11:25 p.m. (MOVIE NIGHT- WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, TITANIC, ROMEO + JULIET, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE......)
"Good stuff. Really good stuff. Oh, the good stuff." John furiously typed into his keyboard for a few moments then returned to watching the unfolding drama that was Titanic. He stared at the screen, typed some more then returned to the screen.
Meanwhile in front of the tv, the children lay stretched out on either the floor, couch, or armchairs to mock the movie. For the moment Russ was throwing handfuls of popcorn at the screen.
Kat 'blubbered' into a pillow while clutching Richard's shirt, which she occassionally blew her nose on. She had been behaving that way since the 'great passion scene in the car'. (Uh-hmm.)
"Anyone that shuts her up will get paid,"Angel announced around a mouthful of chocolate chip cookies. There came a clatter from the kitchen where Derek and Kellie were busy making more food since their 'banishment'. "I have real money." She held up several crumpled, slightly torn, blue spotted dollars.
Richard bent down and removed one sock. Ashley threw a pillow at Kat's head. Russ didn't move from his resting place to the side of Ashley's legs. Tara and Natasha continued to watch the movie, not trusting their friend. Corey hissed and slid further into his corner, clutching his cookie then began to eat.
In response to Ashley's pillow Kat clutched onto Richard tighter but at the sight of his sock, shrieked and fled the room. A collective sigh went up.
"Peace."
"Pay me." Richard held out one hand and after a moment was rewarded with the dollars. He stared at them a minute. "What's the blue stuff?"
Angel held up a tube of blue lipstick over one shoulder without removing her eyes from the tv screen. She removed the cap and twisted it up. "Coral Blue Number 4...I kiss all my money in case I see it again,"she explained with a shrug.
Tristan stared at the lipstick a moment then studied her with a raised eyebrow. "Would you mind kissing something of mine, Angel?"
"I don't kiss people who irritate me, Tristan. Sorry..."
"TOO MUCH TALKING, NOT ENOUGH WATCHING, MATES!" John chunked a large, very heavy package of copier paper at them. It barely missed Natasha's head.
"Bad John!"
"That tape's over...what's next?" Russ stretched but reluntantly stood and made his way to the VCR, ejecting the tape and holding up their other choices. "We have Romeo + Juliet and Sleepless in Seattle."
There were united groans then Kat leaped forward and snatched one tape. She ran down the hall then vanished into one of the rooms with a yell of triumph.
John cleared his throat then looked at Russ. "What movie did she take, mate?"he asked before returning to his typewriter and paper. He began to type, furiously.
"Sleepless in Seattle. We're stuck with Romeo + Juliet....Dicapro's sorry butt."
More collective groans. Ashley shook her head and stood. "Forget it. I'm going to bed...night, guys. Russ, don't show up in my bed or I'll turn you into Blackened Chicken with Lemon Sauce without a second thought..." She smiled sweetly then vanished down the hall after Kat but with more grace.
Within ten minutes of the real movie starting the others had either wandered off or fallen asleep in their current positions. They'd probably wake up there the next morning and 'wonder' what happened the night before; no one would be able to tell them.
John stared at his screen a moment then began to type on his next romance novel.
Anything For a Price Chapter Four: Making Good on Promises
Jacob walked up the stairs and into his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. His eyes immediately looked for his prize but to his not-quite suprise...she wasn't present. "I'm growing tired of your games, Marie,"he said but began a through search of the room. He should have known where she would be and that she wouldn't be the easiest person in the world to force into behaving. Marie didn't disappoint when she attacked him with the letter opener that had been on the table; it stabbed his shoulder but missed anything vital. Jacob caught her wrist and twisted it until the letter opener fell from her hand and she gasped in pain. "What did I say about hurting me? It wasn't a good idea..." Marie jerked her wrist from his grasp and glared at him. "I hate you. I'll always hate you,"she told him through clenched teeth as she crossed her arms. He laughed. "We'll see. Now it's time to make good on my promise that you would regret any misbehavior on your part...."
"Kellie, Derek, go to bed! NOW!"
SIX DAYS LATER 11:55 a.m.
