The Wise Ones

"Did all that getting pounded into headboards give you brain damage?"

"Is that really a nice thing to say to your best friend when the world is going crazy? Is it, Tay?" Hannah Woodsen asked, putting her hands on her hips.

The buxom blonde stood at the back door of her best friend's family home. She'd ended up there after Taylor Bishop refused to answer the front door. The brunette half of the duo already knew what the fun-loving blonde was there for, and she wanted no part of it. She'd only reluctantly agreed to open the door if Hannah stood six feet away.

"It's a valid question at this time. There's a goddamn pandemic going on, and you want to go to a party. Are you insane?"

"Hey, they're talking about us getting stuck at home for weeks, at least. I need to get out and have fun before that happens. You know me, I'll go stir crazy inside," Hannah pointed out.

"We won't be on total lockdown. You'll be able to leave the house for essential reasons, like going grocery shopping. But I don't think going to a party is ever going to be considered essential," Taylor commented.

"Being able to fuck one last time is essential to me!" whined Hannah. "Come on, Tay, it won't be as fun without you."

"I'm not going, Hannah. This is dangerous stuff. My parents are both scared that the hospital will be overwhelmed. I'm not going to do something stupid and help give them more patients to care for."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, Taylor. One little party for people our age isn't going to be the worst thing. And besides, it's going to be Heather's cabin at Silver Lake. There isn't going to be other people around outside of us," Hannah stated, in an attempt to reassure her.

"That's not how this virus works, Hannah. You know that! I've explained it to you already," Taylor groaned in exasperation. "I'm not worried about Heather's neighbors at the lake having it. I'm worried that people going to the party might have it and not know it."

"Jeez, Han, you're getting paranoid. How about this? We can drench the guys we pick up in bottles of Purell," Hannah joked, taking a step forward. "I don't think that will burn their dicks."

"Stay back!" Taylor ordered, stepping back herself.

"What the hell, Tay?! I'm not a zombie trying to bite you," Hannah remarked, offended at her friend's behavior. "We were just in the same car driving down from school yesterday morning!"

"And I don't know who you've been in contact with since," Taylor responded. "I'm sorry, Han, but I need to be careful. My parents are counting on me to be responsible. I'm the one that needs to do the shopping and drop off groceries at my grandparents' doors. They are too much at risk to leave the house."

"Fine, I get it. But I need to get off one last time before I'm stuck inside with no cock," Hannah said in defeat.

"No cock? Are you sure? Didn't you bring Roger Rabbit and Long Dong Kong with you?" Taylor inquired, smiling.

"Do you think I would be dumb enough to forget them? I triple-checked before we left. Do you need one—Oh, hey, Zack!"

"What's going on here?" Zack inquired, peering out the door over the blushing Taylor's shoulder.

"Nothing. Hannah—"

"Is only talking with your big sister about my vibrators and dildos. Do you think she should borrow one of mine as she does back at school?" Hannah questioned, flashing a lecherous grin at her best friend.

"Hannah," Taylor warned, turning to face her little brother. Zack's face had gone pale at what his first crush had said. "No! She's lying, as usual, Zack."

"Sure, I am. Zacky, what do you think Taylor does when I bring a guy home, and she's all alone in her bed?"

"That's enough, Han! Zack, get me the broom," the brunette ordered.

"Wait, Zack. How would you like to come with me to Heather's party tomorrow night? And I do mean cum," the blonde winked suggestively.

"Party?"

"No, you are not going, Zack," Taylor informed him while trying to shove him back into the house. "Get me the broom!"

"Yes, a party. I'm looking to have some last-minute fun before we all get locked inside. I might be even tempted to take a bite from the forbidden apple," Hannah flirted while twirling her hair around a finger.

"My brother isn't interested!"

"If not me, there should be plenty of other lonely girls looking for fun. Ash is inviting all the seniors on the cheer squad, along with girls like Sienna, Cheyenne, and Victoria." Zack's interest perked up at the last name. "Or you might be interested in a more sophisticated college coed. Poppy is down, along with Tiara, Priscilla, and maybe Ellie."

"Zack is not interested," Taylor said, flatly. She motioned for him to go inside.

"Gavin, get the broom for Taylor," the teenager called further into the house. Hannah's sales pitch intrigued him.

"Gavin? Gavin is here? You won't let me inside, but you let Gavin!" Hannah huffed.

"Is everything alright over there, dear?" a voice called out from next door.

Hannah, Taylor, and Zack all turned to see Charlotte McRose standing outside her back door, looking over in concern and curiosity.

"We're fine, Mrs. McRose. Hannah's just being Hannah," Taylor yelled back.

