Written in 63 minutes.

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Story 2: The Juan of It All

October

Elizabeth counted the tip left at one her tables, wrinkling her nose as she walked back to the counter. “Man, people get cheaper all the time. They’re not even bothering with ten percent, much less fifteen.”

Emily swirled her straw in the vanilla milkshake. “You know, if you want, I could have my brother sit in your section and glare at the cheapskates. I bet that would work—”

“Why don’t I hold off on the intimidation until I get desperate.” Elizabeth slid the tips in her apron and continued her sidework, wrapping utensils in napkins. “You look miserable. Still avoiding the essay?”

“I’ll be avoiding that essay until three hours before it’s due.” Emily sighed. “It’s Juan. We’re trying to call each other three times a week, but it’s not easy with my schedule and his stepdad always breathing down his neck. I just—” She jerked one shoulder. “I miss him—”

“You miss who?” Lucky came through the kitchen entrance, wrapped his arms around Elizabeth’s waist, then kissed her cheek. “Hey,” he said, nuzzling her neck. Elizabeth leaned against him for a minute, then returned the kiss on his cheek. He came around the counter, dropped onto the stool. “Em? Who do you miss?”

“You’ll just make fun of me,” Emily muttered. She sipped her milkshake, and Elizabeth sighed. Neither Lucky nor Nikolas had let up on making sure Emily knew exactly how they felt about Emily’s boyfriend, which was stupid because the guy had been gone for six weeks.

“No, I won’t. Come on—” Lucky nudged her shoulder. “Juan, right? You’re still trying long-distance.”

“Yeah. It’s hard. But let’s talk about something else.” Emily straightened. “Liz, did you get your first art project back yet?”

“Not yet, but I’m really looking forward to it. Dr. Watts is the first, like, real artist to look at my work, and I really want to know what she thinks.” Elizabeth set a soda in front of Lucky. “But I’m also, like, terrified, because what if she hates it?” Her smile faded slightly. “I mean, there’s a reason I didn’t get into New York, right?”

“It’ll be fine,” Lucky assured. “Don’t I tell you all the time how good you are?”

“Well, yeah, and I love that. Really. But—”

“But my opinion doesn’t matter?” he asked, lifting his brows. He picked up the soda. “Used to matter a lot.”

“Of course it matters,” Elizabeth said. “If you hadn’t believed in me, I’d never even be this far. But Dr. Watts has connections, you know? And she’s head of the department. If I could impress her, it would make such a huge difference in my career.”

“You’ll be great.” Lucky turned back to Emily. “I hate seeing you so down all the time. Come on. We should do something Friday night. All of us, like we used to—”

“Oh, I wish I could, but I already told Tammy I’d work,” Elizabeth said.

“And Friday’s my night to call Juan,” Emily added. “But Saturday—”

“I have work at the garage.” Lucky rolled his eyes. “What about three weeks from now?” he asked sarcastically. “Is that enough advance notice? I mean, what’s a guy gotta do to get some time with his girlfriend?” He was smiling as he said, but there was an edge in his voice.

“I’ve been so busy, I know. I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said. “Just getting used to the new classes and everything on campus, juggling work. But we’re already almost halfway through this semester. And we’ll have Thanksgiving break—”

Emily pursed her lips. “About that. Um, what would you say about covering for me if I tell my parents I’m gonna have Thanksgiving dinner with you and stay at your house?”

Elizabeth frowned. “I’d say your parents would be confused because we live ten minutes apart. Why?”

“Oh, you’re not going to do something stupid like run off to Puerto Rico—” Lucky stopped when Emily dropped her eyes. “Em. Come on. He’s not worth it.”

“You don’t even know him—”

“I know enough—Look, you’re just making this harder on yourself than it has to be.”

“Lucky, hey, give her break,” Elizabeth said, a bit startled by how forceful he was being. It wasn’t like him to be so dismissive of someone else’s feelings, especially not Emily’s. “Em, we’ll work on a cover story, okay? Let’s get you to Puerto Rico.”

Emily brightened. “Yeah?”

Lucky scowled. “You’re just making it worse,” he told Elizabeth. “This guy is probably already dating someone else—”

“He’s not! Juan loves me—” Emily said, her eyes hot with indignation. “We talk all the time and he misses me! He’s writing songs about me and he sings them to me—”

“And he’s probably singing them to a thousand girls.” Lucky softened his tone. “I love you, Em. You know that. And I want you to be happy. With someone who deserves you. Not this guy.”

