Spring(ing) Ahead (Read 8,210 times)

[André DiMera]

Chapter 19

OUTSIDE THE APARTMENTS
The four ISA agents watched the apartment complex for hours.
BO: Find anything yet, Fancy Face?
HOPE: Well, I saw a kid who looked like Johnny earlier, but nothing else yet. You?
BO: Nope. Just normal people.
JEANNIE: Wait a minute, wasn't Johnny sent away after that mess a few years ago with André?
BO: Yeah.
JEANNIE: Why would he be back now?
BO: Who knows? His sister's graduating from high school in a week, maybe he came back for that.
JEANNIE: If it were anyone else, I'd agree. But, this is Johnny DiMera we're talking about. He's not exactly close with any of his siblings, is he?
HOPE: Good point.
ANDREW: What are you thinking Jeannie?
JEANNIE: I'm thinking, what if Johnny is working with Uncle Drew?
BO: Why would he do that?
JEANNIE: It's not out of the realm of possibility. Uncle Drew's worked with the DiMera family before. That's how Theresa was created. What if they teamed up and are working together on whatever kind of sick scheme they can dream up?
ANDREW: Good thinking.
HOPE: It's possible. Let's check it out.

SALEM HIGH
Max sat in his office, giving the morning announcements.
MAX: ...and finals week begins today. Make sure that you're ready and have a number two pencil on hand. Study hard. Good luck, everybody. This is Principal Brady signing off.
Sydney, Joey, Ceri and Rhiannon sat in the cafeteria. There study hall was in the cafeteria. The other three were talking while Sydney was looking over some notes.
JOEY: So, where are you guys going after this?
CERI: For uni, you mean?
JOEY: College, yeah.
CERI: Sydney and I are both going to Salem U.
RHIANNON: And, I'm going to go down to Chicago.
JOEY: There's, like, a hundred schools in Chicago. Which one are you going to?
RHIANNON: I dunno yet. Probably the one that J.J. goes to.
JOEY: ISU?
RHIANNON: That's the one.
CERI: Where are you going?
JOEY: I still haven't figured that out. Part of me wants to go to Blackhawk, cause I really want to get a degree in info tech, and Blackhawk's a business technology college. But, another part of me wants to go back to Europe and spend some time there.
RHIANNON: Sounds cool.
Sydney put down her papers and groaned. Ceri rubbed her back.
CERI: Hey, what's wrong?
SYDNEY: I'm looking over the study guide for my first final, which is in the one class that I don't like, plus I'm trying to think of what to write for my speech, and I've got a really bad case of writer's block.
CERI: Feelin' kinda stressed, huh?
Sydney nodded.
CERI: You're gonna do fine. I know you are. You're amazing.
SYDNEY: Thanks..
CERI: You wanna maybe go someplace and talk?
SYDNEY: That'd be nice.
Ceri kissed Sydney on the cheek.
CERI: Come on, let's go.
Ceri and Sydney got their things and got up.
JOEY: See you guys later.
CERI: Bye, guys. Good luck on finals.
RHIANNON: You too.
After getting a hall pass, Sydney and Ceri walked out of the cafeteria. Ceri put her arm around Sydney.
JOEY: They are so adorable.
RHIANNON: Yeah.
JOEY: Almost as adorable as you and J.J.
RHIANNON: Thanks.
JOEY: It's hard to believe that this week is the last time all of us will be together.

[Kpatch]

I’m a little misty-eyed over graduation. And Sydney, I feel your pain about the writer’s block.

[heroicmuse]

Haha Kpatch I feel Sydney's pain too.

I love graduation scenes and similar bittersweet things. Great job André DiMera! I love how you balance the emotional stuff with the adventure happening elsewhere.

[fluffysmom]

It's bittersweet to see them talking about colleges.

My hubby attended Blackhawk College André DiMera.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 20

SALEM HIGH
RHIANNON: How d'you mean?
JOEY: Well, it is, when you think about it. J.J.'s already in Chicago, and you're going down there to be with them. I'm going to Wisconsin. Ceri and Sydney are the only two who're staying here.
RHIANNON: J.J.'s already back, and none of us are leaving until the end of summer.
JOEY: Still, the Fellowship of Five is gonna be broken up soon.
RHIANNON: Joey, we'll still be friends. We'll still hang out. Like I said, J.J. and I aren't going to Chicago until the end of summer, so we'll have plenty of time to hang out until then.
JOEY: Yeah, I guess.
RHIANNON: And, besides, even after we do go to our own separate colleges, we'll all still be friends. I mean, Ceri and I are sisters, Sydney's gonna be my sister-in-law someday. You and J.J. are practically inseparable, and I'm with J.J. There's no chance of us never seeing each other again. The five of us are too good of friends to never see each other again.
JOEY: Yeah, that makes sense.
Joey and Rhiannon hugged. A bell rang.
JOEY: Well, gotta get to class. See ya.
RHIANNON: Bye.

