Memories - Panic at the Disco

Tori POV

When I awoke the following morning, I was surprised to find that I was the only one up. Normally I slept in well after everyone else had awoken. I stretched, sitting up in bed. I blinked at the alarm clock and discovered that it was about noon. We had arrived pretty late last night, so suddenly everyone still being asleep made sense. Yawning, I swung my feet over the edge of my twin bed and padded to the closet. I remembered that our clothes were still in the car, and griping to myself, I snagged the keys and my shoes and headed out.

I retrieved my suitcase from the car and brought it back to the room. I plucked out some clothes to start my day with. I headed in to the bathroom and dropped them on the counter, and then started the shower. I stripped and stepped in. I closed my eyes as the hot water hit me. I blindly washed, enjoying the steam from the water. I stepped out and wrapped myself in a towel. I dried off and got dressed. As I looked in the mirror to comb my hair, I gasped in shock. My first reaction was, what a lovely shade of cyan! My second reaction was, am I choking and this color is a result of the lack of oxygen? My third reaction was, Chloe and Derek did this I just know it and now they will pay.

So, acting on the third reaction, I shrieked loudly. Well, more like banshee-screeched. I eyed my skin, a primordial rage rearing up inside me, begging to hurt whoever had done this to me. The scream of course drew a sleepy eyed Lauren in to the bathroom.

"What's wro-" she started, only to catch sight of my blue face and arms. I watched her immediately choke on a chuckle, and try to keep it contained. I grew angrier.

"I look like a frickin' smurf! THIS. IS. NOT. FUNNY!" That, of course, drew more muffled laughs, and I screamed in frustration. I went to turn on the sink to try and rinse the stuff off, and I immediately got a face full of water.

"Ugh!" I yelled, trying to block the spray with my hands and failing epically. I reached down blindly and yanked the faucet to off. I inspected the sink and discovered the source of my annoyance. I yanked a rubber band off the head of the faucet with a huff of frustration. I cautiously tugged on the handle and the water dripped gently in to the sink. I breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed the soap from its container next to the sink.

As I rubbed the soap between my hands, I looked over to Lauren. She had managed to get her facial expression righted, and she came over to me, examining the state of my face, now contorted in a horrid snarl of anger. Her hands moved slowly towards my hair, and I allowed her to touch it without biting her fingers off.

"The dye isn't really noticeable in your hair, as it's really dark. But your skin…" She let her sentence trail off as she doubtfully eyed my blue stained skin. I snorted.

"I look like I drowned and was raised by Chloe." I expected her to at least chuckle a bit at the reference, but she remained stoic.

"Not funny," I heard her mutter almost inaudibly. I rolled my eyes, not caring that she could see. I jerked my head away from her prying hands and watched her walk out from the corner of my eye. I returned my focus to washing my hands and arms. A process that was currently… going nowhere.

"Why- won't- this- stupid- thing- LATHER?" I shrieked in rage as the soap stayed refused to release any cleaning agents, despite the fact that I had rubbed hard enough to completely erode the face of a marble statue. I threw it down in frustration as I realized that I would not be getting rid of any dye on my skin that way. Seething at my futile efforts, I took out my fury on my hair with the comb, getting rid of all the tangles the hard way. I rid my mouth of bacteria in the same fashion.

As I did all this, I absentmindedly scratched at an itch on my side. That moved up on to my arm, and then back down to my upper leg. It reached every part of my body covered by clothes, and it didn't go away, but worsened. I threw down my hairbrush and scratched frantically at my body with both my hands, desperate to get rid of this itch. I stifled another screech and lifted the hem of my shirt. As I did, a small amount of powder fell out from the very edge of it.

"What the hell?" I muttered quietly, and then took off the shirt. I shook it out on to the floor, and a cascade of powder fell out of it.

"Itching powder," I realized, fuming. When I was sure I had gotten rid of the last of the powder from my shirt, I did the same to my pants. I was surprised at the amount that came out. Still scratching at the remnants of the itching stuff, I slid back in to my jeans and walked out of the bathroom.