He tossed some money down for his drink. “Look, I gotta get to work. But you need to be realistic, Em. This is only going to end badly if you keep stringing yourself along.”

Emily watched him go, then looked to Elizabeth, her eyes stricken. “Is he right? Do you think Juan is already dating someone else? Maybe the songs aren’t for me—”

“Don’t listen to him. I don’t know what crawled up his butt lately, maybe he’s spending too much time with his dad. You know how cynical Luke is, especially these days with Laura dating Stefan Cassadine.” Elizabeth leaned over the counter. “Listen, I got you, okay? Here’s what we’ll do…”

—

Not too far away from Kelly’s, Jason was giving serious consideration to locking the door to the garage, getting on the bike, and riding out of town without a word to anyone else.

Because maybe then Carly would stay the hell away from him and stop dragging him back into her plans — into her life—

And maybe she wouldn’t be standing here, Michael in her arms, smiling at him like she’d done him a favor.

“I just knew you’d want to see how big he’s getting,” Carly said, shoving the toddler at Jason who fumbled to get hold of the little boy. Michael, nearly two, squirmed and struggled. Jason set him on his feet, then scowled at Carly.

“He doesn’t know me anymore,” he hissed, the pain of that statement—the accuracy—slicing at him. He’d given the little boy up the previous spring, ending their visitation and it had nearly killed him.

It had been the right decision — the only one — and if he could just get Carly to see that —

“No, but I could start showing him your picture and, come on, Jase, don’t—” she grimaced and went to grab Michael before he could get into any trouble. “I was thinking maybe I could come to your place and bring him so that when I finally get out of all this—”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I said months ago,” Jason said, and her expression only turned more stubborn. “This isn’t going to work. You got a good thing up at the mansion—”

“You hate them—”

“But you like their money,” Jason said, and she rolled her eyes, didn’t deny it. “And Michael—he looks good. Happy,” he said, looking at the little boy he loved so much. “That’s what I wanted for him. So you need to go—”

The door behind them slammed open and Lucky stalked in, stopping when he saw Carly there. “Oh. I can come back—”

“No. No.” Almost grateful for the younger man, Jason waved him forward. “I need to talk to you about something. Carly was leaving. Say goodbye, Carly.”

Carly made a face, then lifted Michael in her arms. “Goodbye, Carly,” she said in a mocking tone, and flounced off.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Lucky said, after the blonde had left. “I thought you said—”

“I did. I got a job for you from Sonny. Come into the office.” Jason jerked his thumb in that direction and headed there, trusting the other man to follow.

“You know, Emily’s still talking to Juan all the time,” Lucky said darkly. “I thought she’d be over it by now.”

Jason looked for the package he’d set aside, only half-listening. “Yeah, I guess I thought she might meet someone on campus. She’s always telling me about some party they’re going to.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! How does she have time to go to class, talk to Juan, and go out all the time! Every time I try to see Elizabeth, she’s got something to do.” Lucky sighed. “Man, maybe I should have gone to college or something, so at least I’d be there with them.”

“What?” Jason tuned back in, frowning. “Maybe next semester.”

“No, we’ll be in our place by then. Just gotta suck it up for now,” Lucky said, taking the package. “But this Juan stuff — you gotta talk to her, man. She’s setting herself up for some real disappointment.”

“I’ll be there if she needs me,” he replied. “Now, here’s what Sonny needs from you.”

November

The night before Thanksgiving, Elizabeth had just completed step one in the GET EMILY TO PUERTO RICO ACTION PLAN, and had headed to Kelly’s to meet Lucky for a long-overdue dinner date.

She dropped into the chair across from him, grinning when she saw he’d already ordered her usual. “Oh, thanks! I’m sorry I’m late, I got hung up—”

“Did you at least remember to put gas in my car this time?” Lucky said, taking the keys from her. “What did you need it for? And do I have any new dents?”

“You back into one measly fire hydrant,” she said with a sigh, then picked up her milkshake. “I had to drop someone off. Anyway, the car is golden, and I am all yours. Just like I promised.”

Lucky smiled, his face lighting up. “I’ve missed this. Just you and me.”

“Me, too. And I really am sorry. I got so carried away these last few months, but, oh, it’s so much more fun than I thought it’d be, you know? I love my classes, well except for Dr. Watts—” her face fell slightly. “But I just know she’ll like the new project I’m working on—”

“I told you not to worry so much about what other people think—”

“It’s not just other—” The bell over the door jingled, and Elizabeth glanced over, her face falling when she recognized the man who’d come in.

Lucky twisted in his seat, and he grimaced. “Oh, damn. I really thought we were done with this.”

