Also on ao3 as wildepoe Reese Wilkerson my beloved <3 Never getting over Caulscott I write fanfics sometimes… I read them a lot I love horror and Spider-man and science and Taylor Swift and sitcoms I’m like an onion
In which, Tessa Smythe tries to navigate her teenage life while being intertwined with the destructive Wilkerson family next door, only to end up falling in love with her best friend.
Current word count (on ao3): 82k words
Tags: Very slow slowburn, childhood best friends to lovers, first love, awkward teenagers, canon adjacent
Note: TBH idk how to post on here, but I wanted to share the chapters of my story one by one. I wrote this a very long time ago and I’m just now editing the chapters and planning out the continuation of this story. If you’re interested, you can read the up to date version on AO3!
You can also find this story on wattpad under @/kingschteve
Chapters !
Season 2
Prologue: Flashback
Season 3
Chapter 1. Houseboat
Chapter 2. Christmas
Chapter 3. Reese Drives
Chapter 4. Cynthia’s Back
Chapter 5. Conversations
Season 4
Chapter 6. Sophomore Year
Chapter 7. Concert
Chapter 8. Valentine’s Day
Chapter 9. Homesick
Chapter 10. Movie Night
Chapter 11. Baby: Part 1
Chapter 12. Baby: Part 2
Moodboards !
Tessa Smythe ☆
‘Oh, I'm just a girl... trying to find a place in this world’
❛ Part of me wants you
But most of me needs you
So I won't fall unless you ask me to ❜
- Steamroller, Phoebe Bridgers
... "Honey, can I call you back?"
Oh, shit.
Well, we were busted.
It wasn't long before we had to give in and leave the car with security, like children getting escorted to the principal's office.
Everyone at the convention turned their heads to us as we walked behind the guards.
Surprisingly, they didn't give us too much trouble, but they certainly expected their valuable attire back.
Once Reese and I took off the gown and the tux, they let us go. So we were walking to the car again—with the keys this time.
I looked at Reese as we went on our walk of shame side by side. Hal was rambling on about something, but I was too spaced out to hear. I could just see Reese, in his orange shirt now, and I remembered kissing him earlier. It was hard to keep out of my head. I wondered if he was thinking about it as well—if we'd ever bring it up. I hoped not.
"Let's go! Lois is in labor and we just wasted forty-five minutes in the security office," Hal said, and suddenly my ears picked up his voice.
Lois was having the baby. Now.
So much for needing to take my mind off of it. I wished I had argued even more to let me stay with her at home. I could have been there, I could have been of actual help.
We all speed walked towards the car, Hal and I leading. The boys complained about something as we jumped into the van. Dewey followed Malcolm in the back and Reese and I were left in the front back seat.
My mind was reeling. Lois was practically alone—without her husband or a car. We could miss it. I hadn't missed a single thing in this household since they moved next door and I was going to miss the birth of a whole new sibling.
I was just glad that Reese was here, and we didn't have to worry about him causing any more trouble than he already had.
Hal's anxiety was infectious. Veins were popping out of his head as he rushed to start the car.
"You guys have really outdone yourselves this time," he scolded, and I winced. I knew that it wasn't just Reese's fault that we were late, but mine too.
"Now I'm gonna take your mom to the hospital and I'm not gonna hear one word out of any of you until we come back with the baby!" He screamed.
The engine revved to life. But he didn't reverse.
In his flurry of rage, he slammed the pedals, sending us careening forward, and crashing into the wall ahead of us.
I braced for impact, but something held me back.
Reese had spread his arm across my torso, keeping me locked in place, and supporting himself with his other hand on the headrest.
Hal's head hit the steering wheel with a hard thud and the startling beep of the horn.
I surely would have met the back of passenger seat with the same impact if not for Reese.
I mean, what were friends for other than preventing possible injuries?
But Hal had no one. He actually hit his head. Hard.
I didn’t even thank Reese, I didn’t have to.
I rushed out and over to the driver's side of the car to check on Hal. He was even more delirious than before.
"Oh my god, are you okay?!" I asked.
He responded by gripping his head and babbling nonsense.
Malcolm came by my side to inspect him. "He might have a concussion."
Reese began pushing his father out of the driver's seat. "Let me drive!"
"No, Reese, we don't need to get the cops on us too!" I snapped back.
"No one is driving! I'm calling an ambulance!" Malcolm reached over to grab Hal's cellphone, effectively shutting Reese up.
I wanted to retort. I knew we had to get back to Lois. A trip to the hospital would just be one more thing to stall us.
The ambulance came regardless, and brought even more commotion with it. We huddled in the back, watching Hal make a fool out of the EMTs.
They attached a strange red cushion over his head along with a neck brace, and it just looked like equipment to try and restrain him. We followed in the emergency room as they rolled him on a stretcher to see the doctor. Even with his injury, he kept nagging at us with instructions on how to get to Lois on time.
"Dad, calm down," Malcolm said.
"I will not calm down!" He yelled. His phone rang again and he answered it despite the thing around his head. "Hello, Lois? What?!"
"Sir, stop moving." The nurse snatched the phone away from him.
I sighed. Lois was going into labor at home and this was what we were doing?!
"What'd she say?!" We all urged in unison.
"She's having our baby right now! I have to get home to her!" he answered.
I gasped. "She's having the baby at home?!"
The doctor walked over to the struggling Hal. "Sir, you're not going anywhere in the shape you're in." He looked over to the nurse. "Give him ten milligrams of Diazepam."
That medicine sounded familiar. I looked over to Malcolm, who had a better knowledge of drugs, and he seemed concerned. Not a good sign.
The nurse pushed the needle of the syringe through Hal's skin.
"Let me out of here—I'm fine! Wait—what is that?! What—what is that?!" He spurted out a mess of words, before dozing off.
It didn't last long though. A few seconds later he jolted up again and screamed. So much for a sedative.
The doctor instructed the nurse to give him another dosage, before turning to the lineup of horrified kids watching—us.
Reese, Malcolm and I exchanged worried glances.
"Why don't you kids come with me? We have all sorts of fun magazines in the waiting area," he said to us. I couldn't focus though, I could still hear Hal squirming.
The doctor turned to me. "Ya' like Seventeen?"
I simply raised my eyebrows at him.
He bent down to Dewey. "Ya like Goofus and Gallant?"
"We don't wanna read stupid magazines, our mom is having a baby!" Malcolm yelled.
"I'm sure she's very well taken care of, and so is your father. Now there's nothing for you guys to do but relax and wait for someone to come and getcha."
Dewey spoke up next, "but we have to do something, this is all our fault."
"You're obviously very upset, young man, and frankly, I have no idea how to deal with you. That's why I'm not in pediatrics. Now, let's go to the waiting room like I told you." He gave us a condescending smile. Hal was still making weird noises in the room. "If you don't want to look at magazines, I'm sure there's a chair you can spin around in."
The doctor led us out. We didn't go into the waiting room, and instead just idled in the hallway.
Eventually, Reese and Dewey slid down to sit on the floor. Malcolm paced around, and I could tell he was overthinking. I was doing much of the same, tapping my foot impatiently.
Waiting around felt wrong. Something big was happening—somewhere else.
And it was our fault. We had delayed Hal. We delayed everything.
"We are the worst kids in the world... Mom was right," Reese spoke.
"We really are evil little trolls who have no consideration for anyone but ourselves and we destroy everything we come in contact with and we're lucky if we don't end up in prison or dead," Dewey continued.
I was just glad I wasn't the only one questioning my place and purpose within this family.
"Dewey, if it makes you feel any better, you'd only end up dead if Reese kills you, and he'll probably be in jail before he can, so, you're safe," I said as I leaned against the cold hospital wall.
Our future seemed bleak, and it didn't seem like there was anything I could do to fix it. I huffed.
Then my eyes landed on the wall across from me—on one of the messy notice boards.
I scanned the flyers upon flyers that were lined up. A few stood out to me, about classes for CPR and Lamaze classes. But most eye-catching were the ones for Parenting classes.
Even grown adults needed these courses. And here we were, about to be responsible for a baby, except we barely knew how to hold one.
Lois was going to need our help one way or another.
I walked up to the board, and grabbed a big one that read 'Baby Care Class'.
It was bright blue and optimistic. It made me hopeful that maybe there was something we could do—some way we could learn how to do better.
Malcolm approached me, looking over my shoulder at the flyer I was holding.
"We have no idea what to do about this baby," I said aloud so even Reese and Dewey could hear. "We should find this." I pointed it to Malcolm, and he nodded.
"Yeah... yeah, we should."
"I mean, we don't even know how to hold one!"
"What are you talking about?" Reese asked.
"We're gonna learn how to help out. We're gonna learn something good for once," Malcolm said.
"Yeah, this baby is not gonna get dropped on its head all the time," Reese said, looking more encouraged and getting up from his seat on the floor.
He spared a glance at Dewey as he said that, who stood up as well.
"Yeah...! What?"
Oh, Dewey. If only he could remember what they did to him as a baby. I remembered the countless times he fell at the hands of his brothers, and my desperate immature attempts at caring for him, that always ended up in me blaming one of the boys for getting him hurt.
But this wasn't going to be a repeat of that. We were all much older and wiser now, and it would be a shame if we couldn't come to our senses.
We followed the location written on the flyer. The class was taking place somewhere in the obstetrics wing.
We arrived, and soon enough we had to explain why a group of kids wanted to join a parenting class. So, I let Malcolm take the lead.
"... So, we really wanna take this class," Malcolm finished.
"Oh my god, you should feel awful. You're horrible children," the older woman said.
"That's the point!" Reese exclaimed.
She sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, I suppose everyone deserves another chance. You can take the class."
The boys cheered.
"Thank you!" I told her, and she responded with a pitiful expression.
The class was filled with couples and women, some with bulging bellies much like Lois'.
It started off pretty slow at first, mainly a lesson on female anatomy, which had the boys' jaws slack open the entire time.
Now, there was a labeled diagram of a female breast on the board, and the woman was explaining the issues that come with milk ducts and feeding. I shuffled uncomfortably. The air around the boys was awkward with all this talk about boobs.
"When the milk duct is blocked, it's called mastitis." My eyebrows scrunched at the information. It wasn't necessarily surprising, but it definitely didn't excite me to the idea of childbirth.
The boys were horrified.
"It's important to let your baby suck the obstruction out of the breast, and don't be alarmed if the baby then vomits up a cottage cheese type substance."
Okay, now I was more than just not excited.
She moved on to the next topic, and the class all stood up and walked over to the next station.
The boys stayed in place, staring blankly as they tried to process all the fresh information they had just learnt.
"Like I needed another reason to hate cottage cheese," Dewey muttered.
"I've been kind of zoning in and out here, but did she just say milk comes out of those things?" Reese pointed at the diagram in horror.
I frowned. His surprise puzzled me.
"Reese, that's what they're for."
His eyes lowered to my chest, and his eyebrows raised. He gulped.
I pretended not to notice that, but my face still flushed.
Then he turned back to the board, his expression only twisting further.
"My god, women are the cows of people!"
☆ ☆
For the next few lessons, they handed us a doll baby to work on.
It was the usual kind of toy that I found boring as a kid and tossed around instead of cared for. I never had time to play with a baby doll when I had the Wilkerson boys keeping me entertained.
We sat in a circle as the teacher explained some processes and parents asked questions, sharing their concerns about parenting.
Reese had been playing around with the toy baby the entire time, despite the many times I nudged him to stop.
"My biggest fear is that I won't be a good big brother," he said as he spun the baby on its head.
I didn't want to imagine what this actual baby was going to go through, or what Reese would do with any baby placed in his care.
"Babies are born stupid, and they're totally counting on you."
Everyone watched in shock as he continued messing with the doll— squeezing its plastic head grotesquely. "They'll touch stuff that they shouldn't, they'll eat anything—I'd say half of our legos have been through this kid."
He motioned to Dewey with the doll.
"Probably more." Dewey nodded
Reese shrugged and continued bouncing the doll in his hands.
Until the head broke off, and its body fell to the ground. The parents around us gasped.
I just sighed.
God, don't ever let Reese Wilkerson have children.
"Can I get a new baby?" He said, juggling the detached head like a ball.
I picked up the decapitated doll's body off the ground, and snatched the head from Reese's hands before he could throw it into the air again.
He went quiet as I screwed the head back on. He was watching me as if I was performing surgery.
"Wow, Tess... you're really good at this."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Please don't ever make me have to reattach a baby's head again."
He nodded and held out his arms.
I hesitated.
"I'll be careful."
He gave me that puppy dog look. I held back for a moment longer, but his eyes widened, and I sighed. I surrendered, handing the doll back.
He adjusted his grip, holding it a lot more carefully this time.
"I told you to stop messing with it," I muttered.
"It's fine now."
Something about his quiet tone made my chest tighten. I didn't know what to do with that.
Then everyone stood up to move on to the next class, and I tore my eyes away from Reese.
A woman approached us. At first I thought she was going to confront us all for being such a disturbance to the class, but then she looked at me.
"I just wanted to say, you are so brave for coming to this class."
I raised my eyebrows at her. "What?”
The boys also turned their attention to her.
"You're lucky to have some of your family helping out." She looked at the boys. "That's more than some girls I've seen can say, even the fathers abandon them." She patted Reese on his shoulder, who brushed her off like she was poisonous.
Father? In what world did Reese look like a father? Unless she thought I was...
My face flushed in embarrassment.
"Oh no. I'm not-"
"It's okay. You don't have to be ashamed." She said warmly, and handed me a card that read, 'Teen Parents Support Program'.
I was dumbfounded, but I took the card from her regardless. I couldn't argue with her kind tone, cringing internally instead.
Reese and Malcolm looked over my shoulder at the card.
"Which one of us does she think is the father?" Malcolm asked with a scoff.
"I don't wanna know." I shuddered as we followed the class to a different room, brushing that awkward interaction off.
The next lesson was on the actual care for a baby, how to handle it and give it a bath. We teamed up, and it was pretty smooth sailing. The boys knew how to cooperate when they wanted to.
We were looking forward to the highlight: changing a diaper, and we had gotten to our final trial.
Malcolm took off the 'dirty' diaper and Reese grabbed the baby, spinning it around towards me.
"Wipe," he commanded.
So I instantly grabbed one of the wipes and did one swift swipe along the baby's bottom.
"Cream." He turned the baby towards Dewey who did as told.
He handed the baby to Malcolm and in a few quick moves from the both of us a new diaper was successfully fastened to the baby.
“Done!" Malcolm and I exclaimed.
"Yeah!" We cheered, high-fiving each other, each flashing bright smiles.
"In your face!" Dewey yelled at one of the young couples next to us.
"We're just learning how to take care of our babies," the woman said.
"That's loser talk!" Reese quipped.
"We're gonna be the best big brothers ever," Dewey turned to the older boys. "We aced diapering and we totally owned tub time."
"I'm so glad we memorized the common household chemicals that can be poisonous to the baby," Reese added and I nodded along. Although, I was unsure if him doing so was a good or bad thing.
Then Malcolm spoke up, "You know, all this stuff parents have to do—all the feedings and bathings and diaperings and safety stuff and scheduling, it just made me realize... Mom never did any of this!"
Reese grabbed one of the hazardous cleaning products from the shelf behind us. "There's a bottle of this stuff on our headboard."
Dewey frowned. "No wonder we turned out the way we did."
Alright, Lois and Hal might not have been the most perfect parents, but they sure did try. They couldn't blame them for not perfectly doing all this tiring stuff.
"Is it not enough that she's managed to miraculously keep you guys alive for this long?" I asked them.
Malcolm opened his mouth to retort, but he could only let out an indignant breath.
"I mean, you'd think that if she was as bad a mother as you guys make her out to be, at least one of you would be dead by now."
"Yeah... probably me..." Reese stared down at his shoes.
Maybe Lois had tried and failed a lot when it came to being a good mother, but she was still the best mother I had ever seen.
Malcolm eased up after that, but the rest of the day didn't cease to get any more chaotic.
We got done with the class and wandered the halls of the hospital only to stumble upon Hal, still delirious and—kissing an old Lady!
We got him back to the doctor who, this time, reassessed him and found him good to go. It was a relief, but it meant that we could have actually gotten back home a lot earlier than 8 PM.
When we arrived, we were greeted by some unexpected guests, Hal's group of friends and even Craig. Another guest was not so unexpected, the new baby brother. Of course it was another boy.
Soon enough, they were back at the hospital—withthe baby this time.
He was perfectly healthy and adorable.
I was too tired to process much of anything, but the next day, I ran over to the Wilkerson's house to visit the new brother.
The boys and I spent the entire day watching over his cradle and doing anything we could to execute what we had learned during our class. It was as exciting as anything else I usually got up to with them.
The four of us made our way into the bedroom where Lois and Hal were with the baby.
"Okay, hand 'em over," Reese ordered as Dewey approached the bed.
She didn't give him the baby.
"You take 'em," Lois motioned for me to come over instead of Dewey, and I eagerly shuffled over to her to take him.
"You're a lot more trustworthy than any of his brothers," Hal remarked, and I couldn't help my bashful smile. None of the boys pushed back at that. They let me take the lead for once.
"It's five thirty, it's time for the baby's sponge bath," Malcolm added.
"His diaper's full." I noted.
"Yeah, I can smell it from here. When was the last time you changed it?" Dewey said, and Hal sighed. Ever since that class, we knew we'd be doing a lot more of the parenting around here.
I looked down, instinctively rocking the baby, and a thought popped into my head. "Did you come up with a name yet?"
I had been asking them that almost every hour, but I couldn't help my eagerness. Lois smiled, and I straightened up in anticipation.
"Yes." She looked at Hal. "Jamie."
I beamed, looking again at their baby's sweet little face. It was perfect.
"Hi, Jamie," I cooed.
I didn't think I had ever seen a baby as cute since Dewey was little.
The boys exchanged hesitant looks and shrugged.
"It fits," Dewey said we began walking out of the room.
Just as we were about to leave as well, Reese stopped.
"We'll come back when your udders are ready," he told Lois.
I rolled my eyes, he hadn't stopped going about the discovery he made. I just gestured him out to the bathroom.
We gave Jamie a sponge bath, each of us taking up a careful role, making it take a little longer than it should have.
I played my part almost automatically, and I felt like giving myself a pat on the back for being the best at taking care of this baby.
I finally realized that maybe a new Wilkerson wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. He already liked me, and it was almost as if I already knew him.
So, when he was done and squeaky clean, we took him back to the bedroom to put a diaper on him.
"Okay, I'll go get his blanket and get mom ready," Malcolm said, holding Jamie wrapped in a towel like a little burrito.
"I'll take him," Reese took Jamie and lowered him onto the changing table.
Malcolm left. I leaned on the table, watching as Reese began to diaper his brother.
"You're actually good at this, you know," I said as he slipped a diaper under the baby pretty smoothly.
The corners of his lips turned up and he shrugged as if to say 'I know'.
He finished up and picked up Jamie again to cradle him. I noticed how careful he was to support his head. I didn't have to remind him at all.
I got closer to look at the baby, and then I looked back up at Reese.
He was smiling fully now. I returned my own smile. The golden hour light seeping in through the tarp covered wall casted pretty shadows over his face. It accentuated the faint dimple on his cheek as his lips curved further.
His lips. It reminded me of yesterday when I kissed him. I didn't know why I kept remembering it.
Yesterday, when we pretended to be a couple so we could have some fun—when we ran together in wedding attire. It was crazy, but it felt good, like it usually did. He was always my partner in crime. But, like now, I still felt safe with him. No matter how many times being with him had resulted in security chasing us—or even police cars.
That was Reese. He was dangerous, but I knew he was gentle at his core. I especially knew that when he looked at me, or when, like now, he was putting an effort into something—being truly careful with this baby.
His breathing was slow and his arms were steady as he held his brother.
I didn't want to look away. His green eyes stared into mine, and it made a fuzzy feeling grow in my chest in a way that I didn't like. I inadvertently inched closer to him. It made me want to feel just how warm he was—in this quiet moment where nothing was after us. Nothing about this was an act, or a ruse to get someone off our trail.
My shoulder brushed his, but it didn't relieve the ache I felt. I wanted to get closer. No, this wasn't just leftover adrenaline from yesterday's kiss, this was something else. Completely different and terrifying.
My breath hitched in my throat. I tried to summon every memory I had of him doing something gross—anything to get my mind off how lovely he looked in the golden light. I remembered the stupid face he made yesterday after learning about breastmilk—all of his stupid moments.
But thinking of all those things just made me smile further—I was no better than him. He was messy and reckless, and maybe that wasn't such a bad thing if he could be just as gentle.
Jamie made a few soft whimpers, and I remembered what we were supposed to be doing.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Reese averted his gaze from me and cooed at his brother, "What? You hungry?"
That fuzzy feeling sunk down to my stomach and just seemed to grow stronger. My face flamed up at the rush of emotions that I had just felt.
Then Jamie began crying, and I had no room to dwell on it any longer as Malcolm came into the room and disrupted our quiet moment, taking his brother away.
I felt restless and spent at the same time. All those feelings towards Reese lingered in the back of my head. I knew I needed a breather, some time to think some sense into myself.
Maybe it would’ve been best if I just had dinner with my Dad tonight. I didn't need to spend any more time around Reese.
So, I went home. As soon as I entered, I was met with the cold blue evening light. It was quiet—too quiet compared to the house next door.
There was no baby crying, no arguing, and definitely no Reese.
I remembered him holding Jamie from earlier, and I smiled. I already missed them, but at least they were waiting for me until tomorrow.
Yeah, my journal was going to hear a lot from me tonight.
Author’s Note:
she's so confused :') but yea season 5 is gonna be fun, expect a lot of changes to the original plot of the show, especially plot points regarding reese's girlfriends... bc yk... he's already busy with a certain girl next door ;)
please let me know what you think in the comments!
Based around season 4 episodes 18. ‘Reese’s Party’ and 20. ‘Baby: Part 1’
❛ You're a brother to me
You're my partner in crime ❜
- Steamroller, Phoebe Bridgers
When Lois and Hal went off on a weekend vacation and got Craig to look after the boys, I was disappointed that Reese was getting the short end of the stick.
They were sending him off all the way to Canada, to be with his weird grandma, Ida.
I thought Malcolm staying over at Stevie's was a good thing, because it meant there was no way he was actually going to do it.
Until he told me about his plan to have Kathy McCulsky over, so there was I was not even stepping near that house.
So I busied myself, alone at home. But that didn't last long, because there was a very eager guest at my door, rapidly blasting at my doorbell.
It was Reese.
I should have been surprised, but I wasn't. Of course he would jump out of a moving bus and run miles back home, just to host a cliché house party.
It was a terrible idea. He was crashing Malcolm's date, and he didn't even have a plan or any friends to invite. It was even kind of amusing.
I stayed away from it at first, but my curiosity got the best of me after only two hours. A record for me holding myself back from joining the boys.
At first, I didn't question the smell of smoke, chemicals, and delicious food reeking out of their house.
I barely stepped into their backyard before getting stopped by Malcolm and Reese. It sure did sound like a party behind them, and I wasn't going to let them keep me from it.
Malcolm insisted that I don't enter. He seemed genuinely afraid for once, negotiating with me. Reese didn't negotiate, he simply physically blocked me out, but I knew how to overpower him, and I found my way in.
Well, what I saw depended on your definition of a party. It was a gang of drug dealers who had set up a meth lab in their garage. But still a party.
It had to go in the books as one of the stupidest things that Reese had ever gotten himself into, and the most dangerous.
Even worse, he had fallen hostage to them. Allowing them to take advantage of him as their personal chef and piñata.
I wasn't scared of the thugs. They were just lowlifes who had nothing better to do. But I knew how much trouble they could put us in.
This was one terrible instance where neither Malcolm nor I knew what to do. So, like usual, we called the one person who always did.
Francis showed up confident, and it was instant relief just seeing him.
We knew it was really bad when even Francis seemed to wave the white flag.
So they invaded the house for the whole night.
Me and the boys couldn't sleep.
And the next morning, Craig and Dewey arrived to find everything trashed, everyone inebriated and passed out.
Craig was immediately the scapegoat. They tortured him just for the fun of it.
I had seen quite a few dimwitted, callous people in my life who lacked no concern for others. I mean, one of them was basically my best friend. But for God's sakes, what went sowrong when these gangster's parents raised them?
It seemed like that was exactly what Dewey was thinking when he proposed telling on these guys—to their mothers.
It was the simplest option, really—and it worked.
But our worries weren't immediately resolved. We still had to clean up like our lives depended on it. We had done this many times before. Like the time that Francis decided to have a party back when he came back from military school. I got deja vu as we attempted to make everything just spotless enough to not raise suspicion.
Then, Francis was gone as if he had never even been there.
We were absolutely exhausted. None of us had had any sleep at all. But I still had to see how they were going to convince their parents that they were each exactly where they were supposed to be.
As soon as Lois and Hal arrived, and Craig showed off the boys like perfect little show dogs, Malcolm, Reese, and I passed out mid-afternoon.
We owed it all to Reese and his brilliant ideas. Life wouldn't be half as exciting if it wasn't for him—if it wasn't for this entire crazy family.
Two weeks later, the house still smelled faintly like chemicals and smoke. Now it smelled more like wood shavings and baby powder.
I was starting to get used to watching Lois' bump grow bigger. I had only just processed that there was going to be another person in the house. Another sibling. A new kid just as insane and special as the rest of them.
My Dad finally had the time to start fixing up and expanding their bedroom just in time for the nursery. He and Hal had an adorable floor plan of a little nursery with a window seat.
Francis had been helping out. Lois praised his competence for once. He actually looked like an adult. Working with his hands and getting handed iced tea by his wife.
So much had changed in such a short span of time. Francis was a married man with a stable job, there was a new Wilkerson on the way, and we were all so grown up.
On Saturday, we were sitting together for lunch with Francis and Piama. It reminded me of when we were kids and we'd all fight over who got to get the last slice of ham for their sandwich. It seemed like we still hadn't grown out of it, except we knew to let Reese have it in the end, otherwise we'd all pay.
We were enjoying our sandwiches, when Lois and Hal got back from the doctor and announced that they'd be including labor that Thursday.
As in in five days Thursday. I looked around the table in disbelief, how wasn't anybody else as nervous about this as I was.
For years I had been comfortable with this family. I wasn't sure how, but I was. After a while, they stopped surprising me, I knew exactly what to expect when it came to each and every one of them.
This new baby, though, was going to be uncharted territory. A whole new Wilkerson to look after—to win over.
The fact was, I wasn't ready for change around the house. I liked the steady rhythm we had going, but I shouldve known better than to expect them not to keep things interesting around here.
After all, it was why I kept coming back—because I had a tendency for boredom and they always cured it.
Lois suggested—no—ordered Hal to take the boys out tomorrow so she could clean up and have some down time. I knew that she meant me as well.
Piama was putting a lot more effort with Lois lately, trying to appeal to her. It stood out to me. Before meeting her, I didn't realize there could be anyone that could get along with this family the way I did. She suggested staying and helping Lois around the house.
That emboldened me. For once, I could be a part of the girls. What better than staying home to prepare for the baby so that I could at least get myself used to the idea? I spoke up next, announcing that I would like to stay home with Francis and Piama and Lois and help out just like the good girl-next-door I was supposed to be.
No. Lois hit me with a flat out 'No'. I was used to that coming from her, but it being targeted at me after choosing the calm option rather than making the boys crazier?
I argued back at first. But I understood that she wanted me to go along with the regular boys' routine rather than be overwhelmed by the calm baby change.
I guess it made sense. I was surprised that she had noticed my discomfort with the situation. I knew she wanted the best for me.
Regardless, the real Tess always preferred going out with the boys over anything. So, Hal decided he was going to take us to a car show at the community center.
It sounded exciting. Maybe it wasn't like racing shows we had been to before, but cars alone were cool.
I could already think of all the parts that Reese was going to steal from the cars. I could already plan the roleplaying we were going to do in one of the expensive big cars with Dewey as our child. I could already hear Malcolm nerding out about torque, or whatever.
I was ready for the day, I already see it clearly in my head.
So when we showed up to the center, I was left wondering why the huge banner that was supposed to read 'Car Show', read 'Festival of Brides'.
Much to all of our chagrins, Hal was mistaken, and the car show had already passed. Great.
We still had to go in regardless since Hal already paid for the parking and we were supposed to be busy with something just as Lois instructed.
As soon as we entered, my eyes were assaulted by obnoxious bridal decorations, flowers and colors in pink and white. It was bustling with people and women in big wedding dresses. A band was playing a terrible rendition of Celebration.
"I'm not allergic to any flowers, but I think I'm about to be after this," I said with a grimace. It would've been a pleasant scent if it wasn't so pungent.
"I know I haven't been everywhere, but I'm pretty sure this is the most boring place on earth," Reese said, his expression mirroring mine. That was one way to put it.
Our group of four guys and a teenage girl stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the middle aged women and couples.
"What are you talking about, Reese? Do you know what kind of craftsmanship goes into these lace veils?" Hal said, holding one of the pieces of fabric that was on display in his hands, desperately trying to get us to be interested. The dresses were pretty and all that, but marriage and weddings were the last thing on my mind right now for me to care about any of this.
Hal then grabbed one of the veils. "Here Tess, try one on. Think of your big day. The day we all see you as a bride!" He spoke with such emotion that he really came off as genuine.
I simply raised my eyebrows at him.
I didn't have many good examples of marriage. For one, my parents spent the entirety of theirs bickering until they eventually split up, which tainted my notion of a happy relationship from a very young age.
Everyone always seemed so sure—my parents did too, until it all fell apart. I didn't feel like it was important to legally ball and chain something that was already there, but it always tainted a relationship in some way. If anything, an official vow to love eachother forever should only strengthen a bond, not break it. That wasn't usually the case though.
Graceful wedding dress models walked around, they looked so gentle and collected.
Lois wasn't. Not even at her wedding day, and her marriage ended up being the strongest one I had ever seen. I couldn't help but think though, that if her and Hal didn't go with the traditional path of marriage and kids; they would've been much happier.
Malcolm's voice broke through my deep thoughts. "So, Dad, I was wondering, do you have any kind of—savings put away?"
I wasn't sure what Malcolm was worried about right now. Hal answered by breaking into hysterical laughter. I swear, if someone else stepped into my shoes for a day and witnessed this family, they'd think I was living in an asylum full of aliens disguised as a suburban family.
"Oh, I'll have to tell your mother that one."
"No, I'm serious, what if something came up. A big, unexpected expense; would you be prepared for something like that?" I made a note to myself to ask Malcolm what that was about later.
I zoned out at the wedding dress models again, this time focusing on their beautiful dress rather than their demeanors. I sighed.
"Don't worry about that stuff, son. Things have a way of taking care of themselves," Hal brushed Malcolm's serious question off.
"But-"
"Come on, you guys are young, you're at a bridal expo. You should be having the time of your life," Hal said, and I saw the way he looked at me for support. But I was barely more interested than the boys.
We looked around a bit more.
I noticed Dewey had strayed away from us. I wasn't worried at first, but soon after he was no where to be seen. Neither Hal or the boys realized it. It wasn't a cause for concern at a place like this that was filled with women and young couples.
I had a sneaking suspicion that he snuck off to check out the band.
Hal was distracted, but eventually realized. Calling out to the boy a few times before giving up.
We wandered into the expo until we saw a couple stands giving out free cake. It seemed a bit too good to be true. But I guess if there was one thing to get out of this, it would be freebies.
Reese and I stalled behind as Hal and Malcolm beat us to get some for themselves.
"Hey," Reese elbowed his way inbetween the people waiting, "can I have the piece with the flower?" He didn't really say it as a question. Surely there was a more polite way to ask, I cringed as I awaited the server's response.
"I'm talking to an actual customer right now."
I rolled my eyes. I wanted to get myself a cake too, and get it over with. All Reese did was cause unnecessary trouble. If I had gotten to that man, I would have at least charmed my way into getting a slice.
"I'm a customer," Reese retaliated.
"Yeah, are you getting married?"
My eyes darted between myself and Reese. An idea popped into my head, but I wasn't sure how I would execute it.
