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Chapter 25
"Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon." Shannon and Colleen sat on the couch in the family room, watching the carton Sailor Moon, eating Corn Pops.
"She will never turn her back on a friend," Colleen sang.
"She is always there to defend," Shannon chimed in.
"She is the one on whom you can depend, she is the one named Sailor Moon," they finished.
This is how the gang found them, watching Serena reveal her true identity as Sailor Moon to Darien who revealed he was Tuxedo Mask.
"Morning," Brian yawned as he came in with his hair sticking out in every direction. They made room for him on the couch where he curled up and promptly went back to sleep.
Shannon and Colleen just went back to watching Sailor Moon.
Sounds started coming from the kitchen as other people in the house woke up and wandered down.
"Listen as the beasts awaken from hibernation and forage for food," Shannon said in an Australian accent. Colleen cracked up.
"We heard that," AJ yelled from the kitchen.
"We don't care," Shannon yelled back.
Colleen hit Shannon on the arm as she pointed to the TV. "Shut up, here comes the song," Colleen said as Tuxedo Mask died and Serena started crying and a love song played in the background. Their attention turned to the TV.
Nick burst in, munching noisily on some cereal.
"What ya watching?" he asked as the end of Sailor Moon played.
Colleen stretched her arms behind her head as she looked up at him. "Sailor Moon but now we're watching my second favorite cartoon, Scooby-Doo."
Kevin walked in, hearing Scooby-Doo. "Cool. I love that cartoon." He stopped as he realized that her hair was normal. "Your hair isn't blue."
Colleen nodded. "I know. It was just a wig," she told him.
"Thank god," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." He sat down in front of the couch and ate a spoonful of Corn Pops. "Hey AJ, where are you?"
AJ's deep voice replied back. "I'm here."
Colleen froze as those words echoed in her head." "What did you say?"
AJ looked at her "Um, I'm here" he repeated looking at her like she was weird.
Colleen's mind flashed back
***
She bit back a scream, as the phone rang suddenly, breaking the silence of the house like a rock breaking the surface of a pond. She grabbed it hurriedly.
"Hello?" Silence was the only thing she heard.
"Who's there?" Colleen asked loudly, looking around her nervously.
No answer.
Colleen was close to tears now as she pleaded for the person to answer her.
"I'm here," a distorted voice answered suddenly. Colleen threw the phone away from her, backing away to the wall, staring at where the phone lay on the ground.
***
"Colleen, Colleen are you okay?" Howie was talking to her
Colleen just stared. "It was just a stupid joke." She muttered to herself "Just some kids."
"What?" Howie asked not able to understand her.
She didn't answer, just stared at him blankly as her mind tried to release the weird occurrences of the past couple of days.
"Colleen, snap out of it." Howie said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.
She blinked and suddenly seemed to wake up.
"What?" She shook her head and noticed Howie and Shannon staring at her strangely.
"What? I spaced out for a minute." She muttered as she stood up and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. She thought back to the e-mail she had received that morning from Caine. It was the same threats except for the fact he had mentioned how she would have plenty of roses for her funeral, and the fact that he mentioned roses scared her. She never told him that she liked roses or that she had roses at her house. It could of have been just a comment considering that roses are such a common flower. But it hadn't had helped her already paranoid mood that the past couple of days had put her in.
She sighed and unscrewed the cap on her bottle of water and took a sip, hoping it would calm her stomach.
"Colleen, Scooby-Doo is on." Shannon yelled from the family room but Colleen ignored her.
She felt like she wanted to be alone for awhile so she got up and walked outside, shivering as the unusually chilly morning air hit her bare skin. She started heading towards the treehouse, walking slowly as she thought of things. She neared the treehouse, the sound of her footsteps dampened by the dewy grass as she tried to clear her mind. She stopped and turned, looking out as the hairs on the back of her neck tingled, and feeling like something was strange. She shrugged it off and continued to the tree house.
A pair of dark eyes watched from there as she got closer to where he was hiding, his figure blending into the shadows.
It isn't when I planned to kill her but if she gets closer, I will do so, the figure thought, fingering the knife that he had in his hands. He watched as she got closer and grabbed the ladder to climb up. He drew back, his breathing quickening and growing excited as he prepared for the moment he wanted more than anything.
She started to climb and he could hear his heart beat with pleasure as with each step, she climbed closer to her death. He slowly watched as her fingers suddenly appeared and then the top of her head. He raised his arm, almost tasting her blood in his mouth as he prepared to strike.
