A Mass Hysteria In The Modern World

[Martena's POV]

After the whole family got into the car, we all argued over where she should eat.

"Olive Garden," I said, crossing my arms. Tre agreed with me but the kids, of course, had to have their say.

"McDonald's!" Klaus yelled. Alice hit him.

"That's not a good 'sit-in' restaurant, you idiot!"

"I think it sounds fine!"

"You're thirteen, of course it's going to sound fine."

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Stop it!" I yelled.

"We're going to Olive Garden and that's final," Tre said, pulling out of the driveway. The kids groaned and looked out their windows.

Once we got seated, it wasn't long until each of us got our food and the kids continued to argue.

"When will you two ever stop fighting?" I asked, taking a bite out of my pasta.

Klaus picked up a hand full of his spaghetti and threw it in Alice's face. She gasped and poured her water over his head. Tre and I looked at each other and shook our heads.

"Love, you know that's how you'd be," Tre laughed.

"No, I wouldn't!" He stared me down. "Okay, you're right."

[2 weeks later]

In celebration of Jenna coming into the world and Alyssa living, Tre and I invited everyone over and we were going out partying tonight. It had taken us two weeks to do this due to Alyssa resting, them getting settled, and because this was the only night some of us were free.

"I don't feel comfortable doing this..." Alyssa said, sitting on the couch. She was dressed in black and silver. Long silver necklaces hung from her neck and she had on a lot of black eyeliner and eyeshadow. I had done her hair; her hair was straightened and it was in a lose ponytail and most of her hair was put in a bump on top of her head.

"Everything's okay. We need to celebrate," I told her. I was dressed the same way as her, but my hair wasn't as long; all I did was straighten it and wear my usual make up. Miranda matched us, too. We had also invited the Jason's, Ronnie, and Jeff. All of us told the story to them of why everyone was there.

"Babe, you're fine," Billie said and hugged his wife. "I'll be celebrating hard tonight."

"What about Jenna? And Keith?"

"Abby, Alice, and Klaus are taking care of them. Jennifer is okay with them, too."

"And if something happens?"

"They have all of our numbers."

"Let's just go already!" Jason Freese yelled. We all left the house and took multiple cabs to the club; we were all going to be smashed tonight. Tre, Jason, Jeff, Jason, and myself all got in one cab and we went off as Billie, Alyssa, Miranda, and Mike got into another cab.

After arriving to the club, we walked in and it was a mad house. Music was blaring and we had to yell at each other when we talked. Alyssa started jumping up and down and went straight to the bar. We all shook our heads and followed her. She turned around and handed us some beers and we went into the crowd. I grabbed Tre's hand, dragging him behind me. Mike and Miranda were already grinding together and taking swigs of their beers. Billie and Alyssa were going off by themselves in the middle of the crowd. Tre and I, on the other hand, were up at the front of the crowd by the lights.

Two hours later, I found myself on the ground and underneath a table. Tre was sitting next to me and I had a bandage on my head.

"Did I fall?" I asked. My speech was slurred. Mike and Miranda were standing by us, stumbling on each other. Tre nodded his head and almost fell in the process. I got up fast. Being drunk didn't give me much common sense to not stand up slowly.

"Where's Billie and Lyssa?" I asked. Tre pointed to Mike and Miranda.

"They couldn't find t- them. Billie t- t- texted and s- said that they were o- k- kay," Tre told me.

[Miranda's POV]

Mike and I kept on stumbling and went over to the bathrooms to get away from everyone and ran into Billie and Alyssa in the process. They both were on their fourth beers and were grinding heavily. He had his hands on her hips, holding her close to him. I made an 'ew' face, as did Mike, and we ran off.

"That was g- gross," Mike said when we reached the bathroom. Him and I began making out... a lot. We ran into a bunch of tables and ended up knocking over this guy's drink. Him and all his friends stood up and threatened to beat us up. Mike grabbed my hand and we began sprinting. The guys at the table were yelling at us but we couldn't hear due to the loudness of the music and because we were laughing so hard.

[Tre's POV]

Martena and I ended up getting off the floor a few minutes later and we ran into Billie and Alyssa. From what we saw, they might as well have been having sex. We both rolled our eyes at them and Martena interrupted their grind party.

