Strange Tomato (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
strangetomato) wrote2008-02-10 02:52 pm
strangetomato) wrote2008-02-10 02:52 pm
Chapter Twenty One
Warnings: language, sexual situations, drug use
Chapter Twenty One
Nervous Subject poured himself a glass of water and slowly drank it.
It felt good. Nice and cold, pouring down his throat.
"So, how do you feel today?" Pascal entered the kitchen.
"Okay."
"And how about your dreams?"
"The same."
Are they as bad as during the withdrawal?"
"No."
"Well, that's good. An improvement."
Pascal wanted to ask Nervous what had happened, but he could wait. He'd come around, all in good time. Nervous had told him that Olive had been his mother, but that was all. There was obviously more to it than that. Plenty of painful memories.
Pascal could wait.
"That graveyard is not doing you one bit of good, Nervous." Pascal observed. "I think we could make life a whole lot easier for you if we moved it, even if just to the next lot."
"Move it?"
The idea didn't appeal to him. He didn't want to meddle with the dead. He did that enough as it was.
"Yes. Move it. We can hire some people with equipment to come in and do it. We don't even have to get that involved with the details. I think it will be good for this place, and then you could do something else with the yard."
"Ophelia is quite handy with flowers and gardening, I hear. She would probably plant a garden here for you."
"Okay."
"And why don't we clean this place up? Make some changes around here? It would be nice to wash away the past, wouldn't it?"
"Yes..." Nervous looked at Pascal, and gave the tiniest of smiles. It would be very nice to wash away the past. They stood there, quietly, for a while, as Pascal mopped up the last traces of ghostly activity from the yard. After some time, Nervous spoke.
"Thank you." He said. "For helping me."
Pascal just smiled.
He didn't need to say anything else.
"Ripp, what are you doing?" Johnny asked.
Ripp was standing in the living room, staring at the vase of flowers. Flowers, he thought. How fucking weird.
"Ripp! Earth to Ripp! What the hell are you doing, you weirdo?"
"Nothing." He said. "Looking at these flowers."
"Ohhhh...kaaaay. Whatever." Sometimes it was best not to ask with Ripp.
Johnny went ahead and got started on the assignment that he needed to finish, but then realized that Ripp had started staring at him instead.
"I'm sorry... do you have a problem, Ripp?"
"No. No problem."
"Then do you MIND?"
Ripp moved along but continued to wonder why Johnny would have neglected to mention the details of alien biology to him. Sure, Johnny was pretty tight-lipped about sex in general, but come on... something like that? Was he embarrassed? Or maybe...
Maybe Johnny didn't even know. Dear god, Ripp thought. It's not like Buzz had been forthcoming with the "sex talk", and he'd caught on pretty early anyway, but this was too much. If he was able to pollinate people, he'd like to know that. If his father had something resembling a vagina, that might be nice to know too. Maybe Johnny's was dormant, or something. How did they know for sure? It might burst open at any second. Fucking crazy.
"You're still doing it, Ripp."
"Sorry, John."
"Oh, since I'm not exactly getting anywhere with this, maybe we can talk about this weekend..."
"What about it?"
"We're invited to a party."
"When?"
"Saturday night."
"Can't do it, Johnny. You know I have a gig."
"It's not a paid gig, though."
"That doesn't mean I can skip it! And we are getting paid, sort of. The sorority is supplying all of the drinks. That'll end up costing them way fucking more than paying us, when you factor in all four of us, especially Gunnar. I have never seen a man consume so much alcohol in my entire fucking life."
"When do you play?"
"Not until later on in the night."
"Couldn't we do both?" Johnny asked. "Like dinner, and then we could all go to the sorority party." That would also cut the party at Jayne's place short, which might be a good thing, if things get weird.
"YOU want to go to the sorority party?" Ripp raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why not?"
"Ummm, okay..."
"I'm not the unbearable loser that you seem to think I am, Ripp."
"Yeah, sure. Sounds fun. So where's the party?"
"It's a girl I know from the art program. She's also part alien - Jayne Doe."
"Oh, right. She does set painting sometimes."
"Yeah, and she's inviting us over. Her rommate will be there too... Stella Terrano. She's a -"
"Yeah, I know who she is."
