Baby- Sitters Club Fanfiction

short takes reminder

2008-07-24T17:45:48Z

Hey guys, I'm posting to advertise the sign-ups for the next round at short_takes, which will be centered on Abby. You can sign up to participate here.

Also, if you head over to the community, you can find the recently posted Stacey round master list, although it's incomplete as of now (some stories are still coming due to a mistake on my part with the deadline).

Hope to see you over there!

(x-posted)

bsc_fiction @ 2008-07-03T23:07:00

2008-07-04T04:08:09Z

Hey guys, I'm posting to advertise the sign-ups for the next round at short_takes, which will be centered on Stacey. You can sign up to participate here.

BTW, I'm sorry if I've been overposting here. I don't mean to spam--it's just been fantastic to get so much participation!

(x-posted)

short_takes announcements!

2008-06-30T16:15:19Z

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that the master list of completed stories from this past round (Kristy themed) at short_takes is up, so head on over and read all the fantastic stories!

Also, voting for the new round is open. Head on over and vote on which girl we'll write about next.

If it's not okay to continue posting these announcements to this community, please let me know and I'll delete this and stop doing so.

(x-posted)

Mod Needed

2008-06-22T19:15:12Z

I'm a horrible mod. I can admit that. This summer is really crazy for me. My husband and I are planning a move to another city (which is two hours away) and this community had really been at the back of my mind.

I love how it has taken off... so i'm wondering if someone is willing to co-mod with me?

Comment and let me know.

bsc_fiction @ 2008-06-14T17:19:00

2008-06-14T22:19:57Z

Hey guys,

I'm back here to advertise the sign-ups for the Kristy round of short_takes. Information is here, and feel free to ask questions if anything is unclear. Sign-ups are open until Monday at midnight.

Thanks, and if posting this is a problem, let me know and I'll take it down.

(x-posted)

Rock N Roll: Life in the Spotlight

2008-06-09T23:14:35Z

Oops! I posted chapter 4, but I didn't post chapter 3! Here it is:

CHAPTER 3: JORDAN'S P.O.V. IN PART I & VANESSA'S P.O.V. IN PART II
Disclaimer: I don't own the Babysitters Club. Ann M. Martin does. If I did, the BSC members wouldn't have stayed the same age for about a decade.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART I: JORDAN'S P.O.V.

"My manager told me that the paparazzi have some really high-powered lenses that can see through the darkest of rooms." I told Charlotte, my girlfriend, as we rode in the back of a black limo on our way to the Manhattan Airport. "That's how they got the picture."
"Really?" she asked, twirling a strand of her hair around one of her fingers, "I was wondering how they got it. So, this basically means we can't go anywhere without reporters and photographers chasing after us, doesn't it?"
"I can't, but my manager said that you can go to court and file charges if they follow you around, since you're considered a private person." I replied. "It'll be pretty hard to go out together, though, because you're considered fair game as long as you're in public with me."
I sighed and reached out to take one of Charlotte's hands. "I'm sorry, Char. This is all my fault. If I had known you would have to go through this, I never would've signed on with the record company." I apologized, trying to prevent myself from getting lost in her dark, brown eyes. "I know how much you hate being in the spotlight," I continued, thinking of the time she was in a beauty pageant when she was eight, and ended up running off the stages in tears.
"Don't blame yourself, you called me as soon as you got the offer to ask if you should do it. I knew that there was a chance that the media could find out about us when I told you to go for it. Besides, the paparazzi don't scare me half as much as the people in Stoneybrook. I don't know any of the photographers, but Stoneybrook isn't that big of a town. It's scarier facing someone you know, because their opinion actually matters to you. Does that sound incredibly stupid and corny?"
"Not really," I replied, thinking of all my friends and family in Stoneybrook (which is quite a bit since my family sometimes seems to make up about fifty percent of the population). "I've performed in front of millions of strangers without so much as a second thought, but I'm really nervous about the concert this Friday. If I screw up, everyone I care about will be there to witness it."
Char gasped mockingly, "Jordan Pike, the leader of Flash City, is nervous?"
I rolled my eyes, pretending to be annoyed, then turned serious again. "Anyway, we'll get through this together, right? Like we already decided, there's no use trying to hide you because they know who you are and where you live now anyway, thanks to Karen Brewer: Stoneybrook's big-mouth. Besides, pretty soon you can go to court and press charges, and they won't be able to bother you as much." Karen Brewer had stepped up and told the press everything she knew about Charlotte the same afternoon the tabloids came out (which ws quite a lot, considering she's Stoneybrook's official Gossip Queen).
"Of course we will." she responded, "I always knew Karen Brewer lived for attention, but I never actually thought that she'd actually mercilessly sell someone out to the paparazzi. What did I ever do to her?" Charlotte asked, talking more to herself than to me. After looking angry for a few moments, she turned to me with a bright smile, and a glint of mischief in her eyes. Uh-oh, I thought. "You know," she began teasingly, "your family would be suprised at how different you act around me."
"If you tell anyone: you're dead, girlfriend or not." I threatened: half joking, half serious.
"Oh, don't worry." she assured me, "I would never dream of telling your family how sweet and mature you actually are. That would ruin your reputation, wouldn't it?"
I opened my mouth to retort just as we parked in front of the entrance to the airport. Suddenly, the teasing mood was gone, and Charlotte looked terrified as we surveyed the masses of photographers, reporters and fans waiting behind barriers that the airport security had set up for my arrival. (They didn't know that Charlotte was coming here with me to catch a flight to Stoneybrook instead of with her parents).
"Are you sure you can do this?" I asked her as we were getting ready to exit the limo. "Nobody's seen you yet. The driver can always drive you back to the hotel and you can fly back with your parents when they leave later on tonight instead."
"No, I need to do this. To prove that I'm not scared of them." she replied, allowing me to help her out of the limo.
The photographers were snapping pictures like crazy, the female fans were proclaiming their love for me (as usual), and telling Charlotte how lucky she is (this was new, but, coming from my crazy fans, it didn't suprise me). The guys were telling me how I awesome I am (again, this is completely normal), but I felt my blood start to boil when some of them began to make catcalls at Charlotte. I resisted the urge to teach them a lesson right there with difficulty, in front of the paparazzi and everyone else. I signed a few autographs and and posed for a few pictures before entering the airport.
As I began walking towards where I was told my private jet would be set up, I thought about how wonderfully Charlotte handled the paparazzi. She appeared completely cool and confident the entire time, even though we both knew she was scared to death. She would be a great actress, I decided.
We climbed aboard the jet while some employees from the airport loaded up all of our luggage (which is a lot since I still have all of the luggage I brought with me when I first went on tour, plus everything I've gotten since then -I even had to have my car taken to Stoneybrook, although it might already be there since I had it sent ahead of me). After we took our seats, I signed an autograph for the starstruck stewardress, and Char and I made small-talk for the rest of the short ride to Stoneybrook (we couldn't talk about anything too private because we weren't sure if we could trust the stewardress or not).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART II: VANESSA'S P.O.V.

