Chapter 5

Stacy tried calling Schemer, but when he didn't respond she felt she should hold off. She also knew that she shouldn't push Mr. King further, and worked the rest of the day dutifully. When the day was over, she tried again. Billy was obviously aware, but was similarly swamped and couldn't talk much. Mr. Conductor was strangely absent, but surely he was feeling the negative emotions tenfold. As an entity that essentially existed for the Station, he was very sensitive to the atmosphere.

It was after hours when Schemer finally resurfaced. Stacy was seated at her desk wrapping up some paperwork and holiday schedules when he strode through the door. She crossed the station quickly and cut him off before he ascended the steps to the arcade.

"Schemer, why on earth did you do that?" she asked in a hushed voice.

He seemed to struggle to meet her eyes, and scuffed his toe at the bottom step. "I… I don't know," he said, looking away.

She placed both hands on either side of his face. "Schemer," she whispered, "Please. You didn't think this through. Once Mr. King cools down, you should ask him to keep your lease. Dillylick is so far away. Schemee goes to school here, this is your home."

He heaved a sigh and looked down at her. "Stacy, I won't do that. Is working for Mr. King what you really want? The way he yelled at you? That's not okay, it's not okay at all. Paul stood up for us, Mr. King just wanted to fire us. I know who I would rather work for."

Stacy lowered her hands and took a step back, frowning. "Of course I don't want to work for Mr. King, do you think I like being yelled at like a child? Schemer, what on earth are you planning on doing? Are you just going to up and move? Pull Schemee out of school?"

"I'll figure it out," he shrugged, "Stacy, please, I know this is sudden, but please come with me?" he pleaded.

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"I know, I know, it's sudden. The station is your home. But we can start fresh. We can build a station from the ground up, together! And Schemee won't mind, I'll find him a good school and a baseball team! Nobody here takes us seriously, not one person. We can be together, and no one will judge us or give us weird looks. We'd need a bit of time, and I'll have to work at this new job for a little while! But Paul is the only person who gives me the time of day here, so it's fine! I'm sure he'd help you get a job as well!" he said intensely, grasping for her hands.

She looked downright horrified. "Schemer. I can't leave," she said in a hushed voice, "This is my home. This is my family legacy –"

"And it's been taken over by Mr. King," he interrupted her suddenly, frustration growing in his voice. "Your family legacy is being driven into the ground by a jerk who can't even treat you with basic human dignity!"

"Stop," she told him fiercely, "That's enough. I'm not discussing this anymore. It's… it's been a long day. I need some time to process this all."

The passionate rage melted from his face, leaving behind a frightened expression. "Stacy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone there." He dropped his gaze to the ground once more and stepped back.

"Schemer, promise me that you'll rethink this. Please," she pleaded. "I think you're making a mistake."

He met her eyes again, feeling uncertain. "Promise me you'll think about what I'm asking."

"Please understand that I can't do that," she shook her head sadly.

He reached for her hand once again. "Did you still want to go to the Christmas party with me?" he asked sadly.

"Yes, of course. It's not the end," she said softly.

He smiled weakly. "Great, I'll see you then."

Schemee was yet again lounging in the doorway to his Uncle's bathroom as he got ready for the Christmas party, just as he did before the summer staff party.

"I'll be just fine. Thanks, again for letting me do this," Schemee replied casually, responding to his uncle asking him for the tenth time that hour if he would be okay.

"It's not a problem. You're getting older and can be trusted with these sorts of things now," Schemer said distractedly as he shaved.

"Thanks Uncle, that means a lot to me. I won't let you down," Schemee said with a nod.

Stacy came to pick Schemer up this time. Schemee was in his room and never noticed her car. He waited about an hour, after his uncle had left, before calling his friends. "Come on over. Bring some friends if you like," he told them cheerfully, "I'll be able to clean up and handle everything. He won't be back tonight"

At first Becky and Dan showed up together. Schemee was confused when they were the only two. "Where's Kara?" he asked.

Becky looked uncomfortable. "She's getting friends. She's holding you to your party promise."