"Oh. Okay. Is there anyone you don't know, Ripp?"
"Hardly. I am in a band, you know. And she's a girl, isn't she? I fucking notice these things, Johnny." Johnny wondered for a moment, but then decided not to ask. Ripp would definitely have said something if he had. It's not like he kept those kinds of details to himself.
"So, are you up for it?"
Oh, he was "up" for a chance to see Stella again, alright. Any time, any place. "Yeah, that sounds alright." He smiled. "Wait. If this is a big alien dinner party, does that mean I have to eat some weird birdseed or fucking lawn clippings?"
"I'll warn them about your preference for meat products of questionable origin."
"Thanks. You're my fucking hero, Johnny."
"Don't forget eggs." Ophelia said. "I noticed that we're out of them, by the way, Ripp. Did you figure out how to boil them, after?"
"Yeah. Sort of."
Buck and Jill should have been in Chemistry class, but they were in the hot tub instead. At Buck's house.
It was unusual for Buck to even dream about skipping school, but some things were worth breaking the rules for. And he'd been drifting around through his classes anyway, since his father had disappeared. It was hard to stay focussed.
And his ability to focus decreased in direct proportion to the likelihood that he might get to touch Jill's breasts, which had gone way up.
In fact, he'd crossed that bridge days ago. Now he was focusing his energy on finding ways to re-enact the same scenario.
It was surprising how quickly things could progress once the ice was broken, especially given nearly unlimited access to a perfectly deserted house. They were working their way through all of the rooms, and around the bases at the same time.
It was still a little strange to Jill, being with Buck, her best friend. Making out with him. Touching him, and having him touch her. She wasn't sure where it was going, but she liked it. She liked trying new things, and Buck was pretty open to doing them. It was easy. She didn't feel nervous at all.
But what were they now? Still just friends, who happened to be experimenting with each other? Or more? She knew how Buck felt, but she hadn't agreed to be his girlfriend. And he hadn't asked her, either.
She liked Buck, she really did, and it felt good to be with him. It felt good when he touched her.
But what about Ripp?
There was something about that. It had been different. Being with Buck felt right, but being with Ripp had also felt wrong. Wrong in a good way.
But what did that matter now? It''s not like Ripp had called her. He probably wouldn't. She wasn't completely stupid. And there was no way she could see both of them at the same time. Even if they weren't brothers, it would be difficult. None of that was worth a second thought. Why think about anything?
Why think, when it was so much better to act? She would live for the moment, and let her heart guide her.
Ripp was on his way to meet up with his band, and saw that Tank was taking out the garbage at that exact moment.
"Hard at it, I see, Tank."
"Well, you know what they say about idle hands, Ripp."
"Don't I fucking know it."
"Band practice?"
"Yeah."
"Look, I know you practise on the roof because there's no room anywhere else, but does it have to be so loud?"
"Sure, Tank. We'll rock out a little more quietly, just for you."
"Well..."
"Oh fuck off, Tank. You don't play that sort of thing quietly."
"It's just distracting when I'm working on assignments."
Ripp sighed.
"But play as loudly as you want today. We're going into Sim City."
"Oh, WE are are we?" Ripp smiled. "You must have a lot of fun on these outings."
"Well, yeah. How often did we ever go back into the city once we got to Strangetown?" He was about to say that their mother used to take them sometimes, but didn't.
"Anywhere is more exciting than Strangetown." Ripp declared.
Tank didn't say anything, but silently agreed.
"We're actually going into the city today too." Ripp said. "We're meeting up with a band that's considering us as their opening act for a couple of big shows."
"Really..." Tank had no idea that Ripp was actually going anywhere with this band thing. "That's pretty impressive, Ripp."
"Yeah. I'm not as fucking useless as you think I am, am I?" Ripp grinned. "Well, have a merry, gay old time, Tank! I'll see you around."
"Yeah... don't be a stranger, Ripp."
Ripp's smile shifted from a mocking one to a real one. "Okay, Tank. I'll do that."
Tank entered the house to find Frances waiting for him. "Are you just about ready to go, Tank?"
"Yeah."
