The Program

Chapter Six

Annie soon let go of me and I decided to just accept Mary's invitation to stay for dinner, followed by her insisting that John join us because she said it would be a shame for me to make my boyfriend leave. Mary's reasoning caused me and Annie to get weird looks on our faces that she must have misinterpreted as us agreeing with her and then she offered for Annie to stay as well because she assumed Annie was a friend of mine.

I wonder what gave it away. The hug maybe?

My dad went ahead and called my mom to tell her I was staying for awhile, which by the way added another guest to be coming, also known as my brother. He also ordered some pizza, making me doing a silent thank you due to the fact the I wouldn't have to eat something Mary would make, she's on a health kick right now and has been dragging everyone down with her.

And where did Me, John, and Annie go? Outside, away from my step mother who was again starting up about how well the paint went with some stupid flowers she had on a table. But of course I didn't mention to my dad that that was why I was escaping out the door, settling with the excuse that me and my friends would wait for Marcus to show up.

But the second that door closed, this came out of Annie's mouth: "Oh my god, Lexi. I can't believe you remember, and John too. At least, I think you guys do. I mean, you know me and I don't remember ever meeting you before the test so I just assumed tha-"

"Whoa, slow down, could you? God, you don't have to talk so fast, Annie. You freaking crazy chick." John said, suddenly cutting her off.

"Well, nice to see you again too, butt head, You're as charming as ever, randomly pulling me from my home into my neighbor's and then interrupting my sentence and all." She told him.

"I brought you to see Lexi. I thought you would be completely overjoyed. But no, first you decided to kick me and get to hugging your oh so amazing friend later." He pointed out. "I've always wanted pain to be brought to me by a moody teenager, so thanks." He said with sarcasm clear in his voice, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"My pleasure. I've wanted to hurt you since the moment I met you." And unlike John's words, Annie's weren't even the slightest bit sarcastic, they were dead serious. Then, she turned to me. "Now, since I was very rudely interrupted, I shall get back to what I was saying." And then she hugged me again.

"Haha, I missed you too, Annie. And yes, i'm so happy you actually remember the test." I said, laughing some too.

"I know right? Seriously, I thought I was alone when it came to knowing about the test. When I saw Caleb, who apparently is in a wheelchair, who knew right? Anyway, I also saw that Brittney girl and both of them thought I was totally insane, I knew something had to be going on." She began jumping up and down as if she was in her own little joyous bubble. "And I literally thought you were dead, Lexi. After you told us about Luke doing all of those horrible things to Jack and then with your disrupting and you going to find Natalie and the next thing I know the test is like falling or whatever....." She stopped her rambling and took a deep breath. "Did you do that, Lexi? Were you really able to shut it down?"

"Uh, yeah." I replied, kinda digging my shoe into the dirt a bit. I didn't really feel like talking about what had happened.

"All by yourself?" I nodded. She must have noticed I didn't feel all that comfortable with this conversation but she still had one more thing to discuss. "And what about Jack? What, what happened to him? Have you seen him since you woke up?"

"Yes." I answered simply, again not wanting to talk about it.

"For the love of god, you not going to tell her the rest, Lexi?" John asked. "He doesn't remember either, Annie. None of it. And you want to hear about the icing on the freaking cake? Tell her." He told me. I'm pretty sure I knew what he was talking about.

"What happened, Lexi?" She looked at me.

"Reid is kind of Jack's dad." I said, to which Annie's eyes grew huge. "I know, shocker right?" I huffed.

"No way. You're kidding, right? But Reid is so......Reid, definitely not at all father material." She rubbed the back of her neck. "God, our lives are so messed up. I mean, not like Jack messed up, who wants that for a dad? But, I just- you know- sorry, Lexi." Annie didn't know what to say.

I know the feeling.

"Yeah." That was all that came from my mouth when a car pulled up, I recognized it as my brother's, and John went in that direction.

But not without opening his own mouth first. "Well, I would be super delighted if my brother would just remember already. Once him and blondie over here finally get together, people will stop thinking me and her are a couple." And then he walked toward Marcus.

"By that he means when that freaky lady called him your boyfriend and I wanted to poke my eyes out, right? What was with her? Has she lost her mind?" Annie asked.

"No, sadly, I don't think Mary ever had a mind to lose in the first place. But i'm starting to think the same of my dad since he married her after all." We both chuckled and continued going to my brother.

"Wait, was that your mom or something? Are we neighbors and it took me this long to see you?"

"We're not neighbors. And she is my step mom."

"Oh, yeah sorry, should have caught onto that somehow. Blame my stupid brain. But hey, at least I have one." She smiled. I couldn't help but do the same. 

"There's my marvelous little sister." Marcus said when I got to him, ruffling his hands through my hair and turning it into a big mess, not that it probably wasn't already.

"I thought you guys were twins." John pointed out.

"Ah, we are, John. Or should I call you Lexi's boyfriend?" He raised an eyebrow and I sent a death glare. "I'll take that as a no, again. Anyway, as i've brought out to poor Alexandria here multiple times, i'm older by a few minutes."

"And like i've said, more of an idiot." I grumbled under my breath and I think Annie was the only one who really caught it considering the laugh she was trying to contain. And to cover up her laughter that was ready to burst, she extended her hand and introduced herself.

"I'm Annie. It's nice to, um," she cleared her throat. "meet you. I'm one of Lexi's friends."

