Chapter 1: Try to Act Normal

Synopsis: The Drakes are invited to Sully's Halloween party, where each guest is required to wear a costume. Much to Cassie's dismay, Nathan and Elena decide to dress and act like each other – without breaking character no matter what.

Note: I wrote this story a while ago, along with many others, but due to personal/work related reasons I have removed my previous account. However, recently I have been persuaded by a friend to start releasing my works once again - under an alias. This way, I can write creatively - yet discreetly - without concern for interference from my daily life. If the following stories are received positively, I will begin to gradually release what I have created in the past - as well as continue to publish new ones. Thank you very much, and I hope you enjoy.

Kind Regards,

ShadowScholar

Cassie couldn't help but ask the same question she's been asking herself for most of her life; why me? Why does this always happen to me?

She gaped at her intoxicated parents currently schlumped on the living room couch. They were giggling and struggling to hold themselves up, clearly unaware of Cassie's irritation - which only contributed to the short fuse she was struggling to prevent from igniting even more.

I swear, I wonder who really the parent in this family is! Cassie thought to herself as she recounted the disastrous events from the past few hours. To be fair, what did she expect? They were her parents. All she wanted was for them to act like normal, sane people for one night. Just one night! They knew how important this party was to her, yet once again they somehow found the worst possible way to fuck it up!

It's not like attending a Halloween party is that difficult. All they had to do was dress up in typical, normal costumes so they could blend in with the rest of the adults. It's that simple. But what do they do? Quite literally, the exact opposite.

Nathan interrupted her train of thought by letting out a long and loud belch. "Did you - hic - see that!" He slurred with his arms outstretched.

Elena looked at her husband with a slightly disgusted yet proud expression on her face and tried to clap her hands.

Cassie glared at him and took a step back to avoid the carbon dioxide cloud of spiked punch heading her way. "Yes, I saw it. I saw everything that you did tonight. Everyone saw everything that you two did!"

"Who did wha- " Nathan said.

"Whoa wait- " Elena started while trying to sit up.

"Honestly you two, what the hell were you thinking?!"

"Cassie- "

"Well he- "

"NO! I'm talking now! You," Cassie pointed at her father accusingly. "lost that privilege the moment you forcefully pushed uncle Sam into the refrigerator!"

Nathan failed to hold in his growing laughter as he looked up at his pacing daughter. He then looked at a very disheveled yet beaming Elena sitting beside him and tried to clear his throat.

"Cass' I told- hic - I already told you," he started as he attempted to elegantly brush strands of his blonde wig behind his ears. "I was trying to help my be-beautiful husband."

Elena burst into giggles and leaned on his shoulder as they both succumbed to wheezing with laughter.

Cassie growled and stomped her foot, clearly not amused at all. "Would you both stop that already! And take that shitty thing off your head!"

"Lan-langua- burp - " Elena said as Cassie ripped the messy wig off her father's head and threw it across the living room.

"And you!" she whirled around to glare at her mother. "You lost your privilege when you threatened half the people in the room, tackled uncle Sam, and bashed the piñata on Sully's head! Who does that?!"

Elena closed her mouth immediately. She tried to wrack her brain to justify her actions but could not think of one legitimate reason that wouldn't set off her very angry daughter even more.

Nathan didn't seem fazed at all by Cassie's accusations and turned his attention to Elena.

"What, what did'ya say? Langua? Languaaa?" His face scrunched in amusement as he fell back against the couch clutching his sides. "Langua!"

"Ohh don't you - burp - turn this on me! You-you know what I meant to say!" Elena giggled and hit her husband repeatedly.

"I didn't know you were French! Languuaa!"

Elena laughed and continued to playfully smack him. "It's not French! How- how is that French!"

"It sounds French 'cause you're French!" Nathan chuckled while trying to block her oncoming fists.

"Ohh quiet your face!"

"Would you like some langua with your tea, madame?"

"That's Br- hic - British you idiot!"

"They drink tea in British! I mean French! I mean France!"