Maybe if we could pretend to be a young engaged couple, we'd get some advantage around here, and get all the cake we wanted.
I grabbed Reese's baggy shirt, ready to tug him and begin spewing my lie to the man, but he replied to him before I could.
"Why? Does somebody like me?" He smiled innocently.
Well, there goes this idiot, and my plan. I groaned and took the man's silent bewilderment as a sign to tug Reese away.
Before he could begin whining, a man in a fancy suit stopped us.
"Hi, what a beautiful couple you are." he smiled.
I was caught off guard. Reese and I exchanged awkward glances. I was about to correct him, but he continued, "Do you both happen to be around 5'8, 5'7?"
I was confused, but I nodded, and Reese gave him a passive 'yeah'.
"Okay, perfect. I own the shop over there and my models didn't show up. I'll give you each twenty bucks if you walk around in a dress and tux and pass out my card."
I considered it for a moment. Getting twenty dollars and it helping with my original plan of tricking the workers here that we're getting married, it wasn't a bad offer at all, and it would surely help ease my boredom.
"Buzz off," Reese snapped. Once again before giving me a chance.
"No, wait. We'd actually love to do it," I smiled at the man, pinching Reese's arm discreetly.
He mouthed a silent 'Ow' as we followed the man to his store.
It was filled with almost identical tuxedos and pretty white dresses.
He motioned for a woman standing next to the dresses and she perked up at the sight of me.
She ushered me with her toward the dresses, separating me from Reese. I looked back, to see him being led to the tuxedos in the same way.
I looked back at the woman. She was already holding up a huge dress.
I stalled for a moment. I was supposed to wear that? It looked like it weighed a ton.
"Okay, come with me," she said in a soft voice. She seemed like a nice woman. She was much shorter than me, and she looked pretty young, and a lot more enthusiastic about this whole bridal thing than me.
I followed her into the tiny little dressing room and she handed me the dress.
It was an ivory white, strapless dress with a fabric that flowed under the belt at the waist. It was definitely pretty, and unlike any dress I have ever worn.
"Put it on, and when you're done, I'll be here to help you pin it up." I nodded and closed the curtain.
I undressed and began to put on the dress. Tripping over it and for a brief second panicking over where my arms were supposed to go, until I remembered it was strapless. It actually fit me better than I expected, it looked... good. Not just on its own, but on me.
I pulled away the curtain to call the lady over. She had to put one pin to secure it in place.
I looked in the mirror again. If I had my hair done and proper makeup on, I would've looked like an actual bride—even though I was still wearing my worn out sneakers under the dress. I wasn't sure I'd ever let them go, even if my actual wedding came along.
Seeing myself in that dress sure did spur up a lot of thoughts. I realized I looked like my Mom in her old wedding photos, and I wondered if my own future marriage would end as badly as hers did.
Although I felt beautiful for once, I couldn't picture myself looking like this, doing the real thing. I was playing a role right now, and I might've had to continue doing that forever.
"All good?" The woman asked as I spaced out into my unfamiliar reflection.
"Yeah," I breathed.
"It looks great on you," she said in passing as she led me out.
I uttered a shy 'thanks'. As soon as I started walking, I realized how misleading the beautiful dress was. I barely took one step before tripping, but thankfully the lady was there and I held onto her. After a couple more steps, I grew more aware of the little trail behind me and the sheer length of the dress. I wasn't used to anything being too long on me, i usually had the opposite problem finding clothes that suited my lanky figure.
The lady pulled me outside. I could see the man from before talking to someone, covering them, but I could make out the unmistakable spiked hair.
"Here comes the bride," she giggled as she pushed me forward.
I rolled my eyes, I just wanted this to be over with so I could get some cake.
The man turned around to us to reveal Reese. He was clad in a fancy tuxedo that fit him surprisingly well. It made him look older, and his shoulders looked broader. It was complimented by a simple white rose as a boutonnière.
I glimpsed his eyes widening at my dress. He opened his mouth for a second, but nothing came out, and then he spoke.
"You look..."
He had a bewildered look on his face. I knew I looked crazy in this extravagant wedding dress while my hair was still messy.
I tried to point out something funny about his look, but his tuxedo actually suited him. Although, he wasn't going to hear it from me.
I looked around to make sure that the lady who was helping me couldn't hear what I was about to say. "We look ridiculous. I know."
He shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, I kinda like it."
I wasn't sure what he was referring to, my dress or his. I brushed it off.
The man acknowledged me. "Oh, beautiful—okay. He has the cards, he knows what to do." He patted Reese on the back, tactfully handing him forty dollars, as promised, and walking away.
I was supposed to take twenty for myself, but I guessed he'd assumed that the guy I was with would even accept my money for me. I guess that was marriage for you.
"So... what did he say we were supposed to do?" I asked him as we walked out of the booth in our new attire. I was still getting a hang of this dress, and I had to hold it up a little.
Reese shrugged. He swiftly slipped the money into his pocket and threw the cards into the first trashcan he saw.
Right. I should've known he was going to do that. Then I remembered my money.
"Hey, give me my twenty." I stopped him.
"Dammit, I thought you wouldn't notice," he said, defeated, pulling out the money again.
I gave him a rough smack on his chest, urging him to hand me my bill.
As soon as it was in my hands, I grinned at Andrew Jacksons ugly face. "Nice."
Then I realized I had no where to keep it.
"Okay, can you just keep it in your pocket for me. Because I don't have any," I pointed to my dress, matter of factly, "but that doesn't mean you get to keep it."
He took the money with a childish pout.
I sighed. "Okay... I won't hit you, just don't try to steal from me again."
I got closer to fix the boutonnière that I had just swatted out of place. He stiffened his neck as I did so, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He went quiet.
We didn't notice the guy with the cakes from earlier in front of us.
"Oh, look how adorable you two are. Would you like to sample some of our cake?"
I backed away from Reese, and we shared knowing smirks.
"Can we have the pieces with the flowers?" Reese asked him, just like he had mere minutes ago.
"No, you get the one with the flowers and a little lemon bee." He handed us generous plates. Reese grinned. My plan was working, and I barely had to do anything.
So, we took full advantage of this. I asked the man for another piece, and he suggested I try a different flavor, and then I asked for yet another piece. Soon, Reese and I were arguing over cake flavors like a real engaged couple.
While we were bickering, a lady nearby noticed us and asked to take a picture. She asked how he proposed, and I quickly made up a corny story about a Fourth of July boat proposal, to which Reese nodded along proudly.
We then realized that we had to pose for the picture like a real couple would, and all Reese could think of doing was awkwardly slinging his arm around my shoulder like he usually did.
It seemed like a lot of people were enamored by our charm as a fake couple. We had to up the ante. I looped my arm around his, and we went from there.
For the next hour or so, we continued our impromptu performance. I had to give Reese credit where it was due, because he sure did act well as a fiancé. His hand had found its way to my waist as he led me around. It lingered there, and I wondered if he was as aware of it as I was.
People continuously congratulated us and vendors gave us all kinds of free stuff. We got complimentary flowers and cupcakes. A wedding planner even came up to us to discuss our plans, and we bounced off of each other's ridiculous ideas. When she asked us what our budget was, we told her it was 'unlimited', and laughed about it as soon as she was gone.
It was easy playing this role alongside him.
A group of people crowded around us as I narrated our fictional love story, and Reese went on about his fictional life. I told them all about how we were high school sweethearts whose families were member of rival country clubs and forbade us from seeing each other. But here we were, about to get married. I was proud of myself for the melodrama I had concocted.
"So, when's the wedding?" A middle aged woman asked me and I faked a pageant smile like I had been doing this my entire life.
"Well, we decided on July." I smiled at Reese and placed my hand on his shoulder.
He was telling a joke to the people surrounding him. "And then I said, 'orange you glad I didn't say banana.'" They laughed like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.
"Isn't he just hysterical," I chuckled, even though I hadn't even heard his full joke. I patted his shoulder, and he seemed uncomfortable by this--evident by him by rolling the joint slightly, so I dropped my hand.
The lady who had just asked me about the date looked confused at my previous answer. "But your fiancé told us you were having a winter wedding."
I laughed again. It was getting hard keeping track of all these lies, but that somehow made it all the more fun.
"Well, you know men, they can't remember details like these if their life depended on it." I rolled my eyes playfully.
Then, someone behind us poked Reese and we turned around.
It was the owner of the shop, and he had the stack of cards that we threw away in his hands. He looked furious.
I mentally cursed Reese, I knew I could've found a better way to get rid of them without leaving a trail.
"I found these in the trash," he said.
Reese rolled his eyes, "can we discuss this later? We're with friends." He kept up the act. Hm, he was even more committed to the bit than I was.
"Give me the tux. You give me the dress," the man said coldly.
But I wasn't ready to give up my dress yet, there was still so much I could do with it.
Reese's mouth gaped. "What? No. I like this tux. It's mine! We're getting married, now leave us alone!"
"Those are not yours! Give them back or I'll call security."
Reese and I glanced at each other, but he was quicker at acting than I was at thinking.
"Hey, we're over there!" he said, and the guy actually fell for it.
Reese giggled in sheer disbelief. I wanted to snort but I quickly came to my senses and pulled Reese by the hand to run.
I tripped over my dress for the millionth time, and had to let go of his hand to pick it up.
He slowed down a few steps ahead of me, and came back behind me to hold my trail up so we could continue running, albeit a lot more awkwardly now with him crouching behind me.
I led him through the crowd.
Until the lights went off. And everyone seemed to stop in place, but we took it as our opportunity to continue making a run for it. A child's voice sounded through the speakers. I tried to focus on the sound for a little, the voice sounded very familiar.
It was Dewey! He was saying something about his father. I wanted to stop and listen, but Reese kept tugging at me to escape.
Before I could dwell on what was going on with Dewey, the lights were back on, and the man quickly spotted us from a few feet ahead.
We bolted once again. Reese was going way faster than I could keep up with this time. The dress kept getting caught in my shoes.
The convention was trafficked and messy enough that we eventually lost the man, but Reese kept going.
"Wait! I can't run in this stupid dress." I stopped to catch my breath.
Running was meant to be my forte. There was a reason why I was the anchor for the track team. My teammates would look down on the way I was stumbling around right now.
Reese looked up and down at me.
"Alright, let's get this over with." He crouched down and grabbed the fabric of my dress, getting ready to tear it.
"Hey—are you crazy?!"
He stood up straight. "What?! You can't run in it!"
"Do you know how much this dress is worth?! I wanna keep it for my actual wedding!"
"So you wanna wear a stolen dress on your wedding day?!"
"Yes!"
"Then what are we gonna do??" His eyebrows raised frantically.
I looked around to think and spotted the man again, but this time, he had a bunch of security guards with him.
They were headed right towards us.
My eyes darted back and forth between them and Reese.
They were getting closer. My mind was doing multiple cartwheels as I tried to figure out what to do next.
My eyes landed on another model couple who kissed passionately for a photo.
They were going to pick us out from the crowd any second now.
When I looked back at Reese. He was still staring at me, waiting for me to take action.
So I did.
In what felt like a millisecond, I had his head in my hands and I smashed my lips into his.
It hurt for a second as my nose bumped harshly into his, I squeezed my eyes shut.
My brain short-circuited as one goal surged through it: not getting caught. My lips tensed against his, and I gulped through it.
Reese didn't move, neither did his mouth. He went completely stiff.
I covered the back of his head with my hands to hide his recognizable hair, and shuffled us around so that his back would be facing them.
This was the best option. I had to go along with it now.
I only noticed that he was holding in his breath when he let go of it.
I tried to focus on disguising us. I blamed my stomach flipping on the anxiety and adrenaline overtaking my senses.
It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it wasn't supposed to be either. I took note of how soft his lips were. I wouldn't have expected that from Reese.
Right, this was Reese.
I couldn't pull away just yet though, and I couldn't see them either, but I knew that they hadn't had enough time to pass by us.
So I had no choice but to keep my lips on his, perfectly still. I didn’t want to know what would happen if I moved them. I slightly pulled him closer, pressing our lips even further so that there would be no room to move them even if I wanted to.
Which, I didn’t want to.
Yeah, I obviously didn’t.
I felt his hand twitch up and brush my waist. His lips parted ever so slightly, and his head tilted, giving our smushed noses some relief. I wondered for a brief moment if that was supposed to be him kissing me back.
I tried to count the seconds, but the numbers kept getting muddled in my head and each one felt way longer than it should have.
I pulled away after what felt like hours.
I was still grabbing his head, and I tugged him right in front of me to shield me as I poked an eye out to see where they had left.
They were nowhere to be found. It worked.
And, oh my god, I had just kissed Reese!
No… this didn’t really count as a kiss. It was necessary. Pure survival instinct. Nothing to be worried about.
Only now did I grow conscious of my racing heartbeat and uneven breathing.
I looked back at Reese, he still hadn't opened his eyes. I instantly pulled my hands away from his head. The racket of the crowd filled the silence between us.
I was still nervous, but also exhilarated. Just as I often felt around him.
"Reese." His eyes snapped open at my voice. "We should hide," I blurted.
He gulped as he slowly blinked his eyes open. I tried my hardest not to look at his lips and his own eyes darted everywhere but at me.
I grabbed his wrist and led him behind the center stage, by the photo-booth. There was a storage area there, with big backdrops and fabric curtains. We squeezed in there, in a narrow gap between a few lighting stands.
It was pretty tight. My dress bunched in between us, and our fingers brushed at our sides. I didn't know why that suddenly felt weird, when we had been holding hands all day.
Being so close to him again made me recall the fact that I had just kissed him. He was acting normal, I couldn't fully tell. I thought he understood, but a part of me was worried.
Nah, this was Reese. Why would he misunderstand that? Even he wasn’t that stupid.
Then we heard faint yelling getting closer. We both tensed at it. Until we could make out the voices of Hal and the boys calling out to us.
Reese and I exchanged a look and he peeked out to say, "we're over here!"
Hal came over to where we were and continued yelling at us. I cringed at how he was blowing our cover. He dragged Reese out by the collar, and I hesitantly followed.
Barely a few moments passed before the security spotted us. Hal being Hal, he panicked and called for us to run. Just as we had been doing earlier.
"Hey, come back here! You can't run away with my Tuxedo and dress! Those are 700 dollars each!" The man chased us after us with his pack of security following suit. We had to sprint even faster than we did before.
I was thankful now that they didn't make me wear different shoes. If I was in anything other than my trusty sneakers, this would've been even harder than it already was.
I stumbled a few times, as expected, but Reese kept an eye out and caught me.
Hal was rambling nonsense into his phone the whole way through, probably to Lois. It didn't help to still my nerves. At least this whole excursion had gotten my mind off of the baby, and the fact that I only now remembered it was proof enough.
We finally reached the parking lot and hurried to the car.
Malcolm got into the passenger seat, Dewey got in the back. Reese and I didn't realize our hands were still clasped together until I had let go to haul my dress into the car.
"Why are you guys dressed like you're getting married?!" Dewey questioned.
I continued slamming the door shut over and over again, trying to get my dress through. Reese didn't hesitate to tell him to shut up—his default reaction to the boy.
Hal kept fumbling around, still talking on the phone. Reese bounced his leg beside me.
"Go, Dad!" Malcolm yelled.
"I can't find the keys!" Hal frantically felt around his pockets and the car. "Where the hell are the keys?!" His shrill voice rang in my ear.
Reese's face twisted in realization. "Oh, man! They were with me, I left them in my pants."
I gasped in disbelief. I also realized that I had almost just abandoned my clothes. Thankfully I hadn't worn my favorite jeans that day.
It was too late, the security guards had already caught up to us and were leaning in to talk to Hal through the window.
"Honey, can I call you back?" He spoke into the phone.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author’s Note:
So… that just happened.
Let me know your thoughts, and sorry for the cliffhanger—the show made me do it lol.
Based around the season 4 episodes 15. ‘Garage Sale’ and 16. ‘Academic Octathalon’
❛ You look in my wild mind
Never knowing what you’ll find
And still you want me all the time ❜
- You Get Me, Michelle Branch
Lois was back after six weeks of being at her sister's. Her bump seemed to have doubled in size. To say I was glad to see her was an understatement.
Finally, I didn't have to help Hal do the chores. She would handle all the dirty laundry. It wasn't easy running after three boys and keeping the house running. I didn't know how she did it even while tired and pregnant.
She missed us, and because of that, she was being extra pleasant with the boys. Which meant less yelling, and less of a headache on my part.
So the next day, breakfast was actually pleasant. We made french toast and bacon and there were actual dishes out! Not because Lois was going to do them in her pregnant state, but because she would command each and every one of them to clean his own dishes. It was so great to have her back.
They were out of funds to fix up the missing wall in their room, especially with Lois not being able to work at the Lucky Aide anymore. I felt bad, I knew what it was like to ration out every dollar, as hard as my Dad tried to keep me away from the topic. I knew it was one of the main reasons behind him and my Mom's many problems that lead to their divorce.
Then Malcolm—or Reese, I didn't exactly remember—suggested they hold a garage sale to help out. Lois seemed elated at the idea, and assigned Reese to be in charge of the whole thing.
I was guessing that was why he came knocking at my window that afternoon.
I put down my pen and got up from my rolling chair to open it for him. Sweat covered his skin and his shirt was all grimy. Seemed like they had already started working on the garage.
"Aren't you gonna come out and help us?"
"Yeah... I've got homework to do, so," I shrugged.
His shoulders slumped and he bent down to climb into my room.
He landed with a huff, a little bit too close that he almost bumped into me. I took a step back. I didn't know why.
I could smell the sweat that glistened on his neck. It didn't smell bad at all, quite the opposite actually.
"Look, you know how you always tell me about that one time you went jet-skiing, and how great it was?"
I jutted out my lip and nodded.
"Well, I was thinking of all the things I could get with the garage sale money, and I could get a jet-ski!" he motioned enthusiastically.
I couldn't help but get a little excited at the thought of that. I was aching to go jet-skiing sometime, and him having one would be so cool. We could take it out to the lake, or we could go down to the beach anytime we wanted. Since Reese couldn't get a car yet, this would be the next best thing.
"I guess that'd be cool..."
"Well, come on! I'm gonna need your help, my brothers are being complete morons. I can't wait to shove it in their faces!"
He stared around my room for a few moments.
"You got anything you don't want anymore in here? I've gotta make a couple hundred if I want to get a good one."
He pointed at my record player. "What about that old thing?"
I put my arm out before he could even step towards it. “No way. That's like my favorite part of my room."
"Whatever, it's fine. Just look around for some stuff and meet me outside." He shot me a smile and left through the window.
I guess I could kiss my homework goodbye for now.
It was tiring, but kind of fun. It was pretty entertaining sifting through all of the Wilkerson's junk and even finding some toys that made me nostalgic.
I found a GI Joe action figure of Reese's that I had taped a miss-matched doll's head onto because I thought I was making it better. I remembered Reese being scared of it for some reason, saying it was going to become villainous and turn on us because I had decapitated it. Malcolm was just annoyed that he wasn't in on it.
I was pulled back into the present by the sound of Reese and Malcolm's arguing. I rolled my eyes and continued sorting things based on color just like Reese had instructed.
Later that day, I got done ordering a Pizza with Lois before Malcolm discreetly called me over to their room.
When I went into his room, I looked back to make sure Reese wasn't following. Malcolm pulled out a strange looking piece of tech.
"Am I supposed to know what that is?"
"It's a personal computer. One of the first ever made. Vintage."
I was slowly beginning to understand, I nodded for him to go on.
"Reese thinks it's a piece of crap, he wanted me to throw it away."
I titled my head at the clunky piece of metal and wires. "Well, are you sure it isn't? Have you tried finding out what it's worth online?"
"Oh, I hadn't even thought about that."
We scrambled to their parents room to turn on the computer and search up the thing.
Hundreds of listings and discussion boards came up. It was a valuable relic. Worth over a thousand dollars.
"I've got to sell this thing!"
"You're right. You have to hide it from Reese, now!"
We wrapped it in a blanket to make it seem like a folded up wad, and shoved it under his bed, where Reese hopefully wouldn't go looking.
"So, what? You planning on buying something with all that money," I motioned to where we had just hid the computer as I stood up.
"Buy something?" he scoffed, "I just wanna show my Mom how much of a terrible idea it is to put Reese in charge. He was going to throw it away!"
"This is about Reese?" I huffed. "Malcolm, you've gotta give him a chance."
"He was sorting the stuffed animals in with the cutlery!"
"He's actually trying for once, that means he cares."
"You're always excusing his shitty behavior, I don't get it. It's like you two—"
"Malcolm, Tess! Dinner!" Lois' voice came ringing.
Nothing they could do could ruin Pizza, so I just tuned out Malcolm and Reese's arguing for the rest of dinner. It was nice having Lois side with Reese for once, though. If she was on his side more often, it would have surely mitigated a lot of his escalations.
What was harder to tune out though, was Hal blasting the radio. Maybe I should have stayed home and finished my homework...
Who was I kidding? I ended up helping them sort out the entire garage until it was Saturday morning and the sale started.
As soon as we were done having our cereal and watching our morning cartoons, we were out and customers were lining up like bees.
Malcolm had gotten Craig on board to buy the computer. I was just relieved that Reese hadn't gotten to it yet.
In-between customers, I had to keep sneaking some items that Reese had put out from around the house back inside. Perfectly sound items that the family used every day. He seemed pretty desperate to make as much money as possible.
I would just have to pretend like I had sold Lois' picture frame, and he could find out and yell at me for it later.
I spotted him selling Dewey's piggy bank to a customer. Yikes, I hadn't gotten to that one on time. Dewey saw him and instantly started yelling.
"That's my piggy bank! That was in my room!"
"Relax, dipwad. I got two bucks for it," Reese patronized.
"It had 16 dollars in it!"
"Wah-wah. Spilt milk."
I sighed at Reese's insolence and watched as Dewey ran to complain to his Mom, but she quickly told him off.
I approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know Reese is being a jerk, but what do you say I give you back 10 dollars for that piggy bank you lost, huh?"
He pouted. "What's the point? I won't even have anywhere to put it."
I let out a defeated breath and carried on, trying to salvage every item that Reese had wrongly put on display to avoid another instance like that.
My attention was then drawn to Craig approaching Malcolm for the vintage computer, theatrically so. Just so Lois would notice.
Craig began pulling out the money from his pocket, when he was interrupted by Hal roughly pulling him out of the way.
"Dad, what are you doing? Craig, get back here! Mom—" Malcolm pleaded as 1,300 dollars was basically just snatched away from him.
Reese noticed too.
Oh, no. Reese noticed.
"What're you doing with that? I ordered you to throw this away!"
The two boys began a tug of war over the dusty thing, insulting each-other with every pull. They kept fighting over it for what felt like hours.
"That is enough out of you!" Lois finally interjected, but it seemed more pointed at Malcolm.
"Are you really so insecure that you can't stand anyone else getting any attention?" Reese nodded along. "Your brother has worked so hard to make this yard sale success, he doesn't need you undermining him at every turn!"
Malcolm paused the fight, and Reese got hold of the computer. "Mom, you have to listen to me. We have a Nortair 680b. It's a type of computer that was built in 1976. There's only a few in existence, and Craig is going to give us 1,300 dollars for it!"
Lois' anger expression immediately shifted at the number. "1,300? Oh my god!"
I briefly looked at Reese. He had that scowl. That scowl. I looked down at the computer in his hands. His fingers trembled ever so slightly against it, a bad sign.
I wanted to grab his arm, to try to snatch the computer away from him. But it was fragile. He could drop it and it would be my fault. So I called out for him instead.
"Reese."
He kept looking ahead.
"Reese, don't—"
There was no point in trying. The computer came crashing down onto his knee. I winced. The old metal cracked in half at his will.
Lois gasped.
"What are you doing?!"
Breaking something seemed to calm Reese. Everyone else was horrified, including me.
I felt embarrassed for him. Not angry. Just... embarrassed. But he really didn't understand what he'd done.
He spoke casually, "I have a lot of things to sell, and I don't have time to argue with this bozo." He pointed at Malcolm. "I've got a jet-ski on hold, and the place closes at 6:00."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm buying a jet-ski with my yard sale money."
Well, Reese's jet-ski dreams were crushed right then and there. And as were mine.
It made sense. I was already sure that the cheap stuff he was selling wasn't going to amount to enough for a jet-ski. I knew that not all of the money was going to him. After all, they had a whole wall to pay for.
Lois yelled at him. Like, a lot. He had just thrown away 1,300 dollars that were right in front of him. He was being stupid this entire time, and I let it slide because I thought there was going to be something in it for me. Maybe I was just as self-interested as him.
If this was all about the wall, I could do something to help them. So I spoke up. My Dad was a contractor, he might be able to squeeze it in-between appointments.
I brought it up to my Dad that night, and he seemed to have already been considering it after hearing about their struggles, but it would be a long while until he could get started on fixing up.
Lois was hesitant at first. She felt like I was compensating for not being able to stop Reese from breaking that computer, I reassured her that it should've been the only option from the start.
The Wilkerson's were eternally grateful, although they insisted on reimbursing my Dad somehow, as if he didn't owe them so much more for practically raising his daughter.
"You are saving our marriage," Hal had told my Dad, who awkwardly carried on measuring their room.
I was in the boys' room that night. Reese was happy that he didn't get the brunt of all his mother's rage, but he was more upset about the jet-ski. He was counting his money and whispering something to me about almost having enough.
"Well, you did throw away thirteen hundred dollars," I reprimanded him.
"That's in the past!"
As collateral damage from Reese's garage rampage, Dewey had sold half the furniture and appliances at the house. The microwave was gone, so was the couch. The radio in the boys room was missing too. Reese was being punished with going around the neighborhood and buying back all those things.
I bid him and the boys goodnight. And when I got to the hallway, I heard Lois and Hal discussing something.
All I heard were the words, "Reese is hopeless," from Hal, and I took it as a sign to leave through the boys' window rather than interrupt whatever important conversation they were having.
Maybe Reese was selfish, and reckless.
But he wasn't pretending to be anything else. Not like Malcolm.
☆ ☆
It was a few days until the spring formal, and I didn't have a date. I knew that would happen when I broke up with Asher, and I didn't exactly expect another guy to spring up right after him. So, for the time being, I was totally pathetic and dateless.
I recalled the school dance at the beginning of the school year, right before Reese started dating Alison. It wasn't a formal, but it was still nice. It turned out to be the best school dance we'd ever attended together. We danced, pulled pranks, and watched Malcolm get in trouble together.
When Reese started dating Alison though, I didn't quite realize that I wouldn't have another dance like that with him again. He was out of the equation now. He was going to have a real date for once.
So why did it seem like he would do anything but go with her? School dances were never his favorite scene, but lately, he'd been avoiding Alison like the plague because of it.
For the past few days, I had been dreading each lunch period. Reese hung out with Alison and her annoying friends, like usual. The worst part was that even Malcolm was busy studying with his Krelboyne class. So I sat with some of the girls I was friends with, Alyssa, Gwen, and Lina. They were also discussing the dance, but they didn't have dates either, so at least I felt better about that.
I could see Alison absentmindedly eating at one of the tables with her friends, but Reese wasn't there. My curiosity piqued.
Then, as if I had summoned him, Reese appeared from behind her. Only to begin catapulting spoons of food at her.
I put my hand up to my mouth to stifle my laugh. What the hell was he doing? I wasn't sure, but I was definitely entertained as Alison stood up in a fit of rage, the chunks of salad that he'd thrown clinging to her sleek hair.
She began berating him. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but he was beaming the whole way through, until she yelled one final time at him before walking away, probably to clean up the mess he'd made. His face dropped and his shoulders slumped.
I took it as a sign to approach. I slowly rose from my seat, following him as he threw away the container of salad and walked over to the benches alone.
"Hey, Reese, wait up!" I called out, and he looked over his shoulder.
I caught up to him. His face was still solemn.
"What was that all about?"
He shrugged. "She said she never wants to see me again..."
"Oh." I looked down. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that he'd be free now.
He continued, "until the dance." His face got even sadder. The impact it had on me was instantaneous, his mood made my own sour.
"Oh, then, why are you so upset?"
"Because I've been trying to get out of this stupid dance!" He shook his head and sat down on one of the benches, I followed suit.
"But you like going to dances... putting frogs in the punch bowl, messing with the music," I listed, grinning.
A smile was beginning to make its way on his face too as he thought of all the havoc he could wreak, but it faltered just as soon as it came on. "Yeah, but she'll be on my trail the entire time. And she wants me to spend so much money on a tux and a limo and flowers." He put his head in his hands.
"Well, have you tried telling her you're trying to save money?"
I held back the urge to rub his back. It was instinctual, I had done it many times before. But something told me to hold back.
"She won't listen, and she won't understand what I'm saving it for anyway..."
I hummed, racking my brain for something that could cheer him up. I never liked seeing him down.
I turned back to him. "What do you say we ditch this place and go to McDonald's?"
He slowly looked up, a smirk pulling at his lips.
"But... we'll be late for History later."
I raised my eyebrows in shock and opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off.
"Just kidding," he beamed and stood up, grabbing his backpack.
I practically ran over to the table with the girls to get my bag, rushing back to Reese.
We successfully snuck out. Reese could write a book on how to break in and out of places.
We ended up having a way more indulgent lunch than we could ever get at school, and even stopped by the park, which was pleasant seeing as every kid in town was still at school.
We missed history class, but it was fine. I could just borrow notes from one of my classmates. Meanwhile, Reese couldn't care less.
We spent the next two days like that, hanging out during lunch like we used to. I was there the few times Reese tried getting grounded on purpose because of the Alison thing, but his Mom caught on to him and made sure it would only be effective after the dance.
But I knew things weren't going to stay normal for long, he was going to take Alison to the dance, and she would forgive him and they'd be back to being insufferable together.
And I'd be back to being alone again.
☆ ☆
It was the dreaded evening of the dance. I had been doing anything and everything all day to get my mind off of it.
I visited the guitar shop for a few hours, until I got tired of rotating the same guitars and playing the same old songs.
I tried to do some Geometry homework, but quickly gave up on it.I didn't even have Malcolm to go to for help. He had been away at this academic Octathalon thing, and wasn't sure if he'd be arriving late tonight or tomorrow. He was lucky he had something to do in place of the dance.
I even tried going over to the Wilkerson's to see what they were up to.
Lois, being almost nine months pregnant, was reasonably exhausted and resting in her room. Dewey was completing his homework in the kitchen, so I felt guilty interrupting him. Even Hal was busy, away at the hardware store.
I was completely aimless, so I decided the best solution was some escapism. I went back home and curled up in my bed with a book to pass the time.
Until I heard a knock on my window.
I got up with a sigh. A part of me hoped it was Reese, back early. I drew back the curtains and found Malcolm instead. It looked like he had just gotten back from his competition.
"I knew you'd be home," he said once I opened the window.
I scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Reese ended up going with Alison, and I knew you wouldn't go with anyone else." He shrugged.
I drew in a deep breath. "What do you want Malcolm? Did you lose your nerd competition and decide to take it out on me?" I crossed my arms.
His shoulders slumped. "No, we won, actually. I wish it was even a nerd competition, it was just one big fat cheating competition. I wish I just ditched it and went to the formal."
He looked just as defeated as I was. My expression softened. "Yeah, maybe we could've gone together. At least that would've been a little less sad."
We stood in silence for a seconds, listening to the sounds of the crickets outside.
"Well, it's boring without Reese around to be annoying. Do you wanna come over and watch a movie, or something?"
"God, I've been waiting on someone to ask me that all day." I smiled at him before turning away into my room to fetch my shoes.
I clumsily exited the window and we began making our way through the backyard to the living room.
"So, what happened with you and that guy, Asher?" Malcolm spoke as our shoes crackled on the leaves and grass.
I groaned at the thought. "I broke things off with him. I mean, wasn't it obvious? We're completely different people."
"Yeah, I don't know what you were thinking dating one of those neanderthals."
I nodded as we stepped into the living room.
Malcolm continued, "I just don't see you with a guy like that."
"Oh, yeah? Then what kind of guy do you see me with?"
"I don't know, I'm just saying, not that. I don't spend my time analyzing who the perfect guy for you would be."
