Welcome to Wonderland Chapter 15: Smell My Feet

Liam Anders sighed with the utmost confidence as he stood in front of Alice Mariano, Joey Rygalski and Emma Forrester. He knew he'd find them in the Gilmore's garage, practicing. He'd heard Alice when she was at school, saying she had band practice on Tuesday nights. "I have a favor to ask."

"If it involves nudity, I think you know what your answer is going to be," Alice replied with a straight face.

"Sadly, no," Liam smirked. "No nudity involved. I actually have a gig for you three."

Joey blinked. "A gig? As in playing instruments and singing? At a place?"

"At my house," Liam nodded. "My parents are out of town from October thirty-first to November Fifth. I am having a Halloween party, and I need a band."

Alice shrugged. "You couldn't hire some top-notch party band?"

Liam sighed. "Alice, come on. You know kids at our school. You can tailor the play list to what they listen to, and this way I get to sit in."

Emma stared. "Sit in? You? What do you play? The skin flute?"

"Guitar," Alice corrected. "He plays guitar. What makes you think you're good enough to play with us?"

Liam smiled widely. "Because I am."

Alice smirked. "Last time I heard you play, you asked me what a chord was."

"I got lessons," Liam insisted. "I'm better now."

Joey glanced at Alice, and shrugged.

She picked up her guitar and held it out to Liam. "Let's hear."

Liam stared at her, and then took the guitar. "Gotta pick?"

"Nope," Alice replied. "Picks are for sissies."

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Are not. They give the guitar a different sound."

"You're just afraid of getting blisters," Alice teased. "Sissy."

"I am not!" Liam argued.

"Ah, the age-old question," Joey smirked. "Does using a pick make you a sissy, or just mean you like a different guitar tone?"

"Sissy," Alice repeated.

"Excuse me for having nice hands!" Liam snapped.

Emma laughed.

"And the winner is," Joey chuckled, "sissy."

Liam grumbled, and took a pick from his pocket. "Are you all quite finished?"

"Sorry, Liam," Alice snickered. "I love you like family…it's just too easy to call you a sissy."

He grumbled. "You wouldn't think I was such a sissy if I whipped out my-"

Alice put up a hand. "Just…play."

Liam was about to put pick to strings, when there was a knock on the garage door. All four teens looked up, and Emma blinked.

"Mike?"

"We gotta talk," Mike snapped to his sister.

Emma sighed, and got up from her drum set. "Keep going you guys, I'll be right back." She followed Mike away from the garage and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "What's up?"

Mike shrugged. "Dad kicked me out."

Her eyes widened. "What! Again!"

"He found my stash," Mike said. "He told me to pack my shit and get out."

Emma frowned. "So…but where are you gonna go?"

"Wherever," he shrugged again.

"Wherever?" Emma snapped. "That's not a real answer, Mike. That's crap. What're you gonna do? Where are you gonna live?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "What's with you? All of a sudden you need to be my mommy?"

"I'm just worried about you," Emma muttered. "You're my brother, and-"

"And you're just like Mom and Dad," he snapped. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to leave.

"Call me?" she asked hopefully.

"Whatever."

She watched him go and then headed back into the garage, past Alice, Joey and Liam, to her drum set. She sat down, picked up her stick, and slammed them against the crash symbols loudly.

"Em?" Alice asked worriedly.

"Mike's on his way out of town," Emma spat. She picked up her purse, and shoves her drumsticks into it. "I'm gonna go home."

Joey nodded. "Alice can work with Liam…you want me to walk you home."

"Could you?" Emma asked, sniffling.

Joey nodded. "Of course." He pulled his bass off and set it on its stand. He wrapped his arm around her.

Alice hugged her as she passed her. "Call me, okay?"

"Okay."

Alice watched them go and then turned back to Liam.

"Who's Mike?" he asked, when the couple had left.

"Emma's asshole brother," Alice frowned.

Liam frowned back. "Sucky."

"So, play, Sissy-Boy."

