Just A Dream...
Family Feud

Chapter Five: Jetta Explains

"You know, today's been a blast." Sylva stretched out on Copper's bed, eying her new nail polish with approval. The four girls were gathered in Copper and Nancy's room with mugs of hot chocolate and a pack of biscuits, since it was past midnight and too late for yelling between rooms. "This colour rocks, remind me to wear it next time we do a show. Under the lights it'll sparkle like mad."
"Take attention off your face, then." Nancy told her neatly, pausing in brushing out her long hair. "I don't know what the fuss was about regarding your hair. It looks like it always does."
"Well, it always looks good, so who cares?" Sylva shrugged flippantly.
"Well, I got my hair straightener...how about we give you a new look?" Copper suggested, indicating the gadget in question.
"Ooh, new look!" Topaz exclaimed. "Now it feels like a real sleepover!"
"Oh, shut up, silly." Copper laughed. "But still, why not? Syl, you game?"
"Hey, sure." Sylva nodded, always up for a dare. "Just don't wreck my hair, okay? I'm kinda curious to know what I look like with straight hair."
"Well, you're about to find out." Copper told her, plugging the contraption in. "And you can trust me...I worked in a salon, remember?"
"Good point." Sylva acknowledged. "Hey, if I like it, I might wear it like that tomorrow when we go meet this friend of Jetta's."
"We're doing your hair too, Nance." Topaz decided, stretching across that girl's bed to take a biscuit from the pack. "Since you missed out earlier."
"What are you gonna do to it?" Nancy sounded guarded.
"I still like the idea of curling it some." Copper admitted. "Sylva, keep still! You'll wind up with a kink if you keep wriggling."
"Well, it'll match the one in her brain." Nancy grinned.
"I knew you were gonna say that." Sylva looked disdainful. "You're so unoriginal."
"Don't tell me you have curling tongs too, Copper." Topaz raised an eyebrow. Copper grinned, shaking her head.
"No, never needed them." She replied. "But there are other ways, you know."
"I'm liking this idea less and less." Nancy observed. "I think I'll pass for tonight on the curls, thank you. At least till someone can do me properly and not on a budget."
At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Topaz slipped off Nancy's bed to go answer it, smiling as she saw Jetta on the other side.
"Hi." She said. "Come to say goodnight?"
"Kind of." Jetta returned the smile, following Topaz into the room. "I've spoke to Aaron an' now I'm speakin' to you, regardin' tomorrow. The train journey out to Ruislip is about an hour almost from 'ere in central London, so I want to be out by nine, you got it? No lying in. Nancy, you an' Aaron don't 'ave a choice, you're comin'...the rest of you can...Sylva, what in 'ell happened to your 'air?"
"Copper straightened it." Sylva said simply. "Do you like it?"
"Well, it's different." Jetta admitted. Sylva grinned.
"I thought it might be a cool new look for stage sometimes." She said. "I think I'll wear it like this tomorrow when we go...I think we all decided to come along for the ride, anyway."
"Well, I certainly am, cos I promised both Nancy and Aaron I would." Copper said. "And where one of us goes, the others generally tag along these days."
"Yep." Topaz nodded. "Out by nine? That means breakfast by half eight...so we'll scramble up about eightish."
"Well, just be sure you are up." Jetta's eyes twinkled. "Trains don't wait, you know."
"Mom, can I ask you about something, before you go?" Nancy put in. Jetta nodded, frowning.
"Sure, kid. What's up?"
"Do you have a brother?"
Jetta's expression became guarded.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked levelly.
"Well, I just wondered." Nancy replied. "I met someone in town today, you see, and..."
"'Ave you spoken to Jeremy?" Jetta's expression changed from suspicion to alarm, and she grabbed her daughter by the shoulder. "You listen to me, Nancy! You are never to speak to 'im under any circumstances, you understand me? You don't know what he is!"
"I haven't spoken to him!" Nancy looked startled by her mother's reaction. "It was his son...Taylor."
"Taylor." Jetta frowned, sitting down beside the teenager. "'E's probably just as bad. We don't 'ave anythin' to do with Jeremy's family, get that into your 'ead now."
