Chapter Twenty-One:
Big Brother is Watching

The Quartermaine Mansion, Living Room.

It's 8:30, the morning of Emily's math final. This is hardly the focus of the assembled Q's who sit, bickering as usual, over their croissants. Emily appears at the top of the stairs looking more than a little unsteady. She leans against the wall, and summons her strength. She grips the bannister and walks down the stairs, into the living room. Her presence is barely acknowledged, with the exception of Lila -- who sees all, and AJ who is not yet acquainted with Em's morning appearance these days. He watches her as she pours a glass of orange juice, and quietly moves over to a solitary spot by the window. Emily opens her hand to reveal two aspirin, and throws them both in her mouth, washing them down with a substantial gulp of juice. AJ watches this, and approaches her.

AJ: I hope that was over the counter. (Emily jumps, then turns to her brother and glares at him.)

Em: That's not funny.

AJ: (abashed) Sorry. I wasn't thinking.

Em: It was aspirin!

AJ: I know, I know. It was just a joke. A bad one. (Emily turns to look out the window) Headache? (Emily nods) You look kind of tired.

Em: I am tired. I get that way when I don't sleep.

AJ: Why aren't you sleeping?

Em: (looking at him pointedly) Stress, I guess. (AJ doesn't pick up on the hint.)

AJ: Well, aren't you going to at least have some breakfast? (Emily shakes her head emphatically)

Em: I can't eat before a big exam. It won't stay down.

AJ: Ugh. That was more information than I needed.

Em: Look before you leap.

AJ: (ingratiating) What's the exam in?

Em: (flatly) Math. (She walks away from him, and heads back over to the breakfast trays. She studies her choices to find the least offensive piece of food she can ingest. She opts for a grape, pops it in her mouth and immediately regrets it. She picks up a paper napkin off the tray and spits the grape back into it. AJ notes this and walks over to her again)

AJ: Look, Em. We got off on a bad foot here...

Em: You think?

AJ: I'm not trying to ruin your life.

Em: AJ. I can't think about this right now. I have an exam. It's really important to me, Ok? I can't be worrying about your threats.

AJ: (hushed) I'm not threatening you!

Em: Then what do you call it? (She runs her hand through her limp hair. AJ notices that she's missing a certain spark that he remembers. She used to be much more "up" in the morning. He can't help but notice that the rest of the family sees nothing wrong with this picture).

AJ: You're right. We shouldn't talk about this now. So... are you ready for your exam?

Em: (shrugging) I guess. It's too late to worry about it now. (Feeling cold, she jams her hands into her pockets, hunching her shoulders.) I'll be fine. It's in the first period, then I'm home free.

AJ: Well, good luck.

Em: Thanks. (She picks up a slice of apple -- hey, it worked last time -- and heads out of the living room, AJ, once again, on her tail. Monica catches her on the way out.)

Monica: Are you off to school today?

Em: Yes. Exam.

Monica: Right. Biology?

Em: Math. (She heads out into the foyer)

Monica: (calling after her) Good luck! (Emily doesn't respond, instead going to the closet to get her coat. AJ comes into the foyer, and she stops when she sees him)

Em: Yes?

AJ: This isn't like you.

Em: What isn't?

AJ: This surliness, this anger. This isn't the little sister I remember.

Em: AJ...

AJ: Em, I'm serious. Something is really wrong here.

Em: The only thing that's wrong is that I'm going to be late if I don't get out to the car, like, NOW. Ok?

AJ: Fine. We'll talk later. (Emily sighs and finishes putting on her coat)

Em: Ok. (She feels a twinge of guilt for her disposition, and stops at the door, hesitating just a moment). Have a good day.

AJ: I'll try. (Emily opens the door and leaves. AJ stares at the closed door, considering. Monica comes into the foyer).

Monica: She's gone?

AJ: Did you see what she had for breakfast?

Monica: If she HAD breakfast it's a step up. She hasn't been taking very good care of herself lately.

AJ: Well, is that really her job? She's seventeen. Shouldn't you guys --

Monica: You're giving me parenting advice? Wait until your son is seventeen. See how easy it is to get HIM to do what you want.

AJ: Is she usually like that? So quite and caustic?

Monica: Not always. Often, but not always. (she forces a smile) I guess she's been living here too long.

AJ: She's changed. I mean, really really changed. Just since I left, I barely recognize her.

Monica: Well, she's a teenager. She's fighting us at every turn, on every issue. I don't think she's very happy, but then, she never tells me enough about her life for me to ever hazard a guess, so... What can I do?

AJ: How are she and Lucky?

Monica: You'd have better luck finding out about him than I would.

AJ: I don't understand this. She was so insistent that she and Lucky couldn't be together anymore. What changed her mind?

Monica: I have no idea. That's what makes me so nervous. (She regards AJ with concern) To be frank, having you voice your concern isn't making me feel any better.

AJ: I'm sorry Mom. It's hard to miss.

Monica: You should see her on her bad mornings.

AJ: It gets worse?

Monica: It's so frustrating that she won't talk to me! I'm out of ideas of where to turn.

AJ: What about Lucky?

Monica: Lucky doesn't NOT talk to us. I ... this is embarrassing, but I actually went to see him last week, to see if he knew anything about Emily's behavior.

AJ: And?

Monica: He was less than communicative. And she's very protective of her relationship with him. She won't tell me a thing. I assume they're happy -- she certainly raises hell if you ever suggest she see less of him, or try to stop her from going out to see him for whatever reason. I'm not sure it's healthy, though. For starters, Lucky's acting different, too. He's distant, never comes by the house anymore -- I nearly fell over when he actually came to the door the other day. That's the most we've seen of him since Christmas.

AJ: Any idea why?

Monica: None.