APARTMENT
JOHNNY: So, how exactly does this Theresa 2.0 work, anyway? Don't you need Jeannie again for that?
DREW: Not necessarily. We have me. We have Christopher...
TOPHER: It's Topher!
DREW: Whatever. The point is, we have enough of our DNA to create another Theresa.
JOHNNY: Why don't you just bring her back from the dead, like grandfather has with so many other people?
Kristen was about to speak, but then stopped herself and thought for a moment.
KRISTEN: That's a good point. Why didn't we just bring Theresa back to life?
DREW: To be honest, I never really thought of that.
TOPHER: It just didn't seem like a viable option.
JOHNNY: It's totally viable. Come on, I'll take you to the mansion and show you how.
Johnny opened the door, and saw Bo standing on the other side.
BO: I don't think you're going anywhere.
Johnny tried to shut the door, but Bo held it open.
Drew and Kristen headed for the windows, but they were being blocked by Jeannie and Andrew.
ANDREW: Hello, uncle.
DREW: Little Andrew?
ANDREW: Yes, it's me. I can't believe I was named after you, though.
All four tried to get out from a secret entrance in the back of the apartment. The secret entrance wasn't so secret, however, as Hope was blocking their way.
HOPE: Please, stay.
The four ISA agents led the four criminals back to the living room, where Shane was still tied up.
JEANNIE: So, Kristen DiMera's back from the dead, Theresa's son is accompanying her, Johnny DiMera has escaped his grandmother and Edmund, and my evil uncle Drew escaped from prison and is the ring leader.
BO: Certainly looks that way.
DREW: Actually, you're wrong. I've sussed out that Theresa's song, Christopher, is the one behind this plot.
All four agents, Kristen, Topher, and Johnny stared at Drew.
TOPHER: What are you doing, grandfather?
Shane, who was tied to the chair, woke up and started saying something. It was too muffled behind the tape over his mouth.
DREW: Oops. Did I give myself away too soon?
JEANNIE: No, I think you did it just perfectly.
KRISTEN: What is he talking about?
ANDREW: I figured that you of all people would know, Kristen. After all, you've heard of a bait-and-switch, haven't you?
TOPHER: What?
BO: That's not really Drew. That's Shane.
Shane, who was pretending to be Drew, smiled.
SHANE: Precisely.

[heroicmuse]

Ooh nice twist! Just when the story seems over, the plot thickens. I love it André DiMera

[fluffysmom]

Great twist! I didn't see that coming.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 21

APARTMENT
Shane gave Jeannie a kiss on the forehead.
SHANE: Good work, Jeannie. I'm glad to see that you and Andrew trusted your instincts and came out here.
JEANNIE: Thanks, dad.
ANDREW: Thank you, father.
Shane pulled the gag out of Drew's mouth.
SHANE: Well, dear brother, we meet again.
TOPHER: Wait a moment. I thought for sure that grandfather had tied you up. You told us that you'd gotten into a fight and beaten him.
SHANE: And what I told you was true. I just neglected to mention that I wasn't Drew.
Topher turned to Drew.
TOPHER: Is this true?
DREW: Unfortunately, yes. My dear brother has gotten the better of me again.

PIER – FLASHBACK
SHANE: What are you doing here, Drew?
Drew punched Shane in the face.
DREW: Having my revenge on you and the good people of Salem.
Shane stood.
SHANE: I would have hoped you'd know better than that by now.
The two men ran towards each other. Things were getting physical.
DREW: Sorry to disappoint you, brother dear. But it looks like you're wrong about me again.
SHANE: You won't get away with this.
DREW: Oh, I think I will.
Shane put Drew in a headlock and covered his mouth with a chloroform patch. In a few minutes, Drew was unconcious.
SHANE: Not this time, brother.

