All right... I can't believe that I'm still posting my stuff here, especially this chapter, but here it is anyway. I consider it the worst chapter of this series, so you have been forewarned. But pretty much of the later chapters are fairly good I think, and to get to those I have to post chapter eleven, no matter how awful it is so... here it is. Read it and refrain from flaming me for any reason whatsoever. Thanks. (Maybe I'm just paranoid. . .)
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Chap. 11: Homeless and Heartbroken
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It was the late afternoon, the sun bright and heavy against the Earth below. It was pretty much a lazy day, and there was mostly silence in the air except the sound of a lawnmower. And lazing about was just what a couple of experimental organisms were doing at this particular moment. In Gantu's spaceship, these two experiments, and you should know the ones I speak of, were watching television while having a debate... an argumental debate.
"They're going to use cheese!" Kasey exclaimed. "I just know it!"
"You've been saying that all day! They're going to use lettuce! You're such an amateur at this. You think EVERYTHING has to have cheese," 625 shot back.
"But cheese is good!" Kasey insisted. "Besides, I haven't been saying it all day. I haven't been awake all day."
"What're you two imbeciles doing? Watching the Sandwich Channel again?" Gantu exclaimed as he came into the room.
"It was all his idea," Kasey pointed a claw at 625. "I wanted to read."
"Well, why didn't you go and read, then? I didn't invite you! I never do invite you... you just always seem to be there. Why are you always following me?!" 625 complained.
"I don't. I'm just coincidentally always in the same room as you." Kasey said innocently.
"Oh come on. Coincidences can't happen THAT often!"
"Or maybe it's YOU who's following ME," Kasey pointed out. "Ever think of that?"
"Why would I want to do that for...?" 625 mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing..."
"Oh, I think it was something!"
"Will you quit bothering me!"
"I will if---"
Gantu seemed to be amused by this. "Well, I see the perfect couple is having their first fight. How sweet."
"Well, it's HER fault! SHE'S the one who thought they were going to put cheese on the sandwich next!" 625 explained.
Gantu looked slightly perplexed. He looked at Kasey in an almost-pitying way. "I really do pity you if you ever actually marry this guy."
"I don't need your pity, Gantu," Kasey said independently. She laughed. "Unless we had children or something. Now THAT is scary to think about."
"Please. I can barely put up with the two of you. The last thing I would need is if you two married and started a family... in my ship!" Gantu said it angrily as if they both had just announced their engagement. "I hope you break up before you ever start thinking marriage."
Kasey waved it off. "Aw, don't worry about that. It's not like we could get anyone on Earth that would agree to marrying creatures like us, anyway."
"Hey, Kasey, wanna' marry me?" 625 teased.
"'K!" Kasey replied, and the two returned their gazes to the television screen.
"That's not funny!" Gantu exclaimed.
"So what do you say, we get married, have about a dozen children, leave 'em with Gantu, and retire to Florida?" 625 joked, smiling teasingly at Kasey.
Kasey seemed amused. "It's a date!"
Gantu didn't look happy. "That's it, I've had enough of the both of you playing your mind games with me!"
"What're you going to do, kick us out?" 625 asked.
"Actually..." Gantu looked thoughtful. "That's not a bad idea. You two are of no help at all whatsoever to me. All you do is drive me nuts all day! I want you gone... and for real this time!"
"You can't do that!" Kasey exclaimed. "We help sometimes..."
"Not enough for it to be worth it," Gantu grumbled. "I only need one sidekick, anyway. I'll make a deal with you... one of you can stay if the other leaves. So, who will it be?"
"But that's not fair!" Kasey whined. "You can't be serious! What about all we've been through?"
"Yeah, it was just a joke! Good grief, don't take it seriously!" 625 exclaimed.
"If you won't decide who it will be," Gantu began, "then I will. I pick..." He glanced at the both of them back and forth, then his gaze fell upon Kasey. "You! 625 was originally my sidekick... and you're just... here." Kasey blinked, then Gantu continued. "625 makes sandwiches for me... but you... you are of absolutely no use to me at all! I want you gone..."
Kasey looked frightened. "But... b-but... I'd be homeless!"
"What about the little girl's house? Susan lives there, so I suppose they will allow the likes of you to stay, too," Gantu offered.
"I don't think so! Those people don't even like me visiting. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I live with their worst enemy," Kasey told Gantu.
"Not anymore you don't. If they won't let you stay, then I don't know what to tell you. But you're not staying here. Out, now." Gantu pointed towards the exit.
