"No, no, no!" said Mickey to Davy as the group sat in their suite, just chatting. "That was Sally I dated in high school, not Susan. Man, I wouldn't touch Susan with a ten-foot pole…"
"Well why not?" asked Davy. "Susan wasn't bad."
"Davy, you think every girl's 'not bad'," said Mickey. After that, there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," said Mike, still gloomy about Alice. He opened the door, only to see Rick in the doorway. "Oh, hello Mr. Backer," said Mike, not at all very pleased to see his rejecter's father.
"Hello Mike," said Rick. "How uh…was my daughter last night?"
"Oh, well…she didn't like me," said Mike. "But it's okay, not your fault. What do you need sir?"
"Well, I just wanted to take the time to invite all of you to a formal gala the hotel is having for VIPs this Monday night," said Rick. "I think you all did such a superb job at the gig, and your lady friends are welcome as well."
"You hear that Cara/" said Abigail. "We're going to a formal! Oh, we can dress like princesses!"
"Yeah, sounds great," said Cara. She'd never really been to these sorts of things before, not since prom in high school.
"You all can bring plus ones if you want," said Rick. "It will be in the grand ballroom on the fifth floor. What do you think?"
"Well I think it sounds good, what do you guys think?" asked Mike.
"Sounds like fun," said Peter. Maybe he could ask Cara to go with him? This could be his chance to let her know once and for all that he didn't care about Jeff or anything like that.
"Alright guys," said Rick. "I'll have you on the guest list and I expect to see you there Monday night! In the meantime, get ready and make your ladies pretty!" He left the room on that note.
"Wow, sounds fancy," said Davy. "And we don't have to play at it! For once, we can actually be a part of the crowd."
"Sounds like it'll be interesting," said Cara. "Hey, they said we can bring plus ones, right?"
"Yeah," said Mickey.
"Do you think we should invite Bill and Jane?" asked Cara.
"Yeah, they helped us out after all," said Mike. "I think it's a good idea guys, what do you think?"
"Yeah, let's call them," said Mickey.
Jane shuffled her feet nervously as she walked over to Psychedelic Psycho again on her break. The guys at the hotel had called her and invited her to a formal gala at the hotel they had been invited to, and they said that they called Bill too. Maybe she could find a way for them to go together…she walked through the door again just like she had been doing every other day. "Hey Bill," she greeted.
"Hey there Jane," said Bill looking up from the counter. "You on break?"
"Of course!" said Jane. "So…I got a call from the guys back at the hotel, and—"
"Oh, yeah, the gala, they told me about it," said Bill. "You think you're gonna go?"
"Yeah, it sounds like fun," said Jane. "You?"
"Yeah, sure, why not?" said Bill, shrugging. "Wanna go together? Save on gas and everything."
"Oh, yeah, that'd be nice," said Jane, trying to contain her excitement. She didn't want to seem too happy about it.
"Alright then, I'll call you," said Bill.
"Great!" said Jane. "I—uh—gotta go, ya know, do stuff now…I had fun last night by the way!" Bill and Jane went dancing last night, and while it didn't end like a fairytale, it was still fun and she would do it a thousand more times. She only wished Bill felt the same way.
"Yeah, that was fun, we should do it again," said Bill, making Jane float off the floor. "This gala thing should be a kick though, I never really get fancy that often."
"I agree, fun!" said Jane as she left. "Well, I'll see you around!" She walked out the door and over to her car. Bill smiled as he got back to whatever he was supposed to be doing. Jane was a funny kid.
"Buh bye now, me and Cara are going shopping for dresses!" sung Abigail as she literally dragged Cara out the suite door.
"Hey, have fun girls!" shouted Davy.
"Yeah," said Mickey, "and if Alice tries to hit on you, Cara, just tell her you've got a crazy ex-boyfriend on the loose who'll rip her face off!"
"Oh, shut up!" moaned Mike as the door closed behind the girls.
"He'll get over it," said Abigail. "Man Cara, you've got em all lining up! Girls and boys alike!"
"It's just two people," said Cara. "And I don't even know why, I mean, I'm no Davy."
"Well, no, you're not, but that's beside the point," said Abigail.
"Hey girls!" a voice called from behind them. Cara and Abigail turned around and saw Alice pacing towards them. At least she wasn't like Jane used to be, all frantic and silly. Alice had class.
"Ooooh boy Cara," whispered Abigail. "Hey, no wonder she reamed her dad for hitting on you!" Cara elbowed Abigail to get her to shut up.
"Hey Alice," said Cara, trying to stay friendly. "How was last night?"
"Oh…well…Mike didn't exactly get me, you know?" said Alice. Oh man…she really hoped pretending to be bi and like Cara would be better than dating Mike…Cara seemed more sensible and less annoying. Besides, it got her closer to the target. "What are you two up to?"
"We were going to go shop for dresses for the gala," said Cara.
