Author's note: Hey there, hope you're doing well. Anyways, I apologize for quite the delay on this chapter, but I've decided to change it up with this one. Seeing as in my view, this chapter and the next one are similar, yet different, I've decided to make them two parts. The next one should arrive within a week, but I don't wish to rush it. Enough babbling, onto the chapter!
Chapter 36: Highway To Hell Part 1
Meanwhile, at the cul-de-sac, or more accurately, the Kanker's trailer, all of the girls had gotten settled in, and set up their areas for sleeping. The Kanker sisters agreed that the couch would be a good spot for one of their guests; but to compromise for the person that would inevitably be left out, they agreed to provide a double-layered sheet to place on the floor. Hilde decided to sleep on the floor herself; so that Skylar could sleep comfortably. The latter insisted on the former sleeping on the couch, but Hilde reassured Skylar that she would be fine.
Unsurprisingly, the Kanker family planned on sleeping in their own respective rooms; as they always did since moving into the trailer.
Seeing as how they had some time to kill, and the boys had departed a while ago, the girls mutually decided to have some talk together. Jane decided to go upstairs to watch some TV, and to give the girls privacy; as she wanted to let her daughters enjoy their time with friends.
Currently, all of the girls gathered around the couch, watching the movie called "Last Action Hero", per the suggestion of Skylar. While the girls found the movie quite entertaining, they decided to have some conversation inbetween.
"So, you all actually believe the boys will work, and not cock it all up?" asked Skylar, which earned a slight chuckle from Marie and May.
"I'm sure of it, they said that they'd be serious about it. Besides, they've got both Marie's and your boyfriend, they'll keep them in check." stated Lee, which made Skylar somewhat flustered, but she shrugged off her emotions for the time being.
"He isn't... you know what." responded Skylar, in a quiet voice, which made Lee and Marie burst in laughter.
"Seriously?! Oh, so that's why you begged for him to bring you to his house, went out with him to the birthday party, and even ki-" said Marie, making fun of Skylar, before she was cut off by the latter.
"QUIT TAKING THE PISS YOU DAFT MUPPET!" yelled out Skylar, prompting even more laughter from Lee and Marie. May and Hilde couldn't help but let out slight chuckles of their own, before they decided to stop all the commotion.
"Alright, break up all of you!" said Hilde. "You can slap Skylar's knuckles some more later, even though it is funny. Also, calm down Skylar, you probably don't wish to bother Ms. Kanker, yes?"
"Hilde's got a point! Please calm down, all of you!" stated May.
Skylar took a deep breath to calm herself down, before then responding to Hilde's statement.
"My apologies, for bursting out like that..." said Skylar, appearing a bit guilty.
"Nah, you're fine, we're just pulling your leg. I know you and him are taking your time, which is a good thing! Just expect some teasing about it, hahaha!" responded Marie, with a small grin. Skylar couldn't help but let out a chuckle of her own.
"On a more bloody serious note, those boys better be pulling their weight, otherwise they'll be absolute knobs." said Skylar. "But something tells me that Chris and Kenji... nevermind."
"What's going on with them?" asked Hilde, who was curious.
"Nothing, forget it, it's unimportant." responded Skylar, which made Hilde even more curious, much to the former's determinant. However, the mentioning of Chris and Kenji gave Lee an idea for everyone present to hear.
"You know, the boys have been the ones doing the work for the most part, so I suggest doing some plans of our own instead." suggested Lee.
"You three are already planning to do the reunion with your father, correct?" asked Hilde.
"Yep. What've you got in mind?" responded Marie.
"Well, seeing as how we're going up against a guy who knows a lot about technology, and is creating several different contraptions among other things, I've decided to fight fire with fire." explained Hilde. "In short, combining several arrows with different unique abilities and effects. Such as explosive, shock, flash, and others I've yet to make."
"How many of them do you have finished?" asked Marie, who was curious.
"I'm going to estimate around 20 arrows. However, I'll for sure need much more than that, that's not even a debate in my mind." responded Hilde. "So, once I get back home tomorrow, I shall get to work immediately."
"Speaking of work, I've got a small conversation to have with Chris regarding something that I'm positive he can help with." said Skylar, throwing her own personal idea into the mix.
Marie, wondering what Skylar could be talking about, decided to ask her what she meant.
"Are you trying to learn martial arts now?" asked Marie.
"Not quite Marie. Since he and the boys have been doing those investigations, they've been able to get much info, yes? Well, I plan to ask him for help regarding something I wish on investigating myself, that being the locale of Cassie." explained Skylar.
"But Cassie told us that she couldn't share her location when we first encountered her, so how's that gonna work out for ya two?" responded Lee.
"We'll find a way to convince her. Besides, we all know that you can more about something or someone from the inside, more so than the outside. I'm sure Cassie will understand the importance of knowing what's going on inside." said Skylar, before she then addressed the Kanker sisters. "But enough of that; what about you three? What's your general goal for tomorrow regarding your plan?"
"We're just trying to get daddy back to us, maybe he could help us!" responded May.
"What May said, but I pray that our father haven't held a grudge or anything like that against mom, otherwise, expect a fight to erupt." stated Lee.
"Mom said that he was incredibly nice, and that he rarely gets aggressive, right?" asked Marie, in which her other two sisters nodded in approval. "So I'm sure he will be fine. I'm just hoping that mom is ready for-"
Marie was interrupted by the sound of an explosion sound within the movie they were watching, which slightly startled her. The other girls present couldn't help but laugh slightly as Marie got a slight hue of red on her face.
"Look, let me finish all of you!" exclaimed Marie. "I just hope that mom, along with dad, will be ready to take on any conversation regarding any situation that they discuss. If not, well we can say goodbye to a happy family reunion!"
