Snippet #1523107

Nikki woke up to the sound of a blender. She groaned and opened her eyes, vision blurry. Shafts of light fell through the cracks in the blinds, illuminating the small living room. Nikki sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning loudly.

"Hey, Peter! Do you have to be so goddam loud?" Nikki called, an amused smile on her lips. At the yell, the blender stopped, and Peter's head appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Well, good morning to you too." He rolled his eyes, grinning all the same. Nikki got up from the couch where she had been sleeping. She stretched, the over-sized t-shirt hanging off her thin frame. She took a moment to tighten the drawstrings on the sweatpants as well; she was wearing Peter's mother's clothes, as her own were in the wash. Needless to say, the woman was quite a bit bigger than Nikki was.

She sauntered into the kitchen, hair up in a messy bun. Peter had just begun pouring two smoothies.

"You, sir, are awesome." Nikki grabbed one of the glasses, sipping the beverage. It was heavenly.

"It's mango. I know it's your favorite." Peter laughed at Nikki's expression; her eyes had rolled back in ecstasy. What a return to normalcy.

"This is why you're my best friend, you know that?" Nikki said, taking another big gulp of the smoothie.

"What, because of my competence with a blender?" Peter teased. There was a beat of silence. Peter's expression had gone serious. "So... you gonna tell me what happened?" Nikki bit her lip. Where to begin?

After a rudimentary look-over at the hospital, the doctors had decided to let Nikki go home. They wrapped up her arms and that was that. Nikki had stepped out of the hospital, walked a couple blocks, then called Peter. He picked up on the second ring.

"Nikki! Where are you? What happened to you?" After facing an onslaught of questions, Nikki finally interjected, telling him that she'd explain everything in person. Peter picked her up in his Cadillac and they drove to his humble suburban house. On the ride, Peter had told Nikki what had happened to him back at the carnival. On his way back to the tent, Peter had been stopped by Nikki's "sisters". The twins, the conniving little rats, had grilled Peter about Nikki's whereabouts. Who was he with? Surely, all that food he was holding was not for him alone! Peter had to lie his way out of their company, heading the opposite direction of the main tent. He went about, doing different things by himself, until he was certain that the twins had given up. When he had returned to the main tent, the show was just ending. But Nikki had never come out.

During that car ride, Nikki had stayed silent. When Peter questioned her further, she didn't answer. When he saw that she wasn't up to talking, he didn't push it. But they couldn't leave the topic as it was... he needed to know. After all, they trusted each other, right?

"Well..." Nikki began recounting the last night's events. Meeting the other kids, the magic act that had made them disappear, the kidnapping... Nikki had skipped some parts, such as Alexander's asking her out on a date... and Carnivalle's relation with Eli. That was his own information to disclose. However, she did tell Peter about Emily.

His jaw had dropped. Nikki half-smiled at his ridiculous expression. "Your...mom?" he spluttered. Nikki nodded, leaning back against the counter.

"I know, crazy... unreal..." Nikki murmured.

"So, what's going to happen to her? Is she facing time in prison?" Peter asked softly. Nikki rubbed the back of her neck, eyebrows knitted together.

"I have no idea. I'm going to visit the station this afternoon... I need to speak to her. But first I need to get some things straightened out... Where's my bike?" Nikki asked.

"It's at the shop. I asked Henry to pick it up- I just can't drive that thing." Peter gave an exaggerated shudder. Nikki smiled.

"Awesome. Are my clothes done? You know, I can check myself. Then I'll head down to-" She had begun walking to the laundry room, when Peter put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. You sure you're okay? You've gone through a lot and it's alright if you-"

"Peter." Nikki looked him in the eyes. His were darting about her face in concern. He was worried, she knew. But all she needed was to keep moving... to keep doing something. She'd be fine... she just needed to keep busy, to get her life together.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Peter." She gave him a reassuring smile, and left for the laundry room.

