Jeffrey wanted to cover his ears, the noise level was too loud, and it felt like his ears were bleeding. Someone had pumped up the volume way too high, and there was a horrible sounding song with way too much auto tune blaring from the speakers. As if that wasn't bad, everyone there felt obliged to scream their conversations as best as they could over the music. In all his interest in finding out what his first college party would be like, Jeffrey hadn't expected it to be that...loud. He needed to get away from the row for at least a few minutes.
"Hey! Excuse me?" He tapped the hostess' shoulder. She turned and cupped an ear, "Can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
It took four tries, both shouting back and forth in misunderstanding before Jeffrey completely got the girl's directions. Ducking, through a group of students dancing terribly out of sync with the music, Jeffrey reached the door at the end of the hall, but when he opened it he didn't find a bathroom, but instead stairs. He shrugged and closed the door behind him. The bathroom was probably at the top of the stairs.
The bathroom wasn't at the top of the stairs. It was the apartment's roof. Jeffrey stood there blinking in surprise at the Boston city-scape. He began to suspect that there had been serious miscommunications between him and the hostess.
"Oh thank the gods!" A voice cried out in relief.
Jeffrey turned his head just in time to catch sight of a small brunette tackle him with a hug. He stood there awkwardly, trying his best to logically gather his bearings.
"Do...I know you?" He asked slowly, his arms pinned at his sides.
"The door! You opened it! I've been locked up here for hours!" The girl pulled back, and Jeffrey could finally make out her features. She was kind of cute, with brown curly hair and deep brown eyes and a round face. He had definitely never seen her before in his life.
"I'm Jane." The girl seemed to collect herself a bit and began to chatter quickly, "Sorry about the hug, it's just I got kind of lonely and panicky up here, and when you opened the door...well let's say I'm eternally gratified toward you. What's your name?"
"...Jeffrey." Jeffrey still felt very lost.
"Thank you so much, Jeffrey!" Jane beamed and patted him on the shoulder as she walked passed him. She trotted down the stairs.
"Time to shut this party down!" She said with confidence as she grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Or tried to. Desparately, Jane jiggled the doorknob, but it was of no use. It was locked.
"Noooooooo!" Jane pounded the door with her fists.
Jeffrey's eyes widened when he realized what had happened. He rushed down the stairs and tried the door for himself.
"I didn't think it'd lock behind me!" He kicked the door.
Jane just leaned her forehead against the door miserably.
"Skye's going to murder me. First, I agree to letting her roommate throw a party, next thing I know it's getting out of hand and that sneaky vixen is slyly trapping me on the roof!"
Jeffrey patted her arm trying to comfort her awkwardly.
"How'd you get stuck here?" Jane turned her eyes on him sociably.
"I was looking for the bathroom, just to get away from all that ruckus." Jeffrey said ruefully, "I think I made a wrong turn."
"Well you got about as far away from the ruckus as you possibly could without leaving the city." Jane told him companionably, "Wanna go on the roof? It's nicer up there then this dark stairwell."
"Might as well." Jeffrey smiled resignedly.
They propped the roof's door open with a brick, and then stood there wordlessly eyeing each other.
"Hey! Do you have a phone?" Jane's eyes lit up hopefully.
"Right!" Jeffrey dug in his pocket excitedly and pulled his phone out, "I'll just call my friend downstairs and he can let us out!"
"Oh thank the gods!"
Jeffrey wrinkled his forehead at the strange expression, but didn't bother to ask as he called his friend, and waited, phone at his ear. He heard his friend's phone ring at the other end. It kept ringing until finally, "Hi, this is Greg!"
"Oh, Greg, good. You picked up." Jeffrey sighed in relief.
"Sorry, I'm not available at the moment, but you know the drill. Leave a message."
"He's not picking up." Jeffrey groaned, "He probably can't hear his phone over all that noise."
Jane's face dropped. She winced peculiarly, sighed dismally, and then gathered her shoulders resolutely.
"Can I use your phone then? I didn't want it to come to this, but well...there's no other choice. I've got to call Skye."
She said the last sentence as if it was some dramatic climatical reveal, and that Jeffrey should be thrilled with shock.
"Who's Skye?" He asked blankly.
"Who is Skye? That is an interesting question." Jane looked off distantly, "She's an enigma, a force to be reckoned with, a being that transcends all possible reality. And when you think about it, what are we all? Just shadowy mortals? I believe we all transcend-"
Jane stopped herself as she registered the peculiar look Jeffrey was giving her.
