A/N: FINALLY I am able to update!!!!!!!!
*does a happy dance*
Samantha
Everybody's Fool.
"Hey sweetie, how you doing?" John asked gently, his hand reaching out to find hers as she woke up slowly.
Lita ran the fingers of her free hand over her forehead. "Not bad. Not worse." She said softly, giving him two answers for the expanse of things that his question covered.
"Do you need anything?"
She shook her head and sat up. "I think I'm just going to get up and go out for a walk or something, maybe come home after that and do some work."
"Do you want some breakfast?"
She wrinkled up her nose. "Maybe later."
"I'm going back downstairs then. Yell if you need anything."
She nodded, then turned to her closet to grab some clothing before going to take a shower.
***********
"She's been just sitting there for hours." John told the others. "I was going to go over there, but I didn't want to interrupt. She seems to be okay."
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.
"She's just sitting there. Sometimes she just looks at the water or watches birds or something. It's almost like she's watching something, or looking for something that I can't see. Then she just sits there and writes, not intently like she's only focused on that, but like she's trying to keep track, or trying to remember the afternoon exactly as it is." John shook his head. "She almost seems happy, so I just left her. Who are we to judge what she needs all the time."
Rey nodded. "Maybe she does just need some space. She's been alone for a long time."
"But now she's choosing to be alone." Jeff nodded. "I guess she'll come to us when she gets hungry."
"I don't think she'll notice." John told them. "Look at her, she's so... entranced by everything."
"Why don't we get a fast picnic together then?" Rey asked. "Bring some food to her."
"Sounds good to me." Jeff nodded.
"Hey babe." Jeff said as he dropped down beside the red head.
She smiled at him, folding her notebook and sticking her pen through the spiral binding on the side. "What's going on?"
"Lunch." John told her, spreading a blanket out on the grass.
"Is served!" Rey exclaimed, setting a picnic basket down on the blanket with a flourish, making the others laugh.
"So who came up with this bright idea?" Lita asked them.
"Well, if it's a bad idea," John began, "It was Rey's idea. If it's a good idea, it was my idea."
She gave him a shove, then hugged him. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you guys. Especially recently."
"If we didn't have you to look after, we'd be at loose ends." Jeff said seriously, but was betrayed by the smile creeping over his face.
"Come on Rey." John badgered the small Mexican. "I'm starving."
Lita grinned. "Feed me, Seymour!"
Jeff burst out laughing, doubling over and almost knocking over two of the glasses Rey had brought out from inside.
"What's so funny?" John asked him, looking from Jeff to Lita as they both laughed.
"I haven't see that movie in ages." Jeff said, holding his sides. "I'd forgotten that line."
"What movie?" Rey asked, a little confused.
"Little Shop of Horrors." Lita explained. "It's this... I don't know B movie Jeff and I watched ages ago when we were both out injured. We thought it was hilarious and for months afterwards we were quoting the film."
"Let's get it out on video tonight." Jeff said suddenly.
"Or we could just dig out the copy I gave you for Christmas a few years ago." Lita suggested.
"Yes!" Jeff exclaimed. "Tonight, we sing!"
"Sing?" Rey asked.
"It has wicked funny songs on it." Jeff told him. "Like ummm... Little Shop, Little Shop of Horrors, Little Shop of Terrors, Call the Cops, Little Shop of Horrors, Oh, oh, oh, oh." He warbled, half off key as he did his best to impersonate the singers on the film.
"Oh, or that other one." Lita giggled, waving her hands as she began to sing. "I've given you sunshine, I've given you dirt. You've given me nothing, But heartache and hurt..."
She was joined by Jeff who sang a little more with her. "I'm telling you sweetly, I'm down on my knees, Please grow for me!"
"You two are amazing." John just shook his head at them.
"Amazing good, bad, scary, or just plain frightening?" Lita grinned at him.
"What you said. Everything." He answered.
"Can we watch it tonight?" Jeff asked, "I mean I can't believe you guys have never seen it."
"Whatever." Rey shook his head, a smile on his face as he set a plate of sandwiches down on the blanket, followed by some cut-up fruit.
The four of them ate in silence for several minutes, before Jeff moved to speak again. "So what were you doing here?" He asked Lita.
"A little bit of writing." She shrugged. "Mostly I was just watching the water."
"Can I see?" He asked, reaching for her notebook.
"If you want." Lita shrugged and helped herself to some apple.
"This is really good." Jeff said after a few moments, making Rey lean over his shoulder to read as well. "Is it for a new song?"
"I think so." She nodded.
