From Very Real Pranks to Something Like Love

But I'll Tell You a Little Secret...

Josh was right.
Now hold up.
Insert disclaimer: after this, you will never ever hear those three words come out of me ever again.
Phew. Now that that's out of the way, let me continue.

You see, Josh thinks that the only pranks I know how to pull are the "opening acts" that usually lead up to the main act. What Josh doesn't understand is that I am the main act, and I'm taking him down.
So, my dear friends, you shouldn't be surprised to hear that when Serena and I hopped in the car and sped off, we weren't going very far. In fact, we simply circled the block and wound up parked at the bakery that was a two minute walk from the Carey house.
What are we doing, you may ask? Read on, my dear friend. Read on.

"Are we clear?"

I blinked a few times before directing my attention at Serena, who was half way out of the car at this point. I quickly undid my seatbelt and scurried out, following her down the sidewalk at a rapid pace.

"Sorry, yeah. Kasey texted me the okay. She said he should be gone for two hours or more, and Chase is with Denise. Of course," I informed her haughtily. She gave me a sharp nod and I bit back a smile, trying hard not to find it funny how deeply involved my friends were.

A moment later, Team Dopey fell into line with us, both Ace and Ian shooting me annoyed yet confident smirks. Clearly they weren't impressed with their team name.

The four of us stopped in front of the giant house, staring up at the towering frame before silently moving to our separate positions. As Serena and I rapped the back window three sharp times, I caught a glimpse of Lizzie and Robbie maneuvering through the bushes towards the back door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kasey asked as she threw open the bathroom window, ushering us in. I gazed at her questioningly as we filed out of the bathroom and stood around kitchen counter, the rest of my little minions trickling in to join us.

"Penny. No one is home, yet all of you just snuck through windows and doors like some type of spy squad," Kasey deadpanned. A grin slowly spread across my face and I stared at her, amused.

"Kasey, Kasey, what's the fun in walking through the front door?"

~~~~~~~~~~

It was 10:00 in the morning, and everyone was exhausted. I sprawled across the kitchen floor next to Lizzie and threw my arm over my eyes, blocking out the insanely bright lights above me.

"Penny, the rugs are rigged," Ace informed me, plopping down next to Lizzie and taking her hand in his own. I barely had the energy to answer him, but I managed a weak "mhm" in response. The rugs had been the last thing on my evil little to-do list, and now that they were done, the mission was finally underway. I let out a deep sigh and felt myself sink into the floor underneath me, ignoring the noise and voices that surrounded me...

"Josh just pulled in the driveway! Hide!" Kasey shouted frantically.

Suddenly, my energy was back.

I sprang to my feet and ran to the adjoining family room, grabbing Serena's hand on my way by and pulling her along with me. I watched carefully to make sure everyone was in their assigned locations. We were so close, and I could not have this failing because someone wasn't listening during the planning session. As Haley and Willow finally stilled behind the curtains, I relaxed and disappeared with Serena, waiting for Josh to enter.

I heard the key rattling in door and cracked the door slightly, just enough for my camera lens to capture everything. Just as my finger hit the record button, the door flew open and there stood Josh, his mouth agape as a bucket of cold water splashed over him, followed by buckets of random stuff, including feathers, dirt, and worms.
I stifled a giggle and continued to watch as Kasey "woke up" from her nap on the couch, pretending to be alarmed by Josh's yelling.

"What the hell Kasey?! Where is she?" Josh screamed, taking a step inside and slamming the door behind him.

Just one more step. Pleaseeee just one more step.

Kasey stood up and placed her hands on her hips, staring him down.

"I don't know what you're talking about Josh! I've been sleeping since you left, so whatever mess you've gotten yourself into this time, figure it out for your damn self," Kasey growled. She turned around and stormed up the stairs, leaving Josh to drown in his own personal hell.

I turned my attention to Josh and watched his fists clench and unclench before he headed towards the bathroom, presumably to clean up. Finally, his feet hit the carpet.

X marks the spot Joshy boy.

I watched as the wire we had hidden was pulled by Team Dopey, causing the rug to fly out from underneath Josh and give a whole new world of meaning to Aladdin's flying carpet. Josh landed roughly on his butt and I plugged my nose to hold in some very unladylike snorts. As he stood up slowly rubbing his butt, Josh started shouting curse words and unpleasant insults, mostly ending with 'Penny.' Hm, wonder what he has against little old copper coins?

"Penny I swear to god, you're going to regret this," he muttered, heading for the bathroom once again. This time, he managed to make it into the shower before I signaled Ace and Ian once again, watching as they snuck into the bathroom with buckets of ice. I followed close behind with the video camera, staying far enough back that I wouldn't get unfortunate footage of Josh Carey's you know what. That would be worse than a horror movie.

I grabbed his clothes and kicked them outside as the ice cascaded down on Josh, resulting in girlish shrieks from inside the shower. I cackled, holding back nothing at this point, and ran out of the bathroom with Ian and Ace close behind. As they ran back to their hiding place with Josh's clothes, two doors opened at the exact same time. I glanced in shock between the two Carey boys, one standing in the bathroom door with a towel around his waist, a pool of water gathering around his feet, and one standing in the front door with his keys dangling from his hand, yet both attempting to kill me with their lethal glares. I chuckled sheepishly. I was meant to be the bait for one Carey brother, but why not two? With that being said, I raced off on the designated path, leading them straight through our maze of traps.

"Penny!! Penny! Stop right now!" Josh yelled. I could hear his wet feet slapping quickly across the hardwood floor behind me, but I refused to look back and slow myself down. I whipped around the corner and slipped into the first room on my right--the dining room--and hid behind the door, watching as the two idiots flew straight by me and straight into a web that shrouded the entire hallway. Their yells bounced off the walls as they tangled themselves, only making it that much easier for Serena to tape Lizzie and Robbie dumping spiders and other insects on them, catching their girly screams on camera. I snickered as I stepped into the hallway, watching them hysterically try and escape and bat the bugs away.

"You know, you're completely insane," Chase growled, finally freeing one of his legs. I grinned and was about to retort when I felt someone hug me from behind.

"Maybe she's kinda weird, but I like it," Ian said, grinning like a madman at our beautiful work of art. I chuckled as Ian kissed my cheek and disappeared, leaving me to finish up with our ugly little trapped flies. I leaned in close to the boys, letting my hair tickle their face.

"I don't know what I ever saw in you," I growled in Chase's ear. "And I'm dumbfounded as to what Kasey sees in you, asshole," I finished as I turned to Josh. With that, I backed up and gave them a sickly sweet smile.

"Au revoir boys, I hope you have a magical day," I said with a wave. I turned to walk away, but not before Chase had completely untangled himself. His big, gorilla footfalls alerted me the moment he was free and I took off like a racehorse, leading him through the living room and the carpet of thumbtacks that covered the floor. His squeals and cursing let me know that he hadn't been smart enough to look where he was going.

"Penny..." He growled, yanking tacks out of his heel. I took that as my cue to leave.

"I guess I better be going now," I said with a smile. "Bye-bye!"

Of course, that would be too good to be true, right? I reached behind me to grab the doorknob only to crash into something far more alive and far more menacing.

"I guess you weren't smart enough Penny, isn't that what I've been telling you all along?"

I wiped the surprised expression off my face and grinned at him.

"Think again, asshole."