"She's my terrifying sister, and roommate to that beastly woman down there. She'll stop the party in a hurry."
"Oh, okay. Here you go." Jeffrey handed Jane the phone.
"Thanks." Jane typed in a number, and then held the phone to her ear.
Nobody answered.
"I might have to call her quite a few times, since she doesn't know this number. Don't worry, she'll answer eventually, even if it's only to snap because she thinks it's a prank caller."
"As long as it gets us out of here." Jeffrey motioned, "Be my guest."
So Jane called. And called. And called. And called. Until, finally, on the sixth call, her sister picked up.
"Um...is your refrigerator running?" Jeffrey heard Jane ask weakly.
Then, from Jeffrey's point of view, Jane's phone call went something like this.
"Yeah, it's me."
"It's Jeffrey's phone."
"He's the guy stuck on the roof with me."
"Your foul and loathsome roommate locked me up here."
"Oh, he was just looking for the bathroom and got lost or something."
"...because she's throwing a really loud party." Jane cringed after that announcement and held the phone away from her ear. Jeffrey could hear the person on the other end throwing a fit.
"I leave you there for an hour!" He heard the other person exclaim before Jane put the phone back to her ear.
"I know. I know." Jane said morosely, "I'm sorry. Will you please come get us off the roof?"
There was a pause, and then Jane winced.
"All right I'll tell him. Thanks, Skye, I'm really sor-"
Apparantly the other person hung up on her, because Jane sighed and handed Jeffrey back his phone.
"Um..just a warning from Skye, she said to tell you if you even touch me, she'll beat you death."
Jeffrey gingerly took his phone, making sure not to make contact with Jane's fingers. After hearing her sister's voice on the other end, he didn't want to risk it.
"She'll be here in about fifteen minutes." Jane said after a long pause, "She's pretty angry. And nothing's more scary than an angry Skye. Her roommate will be a cowering dog under her wrath."
Jeffrey only nodded, not knowing what to say to that. He looked around the roof, just to occupy himself.
"Oh, hey! A telescope." Jeffrey was about to walk over to the object standing off to the side.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Jane warned, "That's Skye's, and if you moved it even a centimeter out of place, she'd have you lying six feet under within seconds."
Jeffrey pulled back swiftly and gulped.
"Alright. I won't touch it."
"I'm sorry you had to get stuck like this." Jane apologized meekly after a long moment.
"It's fine." Jeffrey reached out to pat her shoulder, but then thought better of it when he remembered her sister's warning, "Honestly, I like it better up here than down there."
"You're kind of like Skye. She can't stand loud noises either or big parties." Jane smiled wryly at him.
"And you can?" Jeffrey asked, sitting across from her cross legged.
"It depends." Jane hesitated, "But...yeah, I kind of like the excitement and all that energy and enthusiasm just pulsing through the room. I like to socialize and talk with people. It's exciting to get to know new people, and learn their stories."
"Well...we are going to be stuck up here for a little while." Jeffrey shrugged, and leaned back on his hands, "And I'm a new person..."
"I've got an idea!" Jane said enthusiastically, "Want to play two truths and a lie? I've never played before, mostly because everyone I know, I know too well to play with. Plus, this way we can get to know each other better."
"Sure." Jeffrey said agreeably, "You first."
"Okay, just a sec." Jane furrowed her forehead, and thought for a moment, "Let's see.. I'm going to be an author, I have five sisters, and I've scored a winning goal in soccer roughly over thirteen times."
"I'm going to say...the soccer one?" Jeffrey guessed.
"That is..." Jane paused dramatically, "Wrong! I only have four sisters and one brother."
"Wow! The soccer thing's real? That's pretty impressive."
"Thank you very much." Jane pantomimed a curtsy, "Your turn."
"Okay.. I'm an only child, I can play at least six different instruments, and I used to take ballet."
"I'm going to say the ballet one." Jane said confidently, "No offense, but you don't look that graceful."
"Ouch!" Jeffrey clutched his chest in pretend pain, "You're right, I broke my leg the day before my first class; though, I did end up taking ballroom dancing a few years later."
"Six different instruments and knowing how to waltz? That's pretty impressive." Jane told him.
"Thank you." Jeffrey gave a mock bow, "Your turn."
...
"No! You're not serious!" Jeffrey laughed hysterically.
"I'm serious! His brothers had dared him to see how many girls he could kiss." Jane laughed along.
