Untitled Mystery

Sleepover

"Oh, come on! What'd he say?!"
I could not help but blush. Joy was making me go insane. Sure, this was supposed to be her getting away from drama and boys, but no. She ragged on me continuously, not giving in. She would not take no for an answer.
"I want every word said, Meg! What happened?"
"It.. just.. I mean.. I... he..." I could not quite say it. Of course, I could never quite say that it was all just pretend. I was not that great of an actor, and figured it would fail pretty soon. Why did the sleepover have to be tonight? I deeply wished I could have gotten some coaching from Chester on how to make this believable.
"Why'd you say yes?"
"Joy!" I yelled out. She was not being fair anymore. Her questions kept making me lose my concentration, and I was going to crack soon. I was thinking up something to say to make her be quiet for a second when, to my horror, Lewis came home from the store. He had been gone all day, and obviously did not hear the news.
"Whoa!" he said as he came in. "What's going on here?"
"Sleepover!" Drea shouted happily.
"And boyfriends," Joy teased. I groaned. She just had to say it, in front of Lewis.
"Boyfriends? You got a boyfriend?" he asked Drea. She laughed and pointed to me, which was my que to hide my face in the pillow of the couch we were on. I could not stand much more of this.
"WHAT?!" he thundered. I could tell he was already about to yell for Dad when he suddenly paused. "Who?" he asked, the evilest smirk ever crossing his face. I shot Drea and Joy death glares, but they did not care.
"Chester," they said in unison, and began laughing. Joy looked to me, still waiting for answers to her dozens of questions. I did not care anymore. Lewis would chew me out far more than deserved for this. Why did it have to be this way? Stupid Drea, making me have to lie and go through this to have a genius help me figure out why we're both going insane. If she was not being so weird and mysterious, this would never have happened.
"So, have you kissed him yet?" Lewis asked. He showed no emotion except for pure pleasure from his teasing. I hid my face in the pillow.
"I didn't even think of that!" Joy shouted. "Have you?" she demanded. This was just too much anymore. I refused.
I lifted my head from the pillow in my lap. "You want an answer?" She nodded furiously. "No, I haven't. Happy? I mean, it's been one day! One! What did you think, we were engaged already?" She could not restain from giggling.
"Well, yeah," Lewis said, sitting down in the chair right by the couch.
"Are you kidding me?" I sighed, exhausted. "Sleepover rules, no boys!" I shouted at him.
"Hey, now! This is juicy. Besides, I'm your brother. Don't I count?"
"Yeah, in the extra special must-leave category," I retorted. "Go!" I shouted at him. My anger scared him, and he squealed a very high squeal, laughing his head off as he headed for the back of the house.
"I'm still waiting," Joy reminded me after about five seconds.
"You are the most impatient person ever," I said, muffled from talking through the pillow which my head was in once again.
"Humph. You're no fun."
Without lifting my head, I simply gave her a thumbs up. After about a minute, I lifted my head again and found that Drea and Joy were just staring at me, waiting. Then the phone rang.
Joy was the first one up. I did not know she could move that fast. She shot like a rocket to the next room, and grabbed the phone by the computer.
"Oooohh!" she yelped, smiling an ear-length grin as she handed me the phone. I read the name and number. Of course. O'Hara, Chester. He was calling from his phone line at the O'Hara house.
"Hello?" I asked warily. "Wait, no!" I shouted, too late to stop Joy from running into the kitchen and grabbing the second phone.
"Hey, Meg," Chester said. I could hear Joy giggling madly on the other line, and hoped dearly that he could to.
"Hey," I said awkwardly.
"How's the night going?"
"Uhh.. fine," I lied. I could tell he knew I was being sarcastic by the stifled laughter that followed.
"What are you gals doing?" he asked playfully. Very, very much better acting than I could ever pull off. Acting, and brains. I was lucky I had not been stuck with someone else.
"I... I don't actually know," I said, beginning to laugh. "They're teasing me like crazy," I said, my voice different as I tried to pull off a slight valley-girlesque attitude to make Joy happy. It seemed to work from the reaction coming from the third line.
"Aw, no!" he said, his voice suddenly defensive. "I'll have to give 'em heck for that tomorrow! Joy especially," he added. I knew now that he had heard her on the other line. There were muffled voices fighting in the background, and I guessed that Drea was fighting with Joy to stop eavesdropping.
"Can't wait to see you tomorrow," he added. I could not help but cringe. This really would be awkward, and very hard. Was it even worth it? He was being nice, though. Not laying it on thick, but leaving enough room to be believable while trying to make it the least uncomfortable as possible. If that was possible.
"You too!" I added, trying to sound enthusiastic but failing horribly. He laughed gently, no doubt finding this fairly amusing. If I was not so horrified, it would be amusing. He was letting me off the hook tonight, though, because he knew that it would be hard for me with everyone going insane.
"Well," he began hesitantly. I knew what he really meant was, "I'm sorry you're going through this. It'll be worth it in the end, though. Hang in there." He could not actually say that, though. Maybe I was just imagining things...
"I'll see you later," I said as casually as I could. Joy groaned in the background.
"Sweet dreams, Meg," he said politely. "Go easy on her, Joy," he added. We both burst out laughing as I heard Joy hang the phone up.
"Bye," I said, relieved to get one word in without being heard.
"Don't worry, we'll figure things out," he said. "I am sorry," he added. "Bye."
I hung the phone up and let out a long sigh. Tonight would be hard. Atleast I knew tomorrow would be better from figuring things out. I looked in the living room, and Drea had gone back to her spot on the couch, silently minding her own business. I looked over to my left to see that Joy was standing in the doorway to the hall by the kitchen, right in front of the china cabinet. She looked very impatient, and started tapping her foot rapidly as I stood in silence.
"Well?" she asked.
"Well what?"
"Don't give me that!" she yelped, coming towards me. "What did he say?" she demanded, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
"You heard him!" I retorted. Was she really going to be this difficult?
"He said something that I didn't hear, though!"
I decided to take hold of this and use all I could get out of it. If I was going to suffer, I would make others suffer with me, particuarly Joy. "It's private," I said, raising one eyebrow and looking very devious. Her mouth fell open, and a look of horror crossed her face, soon washed away with joy.
