Disclaimer: I don't own Recess, as everyone already knows...
Chapter Fourteen: First Kisses
"HEY, TOM! WAKE UP!" Patty yelled while beating on the little screen door. Bob and Ashley were shocked at such crude behavior, even from a truck driver. They prayed Tom wouldn't wake up grouchy...
Finally a light switched on in the house, and the door swung open. The three of them were faced with a short, shrimpy looking man who looked like he was maybe of Mexican descent. His red eyes told that he hadn't had much sleep yet.
"What's your problem?" he snapped as he rubbed his eyes.
"Is that any way to talk to an old friend?" Patty joked.
"Patty? Is that you?"
"Sure, it's me. Who'd ya think it was?" she answered, giving Tom a hug.
Bob cleared his throat to get Patty's attention back to the main purpose of the visit.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Patty exclaimed when she heard Bob. "Tom, I need a favor. These two kids here, Bob and Ashley, had an accident and their van's at the bottom of some ravine. They've been running around for almost two days, and they've got some friends down there waitin' on them. One's hurt real bad, and I was hoping that you could maybe help them out or something."
Tom registered all of this. "At the bottom of a ravine? How the devil am I supposed to tow something at the bottom of some mountain?"
"Listen, mister," Ashley spoke up with attempted bravery. "Our friends are down there, and we need some help!"
"Well, that's just too bad," Tom sneered. "But there ain't no way I can drive my tow truck down a hillside and pull up some van!"
"Oh, Tom, stop playin' around," Patty said. "I know you've got a helicopter somewhere in that backyard of yours that you use on occasions like this."
Bob and Ashley looked at him with pleading eyes. Tom couldn't think of an excuse for that, so he finally gave in.
"Patty, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut," he muttered. "All right, I'll help ya'll."
"Yes!" Bob and Ashley replied, giving high fives.
"But I cain't do nothin' tonight," Tom continued. "We're goin' to have to wait till' mornin'."
"MORNING?!" Bob shouted. "But--"
"But I need my beauty sleep. You can all sleep in my living room if ya'll want," he offered, opening the door wider.
Patty urged them inside, and they did so relunctantly. They all sat on the dingy sofa as Tom headed off for the kitchen.
"Ya'll been out there for two days?" he asked. "Bet ya'll are hungry, huh?"
"Yeah, starving," Bob told him, looking warily at the preserved body of a crow that was positioned near the lamp on the night table.
"I've got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with milk. Take it or leave it."
Bob looked at Ashley who shrugged. "PBJ sandwiches sound great," he said.
"Good, 'cause it's all I got," Tom answered from the little kitchen.
"Uh...Patty?" Ashley asked. "Don't you have to be somewhere with your shipments by a certain time?"
"Shucks, girl, I'm sure those tightwads over at Benson Furniture can wait another day. I just can't let you two and Tom have all the fun, can I?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, we need another plan," said Vince, glancing out the window at the wolves.
"But I'm out of ideas!" Ashley B. cried. "What if those wolves get in here before we can think of something?"
"Hey, calm down," Vince said softly, putting an arm around her. "It's gonna be fine."
"How do you know?"
"I don't know. I just do."
Ashley B. couldn't help but notice that Vince's arm was around her. Was this some sort of dream? In real life, Vince LaSalle would NEVER put his arm around her. Or would he? She had been dreaming forever that he would do something like this, but he made it so obvious that he wouldn't. Was he finally warming up to her?
"Uh...Vince? You do realize that your arm is around me?"
"Huh?" He suddenly realized that it was true. His arm WAS around her. How did that happen? "Well...I, I'm just tryin' to...uh...help you calm down, is all." What a pathetic excuse.
"Uh-huh," Ashley remarked sarcastically.
There was an awkward pause. Vince was suddenly nervous at the fact that he was ALONE with this girl. This girl that had been after him since ninth grade, that had been fawning over him every day since then, that he had been trying to ignore all his life. But now, he actually started feeling like...liking her.
He started to pull away from her, then hesistated before quickly bending his head down to hers and placing a kiss on her lips. Ashley was stunned...yet extremely pleased...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"OW!" Ashley Q. yelped as Lawson yanked the second quill out of her palm. "I thought I said to be more careful!"
"I can't help it if they're in there deep," he replied. "Hold still, there's only one left."
The last one was in there even deeper than the other two. This one was really gonna hurt when it came out.
"Brace yourself, this one's gonna hurt bad," he warned as he got a good grip on the quill.
Ashley shut her eyes tightly. Now sooner did Lawson yank it out of her hand did she let out a high-pitched scream before instinctly giving him a good punch in the eye.
"Crappit, girl!" he shouted as he pressed his hand over his left eye. "What the heck did ya do that for? I was just helpin' ya out!"