"To be honest, and give myself to you again. I wish I could give what is not mine to give. My reputation is large as the oceans and my love is deeper; the more I give, the more I have for both are endless." Ashley struggled to maintain a serious face throughout her lines as she looked down at Russ from her 'balcony'.
Kat's voice rang out from somewhere above. "Get in here, child!"
Ashley sighed with impatience then waved him away. "There's voices and I'm not schizophrenic. I'll be there in a minute, nurse! My darling, stay. Wait for me, I will return,"she said before vanishing into the 'other half' of her 'balcony'.
Russ stood on his step ladder, whistling then looked through his lines, nodding and mumbling over his lines now and then. "Oh, very good line. Ah, a kiss from my lady love..." He smiled, broadly.
She reappared, although her expression was irritated and her face turned slightly red with what looked like tomate paste. "Go to bed, Reese and good night. If you really love me send me a diamond ring and a marriage proposal the day after tomorrow, include the date and time. I will give up everything for you and follow my love where he leads."
"Get in here!"
"Shut up a minute. I'm getting some fresh air!"
"Get in here!"
"Give me a minute! Leave me to my misery, Romeo..." At this point, Ashley burst into tears and fled into the 'other half' of her 'balcony' once more with a final shriek from Kat.
Russ placed a dramatic hand against his heart. "I wish I could have my life, my Martini by my si---"
"My name's not Martini! It's Martina, you half-wit!" Ashley's voice rang out, disembodied.
"CUT!"John yelled, coming onto the set and glowering up at them. He pointed at Russ first. "Her name is Martina, not Martini. She is not an alcoholic drink! She is a beautiful human with a heart that loves only you, Reese, the mutant prince, killer of humans."
"Food's ready,"Angel announced as she skipped into the room, pulling David by the rope that had been knotted around one wrist. Scott's visor hung from the other hand. She stopped just short of on the set. "Hank said that anyone who intends to eat had better come now or else...Scott will eat it all."
"Practice dismissed....one hour then places again!"
Cheers and applause followed this statement while the housemates fled outside. Hank and Scott were standing by a fire, talking and grilling things while the other 'father and mother figures' stood off to one side, comparing pictures and childhood stories.
The loudest voice from the bragging parents was quite obviously Remy's. "Mon 'tite ange stayed in de freezer for several hours wit'out catching anyt'ing 'cept hunger. Right, Logan, mon ami?"
"Ah, that ain't nothin. Tara's been consuming large amounts of alcohol without intoxication since she was five...that's a true girl right there."
Sabretooth interrupted with a growl and 'slurp' of his beer. "Tasha could clear a room out with her growling at five and had her first kill at seven. That's a little girl for a father to be proud of,"he said, grinning in a way that was predatory yet okay.
12:15 p.m.
Tara took her plate and drink then joined her brother who sat at one of the tables to the side. Her mouth almost dropped when she noticed he was talking to Sabretooth, Logan, and Gambit; the four seemed to be having an intelligent conversation.
"Um...Mort?"she asked, unsure, as she came up behind him.
Toad smiled when he saw her. "There's Tadpole. I hear that you've been out bar hopping...who's this Landon fellow?"he asked, helping her to set her stuff down then giving her a hug.
She returned it, a little awkwardly while her friends, Tasha, Angel, and Retribution X, joined them at the table. "Maybe..uh, just a little."
"Remember what you were taught about abstience, Tara?"he asked around a mouthful of food. "This goes for the rest of you, as well."
Tara almost dropped her sandwich. Her friends continued eating as if he'd said nothing while Logan and the others simply nodded their agreement after taking long swallows of their beers.
She thought a moment then recited from memory-"Abstience makes the heart grow fonder. If a guy says bullshit, it's really I love you and that means it's time to end the relationship. If he says he likes animals then he just wants to get inside my pants. If he claims to like sappy love movies he just wants to get inside my pants. Did I forget anything, Mort?"
"Remy also taught de chiles about sexual education...dere no longer shall be any worry dat de femmes will become sexually active,"Remy said, thumping himself in the chest then coughing when it actually hurt.
There was a laugh from down the table from Ashley. She quickly returned to her foot but not before casting one look at Logan and his beer; her expression was almost like one of the looks described in John's books. It way scary.
