|
|
Emily and Lucky lay snuggled together
as the bus sped through the dark
night towards the next destination.
Nikolas grinned at the top of the
heads as he came back from the
washroom. He shook his head as he sat
down, that was an experience he
would try to avoid. Not being used to
such tiny accommodations, Nikolas
worried that he was becoming
claustrophobic. Liz shifted
next to him and sat up, yawning. “Hi
there.” He offered, she smiled
at him. “How much you wanna bet our
parents are all freaking out right
about now.”
Luke and Laura sat in the hospital
library, Laura was oblivious to the
flurry of activity around her.
Stefan Cassadine, Audrey Hardy, and the
entire Quartermaine clan were assembled
in the large room, having
decided the sudden disappearance
of all their children was not
coincidence. Stefan paced
back and forth, “Nikolas has no reason to
leave my care, he was perfectly
happy. This must be the influence of
your son Spencer.” Luke glared
at him coldly, “When has my son been
around your nephew so that he could
influence him? He hates all
Cassadines.” “Well he’s certainly
been influencing our Emily,” broke in
Edward. “That boy has far
too much influence over her. She doesn’t
even think for herself anymore.
Look at her behavior in this last
year.” Laura’s head snapped
up, “That was because your whole family
ignored her and let her get into
drugs and overdose. It had nothing to
do with my son!” Edward took
a step back. “Look everyone,” Monica
began, “This isn’t getting us anywhere.
Now I think it’s safe to assume
that they are together. None
of these kids could pull this off without
Lucky.” Laura opened her
mouth to protest, “I’m not saying it was his
idea Laura, it’s just he’s the
most experienced at this.” Audrey looked
up timidly, “I know my Elizabeth
would never have dreamed of this, she
wouldn’t survive without her music
and makeup all by herself.” Luke
smirked, “None of you is giving
your kids any credit. You seem to be
forgetting that they all have been
gone for at least 24 hours and none
of us had any idea. Now I’m
sure Lucky had tips on how to do this, but
he definitely did not hold guns
to their heads. Each of these kids left
because they weren’t happy with
their lives here. And that is not my
fault, or Laura’s fault except
when it comes to my kid. All of you,
face it, you’ve failed as parents
in some way if your kid took off with
mine.” The room was silent
as each let this truth sink in. “Alright,”
started Luke authoritatively.
“They are all together, we can assume
that. We just have to think
of where they would go to hide out. This
could be a temporary release for
them, or they could think of this as
permanent. Either way we
have to lay out the options and start picking
reasonable routes they may have
taken.”
Lucky sat in his seat, his shoulder
falling asleep as Emily lay on it.
He smiled down at her, he’d let
her sleep some more. He imagined what
was going on in Port Charles.
They would for sure have been missed by
now, and he could just picture
his father strategizing with the Count
and Edward. He hoped squabbles
and bickering would keep them tied up a
little longer. The thought
of the parents, arguing over their
whereabouts almost brought a smile
to his sober face.
Lucky, Emily and Liz gazed, awestruck
at the large city center, as the
bus pulled into the second stop
in Atlanta. Nikolas dozed lightly,
having spent tmmost of the night
worrying about Stefan’s reaction. This
was the first time he had done
anything severely rebellious in his
entire life. The thought
had both excited and frightened him. He hoped
that Stefan wasn’t too upset.
Emily squeezed Lucky’s hand as the bus
rolled to a stop at the station.
A voice came over the intercom.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have
now arrived in Atlanta. You will have 6
hours in which to shop, sight see,
and tour the city. We will have
several guides to follow to the
major cultural centers but all are
welcome to go off individually.
We will meet back here at 4 o'clock p.m.
to depart for New Orleans.
Liz squealed in excitement. “New Orleans!
Oh, that sounds so exciting.
I can’t wait to get there.” Nikolas
jumped, awakened by her high pitched
squeal. “Where are we?” Lucky
slapped him on the shoulder. “Wakey
wakey Nik. We’re in Atlanta. Come
on , let’s go see if we can catch
a baseball game.” The group trooped
off toward the stadium.
Laura, Luke and Bobbie sat around
the table, trying to form a game plan
to find the missing children.
“How do you suppose they are getting
around?” asked Bobbie. Luke
thought for a moment. “Well I can’t see the
dark prince hitching rides from
town to town. That would be Lucky’s
plan though, it’s less traceable.
He may have convinced them to go for
it.” Laura shook her head.
“Lucky knows that not too many people would
pick up four teenagers. If
it was just him, perhaps. I think a bus is
more reasonable.” Luke nodded.
Bobbie thought for a minute. “What
about Nikolas, if he’s really convinced
to run away, he may have
brought sufficient funds.
His bank account is so large, that no one
would notice a few thousand were
gone. They may just be staying in a
fine hotel for a while.”
“Or they may be flying somewhere.” Laura
piped up, “It’s virtually untraceable
and they could cover more
distance.” Luke stood up,
“I’ll head over to the airport and take a
look at the flights that have gone
out in the past two days.” Laura
gave him small kiss and went to
check on Lulu. Luke looked at Bobbie.
