Tru shows up about an hour later, her eyes a bit red, but a soft smile rising on her face to overcome it. Don't let Jessie see that you were crying. she mentally orders herself, laughing to find Alec, Biggs, Max, and her sister in the middle of a very wicked game of tag.
"Having fun?" she asks, smiling, and all eyes fall on her. Not a moment after the words are out of her mouth, she's tackled by one very happy five year old.
"Tru!!! Guess what? Max got me a cookie, and Mister Alec gave me a piggy-back ride, and I was spinining, and I had fun!" she exclaims, not noticing that she pushed Tru to the floor and knocked the wind out of her, or that "Mister Alec", Biggs, and Max are trying very hard not to laugh.
"That's great, sweetie. Um...could you get off of me?" Tru asks politely, gasping for air and scowling at the other's smirks. Jessie hops off, twirling around excitedly. "Jessie, would you like it if we stayed in Seattle?" Tru asks, praying to whatever power controls the universe that Jessie agrees. The little girl squeals excitedly, twirling happily around the room.
"Yay!!! oh, Tru, Googly Gaglia likes it so much here, too! She said that we'd stay here!!" Jessie cries ecstatically. The others just look at her with confusion, and Tru rolls her eyes, not believing that they haven't caught on yet.
"Googly Gaglia's her best friend, only no one else can see her." Tru says, and they all nod, but, being from Manticore, quite frankly don't get it. Jessie just nods proudly.
"Yupyup. She's my best friend in the whole, wide world, and she looks just like me, only she's purple and has yellow hair, and she's a space cowgirl." she says, skipping in a circle around Tru. She just rolls her eyes.
"Well, they say that having an imagination is good." she says, trying to convince herself that her sister isn't a total loony."I need to go look for an apartment. Would one of you guys mind watching Jess? You'd get the afternoon off, and, quite frankly, I think that she'd scare off the landlords."
"Alec and I can." Max says, looking at Biggs, silently urgng him on.
Tru turns to Normal. "Uncle Ray, would it be okay if Max and Alec watched Jess? It's almost closing, anyway."
"Fine, just make sure the morons don't hurt her." he says, a touch of concern showing before he goes back to yelling at the workers.
"If you want, I can help you find one in a good neighborhood." he says, and Tru nods, happy to have company.
"That'd be great. Thank you." she says, smiling brightly. "Well, shall we?" she asks, hugging Jessie goodbye and ordering her to be a good girl.
Jessie smiles evilly, then puts on her 'I'm too cute to say no to' face. "Alec, wanna play a game?" she asks, dropping her backpack of tricks on the floor. He shrugs and agrees, not realizing the little one's devious plans. Max just grins from the background, agreeing to play, just to see what Jessie has up her sleeve.
"What game are we going to play?" Alec says, getting comfortable from his spot on the floor.
"I'm a pretty princess!" Jess yells happily, and Max smirks. Alec's face contorts in confusion.
"Uh, that's great, Jessie, but what game are we going to play?" he asks, and Max grins. Jessie smiles innocently.
"'I'm a pretty princess.' Don't you listen, Mister Alec?" she asks, wagging her finger at him, and Max bites the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing. Think about horrible things...landslides, earthquakes, White in a speedo. She bursts out laughing at Alec's expression when Jessie pulls out a plastic tiara, complete with rhinestones.
"Oh, no. I'm not going to do that." Alec says, jumping to his feet. Tears spring to Jessie's eyes, and her bottom lip starts to quiver. Oh, god, I'd hate to see her Christmas morning. Max muses, her stomach hurting from laughing so much. "Fine, I'll do it...just don't look at me like that!" he cries, shielding his eyes from the well-practiced, patented Jessie puppy-dog pout.
"How do we play?" Max asks, and Jessie smiles happily, clapping her hands with excitement.
"Alec, you get to wear the crown. You're Princess Nizbit. Max, you get to be Princess Fiona, and you get the feather boa. I get the pretty beads. I'm Queen Jessie of Oz." she says proudly, distributing the objects with much carefulness.
Sketchy walks by, choking down his laughter at Alec in a tiara. "Alec, man, what are you doing?"
"Playing a game." he deadpans, looking to Jessie for help. She grins, holding out a purple sequined purse and matching hat.
"Wanna play?" she asks, smiling adorably.
"No way, man. That's whack." he says, stopping when she puts on her puppy dog face.
"Please, mister? My sister's gone, and I'm lonely, and I just want to play a game!!!" she wails, and he sits down, grabbing the hat and stuffing it on his head, holding the purse daintily.
"Fine." he says, and Alec smirks, happy for another man to be in on the game.
"Yay!!! okay, you're Princess Daisy...."
Normal watches on, for once not at all mad that his employees are not working. Well, maybe that's because he's the one with the video camera.