Schemee grinned. "Good, good. I'm going to be so popular after this," he said smugly.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Anyone who comes will just take advantage of your house, trust me. My cousin Matt once threw a 'small get together' and about two hundred people showed up. Two hundred people Schemee!" he tried to plead with his best friend, to talk some reason into him.

He scoffed. "Two hundred more people to see me as the wonder that I am," he said arrogantly.

Becky shook her head. "I truly don't know what's making you so sure of yourself. Your uncle, you know, your guardian and the one who adopted you, trusted his house to you. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" she asked.

"Of course it does. But I just want to show him that I can be trusted all the while having a good time. He's going out to a staff party and I'm having a small get together. Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Unfortunately, later on, Schemee was too busy entertaining people in his uncle's den upstairs to realize that the number of people at his Uncle's house was growing exponentially.

The atmosphere was muted. This time, instead of the cheerful car ride that they had into the last party, the two sat in an awkward silence. Small talk was the only arrow to pierce the blanket of silence, but it did little damage. Eventually both gave themselves up to the melancholy fog that settled around them. They arrived at the party and met Billy in the parking lot, just like last time. He seemed just as down as they were.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry to hear about… what happened," Billy said with a small, apologetic smile.

Schemer honestly couldn't tell exactly which event he was talking about. Was it the fact that they got into serious trouble? The fact Schemer gave up his lease and subsequently his arcade empire? Or maybe the job offer that Schemer had accepted, four hours away in Dillylick. Could it be the end of his relationship, lurking heavily over them? He didn't know; it all equally weighed on his mind nonetheless.

Instead he pocketed his hands and gruffly said, "Thanks Billy."

Stacy responded with an identical smile to Billy's. "We'll figure it out, don't worry," she said simply. She turned, her grey dress twirling around her legs as she moved. They followed in suit, entering as a group.

By and large no one paid any more attention to them than would be normal. But a few seemed to linger on them a touch longer than Schemer was comfortable. The minority who did made him feel exposed, like everyone knew what had happened. He tuned them out, trying to focus on Stacy and Billy, but their eyes burned holes in the back of him. He felt like there was a collective accusatory gaze trained on him. Intrusive thoughts filled his mind and he imagined conversations behind his back. 'There goes the guy who ruined Stacy Jones' reputation. That sweet woman who ran Shining Time Station? Yeah, she got caught up with that guy.' He clenched his jaw, banishing them from his mind.

He realized Stacy was trying to get his attention. She stood in front of him with a puzzled look.

"Sorry, did you say something?" he asked, feeling embarrassed all over again.

"I'm just going to grab a drink, did you want a coke?"

"It's okay, thanks," he said and watched her turn away.

He caught Billy watching him carefully.

"Are you for sure taking this job?"

"Looks like it," he said dully.

"You don't sound convinced. You have a choice in this, but you're making it sound like you don't," Billy pointed out gently.

Schemer felt his annoyance rising once more. "And I'll stay here and do what, exactly?"

Billy exhaled slowly and Schemer felt bad for snapping. Billy was his friend, he was only trying to help.

"You don't need to fight her battles for her. She's not looking for you to make some grand sacrificial gesture. That being said, I know why you'd want to leave, and I do agree that Mr. King is a jerk. If this is truly the best decision for you to make, I will support you and wish you the best. But if you're just doing this just to prove a point, to stick it back to Mr. King, you're only hurting yourself in the long run," he said gravely.

Schemer felt immediately conflicted. Billy was always good at vocalizing what people felt.

"I just feel that maybe this could be a new beginning. I think I could achieve a lot more outside of where I am now. I wish… I wish she could see that as well. But if this is where she belongs, I can't change that," he said sullenly.

"And Schemee? What does he think?" Billy asked curiously.

"I haven't told him yet," Schemer admitted. "But I will, soon."

"I wouldn't wait too long, it would be a big change," Billy suggested.

He said nothing in response. Schemer's mouth was set in a grim line and he felt the anxiety gnawing at his stomach. He saw Stacy returning, Paul in tow.

"I found a friend," she said simply.

"I was just telling Stacy that I'm sorry how everything turned out. I tried to convince Mr. King otherwise, but he wouldn't have it," Paul said apologetically.

