As Bart awoke from his slumber, he wiped his eyes in an attempt to become awake. He leaned forward and realised what day it was. "It's the day of the sleeper!" he thought. He quickly jumped out of bed and cleaned his room. "I can't have my room cluttered especially when guest are coming over," he said.
After taking a solid 10 minutes to clean his room because it was that filthy with empty bottles of water and tonnes of games lying on the floor, he checked what time it was on his alarm. "1:00 AM!" he shouted, and he pounded. I know it's the weekend, but I usually don't have much of a lie-in; the latest I woke up was 11:00, and that's because I was the only one in the house at the time. As he proceeded to the shower, he said, "The rest of the group was on vacation.".
In the shower, he thought about yesterday and all of the weird events. Realising that he might have a crush on Lisa's best friend, having a heart-to-heart with Nelson, and having the weird conversation with Alex, he began to think that everything was moving too fast and he didn't have enough time to process everything at once.
As he exited the shower, he dried himself off, put on a pair of clothes, walked downstairs, and entered the kitchen to be greeted by his father. Who was counting money in his hands?
"Hey Dad, what's up?" He greeted his dad in his usual tone, still preoccupied with various thoughts.
Homer looked up from his money, and Carmley said, "Nothing much, boy, just counting the check I just made from work." Realizing the time and how late Bart woke up, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Hey... What has caused you to wake up so late? You rarely, if ever, wake up this late. What has gotten into you?"
Bart shrugged and said, "Lisa's sleepover; that's why I'd rather be more awake later in the night and have the most fun I can than be a sleepy head midway through." He said as he sat on one of the chairs and looked at the cash his father was holding, "Wow, that's a lot of dough, Dad. How much do you have in your hand?"
Homer chuckled: "Trust me, son, it's a lot; it's from my dedicated work at the power plant, and trust me, I'm planning on surprising Marge with this money." Homer winked at Bart.
Bart looked at his father, confused. "Well, treat mom well with whatever you're planning to do with that money," he said. However, as he got up from his chair, he noticed his sister with a journal in her hand, jotting things down. Instead, he sat back down and said, "Hey Lisa, what are you doing?"
Lisa looked up from her journal, and with pen in hand, she said, "Oh, I'm just jotting stuff down that I and Allison are planning to do later; here, check it," she said as she gave Bart the journal. Bart looked at the journal and narrowed his eyes to get a better look. " Wait! You two will watch a movie later. What kind of genre is it going to be?"
Lisa blushed and said, "Oh, we are watching a romance movie; don't worry if you don't want to watch that stuff with us; it's admittedly girly. Allison always told me she loved romance novels, so it was her idea."
Bart blushed. "There's no way this is a coincidence," he thought. He looked up at his sister and said, "Well, don't worry, Lisa, Bartman loves any movie if he has the time to watch it.
Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute, you want to watch a romance movie? You only watch romance movies with girls if you like them," Lisa questioned Bart, wondering what his intentions were.
Bart looked away and said, "C'mon, Lisa, can't a boy just have some fun?
Lisa sighed "Alright, fine, Bart, you can join us for the stupid romance movie; just don't try to make a move on Allison because if you do, your dead meat," Lisa said with a scary face, making Bart's eyes widen with fear.
"Hey, what do you mean? I'm not going to make a move on Allison" he said, scared Lisa might know his secret". And why would you care if I did anyway?"
Lisa sighed in frustration. "Because she's my friend, Bart, I can't have my brother date my best friend; that's just weird." As she crossed her arms, she said, "I know how you're with girls. I know you'll just try to impress her and sweep her into your arms, but Allison is too smart to fall for those tricks."
Bart looked at his sister, confused, wondering what was up with Lisa. "I was just joking. What's gotten you so defensive? It's like you think I'm planning to date my sister's best friend," he said, cringing on the inside, knowing he's a hypocrite.
Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Bart, it's obvious that you like Allison. I saw you gawking at her at the door yesterday, while you admired her. I watched you, and I've never seen you look at women like that in your life.
Bart blushed at Lisa's exaggeration. Even in front of her own father, he was so engrossed in his money counting that he didn't even notice the bickering between his two children.
Just like fate wasn't on his side, his father said, "Hey, you two should settle down. I'm counting my money here. Bart, if you have feelings for Lisa's friend, be honest with her. Lisa, let Bart be honest with his feelings. That's the right way to end this drama." He said this as he counted his money.
Both stared at each other in shock at their father's words. They knew their father had been focusing on improving his life lately, but they didn't know he had learned how to handle disagreements as well.