I stomped out to the main part of the room, pissed off at everything. I discovered a sleepy looking Chloe sitting on the couch, smiling dopily when she saw the direct result of her handiwork. That bitch.

"To far Chloe, too freaking far," I muttered under my breath, coming to a standstill, hands clenching and unclenching at my sides. Her only reaction was her smile growing wider, entertained by my anger.

"You're gonna die, bitch!" I screamed as I launched myself at her, hands extended. When I landed straddling her, I attacked her, slapping hard at her face and clawing at the arms raised in defense. She didn't attack me, and as I realized this, my smile grew wider.

"Having fun yet?" I snarled at her, tattooing a bright red mark across her face. Suddenly, Sweet Little Chloe found her inner wildcat, and her fangs and claws came out. Letting lose a feral shriek, she flung herself forward off the couch, scratching my face and knocking both of us to the ground, her on top. I could hear Lauren shouting in the background, but nothing mattered to us but hurting the other as much as she could. I heard her footsteps approaching, but a wild kick from Chloe sent her reeling backwards. She started calling at the room next to us, begging for help from the guys.

Chloe reached down and yanked on a chunk of my hair, and I screeched. I slapped her again and rolled. Now she was beneath me, and I used the opportunity to try the same on her. She didn't like it one bit. Her fingernails raked down the side of my face, splitting it. Screaming, though I felt no pain yet, I curled my fist and made to punch her, but she moved at the last second and my fist rebounded off the carpet. She now sat upright, a ways away, and I sprang at her again.

"Bitch!" I cried, and slapped her hard enough to make her face swing back. She returned her glare to me and backhanded me hard. I recoiled, and she pushed forward, knocking me to the ground. Her attack was a vicious series of slaps and scratches. I turned my head to the side and bit down hard on her wrist, trying to get her off. She yelped and grabbed it, and I rolled out from her death grip. I knocked her down and went in for the kill. I yelled as she kneed my stomach, and reached out for her, and the next thing I knew, I had been lifted off the ground, my arms pinned. I kicked out blindly at the interloper, snarling to get back to my opponent. I noticed that she too had been pulled back, and was now being restrained by Kit. Which meant…

I looked backwards in to the face of Derek Souza, whose girlfriend was the chick that I just beat the crap out of.

"Shit."

Derek POV

I had been sleeping soundly when, not for the first time, I awoke to the sound of a loud, bloodcurdling shriek.

"Goddammit Tori," I muttered, covering my ears with my hands. I sat up in bed and blinked, taking in the new motel room for the first time in the sunlight. As I did, I contemplated the effects of our surprise shower on her, and grinned at the thought. I got out of bed and stretched, and looked over at my father and brother. Still sleeping. Odd how quickly they got used to the screaming thing.

I went to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans, and slipped them on. I was counting on Chloe to get some pictures of this, so I was letting her take the glory on this one. I also didn't really want to be anywhere near Tori right now. I sat down on my bed and decided to wait a couple minutes before going in to see the prank firsthand. As another screech emanated from the room, Kit woke with a start.

"Somebody scream?" he asked almost incoherently, already sliding in to slippers and putting on glasses. I feigned innocence and shrugged.

"Dunno," I told him, grinning to myself. Just then, another shriek was heard.

"Help, help! Kit!" Lauren's voice. The internal grin disappeared, and I was at the door before I realized what had happened. There was fear in her tone, and that was all that had registered with my mind. The door to next door was open and I was in before Kit had taken a step back in the other room. Not that I was there to see.

My mind processed the scene before I consciously realized it, and in the next instant Tori was restrained in my arms, choking and sputtering and clawing to get back at the figure on the floor. One who I instantly recognized as Chloe. I could not feel Tori's weak kicks, only the urge to suddenly squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until… The bitch restrained against me had attacked my Chloe. A low growl reverberated in my chest and shook my body until I vibrated.

Kill her.

