A/N: I love reviews…heck I love reviews more than I love George Stults (well ok that's a lie) seriously I love reviews because I get that happy feeling in my stomach when I see you really love me!!
A/N: Read the disclaimer on the front chapter and u will understand why I'm not rich and why The WB is
A/N: Thanks to Betsy (Star2717) who really helped me out in this chapter. I got stuck but I kept plugging my way through it so I could have something to post for you guys!
A/N: Look for more updates sometime in the next few days or even a week or two!
Lucy sighed as she walked her way towards her home on Alta Road. She had forgotten to ask Matt for a ride home that morning before they headed their separate ways for class.
Her backpack was getting heavy and her back was starting to ache because of the weight that was in the bag.
Her eyes drifted towards the many houses that were lined up on the opposite side of the street.
One house in particular caught her eye and she stopped walking and stared at it for quite sometime.
It was an old two story colonial home that was pale yellow with white trim and a small white picket fence that wrapped around the front yard.
Cocking her head just a little she could almost see them as children playing in the yard…how Matt, Ben and Kevin always use to hide between the huge oak trees and scare Mary, Patty-Mary and Lucy while they were playing dolls.
There were the times when Lucy was younger she would slip out of the house unnoticed when the families got together and would sit underneath the large oak tree and stare at the night sky.
Usually only one person saw her disappear from the house and that was usually Kevin. But he never made a word as he sat on the porch watching her watch the sky. He always made her feel independent even though she knew he was out there watching her because her parents had asked him to do so.
Matt would have bugged her until she caved and went back in the house with him but Kevin would just sit there until it was getting cold out and then ask her to come in the house and watch a movie or play cards with him.
He was never controlling or had ever gotten angry at her…and even if he did he always apologized even when he wasn't the one to start something.
Come to think of it Kevin was like the perfect boyfriend in her little world but reality had set in for the both of them and had shown that they weren't meant for each other…God had taken care of that when Lucy was in that horrible car accident almost a year ago.
Heaving an added sigh she looked both ways before crossing the street towards the yellow house and walked along the sidewalk like she had done so many years ago when she was younger, but in doing so a peculiar memory stood out so strong in her head no matter how many times she told it to go away it wouldn't.
It was like it wanted to be there and it had something to show or even something to tell her.
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"Lucy Goosey" someone yelled behind her.
"What do you want Kevin Kinkirk?" she asked placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the boy.
"Guess what?" he started to brag.
"What?"
"I love you"
Rolling her eyes she threw Kevin a look of disgust and started to walk back towards her house "No you don't" she replied without turning around.
"Yes I do" he replied running up behind her.
"Why do you love me?" she asked him pausing for just a moment, just long enough to let him catch up to her.
"I don't know" he shrugged. For being 11-years-old he thought he was pretty smart for his age and he was usually proved right when it came to being a boss to Ben.
"Well if you love me then you have to have a reason" she explained throwing her arms up in disgust.
"Who says?"
"My mom says so" she replied smugly. For being 6-years-old Lucy knew a thing or two about what love was. Her parents showed it to her and the rest of her brothers and sister each day.
"What does your mom say smarty pants?" he taunted.
"My mom tells me that if you love someone you 'pose to have a reason"
"Well I don't have a reason so there" he exclaimed sticking his tongue out at her.
"If you love me does that mean you are gonna marry me?"
"I sure hope so" he answered with a big grin on his face.
Lucy's eyes got real big before she said something "But eww…Mary said that all boys have cooties and you're a boy and that means you have cooties" she told him wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"I don't have cooties" he replied looking confused.
"Mary says all boys have cooties" she repeated.
"AND I said I don't have cooties" he yelled at her.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW?" she yelled back at him.
"Because if I had cooties you would have gotten them a long time ago" he replied with a smirk on his face.
Making a frustrated noise she crossed her arms over her chest she glared at him one last time before she ran up to the big white house that she called home and slammed the door leaving a confused and an "in love" little boy outside pining away for her.
Annie had been in the kitchen trying to get a snack together for 3-year-old Simon while he was busy concentrating on coloring a picture, when she heard the front door slammed shut.
