Cara lay face-up and open-eyed on the couch, trying to fall asleep. It had to be at least four in the morning but she still was wide awake. What Abigail had told everybody about Jeff and Jane was really eating at her. She was scared. At any moment, Jeff could come through that door and take her again, hurt her, possibly kill her and her friends. She did not want to be the victim again, not in a million years.
She heard soft footsteps coming from down the stairs. Curious at who would be up at this hour, she stood up. Peter was in the kitchen searching through the refrigerator in his silly orange bunny pajamas. Cara smiled a little. Why was he down there this late? Or was it early? Peter took a bottle of coke out of the fridge and then walked over to the couch where Cara was, not knowing she was awake. When he got close enough to see her, he stopped.
"Oh, sorry Cara," said Peter.
"What're you doing down here at four in the morning?" asked Cara.
"I wanted to check on you," said Peter. "Ya know, just make sure everything's okay after yesterday."
"Oh, Peter, that's sweet of you," said Cara. "I'm fine…just having a hard time sleeping."
"That's good…I guess," said Peter. He picked up an acoustic guitar that was laying on the coffee table. "When I can't sleep, I listen to music. Maybe this'll help?"
"Sure," said Cara. She knew that Peter was a guitarist first, but she'd never heard him play. She was looking very much forward to this.
"Okay," said Peter. "Dunno how this is gonna go, it's been a while since I've played like this…gotta put my bass hands away." Cara giggled at the saying. Peter smiled back and placed his fingers on the right strings and frets. He struck the chord, and his fingers danced all around the instrument, the strings being plucked as gently as an angel's harp. Cara didn't know the song he was playing, but the melody mixing with the harmony of the chords was very comforting. The longer the tune went on, the heavier Cara's eyes got. She wasn't sure if it was the song or if it was the fact of Peter being down with her, but her eyes didn't want to spring open anymore. Everything was calm, peaceful. The melody was weaving in and out of her ears, and finally, by the time the song was over, Cara was fast asleep.
Peter ended his song when he heard Cara's soft breathing. He took the time to look her sleeping form over. Her auburn hair spread across the couch and strands rested across her peaceful, sleeping face. Her eyelashes on her closed eyes fanned out across her cheeks dreamily, and her mouth was partially open and relaxed. He put the guitar back on the table and leaned down and kissed Cara on the cheek before he went back upstairs to his room.
Just a few hours later, Cara's eyes flickered open again. This time, there was light shining through the windows and all four guys were downstairs. "Hey, what time is it?" she asked groggily.
"Oh, you're up," said Mike, surprised. "It's eleven already."
"Ah geez," groaned Cara, trying to sit up.
"Well Peter said he came down at four this morning and saw you were awake," said Mickey. "I think you deserved the sleep, Miss Early Riser."
"Yeah, I was up for a while," said Cara, now on her feet. "I'm gonna get dressed, I'll be back in a few minutes." She soon was up the stairs.
"So why were you downstairs last night anyway?" asked Davy to Peter.
"Just wanted to check up on her," said Peter. "That was really upsetting what Abigail found out yesterday."
"Yeah," said Mickey. "I mean, what he did to those pictures? Man, you can tell this guy means business."
"I just can't believe Jeff was smart enough to piece together everything in those shots," said Mike.
"Well believe it," said Davy. "Can't help but think it's part my fault too…if I weren't in those shots, he wouldn't never pieced together the relationship between me, Abigail, and Cara."
"Nah, he met me too, remember?" asked Peter. "We shouldn't waste time blaming us or other people guys, we just need to handle the situation and make sure everyone is safe."
The other three gawked in awe of Peter's Mike-like comment. "Yeah, you're right Peter," said Mike, not believing it. "You know, you seem to have gotten smarter since all this crap started to happen."
"Uh…thanks?" said Peter, not quite knowing if that was good or bad.
"Back," said Cara, energetically skipping down the stairs.
"How the hell do you do that?" asked Mike.