"So, which movie do you want to see?" Sean Addison asked me as we pulled into the movie theater parking lot in his used, orange Nissan. Sean is sixteen-years old and has blonde hair and blue eyes. He stopped by one day when Adam was at a baseball game, and asked me out. Thus, I am now on my first ever date!
"Prince Caspian looks good." I replied, remembering how much I loved the NARNIA books when I was younger.
"Yes, but I've also heard Indiana Jones is pretty good." he argued.
"Really? Byron went to see that movie with his girlfriend -Amelia Murphy, do you know her? Anyway, he said it sucked."

"Yeah, Amelia's in my grade, but we're not in any classes together. She's in all the Honor's classes, but her mom is my English teacher." he answered me. "Anyway, why does it matter if the movie's good or not? Do you actually plan on watching it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively at me.
"Well, now that you mention it..." I trailed off, finding no need to finish my sentence.
Needless to say, we bought tickets for Indiana Jones, found seats near the back, and basically made out until about halfway through the movie when someone tattled on us to the manager for too much P.D.A., and we were kicked out of the theater. We just laughed, and decided to continue our session in his car. After about half an hour, I started to hear someone knocking -no, more like pounding on one of the windows. To my utmost horror, I looked up and saw Adam looking at us with a murderous look in his eyes. I was about to tell Sean to hurry up and just drive off, but there was a car parked in front of us, and I noticed Adam's blue Jeep parked behind Sean's car, blocking us.
I groaned, and got out of the car. "Adam, can't you ever just leave me alone?! My dating life is none of your business!"
"Yes, it is! I am your brother, so it is my job to protect you from idiots like him!" Adam yelled back, pointing at Sean.
I whipped my head around to look at Sean, and only then did I notice Byron standing on the other side of Sean's care. He didn't look too pleased, but he didn't even look half as angry as Adam. Adam and Byron must have gotten bored at home, and decided come see a movie, I decided, before focusing a pleading look in Byron's direction.
"Can't you talk some sense into Adam?" I asked, probably sounding desperate.
Byron looked from me to Adam. "Well..." he began, "Sean does have a pretty bad reputation at school, Vanessa. He's after one thing and one thing only, and I think you know what it is."
"Um, hello! I'm right here!" Sean interrupted, throwing open his car door, and storming out sounding as angry as he looked.
"Shut up, loser!" Adam snapped.
"Make me!" Well, nice knowing you, Sean.
Adam pushed his sleeves up, trying to scare Sean with his muscles he got from playing quarterback, no doubt. I felt frozen in place, part of me wanting to stop Adam, and another part of me wondering if what Byron said is true. Just then, a sleek red Ferrari drove into the movie theater parking lot, and we all stood looking at the gorgeous vehicle transfixed. The Ferrari parked close to us, the doors swung open as if by magic, and I watched in shock as my brother Jordan stepped out. Whenever he said he bought a nice car he didn't tell us it was a Ferrari. Probably wanted it to be a suprise. Plus, he's not supposed to be home for about another four hours. Guess he got an earlier flight.
"Great! I made it in time. Mom told me you guys decided to come here and see a movie, so I thought I'd join you." Jordan explained, obviously talking to Adam and Byron. Then, he looked around and noticed Sean and me for the first time. "Vanessa? What are you doing here? Nobody told me you had a boyfriend."
We all seemed to snap out of our trance at once.

"Sean was trying to rape Vanessa!" Adam informed Jordan, going back to looking furious.
"WHAT?!""He was not! We were just kissing, and Adam knows it!" I argued.

Jordan shot a confused look towards Byron, who walked over to him in response. Byron started whispering to Jordan, probably telling him what really happened.
"Yeah! What's so wrong with kissing anyway?" Sean asked Adam.
"You wanna know what's so wrong with kissing? The fact that you were kissing my little sister, that's what!" Adam snarled, lunging at a horror-stricken Sean. Luckily, Byron and Jordan were able to get to Adam and hold him back before Adam reached Sean, although Jordan had a look on his face that suggested he would have rather seen Adam beat up Sean.
"Let go of me!" Adam protested, struggling to break free.
"But Adam, I wanted all of us to be able to hang out while I was here. What can we do if you're grounded?" Jordan asked, pleading with Adam.
"Well, alright," Adam consented, looking at Jordan as if noticing him for the first time.
I could hear Sean's sigh of relief.
"But you!" Adam yelled, turning towards Sean, "You can count your days." Adam added menacingly.
Byron and Jordan led Adam towards the passenger seat of Jordan's car, obviously not trusting him yet. A few moments later, Jordan drove off. Byron walked towards me holding the keys to Adam's Jeep.
"Need a ride, sis?" he called to me. I thanked Byron and got into the Jeep without another word. As we started to drive out of the parking lot, I watched Sean drive off in his car and sighed.
Another potential boyfriend scared off by Adam. So much for my dating life.

"Rock N Roll: Life in the Spotlight"

2008-06-09T10:36:10Z

Here's chapter 4, chapter 5 should be up sometime today or tomorrow. Please comment if you read it!

CHAPTER 4: BYRON'S P.O.V. IN PART I
JEFF'S P.O.V. IN PART II

Disclaimer: I don't own the Babysitters' Club. Ann M. Martin does.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Byron's P.O.V.
Friday, June 13: about 4:00 P.M.

Life in the Pike house was crazy -even more hectic than usual. We were all getting ready to go out to eat an early dinner at the Rosebud before Jordan has to be at Stoneybrook Civic Center for sound check.
"I don't have anything to wear!" Margo complained, with a panicking tone in her voice.
"Just wear what you have on now!" Adam told her, sounding annoyed.
"Vanessa! Have you seen my new skirt?" I heard as I saw a blur of red hair run up the steps.
"Last time I saw it, it was in our bedroom!" she responded from the bathroom.
Honestly! We have about fifteen minutes before we have to leave, and none of my sisters are ready yet. What's so difficult about getting dressed? Do they need an instruction manual?
I was in the living room with all of my brothers, Buddy Barrett, and my dad -waiting for my sisters and my mom to finish getting ready. Our family had enough tickets so that everyone could bring a guest with them. Buddy Barrett (Nicky's guest) had already come over, since he lives down the street, and we were going to pick up everyone else on our way to the restauraunt. Suzi (Buddy's sister) had already come over as well, as Claire's guest, but she was upstairs.

