(For disclaimer, etc. - see 1.)

13. When We Were Young
Characters/Pairings: Lemon/George, Wade
'Verse/Timeline: canon - pre-series
Date: December 1998

"You know, I'm really not so sure we should be doing this," said George, not for the first time since this caper began.

Lemon rolled her eyes at him. "George Tucker, you can be so infuriatingly boring sometimes!" she told him, grabbing his hand to pull him along when he seemed like stopping. "It's not like we're doing any real harm. Besides, Wade was looking so sullen, I had to think of something fun to cheer him up," she added with a grin.

"Can I help it if this ain't my favourite time o' the year," her friend complained, checking behind them to ensure nobody was around to see what they were up to. "Not like you don't know why that is."

"Which is why we are workin' on cheerin' you up, Wade Kinsella," Lemon reminded him with a kind smile. "Now, did you bring your daddy's tools like I told you to?"

Wade grinned as he moved by George to get to Lemon. "Yes, ma'am," he said dutifully, handing her the screwdriver, wire cutters, and such. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm sure that between us we can figure it out," she said happily. "George, give me a boost," she commanded then.

He looked every kind of nervous there was, though after a quick check to ensure nobody was watching, he did do as she asked. Lemon wasn't in the least bit worried as she and Wade climbed up to access the controls for the Christmas lights strung all around town square and prepared for trouble.

"You know, if we get caught-"

"Tucker, will you hush your mouth already!" Wade told him sharply. "We're not gonna get caught. 'Sides, this is all in a good cause. You on your girlfriend's side or that dumb ol' Ruby Jeffries anyhow?"

"You better give the right answer to that question, George," Lemon warned him as she and Wade worked away at the circuits.

"You know I am on your side, Lemon," her boyfriend insisted, "but this is property damage. If anybody ever finds out that we sabotaged the light display-"

"Sabotage?" Lemon echoed. "Nonsense, this is no sabotage. This is making certain improvements to something that somebody else made such an unholy mess of."

"Yeah, I'll go along with that," Wade agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "Can't get in trouble for improving something, right?"

"Exactly." Lemon smiled widely as she hopped down from George's shoulders and waited for Wade to shimmy back down the pole, landing at her side. "Now, tomorrow, the town will be properly lit for the festivities, and a certain Ruby Jeffries will learn not to think she can have the last word on such matters, not for as long as Lemon Breeland lives in Bluebell."

"You know, you act all proper and stuck-up sometimes," said Wade then, "but it's kinda nice to know you can still be dragged down to our level sometimes, Lemon."

He held up his hand for a high five and she didn't leave him hanging, the two of them laughing like drains, until footsteps and a flashlight beam got their attention.

"Time to go!" George insisted, grabbing Lemon's hand and giving Wade a shove in the right direction.

The three friends ran like their lives depended on it, into the dark of Christmas Eve night, and disappeared as if they had never been there at all.