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"So he's leaving again, huh?"

Emma nodded. "Things weren't that bad," she said quietly. "I mean…they weren't getting along that badly. He was getting along really well with Mom, and he and Dad were…well…okay, I guess. I don't know."

Joey sighed. "Well…they have a history, and your dad isn't exactly the most forgiving guy ever."

"True," she nodded. "He still hates Alice's dad."

"Exactly."

They stopped in front of her house, and Emma crossed her arms. "I just hate that he's leaving again. I might never see him again. It's not like he calls."

"Maybe he's not worth all the worry," Joey shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes. "He's my brother."

"Yeah, but he obviously doesn't think too much about you, and-"

"I can't just write him off! He's my brother! He's family!"

Joey sighed. "I know. I'm just worried that-"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Goodnight, Joey." She turned with a flip of her blonde hair and headed up her driveway.

"W-" Joey shook his head. "Do you have to do the flippy thing with the hair, and…Emma, come on! I'm sorry!"

"Goodnight!"

He groaned and stormed away.

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"We should tell them," Jess said again as he followed his wife around their house.

"I know," Rory replied. "I know we should tell them, but I don't know how and I don't know when."

"It won't be that hard."

She sighed and grabbed her keys. "It will. You know it will."

"We're adults," Jess said. "And we're married. We already have the parenting thing down pretty well, since Alice isn't a cannibal or anything. It's not like we're going into this completely blind."

"To them, we will always be little kids," Rory replied as she pulled her coat on. "And they will always know what's best for us."

"You," Jess corrected. "Richard and Emily are really only concerned about you."

She frowned and kissed him softly. "And I am concerned about you. Are you feeling okay this week?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little tired…I think it's the medication."

She kissed him again. "I'll see you at Luke's."

He nodded. "I'll see you then. Have fun."

She smiled and rushed out the door, walking down the front walk and the driveway to her mother's wait jeep.

Jess stretched and wandered to the office to finish off some work.

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"So she got mad, huh?"

Joey nodded as he went about putting a new poster on his wall. "Oh, yeah. She did her whole hair flip as she walked away from me."

Alice nodded from her spot on his bed, playing with his bass. "Never a good sign."

"How did Liam's audition go?"

"He's good," Alice replied.

"Is he?"

"He's very good."

"How good is very good?"

Alice just nodded.

"So…we're playing the Halloween gig?"

She nodded again. "Looks like."

Joey blinked and sat down next to her. "We have to wear costumes, don't we?"

Alice smiled. "Just wear ratty jeans, a leather jacket, a screwed up t-shirt and fuck your hair up. You can be Sid Vicious."

"I'm too cuddly to be Sid," he replied. "He'd roll over in his grave."

She rolled her eyes. "That man has probably rolled over in his grave so many times that it doesn't even matter anymore."

Joey nodded, and then blinked. "Hey, Alice…isn't Halloween on a Friday?"

She blinked. "Shit!"

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Jess blinked at Alice. "You're going to tell Richard and Emily Gilmore that you can't come to Friday Night Dinner because you're playing guitar in your band at an un-chaperoned, under-aged kegger?"

The diner was emptying out, except for their group, and Kirk, who never seemed to leave, these days, even though he had a wife and baby at home.

Alice nodded as she took a bite out of her burger. "Pretty much."

"And that would fly in which universe?" Lorelai asked.

"The very happy one in my head," Alice replied. "Where pigs fly, and they never did that horrible remake of Cheaper by the Dozen."

"The original was bad, too," Rory pointed out.

"But not as bad."

Jess gave his wife's plate of food an odd stare. "You're eating salad."

Rory nodded. "Your powers of observation never cease to astonish."

"You hate salad."

"I don't."

"Yeah, you do," Alice said. "You've always hated salad. When I was little, you and Dad used to fight about whether you should force me to eat salad."

"Look, I'm pregnant, okay! The weird cravings have started early!"

Luke nearly dropped the plate of food he was carrying. "You're what!"