"So, you don't mind dropping in to see my sister between errands, do you?"
"Not at all. I've subjected you to my relatives a couple of times, haven't I? And they even invaded your house."
"I like your brothers."
Tank laughed. "Yeah, when they aren't showing up to make some big scene in the hallway here."
"I'm ready to go whenever you are."
"Ripp is here, Jax! You can stop throwing that fit now, sweetie!" Zoe yelled up the stairs as Ripp entered the room.
"She's out for blood today, and you're late. Again."
She headed over to the bubble blower.
"Sim City is not going anywhere." He said as he took a seat next to her.
"We're talking about Jaxy, right?" Zoe laughed. "Like that matters." She inhaled deeply.
"Besides, we did agree to meet the members of Llama Dance Party at a specific time."
"Yeah, I suppose." Ripp said as he exhaled.
"Gunnar said he isn't fucking coming!" Jaxy fumed, as she entered the room. "Fucking jackass."
"He's just hungover."
"He's still fucking drunk!" Jaxy laughed. "But he never wants to do any of the actual business of the band. And he's got issues with the 'chick band' that we're meeting with."
"They're a great band."
"Well, fuck yeah, they are. One of the best. Gunnar's just being a fucking dick about it. Fuck him!" Jaxy sidled up to the bubble blower. "Once I clear my head, let's get the fuck out of here."
She took the longest, deepest drag that Ripp had ever witnessed.
After a couple more, they were ready to leave.
Soon they found themselves killing time in the Hortense & Mortimer clothing chain next to the cafe where the would meet the band.
"Let's see how well Ripp cleans up." Zoe said, with a laugh, as she grabbed a handful of items. "Here - put this on."
She ushered him into the change room with his arms full of clothing, and he soon found himself trying on a rather interesting outfit.
"These pants are something else, Zoe." Ripp laughed. "Where the fuck did you even find them?"
"Want to do up at least one or two buttons on the shirt, Ripp?!" Jaxy retched. "I don't need to see all seven of your fucking chest hairs, honey."
"Eat a dick, Jaxy."
"I actually quite like it, Jax." Zoe said, with a smirk. "He looks like one of those Harlequin romance cover studs. Ripp could totally be one of those guys, with all the cherries he's popped."
"Fuck - I could be one of those guys, in that case." Jaxy added.
"But Ripp doesn't wait for chapter 18, do you, Ripp?" She chuckled. "Needs a tan, though... and maybe we could grease him up a bit more."
"No, he's fucking greasy enough." Jaxy groaned.
"Yeah, it is pretty fucking hot, isn't it?" He said. "Well, when you're good, you're good." He eyed himself in the mirror, clearly in love with what he saw. Then he gave the outfit some more consideration too.
"Errr, I don't know about this..." He laughed. "I think I look like a bit of a knob, really."
"Sure do, Ripp."
"Were you ever planning to fucking tell me?"
"No. It would be more fun to see you make an ass of yourself."
"Dream on, bitches."
Jaxy came out of the change room and started laughing. "Hey look! I'm Sarah Love." They all started dying with laughter.
"No, she wouldn't show that much skin!"
"So this is what it feels like to be a fucking 'good girl'? It's really fucking overrated."
"Well, just think off all the blue balls you can leave in your wake." Zoe laughed. "Being a big tease."
"Well, they can keep their fucking balls in their pants - I don't care what fucking colour they are... but what's the fun in being a tease?"
"Well, the fun would be in crushing someone like Ripp's dreams of having you."
"Oh that's right! Ripp was after her, wasn't he?" Jaxy laughed heartily.
He smiled. "Yeah, and you'd better be careful with that sweet innocent dress on... there are a lot of nasty boys out here who might want to have a piece of that."
"I'd like to see them fucking try."
"Wow. There are some seriously wild outfits in this store." Zoe said, as she emerged from the change room in another crazy get-up. This one contained nearly every colour in the rainbow, and didn't cover all that much.
"So what do you think, Ripp?" She winked at him. "Too much skin or not enough?"
"You can never show too much skin for me. You know that." He laughed. He tried not to stare directly at her mostly exposed breasts, but they did basically have bulls-eyes on them. Zoe could see him struggling at the challenge, and she smiled.
