chapter 23, because I'm going to be gone from August 25-29, so don't expect any updates until Friday or Saturday. For more information, see bottom of page.
disclaimer: The Ducks belong to Disney. Disney World and everything in it belongs to Disney. (Incase you couldn't figure that out on your own. *wink*) Fred and Cecilia belong to Cimmy. Lex, Jeff, Matt, Sammie, Anna, Chris, and Anthony belong to NYgoldfish54. Robbie, Lex's older brother, also belongs to NYgoldfish54. You meet him in this chapter.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Chapter 23: A War With Words
By NYgoldfish54 and Cimmy
Guy's POV
Wow. A semi-relaxing afternoon to look forward to. We don't get many of those in Duck world. Between the screaming and fighting and constant bickering, I don't see how nobody's killed anybody else off yet.
We're here by the pool, drinking those bright colored drinks. The only two people who aren't drinking are Cecilia and Fred, and my main guess would be that it's because once they get started it's hard to get them to stop. It's better that they don't start. The two of them hammered aren't really what we need right now.
Lex and Anthony were not completely innocent in the scuffle yesterday, and I'm obligated to take Cecilia and Fred's side, but jeez, could those two cause any more trouble? Lex and Anthony at least seem able to listen to reason from time to time.
I'm lying with Connie on the grass. We haven't had a good make-out session on this trip yet. I think it's time to get one started.
I kiss her, and begin to let my hands wander. She giggles into my shoulder and let's me continue, quite possibly lying still for the first time on this trip. I'm glad I have her. Really, truly, I'm so happy she's mine. Sure, she's a bouncy freak sometimes, but she's my bouncy freak, and that's all that counts. She's smart, she's caring, she's a Duck, she's beautiful, and she loves me. What else can I ask for?
We're at it, having a good time, and only stopped when a guy standing over us says, "You must be Connie and Guy, I've been told all about you."
I practically fly off Connie and to my feet. "Who are you?" I ask him in my best 'challenging' voice. Connie gets up off the ground and stands, and I shield her slightly.
"Relax, kid, relax. I'm Robbie. I'm Lex's older brother," he holds out his hand for me to shake. I take it, a bit embarrassed that I got so jumpy. Now that I'm looking at him, he kind of looks like Lex. He's got the same brown eyes she does, and same nose. His hair isn't brown like hers though. It's brownish red. It's almost like Jeff's.
"You do kind of look like Lex," Connie says, reading my mind.
"Well, I am her brother. Nice to meet you, by the way. I've heard all about you."
"You have?"
"Yeah. Lex calls and writes. She talks about you kids all the time."
"She tells you about Connie and me?" I ask.
"Well, yeah, and the rest of your…"
"Ducks?" Connie supplies.
"Yeah, that's it! The Ducks."
"Hey Guy, hey Connie," Lex says, coming up behind Robbie. "This is my brother Robbie."
"Yeah, I just told them. But I thought there were more of them?" Robbie says to his sister.
"There are more."
"Where?"
"This sounds like a job for Charlie," Connie says to me.
"You're right," I agree. "CHARLIE!" I holler at him on the other side of the pool complex.
"WHAT?" he yells.
"LEX'S BROTHER IS HERE! HE WANTS TO MEET THE DUCKS!" I bellow.
In less the two minutes, Charlie has the Ducks all around Robbie.
"This is Goldberg, Averman, Banks, Julie, Fulton, Portman, Kenny, Russ, Luis, Dwayne, Cecilia, and Fred. You've already met Connie and Guy. I'm Charlie," Charlie says, pointing out each Duck before introducing himself.
"Nice to meet you all. Lex writes about you all the time," Robbie says.
"Really?" Adam asks. "What does she say?"
"Mostly good things," Robbie says, smiling at him. Then he spoke to Lex again. "Lex, where are-"
But before he could finish, Anna, Sammie, Matt, Chris, and Anthony have come over to join the group. They greet Robbie like an old friend.
"Hey Robbie," says Anna
"Hey beautiful," says Robbie. Anna grins.
"Hi Robbie," says Sammie.
"Hey devil child," says Robbie, and Sammie laughs. I wonder what earned Sammie that nickname?
Anthony, Matt, and Chris slap hands with him. Robbie's asking everyone questions.
"Where's Jeff?" Julie asks Lex finally, looking quite anxious.
