wait to get out of. Keep in mind who the host of this party is: Dennis Harvey."
"Wow! Dennis Harvey!? He's, like, such a hunk. I can't wait to see him from afar," Luna exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.
"Come on. Don't play that with me. You seem to have forgotten why you'll be seeing Hunkalicious through a sea of girls: Alistair St. Clair."
At the mention of her crush's name, Luna's mind immediately went to the beach-god. His tanned skin, his wavy blonde hair, the way his ripped abs shimmered with sweat on a hot day. . . . It was enough to make any hormone crazed teen melt where they stood.
A brilliant blush graced her pale features.
"Aha! I knew it! You do like him!" crowed Fred, a triumphant look on her face.
"It's just a silly crush, Fred. I hardly even know him," mumbled Luna, taking a bite of her meal to avoid looking at Fred's sparkling green gaze.
"Luna has a cr-ush. Luna has a cr-ush. Luna has a-"
"Alright! I get it. Shut up. And you're one to tease, Fred. Don't you have the love bug for Dennis?"
Now it was the bully's turn to feel embarrassed. "No. No, I don't. Well. . . . You're just trying to get even with me!"
Luna felt herself grin at her friend's statement. "Who said I was seeking revenge? What else did you want to talk about?"
"Well, since you asked. We, as in your very best friends in the whole world, want to have a late night soccer game after we leave the beach. Just the five of us."
"There's five of us. Wouldn't that mean we'd have uneven teams?"
"So? Who cares! We've done it a million times before. Anyway, we want to celebrate your coming of age by playing a round or two. What do you think?"
The raven-haired girl looked at the teenager across from her and smiled. "Sounds like a perfect idea."
"Great! I'll tell the others. We're still on tonight for the diner and movies, yeah?"
"Only if my mom decides to stay out until dawn."
"Perfect. Be back in a few." Getting up from her seat, Fred exited through the glass doors, closed them, and pointed at the handle. "Keep them unlocked this time, will you?"
Luna held up a thumb to show that she'd heard.
"Make sure that mutt doesn't attack me when I return," Fred called out before disappearing.
Luna looked down at Bernerd, who had his head placed atop his giant paws.
"You wouldn't attack an innocent human being, right?"
In response, Bernerd brought his sleepy gaze up to look at his owner and gave a loud doggie sigh.
"Of course you wouldn't. That would be too much of an effort, huh?"
"Oh, Lunatic! It's time to go!" called a voice from outside of the Griffiths' house.
Mom tore her eyes away from the television to look at her eldest daughter. "Sounds like Fred's here."
Finishing the page she was on, Luna closed the novel she was reading. She got up from the couch, put on the shoes she had by the front door, and grabbed her purse.
"Bye, you guys."
"Bye!" said Ariel, waving from her seat by the glass coffee table before going back to whatever she was drawing.
"Be back by eleven. And be safe," added Mom from the sofa.
"Alright, Mom. I will. Don't worry." Waving one last time, Luna left the house.
"Ready?" greeted Fred once the front door was closed.
"Ready."
"Okay, then. Let's go! To the Rust Bucket!"
"To the Rust Bucket," echoed Luna, as they made their way to her crappy car and drove off into the night.
"I'm soooo pissed. That movie was a complete waste of my time," complained Fred as she and her friends left the movie theatre.
"Language," sang Brent.
"Don't care," she retorted.
"Oh, come on, Fred. It wasn't that bad," said Luna.
"Yeah," agreed Brandon. "If you can overlook how the aliens suddenly gave up because someone politely asked them to leave."
Brent laughed at his buddy's comment so hard that his side seemed to split open. "Good-good one, Bran," he gasped out between heavy breaths.
Fred gestured her hand towards Brent and Brandon. "See. Even they agree with me, and they never do."
"What did you think of the film, Katelyn?" Luna asked her quiet friend.
"Huh?" asked Katelyn, looking as if she had been caught off-guard.
"The movie. What did you think of it?" repeated Fred.
"The movie. . . . Oh! I thought it was okay. The ending definitely could have been better, though."
"The Silent Maiden agrees with the majority," announced Brent. "But there's still an opinion that we need to hear before we decide Immortal Glory's fate."
Looking at Luna, Brandon asked, "What did you think of Immortal Glory?"
"What did I think? Hmm. Well, let's see." Bringing up a pale hand, Luna began to list off her opinions finger by finger. "The CGI was elaborate, the acting was almost decent, and the writing was barely tolerable. It was the ending that irked me, and that's saying something for a Sci-fi flick. I mean, what revenge-seeking aliens would wage an all-out attack and war on the world, only to leave when a five -"
"Seven," corrected Brent.
"Seven-year-old girl asks them to kindly leave? None! They'd be pretty pathetic extraterrestrials if they did. They'd be the laughing-stock of the Universe. And don't say it's because she's 'the underestimated chosen one.' Please! I mean, who comes up with this stuff?"
"Ray Copperfield, actually," replied Brandon. "And he's actually never written or directed a good film in his life. Ever. This is, in fact, considered his 'best movie masterpiece, yet.'"
"Someone gag me," begged Fred, sticking a finger down her throat.
As Fred said this, the companions entered the small diner that was across the street from the tiny cinema. Sitting in their usual seats, the group continued their conversation.
"Well, it could have been worse, you know," Luna pointed out. "But it still, as Fred would say, pissed me off."
Brent playfully gasped. "Such vulgar language coming from the eldest of our gang."
Waving a hand, Luna responded with, "Yes. I tend to say childish comments when I strongly dislike something."
Brandon smiled at Luna. "Such wisdom from one so immature."
"Immature, huh?" Taking a sugar packet, Luna threw the pink square at the irritating brunette's face. "You'll have to think of a better word than that to describe me."
"You're right," agreed Fred. "Immature tells us zilch about you. You're annoyingly immature."
The Immature One grinned. "Preciously. Annoying describes me well."
"And insane," said Brent.
"And clueless," added Fred, a smile spread across her gorgeous features. "And let's not forget-"
"A lunatic!"
"You couldn't be more right, Katelyn. Luna Griffith is a lunatic," chuckled Fred.
Luna lightly punched Fred's arm, brown eyes dancing with humor. "Yep. That's me: Luna the Lunatic."
"And who you'll always be," said Brandon, his hazel gaze full of affection.
During this moment, Luna couldn't think of a better life or friends. She had what she wanted: people who cared about her, a loving mother and sister, a dumb dog, and a home in Mendocino. She never wanted to give it up, even if she had to.
Smiling, Luna looked at everyone at the grey-and-white speckled table. "Good. Let's keep it that way."
As the evening continued, the friends ate grease and sugar infested food and talked for what seemed like forever.
If only things could stay this way.
I would like to thank those of you who have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story. It makes me happy to know that people have taken the time to leave their thoughts.
One last thing. If I were to have Luna pair up with any character from the show, who would you want her to fall head-over-heels for? I have an idea who this will be, but I would love to hear your thoughts :)
Well, until next time, see you later.
