A Mass Hysteria In The Modern World

[Alyssa's POV]

I laid in the bed in silence. The noises coming from downstairs sounded like Billie was making himself a sandwich or something. I heard his footsteps began to get quieter and I figured he went into the living room. I felt terrible for being so bitchy towards him.

Sitting up, I leaned back on the bed with my hands holding me up and I looked forward into the bathroom; I couldn't tell if I was about to be sick again or not. My pajamas were hanging on the back of the door and the light was fading so it was about to go off. I got up from the bed, turned the light off and closed the door then went downstairs to apologize to my husband. I walked into the living room and saw him sitting on the couch... eating a sandwhich and a Pepsi. I sat next to him, grabbing the remote, and turned the T.V. off then turning my focus onto him.

"Billie..." I whispered. He looked a bit hurt and sat his sandwich down on the coffee table in front of him.

"Yes?" He whispered back. He looked me straight in the eye like he was expected an apology or something. I looked down and opened my mouth to say sorry, but closed it and looked back up at him. "What's going on with you?"

"I'm sorry," I said a little louder. "I really am." My eyes watered and I felt crazy. Billie's mouth changed into a slanted shape and he bit his bottom lip. He put his hand on mine and rubbed it.

"Don't cry," he whispered. "It's okay. I understand."

"You do?"

"Of course I do."

"So... you're not mad at me?"

"To be honest, you need to work on your anger problem. But, I'm not mad at you."

"I know, I know. I've been trying all my life."

"But then again I don't blame you... being pregnant and all."

"Yeah, I blame you," I said. Billie let out a quiet laugh and then put his arms around me.

After a few minutes of silence, I became bored and then got up, going over to the DVD shelf. Billie looked at me like he was confused.

"I want to watch a movie," I said and turned around.

"That movie? Again?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

"Billie! I thought you liked musicals!" I said, holding 'Rent' in my hand.

"I do, I do... fine..."

I put the movie in, grabbed the remote, and went on the couch to cuddle with Billie. When the menu came up, I pressed play and the movie started off with 'Seasons of Love', which had to have been my second favorite song of the soundtrack.

"I didn't even know we had this movie," Billie whispered. I 'shh'-ed him and he glared at me. I started singing along with it and Billie was tapping the beat of the song on my stomach.

"I knew you liked this movie," I said, looking at him and kissing just under his jaw.

"Oh, shut up," he mumbled.

[Alice's POV]

"Time for dinner!" I heard my dad yell from the kitchen. Klaus and I both ran out into the hallway; we both had been in our rooms. We got to the staircase and pushed each other down, racing to see who could get to the dinner table first. Our mom came out of the kitchen to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Are you two racing again?" She asked as we zoomed past her. "I take it that's a yes."

"What's for dinner?!" Klaus asked, eager to eat. Our dad took out a giant turkey from the oven.

"What? Is today some kind of special occasion or something?"

"Nope," he added, placing the turkey in the center of our rectangle, white marble table. "We just decided to make a nice dinner. No occasion."

"Are you sure it's not your anniversary or something?" Klaus asked.

Our mom laughed, "We're sure."

Klaus and I looked at each other confused, then we both dug into the turkey.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! One at a time!" Our dad yelled, turning around from the kitchen counter. I made Klaus let go and I got first dibs. He stuck his tongue out and I hit him in the face with my elbow. His head went backwards and he held his nose.

"You're lucky it's not bleeding," he said.

"Boo hoo."

"Alice, be nice," my mom told me. I looked up at her and looked back down at my plate.

"Here you go," I said in a sarcastic yet sweet voice and handed the knife and fork to Klaus. Both of my parents gave me a look and turned back to what they were doing.

[Abby's POV]

I was sitting in my room, doing my last week of school homework while listening to my iPod... then it died.

"Fuck," I whispered, taking my ear buds out. I grabbed my iPod and sat it on my iHome for it to charge. I looked over at my books and decided to take a break, so I landed on my bed and immediately felt comfortable. My room needed cleaned, badly. Dad always got on my case about that more than mom did.

I heard 'Rent' playing downstairs and I got really excited then ran down the steps to watch it. I walked in on my parents about to shove their tongues down each other's throats... just kidding. They were just being all lovey dovey.

"Could you stop that?" I asked, reaching in the fridge for a water. They pulled away from each other but my dad kept his hold on her; I rolled my eyes. "I'll just watch it later," I added, going back upstairs.

[Tre's POV]

After dinner, we all had a family night by sitting in the living room and playing games for hours. Right now, we were playing Monopoly.

"Ha ha! You have to go to jail, dad!" Klaus said. Martena laughed and I shot her an evil look.

I grabbed my piece, which was the bag of money, and I slid it to the jail square. Abby ended up buying all the railroads and owning her brother in everything he did. By the end of the game we all counted our money and Martena ended up winning.

"You always win," Klaus whined. "It's not fair."

"Yes it is!" She said, defending herself.

[Billie's POV]

The movie was almost over, finally. It was the ending scene and Alyssa started to get all teary eyed.

"Are you crying, babe?" I asked. She nodded her head without looking at me. I put my hand under her chin and made her look at me. She had a tear rolling down her face. "Come on," I smiled. She smiled back and she wiped her face. "There we go."

'Rent' was over now, after two and a half hours.

"We should go do something tomorrow," I said; she looked at me.