I laughed and slumped down on the red couch. "Well, maybe you should start. At least then I could come to you for advice."
"Pfft. Then you should start doing the same for me." He slumped down beside me.
"Deal," I smirked.
We sat for a few moments, both too lazy to move.
"So, you gonna get the movie box?"
"You get it," he murmured.
I huffed and stood up to get the box under the television console. At least he had an excuse to be tired, he had spent the few days away at an academic competition, whereas I had been at home doing nothing.
"Your guys' movies suck," I said as I sifted through the box of VHS tapes. Theirs was a mess of titles, from Dewey's weird kids movies to Hal's action blockbusters to Lois' dramas and Reese's horror films. Whereas mine was a careful selection consisting almost exclusively of horror and sci-fi as well as period dramas, no in-between.
There were a few superhero movies scattered around the box, which caught my interest. My eyes landed on a particular tape, the Spider-man movie from last year. I had a copy too. We had rushed to get it as soon as it was available at Blockbuster because of how much we had enjoyed it at the theatre.
"Wanna rewatch Spider-man?" I picked up the dusty case and waved it at him.
"Doesn't matter." He shrugged.
"Spider-man it is," I decided. I turned on the TV and VCR, and took the tape out of its case to place it in the VHS slot.
I returned back to the couch as Malcolm started it.
For some reason, it felt right to watch a superhero movie. I could worry about Peter Parker's problem's instead of mine for a minute. Plus, the movie did have a sweet romantic plot-line I could get lost in, about two next-door neighbors. So I got comfortable as it went on.
When the clock ticked to 10 PM, the third act of the movie had just begun. Even though I had seen it before, it comforted me and the action was good enough that it made me forget about the shitty day I had been having.
I looked over at Malcolm to see his reaction at one of the reveals. He had his head in his hands and his eyes were fluttering shut. How could he fall asleep during a scene like this?
I nudged him with my foot and his head shot up. "Huh?"
"Earth to Malcolm, the good part is about to start," I motioned to the screen in excitement.
He rubbed his eyes. "You know what, I think I'll go get ready for bed." he said, and I shot him a surprised look.
"There's only a few minutes left."
"I've been so sleep deprived because of the octathalon, it's just now hitting me."
"Oh, so you're ditching me too?" I put my chin in my hand and turned back to the movie as he stood up and yawned.
He shook his head. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, nerd," I called out to him.
I took the extra room on the couch as an advantage and stretched my legs across it.
I continued watching as Spider-Man's glorious final swing unfolded in awe. As soon as the credits rolled, the sound of the front door clicking open made me jolt.
I looked over to see who it was.
An exasperated Reese walked into the living room. I had already figured it was him. His tuxedo was wrinkled, and a wilted boutonnière hung from his lapel, which seemed to capture his mood.
He threw his jacket on the round table behind the couch. That's when his eyes landed on me. I instinctively looked away, my eyes darting to the clock. It was almost 11 PM, and he shouldn't have been home until midnight at least.
I lowered the volume of the obnoxious credits song and turned to him.
"So, how was your night?" I rested my chin on the couch backrest to look at him.
"I don't even wanna talk about it." He huffed as he kicked off his shoes in the middle of the room. He walked over to plop down on the couch next to me. He looked upset—and his eyes were slightly swollen as if he had been crying all night.
My body shifted towards him automatically. It felt wrong seeing him like this. "Hey, what happened?" My voice laced with concern.
"She dumped me." His eyes remain fixated on the ground.
I said it without thinking. "...Good."
He snorted indignantly. "I knew it was coming, but damn did it hurt. I spent all that money for nothing."
"You ended up getting the limo and everything?" My eyebrows furrowed.
There was a subtle pout on his lips that he did whenever he was sad. "Yeah," he said.
"Awh, it's okay, you still have time to save up," I said as I pulled him in to rub his back, there was nothing holding me back now. I was close enough to notice how crooked his bowtie was, and... was that cologne he was wearing?
"I almost had it. I was gonna get that jet-ski... and take you to the beach." He bit the inside of his cheek.
I paused my rhythmic rubbing and backed away a little. The jet-ski? He was still saving up for that thing? He was actively trying to get out of taking his girlfriend to a dance because he wanted to take meto the beach instead?
Something in my chest tightened. He always did this—acted like he didn't really care about something when he actually did.
I gulped, and put on a smile to reassure him. "That's okay, we can save up to rent one, it's a lot cheaper that way anyway."
"It's not the same," he pouted. It was almost cute the way his lip jutted out and his dark eyebrows knotted.
I stood up, shaking away my straying thoughts. I had to focus on cheering him up. I looked around, and my eyes landed on the VHS box on the floor.
I focused on one specific film at the top of the pile: Army of Darkness. It was a movie I had gotten for Reese after we watched the Evil Dead movies and he absolutely loved them. This one was pretty much the last in the trilogy, so I had rented it for us to see. He loved it so much that we immediately rewatched it the next day, and it became one of his favorite films ever since, which was why I finally bought him a copy of it last Christmas.
I knew he wouldn't give up on the chance to watch it again, and it would've served him well to turn off his brain and enjoy the ridiculous action sequences—as it would for me. I held the tape up and his face instantly lit up at the sight of it. I knew it.
"How about some grooviness to make your night better, huh?" I grinned at my own reference to the film, and he did too.
"You know me so well," he beamed. "Let me just get this off," he motioned to his clothes, "this crap is so uncomfortable."
He loosened his bowtie and got up to tuck his shirt out of his pants.
He suddenly started unbuttoning his shirt, and my heartbeat sounded in my ears. I suddenly forgot why I was standing there. I'd seen him shirtless countless times before, it shouldn't have mattered. But it did.
He continued unbuttoning, revealing a sliver of his lean stomach. Heat rose to my cheeks. Why the hell was I blushing? I mentally slapped myself.
It's just Reese, don't be a creep.
I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to realize that he had left the room to go change.
When he came back, he was in one of his signature cut-sleeve tank top and plaid pajama pants that matched mine.
I had barely just began to compose myself. Well, that doesn't help, I thought as I inadvertently looked at the loose shirt he was wearing. His sides and his arms were all exposed.
He always wore tank tops like this. It was nothing special. But something about the dim lighting made his arms look even more defined.
He casually plopped back down on the couch. "Did you put in the movie?" He asked.
Oh.
I was so distracted that I had totally forgotten about the movie still in my hands. I had been just standing there the entire time.
I tried to move, but I tripped on the box right in front of me.
"Just a sec." I scrambled to replace the Spider-Man VHS with the Army of Darkness one.
The movie started and he was immediately transfixed. He loved this movie so much, it was as if it was made for him.
We sat closely, our shoulders just an inch away from touching. I watched as his eyes darted across the screen, how the light of the screen shone onto his face, illuminating it in a pretty glow.
I thought of his plan for the jet-ski. I hadn't quite realized that it revolved around me this entire time. After all, I was the one who always brought up how fun they were. Knowing him, he was seeking the thrill for himself. But he wanted to take me. He was thinking about me.
My eyes trailed across his profile, from his sharp nose to the scar on his jaw I had noticed many times before. I had every mark on his face mapped out.
My eyes then found their way to his lips. They looked so soft. I told myself it was just an observation. But my mind began to wander.
I thought of Alison, how my brain buzzed at the thought of her. I didn't like her. And she had hurt him, even if just a little. I was right, and she knew nothing about him. Although... she was his girlfriend, and girlfriends got to know parts about their boyfriends that friends didn't.
So then my mind went back to his lips, and I wondered how he kissed. If he was gentle and sweet, just as he sometimes was, or if he let the reckless side of him come out. It was one thing I didn't know about him. One thing Alison could say she knew better about him.
And it all hit me like an earthquake.
I could feel the blood rushing through my body and up to my face. I suddenly felt anxious, as if he could hear all these thoughts I was having. Thoughts that should have never dared to cross my mind.
I bit my lip and forced myself to look away, fixating on the screen that I should have been looking at in the first place.
I was just tired.
I could see him looking at me through my peripheral, and I tried with every fiber of my being not to look back. He was like gravity, I couldn't physically resist the pull.
So I expected him to look away when my eyes locked with his, but he didn't.
He just silently gazed at me with those green eyes of his and my mind went haywire again. My brain just went static. The only thing I could think was, why? Just why was this happening to me?
I caught myself wondering what it would be like if he leaned in. Right then and there. The thought alone made my heart drop.
Then he wet his lips, and I couldn't take it anymore.
I looked back at the screen and promised myself not to look back at his stupid face again for the rest of the movie.
As the movie progressed, his arm found its way around my shoulder, a habit he had always had. His head slowly leaned towards mine, almost resting on my shoulder. I could still smell that manly cologne lingering on him. I stayed perfectly still.
I could occasionally feel him laugh at the movie, but it was about 1 AM now and we were both exhausted. When I heard him yawn, I inevitably did too.
The movie neared its end and I counted the seconds as it did.
It was a good movie, but I was too tired to focus on the fast-paced action sequence that was playing out.
The credits finally rolled, and by then I had to force my eyes from closing.
Reese blindly reached for the remote from under him to turn off the TV.
I was leaning into him in a way that my entire body-weight was on him, and we were practically sunken into the couch.
Nights like this were familiar. Just me and him, hiding from everything else. I didn't realize how much I'd missed that.
He dramatically slid down on the couch and pulled my arm with him.
I let out a tired laugh as I toppled half on top of him. He was all elbows and angles, but it didn't bother me.
My brain was too fuzzy to think about anything else but how comfortable it was.
I slotted myself in the space between him and the cushion. Half of my body there and the other half on his side.
He wrapped his other arm around me.
I forced my tired eyes to look up at him, but his eyes were already shut.
I knew I needed to get up and go to bed, but I didn't.
I sunk in even deeper. Our long legs tangled within the tight space.
The rise and fall of his chest started to lull me. Then I heard his faint snoring, and it was more than enough to eventually sound my own.
☆ ☆
Morning came in slowly through the thin curtains, pale light stretching across the living room, and over the couch. I felt it before I even woke up.
My whole body was stiff. For a second, I wasn't even sure where I was, until I felt it. The weight around me, the warmth. Reese.
My eyes fluttered open, disoriented. Reese's face was half-buried against the couch cushion, breathing slow and even. One of my legs was tangled with his, and my cheek was pressed awkwardly against his shoulder. His arm draped over me, heavy and loose with sleep, like it had always been. Only now, it felt different.
I froze.
Everything from last night came rushing back all at once—the movie, the way he looked at me, the way I couldn't stop looking back. My stomach twisted.
I shifted carefully, trying to slide out without waking him—
"Tess." I heard, low and quiet.
Lois stood by the kitchen, one hand leaning against the countertop, the other resting over her bump. She looked like she had been there for a while, like she had been putting things together.
Reese stirred beneath me with a groan. "Wha—"
"Up. Now," she said.
That did it. He jerked awake, and the sudden movement sent me scrambling off him, nearly falling over the edge of the couch as I pushed myself upright.
"I know it was the dance last night, but I swear I didn't do anything!" he screamed in his sleepy stupor.
I just rubbed my eyes at his nonsense. I looked at Lois, then quickly averted my eyes. I knew how it looked with me basically lying on top of him. I knew it wasn’t weird. It never was. But I also knew I still needed to say something for myself.
"We just fell asleep, we were watching a movie—"
"Clearly."
Her voice wasn't sharp. If anything, it was almost too calm.
Reese blinked between us, still half asleep. "What's wrong Mom? It's too early, we haven't even done anything bad yet."
Lois didn't answer him. Her eyes stayed on me. That was never the case around Reese. It made my stomach tighten.
"You hungry?" she asked.
Her question caught me off guard. "What?"
"I'm making eggs." She paused to turn back to the kitchen. "You can stay. Eat first."
What? Since when did she have to let me know if I could stay or not? It sounded like she was giving me permission. It was never that way.
Reese flopped back against the couch with a huff before I could say anything. "See? You didn't have to scare us like that."
"Reese," she said, her tone turning sharp again, "go put a shirt on."
"I am wearing a shirt—"
"A different one."
Right. Those tank tops he wore were horrible excuses for clothing with the way they exposed his sides. I had already noticed it last night.
He groaned, but dragged himself up and stomped off toward the hallway.
I stayed sat, suddenly unsure of what to do with myself.
"Come on," Lois called out, without even looking back.
I followed her to the kitchen, my steps slower than usual.
She moved around like normal. Cracking eggs, reaching for plates. It should have felt familiar... but something was off.
I hovered near one of the counters, awaiting instructions, until she glanced over at me.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," I said, a little too quickly.
She watched me for a second longer before turning back to the stove.
"You've been sleeping over a lot lately," she said, casually.
I let out a small breath. "Yeah, I guess, compared to last year."
"Mhm."
The pan sizzled, filling the silence. She slid the eggs around like she was thinking.
"You know, sleepovers are one thing," she added, still facing the stove. "But that—" she made a brief motion with her hand toward the living room, "—that's different."
I frowned. Heat rushed up to my neck. "I—We didn't—"
"I didn't say you did."
I let out a breath, looking down, picking at a scratch in the countertop that I was probably involved in causing.
I heard her plate the eggs. I couldn't bring myself to look to make sure. Then she finally turned to face me, leaning back against the kitchen table.
"You're not a kid anymore, Tess."
Her tone wasn't harsh. I didn't know if that was supposed to be better.
"And Reese..." she exhaled lightly, like she didn't know how else to finish that. "He's Reese." She shook her head.
I huffed a small, nervous laugh.
"Yeah," was all I could muster out.
I risked a glance at her, and I saw her expression soften for a second.
"You know you're always welcome here."
My shoulders relaxed a little despite myself.
"But maybe don't make a habit out of... that."
I nodded quickly. "Yeah. Okay."
She studied my face for a second, as if to make sure her point had actually landed. I wasn't even sure what it was.
Then Hal stepped out of the hallway and made his way to the kitchen. Finally, her attention was off of me, or so I thought.
"Sit," she said. "Before he comes back and eats everything."
I knew exactly who she was referring to.
The tension in her voice seemed to had broken. She sounded almost normal now. Almost
I pulled out a chair. Greeted Hal. But something still lingered. A little different. We didn't mention it, but it was understood.
Author’s Note:
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments! Do not be ghost readers. You don't know how much one comment means to us writers!
And whos gonna tell them bffs dont cuddle this often…
also i highly recommend listening to the linked songs its so good!
Stay tuned for the next two chapters ;)
Based around the season 4 episodes ‘Stereo Store’ and ‘Hal’s Friend’
❛ Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend ❜
- You've Got a Friend, Carole King
I spent the next few weeks with Asher. It was honestly a blur. I ended up going to his football game the next week after our first date. He introduced me to his team, and although I felt awkward, he did most of the talking. That night, he draped his bright red varsity jacket over my shoulders before I even realized that I was cold. Since then, I was pretty sure that meant that he had laid claim to me. I was officially his girlfriend.
He made sure everyone knew it. He kissed my by the locker at least once each day, for longer if it was between classes and the hallway was extra busy. I didn't exactly enjoy the idea of swapping spit with someone as others watched, but at the same time, it felt nice to not care what others thought. Unlike Asher.
The popular girls, especially the ones on the cheer team, at least acknowledged me now. Even though it was by complimenting me through gritted teeth and side glances.
Before dating Asher, I had never even spared them a thought. Now, all those new people were a whole new class I had to perform for.
Terrifyingly enough, the spring formal was coming up in a few weeks. On the bright side, at least I had a real date to take me. Even Reese wasn't available this time around.
Speaking of Reese, I had been so busy with Asher, that he spent a whole day at prison without me. It was strange, I never missed out on these things.
I stopped walking to school with the boys early on, because I had Asher to drive me. That alone was reason for Malcolm to begin investigating. After getting dumped by Nikki, I knew he would be bitter to know that I had a boyfriend. I intended for them not to find out about my new relationship. I had to keep one eye open each time Asher pulled me in for a kiss in front of everyone. Luckily those boys seemed to always have something to do. Still, they had to have noticed me hanging out with him during lunch. Or at least I thought they would, seeing as Reese was always preoccupied with Alison. I wasn't sure he would have noticed me kissing Asher right in front of him as long as Alison was there and blabbering into his ear.
During lunch, I sat at the big table in the middle with Asher and his football friends.
A few of them had their girlfriends by their sides, just as Asher was doing with me. Except they were cheerleaders, wearing their matching red uniforms, and I was just wearing Asher's jacket, attempting to blend in.
I had been looking off into the distance before, only laughing on cue each time Asher did. But now, they were talking about something a little more interesting to me. Sports injuries.
It was a little more my speed. I had a lot of experience in the field. With the time Reese broke his nose on the basketball hoop pole, and I had to figure out how to stop the bleeding. The two times I had twisted my ankle during Track and Field, each time a different ankle. The guys at the table didn't get into all the gory details though, briefly going over how one of them sprained his wrist once.
"Yeah, dude. I broke my leg last year. It was brutal, I stayed on the bench for months," one of the brunet guys said.
"Oh, I broke my right leg, like three years ago while mountain biking," I grinned.
"Mountain biking, where? There aren't any mountains around here," the girl sitting by me said with a confused look.
"Well, we had to get creative." I huffed out a laugh at the memory. Reese and his brilliantly dangerous ideas.
The table continued on with their conversation, still adjacent to the topic I was interested in.
"I almost threw up during conditioning. Coach has been going too hard on us lately."
Another thing I could relate to. "I actually did, just yesterday behind the bleachers, after track."
They all paused. My smile faltered. One of the girls stopped chewing, grimacing instead.
Asher laughed one of his complaisant laughs and looks around at his friends. "She's intense."
I tried to laugh too, this time quieter. I wasn't quite sure what part of what I had said was wrong.
I looked down at my hands. I didn't want to look at their unfamiliar faces twisted in such bewilderment at me. I had already had enough of that.
Asher turned to me, changing the topic. "So you ready for AP Lit later?"
I replied something so mindlessly that I couldn't even remember what it was.
The familiar chime of the bell saved me. I grabbed my tray before he could ask me anything else and scurried off.
Then, I was finally at my locker. Alone. I was still thinking about it. I wasn't sure what exactly kept me from meshing with those people. Asides from their affective attitudes, what was so different about us?
I got out the books for my math class like it was muscle memory. I slammed the door shut.
"Boo!"
I flinched.
I leaned against my locker with a laugh as I realized who it was.
"Reese! You've gotta quit doing that to me at school!"
I punched his shoulder. He was doing that chipmunk giggle he did whenever he did something mischievous—which was almost always. It was so contagious, it made me laugh even harder.
Our giggles died out after a couple seconds.
"You weren't there at lunch."
I thought him showing up would at least help me get my mind off that lunch mishap, I guess not. I had briefly noticed him sitting alone at our far away table today. I had thought that Alison was going to join him. Now, I wished that I had ditched Asher and sat with him instead. At least I knew he would've appreciated my throwing up story more.
"Yeah, I was... with—some of my friends... sorry."
He nodded in understanding, eyes darting to the varsity jacket I'm wearing.
His eyebrows furrowed at it, "So... I guess he's your boyfriend now?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so," I gulped. It was weird acknowledging him as my boyfriend, even though he practically was. It was even weirded talking about it with Reese.
"Oh," he nodded again.
It was silent for a few seconds. I had to look around to avoid awkwardly staring at him. That never seemed to be a problem with us before. He studied his shoes.
"You've been busy," he finally spoke.
"Well, I can say the same for you... with Alison,"
He huffed out an obviously fake laugh. "Look at us. I have a girlfriend, you got a boyfriend,"
I mimicked his laugh. "Pretty crazy, right?"
We paused for a moment.
"So, I guess I'll see you after school? We're getting pizza... again." His eyes were wandering everywhere but at me.
I nodded, but he didn't even see me. "Yeah," I said.
Then he just walked away to the class he had next, or maybe he was going to skip class altogether—that was probably it. I couldn't be sure, I wasn't really sure of anything anymore when it came to him.
☆ ☆
When I went over to the Wilkersons' house the next day for breakfast, they wouldn't stop badgering me about Asher—Malcolm specifically.
Lois had left for her sister's, so I didn't have her to defend me. Hal was managing the kitchen terribly too. If I knew how to cook, I would have tried to make them something, but Hal had a strict no dishes policy either way.
So I watched as a gallon of orange juice gets passed around the table. Dewey handed it to me since he refused to drink after Reese, and I practically had no choice but to drink it. Everything on the table looked questionable, might as well.
The last time I'd tried coming over, a girl from Malcolm's class practically kicked me out the door. Jessica. She'd told me they weren't allowed to have visitors and just smiled at me like she'd just saved them from me.
I watched through the glass doors at them like I was watching a bullfight, with Jessica infuriatingly waving the red flag.
Since that incident with her as babysitter, the kitchen had somehow gotten worse. It was now complete anarchy. Craig and I had sort of fallen into the role of Lois, doing some simple chores here and there. He normally handled the laundry, but labeling the batches would only accomplish so much. I tried to wipe counters that would immediately become sticky again.
At home, helping meant just keeping things running. My Dad and I had a neat system, he cooked, I cleaned. Everything stayed functional. Here, functional meant that I was just grateful that nothing had grown legs yet. They really took Lois for granted sometimes.
We cleared the table by shoving everything into a garbage bag. It worked.
As Hal placed the orange juice back in the fridge, he spoke up, "I talked to your mother last night, she misses you all very much, and she'll be home soon."
The boys spun their heads towards him.
"How soon?" Reese asked.
"A few weeks."
The boys sighed. Somehow all the mishaps that had been happening around here lately were better than Lois' rule.
"Oh, and Reese, she wanted you to sweep the leaves off the roof when you get home from school today," Hal said just as we were going to grab our backpacks to leave.
"What?! But today's the only day that Alison's parents aren't home to... interfere with her homework."
I almost dropped my bag at that, having to pull back the strap over my shoulder.
"Reese, your mother—"
"This isn't fair! Mom can't control us when she's not even here!" Reese raised his voice.
"Nobody is being controlled by your mother," Hal scoffed, "for instance, I'm inviting an old friend over tonight and even though we're never going to tell your mother about it, it doesn't mean we're being controlled." He grabbed Dewey by his shoulders, only waving one of his hands as he made his point. "To repeat, your mother is never to hear about this and you guys are just gonna love Larry, we were inseparable in high school but seriously, your mother cannot find out he was in this house."
I just sighed and fastened my backpack straps a little. It didn't really matter to me anyway because I had plans later tonight, and I was never one to snitch to Lois. Regardless, even if I had nothing else to do, Reese was still busy.
"Dad, you're hurting me," Dewey whined and Hal released him from his grip.
"Sorry, sweetheart."
We get out of the door, and I spot Ashers car getting ready to pull over in front of my house. The boys squinted to see it. I shook my head. I was dreading the moment they had to see him drive me to school.
I started to walk faster, ahead of them.
"Is that your boyfriend?" Reese said. His tone was strange.
I nodded, still looking straight ahead.
"Nice car..." I could hear him mumble behind me, as I heard his and his brothers footsteps stall behind.
"Bye, guys!" I waved to them, but only Dewey waved back.
I get into the passenger seat and shut the car door, his arm is already around my seat. "Hey," he smiles at me.
"Hi," I breathed out, a little out of breath from my speed-walking away from the boys.
He instantly leaned over the console to give me a peck on the lips. He then drove away and I glanced into the rearview mirror where I could still see Reese and the boys standing in the driveway. They were staring at the car driving away, Malcolm had his signature displeased expression on. They seemed upset.
Asher had has his arm around me each time he spotted me, like usual.
During lunch, I could see Alison sitting at the busy table of popular girls next to us. Reese was nowhere to be seen. A part of me felt like I should've checked on him, but I didn't. I stayed glued to Asher's side like a flashy new keychain.
I had AP Lit at the end of the day. My schedule was perfect that way, because AP Lit was my favorite class, and knowing I had it to look forward to at the end made all the other classes a little more bearable.
Both Malcolm and Asher were both already in the class, I took a seat in between them, at the front. I passed Asher a polite smile and turned to check on Malcolm.
The class went by pretty smoothly, and interestingly, as it normally did. We were discussing The Scarlet Letter for that past week, and I was totally invested.
"So, do you think Hester is a victim?" Mrs. Osbourne asked the class.
One of the girls confidently spoke up, "Yes, but she's strong. She survives it."
I shook my head, and I didn't really think too long about what I said next. "I don't think so. I think she's controlling, manipulative."
Mrs. Osbourne cocked her head at me. "Go on."
The girl from earlier squinted, challenging. I didn't look away.
"I mean, she stops resisting, she realizes she can control how people see her."
"She was being punished," the girl responded.
"Well yeah, but then she starts flaunting it. She enjoys the attention that she gets from it, and she makes sure that everyone sees what she wants them to see. That's not a victim."
The class goes silent, and all I could hear was the shuffling of chairs and Mrs. Osbourne's intrigued hum.
"Wow, I thought the whole point of this was that she is a victim," one of the jocks next to Asher said incredulously.
"Maybe, but she's controlling how people interpret that."
I looked around, the girl who had first argued with me dropped her pen. Everyone seemed to disagree with me, on something that wasn't such a crazy idea. However, Mrs. Osbourne seemed intrigued. Still, it would've felt nice if at least one person backed me up.
I turned to my left, to look at Asher. He was looking down at his desk. I kept looking. If everyone in the class was staring at me now, why was he suddenly avoiding my gaze. He looked up after few seconds, and gave me a tight-lipped smile, subtly shaking his head. He wanted no part in this discussion. I tried not to take it personally, but what happened to him always having admired me speaking up during class?
I then turned to Malcolm, who usually shared the same opinions with me on books, asides from when it came to heroines. He quickly glanced from me, back to Mrs. Osbourne, acknowledging the sudden tension in the class. He straightened up.
"I guess she's arguing that Hester turns her shame into identity."
Mrs. Osbourne nodded at him.
"And that gives her agency."
I nodded as well. Although I didn't need Malcolm to affirm my analysis, it sure helped to have the genius kid support my claim in front of the whole class.
I didn't look at Asher for the rest of the class. I had no reason to.
The bell rang and I left the class alongside Malcolm. We were discussing all kinds of things as we walked the halls, he told me about how he was invited to one of the weird Krelboyne's birthday parties later today—by the boys mother. The topic of our classes came up again.
"You looked at him," he said.
"What?"
"At Asher. Earlier, when you said that about Hester not being a victim."
"Oh, that," I scoffed, "I don't know..."
"I get that you're with him now, or whatever. But what'd you expect with a football player like him? That he'd run at the opportunity to support your subtextual argument?"
I laughed a little at that. That would've been nice, but it wasn't exactly what I needed. A simple, 'she's right' would have been nice, but I guessed it was too much to ask him to go against the grain for once.
I thought of what Reese had said when I told him the story of The Scarlet Letter. He didn't have to be smart to realize that Hester had her own way to go about things. But maybe not everyone could think the same way I did. Still, I would've been fine with a mindless advocate like him. Too bad he couldn't be accepted into AP Lit class.
I couldn't even defend Asher to Malcolm. Before I could respond to him, I felt a hand snake around my waist.
"There you are." It was Asher.
He didn't even acknowledge Malcolm, who simply rolled his eyes as he left us. We weren't alone though, Asher's jock friends were hot on his trail.
I craned my head to smile at him, and he placed a quick yet earnest kiss on my lips.
"Man, you're lucky," one of his guys said.
Asher laughed proudly. It was a little weird, as if I was a fancy car he had just revved for his friends to be envious over.
"You ran off after class. I wanted to see if you were down to go see a movie tomorrow."
I said yes without even thinking about it. As if it were one of the only responses my factory reset brain could muster up.
After school, I opted for lunch at home, not like the Wilkersons would have had anything proper to eat anyway. I stopped by to make sure just how far they had hit rock bottom, and I came across Reese who was busy sweeping the leaves off the front lawn. He looked worn out, I wondered when he'd be away to hang out with Alison.
I tried not to worry about it too much. Instead, I rode my bike to the guitar shop downtown. The place I considered my safe haven, and I drowned out all the thoughts I had about Reese, Asher, or Alison until the employees had to close the store.
☆ ☆
Come Saturday, Asher picked me up for our scheduled movie.
We arrived to our local theatre. We hadn't decided what we were going to see next, so I stared at the showtime boards for a while as Asher went to get us some popcorn and soda to share.
A few posters caught my eye, such as 'Dreamcatcher', a title I recognized as a Stephen King novel, and 'Willard', a strange horror movie. The latter sounded more exciting to me, as I remembered picking up an older version of the film at the video store. This must have been a reboot.
Asher finally approached me, snacks in hand, and handed me the huge cup of Coke.
"So, anything interesting?"
"Yeah, actually. There's that one," I pointed at the 'Willard' poster, "it's a horror movie!about this weird guy that can control rats."
He squinted at the dark poster, "Oh, sounds... interesting, for sure. Well, you seem to already know all about it."
I shrugged, "It's new! I think I just recognize the title."
"I don't know. Any other options?" He scanned the showtime board himself.
"Umm... how about that one?" I pointed at the Stephen King movie. I could already kind of guess what it was about, but I didn't want him thinking I already knew about it again. The poster was gloomy and featured a lone figure in the wilderness, which looked right up my alley.
His eyebrows raised in disapproval. "Eh, I'm not a big fan of horror. What do you think of 'The Core'?" He pointed at the bright action movie poster.
My face immediately twisted at it. Nothing about it looked interesting, it was just another bland blockbuster film. "The one that looks like it's trying to be 'Deep Impact'?" I realized I might have sounded condescending, but I think I had a right to be given my countless hours of picking up random films from the video store. I was a film connoisseur at this point, and he was being downright offensive.
"Yeah, it looks fun," he said. He placed his hand on the small of my back and began walking forward, leading me to the ticket counter as if we had unanimously decided already.
I stared down at the neon carpeted floor, littered with crumbs of popcorn. I guessed it didn't really matter what movie we watched, I could still watch 'Willard' or 'Dreamcatcher' another day. Maybe horror movies weren't for everyone. He paid for the tickets the same way he did everything else—quickly, confidently, and without really regarding me at all. I was just there.
Inside the dim auditorium, the screen was already playing obnoxious previews. He picked a sit a bit farther away from the middle, where everyone else sat. I took note of the fact that it was close by the exit, in case I got bored, which was almost guaranteed with this type of predictable movie.
Throughout the runtime, Asher seemed to get as close to me as the seats would allow. His arm was around my shoulder from the beginning, and he kept interrupting my bites of popcorn to give me a kiss. I wasn't necessarily complaining
We begin to hear whispering from behind us. It didn't phase me, but Asher turned around, only to start whispering loudly as well.
It was a few guys from school, seated behind us. I recognized them from his football team. He struck up an out of place conversation with them. Although this movie wasn't the most captivating thing, I would still have liked to be able to hear what was going on.
He finally quieted down from his catch up with the guys and got back to me. He didn't stop pulling me closer. I glanced at him, and he was already looking at me. Wow, so much for not letting me pick the movie. He had missed the entire thing. His other hand went to cup my face and he pulled me in to what was probably the thousandth kiss of today.
This one was different though, he was a lot more eager. We didn't kiss for longer than a few seconds very often, so this was still unfamiliar to me. This seemed like an especially wrong time to be doing it.
Then his hand slid down to my waist, and suddenly I was tugged a lot closer to him. The armrest in-between us dug into my stomach, and I had to stabilize myself on it.
I was still conscious of the guys behind us, we were probably directly in their line of sight. And the sounds of our kissing were sure to be a nuisance to everyone else. I pulled away slightly, but he didn't let up. I pulled away even harder.
He removed his hand from my waist. "What's wrong?"
"I just don't—I want to focus on the movie." I tried to whisper as low as possible, looking around to spot any people I had disturbed.
He scoffed. "Whatever." But he tried to keep his signature confident expression. He looked back at the guys a few times. It was weird. He was aware that they were watching us, it was almost like he wanted them to watch.
After the movie finally ended, Asher ran into his friends at the lobby again. I wasn't going to linger about and endure any more awkward small talk, so I smoothly escaped into the washroom.
I got done with my business and went to wash my hands.