"Do what?" asked Cara.
"Be a morning person," said Mike.
"Easy," said Cara. "I wake up. I'm hungry, what's food around here…"
"Would you be opposed to…all of us going out?" asked Peter. "I mean…we had this planned since before yesterday, but in light of everything that's been happening…"
Cara turned around sharply. "You know what? I really don't care," she said. "I'm gonna do what I want to do. I ran away from Jeff so I could be free, so I'll do whatever I damn well want!"
"Okayyy," said Mike, taken aback. "Well I guess that's a yes from Cara…"
"Ya think?" said Peter, holding back a laugh. He was amused and proud of Cara's response.
"Shall I get Abigail?" asked Davy.
"Uh…you sure that's safe?" asked Mike.
"What do you—oh—Jeff," said Davy, lowering his head in disappointment.
"Oh, no it's okay Davy…" said Mike with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "I think we have a way to get Abigail…" for some reason Cara didn't know, all eyes rested on Mickey, who gulped and giggled nervously.
"Oh come on guys!" whined Mickey as Peter straightened the blonde wig on Mickey's head and Davy tied the ribbon on the pink dress. "Is this really necessary?"
"Oh, chill out Mick, you've dressed like a chick before and fooled people," said Mike. "Do this for Davy!"
"Oh, I'll do something for Davy alright," muttered Mickey under his breath. The group went out to the car.
"So…why exactly is Mickey dressed like a girl?" asked Cara. "I mean, it's funny, but I don't get it."
"Well, you see, Jeff's seen both Peter and Davy in person, but only me and Mickey in the pictures," started Mike. "Now, what we're doing here is a perfect, I say perfect, example of foolery on the eyes—by dressing Mickey here up as a girl, Jeff won't recognize him, or her rather, although he has seen Mickey in a photograph, and my Jeff not recognizing him, he will be able to pretend to be Abigail's friend and without Jeff seeing us all in the car, which will be well-hidden, we will be able to get Abigail out of there!"
"So…basically Mickey's in disguise to fool Jeff into letting Abigail come with us?" asked Cara.
"In theory," said Mike.
"I see…" said Cara. Everyone was in the car and Mike began to drive. Once they arrived at Jeff's place, Mike carefully parked the car behind some bushes and trees so no one would be able to see them and practically pushed Mickey, "Michelle," Dolenz out of the car.
"No one can see us here," said Mike. "Come on Michelle, work it."
"Oh, shut up," huffed Mickey, tossing his skirt as he walked away to the door. He got there and knocked, trying to gain some sort of feminine composure. The door opened and before he knew it, he was standing in the shadow of Jeff. "Oh, hello there!" said Mickey in a forced falsetto.
"Hey…" said Jeff, frowning. "Who the hell are you?"
"Oh, I'm Mi—Michelle, and I'm a friend of Abigail's," said Mickey, twirling a lock of his wig. "Is she busy today?"
"I've never seen you before," said Jeff, narrowing his eyes.
"Well, that's cause I've never been here before," said Mickey, slipping a little into his normal voice pitch.
"What was that?" said Jeff.
"Oh, nothing," said Mickey, popping back into his falsetto. "Just sick." He coughed daintily into his fist.
"I see," said Jeff. "Well…I'll go get Abigail…" he lumbered into the house leaving Mickey outside. He looked back into the bushes where the others were waiting in the car and gave a thumbs up. The others responded, trying not to crack up. Mickey frowned at them and returned his attention to the door again. Jeff came back with a confused-looking Abigail.
"Here she is," said Jeff, pushing Abigail forward. As soon as she saw Mickey dressed up like a girl, her confused face turned to understanding and she covered her face with her hand to hide her laughter.
"Oh, Abigail, it's so good to see you!" said Mickey. He grabbed her and pushed her towards him. "Let's get the hell out of here," he muttered to her in his regular man-voice.
Abigail snorted. "Thanks Mickey," she whispered. "Michelle…" Mickey rolled his eyes and brought her over to the car.
