Written in 63 minutes.

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February 2000

Lucky slumped into a seat at the kitchen table, glared down at the wooden surface. Two years of living on his own and he was right back where he’d started — in the Spencer house, in his damn high school bedroom.

Across the table, his younger sister beamed at him, tapping her spoon against the table. “Mommy, Mommy. Juice.”

“Just a minute,” Laura said, coming to the table and setting down a glass of juice and bowl of cereal. “Did you want something, Lucky?”

“No.” He leaned back against the chair, squinted at her. “This is just temporary, okay? Until I can find an apartment. Jason didn’t really leave me a lot of notice.”

“I don’t understand why he’d throw you out like this,” his mother said, returning to the table and taking a seat. “You’ve worked for him for more than a year. Did you have an argument? Maybe your father should talk to him—”

“He wants Elizabeth,” Lucky said flatly. He sat up, dragged his hands down his face. Easier to blame it on Jason, he thought. To remember the way Elizabeth looked when she smiled at him than the other night when she’d just stared at him with that shattered look in her eyes. He’d seen it before, more than once, but he’d never…

It had never been his fault before.

No, he’d said the wrong thing but she wouldn’t even listen to him, wouldn’t even try to understand how upset he was, how sorry he’d been. He’d just wanted her to listen to him, to stop pretending that everything hadn’t changed—that she hadn’t changed.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s it. Elizabeth is…well, she’s not his type—” Laura hesitated, closed her mouth, and Lucky wondered if his mother was thinking about Robin Scorpio, another petite brunette who’d worshiped at the altar of Jason Morgan. “At any rate, Jason owes you thirty days notice—”

“You think I’m going to take him to court?” Lucky snorted, shook his head. “Forget it, Mom.”

“Hey—” Nikolas pushed through the door. “I’m here to take Lu to school.”

“You’re early,” Lulu told him with a sigh. “I’m still eating.”

“My apologies, I guess Mother and Lucky will just have to entertain me while you finish.” Nikolas looked at him warily. “How are you? Better since I saw you the other day?”

“I’ve lost my place to live, my job, and my girlfriend. How do you think I’m doing?”

“Well, maybe you don’t accuse your boss and landlord of sleeping with your girlfriend,” Nikolas suggested.

“I told you, Lucky, that you’re just seeing things. Elizabeth is friendly to everyone, you know that—”

“How am I the only person who sees that she’s changed? She’s not the same girl I fell in love with.” Lucky launched himself out of his chair, crossed to the fridge. “She spends time with Jason, but I never see her—”

“Managed to call her didn’t you?” Nikolas said, coming up behind him. Lucky scowled at her. “You tell Mother about that one?”

“Tell me about what? What’s going on?”

“Shut up, Nikolas. You don’t know everything—”

His gaze never leaving Lucky’s, Nikolas just smiled. “I know enough. Mother, you know about Valentine’s Day, don’t you? Why it’s a day that…might be difficult for Elizabeth?”

“Nikolas—”

“I don’t like what this is doing to the two of you,” Laura said, coming over to them, her arms folded, her expression pinched. “You just learned to be brothers—”

“My brother, Mother, asked Jason to send him out of town for a few days. And then my brother called his girlfriend, told her to get all dressed up for a night out on Valentine’s Day. A Tuesday night, if I recall.”

Laura’s lips parted. “Oh, Lucky—”

“Elizabeth waited all night in the lobby of her dorm, then took the bus to the garage to see if she’d messed up the message. Jason had to tell her Lucky were gone. That he’d been gone for days. He drove her home.”

Laura pressed two fingers to her lips, shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d do that to her, Lucky. Of all nights? And why? For what possible reason?”

“She smiled at him, Mother. Go on, Lucky, tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you have more evidence than she smiled at him and he gave her a ride home.”

“You don’t understand because you’ve never been in love with someone other than yourself,” Lucky bit out. “And I saw them together! They were out the night she broke up with me. He took her out on that damn bike, and she was laughing when she got off—”

“The horror,” Nikolas said, his tone soft, slight mocking and Lucky flushed. “No, you see, you need her to be the bad guy because you don’t want to face what’s really happening here. You put Elizabeth high up on a pedestal. Just like you did Luke. Just like you did to our mother. And the second they disappointed you, the second they didn’t live up to your expectations, you turned on them. I know some of the crap you’ve said about our mother. I’ve heard you talk about Luke. If I ever find out what you said to Elizabeth to put that look in her eyes, losing your apartment and job won’t be the worst thing that happens.”

“Nikolas, don’t—” Laura reached for her son but Nikolas walked past her to the table, towards Lulu who had continued to eat, oblivious to the tension.

“Lulu, you ready for school?” Nikolas asked. She nodded and hopped out of her seat.

When they’d left, Laura just looked at Lucky. “Tell me he’s wrong. Tell me that’s not what you did. That you didn’t stand her up on the anniversary of the night she was raped. Tell me I raised you better than that.”