"That's awful!"
"You think that's awful? You should have seen Skye!"
There was a sound of the door below opening.
"Jane!" Someone called, "I'm back. Get down here right now."
"Skye!" Jane brightened, and then deflated, "Right. Skye."
She and Jeffrey tramped down the stairs humbly, and Jeffrey got his first look at the infamous Skye. She really wasn't at all what he had been expecting. From Jane's terrible discription, he had imagined some large biker woman with a mohawk and tattoos and large muscles. She wasn't even wearing a leather jacket or brass knuckles. She was wearing a collared uniform shirt from the Boston Science museum with her sleeves rolled up, she had a walkie talkie on her belt, a name tag that read, 'Sky', and a pair of black pants.
And she was beautiful. She oozed stubborn authority, from the tip of her blonde ponytail to the soles of her black sneakers. She stood straight and kept her head up confidently, and when she turned a pair of piercing blue eyes on Jeffrey to examine him suspiciously, he found himself feeling very self-conscious and overpowered.
"H-hi." He said flustered, and unable to take his eyes off of her, "Uh...I-uh."
Jane looked back and forth between him and Skye, and then bit back a large grin.
"Skye, this is Jeffrey." Jane tried brightly.
Skye gave Jane a stern look and was about to open her mouth when a red solo cup flew at her. She ducked the cup, and turned eyes furious.
"Jane, go in my room now, and hurry up." Skye pointed. Jane slunk off, waving at Jeffrey regretfully.
As soon as Skye saw her sister close her bedroom door, she sprung into action. First, she marched over to the still pounding boombox and stabbed the off button. Jeffrey was glad to uncover his ears as the music turned off. Nobody else seemed to notice that music had stopped as they continued to shout each other. They had probably all gone partially deaf thanks to the din.
Partially deaf or not, they all flinched and heard Skye when she shouted.
"ALL RIGHT! THIS PARTY IS OVER!"
All eyes were on the imposing blonde girl, including the terrified ones of her roommate. In that moment, Jeffrey knew that this girl was even more frightening than the biker punk he had pictured. Like a thousand times more.
"You! In the stupid backwards baseball cap!" Skye pointed accusingly at one of the boys, "You collect all these cups and throw them away."
"Yes, Ma'am." The boy gulped and hurried to do as told.
"You! Put your shirt back on!" Skye hissed at another boy, "And then dump any alcohol in this apartment down the sink."
"No way!" He protested, "I spent like a hundred bucks on these beers."
Skye stepped towards him menacingly, until she was two feet away.
"Would you like to pay another hundred towards your dental bill?" She asked threateningly.
"I'll dump the alcohol." The boy cowered and quickly pulled on his shirt.
Soon, the whole apartment was busily cleaning up the place, even Jeffrey. He was too scared to point out that he really hadn't attended the party since he had been stuck on the roof, and he didn't want to be the only person there just standing around watching. At least he got to see his sloppy friend, Greg, pay meticulous care in washing all the windows. All in all, this was nothing like the college party he had been expecting.
"Hey."
Jeffrey jumped and dropped the broom he had been sweeping up chip crumbs with, as Jane's sister finally addressed him.
Skye caught the broom, and then shoved it into another boy's hands. He began to sweep diligently.
"Jane said that you were trying to escape this party, and that you let her borrow your phone."
"Yeah." Jeffrey laughed nervously, and tried to find a way to occupy his hands now that the broom wasn't in them. He settled on putting them in his pockets.
"I didn't realize it was going to be this loud, or that there'd be beer. It was my first party."
"What'd you think they do at college parties?" Skye snorted at his innocence, "Serve up entrées and play Scrabble?"
"No, but now that you mention it, that sounds like an awesome party." Jeffrey grinned.
Skye laughed.
"All right, you're off the hook, -" She tried to remember what Jane had told her his name was.
"Jeffrey." He said, "You really should fix those doors so you can open them from the other side."
"Nobody's supposed to go up there besides me." Skye told him, "I'm the only one with a key, and the roof's where I go to star gaze or do homework."
"I saw the telescope." Jeffrey confirmed
"You didn't touch it did you?" Skye's face darkened.
"No, Sir." Jeffrey assured her waving his hands, "I-I mean Ma'am. No, Ma'am. I didn't. Touch it."
Skye relaxed and chuckled.
"Well, I suppose it's thanks to you that this party didn't get even worse." She said, cocking her head thoughtfully, "I thank you for that. If I had come home to everything upside down and broken, I would have been furious."