"Yeah, not bad, are they?"
Ripp said nothing, but raised his eyebrows in approval.
Ripp tried to ignore it as much as he could, but there was no denying his attraction to Zoe, and she gave off plenty of suggestive signals to him. It went back to the day that he had first tried out for the band. It hadn't been fear that he was stiff from.
Still, there weren't many ideas that Ripp could think of that were worse than flirting with Jaxy's girlfriend. It would be similar in effect to shaking a hornet's nest. Zoe, however, flirted with him all of the time, and Jaxy didn't make an issue of it. It clearly annoyed her, but she tolerated it because Zoe was naturally flirtatious. Ripp had a little wiggle room because of that, but he knew that she was definitely keeping a close eye on the situation.
He knew that the whole open relationship thing had her a bit peeved too. It played into her fears that Zoe wasn't in it for the long haul. She had already confessed to him, in a moment of drunken weakness, that she really did worry that Zoe might be nothing more than a dabbler. Someone who played around with their sexuality in college, only to later settle down into a traditional, and very heterosexual, relationship.
Jaxy tried on a number of things, and declared each one to be more "fucking ridiculous" than the last.
"Wait. This is the worst thing I've ever fucking seen. I have to try it on."
"Well, what do you think?"
"Wow, that is ugly." Remarked Zoe.
"Really?!" She pretended to take offense. "You don't LOVE my fucking cream terrycloth jumpsuit with the elastic waist?"
They errupted into fits of laughter, causing some of the sales associates to glance over at them. They were already being watch fairly closely, since they were all in the male changing area together.
"God, I always get pieces of crap stuck in my fucking teeth..." She said as she looked in the mirror.
"Maybe don't eat so much crap, then."
"Har har! Very amusing, Ripp."
"Those boots are cool, though, Jax."
"Yeah, they're alright. I have no time for boots. Too fussy. Give me a good pair of sneakers any day. I'll fucking gladly leave things like boots and shoes to girly girls like you."
"All jokes aside, I have the perfect thing for you, Ripp." Jaxy said. "Fucking awesome."
She forced the pile of clothes into his arms, and sent him in.
"Speaking of greasing people down..." He laughed. "I almost needed to grease my legs to get them into these pants, Jax! This leaves absolutely nothing to the fucking imagination."
"It's good advertising for you, Ripp." Zoe said.
"I don't need to fucking advertise, thank you very much! I get by quite well on word of mouth."
"Still, a girl likes to know what she's getting into..."
"If she needs to know that badly, I can tell her. I think they generally get the right impression." He tossed his hair back. He hadn't received any complaints so far, anyway. "Like I said, word of fucking mouth. You're not going to tell me that girls don't talk about that, are you? That's bullshit. I've heard them" He paused.
"And it's not all about size, you know. Technique matters too."
"Spoken like a man with only two inches of cock." Zoe laughed.
"Hey!" Ripp protested. "I obviously have more than that! Can't you see?" He made a sweeping gesture to where it was all clearly on display.
"Okay, sorry... THREE inches."
"Fuck you." He said. "It's limp anyway. It doesn't count."
"It'll be limp forever if you don't stop talking about it!" Jaxy roared. "God, It's like a fucking member of the band, and I'm forced to hang out with it."
"Yeah, a 'member' of the band..." Zoe laughed at her own joke.
"I look like a douche." He said. "I'm changing."
"You look cool, Ripp. Skinny jeans are in. It's a fucking great look."
"You only think that because I look fucking exactly like you do. You've basically dressed me up as a male version of you, Jax."
"Well, it's a fucking sweet look, that's why."
"I'm changing." Ripp said, as he headed for changing booth. "I'm not dainty enough to carry this off."
"You calling me fucking dainty, Ripp?"
"Yes."
"Look, Jax. You, at least, have a nice little perky, FEMALE ass. Nobody needs to see the outline of a man's ass like that." Ripp wagged it at her to cries of disgust. "Except maybe my brother's roommate."
"Frances Worthington?"
"The one and only."
"Your brother REALLY doesn't fucking know?"
"No fucking idea."