"It's okay," was all Schemer could respond.

"I do think that it's possible he could change his mind," Paul suggested, "Perhaps later tonight, you know, after he's had a few." He gestured drinking from a bottle and the group cracked the first real smile of the night.

"I'll think about it," Schemer said. He met Stacy's eyes, and they shined with hope. He knew that she wanted him to stay, and that gave him a small promise that things were at least fine between them.

"Sorry, could we be excused?" he asked Paul and Billy, and they shrugged their affirmation.

"Would you like to go dance?" he asked Stacy.

She smiled shyly. "Of course."

They made their way to the dance floor and they settled into a slow tempo.

"Will you talk to Mr. King?" she asked hopefully.

"I might as well," he responded, a small smile on his face. "Maybe I was too hasty."

"You tend to jump into things," she admitted playfully.

"I know, it's a terrible habit," he agreed.

"So if Schemee is home alone tonight, does that mean he knows you're here with me?" she asked, changing the subject.

Schemer nodded. "Yup, he knows and he's totally okay with it all. Couldn't be happier." He felt a pang of guilt as he lied, but as it stood he had a running list of major things to tell Schemee right now. If he didn't lose the arcade, all he had to do was tell him about Stacy, which would likely be welcome news. If he did, at least he had happier news to buffer it with.

The song ended and he saw Mr. King, drunk, across the other end of the hall. "Maybe now would be a good time," he murmured and took her hand to accompany him.

It probably would have been a good time, if Stacy didn't get a phone call. It was her nephew, Dan. She thought that was odd for a Friday night and picked it up, feeling odd about the circumstances.

"Dan? What's wrong?" she asked, pressing her finger to her opposite ear. Schemer looked on curiously, and then felt his heart drop when she gave him a panicked look. She got off the phone, assuring Dan that they, they, would be there shortly.

"What is it?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"We have to leave now. I'll explain on the way."

By the time they made it into the driveway, the party was fully raging. Music was pounding, driving through the ground so powerfully that they could feel the vibrations before they even made it out of Stacy's car. Schemer looked on in horror as his house was bursting at the seams with teenagers. They were stumbling around, many quite drunk, and didn't even seem to notice the sudden emergence of the two adults.

A wave of anger rushed through him. "Schemee," he hissed through his teeth before charging into the house, ready to face the hoards of teenagers. He squeezed through the house as fast as he could, hindered by the masses. Some seemed to recognize him as an adult figure and left for the door before any real trouble could happen, but most barely spared a second glance. Stacy followed behind him, phone in hand. She was relieved when she spotted Dan.

"Dan, it's best if you find Schemee. This party is going to end very soon," she shouted over the music. He nodded, moving quickly ahead, getting ahead of her and Schemer to where he knew Schemee to be.

"Schemee! You have to get everyone out of here!" he hollered as he burst into the den. Schemee sat on the sole couch in the room with Becky and Kara. Becky and Kara were worried, they had come upstairs with Schemee to try and avoid the madness that was the downstairs. To his credit, Schemee looked fairly nonchalant.

"Come on Dan, it's not even midnight. My uncle won't be back until tomorrow morning. I'll get rid of everyone long before then. Besides, they're all having fun and it's not too wild. This will do wonders for my popularity," he said smugly.

"No Schemee, it's a zoo down there! And besides –," Dan began to say but got cut off by Kara.

"Schemee, I think this was a bad idea," she admitted.

He narrowed his eyes. "But you put me up to it!" he said irritably, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but I think Dan's right. We should clear everyone out. Come on Becky, let's go start getting people out of here," she said, grabbing Becky's arm and helping her up. As the two girls left the room, Schemee began to follow them. Dan followed in hot pursuit, desperately trying to get his attention.

"Schemee please!" he called.

"Not now Dan, I'm going to go see how much you're all overreacting. See, it's not that bad - Oh..." He trailed off as he saw the sheer number of people that were crowded downstairs. It was wall to wall, it was as bad as his friends said it was. As bad as they had warned him it would get, and even worse than that. It was completely out of hand, to say the absolute least.

