"Joanne Jefferson speaking."
"Hey Jo, it's Alex." Joanne smiled at the sound of her younger sister's voice. "You don't have to pick me up today after school. I have a few things to do, and…I have someone who said they were willing to show me the subway system."
"Umm…sure, I guess. What time are you planning on getting back?"
"6ish sound okay?"
"Sure, be careful."
"Will. Thanks Jo." Alex hung up the phone and skipped towards Darren who was leaning against her locker. "She said I have till about 6pm. Think we can do the tour in that time?"
Darren gave her a soft half smile. "Think we can manage."
--
"Just like old times." Maureen stole a kiss from Joanne, who smiled and ran her hands over Maureen's thigh. "See, all of us together."
Mark smiled and grabbed a fry off of Roger's plate. "No rugrat. Where is Alex anyway?"
"She said that someone is going to show her around town, how to use the subway system. I didn't want to tell her no, let her have some independence." Joanne shrugged and took a swallow of her beer. "Teenagers need their independence, right?"
Angel nodded. "Right sweetie. You're doing the right thing. It's not like she's going to be out all hours of the night. Right?"
"I said just until 6ish. That gives them about 3 and a half hours." Joanne looked at her watch nervously. "Speaking of, we should head back so she doesn't come back to a totally empty house."
Lifting his hand, Collins waved at the girls. Maureen grinned and grabbed Joanne by the belt loops and put her hands in her back pockets.
"GET A ROOM!" Roger yelled, throwing a few fries at them.
"They're cute." Mimi sighed, leaning her head against Roger's shoulder. "They have their own little family now! Joanne, Maureen and Alex!"
--
"You've NEVER had a New York Hot Dog?" Darren asked Alex who wrinkled her nose at the food he held.
"No. You don't know what's in it! It could be roadkill! Or parts of a racoon! Or the intestines…or the mashed up eyeballs and guts!" She shook her head at him when he took a large bite.
"It's so good!" He grinned at her. "So what do you think of New York so far?"
"It's okay. I've been here before of course, but more of a 'hey, you're on vacation!' type of thing." She shrugged and pulled the collar up around her ears. "Though, having someone show me the ropes of the city is nice though. So where do you live? Around here?"
Darren swallowed hard. "Not too far. Do you at least eat soft pretzels?" He motioned to the pretzel stand nearby.
"Never had one before."
He ran over and bought a large one and handed it to her. "Your first real New York street food." She picked at it, pulling a piece off and popping it in her mouth.
"For street food, it's pretty good." Flashing him a grin, she pulled off another piece and placed it near his lips. "Here, try a piece."
He blushed, but allowed her to place the piece of pretzel in his mouth. "You're right. It is good." A shiver ran through Alex as a gust of cold fall wind blew across them. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, just forgetting that it's fall." Darren smiled at her and pulled his brimmed beanie off his head and placed it on top of her curls. Cocking it slightly to the side and wrapping his black scarf around her neck he grinned.
"There, you're now 'New Yorkized." Darren smiled and looked back at his handiwork. The beanie was close to falling over her eyes, the scarf hanging below her knees. But she looked beautiful, her dark caramel skin tinged with the slightest of pink, her upturned nose spattered with a handful of freckles, her blue eyes dancing.
"I'm a real New Yorker?" She asked, putting on a thick New York accent.
"Well, close enough. We'll still have to work on you." He grinned, feeling warm despite the weather. With an uncharacteristic rush of boldness he reached out and took her hand in his. He waited for her to pull away...but she never did.
--
"Where is she?"
Maureen looked up from the fashion magazine she was flipping through and pulled the lawyer down on the couch with her. "Probably out, getting acquainted with New York City." She caught the glare that Joanne threw her and shrugged. "I'm sure she's fine. Come here." Pulling the lawyer onto the couch she ran her hands over her body. "Come on Pookie, relax."
"She's late." Joanne countered, leaning against Maureen. "She said she'd be here around six."
"It's only 6:20. I'm sure she's on her way." Maureen said, tangling her fingers in her lover's tight curls. "You know you worry too much." Her voice was hot in Joanne 's ear. "You're too tense." Kisses followed, some of the aforementioned tension leaving her body.
"I'm a lawyer...I'm supposed to be tense." Joanne mumbled as Maureen's fingers and lips working their magic on her skin.
"Not like this." Maureen mumbled. "No one is supposed to be this tense."
A soft moan escaped Joanne's lips. "You have magic fingers Honey Bear." Her dark eyes closing, the slight feeling of euphoria washing over her.
"Just relax Pookie." Maureen whispered in her ear.
"Bu..t…Alex…"
"I'll keep an eye out for her."
--
"So, why'd you move here anyway?" Darren asked, sitting down on the bus seat beside her.
"My parents…they were in a car accident…" She shrugged and let her voice trail off. "So I'm living here with my sister." Trying to avoid his piercing gaze, she looked out the window as the buildings flew by.
"I'm sorry Alex, I didn't know." He said softly. No matter how much he was embarrassed by his family, he at least had them.
"I know." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to lean her head down.
"If there's anything…." He looked down at his watch. "Hey…what time did you tell your sister you'd be home?"
"Around six…why?"
He chuckled. "It's past six thirty."
"Shit." Pulling her head off his shoulder, she shook her head. "Joanne is going to FLIP!"
"Hey, calm down. We're the next stop. I'll walk you to your building." Darren pulled her up and pulled the stop cord. They walked quickly towards the apartment building. "Sorry I made you late."
