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A/N: Hihi! It's MC again! Spira did well on the last chapter, no? I laughed my ass off... well, its my turn! Read away. See you at the end!
She went through her mental checklist. Did she have their proof-of-registration? Their membership cards? What about their story synopsis? All printed out in a plastic slipcover in her bag, she assured herself. She wondered if she was too much of a nerd about this stuff. Can’t be too careful, she amended. Oh, God, this was going to be brilliant…
Spira slid through the door and stood by MC. “What’re you doing?” she said, prodding MC in the side.
MC jumped. “It wasn’t me!!! Oh, it’s just you, Spira-ness,” she said, looking at her shorter friend.
“‘Just me’? Thanks a lot!” Spira laughed, turning around and resting her weight on the balcony railing. “But what WERE you thinking about?” her expression grew crafty. “A certain masked, maniacal boy who is currently pounding the feathers out of my boyfriend, maybe?”
MC looked scandalized. “NO! I was thinking about tomorrow!” she defended herself, wrinkling her nose in the general direction of her hotel room.
“T’was just a question,” Spira said, grinning. “And he really is pounding the feathers out of Alex. They’re using pillows.”
MC grinned. “Oh, let’s go watch!”
“Jeah!”
They ran inside the room and, just as Spira said, they boys were attacking each other with MC’s pillows. They managed to battle their way across the room twice before jumping onto MC’s bed and whacking the crap out of each other. Alex’s pillow came down hard on Erik’s head; Erik attacked Alex’s knees, and before either knew what was happening, Erik had fallen over one side of the bed and Alex had fallen over the other, they were dizzy, tired, and MC and Spira laughing in the background didn’t help much either.
Spira ran over and helped Alex up while MC helped Erik, who was worse off, sit up. The girls were both still laughing, but no matter. Spira gasped, “Wh-what caused that little d-duel, anyway?”
Erik growled, “He called me something. And he insulted me. And then he called me something else.”
Alex snarled right back. “I was telling the truth. You’re…” he stopped and glanced fleetingly at MC before continuing, slightly louder. “You’re a coward, you can’t stop thinking for the two seconds it would take to do something spontaneous, and you’re terrified of showing your feelings, that’s all I said! You make it sound like I was talking about your mother or something!”
Erik tried to struggle up. “Why I ought to…”
“Boys!” MC chirped shortly, laying her hands on Erik’s shoulders to keep him down, “Calm down for three seconds here.”
“Yeah,” Spira said, keeping a grip on Alex’s sleeve. “We leave you alone for two minutes and a little pillow-fight turns into a- a duel of honor?”
They looked daggers at each other for a moment. Spira slipped her arms around Alex’s waist in a hug, and MC whispered, “It’s not that bad, you two.”
Erik calmed down, as did Alex. Getting lectured by your girlfriends happens to do that. Erik managed to get to his feet, and he walked over to Alex. Alex slid Spira’s hands off his waist and joined him warily.
“Ok, ok, no fighting.” He extended a hand.
Erik took it, and they shook hands.
Alex looked over at MC and Spira, who had moved together as if magnetized. “What did we ever do without you two?” he said, grinning and opening his arms to Spira, who jumped into the hug.
“Died, I expect, we just didn’t know it.” Erik said, and MC shyly stepped close to him.
Alex and Spira stopped hugging and Erik looked at the four of them. “Whaddya say we all go swimming?”
Alex said “Yesssss!”
Spira squealed.
MC looked at her toes, feeling rather sick. Bathing suits in front of them? In front of ERIK? No, no, no…. “OK,” she said, and the boys ran to their rooms and Spira sidled into hers through the open adjoining door, shutting it behind her with a worried glance at MC.
“You OK, MC-ness?”
MC nodded numbly and Spira shut the door. MC pulled her suitcase out from under the bed, taking out her black bathing suit and the black guy’s swimming trunks that went over it. She shut her suitcase. Then she kicked it. Damn her and her stupid shapeless figure! “This is ABOVE and BEYOND my comfort zone by HALF,” she mumbled, shedding her other clothes and pulling her swimwear on as fast as possible, grabbing her red towel and carefully removing the red string anklet from her right ankle. She looked in the full-length mirror on the wall. Then she kicked her suitcase again.
Spira heard the solid clunk of the suitcase being kicked viciously. Poor MC. She knew how self-conscious MC was about her body, and as she slipped into her red suit she felt very sorry for her 5’9”, over-200-pound friend. Personally, Spira could see nothing wrong with the way MC looked, but MC seemed to think there was something horribly awry. She grabbed her black towel, sliding on her black flip-flops that had tiny red stones dotting the straps. Poor, poor MC. “She always manages to over-think everything,” she sighed.
