Chapter 69

The inside of Double Dee's house was quite toasty, in complete contrast with the frigid snowfall occurring outside. The intelligent adolescent had just finished up his all important daily shower, and had decided to spend his time enjoying a cup of warm tea as he relaxed on the couch in front of the lit fireplace.

While Double Dee's shower was typically his "happy place", on this particular day, showering proved to be an arduous task. With nothing but the sound of running water to occupy his mind, the young man spent his time contemplating the events that had occurred earlier that day. Double Dee was adverse to confrontation, and he hated the fact that he lost his temper with two his closest connections; this combined with the fact that he was forced to watch the holiday season be drawn into chaos brought him a significant amount of distress.

Regardless, Double Dee felt quite guilty regarding his public outburst, especially directing hostility towards Marie. The time that had passed between the confrontation and the present had softened Double Dee's anger, and he decided that it was finally time for him to clear the air with his black-haired beauty

With a slight sigh, Double Dee reached for his cell phone and began dialing Marie's phone number; however, he had barely typed the second digit when the the sound of the doorbell filled the air, interrupting his task.

"Now who on earth could that be at this hour?" asked Double Dee to himself as he rose from his seated position to answer the door.

As the door swung to the open position, a sense of relief overcame the sock headed boy; Marie, sharing similar feelings to Double Dee, had decided to pay him a visit. She stood on the stoop with her hands to her sides, staring at Double Dee with an expression of sadness. Double Dee returned the favor, standing completely still as he gazed into Marie's single exposed eye.

A few moments passed, at which point Marie's bottom lip began to tremble; this was followed by the Kanker girl suddenly lunging towards her boyfriend with open arms, proceeding to wrap them around his body in a tight squeeze. As Marie buried her face into his chest, Double Dee returned the embrace, placing his arms around Marie as he leaned his cheek on her head.

"Double Dee, I'm so sorry," said Marie, "I never meant for things to get this bad! I didn't want to lie to you, but I also needed to protect Lee. I should have done things different, I should have known that Lindsay wouldn't quit after losing the talent show. I should have listened to you, I should have tried to stop it. Now everything's ruined, and I don't know what to do. It's so frustrating."

Double Dee tightened his squeeze, holding his girlfriend for a few moments prior to responding.

"I must apologize as well Marie," said Double Dee, as he pulled away from the girl in an effort to make eye contact, "Please forgive my horrendous outburst this afternoon, but the truth of he matter is that my frustrations have been building up for quite some time as well. As you know, I absolutely despise conflict, and exacerbating it is definitely not within my character. You have no idea how happy I am to see you, as I would not be able to rest tonight knowing that you and I were potentially in conflict."

Marie sniffled slightly, after which she developed a smile.

"Funny," said Marie, "I just said the same thing to May before I came over. I guess great minds think alike."

"I suppose they do," said Double Dee as he released Marie, and touched his hand to her face. He then proceeded to step aside, holding his arm up as if to invite Marie into his house, "Come now, let's escape these harsh wintery conditions and enjoy some warm tea together. Perhaps we can also have a chat regarding how we are going to remedy this perplexing issue at hand."

"I'd like that Double Dee," said Marie as she began making her way into the house, "You always know how to make a girl feel better."

A few moments had passed, and Double Dee had brewed a fresh pot of tea for himself and Marie. The couple was currently sitting on Double Dee's couch, each holding their own mug while taking small sips of their warm drinks.

Marie had just completed telling Double Dee of the trials and tribulations they had faced regarding Lee's "great escape" in Tabby's car, up to and including May's crash course on driving and her little road rage incident. Although Marie was quite frightened during the prior that Lee's location was unknown, she delivered the story in a light-hearted fashion, demonstrating her ability to easily look back on experiences and laugh. Double Dee on the other hand was quite shocked at the ordeal; being a strong proponent of safety and rule following, the boy cringed at the fact that Marie and her sisters had not only driven without licenses (May being under aged), but also took a major risk by allowing May to drive on the expressway with absolutely no experience.

"My goodness!" exclaimed Double Dee, "I had no idea you had such a chaotic night!"

"Yeah," said Marie, "It was crazy."

"While I am most certainly not a proponent of risk taking or law-breaking," said Double Dee, "I am thankful to hear that you girls were able to locate Lee and bring her home safe and sound. I cannot even fathom the implications of the alternative scenario."

"I know," said Marie with a saddened expression, "I don't even want to talk about it, it gives me the chills."

The couple paused for a few moments, after which Marie decided to continue speaking.

"Well, Lee may be home safe and sound," said Marie, "But now we gotta figure out how to get her out of this funk. It's a shame, she has come so far, and her and Eddy have a great relationship. Lee loves him more than anything, although she still refuses to admit it, and it's a shame all of this nonsense with Lindsay completely uprooted it."