Suddenly a voice called out and he drew back into the tree house as he heard one of the boys she had brought with her call out her name, telling her that they were going to leave in an hour. He heard her sigh and start climbing down.
"Okay, Brian. I'm coming." His hands gripped the knife tightly; palms sweaty with disappointment as he saw her narrowly escape her death.
But then he smiled because he knew her time would come soon.
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"Guys, are you going to get ready?" Kendall asked, standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. The boys had returned from rehearsal and were now just sitting in the family room watching TV.
"We are ready," answered AJ, grinning. Morgan raised her eyebrow.
"Really and what costume are you wearing?" she asked as the girls waited to see what they were going to say.
"What? You don't recognize us?" Nick asked
Colleen rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you are going as the Backstreet Boys because that's lame."
Kevin shook his head " Close but no. Here is a clue." He looked at the rest of the guys and started singing. "You're all I ever wanted," he sang.
"You're all I ever needed," Brian followed
"So tell me what you to do now cause I want you back," they chorused
"You've got to be kidding. You're going as *NSYNC," Ryan stated, wanting to make sure she understood.
The guys nodded. Complete silence filled the room for a minute until they burst out laughing.
"Hell no, we're just joking," AJ said. "We have costumes."
Shannon breathed a sigh of relief " Good, okay well get into them. We have to leave in an hour." She turned to go get ready.
An hour later, the guys were sitting in their former spots, fully dressed and waiting for the girls.
"I wonder what costumes the girls have," Nick said.
AJ laughed. "Maybe Morgan is going as herself, that's scary enough as it is."
"Trying to be witty again and failing miserably, AJ?" Morgan's voice came from behind him.
AJ laughed." Wait, let me turn around and get full hideous effect," he told her as he turned around slowly. His eyes widened as he saw her standing there. She had vines twisting around her arms and legs leading to the petals that covered her torso. She had flowers pinned in her hair and glitter everywhere. The costume clung to every curve of her body and she smiled as she saw AJ's jaw drop. It made her feel really happy to have him thinking she was sexy for some bizarre reason.
"I'm a flower," she stated, in case they didn't get her costume. She looked at the rest of the guys.
Howie was Zorro, Nick was a 70's pimp, afro and glitter sunglasses included making her laugh. Kevin looked really sexy and savage dressed as a Scotsman, complete with kilt and broadsword.
"Colleen is going to love that," Morgan told Kevin. "She loves stuff like that."
She saw that AJ was dressed as a Pirate and laughed as she saw he had put in his old earrings.
"Very cool AJ." Her gaze want to Brian and confusion puckered across her features. He was wearing a white suit with a Southern black bow tie. He had black glasses on and was carrying a bucket of...
"Is that KFC?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yes Ma'am," he answered in an exaggerated southern accent. She thought for a second and then burst out laughing as she realized who he was.
"Oh my god, you're Colonel Sanders."
"Who's Colonel Sanders?" Shannon's voice asked as she came up behind Morgan. She stopped when she saw Brian and Nick. "Oh goodness gracious. That's hilarious," she said laughing as she entered the room. She surveyed the various costumes. "Cool costumes guys." She took a swig of the Pepsi in her hand.
"Cool costume yourself, Shannon." Kevin surveyed white knee high boots, short sailor dress coming to mid thigh and blonde wig with two buns on top and pigtails streaming down to her ankles. She also carried a moon shaped wand. "What exactly are you?"
Shannon sighed. "I'm Sailor Moon"
"Oh right. I saw some Sailor Moon stuff at Claire's the other day, right next to necklaces with our names on them." AJ said, smiling at the costume. "You look awesome. And sexy," he told her, with a grin. She smiled coyly.
"I thought so." She turned to Morgan. "Hey, when is Leroy going to come pick you up?" she asked as she flopped down on the couch next to Nick. Morgan glanced at the clock.
"He should get here soon."
AJ snorted. "Leroy? What? Do you have a date?"
Morgan sighed, anticipating some comments from AJ. "Yeah I do."
"And his name is Leroy. What did you do? Lose a bet and now have to take some geek?" he asked.
Morgan opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the chime of the doorbell. "It's probably Leroy. I'll get it," she told them and walked towards the door.
AJ continued laughing. "It's going to be great to see Morgan stuck with some dork. Leroy, great name." He stopped talking as they heard Morgan greet her date.
