Chapter 3: Stroke of Luck

"Do you brain dead morons have anything to say for yourselves?" Landon asks us as he drives us back to work, putting his foot down on the accelerator -- he left his job to come and find us so I can't blame him for driving fast. 

"Yep. I'm awesome." I grin from beside Landon, my new best friend since ten minutes ago -- he saved my life.

Lan ignores me and peers at Dean through the rearview mirror accusingly. "I'm sure it's all your fault, pudding brain."

I immediately nod in agreement from the passenger seat. "It is, Lan. It really is all Pudding Brain's fault." I mean, I'm grateful that Dean walked in the wrong direction and, by a stroke of luck, found an old radio tower but that doesn't mean that I'll blame myself for any of this. I'm always innocent.

Dean gasps from the backseat and Tia, sitting on his lap, follows suit before giggling at him. "Don't listen to her, Lan," he argues in protest, absentmindedly playing with Tia's adorable curls. "Furby's the one who brought us out here. She's clearly a lunatic. She's the who decided to give me--"

Landon takes a hand off the wheel and places it up before Dean's face. "Enough with the excuses, idiot," he says, keeping his eyes on the bumpy road ahead. "You're always finding trouble. I'm surprised you haven't been orphaned by your family yet. Your dad deserves medals for putting up with you and I deserve a damn trophy."

Some one misses Xavier. Dean's his new punching bag.

"Yeah, what he said and worse!" I pipe up, siding with Lan -- it's my safest bet here.

"How can you take this girl's lies over me, your best friend?" Dean questions dramatically, keeping his arms secured around Tia as if to protect her from Lan's speedy driving.

"She's family," Landon replies back in nonchalance.

"I'm your family!" Dean raises his voice, offended.

"No, bud," Lan casually corrects him, unfazed, "I mean, she's literally family now. By law, she's my niece."

I'm never going to get used to him saying that.

"Well, your niece sucks!" Dean resorts to insulting me just because he's losing the battle.

"You suck!" I turn in my seat and reach back past Tia to hit him. He courageously swats back at me. It lands us up in a slap fight and I'd be winning more if my seat belt wasn't restraining me from getting to him.

I feel Landon shove me back into my seat. "Enough before Dean gets seriously hurt," he commands sternly. "His face was mere inches from your swing zone." He reaches back despite his 'concern' and taps Dean on the forehead roughly.

"Were you dropped on your head as a baby?!" I lash out at Dean in fury when I happen to catch a glance of my self in the mirror -- he's ruined my hair! He's dead to me!

"Yes, I was!" He shouts back almost immediately.

"Well," I pause, shocked and caught off guard, "sorry about that!" I yell, not knowing what else to say.

"It's fine!" He angrily shouts back a second time.

"This triad I'm stuck with," Landon mumbles, shaking his head. "The girl's not bad." He grins at Dean. "And by that, I mean Tia," he clarifies as if it's necessary.

"Looney tunes!" Tia laughs, pointing at all of us except herself.

I smile at Tia and send Dean an apologetic glance for being so hard on him. "I'm sure, despite being dropped on your head, that your family has tried their very best to raise you to be a decent human being."

He has nothing to be ashamed of except for being a pathetic, giant baby and a pathetic, giant baby that has been dropped on his head.

"Ha!" Dean, still under the impression that I'm attacking him, throws his head back and pretends to laugh. "Then the joke is on them!" He whips his head my way before glowering at me. "I used to think you were hot."

Landon sighs and shakes his head as if haven given up on his childhood friend.

"Hey!" I suddenly exclaim loudly as something occurs to me. "I'm finally hanging out with you, Lan!" I poke him on the shoulder. "You gotta admit, we don't get much scenes together!" I clap my hands, giddy with excitement.

"Again, Aqueela," he drawls out, bored, "there's a reason for that."

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

"I'm just glad that Tia's safe, that Tim didn't find out and that you and Dean weren't fired," Jay says to me after hearing me tell the entire story in detail -- unsurprisingly, he blames me, as always.

Usually, I wouldn't tell Jay a thing but Dean made a point of ratting me out before he and Lan left. I had no choice in the matter than to tell a twisted version of the truth to my dear and lovely fiance.

"Well..." I start, chipper, "I bet I can cheer you up." I hum in happiness, purposely keeping him in suspense.