Funnily, Victor was to be thinking the exact same thing as he watched Landon brood over his reflection in the full-length mirror. They were in Victor’s room, Victor having already changed into his red swimming trunks, and Landon was having last-possible-second misgivings about the outing. Victor was sprawled wrong-way on the bed, turned on his stomach watching Landon poke himself in the abs.
He groaned in frustration. “Landon, dude, you’re worse than a chick!”
Landon shot him a death glare, turning back to the mirror. To Alex’s eye, he might look just fine, but to his eye he was 6 feet tall, pale, skinny, all arms and legs with no chest or stomach muscles to be spoken of.
This blew chunks of the highest order.
He poked his stomach again. The Pillsbury Doughboy was what came to mind, and he glared at his reflection again, messing up his own hair in frustration. “Should I wear a shirt?”
Alex groaned louder. “Dude! Two words! ‘Chill’ ‘Out’!”
Landon crossed his arms as he, aggravated, turned to his friend. He leaned up against the cold glass mirror, feeling the pressure on his shoulder blades. Alex looked excellent; he was a tan, brown-haired golden boy with big blue eyes who wasoriginally fromLouisianaand had lost his accent. He seemed to have natural muscles, confidence, and aptitude with girls. “I have two words for you!” he said sharply, “‘No’ ‘Way’!”
Alex got up, rushed forward and pinned Landon against the wall. “Listen, soccer star, if you don’t get your poor, mask-less ass out there I am going to kick it out the door!”
Landon shoved Alex away from him. “FINE! But you have to get your dumb, wing-less ass out there with me.”
Alex grinned, grabbing his towel. “That-a-boy!”
Landon grimaced. “Shut up.”
That was what Spira was saying to MC at that second as well. “Shut up, MC, you look fine!” she said in the comforting way best friends have.
“NO I don’t!” MC said squeakily, gawking dejectedly into the mirror, “I look a disaster! He’s going to run away shrieking!” She tapped the nose of the MC in the mirror, and then just stared into the smooth glass like she wanted it to swallow her.
“He is not,” Spira said soothingly from MC’s bed, “Alex said he’ll probably be too nervous to walk out of the room anyway.”
MC looked at her. “When do you find time to TALK to him about this crap?”
Spira grinned. “Super Phantomess speed, remember? Now come on,” she said, getting up and tugging MC toward the door.
“Ok, ok. I’ll do it, but I don’t have to enjoy it.”
They met the boys halfway down the hall. MC was still looking at her feet. Spira and Alex grinned. “We match!” he said.
Landon and MC looked up at their friends, then at each other, and then looked away. Each thought the other looked excellent, and subsequently felt worse about themselves.
Landon thought, “Oh, she looks so pretty! Look at her hair and her eyes. She's got, like, a halo in the light.I am such a skinny white boy… I should have worn a wetsuit… I must be blinding her.”
MC thought, “Oh my GOD, he must be absolutely appalled right now! Gahhh! Look at his face without the mask; he’s so CUTE! I have no business KNOWING someone that cute!!! He's like Gerard Way times ten minus the , look at me… I should have stayed in my room!”
The group began to walk, rounding the corner of the hallway and starting down the stairs to the entrance to the outdoor pool.
Spira mumbled to Alex, “If MC doesn’t get her eyes off her feet soon I’m going to shove her in the pool once we get there.”
Alex mumbled back, “Good idea, love, I’ll shove Lan in with her. He’s definitely not going to look up for awhile.”
“It’s a deal. Was he staring at the mirror and freaking out earlier?” Spira inquired, shoving open the glass door to the outdoor pool’s patio.
“Oh yeah. Poking his stomach just like a girl. Surprised he wasn’t putting on eyeliner,” Alex said.
Spira grinned, “He would have done well to do so, MC's into that. And I thoughtthe eyeliner was your job!”
Alex threw a half-hearted-mini-death-glare at her, but after they’d all set their towels down, he and Spira went into action. Going to their separate friends, they insinuated them close to the edge of the pool, talking to them softly.
“It’s OK, MC, see? That wasn’t that bad.” Spira said, linking their arms and steering her friend so they could walk along the water.
MC didn’t notice as she squeaked, “Oh yes it was!”
On the opposite side of the pool, Alex did the same thing with Landon, sans arm linking. “Come on, Landon, was that so terrible?”
“YES!!! Did you see her? She‘s gorgeous!” he cried in a half-whisper, not noticing that he was walking dangerously close to the edge.
The sky above the foursome was now deep black, the stars twinkling faintly in the distance, the air around them hot, the breeze hotter. The pool water lapped against the walls, smelling faintly of chlorine and looking cool and inviting, illuminated by small lights in the walls. The four of them looked down at the water, MC and Landon silently berating themselves so loudly their friends could almost hear it. Finally, having had enough of that, they very courteously shoved their respective best friends into the chlorinated liberation of the pool.