"How stupid is he?" Zoe asked.
"Very."
'The thing you need to know about Tank is that he's about as sensitive as a fucking brick. And about as socially clueless as a newborn baby."
"Fucking hilarious."
"They're in town today, actually, shopping together." Ripp snickered. "Tank wouldn't pick up on it unless Frances took him shopping for gay porn, I'm pretty sure. Even then, maybe not. He's a dumbass."
"You know, I used to think the letters stood for Hot and Moist." Zoe laughed.
"That's awesome." Ripp said. "I'd buy way more fucking clothes there, if that was the name."
"Everybody would."
"So where are we meeting the girls?" Ripp asked.
"At the coffee shop next door."
"What a great day for you, Ripp." Zoe said. "Just you and the girls."
"It's ALWAYS just Ripp and the girls, isn't it?" Jaxy said. "Ripp IS one of the fucking girls."
"Works for me." He said. "It beats hanging out with a bunch of ugly guys all day." They walked up the steps of the coffee shop and went inside.
Llama Dance Party was already waiting for them inside.
"Hi, I'm Jaxy." She said. "We're not fucking late, are we? We got a bit sidetracked..."
"No, we're just early. Please, have a seat." The woman at the head of the table gestured to the empty chairs. "So, you're familiar with the band, I assume, but I'll introduce everyone anyway, just in case."
"I'm Debbie."
"This is Cammy."
"And that's Edie."
"Nice to meet you, finally! I'm such a huge fan." Jaxy said. "I might not have fucking survived high school if I didn't have your music to get me through it."
Debbie smiled. "That's always the best compliment." She looked around the table. "So this is The Shifting Paradymes. I'm been hearing a lot of good things about you, and we just loved the demo you sent us. I thought there was supposed to be four of you, though..."
"Yeah, Gunnar couldn't make it. Oh, and this is Zoe, and that's Ripp."
"Nice to meet you. Let's get talking about these shows, shall we?"
They discussed the upcoming shows, and continued to chat in more details about the bands. Several hours passed, until finally, a woman showed up to interrupt them.
"Hey Edie, are you forgetting something?"
"Oh, crap, Val! I totally lost track of time! He's going to be waiting on the doorstep like a sad little boy..." She got up from the table. "Are you coming now too, Cammy? Or are you going somewhere else first?"
"No, I'll come with."
The girls all headed off in their separate directions, leaving the Shifting Paradymes to discuss the situation. "Well, I think that went rather well." Zoe smiled.
"Yeah, it's fucking sweet." Jaxy beamed. "Opening for such an awesome band. I'm pumped."
"The girls were nice too."
"Yeah, they're super fucking cool."
"The drummer was fucking hot." Ripp grinned. "She seems familiar to me, somehow..."
"Ripp, honey, she's gay."
"What?! Her?"
"Uh huh... gay all over. Her girlfriend's a lesbian too." Jaxy and Zoe started laughing violently at Ripp's expense.
"She was flirting with me."
"Ripp you think that EVERYONE is fucking flirting with you! She was just being friendly. It's not a fucking ticket to jump into bed with her."
"Well, that's how it usually works..."
"Ripp, no..." Zoe laughed. You probably launch into your routine after you think they're flirting with you, and then they see that you're flirting with THEM. It just so happens that they end up being interested after you bring it up."
"They flirt with me, dammit! I'm not some fucking sexual predator, like you're making it sound."
"Maybe not a predator as much as a fucking scavenger. You swoop in to collect, whenever you see an opportunity. Anything will do."
"You're both fucking assholes. Like you're any better..."
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings, Ripp?" Jaxy laughed.
"No." He sulked.
"Go home and fucking cry about it, honey."
"That's funny. It's not like her to do this. She's usually here when she says she will be. She's pretty punctual."
A voice called out from behind him. "Who is that that handsome fellow waiting by my doorstep?"
"Frances!" She pretended to be surprised. "It's been way too long!"
"Sorry I'm late." She said. "You'll stay for dinner, right? We're ordering Chinese."
"Sure. That's sounds fine. You don't mind, do you, Tank?"
"Not at all."