"What was that for?!" Alyssa asked, almost falling over. Billie caught her.

"You t- two need to quit it before you end up doing something nasty in here," I told her.

"We know what we're doing," Billie argued.

"Nobody wants to see that stuff."

"Go away, Cool," Alyssa said, trying to punch my shoulder. She missed.

"You can't make us," Martena yelled over the loud music. She put her hands on her hips and stood wheres she was, showing that she was 'victorious'. The bass was pumping; I could feel it in my chest.

"Oh, really?" Billie asked, turning Alyssa around and pulling her leg up, hoisting it around his hip. Alyssa caught on and went along with Billie. Martena and I both grimaced at the sight and began walking away.

"You're sick, Armstrong," I called behind me. Him and Alyssa both laughed and went off to get some more drinks.

'Hollar 'Til You Pass Out' by: 3OH!3 came on and we heard some screams. Obviously, those people loved that song. I rolled my eyes.

"Tre, you're at a club. Rap will be playing," Martena told me, putting her hand on my shoulder. I put my arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"I'm ready to go home," I whined. Martena turned and gave me a look in her way of saying, "are you serious?"

"Okay, just one more drink," I said. She smiled and we went to the bar to get another drink.

[Alyssa's POV]

Billie and I drank about two more drinks before the bartender said he wouldn't give us anymore.

"You want to go home yet?" I yelled to Billie. I could feel my eyes drooping and I felt like I was going to fall over, which I did. Billie tried catching me but ending up falling too.

"If you are," he yelled back, laughing. He got up and stumbled, catching himself on the table. I grabbed a chair next to me and hoisted myself up.

"We can't go h- home to the kids like t- t- this," I stuttered. "Let's just find a hotel nearby."

"Why can't we just stay with Martena and Tre?" He asked; Billie's eyes were drooping too.

"I'd just rather not. Come on, let's go find a cab. Do you have your wallet on you?"

I grabbed his hand and started dragging him out of the club.

"It's in my pocket!" He yelled once we got out onto the sidewalk. The wind was heavy and I reeked of alcohol. I fell forward, catching myself on Billie's shoulders. He smiled and kissed me. We fell into a pillar and we both laughed. Yeah, we were wasted.

"You guys need a ride?"

We both turned and saw a man leaning over in the driver's seat of a taxi. The passenger seat window was rolled down.

"Yeah, how much?" Billie asked.

"Depends on where you two are headed."

"The nearest hotel," I spoke up.

"That'll be about twenty bucks," the driver said. "It looks like it's going to storm soon."

We looked in the black sky and saw some lightning far away.

"We'll take it," I said, opening the cab door. Billie got in beside me and the driver went off.

[Mike's POV]

"Billie just texted me," I said. Miranda and I were in a dark corner of the club. She kissed my face and looked at my phone. "He said that him and Alyssa got a ride to the nearest hotel."

"Fuckers," she laughed and continued to kiss me.

"We should probably round up the gang and go home."

"Why so soon?" She whined.

"I suppose we can wait a little longer," I smiled.

[Jason White's POV]

I have officially lost all sign of Mike, Miranda, Billie, Alyssa, Tre, and Martena. It was only me, Jason, and Jeff sitting at the bar. We had only had a drink or two.

"Should I call one of them?" Jeff asked, pulling out his EnV Touch. I shook my head.

"They're adults; they're fine," I said.

"You're not worried about Alyssa?" Jason asked. I took a deep breath as I sat my beer down on the counter.

"Bring me a shot!" I yelled to the bartender. He nodded his head at me and put a shot of whatever it was in front of me. I took it and put the small glass cup down. "I'm always going to be worried about her, Jason."

"You really need to let go, man," Jeff said.

"How about you have someone tell you that after you've loved the same person for years, Jeff," I snapped.

"She's moved on, Jason!" He yelled. "You need to do the same!"

"I've tried!"

Freese was talking to the bartender; he bought me another drink. The bartender slid another drink down the counter and it landed in my left hand. I took a giant swig and slammed it down.

"You need to try harder." I shook my head. "Alright, fine. I guess I'm going to have to make you."