AJ: But if she's acting strange, and HE'S acting strange, doesn't it stand to reason that one thing has to do with another?

Monica: You really aren't helping me not to obsess on this topic.

AJ: I'm just saying, they're teenagers. And we all know Lucky's family doesn't keep him on a leash. They're not going to be looking out for him.

Monica: No... That's not very likely.

AJ: So they could get into any kind of trouble. I mean... Have you considered...

Monica: DON'T say it.

AJ: It's kind of hard not to worry.

Monica: I try not to think about it. Emily and Lucky have been together a long time. If I'm brutally honest with myself, I'll have to admit that they probably have a sexual relationship.

AJ: (shaking his head) It could answer some questions. Things can get pretty heavy in a hurry. I mean... Look what happened with Robin.

Monica: AJ! Are you trying to scare me?

AJ: I'm worried too, Mom. I don't trust Lucky, I'll be blunt with you. I don't think that he necessarily has Emily's best interests at heart. Not if they interfere with his.

Monica: I don't know if I can agree with you there, AJ. Lucky does seem to love her. He's always treated her well. And there have been times I know I was grateful for the fact that she had him.

AJ; But how well do you actually know him?

Monica: I don't. I admit that. But Emily does.

AJ: She's not exactly unbiased.

Monica: Neither are you, AJ. I'm sorry. I just can't worry about this on top of everything else. (She shakes her head) Excuse me. (Monica heads up the stairs, clearly concerned by her conversation with AJ. AJ turns and goes back to breakfast.)

Luke's Bar, lunch hour.

Hannah comes in, a folder of music under her arm. Lucky is sitting at a table with his laptop, this time actually doing school work. He looks up when she enters, grateful for a distraction.

Lucky: Feeling better?

Hannah: (distracted) What?

Lucky: You looked a little freaked out last time I saw you.

Hannah: Oh. Right. No, I was just going through an adjustment period. It's over now.

Lucky: Adjustment to what?

Hannah: Uh... Everything. It's been a big change, coming here.

Lucky: I can see that. Arriving in this frozen tundra after being someplace so warm.

Hannah: What?

Lucky: (amused) L.A.? I've heard it doesn't snow so much down there.

Hannah: NO... No, it doesn't.

Lucky: Uh huh. (casually) Emily was asking about that, actually.

Hannah: When?

Lucky: First night she saw you play. She was wondering if you'd ever played around here before.

Hannah: (emphatically) No. Never.

Lucky: I didn't think so.

Hannah: (too quickly) I was working for two years on the West Coast. Then I came east last year. I told you that.

Lucky: (getting a little weirded out) Yeah. You did.

Hannah: Ok. (She and Lucky look at each other. Lucky doesn't like the vibes he's getting all of the sudden, and starts to push.)

Lucky: (testing) Actually, I thought you were on the West coast for three.

Hannah: What?

Lucky: Sorry. I just thought you were out west for three years, not two.

Hannah: Why does it matter?

Lucky: It doesn't. You're sure you're feeling better?

Hannah: I'm sorry. I've just been a bit jumpy lately. (Hannah forces a smile) I guess I've been watching too much television or something. Getting paranoid.

Lucky: Yeah? I'd watch out for that.

Hannah: I don't have a ton of experience, after all. I just get self-conscious.

Lucky: Seems like a lot of experience to me. What clubs did you play at?

Hannah: Uh... around. Different places. I never played one place regularly.

Lucky: Oh. I was under the impression you did.

Hannah: I didn't. (she looks at her watch) I have to go.

Lucky: No problem. (She walks past him, and heads for the back. Lucky watches her leave, feeling a little paranoid himself. The door opens again, and he looks up to see a frazzled Emily).

Em: Hi. (She looks at him oddly) Something up?

Lucky: Not ... really. Just studying human nature.

Em: Great. Can you give me some pointers?

Lucky: (sighing) Now what?

Em: Nothing new. (she sinks into the chair across from him.) I finished my math exam.

Lucky: How'd it go?

Em: It's kind of a blur. I don't have any recollection of panicking, which means it probably went all right.

Lucky: Did you sleep last night?

Em: A little. I'm going to go home and crash now. I just wanted to see you first. (Lucky smiles at this. It's contagious and Emily finds herself smiling back at him) Not to inflate your ego too much or anything.

Lucky: (leaning back in his chair) I don't know if that's possible. So you think you can relax now?

Em: I don't know. I'm heading back to the house of doom.

Lucky: That bad?

Em: AJ. He's practically stalking me. I feel like every move I make is being evaluated. One wrong move, and he blows me out of the water.

Lucky: We can't give him that kind of power, Em. It's probably better to just ignore him.

Em: That's easy for you to say. You don't have to live there. Remember how tense you were when you were still living at home?

Lucky: I remember you used to be really good at getting me to relax away from outside influences. (Emily blushes and looks down at the table top. Lucky laughs) Maybe getting out of the house tonight would be a good idea.

Em: Are you working?

Lucky: Nope.

Em: Then I could probably work you into my schedule.

Lucky: If you can find the time. (She laughs)

Em: I better. I feel better already. (She leans across the table and kisses him soundly.) See you tonight?

Lucky: Why don't I pick you up?

Em: (shrugging) Ok. Just call from the gate.

Lucky: I was thinking I'd actually make an appearance. Maybe show a united front?

Em: I don't know...

Lucky: Look. AJ has a problem with me, then he should be dealing with me. Or at least know that I'm not letting you hang on this one alone.

Em: I don't know if that's going to change anything.

Lucky: Can't hurt. (Emily looks unconvinced) I'll be good. I promise.

Em: I know. I trust you. I just don't trust AJ. (She stands up.) I'll see tonight then?

Lucky: Absolutely.