Back to the Future

As Whitney skated away from the group, JoJo passed her as she joined them. The brunette braked in front of her best friend, studying him from head to toe.

"It looks like I better call the police. There's a dangerous mugger in the park. Sean, can you tell me, was it Frosty the Snowman or the Abominable Snowman? Or are you too traumatized from the attack to discuss it?" JoJo inquired, keeping a straight face.

"Haha, very funny. Maybe you would like a dip in the snow too, Miss Gingerbread," Sean threatened sarcastically. Standing there, he and Finn worked to clean off all the snow that still clung to his clothes. "I can build a snowwoman using you as the foundation."

"Sean, be nice to Jo," Peyton ordered her little brother. "She can probably beat you up too."

"I'm not afraid to throw all three of you into the snow. I'm already covered in it."

"Hey, what did I do?" Lana questioned when she realized that Sean didn't mean Finn as part of that trio.

"Lan, I'm sure there's a list a mile long that Sean--or anyone--could use against you," Peyton remarked dryly.

"I'm sure I have valid defenses for everything on your imaginary list, Miss Perfect."

"Wow, I thought Newt had it worst, but I think you've surpassed him with all these hecklers," JoJo commented, with a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of her other best friend.

Along with the three older college students, Sean all looked over to see Newt once again flat on his back on the ice. Ramsey stood over him with a hand over her mouth and a worried expression on her face. Polly had her hand over her whole face in disgust with her head titled toward the sky. The fallen boy moaned in pain and could be heard saying, "I think I broke my back this time!"

"Oh, no!" Peyton gasped in concern. "C'mon, Finn, let's go check on him."

"Don't I get an invitation?" Lana questioned, not happy to be left out.

"Only if you don't say something rude or mean to Newt," Peyton laid out her conditions.

"When have I ever been mean to the little guy?" Lana challenged in the direction of her friends' backs. "It's not my fault he's a walking disaster," she muttered before taking off after her friends.

"Seriously, are you alright?" JoJo asked in concern once they were alone. Sean nodded that he was, which led to her next obvious question. "What were you thinking trying to one-up Whitney Diamond? You know that girl will not let someone else get in the last word."

"Hey, she restarted it! She's been on my ass since we got here, don't ask me why," Sean added, baffled over her attention. "It's not like she barely says a word to me in school. Maybe about an assignment but never in a 'we're friends' way like she's acting here."

"Maybe she just finally saw the guy I see," JoJo said with a deadpan face, but her twitching lip gave away the joke to her friend that knew her all too well.

"Oh, shut it, Gibble. People do happen--whoa, what's going on over there?" Sean said, motioning toward Lacey and Jared.

"Them? Wow, Miss Hotstuff Cheerleader Captain must have really had your attention. Those two have been arguing for quite a while. Everyone else is keeping clear of them."

"We should do something," Sean declared but stopped when he saw that JoJo wasn't following him.

"Count me out of this. I'm still not speaking to Jared."

"Come on, Jo. Aren't you going to forgive him? You said you would, and he seems to feel terrible about tickling you for information," Sean asked, surprised that JoJo was still mad.

"I will, but Mrs. Lockett told me to wait a day or two," the brunette revealed. "She thinks that her son needs to learn his lesson by begging for a while."

"She said--yeah, that does sound like Aunt Gabby. Wait, do you like Jared chasing after you like he's doing?"

"I don't know. Maybe," the soccer star said, looking away from him while twirling her foot around on the ice.

"Joanne Gibble! You're turning into quite a little brat about this, aren't you?" Sean watched his friend in surprise. "Maybe I need to give you a good tickling to teach you some manners."

"Don't you dare think about it!" JoJo warned, miming kicking him with her foot. "Oh, go help those two. We both know that's what you want to do."

Sean did just that, arriving at the moment Jared tried to back away from the fiery, little redhead.

"Okay, now what's the problem?" Sean didn't get the answer he expected right away, for another person spoke up loudly.

"Listen up, everyone!" Harvey called out. "Let's figure that we'll stay for about another thirty minutes and then head back to the cabin. It looks like the ice is starting to get a little rough."

"That's why you need to buy a Zamboni, Dad!" Whitney yelled from next to Skye, who she stopped to check on.

"I am not buying a Zamboni, pumpkin. Have you ever seen one? They're huge!"