“What are you doing here?” Elizabeth lunged from her seat, crossing to where Juan freaking Santiago was standing in Port Charles. “You’re supposed to be in Puerto Rico!”

“I know, but it’s a surprise. Emily will never see it coming—”

“Oh, God—” Lucky hissed. “Elizabeth, please tell me Emily isn’t the person you had to drop off.”

“Um—” Elizabeth looked at Lucky, her eyes wide. “Maybe.”

“Oh, no,” Juan groaned, realizing what must have happened. “She’s on her way to Puerto Rico?”

“See? This is why I told you not to get involved.”

“Yell at me later,” Elizabeth said. “First, we have to get to the airport to stop Emily from getting on that plane—”

“No. No, this is exactly what needs to happen.” Lucky folded his arms. “Emily never thinks before she does anything—and you’re just as bad when you’re trying to help—” He shook his head. “I’m not helping you out of this one.”

“Dude—” Juan frowned, then looked at Elizabeth. “What time is her flight?”

“Ninety minutes, so we still have time. Lucky, if you don’t want to drive us, then just give me your keys—” She held out her hands, but Lucky sat down, picked up his drink. “Lucky, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“I told Emily not to waste her time on this idiot—”

“This idiot came all this way to see her—” Elizabeth wanted to stomp her foot. “Why are you being like this? Emily’s in trouble—”

“This isn’t like when she got blackmailed, Elizabeth. That was trouble—”

“Oh, forget it. I’ll argue with you later.” Elizabeth went around the counter. “I know just who to call. Someone who will actually drop everything when someone’s in trouble, no matter how they got there.”

“You’re trying to make me feel guilty, and it won’t work,” Lucky called.

“You’re not calling him, are you? Because he hates me—”

“He loves his sister more,” Elizabeth said. She dialed a number, waited for the call to connect. “Jason? Hey, it’s Elizabeth. Um, Emily and I have a small problem. I need a ride to the airport. Yes—” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll explain everything when you get here. I’m at Kelly’s.”

—

Jason strode over to the gate where his little sister was waiting patiently for her flight to be called. She sat in one of the seats, flipped through a magazine.

He placed two fingers on the magazine, plucked it out of her hands. “Going somewhere?”

Emily looked at him, guilt flashing on her expression, then it slid into determination and she jumped up. “You can’t stop me! I already bought my ticket!” She jabbed a finger in his face. “And I am eighteen so I can do whatever I want—”

“Seems like a waste of time to go all the way to Puerto Rico when you can just look over there—”

Emily frowned, then turned her head. Her eyes grew comically wide, and she squealed when she spied Juan standing next to Elizabeth by a bank of pay phones. She practically danced over to him. “You’re here! You’re really here!”

Jason just sighed and went to stand next to Elizabeth. He didn’t like Juan Santiago much, but the kid could be worse. And his sister looked so happy — she could probably power an entire small village from the wattage in her smile and light in her eyes.

Elizabeth had her hands clasped together and was practically vibrating with happiness. “We made it! Thank you so much! I thought we’d miss her plane when we got stuff in that traffic—”

“Yeah, it was close.” He folded his arms, looked at her with the glower he usually reserved for work. “Don’t think this gets you out of trouble.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Please. I saw you smile when Emily saw Juan.” She poked his bicep lightly. “You’re a softy for her, and you know it.”

“I am not,” he argued, but it was tough to keep up the facade when she was sneaking peeks at Emily and Juan, still talking excitedly. Elizabeth continued to grin, and he couldn’t really pretend to be unhappy with her when the only thing she’d cared was taking care of Emily.

“Look how happy she is,” Elizabeth said, putting a hand on his arm, pointing. “You can hate him all you want, but he’s not that bad if he makes her that happy right?”

“I like her being happy,” Jason said with a beleaguered sigh. “But does it have to be with him?”

“You can’t choose who you love,” Elizabeth told him, and he nodded, because of course that was true.

Emily bounced over to them, practically dragging Juan. “Liz! Liz! Oh my God, Juan gets to stay! He’s coming to PCU this spring!”

“Oh my God, that’s amazing!” Elizabeth hugged Emily, then Juan, then beamed at Jason. “Isn’t that the best news?”

“Yeah,” Jason said, then said nothing else. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, then went back to laughing with Emily.

—

“I just need somewhere to stay until my room is ready in January,” Juan said, his hand firmly tucked in Emily’s hand as they walked into Kelly’s courtyard. “You think Tammy will rent to me again?”

