Risky Business.

010. eleven

chapter 010,
eleven

                                EMPTYING THE BYERS'S SHED WAS THE EASY PART. As Lucy helped throw their lawn mower and garden tools into the trees behind their house, she tried not to think about why they were doing it; because if she thought about Will, she would probably start crying, and she couldn't be a big help to anybody if she was crying. So she pushed all thoughts from her mind—Will, Leo, the Demo-dogs—until all she could think about was her kiss with Steve.

     It probably wasn't the best thing to be thinking about as she helped Nancy staple boards over the windows in the shed. With Lucy's conscience, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her tongue long enough to even hold the plywood up to the wall.

     "Hey," Nancy said suddenly, turning to face her. She offered a smile. "What you and Steve did, um, helping the kids... That was cool. Thanks."

     Lucy nodded, biting her lip and not facing Nancy. "We were just... you know, we thought it was the right thing to do, I guess."

     Nancy twisted her lips to hide a smile, shaking her head. "Well, it couldn't have been easy. I mean, I know I would think it was awkward, if I was babysitting a few kids with my ex. But you and Steve don't seem to have that tension, or anything."

     "Yeah, well." Lucy's voice came out harsher than she meant it to. She was just trying not to blurt out that she'd kissed him. All she needed to do was finish stapling one more board, and then she could escape back into the house.

     "Um, Lucy.." Nancy was quieter, more timid than she had been a moment ago. She stopped working on the wall and turned to face the blonde completely. "I get the feeling that we might have... I don't know, started off on the wrong—"

     "No, it's not that," Lucy assured her, turning her head to face her. "It's just that... well, to be honest, you've always kind of intimidated me, and I've never really talked to you before all this, and—and obviously we've both dated Steve, and now that I just kissed him, it makes it a lot more complicated—"

"Woah, wait." Nancy smiled curiously, her brow furrowed in amusement. "You kissed Steve?"

Lucy's face flushed and she made to stammer out excuses, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I'm not mad, Lucy," Nancy said, holding back a laugh. "I broke up with him. I'm just... intrigued."

That brought a frown to Lucy's face. "What? Why?"

"Well, it's obvious you guys still have feelings for each other." Nancy shrugged, gesturing with her staple gun. "I just wasn't expecting either of you to act on it. Especially not at a junkyard with a bunch of inter-dimensional monster dogs chasing you."

A laugh tumbled past Lucy's lips and she lifted her shoulders in a listless shrug. "Yeah, well. I thought we were about to die, and it was better late than never, right?"

     Nancy shook her head, laughing along with Lucy, returning her attention to the plywood board and lifting the staple gun back to it. Slowly, her smile began to fade and was replaced by a faint frown of guilt, lowering her hand after stapling the last corner of the board. She turned back to Lucy, eyebrows knit together, lips parted in contemplation.

"And, Lucy," she began, not quite meeting her eyes, "Jonathan.. he feels really bad. About what he did."

Lucy clenched her jaw. She stapled the last corner of her own plywood board into the wall with more force than probably necessary, driving into it with her whole arm, then dropped the gun onto the woodworking table in front of her. She pursed her lips, then shook her head, finally speaking: "He should be able to tell me that himself."