Jeffrey's eyes widened at the thought that the girl in front of him could have been even more mad than she had been.
"Yeah, well I'm sorry I ever came in the first place." Jeffrey said, and then hurried to correct himself, "I mean I'm not sorry that I met you."
Skye raised an eyebrow, and Jeffrey hurried on.
"Or-or-or Jane, or that I helped get the party shut down." He corrected, "I mean, I wouldn't have come if I had known that there was like alcohol here, or that you didn't approve of it."
There was a snicker from from the kitchen doorway, and they both looked over to see Jane laughing behind a hand.
"Oh, don't get me started on you." Skye crossed her arms, "You, young lady, are in big trouble."
"What are you going to do to me?" Jane cowered.
Skye gave her a cruel smile.
"Oh no." Jane grew horrified, "Oh, no no no no. Please, don't tell Rosy!"
Jane fell to her knees and raised her hands in a miserable plea.
"Please, Skye! I beg of you!"
""I'm not going to tell, Rosalind." Skye said calmly.
"You're...not?" Jane stopped her begging, and looked up hopefully.
"I'm going to tell daddy."
Jane sighed and got up.
"That's worse." She said looking downcast, "But you're right I suppose. Are we still on for breakfast at that place tomorrow?"
"I suppose. As one last treat for you before you're grounded into eternity." Skye looked at her watch, "I've got to get all of these idiots out of this apartment, yell at my roommate, and somehow get back to work in fifteen minutes before my break is over. Aaand the bus already left."
"Save your scolding for Dorothy for when you get back, it'll make her more tense and sorry by the time you actually give it to her. These hooligans are longing to just run out of here, and Jeffrey will give you lift." Jane suggested.
"I-I will?" Jeffrey was taken aback.
Jane gave him a pointed look and a nod towards her sister who had jumped back as the guy with the broom almost hit her with his desparate broad sweeps. Jeffrey caught on, and his face lit up.
"I mean yeah, I will." Jeffrey coughed and tried to shrug in a nonchalant manner. He looked like he was having a body spasm, and Jane sent along another look and an embarrassed shake of the head.
"I can't do that." Skye told him, "You probably want to get back to your-"
"Nah, I insist." Jeffrey cut her off, "It's no trouble at all, and you've had a crappy time taking care of this big hassle. It's the least I can do, after coming to your apartment and chipping in on the mess."
"You were stuck up on the roof the whole time." Skye reminded.
"Same difference." Jeffrey waved, "C'mon, you don't want to be late."
He had Skye there, he could tell.
"Alright. Thanks so much. It's really helpful of you." She told him, as she kicked the broom-sweeper out, "Go to bed, Jane."
"I will." Jane said cheerfully, and winking at Jeffrey as soon as her sister's back was turned, "Bye, Jeffrey!"
"Bye!" He gave her a thankful look and a smile, "I had fun being stuck with you."
Jane watched as all the party-goers fled as soon as Skye ordered them to. They were stumbling over each other in their haste to leave. She watched from the window as Jeffrey and Skye got in his car out on the street, talking and laughing all the while.
"Dang, I'm good." Jane patted herself on the back.
This one shot just popped into my head, and though I didn't give it as much credit as I would have liked, I do like the idea of Jane trying to ship Skye and Jeffrey together, and Jeffrey just being completely oblivious.
Anyway, I've decided to come up with the tradition of letting you reviewers send in prompt suggestions for every third one-shot. That's right, the next update could be one of your ideas if you feel so inclined. I thought it could be a fun way to practice my writing and creative-thinking process. Any thing's allowed, it can be an movie AU, or a book or tv show AU, it could be just a one-shot that takes point during a part in one of the books, it could be anything Penderwick related. I hope to hear anything from you guys.
Celestialite: Nonsense, I'm excited that you read in this in the first place. I'm glad you liked it.
KoalaLover-ABC-123: I couldn't stop grinning from that review, and sorry that I didn't post a new one all that soon, but I hope you enjoy this one.
To my GM: Yes, I can't stand not writing something adorable and dorky, it's my M.O, alright. I'm happy to have you along for these one shots too.
Nijibrush: I agree. It is amazing how these two can fit together in nearly any situation. It's almost as if they were meant for each other, lol. I love one shots to, I'm pretty sure they're my kryptonite, because I couldn't resist writing them. Thank you so much for your review!