Within fourty-five minutes, Nikki was on her bike and speeding through town. She was headed towards the Blackwell manor. She barreled through the gates and up the long driveway. She came to a skidding halt at the front of the mansion, tires screeching. Nikki turned off the engine and dismounted, staring at the skid-marks in satisfaction. Keeping her helmet on, Nikki walked up to the front door.

She pulled out her keys, unlocked the door, and walked inside. The foyer was as sickeningly familiar as ever. Marble floors, large chandelier, dual staircases... they were all part of her childhood. Nikki snorted. She was happy to be visiting this place for the last time. Nikki began her ascent to the second floor, boots clicking on the stone steps. She made a bee-line for her old room. It was exactly how she left it- save for the large cardboard boxes lying on the floor, as she had specified. The walls were a dark purple, with white paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Band posters were slapped up on the walls haphazardly, along with a few charcoal drawings of hers.

Nikki nodded appreciatively, and pulled off her helmet. Without further ado, she began packing. She had just finished up a box of her clothing when she heard the front door open. The sounds of chatter and inane giggling. Her sisters were home. Damn, she had been hoping that they'd be out for the entire day. It was a Saturday wasn't it? Shouldn't those twits be at the mall or something? Nikki groaned, but resolved to keep packing. As soon as she finished she could leave. Later, she'd get Peter to pick up all the boxes in his dad's truck...

Nikki began rifling through her desk, throwing possessions into boxes. She thanked God that most of her important things were already at a friend's house. At least being sent to a boarding school yielded some conveniences. In the middle of throwing miscellaneous objects into a box, a shrill screech pierced the air. Nikki twitched, face darkening. She turned to see Avery standing in the doorway, nose turned up in distaste.

"You know, you look perfectly horrendous when you make that expression... Oh wait, that's what your face normally looks like. My bad," Nikki commented dryly, still packing indifferently.

"What are you doing here?" Avery asked in disdain, lips curling in a sneer. "Twinsie? What's going on up there?" Suddenly, Charlotte appeared as well. Immediately, her face scrunched up. The two were carbon-copies of each other. Same tumbling black hair, plucked eyebrows, pouting lips, stick-figure forms... They were clones of each other. Why anyone would want two of them, Nikki couldn't fathom.

"Nikki?!" Charlotte asked, sniffing, as if Nikki's presence was an insult.

"Why, hello there, Charlotte. Judging by your expression, I assume that you've finally gone through with that lobotomy," Nikki said, punctuating each sentence with the toss of another item into a box. "What's a lobotomy?" Charlotte whispered to Avery. Nikki snorted.

"You're supposed to be at that religious place!" Avery protested angrily, stomping a high-heel clad foot. Nikki raised an eyebrow.

"You mean St. Mary's Prep? Yeah, that didn't really work out for me."

"I'm telling Daddy!" Charlotte threatened. Nikki laughed loudly.

"Go ahead. He won't do anything," Nikki replied, finishing with her desk. She began taking down and folding up the paper lanterns.

"WHAT? Yeah-huh, he will!" they both whined simultaneously. Nikki stopped her packing and looked at them dead on. With they're tiny noses, the sharp planes of their faces... how could she believe that they were her sisters?

"Let me spell this out slowly. I'm out of here. I'm leaving this place. That is that. You'll never have to see me again, if that's a comfort," Nikki said. She had finished packing all her things. The room looked bare. She brushed her hands together.

"Well, I'm out. Tweedledee. Tweedledum." Nikki nodded to both of them in turn, before pushing past them. She pulled on her helmet while walking, the full visor obscuring her face. She waltzed out the door without another look back. She laughed as her motor roared, and she left the manor.

* * *

Nikki signed at the bottom of the paperwork, cementing her bank account. The attendant thanked her, and told her that she was done. Nikki smiled, and turned away from the desk. She was at the local bank- which was pretty classy, if she said so herself. Suddenly, she saw a familiar head of dark hair.

"Alexander? 'Sup, dude?" Nikki called, walking over.