"Hey Leroy. Come on in. I have some friends I would like you to meet," Morgan said as she led Leroy into the living room. Morgan walked in and Leroy followed.
"Guys, this is Leroy."
The guys' jaws dropped as they saw Morgan's date enter the room. A 6 ft 3 in guy stood before them, looking like he stepped out of a GQ magazine. He wore only a loincloth and sandals.
Morgan smirked at AJ. "Leroy, I would especially like you to meet my pal AJ."
Leroy extended his hand and AJ shook it.
He cleared his throat. " So who are you supposed to be?"
Leroy smiled. "Tarzan mate," an Australian accent announced. AJ nodded as he turned away and a slight seed of jealousy started to germinate in the pit of his stomach.
"Hey is that Leroy?" Colleen's voice called from the stairs.
"Hey Colleen," Leroy called out.
Colleen bounced into the room followed by Ryan and Kendall.
"Hey sexy," she greeted Leroy, giving him a hug. He smiled.
"I love your costume," he said, turning her around. She modeled her costume, looking completely like Tatiana, Queen of the fairies from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ryan had curled her hair so that strands spiraled down her back over her wings which were shaped like a butterfly's and covered with glitter.
"Hey look I even have fairy dust," she announced showing her pouch of glitter fairy dust.
Leroy smiled. "Cool."
Colleen stepped back. "Oh let me introduce you to my cousins." She turned. "The belly dancer with the scarves is Ryan and the 60's Felicity Shagwell is Kendall."
Leroy said hi and laughed as he saw Brian drooling over Ryan's costume.
"So Leroy how was New York?" Shannon asked.
He shrugged. "Same old same old."
Howie spoke up. "So why were you in New York?"
"Oh Leroy is a model for Calvin Klein," Morgan answered for him. " He was on a photo shoot." She looked at AJ smugly. "Well, Tarzan and I will see you later at the party." And she took Leroy's hand and they left after Leroy said goodbye.
As the door closed, all the guys except AJ started laughing.
"So AJ, feel more stupid than usual?" Brian asked
Kendall looked at AJ. "What did we miss?"
Nick came up beside her. "Oh just AJ making fun of what a dork Morgan's date must be with a name like Leroy. And Mr. GQ walks in."
Kendall nodded. "Oh I see."
Meanwhile Colleen was staring at Kevin. She leaned towards her sister. "He looks like he stepped out of one of my favorite Scottish romance novels," she whispered.
Shannon nodded. "I like the fake tattoo circling his biceps," she whispered back to her sister. Colleen nodded in agreement.
"Man AJ, look at Ryan she looks so sexy." Brian whispered to his friend.
"I bet that Leroy guy is stuck up," AJ murmured back, his thoughts on Morgan's date.
"He seemed nice. You know I think I'm falling in love with Ryan," Brian whispered, his eyes on her, watching as Ryan laughed at one of Nick's stupid jokes.
"Yeah, Morgan would like the big muscles, small brain. She would be that shallow," AJ muttered.
Brian turned as he realized that AJ wasn't even paying attention to him. He saw the look of bitterness and jealousy on AJ's face and his jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness, you like Morgan," he exclaimed stunned.
AJ looked at him, startled. "No I don't. We're barely friends." AJ quickly stood up.
Brian shook his head. "No, you like her. You're jealous that she had a date."
AJ snorted. "Surprised yes, jealous no." He turned around to the rest of the group. "Let's just get going to the party."
Colleen and Shannon looked up from their conversation as AJ stood up and made that announcement.
"Yes master," they both said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed as they stood up and started walking. Shannon stopped laughing as she stepped on one of her pigtails.
"Man, I knew these would be trouble," she complained.
Colleen smiled. "But they are that long in the cartoon. You have authenticity."
Shannon shook her head. "I have a pain in the ass." She swept the blond pigtail behind her.
"Okay, meatball head," Colleen joked.
They all walked out of the house, Shannon locking the door behind her. Soon they were at Shaun's house or rather mansion.
"Damn, this is a huge-ass house," Nick exclaimed as they rung the doorbell.
Shannon nodded. "The party is in the ballroom. Shaun's parents are filthy rich."
The door swung open and they were greeted by a mad scientist.
"Welcome, welcome. Please come into my laboratory," he cackled.
"Hey Shaun," Colleen replied.
The mad scientist smiled. "Hey Colleen. Wow, awesome costume. Since you are a supernatural creature, maybe we should go up to my room and let me experiment on you," he suggested, waggling his eyebrows up and down.