Kasey looked uncomfortable. She blinked several times, looking completely speechless. Finally, she got down on her feet, sadly looking back at 625. He frowned as she headed to the exit.
625 looked as if he was considering something, then got down on his feet as well. "No, wait." Kasey turned to look at him. Then he looked at Gantu. "If she goes... then so do I."
Both Gantu and Kasey looked astonished at 625's surprising act of unusual courage. Kasey was the first to respond. She stepped forward.
"You know... you really don't have to do this..."
"I know." 625 looked as if he was considering backing out, but he held firm. "But I'm going to... if I have to." He sighed.
"Fine! Both of you leave! I don't need you! See if I care!" Gantu turned away.
"Well, we don't need you, either!" Kasey decided. "C'mon, 625!" She grabbed 625's arm and started to pull him out.
"Hey, hey, hey!" 625 complained. "Slow down! Where's the fire?"
"I know you're thinking of changing your mind, so I'm trying to get you out of here before you do," Kasey explained. "Now come on!"
"Fine. But I can take myself out." 625 walked to the exit with Kasey. "Seeya, Sharky. It's been fun."
When they left, Gantu snorted. "Ha! I can get along just fine without them. Who needs them, anyway? I can get along by myself..." Gantu looked around at the empty room, "...all by myself..." he sighed, looking somewhat lonely.
Back at the Pelekai house, Susan was on the couch reading a romance book. While she was in the middle of a really great paragraph, she heard the doorbell ring. She sighed. "Can someone get that?" But the only reply she got was the doorbell ringing a couple more times. She rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone have to be out when the doorbell rings and I'm in the middle of something?" She got up, still reading the book, and walked over to the door and opened it. Without looking up from her book, she said, "If you're selling, I'm not buying, if you're offering advice, I'm not listening, and if you need to use our phone, then write a letter. Bye bye." She tried to shut the door but it was opened back up. Then she looked up to see who it was.
"You know, you'll never get a job at the Welcome Wagon," Kasey pointed out as she stepped in with a knapsack slung over her shoulder. 625 came in after her with a backpack.
"Are you guys going on another camping trip?" Susan questioned with an upraised eyebrow, examining their backpacking apparel.
625 shut the door while Kasey answered Susan's question. "I wish it was that simple. But, no. These packs are full of our most important possessions. We've been kicked out. Or, I have at least, but miraculously, 625 didn't want me to go alone. We're homeless... and we're wondering if, maybe..."
Susan backed up, knowing what Kasey was suggesting. "No. Oh, no. You can't stay here. Nani would have a fit! She ALREADY thinks I'm a troublemaker. She'll find some way to twist this around and make it my fault."
Kasey pouted. "But you're our only hope! Come on, Susan. We're family. Pleashe?"
"'Pleashe'?" Susan raised an eyebrow. She shifted her weight. "Ohhh... I do hate it when you look at me like that. Aren't you a little too old for guilt trips?"
"Susan, get a clue!" Kasey exclaimed. "NO ONE is too old for guilt trips."
"Even that lady across the street that looks like she's 250?" 625 asked, glancing across the street from the window.
Kasey shook her head and pulled him away from the window by the ear. "Behave yourself!"
625 rubbed his ear when Kasey let go. "Maybe I would if a certain girlfriend would stop trying to yank off her boyfriend's ear!"
Kasey shook her head again. She looked to Susan once more. "Please, Susan. We have no where else to stay. When Nani gets home, you just HAVE to convince her to let us stay here."
Susan groaned. "Oh, all right. I suppose you'll hound me about it otherwise. You can stay until Nani gets here, but whatever she says is law. It isn't up to me. I hope you know that."
"Since when did a bandit like you care about what's law?" 625 wanted to know.
"Quiet, you!" Susan exclaimed.
"Why is everyone always telling me that?"
"Maybe because no one really cares what's on your ridiculous little mind!"
Kasey put a paw in 625's face and a paw in Susan's. "Could you just... you know... sorta'... shut up?!" She sighed. "If we're all going to live in the same house, we're going to need to learn how to get along."
"Key word being 'if'." Susan commented.
"So, until she gets here, what do you want to do?' Kasey asked, mostly out of boredom.
"D'ya have any food in this dump?" 625 asked, looking to the kitchen.
Susan heaved another sigh. "Sure. Go help yourself to whatever you want. Things couldn't get any worse, anyway." After she said this, 625 went off to the kitchen.
Kasey tilted her head curiously. "What's the matter, Susan? I sense that something was already wrong before we came here. You feeling okay?"