"Nooo they drink wine!"

"Ohh so you're saying they only drink wine? That's racist!"

"That doesn't even- hic - make any sense!"

"How dare you discriminate against tea Miss Langua! You racist French tea hater!"

"Miss Langua loves tea and thinks you are avoiding the point! Mr... Mr. ah, Mr... Mr. I Don't Know What A Bandicoot Is!"

"IT'S A FOX!"

"NOOO IT'S A BANDICOOT!"

"IT'S A FOX STEALING FRUIT FOR NO REASON!"

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO COLLECT THE FRUIT TO- "

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Cassie screamed.

Nathan and Elena stopped their altercation on the couch and looked up at a fuming Cassie.

"I've had ENOUGH of this bullshit!"

"Langua!" They said to her simultaneously.

"THAT'S IT!" She roared. "You're both completely wasted and out of your minds! Go to your room right now! You're GROUNDED!"

"What? You can't- " Elena countered.

"Aw c'mon Cass- " Nathan whined.

"SHUT UP! Shut up right now and do what I say, or I swear to god I will break it!"

Nathan and Elena froze. Even in their inebriated state, they knew their daughter would follow through with her threats.

"You don't mean..."

"You wouldn't."

"Did I stutter?" Cassie crossed her arms and slowly walked toward them. "I will destroy Crash Bandicoot and the PlayStation, so you will never see your high scores again."

A moment of silence passed where Nathan and Elena could only gape at her in shock. For the first time in hours they looked at Cassie with sobering eyes and contemplated their next move. They were at fault, it was true, but is Cassie willing to sacrifice one of their most prized possessions to pay for their crimes? She wouldn't, there's no way. Nathan narrowed his eyes and Elena straightened her posture, raising an eyebrow at her. Cassie took their silent challenge head on and furrowed her brow even more, as if to say try me, bitch.

Nathan and Elena slowly looked at each other, realizing she was dead serious. Without another thought, they quickly bolted from the couch and rushed to their bedroom, slamming the door behind them.

Cassie sighed and plopped down onto the couch, rubbing her temples. She heard a small whine from across the room and spotted Vicky, who until that moment decided to take refuge under the dining table.

"Heard all that, didn't you?" Cassie said as Vicky padded over to her spot on the couch, resting her head on Cassie's knees.

"Well, after everything that's happened, its not like it could get any worse." She deduced as she softly stroked Vicky's ears.

Oh, she really has no idea.

Seven hours earlier…

Elena rummaged through the contents of the third trunk full of clothing in the attic. She sighed, frustrated that she couldn't find anything remotely usable for her and Nate to wear; she could practically hear Sam teasing them already.

She paused and looked at her wrist watch – it was almost five o'clock. Sully's Halloween party starts in just a couple short hours, and she had completely forgotten to get costumes for Nate and herself. Cassie had naturally planned ahead and ordered her costume online weeks in advance.

Elena grinned. Even though Cassie would never admit it out loud, Elena knew she was dying to get closer to Charlie's son, James. No wonder she was so diligent about what she would wear at the party. They had grown exceedingly close after Charlie moved back from England with James not too long ago. Must be hard connecting with people after your parents' divorce. He is a very nice boy. Elena thought to herself. And relatively handsome for sixteen. She understood why Cassie would take a liking to him – unlike her husband, who was oblivious when it came to his daughter's romantic exploits. She silently laughed to herself at the thought of Nathan taking notice at all; he would scare the poor boy away at the mere thought of them holding hands.

Elena shook her head and attempted to focus on the current matter at hand. She was out of ideas and needed to find something fast – otherwise risk driving into town to buy cheap costumes that would result in the same 'Sam and Sully' teasing if they wore no costumes at all. By this point they might as well dress in their normal clothes and go as themselves…

Elena froze. A large smile grew on her face. Dress as themselves? Now that would be interesting… She mentally patted herself on the back and hurried out of the attic to find Nate downstairs.