I got distracted by my reflection in the mirror. I was still wearing Asher's varsity jacket. It looked extra out of place under the harsh florescent lights. It didn't fit me at all, and the bright red really didn't suit me either. None of this did. I took off the varsity jacket.
I mean, what was I doing with a guy who didn't even have the same taste in movies as me, let alone actually understand me?
I rinsed my mouth. Washing away the taste of the greasy popcorn and Asher's lips.
I stepped away to leave, when I overheard him and his friends speaking from through the bathroom door. This old building must have been pretty cheap. I could hear everything.
"You actually brought her? The Snag?"
"You shouldn't call her that. It's actually going pretty well. I told you I'd be able to win her over," Asher snickered along with them.
"I mean, you're right, she seemed pretty into it in there."
My stomach twisted. It was all a performance. Some sort of competition. Yes, he may have been interested in me, but I should have known his interest in his own status was so much more. Maybe that was just what football players did, they played games. I knew this was never meant to work out.
I waited for their conversation to end from behind the door. Once I heard Asher tell them he'd wait for me, and their footsteps scatter away, I exited.
I couldn't hide the uncomfortable expression on my face. I fidgeted with the red jacket in my hands. He greeted me again with a charming expression of his. Another performance.
I wasn't going to tolerate that anymore. I wasn't going to go through another date or awkward conversation.
His expression shifted as he noticed my mood. "Hey, what's up with you today?"
"Asher, I need to tell you something."
"Yeah?"
"I don't think this is going to work out."
His eyebrows furrowed. He must truly have been disappointed that he hadn't actually 'won'. "Why—what is this about?"
"I mean, we're obviously very different people. I don't seem to mesh with your friends, and—for god's sakes we can't even agree on a movie!"
"Wait, so, you didn't like the movie—" he stammered into a pause. "But, what matters is that we like each-other. We can make it work."
I rolled my eyes. "We don't even know each-other."
He went silent now. The only sounds were the faint discussions at the ticket booth and the whirr of the popcorn machine.
"Dammit, Tessa... you were a good catch," he sighed with a faint smile, regaining his charisma.
"Maybe that's the problem..."
He nodded a little. I handed his jacket back to him. It was always a symbol of our relationship, and I was returning it for good. He took it and began fidgeting with the same way I had been earlier.
"Do you—Should I take you back home now?"
His eyes were kind. I knew he had good intentions. But I didn't want to spend any more excruciatingly awkward time with him if I didn't have to.
I could think of one person who would immediately be here. One person who I would actually want to see right now, or rather, an entire family.
"It's fine, you can go ahead. I'm calling someone to pick me up." I waved my cellphone at him. It was times like these that I really felt grateful for the thing.
He hesitated for a moment. "Alright, if you say so." He gave me a tight lipped smile, which I returned, before walking past me.
I waited for him to exit the theatre, before flipping open my cellphone. I took a deep breath and dialed the only number I had saved into my phonebook.
It rang for a long while before I heard the sound of arguing on the other line, just what I had been wanting to hear.
"Give me that—you little—" I instinctively held the phone away from my ear at the loud rustling of fighting for the phone.
"Aha! Hello?" It was Reese, and he sounded out of breath.
My shoulders instantly relaxed at the sound of his voice, I hadn't even realized just how tense I was.
"Hey, Reese, it's me. You busy?"
"A little, I'm about to kick Dewey's ass—Hey, don't run away, yet!"
"Is it... urgent?" I felt a real smile make it's way to my lips at the sound of their fighting for what felt like the first time today.
"Yeah, monkey-boy tried tricking me into doing all his chores. Mom's gonna come back to him hanging from the ceiling." I could see the snarl behind his voice, I even missed that side of him.
"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm kind of stranded at the theatre downtown. So, if you could just get Hal to come get me or something, if he's free? I mean, I could call a cab—"
Before I could even suggest another option, he spoke up. "The theatre? I was supposed to go today with Ali.. Nevermind—We'll be there." I told myself that there was some concern lacing his voice. I definitely would've liked to believe that.
"Okay, great. I'll see you, then."
"See you, Tess. Stay put."
I hung up and waited patiently outside the theatre. It was always busy at this time of the evening, and I just hoped I wouldn't have to see anybody else from school. I tried looking for the minivan I knew so well amongst all the bustle.
In a few minutes, I finally spotted it. Relief washed over me. Hal barely pulled over and I wasted no time getting into the backseat, where Dewey and Reese were sitting. I was happy to see that even Dewey joined. I mentally berated myself for getting into the backseat instead of the passenger seat that they had obviously saved for me, but I kind out preferred their company.
"Hi, Tess," Hal looked back at me before driving off.
Dewey also leaned over to say 'Hi', although he looked nervous.
From next to me, I could feel that Reese was tense. His clothes were dirty. He just stared straight ahead, and his hands were all jittery. I knew what that meant. It wasn't good.
"Bad date?" Hal asked, looking into the rearview mirror.
"Yeah..."
"Those happen. You're never going to find the perfect person in high school... unless you're me and Lois," he shrugged.
I didn't need another reminder of how love was a total fad except when it came to their messed up version of it.
Dewey voiced my thoughts. "Look how that turned out... Don't worry, Tess. You'll find someone as cool as you."
"I'm not worried, Dewey." I nodded at him.
I looked into my lap, my arm kept bumping into his as the car hit some pot-holes. He swatted Dewey's arm roughly instead, as if he had done it, to which Dewey let out a loud whine.
"Boys, what did I say about fighting in the car?"
Reese flexed his jaw. Some would consider them even more of a nuisance, but I was just to be back to what I felt was normal.
I decided to try to mediate things instead of escalating them for once, for Deweys sake. I told Reese to make some room so that I could wedge myself in between him and Dewey.
I hunched over to stand up, and Reese tried to scoot over into my seat. We went another bump and I almost fell into his lap, if not for him grabbing my waist to steady me. I held onto the passenger seat's headrest and fell back into the middle seat. It was clumsy, but it worked. Although it still felt warm where he had touched my waist.
Reese was a little less tense now.
"What happened back there? Who were you with?"
I sighed, "Ask me later?"
He frowned and hesitated to nod. It was really the last thing I wanted to think about, so I was glad that he kept his mouth shut.
The ride was pleasantly quiet and short for the rest of the way. When we parked by the garage, I thanked Hal for the ride.
Hal and Dewey entered the house. I was beginning to turn right and be on my way to my own before Reese stopped me, grabbing my arm.
"So, you gonna tell me?"
I sighed. I knew that he would nag all night if he really wanted to know.
"I was just out... on a date—but it didn't end up so good, obviously," I shrugged, trying to act casual, even though it was eating away at me.
"What'd he do?"
His voice lowered and his face contorted into that scowl that even I had grown to fear. It was the face he made when someone broke something that was his, or told him to do something he didn't want to do. He was angry.
"He didn't do anything," I lied, "I just..."
I wanted to tell him I had broken up with Asher, that I was relieved. But at the same time, I was embarrassed. This was supposed to be the one thing I had going for myself right now. But through dating him, I had only accomplished one thing, establishing myself as even more of a loser amongst the popular clique. How pathetic.
Reese eased up, and he let go of my arm to grab my shoulders with those grimy hands of his. "You have to understand, if he does anything, I'll squash him like a bug."
His confidence made me snort through my sniffling. I didn't doubt that. Although Asher towered over Reese, I was honestly terrified of what he would do to him. But I didn't think that Asher was bad enough to deserve that. "I know, Reese. Will you let go of me now?"
"Oh, yeah." He removed his hands from my shoulders and took a step back.
His absence was instantly palpable as a light breeze passed through. I didn't even realize that my eyes had been welling up this entire time at all the pent up pressure inside of me.
I took a closer look at him. A light layer of dust coated his cheeks and his eyebrows were raised up slightly in concern. He was concerned about me, just as I had hoped.
My chin trembled. I couldn't keep in my tears any longer. I had to go back home, or...
Something took over me then, I wasn't sure what.
It made me wrap my arms around him, tightly, my hands clutching his at his dirty, baggy shirt.
He stood still for a moment, before hugging me back. His lean arms wrapped around my shoulders comfortably.
It was warm. I burrowed my head into the curve of his neck, and tensed as to stifle my crying. I could smell him. That familiar Reese scent mixed with faint sweat and the earthy dirt from whatever he had been doing, and the beloved floral of their laundry detergent lingering on his collar. I took a deep breath.
I felt his head move, and its weight shift onto my head. He whispered something indiscernible against my hair, and I hugged him even tighter. Then, I heard the faintest sound of a kiss. I couldn't feel it through my hair and I definitely couldn't see it. Did he just kiss my head?
It didn't do anything to rid me of the tears that were beginning to fall. It made a whole new fuzzy feeling build up in my chest and that made me even more emotional.
Everything around him was grounding—his weight, his scent. I didn't think I would ever get enough.
I pulled away after a few seconds, sniffling even harder now.
He bowed his head down to take a better look at me, still holding onto my shoulders.
"You've got something," he muttered.
Before I could respond, he pulled one of his loose sleeves into his palm and rubbed it under my eye. It wasn't gentle.
"Ow—Reese." I craned my head back, but I didn't back away from him.
"I'm helping you."
I laughed, which forces the tears stored up in my eyes to fall, smearing more of my mascara across—what he was probably attempting to wipe off.
"Well, you've got something too... all over." I motioned to his frame, at the dirt and dust covering him.
His face twisted into the classic Reese again. "Yeah, it's all Dewey's fault, he made me dig up a stupid underground fortress." He pointed across the backyard at a deep hole, and a mound of dirt next to it.
I cracked up at that. "How in the world did he get you to do that? I guess I must've missed out on a lot..." As I looked ahead of him at the hole he dug, I noticed the gaping absence of a wall in Hal and Lois' room, it was completely exposed to the backyard. "Oh my god, and what happened to the house? I'm gone for one night!"
"No, that was my Dad."
Okay, now he had to elaborate.
He continued telling me about it, smoothly leading me into their house.
I told him about the new horror movies out, and how we should go see them sometime. Dewey tried to stay out of Reese's sight as to not actually end up 'hanging from the ceiling' by Reese's hands.
I was back to what felt like home, and I had been terribly homesick lately.
Based around the season 4 episodes 9: 'Grandma Sues' and 10: 'If Boys Were Girls’
❛ When I'm with anybody else
It's so hard to be myself
And only you can tell ❜
- I'm Only Me When I'm With You, Taylor Swift
To my disadvantage, the Wilkerson's had a full house. It was cramped. Their grandmother Ida was visiting, so were Francis and Piama. They barely had space for Malcolm, and he had to sleep in the backyard, in a tent that they had set up for him. He occasionally took refuge at my house, but I didn't wanna stay locked up in there either.
My fatal flaw was never wanting to miss out on what their family was up to.
Their grandmother was weird and heinous, but that had already been established. She was especially weird around me though, making comments about my blonde hair and tall stature, rambling something about how I resembled the young women of her home country.
When she first got here, she was staring me down like I was some kind of national geographic animal. She forgot who I was each time she visited, so we had the same weird interaction every single time.
She would always manhandle me in some way. This time, she pulled my hair, tugging at it. "You are strong stock," she said. "Good hips, so you won't suffer in childbirth." She meant that as a backhanded comment to Lois. I didn't know whether I should've been flattered or afraid for my life. I just reminded her that I was barely sixteen.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure where she was from in the first place. I wouldn't have been surprised if her country was located on an alien planet!
Their house was exceptionally hectic when she was around. That combined with the fact that her and Francis were arch-nemeses was a recipe for chaos.
I didn't bat an eye when the ambulance showed up at their house one morning.
Apparently, their grandmother had taken a fall as she was on her way out, and now had to stay for longer!
Malcolm and I started having dinner together after they began struggling to keep any food left for two extra people, it was sad, honestly.
One night, Malcolm came knocking at my window. Francis and Piama had kicked him out of his own tent! It was kind of gross hearing about that. He looked too pitiful, shivering his boxers and T-shirt out in the winter cold, so I couldn't refuse. We had to be really careful though, since my Dad finding out that I was sneaking in one of the boys for a sleepover would definitely not have ended well. It would have been his last straw with them.
It didn't help that amongst all the tension, Reese and Dewey were acting strangely—hiding something from us. It was looking like Malcolm was the only normal person left in that household. But I wasn't sure I could trust my definition of normal anymore.
The next day, after school, Reese finally barged into my room. Before I got the chance to confront him about his strange behavior, he excitedly told me that he had a surprise waiting outside.
In their driveway was a massive truck with what he revealed was an above ground swimming pool. The idea, although intriguing, was ridiculous and so Reese. My biggest doubt though, was how he was affording it.
He grabbed me by the hand and rushed us into their kitchen so that he could inform the others. We ran in to find the entire family standing in the midst of what looked like a very tense argument.
Reese—forever incapable of reading the room—decided to announce the surprise waiting for them outside.
Only for it to be revealed that, number one: Lois was pregnant, and number two: their Grandma Ida was suing them!
All that fun didn't last long though, as Ida quickly returned back home after realizing she couldn't make much money off her lawsuit, and Reese had to return the swimming pool.
Francis happily watched his grandmother's cab drive away. She was the bane of his existence. He was back to his regular self now, but he would also be departing tomorrow, which sucked for us.
He leaned on the window-sill, jaw flexing. The energy in the house was calm, even though I knew it would only be for the briefest second.
"Finally, some quiet now that she's gone," he spoke.
"It won't last long."
As if I had triggered it, Reese and Malcolm began yelling at each other from the kitchen. Francis smirked at them, and looked back at me.
My attention was still on the boys in the kitchen, trying to dissect their argument.
"I'm just waiting for the day that you get tired of them. It won't seem to come," he said.
I turned back to him with a smile. "I doubt it will."
"You say that now, but I know you're gonna go out looking for something normal sooner or later."
He pushed off the windowsill and walked over to Piama before I could ask what he meant.
☆ ☆
There was one prodding issue on my mind for the past few weeks. Lois was pregnant!
It was crazier now that she was beginning to show signs, with her often skipping meals to vomit in the bathroom and her hormonal outbursts that were scarier than usual. I couldn't process that fact. It was both scary and exciting. There was going to be a new baby next door, and I forgot what that felt like since Dewey was born nine years ago.
I wondered what it would be like if it was a girl. Would I be like a big sister to her? Would I be the one to teach her things and protect her from the boys? It was nice to think about, although I feared for her vulnerable sanity.
My thoughts were rudely interrupted by one of the girls whom I was standing by the lockers with squealing in excitement. I grounded myself in the present. Right, Valentine's Day was coming up, and my girl friends wouldn't stop gushing about it.
Malcolm had been distant and so had Reese. Both due to their girlfriends, who I assumed were also preoccupied with their Valentine's day plans.
It felt pathetic to admit that I felt a little lonely. Who did I have if both Malcolm and Reese were too busy for me?
It felt petty for me to be upset that Reese hung out with Alison during school and lunch instead of me, she was his girlfriend after all, but I couldn't help it. I could make excuses for Malcolm, as he sometimes kept his distance, but I thought I could rely on Reese if not him.
The truth was, I had been sort of avoiding him, and it stung that I couldn't tell if he even noticed.
He was truly happy now, even though he and Alison fought quite a bit—I didn't want to interfere in their relationship at all, so I kept my distance. After that one argument he had with Malcolm, I realized that he had a point. I hated it.
I stared at Reese and Alison sitting together from my position by the lockers. They sat closely, hip by hip, at the table that Reese usually reserved for us. Not anymore.
I was growing familiar with the little weasel that dug its way into my stomach and made me feel all sick every time I thought about Reese and Alison. That little weasel was becoming my new pathetic friend.
The girls giggled about something to do with Valentines right by my ear, and I rolled my eyes. I was mostly annoyed because they were being obnoxious, but also because they had dates and I didn't. I had to admit that all the loneliness was getting to me.
Then, as if I had summoned an angel from the heavens, I shut my locker a little too hard only to be greeted by the beautiful face of Asher Scott standing right behind it. I gasped when I saw him but quickly collected myself and straightened up my back—damn my bad posture.
Yes, it was hard to not admit that he was a hot guy, but I convinced myself that I hadn't quite fallen for his charm yet and that I was just startled by him.
He was a junior, and on the football team. I had interacted with him a few times during my AP English Literature class. He didn't pick on me whenever I gave a very opinionated answer during discussions, unlike the other guys. Sometimes, he even agreed with me, although it seemed mindless as if just to give him participation points from the teacher. He didn't join the discussions too often, I assumed he was just in it for college credit, as most football scholarship seeking guys did. Still, the fact that he kept up told me that he was smarter than he let on.
Any concerns I had about his football player status or Literature skills diminished as I gazed into his pretty blue eyes.
He casually leaned against the array of locker doors and waved at the group of girls to my right. One of them, Alana, was his sister, and I was convinced that most of those girls were friends with her just to get to her hearthrob brother.
"H—hi," I managed to croak out, while he just kept on that perfect smile of his. Since when did I crumble the minute a cute football player looked at me? No, I was better than this. They didn't call me 'The Loose Wire' and 'The Snag', and the old fashioned 'bitch' for nothing.
"How's AP Lit going, Tessa,' he nonchalantly started. His blue eyes were so piercing against his dark hair that it was hard even looking at them. He peeked at the books in my arms as if he did this every day.
I was kind of surprised he even remembered my name. I didn't expect his friendliness, but since he was asking about class, I assumed he needed some help.
I let out a strange laugh. "It's going well? Why, do you need any help?" I subconsciously tried to fix my hair as I talked.
"Wow, there she is again, our very own Virginia Woolf!" He laughed, catching me off guard and alerting some of the students near us. I awkwardly looked around, blushing at the compliment that I was sure was intentional. I was flattered that he was comparing me to one of my favorite writers, but there was no way that he knew that fact. He continued, "No, I don't need any help. I mean, would it be so crazy if I just wanted to talk to you?"
His voice was sweet, and I couldn't shake my confusion at where this was going. I wanted to answer 'Yes', because it definitely was weird that a guy like him would be so nice to me, but that was too pathetic. I settled with the next best reply.
"About what?"
"I wanna get to know you, Tessa. You seem cool."
My face turned red. He was kind of leaning toward me now, and now I really had no idea what to say.
All I could manage was a bashful and completely uncharacteristic, "Really?"
"Yeah, really. And... I was wondering, if we could do something sometime."
"Somewhere? Somehow...?" I couldn't help making the joke, and I earned an adorable laugh from him.
"Yeah, pretty much. What I'm trying to say is, we should go out."
I hadn't quite realized where this was going until now. Asher Scott was asking me out. Me! Once again, much to my chagrin, I was speechless. All I could manage was a "Uhm..."
"Oh, I mean it's fine if you don't—" He straightened back as he tried to read my expression.
"When?" I finally blurted.
"Oh—uh, I was thinking tomorrow, Friday." He quickly regained his charisma, seemingly pleasantly surprised, even at my awkward response.
"Hm, tomorrow..." I thought, "oh, that's Valentine's Day." My mind was still filled with Valentine's Day talk from spending all day with the girls.
I quickly realized the implications. Yes, he was in fact asking me out. And he was suggesting Valentine's Day be the day. This boy was serious. And all I knew was that I didn't want him going anywhere.
"Is that okay? If you have—"
I interrupted him once again, "are you backing out?" I asked. Both a mixture of fear and condemnation. I was ready to fight him and cry about it at the same time.
He smiled at that, although wide eyed. "No. No, I'm not. I—"
"Well, I'm free then."
"That's great," he said, laughing. He opened his mouth again as if he were about to say something, but this time, I had the decency to cut him off before he started.
"Do you want my number?" I asked, eagerly.
"Yeah! Please!" He seemed amused at this. I didn't know if it was because he thought I was acting odd or if he was genuinely excited. I hoped it was the latter. I wanted to have this date. For once, I wanted what everyone around me was having, and he was the perfect candidate to make that come true. Although my surge of confidence was kind of unexpected to me, considering my usual insecurity, I was glad that it arrived at the right time.
I wrote down my house's phone number on a scrap of paper I hastily pulled out of a stray notebook in my locker. Lunch break was already nearing it's end, so we didn't get to chat much before the bell rang and it was time for class.
When I got back home, I didn't go to Wilkerson's house for once. They called me over for lunch, and even for dinner at the mall, but I didn't dare leave the phone out of my sight.
I only got up to heat up some frozen pizza and grab a pack of chips when I got hungry, but that was it. Only time my eye's even left the phone is when I had to go to the bathroom. At 8:38 pm, it finally rang—and I scrambled towards it.
"Hello," I tried to sound casual, even though It was obvious that answered a bit too soon.
"Hey," I heard his voice from over the static of the phone. He simply goes on to ask for my address and to tell me that he can't wait to see me. Maybe it wasn't worth waiting for hours, but it still sent a rush of excitement through me.
I couldn't believe it. I had a date! A Valentine's, no less. I was no better than all the obnoxious girls around me and I didn't even give a damn! I practically skipped to the Wilkerson's in joy to tell the first person I saw about this.
Lois was right there in the kitchen to greet me, it seemed like they had just gotten back from the mall. She was ironing some clothes, all alone.
I ambled up to her with a bright smile. "You need any help?"
"No... you're in a cheery mood. Thank god you didn't come to the mall with us." She rested her hands on the ironing board, I could see that her bump was starting to get a little noticeable.
"I need to tell you something." I blurted.
Her brows furrowed, "go ahead.. did they do something?"
I took a deep breath and began, "No it's not about the boys... I've been dying to tell someone about this all day, and they wouldn't get it." I gulped at her inquisitive gaze. "This really cute footballer player just asked me out today at school. It was amazing, it was like he appeared out of thin air! And just in time for Valentines too. He noticed me from class discussions, can you believe that? He was paying attention! I was just talking to him on the phone. And the part is, he has a car, and he'll be picking me up tomorrow." I ended my rant with a toothy grin.
Instead of giving me a prudent look and some stern advice, Lois smiled wistfully as I spoke her about the boy. "Oh, that's wonderful, honey. I'm so glad you came to me about this. You won't believe how much I've been hoping this baby was a girl." She places a hand on her belly. "I'm so sick of these boys and their fights and their nonsense. I just wanna hear more stuff like that, it's the sweetest thing."
Warmth flooded my chest at the thought of a little Wilkerson girl again. I wanted Lois to have that at least, even though she had caught a glimpse of it while being sort of a maternal figure to me.
I shrugged, "Well, even if it's not, you're still gonna hear alot about it from me.... But it would be nice to have a baby girl around, I'm just worried the boys would scar her for life."
Lois made a face at my last comment but then brushed it off. She comes by to sit down on the kitchen table in front of me.
"You're right... If it is a girl, I'll just take her and run away," she laughed.
"Hey, I grew up with them and I turned out fine."
She sighed, "I still don't know why you chose to do that all these years. But we don't know if this baby is as strong as you."
I shrugged again, "I don't know either, I've just always been drawn to them."
Honestly, she was right. I wasn't sure how I had tolerated them my whole life, it just came naturally to me. I was sort of a saint in their eyes, but to other people I was just as unhinged. I was an instigator, a cheerleader to all their shenanigans that I had always participated in just to feel something.
She continued telling me about their mishap at the mall. How she had dreams that the boys were girls, how the mall-cops seemed to be out to get each and every one of them. How Reese had lead them into running away instead of confronting the cops.
It didn't matter if this baby was going to be a boy or a girl, it would have a crazy upbringing regardless.
☆ ☆
On Valentine's day, Lois made her signature tuna casserole. As simple as it was, we usually had it on special occasions. This time, it didn't fall short at all. The boys gorged down their food like they were being timed and I couldn't help but do the same.
"Are we celebrating Valentine's day, or tuna?" Dewey mumbled as he prodded at his plate. He was the only one not enjoying it.
"Both," Hal responded.
I spied Reese from across from me wipe some sauce he got on his hands on his shirt, a bad habit of his I always scolded him for. It always led to him reeking of food for the rest of the day, or having a mysterious slimy substance on his clothes. I glared at him and he actually noticed, guiltily getting up to get a paper towel. This had been happening more often lately. He was listening to me more, even without me saying a word.
When we were done, the boys all rushed into their room to get dressed, since we had plans to play basketball after school on Fridays.
I helped Lois clean up, like usual. Her movements were more labored now that pregnancy was taking its toll on her. She finished and sat down with a sigh for some tea.
Hal snuck into their room too before coming out with a box. He always got her the most intentional Valentine's day gifts. They were always somehow exactly what she wanted. I watched them from where I was standing by the counter.
It was a little yellow bodysuit for the baby this time. Lois melted at it. It was truly adorable, the first tangible sign of the upcoming baby yet. It made everything a lot more real.
The boys excitedly ran out then. In their basketball attire, with the ball bouncing in tow. They hurried Hal and I, but paused to give Lois her Valentine's Day gift. It was a half eaten box of chocolate, but nonetheless an accomplishment from them. At least it was sincere.
Dewey noticed that I didn't have my usual basketball outfit on, and he asked if I would be joining them.
I shook my head, "No, Dewey, sorry. I have plans today." But really, I just needed to get ready for my date a few hours later. I didn't want to ruin it by getting all sweaty.
"Oh man, you're not playing today? We're gonna lose," Malcolm's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"You've got Dewey, you'll be fine," I brushed it off.
I was lucky that they didn't pry about my plans. They eventually ran out with their father. I watched as they passed the ball inbetween themselves as they ran through the door. The basketball that I had gotten for them was shining and almost beckoning me over. A part of me ached to go with them. Basketball days were always a thrill.
But I had priorities now.
I spent the next few hours trying on half my closet. If I had gone to play basketball with the boys, I would've been less tired.
It was hard resetting my miss-matched wardrobe into a trendy one. I didn't have anything that wasn't striped or embellished or patched up. Anything I tried just felt like a costume.
So, I finally decided on the simplest option. A black top, along with some jeans.
I put some effort into my eye makeup, even though I messed it up a few times. I was grateful Amanda had shown me how to use a q-tip to fix up eyeliner.
The whole process of getting ready for a date was stressful, and I had never done it before. You would think that the difficult part would come after the date had already started.
I put on some lip gloss. Smiling at the mirror, showcasing my now bare teeth. I still wasn't used to the sight of me without braces. I had always pictured my teeth to turn out perfectly straight, but they were just normal now.
Something was off. At least my hair was in its natural state. If I had straightened it, I would've just felt even more like a clone.
The dangly bejeweled earrings I wore clashed with everything. My smile. My hair. I yanked them off in frustration. I wanted to take off every stupid piece of jewelry.
Then my hands reached for my star necklace. I almost took it off, but my fingers hesitated before I let it fall back against my collarbone.
It almost 5:30 PM, which was when I told Asher to pick me up; before my father would get home. I hadn't told him about the date; I decided it would be too much to explain, and I wasn't know what his reaction would be. I was planning on getting back home and lying about having been out with the Wilkersons.
I heard the long awaited sound of his car's horn, and practically ran to the living room to see it from the window. I took one last look at myself in the mirror and rushed out the front door.
He was waiting in his expensive looking convertible. It wasn't too fancy, but for a moment I felt a little embarrassed of my not so rich neighborhood.
I hesitated a bit before getting in. Examining the door. Before I even got the chance, Asher was out of the car and at my side, holding my door open for me.
No one had ever done that before. I froze for a second, before sliding in carefully. I was suddenly aware of how violently I usually slammed car doors. Whether it was the Wilkerson's minivan or my Dad's truck.
He greeted me with a sweet smile. Even waited until I buckled in before driving off. It was all so new.
He took me to a nice italian restaurant in town, nothing special but fancy enough that I had never been to it before.
We exchanged some small talk. He told me about the football team, and asked me about my family. I mentioned the Wilkersons, and he asked if one of them is that one 'annoying skinny kid who hangs out by the football field' , and I said yes—frowning at his description of Reese, someone I had just said was like family to me.
He complimented my hair, and my top. I almost lost count with how much he was flattering me. I couldn't deny that it felt nice.
When our food arrived, he ate calmly. He didn't order much, so I didn't either. It was surprising to see a guy order a bowl of pasta and not practically shove his face into it. It almost looked wrong. I watched the way I ate too. Unfortunately, I had picked up some of the boys' eating habits over the years. I ate fast and often spoke with a mouthful. I made sure not to do that with my chicken parm dish.
"I really liked what you said on Thursday. About that book. What was it— Mrs. Virginia Woolf."
He clearly hadn't been paying attention.
"You mean Mrs. Dalloway." I tried my best not to seem condescending. After all, I had plenty of experience dealing with confident stupidity.
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Yeah, that one. You just sounded so... sure about it."
"I usually am," I said as I wiped my mouth with a napkin, just like a lady on a date would. "It gets me in trouble."
"With teachers?"
"With everyone. I'm sure you've noticed."
He leaned forward slightly. "I don't know. I like that you speak up. Most people in class just pretend they've read the book."
"Yeah," I said. "That's what everyone says right before they decide I'm insane."
His eyebrows knotted, and he laughed.
I cut into my food, brandishing the silverware like the chicken owed me money. "I think if I ever missed school, they'd assume I finally snapped."
He paused, fork halfway to his mouth.
"Why— I'd never assume that." His face took a serious expression now.
I shrugged, "well, I'd leave a note. I don't wanna be a rude criminal." I laughed a little.
There was a beat of silence. He finally took a bite, and smiled politely at me, unsure of what to do with what I had just said.
Great, if he didn't think I was off-putting before, he sure would now. I glanced at the old couple next to us, trying to seem distracted.
"You look really nice tonight," he steered the conversation away.
My face warmed. "Thanks."
He relaxed now, as if he had successfully diverted a car crash.
"Honestly, my friends aren't gonna believe I'm here," he said, almost sheepish.
I frowned. "Why?"
He grinned. "Well, you've kinda got this reputation, you know. They think you'd bite if someone tried to talk to you."
"Hey, that only happened once."
He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was trying to gauge if I was serious or not. I was. "See? That's what I mean. They're never gonna believe I managed to get you to come out with me."
I stabbed at my chicken. "Wow. High praise."
Honestly, I wasn't used to being around people like him. People whose lives revolved around what others thought or would think.
I wondered if he really knew what people said about me. It seemed like maybe he did, and maybe that was why he asked me out.
He even held the door for me on our way out, again. I liked that. It was normal.
I was afraid I had scared him off, but then he invited me to his game next week, and told me he'd see me on Monday.
He dropped me off, and he got out to open the door for me. I slipped out, ready to say goodbye.
He hesitated for a moment, before trying to hug me. I was facing the wrong way, and it ended up being an awkward half-hug. He knew how to handle it though. He didn't linger too long, and pulled away quickly.
He said he'd call me. Those words felt grown up to me, like I had finally crossed a milestone once I heard them. This was what dating was like.
I shut the front door, and walked over to the window to watch his car drove away. He even waited until I got in the house. My dad was no where to be found but I paid no mind to that, doing little happy dance all the way into my room.
I had just had my first first date!
My dim room was illuminated by the light from the Wilkerson's room. I got a closer look.
Dewey was playing with an action figure and Malcolm was seemingly studying on his desk. Reese walked in and began talking to him; not noticing me through the window. He pulled the action figure from Dewey next, eliciting a high-pitched scream that I heard the faintest reverberation of all the way in my house. I laughed.
Their house was loud before I even stepped in through the backyard door. Lois winked at me as soon as she saw me. She remembered my plan for today. I shot her a proud smile.
I went into the boys room, Reese was the only one unoccupied enough to acknowledge me.
His busted lip stuck out like a sore thumb, literally. It was still swollen, and the skin around it had turned a dark purple now. I recalled my shock when I first saw him last night. I was surprised that Malcolm already survived two days without having the favor returned.
"Ugh, where have you been all day?" He got up and walked towards me, a dull look on his face. His signature frown gracing his features.
"I was busy, sorry," I waved it off as I met him halfway into the room.
"What's that smell? You smell weird," Dewey looked up at me, then returned back to his robot action figures.
"Busy? So busy that you couldn't even come play basketball with us or come over for dinner?"
I rolled my eyes. "Reese, it's a Friday, Valentine's day. I had plans...with a friend."
