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Emily walked down the stairs later that night and went into the empty parlor. It wasn't even night anymore, being two o'clock in the morning, but the sky was dark and the stars shown brightly. Emily crept into the room and closed the door. The Christmas tree had been put up the day before, but there were already dozens of gifts under the tree. She put on one of the lights on the lowest notch, so that only a soft glow filled the room.
Emily sat on the couch and stared at the professionally wrapped gifts. One stood out above the rest, to her. One that was wrapped by herself in the green and gold paper. One that was for Lucky Spencer.
She remembered going to the mall, having no ideas as to what to get him, completely baffled as to what he wanted. She had come across a small stand selling little crystal figurines. She was enchanted at these. The details on the unicorns and the sports equipment were so tiny and so incredibly well made. Amazing how they could all fit into the palm of her hand. She had glanced around the cart some more, finally seeing something that triggered a memory from just a few years ago.
"Lucky, what do you wish?"
Lucky glanced over at Emily who lay in the grass, staring up at the stars.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean exactly what I said. What do you wish? If you could have anything or do anything, what would it be."
Lucky sighed and lay back, the back of his head resting in his arms.
"I don't know. I feel so out of control right now. Like I can't handle anything." he was silent for a few moments. "I guess I wish that I could hold the world in my hands, you know? Cause then I'd be in control. Not lost anymore."
Emily had stared at Lucky. She had never seen this side of him. This serious, vulnerable side.
"You feel lost?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
Lucky nodded. "Yeah. I'm going in every direction possible, not knowing where I'm headed. I feel like I'm just following the world around. I just want to have control, to know where it is I'm headed."
Emily stared up at the sky and thought about this. What would it be like to have control? To hold the world in her hands?
Emily stared at the tiny crystal world in her hands. Around her shoppers pushed and chatted with fellow companions. The impatient sales woman kept asking her over and over again if she wanted to buy the figurine. But Emily paid no attention. She held the world in the palm of her hand.
Lizzie angrily slammed her books down on her desk. She couldn't believe her sister sometimes. How could she be so blind? Sometimes she wondered who was the older sister. Didn't she realize that Nikolas wanted nothing to do with her? Why couldn't she get it through that naive head of hers?
She plopped down on her bed and stared at the posters on her wall and ceiling. She really should tell Gram. But what good would that do? She would just laugh and tell her that she was pulling her leg. No, Sarah was an angel, a saint. And then there was her.
Lizzie angrily threw a stuffed animal at the wall opposite her bed.
She hated being compared to her sister. Sarah was always perfect, the good child. Where did she fit in? Where did she fit in that perfect little family.
Sarah had to have some flaw. She listened to classical music for goodness sake!
Never-the-less, she was her sister. And she loved her. And she was happy that Sarah was so successful. She even somewhat understood her frustration. And she sure didn't want to see her sister get hurt. Especially by some creep named Nikolas Cassadine.
"Nikolas, I don't know what she sees in you, but if you ever cause my sister grief, you won't be very happy."
Nikolas had been staring at that same spot for so long, he could have put a hole through the wall. He hadn't moved from his bed all day, although his Uncle and Mrs. Lansbury had continuously tried to coax him out of that gloomy mood of his.
A knock sounded on the door. Nikolas didn't even glance up from that spot on the wall, knowing that it was one of the two.
"Nikolas, may I come in?" asked his Uncle.
Nikolas, of course, didn't say anything.
Outside, on the other side of the door, Stefan Cassadine sighed in defeat. Nikolas wasn't going to talk on his own, he knew that. Especially if he stayed in that room of his. "Nikolas," he tried again. "Someone's here to see you. Katherine Bell. Shall I ask her to come up?"
Still no response.
Stefan glanced at the door one last time, wishing that he could somehow see through it to his nephew who sat inside.
Nikolas looked up at the sound of footsteps going down the hall, actually taking his eyes off of that spot on the wall. He lay his head back on his pillow.
Go away, world. he thought as he closed his eyes to welcome the darkness. Just go away.