"If anything...Remy's talk has made me WANT to be sexually active." Natasha calmly took a bite out of hamburger before Sabre's hand connected with the back of her head. She growled and moved away from him in response. "You're abusive, Dad."
"Sometimes abuse is warranted,"Logan answered before getting another beer from the cooler beside him. It looked, oddly enough, like the twin to Richard's cooler.
Richard's voice suddenly split the yard. "No one move! There's been a kidnapping!"
Scott leapt up, pressing his hands to his face and screaming. "David! My child...oh no, they're taken my child."
"Daddy, you have some mental issues to sort out. Kind of like Mommy,"David said, coming up behind Scott with three squirrels, which he held by the tails. "Are you going to die?" In response, his father picked him up and hugged him around tears. "Help. Me. Save. Me."
"Not your child, Fairy Sucker! My cooler,"he moaned in the almost drunken way of a drunk.
(Did that make sense?)
"What's y'cooler look like, mon ami?"Remy asked, coming over to pat him on the back and in the process hit several people in the head, including Ashley and Sabretooth. "Remy help find it."
"It's red,"he managed around his 'tears' and anguish.
Logan cleared his throat. "Well look at the time. We need to be going, Gumbo....Rogue's expecting us back before Jean has one of her freak-outs. If, according to the time change, I'm right that should be in thirty minutes."
"On y'own, mon ami." Remy took off running followed shortly by Logan. Victor motioned to under the table, between him and Logan's place 'settings'.
"You might want to check that cooler the runt and I had. It's kind of red colored..."
Richard around the table several times before finding the cooler and grabbing it. He hugged it and said several prayers.
Ashley's thought on this display- Who would have thought Richard had any form of religion?
"Break over! On the set again!" John's voice rang out across the area, dispersing parents and others from the front yard in a flood of car exhaust and stampeding feet.
3:40 p.m. (PLAYING HOUSE....while Pyro's on the phone and after getting into the liquor supply)
"Here we follow the happy couple through the front door of their new house,"Tara said in her best sportscaster voice while stalking behind Kellie and an even more depressed Corey. She held a video camera(turned off) and rolled up copy of The Commercial Appeal in front of her like a camera and microphone.
"Mommy, Daddy!" Kat ran forward, clutching a giant My Size Princess Barbie in one arm. Russ and Derek followed with a giant show of smacking each other with plastic swords; upon their 'parents' entrance Derek broke into tears and threw his arms around Kellie.
"Mommy, Russ won't stop hitting me!"he sobbed, over dramatically but in a perfect imitation of another familiar five-year-old.
"Ah, poor little Derek." Their 'mother' knelt and hugged the too big, little boy, patting the top of his curly head. "Russ, don't hit your brother."
"But, Mommy...Derek started it,"he whined, dropping the plastic sword and kicking it under their makeshift couch.
Corey tried, visibly, to shove Kat away from her place around one of his legs. Her My Size Barbie laid on the carpet nearby, discarded. Kat had now placed one thumb in her mouth while clinging to his legs.
"Aren't the children just so adorable?"Tara muttered in sarcasm then turned her video camera toward the makeshift 'living room'. There was a quick glimpse of Angel and Tristan before it shifted angles. "It appears the teenage daughter has decided to have her own fun."
"Angel, you are in so much trouble!"Kat screeched, untangling herself from her father's leg and racing into the room to torment her sister. Angel barely glanced away from her 'make out' session with Tristan; the not so little monster was ignored. "Mommy, Angel's got her boyfriend here!"
That got a reaction. "He ain't my boyfriend, stupid!"
"Then why you kissing him?"Russ demanded, smacking Tristan in the head with his plastic sword. He did this several more times; Derek caught on and began to do the same.
"Cause she's in loooooooove,"came the sing-songy sound from Derek's mouth before he caught Russ' hands and began to twirl in a circle. "Angel and Tristan sitting in a tree K-I-F-F-I-N-G!"
"I thought it was K-I-S-S-I-N-G?"Kat demanded, glaring at him before latching onto Corey's leg at the glare. "Daddy, Derek's staring at me again!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WHILE I WAS GONE?" John's voice was incredibly irritated and held even more of his accent because of it. He glowered at the group, crossing his arms. The look he sent them could have killed anyone especially this drunk 'family'.
