Disclaimer: One day, when I RIIIICH and FAAAMOUS, I might own them but for now…I own squat.
A/N: Ho hum. I'm in a funky mood.
This is certainly gonna be interesting.
Enjoy:
"I see things with a new perspective," Joe told his brother, stepping jauntily into the bright summer sun. "I was thinking last night, since I had nothing else to do, I'm really lucky to be alive. I mean, over the years, I've been shot, attacked, drugged, knocked out and still, here I stand this stunning creature before you. Someone up there much really like me. But I'm willing to bet it isn't my ninth grade science teacher, Mr. Campbell. He really hated me. Rest his soul, poor thing. Must have died from loneliness after I left."
"Joe," Frank stopped. "Mr. Campbell is still alive, married, and happier than ever. He and his wife just retired to Florida."
"Really," Joe said thoughtfully. "Hmm. Then who died?"
"I don't know," Frank told him. "You were there one year longer than I was."
"Don't bring the age thing up, Frank," Joe told him sternly. "All that means is that I'm going to live and look beautiful longer than you are."
"Yeah, well, not at the rate you're going at," Frank laughed while Joe paused, mock-offended.
"Well, it's clear to me that you aren't happy that I survived," Joe sniffed. "That's just fine. I don't need you, you senior citizen!"
Frank raised an eyebrow. "Joe, I'm like, eleven months older than you."
"Those eleven months make all the difference, Frank," Joe told his brother, sighing with mock-contempt. "Hey…I never thought of it like that. You're only eleven months older than me. Mom and Dad really got busy."
"Joe," Frank grimaced. "Stop."
"I know, it's disgusting," Joe shook his head. "You were like two months old when I was…"
"Joe!" Frank cried, putting a hand over his brother's mouth. "I really don't want to think about that."
"Neither do I!" Joe exclaimed as soon as Frank took his hand back. "But you were the one who brought it up!"
"How was I….never mind," Frank sighed. "There is no point in arguing with you."
"That's right, ladies and gentlemen," Joe cried exuberantly. "I'm gonna frustrate people until I get to the top!"
"Did they have to drug you up to get you to sleep?" Frank asked tiredly, stretching his back, which was sore from sleeping on the air mattress.
"They did consider it," Joe nodded solemnly. "But I frustrated them out of it."
"OK," Frank said again. "Time for quiet time, Joe."
"Geez, you're happy," Joe studied his brother. "What-or should I say who?-kept you up all night?"
"Joe," Frank groaned, covering his face with his hands.
"That isn't very safe, Frank," Joe warned his brother. "Covering your eyes in a busy parking lot like this?"
"Well, if I get hit by a car, I'll just go over to the conveniently located hospital to get checked out."
"That is convenient, isn't it?" Joe chirped brightly.
"Oh, God, Joe!" Frank cried. "Please! Silence until we get to the car!"
Joe pantomimed locking his lips and put the key in his pocket.
"Thank you," Frank sighed, clutching his pounding head.
Joe smacked his fist against his chest and nodded. His lips twitched up a bit at the edges as he looked at his brother. He had obviously been up all night stressing about something. But what…Joe didn't know…yet.
They approached Nancy's car slowly, squinting as the sun reflected off of the hood. Nancy waved at Joe through the windshield.
Joe opened the passenger seat door and pulled the invisible key from his pocket, unlocking his mouth with a grin.
"Frank's gonna go in the backseat so can have a little nap," Joe told Nancy. "He's real grumpy."
"He probably just couldn't get a good night sleep on that dinky little air mattress," Nancy told him, adjusting the rearview mirror so she wouldn't have to look directly at Frank as he stepped into the car.
"Nice spot you got here, Nance," Frank told her, referring to the parking spot.
"It's like everyone in the whole town is here," Nancy sighed, pulling out of the parking spot. "I narrowly beat three other cars to this spot."
"Ah, well, the fresh air is good for us," Joe told her, staring out the window.
"Hmm," Nancy mumbled, concentrating on the road.
"Okay, what's up with you two?" Joe finally asked, exasperated. "Why are you both so moody?"
Finally, Frank and Nancy exchanged looks.
"Uh…" Nancy mumbled. "Seth came back last night…"
"What?!" Joe roared. "What happened? Are you alright? Is Amy alright? What did he do? Did he hurt--?"