Emily leaned against the wall of the elevator and watched as the numbers changed. The elevator doors parted, allowing her to step out. She held the small wrapped box in her hand, a gift for Nikolas. She walked by the nurse's station to Nikolas' room and knocked on the door. Hearing no reply, she opened it. Her eyes came to rest on the hospital bed. She gave a startled gasp when she saw a boy, a little older than she, with wavy dark brown hair. His left leg was in a white cast. His dark blue eyes turned away from the television set to look at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought, I mean, my friend-"
"No problem." the boy said.
"I'm sorry." Emily turned to leave, but the boy stopped her.
"Wait!"
She turned around to face him. His face broke into a smile.
"You can stay. I mean, I don't get many visitors. My parents are away and it gets kind of lonely here." Emily smiled, her first in weeks, and walked over to sit in the chair by his bed.
"My name's Mark." He said, holding out his hand.
"Emily." she replied, taking his. "So, how did this happen?" She gestured to the broken leg.
"Skiing. I was with a bunch of friends and we were goofing off on the slopes. I hit a patch of ice and went flying."
"Ouch." Emily winced.
"You can say that again." Mark smiled. Emily couldn't get over how handsome he was.
Mark glanced at the gift in Emily's hand. "Oh, a gift. You shouldn't have." he teased.
"Oh, this was for a friend. I haven't seen him for a while."
"Might this friend be a boyfriend?" he asked.
Emily blushed. "No. Just a friend."
"That's too bad for your friend, "Mark grinned, "but good for me."
Emily's face reddened and she lowered her head to hide a smile. She looked around the room, trying to change the subject.
"So, did you spend Christmas here?"
"Yeah, I thought that it would be really crummy, but it was actually pretty cool. Some of the nurses came around with gifts and my friends came to visit."
"That's nice. I'm glad that you weren't alone. It really stinks when you're alone. Especially during Christmas."
Mark's grin faded as he saw the expression of sadness on Emily's face. He couldn't help but think that there was some message behind that.
"Yeah, it does."
Emily's smile came back as she looked at Mark. "I have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Mark."
Emily stood up.
"You too, Emily. I hope that you visit me again."
Emily smiled. "Me too."
Emily closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Meeting Mark seemed to be a turning point in her life.
Lucky stared out the window at a little table in the corner of Kelly's. There was nothing to see outside. It was all darkness. But Lucky wasn't staring at any particular object. He was concentrating on his life. Lucky gripped the handle tightly on the ceramic mug. Where had he messed up? Was it when he and his dad faked Laura's death? When he went to Switzerland? Or when he was here, in Port Charles, but not concentrating on anything except Sarah Webber.
Elizabeth walked over to his table.
"Lucky, go home."
Lucky looked up, startled at her abruptness. "What?"
"Go home." She repeated. "You've been here for three hours, Lucky. What's going on with you?"
"Nothing." Lucky stood. "Tell Aunt Ruby that I'll see her tomorrow."
He walked to the door and went outside. He lifted his face to the velvet night sky and inhaled the cool air. He would make things better between himself and Emily. He would make her happy again, if only he knew how to.
Sarah shivered and hugged her jacket as the cold air swept into her face. She walked down the stairs to the docks and to the edge, so that she could stare down into the clear water. The wind made ripples, and she could see a reflection of herself in the water. Her red cheeks and watery eyes didn't make a very good picture. Sarah turned away as a tear fell. She wiped it away and stared up at Spoon Island.
"Oh, Nikolas." she muttered quietly. "Why don't you want to see me anymore? What did I ever do?"
Sarah wanted to reach out to that island, to touch that house, to touch Nikolas, more than anything. She wanted him to kiss her again, to hold her again. Sarah pulled her hand back in as she realized that she would get nothing more than the cold shoulder.
"Nikolas, remember me, please." she swallowed hard as the tears stopped flowing, but stained her cheeks. "Don't forget that I am still waiting for you."
Sarah tore her eyes away from Spoon Island and ran up the dock stairs.
Nikolas stepped out of the shadows and watched as Sarah ran up the wooden stairs. He closed his eyes as he tried to take it all in. He knew that Sarah was hurting, but so was he. So was he! Couldn't she understand that? Nikolas took a deep breath. Why was he always getting angry?
Because it's easy to get angry, he thought. It's much easier than loving.
Nikolas opened his eyes and glanced around him. Sarah's presence was still there.
"There's no way I can forget you, Sarah." he whispered as he blinked the tears in his eyes away. "There's no way."
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General Hospital's Friendship Forever