The Plan

This was all extremely new to Lucus, therefore, what came next wasn't all that surprising. Lucus, never having broken the rules, at least not on a large scale, continuously asked if it really was okay. Nate was relentless and refused to back down on his plan. He took out a dumpy looking notebook. Lucus, hearing the pages, was surprised at the thorough planning.

"Okay, so here's what I got. It's simple, but foolproof." Lucus raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Look, I've got it covered. I was once a simple thief. You can trust these skills." He flexed some surprisingly large muscles.

"Didn't you get caught though?" Lucus grinned.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that just now." Lucus laughed, making Nate join in too. The simple creases in the folds of the cotton blankets matched the laugh lines forming on their faces. Warm and comforting like one too. Nate smoothed the sheets back down and placed his notebook on them, as if it were a precious treasure. One unfit for an underprepared surface. "It's pretty elementary," He poked Lucus in the side, "I had to dumb it down for your amateur @$%." Lucus ignored the swearing as everyone it could have an impact on was most likely fast asleep.

"You're right. Oh please, teach me your ways, oh great one." Lucus rolled his eyes in the most sarcastic tone possible. Nate turned a few more pages in the notebook then back again. The wrinkles, worn down and back up again from age and use.

"It's a simple distraction then helps the other kind of thing. That's why I need you." And with that, Nate's plan commenced.

Mother hummed in the main living room, knitting needles clicking in the dim, warm light. The metal rods reflected the light of two lamps, projecting small but dazzling spectacles on the walls. She was sat comfortably in a very ordinary red sofa chair. There was a well made side table next to it that matched the creaky wooden floorboards. Lucus stepped out of the bedroom and strode down the hall, letting the deeply stained floor sing. Nate snuck out quietly too, but hid behind a flower pot at the transition between the hall and the living room. Just out of Mother's view.

"Mother" Lucus started, still walking towards her.

"Oh, Lucus. You aren't supposed to be out here. You are grounded, you know." She smiled softly, attempting to look mad, but she yawned soon after, tired. "I can't just let you do whatever you want." Lucus paused before answering.

"I know," Nate whispered, barely audible. At least, that is, to most people. His whisper was at such a level that Lucus could understand, but Mother would hear nothing. Lucus repeated Nate's words, copying the tone. "That's precisely why I came out. I had a question."

"Oh, you know you could have just called me over, rather than breaking the rules." She put on a stern voice, slightly louder than usual, as Lucus was tapping his foot on the loudest floorboard. Rhythmic, and slow. Lucus continued to imitate Nate's whispers as he spoke.

"I didn't want to wake up everybody else. I mean, it must take forever putting them all to bed without the help. Didn't they leave an hour or two ago?" Nate crept slowly towards the door. He placed careful footsteps, landing on only one floorboard each. None of the chosen ones made a sound when pressure was applied. Lucus strode over, letting Mother's eyes follow him in the opposite direction to Nate, who then took a small substance out of his pocket. He carefully unscrewed the top, and applied a generous amount of it to the rusted door hinges. Even with the lubricant, Nate still opened it cautiously, waiting for Lucus's hand movement signaling when no sound was coming from outside, before slipping out. Right now, Lucus continued to entertain a conversation with Mother, postponing the end for as long as possible. It wasn't as smooth as before without Nate's help, but the need for captivating word choice was over. Meanwhile, Nate snuck over to the third window on the left of the house and knocked three times. When nobody answered, he knocked again. Soon a figure came and opened the curtains. When she noticed who it was, she glared at him and crossed her arms. Nate made a pleading motion, until she reluctantly unlatched the window. She didn't let him in, though. Whatever he needed could be said here.

"Nate?! What the %!@& are you doing here?" She recrossed her arms and raised one eyebrow. The moonlight lit up her face, so that you could see the sharp contours of her pursed lips. "You are soooo lucky I'm not ratting you out right now." She was whisper-yelling at him, continuously looking behind her to make sure nobody was coming in. "Actually, give me one good reason why I shouldn't. I could get a bonus in my allowance. I was planning on getting something." She grinned, head tilted to the side in a sort of manic way. To her surprise, Nate grinned back.

"How 'bout a twenty?" He held up a bill, flashing a daring smile to mask his anticipation for her answer. "What do you think, Abby?" Abby saw through to his squirming, and waited for a bit before answering, as if she was debating on an answer. She already had one.

"Sure. Fine. Why not." She reached for the money, but Nate pulled it away. He taunted it, just out of her reach.

"Bu,bu,bu!" He waved his finger in her face. "You think I came here just to give you money? Come on, I'm not stupid. I need your help, well, Lucus and I need your help." He paused, letting Abby debate on whether to continue the conversation or not.

"Well that costs a little extra." She let her smile return, eyeing the wallet peeking out of his pocket. "Or I might as well just tell Mother now. My services aren't free, ya know." Nate sighed and fished out another bill from his wallet.

"Fine, how's thirty?" He rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed with this outcome. Abby began to close the window.

"Oooh Mo-" She started, but Nate cut her off quickly. She opened the window once more to meet Nate's eyes.

"Okay! Okay! I get it! Thirty five is the best I can do." He held up a five dollar bill and his empty wallet in defeat.

"Great." Abby said, snatching the money. "Now what do I gotta do?"