"Nate! Nate!" she called out.

After a moment or two, she heard, "Yeah?"

Elena hurried downstairs and found Nathan in their bedroom; he was reattaching Vicky's dog collar that most likely fell off her for the fifth time.

"Hey, did you find anything good up in the attic?" he asked as she appeared in the doorway.

"Not really, but I did find something better. An idea." She beamed.

Nathan finished locking the collar on Vicky then finally released her, looking up at Elena with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so what is this amazing idea of yours?" He asked sarcastically.

Elena walked over to her dresser and grabbed her favorite purple tank top, then reached inside Nathan's drawer to grab a pair of khakis. She chucked the them at him.

"This. We dress as ourselves." Elena grinned up at him.

Nathan looked at the items in his hands like they were covered in mud. "You want me to dress up like you?" he replied, naturally confused.

"Yes! Think about it, you could dress up like me – and I would dress up like you. Isn't that brilliant?"

"Ah, no, not really." He said, tossing the garments on the bed. "Do you want to be the laughing stock at Sully's party? Your clothes are way too small for me- "

"That's the point," She interrupted. "Imagine how much of a laugh it would be, not to mention it would be much more creative than anything Sam or Sully would wear." Elena said pointedly. "I know Cassie has a couple of wigs in her toy chest, you could wear the blonde one and I- "

"And wear your makeup, too? Why not put that black stuff on my eyes and lipstick all over me while you're at it?" Nathan laughed and sat down on the bed.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him. "What's the matter? Are you afraid to wear makeup? Too chicken?"

He sat up straighter and met her eyes. "I didn't say that."

"Bwok, bwok, bwok," Elena teased him.

"Hey now- "

"Bwok, bwok,"

"That's my thing- "

"Bwok- "

"Alright! Fine, we'll go as each other." Nathan threw his hands up. "As long as I don't have to wear your bra."

Elena laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "You would stretch it out anyway."

"Are you calling me fat?" he playfully countered.

She smiled and shook her head, gathering different articles of clothing from their dresser. Nathan watched her for a moment – until a sudden thought crossed his mind. A large smile formed over his face.

"Hey, hon?"

"Hmm?"

"Wanna make things a little more interesting?" he asked.

Elena folded her jeans and looked over at him; the tone of his voice and the Cheshire Cat-worthy smile on his face confirmed her suspicions – he wanted to challenge her.

"Hmm, what do you mean by interesting?" she innocently replied.

"Well," He stood up and walked over to the dresser, loitering against it. "Since it was your amazing idea to dress as each other… why don't we incorporate a little idea of my own?"

"An idea of your own?"

"Yeah, to keep the playing field fair. Considering I have to wear makeup in front of everyone."

Elena chuckled and tossed the jeans to the other side of the bed, crossing her arms. "Alright, then. Since you heard me out, I'll listen to your little 'idea'."

Nathan's smile grew. "How 'bout in addition to dressing as ourselves, we also have to act like ourselves."

Elena furrowed her brow. "I thought that was self-explanatory when we- "

"Oh, no. No. You're thinking child's play. What I'm thinking is that the moment we put on each other's clothes, we become one with them."

Elena looked at Nathan like he grew two heads. "Become one with them?"

"Yeah. The clothes."

"The clothes…"

"Become one with the clothes."

"Oh, I heard you…"

"Do you see what I'm trying to say?"

"Not really…" Elena chuckled and shook her head.

Nathan sighed and walked over to her. "Okay… we become one with the clothes, as in we become that other person. We literally act like each other the entire time, without breaking character. No matter what."

Elena raised her brow in understanding. Oh, that would make the evening more interesting. She glanced up at his daring expression and knew she couldn't turn an opportunity like this down.

"Is that a challenge, Nathan Drake? To see who caves first?" she matched his cheeky smile.

"You said it, not me. Besides, you and I both know who would cave first."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really." He countered, knowing he had her.

Elena looked him up and down, then reached for her makeup bag. "C'mon then, let's get you nice and ready for the party – Elena." She said evilly.

