(Wow, everyone! Okay, so hey! School is starting in exactly one week from today! Well, for me anyways. It's August 22nd, and I shall have this chapter posted by school's beginning. Don't worry. Now that I will be back in school, I'll be writing more regularly. I'm still embarrassed at how little I wrote this summer. It'll pick up! I promise! Tally ho, Jack! We need to go school shoppin' with Lindz!)
Are you already in school, Reviewers?
x) Sentinel Sparrow- Hmm, good question, LoL. Find out as you read! Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy!
x) Nora Jean - Dude, Likin Park is my FAVORITE group ever! I LOVE those guys! Yes! LoL. Oh, and Stewie says that purple is still better and paints your room an everything in it purple. She also sends raspberries, haha. Thanks for the reveiw and enjoy the chapter!
.: If you are, you have my sympathy :.
CLE – "Sugar We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy
Oh yeah, gotta love those disclaimers! And also be warned… I am starting work on a threequel for my Ronie and Val stories! I finished the sequel on paper yesterday morning around 2:30, lol. What's this gotta do with the disclaimer. Everything.
And I own my people whom I'm sure you could pick out, haha…
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: "He's a guy!"
"Bring someone here?" I asked, after a silence filled the large poolroom. I was wondering what could possibly possess her to bring this up. "Who would you have come?"
"Well, I dunno who… It was an idea! I would like to see Thomas again, though. Why don't we bring him back?" Lindsay suggested.
"What good would he do, though?" Paige asked. "I want to see him again, too, but we need someone who'll bring Jack to his senses without him hating us in the end."
"That's sort of inevitable," Stewie said. "He'll kill us."
"Yeah, well, that's our little obstacle of the moment, huh, Stewickle?" I said, patting her head. "Look, we can figure this out tomorrow. Let's get back and get some sleep."
"You think we're gonna be able to sleep after all this?" Lindsay laughed. "Ha! Fat chance…"
"Well you better slim it down a bit and come on," I said.
"Can't we go outside instead and walk around a bit?" Lindsay asked. "I'm not tired at all, and it's snowing as if we were in a dream! Let's go build an igloo!"
I rolled my eyes as Stewie and Paige jumped up with Lindsay all excited to got walk around the school in the dead of night. "Lindsay! Do you know why we're here? Because we were out there with good chances of freezing! It's dangerous out there, so they put us in here so we could have warm blankets and cocoa!"
"Yeah, and just think how much more blankets and cocoa they'll give us when we come back in!" Stewie said.
I slumped my shoulders about to give up when Lindsay said, "Oh, come on. I only meant for ten minutes. We'll be back if it's too cold." I looked down at my watch and back up at them.
"Okay, ten minutes, and I'm timing you," I said, following them out of the poolroom.
First we slipped back into the locker and grabbed our coats and two blankets, and then we decided to go out. The first set of doors we came at the end of the hallway were locked, so we went into the cafeteria and crossed it to these other doors that were unlocked.
Lindsay was right. There may have been almost a foot and a half of snow outside, but it was untouched and so beautiful, even if it was just laying over the student parking lot. But it was funny because you couldn't tell it was a parking lot. I smiled and stepped outside, Paige, Lindz, and Stewie already dancing around where the sidewalk would usually be. Then Stewie grabbed me, and we started spinning around. It was one of those fun things everyone hopes they get to experience.
"Wee!" Stewie said, falling back into the snow. I went with her laughing, and then Lindsay and Paige's heads were over us. They pulled us to our feet, and I brushed myself off.
"That was fun," I said, starting to walk around the school with them.
"Of course it was," Lindsay said. "I thought of it."
"Oh well, of course," I said. "By the way, since we're still wide awake, who exactly do you each think we should bring back?"
"Definitely more than one person," Paige said.
Suddenly, Stewie made this sound like someone had just filled her up with genius gas and swelled up with excitement as she began hitting my arm with this huge smile. She does that.
"What?" I asked.
Now she was bouncing, waiting for everyone's attention.