"Listen to this." Jeff said to the others. "Perfect by nature. Icons of self indulgence."
"Can I take a stab as to who we're talking about here?" John asked.
"Everyone." Lita told him before he could answer incorrectly. "I'm going to call it 'Everybody's Fool.'"
"Move it you guys." Lita said to them after a while as she begun to pile the empty plates in the basket. "I need to get some more work done."
"All right then." Jeff gave her a puppy eyed look. "Will you play something for us later?"
She nodded. "I promise I'll play something for you later. Maybe my new one if I can get it finished."
***************
"What's going on?" Lita asked as John sat down next to her, a strange look on his face.
"I just... I wanted to talk to you." He said quietly.
Lita stood up, gesturing for him to join her. "Humans think better on their feet."
His face split into a smile for a moment as the sky continued to grow darker, the sun almost completely gone, with the first stars of the evening becoming pinpricks of light.
"I want so badly to take care of you, and to help you." John said softly, staring as the shadows played across her features, leaving her face half in darkness, and half in light.
"Then be here and take care of me if that's what you want." Lita told him. "I love having you guys around me, and hanging out with you, and all of us just being together."
"But..." He began, then stopped, unsure of how to accurately say what he wanted to tell her.
"Just talk." She encouraged him. "It helps."
"I love you." John didn't look at her when he spoke. "Probably since I met you, I mean you're beautiful, and smart, and funny, and amazingly creative, and I can't for the life of me see how anyone would want to be further than they had to be from you. I know that you probably don't want to hear this, but it's something that I needed to say and I'm really sorry if you're mad, or I've upset you but I had to say it."
She took a step towards him, placing her hand on his cheek and lifting his head up so that he was looking into her eyes. "I would never be angry with you for telling me how you feel, and no, I'm not upset either. I'm getting over Matt faster than you guys think. I'm not saying that I'm ready to start dating again, or that I'm jumping in line for another high-impact relationship, but I am getting over Matt. It just takes time." She reached out and took his hand, but there some something different about it this time.
"So you aren't going to tell me to go to hell or to jump off a cliff or anything?" He asked hopefully.
"Stay." Lita told him. "That's all I'm going to say. Just 'stay'."
He hugged her, and she let him, resting her head against his chest for several moments, while he rested his head on top of hers.
"John?"
"Yeah." He answered.
"Don't expect too much from me for a while. I don't want to hurt you."
John held her for just a little bit longer, then let her go. "Come on. You promised you'd play for us."
**********
"So is this the song that you were writing earlier?" Jeff asked.
Lita nodded, fiddling with the drum beat and tempo on Jeff's keyboard. "It might sound a little weird, because this is going to be the first time I've played it out loud, so just remember, this isn't the finished product."
"It will be good." Rey assured her.
John just gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, not saying anything as Lita turned to concentrate on the keyboard in front of her.
"I'll just play it through, then you have to promise to tell me what you think." She told them, only half interested in their responses as the starting notes of the song began to play through Jeff's speaker set up.
"Perfect by nature
Icons of self indulgence
Just what we all need
More lies about a world that...
Never was and never will be
Have you no shame? Don't you see me?
You know you've got everybody fooled
Look here she comes now
Bow down and stare in wonder
Oh how we love you
No flaws when you're pretending
But now I know she...
Never was and never will be
You don't know how you've betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled
Without the mask where will you hide
Can't find yourself lost in your lie
I know the truth now
I know who you are
And I don't love you anymore
Never was and never will be
You don't know how you've betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled
It never was and never will be
You're not real and you can't save me
Somehow now you're everybody's fool."
"Well," Jeff began, "It's not one of those gorgeous classical pieces you love to write, but I like it. It's you."
"He's right." Rey nodded, "You're not a prissy little girly-girl. There's a lot more to you than that."
"I think you still have some issues." John said when Lita looked at him, waiting for his thoughts. "You keep writing about betrayal and bad guys."
"I like the feelings that spiral from it." Lita told him. "Not feeling them personally obviously, but I like the ways that they can be explored. Do you understand? It's like every song I write isn't like an overview of my life, it's just about what's going through my head while I'm writing it. It's five minutes, or an afternoon of what I'm feeling."
"I understand." Jeff nodded. "Everything else just takes a ride out the window for a bit, and it's just you and a pen, or a lap top, whatever."
"Something like that." She answered. "I can look back on the songs I've written and I can say 'I was on the plane to Connecticut,' or 'I was sitting in the park across from the hotel we stayed in while we where in Tampa.' Stuff like that. It's a memory for me, sort of like a journal entry, but different. It's always part of me."