SPLASH.
MC shrieked most unceremoniously as she went down, and Landon cursed heavily as he came up, his black shaggy hair now hanging in his eyes. He swept it back angrily. “ALEX THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!”
Alex was amused. So was Spira, even when MC shrieked piercingly, “STOP LAUGHING!”
Alex and Spira joined hands and jumped in at the opposite end of the pool, making ripples that lapped the other two mockingly, like a slap in the face. MC, fuming, stayed up to her neck in the water.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Landon, “I just know that was Spira’s idea.”
Landon had his arms crossed over his chest. “Yeah, well Vic must have gone along with it. I can’t believe him!”
They watched their friends, who were deep in conversation but managing to still do tricks and splash each other with the water. The two unhappy ones stayed about five feet apart, both of them longingly watching as Alex and Spira, the happy ones, hugged, and Alex kissed Spira on the forehead.
“It’s not fair,” Landon suddenly burst out, as though he’d punctured a lung and all the air was coming out. “Why’s Alex always got to have everything easy?”
MC murmured, “Some people do get all the luck.” After a moment of silence, she moved restlessly in the water. “I’m sorry!”
“About what?” Landon said, puzzled quite thoroughly.
“Oh… for everything! I bet you showed up thinking I’d be pretty and… oh, what I really mean is I’m sorry for the way I am.” She said dejectedly, moving to get out of the pool.
It was the biggest surprise in the world when Landon caught her arm. “Wh- what? MC, why are you apologizing for that? You ARE pretty! And I love the way you are! If anything I ought to be apologizing!” he turned her to face him. “I’m a pale skinny white boy from New York who definitely does NOT deserve someone as nice and funny and beautiful as you.”
“Awwww!!!!!!!” shrieked Spira from one end of the pool, before going “Eep! I wasn’t listening, I promise! Go on!” and ducking under the water. She popped up again to watch. Alex laughed and scooped her up into his arms, pressing a kiss on her cheek and commencing to tickle her.
MC glared at her friends halfheartedly, breaking it with a grin. She whispered to Landon, “Yeah, but you’re a cute pale skinny white boy from New York. Whom I like very much and definitely don’t deserve either. But you usually don’t deserve gifts.”
“And all you’re missing is the bow,” Landon grinned.
“Thank god,” MC laughed, and Landon bent over a bit and kissed her softly.
Alex and Spira, distracted from their tickling battle, howled.
Spira was just about bawling she was laughing so hard and happily. “SEE? SEE I TOLD YOU HE’D LIKE YOU!!!” Alex began berating Landon’s kissing style with a long series of slang phrases that nobody but the pair of them understood, but it ultimately earned Alex a round dunking from Landon.
“You wanna see a kiss?” he called once he’d gotten back to MC, “Here’s a kiss!”
A few seconds later Spira was howling again and shrieking, “I don’t need to see this! I don’t need to see this! Get a room!” tauntingly from the edge of the pool. “We’ve got four!” Landon retorted, grinning.
MC was rather dizzy. She was also very happy. “Wow, Landon, you…” she couldn’t even finish a coherent sentence.
“OK, ok, it’s way past EVERYONE’S bedtime!” Alex called, getting out of the pool, helping Spira out, and wrapping both of them up in their towels.
“BEDTIME?” Landon protested, putting his arms around MC’s waist and hugging her to his chest.
MC giggled. “YES, bedtime! We have to be at the Convention Center at nine tomorrow.”
“Nine?” Spira said with disapproval, “That’s early!”
“Tough nuggets!” MC pronounced firmly, reluctantly wiggling out of Landon’s grip. He grinned and tried to grab her again, she evaded him and soon she was out and wrapping her towel around her body.
Landon slogged his way out of the water very unenthusiastically, dripping streams of pool water onto the concrete. Grinning madly, he stole Alex‘s towel on his way past.
“Hey!” Alex yelled, and Landon shook the towel at him mockingly as he blitzed around to the other side of the pool. Alex chased him, as MC and Spira catcalled and shouted.
“Get him, Alex!” MC cheered.
Landon stopped and protested, “Hey! You’re MY girlfriend!” It took just that time for Alex to crash into Landon’s back. Both of them and the towel went flying into the pool.
By this time MC and Spira had to sit down on a chair they were laughing so hard, even more so when the boys came trudging out of the water and Alex squeezed all the pool water out of his towel- onto Landon’s head. MC got between them before any more fighting could start, and Spira hugged Alex’s back. It wasn’t until they had safely made sure the boys wouldn’t fight that they realized the two young men were laughing.
“Oh, dude, you should have seen your face when MC started cheering for me; that was excellent…”
“I know! You can’t run for shit…”
“Well you can’t swim for shit. I’m cold, how about you girls?”
