This is my May flashfic for lizwinlove/Jennifer (who I think is JanetBanana on – sorry if I'm wrong). Writing Marti was definitely out of my comfort zone…but this was a fun. Hope you enjoy it.
No Stepbrother, No Pony: A Marti Story
Here it was, a bright and sunny Thursday and Martina Venturi was frustrated.
Oh, it wasn't obvious to people who didn't know her, but Martina – Marti to her friends and family – was very frustrated. Why? On the surface, it didn't look like anything could be possibly wrong with her life. She was beautiful. She was successful, both academically and socially. She was popular. She had an amazing family. But, you see, there was a sorority dance…the social event of the semester coming up. And our heroine Marti didn't have a boyfriend or a date.
It's not that the freshman didn't have options. Of course she did, even if she insisted that she didn't. She might say that she just didn't understand how to go about finding "the one", not that anyone believes that. Her best friend-
"Will stop being my best friend, if you don't quit with the narration," an annoyed eighteen year old Marti growled at the perky red-head in front of her.
"Come on, Marti, you had to admit that you were enjoying my story-telling," the narrator said as she sat down at the café table across from her friend.
"Since when do I have to lie, Ciaran?" Marti responded to her friend.
"Hmph! Critics. Can't see a good story in front of them if they tried," Ciaran shook her head. "You were probably too close to the story, anyway,"
"Ya think?" Marti responded with a lift of her eyebrow and an annoyed look.
Her friend shrugged. "Was I right about the reason you are frustrated?"
"You aren't helping, you know."
"I'm not sure why you are so bummed about the whole thing. Boyfriends are more trouble than they are worth," Ciaran continued as if her friend hadn't responded.
"What part of the combination of 'not' and 'helping' did you not get?"
"I mean, think about it. With a boyfriend you have to pat it on the head when it does good. Let it know when it's done something so obviously wrong, but that somehow flies over its head. You occasionally have to feed it; talk it out for walks; make sure it doesn't jump on other women walking by-"
"What are we talking about?" a male voice said from behind the two friends as two arms wrapped around Ciaran.
"Ciaran's new dog," Marti shared sarcastically as Ciaran shot her a glare.
"You have a dog, sweetie? Since when?"
"I don't have a dog, James," Ciaran turned to look at Marti. "She's just trying to be funny."
"Well, as long as my girlfriend and her best friend are happy," James replied.
"Are you always this agreeable?" Marti groaned as she looked at the significant other of her friend. She didn't like him, she'd decided that a few weeks after they'd met. She had never told Ciaran what she thought about her boyfriend, in part because she couldn't tell if the dislike stemmed from jealously that Ciaran had a boyfriend or if James really was an asshole. She did have asshole radar. She had immediately disliked Snot and Max and the idiot Kyle that Lizzie tried to date for a half second. But she hadn't wanted a boyfriend when she was forced to meet those idiots.
She sighed.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be enough to trigger James' inquisitive side. "So, what's going on?"
"Marti's upset because she doesn't have a date to the KKG formal yet."
"Ciaran!"
"Really? That's surprising. I figured you would have just crooked your finger and found somebody by now," James shared.
If she was feeling more like herself that day, she probably would have channeled her sister and shouted (complete with glare) 'And just what is that supposed to mean?!' The whole thing just really made her tired. "I'm going to head back to my room now," she told Ciaran.
"Okay…but if you want to talk," Ciaran offered.
Marti nodded and she picked up her books and walked away, knowing that there was no way she was going to talk with Ciaran about her misgivings. One, because she didn't want James to know about them and Ciaran would definitely tell him. But also, because she wasn't sure Ciaran could help her. She met James met when they lived on the same hall for a summer program. So yeah, she lived with her now boyfriend for a while too.
And that was the heart of Marti's problem, so she thought.
She really didn't have time to flesh out her thoughts more clearly before she was back at her dorm room. She opened the door to find her roommate Sarah, lying on her bed texting away. "Hi, Sarah."
"Oh, hey Marti. Quick, I need your advice," the bouncy blonde shared as she sat up. "Do I go clubbing with the hot exchange student or 'study' – haha – with the brooding English grad student?"
"Wait. What happened to the junior SAE fraternity vice-president?"
Sarah snorted, "That was yesterday. So, thoughts?"
"The exchange student. Less potential trouble that way."