"Like what?"

"Go to the beach or something, just get out of the house."

"Who all would be going?"

"Just us... for the day. Abby can look after Keith for a day, she can even have Alice and Klaus over if she wants."

"Billie, I don't know. Keith is still a baby..."

"It'll be okay," I said, kissing her face.

"Fine. When will we go?"

"Just whenever. It's not that far," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Sleep," she yawned. I looked at the clock that hung on the wall above; it read 8:47PM. "I'm going to bed."

Alyssa got off the couch and started to walk up the stairs then turned around.

"Are you joining?" She asked. I smiled at her and got up and off the couch and went after her. She put her hand on my chest and put her forehead on mine. "I never said I would do anything."

"Aw, man!"

"Come on, just sleep with me," she said, pulling me up the steps.

"Anytime," I said, following her into the bedroom. I shut the door behind us.

"That's not what I meant, Billie," she laughed. We both changed into our pajamas and climbed into bed. She laid on her left side and I got behind her and put my arm around her waist. I felt her put my hand on mine and breathe slower, drifting off to sleep.

"Goodnight, Love," I whispered, kissing her face. I saw her smile and then she turned onto her right side, putting her face in her chest. I smiled to myself and started rubbing her head. Her hair was now a really light brown and it was soft.

"I love you," I whispered to her and kissed her forehead.

[The next day - Mike's POV]

"Hello?" I asked, answering the phone still half asleep. "Oh hey, Joyce."

"Mike, I need you, Billie, and Tre to do a photoshoot today."

I sighed. "When?"

"In about four hours, so I suggest all of you start getting ready. Tell Martena, Miranda, and Alyssa to come, too."

"Alright, I will," I said and hung up then went to call Billie and Tre on three way.

"Hey guys," I said.

"Guys?" Tre asked.

"Tre?" Billie asked.

"That's me," Tre replied.

"I didn't know this was on three way."

"Neither did I."

"I say we kill Mike in his sleep..."

"Tre! He can hear us right now!"

"Shut up!" I yelled at both of them.

"Sorry Mike, we're not going to kill you," Tre said, breaking the silence.

I heard Billie almost bust out laughing and I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways," I sighed. "Joyce just called me. We have a photoshoot today in four hours."

"What?!" They both asked.

"I have plans with Lyssa."

"So do I," Tre added.

"Oh, shut up."

With a face-palm, I told the guys to stop talking and let me explain.

"Okay, Joyce wants Miranda, Alyssa, and Martena to be there also. We have four hours. Knowing her, we should probably be there half an hour early."

They both sighed.

"Where's it at?" Tre asked.

"The usual."

"Alright. I'll see you guys later," Billie said and hung up. Tre did the same, as did I.

[Tre's POV]

"Hey babe, we're going out today," I told Martena when I walked into the living room. She was watching T.V.

"Where to?"

"Joyce needs the band to do a photoshoot. The whole gang needs to be there."

"Fine. When do we have to go?"

"Three and a half hours."

"Can I sleep first?"

"Sure, go ahead," I said and went into the kitchen to grab a Jones' soda. I walked back out and she was already sleeping.

[Billie's POV]

"Lyssa?" I asked, walking into our bedroom. I didn't see her there. I heard silent cries in the bathroom. Rushing to the door, I opened it and saw her sitting by the toilet and leaning her head on it. "What's going on?!"

"I puked... and I'm emotional."

"You're fine," I said, half laughing.

"Damn you for getting me pregnant."

"You wanted it! I could tell by the way you pushed me on the bed."

"Oh shut up."

"You're also the one who brought up having another kid," I said and she stuck her tongue out at me. "I win."

"Just this once," she said, letting me help her up off the floor.

"Are you going to feel like this the rest of the day?"

"No. Why?"

"Because Joyce called Mike saying that she needed all of us to go to a quick photoshoot."

"Really?" She groaned, walking past me and to the closet. She opened the door and went inside, looking for something to wear. "I suppose I'll go. It's not in a few minutes, is it?"

"No, in three and a half hours. So... we should get there at 2:30. It's eleven o' clock right now."

"If I had a say in when I got up, I'd still be sleeping."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know, someone doesn't let me sleep past ten..."

"That's only because I don't want you to waste your day away," I said, getting offended. She laughed and came over to me, hugging me.

"I'm only kidding, babe," she said and kissed my jaw. "Calm down."

"I am calm," I said, putting my hands on her waist. "Now, find something to wear." She rolled her eyes and went back into the closet. I laid on the bed completely sprawled out, taking in all the comfort and fluffiness.

Alyssa was shuffling through a bunch of her shirts and finally picked one and turned it around to show me.

"What do you think of this?" She asked. It was a white tank top that crossed strings around her neck. It had a whole bunch of different colors on the front and it was pretty tight on her.

"I think it looks fine, babe."

"Thanks, so do I. Now I just need to find pants."

"How about a pair of your black skinny jeans?"

She stood in the doorway and thought for a second then went to grab her pants.

"Check."

"Shoes," I sighed. I've grown used to helping her pick out her outfits. "Get out your white flats and try those on."

"No! That'd look so bad!"

I held up my hands in surrender. "Okay! Snap at your husband for trying to help!"

She made a noise that sounded like growling.

"Did you just growl at me?" I asked, laughing. She laughed and replied with a 'yes'.