"Jeff, don't..."

"She has three kids with Billie, three!"

"Stop..."

"They got married fifteen years ago!"

"Jeff!"

"She's fucked Billie multiple times! You've walked in on it!"

"No!" I yelled and broke the glass cup that was in my hands. "Don't make me remember."

"You know it's true!"

"Jeff, calm down," Freese said, patting his shoulder. "I know you're just trying to help but you're hurting him."

Jeff turned and looked at me.

"I- I'm sorry Jason..." Jeff said before getting up and leaving.

[Billie’s POV]

“This was a good idea,” I said with a smile when Alyssa and I got into our hotel room. It was on the top floor and it overlooked Berkeley. It was a good deal for a low price of fifty bucks.

“I don’t have anything to sleep in,” she mumbled, sitting on the bed. She was out of it. “That’s it, I’m sleeping naked.”

“No!” I said, tackling her on the bed. “You’re not.”

She breathed in my face and the smell of alcohol went straight up my nose and I coughed in a pillow.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to impregnate you again,” I laughed. She laughed too.

“Billie, Billie Billie…”

“What?!”

She reached into my back pocket and pulled out a condom and waved it in front of my face, laughing.

“Why was that there?” I asked, grabbing it and putting it back in my pocket.

“I put it there.”

“Again, why?”

“I knew we’d be wasted.”

“You said you weren’t going to have any sex for the first month after Jenna was born.”

“You know, it’s a hard decision...”

“No. I’m not going to do anything,” I said and got off of her. I laid on the bed and she sat on me.

“Why not?”

“Alyssa, stop it.” I picked her up and made her lay down. “You just had a baby two weeks ago. The doctor said you can’t have any sex for at least a month.”

“We can do other things,” she slurred and grabbed my shirt then went on to kiss me. I held her shoulders trying to decide if I should push her away or pull her close. She slammed me down on the bed and started to undo my jeans. I looked down at her not knowing what to do.

“You’re kidding,” I sighed, laying my head on the pillow. “You’ve never done this before.”

“I’m about to now.”

“But, you- Oh my God!” I breathed and hit the bed, grabbing the sheets underneath me. I then pushed her off. “Stop!”

She sat normally and stumbled off the bed. I sighed, zipping my jeans up and helping her back on the bed. I now had unfinished business to do.

“Am I not good?” She whined as I laid her in bed. I laughed and hung my head.

“I actually can’t say. I cut you off,” I laughed and tucked her in.

“Why?”

“I want you to get some rest.”

“I thought you’d enjoy it,” she smiled, closing her eyes to sleep.

“I’ll tell you what, I enjoyed the two seconds it lasted. I’ll let you finish the next time,” I said and laid in bed next to her. The alcohol began to wear off slowly.

“Billie, I’m probably not going to be wasted next time,” she laughed. I had her in my arm and she was cuddled in my side with her head on my chest. “Just let me do it now and get it over with. I mean, you're not just going to let that sit there, are you?”

I sighed with a laugh. It was very noticeable that I had enjoyed it. “Fine… fine. Is the door locked?”

“Nobody’s going to walk in, Love,” she smiled and continued where she left off. I held onto the bars of the headboard behind me.

[Jeff’s POV]

I was walking down the streets of Berkeley, kicking a lone pop can along the way. It would have been smarter if I would have stayed with the guys. Rain was beginning to come down and I heard thunder. Looking in the sky, I pulled my hood over my head and continued walking. I started stumbling and I then fell in a trashcan.

[Martena’s POV]

Tre and I rounded up the gang and we all agreed on going home.

"Where's Billie and Alyssa?" I asked, looking around at everyone. We were all standing outside the club. Bass was still pumping; I could feel it on the sidewalk.

"They left," Mike said, pulling out his phone and reciting a text from Billie. "Lyssa and I are going to get a... fotel?" Mike put his phone down and looked at us. "I think Billie meant to say 'hotel'."

"Keep going," Tre said.

"And we're okay. I'll call you tomorrow when the hangover wears off," Mike said, finishing the last of the text.

"Well... alright. Let's catch a cab," I said, going to the edge of the street and waving my arms in the air.

A cab pulled up next to us and we all piled in the backseat, laughing.