"Oh, that's right, Daddy invited you!" said Alice. "I may need something new, would you girls mind if I came along?"
"Not at all," said Abigail, obviously enjoying Cara's awkward situation.
"Great, we can take my car," said Alice. The three girls went to the elevator to go downstairs. Cara tried not to end up too close to Alice in the tiny space, but she ended up there anyway, by Alice's doing of course. Abigail was snickering in the corner, ignoring Cara's looks for help.
Hell, this is actually kind of fun, Alice thought as she milked her "crush" on Cara for all it was worth. Finally, to Cara's relief, they got off the elevator and into the lobby and walked out to the parking lot.
"We can all take my car," said Alice. "My treat girls!"
"Oh, you don't have to," said Cara, trying to make an excuse to get away from her…Alice sure was persistent.
"Yes, I do," said Alice as they approached her car. "Cara, you may sit in front, if Abigail doesn't mind."
"Oh, I don't mind," said Abigail, trying not to crack up. Cara glared at her as Alice let her in to the front passenger seat.
"Alright then girls, we're off!" said Alice. She hit the gas, and the three were off to God only knows where with a hitman disguised as a bisexual sweetheart.
"Ya know, it's been a while since we've all been together without those girls," said Mickey.
"Yeah Mick, you're right," said Mike. "So…whaddya suppose we do?"
"Anything man, I'm bored," said Davy. "Any ideas Peter?"
"I'm coming up dry," said Peter. "Hang on, I just touched something really sticky on the table…I'll be right back, gotta wash my hands now." Peter got up and went over to the bathroom. He was in there for all of two seconds or so before a scream erupted from inside the room and Peter came darting out and ran into Mike, clutching him, terrified.
"Peter, what the hell is your problem?" asked Mike, trying to pry Peter off of him. "What was in there?"
Peter just pointed a shaking finger to the bathroom, sputtering, "Sp—sp—sp—"
"Quick, what's he saying?" asked Mickey. "Come on Pete…uh…spool? Spot? Spark?"
"Spaniard?" interjected Davy.
"Sp—Sp—Spider!" Peter finally said.
"Oh, come on Peter, is this what this is all about?" asked Mike. Peter nodded silently. "Look Peter, it's just a harmless little spider!" He went to the bathroom to get a look at it. "Now Peter, it's not gonna hurt you if you don't hurt it." He was inside the bathroom where the dreaded spider was. "Now, I'm sure it's just as afraid of you as you area afraid of—holy shit there's a huge spider in the sink!" Mike backtracked out of the bathroom and stood outside with everyone else. "I would not advise anyone to go in there right now," said Mike again.
"I told you!" said Peter. "It's a monster!"
"Oh, come on fellas, let a real man handle it," said Davy. "Come on Mickey." Davy and Mickey went into the bathroom as well, but soon came out with horrified expressions. "Jesus Christ, that thing's almost as big as me!" said Davy.
"I think it hissed!" said Mickey.
"Okay men, just remain calm," said Mike. "Now, how do you propose we handle this?" The boys looked around the room, and at each other. A master plan against the spider was in progress.
"Hang on girls, I just need to make a phone call," said Alice, stepping into the nearest phone booth.
"Well, that'll get rid of her for a few minutes," said Cara to Abigail. Inside the booth, however, was something Cara would not want to happen at all and would take all the bisexual and lesbian admirers in the world for not to happen.
Alice dialed the number and listened to the phone ring. "Hello?" The person on the other line was Jeff.
"Hey, Jeff, it's Alice," said Alice. "I have Cara and your sister, there's going to be a formal gala at the hotel on Monday night and they wanted to go dress shopping."
"I see…" said Jeff. "What are you gonna do with them?"
"I find that the best way to get your hands on a person is to get them is to get them to come to you," said Alice. "Plus ones are allowed to come, and the girls were saying that they invited that Jane girl you had working for you once who stabbed you in the back, and she's definitely coming."
"I think I see where you're going with this, and I like it," said Jeff. "Go on."
"You shouldn't show your face there because it will scare Cara too much, and she'll just run off again," said Alice. "So I'll keep my eye on Jane the whole night while still pretending to have the hots for Cara so it won't look like I'm watching her, and when Jane leaves, I'll leave, and I'll follow her and tell you where she is. I've done this before, and it works like a charm."
"Sounds good," said Jeff. "What happens after Jane's caught?"
"We make sure Cara knows, and we make sure she knows you have her," said Alice. "And where you have her. They're good friends now it seems from what I saw at the gig the other day. And with Cara's spunk, she's bound to go after her."
"I like your thinking," said Jeff. "I'll see you then." He hung up and Alice got out of the phone booth, putting her façade back on.
"Okay girls, sorry about that," she said. "Cara, I know what'll look good on you, follow me, this place is good." Alice brought them into an expensive-looking boutique. "Here Cara, try this on!" said Alice, shoving what felt like only a foot of fabric into Cara's arms.