"Eric?" she called out towards the hallway. Hearing no answer she glanced behind her and saw Simon busy coloring a picture for his dad so she knew he wasn't going to miss her while she ran into the living room.
Walking down the hallway she first peaked into Eric's office and saw no one was in there, so she continued to walk farther down the hall when she stop in front of the door frame where the living room was and found Lucy sobbing hard on the couch.
"Luce? Sweetie what's wrong? Did something happen?"" she asked walking over and sitting at the end of the couch rubbing her back.
"N…NNO" she sobbed harder into the pillow.
"Luce, you can't cry for no reason so please sweetie tell me what's wrong"
"Kevin"
"Kevin what?"
"Kevin told me he loved me" she managed to get out before more tears started to flow.
Annie took one look at her 6-year-old daughter and started to laugh. The poor girl was only 6 and someone already claimed her as their own.
"Lucy, Kevin didn't mean that he's only 11 and your 6 he was just kidding around with you" Annie replied giving Lucy a hug of reassurance.
"But mommy he has cooties, even Mary said so" Lucy told her mother with tears still dripping down her cheek.
Annie tried hard to stifle another laugh before she rubbed the top of her daughter's head.
"Lucy I don't think you have to worry about cooties for a long time" she told her patting her on the top of the head before standing up to enter the kitchen to see how Simon was doing with his picture.
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Looking down at the sidewalk while she continued to walk down the street saw started to smile when she saw all the childish drawings that the Kinkirk's and the Camden's had drawn the day they had replaced the old cement with new.
Squatting down she lightly traced her name and when noticed how close Kevin's own name was to hers.
If it had been any closer it would have intertwined with her name and the only words you would have been able to see would have been "Lucy Kinkirk" instead of "Lucy Camden"
She closed her eyes and quietly said a prayer for the Kinkirk's knowing that September 11th was coming up and both Kevin and Ben had lost friends both during that tragic time and she knew they would be in a lot of grief and pain that day.
She also thanked God that he managed to spare both their lives that day and was grateful they worked in Buffalo and not in New York City.
Standing straight up to take the kink out of her back she grabbed her backpack and groaned when she realized she had left her math book sitting in the library at Crawford.
Turning back around she had another 3 miles to go until she reached campus but when she got there this time she wasn't walking back, she was going to call for a ride home.
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She was late and she knew it.
It had been only a couple of weeks since she had moved back to Buffalo and already her first day on the job training she was late.
If it hadn't been for the fact that she ran right into someone she might never have noticed him sitting down at one of the coffee shops.
"I'm so sorry" she told the person apologetically as she moved out of their way and walked closer towards the man sitting at the table.
"Ben? Ben Kinkirk?" she exclaimed with a big grin on her face.
The man looked up and indeed it was Ben Kinkirk one of her friends from back west who she hadn't seen in almost half of her grown up life.
"Mary? Mary Camden?" Ben exclaimed standing up and throwing his arms around her giving her a tight hug.
"God it's been what? Almost 11 years?"
"Yeah," said Mary, smiling. She couldn't quite absorb the fact that the tall, dark haired man standing in front of her was the same Ben Kinkirk who used to pull her ponytail and had once eaten ten earthworms on a dare.
Ben smiled back at her. "What brings you to Buffalo?"
Mary blushed. She definitely didn't want to answer that.
"So how's your mom?" she asked quickly.
"She's doing great!" exclaimed Ben, completely forgetting his previous question.
Mary nodded and tried to look interested; relieved he hadn't tapped into her own life any further.
"She finally opened up her own firm the other week. She's really busy these days."
"Good for her," replied Mary, and she really meant it. Mrs. Kinkirk was one of her favorite people.
"What about Kevin?"
"He's fine," Ben replied shortly, an abrupt change noticeable in his demeanor.
Mary raised her eyebrows. "Just fine?" she quipped, lightly punching his arm.
"Just. Fine." replied Ben, tersely. Mary crossed her arms and sat down, motioning for him to do the same. He did, although he was scowling in a manner that reminded Mary of when they were younger.
"Spill it, Kinkirk," Mary ordered.
"You know what?" Ben leaned forward towards Mary, his voice low and dangerous.
