Saturday night.
It wasn't a lie for Spencer to say that she was looking forward to the movie night. As she'd reflected on before, she wasn't big on films and she never had been, but for her that wasn't what this was about. She knew she'd be the odd one out; Nicole would probably be drooling all over Aiden, Carmen and Kyla would be fighting every living urge just to keep their hands off each other. But it didn't matter. Tonight was about her spending time with her friends. Not since her youngest years could Spencer honestly have had that -- multiple friends, a mutual friendship. Her loneliness was like a shadow now, not the puppet master at her strings, it could be fought against and conquered, the way it should have been all along.
This was why she stood in front of her bathroom mirror making sure that she didn't look too bad. The blonde girl had draped herself in a white feather-collar blouse and a knee-length blue skirt with a white headband setting back her bangs. Spencer wore something similar to school yesterday and Ashley had said that she looked pretty, but that didn't count because Ashley always thought she looked pretty. She wasn't sure about it but she didn`t have the time to deliberate the issue. It was half-one and while Kyla's house was only fifteen minutes away by bus, there was no tell how frequently buses would be coming by, so she had to hurry. After giving her hair just one more look over Spencer jogged out of the bathroom. Since Nicole had left earlier she wouldn't be travelling with the girl. Instead she'd go straight there on her own (Kyla had given her the directions afterschool yesterday). So when she returned to her bedroom she gathered together her purse, her keys, her cell phone, her bus pass, and her little pink 'going out' backpack from the surface of her chest of drawers. But when she twisted the knob to leave her phone jingled.
Caller ID on the screen said it was Ashley.
"Hello, Ashley?" Said Spencer, as she held the phone to her ear.
"Hey, it's me," she confirmed. "Listen, I'm in my car, I'm in the neighborhood, and I was thinking about what I said at school yesterday. Do you wanna hook up with me now? We could get a bite to eat or something, if you can swing it by your parents?"
Spencer's commitments twisted her insides. In a similar fashion to Nicole's situation with Aiden, it bugged Spencer that Ashley's being a senior meant that they didn't have as many opportunities to see each other. She would've have accepted the offer point blank, if not for what she had planned tonight. "Ashley..."
The brunette sighed on the other end. "I know that voice. What's the problem?"
"...I must have forgotten to tell you, but... I'm going to my friend Kyla's house with Nicole tonight, to watch some movies with her, her brother and someone else." Spencer admitted.
Ashley paused a moment "...I thought you weren't big on movies?"
How in the hell did everyone know that? If she got anymore damn transparent she'd turn into Sue Storm. Nevertheless she answered the charge, pressing her back against her door. "I'm making an effort to, okay? Look, Ashley, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It just slipped my mind and since I didn't see you afterschool yesterday..."
"No, you know what? It's okay. It's fine. You uh... you just go have fun."
Ashley didn't hide dejection well. An elective trait and not a desired one probably. And Spencer hated to hear it. Which was why the gears in her head started turning in a manner that sought to soothe it, maybe over better logic, when she said; "Do... you... do you maybe wanna... come?"
Spencer didn't realize how sudden and presumptive it sounded until she voiced it. It wasn't really her night nor was it her house so she didn't have the authority to invite anyone. But she couldn't tolerate the idea of Ashley driving all the way back to West Hollywood after coming down here for nothing either. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
"Do you think that would be okay with them?" Ashley said, not seeming to have any objections.
Honestly Spencer wasn't sure. Aiden was a sweet person, he probably wouldn't care either way, but Kyla might be a different story. But they wouldn't turn Ashley away, would they? If she simply said that Ashley was a friend of hers that had wanted to join, surely they wouldn't say no? Spencer elected to take the risk.
"I think it'll be fine." She said.
"Okay. Thanks, Spencer."
"Pick me up, okay? How far from my house are you?"
She chuckled. "I'm outside."
When she heard a car horn blare Spencer walked to her window. Sure enough, down below by the sidewalk was Ashley's ride, with the engine still running. So Spencer switched off her phone, put all her stuff away in the mini backpack that she strapped from her shoulders, and then left her house. Paula was the only one of her parents at home tonight. Arthur was busy at the hospital as usual so Spencer had told her mother earlier where she was going for the night, as well as the address of Kyla and Aiden's place (just in case anything happened), so she didn't need to do anything other than say goodbye to Paula as she left.