"Oh, how kind of you to help me – Nate." He replied in a sarcastically high voice.

Game on.

A couple hours later…

Cassie could not believe the situation she was in. Here she was, at the party she had been looking forward to for weeks. Weeks. She had spent hours looking for the right costume; she didn't want James to get the wrong idea, yet she still wanted him to somewhat notice her… so she chose to dress as a treasure hunter from an old school video game called Tomb Raider. She was quite proud at making herself look badass yet desirable – the pictures she found made the character's breasts look way too big…

And here she was – decked out in cool treasure hunter gear, accompanied by two crossdressing buffoons.

Dear god… I have never been more ashamed to be related to those two… She mentally groaned as she looked what her sad excuse of a mother and father were wearing. Her dad had apparently squeezed himself into one of her mom's tank tops and had cut up a pair of his khakis to turn them into capris – her mom was wearing a long sleeve dark shirt that looked slightly too big for her, along with her dad's gun shoulder-holster. To make matters worse, they were wearing wigs and their faces were covered in makeup; her dad looked frighteningly feminine and her mom had drawn fake stubble around her mouth to form a beard.

"Are you having a good time, hon?" Nate said to her in a cringe-worthy high voice.

For a moment, Cassie just looked at him like he had asked her if she wanted to have a pole shoved up her ass.

"Um…" She honestly didn't know how to respond. Was he wearing her blonde wig from her room?

"Oh, leave her alone, Elena. She can have fun without you asking her every five minutes." Her mother said in an unnaturally deep voice.

Fucking kill me now.

Cassie wasn't the only one completely thrown off-guard by her parent's choice of attire; pretty much the entire house was staring at them. Especially Sully, who looked like he instantly regretted inviting them – whereas Sam couldn't help but burst into laughter every time he caught the sight of Nathan.

"I gotta hand it to them, they've got guts to go out in public like that." Sam laughed while pouring himself another glass of punch.

Sully groaned and took a long swig of his Scotch. "You don't know the half of it."

Sam gestured to his costume. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

"A gangster. That's what. What about you? Let me guess, a prisoner?" Sully smiled and shook his head.

"Damn right I am. I even know how to act the part; and I don't need a wig or makeup to do it." He laughed, pointing at his younger brother.

Cassie maneuvered herself away from her parents and over to the punch bowl.

"Someone doesn't look very ready to raid some tombs." Sam regarded her with a smile as she reached for the large ladle in the bowl.

Cassie sighed. "You don't know the half of it." She said as she began pouring herself a large glass of punch.

"Whoa, there." Sam stopped her and grabbed the glass. "You might wanna stay clear from this stuff. It's my special mixture, if you know what I mean." He winked at her.

"He's right." Sully said, taking the large cigar out of his mouth. "Too many of those will have ya wondering who the hell turned off the gravity."

Cassie simply looked up at them with raised eyebrows, then held out her hand. "Trust me, I need it."

Sam and Sully glanced at each other, then across the room at Nathan and Elena.

"Alright, but just half a glass. I don't want your folks coming after me later." Sam conceded, handing her the glass back.

"It's not me you need to worry about," Cassie pointed out as she took a large swig of the potent beverage.

"Hi, Cassie." A familiar voice said behind her.

Cassie instinctively spit out the contents in her mouth and began coughing. Sam took the glass from her and patted her back sympathetically.

"J-James! Hey, so- cough – sorry about that- " she squeaked.

"Are you alright?" James said. Her eyes began to water as she struggled to respond.

"Oh, she'll be fine." Sam answered for her. "Here, why don't you take these- " He grabbed some packets from his back pocket and dropped them into James' chest pouch, "and take Cassie into another room where you two could have some quiet time away from the adults?"

Sam looked at Cassie pointedly and silently gestured towards her parents. She coughed and gave a slight nod in appreciation – until James pulled out a couple of the packets in his front pocket.

They were condoms.