"I'll tell you exactly what's wrong with my brother. It's your stupid sister. He's so in love with her that it's sickening. All he does is mope around the house, or sit in his room and stare at the phone. It makes me utterly sick. Why doesn't she just quit this crap and admit her feelings?"
Most people would've been intimidated by a large, very physically fit firefighter who was harboring a lot of anger. But Mary wasn't most people.
"Oh, like it's any easier on my end!" she snapped.
"Lucy hasn't been herself for days, weeks, months, hell even a year. Every time I talk to her she sounds completely lifeless. And the last time I spoke to her, she told me she saw a Popsicle stick that made her think of Kevin!"
Mary threw up her hands in exasperation, realizing she was more mad at the situation than she was at Ben.
She stood up, walked over so she was next to Ben, and sat down beside him. "I can't take this anymore," she muttered.
"Me neither." Ben started to drop his head into his hands, but then stopped. Slowly, he raised his head back up.
"You know what, Mary?"
"Huh," replied Mary, staring distantly off into space.
She turned to see Ben with a devious smile on his face that made her stomach do a tiny flip-flop.
"I think," said Ben, "that it's time we took matters into our own hands."
Mary frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Look. If we leave it up to Lucy and Kevin, you and I will be in nursing homes by the time they get together. Just think... fifty years of listening to them mope about each other..." Ben was pleased to see Mary's eyes widen in fear.
"Exactly. Why should we wait around for them to smarten up? You and I just need to give them a push in the right direction, they'll do the rest." Ben watched Mary as she thought about the idea.
Ben stuck out his hand for her to shake. "So what do you say? Partners in the Project Get Our Dumb Siblings Together?"
Mary smiled and grasped his hand. "Partners."
Ben smiled as they shook hands. Suddenly, his smile faded.
"What?" asked Mary, slightly alarmed.
Ben looked sheepish. "I don't, uh, actually have a plan."
Mary rolled her eyes. "Why doesn't that shock me?"
Ben rolled his eyes right back at her her and elbowed her in the side. Mary grinned and punched him none-too gently on the arm in retaliation.
She always liked that Ben didn't think she was fragile. "Ok, well the first thing is that we have to get Lucy out here. Any ideas how we do that?" Mary looked at Ben, hoping he would have an idea.
Ben looked thoughtful. "Maybe you could... I got it!" Ben was nearly bouncing up and down with excitement. "Tell her that you're having a secret wedding ceremony to a mail order husband and you need her to be the witness."
Ben smiled, while Mary looked at him as if he had grown another head. "Right. And that's why from now on, I'm coming up with all the ideas for the plan."
Ben glared at her. "It wasn't that bad of an idea."
"Uh huh. Whatever." They both sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking.
Suddenly, Mary snapped her fingers. "Got it. I'll use the one thing in the world that my little sister cannot resist."
"What's that?" asked Ben.
"Shopping," replied Mary, matter of fact. "Lucy once said that when she died, she wanted her ashes scattered at the mall. Luckily for her, next weekend, Buffalo will be opening the largest shopping mall on the east coast."
Ben frowned. "But there isn't a mall opening in Buffa -- oh!" Mary could practically see the light bulb go off over Ben's head. "Brilliant, Mary."
"I know I am," laughed Mary.
"This is perfect. I'll fly her out here for some quality sister bonding and shopping time. Next Saturday night, she and I will be at the Main Street Grille downtown at seven pm for dinner. Your job is to get Kevin there." Mary jabbed Ben in the chest for emphasis.
Ben looked at her. "How do I get Kevin there?"
Mary shrugged, glancing at her watch. "Well, we'll just have to think about -- SHOOT!" Frantically, Mary glanced at her watch again, and then abruptly jumped up.
Ben hurried to stand up as well. Mary grabbed her jacket and began to jog away.
"Where are you going?" called Ben.
Mary stopped, and turned in his direction. "I'm late for... I'm late. Look, we'll talk later, ok?" Mary jogged off without waiting for a response from Ben.
She hadn't realized how long they had sat and talked -- she was going to be nearly an hour late for work.
Ben, meanwhile, watched Mary jog away, and then sat back down.