"Awesome!" she shouted. My plan had failed, of course. There was no way I could do anything to make Joy unhappy with this. She was estatic since the moment she found out. I suddenly felt very guilty for trying to make her feel bad. All this was about was figuring out what was going on, and I did not need to be a jerk about it to anyone. I was just about to try to calm things down and change the subject when Joy suddenly ran from the room. I heard Lewis's squeaky door open.
"Sure!" I heard him shout loudly. I did not know what was going on, but if it involved Joy and something Lewis was willing to do, I was in trouble. Deep trouble.
Joy returned, looking very happy with herself, and went over to the couch to grab her handbag. She opened it up, checked her wallet and looked up to Lewis, who was now in the room, with a look of victory.
"Just enough," she said to him. He smiled another evil smile as they both shared some secret.
He began walking past the couches to the old table sewing machine that held the mail, and grabbed his car keys off of it.
"We'll be back in a little while," he said.
"Where are you going?" I asked. "And what are you doing?" I said, spotting Joy walking over to Lewis.
"Well, seeings as I don't have any magazines with me because they're at my house, and you do need relationship tips, I'm going to the store to buy you some!"
"What? No!" I shouted. She was not really going to buy me girlie magazines, was she? I knew Joy, though. She really was. "Please don't," I added as pathetically as I could.
"Oh, posh," she said. "You need my help, and so I'm helping!" Lewis was already out the door, and she was headed that way. "Be back later!" she called as she shut the door behind herself.
 
Great. Just great. Relationship tips in magazines that Joy would buy. I could not really think of anything else less desirable. Not to mention the fact that I was now left alone with Drea. Joy had made the night very light, and comfortable between us, apart from the obvious teasing.
"So, why'd you do it?" Drea asked me as I sat down on the leather loveseat.
"What do you mean?" I asked in a very small voice, scared to think of what was about to happen.
"You don't like Chester," she said, looking me straight in the eyes. "You never have. Why'd you do it? Please tell me it wasn't out of pity..."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. I could not quite meet her gaze. This was it, though. I knew it. The cover was about to be officially blown.
"If you really did like Chester," she began, "you would be embracing what Joy is doing for you. You would be squealing along with her."
"Hey, now," I said, instantly becoming defensive. "Just because I am not like that, and don't exactly want to squeal with her, doesn't mean I don't like him."
"But it implies it," she said.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not that way!" I shouted. This was getting annoying. She really thought I did not like him. I loved him like my brother, though. Maybe that honesty would be enough to get by her.
She lightly shook her head back and forth. "Was it pity?" she asked.
I met her gaze again. "No, it wasn't." It was true, too. It really was not pity. If all this madness was not happening, there would be no way whatsoever I would have said yes. I did not even need to think about that, because there would be no way he would even think of asking me. I felt safe in that thought, because I knew it was true.
It must have shown through in my expression somewhere, but she seemed content with my answer for the moment. She did not talk about it again that night.
"... and she'll totally need some - oh hey!" Joy said, coming through the door as her voice broke the silence Drea and I had left. We had not spoken in half an hour. Joy was caring loads of sacks, full of magazines. Lewis followed behind her, holding a sack in both arms because of it's weight. I sat still, my mouth open, horrified.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I said to Lewis.
"Naw, what would make you think that?" he said as he sat down on the couch and looked through the sack, taking out a very scary looking magazine and flipping through the pages.
"Y'know," he said in a kind, knowing voice, "I think this really will help you get up the courage to truly help the connection between you and Chester."
I do not know how he kept a straight face. I grabbed the closest pillow and flung it at him with all my might. He slunk back, hiding his face with his hands but was too late.
"Fine, fine," he muttered, putting it back in the sack and walking towards the computer room. "I was serious, though," he began.
"Go!" I shouted to him. He laughed as he once again left for the back of the house. After a few seconds, I warily peaked through a sack that Joy had placed in front of me. It looked horrid, all those food deprived girls posing in uncomfortable positions. I cringed as I opened it up.
"Didn't you get any like, nice magazines? Even Martha would have been nice... Southern Living or something?" I asked. She did not hide her surprise very well.
"But these will help you!"
"Actually," I said, spotting one as I looked through the stack, "I think this one will help Drea."
Drea instantly looked up at me with a look overflowing with suspicious askance. I held up a magazine with cakes and balloons on it.
"Remember?" I asked, looking both to Drea and to Joy.
"Ooohh!" Joy sighed as she suddenly remembered.
"My parents have it covered," Drea said stiffly.
"I meant for us, silly," I said, trying to sound like Joy. "We need to figure out what to get you!"
"Meg, you're a genius! I'm so glad I got that one," Joy said. Drea was not very pleased at all that the attention had left me and gone to her birthday that was in three days. Undoubtedly she had hoped to get the truth out of me, but this was enough to keep Joy busy all night.
"Oh, I can't stay up another second!" Joy squealed, yawning. "We'll finish this in the morning, alright? Oh, and I didn't even get to you!"
"It's alright," I said, laughing. She really did look like she was about to pass out. Drea silently sat in the chair beside the couch, not caring in what we were doing anymore.
"Where do we sleep?" Joy asked. After much debating, we finally decided that Drea would sleep on the couch, with Joy on the leather loveseat because she was smaller, and I took the chair. It was extremely uncomfortable because I did not have anything to put my feet on, and had to curl in a ball.
Ringing woke me up. I could not tell what it was at first, but after a few seconds I realized that it was the phone. I stretched, yawning. My entire body ached from the position I was in. I could tell there were only a couple more rings left until it went to voicemail, so I got up as fast as I could and dragged myself to the phone. It was Chester.
"Yeah?" I asked in a very unusual tone. I could hear him laugh at the other end.
"Did I wake you?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," I muttered and yawned again.
"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "Are the others still asleep?"
I looked back to the couches. Joy was snoring heavily as she slept in a spread out position, her arm crossing her body. Drea was facing me, sleeping peacefully and breathing gently. "Uh-huh," I muttered again.
"Cool. I wanted to talk to you again about our nightmares."
My mind suddenly shot into overdrive, sparking a slight headache. "Really?" I asked more eagerly. "What about it?"
"You said you got to meet Mr. Fitzgerald, right?"
