CHAPTER 2: SLEEP OVER

CHAPTER 2: SLEEP OVER!!!!

It had been two months since Aerith had met Xander. Now it was like they had known each other all their lives. Aerith was adjusting to school easily, as she was quickly becoming the most popular girl in her grade level. Even Xander was making a few friends of his own. After the two became good friends, it seemed as though Xander was starting to become more open about himself to others. Last week, he told her about his dreams. Frankly, they scared the stuffing out of her, but she didn't want to offend him, and tell him that he was a psycho.

Even with all the excitement, things were starting to dull down for everyone. Nothing happened in Midgar anymore. Even the world outside the city was dying down. The war with Wutai is coming close to an end now. The great leader, Sephiroth, said that he was going to crush the last resisting forces of the Wutai military. But it seemed like it wasn't going to happen for a little while. Aerith's stepfather was at one of Shinra's outposts, waiting for a sneak attack by the resistance. Her stepmother, Elmyra, was waiting for him to come back home after she received a letter saying he would be back on leave.

Aerith was lying on her bed with her head dangling off one end. She sighed, "Man. It's a perfectly good Friday afternoon, and I have NOTHING TO DO!!" She ended the last three words with an infuriated 'humph', while kicking and pounding her hands on the bed. Time passed as she just lay down in thought. A smile crept over her face as an idea hit her.

Running down the stairs, she started to think about all the people she could invite if mom said "yes".

One half-hour later, five people sat down in the somewhat large living room of the Gainsborough home. Three of the people sat down on a large fluffy sofa, and the others on separate armchairs. Aerith had called over four of her best friends (with the consent of her mother) for a little sleep over. Presently, three people had arrived. Tseng, Erika, and Gwen. Gwen and Erika were two of Aerith's gal pals that she had met a little while after moving to Midgar. Everything was going fine, except for her mother interrogating Tseng, that and the fact that her last invitee was missing. Maybe he got lost again?

Two hours later, the last person arrived on the voyeur of the house. Of course, it was Xander, who had gotten lost once more. The boy thought to himself tiredly. Who would've known that he would get lost and end up in sector two ...which was exactly four miles from Aerith's home. That was fun, he thought sarcastically. Before he rung the doorbell, he imagined what Aerith's raging mind would bestow on him after finding out that her many weeks of teaching him how to get to her house, and drawing of a one sixtieth scale map for him went wasted.

Tossing care to the side and replacing it with tiredness, he pressed the button and out came Tseng's fat head. Although the taller boy had become a little nicer towards Xander, that still did not change much between them. Tseng looked down, and scowled at the smaller child. "'Bout time chowder head. Aerith was sad that your didn't show up." For a slight moment, Xander was surprised that anyone was sad about him just being late, but he shoved the feeling away. Scowling also, he looked back up at Tseng's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Everyone came to have a good time, so why spoil it? Slowly, Xander pushed Tseng aside, moving in. He looked around, but no one showed up. As if he was reading his mind, the only other person in the room answered his mental questions. "Everyone's upstairs, dummy."

Xander turned back and gave Tseng a cold death look. Tseng just stared back in perceived anger. A moment of silence passed and Xander turned again towards the stairs. Both boys went up the stairs slowly. When they reached the top, the taller of the two lead the way, seeing how he had been there longer. Turning in to the right hallway, they reached three sets of doors, two on the left and one in the very back. Tseng knocked on the door closest to them. This room belonged to Aerith.

When the door opened, blaring music poured out from all directions. Unfortunately for the boys, Aerith's walls were almost sound proof, so anyone could do anything inside without making a single noise. After Gwen turned off the boom box, the boys could almost hear past the ringing inside their heads. When they finally recovered, Aerith smiled shyly at them. "Wassup?"

Xander's eyes darted to Tseng's and vice versa. Tseng cracked a smile. Almost simultaneously they both let loose, yelling, "Waaaaaassssssuuuuuuuppppppp!!!" While letting their tongues thrash wildly about in the air. Momentary laughter was stopped when Aerith slammed her paper fan over Xander's face multiple times.

Xander held his stinging cheeks and looked at his friend accusingly. "What the heck was that for?" He burst out.

She looked back at him disapprovingly, "Don't you ever be late again!"