How was he going to convince Kevin to see Lucy? Should he even tell him Lucy was going to be there? And how was he going to keep this a secret for a whole week? Ben groaned and buried his head in his hands. He wished Mary was still around -- he sucked at planning stuff.
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12 hours later Mary arrived back at her apartment completely exhausted.
She had gotten to work almost 30 minutes late and had to practically beg her boss not to fire her on the first day of the job. She managed to calm down and told them that she had a family emergency that had to be taken care of and how she had no time to phone them.
Luckily enough for Mary her boss was a caring and understanding women when it came to family problems. She told Mary that just this once she'd forgive her but if it ever happened again Mary would be toast.
Throwing her keys and purse on the side table of her apartment door she closed the door and locked it and leaned up against the door in defeat.
All she wanted to do was to curl up in her bed and take a long nap. She started to head for bed when she realized that her answering machine button was blinking.
Flopping down on the couch next to the table she hit the button and laid down on the couch ready to listen to her messages.
"Hi Mary its Lucy I just called to see how your new job went so call me when you get home"!
Beep
Hey um Mary it's Ben I um wanted to know if you thought of a way I could get Kevin down here at the Main Street Grille? Any ideas would be helpful um my number is 989-887-9865
Smiling to herself Mary just shook her head. Only Ben would sound stupid on her answering machine.
Closing her eyes she was almost asleep when she realized she hadn't called Lucy back. Grabbing her phone she punched in her home number and waited for it to ring. It was time to put their plan into action
Luckily for her someone picked it up on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Mom? It's Mary"
"Oh hi sweetie" Annie replied wiping down the kitchen counter.
"Is Lucy home at all?"
Annie rolled her eyes at the mention of Lucy's name "Of course do you really think she'd be doing something different than moping around?"
"Oh so you have noticed it to then?"
"I've noticed it since the day we came home from Buffalo" Annie replied throwing the sponge into the sink.
"Have you done anything about it?"
"About what? Pining over some boy who is willing to give her the time of day but she won't admit it?"
Mary forced a laugh. It was going to be hard to not tell her mom what she and Ben were up to.
"If I was Lucy I'd fly my butt—OH here she is Mary" Annie replied quickly handing the phone over to Lucy who had just come down the stairs.
"Who is it?" Lucy asked before taking the phone.
"Your sister" Annie replied before walking out of the room.
"Hello?"
"Hey Luce I got your message"
"Oh" Lucy replied getting a partial smile on her face. "How was work?"
"It could have been better. Anyways are you doing anything next weekend?"
Lucy frowned and walked over to the family calendar and traced down to that Friday. "No I'm not doing anything…why?" she asked suspiciously.
Mary laughed "Well there is the largest shopping mall will be—"she started to say before Lucy cut her off.
"I'll be there!" Lucy said quickly.
"I knew you'd come if it involved shopping" Mary joked.
"Just promise me one thing"
"Anyways" Mary replied.
"I don't want to see Kevin and if this is what this trip is about I'm not coming" Lucy told her flat out dead serious.
"Oh give me a break Lucy Camden! Do you really think I'd stoop so low into inviting you out here just so you could see Kevin?"
"Well…yeah" Lucy admitted sheepishly.
"Then you don't know me" Mary replied simply.
"What day are you flying into Glenoak?" Lucy asked quickly hoping to change the subject and not start a fight.
"I'll fly in Thursday and leave Friday with you and then on Monday I'll fly back"
"Sounds like a plan to me"
Mary was glad that Lucy couldn't see her right now because the smirk on her face was brighter than ever. Poor Lucy if only she knew that there was people plotting against her…even her own sister.
"All right Luce I gotta go I'm beat and I have to work tomorrow and I don't want to be late this time"
"You were late? What for?" Lucy's interest suddenly peaked.
"I ran into someone I haven't seen in a long time"
"Oh…was it Wilson?"
"No, it's not anyone you know it's someone I met out here a long time ago" Mary lied.
"Oh" was all Lucy managed to say.
"Well I'll call you on Wednesday night before I leave on Thursday to make sure you are all set"
"All right I'll see you Friday" Lucy replied hanging up the phone.