"It's truly a terrible predicament," said Double Dee, "Although, I am quite upset with Eddy for using Rolf for his personal gain, I truly believe his ultimate intentions were of a good nature. Eddy absolutely adores Lee, however years of living under his brothers menacing shadow have made it quite difficult for him to express emotion, especially those of a loving nature. Ignorant to Lee's past with Lindsay, Eddy assumed that Lee was being involuntarily tortured by the callous girl, and sought out to protect her to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, his tendency to make brash decisions formed one piece of the proverbial puzzle constituting this predicament."

Double Dee turned towards Marie.

"I am quite surprised that Lee has not opened up and told Eddy of her former friendship with Lindsay," said Double Dee, "Perhaps this entire crisis could have been averted if he knew the truth?"

Marie sighed.

"Perhaps," said Marie, "I've attempted to convince Lee to tell him multiple times, only for her to tell me to 'mind my business,' and not to worry about it. It's funny, I never really thought about why she is so hurt about it until tonight, after a great conversation with my mom."

"Interesting," said Double Dee, "Would you be willing to share?"

Marie took a small sip of her tea, after which she leaned her head back onto the couch. She began speaking as she stared towards the fire.

"My mom is pretty smart when she needs to be," said Marie, "I was completely blinded by revenge after this whole incident, and I'm pretty sure I was using every single brain cell I had trying to come up with a plot to get back at Lindsay for hurting Lee so bad. My mom was able to talk me out of it by telling me one of my Poppy's stories about friendship and bullying. For the longest time, I just assumed Lee played into Lindsay as a coping mechanism for her hurt feelings, but my mom opened my eyes to the truth."

Marie paused, simultaneously turning towards Double Dee.

"As you know, Lindsay's personality abruptly changed after her mother dragged her away from us that afternoon," said Marie, "It's like she was brainwashed or something, and Lee's frustration lies in the fact that she knows that the Lindsay she knew is no longer able to thrive. Lee loved her like a sister, and being her blood sister, I know that despite Lee being rough around the edges sometimes, she will do anything in her power to help somebody if she loves them."

Marie took another sip of her drink, as she glanced towards the fireplace.

"I have no idea what happened that day, or why her mother hates us so much," said Marie, "But my mom somehow seems to be aware that the Lindsay you see today is merely a voice piece for that crazy woman. She told us this story about these two girls that were best friends, and how one of the girls never gave up on the other, even if it meant sacrificing her hopes and dreams. She compared it to what we are seeing with Lee and Lindsay, and after thinking about it for a awhile, everything she said makes complete sense."

Marie took a pause to catch her breath.

"Lee knows, or believes, that somewhere in there is the little girl she used to have so much fun with back in kindergarten." said Marie, "For that reason, and the fact that she still considers Lindsay her best friend, she's refusing to give up on trying to help her, even if it kills her emotionally."

"My word," said Double Dee, "What a heartbreaking situation."

"It is," said Marie, "It hurts so much to see Lee suffering, especially after all she has done for us throughout our lives."

Double Dee pondered Marie's words as the black haired girl exposed eye began to develop a glassy appearance. After a few moments, Double Dee placed his hand on Marie's shoulder, causing the girl to turn back towards him.

"Marie," said Double Dee, "Perhaps it's time that we actively take action to remedy the situation? I would be happy to assist in any way I could."

Marie sighed.

"Double Dee," said Marie, "At this point, I don't think we have any other choice."

Marie paused as she took another sip of her drink.

"I need some time to think about how we are going to handle this," said Marie, "It's a shame all of this had to happen around the holiday, and frankly I'm sick of it. My suggestion is we try to make the best of things for now by getting all of our friends back on good terms with each other, and enjoying the winter ball and our Christmas party. There's also the matter of getting Lee and Eddy back on speaking terms, a task easier said than done given their stubbornness. Once the holidays are over, we can focus on trying to get Lee and Lindsay back together."

At that point Marie quickly turned towards Double Dee.

"But let me make one thing clear," said Marie, "I am doing this for Lee and Lee only. If whatever we come up with manages to work, and Lee and Lindsay do manage to become friends again, don't expect me to treat Lindsay as if she were a friend. I'm sorry, but no matter what her mother put into her head, there was no excuse to pick on us the way she did. It's going to take a long time for me to forgive her, if that is ever even possible."

At the conclusion of Marie's statement, there was a period of silence lasting several seconds as the two teenagers stared at the roaring fire. After taking a few sips from their mugs, Marie turned towards Double Dee with a smile.

"So Oven Mitt," asked Marie, "Do you forgive me for putting you in that that awkward position?"

"I suppose I do," said Double Dee with a smile, "What choice do I have?"

"Good answer," said Marie in a playful manner as she leaned into Double Dees face, "Enough talking, let's make up for real."

Before Double Dee could respond, Marie grabbed onto the neck of his shirt. She proceeded to pull him down onto the couch as she leaned backwards; simultaneously initiating a passionate kiss.