"Oh, it's Uncle Johnny!" At Tara's words the 'children', even those not 'in the family', leapt forward to hug and cling to him.
"Uncle Johnny, Uncle Johnny, Uncle Johnny!"
9:00 p.m. (LATER DINNER.....and EARLY HANGOVERS)
"Dinner's ready!"Kellie yelled from the kitchen, causing everyone except herself, Kat, Derek, and their chaperones to cringe at the voices.
Ashley covered her head with a pillow from the couch, mumbling something. Russ had done the same except with his book on stalking; Tristan wore earmuffs but had his head in a bucket of ice water to 'soothe the hangover'; Angel and Tara were simply lumps on the couch under a blanket.
John went around, thumping each of them on the top of the head with a large, metal soup latel. He had to use a few more smacks on Russ then anyone else but before long they had all come out from under their 'protective coverings'.
"Mates, you shoulda thought of your hangovers before getting in to the liquor supply and making me Uncle Johnny. For dinner tonight we have Gumbo from Remy Lebeau, chili cheese fries from Logan Something or Other, Chocolate Chip Cookies from Victor Creed, and Apple Sauce from Scott and David Summers,"he announced while Kellie, Kat, Derek, and Scott displayed the dishes like a group of strange Vana Whites. "Eat up, mates and sheliahs."
Angel's face twisted into a sick look before she along with the others vanished from the hall; the sound of retching greeted the remaining ones.
John's smile turned into an evil smirk. "That should keep them out of the liquor supply and away from games of Playing House for the next two weeks and a day,"he said, helping to set the table then settling down with the others to eat.
Kellie ate in silence a moment then stopped on a bite of Chili Cheese Fries. "These people can cook. Too bad the other's are too intoxicated to eat it....and hungover and sick and retching and.."
"That's enough words, Kellie."
"Sorry, Scott."
Kat's voice broke dinner. "How about a duet after dinner, Scottie boy?"
"Yeah!"
"Nooooo!"
Even drunk, hungover, and sick to their stomaches that was a punishment worse than anything they could deal with at the moment.
More retching from the bathroom and it's occupants. Their voices rang out for a moment then silence followed...very bad silence.
"Good stuff. Really good stuff. Oh, the good stuff." John furiously typed into his keyboard for a few moments then returned to watching the unfolding drama that was Titanic. He stared at the screen, typed some more then returned to the screen.
Meanwhile in front of the tv, the children lay stretched out on either the floor, couch, or armchairs to mock the movie. For the moment Russ was throwing handfuls of popcorn at the screen.
Kat 'blubbered' into a pillow while clutching Richard's shirt, which she occassionally blew her nose on. She had been behaving that way since the 'great passion scene in the car'. (Uh-hmm.)
"Anyone that shuts her up will get paid,"Angel announced around a mouthful of chocolate chip cookies. There came a clatter from the kitchen where Derek and Kellie were busy making more food since their 'banishment'. "I have real money." She held up several crumpled, slightly torn, blue spotted dollars.
Richard bent down and removed one sock. Ashley threw a pillow at Kat's head. Russ didn't move from his resting place to the side of Ashley's legs. Tara and Natasha continued to watch the movie, not trusting their friend. Corey hissed and slid further into his corner, clutching his cookie then began to eat.
In response to Ashley's pillow Kat clutched onto Richard tighter but at the sight of his sock, shrieked and fled the room. A collective sigh went up.
"Peace."
"Pay me." Richard held out one hand and after a moment was rewarded with the dollars. He stared at them a minute. "What's the blue stuff?"
Angel held up a tube of blue lipstick over one shoulder without removing her eyes from the tv screen. She removed the cap and twisted it up. "Coral Blue Number 4...I kiss all my money in case I see it again,"she explained with a shrug.
Tristan stared at the lipstick a moment then studied her with a raised eyebrow. "Would you mind kissing something of mine, Angel?"
"I don't kiss people who irritate me, Tristan. Sorry..."
"TOO MUCH TALKING, NOT ENOUGH WATCHING, MATES!" John chunked a large, very heavy package of copier paper at them. It barely missed Natasha's head.
"Bad John!"