My inner nature screamed to annihilate the attacker here and now, just for daring to lay a finger on Chloe. As I fought the urge to murder her right on the spot (too many witnesses to kill later), Kit had arrived in the room from a sprint. He picked up Chloe [Don't touch her.] and then restrained her. My head twitched to the side, my human part questioning why he was holding her back, the wolf part begging to murder my father too for trying to do that. His mouth moved, and I realized he was speaking.

"What the hell happened?" he yelled over the noise of the two girls trying to get back at each other. Both of them were clawing their restrainers arm, spitting threats at the other. I tightened my grip for a moment, the desire to see more of her blood on the carpet never lessening even for one second. Lauren stepped up at that moment.

"Tori attacked Chloe out of nowhere-," she began, to be interrupted.

"Bullshit," she screamed from my arms, emphasizing the curse. "Look what she-"

"Hell no!" Chloe shouted from across the room. "She-"

"Both of you shut up!" Lauren roared, causing all of us to turn our heads. She pointed a finger at Tori, looking like a madwoman. "She is the cause of thi-"

Both Tori and Chloe began shouting at once, and the cacophony of noise that followed was probably audible 10 miles underground.

"Stop!" Kit shouted above all of us. Again, everyone quieted. "Let's figure this out like sane people. First, Derek, loosen your grip on Tori, she's suffocating." Looking down, I noticed that she was indeed gasping for air. I did not release my arm.

"Derek!" Kit's voice was sharp, but I avoided his gaze. It'd be so easy to just…

"Derek, let go of her." I responded instantly to Chloe's voice, dropping my arm and watching Tori fall to the ground, sucking air like a fish put back in to water. I said nothing. I then looked up to Chloe, who gave me a small smile.

Tori hauled herself up and moved far away from me, eyeing me nervously. Lauren walked up and took her by the elbow, and though she fought to yank it away, her grip stayed tight. Kit put down Chloe, who dusted herself off.

"Now please, one at a time. Tori, what happened?"

"Chloe put blue dye in the showerhead and dyed my skin blue. She put a rubber band around the faucet to spray my face. She did something to the soap." Her sentences were terse and clipped, and I was surprised she was coherent enough to relay the information. Her hair was strewn messily across her face, and she was still breathing hard.

"So what did you do?" At this question, Tori smiled.

"I gave her back what she deserved," she told him, a smirk dancing on her face.

"Which was?"

"I kicked her ass."

Punch hurt rip maim kill-

I repressed the urges with some difficulty, her smirk and words taunting me in ways that made becoming a murderer look like becoming a saint.

"Chloe, is this true?"

"Yes. Except the part about kicking my ass. Because I'd say I kicked her ass." A surge of pride welled up in me at her words, though not completely obliterating the hate, that made me want to hug Chloe. After checking her for broken ribs, of course. Kit sighed again.

"Can you two control yourselves for a moment without us?" The snarls they had been exchanging were answer enough. But one glance at me told him that we'd be fine.

"Keep them from ripping each other's heads off, will you Derek?" Kit asked in a weary tone as he and Lauren headed outside to talk. As they did, I couldn't help but wonder where Simon was. How could he have slept through that? But the thought passed quickly as the girls began exchanging words, circling each other.

"-Was so winning, another minute and you'd have been dog food," Tori was taunting Chloe. She retorted right back.

"Another minute and I'd have had to reanimate you so you could follow through on that threat," she sneered. I came between them, the look on my face shutting them up for a moment.

"Both of you," I growled, not needing to finish the sentence. Tori, after her initial shock, recovered quickly, sarcastic tongue whipping right back to slice open something else.

"Guess you need big ol' Derek to step in and save your stupid ass, huh Chloe? That's real brave-" she tried, haughty expression in place, before I took one menacing step towards her. She skittered back, real fear in her eyes, and I met them head on.

"Shut up, Tori," I snapped at her, and she looked off to the side, not meeting my eyes. I huffed and looked back at Chloe.