"Yeah, I did."
"What did the room you were in look like?" he asked. I tried to explain it as best I could. The French window wall, the lamp, the strange logo I had seen on the nightstand, the rose borders, and the Spring scent.
"Really? That's.. really weird."
"How so?"
"Well," he began. "After I took Joy home in my dream, on my way there... I started feeling really weird. All that had happened to me since was eating the bagel I had in my backpack. Then, a few minutes after I started for my house, I... passed out. When I woke up, I was in a room exactly like the one you described just now. It was also lighter than it had been when I passed out, so I guessed I had been out for atleast an entire day. And well, Mr. Fitzgerald was there with me in the room. I fell asleep again after a little while, and woke up back in my room as if nothing had ever happened, not even that day. I noticed a small red dot on my arm when I was taking a bath, and couldn't figure out what it was."
"Uh, wow. I think I can explain one thing. That..." I began, but immediately shut up because Joy was yawning, and convientently kicked Drea awake as she stretched. Drea looked up at me with a strange face, then to Joy and lightly kicked her back with a friendly smile. They began having a kicking fight after that.
"That's really, really neat, Chester," I said, more loudly than needed. Joy stopped, her eyes bugging, as she looked at me with a huge smile. Drea waited patiently.
"What are you," he began. "Oh! They're awake, aren't they?"
"Oh, totally," I said, putting up quite the act for Joy. She looked extremely happy, and jumped up to run to the kitchen. I was able to grab her shirt sleeve before she did, though, and held her there. "But I'll see you today, all right?"
"You'd better tell me what the heck is going on," he threatened lightly. "I wanna know what you know that I don't."
"Aww!" I cooed. "Definitely." I could tell he was rolling his eyes by the sigh he let out.
"See you in a little while," he said.
"Bye!"
I hung up the phone and immediately ran to my room. Joy was close behind.
"But I can help!"
"I think I can get changed on my own, Joy."
I locked the door behind me, letting out a sigh. I was thankful to have a moment alone to clear my head. It was fogging at an extremely fast rate, though. I had just walked over to my clothes pile and picked out my outfit when I heard Joy.
"Are you done?" she shrieked eagerly.
"No," I sighed. Was she ever going to go away or leave me alone about this? Maybe if we started really acting like we were "supposed" to, she would stop. That was be crossing the line, though. I was thankful no one was asking much of us except for Joy, because it was pushed, I would probably just drop it. I was not about to go out of line and make our friendship stretched to figure out something silly.
 
I changed into my black pants and a plain white t-shirt, grabbing my choker from the bin and actually put on a bit of eyeshadow to make Joy happy. Lipgloss would go just too far. I grabbed my sneakers only to find that Beau was again having fun with the strings, and had chewed off a good portion of the left shoe. I looked around the room, only to find him sleeping at the end of the bed, looking as innocent as a kitten. I restrained myself from hitting him, and took the extra time to swap out the strings for an older pair's that no longer fit.
"Ready!" I called as I opened the door. Joy was sitting against the hall wall right outside my door, waiting very impatiently.
"You took that long on purpose," she snapped at me as she got up.
"Hey! Beau ate my shoe string," I retorted, lifting up my foot. She gasped in horror at my mismatched colored shoe strings like it was the worst thing that could possibly happen right now. I tried convincing her it was fine, but she would not give. Making mention to the fact that we would be late was the only thing that made it possible to leave.
"So, how exactly do we get there?" Joy asked as we walked outside to the front porch. I had spent a while thinking about it, and finally decided.
"Well," I began, "you're going to go ahead of us, riding my bike. Drea and I will walk."
"We will?" Drea asked. I simply nodded. She seemed surprised that I would be willing to spend alone time with her.
"Okay, good," Joy said. "I can't stand walking for long at all. PE was the one thing I was glad to not have to do."
"Tell them we'll be a little late, alright?" I asked Joy as I rolled my bike over to her.
"Okay!" she agreed cheerily as she ran to the sidewalk with it.
"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" Drea asked me as we walked our first block in silence. "I could have just called my Mom. I'm sure she's on her way to work by now."
"I wanted to ask about your party," I said hesitantly. "I'm sure you guessed that I hated all those magazines Joy got... I really don't want relationship tips," I stressed. "I'm sorry I put that on you, though," I added, adverting my eyes from the ground to look at her.
"It's okay," she laughed. "I was pretty sure you would be horrified by those magazines. I'm sure Joy would have forgotten about my birthday if you had not brought it up," she laughed.
For once it was normal. Talking to Drea was not strained. We acted like best friends again. I was beginning to doubt that anything was off at all. It was just so natural, like we did not have to act like friends for anybody. It was just us, talking about day-to-day stuff that we normally would. It was very comforting having this moment alone with her.
"So, what is your party going to be?" I asked.
"Costumes!" she said excitedly. "You have to dress up, okay? I'm sending out invitations today, and anyone out of town got them yesterday."
"Out of town?" I asked.
"I invited a few friends from Washington," she said. "Old friends from before I moved."
"Washington? State? You were six! How could you have kept ties with people you were friends with back then?" I asked.
"Letters, internet," she said. "Anyways, I doubt any of them will make it. Hopefully they'll come. You have to dress up, though! I'll have it at my home, too," she added.
"No way," I muttered. Was she seriously going to do this? What if I really did recognize something? No one had ever been invited to her house before, not even in all the years I had been friends with her. The only account I could make of it was the nightmare, and that might not have even been real. I still had doubts about it. I was not about to let that dampen my spirits, though. This seemed fun, and interesting.
"So what, we all just dress up?" I asked curiously.
"No, silly!" she said, laughing. "We'll be dancing, too. And it is anything but formal," she said.
"Oh! I can't dance," I whined. I wanted to go to her party, but I was terrified of what I would find there. Maybe I really did not want to go.
"Not a problem," she said. "Just dress up, okay? You won't have to dance."
"But, how?"
"Don't worry about it!" she assured me. "I've got it covered. Just please be there," she asked pathetically. I could not resist. It would be fun, I guessed.
"Do I have to match outfits with Chester?" I asked, laughing.
She laughed in response. "No, you won't."
The rest of the walk was very peaceful. We continued talking about the party, mostly me asking questions and her shooting me down without any answers. It took a while to get to the park. We were half an hour late.