"But no walk on the wild side either. Oh well, you're probably right," Sarah agreed as she went back to texting.
Marti groaned and collapsed at her desk.
"Oh," Sarah said as she passed Marti a piece of paper. "Before you get too comfortable, you might want to return this call."
Taking the note for her roommate, she scanned it before looking at Sarah in shock. "How did Casey give you a message for me? I had my cell phone with me. I mean I'd been meaning to call her back-"
"Yeah, and since you didn't call her back, or respond to her texts, emails, or IMs, she called on the room phone."
Marti turned to stare at the antiquated land-line phone that was standard in all of the rooms. "That thing actually works?"
"Apparently. It scared the crap out of me when it rang, too. But call your sister, please. She was babbling about planning some surprise party for her husband and his 'Smarti' needing to be there and then something about their dog Bob or….I lost the train of thought. She threatened to sic your brother on you next."
"So I better call her, yeah. If she tells my older brother she can't find me, he'll call the campus police looking for me."
"Is your entire family as uptight as your sister? I mean, she's sweet and very together…but the babbling and worrying about how she comes across-"
Marti laughed at Sarah's question. "She's actually gotten better with age and no, the rest aren't like Casey at all. Although they are a little different."
Sarah was Marti's second roommate and therefore hadn't had the pleasure of meeting the entire Venturi clan. Marti's first roommate, Trista, had. Not that it mattered, as Trista was now gone…in part because she was a little high strung on move-in day.
Marti hadn't liked Trista on sight. Casey asked Marti to give it a chance and
Edwin slid Marti a copy of the room change policy he'd seen in the housing materials…just in case. Liz insisted on looking on the bright side, saying that move-in was stressful and Trista was probably just having an off-day. Marti wasn't sure that her father or Nora realized that she wasn't happy.
Derek – he was still Smerek to her in her head – had asked her why she didn't like Trista. Marti had replied that Trista was crazy.
And when Trista was removed from the two days later for a psychotic episode, Marti had wanted to say she told them so. She was very good at reading people, after all.
Sarah was Trista's polar opposite. Happy, overly-involved, and refreshingly normal, Sarah reminded Marti a lot of home. She went through boys like Smerek used to go through girls when he was in high school. And she passionate about her causes, reminding Marti of Liz. And Sarah probably wasn't going to have a breakdown anytime soon.
Because Sarah hadn't moved in until late November, she'd only had the chance to meet Casey, who had come down to pick Marti up for Christmas. All the Venturis in one place might still be a little too much for Sarah to handle at this point.
"So, why have you been avoiding Casey's calls?"
"Because she's going to ask about the dance coming up. And I don't have a date yet."
"Still? Why not? I sure there are plenty of guys who would want to take you."
"I don't want to fight off a Mr. Grabby-Hands all night. I would actually like to begin something more serious than the 'can we get drunk and get into each others' pants' game that is so overdone."
"Huh?"
"I'd like a boyfriend. And I have no idea how one goes about and gets one," Marti finally shared as she slumped over her desk.
"Wow. Can't help you there. Commitment gives me hives."
"I noticed."
"But wait," the blonde said as she tossed her cell on her desk, obviously ignoring texting for a real conversation, "aren't all of your siblings married or something? Can't they help?"
"Derek and Casey are married. Liz and Ed are just engaged. And no they can't help."
"Why not? Are they not interested in your problem?"
"No, no. It's not that. They have always cared about me. Especially Derek. But even if they tried to help, they would only make it worse."
"Well, can't you ask them how they met their spouses or future spouses?"
"That's the problem. Although Liz and Casey would want to help, they would end up saying the same useless thing, essentially. In fact, I could probably combine what they'd say in one paragraph."
Marti took a deep breath, and then, alternating between her "Liz" and her "Casey' voice, she said, "How did I meet the right guy for me? Well, when we moved here when I was twelve. When we were forced to leave Toronto with Mom when I was fifteen. We teamed up on a lot of things, mainly for survival. We fought like cats and dogs because he thought this was his kingdom and I was just living in it. All of the game closet conversations about Derek and Casey and the other house mysteries, between all of the shouting matches, with the random sweet acts hidden in-between, we just looked up one day and found each other." Marti groaned. "So not helpful. And Ed would probably turn six colors if I asked him that question and then demand to know if Liz or Derek put me up to it. Derek would just say I shouldn't even think about dating one of those filthy boys until I was at least thirty."