"Are you okay?" I asked her seriously, all thoughts of Tori now replaced with those of Chloe. I scanned her body, cataloguing her various visible injuries. She too was still breathing hard, and I noted the facial injuries. Scratches, a split lip, what looked like the beginning of a black eye. I was going to pay Tori back for what she had done to Chloe, plus interest. My fists clenched, itching to do it here and now. Chloe noticed, and she looked up at me.

"Don't," she murmured. "She's not worth it."

I had to fight to keep from screaming in frustration. Not worth it? Chloe was worth kicking the shit out of every person on the earth. I just shook my head, oozing contempt for her words. She scowled, and I noticed her flinch slightly when her lip slid across the other.

"Not. Worth. It," she hissed again, eyes flashing. I rolled my own and moved closer. I lifted her arm, feeling to see whether it was broken. Same to the other. I looked up and quietly asked permission to check for broken ribs. She blushed, and agreed, though what she was thinking was possibly the farthest thing from my mind at that moment. I was quick and thorough, and thanked multiple deities that she hadn't had them broken. As said deities knew that I'd give them, and worse, to Tori.

Simon POV

When I woke up at around 1, I noticed that I was in a completely new motel room that I had no memory whatsoever of from that point back. As per usual. I also noticed that the room was completely devoid of live people.

"Sweet," I said to no one, swinging out of bed. I figured that they had gone to get something to eat or whatnot, and left me behind. Hey, at least there was no line for the shower!

I spun in to the bathroom, one hand swinging me around the wall. I set the water to hot and stepped in. I sighed as the hot water hit me. I began washing and shampooing.

When I finished my shower, I stepped out and began drying myself. I wrapped the towel around my waist and went to find some clothes. I opened the closet and… oh God.

My clothes were in the car.

Okay Simon, no big deal, just…

Oh God, I slept in my boxers.

It's cool, just get Derek to…

Oh God, Derek's gone.

"GODDAMMIT!" I yelled to the room, but not loud enough for the neighbors to get pissed off. I paced the room, towel around my midsection, wondering whether that was enough to get flagged for indecent exposure. Probably not if it were a female cop. She'd be too busy staring to write the ticket. Oh yeah…

Focus Simon. Come on, think. Where's Kit's robe… I scoured the room for anything that could vaguely be construed as clothing. I found nothing of use unless I planned on using the sheets to cover myself. And that was likely worse than the towel. It was currently looking like I'd have to venture out in nothing more than my towel.

Alrighty then.

I grabbed Kit's set of car keys (Lauren had another) and headed out the door and down the hallway, hand planted firmly at my hip to keep the towel in place. I made it to the lobby without incident and went outside. I unlocked the trunk and grabbed my case. No way was I changing in the parking lot. I was testing my luck as it was.

I had almost made it to the main entrance when it happened. A car door slammed behind me, and the sounds of several small children accompanied by the parents reached my ears. I picked up my pace, not wanting to scar any little kids before their time with my hot as hell body. My towel had slid down a little without my noticing it, but nothing too bad. However, as I continued walking, the edge of it got caught in the wheel of the suitcase. The towel was pulled away from my body faster than ice melting in hot sunlight.

Cue the screams.

"Mommy! Mommy, naked boy!" one tiny voice called, and I wanted to die.

I had dropped to the floor instinctively, fingernails scrabbling at the concrete, trying to pick up my towel and shield my body with it. My hand covered in the front as I furiously tried to free the towel from the wheel, cheeks burning. I turned around in time to see the husband cover the eyes of his wife and the baby she carried in a baby backpack.

"What the hell you doin', kid?" he screamed at me in a southern accent. Visions of shotguns and death filled my head, and I panicked.

I abandoned my efforts at getting the towel out and picked up the suitcase. I covered myself with it as I sprinted through the lobby, the screams of normal people echoing behind me. Cheeks flaming, buns bared to the world, I raced to the stairwell, not even the person manning the front desk managing to get past their repulsion and demand to know what was going on. I flew up the stairs, tripping on the hard concrete at one point. I got off at my floor and raced down my hall, breathing harsh and labored, suitcase still pressed firmly to my junk. As I reached my room, I realized that I had no key.