Rory and Lorelai gave each other nervous looks.

"We forgot to tell Luke, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did," Rory nodded.

"Wait, he's Jess's uncle. Jess should have told him!" Lorelai cried as Luke rushed over. "Jess forgot to tell you."

"Why is everything my fault?" Jess muttered.

Luke turned to Rory. "You're pregnant?"

"Yup."

"Again."

"Yup."

"And it's his," Luke pointed to Jess.

"Nope. It's totally Jake Gyllenhaal's."

Lorelai giggled. "He's just so dreamy."

Luke turned to Jess. "How did we get stuck with these two again?"

"You got me," Jess shrugged.

"You're really pregnant," Luke said, turning back to Rory.

"No, I'm just gonna eat like a pig, blow up like a hot-air balloon and then shoot a baby out in about nine months," she grinned. "It's no big deal; although congratulations would be nice."

Luke leaned down and hugged her. "Congratulations."

Rory smiled and hugged back. "Thank you."

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Alice jumped up and down as she watched her grandmother work on the old costume they'd dug up in Rory's old room.

"Your parents are going to kill me for sending you home so late on a school night," Lorelai muttered as she worked diligently at her sewing machine.

"They may hurt you, but I don't see death in your near future," Alice grinned as she flopped down onto the couch.

Lorelai grinned. "You must be pretty psyched for your gig, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Alice nodded. "Gotta love Liam's short notice. We have to come up with a set list while we drive there."

"I bet that's part of the fun."

Alice smiled. "Yeah, kinda…I don't know how he's pulling it off so last minute, though."

Lorelai snickered. "If you understand nothing else about your peers, understand this: When someone says party, they'll come running. Trust me. I went to a school just like Chilton when I was your age."

Alice giggled, and watched as her grandmother finished up the white dress. "Uh…Grandma?"

"Hm?"

"Isn't that a little short?"

Lorelai blinked at the dress. "I had to take it up, because you're shorter than your mom was when she wore this."

Alice nodded slowly. "Right…"

"What? It was too long!"

"If they weren't going to kill you before, they will now," Alice snickered.

Lorelai pouted.

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"Okay," Rory said, turning to Lorelai and Alice. "We smile, we chat, we eat, and we leave. I go drop Alice off at Liam's, with her gear and her costume, which is all in the car, and Mom and I go home and watch a movie."

Lorelai pouted. "I still don't see why we let the boys get out of this…"

"The diner was swamped and Jess had work to do," Rory replied solidly. "We can handle this. It's not going to be that bad. Grandpa's out of town."

"Are you going to tell Grandma tonight?" Alice asked.

"No," Rory said. "I'm gonna wait until your Dad and Grandpa can be here."

Lorelai sighed. "She's gonna know we're all up to something."

"You're not up to something," Alice pointed out. "You're just along for the ride."

Lorelai pouted. "I miss the days when I was up to something."

Alice snickered as the door to the Gilmore Manor opened and a fresh-faced maid appeared.

"Hello."

"Hello, Victim," Alice said, grinning.

Lorelai snickered and Rory nudged her daughter. "Hi, we're here for dinner."

The maid nodded and let them in.

Emily walked in and blinked. "You're all here early."

"No," Rory said. "We're here on time."

"Which is early," Emily said. "What are you doing here on time?"

"We thought we'd mix it up a little," Lorelai smiled.

"Where are Jess and Luke?" Emily asked.

"Swamped with work," Alice told her. "Dad has like…ten things to get into the magazine by tomorrow and the diner looks like a sardine can. It's crazy. I wanted to stay and help but Mom said I had to come to dinner."

"She's laying it on thick," Lorelai muttered to Rory.

"She's a Mariano," Rory nodded. "They're good at it."

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Jess sighed and leaned back in his desk chair with the phone to his ear. "No, Gloria, I don't know where the hell Jamie is…" he yawned. "I'll keep an eye out, I promise. Yeah…how's Frankie? Good! Yeah, that's great. Yeah. No, they're at Friday night dinner…I begged off." He nodded. "Yeah…"

The doorbell rang.