*does a happy dance*
Samantha
Everybody's Fool.
"Hey sweetie, how you doing?" John asked gently, his hand reaching out to find hers as she woke up slowly.
Lita ran the fingers of her free hand over her forehead. "Not bad. Not worse." She said softly, giving him two answers for the expanse of things that his question covered.
"Do you need anything?"
She shook her head and sat up. "I think I'm just going to get up and go out for a walk or something, maybe come home after that and do some work."
"Do you want some breakfast?"
She wrinkled up her nose. "Maybe later."
"I'm going back downstairs then. Yell if you need anything."
She nodded, then turned to her closet to grab some clothing before going to take a shower.
***********
"She's been just sitting there for hours." John told the others. "I was going to go over there, but I didn't want to interrupt. She seems to be okay."
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.
"She's just sitting there. Sometimes she just looks at the water or watches birds or something. It's almost like she's watching something, or looking for something that I can't see. Then she just sits there and writes, not intently like she's only focused on that, but like she's trying to keep track, or trying to remember the afternoon exactly as it is." John shook his head. "She almost seems happy, so I just left her. Who are we to judge what she needs all the time."
Rey nodded. "Maybe she does just need some space. She's been alone for a long time."
"But now she's choosing to be alone." Jeff nodded. "I guess she'll come to us when she gets hungry."
"I don't think she'll notice." John told them. "Look at her, she's so... entranced by everything."
"Why don't we get a fast picnic together then?" Rey asked. "Bring some food to her."
"Sounds good to me." Jeff nodded.
"Hey babe." Jeff said as he dropped down beside the red head.
She smiled at him, folding her notebook and sticking her pen through the spiral binding on the side. "What's going on?"
"Lunch." John told her, spreading a blanket out on the grass.
"Is served!" Rey exclaimed, setting a picnic basket down on the blanket with a flourish, making the others laugh.
"So who came up with this bright idea?" Lita asked them.
"Well, if it's a bad idea," John began, "It was Rey's idea. If it's a good idea, it was my idea."
She gave him a shove, then hugged him. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you guys. Especially recently."
"If we didn't have you to look after, we'd be at loose ends." Jeff said seriously, but was betrayed by the smile creeping over his face.
"Come on Rey." John badgered the small Mexican. "I'm starving."
Lita grinned. "Feed me, Seymour!"
Jeff burst out laughing, doubling over and almost knocking over two of the glasses Rey had brought out from inside.
"What's so funny?" John asked him, looking from Jeff to Lita as they both laughed.
"I haven't see that movie in ages." Jeff said, holding his sides. "I'd forgotten that line."
"What movie?" Rey asked, a little confused.
"Little Shop of Horrors." Lita explained. "It's this... I don't know B movie Jeff and I watched ages ago when we were both out injured. We thought it was hilarious and for months afterwards we were quoting the film."
"Let's get it out on video tonight." Jeff said suddenly.
"Or we could just dig out the copy I gave you for Christmas a few years ago." Lita suggested.
"Yes!" Jeff exclaimed. "Tonight, we sing!"
"Sing?" Rey asked.
"It has wicked funny songs on it." Jeff told him. "Like ummm... Little Shop, Little Shop of Horrors, Little Shop of Terrors, Call the Cops, Little Shop of Horrors, Oh, oh, oh, oh." He warbled, half off key as he did his best to impersonate the singers on the film.
"Oh, or that other one." Lita giggled, waving her hands as she began to sing. "I've given you sunshine, I've given you dirt. You've given me nothing, But heartache and hurt..."
She was joined by Jeff who sang a little more with her. "I'm telling you sweetly, I'm down on my knees, Please grow for me!"
"You two are amazing." John just shook his head at them.
"Amazing good, bad, scary, or just plain frightening?" Lita grinned at him.
"What you said. Everything." He answered.
"Can we watch it tonight?" Jeff asked, "I mean I can't believe you guys have never seen it."
"Whatever." Rey shook his head, a smile on his face as he set a plate of sandwiches down on the blanket, followed by some cut-up fruit.
The four of them ate in silence for several minutes, before Jeff moved to speak again. "So what were you doing here?" He asked Lita.
"A little bit of writing." She shrugged. "Mostly I was just watching the water."
"Can I see?" He asked, reaching for her notebook.
"If you want." Lita shrugged and helped herself to some apple.
"This is really good." Jeff said after a few moments, making Rey lean over his shoulder to read as well. "Is it for a new song?"
"I think so." She nodded.
"Listen to this." Jeff said to the others. "Perfect by nature. Icons of self indulgence."