Lucky exhaled slowly, looked at his mother. “Well, you know I’m only as good as the blood that runs in my veins. Who’s fault is that?”

Laura said nothing to him, and he felt the shame crawling up his neck. “You’re just assuming Elizabeth did nothing wrong—”

“Even if you’d walked in on her having sex with Jason Morgan on the back of that motorcycle,” Laura bit out, “it never would have justified using that night as a weapon to hurt her. But you’re right. Maybe you aren’t any better than the man who sired you. That’ll be both our regrets, won’t it?”

—

Jason winced when he heard the squeak of the door. He really didn’t want to deal with customers — that was why he’d kept Lucky around, and he really didn’t want to have to hire someone else.

But it wasn’t a customer who came around the side of the building, but Sonny, and Jason visibly relaxed. He stepped away from the Ford he was working on and reached for the rag to blot the oil from his hands. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Not much. Just checking in. It’s been, ah, quiet. Which is nice. Weird,” Sonny added. “But for now Moreno is keeping to his side of the street. Might need you to go down to the Oasis and remind Coleman who he works for. I think he’s skimming off the top from the bookies. Benny finds something for me to prove it, you’re on deck.”

“Yeah, sure. But why come all the way down here just for that? You could have called.” Jason headed for the office and Sonny trailed after him.

“Well, I stopped by Luke’s today to check on him, and he told me something that, I gotta admit, I’m a little confused about.”

Jason frowned, looked at him. “What? Is he having trouble with Moreno, too?”

“No. No. Is there a chance the reason you fired Lucky is because you like his girlfriend?” Sonny wanted to know.

Jason closed his eyes, muttered something under his breath, then scowled when he looked at his friend and boss. “What the hell is Luke saying about Elizabeth?”

“So it’s true? Because—”

“No, it’s—” He really wanted to punch something. Someone. But the way he was feeling, if he came across Lucky Spencer right now, he’d put him through a wall. “It’s not true the way Luke is saying it. So I want to know what exactly he told you because if that little bastard is talking about her that way—”

“I feel like I’m walking into a movie halfway through,” Sonny said. “Lucky’s girlfriend is that Elizabeth girl, right? The brunette who’s friends with Emily.”

“Yeah. And she’s—Lucky screwed up with her. Bad.” Jason related the events around Valentine’s briefly and Sonny’s eyes darkened. “I had to be the one to tell her, Sonny, that he wasn’t here. And that he’d planned it that way. Lucky’s taking a few coincidences and stringing them together to make a story that makes her the bad guy so he can feel better. And he’s walking around telling anyone who can hear him that I’m after his girlfriend. No, I don’t want people to think that. The wrong people hear him, and—”

“Ah. So you’re not mad on Elizabeth’s behalf, you don’t want anyone who doesn’t like you or me thinking we’ve got someone in our midst they can play with. You know since I’m flying solo these last few months and your sister is a no go or the Quartermaines will burn the city to the ground.” Sonny lifted his brows. “You’re right. Lucky could make things uncomfortable. Does Elizabeth know he’s saying this kind of crap?”

“She’s mortified,” Jason muttered. “She came here to apologize. Look, I’m mad because it’s a shitty thing to do to someone you say you love. She’s—she’s a good person, Sonny. Yes, I like her. As a person. As Emily’s friend. She’s put herself on the line to look out for my sister. I can be pissed at Lucky Spencer for both reasons.”

Sonny squinted at him, and Jason felt almost like he was under a microscope. He fought the urge to squirm. “Is there anything else?”

“No. No. Just heard the story and thought it was odd. I’ll talk to Luke. See if he can get some sense talked into the kid. What went wrong with him, do you think?” Sonny asked. “Had some real promise, but you got the right idea. We don’t need someone like that around.”

—

The conversation was still bothering Jason a few days later when he headed for Kelly’s — he’d been avoiding it most of the week, he’d realized, because he was hoping if he avoided even coming into contact with Elizabeth, Lucky would knock it off, and it would all die down.

He found Emily in the courtyard, having lunch with Juan. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. “Jason! Hey! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” She hugged him. “Thank you, by the way, for going to see Liz last week. Because if you hadn’t and Lucky had showed up, well, he wouldn’t have shown what absolutely tiny little man he is—”

Jason made a face. “I barely did anything.”

“You always say that, and it’s never true. Anyway, Juan and I were just talking about our plans for spring break, and—I know this is going to break your heart,” Emily told Jason, “but Juan’s going home for the break.”

“Devastated,” Jason said dryly, and even Juan snorted. The kid wasn’t so bad. He was in school, and Emily seemed to be happy enough. “So you’ll be in Port Charles?”

“That’s how it looks right now. Liz and I were trying to save up to do something, but she refuses to take a cent from me—and Dad already tried to sway her with all expenses paid trip to Cabo. Honestly, what’s the point of having money if I can’t spoil my best friend?” Emily patted his shoulder. “That’s where you come in.”

“Should I be scared?” Jason asked.

“No, but you and Sonny still have that resort in the Caribbean, right?”