"Hey! Glad ya'll made it," Joy called as we walked over to the swings. Chester was swinging silently alone, while Monika and Joy lightly swayed together, a seat inbetween them. Chester looked over at me hopefully, inclining his head to the empty seat next to him. Monika got up first to hug Drea, moving along to me, with Joy following her lead. Drea made no motion towards Chester whatsoever, only went to be involved in whatever Joy was talking about.
"Well, howdy," I said, getting in the swing next to Chester as I began forcing my body to move. It took a few seconds to get a decent swing going. We tried to stay at the same pace, but failed majorly at laughed at our inability to keep in time.
"How was your day?" he asked politely.
"Oh, just fine," I said, only a small hint of sarcasm there. "How 'bout yours?"
"Same," he said, looking at me with a light smile. I was instantly reminded of yesterday, swinging just like this, but in private. It felt again like old times. I wished to have the deep simplicity of childhood back again. Being a teenager was not any fun. Having conscious responsibility was getting old very quickly, but I realized it never would be the same. I would have to grab on to it. Maybe figuring out what was happening would help me better to mold into the right person I was supposed to be when I "grew up" and finally was not considered a child anymore.
"What's on your mind?" Chester asked thoughfully. I had not noticed it was completely quiet for a few minutes. Not even Joy was conversing anymore.
"Oh, just, nothing," I lied quickly, looking him in the eyes. I guessed he understood I could not say it aloud by his small nod.
"Oh, come on!" Joy shouted a couple of seconds later. "Talk already!" she shouted at us.
I looked over at her, horrified. She was so bossy, loud, and demanding.
"Okay," I said defiantly. I stopped swinging and looked at Chester for a second, who stopped as soon as he could slow down enough, then got up and grabbed his hand deliberately, pulling him over to the same castle slide as the other day. I could hear Joy squeal with joy as I did.
"What was up with that earlier, huh?" he demanded, suddenly looking very annoyed.
"Man, cool it," I hissed to him. "They'll think we're fighting!"
"Okay, okay," he said, forcing himself to breathe evenly to calm himself down. "What do you know that I don't?"
"How we got those dots," I said. "I didn't actually see Drea do it, but she grabbed something out of those nightstands and poked me in the arm with it. I've been thinking about it, and I think it might have been a needle." I shuttered as I finished, horrified at what I had thought up in the back of my mind.
"Needle? That would make sense..." his voice trailed off.
"How?!" I demanded, walking over to the closest bench and sitting down in it. Chester followed slowly.
"If Dr. Fitzgerald had any medicine to make us sleep for a long time," he began, hoping I could put one and one together.
"You think they drugged us?!" I shrieked. It was a horrid thought, but thinking back to the nightmare and how Drea had acted, it might have been true.
"It would explain things," he muttered quietly. We sat still for a few minutes, thinking.
"Have you heard about Drea's party?" I asked, breaking the stillness.
"Joy told me of it, but not about it," he said.
"Costumes, dancing," I said casually. "It's at her house," I added. He looked up at me, stunned. I took a second to look to the far end of the park to see Joy watching our every move. She seemed interested in our current body language. She could tell something was up.
"Are you serious?" he whispered, his eyes squinted.
"Uh-huh," I whispered back. "She's making me go. I'm not sure if it's honesty, or courage in covering things."
"I'll be there," he said. "You think she's invited me?" he suddenly asked thoughtfully after a moment.
"I did ask her if we had to match our outfits, and she said we didn't... so I guess so," I said. "She's sending out invitations today," I told him.
"Well, let's go ask and find out, shall we?" he asked me, standing up and holding out his hand to help me up. He kept it firm in mine as we walked back. I prayed Joy did not notice the awkward look on my face. I would never get used to this. It was just too unnatural. We would never do anything like this under normal circumstances. I had to remind myself that things were far from normal to keep myself aligned with this new feux-relationship.
 
"So, am I invited?" he asked casually as we walked back to the other three.
"You told him!" Joy sqeaked. She seemed very excited that we had actually talked about something she was interested in. I began to wonder what she really thought we talked about with our newfound time together, or if she even wondered that at all. Maybe she was sparing me from having to talk about it. Perhaps she understood the privacy of a relationship, even though this far from officially counted.
"Of course," Drea said. "Shall I make you two the secondary guests of honor?" she mused.
"But it's your party, Drea," Chester pointed out.
"I think you two are also a special occassion," she persisted, a sly smirk on her face.
"Drea, if you do anything special for us I'll not only not dress up, but I'll completely spoil your party," Chester threatened. "And hire someone to steal your presents."
She sat still for a few seconds, leaving us all impatiently waiting for an answer.
"You have a really mean boyfriend," she said to me after a short pause, a glare on her face.
"Sorry," I laughed. It was pretty funny, and I was glad Chester would stand up to her like that. We sat around talking about the party for what felt like an hour when Joy suddenly got up.
"Time to go," she said to Monika.
"You're leaving?" I asked.
"She's going to help me plan for our outfits!" Joy told us. I could tell that they would need the extra time, for the spark in Joy's eyes suggested detailed plans.
"Bye ya'll!" Joy called to us as they got on their bikes. A few awkward seconds went past as the three of us sat in silence.
"So," I began, but Drea cut me off.
"I'll call my mom," she said in a flat voice. Paige had not gotten off work yet, but from the private conversation they were having, I could tell work did not matter. Drea thought something was very interesting that had happened recently, and Paige thought it important enough to skip the last few hours of her work day, or so I guessed.
"She'll be here in a few," Drea said, coming back to us. Chester had not bothered to try to make conversation. There was not much to say at the moment. We had not figured out anything new, and Drea was close enough so that we could almost make out some words. I was not going to miss trying to decypher something, and neither was he.
"Okay," Chester said cheerfully. "I guess I'll ride my bike home," he said, slightly dismayed. "I was hoping to spend more time with you," he added for effect. I envied his ability to lie like that. We had talked more than the usual lately, and I knew he was probably getting sick of me at the least.
"All right," Drea said, her voice again emotionless. "My mom can drive you home," Drea suggested lightly. I wondered where she was getting to, and if I would spend another few hours unconscious. I had not seen Paige since then, if that had really happened. My persistent doubts bugged me, for I felt I knew it was true.
