25 Days of Insanity: Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen: Prankster

Wednesdays always seemed boring at Natalie and Kaycee's house. No one really knew why though, maybe it was because there was always homework or because everyone was aware that there were still two long, grueling days of the school week left. Either way, this Wednesday was no exception. It was around one thirty when Natalie's thoughts, which had been on her science homework, were interrupted by a knock on the door.

She glanced up at the door, her eyebrows raised a bit in surprise; not many people stopped by the house, especially not during the week. She moved her biology book onto the arm of the chair as another impatient knock came from the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she mumbled, quickly rushing around the piece of furniture and heading to the door.

She opened the front door enough for her head to peer at the newcomer, and was surprised to see a familiar red head baring his teeth in a grin. "Hey, Nat."

"Xander?" Natalie opened the door wider, as she looked at him curiously. Not only was she surprised to see him after what had happened in the park three days before but she wasn't even aware that he knew where she lived. "What're you doing here…at my house?"

He brushed off her question, stepping past the girl into her home, glancing about the room. "Where's Fred?"

Natalie, who usually expected guests to ask to enter, muttered sardonically as she closed the door, "No, Xander, now's a great time; come on in."

Charlie's voice was heard from the hall. "Hey, Nat, who was at the—" The fourteen year old stopped in his tracks upon seeing the tall man in the living room; though Natalie had already gotten over the fact that the redhead kidnapped her, Charlie hadn't forgiven him quite yet. "XANDER? What're YOU doing here?!"

"Lookin' for Fred," Xander replied with a shrug, turning away from a family portrait he had been looking at. "Where is he?"

"Not here," Natalie informed him as she climbed over the couch to get back to her homework. "He's at a job interview right now and said he won't be back 'til two or so…"

"Oh, then I'll just stay 'til he gets back," Xander decided, leaning against the couch beside him. Charlie narrowed his eyes at the man while Natalie only shrugged, her thoughts only on finishing her biology study guide. "So, what're you guys doing?"

"Homework," the two answered dully.

Xander made a face. "Okay, what do you guys do for fun around here?"

Charlie merely shrugged while Natalie continued flipping through her biology book. "Stuff," she replied.

It was quiet for a while before Xander gained a wicked grin. "Hey, Nat, do you guys have a bucket?"

The girl only raised an eyebrow and gave a confused nod.

*******
After Natalie retrieved the bucket for Xander, she retreated to her room claiming it would take her forever to finish her study guide if the sixteen year old kept bothering her. Charlie, however, disregarded his homework to stay behind and keep an eye on Xander, not wanting a repeat of Sunday's antics. He was only confused though when he saw the redhead tying fishing line onto the door knob.

"What're you doing?" Charlie asked as Xander walked back to the front door, carrying the bucket which was now full of water.

"Making a surprise for when Fred comes back," Xander explained deviously as he set down the bucket, only for it to slosh out most of the water. "Ah, crap. Charlie, go refill that for me, will ya?" Xander went toward the bathroom to grab a towel as Charlie shrugged and picked up the bucket. "Oh, and make sure it's ice cold!"

Charlie walked over to the sink and turned on the water, waiting for it to get nice and cold when the door next to the sink opened. "Oh, hey, Nat. Finished your homework?"

"Yeah, luckily. I'm just gonna go get the mail. What're you up to?"

"Refilling this for Xander," he informed her, placing a hand beneath the tap to find the water was now freezing. He placed the bucket underneath it.

"For what?"

"No clue," Charlie admitted with a shrug. Natalie shrugged as well and began walking toward the living room. "Oh, actually, you might wanna take the back door out."

Natalie looked at him curiously before shrugging and doing as she was told, changing her course.

Charlie turned the faucet off and carried the bucket back to Xander who was inspecting the fishing line he had tied to the door earlier. "Here's the water."

"Ice cold?"

"Freezing," Charlie agreed.

Xander gave an evil grin as he took the bucket. "Excellent."

*******
Natalie hummed as she walked to the mailbox at the end of the driveway, pausing only to give the old car that sat in the driveway a confused glance. "Oh, it's probably Xander's car," she realized as she walked past it. After all, she doubted he'd have walked all the way to her house; he was a little too lazy to do something like that.

Pushing the car from her mind, she went to the mailbox and skimmed through the pile she pulled out. Not to her surprise, she found nothing interesting in the bundle of letters (none that concerned her anyway). She was about to head back into the house when she heard someone shout her name.

She glanced down the street to see a familiar blond rolling up on his skateboard. "Hey, Fred," she greeted. He came to a stop beside her and picked up his board. "How'd the interview go?"

"I got the job," he said with a shrug and a small smile.

"That's awesome," she shouted as they headed toward the front door. "When do you start?"

"Not 'til after Christmas," he admitted. "But it's nice to know that I've got a job."

The two walked up the few steps toward the house and Natalie grabbed the door knob, not noticing the bucket that was hanging directly above her.

"Yeah, I'm so happy for you, Fred," the girl announced as she pushed the door open.

SPLOOSH!

Natalie screamed after she was suddenly drenched in freezing water.

Xander laughed in victory, shouting, "Gotcha, Fred!"

"Uh, X-Xander…" Charlie said nervously.

The redhead's triumphant grin, however, disappeared when he didn't see a soaking Fred—in fact, he looked incredibly dry—but a sopping wet Natalie; her hair plastered to her face, the letters in her hands looking about ready to fall apart, and a shocked look on her face.

…it seemed as though he may have, accidentally, gotten the wrong person.

There was an uncomfortable silence as all of the boys waited for Natalie to shout, scream, cry or do something to express her anger. But she simply stood there, seeming to have been put in a state of shock.

Finally, Charlie decided to speak. "Natalie, are you alright?"

Another moment of quiet before Natalie said, "I…I'm fine. It was just an accident. I'm just…I'm just gonna go change." She walked past Charlie and Xander; her lips pursed, looking as though she was repressing the urge to say something or holding back the urge to cry.

Once she turned into the kitchen, Fred finally stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. All of the boys continued to stare in the direction she had went until they heard her door close, then Charlie and Fred took their chance.

SMACK!

"OWWW!" Xander grabbed both of his arms after each of the Davison brothers had punched one. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

"You are such an idiot," Fred mumbled as he shook his head, passing a hand over his face.