Bart, being the first to say anything, grinned. "Well, Lisa, let's see what happens. "Will I live happily ever after like in one of those romance movies, or will I fail at my conquest and disappear?"
Lisa's eyes were winded, confused by what was happening. As she walked out of the kitchen, she asked, "What's with everyone talking about smart?" She grabbed the journal from Bart. "Bart, don't do anything stupid," she said.
Bart, taking in Lisa's words, realised that she was right; however, he knew deep inside that he needed to be straight with Allison to see if he really had a crush on her or if it was Nelson's teasing that made him think he actually liked her.
Bart looked up to his father and said, "Hey dad, can I have some money? I want to buy some sweets for today's sleepover."
Homer shrugged and gave Bart some money. "I'm feeling generous, boy, so don't spend my hard-earned money on anything stupid, okay?""
Bart nodded and walked outside. As the hours passed, Bart's anticipation of the sleepover—the anticipation of seeing Allison again—made his heart flutter with joy. However, in the back of his mind, an everlasting dark cloud hovered over him. The thought of embarrassing not only himself but Lisa because of his feelings could really sour him and Lisa's friendship with Alison. He knew that today was not his day but Lisa's, so he wondered if confessing his feelings was the right thing to do.
Finally, after the long, gruelling hours, 6.30 p.m. came, and Allison knocked on the Simpsons' door.
Lisa opened the door to see her best friend; she immediately hugged her, making her feel welcome. Bart watched from the sidelines as he smirked from a distance, knowing this sleepover was going to be a wild ride.
After being hugged by Lisa, Allison walked over to Bart and extended her arm out for a handshake. "I can't wait to see what pranks you have set up around the house." She laughed
Bart extended his arm out and shook her hand. "Well, just know that you're going to have a lot of fun here, Allison. You can be sure of that," he said with an enormous grin on his face.
Allison nodded and walked into the kitchen with Lisa. Bart watched on with a delirious grin. "3...2…1…" When he counted to one and heard the girls scream, he quickly entered the kitchen to see that the bucket he placed at the top of the kitchen got them, and it sure got them good.
Bart laughed his head off as he pointed at them. "Ha! Ha! That's the coolest thing I've seen all day," he said as he wiped a tear from his face. "Man, there's more where that came from." He said this as he walked around them and opened the fridge door to get himself a glass of water. Sure hasn't been pleasant for you two, hasn't it?" He giggled.
Lisa and Allison were shocked by Bart's prank, and they cleaned themselves up, Lisa saying, "Bart! What was that for? "What happened to you saying you were trying to keep it tame?" she asked after wiping away the last drop of water from her dress.
Bart laughed as he poured himself a glass of water. "C'mon, Lisa, where's your sense of humour?" When Bart is around, especially during sleepovers, you know I'll throw some pranks here and there.
Allison, wiping water from her face, laughed. "Wow, Bart, you sure got me there. Well played."
Lisa, realising that even Allison enjoyed the prank, decided to lighten things up a little bit. "All right, but I sure wasn't expecting that prank; you got us well, but can you please lighten it down with the pranks when we watch the romance movie, please?
Bart grinned mischievously at Lisa. Lisa, I will tone it down with the pranks, OK? I don't want water bucks to ruin the romantic atmosphere, do we?"
Lisa sighed in relief. "Thank you, Bart. I want this sleepover to be enjoyable, not just for me but for everyone."
As they walked up the stairs, the three agreed and prepared to move. Bart grabbed the popcorn, Lisa grabbed the drinks, and Allison picked up the snacks. Bart thought about those familiar thoughts. Realising that thinking about those thoughts would make things harder, he pushed them to the side. He decided to focus on what really matters: enjoying the movie with his sister and her best friend.
The three entered Lisa's room. Upon placing a cabinet in the corner of her room, Lisa moved one of her desks to the same spot. She placed the TV on top of it and plugged in all cables.
Finally, after she was done, she flicked the switch, and the TV bottom right glowed red. She grabbed her remote and browsed through the channels, finding the movie Allison wanted to watch.
The three of them snuggled into Lisa's bed with snacks and drinks in hand. Luckily for Bart, he was in the middle of them both, so he could see Allison's reaction to the movie and determine if she was enjoying it, and he could see Lisa's reaction to determine if she would shoot him daggers through this entire ordeal.
Lisa, with the remote in hand, pressed the play button, and the movie played. Bart's heart raced as the movie started. All those thoughts from last night rushed to him. He knew this movie would be the deal-breaker to see if Allison liked him or not. Like a true trooper, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his skull and focused on the movie in front of him.
