Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons characters; only the original characters listed in this fic.

I accept constructive criticism. c:

~•~•~•~

"Marge? Maaaaarge!"

"Yes, Homie?"

"Have you seen my green tie?"

Marge had to think for a second. "Mint green or forest green?"

"Forest!"

"Check your sock drawer, it might be hiding in there!"

While Homer searched for his missing tie, Marge stood in front of the bathroom mirror, giving her hair another layer of Aqua Net. Saturday had reached so quickly and before she knew it, it was time to get ready to head out to dinner with friends. The excitement she had felt earlier in the week was still prevalent but…

Setting down her hairspray can, she sighed and stared at herself in the mirror.

Ever since she had seen the news about Jack's escape, this sick feeling of unease crawled through her body constantly. The last few nights were riddled with tossing and turning while the same dream played out in her mind.

It was dark. Marge was all alone. Jack appears in front of her. With a psychotic smile, he starts stalking towards her, his muscular arms swinging by his sides. Before she can run or scream, Jack jumps onto her and knocks her to the cold, hard ground. His calloused hands wrap around her slender neck, slowly adding pressure until she starts getting dizzy. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Homer and the kids tied up and unconscious, not knowing of what was going on right in front of them. Her vision starts going blurry with tears before everything goes black…

And then she wakes up in a cold sweat.

Three consecutive nights of nightmares were taking a toll on her physically. Looking at her face in the mirror, Marge eyed the concealer painted under her eyes to make sure it blended out and hid her dark circles well. She couldn't remember the last time she had to put on so much makeup. Her life as a housewife didn't require much knowledge of beauty products nor was she ever the type to fuss over them, barring special occasions. Some lipstick, mascara and a bit of eyeshadow was all she needed. Tonight though, she had those items on plus eyeliner, foundation and an eyebrow pencil to fill in the graying hairs. The benefits of getting old…

"Found it, Marge! Are you ready?"

Jumping slightly as her husband's voice sounded from the doorway, Marge turned and gave him a smile and a nod. "Yes Homie…do you think I went overboard on the makeup?"

Shaking his head, Homer walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Marge, you could be wearing no makeup or too much makeup and you'd still be a knockout." Marge's cheeks flushed at his reassurance.

"Thank you, honey…I guess I'm just starting to feel that mid-life crisis phase, you know?"

Homer sighed and nodded. "I hear you there. We're getting old and the kids are growing up, it's easy to feel like that. Hell, I can't even drink as much as I used to and not feel it the next day…" The Simpson woman shook her head at his lamenting, not finding it to be as sad as he did. Since his promotion, Homer had to cut back on the daily visits to Moe's and drinking in general, knowing how he could get when he was drunk. The lack of visits had strained his relationship with Moe and Barney but Carl and Lenny were still on good terms, if only due to working at the same place. Marge didn't mind at all, the smell of Duff beer nowadays brought back unwanted memories.

"Well Homer, think about how far we've come after all these years. You've got a promotion and enjoy your job now, Bart has cleaned his act up, Lisa has already got a bright future ahead of her and Maggie is adjusting to school very well. It's easy to look back and think that times were fleeting and there were…missed opportunities but I think we can say we had a fulfilling life so far and we have even more of it to come!"

As the blue-haired woman spoke to him with a wide smile, Homer couldn't help but agree with what she said. While he did miss those times where things were more lax, the pros outweighed the cons in the present time. Still, he couldn't help but lament for those times.

"Yeah, you're right Marge. I guess it's just the ramblings of an old man, eh?" Marge giggled at his joke. "Alright, enough being sentimental. There's a buffet calling our names!"

Realizing that they were cutting it close, Marge nodded and turned off the bathroom light and grabbed her purse from the bed before following her husband down out the room and down the stairs. While his back was faced towards her, she took a deep breath in before letting it out, determined to be relaxed for the rest of the night. She wasn't going to let her worries ruin a nice evening out.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Homer shouted out. "Bart, Lisa! Come here, we're leaving!"

Within a few seconds, Bart emerged from the basement and Lisa from the family room, making final preparations for their sleepovers. The day that the siblings had asked their parents for permission was tense. Their plans nearly blew over when they realized that their dates had coincided with each other, wanting to take advantage of their parents being out. Before an argument could break out between the two, Marge suggested that the two could keep their sleepovers on the same day but in separate parts of the house. Mulling it over for a minute or two, Bart decided to take the basement while Lisa chose to use the family and living room. The teens were grateful that they approved but their excitement was dampened a bit when Marge made it clear that there were going to be some ground rules since they would be out of the house. Just because the two's behavior had improved didn't mean that they were completely exempt from discipline.

Once the teens arrived to the front of the house, Homer and Marge started pulling their jackets on. "Alright you two, we're about to head over. Remember, it's Mark's Eating House so if you can't reach us on our cells, just call the restaurant. Maggie is over at Aunt Selma's now so no need to worry about her but if you see her caller ID coming up, please don't ignore it." At this, she gave Bart a stern look, gaining a shrug back. "Also, we need to set some ground rules for tonight."

Homer decided to join in, an equally stern look on his face. "We'll probably get back late. You guys don't have a bedtime since it's the weekend but once we get back, you kids need to keep it down. I've got work in the morning so I need to sleep."

Marge spoke up again. "I shouldn't have to tell you kids this as I know you both stay away from these things, but-" One finger was held up. "No drinking." A second finger went up. "No drugs." A third finger joined. "No…snuggling either." The teens' jaws dropped and cheeks burned at what their mother was implying.

"For the love of…Marge, just call it sex, yeesh, they're not babies anymore!"

"Homer!"

"Just call it what it is! But yeah, no sex or anything sexual under my roof. If anyone is gonna be doing anything sexual, it's gonna be-"

Bart quickly cut off his father before he could say something embarrassing. "Alright, alright, we get it, Homer! You guys should really get going, no?" Checking his watch, Homer zipped up his jacket and started walking out the door with Marge, shutting it behind them before getting into his sedan and backing up out of the driveway.

Watching from the living room window, Bart and Lisa looked as their parents drove off, sighing before they looked at each other. "Time to call everyone over?"

"Yep."

~•~•~•~

Around 6:30 PM, most of Lisa's friends had arrived and were setting up their things in the family room, save for Allison. Lisa had gotten a text from her earlier informing her that her parents wouldn't let her leave the house until all of her homework was finished. The blonde felt bad for the redhead and how overbearing her parents could be went it came to school; whenever Lisa wanted to vent about a lack of attention from her own parents, Allison's descriptions made her almost glad that it wasn't worse. Almost.

The Simpson girl sighed as she continued setting up the snacks on the dining room table. Since her sleepover was going to be held upstairs, she decided to place all of the food and drinks on the dining room table so everyone was free to grab what they wanted. Bowls filled with popcorn, pretzels, chips and salsa were laid out along with two plates filled with pigs in a blanket and mixed veggies with dip. Three two-liter sodas were on one end, the flavors consisting of Coke, Sprite and Sunkist; a case of water bottles sat in the corner of the room for the health-conscious. At the other end of the table, two large boxes of pizza laid in wait to be devoured by the girls. Alex made well on her promise with providing food, having ordered the pizza ahead of time and getting her chauffeur to pick up Lisa before making a trip to the grocery store.