"Sam!" Cassie practically shrieked. She smacked them out of James' hand and pushed him in the other direction. Could this night get any worse? She screamed in her head.

Sully watched as the two teenagers fled and raised an eyebrow at Sam, giving him an amused yet disapproving look.

"What?" Sam said innocently. "That's what I was doing when I was their age."

Sully refrained from smacking his hand against his forehead and took another long swig from his Scotch.

Meanwhile…

Nathan was feeling great. This was probably the best party he's ever been to. Everyone couldn't stop staring at his amazing outfit, they even kept calling him Elena. He wasn't sure if it was his perfect impression of Elena or the sixth glass of punch he just consumed, but he was feeling fantastic about how the evening was going.

"Hey, little brother." Sam beamed as he approached Nathan from behind. "How does it feel to wear your wife's skimpy tank top?" He laughed and lit a cigarette.

Nathan whipped around, causing the blonde strands of his wig to fly about messily. "Excuse me? I think you're looking for my husband, he's over there."

He jutted his right hip out in a feminine pose and pointed over Sam's shoulder. Sam looked over to see Elena chatting to Chloe and Charlie; she was flexing her bicep, seemingly encouraging them to feel her 'muscles.'

"Yeah, okay then." Sam replied. "Why don't you, ah, tell me what it was like to put on all that makeup? Looks great on ya." He winked and grinned evilly at him.

"Are you – hic – hitting on me? Your brother's wife?" Nathan snapped his fingers. Even though he tried to hide it, he was struggling

Sam raised his eyebrows at him. Oh, shit. He's had one too many of my special punch.

Cassie shut the door to the study behind her, blocking out most of the party guests. James turned around and gave her a light smile. He gestured towards the loveseat.

Cassie groaned and sat down, burying her head in her hands.

James slowly made his way over to her. "Hey," he said softly. "Are you alright?"

"No." she whined. "I'm not. My parents just managed to ruin the one evening I was looking forward to in every possible way. Not to mention my uncle, now. God, this is so humiliating." She rubbed her eyes, too embarrassed to look at him anymore.

James sat beside her, "It's not all bad. I reckon they just wanted to have a good time. It's pretty funny if you look at it." He laughed, nudging her with his shoulder.

Cassie removed her hands from her face and looked at him. If she really thought about it – well, knowing her parents, it was kind of funny. Stupid, but funny.

"They're still crazy. Or how do you say it in Britain?" Cassie smiled.

"Mental." James laughed.

"Yeah, they're still mental. But, I guess you're right. They wanted to have a good time, so they made the best of it. Even if it's humiliating for me." She blushed, nudging him back with her arm.

"Yeah," he smiled. "They may be mental, but they're yours."

Cassie met his eyes and felt her blush grow, her irritation with the events that had transpired throughout the evening began to simmer.

"You look lovely, by the way." James gestured to her outfit. "Are you Laura Croft?"

Cassie beamed. "Yeah, I know it's kind of an old game, but my parents and I like to play that kind of stuff every now and then."

James nodded and scooted closer to her, "You definitely look better than what I am wearing. My dad just took us to the nearest shop and we picked up what fit us."

She looked at his generically made pirate costume and laughed. "It's not that bad. At least your dad didn't dress in women's clothing and put mascara on."

They burst into laughter; the mood of the evening suddenly feeling much better than it had earlier. Let's just hope nothing else goes wrong. Cassie thought to herself.

"I'm just sayin' – hic – keep your eyes to yourself. I saw you checkin' me out over there… I am in love with your bro- burp – brother, not you!"

"What?"

"That's right." Nathan slurred, poking him in the chest.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" Sam angrily retorted.

"How dare you refer to me as a man! That's – hic – that's completely ungentlemanlike of you! Don't make me tell my husband!" Nathan squeaked.

Sam looked at Nathan incredulously. "Okay, look, the little act you and Elena put on was funny at first, but now you're just acting like a dick. So, knock it off!" He practically shouted.

"You heathen!" Nathan shrieked.