Sarah blinked a few times. "Wait, I'm lost. Your sisters moved in with their boyfriend at twelve and fifteen? How is that even possible?"
"I never did tell you, did I?" Marti said after a few beats of silence.
"Tell me what?" Sarah asked.
"Well, you've heard me say that Casey's my double sis, right?"
"Yeah. But I thought you meant that she nosey enough – I mean – that she takes care of you enough for two sisters."
Marti laughed. "Casey probably does mettle enough for two, but that's not exactly what I meant. You see, Casey and Liz are my stepsisters. Their mother married my dad when I was six."
"Okay," Sarah nodding while signaling with her hands she wanted to hear more.
"Casey's also my sister-in-law and Liz soon will be. Casey married my brother Derek a year ago. Liz is going to marry my brother Ed in the summer, after they finish their graduate studies at Western."
"Whoa. Your step-sisters married your brothers?"
"Pretty much."
"And they'd moved in with you and your brothers when your father married their mother?"
"When I was six, yeah."
"Wow."
"I know….I didn't weird you out, did I?" Marti asked.
"Actually…no. It sounds kind of sweet. And rather convenient. Move in early with the man you are destined to be with and get the whole living together thing worked out first. I mean, they saw the good, the bad, and the ugly-"
"All before the first date. And the people they dated before they ended up together? Sure there were like a few good people in there - I mean Sally, Noel, Sam, Michelle and Jamie were okay – but they really dated some awful people in the mix. And the good people they did date, weren't really for them. Which. Makes. Them. Useless."
"And there's isn't a stepbrother for you out there?"
"No!" Marti whined at her roommate. "Mom hasn't remarried; she stopped looking years ago. And Nora was not considerate enough to have a son for me. I mean really. She brings life partners for Smerek and Ed and just gives me a pretty purple dress. I mean, you would think I could have at least gotten a pony out of the deal. I did keep asking for one."
"Sucks to be you, huh."
"Seems to."
"Well, I see why you might be putting off the Casey talk, but call her please. Before she tried to reach you on that antique by the window again."
Marti nodded and reached for her cell. Before she could call Casey, however, the phone buzzed. Looking at the number, Marti smiled. She'd take that call first. Getting up from her desk to move to her bed, she picked up Sir Monks A Lot with one hand while she accepted the call with the other.
"Hi, Dimi," she said into the phone.
"Dimitri. It's Dimitri," a familiar male voice groused. "Why do I always have to tell you that?"
Marti snorted. "You'll always be Dimi to me."
"Now you sound like my sister," the called complained.
"Good. Casey would say that means I'm talking sense," Marti sassed.
"Speaking of Casey, you should call her."
"Wait, she called you looking for me? Seriously?"
"No," Dimi shared. "She called my sister to ask her if she heard from me and if I'd heard from you. And if I did hear from you to tell you to call her."
"That sounds like Casey."
"So please call her before she gets my number out of Emily and does actually call me trying to find you."
"Sure," Marti assured her friend. "I'll call her as soon as I finish with you. But why did you call? I'm pretty sure it's not because Casey freaked out to Emily. That happens way too often and has been happening for years."
"True. No, I called to ask about how the show went."
The show. Marti smiled. For all of her complaining about what she didn't get when the Venturis subsumed the McDonalds, she realized she did get a few great things. A wonderful stepmother in Nora. A beautiful, sporty and passionate sister in Liz. A beautiful, graceful yet clumsy, and highly intelligent sister in Casey. And, support for her dancing.
Marti had started ballet years before Casey McDonald (destined to be Venturi) came into her life. Yet, if she were honest with herself, Marti was sure that she wouldn't have continued with dance if it hadn't been for Casey. Sure, Casey was more into modern and jazz dance than traditional ballet, but she was a dancer and she normalized dancing for Marti. In Casey, Marti got to see that girl and dance went together. Without the additional estrogen in the house, Marti was sure that her Smerek would have had her in hockey or something else. With the arrival of the McDonalds, Smerek could meet his sports mentoring urge through Liz and Marti had some of the pressure lifted off her. Not that she would have noticed it as pressure until she was on a hockey team.
From six on, Marti just continued to take more and more ballet lessons until one day she looked up in shock. She was fourteen and people were recommending that she try out for shows. She wasn't quite sure what to do with that information, so she ended up turning to her family.
