Myrtle felt her blood run cold and her stomach drop. It took her a few moments to process what Sam had just said. Not wanting to believe it, she was sure she had just heard wrong. There's no way she said to use Gigi's cousins.
"That's a great idea!" Lea was on board instantly. She and Sam shared in the excitement and brilliance that was their new plan. "All I've seen her do ever, has been hang out with those weird things."
No. They're not talking about them. Myrtle continued to ignore what was happening.
"I see them all over the place." Jen added. "You can't go anywhere in town, heck, the whole island without seeing at least one of them."
They're going to realize it's a bad idea any second now. The colour began to drain from Myrtle's face.
"What are you planning to do exactly?" Abby asked, still not wanting to be there, but happy that they had a sound plan.
Maybe I won't have to have anything to do with it. She saw the other girls start to gather around near her. Still at conflict within herself, she joined them, taking her place between Lea and Abby.
"I'm not entirely sure what yet." Sam looked between them one at a time. "It's clear though. Lilo has a soft spot for those things." Myrtle winced, whether she liked it or not, her life time friend was one of those things too. "She would do absolutely anything for them. Wouldn't she, Myrtle?"
"Uh, yeah. She's always been hanging around them. Ever since we were kids." She almost hated herself for answering. It's all to get at Lilo. It's all to get at Lilo. It's all to get at Lilo. Truly, she didn't overly care about the extended family of Gigi's. If it was up to her, she wouldn't be considered a part of the 'ohana. However, Gigi cared for Lilo and all of the experiments. If Gigi knew of this…she'd hate me forever.
"Perfect." Myrtle couldn't believe that Sam's grin grew even wider. It almost twisted her face into an evil distortion. "Then all we need to do is figure out how to get one, and what to do with it. Then Lilo will be all ours."
"Lilo isn't the only one that likes them though." Lea reminded the group.
"She's right." Jen did a quick scan of the town around them. "A lot of people have them as pets, or in stores. I hear about them all the time. It seems like the town really loves them too."
"It's not like that's a problem." Abby scoffed. "We just need to not get caught. We're good at that."
"Abby's right." It was like her earlier outburst had never happened. All of Sam's confidence, the one that drew Myrtle in in the first place, had returned. It almost made her forget her guilt. "If it's us, we can do anything. You're right though, it's almost like everyone here loves the strange, odd creatures." She gave each girl in the group a nod. One that they understood the meaning of and returned. "We'll just need to keep all of this between us."
"Well, guys? We made it this far. I have to say, this has been one of the best moments of my life." Keoni looked to each of his team mates in their huddle. "All we have is this last one run. All or nothing."
His team had made it to the final round. The only ones left in event were 'The Jam' and 'Ravens.' They had managed to scrape by in each round by a thread. No matter how bleak it looked, his friends kept pushing, always giving it their all. Keoni looked at their tired faces, seeing all the excitement and fun they had together in their weathered expressions.
"They're going to be a tough group to beat. No matter who they send out." None of his friends flinched. They all knew who they were up against. "They've managed near perfect scores each heat."
"What are you telling us this for, man?" His longtime friend Adam patted him on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of him.
"Yeah, we already know this." "We don't care." "We can totally win this, dude." One by one, each of them laughed off the threat and thought of defeat. It was one of the qualities he loved about his team, never backing down from a challenge.
"You're right." He felt invigorated by their confidence. "We can only send out one person though. I say you go out, Adam."
"Sorry, bro. I can't." Adam shook his head before taking off his helmet. His long black dreadlocks fell around his face, finally free. "My hairs had all it can take."
"Your hair? This is no time for joking around. You're our best skater."
"I'm not." Adam saw the doubtful look in Keoni eyes. "Even if I was, you're our leader. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Besides, I'd say you have the best motivation out of all of us." He motioned to the sideline, where a certain ponytailed girl was still cheering and waving.
Keoni's face turned a flush red, making his team mates laugh at his embarrassment.
"He's right you know." All of them agreed. "You're the best man for the job."
"You're all sure?" Keoni was nervous. He had the weight of all their hopes and expectations piled on his shoulders, but the nods and smiles from his friends made it all feel light as a feather. "Okay."