Colleen laughed. "Maybe later."
They stepped into the house that was packed with people and music blared telling them to play that funky music white boy. They entered the ballroom and they all grabbed a mask from a table set by the door.
"We're not supposed to reveal who we are until midnight," Shannon exclaimed as she put on a white mask to match her Sailor Moon costume. They nodded and picked out masks for themselves.
Two hours later, Colleen scanned the room for Kevin, wanting to dance with him to the song coming up. She had requested Kiss from a Rose by Seal and didn't want to miss it. She finally caught sight of him and laughed as she saw that he, Nick, and AJ were surrounded by a crowd of girls who had obviously found out who they were.
I wonder who told? She thought until she saw Kevin, Nick and AJ shooting dirty looks at Kendall who looked guilty. Colleen started fighting her way over.
"Excuse me, excuse me, can I get by? Sorry," she repeatedly said as she tried to reach Kevin. He finally saw her and started fighting his way over. They met each other halfway.
"God, they're fierce aren't they?" Colleen joked as she tried to catch her breath. Kevin grunted.
"How did they find out?"
"Kendall let it slip."
"How?"
"Um, she was observing how excited the girls we were dancing with would be if they knew that they were dancing with a Backstreet Boy. And this girl heard and told everyone." He pushed Colleen forward as the girls around them crept closer to hear what they were saying.
Colleen heard Kiss from a Rose start and she grabbed Kevin's hand and started dragging him to the dance floor.
"Come on, I love this song."
They fought their way to the dance floor and she smiled as Kevin pulled her close.
"So how are you enjoying the party?" he asked her as they danced slowly.
"It's great. I haven't seen a lot of the gang but I've been having a good time talking to old friends. How about you?"
He snorted. "Well, not too good now."
Colleen laughed. "Awww poor baby. What normal guys wouldn't give to be in your situation."
He shrugged.
Colleen looked at him sulking in his kilt and sighed, wondering how he could look so good.
"Do you know how sexy you look?" she asked him softly.
He looked down at her and grinned. "Really? You find me sexy huh?"
She looked him up and down and then replied. "Oh yeah."
A pair of eyes watched as the two flirted, expressions intense but hidden by the macabre skeleton mask they wore. He heard his dancing partner speak and turned his head, trying to concentrate on what Shannon Davis was saying.
"You're costume is really . . . extreme," she told him, looking at her partner who wore the costume of a Druid priest, black robe and skeletal mask. She tried to guess who was underneath that mask as they continued dancing.
"Thank you. I like your costume," he said slowly, his deep voice oddly calm and chilling. He paused as he carefully turned her around, his hand resting lightly on her back and Shannon tried to wave off the feeling of unease that was traveling up her spine. Her attention went back to him as he spoke again.
"I must say I really enjoy that costume over there." And he gestured in the direction behind her. She turned and saw that he was pointing to Colleen who was talking quietly with Kevin as they danced.
"The fairy? That's my sister," she said with a grin.
He kept staring at Colleen as he replied. "I know."
Shannon looked up at him. "You know? Do you know my sister?"
He nodded slowly, still staring behind her.
Shannon went through a list of people again, trying to figure out who she could possibly be dancing with.
"Who is that with her?" he suddenly asked.
"Hmm? Oh, that's her boyfriend." She gasped as his hand suddenly tightened around her own. "Ow!"
He finally broke his stare and looked down at her. "Sorry."
She nodded slowly, feeling a little scared again for some reason. "No problem. So where do you know my sister from?" she asked casually, hoping to get some clue of who he was.
He smiled and Shannon suddenly wanted to be anywhere but dancing with this man whose smile chilled her blood. "From . . . around."
She bit her lip and nodded as she turned her head, needing a friend. She spotted AJ standing to the side, talking with some girls and waited for him to look up and mouthed, help me.
AJ quickly excused himself and started making his way to the dance floor. He approached the two and tapped Shannon's dancing partner on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, but I need Sailor Moon to fight off some monsters so I was wondering if I could cut in?" he asked brightly, smiling.
A pair of dark eyes turned towards him and AJ grew a little uneasy as the man took a while to answer.
"But of course," he finally replied and he stepped away and with a slight nod of his head, turned and disappeared into the crowd of people.
Shannon released the breath she had unwittingly been holding and turned to AJ.
"Thank you so much, AJ. That guy, I just don't know. It was weird," she explained as AJ started dancing with her. He nodded as he continued to stare after the guy.
"I know what you mean."
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