He arches an eyebrow at me, trying to figure me out. "I'm intrigued. Say more things I like."

"You get to keep your car!" I shout after another moment of suspense.

Jay falls silent, completely baffled. "What?" He shakes his head at me, doubting me. "Aqueela, if you're kidding, I might just consider leaving you."

"I'm going to ignore that." I hit him upside the head anyway -- I'm taking after Lan. "They haven't come to take your precious Gallardo today because I was able to pay off some of the money you owe for breaking the contract. I asked Tim for my first six months salary upfront. I got your car covered," I explain with a smile, waiting in anticipation to see his worthwhile reaction to the good news.

He scratches his head, still unsure. "Are you lying to me? 'Cause I still can't tell."

"Your car is safe," I repeat in all seriousness. "Scout's honor," I promise him. "You don't just got me; I got you too." Honestly, it's the least I can do for him.

Realizing that I'm being serious, a full blown grin touches his lips. "I think I just fell in love with you a second time." He leans forward and gives me a short, passionate kiss. "As precious as my car is to me, you're more precious to me," he says, looking into my eyes and pecking me my lips before moving back again.

"Oh, don't worry," I tease him, "I know." He makes it super obvious. I was as blind as a bat with no eyes before.

"And now onto all the bad news," he swiftly changes topics and I almost have the nerve to hit him for it. "Ryan's leaving." He shrugs after a moment's thought. "To some, it may actually be good news."

"Not to me," I slowly answer after having processed it. "Why and where to?"

"To China for the gaming industry. He's been offered a high paying job to test out games before they're put on the market," Jay tells me. It takes me back to when he was about to leave for Tokyo. The difference is that Ryan has nothing holding him back.

I sigh internally. I know it's all part of growing up but too much is changing. I know that I can't keep everyone I love in one place. I'm scared. I'm so scared of what the future holds for each of us. I'm scared of being separated from people close to me. I don't want to lose any of my friends and that includes Ry.

Jay places a supportive hand over mine, aware of just how much my friends mean to me. "I asked him to come by and see us before he leaves. He asked if he could come today and I hope you don't mind but I said yes."

I interlace our fingers, finding comfort in his grasp. "I don't mind one bit." Who really cares what Boss Man might think? This is our home now too. Besides, he's still at the bar.

The doorbell rings.

"Good 'cause he's here," Jay answers before getting up to open the door, allowing our mutual friend in.

It's a good thing Landon just left.

Ryan greets Jay and follows him over to me. "Sunshine!" He grins from ear to ear when he spots me. He takes a seat down beside me. "Jay made me come see you before I leave." He ruffles my hair. "Who would have thought that I'd actually come to like you?" He tosses an arm over my shoulder.

My fiance knows that I hate people leaving me without saying goodbye, hence him inviting Ryan over. He did it for my sake. Everything Jay does is for my sake.

I frown up at him playfully. "More like the other way 'round." I stare at the floor a second before shifting my gaze back to him. "Am I going to see you again?"

Ryan nods. "Yeah. I mean, my parents live here. I'll have to come visit them eventually before they die," he jokes, always one for dark humor. "I'm not vanishing from your life or off the earth. Chill, Sunshine."

"Something to drink, buddy?" Jay asks him.

"A soda would be great, bud," Ryan replies before stretching out his legs before him, getting comfy.

Jay glances to me next. "'Queela?"

"Same as Ry please!" I send him a wide grin, thankful.

He shakes his head to himself and returns my smile with a cute smile of his own before leaving the room.

"Oooh," Ryan elbows me as soon as Jay's out of earshot, "got yourself a gentleman, huh?" He teases.

I wiggle my eyebrows, playing along. "What can I say, Ry? I like the nice guys and the nicest of guys likes me."

Ryan smiles a genuine smile for once instead of his usual, cocky one. "You two are good for each other, a great match. I hope to find what you guys have someday. It's not easy. I've had my heart broken twice now by your species."

Sarah. Nancy.

I drop my gaze. I had no idea he even felt that way.

Before I can reply, he immediately lightens the mood in true Ryan fashion. "I can tell that you're gonna cry yourself to sleep at night when I leave." He grins his infamous, cocky smile before sparing me a single glance. "I'm right, aren't I?"