“I was expecting this, but
Lucky should have none better. But I still
don’t feel he was in much condition
to travel.” Bobbie nodded, “He was
pretty weak and tired, but I think
he wouldn’t have done it if he was
still that sick.” “I don’t
want to worry Laura, but what about his
chest infection? Was he completely
over it.” Bobbie shook her head,
“Those were the tests Lucky was
scheduled to go for the morning he
disappeared. I think though,
if he becomes ill, one of the other three
will get him help or contact one
of us, I’m sure.”
Lucky, Liz, and Em sat in the stands
at the baseball game. It was a
fairly uneventful game and there
were plenty of open seats to choose
from. Lucky had chosen to
sit in the most crowded section possible.
“Lucky?” asked Liz, “Why don’t
we sit somewhere else, there is a rather
larger man sitting next to me,
and I’m afraid he’s going to spill his
beer all over me.” she hissed.
Lucky gave her a grin. “It’s the
American dream Liz, you know
we have to stay blended in the crowd. We
can’t be spotted, if our parents
pick up on the cities we’re traveling,
they’ll be able to track down our
bus tour. Then, we’d have to go
back.” Liz grimaced, “If
I go back I might have to testify. I can’
face that guy Lucky, I ...”
He put his hand on her shoulder, “I know
Liz. That’s why we’re sitting
here. No one will see us, and by the
time we get back to Port Charles,
the trial will be over.” Em looked at
him startled, “I thought you didn’t
want to go back?” Lucky grinned
ruefully, “I don’t. But I
mean it’s inevitable that our parents will
find us eventually. The only
trick here is putting it off as long as
possible. And having lots
of fun along the way.” He slung his arms
over the two girls, “I couldn’t
think of a better way to spend my time,
than with two beautiful ladies.”
The girls burst out laughing. “What a
con man.” Liz giggled as she threw
Lucky’s arm off. Em, gave Lucky a
small smile, and he let his arm
rest on her shoulder, his hand gently
stroking her arm. Emily leaned
her head on his shoulder, not hearing
anyone or seeing anything but Lucky.
Suddenly, the player at bat hit a
ball far up into the stands and
the crowds stood up, cheering and
jostling. Popcorn from
the seats behind them fell onto Lucky and EMily
as the boys behind them jumped
up and down. The spell was broken and
Lucky stood up, “I better go find
prince Nik, he’s been gone a long
time.” He shuffled over people,
struggling to get to the aisle. Liz
quickly slithered into Lucky’s
seat. “Em, you devil!” Emily looked at
her startled. “I can’t believe
you never told me you and Lucky were a
thing.” Em looked down at
her hands and then shyly looked back at Liz,
“Well, it’s not really official,
but I think we are....” “You think!!!”
shrieked Liz, “Trust me, there
was total chemistry!” Em laughed ad
hooked her arm around Liz’s, “Well,
let’s hope you’re right!”
Lucky entered the men’s rest room,
just as Nikolas was leaving. “Nik!
Where’ve you been? We thought
you’d gotten lost or something.”
Nikolas looked embarrassed, “I
was walking around, and then I came to
the lavatory.” Lucky laughed,
“Haven’t you ever been in a stadium
before?” Nik shook his head, Lucky
slapped him on the shoulder, “Well,
this is certainly going to be a
trip of firsts for you then isn’t it?”
He gave Nik a slight shove in the
direction of their seats, and
disappeared into the washroom.
Nik started off towards the seats, but
suddenly realized, he’d left his
souvenir foam tomahawk on the
counter. He went back into
the washroom, and stopped alarmed, at the
sound of someone coughing, and
raspy breathing.
“Lucky???” Nikolas called out, alarmed.
“Wh..what?” Lucky stammered,
choking and gasping for air.
Nikolas peeked his head around the door,
“Are you alright?” “Sure!”
Lucky called back, “I just swallowed my gum by
accident. Nikolas thought
for a minute, and then called back to him,
“I’m heading back to our seats
before Elizabeth and Em wonder where we
got to.” “I’ll be there in
a sec.” Nikolas shut the door and walked
back to his seats. Inside
the locker room, Lucky leaned against the
wall. Sweat was dripping
down from his face as he gasped for air. All
of a sudden, a fit of coughing
had sent the world spinning and Lucky
felt weak. “Pull yourself
together man, a little coughing never killed
anybody.” But Lucky wasn’t
kidding himself. In truth, he felt worse
than he had in the hospital.
Wobbly, he crawled over to the sink and
stared at his face in the mirror.
He looked pale, “I can’t let the
others see me like this.” He told
himself, he splashed a little water
on his face and ran his hands through
his hair. He felt less dizzy now
and decided he could get back to
his seats.
Liz, Emily, and Nikolas all sat
in their seats, sharing a tub of
popcorn. They all looked
up as Lucky returned to his spot. He sat
down, and grabbed a handful of
popcorn from Liz. “It’s about time you
got back.” She grinned at him.
“Maybe I got lost.” He teased her. “In
the can?” she giggled, “Poor Lucky.”