"That tape's over...what's next?" Russ stretched but reluntantly stood and made his way to the VCR, ejecting the tape and holding up their other choices. "We have Romeo + Juliet and Sleepless in Seattle."
There were united groans then Kat leaped forward and snatched one tape. She ran down the hall then vanished into one of the rooms with a yell of triumph.
John cleared his throat then looked at Russ. "What movie did she take, mate?"he asked before returning to his typewriter and paper. He began to type, furiously.
"Sleepless in Seattle. We're stuck with Romeo + Juliet....Dicapro's sorry butt."
More collective groans. Ashley shook her head and stood. "Forget it. I'm going to bed...night, guys. Russ, don't show up in my bed or I'll turn you into Blackened Chicken with Lemon Sauce without a second thought..." She smiled sweetly then vanished down the hall after Kat but with more grace.
Within ten minutes of the real movie starting the others had either wandered off or fallen asleep in their current positions. They'd probably wake up there the next morning and 'wonder' what happened the night before; no one would be able to tell them.
John stared at his screen a moment then began to type on his next romance novel.
Anything For a Price Chapter Four: Making Good on Promises
Jacob walked up the stairs and into his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. His eyes immediately looked for his prize but to his not-quite suprise...she wasn't present. "I'm growing tired of your games, Marie,"he said but began a through search of the room. He should have known where she would be and that she wouldn't be the easiest person in the world to force into behaving. Marie didn't disappoint when she attacked him with the letter opener that had been on the table; it stabbed his shoulder but missed anything vital. Jacob caught her wrist and twisted it until the letter opener fell from her hand and she gasped in pain. "What did I say about hurting me? It wasn't a good idea..." Marie jerked her wrist from his grasp and glared at him. "I hate you. I'll always hate you,"she told him through clenched teeth as she crossed her arms. He laughed. "We'll see. Now it's time to make good on my promise that you would regret any misbehavior on your part...."
"Kellie, Derek, go to bed! NOW!"
SIX DAYS LATER 11:55 a.m.
"To be honest, and give myself to you again. I wish I could give what is not mine to give. My reputation is large as the oceans and my love is deeper; the more I give, the more I have for both are endless." Ashley struggled to maintain a serious face throughout her lines as she looked down at Russ from her 'balcony'.
Kat's voice rang out from somewhere above. "Get in here, child!"
Ashley sighed with impatience then waved him away. "There's voices and I'm not schizophrenic. I'll be there in a minute, nurse! My darling, stay. Wait for me, I will return,"she said before vanishing into the 'other half' of her 'balcony'.
Russ stood on his step ladder, whistling then looked through his lines, nodding and mumbling over his lines now and then. "Oh, very good line. Ah, a kiss from my lady love..." He smiled, broadly.
She reappared, although her expression was irritated and her face turned slightly red with what looked like tomate paste. "Go to bed, Reese and good night. If you really love me send me a diamond ring and a marriage proposal the day after tomorrow, include the date and time. I will give up everything for you and follow my love where he leads."
"Get in here!"
"Shut up a minute. I'm getting some fresh air!"
"Get in here!"
"Give me a minute! Leave me to my misery, Romeo..." At this point, Ashley burst into tears and fled into the 'other half' of her 'balcony' once more with a final shriek from Kat.
Russ placed a dramatic hand against his heart. "I wish I could have my life, my Martini by my si---"
"My name's not Martini! It's Martina, you half-wit!" Ashley's voice rang out, disembodied.
"CUT!"John yelled, coming onto the set and glowering up at them. He pointed at Russ first. "Her name is Martina, not Martini. She is not an alcoholic drink! She is a beautiful human with a heart that loves only you, Reese, the mutant prince, killer of humans."
"Food's ready,"Angel announced as she skipped into the room, pulling David by the rope that had been knotted around one wrist. Scott's visor hung from the other hand. She stopped just short of on the set. "Hank said that anyone who intends to eat had better come now or else...Scott will eat it all."
"Practice dismissed....one hour then places again!"
Cheers and applause followed this statement while the housemates fled outside. Hank and Scott were standing by a fire, talking and grilling things while the other 'father and mother figures' stood off to one side, comparing pictures and childhood stories.
