For a certain pink hat wearing boy in Dimmsdale, life had been a succession of extreme changes, starting in his eighth year. In her desperation to get some adult time, Timmy's mother had tricked him into thinking he'd been abandoned and calling a babysitter named Vicky. After suffering at the hands of the red head for a while he found himself being introduced to a pair of crazies with crowns, wands, and wings. A quick demonstration of their abilities and he found himself accepting the pair for what they were, fairies. The type of fairies that grant wishes for the girl who couldn't go to the ball, creatures he never thought existed. Yet here he was six years later enjoying the time he got to spend with his godparents. About two years after the pair appeared in his room Timmy got a godbrother, Poof. With the exception of the hours spent at the mercy of his evil babysitter, he found the next three years very enjoyable. Trouble seemed to follow him everywhere but it always turned out alright in the end. When the red head's senior year finally ended the buck toothed boy had high hopes of her moving off far away to attend college. His hopes were crushed when he came home to his parents excitedly informing him that she would be moving in to the Turner house while she went to a local college.
Now, two years after Vicky moved in with the Turners, every child in Dimmsdale was rejoicing. Not only were some of them finally in their last week of middle school, which meant never seeing Crocker again, but their parents had told them Vicky was no longer babysitting. For Timmy and his friends the explanation was that they were old enough to look after themselves. This would be their first summer in which the red head didn't ruin the schooless months and their ears wouldn't have to suffer anymore Betty, Gary songs. While every other kid believed the lies they were told, Timmy knew the truth. Vicky was transferring to a college several hours away on a full ride scholarship. A.J. and Chester couldn't understand how she'd managed to achieve the GPA necessary for the scholarship. Their favorite theory was that she had done 'extra credit', but truth be told Vicky had simply started studying a few hours each day after a botched attempt to cheat on an exam nearly got her expelled.
To lower her rent Vicky watched Timmy for his parents on a near daily basis and did chores around the house. Shortly after moving in Vicky proposed a compromise between herself and her buck toothed charge. As long as he did her chores to allow her more time for studying then she would treat him better than in the past. It was a pretty nice arrangement, over time they found themselves studying in the same room, once in a while they even helped each other out. Of course every now and then the old Vicky raised her ugly head to remind him what she was capable of. Why she'd moved in, in the first place was still a mystery. Instead of making money off her best paying clients Vicky was now giving them money, so why not go live with her parents for free and continue using the Turners as a cash cow?
The weekend before Mr. and Mrs. Turner threw a going away party for her, all of her clients and their rather unwilling children had been invited. It was during the party that she announced that she was going to head out that week to clear her head and find work. Timmy thought she was trying to get away from her parents; they hadn't spoken to her since she moved out and Tootie wouldn't talk about it. No one asked for details from Vicky herself, but a few rumors had been started, none of them very nice.
Cosmo and Wanda had tried to get Timmy to throw a party for the kids celebrating Vicky's departure but with Poof starting fairy pre-school and Timmy's heart not in it they gave up. The two were spending less time with him lately partly because of Poof and partly because Timmy no longer felt the need to fix everything with wishes. It never bothered him not seeing his godparents, he already knew he'd have them around until he graduated. Yet it bothered him in a weird way to lose his babysitter. Perhaps because he could blame her as the cause of his problems or because she was the reason he had his faeries in the first place, come to think of it if she hadn't tortured him, Poof wouldn't exist. Something told him none of them were the real reason but he preferred pretending one of them was rather than trying to figure out the real reason. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what he found.
Now he was sitting on the stairs waiting for his parents to get home while he battled with the overwhelming boredom that had come over him. Exempt from classes that day his parents had insisted he remain at home so they could all send Vicky off properly. He had just finished loading the rental car, leaving his ex-babysitter to look through the house for any over looked items. Bored, the teen placed his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands and let out a groan. There wasn't any reason he couldn't have been out with his friends for a least part of the day. Instead he had been stuck at home getting orders barked at him left and right. Suddenly he felt his signature pink hat being taken off his head. Upon finding it hadn't been knocked down the stairs he looked up to see his ex-babysitter putting his hat on her head. Pink and red weren't meant to be together.