Nina's head poked through the doorway to the dining room. "Lise, you got an extension cord?"

"Yeah, look in the end table drawer, there should be one there."

"Cool, thanks! Oop, before I go…" Running over to the table, Nina reached into the bowl of popcorn and grabbed a handful.

"Nina! Get out of here, the snacks aren't ready yet!" Lisa pouted while batting a hand at the brunette, missing as she ran back to the family room, laughing before shoving the popcorn into her mouth.

Setting down a stack of paper plates and bowls on the table, Lisa brushed off her hands before heading back towards the family room. Nina had plugged the cord into an outlet and started setting up the stereo, scrolling through her music playlist on her phone. Sophie was setting up her hair products and styling tools on the desk in the living room for later. Becky was chatting with Alex on the living room couch about what colors they planned to paint their nails tonight, the former having quite the collection that she brought over.

Alex saw Lisa come in and looked up at her. "Any word from Alli?"

The Simpson girl shook her head and plopped down next to her. "Not since earlier, no."

"Ugh, her parents are such hardasses sometimes, I swear…"

Becky shrugged. "At least she's able to come at all. Remember in seventh grade when she got a B- on that lit test and they wouldn't let her out on the weekends for a month?" All three girls shivered at the memory. "You've got a point there, Becks. Still-"

The doorbell rang and cut off Alex's retort. Lisa hopped up and ran to the door, opening it up and finding Richard, Lewis, Milhouse, Nelson and an unfamiliar boy standing behind it. Lewis raised a hand and waved with a smile. "Hey Lisa!"

"Hey guys! Come on in, Bart's setting up downstairs." Letting the boys walk in, Lisa shut the door and walked over to the open basement door before yelling down. "Bart, your friends are here!"

"Just gimme a couple of minutes!"

Shaking her head at her brother's tardiness, Lisa motioned to the living room. "You guys can make yourselves comfortable in the meantime. I hope you don't mind my friends being here."

Richard perked up at the mention of the girls, a grin growing on his handsome face. "Oh? I guess I should be polite and say hi, then." The other boys groaned and rolled their eyes at their friend. He never missed an opportunity to hit on any girl in the vicinity; at least he was respectful and backed off if she wasn't showing any interest.

Lisa led the boys into the living room, the occupants looking up as the new guests arrived. "Sorry ladies, hope you don't mind the company. Bart's still getting the basement ready for them." The girls shook their head, having been familiar with all of them for years, sans the boy with the dirty blonde hair who hung out quietly towards the back.

Nina, who had snuck in and sat in the armchair, spotted Lewis and gave him a glower. "Well, I hate to be that person but I do mind Mr. Clark being in here. Just where is my Back in Black vinyl, sir?"

Lewis rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I told you, I'll give it back once you finish with my 2014 Forest Hills Drive record, Ms. Skalka."

The brunette pouted at him. "Ugh, fine…I only have three songs left. I'll bring it back on Monday, promise."

"Alright, I'll give you back your record on Monday. But Monday better not turn into next Monday again!"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Oh! I gotta show you this concert coming up!" Being waved over, Lewis went over to Nina and knelt next to the chair, the two chattering about some band with only a sliver of space between them. Despite their different appearances and lifestyles, the two were huge music enthusiasts and often traded albums with each other to listen to and give their feedback. Their friends noticed how well they meshed and often teased the two about dating each other but both of them always rejected the idea, preferring to stay friends. Seeing the slight color on Nina's cheeks and the way Lewis kept touching her arm would contradict that claim, though.

Seeing his best friend become occupied, Richard rested his arms on the back of the couch between Alex and Becky, giving them one of his flirtatious grins. "Ladies, how are we doing this fine evening? Well, I'm sure it's not as fine as the two of you are."

The two girls groaned at his flirting. "Richard, we've heard that line before and I told you, it's like, not a good one."

"Seriously, where'd you get that from? How to Flirt for Dummies?"

Richard pouted and sighed dramatically at the two. "Ugh, you two just don't know how to appreciate the language of love. Maybe if you stopped messing with these boys and got with a man like me, you'd understand!"

Alex wasted no time in putting her open palm in his face and pushing him off the back of the couch. "Boy, bye. Go tell that to some freshmen, yeah?"

Becky laughed as Richard stumbled backwards before straightening up, glaring at Alex. "One of these days, Alex. One of these days!" Becky reached over and patted his arm. "Down boy. You know we still love you." The Asian boy flushed a bit at her touch before mumbling a thanks, gaining a sweet smile in return.

Lisa, watching the socialization from the side, giggled at the others before she heard a throat clearing next to her. Turning to her right, Milhouse was standing there with a dorky grin. "H-Hey Lisa…"

Forcing a smile on her face, she nodded in acknowledgement. "Hey Milhouse. Long time no see…"

"Yeah, it's been a while…um, how's classes?"

"Fine, fine…keeping me busy, y'know? How about you?"

The older teen shrugged and shoved his hands in his jacket pocket. "Same but luckily, I have some free time. Speaking of, um…there's a limited showing of Casablanca at the Aztec Theatre on Wednesday…" Milhouse looked up with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Did you wanna join me?"

The Simpson girl sighed internally, having been in this position too many times to count. Milhouse attempting to ask her out was starting to get really old. No matter how many rejections she gave, he seemed to come crawling back, thinking that she might pity him one day and say yes. Sadly, that day would not be today.

"Milhouse, listen…I appreciate the invite but I can't accept it." Like clockwork, the grimace followed by the look of sadness on his face appeared. "I'm sure you can find someone else to go with…there has to be another girl you can take!"

"But…"

Before he could start begging, Bart burst into the room with a devious grin. "What's up, homeboys?!"

The girls greeted and waved at him, Becky in particular giving an enthusiastic one of her own. Cheers and whoops from the boys echoed in the room as they each went over and gave the teen fist bumps and hugs. The boy who hadn't said much went up to Bart and patted his back with a smirk. "About time you made it up, your sister's being a better host than you are!"

Bart rolled his eyes as Lisa snickered at the compliment. "Donny, don't gas her up even more than she is, she can be pretty insufferable."

Lisa was ready to retort against her brother before she stopped. "Donny?" Turning and really looking at the boy, she squinted as she studied his face. Now that she got a good look, he did seem familiar but she couldn't pinpoint exactly how she knew him. Bart, having heard his sister, turned Donny towards her, pointing at him. "Yeah, Lise, Donny. Remember? Kid from elementary school? Came in and outpranked me with some garbage? We were rivals and then became friends?"

Seeing that Lisa's face was still scrunched up in remembrance, Donny spoke up with something that might jog her memory. "I helped spray juice boxes at you in the treehouse?" At this, the Simpson girl's eyes widened with recognition before rolling. "Ah yes, now I remember you. Are you going to dump cola on me this time around?"

The taller boy chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, not my style anymore. Hey, if it makes you feel better, you can dump some cola on me this time." Lisa's pout turned into a smirk. "Don't tempt me, I just might take you up on that offer."

Donny laughed at the not-so-subtle threat before turning to Bart again. "So, we ready to get this party started or what?" The Simpson boy nodded and clapped, gaining the attention of everyone in the living room. "Alright men, get your asses downstairs, we've got food, drinks and video games waiting for us! Hup two, hup two!" All of the boys grabbed their bags and said their farewells to the girls before disappearing down the basement stairs, shutting the door behind them.