Tru's apartment
"Um, how long do you think that's been in there?" Tru asks as she looks into the fridge in her new apartment, greeted by a rank smell and one very old pickle jar. Biggs grimaces as the smell reaches him, and closes the door.
"Let's just get you a new one." he says, and she nods, taping a warning on the door. She looks around the apartment. It's pretty big, with two bedrooms and a large living room.
"Thank you, Biggs. For helping me. I don't know how I can ever repay you." she says, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Not a problem. I'm just glad you decided to stay. It's kind of awkward with Max and Alec all couple-y." he covers, and he smiles.
"I think they're cute." she says. Suddenly realizing something, the color drains out of her face.
"What's wrong?" Biggs asks.
"I forgot to tell Jessie not to play 'I'm a pretty princess.'" she groans, setting off for a run to JamPony, which is a mere two blocks away.
JamPony
"Okay, Princess Nizbit, hop on one foot in a circle, but you have to quack like a duck, too." Jessie says, now 'It'. Alec stands up, and jumps around, in his tiara, quacking like a duck on drugs. Jessie giggles happily, followed by Max and Sketch.
"Okay, Princess Daisy's turn." she says, and Sketch groans. Jessie thinks for a moment, then grins evilly. "You have to dance like a ballerina and humn music." Max and Alec truy to hold back their laughs, but when you see a grown man in a purple sequined hat and matching purse acting like a ballerina, it's pretty hard to keep a straight face.
Tru walks into JamPony, groaning inwardly at the sight that greets her. Alec in a tiara, Sketchy in the infamous purple hat and purse, Max in a feather boa, and the mastermind, her little sister, in old Mardi Gras beads, ordering Max to crawl around and bark like a dog. And, to top it all off, there was Uncle Ray, taping it all!!!
"Biggs, I think I'm gonna need backup for this." she says, only to find him rolling on the ground in laughter when Sketch starts singing the ABC's and shimmying. She pulls him to his feet with surprising strength, and walks to the children's play area, only occupied by those in the game. Apparently there aren't any more people with children here. Tru muses, setting her face in a determined mask and striding up to the table.
"Hi, Tru!" Jessie says brightly, praying for a way out of punishment.
"Jessie, what did I tell you about being good?" she asks the little girl, who shrugs.
"You said that I should be good, and I was." she says, and Tru rolls her eyes.
"Jessie, how many times do I have to tell you that being good means that you can't force people to do stuff by using your puppydog lip?" she asks, and Jessie puts on her puppydog face. "Nuh uh, girly. Not gonna work. I know you way too well."
"Sorry...I just wanted someone to play with." she says, and smiles at the table. They smile proudly. "They're really good at 'I'm a pretty princess', Tru!"
"I don't mind playing with her. She's a doll." Max says, and Sketch and Alec nod.
"Yeah, she's pretty cool for a little kid." Sketch says, and Tru looks around helplessly.
"All right. But Jess, if you force anyone with the lip again, you won't get a cookie for a whole day." she says, and Jessie gasps.
"A whole day? I'd die!" the little girl cries, and Tru nods.
"Then maybe just one cookie." she says, and Jessie nods. Normal just tapes it all, happy to actually have something to use the camera for. Assuring himself that there would be plenty of home movies yet to come.
"Thanks for watching her, guys. I really appreciate it." she says, and the guys all nod, parting with their costumes sadly. "You want to see our new place?"
Max, Alec, and Biggs agree, but Sketch needs to meet up with a "source", and OC has a date with a "fine new lickety boo". Tru and Jessie say goodbye to Normal, and they head off to their new apartment, Biggs, Max, and Alec in tow.
Jessie sings the "Bored Song", adding in lines about how pretty Princess Daisy is and how wonderful Alec looks in a tiara, while the others talk in the living room, sitting on an old couch and a rug on the floor. Max and Alec, not a big shocker here, are lost in couple-land, when suddenly Biggs gets a great idea.
"Hey guys," he says, drawing their attention away from each other's mouths. "Why don't we show the girls TC?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Max says, standing up and stretching much like the cat she is. Jessie skips up to Alec, smiling.
"You make a very pretty princess, Mister Alec." she says, batting her eyelashes.
"What do you want, little one?" he asks, knowing her too well already.
"Can I have a piggy back ride?" she asks, and he rolls his eyes, but turns around and lets her hop on anyway. "Mister Alec, you're my favorite boy in the whole world."
"It's good to be adored." he says, earning him hits from Max, Biggs, and Tru. "Ow..."
A/N: ok, so it sucked- sorry, guys!!! my brother totally almost deleted this whole chapter!!!! but luckily I saved it. Phew!! Tell me whatcha think, unless it makes me cry- that's just plain mean!
DISCLAIMER: not mine, shut up.
I luv ya guys so much!!! hugs, kisses, and cookies all around!!!!
Live fast.
Cheer hard.
Die laughing.
Molly Jeane :D