Adam is propped up on the armrest of the couch, alternating between bragging to Nicky and Buddy about having a driver's license (although he failed the driver's test three times), and complaining about our sisters dressing inappropriately (he was still mad about not getting to beat up Sean). Jordan is sitting beside me on the couch, drumming his fingers on top of the guitar in his lap. I know him well enough by now to know that he's mentally running through all of the songs he would be performing tonight. Nicky (he prefers Nick now, but he'll always be Nicky to me) was sitting cross-legged in the floor beside Buddy, obviously trying to ignore Adam and have a conversation with his friend. My dad was seated in the recliner, and occasionally attempting to make small talk with everyone -I was the only one who ever answered, since Jordan seemed to be in a world of his own, Adam was busy either complaining or bragging, and Nicky and Buddy probably couldn't hear my dad over their conversation.
About five minutes later, Mom, Mallory, Vanessa, Margo, Claire, and Suzi all came thundering downstairs.
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Mom asked, grabbing her purse.
Everyone said yes, except for Claire, who ran upstairs to retrieve her purse.
"I'm ready now!" Claire announced as she descended from the staircase.
All of us made our way out the door and began to walk in awe towards the hummer limo. In order for everyone to fit in the limo (there were going to be a total of twenty-one people riding with us!), we had to get a hummer limo (they can hold up to twenty-five people). Luckily, the record company was handling the cost. First we picked up Haley (Vanessa's guest), then we picked up Charlotte, Becca, and Jessi -who were all waiting for us at the Ramseys'. Next, we picked up Natalie Springer, who's a friend of Margo's, then swung by Burnt Hill Road to pick up Jeff Schafer -who's staying in Stoneybrook for half of his summer. Finally, we picked up my girlfriend, Amelia Murphy.
Amelia has straight, blonde hair that comes about two inches below her shoulders, and blue eyes. She's petite (about 5'1"), and just moved to Stoneybrook about eight months ago because her mom got a job teaching English at Stoneybrook High School (her parents are divorced and she hasn't seen her dad in years). She's sixteen (like me) and is on track with me.
"Hey," I greeted her as she slid into the seat next to me. "You like nice."
"Thanks," she replied, smiling at me before looking around the limo. "Wow, this is really fancy."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh! By the way, this is my brother Jordan," I indicated towards Jordan, who was sitting next to me with Charlotte on his other side,"his girlfriend, Charlotte, and my friend Jeff. You've already met all my other siblings, right?"
"Yes, I've met everyone else." she replied, after exchanging greetings and "nice-to-meet-yous" with everyone.
Ten minutes later, it was almost five o'clock, and we had picked up our last guests (my dad's boss and his fifteen-year-old daughter), and we parked at the Rosebud, where we had reservations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff's P.O.V.
Friday, June 13: 6:15 P.M.
Whoa. Vanessa's really gotten hot,
"Anyway," Adam was saying, "I work part-time at Pizza Express so I can pay for my Jeep. Do you have a car?"
"Yeah. My dad bought me a black Mustang for my sixteenth birthday, but it's in Palo City. I'm trying to talk my mom into letting me have it shipped over here."
"You're so lucky, you have a better car than me and your dad pays for it!"
"Yeah, but my dad doesn't have eight kids. I'd probably have to work to pay for my car, too, if I had seven brothers and sisters." I told Adam as I watched Vanessa laugh at something her friend Haley said.
"So, do you have a girlfriend?" I asked Adam, trying to get my mind off of Vanessa.
"No. I just broke up with her two weeks ago. She was too clingy and annoying." he replied.
"What was her name?"
"Lindsey DeWitt. Buddy's stepsister." Adam replied, and Buddy's head snapped in Adam's direction.
"Did you say my name?"
"No, Buddy, you're just hearing things." Adam replied impatiently.
"Anyway, maybe we can find some girls at the concert. Then we can quadruple-date. Byrom and Jordan both have girlfriends, you know." Adam continued.
"Yeah, they both introduced me to their girlfriends in the limo. Plus, I saw Jordan on the cover of the tabloids last week."
"Yeah, Jordan's kinda mad at the paparazzi right now because they've been practically stalking him lately. Actually, I bet they'd be in here taking pictures of him eating if we hadn't rented out the whole restauraunt. We used to be able to trick the paparazzi: Byron, Jordan, and I would all go in seperate directions and confuse them, but now they've figured out how to tell us apart -well, at least they know which one's Jordan, anyway."
"I think it would be kinda cool to be stalked by the paparazzi, though. Imagine how many girls you could get. No one would refuse you!" I wonder if Vanessa would even like me, I thought, then quickly pushed the thought away.
"Yeah, but I guess Jordan got tired of it. Besides, he has Charlotte -it's like he's in love or something, he talks about her like she's an angel! It's kinda sickening, really. He's turning soft when it comes to her -I thought that was just a Byron thing."
Finally, everyone finished eating and we climbed back into the limo to go to the Stoneybrook Civic Center because Jordan has to be there by seven (which is in about ten minutes) for sound check (the concert starts at eight o'clock).

As I slid into a seat in the limo beside Adam, my hand brushed across Vanessa's, and I felt a wave of electrity.
"Sorry," I told Vanessa quietly.
"It's okay," she replied, looking down at her hands in her lap.
All I could think about on the way to the concert was how Vanessa's hand felt against mine. Could I actually like my best friend's little sister?

A/N: This definitely isn't my favorite chapter so far, but I needed it to introduce some more characters. Will you comment anyway?
I thought as I watched her take a bite of her fettuccine. "Mom, have you seen my new top?" Claire asked. I could hear her opening and closing her dresser drawers in her bedroom, searching.

"Rock N Roll: Life in the Spotlight"

2008-06-09T10:16:58Z

Chapter 2: Charlotte's P.O.V.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Babysitters' Club. Ann M. Martin does.