"Oh boy, she wants the skin!" said Abigail quietly to Cara. Cara just gave Abigail a dirty look and went over to the dressing rooms to humor Alice. She came back out a long while later (that dress felt two sizes too small) wearing an impossibly tight bright green mini-dress. It squeezed her stomach tight and made her breasts look two cup sizes bigger than normal…no wonder Alice chose it…or maybe she didn't know her dress size…
"Well?" asked Alice. Seriously, maybe she was having a little too much fun with this…
"I think it's a little small on me," said Cara, barely able to talk.
"Aw, too bad!" said Abigail snidely. "It's really your color Cara!"
"Can it Abigail," said Cara as she went back to take the dress off and put her normal clothes on. She came out fully dressed and put the hideous dress back on the hanger. "I think I'll have my own look around," she said.
"Alright Cara," said Alice. "I'm sure whatever you find will be gorgeous."
"Hopefully," said Cara as she turned the corner. She wondered if Peter would ask her to go with him…it would be nice, and she would find it hard to say no to him. She wondered what holding a relationship off was doing at this point. Jeff had been on and off for a while; what was the harm? It was a strange situation. What would Peter say if he saw her walk down to the ballroom in a floor-length, beautiful gown, her hair in an elegant updo, looking like a confident, strong woman who had never been hurt or beaten? She was lost in a daydream as she thought about Peter all dressed up in a suit and tie, or maybe a tux. A clean, cultured, nice man. She turned another corner, and then she saw it—
She grabbed it off the hangar, tried it on, and bought it at the counter faster than she had ever done anything. This was it. This was the dress. This would make her feel like a real woman! "Okay guys, I'm all set, how bout you?"
Abigail and Alice looked at Cara in shock. "Wow Cara, you're a fast shopper," said Alice. "Well, let's see it then!"
"Nope!" said Cara. "No one sees this till the gala!" Cara walked on outside, leaving the other two girls inside the boutique to rush after her with their purchases. Cara had never felt more confident! Not at least until she would finally put the dress on and show everyone that she was not a timid little girl.
Back at the hotel room, the boys were still locked in eternal battle with the spider in the bathroom sink.
"Okay, I think we have it all figured out," said Mike. "Mickey, you go in there with the drumstick and poke at it…Davy, have the cup ready for when Mickey scoops it into it with his stick, and Peter, you get the bugspray ready and spray the living hell out of it when it's in the cup, got it?"
"Got it!" replied the others.
"Let's do this!" yelled Mickey, storming into the bathroom with a way cry, brandishing his drumstick like a longsword (a rather short one at that…) but came running right back out. "Aw man guys, I can't do it! Can't someone else?"
"No way I'm taking your job, no way no how!" said Davy.
"Me either," said Peter.
"Well we have to do something," said Mike. "What are we gonna do? That spider's not gonna leave by itself! Man, I really wish those girls would come back…they may have the brains to do something."
"Won't we look silly to them screaming about a spider in the sink?" asked Peter.
"Yeah, says the one who was first to run screaming from it," said Davy. "But you gotta admit, that thing is scary…"
"Hey guys, we're back," said Cara, walking through the door with Abigail. "We ran into Alice on the way out…finally managed to get rid of her."
"Seriously, if you don't want her, trick her into coming my way!" said Mike. "She may listen to you!"
"I don't think it works that way," said Cara. "Guys…is there something wrong? You all look like you've seen a ghost." All four guys pointed trembling fingers to the bathroom, terrified expressions on their faces.
"What's in there?" asked Abigail.
"Your worst nightmare," said Peter. The girls looked at each other and ventured into the bathroom. Inside the sink was the tiniest little spider Cara had ever seen.
"Oh, come on you four, it's just a little tiny garden spider," said Cara.
"Nuh-uh, that thing's Davy-sized, at least!" said Mike.
"We're trying to get rid of it but we…haven't found a way," said Davy.
"Oh my God…guys come here, I want to show you something," said Cara, not believing her ears. The boys reluctantly gathered round the sink. Cara looked all of them square in the eye and turned on the facet. The water rushed through the sink, drowning the little spider and flushing him down the drain. Once the spider was done, Cara turned the sink off. "You see? Did you guys think of doing that?"
"My hero!" yelped Peter as he lunged forward and hugged her Cara.
"Uh…yeah," said Cara, awkwardly patting Peter on the back. More physical contact with him…just what she needed to go crazy. They let go of each other, finally, and the other three guys were looking down the drain, searching for the spider.
"Oh, come on guys, it's gone!" said Abigail.
"Oh, it'll be back…" said Mickey. "They always come back…" Cara laughed. These guys were probably the silliest, goofiest boys she had ever met. But she loved every last part of being with them, even if it meant she had to save them from evil, giant spiders on a regular basis.