"A reunion that is a happy one is far away sis. We've still gotta get whoever this other father is out of the picture so that we can actually have things be normal." responded Lee.
"You can still have your moments of positivity during these sort of moments." stated Hilde, attempting to lighten the mood. "As I like to say, during the negative times, cherish the positives that you might encounter."
"Hilde's right, you three should enjoy the moment while it lasts. That bloody wanker can piss off for the time being, don't let him intrude on your moment with your actual father." said Skylar, adding onto Hilde's original point.
The Kanker sisters gave each other quick glances, and ultimately realized that their two friends had made a reasonable statement. The mystery father will simply have to be dealt with later on.
"Alright, I guess you two are right. Looks like the kung fu twins are rubbing off on you two." responded Marie, poking fun at Skylar and Hilde, who simply rolled their eyes at that statement.
"Shall we wrap up the movie? You can give us more slaps on the wrist later regarding bollocks that ain't true." stated Skylar, as she, along with the rest of the girls, resumed watching the movie.
The girls enjoyed the reminder of the movie (including Skylar getting excited at hearing a Megadeth song in the floor), and once the movie rolled the credits, the girls decided to spend a bit more time talking amongst one another at the table.
"Must admit, I partially expected a heavy metal track to be scattered sometimes in that film, knowing your appreciation for it." said Hilde towards Skylar, making her chuckle a bit.
"You're not wrong on that one Hilde, but it's not the only reason why I picked it. I picked it simply because I thought it was something we would all enjoy, and low and behold, I am right, haha." explained Skylar.
"That makes more sense then." said Hilde, as she got up to get a water bottle for herself.
"So, everything still going okay with your partners?" asked Skylar towards the Kanker sisters.
"Yep, all of us are fine with our men, nothing bad has occurred yet. But we're ready for it." responded Marie, speaking for all of her sisters, including herself. "What about-"
"Me and Chris, you're gonna ask?" said Skylar, cutting Marie off, as she saw that question from a mile away. "It's still alright, me and him had a good time a few days ago, it was-"
Skylar unintentionally reveals to the Kankers the secret between her and Chris regarding the encounter they had three days ago, which made her cover her mouth with her left hand; as the Kanker sisters stared at Skylar with a face of curiosity. At the same time, Hilde returned back to her seat next to Skylar to witness the sudden commotion.
"What just happened? You okay Skylar?" asked Hilde, as she took a sip of her water.
"Um..." said Skylar, getting cold feet.
"You did something with him a few days ago? Oh now this I gotta hear!" stated Lee, chuckling, whilst also having a sly grin.
"Alright, you know what, here's a deal. I'll tell you what happened, but don't breathe a word of this to anyone else, got that?" stated Skylar, seemingly having no other option, as the four girls would easily catch onto her if she lied about it. Regardless, all four girls nodded in agreement, and Skylar took a deep breath.
Skylar spent around 5 minutes explaining the date she had with Chris, along with the various events that occurred; the talks with her parents, the compliments they gave to one another, while making sure to keep their more private encounters away from the girls. The other four girls were happy for the two of them, however Hilde decided to ask something that Skylar might not be expecting.
"Are you sure that day was the best one to ask him out to it? Were you aware of what occurred that day?" asked Hilde.
"I know, you and the other guys did an investigation. But I only found out about it after Chris came over. Besides, it seems like Kenji played a part in encouraging the lad, as according to Chris, he was encouraged by Kenji to come join me. I guess he wanted him to have a break, but I've yet to talk to Kenji about it." explained Skylar.
"Kenji makes a good wingman eh? That's nice for Chris. Well, would you say it all went well for the two of you?" asked Lee, who was curious.
"You bet, I loved the time we had." responded Skylar, causing snickering amongst the Kankers. "But that must now wait for later. Tomorrow morning, I believe me and him are due for a tiny little talk."
"What did he do?" asked Marie.
"Nothing, it's not like I caught him shagging someone in the bushes the other day or whatever bloody loony scenario you've got in your mind." explained Skylar. "No, I merely must discuss with him in more detail what he did today with Kenji, as something tells me that there's more to it than what he's telling us."
"Didn't he promise to be honest with you? I'm sure that there's nothing to worry about." responded Hilde.
"Course, but I shall see tomorrow." stated Skylar.
Hilde could only pray that her best friend didn't hide anything from his crush; as lying about what actually happened will put him in a complicated situation, and Hilde won't be able to do much.
"Roger that. I think I might check tomorrow with Kenji and see if he's available, as I think he'll be really useful in helping me with the arrows. Or if nothing else, making the process go by faster, as time is anything but plentiful right now." said Hilde.
"I'm pretty sure he'll be open to it. He does 'admire' you in a way, hehehe..." stated Lee, as Hilde rolled her eyes.
"Let's keep our focus, shall we?" asked Hilde. "Anyways, it appears we've got our plans all mapped out for tomorrow, yes?"
"So it appears Hilde, but once we've finished the entire conversation with our father, I think we should prepare for some attacks from this other father, as something tells me he isn't gonna be picking daisies all day tomorrow..." responded Lee, as she checked her phone to see that it was not only 6:45 PM, but that Cassie had sent a message a while ago, while widening her eyes in the process. Marie took notice.
"What's wrong?" said Marie.
"Seems like female James Bond got another piece of info. Well, we've got our own issues to deal with, so I think it's best the boys handle this one, yea?" explained Lee, as she read out the information provided by Cassie. "Looks like she's found a place were the guy will be going to. If that ain't an opportunity to seize, then what is it?"
"Perhaps someone should let the boys know?" suggested May.
"I'll do it. I wonder what those lads are doing currently..." said Skylar, as she stared upwards.