I took my sunglasses off of my face as I approached the hotel and placed them on top of my head. I ran my fingers through my loose, dark brown curls before entering my hotel (The Hilton) to make sure my hair hadn't gotten messed up by being outside. Inside the hotel, I passed by the teenage girl at the candy stand and made my way toward the elevator.
"Level four, please," I told a girl with black hair who looked to be about twelve that was also in the elevator.
"Sure," she replied, punching in the button before looking up at me. Her eyes grew wide before her mouth broke into an even wider smiler. "You're the girl on the magazines." she said it as a statement rather than as a question.
The magazines? What magazines? "No, you must be mistaken. I would know if I was on the cover of any magazines."
"Ding!" The elevator stopped, admitting two teenagers: a boy and a girl (both with blonde hair) who looked to be brother and sister. Upon seeing me, they started to whisper.

The girl with black hair turned back to me, "But you look exactly like the girl that was on all the magazines kissing Jordan Pike."
I could feel the coloring flushing out of my face, my heart felt like it was going to spring out of my chest, and thousands of butterflies suddenly started flying around in my stomach. Plus, Jordan probably didn't even know about the picture yet, it was only ten o'clock in the morning, and he was probably just getting up since he had two three-hour concerts last night: one at nine o'clock and one at midnight (his band was performing a midnight concert to celabrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer). I guess I should call him and let him know what's going after he's had time to take a shower, but how did the paparazzi get that picture anyway? We were backstage in a small, dark room the whole time, and I didn't hear any cameras clicking.
The elevator stopped on level four just as the three teenagers looked like they were about to start interrogating me. I left the elevator and started towards the room that I was staying in with my parents as fast as my legs would carry me.
"Charlotte? Are you okay?" My mom asked as I closed and locked the door behind me.
How am I going to explain this? My mom doesn't even know that Jordan and I are dating."Charlotte?" My dad asked, sounding concerned.

"Well," I began, "what would you say if I told you that I'm dating Jordan Pike and that the paparazzi caught us kissing last night and posted it all over the tabloids?"

"But honey," Mom began, "Dee told me that Jordan' been on tour since September. That's nine months! You would've had to start dating him before he left."
"We've been dating for a little over a year," I told my parents. My mom looked shocked that she hadn't figured this out before, and my dad looked like I had punched him in the face.

"What do you mean you've been dating for a year?! You're only fourteen years old now! I thought we agreed that you aren't allowed to date until after you get married!"
"Dad," I said calmly, "I know you don't like me dating, but I'm growing up now. Anyway, that's why I've kept it a secret for so long. I knew you two wouldn't want me dating."
Mom sighed. "I'm glad that you've finally told us. Anyway, I think we should focus on the bigger issue here. What are we going to do about the paparazzi?"
At this point, my parents started talking amongst themselves. I put my hair in a pony tail, and walked out of the hotel room to go take a look at the magazines. Luckily, no one was in the elevator this time, and the three teenagers I had seen earlier were nowhere to be seen on the ground floor. I saw the magazines on the candy stand I had passed by earlier and bought three of them. I flipped open the first magazine, Seventeen, and read the article:
LEADER OF FLASH CITY CAUGHT KISSING "MYSTERY GIRL!"Flash City, in the middle of what seemed to be a very passionate kiss. There is a five thousand dollar reward for anyone who can give us any information about this "mystery girl."

On Saturday, June 7, in Manhattan, NY, photographers captured Jordan Pike, sixteen-year-old teen sensation and leader of the world-famous
(for more information turn to page 92)
Uh-oh, I thought, if anyone in Stoneybrook finds out that there's a five thousand dollar reward for information on me, I'm dead meat. Gulping, I picked up the second magazine, Teen People:
SORRY LADIES, HE'S TAKEN!

Jordan Pike was caught red-handed making out with a fourteen to sixteen-year-old girl backstage during the intermission of his 9:00
(more on page 67)

"That's her!" the boy from the elevator yelled, pointing at me. Panicking, I picked up my magazines and started to run towards the exit. The photographers followed me all the way to my room, snapping pictures of me. I slammed the door and locked it, much likeI had done earlier, and then collapsed on my bed. My mom and dad were nowhere in site, I guess they decided to go find out what they could do about the paparazzi. Instead of picking up the other magazine, I took out my cell phone and dialed Jordan's number.
"Jordan," I began after he answered, "I've got something to tell you, and you're not going to like it...."

A/N: thanks to anyonw ho's read my story. Chapter 3 should be up very soon!

Just as I was about to read the third magazine, US Weekly, a herd of photographers rushed into the lounge, and started looking around like hawks searching for prey.Flash City concert. Pike has yet to release a statement regarding said girl, but the young girl in the picture with him is suspected to live in Stoneybrook, CT, Jordan's hometown.

come write at short_takes!

2008-06-08T18:29:41Z

Hello all,

I hope it's okay for me to post this here. If not, please let me know and I'll delete it.

A few years ago, the community short_takes was created as a BSC femmeslash fic challenge. The way it works is that every two weeks, a theme (usually a specific member of the club) is chosen by community poll for the upcoming round. After the round's theme is decided, another post goes up to allow people to sign up to participate in that round by indicating both what they'd like to write and what they'd like written for them. Participants are then emailed with their "assignments" and given a week to write their fic.

Sound confusing? See a sample sign up post here to see how they work.

Anyway, the community has been more or less dead for close to two years, but we're giving it a go again. If you'd like to participate, please come vote on which round we should start back up with and then keep an eye out for sign-ups, which will go up at the end of the week.

(x-posted a little; sorry if you see it more than once)

My Intro and a question

2008-06-08T03:30:54Z

Hi! I'm Lauren! I just joined! I LOVE the BSC! My favorite members are Stacey, Claud, Mallory and Kristy! My favorite kids are Charlotte Johansen, Vanessa Pike, Karen Brewer and Becca Ramsey. I also LOVE the Braddocks! I joined this community because I LOVE to write! I’ve even written a few original books and have one of them published!

