strangetomato | Chapter Twenty One (continued)

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.