"Joe, he didn't come in the house," Nancy told him, putting a hand on his arm to reassure him. "Everyone is fine, physically. He just, urm…left another note."
"What did it say?" Joe asked, his face red. Nancy gestured for Frank to tell him, concentrating on turning the corner as carefully as possible. She had already wrecked her car, and she wasn't about to wreck Hannah's too.
"He basically told Amy to marry him, or something bad was gonna happen," Frank said, leaning forward in his seat. "He sent a ring."
"He sent a ring?" Nancy looked up from the road, catching Frank's gaze in the rearview mirror. He stared at her for a long moment before nodding.
"His class ring, I think," Frank told her. "Amy seemed to recognize it."
"Where is it now?" Joe asked, looking over his shoulder at Frank. "What did you do with it?"
"Um," Frank thought back. "It fell out of the note, and then I was concentrating on getting Amy to calm down and go back to her room. I kinda forgot about it until now."
"So…it's just lying in the kitchen?" Nancy asked.
"I guess so," Frank said quietly.
--
Amy sat on her bed quietly, rolling the ring around in her hand. It was very familiar to her, solid and glittery and smooth to touch.
How could something that had once been so lovely to her suddenly become so vile?
She had wanted a ring from him from the start. She thought he was the one. Look how that turned out.
And now, now she had the ring, and it meant nothing to her. Nothing but hate, and anger, and distrust.
She didn't want it anymore. She didn't want him. Why didn't he understand? Why couldn't he move on? What was wrong with him?
Suddenly furious, Amy stood up and walked over to the kitchen and sat down at the table, pulling a pen and a piece of paper closer to her.
S- LEAVE ME ALONE. I DON'T WANT YOU ANYMORE. TAKE YOUR STUPID RING AND GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME.
Her hand moved so quickly that the ink smeared a little, but she really couldn't care less. She folded the paper and half and wrote SETH in big, bold letters. Finally, she grabbed a piece of tape and stuck it to the outside of her window, taping the ring to the outside of it. She made sure the window was locked and drew the curtains shut angrily.
Right now, she didn't care about the repercussions.
She just wanted him gone.
--
Seth really hated needles. Really, really hated them. So pointy. So ominous. But here he was, in some dimly lit tattoo parlor downtown, sitting across from a scrawny looking guy with a comb over, who didn't look like he belonged here. The man slicked his red hair back even further and grinned at Seth. He moved his arm forwards for a hand shake, and Seth saw multiple tattoos peek out from under the sleeve of his green polo shirt.
"You have a specific design in mind, I assume?" the man, whose name tag read 'Bo', asked, his voice surprisingly deep and rich for such a tiny man.
"Yes," Seth cleared his throat. "A heart, with wings coming from the back, outlined in gold. The name 'Amy' inside the heart."
"Girlfriend?" Bo asked, grinning lecherously. Seth grinned back.
"Fiancée," Seth whispered back.
--
Nancy pulled very carefully up to the hotel, pausing to let the brothers out and to say goodbye to them before pulling back out at snail speed.
"She'll be home by January," Joe said optimistically, heading towards the hotel doors.
"With luck, maybe," Frank sighed, following his brother.
They passed through the doors and while Joe kept walking towards the back, where the elevator was, Frank paused, then turned and walked up to the front desk.
"May I help you?" the employee, name tag 'Steven' asked with a polite smile on his face.
"Yes," Frank told him. "Have you seen anyone strange walking around here? Tall, blond…?"
"You mean the man you just walked in with?" Steven asked with a confused look on his face.
"No, other than him," Frank replied, trying not to roll his eyes. "Probably yesterday afternoon."
"I wasn't working yesterday afternoon," Steven said apologetically. "Joshua was. I can get him if you'd like…?"
"Yes, please," Frank smiled, leaning against the front desk. Joe came up behind him.
"What are you doing?" he asked, confused.
"I'm going to see how Seth got in," Frank told him, tapping his fingers against the desk.
A moment later, Steven came up dragging a young looking guy with far too long dark hair up to them. His tie was wound around his neck like a scarf, and there was a funky looking stain on the sleeve of his blazer.