"So Frances has mentioned me, right? I'm sure he has. Or he's mentioned his abundance of sisters, anyway, I'm sure." Edie said. Tank nodded.
"So, which sister are you?" Tank ventured.
"Edie's the middle girl." Frances said.
"Yeah, the troublemaker." Val laughed. "You know - the middle child. Always looking for attention."
"Heh. Yeah. It's like my brother, Ripp."
"Ripp?!"
"Yeah, I know - we have weird names."
"No, it's just - I just met your brother! I met him today. What an odd coincidence. Ripp Grunt, right?"
"How..." Tank was dumbfounded. His brother didn't get around THAT much, did he? Then he clued in. "Oh. Are you in the band that was meeting with his band today?"
"Yeah, I'm the drummer. Cammy, here, is the guitarist, so you're looking at most of the band right now."
"So, how did it go?" Tank asked.
"Oh, quite well. We really like their band. They're quite talented." Edie said. "Didn't you think so, Cammy?"
"Oh, definitely. And they're also very... interesting." She laughed
"Yeah, they're pretty funny characters." Edie smiled. "But that's good. They have personality. Probably good stage presence too."
"They'll draw in the college crowd too." Val added, from the other side of the couch.
"Exactly."
Edie looked at Tank more closely.
"You don't really look like him, do you? But there's something... maybe around the eyes? You both have those pretty blue eyes."
Frances tried not to sigh audibly.
Tank didn't saying anything. He just smiled. His mother's blue eyes.
While Tank was lost in thought, Frances used the opportunity to glance over at him. It wasn't just the eyes. It was everything. All of his features. His skin. His stance. The sound of his voice, so calm and meek. Everything about Tank Grunt was something that Frances admired and wanted, one way or another.
He was beautiful.
Tank went upstairs to use the bathroom. He had wanted to wash his hands anyway, since his clumsy chopstick handling had left him with no choice but to involve his fingers a couple of times.
"So, tell me, Frances. Is Tank a 'roommate', like Val, or just an actual roommate?"
"Just a roommate."
"Oh really... But you obviously have the raging bolt for him, right?" Frances jumped a little, but tried to play it off as if he was cool.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"You're as transparent as glass to me, Frances. You're my little brother. I can see you mentally undressing him a mile away."
"I'm not THAT obvious, am I?"
"Well, not to him, it seems. But to me, you are." Frances seemed slightly relieved.
"Okay. Yes. Obviously. I like him."
"Look, he's a nice guy, and I can see that he's totally your type. The strong, silent type. Clean-cut and handsome. Straight as a ruler."
"You think?!"
"Oh, Frances. He's straight, dear." Frances frowned.
"Really? I don't know about that..."
"You never developed gaydar, did you? You poor thing. You have to get over your straight boy obsession. Go to a gay club, or something. Look around."
"That's so contrived, Edie. And I'm not one for that whole 'scene' anyway."
"I know you're not. But still..." She sighed.
"You're just setting yourself up for heartbreak, Frances. You know it. Please don't turn into the sort of bitter old man that never even had a date because he spent his life chasing straight boys."
"You made that up."
"Look into it."
"Anyway, I have had a date, for your information."
"Oh, right. Summer camp. If Daddy only knew what he was paying for with those, he'd have sent us to that other kind of camp, where they 'convert' you." They shared a little laugh.
"I'm sure he would have."
"And I would have had no trouble finding a girlfriend at one of those either, I'm sure."
"I had it easy. Nobody suspects that the girl sleeping over with their daughter is doing anything other than sleeping. It's more accepted that girls will be close. It was a lot harder for you, Frances. It still is."
"No kidding."
"And I never had to worry about inheriting a simoleon more than my 'fair' share as a daughter." She smiled, kindly. "I don't envy you at all."
"If only Lillian felt the same way..."
"Lillian will have no trouble making her own fortune, I'm sure. If the number of people you're willing to destroy to get there is a factor, she's set. She's also dating a successful athlete now. You know that she's happier than a pig in shit."
"I can imagine." He quite enjoyed the image of his oldest sister sitting in piles of excrement, in fact.