“Oh for sure.” Elizabeth rocked back on her heels. “She’s working right now. You guys should go ask her.”

“Come on, I’ll plead your case.” Emily dragged Juan into the diner. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

“Did you have to suggest Kelly’s?” Jason asked, with a wince. “Do you know how much I come in here? How much I’m going to have to see him?”

“Wow, it’s almost like I didn’t take you into consideration at all,” Elizabeth said, her eyes comically wide. “I was just thinking about Emily.” But then she laughed, and he knew she’d realized he was just teasing her. “Listen, this is actually a really good thing,” Elizabeth told him.

“I’m going to need you to expand on that,” Jason said, folding his arms. “How exactly is Juan being back in Port Charles, at PCU, and at Kelly’s a good thing—”

“Juan is what?”

They both turned to see Lucky striding towards them from the parking lot, scowling. “Tell me you’re joking,” he said to Jason. “Juan’s not really back for good—”

“He is, and listen, I know you guys aren’t sold on him, and I get it, but I promise you, this is a good thing—”

“You keep saying that,” Jason said.

“Before it was like Romeo and Juliet, separated by time—”

“That’s not the plot of Romeo and Juliet,” Lucky complained. “Their families hated each other—”

“Oh my God, are you going to correct my Shakespeare? Really? I watched the Leo version until my VHS tape broke. I know my Leo,” Elizabeth said, dismissing Lucky’s complaint. “Juan being in Puerto Rico meant that Emily would just keep making up stories about him in her head, making it harder for her to get over him. But he’s here. And he’ll either make her happy or he won’t. But at least it’s not her just mooning over him anymore. She’ll get to really know him this time. And we’ll see if he’s actually good enough.”

“Let me save you some time. He’s not,” Lucky said flatly, and Elizabeth just made a face. “And you’re just making it worse by egging her on—”

“I’m not—”

“And I told you not to get involved with all of this. Now we’re stuck with Juan. Why can’t you just admit you were wrong?”

Elizabeth frowned. “But I wasn’t—”

“You nearly sent Emily to Puerto Rico on her own for no reason—”

“I didn’t—”

“Jason, come on, tell her, man. You agree with me. You hate Juan. Tell her it was stupid for her to encourage Emily in all of this.”

Elizabeth’s smile had faded and so had all the light from her eyes. She looked at him, and he felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the world. “I didn’t mean for Emily to almost end up down there by herself—”

“It’s not that serious,” Jason said. He looked at Lucky. “It just isn’t. Emily would have just booked a flight home. We could have left a message at the airport down there. You’d have laughed about it later,” he told Elizabeth, and her smile bloomed again.

Lucky scowled. “It must be nice to have money to throw around like that. But some of us have to be realistic—”

“Well, lucky for both of us, I have enough money to send my sister to Puerto Rico every day for the next fifty years if I want,” Jason said, his tone more annoyed than he’d realized. Lucky flinched. “It’s not a big deal. Elizabeth’s right,” he added. “More exposure to Juan will either prove to us that she’s right about him or she’ll get over him faster.” He looked back at her. “I still don’t like him,” he said, hoping she’d see it as another tease.

But she was more subdued. “I’m gonna head back to my grandmother, I guess. Tell Emily I’ll call her tomorrow.”

“I’ll drive you,” Lucky said. “We were supposed to have a date anyway—”

“I’m not in the mood anymore. I’ll just take the bus.” Elizabeth hurried away, and Jason frowned after her, before looking at Lucky.

“Why did you do that?” he asked. He’d been around the two of them for over a year now, and he’d never heard Lucky talk to Elizabeth that way. “What’s your problem?”

“Elizabeth just—she used to be rational. Reasonable. Ever since she started college and is spending all this time there—” Lucky pressed his lips together. “I don’t know. It’s like she’s a different person.”

He went inside the diner, and Jason headed for the street where he knew the bus stop was located.

He found her sitting on the bench, picking at one of her nails. He sat next to her. “I can drop you at your grandmother’s,” Jason offered.

She looked up at him, smiled again, though it was weak and didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s really okay. I don’t mind taking the bus.”

“I mind,” he said. “You spent your entire day racing to my sister’s rescue. Thank you. She’s lucky to have a friend like you. Let me take you home so I don’t worry about you on the bus.”

She smiled again, and now it was a little bit brighter. “Even if I made it easier for her to see Juan?”

“Nobody’s perfect.” He stood, and held out his hand. “Come on.”

“Thanks.” She took his hand, let him pull her to her feet. “I hope you’re wrong about Juan.”

“Me, too.”

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