DISCLAIMER: The Facts of Life and its characters are the property of Columbia Pictures Television and Sony Pictures Television, no infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Halloween Night
By Linn
The howling wind was not helping Blair at all. And it wasn't helping the poor pillow Blair was holding onto for dear life either. She had been sitting in that same position on the couch the last thirty minutes or so. The girls had always celebrated Halloween together but this year was a little different. Mrs Garrett had used the weekend to go visit her sister. Natalie and Tootie had gone trick-or-treating, even though they both where obviously too old in Blair's mind, and then gone to some sort of slumber party where the plan was to eat a lot of candy and watch tons of horror movies. Jo had gone to a stupid party Blair hadn't been invited to. Of course she would be invited, if she wanted to go. So Blair had spent the evening alone in the living room covered in Halloween-decorations giving out candies to the trick-or-treaters. After all the candy was gone, she had turned off the porch light, and in the true Halloween-spirit, settled down with a book, «The Amityville Horror». The stupidest thing she had ever done.
After sitting still for ten more minutes, it occured to her that she really didn't know enough about the house she was living in. She could be sitting in the same room where someone had been brutally murdered. The thought made her shudder.
She really should get upstairs and into bed, but her body was frozen to the spot.
This was stupid really, getting all worked up because of a story. Blair doubted that there was even the slightest chance that this house was one time the home of a grisly murderer and that the spirit of said murderer was corrupting the current occupants. Even though Jo had been acting strange lately...
Blair chided herself as her imagination ran wild again.
«Come on Blair.» She said to herself in a surprisingly strong voice. «Just get up from this couch, walk upstairs and go to bed.» Yes, and don't you care about the dark corners and scary shadows.
«Shut up!» Blair hissed.
«I'm not afraid.» She said to the room, almost as a warning to whatever that was there. «I'm not afraid.» She repeated before she let go of the poor pillow. She drew a couple of deep breaths in order to calm her heart before she rose.
She was in the midddle of taking a step towards the stairs when a noise made her freeze, the sound of something scraping at the front door. Blair stood still, listening intensely. But the only thing she could hear was her shallow breaths and her pounding heart.
«Just your imagination.» She tried to comfort herself but her voice faltered. «Just your...» She was interrupted by the scraping sound again. If possible, Blair's heart started beating harder.
She watched in horror as whatever that was out there tried the doorknob. She thanked higher powers that she had already locked it. Her blood froze in her vains as she realised that someone out there was trying to get in, in to her.
Her first instinct was to run. Run upstairs and hide under the covers in her bed. She quickly discarded that idea when she heard a moan and a dull thump at the door. She had seen horror movies, those who hide was always found. No, the best defence was an offense she decided as she stepped carefully to the kitchen.
Jo rubbed her forehead after banging it on the front door, why had she been so stupid to leave the house without her keys? Why didn't she take her bike to the party and refrain from drinking? That way she wouldn't have forgotten her stupid keys. The party had been boring and she had ended up only drinking three beers anyway.
She started to chuckle when she imagined how this scenario would play out if she had been drunk. She'd probably be a lot louder, hammering and yelling, demanding that princess would wake up and let her in.
But one of the last things she wanted right now was to face that certain person who had been occupying her mind the last few days, weeks, even months. Jo had learned a long time ago that Blair could be a pain in the ass even if she wasn't present. It was Blair's fault she hadn't been able to enjoy herself at the party.
«Stupid keys, stupid Blair.» Jo muttered as she stepped away from the front door and tried to come up with a solution to her current problem. She suddenly remembered that she had opened one of the kitchen windows this morning when Blair had tried to make toast and failed. Jo ran around the house and saw with delight that no one had closed the window. She tried to get through Mrs G's flowerbed withouth crushing too many flowers, and in her opinion, she did a good job. She grabbed the window sill and hoisted herself up, unaware that just inside, Blair had armed herself with a frying pan.