"I'm not drunk," Joshua said, blinking rapidly.
"That's lovely," Joe told him.
"It is, right?" Joshua replied, nodding his head and swallowing loudly.
"Listen, Joshua," Frank spoke up. "Yesterday afternoon, did anyone come through the lobby that looked suspicious?" Joshua nodded his head.
"Yeah," he answered. "My boss. HethinksIgetdrunkonmybreakforsomereason."
"Hmm," Joe cleared his throat. "Perhaps because you talk like that?"
"I dunno why, man, but he's was the only one who walked through all afternoon." Joshua's eyes were wide, as if focusing on making the words form clearly was causing him actual pain.
"Okay then," Frank smiled. "Thanks."
The brothers turned and left the lobby to the sound of Steven berating Joshua.
"If he didn't come through the lobby--."
"Nothing is saying he didn't," Joe rolled his eyes. "That guy was floating ten feet off the ground. Do you think maybe Seth knew that this guy was a drunk and came specifically then?"
"It's possible," Frank admitted. "But I don't think we should pinpoint that as to how he got in our room."
"I guess," Joe waited for Frank to open the door. As his brother dug in his pocket for his key, something clicked.
"Uhh, Frank?" Joe spoke up nervously.
"Yeah?" his brother looked up at him distractedly.
"Do you think that maybe, when Seth knocked me out…he took my phone and my room key?" Joe questioned.
"Oh, shit," Frank muttered. "Probably. Was it with your phone?"
Joe nodded.
"Well," Frank said, pushing the door open cautiously. "It looks like we're changing rooms."
--
"I'm sorry," Steven told them fifteen minutes later when they arrived at the front desk with their suitcases. "We're full. That was our last room."
"Crap," Frank muttered, turning to Joe. "What now?"
"I guess we ask Nancy if she has a second air mattress," Joe sighed. Frank nodded.
"I guess we'll be checking out then," Frank told him. Steven nodded and began typing something into the computer.
"And Steven?" Joe said impatiently. "Do NOT let anyone in that room for a while, okay?"
"I'm afraid we can't do that," Steven responded with an apologetic smile.
"I guess you didn't hear me," Joe sighed, leaning closer. "If you don't want the hotel to be shut down for investigation, you will NOT let anyone else in that room. Understand?"
Steven swallowed hard and nodded, trying to look nonchalant, but Joe could tell that he was about to wet his pants.
"Thank you for staying with us," Steven said in a strained voice.
"It was our pleasure," Joe leaned back from the counter, a satisfied grin on his face.
--
"Nancy!" Joe cried from outside the house, knocking on the door. "Nancy! We need a home!"
"Joe," Frank rolled his eyes. "Be patient."
"Patience is the one gift I don't possess, Frank," Joe told his brother. "Something had to get knocked out of the way so I could have my 'Outstanding Beauty' and my 'Charming Smile'. Patience was the most invaluable to me, and didn't make the cut."
"I see," Frank nodded his head, amused.
"Frank, how are you standing there so nonchalantly?!" Joe cried, leaning his head against the door. "We're gonna be squatters tonight if Nancy doesn't let us in soon."
"Oh, come on, Nan!" Joe cried, his voice high with exasperation.
"What's the rush, Joe?" Frank laughed.
"Okay, other than the squatter thing?" Joe asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Frank nodded. "I really have to pee, Frank. Like, it's unbelievable how badly I have to go."
Frank laughed, rolling his eyes. "At least it's not raining."
"Do not," Joe narrowed his eyes, "jinx this, Frank."
Frank chucked, leaning over to press the doorbell one more time. However, before the note ended, the door swung open, revealing a red-eyed Nancy clutching a photograph.
"Nancy?" Frank took a step forwards. "What's wrong?"
Soundlessly, Nancy turned over the picture. I was a giant blowup of a tattoo, the same design that Amy had, the only exceptions being her name scrawled across the middle, and the pink, rubbed raw skin around the edges.
"Oh, God," Joe exhaled. Nancy turned the picture over. Harsh black letters formed words:
One last chance.
A/N: WOW WOW WOW WOW!
I AM MELISSA, HEAR ME ROAR!
TWO IN ONE DAY!
Reviews please? Don't skip reviewing eight just because nine is up. Please.