I nudge him with my shoulder, choosing to humor him but only because he's leaving. "Sure. Yeah. Whatevs, Ry."

When he doesn't say anything, I look up at him. Only then do I notice something, or the lack of something. "Hey! This is the first time I'm seeing you without some form of tech! This is the first time I have your full attention during a conversation!"

"Well, not my full attention..." he gestures to Slobs curled up to him on his other side, "I'm feeling divided," he jokes.

I can't even blame him. Slobber's adorable!

"But yeah, I'm taking a hiatus from my games until I get to China," he informs me.

I place a hand over my heart, feigning offense. "And here I thought that it's because I top your games."

He sends me a flat look. "Aqueela, please, let's not get carried away here."

I laugh, having missed his humor. Although, to be honest, I don't think he's really joking.

Jay steps back in and hands us our sodas. As soon as he sits down across from us, Slobber leaves Ryan's side and jumps onto his favorite person's lap.

Ry shakes his head at Slobber. "Traitor." He glances over at Jay and seems to notice the tired look that Jay's been carrying for some time now. "So, you still dealing with all the media and comments and stuff?"

What no one except me knows is that Jay is still having nightmares about the plane incident. He feels terrible for the deceased passengers. He also knows that if he stepped onto that plane, he wouldn't be here right now. He admitted to me that some part of him knew something bad was going to happen. It's like he had a premonition. He told me that he really was saying goodbye forever to me at the airport.

Knowing Jay's true heart about the situation still sends shivers down my spine. I don't like to think about what his fate should have been. Neither does he. However, I know that his heart truly does go out for all those lost in the plane accident. He mentions it every so often.

Jay nods at Ryan. "Unfortunately."

Ryan shakes his head. "Bunch of spazoids."

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

"Well, guys, thanks for the invite but I should really be going before that retard and his scary sister gets here," Ryan tells us while standing up.

I immediately glance at Jay for an explanation.

Jay shrugs. "Your insane best friend asked to come over too. Apparently, she and Max have something important to ask us."

Oh, no!

Ryan chuckles. "Good luck with that," he says as we walk him to the front door.

"I know you're only leaving in a month but it still feels like you're leaving right now," I say before hugging him goodbye. I won't see him much in this coming month because he has a lot to do. "I might miss your dry sense of humor and your wittiness."

Ryan grins at me and pulls back. "And I might miss your craziness and your smile." He turns to say goodbye to Jay too before hurriedly opening the door. "Wanna leave intact while I still can before the stooges get here."

The second the door is open, in marches the 'stooges' -- Bell and her henchmen.

Ryan snaps his fingers in dismay. "Dammit." He turn to me accusingly, "Don't ever prolong a goodbye. This all your fault!"

And...he's back.

Bell, looking really tired and just plain terrible from her pregnancy, shoves Ryan aside and pushes her way in. As usual, she does not care about the poor looney tune who gets in her way.

"And the apocalyptic matriarch zombie returns from the mouth of hell," Ryan mutters, just loud enough for Bells to hear. She shoots him a fiery glare. He quickly maneuvers himself around and behind me, grabbing onto me. "Human shield!" He shoves me forward, ready to sacrifice me in order to fend off Bell.

To be fair, Ryan's right; Bell does look like something out of the apocalypse. I thought that you're supposed to glow when pregnant -- Bell is proving that to be a myth. This is also the first time I've ever seen her without make-up and I've never appreciated make-up as much as I do now.

"You better take that back, Sunshine!" Bell yells at him mockingly through me, clearly in a awful mood.

"Sorry," Ryan mumbles in fear, bravely stepping away from me.

Bell scans him over before releasing a tense breath. "You will live another day," she decides, too exhausted to murder him.

Ryan takes the gap and flees the house while he still can -- good choice. I decide to do the same but Bell catches me in a dreadful hug of death before I can. Fortunately, Troy saves me by stepping in with Rhys and shoving us out of his way.

Again, like sister, like brother.

"Out of my way astute morons," Troy sticks his chest out, Rhys mimicking his actions. "Spray us!" He clicks his fingers to Ramos entering behind him.

Ramos sprays them both with a strongly scented perfume. He sprays so much that it looks like Troy and Rhys are engulfed in mist. Troy does a little spin in the midst before walking out of the spray cloud.

