"Nobody knows where my Tommy has gone, but, Becky left the same time. Why was he holding her hand, when he's supposed to be mine?"

Lori sighed and shuffled her feet slightly. She knew she broke things off with Tommy months ago, but this recent and... well, what she felt was *weird* development with Tommy and Becky just didn't feel quite right...

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to. You would cry too if it happened to you."

Lori frowned slightly, spinning around a lampost in the park slowly. She wasn't the type to cry over silliness... was she?

"Play all my records, keep dancing all night. But, leave me alone for a while. Till Merton's dancing with me, I've got no reason to smile."

*Merton*??? Where had *that* come from??? Oy, things were going from weird to weirder... Could she really have hidden these conflicting emotions from herself this long?

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to. You would cry too if no one serenaded you."

Yes, this was the heart of the matter here... she wanted someone singing to *her*, damnit!

"Merton and that whore Hillary just walked down this street, like a queen with her king. Oh, what a lovely surprise, Hillary's wearing his ring. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to. You would cry too if it happened to you..."

Lori threw herself onto the bench, crying. She didn't know how it had happened, but... she'd fallen for Merton Dingle! There was no denying it now...

~*~

"I thought that dreams belonged to other men. 'Cause each time I got close, they'd fall apart again."

Tommy was singing to Becky again, this time in her bedroom, tangled in the green velvet bedding of her rice-bed.

"I feared my heart would be in secrecy. I faced the nights alone. Oh, how could I have known? That all my life I only needed you?"

She sang softly to him, as he rained kisses on her bare collarbone.

"Whoa. Almost paradise. We're knockin' on heaven's door. Almost paradise. How could we ask for more? I swear that I can see forever in your eyes. Paradise."

They sang together this time, between frenzied, passionate kisses...

"It seems like perfect love's so hard to find. I'd almost given up. You must've read my mind."

Tommy brushed her hair back from her face with both hands.

"And, all these dreams I saved for a rainy day. They're finally comin' true. I'll share them all with you. 'Cause now we hold the future in our hands."

Becky wrapped her legs back around him, rubbing his hips with her thighs like a cricket, running her fingertips gently up and down his arms...

"Whoa. Almost paradise. We're knockin' on heaven's door. Almost paradise, how could we ask for more? I swear that I can see forever in your eyes. Paradise."

"God, this is so... *amazing*..." Becky thought, breathless.

The singing about it was odd, but it was kinda neat at the same time...

"And, in your arms salvation's not so far away. It's getting closer, closer every day."

"God, I love you..." Tommy thought, nuzzling her neck gently, laying gentle little licks on her shoulderblade...

"It's almost paradise. We're knockin' on heaven's door. Almost paradise, how could we ask for more? I swear that I can see forever in your eyes. Paradise. Whoa. Almost paradise. We're knockin' on heaven's door. Almost paradise. How could we ask for more? I swear that I can see forever in your eyes. Paradise. Paradise. Paradise..."