Without another words, Chester walked over to his bike, and waved at us.
"Bye!" he called pathetically. I was sad to see him go. He had been my only friend that knew what was going on that was on my side. I felt partially betrayed by Drea, for she was not being completely truthful. On the other hand, I thought about if she could not tell me. What if it was secret we were not supposed to know, and had meant to think it was a dream? It would almost make sense, but I began getting a headache again. My desire to talk with Chester grew as the minutes passed of small chit-chat between us, waiting for her mom to come.
 
Thanks! I've actually gotten alot of the next chapter written. I wrote 4,000 out of 5,600 words last night.. haha. So only a little bit more to go =] I'm glas you like it, though! And yeah, it is. But life's only going to get tougher from here on...
 
Well you better help it! It's making your story much to believable and captivating! Which in turn make me really want to read it...knock it off!:D
 
Party

"Are you excited, dear?" Paige asked me.
"Mmhm!" She smiled at me very sweetly. I moved uncomfortably in my seat. I was nervous, anyone would be able to tell, and I knew Paige of all people could see straight through me. We were about fifteen minutes away from her home. Drea had requested that I be the first guest there, so she could show me around what I would be doing and help me get the hang of things before the others got there.
"Have you ever been a DJ before?" she asked me, purely curious.
"Once," I admitted. "It was very awkward, but everyone said I did a good job," I told her. "It's fun," I added, looking over at her and smiling.
"That's nice," she said. "That's the main point, right? Fun."
"Yeah," I mumbled. It was the main point, especially for a birthday party. To her good fortune, Drea's birthday had been on a Saturday. If her friends from her hometown planned on coming, they would be able to make it.
"Is Chester dressing like you?" Paige asked. I giggled slightly, looking down at my costume. I had flashy purple pants, with a vintage Rock N' Roll t-shirt, complete with cowboy boots and lots of long, gold bling around my neck. The thought of Chester matching was very humorous. Knowing him, it would be something semi-medieval.
"We did not plan on it," I simply said. Paige became very stiff. It was like she knew everything was fake, like she knew it was just pretend. There was no possible way for her to know that, though, so I did not think my worries were reasonable.
"Well, here we are," she said suddenly. I had not been paying attention to where we were going, but as I looked up I let my jaw drop in amazement.
It was beautiful. I don't know how anyone would ever be able to find it if they had not been told where it was. A long road in the middle of nowhere, going nowhere, except for this amazing house. It seemed too big to be called a house. It was three stories high, painted a deep gold, the window frames a nice brown tint. There were dozens of spots with windows. My guess was that it was nearly half a mile long.
"Your home is stunning," I said. It was all I could say.
"Thank you," Paige said. We came up to the brown garage. I noticed a field off to the side that looked like a huge grassy parking lot. The landscaping was phenomenal. Flowers of all colors and sizes grew. I looked around as Paige parked the car just outside the closed garage door, and spotted a plant that I had never known the name of, but saw every day of my life.
"This was my Mother's favorite tree," I told Paige as I got out and pointed to the bush that stood at the side of the house. She simply smiled at me a very knowing, kind smile.
"It's a very beautiful plant," she said. Without another word, she silently led me to the door, where Drea was now waiting. She was dressed up in a knee length party dress, with a skirt that puffed out immensely, the tophalf of it in bright colors, and a silly little crown. Her hair was in two ponytails that stuck out near her ears. It was very adorable seeing a seventeen-year-old look ten years younger.
I found myself suddenly in a tight embrace as Drea was squealing.
"Happy birthday!"
"Thanks," she said, breathless. "Tonight is going to be so awesome, you'll love it," she said. There was some hint of something amusing in her eyes as she opened her door. I felt my hands begin to sweat as I closed my eyes for a second to take a hurried breath in and release it.
"You okay?" she asked. I heard her voice a little more distant now, with something of an echo in it. She had walked in her house. I was terrified of opening my eyes. I did not want to see the house I had seen in my dream.
My worries were, of course, for nothing. As I opened my eyes, the house I saw before me was dazzling. It looked very modern, almost as if I was living a couple of hundred years ago if our houses were compared.
"Why does your mom have that car if you live here?" I asked, dumbfounded.
Drea shrugged. "Never felt the need to get a newer car," she said. I looked around at the house. The main room was simply gigantic. The smooth, neutral colored leather sofas, the chic lamps, small round windows. It was simply stunning. There was a huge brick fireplace in the center back of the room, with a mantle full of pictures. The very center of the room had three couches, facing north, west, and south, with a coffee table between them. Two thin, tall black tables ran against the left wall, with flower pots on top of them, each filled with a lovely display of white lillies. A long, shorter table was on the right wall opposite, a beautiful white lace table cloth drenched over it, while it held more picture frames. I spotted a very grand looking piano that took up most of the right corner.
"Who plays?" I asked, inclining my head towards its direction.
"My Father," Drea said, not paying attention anymore to my stunned face, but to a hallway on the left side of the fireplace leading somewhere. I warily followed her, curious as to where this led. The hall was thin, with dimly lit wall lamps three steps apart. We walked for about a minute before we came to the room.
It was the size of a basketball gym. The floor was wooden, and completely empty. The only things in the room were the food tables off against the wall to the right, and the big speakers on the floor next to the spot I knew that I would spend the entire night at. My DJ spot.
"Did I tell you I came up with a catchphrase for my party?" she asked me as I gaped.
"N-no."
"Break dance, not hearts."
I could not help but laugh at that. Tonight would just plainly be fun. A sudden ease came over me as I realized that this was not the house that I had been in when I had my nightmare. That is what it was. A nightmare, no doubts whatsoever. Once Chester saw this place, he would know, too. There was not one thing similar between the two. The other mysterys may never be explained, but I pushed that aside. I hurried my way over to my little spot. I saw she had water for me, with a small table of food alongside the records.
"Old records?" I asked.
"I got a hold of some newer music made old," she told me. "Check out the list," she said, pointing to a big stack of records opposite the food. I immediately found my place in the chair, and sat down to go through them. Her selection was amazing, and everyone was going to have a great time tonight, I was sure.