He walked downstairs and elbowed his way through the crowd and made his way into the kitchen. Dan was following him closely, yelling something indiscernible at him. He couldn't be bothered right now, he had to get these people out. They made their way to the kitchen. A surprising few people seemed to occupy the room, he cleared his throat.

"You guys have to get out. Party's over, spread the word," he said seriously.

They groaned in disappointment and cleared the room. The kitchen itself was very near trashed. There was garbage overflowing onto the floor and every counter top and floor tile seemed to be covered in a sticky substance. Schemee and Dan stood with their back to the door.

"Schemee..." Dan started to say as he looked towards the kitchen doorway.

"Not now Dan!" Schemee hissed, "I have to figure out how to get rid of this mess."

"Schemee, you might want to..."

"Dan! I'm trying to come up with a solution!" he snapped, "I need quiet."

"Schemee!" Dan near shouted.

"What?" Schemee snapped back, just as a hand clamped down hard on his shoulder. He froze, not daring to turn around. A familiar voice floated dangerously to his ear from over his left shoulder.

"What did you do?"

It was a simple question. Schemee found he had no answer. His shoulders sagged under his uncle's grip and he found that he could not bring himself to turn and face him.

"I... I don't know." Was all he could say. It left his mouth in a small voice and he suddenly felt like he was five years old again. He started wishing he was five years old.

The grip on his shoulder released. He still couldn't bring himself to turn around. He continued to face the wall with his shoulders hunched as his uncle spoke again. Though this time it was not directed at him.

"Dan, I need you, Becky and Kara to start getting rid of these people immediately. Get them to call their parents... I'll have a lot of phone calls to deal with later, I'm sure. If they're not leaving, advise them that the police will be called in fifteen minutes to make them leave. Stacy, would you mind calling your dad?"

Dan gulped. "Yes, sir," he said shakily. Schemee knew at that minute that his uncle was beyond anger. Dan would never call him 'Sir' unless the situation was serious. A tremor tore through his body. His hands became shaky and clammy. His heart was racing and he slowly turned around to face his uncle. They met eye to eye and Schemee felt a deep pang of guilt, the look on his uncle's face was unrecognizable, completely devoid of humour.

Schemer stared at him wordlessly. His arms were folded across his chest and he was leaning up against the island countertop. The silence was terrible but the look on his face was worse. His mouth was twisted in an almost contemplative look. Schemee could feel the heat of his gaze, a cold fury burning into him. He got the impression that his uncle was struggling to look him in the eye, but could neither look away. He couldn't tell if his uncle was going to say anything or wanted Schemee to speak. Because he couldn't bear the silence, Schemee finally opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry... I... I didn't know," he managed to choke out. His voice was shaky and he felt a lump burning in his throat.

Schemer continued to stare down at him for what felt like an eternity. Schemee lowered his eyes to the floor, unable to continue looking at him.

"You're sorry? You didn't know?" Schemer asked, sneering, "No great excuse, no made up story of how you attempted to fight off the wild crowds? I am surprised Schemee, I thought you had everything planned out to a tee."

They were cut off by Stacy. "Schemer, my father is on his way," she said softly.

"Thanks," he said simply. He turned back to Schemee.

"Why on earth would you possibly think this was a good idea?" Schemer asked, exasperated.

"I don't know, " Schemer said quietly, "It just seemed like it was something I could do. I felt like I could have a few friends over, just to show you that I could handle everything and not let things get crazy. But they... got out of hand."

"Got out of hand?" Schemer gave a humourless laugh, "That's the only truthful thing you've said to me all night. I trusted you. I never thought you would do something like this." He turned and faced away from Schemee, to instead look at Stacy. His hands clasped behind his back.

"Schemee, you know that the police are on their way? I had Stacy call them. And you do know, that I am your legal guardian, not your biological parent? And you do know that anything that happens to you under my care is judged with much more scrutiny?" Schemer asked, by way of explanation.

Schemee knew he shouldn't say anything, but he couldn't help himself. He was already in trouble. "Well if you were actually here most of the time maybe this wouldn't have happened," he said softly.

"What did you say?" Schemer asked, eyes flashing dangerously.