Before he could reply, Malcolm looked up from his book, and turned towards us. ""I'm not even gonna ask why you're dressed like that. But if this is going to turn into one of your weird fights, can you guys just do it somewhere else? I have a quiz tomorrow." He turned back and flipped a page harder than necessary.
I didn't know why he was so cranky, Reese too. I had quickly guessed that they made no Valentine's day plans with either of their girlfriends.
"Geez—nerd. I went to a restaurant. A hello would've been nice."
I walked out of the room, Reese following suit into the hallway.
"Seriously, what do you mean you had plans? You missed the roast chicken I made."
I wasn't sure how to explain to him that I was on a date without making awkward, or without him pummeling me with questions. "I would've come if I knew, really."
Lois walked past us into her and Hal's room, then peeked out the door to speak, "Reese, don't forget to ice your lip. I don't know how the swelling is getting worse." She shut the door and we began walking to the kitchen.
"I saved you a seat and waited waited fifteen minutes to see if you'd show. I made it just the way you like it," he said, head down.
I fidgeted with my hands in guilt, he was like a sad puppy. He waited, meanwhile, I was enjoying my dinner, paid for by Asher. But if you had given me the choice of Italian chicken parm versus Reese's roast chicken. The roast chicken would come out on top, always.
"I had plans. I didn't know, okay?"
He opened the freezer to look for some ice, "Eh, it's fine. I saved you some anyway, it's in the fridge."
I smiled at that, I would definitely look forward to it as a midnight meal later.
He struggled with pulling out a bag of peas, tugging at it and sending some frozen meat to the ground, while it was still wedged in the back.
"Hey, let me." I swatted his arm away and tried pulling it myself, it came out with one tug. I returned the displaced freezer items swiftly.
I made sure to grab a towel from one of the kitchen drawers. I wrapped it around the ice cold bag.
Reese sat on the couch with a sigh, and I followed him.
"It still looks awful. Did you even try to take care of it?" I bent down in front of him to place the peas to his lip. He winced.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
"When?"
"...Yesterday—Ow." He exclaimed as I pushed the bag at the wrong angle.
"Stop talking," I ordered.
"You—" He tensed up to retaliate, but then went quiet and relaxed back into the couch.
I kneeled to get better footing, shifting the bag again. I could feel his pained breaths, warm against my fingers.
His hand went up to grab my wrist as his face contorted. He whined.
"What? I'm barely touching you."
"You're saying that like it's a bad thing."
His voice came out muffled.
I stilled. No, he didn't mean for it to sound like that.
A silence stretched between us. I shifted the bag again, molding it to his jaw.
"There. Better?"
He nodded slightly, eyes flicking up to mine and darkening. His breathing steadied against my fingers.
His hand slid from my wrist, down to my elbow—then stopped.
He seemed to grow aware of it the same time I did, and he dropped it quickly.
Only then did I realize that I was kneeling between his knees. I shifted, but I was caged in.
Then his hand reached up again, to my necklace. He rolled the star charm between his fingers.
"You're still wearing it."
His knuckles brushed my throat. I almost shivered.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I'm just surprised it's survived for this long." He made an impressed face, trying not to move too much.
"Well, as long as you don't break it, just give it some time."
A mischievous smirk crossed his face, and he gave the charm a small tug.
"Hey—" My instincts took the better of me, and I grabbed his wrist.
Now we were both holding onto each other. Neither of us moved.
Then he laughed, "Relax."
I punch his shoulder, resisting the urge to laugh too. I let go of him and stood up, pressing the bag of peas into his jaw so he could hold it himself.
"I hate you."
"And I love you."
"This is why Malcolm punched you in the face," I glared.
"What? You wanna finish this?" He removed the frozen bag for a second, motioning to his swollen lip, challenging me.
I shook my head, holding back a smile.
I picked up the TV remote harsher than necessary, turning it on.
"I hope that bruise will teach you to shut up at least."
I flipped through the channels, settling on one that was showing some cartoons. From my peripheral, I could see him watching me.
He was probably just staring at all the makeup I was wearing.
I kept my eyes on the TV as the SpongeBob Squarepants theme began.
Based around the season 4 episodes 7: 'Malcolm holds his tongue' and 8: 'Boys at the ranch'
❛ I'm in my room it's a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
And she'll never know your story
Like I do ❜
- You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift
Reese and Alison had been going steady for over a month now. The closer they got, the further Reese and I grew. I stopped inviting Reese to lunch at school, once I started to notice him hesitating and gravitating towards her.
That part was okay though. It wasn't like I didn't have any other friends to sit with. I was glad I didn't have to endure lunch third-wheeling with them.
If I was being completely honest, they were driving me mad. Every second around them made me wish my head came with a self-destruct button.
It was kind of nice seeing him happy, though. Despite the fact that Alison got really mad and weird with him sometimes. I knew I couldn't blame her, losing your temper was pretty much inevitable when it came to Reese.
Malcolm had a girlfriend now too, Reese had a girlfriend. Who was next? Dewey? Yep, it would probably be Dewey who got a significant other before I did.
It was just another school night, we got done having dinner in the Wilkersons' kitchen, and I spied Malcolm rushing out the door—probably to see his girlfriend, Nikki. Meanwhile, I was the only person who stayed back to help Lois with the dishes, a routine at this point.
She thanked me like she always did, trailing off on how she wished the boys were more like me—boosting my ego significantly.
Dewey went to sit on the couch and I caught a glimpse of Reese walking into his room.
"Will you just make sure he doesn't eat dessert and go to bed without brushing his teeth?" Lois nodded to his direction.
I couldn't promise her I'd do that, but I agreed anyway. I was never the babysitter, but Lois tried with me regardless, knowing I had a slightly higher chance of making them listen without any pushback.
I had already been planning to talk to him tonight. We've gone too long without even arguing about something.
Once her and I were done, I followed him into their room.
He was just laying on his bed, throwing a little ball up and down. I silently walked in, and took a seat at the edge of his bed.
"So... what's up? We haven't talked in a while." I nudged his shoulder until he sat up.
"I don't know, I'm just stressed." I scoffed at his reply.
"But you're never stressed," I replied, cocking my head. It was true, he had the fascinating skill of turning off his brain whenever he wanted to.
"Yeah, I know. But Alison has me worrying about how we're going to get a ride to that stupid concert, and no one wants to take us!" He glared at the red ball in his hands.
"You don't even like that band..." I trailed off. He had never been into the current pop-rock music scene. He was into real rock, and nu-metal—and the occasional pop-y ballad—but he'd kill me if I told anybody that.
"That's not the point! She said she'd let me—get under— get to second b--"
My face contorted before I could stifle my reaction. I did not need to know that.
His face twisted in realization at what he had just almost said to me, "I mean... I'm going for her, she likes that kinda music."
I slowly nodded at his feeble attempt to cover up his intentions. A sick pit began forming in my stomach, but it was unfamiliar to me. I brushed it off and tried paying attention to him again.
"Well, uh... I'm sure you'll figure it out." I laid down next to him, putting my hands behind my head, hoping that nauseating feeling would go away. "For now, why don't you just relax?"
He plopped back too, "I've been trying to. Her voice just keeps ringing in my head." He did a bad impression of her and I couldn't help but laugh. "The other day, she got mad at me for doing that one thing, you know, like when I mess up your hair, like geez—it's just a joke... But other than that, she's pretty cool." He smiled at the thought of her, and the terrible sensation in my stomach quickly returned, this time making the food I had just eaten rise up.
"Yeah... Not everyone is accustomed to your humor, you know. I can tolerate your jokes, but other people are only so strong." I smirked at him and he nodded in agreement.
He started throwing the ball up and down again, I caught it once, then twice. After that it became a mindless game of us alternating between catching the ball, until it eventually fell off and rolled across the ground.
"Oh, well. Game over. I'm not getting that."
"Me neither."
I sighed after a few moments of comfortable silence, of us just lying there.
"D'you wanna play some music?" I got up to check out the radio he had on his desk, fiddling with the controls, surprised it had even survived for this long. I turned it on and nothing but static played, so I changed the channel and an obnoxious song blasted. I immediately recognized it. It was one of my favorite songs as a kid, a Tim McGraw one, one that I was honestly embarrased to have ever enjoyed.
I turned to Reese as soon as I heard it with a gasp, but he just had a confused look on his face, eyebrows raising at the ridiculous country drawl. The song was about halfway through already. I didn't want to waste any time, so I immediately began exagerratedly singing along to it. Reese stared at my dancing figure in amusement.
"What? Do you not remember this song?"
"Oh, I remember it." He laughed at me tossing my hair back and forth to the upbeat tune. I grabbed his arms and dragged him off the bed to join me. At first, he stayed rigid, jerking around like a marionette under my control. I was not the most graceful dancer, I flailed around with my long limbs—almost hitting something with every movement. A smile made it's way to his face at my silliness.
He suddenly grabbed a pen off the desk once the bridge started, and held it as an imaginary mic. He began to sing along with that ridiculously terrible singing voice of his. We always put on full blown concert performances together during car rides, but this was a whole solo performance from him.
"I gotta wash my truck
And dress up
Pick her up to watch TV
When she sits down on the sofa
She'll move a little closer
She can't get enough of me"
He belted out the last part with an exaggerated country accent, completely out of tune.
A loud laugh escaped my lips. He did that hilarious childish giggle as the song ended, and we turned off the radio once a new obscure country song began. The dancing, although brief, tired us out, so we collapsed back on his bed.
It was definitely starting to get a little small for the both of us with our rapidly increasing heights, our knees knocked into eachother.
I looked into his watch, it was 9 PM. If we didn't want to be exhausted at school tomorrow, we had ought to go to sleep soon. Lois was bound to send Dewey for his bedtime any time now.
We continued laughing and joking for what felt like just a few minutes, but was actually half an hour. He said something stupid—which was usually almost anything he said—and my hand snuck up to his waist to tickle him.
Nobody knew it, but it was his weakness, it could put him out of a fight almost instantly. If only his poor victims knew that.
His hysterical, raspy laugh was so loud it could have probably been heard from blocks away, but it was so contagious. He kicked his legs and squirmed so much he almost fell off the bed and grasped at the bedsheets to catch himself. I giggled at him.
Lois heard us, because she yelled something about 'keeping it down' and sent Dewey off to put on his pajamas. He just stood, silently watching us at first.
Reese didn't hesitate to stretch himself off the bed, grabbing the abandoned ball and throwing it at his brother. Sending it bouncing off his head with a soft thunk. I snorted.
"Quit staring, creep," Reese berated.
Dewey brushed it off. "Are you sleeping over, Tess?"
I looked between Reese and I on the narrow bed. "I don't think so. Do you want me to?"
"Yeah, maybe I won't have to sleep next to Malcolm."
As if summoned, Malcolm entered the room too. His mother scolded him for being late and he proceeded to stomp into the bathroom with Dewey to get ready for bed.
Reese was already wearing a short sleeved shirt and his plaid pajama pants, which was his sleepwear, so he didn't get up to change. Instead, we cracked a joke about how Malcolm was probably pissed that he couldn't stay over at his girlfriend's once he was out of earshot.
The other two boys were tucked into their bed pretty quickly, they were really quiet so I assumed they had already fallen asleep. Hal came in to check on Dewey as per Lois' command, and his eyes laid on Reese and I. I hadn't noticed him until Reese looked up and I turned to see what he was looking at.
Hal being Hal, he didn't mind us and just gave us an awkward smile as he closed the door. I was still in a goofy mood, so I snorted at Hal's awkwardness and Reese teased me for it, but he didn't have the most musical giggle either—he sounded like an evil little goblin!
Reese and I continued talking, just in a more hushed tone now—almost whispering to each other about how I beat him in Mortal Kombat five consecutive times last week.
He kept denying it, but only the scoreboards could tell—and they were practically all flawless victories.
I blew a raspberry at his face. "Loser." He propped himself up by his elbow to give me a disapproving look, and I just pushed him back into the bed. "I totally won, by a lot. We can have a rematch tomorrow if you wanna make sure."
He gave me a lighthearted frown. "Pass."
"You just don't want to lose again."
"Okay, then you're on!" A challenging look crossed his face.
"You're setting yourself up for failure," I said, yawning. I shifted, these jeans weren't exactly the most comfortable thing to be laying in.
This felt easy. I could just take a page out of his book and shut my mind off to be transported into the serene, simple life of Reese that was filled with pranks and childish antics. I didn't have to worry about anything else when I was with him, that's how it had always been.
I blinked at him, still going on about Mortal Kombat. He rested his head on his hand again and he looked down at me. His silhouette started to get fuzzy against the moonlight peeking through the curtains behind him. My eyes fluttered once, twice. And then I was fast asleep.
☆ ☆
I could hear the sound of cluttering coming from another room and birds chirping outside, which signaled it was morning already. However, the bright sunlight didn't pull me out of my sleep like it usually did; because it was shielded by something this time.
It was warm. I didn't want to move, instead burrowing my head into the same thing that was shielding me.
The sound of snoring, very close to me, seemed to blend into the background, but it didn't bother me.
As I became more aware of my surroundings, the faint smell of laundry detergent made its way into my nose. The pillow underneath me was strangely not as soft as it usually was, and my legs scratched against harsh denim. Although that was made up for by the soft blanket on my arms and the strange warmth enveloping me, and... was that someone's breath?
I was still pretty overtaken by the usual morning confusion and drowsiness to care that I was sleeping next to someone—I had always been the heaviest sleeper. I shifted in my place a bit, but I was a little constricted by an arm wrapped around my waist.
I slid my hand around and felt the unmistakable ebb and flow of breathing underneath it, I kept moving until I came in contact with skin. I discovered that the soft fabric under it wasn't actually the bed, but a shirt. By this point, I had realized I was at the Wilkersons, but this was still weird.
I begrudgingly forced myself to open my eyes.
Only now did I remember that I fell asleep in Reese's bed last night. I couldn't remember exactly how. But I was certain it was morning now and we were both tucked under the cover—and we were snuggling. I had shared a bed with Reese many times before, especially when we were younger. It was practical that way, and sometimes I'd end up smacking him in the middle of the night, or I'd wake up with his foot somehow by my face. We had learnt sharing a bed as if it was a sport, memorizing each other's sleeping patterns by heart.
But this time he was too close, my head was tucked into his neck, his snores vibrated into my hair, and I could feel his slow breaths fanning out on my face. I was just grateful that he wasn't drooling everywhere for once. I looked up at him a little. He looked so peaceful, he always did when he was asleep, you couldn't imagine the horrific things he got up to when he was awake. I didn't want to wake him up.
I realized that my hand that I had been feeling around with was still resting in the same spot. Where his shirt had ridden up, on the hard planes of his stomach, feeling the steady pulse there.
I instantly withdrew it. The rush of blood to my face woke me up properly.
I turned a little to look over to Malcolm and Dewey's bed, and they weren't there, I could hear noises from outside the room though. God, were they having breakfast already?
I tried to gently pushing Reese's arm off my waist so I could get up, but he didn't budge. He let out a tired whine and tried to mutter something before pulling me even closer. My shirt rode up and his warm fingers came into contact with my cold back. I shivered. Nope, he had to wake up right now.
"Reese, wake up," I spoke in a groggy voice.
All I got in response was another whine, reminiscent of him as a kid years ago. He was about as heavy of a sleeper as I was, so I knew that I would have to put in some more effort. I tried shaking him awake and he groaned even more.
After some more shaking, he finally took his arm from around my waist and rubbed his eyes open. "Tess?" he croaked.
"Yeah, come on. Get up, everyone's already awake."
My long hair cascaded down on the bed as I propped myself up. God, I just knew I had the worst bed head. I got out of his shadow and had to squint my eyes at the bright light outside. Good thing was, I hadn't had a good night's sleep like that in ages.
He blinked at me a few times, still processing.
"What time is it?"
He stretched, his legs hitting mine. He was talking in that morning voice of his that I was so familiar with. It was always hoarse. Mine was too, but his more so because of his deep voice.
The sound morning rooster-like sound of Lois yelling was reason enough to spring out of bed.
I thought for a moment, "I don't know. But you have to get up, we've got school."
I was fully sitting up now. I should never have slept in those jeans, they were so uncomfortable that I felt the urge to rip them off and tear them to shreds so that I never had to wear them again. Unfortunately, I didn't have different pants ready, so I had to keep them on for school today.
"Okay, okay," he pulled the cover off himself but didn't get up just yet. I stretched my legs on the floor and went to use the bathroom.
As soon as I locked the door, I could hear Malcolm walking into the room outside. He said a few things to Reese that I couldn't hear as I went about my business. Then, he was yelling at him, this early in the morning.
I got closer to the door and couldn't stop myself from overhearing as their conversation progressed.
"I don't know what you're thinking sharing a bed and cuddling with Tess. You probably think it's normal, but you have a girlfriend, Reese."
I could almost see Reese make a confused face and scoff in my head. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It's just weird. I have a girlfriend, I wouldn't get all touchy-feely Tess while I'm with her. That's kinda what it means to have a girlfriend; you don't hang out with other girls as much and—if anything—you share a bed with your girlfriend. Not Tess. You guys aren't kids anymore."
I felt a harsh pang of guilt. I leaned against the sink as I continued listening. What Malcolm was saying sort of made sense, but it was never my intention to do anything to harm Reese's relationship, Alison was the last thing on my mind. I bit my lip and fiddled with the star charm on my necklace.
Reese didn't seem to get where Malcolm was coming from, and kept arguing with him.
I gave up on eavesdropping, exiting the bathroom after fixing my hair and washing my face. Reese rushed in after me, still tense from his argument with Malcolm, and nowhere near getting ready for school.
I left their room, and found Lois is in the kitchen, making pancakes for once.
"Good morning, Tessa. You haven't slept over in a while, it's nice having you so early for breakfast," she smiled at me.
"Good morning. Yeah, I guess. But, I think I'm going to pass on breakfast for today. I think I'm sick," I lied. Really, I just didn't have much of an appetite.
Her face transformed into a concerned one. "Well, okay, if you need anything, I'll be here."
I smiled and thanked her as I left.
I met my Dad at the door, he was hurrying to leave for work. I guessed he was late to an appointment. For me though, school didn't start until an hour later. He paused once he spotted me.
"Where were you last night?"
"I slept over at the Wilkersons," I said casually.
"You're gonna have to tell me next time you do that. Who knows what kind of stuff you teenagers get up to at night." I rolled my eyes at his attitude and he walked past me to get into his truck. As if I would be anywhere else than literally next door.
I went to my bathroom to brush my teeth, and then changed my shirt. At least trying to look presentable for school.
When I was done, I grabbed my backpack and met with the boys once again to walk to school. They walked ahead of me and Dewey, talking to each other, probably about the newest thing they had in common. Their girlfriends. It gave me some time to think about everything.
"If you and Reese keep having sleepovers, maybe he can finally move out and I can take his bed," Dewey spoke.
"Well, don't get used to it. We won't be having sleepovers again anytime soon." I kicked a stray pebble as I walked.
"How come you're not catching up to them?"
"Hm? Oh. Why can't I walk with you every once in a while?" I scoffed it off.
We watched the boys for a few seconds. Malcolm punched Reese playfully on the shoulder, and it was returned by a harsh shove.
"You look like a lost frog," Dewey muttered.
I glossed over his strangely specific comparison. "I'm just tired."
"You seemed to be sleeping pretty good with Reese," he commented, and I felt a little shocked. Even Dewey had noticed our closeness. Maybe Malcolm really had a valid point.
"It's okay, I sleep better when someone else is there too," he added. As if only to make me feel better.
Just two days later, Reese ended up leaving for his concert with Alison. He thought it would be a good idea to trick Craig into driving them there.
But he came back and knocked on my window at 3 am in the morning, sulking— and I was already awake, too uneasy to fall asleep. I had been thinking about him being away with Alison all night.
I could immediately tell that he didn't have a good time, let alone actually went to the concert. We sat at the table in their backyard, and he told me all about it, making a terrible day seem like a breeze. He tensed up when bringing up Alison, but seemed to relax once he had vented it all out.
If I had a day like that, I would have been crying in bed. But no, he talked about it like it was a comedy show episode—even though underneath all of it, I could tell he that was deeply upset. It only made my uncertainty about Alison grow, she was the main reason why he wasn't happy, and that didn't sit right with me.
We only returned to our beds once we saw the sun peek through the horizon.
The next week, he and the boys travelled to the ranch to visit Francis and Piama.
Surprisingly, and much to my dismay, I didn't go with them. It was a 'the guys only' thing, as Malcolm had told me... probably just to stop their Mom from tagging along too.
It was only for two days, but I talked with them on the phone each night, all night. They told me about Francis' amazing horseriding skills, the beautiful scenery, and the strange yet kind couple who owned the ranch. Of course, on their last day, they ended up exploding some kind of giant firework that they had found. It sounded so fun, and made me wish I was with them. I missed Francis so much, and I had already begun to miss the other three boys.
They forgot to mention the part where they had went partially blind due to said firework, when they came back, they each had to miss two days of school because of it. I was both envious and grateful that I missed out on that.
Them being away taught me that weekends were unbearable without them. Everything was.
Author’s Note:
childhood bffs to lovers trope <3 the oblivion!
also the song they danced to was 'i like it, i love it' by tim mcgraw. its such a silly song.
Based around season 4 episodes 2: 'Humilithon', 3: 'Family reunion', and 4: 'Stupid girl’
❛ Oh, can't you see?
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take ❜
- Every Breath You Take, The Police
The last time I had seen my own mother was when she'd visited at the turn of the millennium, the year 2000. I was 13 at the time, and she left just two days later because the Wilkerson boys accidentally set a tree in our backyard on fire. She was furious and too embarrassed of the other neighbors seeing the mess. I didn't blame the boys though, she was always too stuck up for their family. As if.
I recently found out she had sent my father a plane ticket so I could visit her in Atlanta for the summer, and I didn't know how to feel.
I'd gotten my braces off right when summer break started, and it felt like the perfect time to get out there. I had plans to go to the local swimming pool with the girls from my school. I had real 'girls day out' plans for the first time in my entire life!
Why in the world would I want to go wallow in Atlanta? I had many reasons to refuse going.
First, I hadn't spent a more than a weekend away from the Wilkersons in years. I wasn't ready for change.
Second, I had never been on a plane before, I was scared!
Third, what was I even supposed to do with her? We barely talked anymore.
As soon as I found out, I was dreading it all month. But, apparently, it was non-negotiable.
When August came up, I had to pack my bags and say my goodbyes. It was only going to be a few weeks but I couldn't help getting teary eyed. I had never been away for that long.
'But you're going to miss my birthday,' I remembered Reese's sad voice when had I told him. His birthday was always the most fun and I wasn't even going to be there for it.
My dad very patiently waited for me in his truck so he could drive me to the airport, the entire Wilkerson family was standing in the driveway, and we were taking our sweet time.
I hugged each of them, Malcolm looked really upset, Dewey was already crying and I saw Reese's eyes well up. At least I wasn't the only one.
As it turned out, Atlanta wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was a big city, and I was not really used to that. However, my mom was more pleasant—and not in the rehearsed way— than I thought she would be too. I guessed she acted differently when she wasn't around my dad.
I had forgotten just how much being in Star City must have affected her, with my father and the Wilkersons always interfering in something. This month made me realize how I didn't know her at all.
On the way home from the airport, she asked me about the Wilkersons. "So how are those boys? Still the same little rascals?"
I nodded.
"The eldest still away? What about that boy... what was it? R—Reese? The one your age."
"Francis is married now, actually, and Reese is fine— so are Malcolm and Dewey." I mentioned the other two, whose names she had probably forgotten.
"Oh yeah, those too. God, I don't know how Lois does it. Four boys?!"
I nodded along, humoring her. I was sure it was crazy for her to think of the concept of someone actually being a present mother.
"I guess she got used to it. They're not even that bad."
"You've gotten a lot taller."
"Yeah, everyone keeps saying that. I think it's just cause I stopped slouching."
"You slouched?"
"You've never seen me sit next to Malcolm."
She just nodded at that. It was true. She had missed a lot.
It started off awkward, but once my mom began opening up—it was as if I was getting to know a new woman.
It helped that with her new radio producing job, we seemed to have a lot to talk about. It was ironic, really. The same job that had steered her away from me was the same one helping us reconnect.
She took me to the radio station a few times. The first time I was utterly fascinated. They had massive booths, high-tech mics and soundboards. It was awesome, yet intimidating.
"So... you just talk and people listen?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"That's insane. If I could do that, I'd get Reese to apologize publicly every time he did something."
We continued walking. We passed by one of the booths, it read 'ON AIR' outside the door. I froze. I had just been exclaiming loudly about all the cool equipment.
I whispered to my Mom, "Can they hear us?"
She laughed, "No, it's all soundproofed."
Now that was cool. Where was soundproofing when my Dad yelled at me blasting music. Although she had told me that, I continued whispering to her instinctively.
Then, it was my turn to enter one of the booths. My Mom let me play around with one of the soundboards. Rows of sliders and blinking lights stretched across the console.
"Now, slide that fader down slowly."
"This one?" I tried, but a loud static burst through the oversized headphones I was wearing.
I froze.
"You just killed a commercial."
I tapped my forehead indignantly. "I killed advertising!"
"You're a natural."
A man's voice sounds out from behind us. One of her coworkers she had introduced me to earlier. "Hey, Pam, we're short on ads for the next break."
She looks at me, "Pick one from that automotive folder." She motioned to the bulky computer next to me. It showed a list of folders labeled 'Fast Food', 'Automotive', and 'Local Events'.
I clicked on the second one and I was met with an array of options. "I can pick any one?"
She hummed a small "Mhm". I picked the 17th one, I wasn't sure why. It was just a number that was at the top of my head.
For the first time with her, I was having fun.
She seemed different here. In her own element, her natural habitat.
She introduced me to a few of her friends, some who had three daughters my age. I didn't think I would get along with big city girls, but they were kind and welcoming, even included me in on their little friend group.
We hung out at home or at Piedmont park most of the time. This time, in Amanda's room. Charlie and Abigail were flipping through a magazine on the carpet. Amanda took me to her dresser, opening a drawer and unveiling the colorful rows of makeup.
"You should try this, it would look good on you!" She handed me a blue pen.
I took it from her, reading the tiny label. "Is it eyeliner?" I uncapped it and stared at the blue tip.
"Yeah, it'll bring out your eyes. I know you like that edgy look." She smiled, nodding to encourage me to put it on.
I took a deep breath, and looked into the mirror to swipe the product onto my lash-line. I wasn't exactly gentle, and it just looked like a big smear of blue on my eye. Amanda was right though, it did accentuate the blue of my irises, maybe a little too much though.
I turned to her, and she exploded in laughter.
"You're gonna need some practice. I think we'll stick to mascara for now."
I turned to the mirror again, observing my reflection closely. "You know, this kinda looks like when I had a black eye."
"A black eye? I'm gonna need some context."
"Yeah, it was bad. I got in the middle of a fight. But I showed up at school the next day and nobody even seemed to notice."
Charlie and Abigail looked up from their magazine, a lot more interested in our conversation now.
Charlie frowned. "Wait. Did you say a fight? I mean, you're badass but I didn't know you were tough like that."
Abigail chuckled. "Yeah, we're gonna be careful around you."
"No, it's not what you think. I don't get into cat fights, I got in the middle of a boys fight."
"Boys?" Amanda said, as if it was something scandalous.
"Yeah, my friends back home."
"So you're friends with a bunch of boys? Now I have to know more." Charlie shut the magazine.
Amanda and I walked over to the carpet and sat down.
"Yeah, they're my neighbors. They're brothers," I said, casually.
"How many?"
"Four."
"Four brothers? You have to elaborate."
"Well, I've known them since forever. We hang out all the time, and they get into fights... that I also get involved in, sometimes." I bit my cheek at the thought of them. I really did miss them.
Amanda grinned. "That sounds chaotic."
I nodded at her. Chaotic was an understatement.
"I can't believe you never brought this up earlier. So, tell us, what are they like?"
"Well, there's the eldest. Francis. He isn't around much, but he's cool."
"Cool how?"
"He once tried to start a rebellion at military school." I nodded.
"... Okay, and the rest?"
"Well, there's Reese, he's my age, and he's... I don't know even know how to describe him. And then there's Malcolm, he's a genius."
"You're smiling," Amanda says, pointing at my face, that still had a smudge of blue eyeliner on one side.
"What?"
"Just keep going," she brushed it off.
"Yeah... and the youngest is Dewey. He's like my little brother, I was there when he was born."
"Okay, so, which one's the cute one?" Charlie prodded
I held my breath for a second. I should've known this was going into boy-talk territory.
"None of them."
"Come on, there's gotta be at least one," Abigail huffed.
"Yeah, what about the one your age?"
I scoffed, "Reese? Trust me, he's criminally insane."
"Yeah, but is he cute?"
"No."
"Immediate answer. Suspicious." Amanda squinted. The other girls nodded.
I scratched my eye, looking away from their gaze. "I've helped his Mom do his laundry."
"That's not a no," Charlie said.
"He's a bully!"
"Ooh, bad boy, is he?" Amanda laughed, and the other girls followed suit.
I couldn't help but chuckle at them. It was ridiculous, talking about Reese in that way. I was glad when the conversation diverted to the boys on their lives.
Without the imposing high school hierarchies and an existing reputation, I was almost.. cool to these girls. They still had a lot to let me in on, though. Boy talk got deeper than I had ever heard before.
They appreciated my taste in miss-matched clothing and beat up converse, but gave me some advice on how to make my outfits trendier. They even introduced me to painting my nails! Something I had never really gotten to try living with alongside the Wilkerson's and away from my Mom.
I especially got along with Amanda, she was a year older than the rest of us, thus cooler and wiser.
I got invited to the mall with the girls, multiple times! Something that I didn't get to do very often back home. We never had a trip to the mall that didn't consist of screaming or complaining. Thankfully, my Mom was compensating, and never refused to give me her credit card when I went. I went all out with gifts for myself and the boys, which I was sure made a dent in her bank account.
Racing from store to store was overwhelming, so was trying clothes on. I never worried too much about that at home, I would just pick something that looked about my size and hoped for the best. No, we were having full-on fashion shows in the fitting rooms.
My arms were already overflowing with clothes. And Amanda kept shoving pieces onto the growing mountain I was holding.
"Here, try this on." She threw what looked like a peach-colored sequined piece of fabric to me. I caught it, and my eyes were met with the price tag on display.
"It's so expensive."
"Your Mom literally told you to spend money. When does that ever happen?" She walked behind me, leading me into the fitting rooms where the other girls already were.
I tried the top on... and much to my dismay, I loved it. I exited my stall and was met with the girls standing by the mirrors, they were also trying on different outfits. Their eyes all landed on me.
"Tess, you look so good, I knew that was your color." Amanda said.
I stared at my reflection. The peach color did bring out the rosiness in my cheeks, and it blended in nicely with my light hair. I jutted my lip. I was used to thrift store Mom blouses and T-shirts, this was different. It was actually nice.
"I feel like I'm impersonating someone else."
"Yeah, someone even cooler," Charlie said.
"I don't know how to take that," I chuckled.
But they convinced me. And I ended up buying it. Luckily, it turned out to be on sale. Although it was just 10% off, which didn't make much of a difference, it felt like it was meant to be.
Next, we walked into a sports store. Charlie wanted to check out their sneakers. Abigail wanted to see if the guy she liked would be there. I scanned the various sections of different sports. The basketball section, with high-end balls and jerseys. I lingered at the baseball section, since I was going to watch one of their games soon.
The shelves were decked out with Atlanta Braves merchandise. I picked out one of their navy caps and tried it on, looking around to search for a mirror.
Instead, my eyes landed on a hoodie, navy blue, with red accents. I picked it up from where it was neatly folded, my fingers brushing through the soft fabric. It felt warm... and it was blue. I knew who liked blue. I knew who would look good in blue.
Reese's birthday was today. I wouldn't be able to be there for it, but the least I could do was to get him a special gift. I wasted no time getting to the counter, I almost forgot the baseball cap I had tried on was still on my head. I grabbed one of the bright orange basketballs on my way. The one we had was deflated and worn down anyway. I knew the boys would appreciate a fancy, new one. Plus, it could be my lucky charm when I played—not like I needed it often, but there was no harm in increasing my odds of winning.