"Did you just walk through perfume?" Jay asks Troy with raised brows before coughing, accidentally inhaling some of it.

"Zie man perfume," Ramos corrects Jay with a dismissive shake of his head.

"It smells like roses," I state my opinion aloud. Honestly, I'm really not surprised. It's Troy.

"Man roses," Troy corrects me with an annoyed huff. "Jay, I would embrace you hello but I'm holding an infant." He snaps his fingers at Ramos again, expectant.

Ramos follows Troy's orders and embraces Jay tightly until Jay shoves him off, completely weirded out by him.

Bell rolls her eyes at her brother. "Rhys is hardly an infant anymore." She snatches him right out of Troy's hands. "And stop making my child cough on your girly perfume!" She swats him on the chest before giving Ramos a look.

Rhys frowns up at his mother before reaching his arms out to me. I take him from Bell's arms. "Rhysie! My baby!" I coo and plant a kiss on his forehead. He laughs in response before gurgling up at me.

"Did you see that, Jezel?" Troy asks his wife over his shoulder. "Did Riosh Dazzle Flare see his daddy and Ramos enter the house like a stampede of gorgeous stallions?"

I smile in relief when I see Jezel step into the house with a very much alive child -- thank goodness -- in her arms. The poor baby has been turned into a baby fashionista model, just judging by his stylish sneakers, button-up shirt and gelled hair.

"Yes." Jezel sighs at her husband while filming him on the camera of her phone with her free hand. "Can I stop filming now? Why can't we just film our son instead? Why does it always have to be you?"

"Because I want my boy to know that nothing is more important than looks when entering and exiting life, in general really," Troy explains slowly to his wife as if she's dumb. "Looks are everything, Jezel. As a model, you should know. It's the most valuable life lesson we can impart on our son. Clearly, you've learnt nothing from modelling! Now is not the time for morals and integrity."

Jezel huffs in frustration and looks to me and Bells for help. I would help her if I believed she was still in reach of help but Troy's dragged her too far down.

Troy makes himself at home, per the usual. "I'm shooketh." He glances at the wall covered in photos of Greg and his parents. "I see there are still no pictures of me up on the wall." He sends Jay and me an accusing stare.

"For the hundredth time, Troy Story, this isn't your home and we don't own the house," I clarify yet again. "This--"

"You're not holding my attention," Troy cuts me off and I have to swallow the urge to kick him and then force Lego under his bare feet.

"How are you still not getting this?" I wonder aloud, bouncing Rhys up and down while he laughs hysterically at me.

"I'm an incredibly complex design, Squirt," Troy boasts proudly.

"I'm done with you," I tell him angrily. "I refuse to engage in mental combat with the unarmed." I distract myself by giving his son attention instead. "Hey, Riosh." I grin down at the baby in Jezel's arms. "Aren't you a handsome lil fella?"

"Don't bother," Troy once again chips in, interrupting my moment with his boy. "My Indian baby doesn't speak English." He sees my puzzled look and decides to complicate matters further. "He speaks Indian."

I slap my forehead and turn to Jay in desperation. "I don't want to do this."

"Aww, sweet girl," he drawls playfully before kissing my forehead, "you have to."

I glower up at him but obey nonetheless. It's usually him who doesn't like having visitors over. We're switching again.

"Everybody, listen up! I have an announcement!" Max, seemingly infuriated, more so than his wife, for a change, barges into the house with Melby strapped to his chest and chubby Blanche strapped to his back. Both girls are crying at the top of their lungs.

Unfortunately for Max, no one bothers to listen to him nor care because we don't respect him. We all continue on in our own conversations, ignoring his presence and his stupid announcement -- whatever it may be.

"Jeez, Sis," Troy glances over at his sister's growing belly, "how many babies you got living in there? You've inflated like a hot air balloon." He shakes his head in disapproval. "You're so fat, you should be selling shade for a living. You probably leave footprints in concrete now. That's so unflattering."

He doesn't learn! I want to flatten his face!

Bell's about to burst into anger but her husband beats her to it:

"I had no help whatsoever getting these two crying brats out of the car! You all walked off without me. I'm tired of being underappreciated around here! I got trapped in the car door and my back is killing me!"