SLAP.

Sam recoiled in shock as Nathan's hand made contact with his face. He slapped him. He actually slapped him across the face. Completely furious, Sam raised his fist and punched Nathan in the jaw – knocking him off balance and onto the floor.

"This has gone too far!" Sam roared. "You can't just- "

His words were cut short by a sudden battle-cry-like voice from across the room, screaming and heading his way.

"THAT'S MY FUCKING WIFE!" An irate Elena bellowed while charging at Sam like a bull.

Sam didn't even have time to process what the hell was going on before Elena tackled him with immense force – nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Elena, what the fuck-!" Sam cried and tried to keep his balance. Elena clung to his back like a viper and rained her fists on him over and over again.

"Yeah get him! Get him, honey! HE ASSAULTED YOUR WIFE!" Nathan chanted in a ridiculous high voice. He rubbed the side of his jaw and attempted to stand on his feet – only to drunkenly fall to the floor again.

"How do you like it now, Rafe? You like that?! You like beating up on wo- burp – women?!" Elena shrieked in his ear.

"Rafe?! Elena, stop! I'm not Rafe!" Sam cried, desperately trying to avoid her oncoming fists.

"SHUT UP, RAFE!" She screamed.

"Yeah, fu-fuck you, Rafe!" Nathan slurred on the floor.

"WHAT THE FUCK-!" Sam couldn't take it anymore, they had completely lost their minds. He flailed his arms about, trying to get the psychotic women off his back.

Sully and Charlie pushed through the growing crowd of people surrounding the chaos; the moment Charlie took in the scene, he burst out laughing – grabbing onto his knees to keep from falling over. Sully, on the other hand, would have none of it.

"What in the hell are ya doin'?!" Sully bellowed at Elena. Nathan was face down on the floor, barely moving, whereas Elena was practically assaulting Sam. The poor guy could barely get the small woman off him without physically hurting her.

"Stay out of this, grandpa!" Elena retorted as Sully rushed to pull her off Sam's back.

"Elena get off him! Are ya out of your goddamn mind?!"

"How dare you!" a loud, cringe-worthy high voice shrieked from behind him.

SLAP.

"Ow!" Sully let go of Elena and whipped around to find Nathan struggling to stand after he had smacked him across the face.

"That's my beautiful husband you're talking to you- you heathen!" he slurred, briefly wobbling in place before finding his footing.

Sully looked at Nate like he had just lit his own hair on fire. "Kid, I don't know what you- "

CRUNCH.

Out of nowhere, Elena had jumped off Sam, ripped the pumpkin piñata off the ceiling and crashed it onto Sully's head.

"Ahh!" Sully stumbled backwards, blinded by the piñata on his head and crashed through the window – completely shattering it.

"ENOUGH!" Sam roared. He grabbed onto Elena and held her arms down, dragging her away from the broken window.

"HOW DAAARE YOU!" Nathan lunged at Sam, picking him up with impressive strength and charging towards the kitchen.

"NATHA- oomph!"

SLAM. CRASH.

To everyone's horror and amusement, Nathan shoved Sam into the refrigerator – spilling the contents all over him. Sam sputtered as the gallon of milk poured out onto his head and tried to kick his former brother and sister-in-law away from the fridge door.

"You hold him! I'm gonna find Cass' – burp – " He encouraged Elena, who had joined him in closing the fridge door on Sam's struggling form.

Nathan pushed through the crowd of people, nearly tripping over his own feet as he called out for the shorter version of his wife.

"CASS'!" Nathan yelled, bumping into people as he struggled to stay upright. He made his way over to the study and practically kicked the door open. "Where'd you go you- "

Nathan froze in his tracks as he spotted Cassie and boy that looked like Charlie's kid sitting way too close together for his liking.

He gasped. They were holding hands.

"You!" Nathan growled. "A BOY! A boy is touching you!"

"Dad!" Cassie screamed and jumped away from James. "What are you doing?!"