Mary clicked the off button on her cordless phone. That was the easiest lie she had ever pulled off before…but all she hoped was that it wasn't going to back fire on her or Ben.
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Ben was sitting in his favorite chair staring at the phone hoping it'd ring. He had called Kevin almost 5 times that night hoping his bonehead of a brother would call him back.
Unlike Kevin, Ben had moved out of his mom's home once he started to be a firefighter. He liked how he had a lot of freedom and didn't have to worry about his mom coming home at the wrong time.
He grabbed the remote control for the T.V and flipped it on. Starting to surf the channels, Ben let his mind wander. What should he tell Kevin? Maybe he could call Mary again and ask her advice... Ben focused on the TV as a commercial for Pizza Hut came on.
Ben frowned thoughtfully. Pizza sounded really good right about now. He leaned over and picked up the phone, dialing the number he knew by heart as he cradled the receiver.
"Ben? Stop dialing!" Ben blinked, confused.
"Hello?"
"Ben, you idiot, it's Kevin! Why are you hitting the keys?"
"I was trying to call for pizza!"
"Well, I'm calling you, so you can call for pizza later. You must've picked up the phone before it could ring."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Kevin was silent for a moment. "So...."
"So what?"
Kevin groaned into the receiver. "You called me and left a message saying you wanted to talk to me. Is that too much for you to remember?"
"Oh yeah!" Ben sat up a little straighter. "Um, I have a question for you."
"Ok, then ask me the question," said Kevin.
Ben could tell his brother was getting impatient. "I was... uh... do you want to go out to dinner with me?" Ben groaned inwardly as soon as the words left his mouth. He was sure Mary was going to yell at him that he had done this all wrong.
"Now? I thought you were ordering pizza."
"No, not now. Next week."
Kevin laughed. "Since when do we plan our dinners in advance? You usually just call me up the night you want me to come out."
"Um..." Ben was starting to panic. "Well, I just want to make sure your free next week because... I thought we could... talk. About stuff."
"Well, why can't we talk about it now?"
"Because..." Ben blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Because I have something really important to tell you and I want to tell you before I tell Mom."
"What?"
"Look, don't ask questions. Just meet me at the Main Street Grille on Saturday at around 7pm. I have to go, my pizza's here."
"What? Ben, what's going on? I thought you hadn't ordered the pizza yet!"
"Well, it's been great talking to you! I'll be really busy this week, so I guess I won't see you until we have dinner! Bye Kevin!" Ben slammed down the phone, slightly out of breath.
He sighed. He should probably tell Mary what happened. He picked up the phone and started to dial for a moment, and then paused.
Hesitantly, he spoke. "Hello?" There was only a dial tone in response, however, so Ben quickly dialed Mary's number. It rung twice before someone picked up.
He glanced over at the phone, and just for good measure, turned off the ringer. He didn't want Kevin calling him back if he could help it. A vision of Mary's face sprung into his mind. Putting his head in his hands, Ben groaned. Mary was going to kill him.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Mary its Ben."
"Hi Ben. How are you?"
"I'm ok. You?"
"I'm fine. Just eating some pizza."
Ben stared at the phone in disbelief. "Life is unfair."
"What?"
"Never mind. Did you talk to Lucy?" "Yep. Taken care of." Mary paused to swallow, and Ben could swear he smelled the pizza through the phone.
"I was awesome, if I do say so myself. She bought the story about the mall, and when she asked me if I was doing this to set her up with Kevin, I managed to make her feel like an idiot for even thinking that. Lucy is never gonna see this coming... she's not suspicious at all!"
"Terrific," muttered Ben.
"Well don't sound so happy," Mary replied.
"It's just..." Ben sighed. "I'm not as smooth as you."
Now it was Mary's turn to sigh. "What did you say to Kevin?"
"Well..." Ben paused, realizing there was no way he could make this sound good.
"I told him that I had news to tell him, and I wanted to talk to him before I told my mom."
"Ben..." Words seemed to fail Mary.
"Yeah. I know. And I think Kevin suspects something, too."
"Well, did you at least get him to meet you at the restaurant?"
Ben frowned. "I think so!"
Mary sighed. "Well, let's hope you did. Look, I want to take a shower and go to bed. If you talk to Kevin at all, just try not to seem suspicious, ok? And try to think of what you would have to tell him.
