a real emergency (Cyn)

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Being grounded wasn't the most ideal situation, but it was adaptable. Natasha had been working on learning her audition lines as well as making a costume for a project. She had also spent time on her computer, looking for the perfect outfit to wear to the spring dance. She had finally found a dress and had ordered it. That was seven days ago. Now, she was standing in the main part of the suite, practicing her lines.

"She's hip, so cool
I wanna get her after school
and yet, we'd like to be like her
cause she's the kitten that the cats prefer!"

A knock sounded on the door, and Natasha removed her ear pieces attached to her ipod and walked over. She smiled brightly as the man held her sacred dress. It was perfect; with sequences all over the hot pink satin. Natasha pulled out her card and switched to the audition piece for the play over the summer.

"I know things now,
many powerful things
that I hadn't known before
Do not put your trust in a cape and a hood-"

"miss?"

Natasha put up a finger. "they will not protect you the way that they should"

"hello?" the man tried again to get her attention. Again, the teenager held up a finger.

"and take extrra care with strangers, even flowers have their dangers and though mysterious is exciting"

"hey!"

Natasha frowned and looked to him. "Do you know how rude it is to interrupt a performer in the middle of the piece? I'm not going anywhere, you'd still get your tip" she said sadly

"your card's been declined." he informed her

Natasha took it. "what? That's impossible"

He rolled his eyes. "Do you have another card?"

Instantly, Natasha's eyes filled with tears. "Daddy!" she ran into the conjoining room, where Andrew was looking up house listings. "My card got declined"

Andrew looked up. "what? But that's impossible"

"that's what I said, but he won't take it" she started sobbing. "and I have a date coming up and I need that dress!"

Andrew nodded. "ok. Come with me" he told hold of his daughter's hand and went back to the guy. "Here, try this one" he said and handed the man his. Embarrassed, Natasha hid behind her daddy.

"Thank you. Have a good day" he said, handing her the dress.

Natasha smiled and took the dress, running in the bathroom with it. Andrew sighed and went back to what he was doing, but picked up his phone and started diali9ng the credit card company. He talked to a representative for a few minutes, during which time Natasha came running to him in the dress. "see?"

Andrew smiled. "It's beautiful, princess."

Natasha giggled then sat by him. "But daddy, what if my card doesn't work again? I-I need it, daddy!"

Andrew nodded "yes, I'll hold" he said into the phone before looking to his daughter. "I'll get your credit card working again. Don't worry about a thing."

[Andre Simpson]

He was out of popcorn.

It was the only reason he came out of the bedroom and into the kitchen area. Still taking full advantage of his time away from work, he spent a lot of time hanging around the hotel and doing things that he hadn't really done in a long time... You know, lounging things. He still tried to spend as much time as he could with his family, but with everyone doing something of their own, Andre had gone back to his room and had been busy watching a movie when ran out the proper snack food and decided to head out to grab more. It was on his way back from the kitchen, bag in hand when he heard Andrew's comment.

"I'll get your credit card working again. Don't worry about a thing."

Credit card? Oh, no, he wouldn't. Quickly swallowing the mouthful of popcorn he had just stuffed into his mouth, he shook his head. "Hey, no, worry. Worry like crazy," he told his daughter, completely casually and looked to his husband. "I cancelled it." He hadn't told anyone he did, but that was half of the point. He was showing that he could and that he would carry out discipline. Andre knew it wasn't exactly part of the grounding that he mentioned, but in a way it was. After all, being able to buy things from home was almost the equivalent of going out and going shopping and since she was grounded he didn't want her doing that either. So, he thought it only fair to keep her from being able to use her credit card. It wasn't going to kill her to be without it until after spring break. Andre had a lot of little plans in mind. It would be like surprise punishment for the next few weeks! She was the one that took the surprise vacation, so he was only returning the favour.

[Deleted]

Natasha's jaw dropped. "---what??" She shook her head. "Why? I never spent alot at once." She looked at Andre with confusion and shock. Ok, so she tended to spend thousands of dollars at once. But they never once told her to slow it down!

Andrew slowly hung up the phone. "Doesn't that seem kind of harsh, dear?" he asked, rubbing her back. Yeah, he knew that she took off. But she was obeying her punishment and carrying it out without complaint. Poor Natasha.

Natasha stood up. "I made promises. She-I told her she can use it. Oh my goodness. I'm gonna look like a liar!" and really, that was the worst part of it all. She had made promises to Faith. Promises she had intended to keep even if she couldn't go anywhere. She couldn't know that she was being used.