Bell is quick to retaliate. "Don't 'my back is killing me' me! My back is really killing me! Plus, my feet are swollen! I look like a damn hobbit!"

Max glares at his wife in fury and places his kids down to the floor before raising his voice again. "Bell, you have no idea what I'm going through right now, you trapezoid freak!" He snaps at her on impulse.

Ooh...it's a miracle he's still breathing.

Before Bell can jump on Max and brutally attack him, Jay catches her by the waist and holds her away from my other half -- I'm not complete without my Maxy.

I really don't blame Ryan for leaving in a hurry.

"Your playground insults are weak!" Bell shouts at Max, trying to break free from Jay's grip. I's amazing that Jay has finally conquered his fear of her. They've really come a long way.

"Bad time to get home from work, huh?" Boss Man asks, taking in all the faces in his house. He glances over at Jay grappling with Bell. "What happened? Aren't you the one always controlling the chaos?"

"I'm now the product of my environment," Jay says with a shrug before gesturing to me and all of our friends, finally releasing Bell who immediately tackles her husband to the floor, pregnant belly and all.

"Point taken," Boss Man agrees before pushing through us to his room, not questioning it any further.

I saddle up to Jay and glance up at him in adoration. "Promise me that we won't be anything like that." I gesture over to Bell and Max fighting as well as to Troy and Jezel who are once again arguing with each other.

"We already did enough of that," Jay assures me in confidence. "We're long past that stage now. I love you and I still can't believe I get to marry you and spend my life with you. We might still argue here and there but that doesn't mean I love you any less. At the end of the day, we're both still humans and I'll still love you."

It stills feels so weird to hear him say that he loves me. It feels so weird to know that he'll be calling me his wife soon. It hasn't sunk in. I'm very luck to have him in my life.

Jezel, much to everyone's surprise, shoves Bell and Max apart from each other and also puts a swift end to her argument with Troy. "I can't live with all this fighting anymore! It's too much! Enough's enough!"

Bell fixes her hair and straightens her shirt over her big belly as if to regain some dignity. "Max and I need counselling," she eventually says. "He hits me," she lies -- Max doesn't stand a chance up against her, she proved that now.

Max scowls at her in shock. "I do not!"

She places a hand over her heart. "Emotionally," she pouts, faking it before mouthing to Max 'you did this to yourself'.

Jay touches his forehead in frustration, not buying any of it either. "You guys said you had something important to ask over the phone?" He reminds the crazy couple.

Bell and Max's reactions immediately change and suddenly they're no longer mad at each other. Instead, they look over to each other in excitement.

"Well," Bell gushes, not so discreetly nudging Max in the side, "we've been wanting to ask for a while but we've been waiting for the right time, anyway, we've been thinking, and we've both agreed," she pauses, "to, and I say this with so much happiness, ask you to be--"

"Godparents to our children!" Max buts in abruptly and impatiently.

Bell shoots a look for spoiling it. When she sees Jay and I blink in confusion, she places her hands up in front of her mouth in exhilaration. "Well?" She asks us, her beady eyes not moving from us.

"To be honest," Jay leans down to whisper in my ear, "from what I've seen over the years, I don't want to be part of this lunatic family. Plus, if they die, all four children come to us. That's just madness."

"Agreed," I whisper back absentmindedly before nodding at Bell profusely. "We're in!"

Jay shakes his head. "We're not."

"We'd be honored!" I add.

"No, we wouldn't be," Jay argues.

Bell completely disregards everything Jay is saying and tightly embraces us both. "Thank you, guys!" She says before Max joins in on the group hug too, just as grateful as his wife.

Jay sighs in defeat. "You two better not die anytime soon."

*~**~*

Hey guys :)

1. What was your favorite part of this chapter?

2. Which character do you want to read about in the next chapters?

3. What are your thoughts on Ryan and his sudden departure?

4. Were you expecting Landon to save the day?

5. Surprised that Aqueela made a plan to keep Jay's car?

6. Which child/baby do you like best?

7. Your thoughts on Troy and Jezel as parents?

8. Your thoughts on Max as a dad?

9. Your thoughts on Jay and Aqueela being godparents?

10. If you could ask any of the characters one question, what would it be and to who?

If you want to know what happens next sooner rather than later, go to Radish for Chapter 4 ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter. 

Thanks :)

~CJ