Tank quietly descended the stairs and entered the room. He looked so attractive to Frances, when he glanced over at him, that he wanted to die. Was he really just straight, like Edie said? Maybe Frances was kidding himself. Would it have taken him so long to figure it out if he really was gay? Even a tiny, tiny bit queer?
But there was the father thing. There was that. And those things Tank said, and the way he had said them. Was he just hearing what he wanted to hear?
Edie looked at him and smiled. She could obviously read his mind, at least on some level, because she shook her head and sighed.
"I'm just concerned about you, Frances."
"I know."
"You look after yourself, now, okay?"
"Yes, of course, Edie."
"Drop in to see me anytime."
Circe stepped out onto her veranda and felt the cooling night air. It felt good to leave the Beaker place behind. Now she could just move on.
Where would she go from here? She knew that the baby would be coming soon. Very soon.
She had buried Loki's remains in the courtyard. She could have left him on his family property, and maybe he would have wanted it that way, but she couldn't bear to leave him behind. Even dead, she wanted him near her. Loki. Her lover. Her great, brilliant Loki.
It wasn't often that anyone would catch Circe Beaker crying, and maybe she wouldn't have even been doing it if anyone had been around, but this was the one person that she had really cared about. The lives and deaths of everyone else were meaningless to her.
Loki had been all that mattered to her.
"Loki, my love." She spoke to the stone marker. "What will I do now?" There was no answer, and she didn't expect one, but she kept talking.
"I have taken care of your creations. Your sister, bless her soul, agreed to take them into her care, after some persuasion. She will do as she's told, my love. Your dear, beloved sister." She sighed. "One day, I will find someone to carry on your work. Someone will show some promise, my darling, and when I find that person, I will insure that they cooperate. They will carry on your work." She paused.
"Also..."
"I will see to it that your death is avenged. One way or another, my love. Your enemies will pay dearly."
Tank was working on an assignment, while Frances tidied up things at his dresser.
"I think I hear something downstairs..." Tank said.
"That's weird."
"You don't think it might be someone in the house?"
"Like a burglar?" Frances gasped.
"I'll go check it out..." Tank got up, went down the stairs, and then stopped dead in his tracks.
"What the fuck?!"
Ripp was sitting in the living room, playing SSX. "Ripp! What the hell are you doing here?"
"What the fuck does it look like I'm doing?! I'm beating your high score." Tank sighed.
"Okay, but why are you even in my house?"
"I'm pretty sure this is Worthington's house, Tank, and I was just next door, so I thought I'd drop in."
"You could have called."
"You're my fucking brother, Tank! Why would I need to call?"
"Well, it might be nice to at least let someone know that you're here before you just settle in to play video games."
"Okay, I won't play it, then."
"No, not on the floor!"
"Well, where else am I going to fucking put it?! Up my ass?"
"Put it away! Over there, next to the console, where it belongs!" Ripp did not do that, and instead walked over to Tank.
"It's good to see you, Tank."
"What the fuck are you on, Ripp?" Tank didn't even realize how accurately his chosen expression hit the nail on the head.
"What do you mean?" Ripp laughed, giddily. Like he would give Tank a catalogue of what he had been using to alter his mind. It was just a little bubble blowing, anyway. Like it had that much of an effect.
"I'm just fucking happy to see you! Fuck, Tank. What's your fucking problem?"
Tank was touched, though still somewhat confused by Ripp's actions. "Well, okay. It's nice to see you too. It was just a little strange, that's all."
"Well, you said not to be a fucking stranger, so that's what I'm doing."
"Okay... I just -"
"You're just being a dick about it."
Tank didn't really know what to say. He had always wished that Ripp would treat him like an equal, and here he was, but the reality of that was a lot more annoying than he'd imagined it would be.
"Where the fuck do you keep the gold-plated toilet in this palace? I need to take a piss."
"Upstairs." Tank groaned. "Top of the stairs, on the left. It's the first thing you see."
"Thanks, bro."
Ripp stomped his way up the stairs. And Tank soon found himself in the middle of his second actual conversation with Ripp in one day.
"And so, we're playing at the party tomorrow night."
"At the sorority?"
"Yeah... Hey, you should come!"
"Well, I have an assignment to work on."