"You guys, listen to Stewie before she takes off," I said. Lindsay and Paige stopped with me, and Stewie was still bouncing and shaking with her contained excitement starting to scare me.
"Stewie please talk be fore you blow up," Lindsay laughed.
"Okay, ready?" she said. We all nodded. "Okay," she said again. "What if… we could by some miracle… get those girls how slapped Jack in Tortuga in the movie-"
"Scarlett and Giselle?" I offered.
"Yes! Those two!" Stewie said, pointing at me. "Well, we get them to come here, and then they embarrass Jack in front of Isabelle, she gets ideas, and leaves him! Ta da! No wedding!"
"But Jack still hates us," Paige said. "Won't work."
"Can't we just bring them here and improvise as we go along?" Stewie whined. "Besides, improv is so fun!"
"Oh, Stewie, I dunno…" I said. "A bunch of wenches show up and slap Jack in the face? How will he still not hate us in the end?"
"Please!" she asked. "Let's just see what happens! I bet deep down he doesn't even love Isabelle… it'll bring him to his senses!"
"I can't do that after he said that I brought him to doing all this stuff!" I said. "Are you crazy? He'd murder me or worse! Never talk to me again and go back to the Caribbean taking the ruby with him!"
"Oh, that reminds me, can I borrow the ruby?" Stewie asked.
I stared at her, my mouth opening a bit. "What are you asking me for?" I asked. "I don't have it. I'd imagine Will would, seeing as how he brought Liz and Paige here the night of your birthday."
"Will?" Stewie asked. "Are you sure? Aw… We have to get it. It's probably in his blacksmith clothes, too back at your Grandma's, Lindsay."
"Shoot, that's right," Lindsay said. "But I hid them under the bed. They'll be okay. But now we just have to get my grandma out again. Then we can get Jack ready and that, and someone can snag the ruby-"
"I'll do it," Paige said. "I'll get it sometime tomorrow when there's a big hustle and bustle all around the house. But what will you do about your grandma, Jane?"
"Hmm… Stewie, if you could free your place up, I can just say I'm staying there with you and go grab some things from my grandma's including the pirate clothes and ruby. Or we could just pile into my room at my Dad's house, but if he woke up and found us, we'd die."
"I can't," Stewie said. "So tomorrow, what time does your dad get home from work? Three or nine?"
"Nine," Lindsay said. "We'll just swing by my grandma's in the morning, you guys can hide behind the shed, and then I'll grab my stuff, we'll go down to my dad's, and we'll be out before he gets home. And we can spend the night there if we have to. Last resort, though."
"Okay," I said. "Well, I'm freezing now. Can we go back inside?"
"Yeah, come on," Paige said. "I'm getting really cold, too."
- Twelve hours later -
Okay, so we got out of the high school around ten in the morning and we got a ride home in this school bus everyone was piled into to be taken home. We had then dropped us off at Mark's so we could grab some things to eat and drink for an early lunch and walked up the giant hill to Lindsay's Grandma's for her to grab the pirate stuff and ruby.
After that, we went down to her Dad's house (having a snowball fight all the way), and the place was freed up. We were watching a movie in the living room with cappuccinos and cocoa to keep us warm, and let's not forget the wonderful Cambell's Tomato Soup. Mmm… That stuff is good.
Well, the movie was almost over (Napoleon Dynamite), and Lindsay and Stewie were in the midst of a pillow fight on the loveseat. Paige and I looked behind us after a pillow flew across the room and slammed Will in the face. Liz then threw it back, and we had a huge war. Jack, Will, Paige and I ran upstairs and locked ourselves in Lindsay's room as the chaos ensued downstairs in the living room and kitchen.
"Well, Jack, I think we should start getting you ready," I said.
"But I'm already still in these bugger things," Jack said, looking at his thin red sweater and black dress pants. "I don't like 'em. But if this is what I gotta wear again…"
"No, we'll get you another sweater…" I said. Then I looked from Will to Jack a few times, then at Paige. She nodded. "Right. Okay, Will, you and Jack are swappin' sweaters."