"Oh, okay. Please be safe, everyone."

"You too, Mrs. McRose!" They watched the busty redhead go back inside.

"What does Hannah being Hannah mean?" the blonde asked in indignation.

"Gavin is here because he's staying with us," Taylor revealed, ignoring the question.

"You didn't ask me to stay?!" whined Hannah.

"It's not a fun sleepover or anything. Mrs. Westher and my parents decided that the three of us should stay here. And Gavin's house can be used by them whenever their hospital shifts are over. It's to keep our parents from infecting us if they catch it from patients," Taylor explained. "Unlike you, we're all taking this seriously."

"I am taking this seriously. That's why I need to fuck around tomorrow night," Hannah declared. Suddenly, a sly smile appeared. "Hmm, now I see why you aren't **** like me. You're going to have two young men in the house with you. Planning to bake a spitroast for Easter?"

"Hannah! My god, what is wrong with you? You're talking about Gavin and my brother!

Taylor exclaimed in horror. At the moment, Gavin appeared and handed her the broom. She took it and advanced forward, swinging it. "Begone, you pest! Begone!"

Shrieking, Hannah scurried away. Not before giving Zack something to think about as her big breasts bounced around.

"Taylor, you bitch!" Hannah laughed as she fled to her car.

"Hannah," Taylor started in a somber tone that stopped Hannah from getting into the car. "You're my best friend for life and a sister. I love you. Please stay home and stay safe."

"Love you too, Tay. Be safe," Hannah started to climb inside, but couldn't resist one last tease. "Try not to go stir crazy and suck your brother's cock. You know, I heard he has a big one."

"Hannah!"

---

"Give me a hand, Fletch."

Fletcher Wynwick sighed and followed his best friend outside to the front porch. He and Grace Smith were preparing to hole up inside his recently, and nearly finished, renovated lodge. A long-abandoned family lodge on Silver Lake, he'd won it in a poker game from a distant relative last summer. Seeing stacks of packages on his porch, he turned to Grace.

"What the hell did you buy? We already filled the pantry to last for months!"

"Necessary equipment," Grace declared, pointing to a large box, while she grabbed two smaller ones.

Dutifully, Fletcher picked the brown box up and followed the young blonde into his new home. He followed her as she turned and entered his study, immediately halting. His antique partners' desk was covered with three computer monitors. Also new were two huge flat-screen TVs mounted on the walls on each side the door.

"Holy shit! Are you creating your own Batcave in my lodge?" Fletcher asked, in awe and annoyance. She never asks first. It's like when we were kids and used my toys for a recreation of JFK's ****.

"It's a command center," Grace answered, snapping her fingers for him to follow her back outside.

"I can see that, but for what?"

"Fletch, the Wynwick Foundation is about to become vital to the workers who are laid off or **** to work at home for less pay. People are going to need food, medicine, and other necessary supplies. Your mother and her staff will be on the ground working their butts off, so they need a command center."

"And it's going to be here? I thought it was going to be just you, me, and Poppy staying here. It's not a good idea to have everyone coming and going," Fletcher said, nervously looking around the grounds of his new home.

"The foundation staff will be staying back in Azure Rocks, where they are needed. And Fiona will do as much work as possible from your condo," Grace explained as they reentered the lodge. "The logistics will be run from here. We can all stay in communication over the internet and with our phones. That's why I had the cable company come out last week to increase our capacity."

"So how come my mom didn't set up the command center at the condo?"

"Because my staff will be here with me," Grace responded, causing Fletcher's head to whip around.

"Staff? It's supposed to be just the three of us!"

"Look at this place. It's not only huge, but you have guest cabins spread throughout the grounds. It's a perfect place for a team to hunker down. If one of us tests positive, they can isolate themselves in a guest cabin. I'm thinking the far one on the other side of the stream should be used first."

"Test positive? Isolate? What the hell are you planning, Grace? How many people are staying here?" Fletcher asked, feeling as if he'd lost all control over his own home.

"Hmm, let's see...six or seven."

"Six or seven? Who did you invite without asking me?!" Fletcher asked, his brain ready to explode.

"I coordinated and received approval from your mother," Grace stated. "Rylee and Reece are coming. Like me, the Kittles don't want to shelter-in-place with their parents. My cousin, Victoria, is coming too."

"Victoria Walker?" Fletcher's attention perked up at the thought of the lovely blonde staying in his lodge for an extended period.

"Yes, her parents plan to stay at the office and report all the news that's needed. Aunt Olivia didn't want her children to stay alone. James will stay with the O'Dells, and I managed to convince her to let Vicky stay here. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all. I'll be glad to welcome Victoria into my home. And the Kittles too, of course."

