"Artist Attraction"
Chapter One -- Part Two

     The next morning... "Breakfast! Rise and be shiny or the early worm will get a bird!" Balki called out from the kitchen area, after making way too much noise.

     With all the noise, Beth had woken up and promptly put the pillow on her head to drown out the noise. She groaned, removed the pillow, and sat up. "Why does everyone have to be a morning person?"

     The bedroom door opened and Larry staggered out. Without saying a word, or even looking towards the kitchen, he went straight into the bathroom.

     "Not everyone," Balki corrected, then went over to the couch. "He's better when he gets his coffee."

     Beth gave him a tired smile. "I just need breakfast--"

     The bathroom door opened and Larry came out, again in a sleep-induced daze, and went straight to the kitchen. He grabbed the coffee pot, poured a mug, and downed half of it immediately. He refilled the mug, replaced the pot, left the kitchen, and finally looked into the living room. "Morning."

     Balki nudged Beth. "What I tell you." He got up and went back to the kitchen area, while Beth went into the bathroom.

     Larry downed the mug. "Balki, must you act as an alarm clock every morning." He turned a dull glare at him.

     "That is how it's done on Mypos..." Balki began.

     "Of course it is. But this isn't Mypos and I own an alarm clock for a reason."

     Balki returned an expectant look, waiting for the reason.

     Larry sighed. "You don't have to make so much noise in the morning. I'm surprised you don't wake the rest of the building." He paused. "I can wake up just fine to the alarm clock and as long as I have coffee." He held up the mug.

     Balki came over with the pot and refilled the mug. "It wouldn't be the same without making noise."

     "Then just tone it down a bit."

     Beth came out of the bathroom and flopped herself down at the table, in the chair across from Larry.

     "Coffee?" he asked, as she yawned.

     "More sleep." She looked up and caught the knowing look on his face. "Breakfast, that's it."

     Larry turned to Balki. "With all that noise, what did you actually make for breakfast?"

     "I make my own. I'm no mind reader," Balki commented and sat between them.

     "And I bet you had cereal, too."

     "How did you do that?" Balki asked, then turned to Beth. "He guessed."

     Beth chewed on her lower lip to keep from laughing, seeing the look of defeat and aggrevation on Larry's face.

     "I need more coffee." He stood and went into the kitchen.

     The phone rang and Balki jumped up. "I got it!" He picked up the receiver. "Hello?" As he listened, Beth got up and went into the kitchen. The longer he stayed on the phone, the farther away he moved it from his ear. The others turned to look when they could hear a loud voice, followed by a *click*.

     "Twinkacetti?" Larry said, sitting back down at the table.

     "He has more boxes, so I get more exerceese," Balki said, then went over to the rack and grabbed his jacket.

     "In that case, I think I'll stay away from you and your boxes today."

     "More exerceese for Balki, then." He pulled the door open and left.

     Beth came back to the table, bowl and glass in hand, and a smirk on her face.

     "What's so funny?" Larry asked.

     "Nothing," Beth said, "he just... cracks me up sometimes."

     "With him around, sometimes I think I'm going to crack up," he commented, then paused. "You've shown him your drawings?"

     She about nearly dropped her spoon and looked up. "Some of them."

     Larry nodded, then picked up his bowl and mug, took them into the kitchen, and came back to the table. "Good luck with finding a job." He turned and went to his room, closing the door after him.

     Beth sighed and finished her breakfast quickly. She put the dishes in the sink, went to her bags, grabbed some clothes, and rushed into the bathroom.

     Ten minutes later, she emerged, still rushing, grabbed her notebook and jacket and left.

     About an hour later at the Ritz, Larry is at the register. Balki walked past, carrying a box, for about the 7th time. "Haven't you run out of boxes yet?" Larry asked. "I'm getting a bit tired of watching you going back and forth."

     "Mr. Twinkacetti has a whole mound more of boxes of things he wants moved," Balki replied.

     "Figures." Larry drummed his fingers on the counter. "Balki, what else do you know about Beth? Family, where she comes from, if she's wanted for anything..."

     "Why you ask?" Balki asked, stopping next to the counter, having conveniently not heard the last part of Larry's question.

     "Oh, I don't know, because she's staying with us and I don't know anything about her."

     "You could ask her for yourself."

     "Sure, of course I could. Besides the fact that she seems to not like being around me and she seems a bit overly possessive of that notebook or whatever it is, I'm sure she'll tell me," Larry said, letting the sarcasm hang for a moment. "It'd just be so much easier if you told me."

     "Maybe if you would let her stay longer..."

     "Balki," Larry interrupted, "I don't know anything about her! Why would I let a complete stranger stay with me for who knows how long?"

     "Why did you do that, Cousin?"

     Larry groaned. "Okay, so maybe it isn't all that different. I just feel like I'm being taken advantage of." He paused. "I don't like that and you know it."

     "Just give her a chance, for me. She is a good friend."

     "Fine."

     A little after the noon hour, the apartment door opened and Larry came in. He spotted Beth's drawing notebook on the couch. "Beth?" He waited, but got no reply. He looked away, glanced back at it, then shook his head. He walked past the couch and into the kitchen. He put the coffee pot on a burner to heat up and then glanced back over at the couch. "Beth?" He waited, and again, nothing.