As the movie progressed, Bart's heartbeat became louder. Then, out of nowhere, while he wasn't focusing on the movie at all but on his own thoughts, he caught a climax on the screen that showed characters kissing.
Bart's heart skipped a beat when he saw the two characters kissing; he felt fear and excitement. He tried to play it cool, not letting his thoughts get the better of him. He focused on the movie, not his thoughts.
Finally, after the movie credits rolled, Bart knew today was the only day to confess his feelings to see if she liked him or not. As Lisa got up from the bed and turned on the lights,
Bart turned to Allison. I want… I want to tell you something," he said as he paused for a moment, feeling his heart racing in his chest.
Allison looked at him curiously and asked, "What's on your mind?"
Bart took a deep breath and looked into Allison's eyes. Look, Allison, I'm willing to be upfront with you; yesterday Nelson teased me and said I have a crush on you. Even since his teasing, I've begun to feel those feelings for you, and I want to know if you like me in that way."
Hearing Bart's words, Allison looked at him confused, but as the words processed into her brain, she warmly smiled. "Bart, I appreciate you honestly; I truly appreciate your honesty. I'm not sure if I'm ready for a relationship, aren't you? I'm currently busy with many things, and I'm not sure if we would be an ideal match.
Listening to Allison's words, he sighed, failing to meet her gaze. "It's fine, Allison; I just wanted to see if you liked me in that way," he said as a smile slowly formed on his face. "I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about making things awkward between us both.
Allison nodded, appreciating that Bart, goofy old Bart, was dealing with rejection very well; he felt like he dealt with it the appropriate way he could, and she was proud of him for that. A small smile appeared on her face. "But when I get everything sorted, I don't mind giving it a shot. Just remember not to get overboard with your pranks."
Bart chuckled at her last comment. Feeling the tension fade away, he said,"Fine, I will tame it down with the pranks" He laughed but said in a serious tone" But when you are ready to give it a try, tell me because it would be helpful to know how it feels like to date a girl".
Allison nodded. "Alright then, I guess you can say it's a date." They both chuckled at the comment. "But now let's move on from this and put it to the side for a bit instead let's focus on the sleepover," Allison said excitedly and began to chuck popcorn around the room. "
Bart, feeling happiness, joined Allison and tossed popcorn in the room like mad men. Lisa secretly listened to their conversation. Lisa smiled to herself, knowing the tension between them had been taken care of. She hopped around the corner of the room and started to join in and mess around with them both.
As the hours passed, the trio had more fun and watched another movie, played video games, and talked about stories late into the night.
But as the sky got darker and darker, they realised it was time to call it quits and got ready to sleep. Lisa and Allison grabbed their sleeping bags, snuggled themselves in, and drifted into sleep.
Bart, lying on Lisa's bed, wanted to stay up longer and have more fun with them both; however, he had to reluctantly agree to their demands and get into his sleeping bag.
He lied in it and thought about how lucky he was to have everything go so well. Yeah, he knew he technically got rejected by Allison. However, he knew that when she got everything sorted out in her life, she would give him a chance. With positive thoughts about the future, Bart drifted off to sleep after a fantastic night's sleep.
Bart woke up hearing the birds chirp through the window. He leaned forward and stretched his body, trying to feel more awake. As he stretched, he looked around the room to see Lisa and Allison still asleep in their sleeping bags. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, glad that the sleepover wasn't only a success for him but for everyone involved.
Not wanting to wake both of them up, he tiptoed out of the room and went down the stairs. He entered the kitchen to be greeted by his dad, who was reading a book about nuclear power.
Bart wanted to make his presence known and pulled the chair away from the table to alert his father of his presence. Homer looked up to see his son sitting down on the chair in front of him.
Homer, taking off his reading glasses, smiled and said, "So how was the sleepover, Bart?" He said it excitedly, wanting to know how things turned out. He continued, "Did anything interesting happen to you and Allison?"
Bart chuckled, appreciating his father's enthusiasm. "The sleepover worked well, dad," he replied, with a smile on his face. "And yes, something happened between Allison and I yesterday night."
Homer leaned forward with excitement. All this talk about girls reminded him of high school. Homer excitedly said, "Well, what happened, boy? Did you swoop her off her feet?" "Or did you get rejected, son?"
Bart sighed, listening to his words, and reluctantly said, " I don't know, maybe both?"
Homer narrowed his eyes in do both mean?"
Bart explained, "Well, she said she's busy at the moment, so we can't date; however, she said when she has her life sorted out at home because she's really busy, she will give it a shot."