~•~•~•~

Jack took his sweet time driving over to the Simpson house.

Just an hour ago, he was packing up the last of his supplies in duffel bags and cleaning up whatever traces of him were left in the basement. The last couple of days were spent refining his plan. Before he knew it, the day that he waited for for years had arrived.

The convict had woken up early and made sure that the heat was still low by checking the news on the TV. Other than a brief mention of his name and the same info from Wednesday night, there was no indication that the police had figured out where he was located. With that cue, Jack started packing and moving his things into the Mustang throughout the day. By 6 PM, he had finished putting everything away and was ready to leave. The only thing holding him back was the old woman.

Surprisingly, she had a moment of clarity through her meds-induced fog and had questioned her 'grandson' on where her husband was, noticing his absence for the last few weeks. Thinking of a quick lie on the spot, Jack had comforted her by saying that grandpa had a lead on one of his conspiracy theories and went to Washington, D.C. to expose the president as an alien lifeform. He continued by saying that he promised to come back within the next day or two. The lie had worked as the woman sighed and shook her head, clearly used to her husband's questionable activities, and hoped that he would come back without handcuffs and another restraining order this time.

Glad that she had accepted his word, he then took a moment to contemplate on what to do with her. His original plan was to eliminate both of the house's occupants so there were no witnesses. In a weird way, the elderly woman had grown on him a little, mainly because she seemed to have no clue what was going on most of the time. Deciding to lessen the blood on his hands, Jack had let the woman know he was leaving with a sad smile, patting her frail hand as she looked up at him. She nodded slowly and slurred out a thank you for spending time with her and to tell his parents hello for her. Once he shut the front door behind him, the smile dropped to a cold, grim line of pressed lips.

Getting in the Mustang, he drove off to a Krusty Burger drive-thru first. He couldn't operate on an empty stomach and he needed something to calm the butterflies in his stomach. Wearing a black baseball cap with the brim lowered over his eyes, he managed to order a meal without arousing suspicion; fast food workers weren't exactly the most attentive people for $7.50 an hour.

Eating his meal as he drove, he went over the plan in his head multiple times. He would make sure that Marge was home by seeing if her car was parked in the driveway. Once he saw the car, he would park at least three blocks away and walk to the house with his main duffel bag before sneaking into the backyard. His best point of entry was one of the bedrooms in the back of the house on the upper level; he chose to enter the one that was opposite the treehouse. After making sure that the room was unoccupied, he would climb up the to the treehouse and tie some rope onto the branches. To reach the window, he would then take the loose end of the rope and add a hook to it before throwing it to catch onto the house, creating a line. He then gets another rope and adds a hook to that one also before climbing down to ground level, throwing it up to catch onto the line and bringing it in front of the window. He'll then climb up it with the crowbar to the window, jimmying it open before hopping inside. Once he was inside, it was a matter of sneaking around and finding the blue-haired woman…and then…

A shiver of excitement traveled through Jack's body. He was so close he could taste it. Seven years of waiting and it was going to all end tonight.

~•~•~•~

"Breakfast at Tiffany's and bottles of bubbles!"

"Girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble!"

"Lashes and diamonds, ATM machines!"

"Buy myself all of my favorite things!"

Nina and Alex belted out the lyrics back and forth to each other, their hips swinging in tune with the beat. The two had been having their own singing competition with each other as soon as Nina had started playing her music on the stereo. The other girls, now joined by Allison, had watched them in amusement, occasionally joining in the singing while doing their own other hobbies in the family room.

Sophie had convinced Lisa to let her play around with her hair first, wanting to put some rollers in to give her a head of curls. Lisa gave in and let her friend straighten her hair first with the flat iron she brought along, sitting on the floor between her legs while Sophie sat on the couch. To her left, Allison and Becky were sitting on the floor across from each other, the former painting the latter's nails carefully with a mix of neon pink and green polish. The blonde, feeling bad that the redhead had arrived late due to her parents' antics, offered to paint her nails first but was rejected; Allison insisted on doing the painting, saying that it was a nice stress reliever for her.

"Becky, do you ever pick colors that can't be seen from a mile away?"

Becky rolled her eyes and scoffed at Allison's question. "No way, Jose. I'm not Nina, I can't be all black and darkness all the time, you know." Without missing a beat in her singing, Nina flashed a middle finger at the other. "How the heck did you hear me, you're right next to the stereo!"

The brunette tapped her ears with a devious grin. "Supersonic hearing, Becks."

The blonde shook her head while Allison giggled, giving her ring finger another coat of green. "Nine years of knowing Nina and you still don't learn, do you?"

Sophie jumped into the conversation with a shake of her head, her eyes still trained on Lisa's head. "She never does. You tell her to not do something, she'll say okay; five minutes later, she'll do the thing you told her not to do." Lisa chose to speak up also. "A day in the life of Rebecca Shorter."

"Oh, you guys suck, you know that? Hmph, maybe I should go see if Bart would-"

The Simpson girl fixed her with a stern look out of the corner of her eye. "Becky, if I see you go anywhere near that basement door, we're going to tie you up and leave you in the closet with no food."

Seeing how serious her friend was, Becky sighed dramatically and slumped over. "Fine, I'll stay away from your brother…again." Lisa reached over and gave the dejected girl a pat on the shoulder. "Atta girl. Remember, I'm doing this for your own good."

Allison giggled again at their antics. Becky's long-standing crush on Bart never seemed to waver over the years and now that the older boy was close to graduating, she seemed hellbent on getting a date with him, much to Lisa's dismay. Lisa kept holding back the other blonde from getting anywhere with her brother, saying that Bart wasn't looking for a serious relationship and would only end up hurting her in the long run. However, Becky was stubborn as hell and tried to look for any way to spend some alone time with him. Allison could see why Lisa was holding their friend back but wished that the Simpson girl would back down a bit. Having known Bart and Becky for many years, she could see their personalities working well, both being outgoing with a mischievous side. In fact, she thought Bart could make a decent boyfriend, unlike some people…

Before she could stop herself, Martin's face had popped into her mind with an apologetic expression that had become too familiar lately.

The redhead forced herself to keep the smile painted on her face while she continued on Becky's nails. Ever since the heart-to-heart with her best friends on Tuesday, Allison had started to question just when her relationship got like this. In the beginning, Martin had been so attentive to her, using his free time to take her out on dates or calling her every night and spending hours on the phone, conversations being whispered into the dark of their rooms. He had even surprised her by showing up to her band recital one night, even though he had to leave for a Harvard visit the next day at 5 AM. Now she was lucky if she saw him outside of school or got a daily text from him.

"Alli!"

Hearing Alex's voice call her, Allison's head shot up as it turned towards the other. "Yes?"

"What's the name of that one song we heard in the mall a few days ago? That electronic-sounding one with the snaps that went doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo…"

Allison's face scrunched up as she racked her memory. "Uh…I think it was Bad Guy?" Alex's fingers snapped. "That's the one, thanks! You heard that, Nina?"

"Yup, got it riiiiight…here."