"Hey, that's the door, probably with my dinner. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Okay. Bye." Jess hung up the phone and got up to walk to the door. When he opened it, he rolled his eyes. "Jeez…"

"Jess!"

"Jamie."

"Trick or treat, Bitch? How ya doin?"

"Tired."

"Mr. Straight and Narrow's all tired from his busy day at work."

Jess sighed. "Gloria's looking for you."

"Always is."

"When're you gonna give up this stupid shit, Jamie?" Jess asked.

Jamie rolled his eyes and walked into the house. "When hell freezes over."

Jess shook his head. "You want a beer?"

Jamie grinned. "You know the answer to that."

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Emily watched Lorelai, Rory and Alice eat in silence. Something was going on. She knew it. "So," she said. "How was everyone's week?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Emily frowned. "Alice, how is school?"

"Fine."

"I like your hair. Those pigtails are cute on you."

"Thanks."

They ate in more silence.

Emily huffed. "Alright. What's going on?"

"What do you mean, Mom?" Lorelai asked.

"All three of you are being silent and monosyllabic," Emily said.

"The verbal thing comes and goes," Rory and Alice said in unison, and then glanced at each other.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Something is going on. What is it?"

'Nothing, Grandma," Rory said.

"I got a D on my last test," Alice blurted out.

"That's horrible," Emily cried. "Are you getting lazy?"

Alice shrugged. "Guess so."

"You didn't tell me you got a D," Rory said.

"Science is a bitch," Alice shrugged again.

"Don't say that word," Emily ordered. "You should ground her, Rory."

"Did you tell your father?" Rory asked.

"Nope."

"What happened?" Lorelai asked.

"Just had a brain fart."

Emily glowered. "Must you use fowl language at the dinner table?"

Rory put her fork down. "Did you really get a D?"

"B-," Alice grinned. "But it might as well be a D."

"A B- isn't that bad," Lorelai assured her.

"Why would you lie about that?" Emily asked.

"To keep the conversation going," Alice said.

"That's terrible," Emily scolded.

Alice nodded. "I'm a terrible person."

"What is really going on here?" Emily asked. She turned to Lorelai and Rory. "One of you is hiding something and Alice is trying to cover for you."

"That's not true," Lorelai said. "We would never have Alice cover for us."

"Very nice, lie to me more," Emily snapped. "But what else can I expect? You've been lying to me your whole life."

Lorelai sighed. "Mom…"

"And Rory learned it from you," Emily went on. "And Alice learned it from both her parents."

"Leave Jess out of this, please," Rory said.

"Is he what this is about?" Emily pried. "Are you getting a divorce?"

"No," Rory said desperately.

"Separating? Spending time apart?"

"No!"

"Why won't you just tell me?"

"Because I wanted Jess to be here," Rory's voice cracked.

Emily went silent for a moment. "Oh, my god. You're pregnant."

Rory rested her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. "Yes, alright? I'm pregnant."

There was dead silence for another long moment.

"That's horrible!"

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mom!"

"Jeez!" Alice cried.

Rory said nothing.

"You're doing amazing things at work and then he gets you pregnant!" Emily cried.

"That's not how it happened!"

Emily glared. "Don't defend him, Rory."

"Mom, stop," Lorelai snapped.

"I love him!" Rory yelled, getting to her feet. "I love him and I was the one who wanted another baby!"

"Why on earth would you want another baby?" Emily asked.

Rory's calm broke completely. "Because. I want one. I want another child, and Jess does, too. And I want Alice to have a little brother or sister. I want to change diapers, and get up in the middle of the night and potty train and stick my finger in his or her mouth when he or she is teething. I wanna wipe spittle, and arrange play dates, and kiss booboos and enforce bath time and naps! I want to teach him or her how to walk and talk and say silly words like…conundrum and…supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! I want a baby, dammit, and I'm having one!"