My question is, am I allowed to create a new member and bring her in as well as long as the BSC is involved? Meaning introduce them to a new member and all? I know I’m totally goin’ to sound like Kristy when I say this, but I had a great idea for a story about someone new! I just need to know it’s okay.
I hope to hear from everyone soon!

bsc_fiction @ 2008-06-04T22:58:00

2008-06-05T03:01:42Z

Chapter 1: Rock And Roll

Disclaimer: I don't own the Babysitters' Club. Ann M. Martin does.
Vanessa's P.O.V.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing!" The final bell rang, signaling the end of my freshmen year of high school. I rose from my desk, swung my overstuffed purple bag over my shoulder, and exited the classroom. There was a buzz of commotion in the hallway. Seniors were running down the hallway shouting and pushing. I saw Josh Rocker and his girlfriend Lisa kissing by the water fountain. I pushed my way pass a group of juniors who were bragging about now ruling the school, and practically ran toward Haley Braddock, my best friend.
"Can you believe it?!" I squeeled. "We're not freshmen anymore! No more being bullied by the juniors and seniors!"
Haley closed her locker and turned towards me, flicking her brown hair behind her shoulder, "Well, this year wasn't so bad for you anyway -not with your brothers being who they are."
I rolled my eyes. "Are you kidding me? Guys are afraid to even look at me because they think Adam will murder them in their sleep. I'm hoping Adam will be too caught up in being an upperclassmen to care about my dating life."
My brother Adam is just a tad bit over-protective, you see. I could understand him wanting to protect me when I was only eleven years old and just starting to become interested in boys. However, I am now fifteen years old and have yet to ever go on a single date. In seventh grade, Shea Rodowsky (a linemen on the SMS football team) asked me if I wanted to go see a movie and grab something to eat with him. Unfortunately, he told some of his friends about us planning on going out on Friday. Word got around and Adam found out. Later on that night, Adam said he was going on a walk. I didn't think anything of it, but when I woke up that morning I heard Margo and Claire whispering about how Mom and Dad had grounded Adam last night. When I arrived at school, Shea was on crutches and Adam was smirking.
At first it confused why Adam, out of all my brothers, would be the overprotective one. At home, he never does anything but tease me. Here lately I've started to understand him better, though. I live in a big family. I have three sisters: Mallory (seventeen), Margo (thirteeen), and Claire (eleven). I also have four brothers: Adam, Byron, and Jordan (identical sixteen-year-old triplets), and Nicky (fourteen).
The triplets are close, but they have definitely slowly grown apart these last few years. Looking back, I can notice that it all started when the triplets first began middle school. Byron had always been a little different than Adam and Jordan -he's always been the nice, sensitive one. In sixth grade, Byron joined the academic team, and gave up baseball for track. Adam didn't seem too shocked by this, but he was when Jordan started to get more into music. Suddenly, Jordan was quitting baseball and football to take guitar lessons, vocal lessons, and more piano lessons instead. After awhile, they seemed to become "Adam, Byron, and Jordan" instead of "the triplets".
Almost a year ago, we were vacationing in Sea City. There was a TV production on the beach featuring different bands. In a nutshell, Green Day ended up cancelling, leaving the show short a band. Jordan literally begged the producer to let his band play, and the producer finally agreed after not being able to find any famous bands to play. A jet flew the triplets to Stoneybrook where Adam and Byron loaded up the equipment while Jordan contacted the rest of the band members. A big-time record company in Hollywood ended up calling a week later wanting to sign Jordan's band, and now Jordan spends most of his time away from home on tour as one of the most famous people under eighteen in the world.
Needless to say, Adam now feels as if he has lost his place in the family with Jordan gone, and is trying to "fit in" more and be useful. Jordan is supposed to be back in town to perform a concert here in his hometown in about a week. He'll stay here about a month before leaving again, so maybe I'll be able to sneak in a date while Jordan keeps Adam occupied.

"Vanessa? Vanessa?" I snapped my head up to look at Haley. "Did you say something?"
"I was just asking when Mallory would be coming home from Riverbend." she replied.
"Oh. She should be home tomorrow evening. Then on Saturday she's going to Kristy's house for the weekend to throw a party for Stacey. She got a new job as a wedding planner or something."
Mallory's been attending a boarding school in Riverbend, Massachusetts, for about six years now. At first I really missed her, but now I'm used to her being gone. It feels weird that her and Jordan are both out of the house now, though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two days later:

"Rig, ring!"
I dug my cell phone out my purse, and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"You won't believe it, Vanessa!" Haley cried. "I'm at Barnes & Noble buying the book we have to read over thte summer for our Honors English class, and your brother is on the cover of almost every new magazine with Charlotte Johanssen-"
"Jordan?" I interrupted.

"Who else? Anyway, they're kissing! Can you believe it? Jordan Pike and Charlotte Johanssen! How more opposite can you get?"
Jordan and Charlotte? I wondered. How could they have been together anyway? Jordan is still on tour and Charlotte is in Stoneybrook as far as I know -wait! Didn't Charlotte say she was going to New York right after school let out? I'm pretty sure Jordan is in New York now too, but that still doesn't seem right.
"Anyway," Haley continued, "this article suggests that they have secretly been seeing each other for a while now. Do you think that could be it?"
"Maybe." I replied, racking my brain for any clues that they had been dating before. I couldn't think of any, but how am I supposed to keep tabs on all seven of my siblings?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, this is my first fanfic. I'll post chapter 2 soon if somene tells me how to do a lj cut. Please?

Challenge #1

2008-05-27T20:47:24Z

From the few comments on the topic, it seems like the masses would like to see fic about minor characters in the BSC universe. So, with that in mind...

bsc_fiction Challenge #1: Minor Characters The prompt is open to interpretation, so ~~hopefully~~ I hope we will get some interesting takes on it. When posting submissions, be sure to include that it's part of the challenge somewhere.

Happy writing! :)

blackflame28, is the community enabled for tagging? That way, people could tag their submissions with Challenge 1 (or whatever).

Fic challenge theme ideas

2008-05-25T21:40:25Z

It seems like there's a bit of interest in doing a challenge, and that the most popular option so far is a common theme. Does anyone have ideas for a topic?

blackflame28 suggested something "written from the character's POV of where they are/ who they are/ where tehy are going at the end of high school or college or something".

Over at the BSC boards there were relatively recent discussions about plotlines being re-written in POVs other than the ones in which they were originally done in the series, and also "modern" updates of the series. (i.e.: What if they were written now?)

Are there any other ideas? I was thinking we could brainstorm for a couple of days, then vote on it.

Fic Challenge Interest Check?

2008-05-24T19:35:35Z

I was wondering whether anyone would be interested in a BSC fic challenge to try to jump start some activity in this community. I thought I'd post a poll with some ideas.

View Poll: BSC Fic Challenge

Feel free to share more in the comments, especially if you have an idea for themes or topics!

bsc_fiction @ 2008-05-11T23:56:00

2008-05-12T04:01:37Z

... Why is no one posting in here anymore? POST DAMNIT!!

I havent' forgotten about doing that contest (re: last post). I've just been busy. I ought to have something within a week or so.

Anyway, please keep posting your stories in here. I am in terrible need of good BSC fanfiction. FF.net is letting me down lately. Please post where you get a lot of your BSC fanfiction!