As the new song started playing, Allison started giving Becky's nails a top coat. Usually the blonde would be having a conversation with her but she had been debating with Sophie and Lisa over a recent episode of Stranger Things, leaving the redhead to slip back into her own thoughts.

She had meant what she said when she said that a serious talk with her boyfriend was being planned. It wasn't fair that she kept getting the short end of the stick. Starting back in the spring, Martin had become preoccupied with applying and visiting potential colleges. Allison had understood when he started having less time to spend with her; she wasn't one of those needy girls who couldn't keep herself busy with other things. However, the time apart had stretched into wide gaps that turned from a couple of days into weeks over the summertime. With school back in session, Allison hoped that those gaps would lessen and things could be semi-normal. Oh, how she was wrong. The gaps grew into a chasm and she felt like she couldn't touch him, no matter how far she reached.

'Ugh, what am I doing? I came here to get away from that and enjoy myself for once…get it together, Allison.'

Allison twisted the cap closed on the polish. "Alright, all done!"

"Ooh!" Becky examined her bright, short nails with amazement. "Allison, these look so good! Thanks a bunch!"

The redhead smiled, admiring her handiwork also. "I'm glad they came out right, it's been ages since I painted any kind of nails."

"Well, you could've fooled me, girl. Once these dry, want me to do yours?"

Allison examined her own fingers, her nails short and slightly ragged; saxophone playing had left them a mess. "I don't know…there's not much to work with…" Becky scoffed and waved her hand before carefully grabbing one of Allison's and examining it. "I can definitely spruce these up a bit. Ooh, I've got a new nude color that would look great on you! It's got a bit of pink to it but it's not too out there for your style."

The redhead contemplated for a few more seconds before shrugging. "If you think you can handle it, go ahead."

Becky grinned and let go of her hand. "I know I can handle it." Allison grinned back at her friend's optimism before standing up. "Thanks Becks. I'm gonna go get some snacks. Do you want anything?"

"Mm…get me a water and some pretzels, please."

Allison nodded before heading off towards the dining room in search for food. On the way, she decided to slip her phone out of her pocket and checked for any missed calls or messages.

Missed calls: 0

New messages: 0

She sighed in exasperation before shoving her phone back in. So much for keeping her updated; he couldn't even send a simple hello text?

This Saturday was meant to be a stress-free and fun day but life had other plans. Her day started off on a sour note when her parents dropped a bombshell on her; all of the homework she was given for the weekend had to be finished before she could head to Lisa's house. This wasn't the first time they had done this to her but what upset her was the fact that it was a last minute decision plus she had a project that required extensive research. And so Allison's morning and early afternoon consisted of trekking various websites, reading multiple chapters and writing down as much info as possible to form a cohesive assignment that would get her the highest grade possible. By the time she had saved her last document, it was nearing 6 PM. She still had to get ready and pack her bag with whatever necessities and entertainment was needed for tonight. Once she left the house, it was quarter to 7 PM. The drive over was nearly unbearable as her mother rattled on about rules for being away.

No drinking. No drugs. Don't go to bed too late. Call before she went to bed. Stick with healthy foods.

By the time she was dropped off at the Simpson house, her mood was nearly foul. She tried her best to hide her irritation when Lisa opened the front door but her best friend could see the tension in her shoulders and questioned if everything was okay. Allison promised the blonde that she would explain everything later but that she was dying to have some much-needed fun with her friends. Lisa understood and let her in, guiding her to the family room where cries of happiness greeted her late arrival.

Sighing, Allison reached the dining room table and grabbed a bowl, filling it with pretzels for Becky. After setting it down, she grabbed a plate for herself, staring at the veggie platter with distaste. This was the only healthy food here and she wasn't finding it very appetizing compared to everything else.

Out of spite, the redhead started filling her plate with everything else on the table, ignoring her mother's nagging voice in the back of her head.

'I think some Sprite will go well with this.'

~•~•~•~

The streets of Evergreen Terrace were quiet tonight. Most of the residents went out on a Saturday night, looking to unwind from the long week before they had to repeat it come Monday. This worked to Jack's advantage as he strolled down the sidewalks of the suburbs, all dressed in black and with a bulky duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. He abandoned the Mustang about four blocks away from the Simpson house and began walking over with his bag of supplies, making sure to keep his stride even and inconspicuous.

Using the dark of the night to his favor as well, he made sure to keep an eye or ear out for any civilians or officers that would spot him. So far, only a man jogging with music blaring from his earphones and a lone cop car came by; Jack made sure to hide in the shadows and avoid the street lights for the latter. Soon enough, the light brown house came into his view as he turned the corner. Before he got any closer, he scanned the driveway and smirked as he saw the red station wagon sitting there.

'Looks like she is home. Perfect.'

Continuing to walk, the convict reached the front of the house, doing a quick examination of the windows. All the curtains were shut but he could see light peeking out of one of them downstairs. Based on his stakeouts, he knew that this was the living room; hopefully that meant that everyone was downstairs so he could sneak in easily. Taking in a deep breath, Jack re-adjusted the bag on his shoulder before heading towards the backyard, opening and closing the gate with caution. He looked around to make sure the coast was still clear before eyeing the rest of the downstairs windows. The kitchen window showed a darkness as well, although he could see the light of the family and dining room faintly illuminating the empty room. Frowning a bit, he quickly looked to the upstairs windows. Seeing nothing but darkness as well, he went over the plan in his head again.

'The boy's room is on the left there…he usually works so he shouldn't be there right now. Alright Jack, let's get this over with.'

Making up his mind, Jack turned around to face the treehouse and shifted his bag to put most of the weight towards his back now. Cracking his knuckles, he started climbing up, ignoring the splinters that were pricking into his fingers. Once he made his way in, he set his duffel down and began rummaging inside, taking out the tools he needed to get inside the house.

Pulling out a crowbar, rope and a large hook, Jack scooted over to the window facing the house on his knees, the treehouse not being very accommodating for a man of his size. Poking his head out, he spotted a bulky branch near the base of the tree that would make a good support for the rope. He reached out and wrapped the rope around the branch five times before tying it with a sailor's knot. With the loose end of it, he tied the it onto the large hook and threw it over his shoulder. Now he needed something solid to catch the hook onto in order to climb across.

Scrutinizing the area surrounding the window, the convict's eyes caught onto the gutters at the base of the roof. Making up his mind, Jack carefully slipped out of the treehouse to sit on the branch with the rope, scooting out a bit to get some space behind him. He began spinning the hook in a circle with the rope before throwing it far enough, landing it on the edge of the gutter. He gave it a few experimental tugs to test its sturdiness and was pleased to see that it barely budged.

Now that he had a way to reach the window, his new challenge was getting inside...

~•~•~•~

"Richard, you suck at this!"

"Kiss my ass, Milhouse! I have a life outside of playing this game all the time, unlike you!"

Richard and Milhouse's trash talking reverberated throughout the room, mixing with the rap music coming out of the portable stereo resting on the bar counter. The blue-haired boy had brought along his copy of Bonestorm V and challenged his friend to a couple of matches. A couple had turned into six by this time and the others were waiting their turn, some more patient than others. Nelson was not one of them.

"Hey bozos, stop hogging the game! You've been playing for almost an hour now!"