The girls caught up to me at the counter.
"Who's that for? Is it for one of your boys?" Abigail pointed to the hoodie.
I tried to ignore the way she said 'boys'. "Yeah, it's for my friend, Reese."
"You're doing that smiley thing again," Amanda poked my shoulder.
"Okay, I smile sometimes. So?"
"Yeah, you're buying him a gift, and you're smiling about it," Charlie said.
"It's his birthday!"
I defended myself to no avail. They stuck with the idea that I had some kind of crush on Reese. If only they had met him.
Being away from the Wilkersons had shown me just how much I depended on them. My boredom meter was totally broken, because they always had something insane to do, and it ruined me for anything else. I missed Lois' subpar cooking, Hal's game nights, the smell of their detergent, and the sounds of their screaming. At least I could still get a taste of the latter whenever I was on the phone with them.
That night was quiet, despite the bustling city below. There was something unfamiliar, yet welcoming about my Mom's high-rise apartment. It was how I felt about her in general.
The girls had dropped me off, and soon after I heard the jingling of my Mom's keys at the door as I was watching TV.
She awkwardly checked in on me, before sauntering off to her room to get ready for bed. She seemed tired.
She came back and stood behind the bar of her open kitchen, searching for a drink.
"So, did you have fun at the mall,"
I laughed a little at that. She would soon find out just how much I had fun once she checked her bank account.
"Yeah. They made me try on some more things I'd never wear."
"And?"
"And some things that I would wear. I didn't hate it."
We paused for a moment.
"That's progress. I thought you'd never get along with people who didn't set fire to things for a living."
I scoffed. "Don't get used to it."
After a few serene moments of flipping through TV channels together, I noticed the clock hit 8:30 PM and walked to her bedroom that we were sharing.
I had an important call to make. I practically leapt onto the bed and reached for the phone by the nightstand. I dialed their number, the number I had memorized by heart. I was sure that not even brain damage could wipe it from my memory.
I had kept the three hour time difference in mind. This was the perfect time. They were probably just done with celebrating Reese's birthday. It took a few rings until I could hear the static.
"Hello," Dewey's mousy voice answered.
I smiled at the mere sound. "Hey, Dewey,"
"Tess!"
I felt honored that he was still excited each time I called. I could hear the comforting sound of ruckus in the background.
"Wait a second." He rustled with the phone.
"What's going on?"
"There's something wrong with the microwave. It's not supposed to spark, right?"
I laughed."Isn't Malcolm there?"
"Yeah, he's the one that did it."
I could picture the scene perfectly. Dewey judging as Malcolm stumbled about the kitchen, trying to de-escalate before his Mom caught him. There was one thing missing though, one key character.
"Can you get Reese on the phone?"
"Reese! It's Tess!"
I could hear a hard thud, then something clattering, and finally the sound of his sharp breaths. "I'm here! I'm here."
"Happy Birthday, Reese," I giggled it out.
"You—you remembered."
"Yeah, well, I didn't give up on you guys just yet,"
"Malcolm forgot, so I stuck foil to the bottom of his favorite bowl to get him to feel a little festive."
Well, that explained why he was so out of breath, and the cluttering from earlier.
"He deserves it."
"Hold on—Dewey, no." I heard rustling. "The blowtorch isn't for the candles."
"It sure does sound festive," I muttered.
"What? Yeah. I made myself a cake... but it's weird without you. No one told me to stop eating the frosting, and now we have a naked cake without any frosting!"
"Well, that's good. I don't want you to have too much fun without me."
He paused, and I could hear the ruckus on his line quiet down. I thought of how much the girls teased me about him, and it was making me feel awkward every time I called him. Like they were going to make a joke any second. Thankfully, I was alone this time.
"I got you something."
"Really? You didn't have to." His voice raised up a pitch and I could tell he was excited.
"It's nothing crazy."
"What is it?"
"You'll see when I get back." I squinted as if he could see me. He wasn't getting anything out of me yet.
"Is it food?"
"No..."
"Aw man, now I'm slightly less excited."
I laughed again. I missed just how easily they could make me crack up.
"I'll tell you what. I'm gonna have to go before Dewey blowtorches the kitchen. But we'll light a firework in your honor, and Francis'."
"I'm there in spirit... save me some cake too, will you?"
"Yeah, I'll make sure. And we can see how moldy it gets by the time you get back,"
I shook with laughter. "Maybe Malcolm can use it as his high school Krelboyne project."
I heard his childish chuckle, and it sent a flourish of warmth through my chest.
The phone call ended and I recalled all the jokes the girls had been making lately about Reese. It made me feel weird whenever I thought about it, but I couldn't stop when the topic of boys came up each second, and him and his brothers were the only ones on my mind.
"Was that Reese?" My Mom's voice sounded from behind me. I turned around lazily to face her as she got into bed.
"Yeah."
"You sounded different just now." She pointed to the phone.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know… lighter? I know you miss those boys, but don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in just 10 days."
She said it like it would make me feel better. Yeah, I missed home. But I wasn't having the worst time with her either.
With our trips to Piedmont park, days spent browsing record shops, and long car rides stuck in traffic. I wouldn't say Atlanta felt like home, but it was nice while it lasted.
To put it simply, my trip went much better than I expected.
My mom drove me back to the airport on August 27th, and I felt like a completely different person than when I got here.
She hugged me so tightly when I got out of the car, tighter than she ever had before. When she let me go, she grabbed my shoulders and scanned me with her blue eyes. Those eyes that were scary to look at because it felt like I was looking in the mirror. They were tearing up, and mine were about to too.
She cupped my face, "Take care, okay? And just tell me you'll come back. "
"Probably," I shrugged. I was really going to miss her and the girls and all the traffic.
She let out a sad laugh, blinking back tears. "That's not very reassuring."
"It's more than I've ever promised you before."
She let go of me with one final hug, and I was on my way into the busy airport terminal.
I was buzzing the entire four hour flight. My brain refused to shut up, I just couldn't wait to see their faces that I missed so much and tell them all about what happened.
My Dad picked me up from the airport and took me back. I didn't think I'd miss all of California so much, but I did. The air itself smelled different here, I could almost taste the Pacific. I rolled down the window to let the wind blow through my hair.
The girls had taught me all about hair, and raved about how jealous they were that mine was curly. What I had first kept as a frizzy mess, was now managed into defined mane of curls thanks to them and the various products and methods they had introduced me to.
I knew I was going to feel their absence. Hard. Especially Amanda. She gave me some great advice when we were saying our goodbyes, about 'staying badass' no matter what, and not changing when I got back. I knew I was going to forever stay true to that.
A lot of what they had put me on to was going to stick with me forever, they had changed me for the better, into the new and improved Tess—but nonetheless, still Tess.
Yes, it was nice spending time with girls for once, but I couldn't wait to see Reese and Malcolm and get back to their shenanigans.
I saw the sign that read 'Welcome to Star City' and even more excitement surged through me. Even though I had talked to the boys on the phone a few times, it couldn't soothe how much I missed them. We reached our neighborhood and my dad pulled over into the driveway.
The three of them must have been waiting by the window, because as soon as my Dad parked, they came running out the front door screaming my name.
A huge smile spread across my face at the sight of them and I wasted no time getting out of the car. I didn't even get to say 'Hi' before they attacked me into a group hug.
Dewey was the fastest to wrap his arms around me—only reaching my waist. "I missed you guys so much," I said against Malcolms hair. I counted already smell that detergent I had missed so much. I was struggling to breathe due to their sheer strength, but I didn't want them to pull away just yet.
We finally parted and their smiles mirrored mine.
How did all of them grow taller in just a month? I looked at each of their faces, my eyes finally landing on Reese's stupid face—his bright smile and green eyes, his newly dyed frosted tips.
We caught eachother up about our summers. I told them about the friends I had made, the games I went to see, and the cool aquarium I had visited. They in turn told me about all the standard summer activities they enjoyed, including a very eventful trip to the zoo where Malcolm and Dewey jumped into a tiger enclosure and Reese met a demonic goat. All the things that made me want to turn back time and stay just so I wouldn't miss out on all the fun.
They were elated to discover all the gifts I had brought them, practically tearing my bag open. Yes, they did break one of the zippers.
First, I showed Reese the hoodie I got him. I had been looking forward to it the entire time since I bought it, picturing what he would look like in it. He liked it so much that he immediately rushed into the room to change into it. I was pleased to find that I was right, he did look good in it.
They were all pleased to see the shiny basketball, passing it around above our heads, much to Lois' frustration. Even Hal loved it, giving it a test spin upon his finger before approving. Show off.
I got the boys various other miscellaneous items and souvenirs, but they were especially thankful for all the candy—specifically, all the Georgia peaches candy that Dewey almost devoured in one go.
I spent the next few weeks over at their house more than ever before. I didn't even know it was humanly possible. I had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with them. Even ended up falling asleep on their couch and in their room as if my own bed wasn't just a few steps away.
School started a week into September. I was ready to say 'Hello, Sophomore year!', filled with school spirit.
Malcolm was going to be joining Reese and I for his first year at North High School though, so at least there was still something novel about it.
The girls at school treated me differently this time around, and I assumed it was because of my new look, or refined social skills. The lack of wires in my mouth, my tamed hair, and improved style all seemed to do wonders for me. But I knew the main reason I was treated more kindly was because I wasn't a freshman anymore.
Malcolm, wasn't so lucky. He was a freshman after all, and he had a terrible first day, I couldn't help but pity him. He had almost instantly established himself as a freak and earned himself a new kid nickname worthy of the High School Nicknames Hall of Fame. Stain.
Reese was still the same old Reese. Walking to his classes either alone or with me, tormenting students or laughing at the water dispenser. Literally, he just stood there and laughed at the goddamn thing.
I couldn't care less for any of the girls' fake niceties, or the influx of boys leering at me.
I sat with Reese, and we shared a special lunch of Caesar salads and cookies that he had prepared for us. I couldn't have asked for a better first day.
A few more weeks went by. Francis and Piama visited, too. Of course, we were all delighted to see Francis again.
I also really liked Piama. Over the last visits, I had gotten to know her more, and found myself really getting along with her because of our similarities. She was so cool and was actually nice, whenever she wasn't around Lois—their interactions were always miserable to witness.
One day, during dinner, we found out the Wilkersons were having a family reunion. I stayed silent each time they had discussed it. And then, the day before leaving, they told me to pack my things too as if I had been included that entire time.
It was honestly ridiculous. I loved spending time with them, but a family reunion? I kept saying I couldn't go, but the boys insisted it was the only way. Even Lois agreed with me that it was a bit too much to drag me to a family event, and that she felt like it wouldn't be any fun.
"But she goes everywhere with us, how is this any different?" The boys had said.
And so, they won. I had packed up my bag was shoving it into the minivan.
"So, they roped you into this again," Francis said as he threw his own bag into the trunk.
"Apparently," I huffed as Lois handed me another bag.
"They've got you loading up the minivan like you already live here." Meanwhile, he leaned on the vehicle carelessly.
"I practically do."
"Before, you'd be ready to haul ass and escape."
I scoffed, they had tied me down pretty good now. Even if shit went down, I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. "I used to be better at evaluating my options."
He smirked. "Now look at you, willingly tagging along on our family reunion. You're committed."
Yeah, maybe it too much, joining their family reunion, but I wouldn't have pushed for it at all if it wasn't for the boys.
"I was peer pressured."
"I know you're not that easy." He pushed off the van. "You're taking up more space now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned at him. But he met me with a sincere look.
"You stopped acting like our guest. You've wriggled your way into this family, deep."
Boy was he right. I was in too deep for my own good. A few days later, and I was in the middle of a plan to overthrow their entire Dad's side of the family.
Long story short, by the end of the reunion, all five of us ended up with our hair and fancy clothes all drenched in pool water, sitting in the back of the minivan, proud at our defense of Lois.
After that adventure, Francis and Piama flew back to Alaska, and we all fell into the regular rhythm of school.
The fall school dance was also quickly approaching, and I didn't even have a proper date yet, although a lot of the boys at school had been taking more interest in me. The other day, a cute senior boy greeted me, and he was met by my quizzical brow. Whatever happened to me being the resident bitch?
I was pretty sure Malcolm had a girlfriend now, another freshman, Alison. As surprising as it was that he'd managed to get one so soon into the year, it was more surprising that she, one of the more popular girls, would talk to him. I had short, yet impactful interactions with her where she was completely dismissive, just as most of those girls were. We were in completely different social circles. She was in the type that wouldn't even look at someone like Malcolm, let alone date him. He had been acting really strange since he started seeing her too.
Reese was also going to the dance, so I just ended up going with him—who else? I had been going with Reese to school dances ever since they became a thing. It was only natural, to make sure neither of us missed it, and to spare ourselves the embarrassment of going alone.
I wore the sequined peach top I had bought in Atlanta, along with my signature embellished jeans.
I decided to straighten my hair, using my brand new straightener. I then pulled it into an updo similar to something I had seen Kirsten Dunst wear in a magazine years ago. I briefly recalled Reese raving about how she was a 'total babe' the entire duration of the Spider-man movie that came out earlier this year.
I didn't put too much effort asides from that, just dabbing on some light makeup, putting on my signature sneakers, and my star necklace that Reese had gotten me last Christmas.
We got to the bustling school gym. I had noticed somebody was missing. For some strange reason, Stevie didn't want to go.
Not even fifteen minutes in, Reese walked away for a long while, doing God knows what. I had convinced him that I would only allow him to put dog poop in the punch bowl if it was a plastic toy, and not the real stuff. So I just hoped he wasn't out there disobeying me.
I stood in the corner, arms crossed and fiddling with my necklace. I began questioning why I even came here. Reese was never the best date at these things.
I could see Malcolm and Alison dancing and laughing at the other side of the gym, and I felt a twang of jealousy in my chest. I realized I had never got to actually dance at a school dance.
My eyes followed them as they approached the punch table, where I was standing.
I tried my best to casually stroll up to them, as if I wasn't just idling alone, trying to blend into the decor.
"Hey, Malcolm, enjoying the dance?"
"Yeah," he said a little too quickly.
"He's a really good dancer." Alison patted his shoulder with a toothy smile.
I nodded at her.
"I am?" he asked meekly.
Alison had turned her attention to the punch bowl, though. Picking up a solo cup.
"Wait!" I stopped her. I had to make sure Reese hadn't disobeyed me and followed along with his disgusting version of the prank while he was away.
I craned my head to study the bowl. And Alison raised her brows at me, frozen mid-action.
Good. It was a nice, clear bowl of punch. No dog poop in sight. Real nor plastic.
I sighed, and motioned for her to go on.
She shot me a confused look, but then shrugged and carried on.
Malcolm spoke up, "what was that about?"
I rolled my eyes, thinking to Reese again. "Reese had this stupid prank in mind, I just need to make sure he doesn't do it the illegal way."
"Does it ever not go the illegal way with Reese?" He laughed.
I shook my head. "No. God, he is just insufferable."
Alison had been listening along, already chugging some of the punch.
"He's what?" she asked cluelessly.
"Insufferable." Malcolm repeated.
She just cocked her head at him. Completely air-headed.
I shot Malcolm a worried look. Raising one of my eyebrows. Yeah, I knew she was pretty ditzy, but not to this extent.
He looked back at me, acknowledging it. Then he shrugged, and they moved on from the table. I had never seen Malcolm tolerate someone's feeble-mindedness so easily. He usually got frustrated the second someone couldn't keep up with him. I guess a hot girl would be the exception.
I saw Reese finally appear again, and I caught up to him. I was sick of watching all the couples dancing already.
"Hey, you wanna dance before pulling that prank?" I suggested as he came by my side, but I could already predict his answer.
"Dance? High school dances aren't for you to actually dance, they're so you can pick on the kids that are sitting alone and to barge in on the people making out," he grinned mischievously. I couldn't believe I had the slightest expectation he'd say yes.
"Yeah, well you're lucky you've got me. Otherwise, you'd be one of those losers sitting alone and getting picked on." I crossed my arms again.
"Hey, you could join me if you want to." He shrugged.
I didn't let up, looking down at my shoes with a scowl.
I only took for him to see the look on my face and give in, "Ugh, okay."
My mood instantly shifted. I beamed, and snatched him by the wrist to make sure he couldn't escape and dragged him to the dance floor.
He stiffened up at first, so I simply lead his hands to my waist. I looked around at the other couples, and copied their actions. I placed my arms around his neck. We started swaying.
After a few seconds, we realized we were both stepping forward at the same time. My shoe dug into his foot. He barely reacted, thankfully.
We stopped, reset, and tried again.
"You know, you've been different ever since you came back from Atlanta," he said once we fell into a rhythm.
The music was soft, it was a pretty outdated playlist, but I didn't necessarily mind it. The song playing had a romantic 80's synth backing it, and I recognized it as 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police, it was my parent's wedding song. How fitting, yet corny.
"Really? Well, sorry I'm that I'm a normal person capable of some change, you're just the same old loser." I gave him a sarcastic look and he rolled his eyes.
"No, I mean, when did you even start wearing makeup, or sparkly stuff?" He looked down at my top.
"After I spent some time around girls. Why? Is it a problem? Does it make you feel insecure now that I'm prettier than you?"
He scoffed, "you wish." Malcolm and Alison passed by us and his eyes followed them as they left, lingering. "I thought you were a good dancer. Why're you being so lousy?" I asked, pulling his attention back to me.
"Oh, you wanna see some good dancing?" He removed his hand from my waist to grab my hand and began shaking it up and down as he dragged across the dance floor in a terrible waltz. The couple next to us gave us a harsh glare at disrupting their moment.
I laughed at his antics and grabbed his shoulders to stop him. "Okay, okay. You can stop now, this is a slow song. I get it, you know what you're doing."
He was laughing too, a little too loudly. He placed his hands back on my waist and shot a threatening look to the couple glaring at us. My arms were around his shoulders, and my hands were by his neck, brushing his collar.
My fingers twitched ever so slightly, and I felt a pull to touch his hair. I tested the waters, letting two fingers touch the little hairs at the nape of his neck. He didn't react, so I let my hand touch the short hair at the back of his head. Making sure not to disturb the meticulously spiked hair at the top. I always teased him for dyeing his hair blonde at the tips—but it suited him. The spiky hair was his signature too, even if he spent a little too much time gelling it in the mornings.
It was really nice for a minute. The dim colorful lights illuminated his features softly. His green eyes bore into mine, and I looked away, focusing on his suddenly fascinating lapels.
His hand snaked a little lower on my hip, and I swore I saw the faintest twinge of red cross his cheeks.
"Your hair smells weird," he said lowly.
"Thanks?"
"Looks weird too. It's sticking out. It used to be all wriggly."
"It's called a hairstyle," I laughed.
It was safe to say I got the slow dancing experience I wanted. I hadn't even noticed the song switching to a more upbeat one, but we took it as our cue to separate, getting back to the sidelines.
The rest of the night was eventful. Reese pulled his prank of the plastic poop in the punch bowl, and we watched the horrors unfold, laughing hysterically. It was actually funny when done the right way.
Then, Lois caught Malcolm with a pack of beers, and he got into some big trouble.
"We had a miscommunication," he had complained to us.
"You used a four syllable word again, didn't you?" I questioned, earning me an indignant glare from him.
But not a few days after, Alison and Reese began dating.
It was jarring. I wasn't sure how to feel about it, I had never seen him with a girlfriend—definitely not a serious one. She seemed to get along with him relatively well, which was surprising—she had questionable taste. And as much as I hated to say it, she was the epitome of a dumb blond. A bitter part of me couldn't help but think that even Reese deserved better.
Hell, even Malcolm didn't deserve the way she had dumped him.
I felt like she was bound to hurt Reese too.
I watched them laughing in the hallways. She kept touching his arm when she talked. Reese's chipmunk laugh seemed to go straight to my head now. Annoying.
It was probably temporary. Reese got bored easily.
Still, I couldn't remember the last time he walked to class with me.
As it was going, their relationship seemed as perfect and stupid as high school relationships got. Days turned into weeks. When exactly was he going to get bored?
More importantly, how could Reese have found someone to date before I did?
Author’s Note
ok i really like alison, but i think you can understand why tess isn't exactly fond of her lol. there's gonna be some big you belong with me vibes coming up, so stay tuned! sorry if this chapter was a bit of a filler.
also, i dont think reese has a canon birthday, so i just made it august 17th
should i even explain why I think he's a leo?
❛ I’ll sing for you
If you want me to
I’ll give to you ❜
- Luna, The Smashing Pumpkins
Dewey and I had been waiting in the sewers for over an hour, like rats!
All five of us were supposed to go to the sewers like we used to when Francis was here. It was a sacred tradition. This time, we were finally going to take Dewey, but I guess not; since neither Reese nor Malcolm nor Stevie showed up.
"Ugh, come on Dewey. We've been waiting for over an hour; they're not coming." I rolled my eyes and pulled him out into the daylight and back home. I felt bad, he seemed really excited.
We decided to wait for them in their room, preparing a confrontation. Thirty minutes later and the both of them ran in, Dewey had his arms crossed, he was more irritated than me.
Malcolm looked excited. "Oh my god, you won't believe what just happened!"
"Where were you? We were supposed to go exploring in the sewer." Dewey yelled.
I got up from the bed in support of him, hands on my hips. "We waited there for two hours!"
"No, you're not listening. This is incredible." Reese said, mostly talking to Dewey.
"But you promised. You said that when spring break started, you would take me, but only Tess did. I did all of your chores, I did all of your homework, I took your antibiotics for you, I put-" he began listing everything he had done for them and I nodded along until Malcolm interrupted.
"Dewey, just shut up! We're trying to tell you guys something important." They sat on either side of him, and I sat on Reese's bed.
"We just saw Stevie's mom... naked!"
"And why are you telling this to Dewey?" I asked. They were so gross.
"You don't understand, she's a total babe," Reese said.
"It was amazing! We were over at Stevie's getting stuff for the sewer, when all of a sudden, we hear something behind us. We turn around, and there she is, in the hallway—naked!" Malcolm explained, and my face contorted in disgust. I knew Stevie's mom was a very fit and attractive woman, but they just turned everything into some convoluted pervy mess!
"Buck naked! Except for a shower cap. It was crazy. First she was screaming, then Stevie was screaming, then I was screaming—yeah, why'd I do that?" Reese recalled.
"And then she tore the curtain off the wall to cover her up," Malcolm continued.
"But you could still see right through the curtain! I'm so glad they just remodeled."
Neither Dewey or I wanted to hear about this, we shared a knowing look.
"That is not a good reason; Mom walks around here naked all the time! She was naked this morning, she was naked—"
"Dewey, if you just combine those two things in my head, I will kill you." Reese closed his eyes, probably picturing some pervy stuff for a moment. "No, we're good," then continued the story.
When we were done having lunch, we headed back to the park where the sewers were, it was filled with teenagers at that time of day. Dewey kept rambling in excitement the whole way there, the same way he had been when we first went earlier today. I could hear Reese still talking about the Stevie's mom incident, even while Stevie was there. He hadn't shut up about it all day. Bleurgh!
"Did you get the snake?" I heard Malcolm ask Reese, "Tess, come check this out." I walked over to them.
"They'll be able to hear him screaming in Russia." Both the brothers smirked at the animal.
I shook my head at their plan to prank Dewey, it was evil, but necessary for his growth. "You guys are ruthless," I commented and Reese shrugged.
"Dude, you didn't continue the story." Some kid that was tagging along asked and Reese repeated the story for the umpteenth time.
We continued moving into the sewer, Stevie followed too.
It was dark and murky inside, as expected. I was wearing a long sleeved shirt and holding a flashlight, but I wished I had gotten a hat or an umbrella with me. Just an extra layer of protection, because I swore I could feel something dripping on me.
I wished Francis was still here to take us. With him, we never felt uncertain because he always knew his way around and would even help us gear up. He was our beacon of light, in more ways than one.
Now, it really just felt like we were about to get lost in a dark sewer, no fun involved.
"Okay, here's our mark. When we came in here with Francis, this was the farthest we'd ever gotten," Malcolm spoke.
"This is it? This is as far as you went? Who would brag about this? Huh, Mr. Alligator?" Dewey said.
"So, Stevie, did your mom go to college?" Reese said, still going on about it. Ugh, just when we thought he was finally done.
"What?"
"Did she get a degree or something? I bet she was in a sorority."
I let out an exasperated sigh and walked up to Malcolm. I barely remembered this place. It was always so dark in here and Francis would always be pulling a crazy stunt to distract us that I never recalled where exactly we went.
"Wait a minute, unless we thought some girl named Molly Hatchet ruled, this isn't our mark." He turned to face the rest of them.
"This has to be it, we went right, straight, left, right, left, straight, and right again." Reese spoke up.
"No! We went right, left, right, then straight, left, and straight." Malcolm tried, Francis used to always tell me to never trust his directions.
"You both have it wrong! We went right, then another right, straight, and then left, right and straight!" They looked at me in confusion. It was the best I could remember, and there was no way they were right, but I was most probably wrong too.
"No, we went... right...left...straight..." Stevie began speaking, taking heavy breaths in between.
"Aw man! We're lost!" Malcolm interrupted.
Yup, that's what I thought.
"What, no!" Dewey exclaimed.
"Oh, man. What are we gonna do?" Reese feigned terror but then turned to Malcolm and I, "Nice! We'll get him crying, then pants him." I couldn't believe he still thought this was part of the prank.
"No, you idiot, we're really lost!" I spoke up.
"What?! What are we gonna do?!" Reese's shrill voice raised.
"I knew it! I knew you were going to find some way to ruin this for me. Even when you're trying to be nice you make me miserable. And now, I get to die in this sewer! A perfect end to a crappy life!" Dewey vented. Damn, I didn't know it was that serious for him. Now I felt kind of bad for going along with their plan of pranking him.
"Shut up, Dewey... Alright, let's just focus on any way out of here. Stevie's mom must be worried about him," Reese declared and I resist the urge to smack the back of his head.
"Shut up... about my mom!" I never heard Stevie's voice go up this high.
"Why? I simply made a comment."
"You're... a perv!"
I gave Stevie and encouraging nod at that. Right on.
"I can't help but have a healthy interest in the opposite sex." Reese shrugged.
"Well... they don't return... the favor."
"What does that mean?"
"Girls... hate you!"
"That's not true," he looked to me and nudged my arm, "Tess, back me up on this." I stayed silent though, an indication I agreed with Stevie. It was true for the most part.
"Yes it is true. Come on, Reese, you're a joke," Malcolm joined.
"Yeah, even I know it." Dewey said too and walked away along with Malcolm. Reese and I were left behind. He shot me a hurt look.
"You could've said something," He said in that tone that told me he was minutes away from throwing a tantrum. I could tell they got to him. I shook my head and lightly shoved him as to tell him to walk ahead of me. We kept moving in awkward silence.
"This all... looks... the same"
"Yes, this is the same. It's always been exactly the same, ever since the day I was born." Usually, I didn't have as much a problem with Dewey as the rest of the boys did, but his high-pitched voice was starting to really annoy me. That along with my tired eyes focusing in the dark sewer, and the occasional flashlight flashing right into them—it was all beginning to trigger a terrible migraine. "I start to trust them, they make me regret it. I get my hopes up, they destroy them," he continued, "I ge-"
"Shut up, we get it!" Thank you, Malcolm.
"Every girlfriend you've ever had left you crying like a baby!" Reese's sharp voice came out of nowhere, shooting into my right ear, I gave him a death glare he didn't see—and did not want to see. I could tell he had spent the last couple silent moments conjuring up a reply to Malcolm and Stevie's earlier diss.
"What?" Malcolm retorted.
"Oh, who's mister bigshot now? I'm the joke with the girls, huh? But what's worse: being a joke, or being a crybaby?!"
Malcolm scoffed, "I wasn't crying that hard."
"You wet... your pants," Stevie added.
I tightened my grip on my flashlight. Their grating voices echoed off the walls.
"Oh, like you've ever even been with a girl."
"I... have a... note... from my doctor."
"I could get a doctor if I wanted to," Reese joined in.
"That doesn't even make any sense!" Malcolm yelled and I bit my lip at the echo. I should have taken a painkiller before coming here.
"That's right. Turn on each other. Well, you know what? No girls like any of you. And I don't blame them, you're pathetic." Dewey spoke exactly what was on my mind. It was silent for a few seconds, but that didn't last for long.
"You know who's a joke? Girls!" I frowned at Malcolm's comment. I was a girl, right here!
"Yeah, why do we even like them? They make our lives miserable—you can never understand what they want. They're always saying, 'stop staring at me' and they don't laugh at farts!" I was partly offended by what Reese was saying, I didn't even know if either of them considered me an actual girl at this point.
"And they only wanna talk about clothes!"
"They cry... all... the time."
I looked between the three of them in frustration, hoping they'd realize that a girl was currently among them, to no avail.
Dewey didn’t move along when they did, he looked really upset—my heart ached at his sad face. It was a common sight. He had gotten bigger, but he still had those puppy dog eyes when he was sad. They all did, it was how you could easily tell that they were brothers.
"Come on, Dewey." I put my hand on his shoulder so he could walk with me, I continued overhearing their conversation against my will.
"I'm trying to be the best me I can be. But, I don't know what to say to girls, so I just say something mean." The conversation had turned into a full on group therapy session, Dewey and I were ahead of them now. I was just focused on getting out, but their discussion was beginning to sound more interesting than to aimlessly searching for an exit. I heard Reese continue, "I guess I'm afraid of getting hurt, so I hurt them first."
"I think my problem is: I just get so frustrated over things I can't control. I have to understand that they're people with their own needs." Malcolm added. Yeah, no shit. I scoffed where they couldn't see me.
"I play... mind games. It's all... I have."
"Why isn't there ever a flash flood when you need one." I almost laughed at Dewey's comment.
"You know, I really want a girlfriend. I want someone to hang out with, that's what I really want," Reese confessed. Then maybe try putting in more effort into making friends, I thought
Malcolm agreed. "Yeah, someone you can talk to."
"Someone... to hug."
"Someone to show my poetry to," Reese said and my eyebrows furrowed. He was probably still hung up on that one time I showed him a song I wrote and he challenged me on who could write a better one.
"You... write... poetry?"
"I dabble." If I could have rolled my eyes back any further, they would have fell into my skull. Hell, with that headache developing, now even rolling my eyes was beginning to hurt—something that was as natural as breathing to me.
"What do you guys think about Brenda Pallwick?" Malcolm brought a girl from school up out of the blue.
"She's really nice, I think she'd be good for you." Reese had a strangely supportive tone.
"You'd make... a cute couple."
This was getting more and more frustrating. My headache was growing worse. I was pretty sure we were only getting more lost, and they were having what sounded like an AA meeting rather than focusing on what was important. Honestly, I had problems of my own. I could've gone on and on about how I had never had a boyfriend, how I had issues with confiding in anyone, how the boys andgirls at school were all idiots, and how I had to hang out with losers like them! Why did I always have to stay quiet? Irritation grew in my chest like a rat clawing its way out. Before Malcolm could reply to their encouragements, I spun towards them.
"You know what, I've had it! You guys keep going on and on about your problems, when I have to deal with you every day. Do you really want to know why girls don't like you?" I pointed to Reese first, "it's because you're an insufferable perv who thinks making girls miserable will get them to notice you. Which—news flash—not only hurts the girls who talk to you, but literally makes them scared of you! Yeah, they flock away!" I pointed to Malcolm next, "and you, if you could stop being so goddamn overbearing and self-absorbed, then maybe—just maybe—you'd have a girlfriend for longer than a week. But, no! You'd rather she hears about your stupid problems, kind of like what you're doing right now! And you," my finger shook momentarily as I pointed to Stevie. "If you would just get off your high horse and allow a girl to talk to you, maybe then one would. But you just blab on about how you're so above getting a girlfriend, and then you complain and complain. Goddamit, pick a side!" I took a deep breath. "And if you all haven't noticed, I am a girl! Yeah, a real girl! I've been listening to your stupid assumptions this entire time—I do every single day. If I wasn't such a decent person, I'd just about tell every girl at school what a bunch of losers you guys really are! Then they'd stay away for good, so be grateful!" I gulped, wetting my now dried lips, and I turned away from them. Dewey gave me a proud smile. They just stood there, processing everything I had just said.