"I'm sure they have a smaller one that would work out here," Whitney pointed out.

"I think it's hard enough to pull the sleds through the narrow trail," Harvey stated. "Now, back when we used to play hockey out here--"

"Uh-oh. It's time for one of his 'Back in my day' stories. Everyone just ignore him," Whitney teased her father.

"We used to have these five-on-five tournaments," Harvey continued, ignoring his daughter. "We often had at least eight teams, made up of the other families that vacationed out here and some of the locals. Now, we had to play at least two games a day on this pond, so we would have an intermission to touch up the ice. We used a container of water to sprinkle on the rough spots, and then brushes and a scraper to flatten it as evenly as possible."

"When did you grow up; the 19th century? That's way too much work, Dad!"

"Hey, so what's the problem with you two?" Sean asked Jared and Lacey, ignoring Whitney's complaining at her father.

"He's ruining the plan!" Lacey whined.

"She wants me to act all sleazy with Ramsey, and I'm not going to do it," Jared explained. "Look, I want to help you, Sean, especially after kinda screwing it up for you, but I'm not doing this plan of yours."

"Wait, I don't have a plan," Sean responded. "Lacey, what's this plan?"

"It's my Back to the Future plan!" Then, seeing Sean's puzzled face, she sighed. "Like the movie? Tell me you've at least seen it."

"Yeah, I've seen it. Many times."

"Good! Now, do you remember the plan where they have to make Marty's mom and dad fall in love before the big dance? That's what I'm doing for you and Rammy!"

"So, how does this involve Jared?"

"He's going to reenact a version of the scene in the car where Marty wants to scare his mom so that when his dad arrives to save her, she's grateful. You know by going beyond just making out with her by getting all handsy and trying to--"

"Whoa! I'm not making out with my mom! No fucking way!" Jared insisted.

"Aargh! The movie version was his mom; your version is Rammy, you dumb oaf!" Lacey snapped, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Don't call me a dumb oaf, you...you..."

"Just go ahead and say it, oaf," the angry matchmaker challenged.

"You...witch!"

"Oh, hell. Not this again," Sean groaned. "Can't you two let it go? It's been like fifteen years."

"She shoved me to the ground, and I skinned my knee!"

"You pulled my pigtails!"

"You threatened to turn me into a frog!"

"And you believed that?" Lacey laughed.

"I was three, and Lana told me you could. How was I supposed to not believe her," Jared defended his younger self.

"Alright, knock it off. Lacey, tell me more about this plan?" Sean said, interrupting their bickering.

"See, just like in the movie, the plan is for Marty--I mean Jared, to get all sleazy with Rammy. Push his tongue down her throat, cop some feels of her breasts and butt. Really lay it on thick. Maybe even suggest sneaking off into the woods to take her maidenhood."

"Maidenhood? Who talks like that?"

"Quiet, Jared! We're talking about important stuff here!" Lacey snapped once again.

"Now, as Rammy has never down anything like that before, she'll naturally get all creeped out, and that's when you arrive, Sean. You push Jared off her--maybe even deck him--and tell him to back off. After that, Rammy's going to see you as her hero, and everyone will live happily ever after!"

"I won't! Everybody here will think I'm a scumbag," Jared argued.

"Um, that's your plan, Lace?" Lacey's eyes flashed danger toward Sean's direction. "Now, don't get me wrong, that could work, but I don't know about 'happily ever after' just from my saving her from pervy Jared."

"I'm not a perv!"

"Well, of course, that's not all of my plan. What kind of a girl do you think I am? But for today, it's an essential cog in the wheel for getting you and your crush together."

"But at the expense of Jared's good name?" Sean asked, looking over at his friend, who nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Good name? Ha!" Lacey laughed until she saw Sean's look of disappointment. "Sorry, Jared, we all know you have quite an impressive name up in Rattle Ridge. But, don't worry; we'll set the record straight about your involvement someday."

"Someday; like when?" Jared asked.

"When Sean and Ramsey get either engaged or married."

"That could be years, if ever!" bellowed the stocky teenager.

"Well, it's going to take years for the doctors to discover you have brain damage from taking too many hits playing football."

"Brain damage?!"

"Lace, I'm not at all comfortable with this plan. Jared is not going to do it," Sean informed his matchmaker.

"Thank you, buddy!" Jared said in relief.