With the final announcement, Keoni stepped forward, checking that his helmet strap was on right. He took a final look at his competition on the other side of the half pipe. A tall boy from the mainland. One of the ones that was going to get a scholarship at the end of graduation. I've got this. Clearing his mind, he set his board on the edge of the ramp, ready to drop in at a moment's notice. Right before the bell rang, he heard Victoria from the side lines. Nothing but her voice made it through to him. Without realizing it, a smile formed on his face and his focus sharpened. I've got this.
Having just left Victoria and Keoni at Keoni's house, Lilo and Stitch walked home together holding hands. Stitch had to stay in his current form, because Styles was meant to have dinner with their family. Neither one was looking forward to it. It was simple enough to fool the outside world when Stitch was human, but he still acted like himself. They never had him stay around their family long enough for them to notice anything familiar about him.
This is going to be a nightmare. Lilo thought, looking up at the passing clouds. I sure hope they don't notice his ring. She could feel the warm metal in her hand, it had a nice calming effect. At least it would be easier to explain Styles having a ring with my name on it than Stitch.
Despite the dread of the possible world shattering evening, Lilo enjoyed getting to hold Stitch's hand through town without worry. It was refreshing to be able to be an item out in public. Both of them knew that things would be easier if Stitch was human. However, it didn't matter to Lilo whether he were an experiment, alien, human, or some other creature. She loved him for him.
It's nice to be out like this. A lady tending her shop saw them walk bye and happily waved through the window. Stitch quickly returned the wave, enjoying not having to act like a dog. But I'm glad she picked the real me. Stitch thought back to the question he had asked Lilo four years ago. During that romantic dance, the world seemed perfect. For a moment, he was certain that Lilo might consider wanting him to stay human. He smiled, remembering the twinkle in her eye as she told him that she loved the real him. The cute and fluffy experiment that he was. I really wouldn't change anything for the world.
Lilo felt Stitch's hand tighten around hers. She quickly stopped caring about the dinner they were about to have. It was their time to be together. Whatever happens, happens. Deciding to do something she always wanted to, she wrapped herself around Stitch's arm. Leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked. It took a few moments to get used to, never before getting to walk together like that. It quickly became something they would miss, eager to do whenever Stitch became Styles again.
"So? What did you two do today?" David was the one who decided to break the ice. After the initial pleasantries of their dinner conversation, everyone became quiet. Jumba and Pleakley had dressed up in their usual disguises, playing the part of Aunt and Uncle to Lilo and Nani. It wasn't often that they had a guest at the dinner table, at least not one that stayed for more than a few minutes. "You had mentioned something about a skate competition."
"Oh yeah. Keoni's team had entered a big skate competition." Lilo tried to do as much of the talking as she could. Stitch was able to keep his human like table manners in check, however he still had troubles keeping his English going for long periods of time. "We met up after Stitch and I left the dress shop."
"Speaking of which, where is Stitch?" Nani shifted her view between the blanket of darkness outside of the window, and the clock showing it was well past dinner time. "It's not like him to miss a meal." Styles gave a slight gulp, hoping his cover wouldn't be blown. "I'm sorry, Styles. You haven't met Stitch yet have you?"
"It's absolutely fine." He assured her. "I…um…met him before we went to the skate competition."
"You did?"
"Yes!" Lilo said a little too loudly. "After we met up with Styles, Stitch went off to spend some time with Angel and Reuben. Give me and Styles a little alone time together."
"Well that's unusually sweet for the little monster." Aunt Pleakley said into his plate of food. Lilo gave him a glare subconsciously, making him swallow instantly. "What I mean is." Pleakley began backtracking, trying to make up for what he had said. "Normally you two are inseparable. That's all."
You have no idea. Styles laughed to himself.
"So how did old skater boy do in the competition?" Uncle Jumba asked, trying to bring the topic back off of Stitch.
"He did really good." Said Styles before Lilo continued for him.
"Yeah. His team made it all the way to the final round! Unfortunately he lost to the other guy. But it was really close. Victoria was really happy for him, and his team was excited to have made it so far. Keoni said that they would win the next one for sure."
"I'm proud of him, second place is nothing to scoff at." Nani began dishing herself out some more food.
"Yeah. Nani would know, she used to get second place a lot in the old surf tournaments!" David told them. Most of her trophies and medals had been lost in the explosion, but the memories were still there.
"David!" Nani jabbed him in the arm, rolling her eyes at him. He rubbed the spot playfully with a large smile.
"What? You did! She also got first a lot too! It's all about the passion."
"So do you have anything you're passionate about Styles?" Aunt Pleakley asked, eager to get to know as much about Lilo's boyfriend as he could.