"Can I have my hat back?"
"I didn't hear a 'please' in there" the redhead smiled as she placed her hands on her hips. It gave Timmy a chance to really look at her. She had decided to wear her signature green shirt and black pants, as if to remind everyone of her old self, like anyone needed reminding. Although none of them ever said it outside of their circle Timmy's gang described Vicky as a fox now a days, especially when she wore her hair down. Memories of her old self were the only reason none of the teenage boys were crushing on her.
"Please?"
"Please what?"
Knowing he wasn't getting his hat back anytime soon Timmy could only watch as she walked down the stairs into the kitchen. What some of the guys at school wouldn't give for the view he got of her backside on a daily basis. Not that it mattered to Timmy; he viewed her strictly in a woman-who-ruined-six-years-of-my-childhood way. No matter how much his friends joked about it, the boy had never found himself even remotely attracted to his babysitter.
The sound of his parents' car brought him back to the present. Vicky reemerged from the kitchen with his hat in her hand and greeted his parents in that over the top sweet way from the old days. Timmy had to cough to keep himself from pretending to vomit in front of the three people who could make his life miserable. A pair of pink eyes glared at him from across the room as his parents went to get yet another going away present for their babysitter. Feigning innocence the buck tooth boy looked at his lap. The Turners came back down with a large box that they insisted not be opened until Vicky reached her apartment, then they took it out to the car.
For nearly an hour Mr. and Mrs. Turner wished Vicky good luck and said their goodbyes. Finally having enough, Vicky claimed to have left something in her room and reminded them that traffic would be terrible if she didn't leave soon. Having not left his spot Timmy was able to see the annoyed look on the young woman's face. He attempted to retrieve his hat but the redhead kept it out of reach, smiling at the half hearted attempt.
"Timmy why haven't you said goodbye to Vicky yet? We won't see her again until Christmas!" his mother said.
"I'll tell her when she really leaves" the teen mumbled.
"Oh dear look how late it is, go upstairs and help Vicky find whatever it is she's looking for Timmy" when he didn't move his mother became annoyed," now!"
After turning around to walk up the stairs Timmy rolled his eyes. He wasn't normally like this but his parents had been saying their goodbyes for a month. Vicky was standing in the hall looking into the mirror, tugging on her hair. She turned to look at him.
"Come 'ere Twerp"
Timmy froze in his tracks. As he slowly made his way over to the woman who had terrorized him for six long years, of course she wouldn't leave without one last, painful goodbye. He tried to stand up straight to hide his fear but as Vicky took a step towards him, he found himself cowering back. Vicky frowned at his reaction but she wasn't surprised by it. She motioned for him to come over. Timmy reluctantly obeyed.
"What?" his voice squeaked causing Vicky to smirk.
She put her hands on his shoulders and, ignoring his flinch, turned him so that he faced the hall mirror. Timmy couldn't believe it, at fourteen he was less than a head shorter than the demon woman…who was looking at him in a way she never had before. Her gaze was gentle, there was something like affection in her eyes or was it something else? No, that look was just an act, just like whenever she acted sweet in front of the parents' of her victims. It didn't mean anything so why did he find himself mesmerized by her stare?
After a moment Timmy's Mom yelled upstairs to see if Vicky wanted to stay for dinner. It was enough to break the spell. Timmy closed his mouth after realizing it had been wide open. He would have walked away if it weren't for Vicky's grip on him.
"I've babysat you for six years Twerp. Have to say out of all the kids I've looked after, you're the one I'll miss the most." Then she was walking away, out of his life forever. By the time Timmy moved to look down the stairs Vicky was saying her goodbyes to his parents. She looked up at him with a sad smile then walked out of the house and drove away. Once the sound of the car died Timmy realized something, Vicky had taken his hat.
