\\You kidnapped me to protect me?// - Private

Dustin didn't know whether his mom would bring up the subject, but he just wanted to see his girl. Craig and Howard were at the grill, arguing about what sauce to use for the steak. "Charisma!" Dustin called out, waving and smiling. His mother seemed anything but friendly once Craig looked over. "Oh great, her boy's here..." he mumbled, getting a chuckle from Howard.

http://images.newfaces.com/userimages/big/chelsealynnn-chelsealynnn-bf33.jpg Charisma.


Charisma smiled and ran to Dustin, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Hey!" She smiled, kissing him softly, not caring if her dad saw her. "Did you have trouble finding us?" She asked, keeping her arms around his neck.

Dustin smiled, kissing back. "Nah, especially with your dad and uncle arguing at the grill. Craig caught the little love scene, growling. "Um...you're going to burn the burgers, bro." Howard mentioned, flipping over one of the patties. "Eh, so, this is my mom, Mom, this is Charisma." he said, introducing the two.

Charisma smiled at him mom, shaking her hand polity. She took Dustin's hand, leading them over to her dad and uncle. "Daddy, this is Dustin. Dustin, this is my dad and my Uncle Howard." she said with a smile. She looked more like Liberty everyday and she was even starting to sound like her too.

Craig twitched but smiled, Howard only grinned. "Hey, nice to meet you." Howard said, shaking Dustin's hand. Craig however, looked the boy over. "Same, hope you like burgers." he said, flipping some other patties over.

((Are you playing his mom right now or should I? The way I'm thinking this might go down, it'd be a lot of me... talking to myself.and I am medicated right now. Idk if I'd be able to do it. But, if you don't want to, then I'll figure out a way to do it. ^^))

Charisma sighed, holding onto Dustin's still. "We have chips and patato salad. We've got lots of drinks and I think we have some music..." She said.

((I will ^^. Just need to figure out how to be...mean XD. I have no mean bone in my body.))

Helen looked at Craig, wondering how the years could've worn down his face. After all, with the horrible death of his wife, she wouldn't blame him. "Hello, Craig, Howard. How's the bakery? Still running?" she asked, smiling. What she really wanted was the shop itself, he could keep the apartment upstairs. "Uh, yeah, somewhat. Why?" Craig asked, now on the defensive. Dustin only sighed, shaking his head but holding onto Charisma by the waist. "I'm sorry for my mom's questions....She's kinda rude I guess." he mumbled to her ear.

((I don't mean for her to be mean... I mean sort of forward maybe. Like, she doesn't want the shop unless you think it'll be better that way. I mean saying stuff like, 'Liberty was a great baker, to bad she died. It's really a loss to the world' and stuff like that, like, maybe she doesn't know when to shut up and maybe she can get Charisma to cry and her son could yell at her or something... that's how I thought of it. If you think she'd be better as a head strong lady, wanting the shop then go for it! ))


Charisma looked at her dad and uncle then back at her boy friend. "Does she really want the shop?" She asked softly. She'd been working in it since she got back and she was a better baker than her dad was so it was doing better than before. Not as good as when it was Liberty's but, still, not bad.

((Ah no, I gotcha. I'm just a bit woozy from the heat outside. Sheesh! The heat makes me wanna...agh, scream! ><)

Dustin shrugged. "She just talks and talks, doesn't know when to stop." he mumbled, knowing fully well how sensitive Liberty was for both Craig and Charisma. "Oh it's nothing. It's just so sad how she was so sick for so many years before up and going. I don't know how she was able to even live so long with such a sickness." Helen kept going, not even seeing that it was starting to pull at Craig's heart strings and the memories kept popping up with each mention of his wife.

((Yeah, I understand about heat. It's like, 103 by 3:00 here))


Charisma held onto Dustin tightly at the mention of her mom being sick. He was right, she didn't shut up and didn't realize how much it was hurting her and her dad. Sighing, she bit her lip, trying not to cry at the memories of her mom, sleeping in bed or her screams at her musccle spasams. Or, her last scream before she died.

((Sheesh, tell me about it. It's only 90 something and it's still driving me nuts despite air conditioning))

Howard then stepped in. "Well, no need to talk about old memories. It's time for new ones, so why not sit at the table and we'll bring out the food...?" "Helen, my name is Helen." she introduced herself to Howard, Craig only took a deep breath, sighing. "It's ok..." Dustin cooed, kissing her cheek and rubbing her back. "Wanna go for a short walk while they put stuff on the table?" he asked softly.