Her grandmother, mother and daughter stared at her in shock.

Rory burst into tears again, and rushed away. "Excuse me."

Lorelai got up immediately to follow her. "Rory!"

"Ten points, Gran," Alice muttered, going after them.

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"So you gonna tell me what you're doing here?"

Jamie shrugged and played with the bottle of beer he held in his hands. "Just needed to get away for a while."

Jess grinned a little and sat down at his desk. "Gee, I thought you used jail for that, James."

Jamie glared. "Shut up."

Jess frowned and stared at his friend. "You're thinking of leaving."

"No."

Jess rolled his eyes.

"Okay, maybe."

"Why?"

Jamie sighed. "Because I feel stuck, man! The same stupid job, coming home to the same stupid apartment, with the same girl and the same kid every night."

Jess glared and leaned forward. "What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know if it's what I want."

"So…what, Jamie? You wanna move around a million times a year, sleep with every girl you meet and have a thousand children?" Jess asked.

"No!" Jamie cried. "Jess, I'm not like you. I can't be tied down like you are."

"I'm not tied down," Jess snapped. "I like my life. I love Rory and Alice."

"You're not who you were twenty years ago," Jamie pointed out.

"And you are," Jess countered. "Maybe that's the problem. You know, Gloria called here looking for you just before you showed up."

He rolled his eyes. "Sheesh…"

"You can't just take off on people, Jamie."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"Hey!" Jess cried. "It's been a good long time since I pulled that."

"You still pulled it."

Jess shook his head. "Go home and grow up, Jamie."

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"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded and breathed slowly. "I'm fine, Mom. I'm just gonna go home."

"You could leave your car here, and we could drive Alice to her party, and then we could go home," Lorelai offered.

Rory shook her head. "No…just…Thanks for taking Alice to her party. I'm gonna go home."

Lorelai nodded and watched Rory walk to her car and get ready to drive off.

"What party?" Emily asked as she walked out of her front door.

Alice grinned from Lorelai's jeep. "A kegger!"

Emily's eyes widened. "What!"

"It's not a kegger," Lorelai jumped in. "It's a costume party. Her friend Liam is throwing it."

"Oh, it's a kegger," Alice grinned wider. "Beer, beer, and more beer!" And then she burst into song. "Alcohol, my permanent accessory! Alcohol a party-time necessity! Alcohol, alternative to feeling like yourself. Oh, Alcohol I still drink to your health!"

Lorelai sighed. "Oh, boy."

"What is she singing!" Emily cried.

"IIIIIII Love you more! Than I did the week before! I discovered alcohol!"

Lorelai shook her head. "You know she's doing this because of what you did to Rory."

"I was honest with Rory," Emily pointed out.

"You were mean," Lorelai said. "And you turned something that should have been amazing into something awful."

"I don't think they need, nor can they handle another baby," Emily replied.

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think, it's what they want."

"Alcohol, would you please forgive me? While I cannot love myself, I'll use something else!"

Emily turned to Alice, eyes blazing. "DO YOU MIND!"

Alice switched songs, and sang louder. "Well they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good. They'll stone you just like they said they would…"

Lorelai sighed. "Great. Barenaked Ladies to Bob Dylan. Goodnight, Mom."

Emily sighed heavily. "Goodnight, Lorelai."

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"Hello?"

Jess looked up from the untouched beer sitting on his desk. He got up and walked out to the front hall where Rory was pulling off her coat. "Hey. How was dinner?"

She gave him a drained expression.

"What happened?"

Rory crossed her arms. "Emily."

"Did you…?"

She nodded. "I told her. Grandpa wasn't there. He was out of town, and…I didn't even tell her. She knew something was up, and then she just…guessed it."

Jess nodded, and took her hand, guiding her to the couch in the living room. "It didn't go over well?"

"She thinks having another baby is a terrible idea."

He looked down. "Huh."