In trying to figure out what to do, she accidentally called a family meeting. How do you accidentally call a family meeting? Well, you wait until everyone is home for Christmas, sitting in the living room decorating the tree and then blurting out, "I want to keep doing ballet!"
"What?" her father had asked confused.
"I want to keep doing ballet," she repeated more calmly.
Liz had smiled. "Makes sense. I mean, you just had a recital right?"
"Mm-hm. And someone from the London Ballet was in the audience. She suggested I try out for something this season."
"They are doing Swan Lake, right?" Casey had asked. "That was such a beautiful show."
"Trying out for the London Ballet? Isn't that kind of…sudden?" her father asked.
"George," Nora pointed out. "Marti has been doing ballet for almost ten years now. I think it's probably a little more than a hobby."
"I think it's cool. Marti can become famous and then she could be the face that launches my newest product –"
"No, Ed. I'm not launching anything that comes out of your weird mind."
"Hey!"
"She does have a point, Ed," Liz chimed in. She was on the short list of people who could say something like that and not have Ed fight back.
"Smerek?" Marti had asked at the time. "What do you think?"
Everyone had turned to look at the oldest Venturi offspring in the room. "Ballet? I don't know much about that kind of thing-"
"He thinks it's great," Casey cut him off. "He's one hundred percent behind whatever his Smarti does. And you'll be a great ballerina because you are a Venturi. And he'll be sitting in the front row of every show you're ever in…or as close to it as possible."
"Wait, sit through ballet?" Derek had looked a little appalled.
"Absolutely, starting with Swan Lake. But only because this is Marti," Casey allowed
Derek seemed to be lost in thought for a bit. "Is this what you really want, Smarti?" he finally asked.
"Yes, Smerek," she whispered with worried eyes.
"Okay. Okay. But only for my Smarti."
She was sure she beamed like crazy after Derek relented. And after that, her dancing was practically championed in the house. In fact, no one had a problem with her majoring in Dance in college. And Derek did make every show that he could. When he couldn't make it he'd send someone.
"Uh-oh," Dimi's voice interrupted Marti's thoughts. "Was the show bad?"
"Oh, sorry," Marti returned her attention to the present. "No, no. It was great. Ed recorded the whole thing. He and Liz and Casey were able to come through for the show. I can get Ed to burn you a copy. He's already burning one for Derek."
"That would be great. Sorry I couldn't be there," he apologized. "But it was mid-term season here and Biology and Chemistry are killer classes."
"Just means you owe me when you come visit. You'll have to do anything I suggest."
"Come on, Marti. Haven't you grown out of bossing me around yet?"
"No," Marti answered honestly.
"Well, that was hoping, at least. Well, next time you on IM we can work out when I'm swinging down to see you."
"Okay, great. Oh and tell Emily-"
"That you are calling Casey, you promise," Dimi laughed.
After Marti hung up the phone, her roommate looked up from her cell, having resumed texting why Marti was on the phone. "That was the childhood best friend, I take it?"
"Yeah," Marti said. "And I'll promise to introduce you to Dimi next time he comes to visit."
"Wait, what about Dimi?"
"What about him?" Marti asked.
"Well, can't he be your boyfriend?" Sarah asked
Marti's eyes widen and then she burst out laughing, "No, of course he can't. He's just a friend."
"And you never thought of him in that way? Never planned a wedding or claimed him as a back-up or-"
"Hey," Marti objected, "Weddings you have when you are six shouldn't ever be held against you. We are just friends. Besides-"
"Besides what?"
"Dimi was only our next door neighbor. We never lived together. So I really don't know him at all."
Sarah shrugged. "Yeah, but I was just throwing him up as an alternative. Seeing as you don't have any stepbrothers to marry."
Marti groaned. "I know. This totally sucks….And I should call Casey back now."
"Well, look at it this way. Maybe Casey can tell you what to avoid when trying to find a boyfriend."
Marti snorted. "Like I would have ever fallen for a Snot or a Max."
The End -
Here is the prompt: Marti is all grown up, a freshman in college. Both Dasey and Lizwin are paired up. Marti is frustrated with the idea of dating since she doesn't actually, you know, live with anyone she likes.
I feel a little (a lot) bad that I'm posting my May flashfic before I finish my April one, but I was in a strange writing place this weekend and finished this up.