Also... I'm a shameless self promoter...

Title: Gone
Author: blackflame28
Rating: Pg-14, for mature subject matter, however, probably should be higher.
Summary: Everyone has their secrets. Kristy is hiding her abusive relationship with Cary Retlin. Mary Anne is hiding her relationship with someone unexpected. Dawn has returned to California, however isn't telling anyone why she has changed so much. Everyone has secrets, it's all about how we deal with them. Kristy POV

Story: Gone

WIP. Chapter Six posted May 10, 2008. Please read and review!

bsc_fiction @ 2008-04-12T09:14:00

2008-04-12T13:17:02Z

I had an idea. In order to get ths community growing and more interactive, I was thinking we could start a writing challenge of sorts. Perhaps we had a short story writing contest (something between 100- 700 words?), written from the character's POV of where they are/ who they are/ where tehy are going at the end of high school or college or something. I was thinking we could ask The LJ BSC Community to vote on the "best."

I'll come up with more details later, but first, I want to know if there are enough people interested in this. Please comment.

Gone

2008-04-11T00:26:30Z

Title: Gone
Author: blackflame28
Rating: Pg-13, for mature subject matter
Summary: "My mom was sobbing in front of me. She was kneeling, her face almost touching her knees, sobbing. I knew it was my fault..."
A/N: I originally wrote this story as original fiction, so I’m a little worried that this is missing the proper voice. Anyway, I’ve done about 25 pages of the first original story, but kept running into writer’s block. While trying to debate the next scene in the story, I kept thinking about what would happen if this was a BSC character who was in this position? I kept thinking about it, wondering who would be the best character for this story. My mind kept going to Kristy. Anyway, let me know if Kristy sounds out of place, or if it should be left as an original fiction (which, btw, can be found here

Story: Gone

The Charlie Thomas Hypothesis, Part I

2008-04-08T00:19:41Z

Title: The Charlie Thomas Hypothesis
Author: baseballchica03
Rating: somewhere between PG and PG-13, for implied making out
Summary: Not just a social experiment...
A/N: This is a Charlie/Janine fic that I've been working on. I have a very clear idea of how I want it to wrap it all up, but I'm stuck a bit on how to tie up this part to that part. I should probably just write up that part, and it will come to me. Anyway, I figured I'd post what I have, since I've reached a nice breaking point, and maybe that would compel me to finish it.

The numbers flipped on the clock, and the alarm began to beep softly. The volume was set low enough that it couldn’t be heard from the next room, certainly not loud enough to wake anyone from a deep sleep. But to Charlie Thomas, it was the worst sound he could hear. He turned from his spot on the twin bed to confirm the time, hoping the insistence of the beeping was just his imagination. “It can’t be 5:55 already,” he groaned.

Janine Kishi smoothed the wrinkles in her white Oxford shirt as she peered over his shoulder at the
clock. “I’m afraid it is,” she replied. “You’d better get downstairs.”

Charlie turned to kiss her on the cheek. “I guess if I have to.” He reached down and brushed her knee lightly. “I was going to go to the big game against Howard on Saturday and then to Pizza Express with some friends afterwards.”

“That’s nice.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Um… I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”

“Are you suggesting a date?”

“Well, yes, I guess. We’ve been sneaking around during Babysitters Club meetings for weeks. I thought it might be nice to actually go out and do something together.”

Janine averted her eyes from his gaze. “I don’t usually follow athletics.”

“Come on,” he prodded. “Baseball is all physics and geometry. You’ll love it.”

“I’m not certain that it’s a good idea, Charlie.”

“What’s the problem? I’m good enough for you from 5:25 to 5:55 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but you won’t go out in public with me?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that the predominant hierarchy of high school doesn’t work that way. Members of my social stratum are not exactly widely accepted by the rest of the student body.”

Charlie sighed as he stood up. “This isn’t some sociology book. I like you, ok? I just wanted to spend a little more time with you, and maybe stop keeping this a secret from everyone.”

“Oh. You… That is, I…” Despite her impressive vocabulary, Janine was at a loss for words.

“I have to go,” he replied quietly.

Janine watched him cross the room but turned away when he gave her one last glance before closing the door behind him. She wondered how everything had gone so very wrong all of a sudden.

***

Charlie and Janine had grown up just across the street from one another, but they lived in two different worlds. Janine was a genuine genius with an IQ of 196. She’d never had many friends, and her nose was buried in a book more often than not. Charlie, on the other hand, was always off playing one sport or another. He was definitely smart, but he was also an outgoing, popular guy.

Janine pondered the mistake that had brought them together. Several weeks earlier, Charlie stumbled into her life when he accidentally knocked on her door while trying to find Claudia’s room. The two fell into friendly conversation with ease and quickly fell into something more than that.

They’d agreed not to tell anyone what was going on between them, not that they could explain it themselves. Janine had met very few people her own age who didn’t tease her or ignore her altogether for being so smart. Charlie didn’t blink when she used big words, and he was interested in hearing about her research, even if he didn’t always understand all of it. For his part, Charlie was glad to have finally found someone who didn’t treat him like just another jock. And he discovered that underneath the prim exterior and big words, Janine was actually really funny.

It wasn’t difficult for them to find time to spend together. Charlie’s task of driving Kristy to and from Babysitters Club meetings gave them half an hour three days a week to hide in Janine’s room talking, laughing, kissing… Janine knew her conservative parents probably wouldn’t approve of her being alone with a boy in her room. But neither was there to object since one of the other librarians had recently gone on maternity leave, which kept her mother busy at the library unusually late, and her father’s job in Stamford meant he didn’t get home until just after 6:00.

Everything had been going so well between the two of them. Seeing Charlie was the highlight of her week, rivaling even the biopsychiatry class she was taking at the community college. Sure, it was Janine’s idea to keep things quiet, but it only took a little prodding to get Charlie to agree that it was for the best. She couldn’t understand why he’d changed his mind. Going out on a date together was a risky proposition. Guys like him just weren’t seen hanging around girls like her.

She was distracted from her thoughts by what sounded like a herd of elephants thundering down the stairs. The BSC meeting must have ended, which meant that it was time to start dinner. Janine sighed and headed down to the kitchen before Claudia had a chance to whine about having to do everything herself.

BSC: Post-College

2008-04-07T04:46:10Z

If you don't like some of the cliched relationships, you might not like this but it's my attempt to visit the girls at an older level.

So, read here: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/736877/

Hopefully that link works.