When she got into Ashley's car they shared a quick kiss before driving off under the orange red glare of California dusk light. They drove for a solid twelve minutes along the streets of Los Angeles until they came to another white picket fence locality, the road that Kyla and Aiden lived on. It was an even more expensive area than Spencer and Nicole's was, both she and Ashley realized it as they pulled up in the Quinn Family driveway, it even had one of those 50's style mailboxes. Once parked though they both climbed out. There was only one other car in the driveway, Aiden's, so their parents weren't here (and probably wouldn't be for the rest of the night). Ashley followed Spencer to the door where they rang the bell.
Aiden appeared moments later with a receptive smile. "... Spencer. Hey."
"Hey." She replied.
"...Aiden?" Ashley quipped, blinking.
The eldest of the Quinn siblings then noticed Ashley standing behind Spencer, and when he did he did so with an automatic registry. "Ashley?"
This was odd. Spencer glanced at the pair of them, first at Ashley then Aiden then back to Ashley again. "You two... know each other?"
"Yeah, he's in my Math class," explained the Italian girl. "How's it going?"
They shook hands to greet. "Everything's good, everything`s good. So. Y'all two are tight?"
Both Ashley and Spencer nodded at that, though Ashley was the one to follow through on the verbal work. "Kinda, yeah. I know it's a piss-take to just show up like this, but I was passing by Spencer's house, asked her if she wanted to hang but she told me she was spending the night with you guys. I just wondered if I could come too. Is that cool?"
He shrugged cheerfully. "Sure, come on in. It's not like we're hurting for room."
Ashley and Spencer smiled at each other briefly as they stepped inside and took off their jackets. The house inside was just as large and lavish as its outside suggested it would be. Down the corridor was the lounge which Aiden led them into. Everyone else was there. Kyla, dressed more casually than Spencer normally saw her, was crouched on the floor by their flat screen sorting through a pile of DVDs all of which were Stanley Kubrick movies. Carmen wasn't too far behind her fiddling with a coffee table that had been enamored with two liter bottles of Pepsi, Fanta and Dr. Pepper and with three large transparent bowls of popcorn, pretzels and nachos. Nicole was on the couch flicking through the pages of some kind of booklet with her varnished nails. When Aiden, flanked on both sides by Spencer and Ashley, entered, everyone turned to them. Hellos were said between everyone except Ashley and Nicole.
"S'up, Spencer?" Carmen said jovially, with Kyla at her side. She saw Ashley. "Who's your friend...?"
Ashley extended a hand to the goalkeeper, which she shook politely. "I'm Ashley Davies. Uh, I think Spencer mentioned the two of you on our way over here. You're... Carmen Jones, right?"
"Guilty."
Then Ashley turned to Kyla. "Which must make you... Kyla, Aiden's little sister, am I right?"
"Yeah. Hi." She was terse in her reply but that was just Kyla being Kyla. She was never comfortable around new people, not until she had a chance to relax and warm to them, like she had with Spencer and Nicole. Carmen then started to engage Ashley in conversation. Apparently she had seen Ashley playing basketball (her height gave her something of an edge in that area) because she mentioned something about her having a great jump shot. While they got into it with Kyla hanging by Carmen's side, attentively, Nicole hauled up off the couch and took herself up to Spencer.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" She briefly glanced at Ashley while she was speaking to Carmen, oblivious of it. "...In private?"
In no way was Spencer muted to the sharpness in Nicole's tone so she didn't question her. Instead she only followed Nicole outside into the corridor while Ashley, Carmen and Kyla spoke, and Aiden took up what Kyla had been doing before, sorting through their pile of DVDs, probably to decide which one to watch first. Once they were out of earshot Nicole faced Spencer square on.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Barked the girl from Utah.
Spencer blinked, not really knowing where this was coming from all of a sudden. "She's here for the same reason everyone else is, to watch movies."
Silence. The contours of Spencer's expression scrunched in confusion. She didn't get it -- at first. Then it soon sunk in. Nicole still hadn't gotten over what Ashley said about her father even though Ashley had put herself out there and apologized for it.
Spencer glanced at her, pleadingly. "I thought we were done with this."
"I don't want her here."
"Nicole, please don't do this. She's apologized and she's sorry. What more can she do?"
There was visible irritation and indecision on Nicole`s part. Spencer could read every inch of it off of her face. When she glared into the lounge at Ashley it was made all the more guileless. But whatever she wanted to say or do she didn`t follow through on... because she managed to keep herself composed. Nicole tore her eyes from Ashley then, turning once more to Spencer, and exhaled crossly. "I swear to God, if she wasn't your friend, I'd...! You know what, just tell her to stay out of my way tonight, okay?"
Spencer watched her stomp off. "Nicole..."