"Me?! What are you doing touching boys young lady!" Nathan shrieked like a banshee. He stumbled into the room and made a grab for Cassie's arm.

"What are you- ow! Dad, stop!" Cassie had enough. It was bad enough she had to endure the ridiculous display her parents put on all night – but she refused to let them embarrass her in front of James.

Without another thought, Cassie twisted out of her father's grip and jumped on top of his back.

"What the- " Nathan sputtered as she wrapped her legs around his waist and put him in a headlock.

"That's enough! Calm down right n- "

"THAT'S MY FUCKING WIFE!" Elena screamed from the doorway – sprinting towards Cassie with a terrifying, crazed look in her eye.

"MOM WHAT-" Cassie couldn't get another word out as her mother tackled her and Nathan to the floor.

"Get your hands off my wife, Nadine! How do you like me now?!" Elena bellowed at a completely bewildered Cassie, weakly wrestling her off Nathan.

"Who the fuck is Nadine?! Mom!" Cassie struggled.

"Yeah get her! Get her, get that heathen!" Nathan squeaked from the sidelines, apparently forgetting her identity. Was he seriously encouraging her mother to beat her up? What the hell is going on!

"DAD! WHAT-"

"SHUT UP, NADINE!" her parents screamed simultaneously.

WACK.

Nathan and Elena suddenly hit the floor as a large boot kicked them both in the heads, rendering them unconscious. Cassie pushed her blacked out mother off her and looked up to see Chloe, accompanied by Charlie and James.

"Are you alright, darling?" Chloe reached for Cassie and helped her to her feet.

"Is that a trick question?" Cassie said sarcastically, glancing down at her parents. "What the hell was in that punch?"

"I don't know and frankly I don't want to know. Those two went completely off their rocker."

"I'd like to know." Charlie chimed in. "That was the best bloody show of my life! I should ask Sam for his recipe- "

"Shut it, dad." James retorted. "They could've hurt Cass'- "

"Oh, pack it in. They were jus' having a bit of fun." Charlie laughed.

"Like hell!" a furious voice chimed in from the doorway. Everyone turned to see an irate Sam, covered in crushed food and spilt milk.

"I'm gonna kill them!" He roared, making a beeline for the unconscious couple.

Chloe and Charlie immediately jumped into action and restrained Sam – who looked ready to spit fire.

"Let it go, Samuel!" Chloe pushed against his chest firmly while Charlie held back his arms. "Their behavior is partially your responsibility! If you hadn't brought that poison- "

"They could've had self-control! I'm not even that insane when I drink too much!"

"It doesn't matter. You can lecture them all you want once everyone has calmed down!"

Sam pushed her away and shoved Charlie off him. "No. They made Sully crash through a fucking window. I want those two idiots out of here. I'll deal with them later." He then turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Charlie whistled. "Your folks better watch themselves. That there was a man lookin' for blood."

Cassie glanced at him, scooting a bit closer to James. "I honestly don't blame him." James gripped her hand and squeezed, giving her a small smile.

"Ergh…" A groan emitted from the floor.

Everyone looked down to see Nathan stir, moaning and clutching hid head. He blinked and took in everyone in the room.

"What're you – hic – heathens lookin' a- "

WACK.

Chloe kicked him again. He fell back to the floor, unmoving.

"Alright," she clapped her hands, "Charlie, why don't you help me carry these two to the car outside? Best we do it quickly before they wake up again."

Charlie chuckled and nodded, reaching for Nathan's legs. They dragged Nathan and Elena out of the room, followed by Cassie and James. The rest of the party guests stared as the two bodies were mercilessly dragged across the floor – Cassie didn't care. She couldn't really process what had happened yet; all she knew was that since her parents decided to play a little role-reversal, it was now her turn to play the parent and lecture them.

"Hey, Chloe?" Cassie asked.

"Yes, darling?" She said as she lifted Elena's snoring form into the backseat of her car.

"Who's Nadine?"

"Oh, don't ask."

END.