"Where to?" The driver asked.

"Berkeley," Tre yawned then blinked a couple times.

"Sir, we're in Berkeley."

"Just take us that way," I said, pointing down the street. The driver sighed and began driving.

We were all pretty loud in the backseat. The radio was turned in and 'Before The Lobotomy' came on.

"It's our song!" Jason White yelled. We all cheered and sang along with it. Being a wife of a rock star, you know the lyrics to their songs.

[Alyssa's POV]

I laid down next to Billie as he pulled his pants back up. He gave me a comforting smile and kissed my face. I, being the shy one, rolled over.

"You can't just do that and then ignore me, that's not how it works," he laughed. I turned to face him and took his shirt off. "Alyssa..."

"It's not what you think," I laughed. I took my shirt off and replaced it with his. It was sort of baggy. I kicked off my pants, too. I hated wearing jeans when I didn't have to.

"Oh, so you get to wear something to sleep in. Nice," he said and began tickling me. Being super ticklish, I was laughing and screaming for him to get off me. He found it humorous.

I finally got him to stop and I cuddled into the blanket, feeling warm and tired. Billie did the same and cuddled with me.

"Goodnight," he said and kissed my forehead. "I love you. Forever and ever."

I smiled and scooted closer to him then put my head underneath this jaw. His arms clamped my body securely and he never loosened his hold.

"I can't even begin to think of what would have happened if I lost you," he whispered after a long silence. Unfortunately, I began to feel sick. I wasn't sure if it was the hangover coming on or if It was from 'trying new things'. "What did you mean when you said that you 'saw' me."

Remembering what happened when I died, I began to try and put everything into words. Still a little drunk, my words came out in a stupid manner.

"I was in the sky and... I could see you holding my hand and crying," I began to say. I took a deep breath and went on. "Then I saw all these memories in my head of us and of the gang."

"You're... are you serious?" He asked, looking at me. I nodded my head.

"I turned and there was a mirror. I looked ten years younger and I hit the mirror. Glass went everywhere. But... it was all in slow motion. It was like I couldn't move. My hand was bleeding but it went away and so did the cuts. My hands were dissolving into the air."

"Lyss, you're scaring me."

"I screamed to come back and wind started blowing. I looked at myself in the broken mirror and saw that my whole body was going away. I closed my eyes and opened them again, and..."

I started to choke up. Billie encouraged me to go on and shook me.

"And I was back in the hospital room with you," I smiled and rubbed his face. "Martena was there too."

He hugged me and kissed my face over and over again.

"We're not having another kid," he started. "I'm not taking another chance of losing you."

"That's fine with me," I laughed and kissed him before laying my head back down on the pillow.

"Ew," he laughed.

"What? My kisses are gross now? Great."

"No, no, no."

"Then what?"

"You never washed your mouth."

I laughed. "Sorry about that."

"Oh no," I smiled. "It's fine."

[Tre's POV]

After getting back to our house, we all stumbled into the living room and crashed there. Everyone was out except for me and Martena.

"Come on, please?" I begged. "It's been so long since the last time we've done anything!"

"Tre, it's been a month."

"Exactly!"

"Shh! You're going to wake everybody up."

"Please?" I whispered.

"Fine," she mumbled. I did a little dance before picking her up and going upstairs. "I feel like I'm only good for this."

"You're good for everything," I said and kissed her. "Including sex. But that's not number one on the list."

"Then what is?"

"...I don't know. I'll have to make a list sometime."

[The next day]

I woke up with a massive hangover. I was naked in our bed and I didn't see Martena next to me. Putting on boxers and a shirt, I went downstairs to find her.

"Martena!"

"What?" She asked and crossed her arms. The kids went past me, saying hi, and went to their rooms upstairs.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching for her. She moved away from me. "What'd I do?"

"You forgot protection..."

"Shit..."

"I swear. If I'm pregnant, I'm-"

"Mom! My Xbox won't turn on!" Klaus yelled from the top of the steps. We both closed our eyes and shook our heads.

"Try plugging it in!" She yelled back.

Klaus ran back to his home. Apparently it worked because he never came back.