Blair's mouth was open, but she wasn't able to make a single sound. She just stared in disbelief at the frying pan in her hand, then at Jo's body lying on the floor and then back to the frying pan. She could picture the headlines: 'Blair Warner Kills House-Mate', 'Heiress Convicted Of Murder', 'Blair Warner Sentenced To Death'. All of which featured a picture of her in an unflattering, orange jumpsuit. Before she had the chance to think of who she needed to contact to be able to wear regular clothes in prison, a moan was heard from the form on the floor. Blair dropped the frying pan on the floor and quickly sat down on her knees beside Jo.
«Jo? Can you hear me?» Blair started to stroke Jo's face gently. «Please Jo, please be okay. I'm so sorry. Jo?»
Jo's eyes fluttered before she managed to keep them open and get eye contact with Blair. Her vision was blury, the kitchen light was blinding her and the only thing she could see was Blair leaning over her. Surely she had died and went to heaven.
«I love you.» Jo said with a smile before her eyes closed again. This really scared Blair, apparently Jo had obtained a serious head injury.
«Jo?» Blair felt tears forming in her eyes. «Jo, can you hear me?» Blair took a hold on Jo's hand and her tears started falling freely when she felt no response. «Jo, please, please answer me. Oh god. Jo?»
Jo wasn't quite sure she was in heaven anymore. She had a terrible headache like she never had before. It felt like the seven dwars was using dynamite inside her head to find diamonds. And she also heard someone nagging, calling her name over and over again. Jo, Jo, Jo, Jo.
«What?!» Jo exclaimed annoyed while opening her eyes. She tried to get up but two things stopped her, Blair huddling over her, crying, and a splitting headache which made har groan, fall back and close her eyes again.
«Jo?» Blair looked up, drying a couple of tears with the palm of her hand.
«Yeah?» Jo kept her eyes closed. Blair had never felt so relived and happy in her life. She started to hug Jo and thereby ended up laying partly on top of Jo. Jo opened her eyes to be greeted by a bundle of blonde hair. She felt the weight of the warm body lying on top of her, gentle arms holding her tight and came to the conclusion that this wasn't a bad way to wake up at all.
«Blair, what are ya doin'?»
Blair mumbled something into Jo's neck and the feeling of Blair's lips moving and her hot breath was almost too much for Jo. Suddenly she forgot all about her thundering headache and the fact that they were lying on the kitchen floor. All she could focus on was Blair. Realising that she was on dangerous grounds, Jo decided to pull herself together.
«Huh?»
«I said...» Blair looked up and stared into green eyes. Suddenly her body became aware of how close they were and how good it felt. She tried to continue her sentence, but her brain had forgotten all about it and was now focused on Jo's lips. All Blair could think about was that she wanted, no, craved to lean in and kiss her.
«I... uh...» She stuttered. Finally her brain kicked in. «I'm so sorry.» She got up and extended her hand to Jo. «Let me help you up.» Jo took the hand and pulled herself up. Once she was in a vertical position, she got very dizzy. She almost fell over before Blair grabbed her around the waist and steadied her.
«Thanks.» Jo mumbled while she tried to find a spot on the wall that stood still so she could focus on it.
«No problem.» Blair tightened her grip. «Let's get you to the couch so you can lay down.» Just as she crossed the threshold between the kitchen and the living room, realization dawned upon Jo. She stopped dead in her tracks pulling Blair to a halt too.
«Ya hit me.» Blair had the decency to look at the floor. «Ya hit me.» Jo couldn't believe the absurdity of the situation. «With a frying pan!» Blair muttered something Jo couldn't make out. Jo started walking again. «Jeez Blair, I know we don't always get along, but this!» She gestured to her head. They had made it to the couch and Jo sat down with a grunt.
«Well I didn't mean it.» Blair sat down beside her.
«Ya didn't mean to hit me with a frying pan, it just happened?» Blair nodded. «Well now I feel so much better.» Jo said sarcastic. «Blair.» Jo covered her face with her hand. «How am I...» She groaned. «God, this hurts.»