"Maybe they shouldn't," Paige said before they ripped the sweaters off over their heads. "He's gonna like kind of silly with a red bandana and a green sweater. Besides, they look funny just like that. Both with black pants and Christmas sweaters. I say we give 'em elf hats and Rudolph ears and let them run around ramped," she laughed.
I giggled a bit, too. "Haha, that's good," I said. "But really… Jack, Will scratch the swapping thing. We'll just freshen up your kohl a bit, throw your pants in the dryer to get the wrinkles out, polish those shoes, and then you'll be on your way to her parent's house."
"Did you get the address?" Paige asked. "Of her parents' house?"
"Yeah," he said, digging in his pocket now. "Right here." He handed us this little crumpled up piece of paper, and I read the address.
"Greensburg?" I asked. "That's a thirty minute drive! And we don't have a car!"
"It's taken car of," Jack said. "She's told me she'd come and get me since she was coming out her way to get the wine for tonight. She's pickin' me up around six-thirty, though I best call and let her know I'm here and not at the other place."
"Good idea," I said. "Phone's downstairs on the endstand by the loveseat and couch, and Jack? We'll need you to wear this robe for about twenty minutes," I said, picking up Lindsay's bathrobe off of her bed.
"Why?" he asked.
"We need your pants so we can dry them and get the wrinkles out," I said, holding in my laughter as Paige giggled right next to me. Jack looked over at Will who shrugged his shoulders. Jack protested, of course.
"No," he said. "Maybe if the thing didn't have little demonic smiling rabbits on it with bright green, I wouldn't mind as much, but no. I'll just wear 'em wrinkled!"
"If you'd like, Paige and I will leave the room," I laughed.
"What about him?" Jack asked, pointing to Will.
"He's a guy!" Paige said.
"He's a bloody eunuch!" Jack shouted.
Will rolled his eyes. "Come on, girls," he said. "We'll leave Jack to his business." Paige and I laughed even harder as we turned and walked out the door with Will behind us.
Then, all of the sudden, Lindsay, Stewie, and Liz came flying up the stairs with their pillows screaming like banshees and pummeled the three of us to the ground. After that, I threw Jack's pants in the dryer, and it was every man/ woman for his/herself. The battle raged on for twenty minutes until Jack came out of Lindsay's bedroom.
"Excuse me," Jack said, walking down the stairs in Lindsay's Happy Bunny robe to the kitchen where Lindsay and I were throwing rice on Will. Lindsay kept throwing as Will ducked under the table, but I walked up to Jack. I was covered in flour and tea powder like Lindsay, but I smiled at Jack anyways. He gave me that creeped-out look and took a step back around the corner.
"Hi Jack!" I said. "You ready?"
"What're ye loonies doin'!" he yelled.
"Just playing a game," I said. "It's okay."
"Where's Lily and Liz and Mary?"
"Up in the bathroom trying to get the green, purple, and black spray paint off of them and the old milk out of their hair," I laughed. "We've let a bomb go off, Jack! But it's okay! We'll be ready by the time-"
DING DONG!
Jack and I looked in the direction of the living room where the front door was. Then I looked up at him, and he sneered at me as I smiled nervously.
"By the time Isabelle gets here?" he asked dangerously.
"Yeeeah…" I said, swallowing and biting my lip.
"Oh! Is Miss Garrett here already?" Lindsay asked, standing up with the rice box in her hand. "It's only four o'clock. Jack! Where's your pants? You look ridiculous!"
"Thank ye," Jack said sarcastically. "Can I have my pants, please!" he whispered urgently.
"Um, yeah," I said. "Sure. I'll go grab them out of the dryer in the basement. Be right back."
- Lindsay's PoV -
Erica ran down into the basement, and I looked around into the living room and saw Miss Garrett standing there on the other side of the screen door outside.
"Oh! It's her!" I said.
DING DONG!
"I need my pants, lassie!" Jack said. "Now!"
"Grace is getting them," I said. "Hang on a sec. I'll cover for you.""Thanks," he said. "Go, go!"