     A couple minutes passed, he poured a mug of coffee, went over to the couch, and sat down right next to the notebook. He put the mug on the coffee table and glanced around the room.

     In one quick motion, Larry grabbed the drawing notebook from the cushion and flipped open to the first drawing: a skyline drawing of Chicago. A semi-surprised look crossed his face and he nodded approvingly. It was a great drawing. He sat back and flipped to the second drawing... and nearly dropped it. He sat forward, now an extremely surprised look was mixing with disbelief. He closed the notebook, dropped it where it was, and looked about ready to start hyperventalating.

     At the Ritz, a couple minutes later, Larry came rushing in and went straight to the counter. "Balki, can I speak to you, please?" He gave him a big forced smile.

     Balki returned a questioning look. "But, Cousin, it's your lunch hour. Why you not eating?"

     The forced smile fell as Larry reached over the counter and grabbed a handful of Balki's shirt. "Talk. Now." He pulled him around the counter and dragged him to the stairs, stopping at the bottom. "I need to talk to you about Beth. Right now."

     "Cousin, I already say to ask her for yourself."

     "I know that, but--"

     Balki interrupted, pointing toward the door. "Guess who just come in." He waved. "Hi, Beth!"

     "No, Balki..." Larry tried, but gave up, groaned, and turned away as she walked over to them.

     "Hi, guys," Beth greeted, a bit uneasily.

     "How did your work hunt go?" Balki asked.

     "Job hunt," Beth corrected, then added, "I found one. I'll be doing illustrations for children's books."

     Larry turned to face her, an extremely forced smile threatening to fall from his face. "Congratulations."

     "This is great news!" Balki said. "So great, now we do the Dance Of Joy!"

     "The... what?" Beth asked, as Balki began the Dance by himself. She watched and tried not to laugh.

     "That," Larry answered, and began to turn away. "I've got a job to do." He went back over to the counter as Balki finished.

     The amused look on Beth's face finally broke when she was picked up by Balki at the end and she began laughing. "Don't tell me this is how you get dates!"

     "Of course not, don't be ridiculous!" Balki replied, putting her down on her own feet.

     "He used to throw himself at their feet," Larry interjected, now leaning on the counter. "Balki, there's a little something called a job we're supposed to be doing."

     "But you say--"

     "Nevermind that now, Balki, and get over here."

     "Okay," Balki agreed, then whispered to Beth, "Cousin Larry wants to talk to you." He walked over to the counter, as a worried look crossed Beth's face. She left quickly.

     "What did you just tell her?" Larry asked, giving him a death glare.

     "Who, me? I say nothing important," Balki replied.

     "Of course you don't." Larry raised a hand to his forehead.

     Later that afternoon, the guys came into the apartment.

     "Beth?" Balki called out.

     "Uh huh, see that? She isn't here," Larry said.

     "Yes, I am." Beth looked in through the window from her seat on the outter sill.

     "Why are you out there?" Larry asked.

     Balki walked over to the window and leaned out. "How you know about the view from here?"

     "I couldn't sleep, so I sat over here and noticed the skyline," Beth replied, holding up a drawing. "Made for a great drawing."

     "Wow! This is good," Balki commented, taking the notebook. "What else you have?" He was about to flip the page when Larry came over and made a grab for it.

     "Guys!" Beth exclaimed, almost laughing at their tug of war.

     Finally, Larry yanked it away, a determined look on his face, and flipped through the next couple pages, only to find that the drawing he'd seen earlier was now gone. He stopped on one page, smiled, and handed it to Balki. "There's one for you." He turned and went to the kitchen.

     "Dimitri!" Balki exclaimed, looking at the drawing of his stuffed sheep.

     Larry sat at the table, an amused look on his face. "Maybe you should ask her how much she wants for it."

     "Draw him again," Balki said, handing the notebook back.

     Beth took it and looked at the drawing. "Sure." She shrugged and smiled, glancing toward the kitchen. "He is quite photogenic."

     Larry about nearly did a spit-take behind them, then quickly got up and went into the bedroom.

     "What got to him?" Balki asked.

     Beth only shrugged again.

     That evening, Balki had already left for class, while Larry remained wholed up in his room.

     Beth came inside from her perch, pulled out a folded up paper from her pocket, and walked over to the door. She took a deep breath and knocked.

     "I'm sleeping."

     Beth smirked. "Then how come you're talking?"

     A pause. "I'm talking in my sleep."

     She sighed. "I just wanna talk... and not through the door."

     The door was yanked open and Larry leaned against the frame, smiling. "Something on your mind?"

     Beth held out the paper. "You saw this, didn't you?"

     The smile fell and he glared at the paper like it might explode. "When did you do that? How did you..." He paused. "Why? Answer in that order."

     "The first day. I used a photo... besides, I already did one for Balki of himself." She paused. "I guess I should've asked first, I'm sorry."

     A look of defeat and guilt crossed his face. Larry held out a hand. "Can I have it?"

     "Really?"

     "If you can bear to part with it, that is."

     Beth put the paper in his hand. "So... you're okay with me staying here now?"

     Larry pocketed the paper, then held up an index finger. "I'll let you know when I find out a little bit more about you, since I still know next to nothing, except that Balki seems to think highly of you."

     "Really?" She paused. "Okay, I guess it's only fair."

Chapter Two...