"Shit!" I yelled, dancing back and forth with anxiety, wondering what to do. I realized that I'd have to swallow my dignity and knock on the girls' door. Oh God.

Swallowing hard, I knocked on the door to the right. As it opened, I breathed a sigh of relief. Until I realized that I didn't recognize the chick behind it. She was smiling when she opened it, and then she caught sight of my state. Her face contorted with disgust when she looked down. Her mouth opened, and she had started to scream when I grabbed the door and slammed it shut. I raced to the other side and pounded on the door, nearly sobbing.

Wrong side.

When I opened I raced inside, whisking past a pissed-off looking Tori. I hauled ass, literally, to the couch where I could sit and cover myself better. I was breathing hard, and I leaned back against the fabric, closing my eyes.

Tori snickered, then chuckled, then started laughing at me. She doubled over, sputtering, hands on her knees. When she had regained some control, and managed, "What the hell happened to you?" I just sniffed, shaking my head.

"Streaking in Texas is an activity I will never repeat again as long as I live."

Chloe POV

After bathing and cleaning up my various injuries, Derek and I went downstairs. We walked in to the café across the street from the motel and ordered breakfast. Or lunch, depending on your view.

As we waited for our meals to come, I watched Derek. His face, while appearing closed to many normal people, was an open book to me. I leaned in, a frown crossing my face.

"Stop thinking about hurting Tori." He drew his gaze down to me, anger visible in his eyes.

"No."

"It's not a big de-" I tried.

"Yes, it is. She had no right to attack you like that. And she doesn't get to walk away without punishment." There was something scary in his face that I didn't like seeing. I looked away and changed the subject.

"What do you think Kit and Lauren are going to do?" He shrugged one shoulder.

"Dunno. This was the worst prank result we've seen since the war started. Who knows what they're deciding."

At that moment, the waitress brought us our food. We both dug in without another word, each person ravenous.

10 minutes later, we were wiping our mouths and sipping drinks, each person introspective and quiet. I looked out the window to the lobby across the street, hand resting beneath my chin. Then, I saw something and frowned.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing. Derek looked up and frowned too. A red blur was shooting towards the lobby, but not fast enough to disguise the features. It was obvious that there was a streaker in our midst.

"Wait, isn't that-" I suddenly said, brow furrowing.

"Simon," Derek finished for me, a smile breaking out across his face.

Oh God. My supernatural half-brother was running through a motel lobby in Texas with nothing but a suitcase covering his balls.

Most of the lobby was in uproar, patrons demanding to know why in the hell a butt-ass naked, bright red colored dude had dashed through the lobby. I looked to Derek, snickering, and found him to be laughing as well. I shook my head, and burst out in to full-scale laughter. I was still chuckling as I paid the bill and took Derek's hand. We walked over, went to the stairs and headed up.

In the room, we found Simon cowering on the couch, cheeks red like the rest of him, just about sobbing. Tori was cracking up in the corner, but she stopped dead when we walked in. I ignored her and asked Simon what had happened.

"I was-, there was-, I needed-, shotgun-"

"You needed a shotgun?" Derek interjected, stepping forward, eyeing Tori warily. Shaking his head, Simon began his sordid tale of how he lost his towel and was nearly "shot" by a redneck in the lobby.

Derek and I were dying by the end.

"So you-, you ran, all the w-, way up here, with n-, nothing but a suitcase covering your junk, be-, be-, because you had no clothes?" I finally sputtered, still gasping for air, sentence intermingled with short bursts of giggling. Simon nodded sadly, pouting. Derek shook his head, still roaring.

"Better get dressed before Kit gets back, or he's gonna get even pissier," he advised his scantily-clad brother, who nodded remorsefully. He stood, suitcase firmly in place, despite the fact that everyone had covered their eyes. With both hands. Actually, Derek covered his with one hand and mine with the other. So three for me. And it still wasn't enough.