"When is everyone else coming?" I asked as she looked around the room to make sure everything was in place, not that there was much to worry about.
"About fifteen minutes. I just wanted to show you where it was. Get a nice beat going when you hear the doorbell ring, okay? I want everyone to know where to go."
"Okie-dokie," I said, picking out one of my personal favorites and putting it in place, prepared to start it as I heard the bell.
"Do you know who all is coming?" I asked.
"No, I didn't get a chance to get replies. That's what I get for sending out invitations at such short notice," she rolled her eyes. I wondered if she would feel bad if no one showed up. I knew I would, but surely someone would come. It took about five minutes from my arrival for the first guests to come. I heard a beautiful tune play, which she told me was the doorbell. I started playing the music at a decently loud volume.
I could not quite see who it was at first, for the second they entered Drea was hugging them and thanking them for coming. As they walked a few more steps in, I laughed at who I saw. Monika walked to the middle of the room and looked around, slightly let down that the "ballroom" did not look like the living room. She was dressed as a stereotypical angel. Joy was accompanied by her boyfriend, Alain. They were dressed in matching outfits that looked very official, his a red jacket with yellow buttons, hers the same, but blue. It reminded me of something very London inspired.
It was not too awfully long before more guests trickled in. Every single one of them had the same expression on their faces. Pure shock at the room and hallway they had just seen, and awe at the gym sized room. When the count came to about twenty people, Drea ran over to the opposite side of the room and flipped a switch which began the light show. A few girls jumped out of their skin as the brightly lit, normal looking room quickly turned into a dance floor. I did not recognize most of the people there, and began to wonder how Drea knew so many people. In only a few minutes the room was over half full, with more coming almost constantly.
A spotlight suddenly came down to the floor, directly on Drea. She held a microphone. Paige suddenly appeared at my side, turning off the music. Everyone looked toward Drea.
"Thank you for coming!" she boomed. "I'd like to take this time to thank you guys for everything, all the presents so far that we'll get to in a second, and for spending the time finding this place," she mused. "Who here has been totally digging this music, huh? A special thanks to our DJ, MC Meggy Megs!" She waved at me, which brought the entire rooms attention to my little cubby. I was horrified to see everyone clapping. Drea looked like she had an almost evil smirk on her face.
"Any requests?" she asked. Alain was the first one to shout out.
"Something nice and long!"
"Make my feet go numb!"
 
"Okay, okay! So you guys just wanna have fun?" she almost shouted. A loud roar followed. By their requests, I knew exactly which band to put on next. As soon as it started up, everyone lost it dancing. I was laughing at the show when I noticed Chester arrive. He looked very out of place, like he was not meant to be here, and partially horrified. I wondered what was wrong. His outfit was a simple white poet shirt that went perfectly with his kilt. I raised my hand, waving it for him to spot me. As soon as he did, he ran over through the electric dancing, trying not to get caught up in it.
"Dude, what the heck is going on?" he asked me. It was easier to talk behind the speakers than it was if we had been in front of them, and I was thankful he did not have to yell.
"What are you talking about?"
"This can't be Drea's house!" he shouted. I saw intense frustration in his eyes.
"Of course it can," I began.
"You think it really was a nightmare, don't you?" he asked. I looked around the room, scanning it. Drea was off looking at her presents as some kids put more in the pile. Joy was over by the food, actually watching us. She was the only one who noticed our conversation.
"Well, I - I don't know. Okay? I don't."
"Listen, I think we need to talk," he said very intently. I looked down at my little DJ table pathetically.
"I can't," I said.
"Dude, just put the entire record on repeat, we won't be gone that long," he protested. I took a sharp inhale in as I saw Paige suddenly appear behind him. My eyes almost filled with tears at the horror that must have crossed my face, as he suddenly became very curious as to what was wrong.
"H-h-hello."
"Did I hear you two are dating now?" Paige asked. Chester's eyes became very wide as he realized what I was freaking out about. This could not be happening, it just could not. A very deep suspicion arose in me as I considered why Paige would come to me now, only when Chester was talking to me. Maybe he was right. He was a genius after all.
"Yeah," Chester said. He was stronger than I was, and could turn around to face her. I could hear him gulp.
"How nice," she said. She walked over to my other side, close enough to be in earshot, and turned to the crowd. It was obvious she was not watching anyone in the crowd. The room had become full now, and it was major chaos. I found myself giving her a slight death glare. I turned to Chester, who was slowly inching away, and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him inches away from my face.
"We will talk later, aight?" I said, more forceful than I thought I could ever be. "I'm sorry. We will, though." He simply nodded his head. Still death gripping his shirt, I looked over at Paige who was now giving me a very curious look, and then I looked to the crowd to see that Joy was still watching. I turned back to Chester, nodding my head once. He shyly nodded his head.
"Uh, sorry," I said, letting go of his shirt. He took a distinct step back, sporting a half smile. I let out a nervous laugh, and he simply waved and walked away. We needed to talk, but it was impossible to find a moment right now.
The minutes passed by slowly from then on. Chester stood stone still by the food, taking a sip of his punch every five minutes. I began noticing a pattern, and checking my clock. It was exactly every five minutes that he took a sip, almost as if he was counting away the seconds in his head.
After we all sang to Drea and cut the cake, she brought over a piece of cake to me, and also some more water.
"What's up with Chester?" she asked. "He hasn't moved in forever."
"Dunno," I muttered, taking a bite of the cake. "Mmm, this is really good," I said, my mouth full. She laughed at me.
"See ya," she said excitedly as she ran over to the other side of the room. I realized it was present time now. I wondered what she would get for her birthday from all these guests. I was not surprised to see a giant mountain of gifts over by the food. Chester silently found his way to a lone corner as the room filled that to that side. I put on some light beat music that was not too loud.
I could not hear who had given what, but I knew Drea was opening Chester's present. He had walked over to her and she went over and hugged him after opening it up. It was too far away for me to get a good look at anything she got. I did not really care about presents for much longer, though. After hugging Drea, Chester hesitated for a moment, then silently walked over to me. He stood silently beside me, not caring to look over to me, but his eyes fixed across the room. I wondered why he was over here, and why he was not talking, but I stifled my questions when I locked eyes with Paige. She watched us for a few seconds, and noticed that Chester had no desire in speaking with me at the moment. Content, she turned back to writing down who gave what.