"Not comfortable? Not going to let him do it?" Lacey repeated with growing fury. "I decide how to do this, not you!"

"Alright, now calm down," Sean tried to shush her while backing away. But the petite redhead menacingly continued to march toward him.

"I've been busting my butt to get you with my friend. First, I've had to deal with Austin's crap and now Whitney's bullshit idea to play matchmaker. Matchmaker! That's my thing!" Sean and Jared glanced at each other in puzzlement at Whitney's role. "You will not tell me how to find you love, Sean Tarver!"

"Lace, calm down. You're starting to cause a scene," Sean informed her, looking around quickly. This would be the very worst way for Ramsey to discover my feelings toward her. "I appreciate your help, I really do, but there's no need to freak out about this part not happening."

"Not happening? Oh, it's happening! I'm going to fix you up with--hey!"

Panicking at her voice growing louder, Sean did the first thing that popped into his head. He grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up into the air. It was similar to what he did to Whitney a short time ago, but this time with Lacey facing him.

"Put me down, Sean! Put me down!"

Instead of following her orders, Sean's brain went on autopilot, causing him to begin to skate the two of them back toward the area where he and Whitney had their scene. It also helped take them away from Ramsey.

"Put me down right this second, or I'll...I don't know what, but it will be bad!" threatened the wiggling girl.

"No, Lacey, you need to cool off. You're getting far too stressed out over this, and it's making you cranky." His brain ignored the medium-sized breasts that pushed into his face as she squirmed to get loose.

"I'm not cranky! Now, let me go!" The angry matchmaker slapped at his back, urging him to put her down.

"Yes, you are. You're overheating and need to be cooled down."

"Cooled--you better not!" she screamed as she turned her head to see the approaching shoreline.

Displaying a rare feat of strength, Sean flung the little redhead backward into the snow pile he recently vacated. Realizing how this could go over with others, he turned around to make sure Austin wasn't about to attack him. Instead, he was surprised to see Austin laughing at his girlfriend's snowy fate. That doesn't seem right.

The snowball hitting the back of his head alerted Sean that Lacey hadn't calmed down quite yet. Facing her again, he saw the cheerleader on her hands and knees frantically working to making another snowball.

"Lace, that's enough. Can't we just--" Sean dodged the incoming snowball, "talk this over in a calm, rational manner?"

"No! That's it. I'm done finding you a girlfriend!" Lacey screeched.

"Aw, don't worry, Seanie. I'll be delighted to help find you a girl," Lana purred as she came up behind Sean. Wrapping her arm around her best friend's brother, she looked down at her little sister. "Everyone knows that Lana does everything better than her little sister. Everything."

Lacey glared at her older sister as the harlot rubbed her ample breast against the teen's arm. Clenching her fists, she fought the urge to pounce out of the snow like a tiger. Instead, she met her sister's eyes.

"Oh, no, you don't, bitch. I'm the one that's finding Sean his true love," she growled.

"You just said you were done," Lana pointed out.

"I didn't mean it. Besides, I never quit on a matchmaking plan. I carry it out until the end, whether the end result is good or bad."

Distracted by Lana's body, Sean's attention shot back over to Lacey. She never said anything about a bad result! I figured at worst me and Ramsey wouldn't happen, but not that something bad would happen.

"Too late, you already quit, and I'm moving in."

Lacey showed off her amazing athletic ability by hopping out of the snow and onto the ice, maintaining perfect balance. Sean marveled at the move, finally understanding why the petite ginger performed as the cheer squad's highflyer.

"Take your hands off of him," Lacey commanded her sister.

"I will not," Lana responded not only verbally but physically. She squeezed her body tighter against Sean's side while a hand slowly snaked its way down his stomach. Lacey's nostrils flared in fury.

"You and me, we're going to have a talk about this right now!" Lacey declared, grabbing her sister's arm and yanking it away from the boy. "But not in front of Sean."

"Don't grab me, bitch!"

Ignoring her sister, Lacey turned to look at the boy at the center of their dispute. "Sean, please excuse us. We need to have a sisterly chat. Why don't you go keep an eye on Rammy? She's not feeling too well and might need some help."

Sean nodded, turned to find Ramsey on the other side of the pond, watching as Finn helped Newt off the ice. Moving his head back, he saw Lacey dragging Lana off into the woods.

"Uh, what just happened?" he mumbled to himself.