"Um…" Styles brought his left hand up to his chin, tapping it like he always does. Trying to think of the things he liked. Never really getting the chance to flesh out his human sides interests, it was hard to think of something fitting. "Something me-I'm interested in."
Pleakley's eye caught onto something. A small red and white band on Styles' finger. "Hey! That's an interesting ring." Jumba, Lilo, and Styles' eyes grew wide with shock. Before he could even move, Pleakley had grabbed his hand. Trying to pull it back, the alien held on even stronger. "Don't move! Aunt Pleakley is an expert in fashion. Just let me see this and…hey! It says Lilo's name."
"What?" David dropped his fork and quickly leaned over to look. "Would you look at that? It does say 'Lilo.'"
"Such amazing work too!" Pleakley got as close to it as he could. "I've never seen a metal so smooth and flawless. And it's oddly warm. Whoever could have made it?"
"My dad did." Styles quickly blurted out, not entirely lying. He forcefully pulled his hand back, but the damage had already been done.
"Your dad must be quite the craftsmen. What does he do?"
"I suppose you could say he's a craftsmen." Laughed Styles, trying to think on his feet. Lilo had become oddly quiet and pale, but no one had noticed. "He…um… owns a jewelry store back home. He makes a lot of stuff. He, uh, wanted to make jewelry using names for couples and stuff. I, uh, offered Lilo's name as a test and he made it. It's warm because he… just finished making it yesterday."
"It's a really good test…" Pleakley was impressed. He had spent a lot of time reading articles and stories about jewelry and ring making. The intricate designs always fascinated him. Never before though had he seen someone's name be made out of the metal itself.
"I hope we'll get to meet your father sometime." Nani finally said once everyone went silent. "Do you have a mom?"
"No…no mom." He tried to play it off as fine. Never before had Stitch thought about having a mother. Nani was always kind of a mom to him, or at least as close to one as he'd ever get. The thought of it saddened him slightly. "It's just been me and my dad forever."
"Oh… sorry."
The rest of the supper went a lot smoother than the beginning.. Lilo and Stitch didn't have any more close calls. Thankfully, no one thought it was strange for Styles to have a ring with Lilo's name on it. To them, Lilo and Styles had been together for four years, and those kind of things would be normal. Especially in this day and age where everyone seemed in a hurry to find love. Keeping the topic off of herself and her boyfriend, the dinner conversation actually went really well. They all laughed together and had a lot of fun. It was the most successful meal they'd ever had.
The night air was cold and crisp. A slight breeze carrying the strong salty sent of the ocean wafted up to the house. Lilo stood on the front deck, basking in the full moons glow. Her radiant beauty making Styles smile at the mere sight of her. They stood facing each other, holding hands. A picture perfect moment straight out of a romance movie. Like it was depicted in all the cheesy films Pleakley made them watch over the years, it was expected of Styles to give Lilo a good night kiss. Completing the moment was Nani, watching from the window with hawk like eyes. Making sure the young boy didn't try anything on her little sister, not that she was expecting him to.
"This is kind of weird." Lilo giggled.
"Yeah it is." His voice was soft and soothing, but Lilo was eager to hear Stitch's real voice again soon.
They had a full day packed full of surprises. The experience was draining, but thankfully the night was coming to a close. Soon, Stitch would be back and they could be together like normal again.
"You won't be gone too long?"
"Of course not." Styles brushed the stray hairs out of her face. Her dark raven black strands flowing lightly behind her. "I'll be back before you know it. Okay?"
"Okay."
He cupped her face in his hand, leaning down to meet her lips to his. Always a magic filled moment, not even the burning eyes of Nani could ruin it. Making it last as long as they could, they soon parted. A final shared smile was made before Styles quickly ran off into the night, eager to return to his fluffy form.
"Quite the boy you have there." Lilo didn't even notice the sound of the door opening, or her sister joining her one the wooden deck.
"Yeah. He's perfect." Nani could hear the love in Lilo's voice. It truly filled her entire being with happiness.
"I'm really glad, Lilo. You were able to find an amazing perfectly normal human boy."
Lilo frowned at the word normal. Once she began accepting herself as she was, loving all the weird things she did, she no longer liked the word. To top it off, she didn't find a human at all. She found love in the place she least expected it. In an illegal genetic experiment created by an alien. "Would it matter if he wasn't human?"