She didn't reply. Once she was back inside she went straight to Aiden's side and whispered something into his ear. He shrugged his shoulders in reply. But when it looked like Nicole was about to protest something else, his hand reached up and caressed her rapidly inflaming cheek, tenderly. It seemed to settle her down because he was met with a caring smile because of it. Clearly something had happened between them since yesterday. For many reasons Spencer was glad that it did... but partially because Aiden seemed to be the only thing that could pacify and distract Nicole from Ashley right now.
Fortunately Spencer didn't have to worry about keeping own her girlfriend in check at the moment. She and Carmen were now standing together in front of a tower CD case, the side of which was labeled `Aiden's Music'. Ashley's finger slowly traced its way down its glass case as she registered each disk of each artist, muttering their names.
"...Nas, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent... Hey Aiden? Got anything that wasn't written by pimps?"
He scratched the back of his skull in thought, with Nicole at his side. "If all that's a little too much for you I think I've got some Alicia Keys and Nelly Furtado albums up in there. If that still isn't your speed you're better off looking through Kyla's stuff. What is it you like again, Ky? Green Day?"
The Asian girl frowned. "I don't like Green Day."
"Yes you do. Aren't they the ones with the redhead and the bald guy? You know, they did that thing with Dave Grohl and a stuffed deer a few years back?"
"That's Queens of the Stone Age." Carmen corrected.
Ever the nonchalant one Aiden leisurely dismissed the mistake. "That's what they're called? Hmm. Are they still together? I liked that song."
By then Ashley had to give up on listening to music until things were ready because things were ready. Kyla had gone back to sorting out the DVDs and they were now stacked up in front of the player. Spencer came back into the room and sat down, slightly less excited now, on one of the two couches. Ashley sat next to her. Carmen then plopped down next to Ashley, while Kyla sat on the floor next to Carmen`s legs, apparently because she was `more comfortable' there. Nicole sat on the adjacent sofa whilst Aiden had himself crouched in front of the player.
"Okay," he said. "Y'all gotta make a decision here. What are we watching first? The Shining? A Clockwork Orange? Barry Lyndon?"
Ashley arched her eyebrows. "Barry Lyndon? That's the most boring Kubrick movie there is. Let's watch The Shining first. As long as nobody here says `Here's... Johnny!', I think we're better off."
"I don't wanna watch The Shining first," Kyla commented. "That's a horror movie and it isn't even dark out. Let's watch 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's got the best soundtrack I`ve ever heard next to Blue Velvet."
"David Lynch. Maybe we'll do him next week," Then Aiden turned to Spencer and Carmen. "Hey, Carmen, Spencer. What about you two? What'd you think?"
"I'm up for anything, really. Spencer, could you pass me the popcorn?"
The coffee table full of snacks was on her side of the couch. She clasped the bowl and passed to Ashley then Ashley passed it on to Carmen, and when she got it, Spencer answered Aiden's question the same way Carmen did. "...I don't mind either. I haven't seen either film so it doesn't matter to me."
So Aiden moved on to his girl. "Nicole?"
"...Lets watch 2001 first." She said quietly, glaring in Ashley's direction.
It was a glare that Ashley did notice.
"Okay then. 2001 it is." His fingers carefully pulled the DVD from its case. With the remote he ejected the feeding slot so he could set the disk on it, then he pressed play. As the Quinn family's sizeable screen brightened and started displaying the opening screen credits, Aiden took the bowl of pretzels from the table and sat by Nicole.
Most of the night proceeded in that fashion. Well into the late hours of the night the six of them, Spencer, Ashley, Kyla, Carmen, Nicole and Aiden, sat through a marathon of choice Stanley Kubrick movies. They went from the haunting beautiful harmonies of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the culturally significant mania of The Shining, to the seasoned sword and sandal nostalgia of Spartacus, the ridiculously violent throes of A Clockwork Orange, and the eerie contemporary mass-sexuality of Eyes Wide Shut. Members of the group all reacted differently to different films. Nicole, Aiden and Ashley loved every second of The Shining (being so familiar with it), Spencer and Kyla preferred 2001, which Spencer found did have a gorgeous soundtrack just as Kyla had suggested earlier. Carmen seemed to like Eyes Wide Shut the most, constantly wondering if that was the sort of thing `scientologists approved of'. On the flip side, Aiden simply chomped pretzels all the way through Spartacus while Ashley almost fell asleep during Barry Lyndon and what she referred to as its `epic-ass craptacularism'. Kyla; in her hatred of all things Tom Cruise and Tom Cruise-related, went to the bathroom four times during Eyes Wide Shut, while Nicole found that she liked Dr. Strangelove the least, mostly because she didn't have a clue what was going on (and unlike Eyes Wide Shut, which made even less sense to her, there were no orgies to make up for it). The one Spencer disliked the most was A Clockwork Orange. She doubted that there was a single scene in it that didn't make her cringe or come to the verge of puking, and she wasn't the only one. It terrified Carmen as well. Although she was as tough as they came on the soccer field she was surprisingly squeamish when it came to violent movies, and A Clockwork Orange was no exception.
