Chapter 25

"Hey, Lucky!" Emily shouted, trying to get her friend's attention before he got to his car. He spun around and smiled.

"Hi, Em, what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you and Liz were doing anything on Saturday?" she asked.

He glared at her. "Why would we be doing anything? Don't start this again, Emily, we're not going out, remember?"

She laughed and put up her hands in defense. "Hey, don't jump down my throat! I didn't mean it that way. I just didn't know if you had to work on that project or not, or maybe she has to work at Kelly's."

"Oh," he said, feeling stupid for jumping to the wrong conclusion. "Well, our next assignment is due on Friday, so we'll probably have the weekend off again from the project, but I'm not sure if she's working or not, why?"

"Nikolas and I wanted to invite you guys to watch some movies at his place. Did you know that Stefan's got his own screening room?"

Lucky looked at her skeptically. "Why would you want her to come along? You're not trying to get us together again, are you?"

She shook her head. "No, we just want to get to know her better. She seems cool, and you said yourself before that she hasn't really made any friends here yet. We're just trying to be nice, that's all. No ulterior motives, I promise!" She put one hand over her heart and held the other one up in the air, like she was taking an oath, hoping that he bought it.

Lucky laughed. "Okay, Em, I'll see if she's free, but on one condition: no date movies, okay?"

Emily smiled and nodded. "Okay, and I swear that I'll make sure Nikolas is on his best behavior, okay? Call me when you know if you guys can make it!" She turned and hurried off to the limo, where Reginald was waiting.

Lucky sighed and got into his dad's car. She seemed to have the best of intentions, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was up.

~*~

"Hi!" Lucky greeted, entering Kelly's. Elizabeth smiled from behind the counter.

"What's up?" she asked, filling a salt-shaker.

"Are you working on Saturday?" he asked, deciding that he might as well get right to the point.

She looked at him suspiciously. "No, why?"

"Well, Emily and Nikolas wanted us to watch movies with them on Saturday. She said that they wanted to get to know you better. I made her swear that this wasn't another match-making attempt, and that they wouldn't be watching any date movies!"

She laughed. She could just picture him freaking out on Emily when she first asked. "Where would we be watching these movies?"

"At Wyndemere. Nikolas's father has his own screening room."

Her eyes widened. "You say that like it's a normal, everyday thing! Are you serious? Nikolas actually lives there, and has his own theater?"

"It's not really that big, but I guess you could call it that. So, should I tell them we'll be there?"

She grinned. She had seen Wyndemere many times from the docks, and had always wondered what it was like inside. Even though the more sensible part of her was screaming that this was a bad idea, her curiosity won over. "Sure, it sounds like fun!"

Lucky smiled. Her enthusiasm was contagious. "Great, I'll call Emily and tell her. I'll let you know what time to meet at the docks, okay?"

She nodded and went back to work as Lucky left the restaurant.

~*~

Lucky was pacing in front of the launch, waiting for Elizabeth to arrive. She was late again. Finally, he spotted her rushing towards him.

"I'm sorry, Gram made me do the dishes before I could leave. I swear, she drives me crazy sometimes!" she exclaimed, gasping for breath.

Lucky laughed. "It's okay, they're already inside, so let's go." He led her to the waiting boat, and the captain helped her inside. A moment later, they set off to the island.

"This place is huge!" she whispered as they walked up to the front door. "I can't believe your brother lives here!"

"Half-brother," he corrected automatically. "Anyway, it's not all that great. It's kind of creepy, and it's all dark and drafty." He rang the bell, and Mrs. Lansbury answered. She smiled when she saw them.

"Welcome, Mr. Spencer, Miss Webber. Mr. Cassidine and Miss Quartermaine are already in the screening room. They said to show you right in." She waved them inside and led them upstairs. Elizabeth's mouth hung open in awe as she took in the interior of the house. After numerous twists and turns, they finally arrived at the small screening room. They thanked Mrs. Lansbury for showing them in, and opened the door.

Nikolas and Emily were kissing on the couch, and broke apart quickly when they heard the door squeak open. Lucky shook his head. "You guys never stop, do you?"

They laughed and stood up to greet their guests. "This place is amazing!" Elizabeth gushed, looking around the small theater. It was set up like a living room, with a few sofas and chairs, along with a couple of tables. On the far wall was a giant movie screen. "I still can't believe you actually live here!"

Nikolas chuckled. "Thanks, but it's not as great as it may look, trust me!"

"Okay, so what movies did you guys get?" Lucky asked, trying to move the subject away from how wonderful Nikolas's life was. He didn't know why, but watching Elizabeth gush over his half-brother bugged him.

"The Shining, Urban Legend, and Scream," Emily announced proudly.

"Oooh, I love scary movies!" Elizabeth said. Lucky didn't seem quite as enthusiastic.

"Why horror movies?" he asked.

"Believe it or not, Nikolas has never seen one," Emily explained, laughing.

Lucky grinned. "Somehow, I believe it. I always knew you have a sheltered childhood, but I didn't know it was that bad!"

Nikolas rolled his eyes. He had known he was going to get teased by Lucky for that. "Okay, so I missed out on some stuff. Let's just start the movie. Mrs. Lansbury should be bringing popcorn and drinks soon."

As if on cue, she popped her head in the door. "Here is your food, Mr. Cassidine," she announced, setting the tray down on the table.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lansbury," Nikolas said as she left. "Okay, have a seat guys."

He sat down next to Emily on one of the couches in the front, and Lucky and Elizabeth shared the other couch that was near the food. They were a bit uneasy about being so close to one another, but decided to try to ignore it and just enjoy the movies.

"Which one's first?" Lucky asked, stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"The Shining," Emily said as Nikolas hit a button to start the film. The lights dimmed and the movie began to play.

"You're not going to get scared and jump on me, are you?" Lucky whispered jokingly to Elizabeth.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't worry, I'll stay on my side of the couch. Anyway, I've seen this movie too many times to count. It doesn't scare me anymore."

He nodded and turned his attention back to the movie, grabbing another handful of popcorn. The movie was going along fine, and they were all enjoying it. Even Nikolas seemed to be getting into it. Lucky was leaning back on the couch, and Liz was next to him leaning on the arm away from him, keeping to her side like she promised. Then, the movie got to the part where the twin girls popped up and she suddenly screamed and buried her head in his shoulder.

Lucky chuckled and looked down at her. "I thought you said this movie didn't scare you anymore?"

"I forgot about that part," she said sheepishly, moving back to her previous position, thankful that the room was too dark for him to see how much she was blushing.

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