"Howdy," I whispered, trying to make my mouth barely move.
"Hello," he said, following my example. He did not look at me.
"What are we doing?"
"We're going to sneak upstairs," he told me. "From the living room, behind the piano is a staircase. I'm sure you didn't notice it, but it's there, and that's where we're going. After you get a chance to leave, which should be soon, I'll need you to follow me. It shouldn't be too hard to slip up there. I'm sure Drea and Paige will be distracted by saying goodbye to the guests."
I was about to reply to him to tell him what a genius he was when I noticed Paige look at us. I tried hiding my guilty feeling, making it not show through. I gave her a small, awkward smile, which seemed to pleas her. She still thought Chester was not talking to me.
"Sounds like a good plan," I told him as she looked away. We waited in silence as they finished opening up presents. Drea did not come over and ask me to play another song, neither did Paige. They both slowly ushered everyone through the tiny hallway. Chester grabbed my hand as we hurried to make it through the major chaos.
It worked like a charm. Everyone was filling in the living room, which was almost as big as the ballroom, when Chester slowly walked over to the piano, still holding my hand. He let his hand slide down the front of it, then looked back as the came to the end of it to see where Drea and Paige were. He saw them both completely consumed in their conversation, and made a mad dash for the stairs. We were able to make it noiselessly up the first three steps when we both let out a silenced laugh. The stairs were wide, perfect contast to the hallway. I held on to the railing as we made our way up the steps one by one, slowly. I knew Chester would be scared to think of what we might find up here. I was completely shocked when we came to the top of the stairs and looked around.
The hallway went both ways. It was a very large hallway; I could have probably gotten down and layed myself out, stretched, and would not reach the other wall. It was again modern and neutral colors. A part of me was very relieved, another part curious to make sure the third level was not the same. I looked over to my left and it was one long hallway with rooms on both sides. On my right, past Chester, was the same. I was about to suggest checking the third floor when we heard the closest door on the right open. I stood still, stunned.
"Mr. Fitzgerald?" Chester and I asked in unison. At that moment I knew our nightmares were true. We both recognized him exactly as we had before. Atleast, I knew I did. He stared at us in horror.
"Can't you children take a hint?" he asked. I noticed he had a very thick book in his hand, and he reached his free hand in his pocket for a second. He kept a steady gaze on us as I heard footsteps walking up the stairs behind us.
"Trying to find a closet to make out in?" Drea snapped at us as she walked past us, standing next to her Father and examining us with very mean eyes. It was like I was in a horror movie. I looked to Chester, who looked back at me. I saw tears swelling in his eyes. We both knew the chances of making it out of this unharmed were very slim. These were the people who found it sufficient to drug us and make us think we were having nightmares for who knows why. What was going on? I had asked myself that so many times, it seemed silly to ask now. I never gotten any answers. I suddenly got a bright idea.
"Why'd you drug us?" I asked. Chester gave me a look of horror, but then realized that we would never get any answers unless we were completely honest. Before either of them could answer through their stone faces, Chester asked another question.
"How'd you get us to faint?" he asked. "And how did it seem like it was the same day? I had not marked my lessons that I swore I had done that day, and I always do when I finish them."
A broad smile crossed Mr. Fitzgerald's face. I could tell he was very pleased. Drea was not as pleased as her father, but pleased enough. I heard the door downstairs shut loudly and Paige make her way upstairs.
"Well?" she asked, obviously not speaking to us.
"Good," her husband replied. "Very good."
 
"Really?" she asked, looking at us with a pleased look. If it had been anyone else, they would have completely creeped me out, but no. There were gentle smiles, with honest pleasure at something unknown. It was in no way menacing.
"Answer, please?" Chester asked impatiently. I looked at him, and I could not help but admire his bravery. They seemed to appreciate it also.
"Come on, you two," Mr. Fitzgerald said suddenly. He stood in front of us and ushered us down the stairs. We both instantly went down at our own fast paces, fearful of being pushed. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, almost running into the piano, Chester looked at me very forcefully and grabbed my hand, pulling me to one of the couches and making me sit down beside him. Paige and Drea sat in the couch opposite ours, while Mr. Fitzgerald began lightly playing a soft tune at the piano. They both stared at us with odd faces. The room suddenly felt very small. I gripped Chester hand, which was still in mine. I did not want to let go for fear that if I did I would lose any sanity. He seemed like the only thing that made sense right now; the others surely were not. Maybe we could change that, though.
"What's going on?" I asked. Paige lightly smiled, while Drea kept a stone face. A few seconds past by, and Mr. Fitzgerald gave up on playing. He came over to us, and sat down next to his family.
"Well?" I asked in a weak voice. He looked to me, straight in my eyes, as if reading my soul. I could tell he was debating with himself, as if he wished to tell me something, but knew he could not and would not. I began feeling very hopeless about this entire situation. We were never going to get any answers.
"When is your mother coming?" Paige suddenly asked Chester. The question took us both by surprise.
"She isn't," he said. "I told her I would have Meghan drop me off."
"Well," she said, sighing. "I suppose we should get to that." Without another word, she got up and walked over to the door, opening it. A sudden feeling filled the room, as if it would be okay if we left without getting our answers. Mr. Fitzgerald gave me a look that said he would tell us when the time was right, and it satisfied me. I pulled Chester up with me as I stood, and walked us over to the door. The entire ride home was very hopeless. She dropped Chester off first, then me. No one said a word the entire ride. I did not even bother trying to call Chester. Drea had left her backpack here, and I would take it to her in the morning. I began wondering what the morning would be like, or maybe this was all a dream, too. I laughed at that thought. They knew we suspected something was off, and I was curious what would be happening next time I saw either of them. Chester did not bother to call me, either. I was exhausted from the party, and it took almost no time at all for me to fall asleep. Lewis did not bug me whatsoever, and my Father was working late. Beau slept silently at my feet, and the last thing I remembered what his silent breathing.
I woke up to Beau's purring. For some reason, he was awake before I was, and he was nuzzling against my face, his furry tail making me cough.
"What's your deal?" I asked him, very grouchy. He meowed his pathetic "I'm out of food" meow, and without having to look at his food bowl I walked over to my dresser and got the catfood bad from the floor.