By the time they were watching Full Metal Jacket, which would be their last Kubrick movie of the night, they had gone through everything edible, and were forced to order a pizza to compensate. They ended up watching the war movie with a slice each, in an evening that had fun for everyone at least once. By now everyone was so calm and comfortable with each other (aside from maybe Ashley and Nicole) that they openly could talk about what they liked and disliked. Ashley didn't stop laughing throughout Gunnery Sergeant Hartman's tirades against `Private Pyle', while Aiden loved the scene where Pyle went crazy in the toilets and killed him, and Carmen complimented what she perceived as Animal Mother's `super cool' nihilism. The crowd had its cynics too though. Spencer routinely remarked on `factual errors' that the movie made concerning the Vietnam War, Kyla damn near popped a blood vessel during the two Vietnamese prostitute scenes; you know, all that "Me so horny!" and "Me love you long time!" talk.
It was during the penultimate sequence however, when Joker found the sniper who killed Doc Jay, Eightball and Cowboy (a sniper who was in fact just a young girl), that it happened. The screen went blank. Everyone groaned, especially since that scene, in particular the bit where Joker kills the child soldier off, was the most poignant of the whole film.
"What the hell?" Ashley said.
Aiden sighed and stood up. "Gimme a minute, I'll see what's up."
So he could see what he was doing (they had been watching movies in the dark since nightfall) he flicked the wall light switch. But the lights didn't come on. He flicked it a few more times. No dice. "I don't believe this."
"What's the matter?" Nicole asked him.
Aiden flicked the switch a couple more times but still nothing happened. "I think the power's out. Kyla, do me a favor, would you? Go into the kitchen and see if the fridge light's on."
"Sure." She went on to do just that. A few minutes later, when she came back into the pitch black lounge. "It's not coming on, Aid. And I couldn`t turn on the kitchen light either. The phones are all off too."
"Yeah, I thought so. The power's out."
"Can't you just flip the circuit breaker?" Ashley suggested.
"I don't think that'll do it," Said Carmen, who by now was standing by the window. She had the curtains pulled which revealed all the houses across the street that curled behind the Quinn household's garden, all of which as dark as it was. Not a single light was on nor were the street lamps. Absolute darkness. "I think we've got a blackout."
Spencer stood up. "W-what do we do? Go home?"
"You're not going out there while it's that damned dark," Said Aiden, seriously. "Anything could happen."
Kyla stepped closer to Carmen. "So what are we supposed to do?"
"My watch says it's about 11pm, Mom and Dad are gonna be back by morning, there's nothing to worry about. This kind of crap happens all the time, a power cable must have been broken or something. All we have to do is wait it out 'til it's fixed. For now we'd all best just stay here."
"In the dark like this?" Moaned the Asian girl.
Spencer thought a moment. "...Don't you have some candles or flashlights or something?"
"We should... in the cupboard, I think." Kyla remembered. "I'll go get them."
She carefully made her way toward the corridor exit. Then Carmen quickly followed her. "I'll help you."
This left Spencer, Ashley, Nicole and Aiden to their own devices. But it wasn't entirely a disaster. Aiden went into the kitchen looking for a lighter, and while he couldn't find one rifling through drawers in the darkness, he found a small box of matches instead. Their pizza (what was left of it) was still warm too and ten minutes or so later Kyla and Carmen returned with two flashlights and fifteen separate candles of varying height and girth. Spencer, Kyla, Carneb and Nicole all assembled the candles in the center of the lounge, on the tables and units, while Ashley and Aiden lit all of them. By the time they were finished there was enough light in the room to at least make out each other's faces.
"So what do we do now?" Nicole asked.
Kyla sat down. "...We don't have any board games, do we?"
"Board games?" Remarked Ashley, cynically.
"Well what do you suggest?"
When Ashley also sat back down, she slung her arm over the sofa. "I dunno. Hold a séance?"
Aiden laughed a bit. "Oh yeah? And who would we talk to? Anna Nicole Smith?"
"Yeah. Well either her or Marilyn Monroe."
Carmen exhaled as the pair of them sniggered together at the idea, like a couple of kids. "Does anyone have any good suggestions, preferably ones that don't call on the spirits of dead sluts?"
Nicole raised her hand. "I have an idea."
"What's that?" Asked Aiden.
"Lets play Truth or Dare."