"Oh, come over to the couch, and we'll talk about it," Susan sat down on the couch, and Kasey quickly joined her. "You know, it's true what they say, Kasey. All's fair in love and war."
"Aw, what happened?"
"Well, yesterday, last night, actually, Stitch and I were both walking in the park alone. It was a silent, starlit romantic night. And then Stitch and I edged closer to each other..." Susan had a look of pure bliss on her face.
"Sounds like the perfect night to me," Kasey said with a smile.
"That's easy for you to say. You're one of the lucky ones. No one's threatening to snag their claws into your boyfriend. I can see why... but that isn't the issue here... it's me and Stitch. Our future is in danger of ever happening!" Susan explained.
"Let me guess," Kasey said, "Angel?"
"You have hit the bullseye!" Susan nodded. "Stitch saw Angel at the park. And, as you would expect... as soon as he saw her, he forgot all about me. It's like she has some sort of charm on him that I am absolutely incapable of."
"Well... I don't know what to say," Kasey admitted. "If it's meant to be, then it'll work out. If not... well, then, it won't."
Susan rolled her eyes. "Well, YOU'RE a big help. I just wish I didn't have to worry about Angel all of the time."
"Angel..." 625 walked into the room with a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate. He looked completely in bliss when he said Angel's name.
And Kasey noticed. "Excuse me! You said 'Angel' like SHE is the one you're in love with."
625 looked somewhat ashamed. "Well, I... actually, I... at one point in my life, I... DID have a crush on her."
Kasey glared at 625 like a predator about to strike. "You still have feelings for her, DON'T you?! I could hear it in your voice, and I can see it in your eyes. You still have a crush on her. You're crushing on Angel, and you call ME your girlfriend?! Are you just dating me to make her jealous?!"
625 backed up, then bumped into Susan. He turned around and discovered that she looked just as angry. "Well, ANSWER her, 625. After all, she IS your girlfriend. Or is she? Have you been seeing Angel secretly? Have you and Stitch created your own Lovers of Angel Fanclub?!"
"No! No! It's nothing like that. I haven't been seeing Angel secretly!" 625 insisted.
"But you still have feelings for her, don't ya?! Tell me the truth, 'cause I can tell when you're lying." It sounded like Kasey growled under her breath when she said that, but it was hard to tell.
"Well, I..." 625 backed as far away from the girls as possible. "Yes, I... do kind of still have feelings for her... but I can't help it. She's so gorgeous..."
That was DEFINITELY the wrong thing to say. Kasey looked about ready to leap for 625, and it wasn't because she loved him. "Oh, you have made a terrible mistake, Buster! No boyfriend of mine will talk about another girl like that! I simply will not have it!" She edged closer and closer to 625, claws bared, with a vicious look on her face.
Susan jumped in front of Kasey. "Now, wait, wait wait wait. I understand how you feel... but ripping out 625's guts isn't going to help, however satisfying it may be."
"And like you didn't try to do that before?" 625 reminded Susan, looking cautiously at both girls, realizing his mishap.
Susan turned quickly on her heel. "Now you had better shut up! Anything that comes out of your mouth is just going to make her angrier. Didn't I TELL you not to ever give Kasey a reason to be jealous? Well, you have done it now! Kasey may not be a violent creature by nature, but when you get her like this it can make a heckuva lotta' difference!"
625 backed up against the wall. "Okay, okay---I'm sorry! I really am. Don't hurt me! I really am sorry! Please!" He closed his eyes and cringed, preparing for the blow he was sure was coming.
Kasey shook her head. "You're not sorry. You meant every word you said. You're just saying you're sorry because you're a coward! You're afraid I'm going to maul you. Well, I'm not. But I want you to tell me something. Do you love her more than you love me?! It sure sounds like it! Because you've never talked about me like that before. You've never called me gorgeous. Heck, you've never even said I was pretty! By the way you talk about us, people would think Angel's your girlfriend and that I'm just your 'buddy'! Well, maybe I shouldn't even be that."
"Please, I... you're pretty, Kasey, it's just that Angel is... she's more..." 625 looked like he didn't know how to put it.
"Oh, she's more gorgeous, huh? She's more glamorous than I am, right? Compared to her, I'm plain and dull, is that it? Well, I'm sorry that you don't find me attractive! I'm sorry that it was ANGEL you've loved all along, and not me! She's probably why Susan's 'charms' didn't work on you! It wasn't because you were in love with me. It was because you were in love with Angel!"
"But I... I love you both! Isn't that enough?" 625 wanted to know.
"You just don't get it, do you?" Kasey glowered. "YOU CAN'T HAVE US BOTH!"