The loudest voice from the bragging parents was quite obviously Remy's. "Mon 'tite ange stayed in de freezer for several hours wit'out catching anyt'ing 'cept hunger. Right, Logan, mon ami?"
"Ah, that ain't nothin. Tara's been consuming large amounts of alcohol without intoxication since she was five...that's a true girl right there."
Sabretooth interrupted with a growl and 'slurp' of his beer. "Tasha could clear a room out with her growling at five and had her first kill at seven. That's a little girl for a father to be proud of,"he said, grinning in a way that was predatory yet okay.
12:15 p.m.
Tara took her plate and drink then joined her brother who sat at one of the tables to the side. Her mouth almost dropped when she noticed he was talking to Sabretooth, Logan, and Gambit; the four seemed to be having an intelligent conversation.
"Um...Mort?"she asked, unsure, as she came up behind him.
Toad smiled when he saw her. "There's Tadpole. I hear that you've been out bar hopping...who's this Landon fellow?"he asked, helping her to set her stuff down then giving her a hug.
She returned it, a little awkwardly while her friends, Tasha, Angel, and Retribution X, joined them at the table. "Maybe..uh, just a little."
"Remember what you were taught about abstience, Tara?"he asked around a mouthful of food. "This goes for the rest of you, as well."
Tara almost dropped her sandwich. Her friends continued eating as if he'd said nothing while Logan and the others simply nodded their agreement after taking long swallows of their beers.
She thought a moment then recited from memory-"Abstience makes the heart grow fonder. If a guy says bullshit, it's really I love you and that means it's time to end the relationship. If he says he likes animals then he just wants to get inside my pants. If he claims to like sappy love movies he just wants to get inside my pants. Did I forget anything, Mort?"
"Remy also taught de chiles about sexual education...dere no longer shall be any worry dat de femmes will become sexually active,"Remy said, thumping himself in the chest then coughing when it actually hurt.
There was a laugh from down the table from Ashley. She quickly returned to her foot but not before casting one look at Logan and his beer; her expression was almost like one of the looks described in John's books. It way scary.
"If anything...Remy's talk has made me WANT to be sexually active." Natasha calmly took a bite out of hamburger before Sabre's hand connected with the back of her head. She growled and moved away from him in response. "You're abusive, Dad."
"Sometimes abuse is warranted,"Logan answered before getting another beer from the cooler beside him. It looked, oddly enough, like the twin to Richard's cooler.
Richard's voice suddenly split the yard. "No one move! There's been a kidnapping!"
Scott leapt up, pressing his hands to his face and screaming. "David! My child...oh no, they're taken my child."
"Daddy, you have some mental issues to sort out. Kind of like Mommy,"David said, coming up behind Scott with three squirrels, which he held by the tails. "Are you going to die?" In response, his father picked him up and hugged him around tears. "Help. Me. Save. Me."
"Not your child, Fairy Sucker! My cooler,"he moaned in the almost drunken way of a drunk.
(Did that make sense?)
"What's y'cooler look like, mon ami?"Remy asked, coming over to pat him on the back and in the process hit several people in the head, including Ashley and Sabretooth. "Remy help find it."
"It's red,"he managed around his 'tears' and anguish.
Logan cleared his throat. "Well look at the time. We need to be going, Gumbo....Rogue's expecting us back before Jean has one of her freak-outs. If, according to the time change, I'm right that should be in thirty minutes."
"On y'own, mon ami." Remy took off running followed shortly by Logan. Victor motioned to under the table, between him and Logan's place 'settings'.
"You might want to check that cooler the runt and I had. It's kind of red colored..."
Richard around the table several times before finding the cooler and grabbing it. He hugged it and said several prayers.
Ashley's thought on this display- Who would have thought Richard had any form of religion?
"Break over! On the set again!" John's voice rang out across the area, dispersing parents and others from the front yard in a flood of car exhaust and stampeding feet.
3:40 p.m. (PLAYING HOUSE....while Pyro's on the phone and after getting into the liquor supply)
"Here we follow the happy couple through the front door of their new house,"Tara said in her best sportscaster voice while stalking behind Kellie and an even more depressed Corey. She held a video camera(turned off) and rolled up copy of The Commercial Appeal in front of her like a camera and microphone.