"I--I'm sorry," Ashley spat out quickly. "It came as a surprise is all. I didn't think it would hurt that bad, and when it did I just freaked out and whopped you."
"Whopped, nothin'! You nearly busted my head open! You hit like a freakin' boxer!"
Lawson kept his hand over his injured eye and sat down by the side of the tree. Ashley never thought that the day would come where she'd actually feel guilty for something she had done. But right now, she felt extremely sorry for having punched him like that after he had been nice enough to extract porcupine quills from her hand.
Man, Lawson's eye was watering. He couldn't believe he just got hit by a girl--and an Ashley at that. One thing was for sure, he wasn't telling ANYONE about this.
"Here, let me take a look at it," Ashley offered, bending down to pry his hand off.
"No, just go away," he said, pushing her hand away. "You've done quite enough already. First you push us off a cliff, then get us chased by a mountain lion, then try to kill me by pushing me out of a tree, and now you've done bashed my eye in. What on earth makes you think I'm gonna let you take a look at it?"
"Will you stop trying to make me feel bad? All I want to do is see how bad it looks."
"Well, it looks terrible, so you can go away now."
"Stop being such a baby, and let me look at it!" she argued.
"NO!"
"I swear, you are so difficult!"
Lawson got up on his feet to look her in the eye. "I'M difficult?! You're the one who's difficult!"
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are! You're the most difficult person I've ever met!"
"Well, you're not exactly a sweetheart yourself, ERWIN."
"I can say the same for you, Queen-lin."
"If you call me that one more time..."
"Or what? You'll tell Daddy on me? You must really hate me if your gonna tell DADDY on me."
Ashley didn't know what to say next. She was out of comebacks. And this whole thing was getting ridiculous anyway. So she did the only thing she could think of--something she realized she should have done a long time ago. She kissed him. Nothing too long, just a short one. When she leaned back, Lawson was giving her this confused look, as if he didn't know what had just happened.
"What? Stop looking at me like that!" Ashley demanded, trying to cover the fact that she actually was starting to like him a little bit...which was extremely crazy. "It was the only thing I could think of to shut you up, okay?"
Lawson didn't hear a word she said. He could not believe that his worst enemy just kissed him. It was...incomprehensible. They had been arguing for years with each other, and now this happened.
"I knew that!" he told her, not able to come up with something better. "Do I look stupid or something? And for the record, THAT never happened, understand?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phew...this was a long one!
Chapter Fourteen: First Kisses
"HEY, TOM! WAKE UP!" Patty yelled while beating on the little screen door. Bob and Ashley were shocked at such crude behavior, even from a truck driver. They prayed Tom wouldn't wake up grouchy...
Finally a light switched on in the house, and the door swung open. The three of them were faced with a short, shrimpy looking man who looked like he was maybe of Mexican descent. His red eyes told that he hadn't had much sleep yet.
"What's your problem?" he snapped as he rubbed his eyes.
"Is that any way to talk to an old friend?" Patty joked.
"Patty? Is that you?"
"Sure, it's me. Who'd ya think it was?" she answered, giving Tom a hug.
Bob cleared his throat to get Patty's attention back to the main purpose of the visit.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Patty exclaimed when she heard Bob. "Tom, I need a favor. These two kids here, Bob and Ashley, had an accident and their van's at the bottom of some ravine. They've been running around for almost two days, and they've got some friends down there waitin' on them. One's hurt real bad, and I was hoping that you could maybe help them out or something."
Tom registered all of this. "At the bottom of a ravine? How the devil am I supposed to tow something at the bottom of some mountain?"
"Listen, mister," Ashley spoke up with attempted bravery. "Our friends are down there, and we need some help!"
"Well, that's just too bad," Tom sneered. "But there ain't no way I can drive my tow truck down a hillside and pull up some van!"
"Oh, Tom, stop playin' around," Patty said. "I know you've got a helicopter somewhere in that backyard of yours that you use on occasions like this."
Bob and Ashley looked at him with pleading eyes. Tom couldn't think of an excuse for that, so he finally gave in.
"Patty, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut," he muttered. "All right, I'll help ya'll."
"Yes!" Bob and Ashley replied, giving high fives.
"But I cain't do nothin' tonight," Tom continued. "We're goin' to have to wait till' mornin'."
"MORNING?!" Bob shouted. "But--"
"But I need my beauty sleep. You can all sleep in my living room if ya'll want," he offered, opening the door wider.
Patty urged them inside, and they did so relunctantly. They all sat on the dingy sofa as Tom headed off for the kitchen.
"Ya'll been out there for two days?" he asked. "Bet ya'll are hungry, huh?"
"Yeah, starving," Bob told him, looking warily at the preserved body of a crow that was positioned near the lamp on the night table.