10 minutes later, Simon was sitting on the couch, freshly clothed. Only, every piece of his clothing was dyed pink. A fact that did not escape his attention. In addition, he was scratching at his body, though it didn't seem to be bugging him much. Maybe we hadn't put as much powder in that particular outfit. But now, his more obvious physical alteration was at center stage.

"You dyed him red too?" Tori shrieked when he came back out. Had she not noticed before?

"You dyed me red?" Simon shouted, also noticing for the first time. I shook my head sadly. For the love of…

"Wait- Tori, you're blue!" As he realized this, Simon literally began rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. Derek and I couldn't help but chuckle, but Tori looked like she wanted to strangle Simon.

"Did you just notice, shit-for-brains?" she screamed, hands forming in to claws at her sides. She threw a knock-back spell at him, forcing him against the wall, but it was ineffectual on the volume and intensity of his laughter. At this, Derek stepped forward, arms out to restrain her. But she was having none of this.

She yelled, hands raising to block him. Then, presumably, she performed a bit of instinctive magic. Her hands made a sharp downward motion, and at the same time, Derek's pants dropped. Now, I didn't complain at this, but then she did another knock-back spell. Derek, legs all caught up in his pants, tripped backwards, baring his lovely Buzz Lightyear boxers to the world.

Me being me, I had to grip the wall to keep from falling over with laughter. I mean, seriously. Who owns Buzz Lightyear undies?

Kit and Lauren chose that inopportune moment to appear from wherever the hell it was that they had been. They came in through the door, faces grim, when they happened upon the scene in the main room: Simon ROFL'ing in the corner, body dyed red; Derek on his back like an overturned beatle, Buzz Lightyear underwear very publicly displayed to all of us; me hanging on to the wall for dear life, trying my best not to die from laughter; and Tori in the center of the room, madwoman face on, palms practically smoking and general appearance terrifying.

Kit cleared his throat loudly.

All noise ceased, and Simon and Derek both sat up. Simon looked at Derek, and snickered.

"Nice threads, bro." Derek scowled.

"Nice tan, bro," he shot right back. Derek adjusted his pants and stood, and Simon too crawled to his feet. I pushed myself back up on the wall, and Tori made an attempt to right her expression. We all stared down at the adults, somehow every one of us coming to the same conclusion at the same time. We weren't going to like what their idea for a punishment was.

They motioned for us to sit down on the couch, and as we did, they came and stood in front of us, arms crossed. Then, the lecture began. What followed was something along these lines:

"Blah blah fight blah Tori blah Chloe blah blah Simon blah blah blah Derek blah blah pranking war blah blah long enough blah ending…

"What?" Simon asked loudly, interrupting the shared speech. They both looked at him in all his fiery red glory, as he asked them to repeat themselves.

"We've decided that we're going to put an end to this ridiculous pranking war. It has gone on long enough, and Lauren and I are fed up with it. The girls were both seriously injured this morning, and we refuse to have you all fighting amongst each other for something as stupid as this. From this point onward…

NO. MORE. PRANKING."

Le-gasp! Do my eyes detect a… cliffie? Well, worry not, as a super special awesome holiday edition may come within the week that will clear all this up… if you all cooperate. As in… if you guys review XD so anyways...

Little do the shower-dye prankees know that their reactions are actually quite similar to Chloe's original prank on Derek XD

Yes, I know half of you will go back and check.

And dang, has it really been 2.5 months? Shit guys, I'm sorry. Didn't mean for the break to go on that long :(

You know the irony of this? Tori and Simon got dyed red and blue, and the day after I wrote this, my pen exploded red ink on my hands. The teacher's offer of hand sanitizer only made it worse. She made me go to the bathroom & attempt to wash it off, but even then, it still looked like I was part demon or wearing bright red gloves or something. XD good times… (I got pictures :D)

So, erm, review in the spirit of the holiday season?