"I said, if you weren't constantly busy with whoever you've been seeing recently, this wouldn't have happened," Schemee said defiantly.

Schemer's mouth dropped open, but strangely so did Stacy's.

"I'm very disappointed in you Jonathan," was all Schemer could choke out. Stacy left the room. The sound of sirens heralded the arrival of the sheriff. Schemer gave him one last incredulous look before leaving, instructing him to start cleaning up.

The word 'disappointed' specifically hit Schemee like a ton of bricks. Schemee felt like a small child again. He wanted to cry because he felt there was nothing else he could do. Their relationship was surely shattered. Sure it was easy going most of the time, Schemee saw his uncle as one of his best friends. But at the same time Schemee always saw him as his guardian. He looked up to him like a child would a parent, to have his uncle disappointed in him was unbearable. He desperately wanted to take back his last words and replace it with an apology, but it was too late.

Moments after Schemer swept out of the room, Dan took his place.

"Hey," he said softly. When Schemee didn't answer, he continued. "My Mom's outside talking to your uncle. She's really mad at me and wants me to help clean up. I think Becky and Kara's parents are thinking the same thing. People are leaving now that the police are here. And I'm sorry, but I called my Aunt Stacy. This was too much, we were in over our heads," he explained softly.

Schemee nodded but said nothing. He wordlessly began to clean the kitchen.

Schemer had finished talking to Stacy's father. He had personally come to help control the situation, and assured Schemer that no charges would be pressed on anyone. Stacy had helped reinforce the idea that this was outside Schemer's control. And Schemer promised it would never happen again.

As her father pulled away, Stacy turned wordlessly and walked towards her car.

"Stacy?" Schemer called. When she didn't answer he walked after her, reaching for her hand as she grasped at the door handle.

"No!" she said as she yanked her arm away.

He looked at her, confused. "What's wrong?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

"You lied," she said, looking at him with disgust, "You lied to me!"

He was breathing heavily. Thinking back on the night's events. Schemee, the kitchen, 'whoever you were seeing', it all came back to him.

"Stacy, please. I meant to tell him, but something came up and I couldn't do it. Please believe me," he pleaded desperately.

Her lips curled in her fury. "I can't. This is too much. You talked about people judging us, but you couldn't even tell your own nephew. I'm just someone you're busy with, is that it? Just someone to occupy your time?" she snarled and wrenched her door open.

"No. No! That's not it at all," he grabbed the door, "Please, just let me tell you what happened!"

"I thought you were better than this. I thought we were beyond the lying and the impulsive actions regarding the station. Does he even know about what happened? That you're planning on leaving Shining Time?"

He didn't respond, looking mournful.

"Then I guess I was wrong. Enjoy Dillylick, I'm done. It's over," she cried as tears started to run down her face.

"Stop, please!" he said, panicking as he removed his hand from the door.

"I love you!" he groaned desperately.

She paused for a brief moment, eyes shining with tears, but said nothing. Shaking her head she shut the car door and pulled away. His hand hung limply in the air after her, and he watched in disbelief as the night truly reached the pinnacle of chaos.

Much later that night, after everything was clean and Dan, Kara and Becky had been picked up, Schemee crept upstairs. He went straight to his uncle's den to see if he was there. As expected, it was empty. He went over to his uncle's bedroom and swallowed heavily before entering.

His uncle was lying on his side, facing away from the door. Schemee was fairly certain that he was still awake because he still had his clothes on from the day and was on top of the covers. Schemee took a deep breath.

"Uncle Schemer?" he mumbled. He received no response, not even a twitch. His uncle was definitely awake.

"Uncle Schemer. I'm sorry, I... I really am. Everything is clean now, I promise," he promised, his voice starting to shake again.

Schemer shifted slightly on the bed. Schemee hoped for a word or hint of forgiveness.

"Go to bed, Schemee," His uncle's defeated voice cut deeply through the darkness.

"But..." Schemee began to say.

"Go," he said simply yet sternly, his back still facing his nephew. Schemee bit his lip and a tear slid down his face.

"I'm sorry," Schemee whispered as he slid the door shut and left to go to bed.