Bart looked at his friend's scowl and sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to be willing to wait much longer for his turn. "Guys, whoever loses next has to give the controller to Nelson, got it?"

"Bart, you're not the boss of- Shit!" Richard swore as his character was decapitated by Milhouse's character, jaw dropping in disbelief. "Damn Bart, you jinxed me!"

Milhouse gave an obnoxious laugh. "That's Richard 1, Milhouse 5! Game over, Wang!" The gray-haired boy responded by flipping off the other before handing the controller over to Nelson. "Nelson, do me a favor and wipe the floor with him."

The brunette smirked as he started picking his character. "Oh, you don't have to tell me twice. Bring it, van Houten."

While the two began a new match, Richard stood up and stretched. "Man, I could go for a drink right now. You guys want anything?" Without taking their eyes off the screen, Milhouse and Nelson declined while Bart asked for him to mix something up for him, preferably with whiskey in it. Giving a nod, he walked over to the bar where there was an array of alcohol and mixers. Liquor ranging from Jack Daniels to Smirnoff were lined up, courtesy of each of the teen boys; Richard was able to provide two of the bottles through a college-aged friend of his who lived next door, Lewis had received a six-pack of wine coolers from his older brother in exchange for doing his chores for a week, Milhouse and Donny snuck a bottle from their parents' stash and Bart and Nelson had Jimbo buy two six-packs of Duff from his job at the local liquor store. While Homer had an extensive alcohol selection, he rarely visited it like back then and Bart was sure that he would notice if something had been drunk recently.

"Here, man."

Looking up, Bart saw the red cup being held out in front of his face and took it with a smile. "Thanks man. Cheers?" Lifting up his cup, Richard nodded and tapped his own against the blonde's before they both took a gulp, shuddering as the Coke couldn't mask the burn of the whiskey down their throat. If only Marge could see what they were doing right now.

Hearing the stairs creak, the boys turned to see Lewis and Donny descending, hands occupied with bowls of chips, pretzels and cheese puffs. Since Lisa had occupied the dining room with her snacks, Bart had to leave some of his in the kitchen and brought the larger foods such as the pizza and wings down earlier. Lewis had offered to go grab the rest, Donny volunteering also, so Bart could get everything else set up. The two had set down the bowls on the coffee table, making sure not to get in the way of Milhouse and Nelson's intense gameplay.

"Thanks for the help, guys." The Simpson boy got up and went over to grab a paper plate to fill with food. "Shall we?"

The other three grinned before grabbing plates also, filling them up as much as they liked; Lewis and Donny each grabbed a beer from the mini fridge. The boys then took the open seats on the couch and armchairs, munching their food as they watched their friends continue to duke it out on the flat screen TV.

Bart was starting to appreciate that Lisa claimed the upstairs room for her sleepover. The basement had undergone a major renovation about two years ago at the request of Marge. With the increase of income from Homer's job came a desire to spruce up various areas of the house; the basement was the main priority, though. After months of picking colors, furniture and a decent contractor, the dingy room was turned into an entertainment room. The cracked, concrete walls were now smooth and painted with a soft blue-gray and the stained concrete floor was laid-over with beige carpeting, save for the area with the washing machine, dryer and water softener; that small area had white linoleum instead. The furniture consisted of a cushioned black couch with two matching armchairs, a walnut wood coffee table with two end tables to match, shelving of the same color underneath the wall-mounted TV and a bar area with two black leather stools seated in front of the countertop.

The basement had an open space that was left over from their removal of the Olmec head and Homer immediately wanted to put a bar there. Marge wasn't very pleased with his suggestion as one of his biggest problems was with drinking; the last thing she wanted to do was enable it. But when it came to thinking of other objects to put there, nothing that would be used for more than a month or at all was all they could think of. And so, Homer Simpson got his way and began consulting with Moe on how to set up his home bar. Unfortunately, he would only get to enjoy it for a little while before work became more demanding, leading Bart to sneak a drink or two once in a blue moon.

"Yes!"

Milhouse's triumphant yell echoed through the room as Nelson's character laid embedded on a bed of spikes.

Nelson snorted. "Damn van Houten, Richard was right, you must have no life to be this good at this game." "Hey, what's wrong with getting good at a game?!"

Richard cut in after swallowing his bite of pizza. "What's wrong is that you're spending your free time with pixels when you could be out talking to some cute girls and having something called a social life." The blue-haired boy glared at him. "I-I do have a social life! And I talk to girls…sometimes."

Lewis sighed and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Girls doesn't mean Lisa and your mom, dude."

The rest of the boys laughed as Milhouse's cheeks reddened. "That's not- But- Ugh, just take the controller so I can kick your ass too!"

Nelson handed it over to Lewis who was already being given tips by Richard on how to avoid Milhouse's tricks in the game. "Go crazy, man. Oh! Bart, I've got some good stuff in my bag for tonight." The Muntz boy stood up and walked over to his patched duffel bag, kneeling and rummaging around in it for whatever the 'good stuff' was. Bart and Donny looked over the back of the couch at him in curiosity before their eyes widened at what Nelson pulled out.

A Ziploc bag with a few buds of weed and a couple packs of rolling papers.

"Nelson, where the hell did you get that?!"

Nelson gave a devious grin at Bart's question. "That, I have to keep a secret. The person I bought it from could get in major trouble if word got out. All I'm gonna say is that they're the last person you'd expect to be selling this shit."

Donny's eyes were still widened as he looked over at the blonde. "You guys smoke too?" Bart looked at him and nodded. "Not often but yeah. It's kind of hard to get it without the cops finding out. You sound like you've done this before." The dirty blonde smirked and pointed to himself with his thumb. "Since I was 13. Foster home I was in at the time had one of the kids dealing weed so I managed to get him to give me some so I wouldn't snitch." "Nice."

Nelson called out to the other three who were glued to the TV. "Oy, you guys wanna smoke tonight too?" Out of the three, Lewis was the only one who accepted; Richard wasn't a huge fan of smoking and Milhouse's lungs were still too weak to handle it. Shrugging, the brunette stood up and walked over to the coffee table, kneeling in front of it while he laid out his stuff. All of a sudden, he cursed. "Damn, I left my grinder at home!"

Bart's face scrunched as he tried to think of something to replace the grinder before a lightbulb went off in his head. "Would scissors or a knife work?" Nelson nodded. "Yeah, I just need something to break this stuff down." The Simpson boy started to stand up before Donny's hand pushed him back down onto the couch.

"Bart, I can get it." "Thanks man. There should be some scissors in the kitchen in the drawer next to the fridge." Nodding, Donny stood up and started heading towards the stairs before Bart's voice spoke up again. "Oh, and bring down those other bags of chips on the table!"

Shooting him a thumbs up, the dirty blonde started running up the stairs and into the dining room when he nearly collided with a smaller figure. "Ah!"

Donny skidded to a stop inches from them, holding his hands out to brace for impact. "Shit! Sorry, didn't see you there…"

"I-It's alright…"

Once the shock wore off, Donny took in the appearance of the person he almost ran into. They were a girl with long red hair held back by a headband and slanted green eyes that looked at him with slight curiosity. She was much shorter than him, only reaching to his shoulder, with what he figured was a slim frame though her dress hid most of it. 'Kind of cute…'

Not wanting to come off as a creep for staring, he cleared his throat. "Sorry, I just have to get to the kitchen…"

The girl's eyes widened as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She stepped closer to the wall, giving him a path to walk through. "O-of course. Go ahead!"