"What I was saying," she started. "I'm not going to be happy if I have to have another kid."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's whatever. Here's your coffee," she said and shoved a coffee cup in my hands.

[Billie's POV]

"Wake up, sleepy head!" I heard Alyssa say. She was jumping on the bed. I sat up and leaned against the headboard and she sat on me. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," I said and made myself wake up. "This was a nice head- I mean! Bed." She laughed.

"You're still hooked on last night?"

I nodded my head and and kissed her. I stole my shirt off of her and put it back on me. She got up and made some coffee.

"What's up with walking around with no clothes on?"

"I have clothes on!"

"Bra and underwear don't count as clothes," I laughed. She came back on the bed and handed me a cup. I took a sip of the coffee. "Fuck! That's hot."

"Would you rather them be off?" She asked and kissed my cheek. I laughed and pushed her away.

"No, that's okay." I picked up my phone and it had one battery line leff; Abby had also called me five times, Tre called twice, Martena called once, and Mike called once. "Shit."

"What?" She asked, kissing the side of my face.

"I have nine missed calls."

"From who?"

"Abby, Tre, Martena, and Mike."

She got off the bed and grabbed her pants, digging in the pockets for her phone. She pulled out her phone and flipped her hair back, looking at the screen.

"They all called me, too."

"Call them back. My phone's almost dead."

She called one of them back and put the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she put on her pants and buttoning them.

"Hey!" She said, holding it with her hand now. "Yes, we're fine. Sorry, we didn't feel our phones vibrate last night. We sort of got here and crashed last night."

"Lies!" I said. She turned around and gave me the 'shut the hell up' look. I laughed to myself as I got my pants back on, along with my shoes.

"We'll be home soon. Oh! And let Abby know so she doesn't freak out. Thanks. Bye."

"Who was that?"

"Miranda," she sighed, looking in the mirror. "Ugh. I look so gross."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, going up behind her and putting my arms around her bare waist. "You look perfect."

"Don't lie to me. Look at this." She pointed to her face.

"Yeah, you do look really stressed out. But I still think you're beautiful."

"You're such a suck up," she laughed and kissed me.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Why?"

"After last night, I'm pretty sure it's the other way around."

"Do you have to keep on bringing that up?!" She laughed. I nodded; she rolled her eyes. "Fine. But once we get around the gang, keep your mouth shut."

"I suppose."

She put on her shirt and we headed out the door. Going up to the corner of the street, we caught a cab home.

When we got home, everyone attacked us with questions. Mainly: 'where have you two been?!'

"We're fine, we're fine," Alyssa laughed. "I'd like to go see my daughter now."

"Which one?" Tre asked.

"Jenna," she smiled and entered our house. The whole gang followed in behind us.

[Martena's POV]

"Abby! Your mom and dad are home!" I yelled up the steps. Abby came running down with Jenna in her arms and Keith behind her; Jenna was crying. We all covered our ears.

"God damn! Control your child!" I yelled. Billie held his hands over Alyssa's ears, making himself suffer. She grabbed Jenna and 'hush-ed' her multiple times, bouncing her up and down. Keith grabbed her leg, wanting attention.

"Hey baby!" She said, patting his head. "Did you miss mommy?" He nodded his head. Billie picked him up and put him on his shoulders. Keith smiled and hugged Billie's head.

"So what are we all doing tonight?" I asked, looking around at everyone. Nobody answered. I grabbed Alyssa and pulled her into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" She asked, still bouncing her daughter in her arms.

"There's a possibility I could be having another one of those," I said, pointing at Jenna. She gasped.

"What?! But you hate children!"

"I know, right?!" I leaned against the kitchen counter. "What the hell am I supposed to do?!"

"Wait, wait. So... when did this happen?"

"Last night."

"I shouldn't have asked..."

"Oh, shut up! Like you didn't do anything."

"I didn't!" She yelled, laughing after wards.

"You give things away too easily," I laughed. "What'd you do?"

"So last night? You should know in about three weeks."

"You're avoiding my question..."

"Take a test in three weeks and let me know," she said and started to walk out.

"I will, but you're still not answering me!"

Alyssa just gave me smile and continued to walk out.

"Ugh!"

I stomped my foot on the tile floor and followed her out.