Disclaimer:

*Andi and Ashlee are sitting in a room with bright lights trained on them.*

Ashlee: Damn it Andi, don't say it!!

Andi: But, but…

Ashlee: Andi….

Andi: They don't belong to us okay?

*the light turns off and Steven steps out*

Andi's Note: This all started when we were talking on ICQ last night...I was inspired by the Princess' version and Ashlee's. It probably could use some more work...and I couldn't resist the reference to MA:o) Anything in < > takes place on ICQ

Ashlee's Note: Well, Andi came up with this idea, and I thought It was cool, so I helped <g> And I think we did pretty darn good!

Title - Pretender Payback : Twin Light, or Two is Better than One
Author - Ashlee
E-mail address - zyp959@hotmail.com (I'll forward responses to Andi)
Rating - PG
Category - Pretender Payback
Series/Sequel - written after Revenge, the Felonious Kind
Spoilers - still none.
Summary - Lyle is feeling upset about the bad rap he's getting.

"Pretender Payback : Twin Light, or Two is Better Than One"
By Andi and Ashlee

It had been a normal day for Andi (wake up at 1pm, eat, shower, take Lucky out, go shopping, etc.) until she dialed up. Cursing at yahoo because it had just delivered two weeks worth of pretendfic messages two weeks late, she opened ICQ. Seeing Ashlee on for the first time in weeks, she sent a message.

< Ashlee! >

< Hey, Andi! I haven't seen you for a while, thanks to those imbecile ISP people. >

< Yeah, I know. You *did* send me an email 'bout that. Oh, by the way, I read about what Jarod, Parker, Mulder, and Scully did. Your revenge was *wicked.* Great idea. >

< Thanks :o) We haven't talked for sooo long... >

Reading Ashlee's message Andrea got a glimmer... <I've got an idea... : grins wickedly : Anyone object to you disappearing for a few days? >

< Not if I say I've gone somewhere. Why? > Ashlee sent the message back, wondering just what Andi had thought of.

< Okay, then. I'm going to try something... >

Concentrating, she did the little 'apparition' spell authors' were *so* good at.

"This is why!" she exclaimed as Ashlee slowly materialized in her office.

Ashlee looked around amazed, then a look of shock and recognition came over her face

"You look just like my sister!" Ashlee exclaimed.

"I do?"

"Yep!"

"Cool. Well, did I come up with something good? This way, it's *much* easier to catch up!"

Ashlee nodded, looking around.

"It certainly is."

* * *

After three days of living with Andrea, Ashlee was amazed at how the girl lived. For instance, the fridge was filled with yogurt, Sprite, Citra, and Kool-Aide. Andi never had normal food; it was Easy Mac, microwave pizza, English Muffins or nothing. Nothing healthy, for sure.

Ashlee had to make a run to the store and pick up some Pop-Tarts and Uncle Ben's rice, refusing to eat that crap Andi called food…well besides the pizza, even she had to admit that that was some good stuff.

"You know, I can't decide if I should be lucky that Parker and Jarod *haven't* visited me, or if I should be sad because they haven't."

Ashlee was picking at the S'more Pop-tart she had separated and smiled at Andrea.

"If I were you I'd be glad. Parker pissed is not fun."

"I just feel left out. Besides I could handle her. At least she's not a raving lunatic like Lyle!!" Andrea paused for a moment. "I wonder why he insists that he's a good guy deep down."

Ashlee shrugged, not wanting to analyze him.

"Delusional?"

Andi shrugged.

"I guess it really doesn't matter, it isn't like he'd ever come *here*." Andrea stopped for a minute, looking at the clothes Ashlee was wearing. "What do say we hit the malls?"

Ashlee looked down at the clothes she was using, and had to admit they didn't fit her right. She agreed and they left.

* * *

After a very productive trip to the mall, both girls worked on fic. Ashlee upstairs, working on another short one, seeing as she was completely incapable of thinking about FOI7, while Andi worked on 'Drifting' to the sounds of Madison Avenue.

*Knock*

*Knock*

Opening the door, Andrea saw Lyle standing on her porch.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

Lyle sighed. *Another* worshipper of his sister.

"I came to talk to you. About your fiction."

"Oh. Well, come in then."

Lyle followed Andi to her office, where she took a seat on the black leather chair.

"Well, talk."

"Are you *another* lover of my sister?" Lyle blurted out.

She merely laughed.

"Nope. I've always been this way Lyle, it's why my family loves me *so* much."

Lyle nodded.

"I came here to ask you why you wrote me the way you did in Sensual Captivity! And in your latest fic."

"What was wrong?"

Getting up from his seat Lyle paced the spacious room.

"You write me like I'm a monster! Or worse. In Sensual you...you...I'm not even going to talk about that. But in that Intoxication fic you had me kill Jarod."

"Wouldn't you like to do that?" Andrea asked.

Her question brought Lyle up short.

"Yes...and no."

"So you want to kill Jarod, but you don't want to lose Parker?"

"Yes!"

Andrea laughed, an evil grin on her face.