His lips twitching a bit at how flustered she got, he thanked her before going into the kitchen and flipping on the light. Opening the drawer that was next to the fridge, he started rummaging through the amount of utensils stuffed into it. Not finding a knife or scissors in there, he grumbled and closed it before moving onto the drawer to the left. As he searched, he looked out of the corner of his eye at the girl in the dining room while she continued filling up a plate with food. He figured that she was one of Lisa's friends but she wasn't there in the living room with the rest of the girls; maybe she came late.

Finding a knife in the drawer, Donny grinned and closed it before remembering that Bart asked him to bring the chips down. Turning around, he spotted the two bags on the table and picked them up in his free arm. Holding them to his chest and making sure not to crush them, he adjusted the knife in his other hand to point downwards; the last thing Bart needed was to have a stab victim in his house. Forgetting to turn the light back off, he walked into the dining room with his stuff. There he saw the redhead with a plate filled with nearly everything on the table. That was… a lot of food.

"I guess you're pretty hungry, huh?"

She jumped at the amused voice that spoke up next to her before relaxing as she saw who it was. "Ah…yeah. I don't usually eat this much but I haven't eaten in a while, hehe…" Looking closer at her selection, Donny pointed his chin at the vegetable platter. "Not a fan of veggies?"

The girl opened her mouth to respond before closing it and shrugging. "I am, just…tonight's a cheat night."

Donny frowned as he eyed her up and down. "Cheat night? No offense but I think you'd blow away in the wind if you lost any more weight." The second that sentence left his mouth, he regretted by the way her face morphed into a slight scowl.

"Well, tell that to my mother, she's the reason I-" Quickly cutting herself off, the girl shook her head as if to forget what just happened. "Never mind…"

Feeling like a jerk for bringing up what was obviously a sore subject, the dirty blonde mentally slapped himself. His mouth tended to run off before he could think.

"Sorry…didn't mean to bring up bad thoughts…"

"It's okay…you didn't know…"

The two stood there in awkward silence, looking anywhere but each other. Donny cleared his throat before breaking the tension. "Um, I should get back downstairs…y'know, before they come looking for me…" At this, he rustled the bags of chips in his arm. "Hunger makes people crazy, y'know?"

Nodding at him slowly, the girl's eyes widened all of a sudden. She looked at the table and picked up a small bowl of pretzels; he assumed it was for one of the other girls. "Oh yes…I almost forgot my friend's pretzels." Managing to balance her heavy plate on the other hand, the redhead gave the taller teen a tiny yet polite smile. "Enjoy your sleepover, um…"

Realizing that she had no clue about his name, he remedied that. "Donny."

Her eyes looked up in thought as she committed his name to her memory before looking back at him again. "Donny…I'll remember that. My name is Allison."

Donny nodded. "Allison…got it."

Her smile grew a little wider, causing him to feel a little nervous, before she turned and started walking out of the dining room. "Hey!" Allison stopped in the archway and turned her head as Donny called out to her. "Yes?"

Giving a small grin to her, the dirty blonde spoke while eyeing her plate. "What your mom doesn't know won't hurt her, right?"

The redhead's smile stretched out even more as she giggled at his joke. "Yes…I guess you're right." Allison continued on her walk out, leaving the other teen to himself in the dining room.

Donny's shoulders sagged as he sighed and started making his way back to the basement stairs. That had to be one of the most awkward introductions he ever had in his seventeen years of living. He usually had an easy time getting to know people, especially girls. Having to adapt to multiple schools and foster families left him with a charisma that was able to charm the pants off of people but there were moments were it malfunctioned and got him into shit. That moment with Allison was definitely one of them. Thankfully, she didn't take too much offense to his insensitive remark and they were able to part on decent terms. He wondered if he would run into her in school in the future…

"Took ya long enough!"

The dirty blonde rolled his eyes at Nelson's complaint. "If the knife was where it was supposed to be, I would've been faster." Handing said object to the brunette, he took the bags of chips over to the bar countertop and set them down. "Bart, you suck at giving directions."

Nelson jumped back in with a retort. "Simpson, how do you not know your own kitchen, man?"

Bart glared at him. "Are you gonna keep complaining or are you gonna roll some joints, Muntz?" Receiving a scoff as the other teen began his work, the blonde turned to Donny as he sat down with a beer straight from the mini-fridge. "Sorry about that man, mom tends to reorganize the drawers once in a while."

"No worries."

The two soon launched into a conversation about the last episode of Mythcrackers, both having found out early into their reunion that they were fans of the factual TV show. While they were discussing though, Donny couldn't help but to wonder about the redheaded girl upstairs every once in a while.

~•~•~•~

Jack swore to himself as he climbed across the rope leading to the window, his palms starting to burn from the nylon digging in. His plan ended up becoming more difficult than he expected.

After setting up his hook and rope, he climbed back into the treehouse and prepared his other set before he had to go back down. Before he could start climbing down, he spotted the kitchen light turn on through the window. His breath catching, Jack settled back into the treehouse while keeping a close eye on the light, hoping that whoever was in there would leave soon. A few seconds turned into one minute before that turned into five minutes and soon that stretched out into fifteen, angering the convict.

He couldn't risk going down right now and getting caught. Setting down his rope, he let out a short breath through flared nostrils as he racked his brain for a detour to his plan. After a few seconds, he looked at the line of rope he had set up first with irritation, knowing that there was no other choice he had.

So here Jack was a few minutes later, climbing across this rope with his legs dangling like a puppet and a crowbar sandwiched between his chin and chest.

Jack growled to himself quietly as he slowly worked his way across, having reached the halfway point by now. He was glad to have kept up his workout routine while in prison; there would have been no chance for him if he didn't have upper body strength on his side. However, this didn't mean that it was a cakewalk. Sweat was starting to bead and run down his forehead, the baseball cap not able to hold much of it longer. His palms were really starting to feel the burn now as well, his weight working against him.

'Come on Jack, mama didn't raise no quitter.'

Taking in a deep breath, he continued inch by inch on the rope until he finally ended up in front of the window. Making sure not to loosen his grip on the crowbar, he squinted into the room. He had a good view of the bed and couldn't see anyone lying in it. Adjusting his grip on the rope, he held on tight with his left hand and brought his right one down to grab the crowbar. Ignoring the aching muscles in his neck from holding it, Jack lifted the crowbar up and pressed the flat end into the tiny gap at the bottom of the window.

Angling it and pushing up a bit, the convict wasn't surprised to find that it was locked; fall was coming and the temperature had dropped, leaving no need for the windows to be opened.

Using more of his strength, Jack began wiggling and pushing until a crack sounded from the window. With the crowbar, he pushed it up and smirked as it opened smoothly, allowing him entrance into the house.

'I'm in.'

Unfortunately, before he could celebrate his victory further, his left hand began shaking from all the weight straining it. Not wanting to push his luck, Jack refocused and lifted the window as high as he could before curling his legs up, sitting them at waist level. With a countdown in his head, he swung back and forth a bit to gain momentum before launching his legs forward and into the room. Managing to get his body halfway in, he squirmed the rest of himself in albeit not quietly. While kicking his feet, he knocked down the telescope that was sitting next to the window, causing a loud crash.