Xander just stood there with a bland face. He felt like saying, 'But hitting isn't the way to manage your anger, oh goddess of all that is vengeful and full of disheartening pain.' Then again, she still had her fan.

The party went on and on throughout the afternoon, until it was well past midnight. Mrs. Gainsborough told them to sleep, and that all men were to stay in the guest room. Somewhere around two in the morning, Tseng and Xander sat awake on the floor. They were playing Truth or Dare, but they had no clue at all if any of the girls were still awake or not, so they planned out an all-nighter.

It was Xander's turn to answer a question, and he picked dare. That was probably the stupidest thing in the known universe, seeing how he was playing with the devil. "So, how about that soul of yours?" Asked Tseng. The flashlight under his chin made him look even more like the dark prince.

Xander just rolled his eyes. "For the love of gosh, no. Stop asking me that, 'cause ya ain't gettin' it."

Tseng muttered a 'curses' under his breath. "Fine," He said. "In that case, you get to find out what the girls are up to."

Mentally Xander froze. At this, Tseng started cackling maliciously. Sweat began to form on the semi-small boy's brow. "Umm, instead I pick truth."

Tseng's grin widened, and he wagged his index finger. "Nu-uh. It's too late. Now stop stalling and do ii! Do it now!" He said, almost raving.

Inwardly, Xander sighed. Making deals with the devil was always a bad thing. He got up with a low grunt and made his way outside, leaving the door slightly ajar. Sadly, only sounds from the hallway can be heard from inside the rooms. So Xander had to be extremely quiet. He made his way to the girl's door and carefully put his head up to it. Of course, he couldn't hear jack squat, so he tried to press his ear harder up against the door.

Inside the guest room, Tseng chuckled to himself. He may not have gotten Xander's soul, but he did get the poor sap to spy on the others. He could hear Xander outside vaguely. At first, nothing happened. Moments later there was a crashing noise, and an, 'Oh crackers'. Not long at all after that he heard the shrill screams from the girls. Then there were multiple, 'Please, not the lamp!' and, 'You pervert!' Dull smacking sounds went about, along with Xander screaming, 'It's not my fault, I swear! It's all just a big misunderstanding!' Everything Xander said was stopped every now and then with a moan of pain and 'Fricken 'ay, that hurts'. That went on for a pretty long time. All the while, Tseng was dieing with laughter.

It took him a while, but Xander was finally free from his torture chamber. Who knew they would be playing strip poker at such a late hour? Then again, he should not have made deals with the devil. Bad move on his part. After some pretty good whacks in the face and general soft areas, they finally gave him the boot. Now he was leaning on the banister, which separated him from the ground. It was a shame that the railing had shoddy workmanship. Soon enough, Xander caught up with the floor, and got knocked unconscious. Yeah, parties rock.

What little light there was shone though Mrs. Gainsborough's window, hitting her eyes. Slowly she cracked open an eyelid and closed it again. Once more, she dared to let her delicate eyes meet the light, this time opening fully. Elmyra let out an exasperated sigh. Oh, how she hated getting up in the morning as such, especially without even a dream. She got up and went into the small, private bathroom located in her room.

It was an hour later when she came out, looking like she was as fresh as a daisy. Walking over to her dresser, she gazed at the pictures of her husband, Sam. Most of the photos were taken only a few days before he was shipped overseas to Wutai. That was almost eight years ago, but they were still very much in love. Almost every day she got a letter from him, saying how much he missed her, and she would write back. The last letter she received was nine days ago, saying that he would be home in three. Almost every day at this exact time she went out to the train station to look for Sam, but he seemed to be a no show. But today was going to be different! Elmyra was sure that he would be there today!

With that thought, she put on one of her finest dresses and some makeup. She spun herself in front of a mirror to see if Sam would approve of her outfit. Although she was short compared to most women, she looked spectacular. Her chestnut brown hair full of bounce and homemade dress flowing, she grabbed her purse and trotted out of her room.

Elmyra decided to leave everyone asleep and headed for the stairs. The first thing she noticed was the missing banister. Closer inspections of the wall were it was attached to show that it was broken off. Hoping that no one was hurt, she ran down the stairs to the first floor…