Happy Reading! :)

BSC graduation round robin project

2008-04-05T18:39:39Z

I've been working with nine other writers over the past few months to put together a round robin fic about the BSC members' memorable high school moments. See the finished product here:

Part 1: http://community.livejournal.com/bscgradfic08/8182.html

Part 2: http://community.livejournal.com/bscgradfic08/8332.html

Sorry if you see this post more than once, but we can't wait to hear what you think! We'd love any comments. :)

Favourite FanFiction

2008-04-05T17:38:33Z

A question for all the members: What is your favourite BSC fanfic?

Post the link with your answer!

BSC "Jawbreaker" parody

2008-03-29T15:30:13Z

I had this idea in my head the other day and I thought it would make a funny fanfic. Mallory would be Violette, of course (the one who sees the dead body). I i had origininaly magined Stacey in Rebecca Gayheart's role since a) I had always wanted to see the Stacey/Mallory friendship explored further and b) like in the BSC series, RG's character breaks away from her old friends. I pictured Pete Black as the love interest, and Mary Anne in the Rose McGowan role. Casting was OK until I realized it would be easier to kill off Stacey by someone giving her a regular soda instead of diet. So let's say Stacey's the victim...I guess Claud would be the Rebecca Gayheart character, Kristy would be the Julie Benz character (Marcy) and Mary Anne would still be in the Rose McGowan role. What do you guys think? could this fly?

another idea I had was of a "Romy and Michelle" type story featuring Claudia and Stacey; didn't like this one so much because I thought it would get really sappy really quickly. I'm more for humor.

edit: a description of the movie has been requested. to that end, a link to IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155776/

I hope this is allowed, because I'm really quite curious.

2008-03-29T00:33:37Z

View Poll: Favorite Genre

I realize that I don't have every type of fanfiction listed, so you are welcome to post any other favorite/likes in the comments.

My Best Friend - preseries, G

2008-03-28T09:26:27Z

Title: My Best Friend
Author: Lauren (chickwith_stick)
Pairing: Slight Kristy/Mary Anne
Rating: G
Summary: Preseries. 7 year old Claudia draws at the playground.
Authors notes: Sequel to Pretend. The slash is even less noticeable here.

“Can you watch Lily for me, Claudie?” I look up from my picture of the swing set I was making for mommy to see Mary Anne. She stands next to me, holding Lily tight.

“Yeah, okay. Where are you going?” I put down my markers to see where the rest of my friends are.

“To play tag with Kristy and Sammy. Lily doesn’t like tag. Can she stay here and help you color?”

“Uh-huh.” She grins and whispers to the doll, before putting her down real careful and running off, without asking me to come play.

“Like my picture, Lily?” I ask when Mary Anne’s far away. Nini, my sister, says talking to dolls is stupid. I don’t care though, dolls always smile at you even when you’re dumb, like me. Nini’s super smart, not like me and everyone likes her best ‘cause of that.

Mary Anne and Kristy don’t like her best, but they like each other best. I know that’s cause I color lots but that’s only because they’re always playing by themselves. They hold hands and laugh together and all I have for friends are my crayons and markers and play dough. They must think that’s lots of friends though, ‘cause they don’t even ask me to play anymore.

“This is a stupid picture, isn’t it, Lily.” She keeps smiling where Mary Anne left her, but I rip it up anyway. Mommy wouldn’t like it. She only likes Nini’s papers with stars on them. My papers never get stars, ‘cept sometimes in art class but that’s not the same.

I look over at my friends. Sammy’s it and is chasing Kristy. Mary Anne’s somewhere behind them both, hiding out. Kristy finds her and they squeal, grabbing hands and running off together. Sammy keeps after them, laughing too. I stay alone at the table.

“I wish I had a best friend,” I tell Lily. I decide to make one with my markers, since I don’t have any crayons or paint. Paint would be the prettiest, but my best friend won’t care that she’s made out of markers.

I draw careful, because I want her to be just right. She’ll be taller than me, just a little bit. Kristy and Mary Anne are both smaller than me, so my friend will be the tallest. That’ll make her extra special.

Her body’s easy, cause it’s not too important. She’s tall and thin and I makes her wear a skirt. I like skirts, they’re fun. Mommy only likes me to wear skirts for special times because I get them dirty with markers and play dough. I’ll let my kids where skirts whenever they want to though. I’ll be a fun mommy.

My best friend wears a skirt with a t-shirt. The shirt is purple, since that’s the bestest color.

“What do you think,” I say to Lily.

“It’s a ghost! Claudie made a person with no head! She’s going to eat you, Mary Anne!” Sammy comes out of nowhere, with Kristy and Mary Anne.

“Don’t let her eat me!” Mary Anne screams, grabbing Lily and hiding behind Kristy. Kristy gives me a mean look, even though I didn’t do nothing ‘cept not finish my picture.

“She’s coming for you!” Sammy starts grabbing at Mary Anne and the three of them run away again, not even leaving me with Lily to talk to. I bet she would have smiled at my picture, though.

I think super hard about my best friend’s head and face, ‘cause it’s the most important part. I decide her hair will be long and blonde, ‘cause blonde is pretty. My black hair is nice, but blonde is too. Kristy and Mary Anne don’t have blonde hair and my best friend won’t like them. That’s why she’ll have blonde hair.

My tall best friend, with blonde hair and… what color eyes? Not brown or black or green. Blue. Blue are good, ‘cause they are pretty when you’re laughing.

My best friend’s blue eyes shine up at me. I make her laughing, because I’d make her laugh lots. My best friend, with her skirt and purple t-shirt. Her blonde hair and laughing blue eyes. She’s pretty and perfect. And mine.

But not real. I stare down at her, listening to Sam chasing the girls by me again without any of them looking at my picture now.

“Hi, best friend. Do you want to play with me?”

Her blue eyes shine pretty and I know she likes me.

“I wish you were here, best friend.”

“I will be soon,” I pretend she says.

“Hurry up. I don’t like waiting. Or being by myself. It…” I think hard for the right word. Nini would know the right word. “It’s lonely,” I finally whisper to my best friend made out of markers.

Pretend - preseries, G

2008-03-28T09:19:50Z

Title: Pretend
Author: Lauren (chickwith_stick)
Pairing: Mary Anne/Kristy
Rating: G
Summary: preseries – soon after her father leaves, Kristy and Mary Anne play together.
Author's notes: Another repost, this one written a couple years back for short_takes. Very, very slight undercurrents of femslash. Sequel from Claudia's POV will be posted shortly.