"Jeff went to put my brother's bags in his room. Have no fear, he'll be back soon." As if on cue, Jeff came waltzing out the doors of that lead to inside the hotel. Julie practically threw herself on him.
"Hey, Julie, hi," he says, smiling.
"Hi Jeff, I missed you," she threw her arms around him.
"It's been what? A whole 12 hours or so?" he says, joking.
"Too long," she murmurs.
"So Jeff's got himself a girlfriend. You failed to mention that in your letters," Robbie says, giving Lex a pointed look.
"It's sort of a new acquisition," Lex explains, giving Jeff and Julie a peculiar look. Julie clinging to Jeff does look sort of weird, now that I'm staring at it.
"What time's the show tonight?" Robbie asks.
"Well, we don't go on until 7:30. The band before us ends at 6:00, so you should probably get there around 6:15," Chris explains.
"The band before you?" Robbie asks.
"Yeah. There's a show in the afternoon and then a show in the evening. They've been going on all week. We just haven't been to any," Jeff says.
"Really? Why not?" Robbie wasn't asking this question. It was Fred.
"Because," Matt says, giving Fred the same nasty glare Fred often gives other people, "we've been too busy baby-sitting."
Fred looked puzzled and opened his mouth, but before he spoke Cecilia gave him an elbow. I'm willing to bet everything dear to me, including Connie, that Fred was going to ask 'baby-sitting who?' which probably would have caused Matt to go insane and kill Fred in a fit of psychotic rage. It's a good thing Cecilia's smarter than Fred sometimes.
"Baby-sitting who?" Robbie asks.
"Nobody, nobody," Lex says, glaring at Matt. Matt just grins at her.
"I'd better get up to my room and unpack. See you kids later, ok?"
"Bye Robbie," we all chorus, as he makes his exit.
"So that's your brother? How old is he?" Connie asks Lex.
"He's going to be 18 in October," Lex answers, smiling after him. "I love my brother."
"Why?" Goldberg asks, sounding incredibly stupid.
Lex gives him a funny look, then laughs. "Cause he's my older brother, and he's sooo cool!"
We all head back to the pool. Lex sits down next to Adam. Adam points at Portman, who's dunking his head underwater, whispers something to Lex, and makes her laugh. I sit down next Connie again, and she says, "That guy, Robbie, he was cute."
"Hey! He- he's too old for you!" I say, stuttering slightly. Don't think of leaving me, Connie. Please, don't leave. It'd kill me.
"What? I know that. He was just cute, that's all. Don't worry, Guy, I wouldn't leave you," she smiles. She can just about read my mind. I guess that's what happens when you're with someone for years and years.
"How do I know that?" I ask her, pretending to be suspicious.
"Cause nobody kisses better than you," she says.
"Oh," I say, genuinely surprised at her answer. I don't feel like I'm that great a kisser.
The silence continues for a moment, then she says, "Hey, remember how you were kissing me before Robbie interrupted?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I've forgotten. Could you remind me?" she asks, smiling at me.
I grin at her, and we pick up right where we left off.
***
Luis's POV
"Could you go and get some more drinks?" Connie pleads and tilts her head to look adorable. I'm already sold, and the two other people she was addressing, Matt and Fred, also seem to fall for that. "I want a red umbrella, and some more peanuts."
"Does anyone else need anything?" Fred is stupid enough to ask. Of course, they all start to order long lists of things they want from the bar. I shake my head at Fred, and he shrugs apologetically.
"Play nice now, boys," Lex says, looking at us. She seems to be looking more at Fred than me, and more at Matt than Fred.
None of us say anything until we get inside. Fred tries to hold all the requests apart, but can only remember what Connie and Cecilia ordered. I can only remember what Lex and Julie was shouting, so it's all up to Matt now.
"Connie wanted a pink umbrella, right?" Fred asks me, sounding confused. This is the guy that can barely remember what lesson we just had, so I can't get too irritated with him. Matt on the other hand, not knowing about Fred's lack of learning ability, snorts loudly. Fred turns to face him. "What's your problem?"
Oh, no. Matt looks up and stares at Fred for a second. "You're my problem. I don't like you."
"Well, I can't really say that I'm all that in love with you either," Fred mutters and takes a sip from Connie's drink. "This tastes like crap."