"But Taylor seemed okay!"
"I don't care what 'e seemed." Jetta said darkly. "It's for your own safety, Nancy. Trust me. They're bad news...I don't want you hurt."
"You never even mentioned a brother to us." Nancy pointed out.
"I know...because I 'oped you'd never meet 'im." Jetta said. "'E's evil, Nancy, I swear. Pure evil. 'E's tried to kill me twice."
"Your own brother?" Copper exclaimed, shock in her eyes, then she blushed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's all right. It's shockin' enough." Jetta said with a rueful smile.
"He really tried to kill you?" Shock filled Nancy's features. Jetta nodded.
"Yes. First time 'e went to throttle me, an' it's only thanks to your Aunt Roxy an' a steel pipe that 'e never managed it." She said, glancing at her hands. "That were the first time I realised how evil 'e really was, though I'd 'ated 'im for years, ever since 'e tried to frame me in 'is schemes to get a lighter jail sentence. The second time, 'e was banged up, but 'e sent one of 'is so called friends to get me out of the way an' mess up the Misfit tour. You can ask Pizzazz about that one...I'm sure she'll remember."
"Wow." Nancy was silent for a moment, then, "I'm sorry, Mom. I had no idea things were so bad. I'm glad Aaron and I are so close."
"Me too. 'E 'as your father's makeup an' not your uncle's." Jetta said quietly. "But you see now why I want you as far away from Jeremy an' 'is family as I can get you! They're all liars an' manipulators an' I wouldn't trust a single one of them, whatever they say to you. All right?"
"All right." Nancy nodded. "Is that why you always try to make us coming to the UK as much of a nonevent as possible?"
"You got it." Jetta replied grimly. "The less known it is the better. It's also why you girls ain't begun a UK tour yet. Pizzazz an' I both want to be sure England's secure to 'ave you in the public eye first." She paused, meeting Nancy's gaze. "I won't risk you for any amount of profit."
Nancy hugged her mother, a little awkwardly.
"I'll be careful." She promised. "And I won't talk to Taylor or anyone else while we're here unless it's okay with you first."
"Good girl." Jetta smiled slightly. "Well, I'll leave you girls be. Nine o clock, remember?"
And with that, she was gone.
"Man." It was Topaz who broke the silence. "Poor Jetta!"
"I'll say." Sylva nodded. "I can't imagine having a psycho relative."
"I never knew she even had a brother, guess I can see why." Nancy replied with a sigh. "To be honest I don't think Taylor's dangerous, and I think anything happening to me while I'm here is a long shot, but I don't want to worry her. I never saw her as scared before as she was when she thought I'd spoken to Uncle Jeremy."
"I reckon you're right." Copper said gravely. "I vote we stick together as much as we can. Like you, I don't think that there's much risk, but there's no sense in frightening Jetta when she's been sweet enough to bring us to England like she has."
"So we don't mention this again?" Topaz suggested. "And we play it safe, right?"
"Right." Nancy nodded. "And if we're up early tomorrow, I guess we'd better get some sleep...you girls best get back to your own room, else you'll never wake up tomorrow, I know you!"
"Okay, we're going." Topaz grinned, getting to her feet. "C'mon Syl. Night, all. Sweet dreams!"
 


 PART FIVE: FAMILY FEUD
Chapter One: Invitation To England
Chapter Two: Exploring London
Chapter Three: Taylor
Chapter Four: A Surprise For Nancy
Chapter Five: Jetta Explains
Chapter Six: To Ruislip
Chapter Seven: Romance
Chapter Eight: The Stranger
Chapter Nine: Kidnap!
Chapter Ten: The Aftermath
Chapter Eleven: Bad Blood
Chapter Twelve: An Unlikely Hero
Chapter Thirteen: A Family For Taylor

JEWELFIC MAIN PAGE:
Copper, Nancy, Sylvie, Anna, Blade, Sirena, Topaz, Aaron, Sophie, Justin, Elliot, Rosita, Luis and any other characters in this fiction which do not appear in the animated Jem series are copyrighted to me (E.A Woolley) as of January 2002 <unless otherwise specified> and are not to be reproduced without permission ANYWHERE. Jetta, Pizzazz, Stormer, Roxy, Raya and all other original Jem characters are the copyright of Hasbro Inc, Sunbow, Christy Marx and the other writers of the Jem series.