"Okay," said Ben, wondering what on earth his "big announcement" could be.
"Night Ben," Mary said.
"Night," replied Ben, hanging up the phone. He sighed, hoping he hadn't screwed things up too badly. Oh well, he could think about it while enjoying some pizza.
Picking up his phone again, he dialed Pizza Hut. The phone rang three times, and then a recorded voice filled the line.
"Thank you for calling Pizza Hut. We're sorry, but we are closed for the night. We will re-open tomorrow morning at -- "Ben didn't even bother to hang up before chucking the phone across the room.
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Lucy climbed upstairs towards the attic where she shared the room with Ruthie. Times like this was when she wished she could have her own room and not share it with anyone.
Turning the corner she saw that Ruthie was gone and that she would be able to have some peace and quiet for once in her life.
Flopping down on her bed too fast she knocked over her table that was next to the bed. Sighing she got off the bed and started to pick up the shards of glass that were scattered all across the floor.
Grabbing the photo frame that had also shattered she started to throw it away when something caught her eye.
It was the photo of her and Kevin taken at the hospital when Ruthie was born. His mom had one picture left in her camera and needed to waste it so she asked Kevin and Lucy who happened to be the only two in the waiting room at the time to sit next to each other for a picture.
Glancing softly at the photo even she couldn't help deny it that there was some sort of a connection between herself and Kevin.
Her only problem was admitting to herself that getting hurt it just part of growing up.
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After having that strange conversation with Ben only a few minutes ago started to make Kevin think.
What could be so important for him to tell me before mom? He thought to himself making another ham and cheese sandwich.
That's when it hit him and he threw the silver knife into the sink.
"Damn you Ben!" he swore out loud shaking his fist at no one except for the refrigerator and other kitchen appliances.
He knew what Ben was up to…all he had to do was put two and two together. Ben was planning on doing something…not telling him something like he said he had to.
"It better not have anything to do with Lucy" he spoke out loud looking for the cordless phone again when he spotted it across the room on the dining room table.
It took him only three strides to get over to the table because of his long legs. Swiping the phone off the table he started to punch in the Camden's home number when something stopped him.
Why was he calling her? He wasn't that desperate that he needed to hear her voice again was he? She told him how she felt along time ago and he kept his promise and stayed his distance from her. That was all she ever asked for right?
He glanced down at the phone that was in his hand and placed it back on the dining room table before returning to his sandwich.
She had made him promise never to call her even if it was an emergency…and he was going to abide by what she said.
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One week later on the Saturday Morning of the final "Partners in the Project Get Our Dumb Siblings Together" plan.
The persistent ringing forced Ben to wake up far earlier than he'd prefer on his day off.
He fumbled around, trying to locate the receiver. "What?" He heard laughter on the other end.
"Well, good morning to you too sunshine!"
Ben groaned and fell back onto his bed. "Why are you calling me so early?"
Mary snorted. "It's three hours earlier here, you know."
"So why aren't you asleep then?"
"Because I wanted to talk to you before Lucy wakes up and make sure we're all set for today."
Ben frowned. What was today?
"Ben. Tell me you remember what you're doing this afternoon."
"Um..." Ben searched his brain.
"Oh yeah! Picking up you and Lucy."
Mary sighed. "Do NOT forget, or I will give you a personal demonstration of my self defense techniques."
Ben shuddered at the thought. "I won't forget, ok? I'll be there."
"Good. And Kevin won't know we're coming into town?"
"Mary, give me a little credit. I didn't tell Kevin."
"Congratulations! Do you want a cookie?"
"Its way, way too early for sarcasm, you know."
Mary laughed. "Fine, I'll let you go back to bed. But be at the airport or else."
"Okay. Have a good flight."
"Thanks. See you later." Ben hung up the phone. Readjusting his pillow slightly, he promptly fell back asleep.
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Five hours later
Mary was fidgeting in her seat. She kept looking over at Lucy who was engrossed with a book by her current favorite author.
"Do you have a problem?" Lucy asked without looking up.
"No…why do you ask?" Mary replied.