"Can you two try and behave? The more we try to get along, the more time we have left to enjoy ourselves. Fred, could you stop it?" I say, trying my best to keep them from demolish each other.
"I'm trying," Fred replies with an angry expression on his face. "And I don't understand what I've done to make you hate me this much."
Matt looks stunned, then he opens his mouth to bellow something at Fred. I quickly wave at him to keep his voice down. We really don't need this right now, with parents and siblings right around the corner. "Are you really so stupid that you can't understand what I have against you?" Matt's voice comes out as quiet mumbling instead.
"I'm not stupid," Fred says automatically, like he always does when someone calls him that. "I understand if you're mad because of Lex, but I tried to hold Cecilia away from her yesterday..."
"It's not your girlfriend who's the problem, it's you," Matt explains angrily. "You broke Lex's heart, and made her cry. I would've beaten you up already, if the girls hadn't held me back."
Fred is quiet for a long time, giving Matt a very bewildered look. He seems both astounded and desperate. Finally he speaks. "You'd actually hit me, because what happened with me and Lex? Why?"
There's much you can hold against Fred. He's always acting thoughtless, and he always goes one step too far with everything. Despite of all that, he's actually very responsible. When I think about it, he's not as clueless as we all think he is. It just takes a bit longer for him to process other people's thoughts and actions.
"Because you hurt her, you idiot," Matt rolls his eyes. "What'd you think? Because your terrible taste in music?"
Fred gives him a sad look. "I know I was acting like a jerk, but that's no reason for you to hit me," Fred points out, sounding awfully logical. He has his bright moments sometimes. "Why would violence solve this? Because it would make you feel better? You don't achieve anything by hitting people. Trust me."
Matt looks even angrier now. "What would you know about it? You constantly hurt the people around you, not caring about them at all!"
"But I wouldn't hit them!" Fred exclaims, sounding panic stricken. "I would never punch anyone, it's wrong to use violence just to deal with your problems."
"Oh, how very reasonable of you," Matt mutters. "I bet your girlfriend taught you that, huh?"
"What Cecilia does wrong has nothing to do with what I do wrong," Fred explains, remaining calm. Could it be possible for him to be able to work this out just by using words? "I've been trying to tell her to watch her temper, but she's very stubborn. And violent."
"So, the pacifist is in love with a warrior," Matt snorts. "Wouldn't that make for a great Disney movie?"
Since they're beginning to get on my nerves, I knock on the counter to get their attention. "I bet they're wondering where their drinks are," I point out, but they just turn back to face each other instead.
"Wouldn't it have been worse if I physically hurt Lex? If I tried to break her down mentally, or if I'd been threatening her verbally? I know you hate me for what I did, but that gives you no right to go around and just wait for a chance to kill me. I've done nothing to deserve that."
Matt gives him a tired look. "Just wait until someone you care about is humiliated and beaten up in public. Then we can have this conversation."
"You just don't get it," Fred sighs. "I don't want to have this conversation. I told Lex I was sorry, and she forgave me, at least some. And may I remind you that my girlfriend is a lot more injured then Lex? But that doesn't give me the right to wish I could beat Lex or Anthony up."
I try to feel less awkward. Matt doesn't answer, and Fred still seems upset. This statement of Matt's really bothers him, obviously. "It wasn't called for," Matt suddenly says, killing the silence. "You knew from the beginning that you didn't want to be with Lex. It wasn't fair to deceive her like you did."
"I didn't do it on purpose," Fred mumbles. "I'm just not cut out for dealing with problems…or how to avoid getting beaten up you and your friends. I'm just confused in general. And what's even sadder; you don't even seem to realize that you're dealing with this the wrong way. You're just so determined to beat me up that you can't even listen to me."
Matt shrugged again. "You're so full of shit right now."
"No, I'm not! I'm the reasonable one for once! I'm not here to start to a fight with you. I don't want to hit you, and I really don't want you to beat me up either. Violence solves nothing!" Fred shouts at Matt, and now he's beginning to sound like he's going to cry. I don't know if I want to witness that right now.
"What sort of a bubble have you been living in? This is the real world, and either you stand your ground and show people what you're made of, or you surrender and let people walk right over you. Was your childhood really that disconnected from the real world? Let me guess: happy childhood and loving parents? Talk about being naive!"