"Oh, right... you're doing school work on Saturday night. Of course. And here I was, thinking it was supposed to be a night to go out, or something. Oh, Fuck off, Tank!"
"But it's due on -"
"You're such a loser."
"No, I'm not. I am not a loser, Ripp."
"You never go out. You never see anyone. I would call that a fucking loser, Tank! You need to get out more."
"Look, I get out plenty."
"The army base doesn't count, Tank. And who have you fucking seen besides Frances in the past week? Honestly?"
"We'll there are some people in my study group that I see."
"A study group?!" He smirked. "That's so exciting."
"Well, no. I guess it isn't exciting... but I'm busy, Ripp."
"You need to fucking get out more, Tank." Tank kept sputtering. "Desperately."
"I know..." He said. "What you really need to do, clearly, is get fucking laid."
"What?!" Tank said, through his teeth. His body went ice cold. It was like a nightmare.
"Seriously... when was the last time you fucked anyone?"
Tank said nothing.
"Nooooooo... WHAT?!"
"I'm not having this discussion with you."
"You NEVER have?!"
"I didn't say that! I just don't want to talk about this with you!"
"You're a fucking VIRGIN, Tank?" Ripp couldn't believe it. Johnny was one thing, but his own brother too? Johnny, at least, had the alien heritage bullshit to back him up. Still pretty fucking lame, but he had a reason, anyway. What was Tank's excuse? That just reflected badly on the Grunt family name.
"Please tell me you've at least gotten your hands a little dirty, or something..."
"Yeah, sure." He lied. "I've done plenty..."
"God, I hope so." Frances walked into the conversation, somewhat reluctantly, once he realized what it was about.
"Hey Frank! Did you realize that you were living with such a rare specimen?" He added. "I can call you Frank, right? No offense, but Frances sounds a bit fancy for me. Just seems a little... you know, queer."
Frances coughed when he said the last word.. "Yes, that's fine, Ripp. Frank is fine."
"Hey - Frank and Tank! You two make a great pair!" Ripp let out a fit of giggles, then continued. "I'll bet Frank over here gets around. You're a real lady killer, aren't you, Frank?"
Frances just smiled, nervously.
"See... he obviously is. So what's your fucking problem, Tank?"
"Errr..."
"Well, now you really have to go to the party. I'm fucking making you go. If you can't get any sweet, sweet action at a sorority party, then you may as well just give up. It's the perfect opportunity for a hopeless cause like you."
"Shut up, Ripp. I'm not a hopeless cause."
"Well, you clearly need some help, Tank. You have to fucking agree with me there. I can help scope out the situation for you, if you want, but don't be getting with any of the same girls I have, okay? That would just be fucking weird." Tank wondered how many options that could possibly leave him with.
"I really doubt we have the same taste in women, Ripp." Definitely not, Ripp thought. He wouldn't exactly be introducing his brother to Stella anytime soon.
"Yeah. No doubt."
"Well, I'd better take off before Johnny and Phi send a fucking search party out looking for me." He said. "Make sure you're at the party, Tank. Or I'm going to come over here to get you."
"Okay, Ripp."
Tank saw him to the door, and after it closed behind him, he stood there, stunned. How random. Not that he could complain. It was exactly what he wanted, wasn't it? A chance to actually spend time with Ripp and his friends? It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
"So, are you really going to go to the sorority party?"
"Yeah, why not? I guess so, Worthington." Tank smiled. "I hardly ever hang out with Ripp."
"Are you planning to take him up on that offer?" Frances ventured, a little reluctantly.
"Heh." Tank said. "I doubt it. I'm not exactly like that." He could never sleep with someone he'd just met, like Ripp did.
Frances considered what he said, and how he might interpret it.
"Are you planning to go too?" Tank asked.
"To the sorority?" Frances arched a brow. "I don't know... It sounds pretty unbearable."
"Well, you'll never know unless you check it out for yourself."
"No." Frances agreed. "You're right. It's always a good idea to give something a chance before you decide."
"I'd feel a lot better about it if I had a friend to go with." Tank said it casually, and left the room to get a snack.
A friend. Frances smiled.
The party didn't really sound so bad, afterall.
(Continue to Chapter 22 (part 1)...)
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