625 looked like he was going to say something, but Susan put a paw over his mouth. "That's enough from you. Now, I'm going to have a little chat with your girlfriend. That is, if she still is your girlfriend. And then, I'm going to have a little chat with you. Maybe I can straighten this whole ugly mess out. And you'd better hope, for your sake, that I can." Susan nodded to Kasey and led her outside. "I'll be back in a few. And you'd better still be here when we get back." Then she closed the door as she and Kasey stepped outside.
"Susan, what am I going to do?" Kasey asked, her voice sounding more sad now than angry. "I must have bad luck or something... first, I get hit by a car and almost die. Then, I'm kicked out and pronounced homeless. And now, now... my boyfriend... whom I thought was trustworthy, has feelings for someone else! I wish it was all just some crazy nightmare... but I know it's not. Susan, I love him. How could he do this to me?"
"How can any boyfriend hurt their girlfriend? It's in their genes, I guess. Guys can be so predictable." Susan sighed. "Well, Cuz', looks like we've got more in common than we thought. Both of our crushes... have a crush on Angel. What IS it about her, anyway?"
"I don't know. I guess that's something only they know." Kasey moved away, trying her best to hide her face.
"Kasey... are you... crying?"
"No! I'm not. What gave you that idea?!"
"Well," Susan said, "you always try to hide your face when you've been crying."
"I do?"
"Yes."
Kasey turned to look at Susan, revealing a tear-streaked face. "Okay. So I am. But don't ever tell anyone I cried over this. Because he isn't worth crying over."
"Does this mean," Susan thought aloud, "you're breaking up?"
"What do you THINK it means?!" Kasey snapped. "That I'm just going to have a good cry and forget about it?! That when I've finished I'm just going to wipe my face, go in there and ask him out for french fries and milkshakes later, then give him a kiss as if that will fix everything?! He probably thinks that, but I expected better from you!"
"No, slow down! I don't think that," Susan assured her friend. "But I do think you should work it out. You two have too good of a relationship to just let it go down in flames."
"Yeah, but... how can I date someone who has feelings for someone else? For all I know, he may be thinking of Angel when he kisses me! That's not a stable foundation for a good relationship, and I should just get out of it now before it gets worse." Kasey sniffed. "It just... hurts... so much. I love him, and it aches to think that... it's really over."
"It doesn't have to be. I think you two should talk it over. Work things out for the best. You might feel differently then. I just hate to see you split up. I really think you have something special," Susan advised.
Kasey sniffed some more. "I don't see how. Our whole future is in shambles. If only I wasn't so attracted to him..."
"I know, Kay, I know." Susan then embraced Kasey in a comforting hug. "Whatever happens, I'll be here for you."
"Thanks." Kasey brushed away her tears with her paw. "I guess we should go in now, huh? Before 625 eats you out of house and home." She managed a weak smile when she said this.
"Ah, I saw that smile!" Susan grinned. "You'll be just fine whatever happens, I'm sure. You'll endure whatever comes your way. You usually do."
"Well I hope I can this time." Kasey sighed. "Let's go in."
"Right." Susan opened the door, and they went back into the house. Right when Susan shut the door, 625 looked up at them from the couch. He had just swallowed the last of his sandwich and he looked sullen. For a while, everyone was silent, just staring at each other. Then Susan cleared her voice, and all eyes were on her. "So, 625... I think me and you should talk next, then maybe you and Kasey can deal with this difficult situation." She opened the door again. "Come on. Kasey will be all right by herself for a few minutes."
625 looked reluctant, but he got up and followed Susan outside. Kasey slumped down on the couch when the door closed again, looking deeply depressed. Well, could you blame her?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Susan was starting off her and 625's talk. She didn't know how to start, so she just plain out said it. "Kasey's really hurt about this whole Angel thing, 625. She doesn't want to lose you."
"I'm not going anywhere!"
"You KNOW what I mean!" Susan held her head. "625, she is going to break up with you if you continue with your fascination for Angel."
"But, I don't get it. What's the big deal? I said that I loved her, too! And I do."
"That's SO typical." Susan rolled her eyes. "Let me give you an example here so I can get through to your brain. Do you remember the time you looked through the window and saw Kasey accidentally kissing Yaarp? You were hurt, weren't you? And how would you feel if Kasey announced she had feelings for Yaarp? How would you feel if she said, 'It's not a big deal because I love you too, 625!'? Even if she still loved you, it would still hurt because she loved someone else as well. You get what I mean? It hurts! You can't have them both. Who do you want? Angel, who is already interested in Stitch, or Kasey, who loves you very much, and who you probably have a future with?"