"You keep staring at me and it's really starting to creep me out"
"Sorry" Mary replied half heartily. She desperately wanted to tell Lucy that this whole trip was a cover but she couldn't not after the promise she made Ben.
"Is something wrong?" Lucy peered at her closing her book.
"No…well sort of"
"What do you mean sort of?"
"There's something I have to sort of well tell you" Mary replied looking a little scared.
"What?" Lucy asked looking at Mary closely. "Does it have something to do with Kevin? Because if it does I want to go home as soon as we get off this plane!" she demanded
"No, it doesn't have anything to do with Kevin…well it sort of does but then again it doesn't" Mary replied.
"Mary I'm gonna count to ten before I scream so tell me!"
"Well remember when I called you last week and I told you I ran into someone?"
"Yeah?" Lucy replied lifting up an eyebrow still looking suspiciously at Mary.
"ThatsomeonewasBenKinkirk" Mary said really fast jumbling her words together.
"What?" Lucy asked looking confused.
Mary took a breath of air "I said that someone was Ben Kinkirk"
"Oh" was all Lucy could say.
"What does that have to do with me?" she suddenly said a few minutes later
"Well he's picking us up at the airport and taking us back to my place until we go out for dinner later tonight"
"Oh"
"Are you going to say anything but oh?" Mary asked.
"No"
"Where are we going to dinner?"
"Some new place…actually Ben suggested it"
"Have you been there?" Lucy wanted to know.
"No, not yet anyways that's why Ben suggested you, I and him try it out tonight later…after we go to my place"
"Ben's coming along? Does that mean Kevin will be there to?" Lucy wanted to know her face starting to get red with anger.
"No, I made sure to tell him that Kevin was not to come. He's coming by himself can you handle that?"
Lucy crossed her arms and looked out through the small airplane window. Rolling her eyes she glared at Mary before saying something.
"I guess I can handle Ben but if the conversation starts to turn to me and Kevin I'm out of there!"
"That's fine"
"What time is he suppose to meet us at the airport?" Lucy replied grabbing her blank carry on bag from under the seat and put her book in.
"I told him that our flight left at 6am our time and would arrive at 11am there time"
"What airport are we flying into again?" Lucy asked checking her watch.
"Buffalo—"Mary started to say before the pilot cut her off and came over the intercom system and told that they were about to land.
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Ben was standing behind the security check point where everyone was allowed to meet the person or persons they were picking up. He was starting to get antsy because it was almost noon and Lucy and Mary were no where in site.
"Hey Ben!" he heard his name yelled.
He turned around and his jaw dropped to the floor...Kevin was walking right towards him.
"Ben, what are you doing here?" Kevin had approached him, and Ben was unable to think of a single thing to say.
He gaped for a moment. "Uh..." Kevin frowned.
"This isn't about Lucy, is it? Ben, I'm not an idiot! I know you're plotting something, and if it involves something with Lucy, I swear I'll --"
"Mary!" Ben burst out, before he could stop himself.
Kevin stared at him. "What?"
"Mary," gulped Ben. "I'm picking up Mary, Lucy's sister."
Kevin stared at Ben. "Why?"
Ben looked at the ceiling, as if hoping an appropriate answer would be written there.
"I... uh... can't tell you."
"Why can't you tell me?"
"Because... it's about... what I'm going to tell you tonight." Ben concentrated on making himself sound believable, while trying to silence the voice in his head that was telling him all the ways Mary was going to kill him.
Kevin was shaking his head in amazement. "Ok, Ben, what is going on? Is there something between you and Mary? Are you hiding something? Why can't --"
Luckily for Ben, who had completely run out of answers, Kevin's radio crackled to life. He picked it up.
"Kinkirk here." He listened for a moment, frowning. "Okay. I'll be right there." He glanced back at Ben.
"There's a hysterical woman harassing security who might be a terrorist threat. I have to go. But don't think you can get out of this! When I see you tonight, I want answers."
With one more pointed glance at Ben, Kevin disappeared into the airport crowds. Ben sighed.
"Well, when you see me tonight, you might want to kill me..." he muttered under his breath.
Grateful to have escaped Kevin for the moment, he looked around. What on earth had happened to Mary and Lucy?