“Sonny does,” Jason corrected. He might have shares in the place, but it was all Sonny’s. “Why do you think she’ll accept it from me instead of Alan?”

“Because I’m going to tell you and Liz and I can afford, and it’s going to magically match a price at the resort, you know, like a discount—”

“A discount? I’m not charging you,” Jason said, vaguely insulted.

“I know, I know, but she’ll never agree. Unless you want to try to convince her. She always listens to you—” Emily turned and looked through the windows of the courtyard. “She’s here now. Come on. Let’s team up.”

“I did not agree to that,” Jason said, but he let his sister tow him through the doors and into the diner. Juan followed, and slid onto a stool at the counter.

“I have the best news,” Emily declared, releasing Jason’s hand at the counter. “I ran into Jason and told him how Juan is deserting me for the break—”

“Not how she described it ten minutes ago,” Juan told Elizabeth who just smirked, then looked at Jason.

“Let me guess, Emily told you I turned down Cabo, and now she wants you to convince me to take the trip after all.” She switched her gaze to Emily. “I told you, if I keep saving, I’ll be able do this summer. Tammy said I could have two weeks—”

“Not Cabo,” Emily said. “Jason owns an island—”

“Sonny. Sonny owns an island,” Jason corrected, but Emily waved that aside.

“And there’s a resort on it with a casino—which we could totally go to because the ages are different down there, and Jason’s got amazing villa with a private beach—he says we can use it for free! Right?” Emily turned her sparkling eyes onto Jason, her hands clasped in front of her. “This is so much better than us going to Fort Lauderdale and ending up on MTV’s Spring Break all drunk and half-dressed—”

“Was that an option?” Elizabeth asked, frowning.

“It could be. It’s not that expensive. I looked into it—”

“Robin made me watch that once. You’re not going to Fort Lauderdale,” Jason said flatly, and Emily smirked.

“Right, but if Liz doesn’t take you up on this amazingly generous awesome offer, than we won’t have a choice but to end up on Girls Gone Wild—”

“I like how she just assumes I’d be up for either of those choices,” Elizabeth told Jason with a roll of her eyes. “I told you, Em, we’re not friends because of your last name or your trust fund. And you—” She looked at Jason. “I don’t care about your bank account. I can pay my own way. In two months.”

Emily made a face, looked at Jason. “Okay, your turn.”

“My—” Jason just shook his head. “You know, my life was a lot quieter before I knew you.”

“Ha, you don’t remember your life before you knew me. I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m not going anywhere.” Emily wound her arm through Jason’s. “You’re stuck with me.”

Jason just looked at Elizabeth. “You have to say yes because she’ll never shut up otherwise. The place is there. I don’t use it. You can buy your own food or souvenirs or whatever. But I wouldn’t charge my sister, I’m not going to charge you either.”

Elizabeth bit her lip, then looked at Emily with a sigh. “Okay, but this is the last expensive thing you do for me. Which is what I said after the oil paints you got for Christmas.”

“Now is not the time to tell you about the pool house my parents are redoing so we can have like our own house on the estate instead of the dorms next year, huh?” Emily said. Elizabeth’s mouth dropped. “Right. I’ll save that for later.” She squealed. “Oh my God!” She hugged Jason again. “I knew you could do it, I knew you’d talk sense into her—”

“Don’t you all look happy,” came a sour voice from behind them. Emily released Jason and they both turned to see Lucky sauntering towards them. “Didn’t take you long to come sniffing around Elizabeth,” he said to Jason with a sneer who just stared at him, almost dumbfounded.

“You’re really still doing this?” Emily demanded. “Juan, punch him.”

“I mean, I’ll do it, but I don’t want to get arrested,” Juan said, getting to his feet. Lucky just rolled his eyes.

“Does it feel good that you turned all my friends against me?” he demanded to Elizabeth, and now Jason did turn and look at her. Her face was blank, but her fingers were clutched tightly around the cloth in her hands. “My own brother?”

“I never did anything to make that happen,” Elizabeth said, her voice trembling just slightly on the last word.

“No, of course not. You never do anything. You’re just good at making people feel sorry for you. Worked on me, but they’ll see who you really are and leave you, too. Your family did, didn’t they?”

Elizabeth’s face went white, and Lucky smirked. “And now I see, you too. Good luck.” With that, he headed for the door.

“Elizabeth—” Emily began, but Elizabeth released the cloth and fled towards the kitchen, the heavy kitchen door banging a minute later.

Well, it was time to throw someone in the lake. Jason started for the door, but Emily snagged his arm. “No, you go after him now, you’ll kill him, and you don’t need the hassle. I’ll take care of him. Go make sure she’s okay. Juan, come with me in case I need back up.”

“Em—”

“I’m not going to let him touch her,” Juan promised, and Jason sighed. He watched his sister dart out the door, heard her yelling in the parking, “Yo, asshole!” before he looked back towards the kitchen.

Then he followed Elizabeth into the alley.

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