"Okay, the damsel in distress is out of the castle," said Mickey. "So can the brave knight dress like one now?"
"Just as soon as we get out of here," said Mike. As Mickey was fuming about still being crossdressed, Davy and Abigail were having a moment.
"Oh Abigail, I was so afraid I'd never have to see you again," said Davy.
"That would be so painful!" said Abigail. "I will make sure that never happens my love."
"And the same to you," said Davy.
"Get a room," said a disgruntled Mickey hopping into the car.
"But you look really pretty!" said Peter. Mickey said nothing, but gave Peter a piercing look, causing him to cower and shut up.
"So what now?" asked Cara, amused by the current situation.
"We get pizza," said Mike, starting the car. "Let's move on men…and ladies…and Mickey."
"Oh, shut up!" whined Mickey, ripping his wig off. Mike winked and shrugged as he drove off.
Back at Jeff's house, Jeff was still standing in the living room, thoroughly confused. Michelle…not that he gave a crap about his sister's social life, but he'd never even heard a trace of that name before…and he knew he'd seen that so-called "Michelle's" face before. He just didn't know where. He looked out the window and saw a bright red car driving out of some bushes and out into the street. It was packed with people and he couldn't really see who was in it…quickly, he picked up the phone and dialed Jane.
"Yeah?" came Jane's answer after the phone rang.
"It's Jeff," said Jeff. "Listen, there's a red convertible going down Apple Street…it's suspicious…a really ugly chick came up and picked my sister up. Actually…that red car looks like the one I hit with that Peter guy in it."
"I'll follow it," said Jane. "Apple Street you said?"
"Yeah," said Jeff. "Get me a plate number while you're at it. Bring a gun."
"Right," said Jane. "I'll be on it." She hung up. This was coming together very nicely for Jeff.
Meanwhile, at the pizza place, the group of six were sitting at a long table with a large pepperoni pie in the center. "—I was so confused when Jeff came by telling me that a friend of mine named Michelle was at the door! I mean, I don't know a Michelle!" said Abigail. "Who's idea was that?"
"It was all Mike," said Peter.
"Well Mike, you sir, are a genius," said Abigail.
"Well, I wouldn't call me a genius," said Mike, trying to sounds modest but in reality eating it up.
"Well, I'm grateful that you all would go to such great lengths to hang out with me," said Abigail. "Cara, you're terrific for hiding out with these guys."
"Oh, I knew that," said Cara.
"Please, she's just terrific in general," said Peter. Cara blushed, but she knew everyone saw. By now she wouldn't be surprised if the whole group knew the chemistry between her and Peter.
"But seriously, I'm glad I can go out without being scared," said Cara. "Okay, who wants the big slice!"
"Oooh, me!" shouted Peter, putting his hand up. "Well…at least if you don't want it…"
Cara laughed and gave Peter the slice. "Do you think I could eat that much?" Peter said nothing, just grinned and took a bite.
"Hey, I dunno if anyone noticed," said Mike cautiously. "But there's been a girl wearing a baseball cap and guys' clothes standing outside this restaurant for—well—a long time." He was right—it was hard to tell if it was a young boy or a girl, but whatever it was had brown hair and was very small…through baggy clothes, however, a very feminine shape was visible…
"It's Jane," said Cara, her breath catching in her throat.
"Oh my God," said Abigail. "We have to get out of here."
"Wait, we can't just go out the front door, she'll see us," said Peter. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," said Mickey. "I'm just happy someone else used crossdressing as a form of disguise."
"Look, we can't joke around right now, we need to get Cara out of here!" said Peter urgently.
"Okay Peter, just calm down," said Mike. "Now, let's think this through. Maybe we can walk out the back?"
"Mike, I don't think there is a back?" said Davy. "And do you even think she saw us?"
"Positive, she had to," said Mike. "If she's in disguise and waiting outside the place where we are, it only makes sense. How do you think she found us?"