"I've got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with milk. Take it or leave it."
Bob looked at Ashley who shrugged. "PBJ sandwiches sound great," he said.
"Good, 'cause it's all I got," Tom answered from the little kitchen.
"Uh...Patty?" Ashley asked. "Don't you have to be somewhere with your shipments by a certain time?"
"Shucks, girl, I'm sure those tightwads over at Benson Furniture can wait another day. I just can't let you two and Tom have all the fun, can I?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, we need another plan," said Vince, glancing out the window at the wolves.
"But I'm out of ideas!" Ashley B. cried. "What if those wolves get in here before we can think of something?"
"Hey, calm down," Vince said softly, putting an arm around her. "It's gonna be fine."
"How do you know?"
"I don't know. I just do."
Ashley B. couldn't help but notice that Vince's arm was around her. Was this some sort of dream? In real life, Vince LaSalle would NEVER put his arm around her. Or would he? She had been dreaming forever that he would do something like this, but he made it so obvious that he wouldn't. Was he finally warming up to her?
"Uh...Vince? You do realize that your arm is around me?"
"Huh?" He suddenly realized that it was true. His arm WAS around her. How did that happen? "Well...I, I'm just tryin' to...uh...help you calm down, is all." What a pathetic excuse.
"Uh-huh," Ashley remarked sarcastically.
There was an awkward pause. Vince was suddenly nervous at the fact that he was ALONE with this girl. This girl that had been after him since ninth grade, that had been fawning over him every day since then, that he had been trying to ignore all his life. But now, he actually started feeling like...liking her.
He started to pull away from her, then hesistated before quickly bending his head down to hers and placing a kiss on her lips. Ashley was stunned...yet extremely pleased...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"OW!" Ashley Q. yelped as Lawson yanked the second quill out of her palm. "I thought I said to be more careful!"
"I can't help it if they're in there deep," he replied. "Hold still, there's only one left."
The last one was in there even deeper than the other two. This one was really gonna hurt when it came out.
"Brace yourself, this one's gonna hurt bad," he warned as he got a good grip on the quill.
Ashley shut her eyes tightly. Now sooner did Lawson yank it out of her hand did she let out a high-pitched scream before instinctly giving him a good punch in the eye.
"Crappit, girl!" he shouted as he pressed his hand over his left eye. "What the heck did ya do that for? I was just helpin' ya out!"
"I--I'm sorry," Ashley spat out quickly. "It came as a surprise is all. I didn't think it would hurt that bad, and when it did I just freaked out and whopped you."
"Whopped, nothin'! You nearly busted my head open! You hit like a freakin' boxer!"
Lawson kept his hand over his injured eye and sat down by the side of the tree. Ashley never thought that the day would come where she'd actually feel guilty for something she had done. But right now, she felt extremely sorry for having punched him like that after he had been nice enough to extract porcupine quills from her hand.
Man, Lawson's eye was watering. He couldn't believe he just got hit by a girl--and an Ashley at that. One thing was for sure, he wasn't telling ANYONE about this.
"Here, let me take a look at it," Ashley offered, bending down to pry his hand off.
"No, just go away," he said, pushing her hand away. "You've done quite enough already. First you push us off a cliff, then get us chased by a mountain lion, then try to kill me by pushing me out of a tree, and now you've done bashed my eye in. What on earth makes you think I'm gonna let you take a look at it?"
"Will you stop trying to make me feel bad? All I want to do is see how bad it looks."
"Well, it looks terrible, so you can go away now."
"Stop being such a baby, and let me look at it!" she argued.
"NO!"
"I swear, you are so difficult!"
Lawson got up on his feet to look her in the eye. "I'M difficult?! You're the one who's difficult!"
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are! You're the most difficult person I've ever met!"
"Well, you're not exactly a sweetheart yourself, ERWIN."
"I can say the same for you, Queen-lin."
"If you call me that one more time..."
"Or what? You'll tell Daddy on me? You must really hate me if your gonna tell DADDY on me."
Ashley didn't know what to say next. She was out of comebacks. And this whole thing was getting ridiculous anyway. So she did the only thing she could think of--something she realized she should have done a long time ago. She kissed him. Nothing too long, just a short one. When she leaned back, Lawson was giving her this confused look, as if he didn't know what had just happened.
"What? Stop looking at me like that!" Ashley demanded, trying to cover the fact that she actually was starting to like him a little bit...which was extremely crazy. "It was the only thing I could think of to shut you up, okay?"
Lawson didn't hear a word she said. He could not believe that his worst enemy just kissed him. It was...incomprehensible. They had been arguing for years with each other, and now this happened.
"I knew that!" he told her, not able to come up with something better. "Do I look stupid or something? And for the record, THAT never happened, understand?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phew...this was a long one!