"Fine, here," I said as he continued his constant meowing. I walked over to his food bowl, looked down and froze, dropping the bag. My eyes automatically shot to the door, and it was still locked. I looked back down to the food bowl. My brain stopped functioning as I stood still, staring at the note. I bent over to pick up the paper that was placed by the bowl.
"'I'm so sorry'," I read aloud. Unable to restain myself, I let some tears escape my eyes. I did not know what hurt worse; the mysterious apology, or the signature. I knew Drea's signature almost well enough to forge it. What bothered me was that it did not say her name, it only had a simple 'a' on it, along with the logo I had seen on the nightstand in my nightmare. I realized I was no longer sure if that was Drea's house. Sure, Chester and I had made it to the second floor and it was exactly the same as the first, but we were stopped before the third. What were the odds, though?
I looked back down at the floor, noticed a necklace that my brain seemed to skip over, and bent down to pick it up. I knew Drea had made it, but it looked so ethnic. She made jewellery as a hobby, but this was different. It looked very special and unique. It was a simple leather cord, with a clasp and toggle to close it, with two rainbow beads near the small donut disk pendant. It was black, with colorful flowers molded in it. I could not resist putting it on, knowing it was for me. I would skip the choker today.
Beau's constant meowing brought me back to reality. I hurried to fill his bowl up, and went to the bathroom to do my usual morning cleaning routine. Afterwards, I went to the kitchen to find that the only appealing food was a peanut butter sandwich, which I was content with. I had just gotten out my school books when the phone rang. I did not bother to check who it was.
"Hello?"
"You have to get over here," Chester said. I was taken aback that he would be calling. I was expecting someone wanting to leave a message for my Father.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"The park," he said. "I don't care what you're doing, get over here, now." I stared into space as I listened to the dead phone. Without thinking twice, I flew as fast as I could out the door, my mind scattered as I grabbed my bike and pedaled as fast as I could down the street. Eight blocks seemed like too much to get there in any amount of time. Chester needed me right now, and I did not know why. I began wondering what the rush was as I passed the Tisser's house and rode down the park driveway.
"What is it?" I said breathlessly as I pushed my bike up the hill to the swings. I saw Monika sitting on the ground, holding a weeping Joy, and Chester standing over her with a sour face. Joy looked up at me pathetically, and held her arm forward for me. I instantly dropped my bike, letting it crash to my side as I rushed over to her. She continued to sob as I gripped her hand in mine. I looked up at Chester curiously.
"Drea," he mouthed to me. He sat down behind Joy, putting his arm around her front and taking her shoulder in his hand. As he did, I noticed a leather wristband on his arm. It had the same flower design that my necklace had. Drea had gotten a gift to him, too. I had to know what was going on.
"What is it?" I asked Joy as her sobs slowed a little.
"She's - gone," Joy moaned in a broken voice. She looked up at me through red eyes. "She left a message on my phone," she whined. I looked up at Chester again, and instantly knew that after hearing her side of things, he was not buying it. The desperation to talk to him was almost unbarable, but for Joy's sake, I held her. I began silently praying for her. Whatever had happened, Joy was completely heartbroken, and she needed comfort and wisdom right now. After a few minutes, Joy wiped her face and nose on her sleeve, and took a few deep breaths.
"She just," Joy began, and almost lost it crying again when I sqeezed her hand. She looked up at me, using all her strength to keep back tears.
"Did you tell Chester already?" I asked. She nodded. "Let him tell me, okay?" She seem content with this, and let go of my hand, going into a hard hug with Monika. I looked at him as we walked over to the closest bench that was out of earshot.
"Well," Chester said, sighing as we sat down.
"Nice bracelet," I said to him, holding up my necklace for him to see.
"What is she thinking?" she muttered angrily to himself. "Well, Drea left. She didn't give any explination as to why she left, she just told Joy she had to leave. I suppose you got the same apology?" he asked.
"Yeah," I answered warily. "What's it mean, though? I mean... after last night..."
"I really don't know, man," he said. "What if she was taken away by force? That was the same logo as the one on the nightstand that day. What do you think it means?" I could not answer him. I had no honest guess as to what it was. I looked over at Monika, who had taken a second to look up at us. I felt so sorry for Joy. The three of us had been friends forever, and for Drea to up and leave like this was nearly impossible to think about. The only thing that kept my head straight was the things that had been happening lately. I began tearing up as I thought of all the innocent days we shared.
"I hope she's okay," I said in a whisper, still looking straight ahead at Joy. Chester put his arm around me, laying his head on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and let the tears flow, unable to do anything else. My brain shied away from thoughts of anything bad happening to Drea. I knew her parents were overprotective, and would not let anything happen to her. Did I really? I did not know her parents at all. After the past few days, I knew I did not know any of them. Was it all a lie? I refused to believe that my childhood friend had been lying to me. I knew that she was not being normal recently, but before that she had been a-okay.
I tried to stop my crying unsuccessfully.
"I know it seems like everything's really strange," Chester began, "But there's no way any parent lets their child go off like that alone. I'm sure they're with her, and if they are, she's safe."
 
"Thank you," I sighed. Without another word, he let go of my shoulder and held on to my arm, making an effort to help me stand up. It was hard, but I was able to stand while leaning against him. Joy was crying harder than before, and I was unable to resist doing the same when I got around her. I got myself out of Chester's hold and almost silently, I knelt down beside Joy. She was no longer in Monika's arm, and I leaned forward in her lap, holding her firmly.
"She'll be okay," I whispered as I caught my breath. "God will protect her." Joy held me tighter from then on. It was about half an hour before we cried until we could not cry out a single more tear.
"Remember the fun we used to have?" Joy said in the silence. I smiled and let out a laugh.
"Oh, please," I laughed. "You would go around trying to kiss any random boy, and Drea would always apologize afterwards. She was always the responsible one."
"There's such a special bond between you guys," Chester said suddenly. "I think I can safely say that where it is she's gone off to, she's feeling the same way you are." We sat still, thinking about that for a second.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Probably."
 
???? :) ???? Did you know you have a very good way of making thing very clear and totally confusing at the same time? Also head spinning...lol It's great! Confusing, unexpected, and great.:D
 
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