Nikolas laughed, “He thought I
would get lost. For pete’s
sake.” Emily turned to Nikolas in
surprise. “You know something
Nikolas. You haven’t stuttered or lost
any bit of speech this whole trip.
You’re practically good as new.” He
smiled, “Thanks. You and
Robin really helped me a lot. I wish I could
thank her right now.” Emily put
her hand on his shoulder, “She knows,
she only wanted you to be happy.”
A subtle looks passed between them.
Lucky watched the two of them.
“Inside joke?” he asked. Emily shook her
head, “No not really. We
... I mean I... well I always wanted Nikolas
and Robin to get together.”
Liz snorted. “Anyone’s better than that
twit sister of mine. God,
Nikolas, how could you stand her? She was
soo.....boring.” Nikolas
shook his head, “It wasn’t that, something
changed in me after my accident.
I just didn’t feel the same way
anymore. About her, I mean.”
Emily nodded, she looked over her should
at Lucky. She turned to him,
“You’re awful quiet, are you alright?” He
quickly glanced at the scoreboard.
“Sure, the game’s just not what I
thought it would be.” Emily nodded
in understanding. She turned back
to Liz and Lucky stared emptily
at the field, wondering what would
happen if he didn’t start feeling
better.
Lucky, Liz and Emily sat at the
bus depot, waiting for the river to
finish loading all the bags into
the bus. Liz squirmed in excitement.
“Eeeee! New Orleans! I’m so excited.
I’m so happy you decided to take
this tour Lucky. It’s so
much better than just going straight to
Vancouver!” Emily grinned at her.
“I know!! I’ve never been before. I
hope we gets a lot of time there.”
She pinched Lucky gently, “Hey, you
still alive in there?” She peered
at him curiously. Lucky shook the
buzzing out of his head, “Yeah,
I’m just tired, I didn’t sleep much last
night, or the night before.”
She nodded. “You can probably nap until we
stop for supper. I think
that’ll be two hours of sleep.” He nodded,
“Sounds like a plan.” He
drew her close to him and rested his head on
her shoulder. Liz suddenly
burst into giggles. “What?” Emily asked
alarmed. Liz gestured with
her head, “Look at Nikolas. Do you suppose
he’s ever used a vending machine
before?” Em giggled, “Probably not.
At least he was successful,
wouldn’t that be awful to have to ask for
help?” Liz nodded in agreement,
as Nikolas came back with his arms full
of candy. “Alright, here
we go. Skittles for Em, chocolate for
Elizabeth, and cola for Lucky.”
“Wow, Nik, did you buy out the whole
thing?” Emily stared at the rest
of the candy Nikolas was putting in
his carry on. “Hey, this
is a trip where none of us has to follow rules
right? Well, my uncle never
let me eat candy, he said it was unhealthy.
So, now, I ... guess ....”
“You’re rebelling!” cried Liz. “Ooh this is
so much fun. Don’t get a
cavity!” she waggled her finger at him. “Yes
Uncle.” Nikolas grinned at her.
She fell back into her chair in mock
surprise, “Did you just make a
joke?” she asked incredulously, “I didn’t
know you could do that!”
He grinned sheepishly. “Hey Liz, knock it
off.” snapped Lucky. “Try
not to be so loud.” She stared at him,
hurt. “I .. I’m sorry.
I guess I’m just excited.” she turned away
from him, tears filling her eyes.
Nikolas glared at Lucky. He sat
down beside Liz and put his hand
on her shoulder. “Don’t listen to him,
he’s just not feeling well, he’s
not himself.” She sniffled at looked
at him, tears shimmering on her
eyelashes. “I guess so.” she wiped her
eyes, “I’m tired too. It’s
been a long day for all of us.” Nikolas
sat still for a minute and then
pulled her against him, “Don’t let him
bother you. If you’re tired,
you can use me for a pillow.” “Really?”
she asked him, “You don’t mind?”
He smiled at her, “Go to sleep.” He
settled her more comfortably against
his shoulder and smiled as she
leaned against his shoulder.
Meanwhile Emily sat stiff next to Lucky.
“That wasn’t nice Lucky.
She was just excited. She didn’t know you
weren’t feeling well.” She
stared at him with large wondering eyes, and
Lucky felt a twinge of remorse.
“I know, I know. I couldn’t help it. I
don’t know why I did that. I’m
sorry.” “Don’t tell me,” Emily gestured
towards Liz. “I think Liz
is the one you hurt the most.” Lucky nodded,
“I’ll talk to her on the bus.
I promise.”
Luke stalked away from the counter
at the airport. No one had seen any
of the kids, and no flight plans
were available. Not looking where he
was going, he bumped right into
Stefan. “Vlad!” Luke grinned, “So you
think your son was flying too?”
Stefan nodded, suddenly his stomach
turned to ice realizing what he
had just admitted. Luke, not noticing
the look on Stefan’s face, corrected
himself. “I mean, your nephew,
sorry Vlad.” Stefan
shook his head. “I knew what you meant.” He
turned and walked quickly away,
leaving Luke staring curiously at his
back.