Marcus gave her a handshake and spoke. "You are? Hmmm, Lexi normally brings her friends around the house a lot. I mean, just look at how much this guy has been over." He said, putting a hand on John's shoulder. "If they weren't dating you would actually think they were given the fact the he's been there so much over the past week. It's as if he's hiding from the rest of the world or something."

"Alright, that's enough, okay? Let's just go inside and wait for the pizza and not talk about this subject anymore. Then hopefully this night will go by faster and I can leave." I said.

"What? Sick of Mary already?"

"Not just Mary." I mumbled and turned, walking away. Again, I heard Annie chuckle a bit, she must have heard what I said when I mumbled.

I walked through the front door and immediately my dad told me and Marcus that the food would be here in a few minutes. Hugs between my brother and Mary were exchanged and me, Annie, and John made ourselves comfortable on the couch. And when the door bell rang was when Mary became ruler of the universe apparently.

"Up, children. Time to eat. And at the table like normal people, not on my new couch." She ordered us, holding the boxes that contained our glorious, beautiful pizza in it. 

"It's just pizza, it's not like it's something fancy we have to gather around for." Annie piped up. Leave it to her, the very first person the speak up to Reid, to be the one person sitting down brave enough to argue when me and John both knew fighting fire with fire when it came to Mary meant you ended up getting burned.

Or worse, set up with each other without even knowing or ever meeting the other before.

But still, she carried on. "And we're teenagers, not children. Despite popular beliefs among you adults, we won't set the house on fire or destroy your new couch."

"Trust me, I know exactly what teens are capable of." And I swore I caught something off about the way she said it, but she quickly changed her tone of voice and instead of it being the red and angry mess her face had become, it went back to the soft, calm and pale face that made me cringe when I first met her and still to this day. "But, if that is what you want, feel free to enjoy your food out here." And she dropped one of the boxes in her lap and left.

"Well, uh, that was unexpected." John said.

"What, her looking like she was going to bite my head off?" Annie asked.

"No, whenever someone talks back to her, that's normal Mary. I'm talking about her actually giving in and letting you do what you want. If you keep it up, I might actually consider being your friend, Annie." He answered, biting into his slice he now had in his hands, causing cheese to come from it as he did and for some of it to fall on his shirt.

"I'd prefer my head coming off due to a pair of teeth than being your friend, John." She said with a cheeky smile before cramming her own mouth.

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"Wait, so, your mom and Mary are best friends because you got lost in a store and couldn't find your mommy?" Annie asked John, making a little baby face and teasing him.

"Yeah, and it's a decision I regret. But could you really blame me? I was four years old and couldn't find her so I clung to the nearest person who in my defence looked like a police officer that my parents had always told me I could trust, she had a hat and everything. Or at least, I thought she did. You know what, it doesn't matter." He said back, waving it off.

We were now hanging out at Annie's house, Marcus leaving after dinner and Mary kicking us out until she could cool down because guess what, Annie actually did drop some pizza on the couch and i'm sure in Mary's mind, even though it was nonexistent like I said, that was the equivalent of catching something on fire.

"Okay, one of you fell on her wedding cake and the other thought she was a police officer. This is kinda fun, tell me more about this evil woman you two hate." Annie begged, clutching a pillow to her chest and getting ready for the next story, to bad there wouldn't be one.

"She wanted us to date, what more of a reason do we need? Besides for her freakishly red hair that terrified me as a kid, for the longest time I thought it was really fire." I told her. "But John should probably take me home now, Annie. My mom has been way to overprotective recently, i'm surprised she even let me out of the house at all this week."

"Yeah, I get that whole overprotective mother thing, they never trust us." She said with a hint of a laugh.

"Let me guess, your's doesn't trust you because of whatever happened with your hair." John pointed to her purple streak.

"Something like that." And sadly, because Reid told me about all of my friend's lives, I knew a bit about her purple strip that others didn't. I got up and headed to the door, giving Annie one last hug.

"You should probably come over to my house sometime, then you can meet my other friends, the ones I knew before the test. I have a feeling you'll love Maddie." I told her.

"That's something else about a strict mom. I was grounded before the test and she feels she still needs to enforce it now, even though I was in a coma."

"And you still came over to my dad's house?"

"I didn't have much of a choice, John dragged me. And my mom thought he was my boyfriend and was so shocked she just said I could go next door for a bit and hang out. But now she's at work so yippee." She said, throwing her hands in the air in fake cheer.

"Wow, so people think that we're dating John, just great."

"Oh, what are you grumbling for, Lexi? Like I would ever want people to even think I would go out with either of you." John piped up.

"Aw, and here I am thinking you wanted to be friends. I'm hurt, John." Annie said, holding a hand to her heart and faking the pain. "Truly hurt."

"Alright, miss drama queen. Just shut up and let me take Lexi home, will ya?" He asked closing the door before she could answer, us already to the truck by the time she opened it again.

"You really are a butt head, John." She yelled.

We climbed in the vehicle and he started it up, rolling down the window as he did and sticking his head out and screaming, "It's all part of my charm, Annie."

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So, um, don't really have a big excuse for not updating in over a week. But part of it has to do with me getting the Divergent movie and basically me constantly watching it since. Sorry for not updating quickly and I hope this chapter will help you forgive me and was better than the last, I wasn't a big fan of what I wrote last time. 

Vote and comment if you like it. Or not, whatever :)