"Maybe Jeff saw the car driving off and called her," said Cara.
"Ah…" said Mike. "Seeing The Monkeemobile would do it, wouldn't it?"
"Let's wait till she's facing the other way," said Davy.
"Maybe we can go out one at a time, so we look inconspicuous," said Abigail.
"Yeah, but she'd still know what we look like," said Peter. "I think Davy's idea would work better."
"It's probably the only shot we have," said Mike. "Everyone, look out of the corner of your eye for her and when she's not looking, make a dash for it. Make it segmented though, not one huge blob of us."
"Sounds like a plan," said Mickey. "Just don't have me dress up again."
"No need," said Mike.
"Hey, she's walked around the building!" exclaimed Peter, standing up and pointing at the door.
"Okay, come on, let's go, quickly!" said Mike. He group shot up and filed out the door. "That was a close one,"
"Yeah," said Davy. "I think we need to be more careful."
"I'd say," said Cara. Everyone climbed into the car and Mike started to drive away. They were a few minutes down the road when Mickey, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, looked into the side mirror.
"Hey…guys?" he squeaked.
"What's wrong?" asked Davy.
"I think we have company!" Mickey shouted. They all turned around to see Jane tailgating them in her black convertible.
"Oh shit!" cursed Mike. He swerved lanes to try and avoid Jane, but she was quick as well, following him. Car horns beeped and angry drivers cursed at both of the cars but Mike just kept going faster and faster.
"Ooooh that bitch!" growled Cara. She turned around to face Jane. "Hey! You! Yeah, you! Ya want some!"
"Cara, don't provoke her, it'll just make her more angry," said Mike. "I'm the driver, I got this!" He sped and swerved more, trying to lose Jane in traffic.
"Oh my God, she's got a gun!" cried Mickey.
"You must be joking!" said Davy, but sure as ever, Jane had one hand on the wheel, and another on a pistol.
"Cara, get down!" Peter yelled. There was a loud bang and everyone in the car ducked. There was a clank of metal and some sparks as the bullet bounced off the car.
"Okay people, hold on to your seats, it's time for some evasive action!" said Mike. He floored it and weaved through cars, tossing everyone in the car into anything and everyone else.
"Mike, you know I get seasick!" cried Davy.
"Tough talk for someone who supposedly has a locker at the bottom of the sea!" joked Peter.
"Oh, isn't that dumb!" said Mickey in between tosses. Jane fired more shots, each one missing, thanks to Mike's crazy driving.
"We can't have her follow us back to the apartment!" said Abigail.
"I don't know where else to go!" said Mike. "I'm going where I'm used to going, I know I'm gonna lose her by then!" He jerked the car into the next lane, avoiding another shot from Jane.
"You can't get away!" shouted Jane at them. "I tried being nice to you Cara but you blew it!"
"Oh please bitch, you were being 'nice' to me to get what you wanted, I didn't buy it for a second!" Cara retorted.
"Cara, not now!" said Mike. "Be the bigger person or so help me!" Because of how fast they were going, it took no time to get back to the apartment. Mike stomped on the breaks, slamming everyone forward. They saw Jane's black car speeding faster and faster towards them. "Come on, let's get inside!" cried Mike. They tried to get inside as fast as they could, but it was too late. Jane was out of her car and had the gun aimed right at Cara's heart.
"Oh, you can't run now, can you?" she said, her blue eyes filled with rage and her smile twitching. Cara had no idea what to say; she was furious. Laughing, Jane squeezed the trigger.
"Cara!" Before he knew what he was doing, Peter lunged in front of Cara as the bullet flew. There was no way he was going to let this psycho bitch kill the woman he loved—no way in hell. It all happened in slow motion then. Peter pushed Cara down, out of the bullet's range, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He crumpled up on the floor, moaning in pain, clenching his teeth.
"Peter!" he heard Cara shout. He saw her looking over him, eyes filled with tears as his vision blurred. He tried to pull a smile as his surroundings faded to black.