"S'okay. I'll live. Thanks for showing me around." She started to take off his beanie and scarf. He held up his hand.
"No, you keep it. I'll get it back later." He smiled and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "See you at school tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Same time, same place?"
"How bout I meet you here?" He trotted off in the opposite direction to catch the bus. "See you Alex."
"Bye Darren." She called, watching his slim frame disappear into the crowd. Gathering all of her strength she took the stairs to the apartment, two by two, and quietly slipped in. Joanne and Maureen were sitting cuddled under a blanket watching TV. Deciding to face the music instead of sneaking to her room she walked towards them. "Sorry I'm late. We…lost track of time." She stared at the floor and waited for Joanne to explode. Instead she heard a deep sigh.
"It's okay. Just…try to keep better track of time next time. Okay?"
Alex looked up and stared at her sister and gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah…okay."
Maureen smiled at Alex and patted the spot beside her. "So, how was your tour of New York?"
Settling on the far side of the couch, she pulled her feet up under her. "It was good. We went to Central Park, and I got shown the subway and bus system."
"Cute guy or cute girl?" Maureen asked, her eyes flashing mischievously. Joanne slapped her leg as Alex blushed.
"Let the girl be."
"Come on Jo. You know you want to know. Cute guy or girl?" She repeated ignoring Joanne.
"I'm going to bed now." Alex tried to escape from the interrogation.
"We'd be okay either way!" Maureen called as Alex jumped over the back of the couch. Watching the teen escape and shut her door, Maureen turned back to Joanne. "So, boy or girl?"
"What?"
"Is she gay or straight?"
"I am NOT having this conversation with you." Joanne rolled her eyes and shoved her girlfriend to the corner of the couch. "She's my sister."
"I say she's straight." Maureen giggled crawling back towards Joanne.
"You're a dork."
"But you love me anyway." She threw herself on the lawyer, smothering her.
"Yes I do…but get OFF me!" Joanne squealed, feeling the diva's fingers tickling her.
They collapsed into a fit of giggles as their bodies hit the floor.
--
It was earlier than he normally woke up, but he had to change buses twice along with taking the subway to get to Alex's. Turning on the shower, waiting until the water ran clear, he hopped in, quickly washing his hair.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
He stuck his head out of the shower to see one of his sisters, Naomi, makeup caked on her face, her breasts almost falling out of her dress, glaring at him.
"Showering. Get out of here you pervert." He pulled the curtain shut and waited until her heard her leave. Throwing on his clothes, he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
"What're you doing, leaving so fucking early?" A cigarette hung from her lips, a smirk on her face.
"Going to school." He muttered, trying to get out of the small apartment.
"Why do you even bother? You're gonna be a nobody, just like the rest of us. You think you're so much fucking better than we are, but guess what buddy boy. You're not. You're a fucking Helm and Helm's go fucking nowhere." She spat, the cigarette hanging loosely from her lips.
"Fuck you." He spat, slipping out into the cold hallway, avoiding the druggies in the hall. What a way to start a morning.
--
"You free this weekend?"
Alex sighed. "Saturday and Sunday I am, but not Friday night. My sister and her gang seem to think that it's a good idea to have a 'girl's night.' I blame Maureen and Mimi. It was their idea."
"Who're they?" He asked, watching as she took a small bite of her lunch. His stomach growled loudly.
"Just friends of my sister's." She gave him a strange look. "You hungry?"
"Nah." He looked away, trying to will his stomach to shut up.
"Here." Passing the fork to him she waited until he took a small bite. "Finish it. Want to split the rest?" She didn't pry but quickly split her food in half and piled it in front of him.
He smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Hey, want to meet at the library on Saturday? Say…1pm?"
She smiled back and grabbed a few of her carrots and popped them in her mouth.
--
"Do I HAVE to be here?" Alex padded out of her room in blue pyjama pants and a white tank top.
Maureen giggled. "Yes. It's a girl's night! You're a girl! So you HAVE to come. Mimi is going to be here right away. She's bringing wine. Angel said she'd stop by." Turning to Joanne who was wearing a pair of oversized sweatpants and a well-worn Harvard Tshirt she smiled. "Did you pick out some movies?"
"Breakfast at Tiffany's and the Breakfast Club, like you asked." Joanne flashed the boxes. "Come on Alex, it will be okay."
She rolled her eyes. "I went to an all girls school, we had girls nights. I hated them."
Throwing the door open, Mimi shook a bottle of wine at her. "THIS one will be different."
And she was right. Within a few hours, everyone, including Angel who lost her wig sometime during the night, were all giggling. With Alex easily being the drunkest of them all.
"So, you've NEVER kissed anyone before?" Mimi exclaimed waving her hands. "NEVER?"
Alex shrugged. "I went to an all girls school. So no." She gave Maureen a cock eyed smile. "So that answers your question, I'm straight."
"So you've NEVER had sex?" Maureen countered, ignoring Alex's previous comment.
Hiding her head in her arms, Alex moaned. "I don't feel so good." Her head was spinning, her stomach doing flips.
Mimi giggled. "Someone's DRUNK!"
Wobbling slightly, Alex stumbled to her room and waited until the room stopped spinning before she fell asleep.
"She's going to be messed up tomorrow." Maureen stated, pouring herself another drink.
Joanne sighed, peering into her sister's room. "Guys…this really wasn't a good idea. We got my sixteen year old sister drunk. She's underage. Shit guys." She rubbed her temples.
"Joanne, it will be fine." Angel gave her a soft hug.
"I hope so…"