((Yeah... We've got a good swamp cooler, so, it cools off the house nicely, but. Still, it's really hot. I like winter better than anything. I love snow and I love cuddling under a blanket ^^))

Risma shook her head. "No..." she moved away from Dustin and kissed his lips lightly. "I'll be right back." she said, going to her dad and hugging him tightly around the waist. Like her mom, she was short. She didn't need to say anything to know that Helen's words hit her as hard as they hit her dad. With her head burried in his chest, she let a few tears leak from her eyes.

((Ah, who doesn't? ^.^ I love the cold ><))

Dustin sighed, staring at the two. He went over to Helen, tapping her shoulder. "Mom, be easy on the questions. That was Charisma's mom you're talking about, it's still a fresh wound.." he warned, sighing again. His mother was way too forward. Helen only rolled her eyes. "It's been how long? Almost what, six or more years?" she mumbled to herself as she watched the two. "Don't cry now, sweetie, mom wouldn't want that." Craig said quietly while Howard starting putting down the food on the table.

((I like being cold. Cause with cold, you can always warm up with a couple of blankets. But, when it's hot... there's no way to cool down.))


Risma sighed, pulling away and wiping her tears. She decided to move onto a happier subject and looked over at Dustin, a smile on her face. "Do you like him?" she asked. "I really do."

((Eh, cold showers always help me =D))

Craig shrugged, not sure whether he liked or disliked the boy. "Not sure, I haven't really seen him up close with you, you know?" he asked, chuckling weakly. "Just..be careful. Don't get pregnant." he said, blushing a bit.

((YEah... they work until you dry off...))


She smiled. "don't worry Daddy. I haven't let him get to second base yet and we've been together for about 5 months."

((T.T Still...bah))

Craig twitched and sighed. "Was that supposed to make me feel better or more paranoid?" he asked, smiling. "Well, come on you two, it's served." Howard said, waving to them as he sat beside Dustin with Helen on his other side.

((Yeah. I know... I like winter.))


Risma smiled, going to sit on the other side of Dustin. She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek and then reached for a hamburger.

Dustin smiled, grabbing a hamburger as well. The others served themselves chips, burgers, even sodas. It was a good spread. "How was it that Liberty died, exactly, Charisma? That's if you don't mind answering..." Helen asked, a small and bitter smile on her face. Dustin nudged his mother on the foot with his own, warning her to keep it down.

Risma looked at Craig then looked at Helen. "Uhm... She got a viras. Something the doctors know nothing about. She'd sleep a lot, the first 5 years of my life she slept. Then, the last year or so, she'd have painful muscle spasams that would make her scream in pain..." she swallowed hard, taking Dustin's hand under the table. "Doctors didn't know what to do, didn't know how to treat her. They think it may be hereditary and I'm terrified I have it too." she said softly, a small tear running down her face.

Helen frowned a bit. The poor girl was still so damaged by her mother's death. "Well, you're so hyper now, my dear. I bet you won't have it." she said, chuckling weakly. Dustin held Charisma's hand tightly, grunting. The whole rest of the lunch went by silence, and also accompanied by random glances, awkward ones.

Charisma sighed, standing. "Dustin, lets go for that walk you mentioned before lunch." She said then looked at her dad. "We wont go far and we wont be long." she said to him.

"Uh, yeah. Right. Be back guys." Dustin said, coughing and getting up, grabbing Charisma's hand as they walked off. Once out of earshot, he sighed. "I'm sorry, again. God, my mom can be so damn clueless!" he hissed under his breath.

"It's okay." Charisma said softly. "I've been told that it's good for me to talk about it. It's just still really hard. For a while, I thought that everyone's mom slept as much as mine did." she said then sighed. She found a tree and sat down under it. "I was making a sign for her the night she died. A huge sign that said 'I love you Mommy.'" She smiled. "I never got to finish it."

Dustin sat beside Charisma, drawing his knees against his chest. "Still, not as the gruesome way my mother brings it up." he mumbled, closing his eyes. He listened as she told him about a sign that was never finished. "Well, you can still finish it. I'm sure that even in death, she might appreciate it." he smiled.