"Anyway... I... um... you guys want to hear something I wrote?" Reese asked nervously. The two boys nodded, trying to divert the topic. As soon as he reached into his backpack, he erupted in screams and ran away. When the other's saw the wriggling snake, they did the same too. Oh, right.
I gently grabbed the poor animal they had just thrown on the ground and sighed, looking over to where they ran. Dewey closely inspected it, so I handed it to him, and he had no problem holding it calmly. "Let's go." I carried Reese's abandoned bag from the wet sewage floor and pulled my flashlight out to point in their direction. The closer I got to the sound of their screams, the more I could see light. So that was all it took for them to quickly find their way out.
They ran straight out of the sewers, Dewey and I followed soon after.
Outside, Reese was still jumping around in terror. I grabbed a hold of his arm to steady him and he gave me a petrified look. I heard a group of girls laughing at him. My head was still throbbing from the whole ordeal, now at its peak because of the sudden bright light, their obnoxious giggles were not making this any easier for me. "Hey!" I commanded and squeezed his arm tighter. Reese stopped when he realized we were outside, finally steadying himself.
The girls continued laughing, "What happened? Did you read them your poetry?" They let out a flurry of nasally giggles. So they could hear our voices from the echo of the sewers. I groaned.
"It's not funny!" I yelled at them. It was in a very hostile tone that I usually reserved for when I was scolding boys.
The exhaustion from the entire day had finally boiled down to a point, I guessed, especially with their conversation about how annoying girls could be. I had to admit that it got to me a little. I snarled at them, effectively shutting them up, but not without them starting to mutter insults about me to each other.
I yanked Reese by the same arm that I had been holding onto as he stared at them in humiliation. "Come on."
☆
As we walked back to our neighborhood, we parted ways with Stevie. And when we were home, Reese had to give Dewey and I instructions as to where and who to give the snake back to; since he was suddenly too afraid to get within five feet of the animal.
Dewey and I got back home after returning the snake, he went into his house but this time, I didn't follow, instead walking into mine. The sun had already set, and I could see that my Dad was home judging by his car parked in the driveway.
I was right, my Dad was doing something in the kitchen as I entered and greeted him.
He stood up straight from whatever he was leaning over to fix, "Hi, Tess. How was your day?"
I made a beeline to the medicine cabinet to grab a painkiller for my headache.
"It was good. You know, just hanging out with the guys. I do have a terrible headache though." I touched my forehead as I said that, and he nodded understandably. He had been a lot more diligent, asking me about what I was up to lately, after the ordeal with Reese and I's police chase... He wasn't happy about that, even threatened to call my mother about it.
"What do you usually do with them anyway?" He made a questioning face as I went over to pour myself some water. I thought about his question for a moment. What did I do with them? At least, what could I tell him—that he wasn't already aware of—that wouldn't make him lock me up in my room forever?
I shrugged, "I don't know, we just hung out like always—we went to the park with Stevie today." I left out the part about the sewers.
"Hm. Stevie's the kid in the...uh—wheelchair, right?" I nodded. "Well, it's nice to hear you're making friends other than those boys."
I couldn't help but scoff at that. "What's that supposed to mean?" I said in a lighthearted tone.
"Oh, it's just that it's always been just them. It's good to broaden your horizons a little, you know... Speaking of, you got any new girl friends now?" He's never asked me this many questions before.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, well I wouldn't call them friends friends. They're just my new high school friends, but yeah." I smiled awkwardly.
"That's good.... Those boys sure are growing up fast. You too." He confused me with his vagueness again, but I assumed he was referencing Reese's driving incident.
I quickly gulped the pill and water.
"Oh, yeah. I mean, Francis got married. Did you know that? And Reese is kind of taller than me now, it's taking me a while to get used to it." I tried to steer the conversation into a more casual path.
"Francis got married?" He rubbed his beard. "Woah... But, yeah. That boy, Reese, he's quite a handful—especially now." He let out a breathy laugh and I did the same.
"He sure is."
After a few moments of silence, I took that as my cue to place my cup aside and walk to my room like I had been anticipating all day. I plopped on my bed as soon as I saw it.
After a few minutes of just laying there, I gave into the urge to go grab my wooden guitar. I knew it would help me relax, and it was sure to help fade my headache.
I began strumming an indiscernible melody. It wasn't anything specific, but it just sounded nice, and playing the guitar had always been therapeutic to me.
The sound of rustling outside went unnoticed to me until I heard a few clear raps on my window.
I looked over, and it was Reese.
I rolled my chair over to the window and leaned over to open it for him to get in.
"What's up?" I casually rested my arms on my guitar, which was still on my lap.
He shrugged. "There's nothing to do at home."
"Haven't you had enough to do today?"
Another shrug, as he climbed in and sat on my messy bed with a sigh.
"Whatcha playing?" He looked at my guitar.
"Oh, not anything you'd like."
He made an awkward face and gave in to gravity's pull, lying down on my bed, his legs still dangling off the edge.
I turned back to my guitar, strumming it again—I continued to do so for a few minutes. It was like Reese wasn't even there. A comfortable silence between us.
"You know, everything today had me thinking a lot," he said softly.
"Yeah? About what? Stevie's mom?"
He chuckled at that.
"No. I mean, that too, but it had me thinking about some personal things..." I waited for him to continue, "like, you were right in the sewers today. I do scare people off—I just can't be vulnerable, I'm too scared."
"You are right now."
"Huh?"
"You're being vulnerable right now. That's what it means. Talking about your feelings is part of it. You just find it hard to be like that with more people."
He stopped looking at the ceiling to look at me, eyebrows furrowed.
"I guess you're right. I just need to find someone that makes me feel comfortable enough to do that." He began motioning with his hands, "it just seems like every girl already has this notion of me, and that stops them from actually getting to know me."
"Yeah, I see that... You just have to wait until you find someone that can look past that." He nodded. It made me begin to think about how I felt about my own love life, "but, you know, that's not gonna come easy. Finding that person could take forever." It was how I felt about finding the perfect guy, he seemed so out of reach.
"Ugh. Why can't it just be easier? Why can’t she just find me?! I'm tired of this waiting game."
I laughed at him. "Chillax, you're only fifteen."
"I know. But, I just want her to show up at my door already," his hands went up to his face.
"Hey, how come we never talk about this stuff?" He asked, peeking at me through his fingers.
"What stuff?"
"You know," He motioned to the air.
I did have somewhat of an idea as to what he was insinuating though. "I don't know, it just never comes up when we're alone. Plus, we only recently started worrying about dating and all that."
"I guess that's true."
My mind wandered. He was rarely ever like this. He didn't talk to me about his feelings, but he did, once in a blue moon. I wondered if he talked to anyone else this way. No, I was pretty sure it was just me. It was pretty crazy how he could turn from the crude bully he usually was, into this when we were all alone.
I remembered a lyric I had thought of a few weeks ago.
"You wanna hear something?" I asked, and he sat up.
"Yeah." His head quirked up at me.
"Okay." I turned so I was completely facing him, fingers on the first chord I was going to play. I began strumming a simple tune, he looked at me intently. Close observation like that should have made me nervously fumble at the strings, but I grew more confident. I bobbed my head softly to the sound. I usually never sang in front of other people. But with Reese, he had seen me do much more embarrassing things—singing my songs in front of him was nothing.
"He sees everything in black and white
Never let's nobody see him cry
But I know all his favorite songs...
And I could tell you, his favorite color's blue
He loves to argue, oh and it kills me..."
It was a simple melody. I didn't remember what exactly occured to me when I wrote it, it was a few months ago, after a discussion we'd had about fitting in at school. I just knew I wanted to write something about him. It could form into a song one day.
He smiled and cocked his head at me.
"It's just a little unfinished scrap."
"Is it about me?"He looked down at his lap, toying with a stray piece of thread from my blanket.
"Yeah, who else?"
"You know my favorite color? I mean—I know yours is green, but I didn't know you knew mine."He scratched his head awkwardly.
I scoffed, "Come on, it's basic info. I know exactly what shirt you're gonna wear in the morning, what snack you're gonna make, what overused joke you're gonna tell at a certain time—of course I'd know your favorite color."
"Hm… what exactly does the song mean, though?"
I let out a nervous laugh at his question, I was not exactly sure how to answer that.
"Uh, I guess it means— It's about how you're always so closed off to everyone else, and they don't know that you can actually be pretty cool." Yeah, that summed it up nicely.. without being too sappy.
"So, you write songs about me? What else you got?" He smirked.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," I made a face at him, "I write songs about everyone. For example… here's one about Malcolm," I lied, and his eyebrows raised.
I began improvising a louder, repetitive melody. I quickly realized I had to think of some lyrics on the spot, and I continued strumming until something came to me.
"Malcolm... is an obnoxious know it all
I think he's more of an imbecile."
I needed some time to think before singing the next part, spurred by Reese’s amusement.
"He has a really high IQ
And won't shut up unless that's clear to you."
I dragged out the last note and strummed faster now, crescendoing into the end of the annoying song. It was obviously low effort and I was more talking in a singsong voice rather than actually singing, but it made Reese laugh.
"Yeah, I like that one," He pointed, still grinning.
"Of course you do."
We continued joking about Malcolm, and we shared more about our complications with making friends and dating. I set my guitar aside in its corner and went to lie down next to Reese as we talked. When he did allow someone to have a proper conversation with him, it could be really pleasant.
"You know, whatever guy that ends up with you is really lucky. I—You're... special. And you deserve someone as cool as you." He turned his head to look at me, but I was already facing him.
His green eyes, the ones I knew so well, were still so bright even in the dimness of my night light. My heart skipped when his pupils dilated just a bit, just enough that I felt as if I was imagining it.
My blue eyes studied him. Day by day, his features were getting more defined. He had an uncharacteristically serene expression on. He was smiling, but not quite. He was relaxed. It was a good look on him.
I finally parted my lips so I could reply, "You deserve someone like that too. You can be a pain sometimes, but if they get to actually know you—they'd forget about that." I tried to focus on my speech and not the way his eyes moved across my face. He was so close, I could see every color in his irises. They were so pretty. What was he doing with eyes like those? I gulped. A strange sensation made its way into my heart and fluttered down to my stomach.
I wondered if his heartbeat was racing as much as mine, and I worried that he could feel mine. I chalked it up to the sensitive topic we were discussing.
"Yeah, you're right... How are you always right?"
That made me smile and I lightly shrugged.
He paused for a moment. An even stranger look overtook his features, then he spoke, "You're my best friend, you know. I've never told you that." His pupils dilated again—So, I wasn't imagining it—and my heart dilated along with them. No one had ever called me their best friend before. It was such a simple label. And if he hadn't said it right now, I wouldn't have realized that no one ever had.
His fingers brushed mine in their resting position. I wanted to keep them there, but he awkwardly shifted after that. I was too focused on his eyes, I swore they had never looked so sparkling. No one's had.
I didn’t even realize that my headache had completely gone away.
"You're my best friend, too."
I wasn't finished gazing into his eyes when he abruptly got up.
"If I stay longer, I'll fall asleep here," he said, yawning. He looked over from out the window and into his room, raising his head to see Malcolm and Dewey who were fast asleep—even though it was relatively early.
"Yeah, I'll go to sleep soon too." I was sitting up now.
He gave me one last look. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
"Of course."
"Okay... goodnight." He muttered before clumsily getting out through the window, his shoe almost getting caught in the window frame.
"Goodnight."
That same night, when I was tucked in bed, I tossed and turned. Because whenever I closed my eyes, I saw his.
Notes:
The lyrics of the song she wrote about him are from Taylor Swift’s unreleased song ‘I’d Lie’ with a few tweaks. Please give it a listen on youtube if you haven’t already, it’s a hidden gem.
Obviously this work is very much inspired by her music and characters.
Please let me know if you like where everything is going.
❛ Don't count on me to let you know when
Don't count on me, I'll do it again
Don't count on me, 'cause I'm not listenin'
Well, I'm a no-goodnik, lower-middle-class brat ❜
- Fat Lip, Sum 41
REESE
𓆩☠︎︎𓆪
High School was very different from Middle School, I should have seen that coming.
Back in Middle School, I was an absolute Alpha—no one ever dared to cross my path. I used to be invincible. Now, people looked away from me not because they feared me, but because they had no idea who I was.
The high school building was bigger, there were more people—all kinds of them. Those people were also very different from the ones in Middle School, even the same kids I grew up with had changed.
Friends didn't come easy for me, it was something I was well aware of, but absolutely hated about myself. I mean, I did try, I just always managed to screw it up. I guess not many people got me, and that became more of a problem when I wasn't only trying to make friends, but trying to get a girlfriendtoo.
Girls, girls, girlfriends. It was a topic that had been heavy on my mind for the recent few years, and I had certainly not gotten lucky at the field. I knew that, I just preferred to not think about it often. I wouldn't consider myself completely repulsive, I didn't fully understand why girls didn't take much interest in me, but I couldn't blame them for it either. All I knew is that they simply didn't like me and I could try to ignore that fact the best I could. Just like I ignored a lot of things that I didn’t like thinking about. What was that saying again? Ignorance is best? Yeah, l lived by that.
Now, being in high school, I hadn't quite gotten lucky at making any friends. Hell, it was nearing the end of the school year; and I still hadn't found a group of people to hang out with...
I did have one person, though, I always had. I guess I was beginning to consider her my best friend. The only reason I was okay with any of this.
I sat with Tess almost everyday during lunch, I practically had no other choice other than tormenting some of the students.
She didn't have many friends either, but she still had some. I knew she had sort of a problem with the kids at school, she didn't like many people. I didn't get it, I wished I had the privilege of having a roster of friends to pick and choose from.
Despite the fact that she didn't take kindly to most of the students, I noticed her getting along with her girl friends more every day—and it scared me. Must be a breath of fresh air after hanging out with my brothers and I every single day. I expected her to grow out of being friends with us some day.
I did like having her around, as irritating as she could get sometimes—especially when she was with Malcolm and they would get all snobby on me. Sometimes I would have the greatest time hanging out with her, and other times she made all kinds of exasperation bubble up inside me. I was both disappointed and grateful that we had a no fighting rule, after I had learnt that you weren't supposed to hit girls, which meant that she couldn't hit me either. It didn't always stop her, but it was certainly nothing compared to the beatings she used to give me.
Still, the voice that used to egg me on and tell me to piss her off was beginning to die down. I stopped laughing whenever I broke or ruined her things. I stopped finding joy in the disgusted look on her face after belching at her or purposefully shoving my foot at her during sleepovers. Maybe it was because I was realizing that she was the coolest person around ever since Francis went away. I was actually starting to want to make her happy, not the opposite. And not just because I sometimes had to. It felt nice knowing I could be nice to at least one person I cared about, and not have them use it against me.
For as long as I could remember, she had been the one person I could talk to, especially when we were alone. She was smart, like Francis in a way, which made sense since she had learnt a lot from him growing up. If I didn't have him to go to; I could go to her, and more often than not, she was helpful. Plus, I could tell her anything, and I didn't have to worry about her going anywhere, because she lived right next door! Still, I couldn't tell her as much as I told my wishing hole. My wishing hole, that gorgeous tree on Jefferson street was the most loyal confidant of all, but maybe if Tess tried hard enough, she would someday be on the same level as it.
Even so, I trusted her, with more than I trusted myself sometimes, and certainly more than I trusted my family. There was nothing I had to prove to her, unlike how I felt with them. Even though she was a girl, I felt like she was different than the rest of them. She could still be stuck up and weird and mean just like rest—but she still understood my family—she even kind of understood me.
She wasn't half bad of a friend either, and without her, I'd look like a total loser at school. When people could see that she hung out with me, it stopped them from thinking I was some cranky nobody... which I sorta was. I think some students even assumed she was my girlfriend, as strange of a thought as that was. I wasn't complaining though, that probably did also help my reputation a bit.
Whenever I didn’t sit with her for lunch, she just sat with the girls from her classes. Sometimes I wondered if she would rather hang out with them. I tried not to bother her as much as possible at school, she definitely had enough of me already.
There was a gang of sorts I wandered the halls of the school with from time to time, just causing destruction on our paths. I couldn’t really call them my friends; they were more like business partners who helped me wreak havoc each day.
It wasn't just teenage girls that didn't get along with me though, it was teenage boys too. At this point, it was starting to sound like nobody did—which was mostly true. However, I still tried my best to join in on the guys' conversations about parties and girls and football games the best I could.
That was essentially what I was doing right now.
Me and the guys were sitting at a table at the corner for once rather than picking on other kids. I heard them talking about the girls they could observe from where we were sitting, making comments about how attractive they were and whether they would want to get with them—I made a statement every once in a while, absentmindedly agreeing or disagreeing with their opinions on the girls.
They began discussing some girls at the table where Tessa was, their fingers shamelessly pointing to each girl they rated. One of them landed on one of the girls Tess was talking to, they were standing by the table next to each other—I remembered that Tess once told me her name was Lina. She would always tell me all about the girls' gossip and drama, and it was pretty entertaining, so I had picked up on some of their names. Lina had dark hair and pale skin, I had to admit, she was pretty hot—just not my type.
"Check that one out, do you see that ass? If my girlfriend wouldn't kill me, I'd totally tap that." A sophomore sitting at the end of the table said, I grinned at the crudeness of it.
"What do you think about her?" The guy next to me asked, pointing at Tess this time. I immediately frowned as I awaited the other guys' answer. I didn’t really account for the fact that they’d eventually get to her. She was right by Lena, talking freely, a few books in hand. She was absolutely clueless as to what I was doing right now.
"Eh, she's hot—just too lanky. I don't know, I like blondes, this one's too tall for my taste though... But if she gets rid of those braces, with those tits on her... not too bad. I see the potential, I'd still tap that." He shrugged and made a bouncing motion with his hands that elicited hollers of laughter from the other guys. My blood simmered. The other guys agreed with him. An indescribable rage now began to take over me, and I clenched my fists as I looked at his smug face.
Anger was familiar to me, I usually let it happen, but this was different—purely instinctual, white-hot rage—it was a new kind of fire. These bouts of it were starting to happen more lately. Who the hell did he think he was?
"Don't talk about her like that!" I growled. The entire table went silent and stared at me as I raised my voice.
"Dude, calm down, we didn't know she was your girlfriend," the older boy tried to laugh it off. I was taking absolutely none of it, not after what he said about Tess. I couldn't believe he would even look at her like that. It made me even angrier just thinking about all the guys who'd think those kinds of things without me knowing about it. All those guys at this table who were too afraid to say something right now.
"No, asshole! You don't even know her, so keep that nasty mouth shut!" I was standing up now, and I could practically feel the smoke coming out of my ears.
The guy stood up too as he noticed my hostility, and the rest of the table looked at us in amusement. "Hey, what the hell is your problem? What, you're a saint now? We've been talking about girls like that all day."
"You're my problem," I said, threateningly slow. I raised my chin at him, trying out one of my intimidation tactics. We were playing the same game, he was about the same level of bully as me. He was older than me, a junior, and yet he stood an inch or so shorter than me, maybe that was why he thought Tess was too tall. What a little pussy.
"Oh, you really wanna do this, Freshman? You can't handle me talking about some bitch? Seriously, man," he scoffed and I had to resist the urge to punch him square in the face in front of his friends who were 'ooing' at his reply.
"You're the one who can't handle that a girl is taller than you. And don't call her that !"
I finally gave in to my basic instinct, tackling him to the ground. I was all I had ever known, and I felt the sweet release of letting my rage pour out through my body. Since we'd formed this gang of bullies, I was used to fighting alongside him, on the same team, but now I'd have to see how he fared against me.
He wasn't going to get away with being disgusting about her, or calling her names. This was worse than any of the guys who had made comments about her in the past that she was 'too much' or when people started calling her 'The Loose Wire' because of her braces. This was a whole new level of wicked.
I raised my fist up to his face as people swarmed towards us to see what the fuss was about. "Do you understand? Or do you need me to knock it into you?!" He didn't reply. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up only to shove him back into the brick, keeping my fist up.
I knew that if Tess had heard him say what he just said, she'd want to beat him senseless. I knew what she was capable of too, and she definitely wasn't some 'bitch'.
"Do you understand?!" I asked again. I was straddling him so he couldn't move, he nodded at my question, his face scrunched up in fear. That's what I thought . I got up after knocking him into the ground one last time and I glared at the rest of the guys who were still sitting. They all deserved the same after how they laughed at his comment.
I pulled myself together and it took all the strength in me to walk away without inflicting any more damage. It made me feel a bit better that he'd surely have big bruises all over because of that tackle.
Maybe this was why teenage boys didn't get along with me, they were all mindless perverts… and everyone called me a pervert!
I passed by Tess to go into the school building. She simply gave me a worried look. She just witnessed that, but probably thought he was another one of my victims. I thought it was better that way. She didn't need to know about the disgusting assholes that walked among us. She fumbled to grab my wrist but I shook her off and walked right past her. I knew I needed to cool down first, and I didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends more than I already had.
𓆩☠︎︎𓆪
When I got back home, Malcolm was sitting in the kitchen with his Krelboyne girlfriend. I immediately went for the fridge to grab a drink. But as soon as I walked in, she walked away.
"Bye, Reese." She said in that shrill voice of hers. I only caught a glimpse of her as she dodged me, she was wearing what looked like something from a homeless man's wardrobe.
"What a pig," I voiced my thoughts out loud.
"What?" Malcolm asked.
"What happened to your friend? She was never that great, but now—geez, it's like she's trying to be ugly," I spoke my mind.
"Shut up," I knew Malcolm would get all defensive, his taste in girls had always sucked.
"Someone should tell her she's not in ‘Europea’anymore. In America, we take showers." I laughed to myself. Good one, Reese.
"Drop it, Reese, she doesn't smell."
"Well, she dresses like a bag lady." I thought for a moment and a smile made its way to my face. "...Oh, I know! Her butt is gigantic, and she's trying to hide it. This is so great, I have so much material for that." I thought of all the possible ways I could torment her and Malcom. "I have a wide load sticker, and I can make truck noises when she backs up. Beep, Beep, Beep."
”Reese, when exactly is she gonna back up?" Malcolm frowned.
”You're right. Okay, when's her lunch period? I think I'll sneak in and throw bacon at her. Then, she'll back up. Beep, Beep, Beep."
"Look, moron, she isn't hiding her butt! She's hiding her big boobs, okay! So if you tease her, you're just gonna look like a-"
Malcolm stopped speaking and my jaw almost unhinged at that, that was even better than I thought. "You are a good, good brother."
"No, I lied! Her butt is huge." I smirked at his desperate attempt to backtrack as I walked away, this was great, someone fresh to harass. I could do so much with this new material, so I thought of a plan that night. I was going to trick her into helping me with schoolwork so I could get to hang out with her, and I would go from there.
Hell, why didn't I add it to my calendar too?
𓆩☠︎︎𓆪
So, the next day, the Krelboyne girl and I were sitting at our backyard's picnic table. I asked her to help me with algebra, and she agreed, so that was what we were doing. This would've been incredibly boring if my plan wasn't actually working. Malcolm walked in on us and pulled her away. I tried to ignore their arguing. Why was he so worried about her anyway? She wasn't important, I couldn't understand it.
She came back to sit next to me. "How are you doing on number five?"
"Awful. I'm never gonna get this, I'm such an idiot." I pretended to care about these stupid algebra questions.
”No, you're not.”
”Everyone says I'm an idiot all the time." She looked over at Malcolm and he nodded to agree with me. What I was saying wasn't completely false, but I knew how to say it in a way that would make her weak Krelboyne heart fall for me.
"It's not his fault... Someone at some point decided I was dumb, and that's all anyone ever sees in me. Why do they always focus on one detail? They can never look at the whole person." She was looking intently at me now, she was kind of pretty for a Krelboyne if you ignored the rest of her, so at least I was getting something else out of this.
”I don't know," she responded kindly.
𓆩☠︎︎𓆪
The next day after school, I was cheery all the way home, thinking of all the ways my plan for the Krelboyne girl was succeeding.
I walked to my room, only to find Tess there. She was sitting on Malcolm and Dewey's bed, a notebook open in front of her, she had a pen in hand. She was always writing something in that book, I had to find out what someday. I told myself to remember that for later.
She looked up when I entered. "Hey."
"Hey. What are you doing here? Where's Malcolm?"
"Just journalling, and I don't know," she said nonchalantly as she continued writing in the thing.
”Journalling? I'm not even gonna ask what that means." I scoffed and went over to our comic book shelf, grabbing two of the new ones I got from the store the other day. "You want one? It's the new Green Lantern," I offered. Tess had always liked comic books, although never as obsessively as me and Malcolm. Now that I was older, I sort of realized that it was strange, and I wondered why she was so different from every other girl.
Girls never liked comic books or anything of the sort, whereas she had always been into the same stuff we were. I guessed it was just because she had grown up with us.
”Nah," she shook her head, "not right now." She pointed to the notebook. I shrugged and put back one of the comic books, and headed to my bed to unwind.
We sat silently for about twenty minutes, each doing our own thing, until she spoke, "Hey, Reese?"
I looked up from my book and made a questioning 'mhm' sound.
"What happened at school before yesterday? It looked pretty heated, more than usual."
”Oh, I was gonna tell you but I didn't want you to be upset," she frowned inquisitively, "...that douchebag was talking smack about you, said you were 'too tall.," I scoffed, "He said some nasty things... about your body... he got what he deserved."
Tess' frown only grew deeper. "But, I don't even know the guy, why would he..."
”Yeah, I know. He had no right," I looked back into my comic book, "And for the record, you're not even that tall." I shuffled in my bed uncomfortably, just the thought of that guy made me angry.
”You didn't have to do that for me, Reese. You know how I feel about you taking up stuff I can handle on my own."
"I wasn't gonna let him talk about you like that!"
"No—thank you, but maybe next time tell me about it before you do anything.”
"You're welcome I kicked that guy's ass for you," I shrugged and we both returned quietly to our books.
Another 20 minutes later, Malcolm stormed into the room.
”What are you gonna do to Cynthia?" Oh, that was her name—I had almost forgotten about that.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." I tried to feign innocence, "...okay, I've been dying to tell someone. Malcolm, I'm gonna see them!" I stood up in excitement, both Tess and Malcolm shooting me puzzled looks.
"What?" He asked.
”I'm gonna be nice to her, make her my girlfriend, and get her to take her top off.”
"Woah, wait a minute," Tess spoke up.
"You're crazy!" Malcolm exclaimed, he was just jealous. The thought of that just made me prouder.
"That's what I thought at first. But, I've got it all figured out!" I got onto my knees to fetch my calendar from under my pillow. "I've been working on this for days," I smiled proudly and told him my plan, which involved various make out sessions and spanned over a week, ending on March 8th, AKA Double D Day.
It was genius.
"You're pure evil!"
"Reese, that's insane." Tess took Malcolm's side, like usual. I looked back and forth between the both of them.
"Who's more evil? Me, or the person who told me." I signaled towards Malcolm.
"You!"
"Yeah, but you would still be in trouble. I bet she'd never forgive you. Now excuse me, I have to go make a mixtape." I walked out of the room and Malcolm quickly followed, dumbfounded.
I returned to the room alone with what I needed for the mixtape, Tess did not keep her burning gaze off of me—it got a little creepy.
”What?"
”I just can't believe you! What was all that about?"
"Nothing, just my epic plan to see Malcolm's friend's huge boobs."
When I turned to her, she was giving me that angry look of hers, the one that reminded me of Mom's—she had probably learnt it from her. It triggered a strange response in my brain.
"You're—what is wrong with you?!"
”What?!" I asked, I didn't understand why she was getting mad about this. She didn't even know the girl.
”You can't do that to her!" She stood up from her position on Malcolms bed to sit on mine, she pulled the stack of CDs out of my hand. "If you go through with this—I mean, it will have to be one of the most evil... disgusting things you've ever done!" I stared at her distressed face and I hated it. I already knew this was going to make Malcolm's friend mad, but I thought more at Malcolm than me.
”I really don't see the problem."
Tess gawked at me for a few moments and stuttered. "I really—I don't—Reese… This is seriously messed up, even for you. I mean, how would you feel if someone did that to you?”
”Did what? Faked dating me to see my huge boobs? I'd be honored!" I laughed at the thought. If anything, she was making this funnier. She did look pretty pissed, though.
”No—okay... how would you feel if someone... did that to me?"
"Well... they wouldn't, because you don't have massive jug- Ow!" I was rudely interrupted by her punching me in the shoulder. Damn, I had forgotten just how strong she was.
”No, Reese, I'm serious."
"Okay, okay."
"How would you feel if someone took advantage of me like that? Tricked me for something pervy and that was it?." I thought about her words for a moment, and the comments the guys from school made about her popped back into my head. I had been trying not to think about that encounter, it infuriated me, and I wasn't used to thinking about Tess in that way.
Tess was blonde, and nice… and pretty too. She was great, but she was just Tess, our Tess.
Yeah, I also realized that her boobs had obviously gotten bigger over the years. I remembered some instances where I had caught a glimpse. A few times while we were on vacation and she wore a revealing bikini, and I tried my best to look away. Another time when she was in the process of changing at night, only had her bra on, and forgot to shut her blinds.
But I tried my best not to think about her boobs too much, until now. I tried my best not to make it obvious that I was looking at her chest, but my face turned bright red at the sight.
Yeah, she had grown a lot, but I didn’t care about that.
The truth was, if someone did that to her, I would go berserk. If I got mad at a bunch of assholes talking about her, who knew what I would do if any of them actually did anything to hurt her. The thought alone made me shudder in anger. My eyebrows knotted, and I looked up at her upset face.
"I would be... I don't know—I'd kill him."
Her face softened. "Exactly. That's almost how I feel about you right now. I just wanna-" her hands formed claws and she shook me by my shoulders, acting out how she wanted to hurt me. "...You've changed a lot, Reese. I don't know why." She looked sad now, and I felt a heavy sensation arise in my chest.
I looked down at my hands, I didn't know what to say.
This all seemed like a good plan just a few minutes ago. All I knew was that I didn't like seeing her upset with me. I wasn't sure when that started to make me feel uncomfortable, we used to fight and hold grudges against each other every other Tuesday. Now, I couldn't stand seeing her unhappy for one second.
"Look, you wanna mess with her? Fine… but I’m watching you. And Cynthia’s a nice girl. I mean, for god's sake, she's actually helping you with algebra. You!" She had a point. I didn't know what to say to her after that.
Tess got up to grab her things and walked out of the room with a simple, 'I'll see you tomorrow, Reese'. Leaving me all alone with my evil plan.
Me being my stupid, impulsive self; when Cynthia came over to tutor me the next day, I went along with my plan and kissed her, just to see what Malcom would do.
When Malcolm saw that, he proved to her that I was just doing this to see her boobs, exposing my plan that I wasn't even going to go on with anyway.
And I had been right, because Cynthia did get mad at him, but I was the one that got beat up.
God, why were girls always hitting me and not hitting on me?!
When I saw Tess again, she looked at my swollen face without saying anything but 'I told you so' and 'Next time, listen to me.'
And I just hoped that whoever was dictating my future right now would decide that I was smart enough to actually listen to her.
Author’s Note:
Here’s a rare Reese POV, I hope you enjoyed it!
And give me any feedback on whether you’d like to see more of his POV, or any other feedback really, it’s very appreciated.
as a reese and spider-man enjoyer. May i put you onto spider-man!reese
reese finding his purpose after getting bit by a radioactive spider while somehow doing odd jobs.
WAIT
Really, thank you for putting me on. As much as I already reference Reese being a big spider-man fan in my fic, since its literally canon, idk how I never thought of him becoming Spider-man.
And now you’ve actually given me an idea for a Reese as Spider-man spinoff oneshot, where he gets bitten by a radioactive spider during his exterminator job (circa season 6). Ideas are rushingggg to me right now.
This is so genius… so thank you! I will probably end up writing it, sooner or later. I have a feeling it’ll turn out longer than I expect.