"Shit!"

Swearing out loud, Jack kicked the telescope hard before straightening himself up. He took in the dark room's surroundings, making sure that he wouldn't trip or knock over anything else. After his examination, he reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulling out a Bowie knife. Once he did that, it began sinking in just where he was.

He was in the Simpson house. The house were he stayed at for short but meaningful time. And somewhere in this house, there was a blue-haired beauty waiting for him, unsuspecting of his presence. Smirking sadistically as the moonlight reflected off of the blade, he muttered to himself.

"Marge, I'm back home. You better give me one hell of a homecoming…"

~•~•~•~

"So then I said 'well sir, these are the legs I was born with. I will show them off as much as I can while I'm still young and if you consider that a problem, you'll understand when I go to the manager and tell her that some old man is eyeing me like a piece of meat'!"

Lisa's jaw dropped further as Alex told her story. "Wow…what did he say after that?"

The fashionista scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Nothing, he was gaping like a fish and scurried out the door like a coward. Guess he never had any girls speak up for themselves before."

Lisa shook her head before sipping her cup of orange soda. Her best friend was explaining how she had an encounter with an unsavory older man at a convenience store who took it upon himself to get in an eyeful of the blonde's exposed legs with no shame. Unfortunately for him, Alex was not the type to stay quiet and nearly made a scene by calling him out. The pervert tried to shame her by saying she shouldn't be showing off her body like that which resulted in the retort that she relayed to Lisa.

"You know what the worst part was? His wife and kid were waiting for him on a bench outside! The absolute nerve!"

The Simpson girl frowned before scoffing. "So much for the sanctity of marriage and children, huh?" Alex gave a humorless chuckle before raising her red cup up. "Amen to that." The two tapped their cups together before taking a swig.

"So Alex, any ideas of what internship you're going to do? And no, I'm not letting you go the school year without one."

The blonde glared at her friend's quip before lifting her chin up. "For your information, Ms. Simpson, I have an idea of what I want to do."

In a dramatic show, Lisa set her cup down on the coffee table before leaning forward and resting her elbows on her crossed legs, cupping her face in her hands. "Oh? Well, do tell, Ms. Whitney."

"So!" Alex set her cup down as well before clapping her hands together. "I took your advice and thought of something I really want to do in the future and of course, all the signs pointed to fashion! Problem is that Springfield isn't exactly trendy so all my leads were going towards stores in Capital City…"

Lisa winced. "Capital City is almost a hundred miles from here…"

"Oh girl, I know. As cool as it'd be to go, I'd spend most of my time over there or at school. However, I got lucky and found this place called Astra Boutique on GetLinkedIn that was looking for workers ASAP. There wasn't too much info listed on the site but it said it would only take walk-in interviews during business hours." At the wary look on her friend's face, Alex waved her hands quickly. "DMY, I didn't go by myself! It did sound a bit shady so I had Winston drive me to the place and wait outside in case some serial killer was waiting for their next victim. Turns out the owner is an older woman who wanted some help with running the place since her last workers had to leave for school or to move out of state."

"So how did it go?"

Pursing her glossed lips together, Alex folded her arms across her chest. "Well, she sat me down and did an interview but she wasn't too impressed when I mentioned that I was still in high school. Said it was asking for all types of problems with scheduling and reliability." The platinum blonde's lips then twisted up into a pearly grin. "Buuut, I mentioned how familiar I was with the fashion industry already and how boutiques needed someone confident in its products and knowledgeable in order to sell them."

The Simpson girl's own lips quirked. "Let me guess, you used your charisma and that silk tongue of yours to convince her?"

"Yes I did! I started looking around the place and listed off the materials, the beadwork and silhouettes with ease and I swear, her Botox almost budged with how wide her eyes got. So she told me to give her my info and the guidance counselor's info so she can get in contact with them and see if she can get verified for an internship host." Lisa gave her friend a few claps. "Nice job, Alex! Hopefully it goes smoothly and you can get some experience from this."

Alex nodded before picking her cup back up and taking a sip. "I hope so too, Lise. The only bad thing about this is that it's in…Waverly Hills." The fashionista spits this out with distaste, scrunching up her nose. "Whatever, I'll deal with the snobs if I have to. Plus the owner said that she had another girl around my age who started in the summer time, maybe she can show me the ropes."

Lisa nodded at the other, straightening back up as she picked her own cup back up. "Well, I think you're gonna do great, you've always had a passion for fashion."

Alex smiled at the other's encouragement. "Thanks Lise. By the way, did you pick one out for yourself too?"

The Simpson girl's cup paused on the way to her mouth as the question lingered in the air. Sighing, she lowered it to her lap and looked at her friend. "Well...a lot of them sound intriguing but…I'm kind of interested in…"

Alex leaned forward. "In…?"

"The…Lazy I Ranch…"

Sure enough, the platinum blonde's eyes widened and mouth dropped open at her friend's choice. "The ranch? But I thought you hated it!"

"I did! But, well…I did some research and it looks like they've changed their ways since I went there. The horse-riding still exists but it's only for certain hours a day and the horses are required to have an hour of rest between each trip. It also looks like they have more vegetarian options and ethical ways of obtaining their food for the dining hall." Lisa shuddered as she remembered the barrel of cow tongues for sale.

"And what about the natives?"

"It looks like they gave them part ownership of the ranch and whatever land hadn't been razed for future buildings as compensation for their intrusion."

"Hm…if you ask me, I think you should go for it, Lise. You love horses, right? I mean, animals in general too, but you could get to know them more with this! You did say being a veterinarian was a possible career choice; it'd be nice to get some hands-on experience plus…" Alex raised an arched eyebrow and smirked. "You can start talking to Luke again."

Lisa wasn't sure whether to hide her burning face in embarrassment or throw the last bit of her orange soda at her friend. Of course she had a hidden motive behind encouraging her to take the internship. "Alex Whitney, why do you torture me like this?"

"Um, because my best friend Lisa Marie Simpson needs to stop being a wimp and not let some guy get between her and her needed 'job experience'."

The blonde scowled at her friend. "You're so lucky I love you or else I'd kick you out for mocking me." Alex shrugged while Lisa sighed in defeat. "Well…you have a point. Sooner or later, I have to pick an internship and the ranch is appealing…I'll end up having to talk to him directly to get more info on exactly what I'll have to do there…"

"Exactly. Like you said, he doesn't seem to hate you anymore and if it turns out that he does, tell him to stick his hat where it doesn't shine and find another internship."

The Simpson girl sighed again and chugged her cup, draining the rest of her soda. "Fine, I'll see if I can find him on Monday and ask about signing up." Alex squealed and patted her shoulder. "That's my girl!"

"Oh shoot!"

The two girls turned towards the family room at the sound. "Becky, are you alright?"

Becky turned towards Lisa from her sitting position on the floor, pouting. "No, I messed up on one of Sophie's nails and I forgot to bring my remover. You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"

Lisa nodded. "I do, it's upstairs." Before she could stand up, Alex gently eased her back into the couch with her hand. "Lise, I can get it. Gotta run to the bathroom anyways." The blonde smiled up at her friend. "Thanks Alex. It's in the medicine cabinet."