He pushed me into the living room. I passed the mirror above the television and caught sight of me out of the corner of my eye. I looked terrible! Gah! I decided just to play cool as I opened the screen door and smiled at Miss Garrett happily.
"Hi, Miss Garrett!" I said. "Can I help you?"
"Is… Jack here?" she asked hesitantly. I could tell she really wanted me to say 'no' because she was hoping she was at the wrong place. Well, she's not.
"Yeah," I said. "He's upstairs getting ready. We didn't expect you this early, though. He said something like six or six-thirty."
"I know," she said, stepping inside, "but I wanted to drop by early because I've booked the local fire hall for the reception, and I wanted to drop by with him really quick to see it. I was also wondering, since you girls don't have school for the next week, if would like to come down tomorrow and set up the decorations and stuff for us. It would be a great help, and I'll pay you each twenty-five dollars."
"Cool," I said, though I was still shocked at how fast this was all going down. "I'm sure the others won't mind, so sure, I'll let them know, and we'll come."
"Oh, good," Miss Garrett said with a smile. "You'll start tomorrow at eight, and work til whenever you get it done. There's not much labor involved, so it'll be light work, and we'll get pizza or something for you while you work."
"Okay," I said. "Sounds great. "We'll be there."
"Okay, so, here's the address," she said, handing me a piece of paper, "and I'll see you tomorrow! Oh! And around three tomorrow afternoon, I'm taking you girls down to the bridal shop to get your bridesmaid dresses fitted (it won't take longer than two hours tops), and then the wedding rehearsal should be tomorrow night, as well, provided my parents agree to that."
"Whoa, hold on," I said. "You and Jack would be getting married Tuesday then?"
"Yes."
"The day after tomorrow?"
"Correct. Is there any inconvenience there?"
"Oh! No no no no no…" I laughed. "It's just… a surprise at how quickly everything is happening. You've only just met! Doesn't it all seem a bit fast to you?"
"Yes," she said a bit quietly, "but I honestly think Jack and I are perfect together. He's so sweet, and… so what if I don't know everything? That's what the first few years are about."
"Yeah," I said uncomfortably. "I guess so… JACK!"
A series of crashes and moans came from the kitchen, and then Jack fell into view in the doorway. He was lying there motionless as he met Miss Garrett's shocked eyes, halfway there with pulling his pants on.
"Oh… Jack…"
"Hello, darling," Jack said with his curt smile. "One moment."
Jack wriggled back out of sight, and I could picture it now: Erica was probably standing there frozen during that whole thing and was now busting a gut. I laughed as Miss Garrett bit her lip. Five seconds later, Jack came walking out all nice and presentable with Erica behind him.
"Hi, Jack," Miss Garrett said as he approached.
"Evening," he said before kissing her. Erica and I both got wide-eyed and looked at each other. "What're ye doin' here so early?"
"Well, I was just telling Lindsay here that I've booked a place for our reception and that I wanted to drop by on our way out to my parent's house and show you."
"Oh, well, fine," Jack, said, happily. "Well, we'll see you later, lassies."
"Bye, Jack, Erica said heavily as the walked out the door and trudged through the snow to Isabelle's blue Taurus. I felt Erica's waves of worry starting to affect me as they drove off. Then, Will, Liz, Stewie, and Paige came up behind us, looking out the door.
"Jack's gone?" Elizabeth asked. "Already."
"Yeah," I said. "And we're supposed to go help set up decorations at the fire hall, get bridesmaid dresses fitted, and rehearse the wedding tomorrow. She said if Jack wins over her parents, the wedding'll be Tuesday."
"He can't win 'em over if we're there causing trouble," Erica said, walking back into the kitchen and upstairs. Everyone else looked at me.
"What now?" Will asked.
"We clean up and get ready for dinner," I said.
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OoOoOo… Now what?
Okay, so it's the last Friday before school starts! AHH! And I'm sleeping over at Lindsay's Dad's with her and Stewie and going shopping tomorrow at ze mall! Woot! I can't wait for school to start… it's gonna be an awesome year! Bye bye, summer! It was great!
Please Review!