Chapter 30

They argued for 10 minutes over which movie to watch, finally agreeing to watch one that he wanted, then one that she wanted. His pick was Star Wars and hers was Titanic, much to his dismay.

“You’ve never even seen it, how can be so sure you’re going to hate it?” she asked when he complained.

“I can just tell, okay? It looks like such a chick flick! Anyway, I thought you said you wanted to watch comedies!”

“Oh, and Star Wars is just a laugh a minute, right?” she asked sarcastically, putting the tape in the VCR, then joining him on the couch, making sure to keep a big gap between them.

“No, but it’s a classic,” he replied simply, noticing how far away she was sitting, and feeling strangely disappointed.

“Hello? So is Titanic! It may not be that old yet, but it did tie for the most Oscar wins, remember? It was the highest grossing movie ever, or something like that.”

He shrugged. “Fine, whatever. I already agreed to watch it anyway, so why are we arguing about it?”

She smiled. “Because it’s what we do best, haven’t you noticed?”

He punched her lightly on the shoulder and laughed, then sat back as his movie started. They watched it in silence, both keeping the space between them. When it was over, Liz hit rewind and got up. “Do you want anything to drink? I’m dying of thirst!”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

She quickly got herself a glass of milk and grabbed a handful of chocolate chip cookies, then returned to the living room in time to switch the tapes. She flopped down on the couch and hit “play” on the remote. She laughed when she saw the pained expression on Lucky’s face. “Oh, come on, stop acting like I’m torturing you! It’s just a movie.”

He shook his head and stole a cookie from the pile she had on the table.

“Hey, that was mine!” she grumbled.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to share?” He asked, wiping some crumbs off of his shirt.

“Yeah, but you said you didn’t want anything.”

“I said I didn’t want a drink. You never said anything about cookies!”

She rolled her eyes. “They’re in the kitchen if you want more. Now be quiet, it’s starting.”

They watched the first tape, and Lucky actually found that he was enjoying it, although they both became uncomfortable during the love scene. When the tape ended, Liz got up and changed it.

“So, what do you think so far?” she asked, returning to the couch. She forgot that she had been trying to keep her distance from him and sat down right next to him instead.

“Well, to be honest, it’s not that bad. The effects are really cool so far.”

She grinned. “I told you so.”

The next tape started, and they settled back to watch. Lucky had his arm draped over the back of the couch. He was so engrossed in the movie that he didn’t realize that her head had fallen onto his shoulder until it was over. He quickly wiped away the tear that had run down his cheek, embarrassed that he had actually cried at the ending. He looked down at Elizabeth, surprised to see how she was sitting, and smiled slightly when he realized that she had fallen asleep. It was almost morning, and he didn’t want to wake her, but he didn’t want to leave her on the couch, either. Her grandmother might not be happy to hear that he had spent the night.

Lucky slowly got up, letting her head rest gently back onto the couch. When she didn’t wake up, he quickly cleaned up her milk glass and cookie crumbs while the tape rewound. He put the glass in the sink, waited for the tape to finish, and put it back in the video cabinet. He then turned back to the couch and scratched his head absently.

“Now what am I going to do with you?” he whispered. Deciding that he only had one option, he reached down and slipped one arm under her legs and the other under her back, picking her up. She weighed hardly anything, and he easily carried her to the stairs. She stirred and tightened her arms around his neck as he climbed the steps. By the time he reached her room he was out of breath. Carrying her was one thing, but climbing stairs at the same time was a regular workout!

He pushed the door open, thankful that it wasn’t closed all the way, since he didn’t have a free hand to deal with doorknobs. He gently laid her on the bed, pulling the covers up to her neck. She smiled in her sleep and rolled over. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face before climbing into the sleeping bag on the floor. It was still too early to go home, so he decided to catch a quick nap, and was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

~*~

Laura opened the door, smiling. “Did you forget your key?” she asked, started to ask, then realized that it wasn’t the son she was expecting. “Oh, Nikolas! Sorry, I thought you were Lucky. What are you doing here so early?”

Nikolas stepped inside. “I actually came to see him. What did you mean, you thought I was him? Why would he be at the door at this hour?”

She smiled and sat down in a chair, motioning for him to do the same. “He slept at Elizabeth’s house last night.”

Nikolas grinned. “Oh, really? And you let him?”

She chuckled. “Well, he said that Audrey was working the night shift and Liz was scared to be alone, so he was going to sleep on her floor. I don’t know what possessed me to say yes, but he sounded serious, so I agreed. I just don’t understand why she would be afraid. I’m sure Audrey works that shift all the time.”

Nikolas was grinning like a fool by now, and Laura looked at him suspiciously. “Nikolas... do you know something about this?”

He laughed, unable to keep quiet any longer. “Okay, I’ll tell you. Emily and I invited them over to watch movies yesterday. She rented 3 really scary ones, and I guess they must have spooked Liz a little.” He chuckled again, thinking that he couldn’t wait to tell Em that their plan had worked even better than expected.

Laura shook her head. “I thought we weren’t going to manipulate them!”

“Hey, they’re our friends. We just invited them to watch some movies. How were we supposed to know anything else would happen?” he asked, feigning innocence. Laura laughed and was getting ready to respond when the door opened.

Lucky staggered inside and looked at them sleepily.

“Lucky, are you all right? You look terrible!” Laura said, rushing over to him.

“I’m fine, Mom. I just didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m going to go to bed for a little while if you don’t mind.” He stumbled up the stairs to his room. As soon as the door closed, Laura turned back to Nikolas and raised her eyebrow.

“What do you make of that?” he asked, laughing.

“My teenage son just spent the night at a beautiful girl’s house with no adult supervision and didn’t get any sleep....I don’t really want to make anything of that if you don’t mind!” she replied, causing Nikolas to laugh even harder.

“Isn’t it too early to be so happy?” Luke asked, coming in the door, back from his trip early. He saw the look on his wife and stepson’s faces and smiled. “What are you two up to?”

Nikolas walked up to him and clapped him on the back. “Luke, I think the women may be owing us some money soon!”

Luke looked at Laura, then back at Nikolas, grinning. “Okay, guys, spill. What did the Cowboy do now?”

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