Blair was on her feet in an instant. «Just relax, breath slowly and I will get you some painkillers.» Jo didn't have time to answer before Blair was in the kitchen fetching a glass of water. After Jo had swallowed the painkillers and placed an ice pack on her head, to stop the swelling, she sat and stared at Blair in disbelief.
«Are ya gonna tell me why ya hit me in the head with a freakin' frying pan?»
The look on Blair's face made Jo add, in a more gentle voice. «Even though ya didn't mean it.» Blair looked down on her hands laying in her lap.
«I thought you were a murderer.»
«A murderer?» Blair nodded.
«In Peekskill?»
Blair nodded again.
«After ya?»
Blair nodded a third time.
«And why the hell did ya think that?»
Blair started explaining how her Halloween had been, the trick-or-treaters, the dreaded book and those noises at the front door.. When she was finished, Jo had trouble breathing, she was laughing to hard.
«Hey!» Blair playfully swatted Jo's shoulder. «It isn't funny.»
Jo held her hands up in a surrender. «Easy there tiger, don't ya think you've hit me enough for one night?»
With that comment, Blair went pale. «I'm so sorry.» She said weakly, not meeting Jo's eyes.
Jo puller Blair closer by putting her arm around Blair's shoulders. «Hey, it's okay. I'm fine. Just dandy.» Jo smiled at Blair. «Just a bump on the head, nothing I won't survive.» She let her ice pack fall down in her lap as she used that hand to tilt Blair's face up. «I forgive ya.»
«You do?» Blair's face brightened. Jo admitted to herself that she could never be mad at Blair for a long period of time.
«Yeah, but don't ya ever do it again.» They both started to chuckle.
Silence filled the room and Jo picked up her ice pack and placed in on her head again, and both girls leaned back on the couch and propped their feet on the table in front of them.
Jo smiled when she thought about what Mrs G would say if she saw them like this, feet on the table and everything. Her thoughts was interrupted by Blair.
«Why did you climb in the window anyway?»
«Forgot my keys.»
«Why didn't you use the doorbell?»
«Would you've dared to answer?» Jo said with a smile, and Blair couldn't help smiling back. «And I thought ya were sleeping.»
«And you're home early.»
«Jeez!» Jo threw her arms up in the air. «What 's up with the interrogation?»
«I was only wondering.» Blair looked down.
Oh no, Jo thought. Not the pout, everything but the pout. «It wasn't that much fun.»
«Oh?» Blair looked at Jo surprised. She had expected something had happened, like a fight or something else Jo-like. «But you always talk about how great those parties are.»
«It wasn't so great this time.»
«Why?»
«I...» Looking into Blair's brown eyes Jo realised she was going to tell the thruth, not because she wanted to, but because it was getting harder and harder lying to Blair's face. She sighed and leaned her head back. «Becauseyaweren'tthere.»
All Blair could hear was a low mumble. «What?»
Jo looked away. «Becauseyaweren'tthere.»
«What?»
«I said, because ya weren't there!» Silence filled the living room after Jo's outburst.
«You're melting.» Blair stated.
«I'm what?»
«Your ice pack, it's melting.» Blair scooted closer and place her hand on top of Jo's to adjust the ice pack so it wouldn't dribble. Green eyes met brown, Blair licked her lips and started leaning closer to Jo. Jo's heart started beating so fast it felt like it hummed. And then everything went black.
«You're hurting my hand, Blair.»
«Sorry.» Blair released her grip, but she didn't let go of Jo's hand.
«Seems like a blackout.» Jo turned her head to look out of the window. She couldn't see a single light in the neighborhood. «I think the whole street went out. Are ya okay?» She faced Blair again.
Blair didn't answer. Not in words anyway. She did the only thing she could do, the one thing she had been thinking of doing a long time now. The thing she had nearly done two times already. She leaned in and kissed Jo.
Happy Halloween, Blair. She thought to herself as Jo deepened the kiss and circled her arms around Blair's waist.
The End