Rory slipped out of her shoes and sat back into the couch. "I…I yelled at her for it. I got so angry…" She took Jess's hand. "I really want this baby…and I know you do, too, and everyone has been so supportive, and Alice took it really well and having Grandma react the way she did drives me crazy."

Jess nodded and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "It's over and done with now, just relax."

She took a deep breath and turned to him. "How was your night?"

He bit his lip and sat back against the couch as well. "Not as quiet as I'd hoped…"

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Alice walked into the Anders' mansion and was immediately shoved into a sea of people. She pushed through with her guitar case in hand. She'd changed into her costume in the car, a white sleeveless dress, which had a white bow at the waist and a skirt that was ruffled and went only to her mid thigh. Attached to the back of the dress was a pair of white, fluffy wings. She wore plain white sandals and a silver halo that was draped crookedly in her hair.

"Alice!"

She turned to see Emma rushing towards her in a see-through, pink dress, and combat boots, her blonde hair a mess.

"Em, what the hell are you?"

"Courtney Love," Emma grinned, her lips covered in a deep shade of red lipstick. "Nice angel costume. Kind of slutty, though."

Alice rolled her eyes. "My grandmother."

Emma grinned. "Come on."

She led her through the house to a huge room. All of the furniture had been moved, and a make-shift stage had been erected near the back. They headed over to find Joey setting up. He was wearing a pair of ripped jeans, boots, a dingy t-shirt and a plaid flannel shirt. Atop his head sat a blond wig.

Alice giggled. "Courtney Love…and Kurt Cobain."

Joey grinned. "You got it."

"You guys made up."

Emma smiled and patted Joey on the bottom. "I couldn't stay mad."

Joey blushed.

Molly popped up out of the mess of equipment. She wore a pair of leather pants and a tight top, with a wooden stake in her pocket and a silver cross around her neck. "Alice, you're here! Good! Help me!"

"Molly, you're…Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Alice asked.

"Yes, okay! Big freaky cereal boxes of death and everything! Now help me! I'm trying to get you guys set up before show time!"

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"Oh! I'm sorry!"

Lorelai never could help herself when it came to candy. And her favorite Hartford drugstore had the best lemon drops that she couldn't ever find anywhere else.

A hankering for lemon drops was never to be ignored. But when one hankered for lemon drops, everything else got ignored.

Especially the people in the way of said lemon drops.

"Sorry! I didn't see…Lorelai?"

She looked up and blinked. "Max."

"Lorelai."

"Max."

He blinked. "I think we have that established."

She nodded. "Right. You're Max. I'm Lorelai."

"Right."

"Right."

"Right."

Lorelai bit her lip. "So…uh…wow, this is awkward…"

Max nodded. "It's been twenty years."

"More," Lorelai said.

"More."

"Right."

"You look…good," Max nodded.

"So do you."

"Well…"

"And…you're still teaching at Chilton!" Lorelai pointed out. "You're Alice's teacher!"

"You're Alice's grandmother."

"I am," Lorelai smiled. "I know she can be a handful, but she's a good kid, and she's so smart."

"Well, she pretty much aced that Shakespeare exam, so I believe you on that," Max said.

"Oh! Well…Yay! Good for her!"

Max nodded. "Rory put up quite a fight with headmaster Charleston about that test."

"It's still a sore spot," Lorelai said. "And…she's pregnant, so…hormones."

"Rory's pregnant?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah. She and Jess are having another baby."

"I don't think I was around for Jess," Max said.

"Oh…yeah…no…he's…He's a good guy."

"Good."

"Yeah."

"So, what are you doing in Hartford?" Max asked.

"Oh! I had dinner at my parents' house, and I just dropped Alice off at a friends', and I thought I'd stop by for something sickeningly unhealthy."

"Well, don't let me stop you."

Lorelai grinned. "Good seeing you, Max."

He nodded. "You, too, Lorelai."

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"I have arrived!"

Alice looked up from her equipment to see Liam jump onto the stage, wearing the uniform of a French musketeer. "Good god."