Alex nodded and got up from the couch, setting her cup back down before heading towards the stairs and up, making a right to head into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Shutting the door and locking it, the platinum blonde did her business before walking to the sink to wash her hands, the linen scent of the soap floating up into her nostrils. After drying her hands off, she looked into the mirror, frowning as she saw a few strands of her hair hanging out of its carefully formed curls. Quickly tucking them back into place lest she go crazy over them, she gave herself a thorough once-over before flashing a pearly grin at her mirrored self.

'Perfect.'

Remembering what else she came up for, she opened the mirror and was met with a plethora of items in the medicine cabinet, ranging from painkillers to unicorn bandages and mini shampoo bottles. Spotting the bottle of nail polish remover, Alex grabbed it, along with a near-empty bag of cotton balls just in case, and shut the door. Unlocking the bathroom door, the fashionista stepped out and started to head towards the stairs.

Thud.

The girl paused in her trek and frowned in confusion. 'What the heck was that?'

Wondering exactly where the sound came from, Alex looked up and down the hallway until another sound answered her question.

Thump.

Her hazel eyes landed on the door leading into Bart's room. 'Maybe Bart or one of the guys is in there looking for something…'

But contrary to what people believed, Alex wasn't an airhead who wasn't aware of her surroundings; if anything, she was very observant. She had been sitting on the living room couch with Lisa for over half an hour and was a close distance to the stairs; she couldn't recall hearing or seeing any of the boys come upstairs since they came to get snacks over an hour ago. All the girls were accounted for too although she couldn't see why any of them would be in the Simpson boy's room…well, except for maybe Becky.

Crash!

Alex jumped at the louder sound, now skeptical as to what the hell was going on behind that door. Looking at the bottom of it, she saw that the lights were off. Frowning as her curiosity was getting the better of her, she carefully shuffled over to the door and rested a manicured hand on the knob, slowly turning it and pushing open the door. Stepping inside, she squinted her eyes as she examined the darkness, curious as to who or what was causing such a ruckus.

Oh, how she wished she had went straight downstairs.

She dropped the bottle as her eyes eventually landed on a burly figure standing in front of the window, showing that the intruder was male. Her guess as to the cause of the noise not being one of the boys was correct as this man was way too built to be a high school student. The man must have been in deep thought as his eyes shot up to look back at the girl staring at him wide eyes, his own widening in surprise. Alex was ready to shout at him and question who he was until she saw the moonlight from the open window reflecting off of something large and shiny in his hand. Her mouth gaped as she realized that this man was holding a knife; a rather large one at that.

He must have realized that she was about to scream out for help for as the high school girl was about to turn, the man ran forward and pinned her to the wall with an arm across her neck and the other across her slender waist. Alex choked as her words died in her throat as the man cut off her air supply, staring up into his cold eyes as his face twisted into rage.

"You make one sound missy and I'll slice your throat right here, ya hear me?"

Her hazel eyes widening even further at his threat, she nodded as best as she could with his arm crushing her windpipe. A cruel smirk came onto the intruder's face as he loosened up the arm on her neck, removing the other from her body to carefully shut the bedroom door, effectively trapping the two in the darkness. "Now, I'm goin' to move my arm off your pretty little neck but if you try to scream or run off…" He raised the knife in front of her face, the blade looking even more threatening close up. "My little knife here is goin' to have to get acquainted with you, understand?"

Alex nodded shakily and gasped for air as he fulfilled her promise of letting her breathe, her eyes quickly filling with tears as her body trembled, realizing the situation she got herself into.

'Alex Lenore Whitney, why are you so stupid?! Who knows what this guy is gonna do to you?' Her self-reprimanding came to an end as the man gripped her chin in his calloused fingers, tilting her head up so she was looking back into his dark eyes.

"Now I'm gonna ask you a few questions missy and I want you to think real careful about your answers." He leaned in a little closer, the girl's nose scrunching at the stench of tobacco on his breath. "Where's Marge Simpson at?"

The platinum blonde's face twisted in confusion as to why this guy was asking for the Simpson matriarch and not her money or body. "She…she's not home…"

The man wasn't pleased with the answer as he growled and dug his nails into Alex's jaw, his face looming closer. "Don't lie to me, little lady. I see her car parked in the driveway."

"I'm not lying!" Her confidence came back a bit as she narrowed her eyes at the man. "She went out with her husband and they only took one car."

"Godammit!" She jumped as the man swore in frustration and raised the knife back into her face. "When the hell is she gettin' back?"

"I-I don't know! Please…just let me go…" The girl's bit of confidence disappeared as fear started to take over again. "I-I won't tell anyone you w-were here…I swear…"

The intruder barked out a laugh and shook his head, giving her a crazed grin. "Are you makin' demands to me, missy?"

Looking away from his leering gaze, Alex gasped in shock as he pushed her head back against the wall, her neck aching from the angle it was being forced at. "You are in no position to be demandin' anythin' from me! Since Marge and that oaf are still out, we're goin' to wait until they get home; I've gone through all this trouble to get to her and I'll be damned if I go back without seein' her."

'We?'

Alex questioned herself as to why this psycho was roping her into whatever personal issue he had with Marge; although it was becoming clear to her in the last few minutes that this man had a few screws loose. The man then backed up from her and grabbed a fistful of her blouse, shoving her towards the open window, pointing his knife at her with his free hand.

"We ain't hidin' out here though. Go out that window and into that treehouse."

Alex gaped at the man before looking out the window, which she realized was forced open, and saw the rope connecting from the top of the house to the open window of the treehouse. 'He freaking climbed his way into here?! Now I know he's a lunatic…'

The girl's thoughts were interrupted as he gave her shoulder a shove and growled out. "Get goin'."

Swallowing hard, she took a split second to weigh her options.

1: she could jump out the window to land on the ground and try to escape, although a fall from that height would surely twist or break her ankle, rendering her means of escape useless as the man would surely catch up with her.

2: she could turn around and try to run out the door and into the hallway but that was the riskiest option. He was too close to her and would probably slit her throat as soon as she even got the door open.

3: she could climb into the treehouse with this psycho and wait out Marge's return back home but who knew just what he would do to her in the meantime? Would she be a hostage? Would he torture her to pass the time? Or would he even…

Alex's stomach flipped violently before she could even finish that last thought. Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to get her shaking under control; she wasn't going to even entertain the possibility of that. Not again. Not to Alex Lenore Whitney.

To her dismay, she sat herself on the windowsill and reached up, grabbing the rough rope and used her upper body strength to lift her feet up onto the windowsill. Taking a deep breath, she began climbing towards the treehouse, wondering just how her night ended up like this.

'This is not my idea of a wild Saturday night.'

~•~•~•~

Woooow, I suck at updating.

I deeply apologize for the delay! Since I uploaded the last chapter, I returned to work and attempted to search for a new job (to no avail :c), along with attending cons and making cosplays.

I've had this chapter about 85% done for months but I couldn't get the time or motivation to finish it up until now. I hope you guys enjoy this long bit of writing, hopefully I can get the next chapter out in the not so distant future!

Small note: DMY = don't mess yourself, something Alex had said in the series.

Reviews and criticisms are welcome!