[Andre Simpson]

Harsh? Harsh?! Andre raised his eyebrows at Andrew for the comment. "Yeah, you're right. I have no idea how I could've lived without an unlimited credit card when I was her age." He said, pretty sarcastic. He didn't have that kind of money when he was a kid. Hell, he didn't even have a credit card. So, he was sure she could live through it. Most kids did, and she would be fine. He wasn't about to go back on what he did either. He thought it was fine. Popping another piece into his mouth, he eyed Natasha and shook his head. "It's not about that, princess. It's all about your surprise little vacation. You like surprises and so do I. I figure grounding isn't really grounding if you have a credit card." He shrugged, figuring his logic was just fine. When she went on about her friend, however, he frowned.

"Some girl doesn't need to be using your card anyway. Just let her know it's not your fault." He didn't like the idea of someone taking her card anyway. It wasn't their money to use how they wanted. Sure, there was probably enough of it, but Andre didn't feel comfortable with Natasha's card in some girl's hands. That was a good way to wind up with a lot of money problems, even as rich as they were, it was possible. Celebrities did it all the time.

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Natasha nodded "exactly! So you know how I feel!" she exclaimed when he said he didn't know how he could have done it. Natasha really didn't comprehend sarcasm. When he explained why, tears brimmed her eyes. "I said I was sorry!" she shook her head. Her arms folded, and she began to breathe faster.

"It's not some girl! I told you about her! We have a project together! I-I made a promise. I always keep my promises! Always!" she spoke rapidly as she started to breathe even faster. The poor girl was working herself up into a panic attack. But in her mind, not having access to her card was a very good reason to panic.

Andrew stood up, watching the two. "She can borrow mine," he offered up. He didn't exactly care for the idea, but she was crying! Andrew just wanted her to cheer up. He hated seeing his Princess cry.

[Andre Simpson]

Actually no, he didn't know how she felt at all. And to him, money wasn't all that important anyway. He could live on a lot less. In fact, sometimes it was hard to tell by the things he personally did with money that he was capable of spending a lot more. He let it slide though, deciding that right now wasn't the appropriate time to teach his daughter about sarcasm. She was going to work herself into a fit! He wouldn't give in though, but apparently, his husband would do it. Frowning, he looked at him. "Hey, no, she'll be fine. Don't make me ground you too," he teased, as if he could possibly ground his husband. Moving closer to Natasha, he set his bag down and put his hands on her shoulders gently. "You're not breaking anything. It's not your fault." He told her, to try to make her feel better about the supposed broken promise. He didn't care what kind of project she was working on with her. Last he checked school projects didn't involve loaning out credit cards to partners. That was absurd and too trusting for his like.

"Think of it like... A house. Say you bought a house, and you promised someone they could come over and have a party or... they could see some fancy pants room that no house in history has..." He said slowly, making it up as he went, looking a little unsure of his analogy already. "Then, before you have a chance to, a giant hurricane sweeps in and destroys the house. Just takes it and there's nothing left. No more house, so even though you promised, it's impossible for you to have anyone over in that particular house. Sure, you can make up for it later, but it'll never be exactly what you promised, but it's out of your control. The credit card is that house, and I'm the unstoppable force that you have to learn to cope with." He explained, understanding very well that he just compared himself to a hurricane. But, hey... It fit, right? No, probably not, but he tried.

[Deleted]

Natasha took a step back when he touched her. She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "Why would you do that to me?? She's never gonna talk to me again! Do you know how hard it is for me to make friends here??" She was actually raising her voice to him, but she didn't even notice. She was just too upset to notice.

"Natasha-" Andrew started to say, but was cut off.

"They all call me Barbie! They don't like me, until they get to know me when I take them shopping! I need that card! It's the only way! Hannah's the only one who will talk to me without buying anything, and I haven't even seen her in like two weeks!"

Andrew sighed and walked over. "take deep breathes. Come on" he didn't want to see her have an anxiety attack. He rubbed her back and looked to Andre. Their daughter definitely had his vote. "say something." he said very softly. He wasn't good with words, only gifts. Gifts! That was it! "I'll order some room service. You want some pie?" he asked Tasha, who nodded.