Listening to Bart's words, Homer felt conflicted. He was happy that his son didn't get completely rejected; Bart still had a chance. However, he also felt the feeling of doubt in his mind, the doubt tht maybe e allison said that she could give it a try when she's not busy anymore to not upset Bart and is secretly wanting him to forget she promised that, he feared that because of his experience with his old high school friends who were promised "date me or give me time II'm busy then we'll date"
Those memories of his friends being lied to planted a seed of doubt in his mind. He looked down at his son and I'm glad everything didn't come to ruin; however, not to be rude, don't expect everything to work according to plan, boy."
Bart nodded, understanding his father's cautious words: Life is a rollercoaster after all. With the short time spent on this planet, Bart knew that everything in life didn't proceed according to plan or as expected at all.
He looked into his father's eyes. "I understand, dad. I really understand that everything doesn't proceed according to plan," he continued. "But that's what makes life so much more fun; hey, if me and Allison don't make it out in the end, that's fine; just like you said yesterday, dad, it's better to try and fail than not trying at all."
Homer smiled down at his son, gazing at his nuclear book. He said, "You know what, son, why not us two go down to the park today and fish?"
Bart looked at him perplexed. "Fishing?" He laughed. " That's so random, Dad, but sure, there's nothing wrong with trying something new every so often." He spoke, then got up from his chair and began to make his way out of the kitchen, but before he did, he turned around to his father and said, "Thanks, Dad, for the money yesterday." He thanked her, then went back into the living room to do his own activities.
Later in the day, Lisa and Allison woke up from their sleep by the blinding light coming from Lisa's window.
Lisa wiped her eyes from blinding light. "Geezers, that's bright; I even closed the window. But as she looked up at the window, the blinds swayed around. She sighed, "Well, I didn't shut the window after all." She got up from the couch, closed the window, and lowered the blinds so the room wasn't blinded.
Allison yawned then Lisa. "That sleepover we had yesterday was pretty fun, wasn't it?" She said as she tried to get her hair sorted out. "And especially the movie we watched. Damn, it was so romantic," she said as she clasped her hands together, remembering the scene between the two main characters kissing.
Lisa chuckled at her friend's obsession with romance movies and said, "So... did anything romantic happen last night?" She said it in a sarcastic tone.
Allison looked up at Lisa and blushed. "Of course not, Lisa. Where did you get that idea from?" she said as she covered her face in embarrassment. "Who do you think I romanced with, Bart?"
Lisa smiled and crossed her arms together, knowing she had overheard her conversation with Bart. "I'm not entirely sure, Allison, but I overheard your conversation with Bart yesterday, and it was sweet," she said as she walked over to her and knelt next to her. "However, don't rush it, okay?" I was worried this morning that Bart's feelings for you would make our dynamic weird. However, because his confession was successful, I don't want you two to rush into things and make things weird.
Allsion nodded, understanding her friends' worries. "I understand, Lisa, that I'm so busy that I'm not really sure when I can give Bart a chance; however, when that time comes, I hope everything works out well for us."
Lisa smiled hearing her friend's words; maybe she shouldn't worry after all, especially when she overheard their conversation yesterday. She was taken aback by Bart's maturity. "Has he been reading romance novels to prepare for this?" she thought and looked back down at her friend. "Are you ready to leave home now?"
Allison nodded as the two got up from the floor and got dressed in their normal clothes. After a while, the two walked down the stairs, and they saw Bart chilling on the sofa, eating popcorn as he watched football.
Lisa called Bart's name as he turned around to see the two standing next to the door. He paused the TV, got up from the couch, and approached the two. So I guess that's it, right? You left Allison?"
Allison nodded. "Yeah, sadly, however, I had a fantastic time with her and couldn't thank anyone other than you two for making last night's sleepover such a memorable time, not just for me but for all of us." She said as she and the three entered in for a group hug.
3 minutes later, Allison heard her parents' car outside and thanked them again for the fun sleepover. She waved goodbye as she walked to her parents' car. Bart and Lisa watched their friends' departure.
When Allison and the car were out of sight, Bart closed the door to have Lisa behind him, watching him with a smug grin. "So how was last night, Prince Charming?"
Bart chuckled at his sister's comment and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, it was fun, Lisa; I had a blast!"
Lisa, hearing that Bart had a good time, hugged him and quietly said, "I'm just glad that you haven't made our friendship dynamic with Allison weird."
Bart smiled. "Yeah, me too," he said as the two hugged for a while, thinking about how fun Monday is going to be when they both return with Allison on Monday.