Fred closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he continues. "Actually, it wasn't that far off from the conditions of this vacation. Screaming people, fights, and thrown objects. We weren't disconnected, we were ignored. Our parents fought all the time, and my Dad used to hit my Mom constantly. He never went at my brothers, because I always took the blame. Do you know how it feels to live in constant fear? I had to deal with all the rage, since I'm considered to be the huge mistake of the family. My childhood was a battle field, not a bubble. Please don't judge people before you know them."
"Who said that you're the only one with problems?" Matt answers, still holding a grudge against Fred. "We all have problems."
"I know that. I just don't think that violence is necessary. You really see things in perspective when your own parents write you off as a loser, and make you feel completely worthless. If you still don't have the need to punch things after that, you've come quite a long way," Fred explains and takes another sip from Connie's drink. "And this is seriously disgusting."
Luckily, the rest of the conversation gets interrupted by Charlie, Connie, and Cecilia. Connie shrieks when she sees Fred drinking from her glass. "Eww, that's not sanitary!" She rushes up to him and takes away the drink. "What took you so long? Hey, is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. We were just talking," Fred answers. "Right, Matt?" Matt nods, and they both seem less annoyed with one another now then they were five minutes ago. I guess this is what they call 'spilling your guts'. I thought they'd never shut up.
Matt takes the tray with the drinks, nods at me and Fred, and leaves to go out again. I feel really uncomfortable. Connie owes me a huge favor after this. Charlie keeps throwing me suspicious glances, but I just gesture that everything's okay, because it is. Connie gets some more drinks, and hands Cecilia one of those blue ones.
"They're really yummie!" Connie cheers, waiting for Cecilia to taste. "I promise."
"Don't allure her into trouble, Moreau," Charlie warns, taking away the drink and swipes it himself. "No more messing for you, young lady."
"I really didn't want it anyway," Cecilia makes a grimace at him. She smiles at me, and then she goes over to Fred and pulls his sleeve. "Fred? What did Matt and you talk about?"
"Nothing. Don't worry, there won't be anymore blood baths for a while. He's nicer to you now, I hope?" Fred smiles, looking tired.
"Yeah, he's okay. He probably won't squeeze me to death with his bare hands," Cecilia says, sitting down on the bar stool next to me.
"She's in pain," Charlie announces, sounding like a real tattle tale.
"No, I'm not!" Cecilia objects and throws a blue umbrella at him. "I was just saying that my body is still aching, but that's not the same thing. Although, my back is sort of killing me."
"That's why we're here," Charlie sighs. "Portman ate all the aspirin I could find, so I need more for Psycho. Cee. Cecilia."
"You could take some muscle relaxers," Connie shouts. "I think I have some."
"For what? When were you injured?" I ask her, and she grins.
"I wasn't. They're Guy's, but I stole them. He used them after he was hit in that game..."
"Last year?" Charlie interrupts with a laugh. "How old are they anyway?"
"I don't know, a few months old. You can have them if you want; I always forget to take them out of my bag anyway."
"Why would you keep them there?" I question her.
"Well, I'm a good girlfriend. I didn't want him to get addicted to them, so I stole them!" Connie exclaims happily. "Here you go."
Connie is really weird sometimes. And her thoughts don't always make sense, being all hysterical from time to time. Charlie doesn't object to her idea, maybe he just wants Cecilia off his back for a while. "Maybe you should take one, if you're in such pain," he suggests.
"Oh, so now you want me to be stoned too?" Cecilia asks. "I think I have to be rational and say not to this. I rather just get wasted and pass out, you know, the normal way. But thanks anyway." Connie keeps holding her hand out, until Cecilia takes the jar, but she quickly puts them away into her pocket.
I take the three drinks I'm in charge of getting, and head back out. It took me fifteen minutes to get beverages. I'm lucky they contain alcohol. Maybe that will make it easier to forget this last couple of minutes?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
hey, everybody. Cimmy and I hope you liked it…hit the review button, ok?
Like I said earlier, I'm going away between August 25-29 (Monday-Friday), so don't expect any updates before Friday or Saturday. I might update though. It depends on the computer access I have, so who knows? Anyway, Cimmy and I will be writing. I have my tasks set, and Cimmy is always coming up with new ideas. Have a good week everybody!
Peace and Peaches,
Kristine and Cimmy