“Uh-huh” MC willingly, gratefully, blissfully nodded her consent.
“Yeah, it’s cold” Spira chimed in, using it as an excuse to snuggle into Alex as they walked to the doors, sharing a towel and holding their shoes.
The group walked up the stairs to their rooms, laughing instead of silent like they had come down, strewing the steps with damp footprints.
“We’d all better take showers after getting doused in chlorine like that.” MC said, ever-practical, as they rounded the corner of the hall to their rooms.
“Yeah, especially Alex and me. We got it twice.” Landon added.
“Your hair’ll turn green!” Spira taunted, grinning madly at Alex, who looked insulted.
“I know! You’d think I’d never been in a pool before, the way you lot talk.”
Spira grinned. She opened the door to her room and she and MC slid inside, promising, “We’ll be in to say goodnight, boys!” A riff of giggles passed through the gap.
The door clicked shut.
Landon whooped and nearly did a cartwheel. “She likes me! Ha! This rocks!”
“I told you so!” Alex said, opening the door to his room. “Hit the showers, dude.”
“I’m going! I’m going…” Landon said, walking into his own room. He flopped on his bed, still wet but unconcerned, staring up at the ceiling, happy at last.
In Spira’s room, MC was squealing and actually jumping on the bed. “HE KISSED ME! AIIIIIEEEE!!!”
Spira, rolling, said “I KNOW he kissed you! I was THERE! What did I tell you, sissie? I KNEW he’d like ya! You like him, right? Why did I ask…”
“Aww, of course I like him. He’s a wonderful person, I knew that already, and furthermore… well, he’s really really really REALLY cute!”
Spira laughed. “He looks nothing like Pete Wentz, you know.”
MC snarked as well. “Well I know that. Lan’s at least not 5’5”.”
“Good thing, too. Now get off my bed!”
MC stepped off the bed and folded her arms, smiling. Her eyes were sparkling, she had a light blush, and she looked… happy. “OK. I’m gonna go shower. You too. Let’s see how insane we can make them go waiting for the ‘good-night’.”
“I can only imagine what they’ll expect,” Spira said in a dark, suspicious and suggestive manner, pulling a few suitable clothes for after her shower from her bag. MC made a face at her words.
“Eeeurgh. Spira. You’ve been hanging out with the Emo Three and Jo again, haven’t you?”
“Oh, have not!” Spira protested, “You! Go! Get out of my room!”
“ALL RIGHT! I go,” MC said, pointing at herself, “Oh, wait, here’s my red lipstick, you asked earlier” she remembered, passing the silver tube to Spira, who grinned. “Thanks, sis!”
“No problem,” MC said, waving away the words and walking through the adjoining door. She shut it tightly, checked the lock on the hall door, and went to work on herself. She and Spira were going to make those two guys go insane… just in time for the Convention in the morning.
Midnight-and-some-minutes. MC, in a pair of pajamas that were actually very, very soft jeans and a long black tank top and could be called pajamas only because she slept in them, tapped two fingers on Landon’s door and called “Hello?”
Landon snapped open his door quickly. MC giggled. He looked like he had been waiting for her to knock on his door, his hair actually askew like he had been running his hands through it. He had on a black AC/CD t-shirt and black shorts. “Hi, you,” he said.
“I just came to say goodnight,” she said flirtatiously, leaning on the doorframe.
Landon laughed, more of an Erik-like rumble deep in the back of his throat. “I was under the impression that we had an, er, ‘bedtime’.”
MC stuck her tongue out at him. “Nyahh. So you don’t want me to say good-night?”
“I never said that!” he pouted. This made MC giggle for a few seconds. She actually had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. Landon wrapped his arms around her and kissed her very, very softly on her lips. MC had wrapped her arms around his neck and they were about to go for the gold-metal in kissing and managing NOT to giggle when there was a small racket a few feet away from them. Victor’s door opened and Spira walked out, talking to Vic behind her.
“Ok, Alex, good night. NO, goodnight!” she giggled and obviously hugged him one last time, though Alex’s body was hidden behind the door. Spira walked past again. “Night MC, ‘Night Landon. Oh, here MC.” The silver tube of red lipstick was handed to a bewildered MC, who had to slide her fingers out of the back of Landon’s hair to take the lipstick. Spira looked as though she hadn’t worn it.
“’Night,” the confused couple said in unison and Spira went back and shut her door. The two immediately looked toward Alex, who had shut his own door and was leaning against it, watching them. They burst into laughter, MC leaning against Landon’s chest as the giggles overtook her.
Alex opened his lips, which were marked with red in a Spira-lip shape, and asked, sounding amazingly quizzical and insulted, “What?”