625 sighed. "I see your point. But she doesn't want to work things out. She's ready to claw my eyes out."
"Don't worry. I talked with her. She's ready to work it out. The only question now is... what do YOU want?" Susan questioned. "You'd better make up your mind. Because she's not going to wait for you forever."
"Well, okay. If you say so, I'll talk to her. I won't like it, but I will." 625 promised.
Susan gave the thumbs-up sign. "Great. Now go in there and do whatever you can to win her back. Beg if you have to. Just show her how you really feel! Don't let your relationship be ruined over Angel, who you'll probably never end up with anyway."
625 looked like he was about ready to complain, but he kept his mouth shut, opened the door and went back in.
Kasey looked up. She swallowed. "Well, how did it go? Is he dumping me for Angel?" Kasey glared at 625.
"No... I wouldn't ever dump you," 625 assured Kasey. He looked as if that was all he was going to say, but then Susan hit him in the ribs. When enough of the pain passed for him to be able to talk again, he said, "Okay, so I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the whole Angel thing, Kasey. I didn't mean it."
"OF COURSE you meant it! You said it!" Kasey exclaimed. "And you're STILL not sorry. You're just apologizing because Susan told you to."
"Kasey, people don't always mean what they say," Susan pointed out.
"Like his apology! It didn't come from the heart. He may love me, but he still loves her. I can't date someone like that." Kasey folded her arms.
"I take it you're still angry at me," 625 guessed.
"No, I just got all worked up for your amusement," Kasey said sarcastically.
625 walked over to Kasey, then, cautiously, he asked, "May I sit down, or will you strangle me for that?" When Kasey nodded, he sat down, then seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Listen... true, I did once have a crush on Angel. And I still find her attractive. But I don't love her. I thought I did... but I don't. You have to believe me when I say... you're the only one I truly love." Then he pulled her close and started to kiss her, and to his surprise, she kissed back! But this wasn't the most perfect timing in the world, as at that second Nani came home. You can imagine her surprise when she opened the door and the first thing she saw was two experiments that didn't even live there on the couch kissing each other.
"What is going on here?!" Nani demanded. She looked to Susan. "And I suppose you have something to do with this. Spill."
"Nani," Susan began, "Kasey and 625 don't have anywhere to stay. They were kicked out. And they had this big fight... and they made up just now. At least, I think they did. Did you?" Susan looked to Kasey and 625, who were now both watching everything that was happening intently.
"That's a good question," 625 thought aloud. He turned to Kasey. "Did we?"
Kasey chuckled. "...Well, I can't deny that I'm not still angry with you. But, no, I'm... I'm not breaking up with you. Otherwise I would've pushed you away instead of kissing you back. BUT, if you ever, ever say anything like that about another girl again, you can bet you won't be as lucky. ...I'm glad things worked out, though..." Kasey smiled and nuzzled his nose affectionately with hers.
"Aw, isn't that sweet? An Eskimo kiss." Susan was trying to keep from laughing.
"Excuse me," Nani began, "but if you expect me to let them stay, you've got another thing coming! I'm not allowing any more aliens under this roof!"
"But you have to. Otherwise, they'll be homeless!" Susan exclaimed.
"I don't know, call The Orphanage For Mooching Aliens." Nani sighed.
"Please, Nani. Just until they find another place to live or until Gantu cracks and begs for them back," Susan pleaded.
Nani sighed again. "Oh, I don't have time to deal with this right now. I have other things to take care of." She held her head. "Okay, fine. I'll give them a week. A week! And if they aren't out by then... then I don't know what to say."
Susan turned to look at 625 and Kasey. "Okay, you two! You heard her. A week. That's all the time you got. No slacking off."
"Us? Slack off?" Kasey pretended to look innocent. "We never slack off."
"Yeah, and I'm running for the next President of the United States." Susan rolled her eyes. (Yes, again.)
"You are? I'm not voting for you." Kasey laughed, and 625 joined her.
"Come on, you guys. Be serious. I swear, you two are the most lazy, slack-off creatures I ever met. I know you, which is why I'm going to be monitoring you both, and make sure you work on getting Gantu to let you move back, or at least find somewhere else to stay, or something!" Susan exclaimed.
"Thank you, Instructor." Kasey grinned. "Don't worry, we'll try our very best."
"Heaven help us." Susan sighed.
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THE END
To be continued
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Horrible, wasn't it? Well, refrain from saying so, because I already know. Anyway, chapter twelve is better.