"Can I take a stab as to who we're talking about here?" John asked.
"Everyone." Lita told him before he could answer incorrectly. "I'm going to call it 'Everybody's Fool.'"
"Move it you guys." Lita said to them after a while as she begun to pile the empty plates in the basket. "I need to get some more work done."
"All right then." Jeff gave her a puppy eyed look. "Will you play something for us later?"
She nodded. "I promise I'll play something for you later. Maybe my new one if I can get it finished."
***************
"What's going on?" Lita asked as John sat down next to her, a strange look on his face.
"I just... I wanted to talk to you." He said quietly.
Lita stood up, gesturing for him to join her. "Humans think better on their feet."
His face split into a smile for a moment as the sky continued to grow darker, the sun almost completely gone, with the first stars of the evening becoming pinpricks of light.
"I want so badly to take care of you, and to help you." John said softly, staring as the shadows played across her features, leaving her face half in darkness, and half in light.
"Then be here and take care of me if that's what you want." Lita told him. "I love having you guys around me, and hanging out with you, and all of us just being together."
"But..." He began, then stopped, unsure of how to accurately say what he wanted to tell her.
"Just talk." She encouraged him. "It helps."
"I love you." John didn't look at her when he spoke. "Probably since I met you, I mean you're beautiful, and smart, and funny, and amazingly creative, and I can't for the life of me see how anyone would want to be further than they had to be from you. I know that you probably don't want to hear this, but it's something that I needed to say and I'm really sorry if you're mad, or I've upset you but I had to say it."
She took a step towards him, placing her hand on his cheek and lifting his head up so that he was looking into her eyes. "I would never be angry with you for telling me how you feel, and no, I'm not upset either. I'm getting over Matt faster than you guys think. I'm not saying that I'm ready to start dating again, or that I'm jumping in line for another high-impact relationship, but I am getting over Matt. It just takes time." She reached out and took his hand, but there some something different about it this time.
"So you aren't going to tell me to go to hell or to jump off a cliff or anything?" He asked hopefully.
"Stay." Lita told him. "That's all I'm going to say. Just 'stay'."
He hugged her, and she let him, resting her head against his chest for several moments, while he rested his head on top of hers.
"John?"
"Yeah." He answered.
"Don't expect too much from me for a while. I don't want to hurt you."
John held her for just a little bit longer, then let her go. "Come on. You promised you'd play for us."
**********
"So is this the song that you were writing earlier?" Jeff asked.
Lita nodded, fiddling with the drum beat and tempo on Jeff's keyboard. "It might sound a little weird, because this is going to be the first time I've played it out loud, so just remember, this isn't the finished product."
"It will be good." Rey assured her.
John just gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, not saying anything as Lita turned to concentrate on the keyboard in front of her.
"I'll just play it through, then you have to promise to tell me what you think." She told them, only half interested in their responses as the starting notes of the song began to play through Jeff's speaker set up.
"Perfect by nature
Icons of self indulgence
Just what we all need
More lies about a world that...
Never was and never will be
Have you no shame? Don't you see me?
You know you've got everybody fooled
Look here she comes now
Bow down and stare in wonder
Oh how we love you
No flaws when you're pretending
But now I know she...
Never was and never will be
You don't know how you've betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled
Without the mask where will you hide
Can't find yourself lost in your lie
I know the truth now
I know who you are
And I don't love you anymore
Never was and never will be
You don't know how you've betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled
It never was and never will be
You're not real and you can't save me
Somehow now you're everybody's fool."
"Well," Jeff began, "It's not one of those gorgeous classical pieces you love to write, but I like it. It's you."
"He's right." Rey nodded, "You're not a prissy little girly-girl. There's a lot more to you than that."
"I think you still have some issues." John said when Lita looked at him, waiting for his thoughts. "You keep writing about betrayal and bad guys."
"I like the feelings that spiral from it." Lita told him. "Not feeling them personally obviously, but I like the ways that they can be explored. Do you understand? It's like every song I write isn't like an overview of my life, it's just about what's going through my head while I'm writing it. It's five minutes, or an afternoon of what I'm feeling."
"I understand." Jeff nodded. "Everything else just takes a ride out the window for a bit, and it's just you and a pen, or a lap top, whatever."
"Something like that." She answered. "I can look back on the songs I've written and I can say 'I was on the plane to Connecticut,' or 'I was sitting in the park across from the hotel we stayed in while we where in Tampa.' Stuff like that. It's a memory for me, sort of like a journal entry, but different. It's always part of me."