"Lyle, it doesn't work that way...you don't always get what you want."

"But I'm tired of people writing me as a bad person!"

"You are. Take a look at the other fics on my drive, Lyle. Take a look at most of the fics with you in them. People see you as malicious. Your deeds at the Centre are almost equal to those of Raines. Face it, Lyle: You have a few supporters, the Princess, for one. Sometimes I am, too. But it's just so *fun* to write you as a bad guy."

Taking a seat at the desk, Lyle skimmed through the fics Andrea was working on. Every single one with him was *bad.*

"Can't you write anything nicer," He pleaded.

She almost laughed at the sight before her. Lyle, feared by many at the Centre, begging her to be nicer to him. When he turned those sorrowful puppy eyes on her she couldn't resist.

"Okay, Lyle, you win. The next fic I write with you will *not* have you as the mean and evil person you are. Happy?"

Rising, he said,

"Yes. But remember, I didn't ask you for help."

"Of course you didn't," she muttered as she walked upstairs to visit Ashlee. "I *do* owe you something for being so horrible to you in those last two fics." She smiled, motioning for him to follow.

Ashlee sat on the floor, a note pad in front of her. She frowned at it, cursing that she didn't have Henry, her computer, with her. She brightened as she realized she could transport him over here like Spock on Star-Trek.

Just as she began to concentrate, she heard the door fling open. She jumped, then spun around while still sitting. When she saw that it was only Andrea standing in the door she placed a hand over her heart.

"Jesus Andi, you nearly gave me a…" She trailed off as the man that had accompanied Andrea stepped into the room. "Holy shit! Lyle! What the…" Ashlee took a deep breath. "I, uh, mean, hi Mr. Lyle."

Lyle turned to Andrea confused.

"What does this have to do with you making up for being mean?"

""Well, Lyle, if you came to see me, it's only fitting you visit Ashlee too. After all, you *are* hanging in FOI. Which she hasn't finished yet."

Ashlee looked horrified.

"Andi! I thought you were with me on that..."

"Oh, I am...but Lyle *wanted* to talk to you...Have fun!" She disappeared down the stairs.

"Andi!! Andi? Where..Come back!" Ashlee said casting a nervous look at Lyle.

Lyle looked at her confused.

"Why are you scared to be alone with me?"

Ashlee, who had since regained composure and was cursing Andi, rolled her eyes.

"Gee, I'll have to get back to you on that one."

Lyle sighed deeply.

"I'm really not a bad person."

Ashlee coughed to muffle her next words.

"Delusional."

"What? Just tell me why you write me the way you do. I mean in FOI you have me as some back-stabbing baddy who nearly faints when he thinks he's going to die. And in the one before that, Deep Deception, I try to kill Jarod and Parker, not caring about either, which is a lie, and then you have that dumb-ass carpenter, Thomas, kill me. What is that about?"

Ashlee thought for a moment as she stood and sat down at a desk.

"I wanted to show your sensitive side."

"And the bad stuff?"

"Face it Lyle, chicks dig the dark and mysterious. The more sinister and dark you are the more the women like you. They think you're sexy just the way you are and aren't about to change. I play on that like a good little writer." Ashlee shrugged. "Sorry."

"They really find that sexy?" Lyle asked incredulous

"Well I thought it was appalling that you were actually *nice* there for a while."

"Wow, I never looked at it that way."

Ashlee smiled.

"I'm glad I could help you Lyle. Wouldn't want you depressed. I need you homicidal. Can you do that for me?"

"They really think I'm sexy when I'm mean?"

Ashlee rolled her eyes at his self-absorbness.

"Yes Lyle. Now, are you gunna leave on your own?"

Lyle shook himself, still smiling.

"Yeah, sure I got some bad guy stuff to take care of."

"Okay, you go do that." After shoving him out the door, she followed him downstairs where they met up with Andi.

"Done already, Lyle?"

He nodded, on his way out the door.

"Been nice!" The backdoor slammed, tires squealed, and he was gone.

Andrea looked shocked.

"What did you tell him?"

Grinning, Ashlee said,

"I said that 'chicks dig the dark and mysterious. The more sinister and dark you are the more the women like you. They think you're sexy just the way you are and aren't about to change.'"

Andi burst out in laughter herself.

"And he believed that?"

Ash nodded.

"Every word. He kept asking me if it was true; we never really got to FOI7, thank god. So what did he want with you?"

"Oh, he was mad about Sensual, of course. And about SI, too. He wasn't too happy." She shrugged, going to the refrigerator. "Then I brought him up to see you." Taking out a container of vanilla yogurt, she closed the fridge. "You want some?"

"Of that? No way! Can you toss me one of those Pop-Tarts though, please?"

"No prob." Ashlee and Andi went and sat down.

After eating one of her two Pop-Tarts Ash turned to Andi,

"You know, two is better than one, especially when it entails bugging Lyle."

"Cheers." Ashlee clinked her Sprite to Andi's daiquiri (non-alcoholic, mind you), and the two enjoyed the rest of their visit.

Back