APARTMENT
JOHNNY: So, this whole time, it was you that was tied up, and Shane was pretending to be you?
DREW: Yes.
JOHNNY: How is that possible?
SHANE: Well, for one, look at us.
Shane got down next to Drew and looked at Johnny.
JOHNNY: That's scary.
SHANE: Identical twins.
TOPHER: The difference is that you're an ISA agent, and grandfather is a criminal genius.
SHANE: Well, number one, I wouldn't say genius. Criminal, certainly. Here's the thing, though. Once I walked in with someone who looked exactly like me, I knew you all would assume that I was Drew and he was me. How could you not? At that point, I began taking down your plan from the inside.
BO: Quite beautifully, I might add.
TOPHER: But you were so good at pretending to be grandfather, and yet you two are completely different people. How does that work?
SHANE: Simple, really. To quote Mr. Spock from an old episode of Star Trek, “It was far easier for you as civilised men to behave like barbarians, than it was for them to behave like civilised men.”
Drew rolled his eyes.
DREW: Now what?
Shane put handcuffs on Drew.
SHANE: Now, this. Andrew, Jeannie, would you like to do the honors?
ANDREW: Certainly, father.
Andrew and Jeannie stood on either side of Drew. They untied him from the chair, but made sure to keep a strong grip on him, so that he couldn't get away.
ANDREW: I can't believe you're my uncle.
JEANNIE: Me either.
ANDREW: Andrew Donovan III, you are under arrest for impersonating an ISA agent, several counts of fraud, conspiracy to murder, theft, criminal damage, disturbing the peace and crimes against nature.
JEANNIE: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you said can and will be held against you in a court of law.
ANDREW: You have the right to speak with an attourney, and to have an attourney present during questioning.
JEANNIE: If you cannot afford an attourney, one will be provided for you.
ANDREW: Do you understand these rights as we have read them to you?
DREW: Yes.
Andrew and Jeannie led Drew away.

[Kpatch]

Yay, the good guys win! For now anyway.

[fluffysmom]

I'm glad that the plot was foiled.

[André DiMera]

Next week...

There's one more surprise in store for the villains.
Finals week ends.
Graduation.

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the previews André DiMera. I wonder what's in store for the villains.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 22

SALEM HIGH
Ceri and Sydney were being measured for their graduation gowns.
CERI: So, tomorrow's our last day.
SYDNEY: Yeah.
CERI: How'd the last final go?
SYDNEY: Good. I'm pretty happy with the trig final. How was the chem final for you?
CERI: Eh, it was all right. Not as hard as I thought it'd be.
SYDNEY: That's good. Now all I have to worry about is that speech.
CERI: Love, I'm sure your speech is gonna be great. Are you finished with it?
SYDNEY: All most. I'm gonna finish it tonight. Wanna look it over when I'm done?
CERI: I'd love to.
SYDNEY: Can't believe that in two days, this'll all be behind us.
CERI: Me either.
The woman measuring them handed them a bag with their caps and gowns in them, as well as the stole Sydney would have to wear.
SYDNEY: Thanks.
The two walked back home.

APARTMENT
Jeannie and Andrew had just left, with Drew in handcuffs.
BO: We'll take care of this one.
TOPHER: Wait, what?
Bo and Hope handcuffed Topher.
BO: Christopher DiMera Black...
HOPE: Actually, it's supposed to be Tate.
BO: What?
HOPE: Well, in real life, his name's Tate.
BO: Yeah, but this story takes place outside of that canon.
HOPE: Good point. Sorry. Continue.
BO: As I was saying, Christopher DiMera Black, you are under arrest for conspiracy to murder, disturbing the peace, theft, and conspiracy to crimes against nature.
HOPE: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.
BO: You have the right to speak with an attourney, and to have an attourney present during questioning.
HOPE: If you cannot afford an attourney, one will be provided for you.
BO: Do you understand these rights as we have read them to you?
TOPHER: Yes.
Topher was led away by Bo and Hope.
JOHNNY: So, what about me, or should I say us?
Kristen had been strangely quiet until now. At last, she spoke up. However, her voice was different than before.
KRISTEN: Oh, I think you know what now, Johnny.
The color drained from Johnny's face.
JOHNNY (under his breath): Oh god.
“Kristen” pulled off a wig to reveal brunette hair. She then took out a set of false teeth. Finally, she pulled a pair of glasses out of her pocket and put them on, revealing that she was really Susan.
SUSAN: Hello, my dear grandbaby! Now, I was wonderin' where you'd run off to, but I figured you'd dash right back out here to Salem to cause more trouble the second you got the chance.
JOHNNY: Grandmother? But...but, you looked just like Aunt Kristen.
SHANE: It is scary how similar they are.
SUSAN: Oh, please. Kristen's not nearly this good looking. Anyways, I was afraid you'd gone off and gotten yourself into trouble again. So, although I loathed doing it, I pretended to be that evil, evil, evil Kristen. But, when I found nice Mr. Shane Donovan here and he told me all about his plan to stop that little boy Kristen had kidnapped, I was so glad to help out.
SHANE: Well, thank you very much, Susan. Now, if you'll both come with me. We have much to discuss.
Shane and Susan walked off with Johnny in tow.

[heroicmuse]

So nobody is who they seem to be! Love it!

I also liked the reference to Topher's name being Tate. That cracked me up.

Great chapter André DiMera.

[Kpatch]

That sounded exactly like Susan! Great dialog. The twists just keep on coming.

I also liked the reference to Tate being outside of canon. I didn't even think of the baby's name change as impacting your story André DiMera. Bet you were annoyed by that. LOL.