[Andre Simpson]

She was... She was yelling at him! Andre was stunned, and taken aback. He blinked, eyes on Natasha the entire time. Her rant made him slowly start to frown, especially once he got over the shock of her actually raising her voice. He had caught Andrew's look, but didn't say anything right away. What was he supposed to say to that? He needed a moment to branch out of the shock! "Natasha, princess, that's not a friend." It was the first thing that came out of his mouth, because it was the most honest thing he could say. That wasn't her making friends, it was her making friends based on money. There were people more like her in Malibu, Andre knew that. Southern California had its own type of people. But, he didn't imagine that she would have too much trouble fitting in. But, obviously, it wasn't too easy and being rich didn't help matters. People liked to use money. "They're using you for that money. That's not how you make friends. They'll walk all over you." And sadly, he couldn't help what other kids did. It wasn't in his power to do.

"You'll make better friends than that. Come on, what about those twins of yours?" He offered, since she said she had met people that were practically her twin before and he hoped that they weren't there for the money. But there had to be some people that would be her friend regardless and eventually, when people realized she had a backbone they wouldn't walk on her. Well, that was if they ever noticed it. It was up to Natasha to stand up for herself. Andre couldn't go around and stand up for her. That would make matters worse, actually. But, either way, he was going to stick to the idea that she didn't need her credit card. If anything, her story made him want to keep it cancelled.

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"No!" she yelled out, causing Andrew to frown. Did she just...? He shook her head "Natasha" he said gently. The teenager folded her arms and looked right at her father. Andrew stood at the side, watching the look she was giving Andre. "Natasha," he said again.

"No! You don't understand anything! Being gay isn't the same as being a girl, you know! You don't get it! I do NOT want to end up like Augusta or Marissa! You don't think I need it because you went to high school a hundred years ago!"

"Hey," Andrew said, shaking his head. That wasn't very nice!

"You suck!" she finally screamed out and walked past Andre.

Andrew sighed "you know, fitting in isn't easy..." yes, he was defending her. Sure, she just screamed at Andre. But Andrew would die without his credit card, himself. He couldn't imagine being a teenage girl with the kind of pressure that Natasha was obviously facing. Andrew already had a solution in his mind. He'd slip his card to Natasha when Andre wasn't looking. Or he'd call and turn it back on. He wasn't going to let Natasha be an outcast. Not his little girl!

[Andre Simpson]

Andre was in shock by the yelling. He had tried to discipline her before but never got an emotional reaction like that one. He didn't know whether to be taken aback, angry or glad that she finally showed some frustration at his choices. Discipline wasn't supposed to be fun, after all, or filled with opportunities. It was good that she could be resourceful and figure out productive ways to spend her time but he wanted her to have that cloud over her head that said punishment. Not all the time, because he would hate to see her depressed and grim all the time. But, he wanted some acknowledgement that his punishments had an impact. He knew that it wasn't the same! And he knew full well that he was going to have to talk to her to calm her down. By no means was he going to leave it this way. And the big finish before she walked past him made him stare in awe before hearing his husband's voice. In response, he glanced at him, trying hard to fight back a smirk of satisfaction.

"I suck. Did you hear that? I'm having an impact." He said quietly, for Andrew's ears only. Okay,so it might not have been the most common reaction, but he was a little proud that he was able to have an effect on her. Then, with a nod, he let him know he understood. "I know, but money isn't the way to do it. There are other ways. And I was not in high school one hundred years ago." He commented. Not even close... Just... 18 years ago. The math he did in his head almost made him cringe. "I'll talk to her, don't worry." He said and walked after Natasha.

"Natasha!" He called out, walking behind her. "We aren't finished yet." He said it gently, yet sternly. He wanted her to know he wasn't angry with her. And by the time he reached her, he had that stern look back on his face again. They needed to talk, not yell.

[Deleted]

Natasha had closed the adjoining doors and turned on her broadway cd. She slipepd out of her dress and into a pair of jeans and a pink shirt and layed on the bed, listening to her music. She whistled for her dog and patted the bed. When Bruiser jumped up, she laid there stroking him, She felt calmer already...sort of. She was still crying when her dad came in, but she wasn't yelly anymore.

When he said they weren't finished, she got up and turned off the music. After all, it would be rude to listen to music when he said they weren't finished. "I'm sorry, daddy," she said softly as she sat back on her bed. "I didn't mean it." That was Natasha for ya. She was always the first to apologize, even when she had nothing to be sorry for. She had apologized to Jake the night he attacked her after she had tried to defend herself. She even apologized for apologizing once.