---

“Thank you, Richard,” says Kristy’s mommy as she stands at our front door. My daddy just nods and Kristy’s mommy urges her forward. “Go play with Mary Anne while I take Sammy to the doctor.”

Kristy doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t move either. I wave from where me and my doll Lily are watching TV. I get to watch one TV show every day, and sometimes, when I have friends play, daddy lets me watch two. Maybe with how mad Kristy looks, today will be a two TV show day.

“Bye, Honey,” Kristy’s mommy says. Kristy gives her a not happy look. Lily and I feel bad for her.

“Girls, I’m going to be working in the other room. Mary Anne, not too much TV.” Lily and I forget about not being happy, because our eyes are too busy being huge. Not too much TV? That means maybe more than two shows!

I don’t say that though, just nod real fast instead. Daddy leaves and Kristy stands by the door for a few seconds, before coming to sit by me and Lily.

“Hi,” I say. Kristy still doesn’t look happy and I don’t like when people are mad.

“This is a stupid show,” Kristy says, even though it’s not. It’s Josie and the Pussycats, which I know she likes just as much as me.

“You like this show,” I say quietly.

Kristy doesn’t say anything, just stares at the TV.

“Want to play dolls?” I ask when it’s been quiet for a real long time.

“No.” Kristy’s not usually mean to me. Sometimes to Claudie, but only when Claudie won’t do what Kristy says.

“Okay. Want to… color pictures?”

“No.” That was a dumb thing for me to say anyway, Claudie is the only one good at making pictures.

“What do you wanna do?” I say, even though I’m not s’posed to say ‘wanna.’

“I dunno.” Kristy isn’t even looking at me, just staring at Lily’s bottle lying on the table.

“Wanna play house?” I love house.

“Kay,” Kristy finally says, looking at me. I smile and get up to get Lily’s stuff, so she can be our baby.

“Who do you want me to be?” Kristy’s still on the couch, playing with the TV changer. She always says who everyone plays.

“Not a daddy,” she says loudly. I jump and almost drop Lily.

“I don’t wanna be a daddy,” I say quietly, kinda scared. “I n-never want to be a daddy.”

“Good. Daddy’s are stupid.”

My daddy’s not stupid. I want to tell her so, but my voice won’t work, so I just stand there.

No one says stuff for a real long time, just Josie and her friends on the TV Kristy forgot to turn off.

“Kay,” Kristy says after a minute. “I’m the mommy and you’re my kid.”

“Is Lily my sister?”

“Okay, fine.”

We play and Kristy’s sending me to school but I take Lily with me. When I’m about to get on the pretend bus, I stop.

“How come you don’t like daddy’s?” I don’t say stupid, it’s not a good word. Only mean people say stupid. But Kristy’s not mean, not lots anyway.

“’Cause mine went somewheres.” Kristy says after a minute. She forgets about the bus and goes back to the couch and sits down.

“Where?” I ask finally, putting Lily in her bed.

“I don’t know. Charlie and Sammy don’t know. Davys too stupid to know.”

“D-Does your mommy?” Kristy has a mommy and a daddy, like Claudie. I only have a daddy, ‘cause my mommy went up to heaven already.

“She won’t tell me so,” Kristy says quietly. She hits one of the pillows and I hope daddy doesn’t come in and see. He likes to keep our stuff nice and clean. I should tell her to stop, but she kinda looks like she’s going to cry and it scares me when Kristy cries ‘cause she never does. I always do, when Claudie’s mean or if Sammy takes Lily. Kristy’s always brave and hits Sam. I’m not brave. I don’t hit good, either.

“M-maybe your daddy went up to heaven,” I say after a minute. That’s a good thing, so Kristy might not be so sad.

“No, people would have said so if he did that,” she decides.

“Maybe he hadda do something ‘portant.”

“Maybe. I’m ‘portant. Sammy and Charlie are ‘portant too. I know! It’s Davey’s fault. He’s stupid and only cries. I knowed he shouldn’t have come!”

“Daddy’s don’t go away from babies.” Mine didn’t. My mommy only did because the angels needed her, so that’s different.

“Mine did.” Kristy puts her face in the pillow she was hitting and starts crying, a little bit. I get Lily and we go sit by her. I hold Lily out to Kristy, but she doesn’t take her. I put Lily down and hug Kristy instead, ‘cause that’s what daddy does when I’m crying.

Kristy doesn’t sit up from the pillow but she lets me hug her for a sec. Then she gets up and that makes me let go. She sniffs and rubs her face.

“Let’s play house s’more,” she says.

“O-Okay.”

“But this time? Let’s be mommy’s together. Lily can be our baby.”

“You and me, be mommy’s?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But… but mommy’s can’t have babies together, can they?”

“I say they can.” She gets up and picks up Lily. “We’d be good mommy’s, dontcha think?”

“Maybe,” I say, thinking hard bout it. “What ‘bout Claudie?”

“Who cares? She only likes making pictures. I don’t want to be a mommy with someone who only likes doing that. You like playing house and reading books and stuff. You’re funnner than Claudie.”

I’ve never been called funner than nobody before. I smile at Kristy and she smiles back.

“So will you be mommy’s with me?”

“Yes, I’ll be mommy’s with you, Kristy.”

“You think I’m fun right Mommy?”

“Yes – but do Mommy’s call each other Mommy?”

“We do,” Kristy decides.

“Okay, Mommy.”

“Mary Anne-Mommy?” Kristy starts feeding Lily her bottle and I start making our pretend dinner.

“Yes, Kristy-Mommy?”

“Am I funner than Claudie?”

I think for a sec, ‘cause I like Claudie lots. But I do like Kristy lots, too. “Sometimes.”

Kristy smiles. I smile.

“It’s dinner time!” I say, bringing two pretend plates over to Kristy and Lily.

“I’m glad we’re Mommy’s,” Kristy says as we eat.

I nod and grab her hand. “Mommy’s and daddy’s hold hands,” I say when she looks at me funny. “Maybe mommy’s do too?”

She looks at our hands for a long sec and then smiles big. “Yeah, I bet they do! Good idea, Mary Anne-mommy.”

“Thank you, Kristy-mommy.”

We hold hands for the rest of the day, even after we’re not pretend mommy’s anymore.

Author’s notes: I just want to say that the Claudia comments weren’t meant as bashing, because I love her. But I just figured there might be some conflict between the three at this age. Plus, I have this wonderfully sad image of Claudia unintentionally isolating herself as a little girl, but that’s totally off topic. I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t trying to show any Claud hate.