"Mommy, Daddy!" Kat ran forward, clutching a giant My Size Princess Barbie in one arm. Russ and Derek followed with a giant show of smacking each other with plastic swords; upon their 'parents' entrance Derek broke into tears and threw his arms around Kellie.
"Mommy, Russ won't stop hitting me!"he sobbed, over dramatically but in a perfect imitation of another familiar five-year-old.
"Ah, poor little Derek." Their 'mother' knelt and hugged the too big, little boy, patting the top of his curly head. "Russ, don't hit your brother."
"But, Mommy...Derek started it,"he whined, dropping the plastic sword and kicking it under their makeshift couch.
Corey tried, visibly, to shove Kat away from her place around one of his legs. Her My Size Barbie laid on the carpet nearby, discarded. Kat had now placed one thumb in her mouth while clinging to his legs.
"Aren't the children just so adorable?"Tara muttered in sarcasm then turned her video camera toward the makeshift 'living room'. There was a quick glimpse of Angel and Tristan before it shifted angles. "It appears the teenage daughter has decided to have her own fun."
"Angel, you are in so much trouble!"Kat screeched, untangling herself from her father's leg and racing into the room to torment her sister. Angel barely glanced away from her 'make out' session with Tristan; the not so little monster was ignored. "Mommy, Angel's got her boyfriend here!"
That got a reaction. "He ain't my boyfriend, stupid!"
"Then why you kissing him?"Russ demanded, smacking Tristan in the head with his plastic sword. He did this several more times; Derek caught on and began to do the same.
"Cause she's in loooooooove,"came the sing-songy sound from Derek's mouth before he caught Russ' hands and began to twirl in a circle. "Angel and Tristan sitting in a tree K-I-F-F-I-N-G!"
"I thought it was K-I-S-S-I-N-G?"Kat demanded, glaring at him before latching onto Corey's leg at the glare. "Daddy, Derek's staring at me again!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WHILE I WAS GONE?" John's voice was incredibly irritated and held even more of his accent because of it. He glowered at the group, crossing his arms. The look he sent them could have killed anyone especially this drunk 'family'.
"Oh, it's Uncle Johnny!" At Tara's words the 'children', even those not 'in the family', leapt forward to hug and cling to him.
"Uncle Johnny, Uncle Johnny, Uncle Johnny!"
9:00 p.m. (LATER DINNER.....and EARLY HANGOVERS)
"Dinner's ready!"Kellie yelled from the kitchen, causing everyone except herself, Kat, Derek, and their chaperones to cringe at the voices.
Ashley covered her head with a pillow from the couch, mumbling something. Russ had done the same except with his book on stalking; Tristan wore earmuffs but had his head in a bucket of ice water to 'soothe the hangover'; Angel and Tara were simply lumps on the couch under a blanket.
John went around, thumping each of them on the top of the head with a large, metal soup latel. He had to use a few more smacks on Russ then anyone else but before long they had all come out from under their 'protective coverings'.
"Mates, you shoulda thought of your hangovers before getting in to the liquor supply and making me Uncle Johnny. For dinner tonight we have Gumbo from Remy Lebeau, chili cheese fries from Logan Something or Other, Chocolate Chip Cookies from Victor Creed, and Apple Sauce from Scott and David Summers,"he announced while Kellie, Kat, Derek, and Scott displayed the dishes like a group of strange Vana Whites. "Eat up, mates and sheliahs."
Angel's face twisted into a sick look before she along with the others vanished from the hall; the sound of retching greeted the remaining ones.
John's smile turned into an evil smirk. "That should keep them out of the liquor supply and away from games of Playing House for the next two weeks and a day,"he said, helping to set the table then settling down with the others to eat.
Kellie ate in silence a moment then stopped on a bite of Chili Cheese Fries. "These people can cook. Too bad the other's are too intoxicated to eat it....and hungover and sick and retching and.."
"That's enough words, Kellie."
"Sorry, Scott."
Kat's voice broke dinner. "How about a duet after dinner, Scottie boy?"
"Yeah!"
"Nooooo!"
Even drunk, hungover, and sick to their stomaches that was a punishment worse than anything they could deal with at the moment.
More retching from the bathroom and it's occupants. Their voices rang out for a moment then silence followed...very bad silence.