"Hello, gentle lady," Liam grinned, taking her hand and kissing it. "I am Porthos, one of France's noble musketeers! And who might you be?"

"Someone who is about to knee you in the groin," Alice grinned.

Liam pouted. "No fun."

She shook her head and glanced out at the crowd.

"Hey!"

She looked down, and found a boy clad in black, complete with black hat and cape.

Alice cracked up. "Oh, my god! You're Zorro!"

He smiled. "Seniorita."

She sat down on the stage and leaned over to peck him on the lips. "Nice hat."

"Nice dress," Tristin smirked. "I bet if you bend over I can see your panties."

She glared. "Try it, and I kick your teeth in."

"You are one violent angel!"

Alice smiled sweetly. "I know." She looked around and frowned suddenly. "Have you seen Emma?"

Tristin blinked. "By the drinks, I think. Why?"

"She hasn't been back here since I got here."

"I'm sure she'll be back," Tristin reassured her. "I'm gonna go get myself something to eat."

"Okay," Alice nodded and leaned over to kiss him. "Be good."

"Me? You're the one in the slutty dress."

"Hey!"

He grinned and walked off, just as Emma jumped back on stage.

"Where have you been? We're up soon!"

Emma giggled. "I was nowhere."

Alice sighed, feeling a little worried. "Well, come on. Go sound check the drums."

"Okay, Mommy."

"M'lady!"

Alice looked down and sighed at Mitch, who, like Liam was dressed up as a French musketeer. "Hi, Mitch."

"The name is Athos."

"How did you wind up as the mentor musketeer?"

"Well, Liam is, naturally the whoring musketeer, and I wasn't about to be stuck with the religious one," Mitch grinned.

Alice shook her head. "Well, you look very…French."

Charlie walked up behind Mitch and grinned. "Nice hat."

Mitch turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Who're you supposed to be?"

Charlie was dressed up in a pair of jeans, black chuck tailors, a white t-shirt and a leather jacket. His red hair was slicked back. "I'm the Fonz."

Alice shook her head. "Kurt Cobain, Zorro, the Three Musketeers, and the Fonz…the boys in my life have lost their minds."

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"Hi, Gloria? Yeah, it's Rory. Hi. Yeah, Jamie stopped by here and talked with Jess."

He watched from the couch as Rory paced around with the cordless phone to her ear.

"Well, Jess said he tried to talk some sense into him, and then told him to go home." Rory sat down next to Jess and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know it sucks…That's a good idea. Yeah. G'night."

Jess watched her click the phone off.

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"It's getting better all the time. I used to get mad at my school. The teachers that taught me weren't cool. Holding me down, turning me round, and holding me up with your rules."

Alice grinned as she sang the back-up part to Liam leading vocals and strummed out the rhythm guitar part. Behind her, Emma was banging on the drums, eyes glazed, and Joey was having fun with the bass line, also singing out some of the backing vocals.

This was the only number they'd allowed Liam to sing lead on, and he was doing a damned good job. They were almost to the end of their set.

She glanced behind her at Emma. The blonde was looking a little less than well, but kept playing. Alice frowned as she wondered how much her best friend had had to drink.

00000

Charlie bopped his head along with the music as he roamed through the Anders'. He had to admit that upon hearing about this party, he'd been skeptical, but it had turned out to be great fun.

He took a sip of the soda he was drinking from a blue plastic cup, but nearly spat it all out upon turning the corner in the hallway.

There, he found his best friend...his very taken best friend, kissing a blonde, tanned girl who most certainly was not the girl he was taken by.

Said girl was on stage.

Tristin pulled away from Kayla and turned to Charlie.

"Dude…"

Tristin sighed. "It's not what it looks like."

"Oh, don't say that. That's such a stupid thing to say."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Just don't tell Alice."

"Please," Tristin added.

Charlie sighed.

00000

It was three in the morning when Lane Rygalski opened her front door to find her son and his two best friends standing on her porch.

Two out of the three looked sober.

She frowned, and let them in.

Her son had some 'splainin to do.