"Right," Grace said, rolling her eyes. Her best friend's wandering eye toward girls could be so annoying at times. "And Sienna should here by tonight."

"You invited Sienna to stay?! What the hell is the matter with you?" Fletcher exclaimed. His excitement over Victoria staying crashed at the prospect of his bitchy cousin driving him crazy.

"She is your cousin. With your Aunt Sela helping your mom, Sienna would get lonely at home. Plus, when she heard Rylee was coming here, she announced she was coming too," Grace explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah, that sounds like Sienna," grumbled Fletcher. "I hope you didn't invite any more of my family."

"No, just mine. Julian's our possible guest. He's considering it, but isn't sure."

"And?"

"Ravers Enterprise is sending over someone to help work as their liaison. Her name is Chastity Kupp. She's a receptionist and will help handle the phone lines and other clerical duties. Oh, and Miss Graff will be arriving shortly," Grace revealed, checking the time on her phone.

"You invited a teacher? What the hell, Gracie?! What if we wanted to have fun?" Fletcher couldn't believe his laidback plans for staying at home had turned into some charity command center. I wanted to watch movies, binges on TV shows, read books, and all in my pajamas!

"I can't be awake for twenty-four hours a day. We need several people to handle shifts. Miss Graff offered to help. It's not as if I invited Mr. Ward," Grace pointed out.

"Fine. But I'm still having fun. If I want to walk around in my PJs or boxers, then they have to deal with it," Fletcher insisted.

Grace actually giggled at what he thought was most important.

"Go ahead, but stay away from the study and library. We'll have webcams set up. So unless you want people at the foundation, hospital, and other places to see your dirty underwear, you better stick to the other side of the lodge."

"But it's my home!"

"And everyone will be forever grateful that you gave it up to help."

"They will? I like the sound of that."

"I imagined you would. Now go fetch me that last box, Fletch."

While her best friend was doing that, Grace began to open up a box and pull out another new laptop. This one can be for Rylee. Or maybe that Miss Kupp. The thud of a package hitting the floor announced that the last box for today been brought inside.

"Please, try not to break anything."

"I'm sure we have plenty. Say, did you hear that Heather and Logan are throwing a party tomorrow night at their cabin?" Fletcher queried.

"No, I didn't. That sounds like some foolish nonsense they would do. I hope you aren't planning to play some prank on them."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you and Heather can't stand each other. Oh, and there is a century of bad blood between your two families," Grace explained, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, I'm going to the party with Poppy."

"What?! Have you gone insane? There is a fracking pandemic happening in the world? What the hell do you think all this is for? It's for sure not to play video games," Grace declared, waving her arms at all the computers and flat screens.

"It's just one party. And it's not even that far away. I swear we'll only go for a few hours," Fletcher argued.

"You will do no such thing, Fletcher!"

"Hey, you're not my mother!"

"No, but if you go to this idiotic party, I will do two things. First, I'll call your mother and tattle on you. Second, I'll call the ranger headquarters and report this violation of the current rule that doesn't allow gatherings of more than ten people," Grace threatened.

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Actually, I can. Your mom put me in charge."

"What?! This is such bullshit!" Fletcher said, kicking an empty box. "Wait until Poppy hears about this crap."

"Yes, I imagine she'll be even more upset. I'll probably need to call your mother for that conversation."

"Fuck my life!" Fletcher screamed, marching out of his study.

---

"Hello?"

"Meagan? Hey, what's up?"

"Uh, who is this?"

"It's Charlie!"

"Harrington?"

"What other Charlies do you know?"

"Oh, crap. What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened? Why does something have to happen for me to call you?

"Well, you've never ever called me before. And there is a killer virus spreading across the globe. So I imagine if you called me, it would mean that some shit went bad."

"Nope, everything is cool. So, did you hear that Logan and Heather are throwing a party tomorrow night?"

"I did."

"And are you planning to go?"

"I might. I'm planning on staying at my family's cabin, so I'm going to be out at Silver Lake anyway. Why do you care? You do know I don't like boys?"

"Of course, I know that. Jeez Louise, I'm not a moron!"

"If you say so. Now, what did you want?"

"Tomorrow is also April Foo's Day, and I want to pull a prank on everyone at the party."

"And?"

"And I need an accomplice. You interested?"

"Why would I be interested?"

"Oh, I don't know. You seem like the kind of gal that likes to bust the balls of people that think their shit doesn't sink. Wouldn't it be fun to play a joke on all our friends? Knock them down a peg."

"That does sound intriguing. What's your plan?"