❛ So baby drive slow
Till we run out of road ❜
- Fearless, Taylor Swift
Since Reese and I were finally over fifteen years old, we were allowed to get our learners permits.
Reese, of course, wasted no time acting the role of the perfect son so his parents could agree to sign him up, a complete 180 from his usual behavior. However, I didn't bother trying. My Dad said there was no chance I was going to get it now, and that I would just have to wait until I was 16–or even 18. Just the thought of that made me groan. I mean, yeah I could walk to school and all, but I just wanted to be able to drive!
But it wasn't like we could afford a new car other than our old truck anyway...
It didn't help at all that Reese wouldn't stop blabbing about how he was getting his learners permit and that he practically aced his first test.
When I was seated at the Wilkersons' table in the kitchen for breakfast, I regretted ever coming over at the sound of Reese's gloating.
"We get it, Reese, you're gonna be behind the wheel," I rolled my eyes.
"Awh, it's okay, Tess. I'll drive you around," he mocked and I pulled my tongue out at him.
"No, thanks. I'd rather not crash and die."
At school, Reese and I sat together like we usually did when he was not bullying anyone. He had been unusually calm, not beating anyone up for their lunch money and instead just enjoying his own lunch—like a normal person would.
I waved across at my classmates—I guess I could call them my friends now. Things were different now that we were in High School, people formed closer knit groups, and they were more attentive of who they hung out with.
People at school generally avoided me, not just because of the certain bully I hung out with, but because I tended to alienate myself. It was easy given the environment I had grown up with, people who never cared what anybody else thought about them, so I was the same way. I was often shy, but feisty when I needed to be. With the guys at school, I had inadvertently built the reputation of ‘The Loose Wire' and even a ‘Bitch’. God forbid someone spoke up every once in a while!
The girls were cautious of me, although some of them got to know me in middle school, and grew to respect me in a way. I liked to think they appreciated my no nonsense attitude, and I prided myself in that.
They were sat at the table to the left of ours. They kept a safe distance, nobody else ever dared to be near Reese. I would have sat with them, but I never did unless Reese was busy. I couldn't leave him to sit alone. Plus, I had just started talking to those girls and Reese had been my lunch buddy ever since kindergarten—no way was I ditching him for them.
We were eating in silence for a few moments and it was actually quite pleasant, I hadn't realized I zoned out one of the wooden legs of the other table.
"What's wrong with you today? You’re acting weird," he spoke up nonchalantly, not bothering to look up from his food.
"What's wrong with me?" I asked, hinting at his uncharacteristic behavior. I let out a huff. "It's just—I've had a bad day. I found my walkman broken today, and... I really wanna get driving classes too, it's not fair." I noticed his eyes widen a bit at the mention of my walkman, a tell-tale sign that he was guilty of something. I knew it—that destructive goblin.
At least now he owed me.
"You know, my instructor is so dumb that I don't even think he'd notice if you tagged along," he was looking intently at me now.
My eyebrows raised hopefully. "You think?" I was actually considering his suggestion, it would be fun to try.
"Yeah, totally. Plus, my Dad is driving me." I knew exactly what he meant by that last comment, Hal was going to be clueless about this escapade, like he always was. He wouldn't ask any questions when I got into the DMV car too. That's how I had always gotten out of trouble with my Dad; Hal's total disregard for the concept of Dad-Code.
☆ ☆
Later that day, when I got into the Driver's Ed car with Reese just like another student, his instructor didn't bat an eye, he was too preoccupied with a bunch of paperwork splayed onto his lap. Reese was right, he gave me his signature smirk as he got into the backseat. He even had the decency of letting me go first. "You know the drill, you take turns," the man in the passenger seat said monotonously. I gulped. Holy shit, I was actually in the driver's seat!
Then it hit me, I practically had no idea how to do anything. I put on my seatbelt first, and looked to Reese for guidance; who motioned to the gear in response, telling me to put it in drive. I was in an empty parking lot, and all I had to do was drive along those cones. How hard could it be?
I already knew how to push the brakes and so on, so I slowly began to move the car. My heart pounded with each inch that the car moved. I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles turned white.
I hit a few of the cones and winced, even though I tried my hardest not to. I wasn't exactly doing a terrible job, but I couldn't say it was the best either. The cardboard car that popped out scared the daylights out of me, though, I let out a gasp and took a rough turn to the right; hitting more cones in the process. "Whoops." I grimaced. The instructor didn't even seem to notice.
"Yikes," Reese said teasingly.
I took a deep breath and continued. But a plastic deer came popping out next. I should have seen it coming. I pushed the brakes a little too soon, causing the car to abruptly stop and bump lightly into the deer. The wheels screeched unpleasantly and Reese, who was leaning over, went reeling backwards into his seat.
"Dammit, I thought I paid this gas bill already! You're doing great, turn right up here. I think you're ready for some street driving," the instructor finally spoke up
Reese and I exchanged a look. I hesitated. "Umm... I don't think that's a good idea—“
"That's it, I've had it!" I flinched at the instructor's high voice, "I don't even know what text messaging is. How can they charge me fifteen bucks a month for it?"
Oh. He didn't seem to care at all.
I pushed the pedal and I turned over, driving on the street now. I tried to adjust my anxious breathing when I saw other cars pass by me. I kept following the instructors directions on where to go, but as for actual driving instructions, he wasn't giving me any. Reese kept yelling at me to 'watch out' and ‘slow down here', but that didn't help at all; it just made this all the more nerve wracking.
"Okay, pull over," The instructor said, and I clumsily parked by the many buildings, "I just need to go to the post office." He began taking off his seatbelt. "Oh, god, look at that line."
"What are you doing? What are we gonna do here?! I didn't even get a turn." Reese scolded.
"Sorry, Reese, it doesn't look like we'll have enough time. We'll drive back and I'll get to you next week, how about that?" He exited the car and Reese and I were left alone.
"I'm sorry, Reese, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have come here. I took up your entire lesson." I looked down at my shoe on the pedal.
Reese got out of the car and went up to my open window, "scoot over."
"Uh, no, I think it's better if we wait here. I mean, are you any better at this? We don't even have anywhere to go."
He groaned, "Just— come on, you'll see."
"Reese, no. We're staying here until he gets back. We've broken the rules enough already!" I frowned.
"Okay, okay ! I just wanna get to drive back when he gets here."
I gave in with a sigh and moved to the passenger seat. "Whatever."
He swiftly got into the driver's seat. "I don’t wanna go home without at least touching the steering wheel." He said with a grin as he put on his seatbelt, fingers flexing as he grabbed the wheel. “While we’re waiting, why don’t we go somewhere?”
"No, way!”" I reached for the wheel, trying to move his hand away, turning it in the process, we fought like that for a few seconds. Until a thud emitted from the back.
"What was that?!"
"Way to go, Reese, you crashed and we haven't even moved yet," I frowned.
"No I didn't, the car isn't even in drive!"
"Well, you obviously hit something! What are we gonna do now?" I couldn't believe I even considered his stupid idea and came here with him. He whimpered a bit. Then he switched gears and drove off with a scream.
"Are you crazy?! We just hit a car and now you're stealing this one?" I shakily put on my seatbelt as he continued driving. "Wait, Don’t take the highway!" I said as we approached the exit.
We cruised onto the busy highway anyway.
“Do you even know where you're going?! Do you know how many crimes we've just committed?"
"Just be quiet for a minute and let me think!"
“Okay, let’s see what you’ve got this time!”
He thought for a moment before giving up, “Ugh, I don’t know!”
“God, I knew something bad was going to happen when I agreed to do this!”
“Hey! I was trying to help you out.”
“Well, look where it got us!” I motioned to the car.
He seemed to shrink at my voice.
“Just pull over.”
“No!”
“Pull over, Reese.” I lowered my voice. I reached over for the wheel to turn right but he swatted my arm, swerving violently to the left instead. It shook me to my core.
“Why don’t you listen!” I looked around impatiently. My eyes landed at my feet. Right! This was a drivers ed car! I was ending this right now. I slammed my boots into the breaks. Instead of a violent halt and the sound of tires screeching, I was met with clanking metal. The pedal snapped right off.
Great! The breaks at the instructor’s seat were fake! What kind of shitty school was this anyway? I was really hopeless now. I crossed my arms and looked over to Reese again. He actually seemed as antsy about this as I was, so it sort of comforted me that he wasn't in destruction mode. Although, that Reese was always a lot more confident.
The quiet sound of the engine whirring and the wheels on the asphalt gave me some time to soothe my anxious breathing before the sound of sirens disturbed me. I turned around to see a police car tailgating us.
"Oh my god, Reese!" He looked at the rearview mirror to see the cop car and bit his lip. "What are you gonna do? They're chasing us!" Reese might have had many interactions like these before, but I had only been in trouble with the cops once! And that was courtesy of him and his brothers. I would have rather not had a second encounter where I was most likely not going to be let off as easily as the last time.
"Okay, don't panic. It's just a cop—that's nothing. You can handle one stupid cop," he talked to himself.
Turns out, there was more than 'one stupid cop', a few other cop cars revealed themselves, and the sensation of dread in my stomach just grew worse.
"Oh, man," he drawled.
"Are you gonna keep going?!"
"I don't know— I think so." Reese's eyebrows were curled up in apprehension—it was a rare sight to see him afraid.
"Well, okay— then, what are you doing? Go faster!" I demanded. It seemed like the only logical step to take!
He looked back and forth at me for reassurance and pushed the pedal harder.
It was like every second I turned around, the police cars just doubled in number. One of the cop's voices sounded from the car bullhorn, "your mother wants you to know that she loves you and when you see her again she will give you lots of hugs and kisses." What? Was that supposed to be Lois? Cause it sounded nothing like her.
"Do you hear that bullshit?" I asked
"Yeah, that's not my Mom." He pressed even harder on the pedal, the speed pushing me back into my seat.
"Reese, I can't believe this. If they catch us and—" I stuttered, I was at a loss for words. My brain was a haze of fear and my body was alight with nerves.
My cellphone suddenly ringing only startled me more.
I hated that thing, my Mom had sent it to me on my birthday to save face—like a phone could stand in for her being actually there. I wished I'd have left it at home. I didn't account for the fact that we'd turn into Bonnie and Clyde.
I squinted at the little screen. It said 'Dad'. Over and over.
He was going to be mad. He was never going to let me see the boys again.
Ah, who was I kidding? With these boys around, he had practically zero agency over me. He could lock me up in a tower and they'd have a secret tunnel passageway dug through my bedroom in no time.
I picked up anyway. "Hi, Daddy!" I tried to put on my best doting daughter voice. As if I was hanging out at the park, and totally not in the middle of a police chase.
"Tessa, are you in that car with Reese? Was this your idea?!" My father didn't yell often, and certainly not at me. After working such a demanding job for so long, he had learnt how to ration his patience. It seemed like that patience had been spread thin, though.
"Haha—car with Reese? What car? I don't know what you're talking about, Dad."
"Don't play stupid with me, Tessa. Your picture is on television, and for Pete's sakes I can hear the sirens in the background!"
I cringed. "...Sorry, Daddy."
Yikes, so playing dumb was obviously not going to work. A vain part of me wondered which photo they had picked for the news coverage, I zoned out thinking about that as my father kept rambling.
"God, this was just what we needed, wasn't it? You're in big trouble, and not just with me, but with the cops, no less... This is going to make me look like the biggest chump in front of your Mother."
I stiffened at the mention of her. If she found out about this, she wouldn't let any of us hear the end of it.
"How is this making you look like a chump? I'm the one being chased!"
"Just wait 'til she hears about this, you'll be on the next plane to Atlanta."
"You know what, you don't get to threaten me with her!" I hung up, slamming the little flip-phone shut and cutting my Dad's voice off. My tongue passed over my teeth, my chest heaved, and my ears were practically steaming.
Next plane to Atlanta, I scoffed. My Dad would have never dared to utter those words before. It was an unspoken agreement, that even with visitations, he wouldn't make me go if I didn't want to—and most of the time, I didn't. It was awkward and unnecessary and if she wanted to see me so badly, she could take a flight here herself.
And now he was threatening me with the one thing that would flip my life into an upside down hell. The one thing I had trusted him not to agree to. Moving to Atlanta with my Mother.
Reese kept glancing over at me anxiously, noticing my obviously souring mood. "Hey, I have an idea. There's a railroad crossing about two miles ahead. If we jump out just a split second before the train squashes the car, we can start new lives as circus people."
I laughed a little at his suggestion, but amongst all this chaos, a part of me thought that wasn't so ridiculous.
"Reese, Come on. Seriously, we're dead. What are we gonna do?" We sat in silence for a few moments, until the bullhorn sounded again.
"This is your last warning, pull over or you'll be forced from the road."
Reese grappled the steering wheel with his sweaty palms.
I took a deep breath.
“You know, it's a shame. You're not half bad… I actually would have liked you driving to school." I gave him a weak smile, leaning my head back onto the headrest.
"I probably won't ever be allowed to drive again after this," he said, a somber look in his eyes. I knew how badly he wanted this, he deserved to get his license with how obedient he was being and he was actually very capable of it.
"Ugh. I'm sorry, this is all my fault."
"No, Tess, I have to tell you something… Just because I don’t say it often, doesn’t mean I’m not sorry. I'm just—you know, I'm not very smart. And you know me, I always do this: I get in trouble, I panic and then do things that make it worse! I’m really sorry."
"You don’t have to be sorry. Come on—don't say that. I mean, it's true, but—you didn't even hit that car," I admitted.
"I knew it."
"Plus, this is pretty much both of our faults, we can't blame it on eachother. It isn't gonna get us anywhere." I stared down at my lap in hopelessness, looking at the road ahead would just make me more anxious.
"Yeah, you're right. We got into this together, so we should stick together." He grabbed my hand from over the console and held it up, his other hand on the steering wheel. "We've always gotten into trouble like this, and we’ve dealt with it each time,” I laughed at that last sentence, remembering the numerous instances. We always ended up facing the consequences. Nonetheless, his words elicited a semblance of optimism in my heart. He continued, "I'm sorry for always ruining stuff for you, it's just how I am. But, that never stopped you from sticking by my side! That's what we have to do. We'll deal with it again and again, and live to see another day!" he finished.
Wow.
I gave him a wide smile—he was such an idiot, but an inspirational one at that. He almost reminded me of someone. “God, you’re starting to sound like Francis…” I shook my head wistfully.
"Wait a second. Francis… Oh my god, Francis! Give me your cellphone, now!”
His sudden excitement caught me off guard, and I unwound our hands and scrambled to reach for my cellphone again and hand it to him.
In just a few seconds, he had Francis on the line, and it felt like all hope had been restored.
I couldn’t hear much from where I was, but Francis’ self-assured cadence did wonders to calm me down.
Reese was listening intently, and held the phone away from his head and between us so we could both hear what was leading up to the end of Francis’ piece of advice.
I craned my neck to listen, “…And even if the outcome is gonna be more horrible than you could’ve possibly imagined, you can hold your head up high, show some class, and end it with dignity.” Francis’ voice came out, slightly muffled.
“Class?” Reese echoed. Meanwhile, I had no idea what to make of Francis’ words.
Reese’s hand shook briefly as Francis’ voice sounded out from the speakers in a wave of static and screaming, “For the love of God! Not— No!”
My eyes widened… wondering what the hell was going on in Alaska, where Francis was. It sounded fascinating.
Confidence overtook Reese, and he shut the flip-phone, shutting down Francis’ screaming in the process.
He smiled. It was a good sign, it told me that he was about to do something crazy, but at least he knew what he was doing.
He signaled right. But, instead of pulling over, he took a turn onto the main street and drove calmly back to the driving school. I kept my mouth shut in anticipation.
He got to the training course, and managed to make it through the thin lane of winding cones seamlessly. The lineup of police cars was still on our tail. When the cardboard car popped out, he gracefully dodged it. Then the deer, he even gave it a cute tap on the head through the window. My jaw hung open with awe the entire way, pausing to giggle at that.
"Woah." I was impressed. I stared at his profile in the driver's seat—so proud. It filled me with joy. He shot me a toothy smirk before switching gears and parallel parking. Perfectly, I might add. He unbuckled his seatbelt and exited. I fumbled with my own seatbelt, when he walked over to my side of the car. I almost thought he was going to open the door for me like a gentleman.
He leaned over the open window. "By the way, I'm the one who broke your walkman. Please don't get mad at me, I was going to give it back."
Oh, so that was why he did all of this; to make up for it.
I just laughed, as if I couldn't easily get it fixed.
I didn't get the chance to reply since the cops immediately pulled him away, holding his arms behind him. I could hear his grunts as he resisted them tackling him.
He screamed once they pulled out the pepper spray and I winced. He was so stupid, and I meant that affectionately.
We had survived—barely, but that was Reese. And somehow, I’d do it all over again.
The court hearing was a few days later. I wasn’t too mad about it because it meant I had something to busy myself with over the weekend, and it also meant I could dress up!
Even the boys looked snazzy in their grownup suits.
Reese handled it like a champ, granted their lawyer helped him out a lot. My testimony was short and sweet, and the judge seemed charmed. That, along with the negligence of the driving instructor, and the lady who initially crashed into the car, meant the judge couldn’t be too mean to us kids.
Reese ended up getting away with some light probation, the only consequence being that he had to delay his learner’s permit for another year. It wasn’t a problem anyway, since he was such a good driver regardless.
We high-fived outside of the courthouse, and went back home to have pizza, dressed to the nines.
Reese had been right, we’d always live to see another day. Together.
❛ Sweet dreams of holly and ribbon
Mistakes are forgiven ❜
- Christmas Tree Farm, Taylor Swift
I had always spent my birthdays at the Wilkersons, but lately we didn’t do as much as we used to when I was younger.
Before, we used to have a picnic at my favorite park which was a walking distance from our houses. It was a simple plan, but they always found a way to make it... special—in their own way. They always forgot the plan, and I usually ended up crying in the end, but it was always better than any other birthday.
This past October, I had turned fifteen. I had celebrated it with the girls from school, and when I came back home, the Wilkersons had a beat-up grocery store cake ready for me. Hey, at least they always made sure to remember.
My father didn't though, I knew he tried his best, but the calendar was nonexistent to him. He lived a constant cycle of work, so whenever an event like my birthday, a holiday, hell—even his own birthday came up; he forgot. Though he did make up for it by giving me a simple 100 bucks and a kiss on the cheek, so I was not complaining.
Christmas at the Wilkerson household was always eventful. Every year, something had to happen—which Lois was not fond of.
That's what you get with the boys though, destruction and mayhem everywhere they go. I was used to it at this point. However, by some miracle, they always found a way to work stuff out. Christmas might end up in a tree being burnt with them there, but at least that made it memorable.
Christmas eve was tomorrow, and we were preparing our presents. Malcolm and I pitched in together to get Reese a digital watch he had had his eye on, and all three of us got Dewey a present too, a mini keyboard. I suggested ideas for Lois to get Malcolm, so a few of her gifts to him were labeled 'From Tess' too.
We were all sitting in the living room, labeling the boxes, when I picked up Reese's wrapped present gingerly. I wrote down, 'For Reese, From Tess and Malcolm' and set it aside. I could hear Malcolm and Reese bickering about who got credit for Deweys present as they began a tug of war.
"Hey, I paid for it too!" I finally spoke up, I was sitting in my corner of the room; but if they were going to ruin the gift, I would interfere. Reese pushed Malcolm away, and Malcolm tossed something at him. It hit the doorframe. Was that glitter?
"Hey!" Reese yelled angrily. "Hey," his tone changed pleasantly when he saw the effect of the ornament after being thrown.
My eyes landed on a huge sparkly ornament on the floor, and I exchanged glances with Malcolm. I reached for it at the speed of light. Giving Malcolm a brief, proud glare before careening it straight at him.
For the next few minutes, we were throwing anything that could break and explode in glitter and confetti at each other.
The room erupted in a flurry of laughs and 'gotcha's'. It was practically an indoor snowball fight, but with glitter! This was why I loved Christmas.
That was until Lois walked into the house. No one noticed her until one of the ornaments got thrown her way.
"Mom. How nice to see you home," Reese greeted in fear, but she did not return the gesture.
We hadn't even realized the mess we'd made.
"I have had it!" She begins unpacking the groceries she had with her and replacing them with the Christmas decorations and presents.
"What are you doing?" Malcolm spoke.
"I am taking everything. Every present, every decoration, every tree—I am locking it in the garage!" She yelled and as we stared at her rampage. "Every single Christmas, you scream or hurt or break or destroy; and I am putting a stop to it!"
"She's stealing Christmas!" Dewey exclaimed in terror.
"Mom, you can't do this!" Malcolm pleaded.
"Yeah, this is the last year Dewey will believe in Santa Claus," Reese begged
I knew to remain quiet, I wouldn't want to fan the flame that is Lois Wilkersons rage. It's how I had usually gotten away with a lot of what I had pulled around here. Plus, it was already looking bad. All the glitter and confetti seemed to point fingers at me, the only girl amongst them.
"If you kids behave until Christmas morning, there will be a Christmas morning. Otherwise, these are going back to the store, and Christmas will be cancelled!" Even I shuddered at her last comment.
That would absolutely suck. If only I had other Christmas plans... but I would've rather stayed with the Wilkerson's even if we spent it mourning our Christmas cheer.
"You wouldn't cancel Christmas, you're bluffing." God, Reese, learn to stay quiet, I thought.
Not even a few moments later, Lois had his stocking burning up in the furnace and he was weeping over it. I watched alongside Malcolm and Dewey, lightly patting him on the back in hopes of getting him to stop sobbing, but he was inconsolable.
On Christmas eve, I sat in the boys room at night, we were discussing their plan on how they were going to continue on their best behavior until tomorrow. It was a tough feat.
"Just one more night, we can get through one night," Reese paced.
"We should be proud of ourselves, everything is put away, we haven't had a single fight. We did it."
"We're going to get presents?" Dewey asked and Malcolm assured him that they would. They were all seeping with apprehension. I sat on Reese's bed facing Malcolm and Dewey when Dewey spoke up, "what are we gonna do now?"
"I guess we could take a nap... or maybe play quietly—very quietly."
"So... do I go back home, or?" I asked. At this time of night, at least one of them was getting up to no good, and there was always something to join in on or watch. This was getting boring, and for the first ever Christmas night, I was getting sleepy.
Dewey stomped on one of his toys that made a funny noise and the other two watched in terror as it continued making squeaking sounds, Malcolm stopped the ordeal and sighed. "God, I'll be so glad when Christmas is over."
"Yeah, we'll be safe for another year," Reese slumped.
"Mom's doing this next Christmas?!" Poor Dewey.
"Look, I’m bored. You guys have to think of something. If we all just faked getting sick… like from that pizza we all ate, maybe she’ll feel bad and Christmas would be on again." I voiced my idea. However, I had an inkling that this wouldn't go the right way no matter what; since nothing ever did in this household, no matter how simple.
"No, that’s too easy. What if she does this for things other than Christmas, like Halloween or our birthdays!" Malcolm retorted.
"She can't do this!" Reese stood up in protest.
"I can't take it anymore!" Dewey continued crying.
"We have to do something to stop her. Something drastic." Of course, Malcolm with the plans.
"I'm in." Reese put on his signature scowl that meant he was ready for business.
"Mom needs to know she can't take special occasions hostage. She needs to know we don't negotiate. She turned a beautiful family holiday into a nightmare."
I stood up at Malcolm's words too, feeling emboldened. He had a point after all. And I myself would do anything not to have a boring Christmas.
"It's time we show her the true spirit of Christmas."
All that talk, and they still had no idea what to do.
I thought up some more plans. No, Malcolm was right, faking sickness wasn’t guaranteed to work. Lois could still be cruel. We had to take action more directly, get in the way of her
After some deliberation, the boys decided they wanted to trash the Christmas tree and steal her credit card to sneak out and buy some more gifts. But I had a better idea, something a little tamer. We would sneak into the garage, take the tags off of everything we could find, and make sure they could never be returned!
And so we were standing by the garage door on the inside.
“Okay, now we just have to break the window.”
“Your idea was supposed to be more discreet!” Malcolm complained.
“Well, genius, I didn’t know—“ I was interrupted by the shrill sound of shattering glass.
Reese wasted no time breaking the window and already had his arm through it to unlock the door from the inside.
The roomy garage was filled with presents, and it almost created the illusion of there being more because of how messy and crowded it was.
"Remember, mess 'em up just enough so Mom can't return them," Malcolm instructed as we rummaged through the presents and tore them apart.
A few hours later, and we had made an even bigger mess of the garage. I looked through for my name and found a thin box, I began to open it. I had another, heavier one set aside which I was assuming would be more exciting, so I was saving it for later.
I looked through for my name and found a thin box, I began to open it. I had another, heavier one set aside which I was assuming would be more exciting, so I was saving it for later.
"Wait a minute, Mom got me the exact video game I asked for." Malcolm broke the silence.
"These are better than I asked for," Dewey said quietly.
When I finally unwrapped my box, I easily pulled over the lid to see what was inside. It was what looked like a soft baby blue dress, a beautiful one at that. One I would definitely wear—I didn't even know how Lois knew to pick this out for me. I held up the dress to my frame and my heart filled up with guilt. I didn't even ask for anything and she still bothered to buy me this, just so I could encourage her disobedient sons. "She got me a dress." I turned it so they could see.
"You know what, Mom got me everything I wanted." Dewey agreed with Malcolm.
"Okay, so she got lucky a few times. I never asked for a stupid globe!" Reese said as he held up a big box.
"That's mine." I could tell Malcolm felt the same pang guilt as I had, he rummaged for something among the mess and then handed Reese a pair of fancy sneakers. "Cleats are yours... Mom really tried this year. All she wanted was a nice Christmas, and we ruined it..." he said.
"In all fairness, you guys ruin everything," I said, and they didn't bother defending themselves. It was true, not one Christmas in the 15 years I had been celebrating it with the Wilkersons had went ideally.
"Remember how happy we were a minute ago? How do we go back?" Reese looked down at his gifts.
"I don't know, do we have any paint left?" Malcolm looked up at the... art piece they had done of Lois seemingly murdering Santa Claus on the garage wall. I told them it wasn't a good idea.
Now even Christmas got depressing. "Oh, well."
We tried fixing the mess we had made when both Lois and Hal walked into the room unassumingly only to pause in shock. "Well... Hal, that was—smart of you to wake up the boys so they could... help us carry in the presents."
"Yes... yes. Well—come on, hurry up, guys!" They both stuttered and we just innocently went along with whatever they were planning.
I went home for a few minutes to put on the Christmas sweater I had ready for tomorrow and fix my hair so I could head back to their living room for an early but late night Christmas morning.
They were all raving about their presents, including Reese feigning surprise at the gifts he had already seen. Hal was even wearing a Santa Hat! I had never seen them in such a serene Christmas mood before—maybe this was as good as it got.
I actually didn't end up opening all my presents earlier at the garage, the big square box awaited my opening it patiently on the ground before me. I moved from my comfortable position on the couch down to the floor to unwrap it. 'For Tess, From Reese and Malcolm.' I smiled at the label.
It was a pristine white box, as I continued unwrapping it, I could see what exactly it was. It wasn't just any box, It's the box of a CD player. "No way!" The exclamation escaped my lips as soon as I realized what it was. Excitement buzzed in my chest.
"You just opened it?" Malcolm asked as I had caught his attention and Reese looked over too.
"Oh my god, thank you guys—I've been asking for this for over a year!" I got up to hug Malcolm while still admiring the hefty box in my hands.
"You're welcome. It was actually my idea." He smirked.
"Hey! I remembered her asking for it before you did!" Reese cut in.
"No—thank you too, Reese. The both of you, really." I smiled down at it, my mind already racing with images of me dancing to it's music and the catalogues of the albums and mixtapes I could play.
I sat back down on the couch, my leg bouncing still, and as if on cue, Reese set down his new skateboard and immediately got up to get something. When he returned, he said, "I was saving this for tomorrow, but I got you a little extra something."
I perked up at that." Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I actually saved up some money and I figured you deserve it, because I'm kind of the reason why your old one broke," He smiled proudly and handed me the small box, sitting on the ground below me. It was wrapped in a messy kind of way where you could tell the person wrapping it had no idea what they were doing, but they tried hard anyway. I could tell it held some kind of jewelry because of its size and weight.
"Ooh, what is it. Are you proposing?" I giggled as I began to open it, and he let out a nervous laugh.
“Shut up, you wish,” he half-heartedly responded before going back to intently watching.
It was just a silver necklace with a simple star charm, couldn't have been that expensive, but my heart swelled at the sight of it. I tried to recall the necklace he mentioned he'd broke, but it wasn't that significant to me anyway. It was still so sweet that he remembered, or that he felt bad enough to repay me, quite uncharacteristic of him. I felt a buzz of joy rush through me, and I beamed the biggest smile I’ve put on since getting my braces in.
"I love it! Thank you, it's even prettier than my last one." I expressed my gratitude, and his own proud smile grew even wider.
"Yeah? I knew you'd like it. You want me to help you put it on?" His demeanor turned a little nervous.
"Sure." I was a bit surprised at how pleasant he was being. His behavior did usually significantly change depending on his mood, though; so he was probably just in a really good mood because of Christmas. I turned around and held my blonde locks away from my neck. I could tell he was having some trouble with the small hook, but I waited for him a bit—he still wouldn't get it. I laughed at his struggling and he let out an embarrassed laugh too.
"Yeah, you can—you do it." He shamefully handed me the necklace and I put it on swiftly.
When it was around my neck, I looked down to admire the charm. I looked up again and my eyes landed on the brand new digital watch on his wrist. "So, you like it?" I pointed to it.
"Oh yeah, it's sick! I've been meaning to get one for the longest time. Did you know it's like a stopwatch and everything?" He fiddled with the settings for a few moments and I gave him the same proud look he was giving me just a few minutes ago.
Gift giving could be so fulfilling, even when you're not receiving anything. Just the look of joy on the person's face when you give them something they love. The twinkle in their eye as they realize, you remembered how much I want this. It's so worth it, and it was exactly how I felt at this moment, looking at him and Dewey, even Malcolm. I soaked in all the joy.
I noticed Hal grabbing a mistletoe, he placed it above him and Lois and they shared a chaste kiss. God, they were so in love, a stark contrast to the way my parents were before their divorce. It kind of hurt to look at them, wondering if I'd ever find something like that. Their family might have been dysfunctional, but I was always certain that if it weren't for the parents' love for each other, it would have been in shambles a long time ago.
Reese must have noticed them too, because he grabbed a mistletoe that was on the table and held it between us, making a ridiculous pouty face and smooching noises just a few inches from my face. I couldn't help but chuckle and give him a lighthearted disgusted face as I veered away from him. He also began laughing at his own joke and turned to look at Malcolm who joined in.
I kept looking at him though, his laughing face, still so close to me. I did it without thinking, I leaned over a little and laid a kiss on his cheek. My hand came up to cup the other side of his face to steady him for nothing more than a second, and then I pulled away with a smile which he returned but quickly averted. I could tell his face was flushed even clearer than I normally would because of the red in his shirt bringing the hue out, he didn't do a good job at hiding it.
Malcolm noticed us, and his light chuckling along with Dewey quieted down. He let out an awkward laugh at our flushed faces and the sudden silence. “Hey, what was…”
Before he could continue, Reese shoved him aggressively, sending them both tumbling down.
“Give me that book, I wanna see!” He snarled.
Me and Dewey watched and giggled at them rolling around amongst all the wrapping paper. Lois yelled at them from the kitchen.
Dewey got up, and almost stepped on my CD player box, I lunged for it. It was almost slow-motion, I could foresee him tripping on it and instantly crushing it.
I jumped over it to shield it and Dewey tripped on my back instead, taking a little fall onto his bum.
I sighed in relief. That was a close call. I sat back down on the floor and bumped into Reese, who had just gotten done with tackling Malcolm.
He gulped and scooted away a little. Weird—Reese never scoots. If anything, he was usually all up in my business. His ears were also bright red. Maybe he should get that checked out, I thought.
He didn’t talk to me for the rest of the night, he also didn’t stop hovering 4 feet away.
Yeah, I was just glad this didn’t end up being the most miserable Christmas in history.
