Into Temptation
Acepilot

Author's Note: This fic is to some extent my attempt to write a proper love triangle, which is something I don't consider "In the End" to have been. That fic was really just a love story between Phil and Kimi, because all the problems in that were of their own making. Tommy wasn't really a character in that, he was just an excuse. This time I want to fully develop all three characters to some extent or another. I hope you enjoy this fic. There'll be more coming.

This fic is named after and to some extent inspired by the song "Into Temptation", written by Neil Finn and performed by Crowded House, on the "Temple of Low Men" album.

--
Phil
--

"Ow."

I resist the temptation to clutch at my leg but hop over to grab the ball from where it fell after rebounding off. "I think you were deliberately trying to hit me!"

Kimi Finster brushes her hair back and mock-glares at me. At least, I hope it's a mock-glare. "And well I should have, DeVille. Throws like a girl indeed."

I chuckle as I throw the ball back to her, and take the opportunity to watch her. It's something I find myself doing a lot lately...watching her. Watching her move, watching her think, watching her...being her, really.

God, I sound like a girl with a crush.

Or maybe just a guy with a crush on a girl.

We've been spending a lot of time together, lately. More than I've been spending with anyone else, really. She's just...easy, to be around. We click. We have fun together. We play sport, or video games, or we hang out at the mall, or we listen to music. Whatever it is we do, it's always easy, and enjoyable.

I think I'm falling for her.

Which brings up all sorts of problems.

--
Tommy
--

"Dil, I have a question for you."

My little brother swings his wheelie-chair around to face me, and looks down at me with a "carry on" expression on his face.

It's not what I was going to ask, but I can't help myself: "How the hell do you get in and out of that thing? And how did you stick it onto the roof?"

He grins and hits a spot on the roof. Next to it, a tile opens, dropping a coiled rope out of it which he then grabs and shimmies down. "With grace and dignity. And that was two questions. Do you want a third just to round it off?'

I roll my eyes. "Alright, I wanted to ask you about..."

God, this is embarassing.

"Girls."

Dil's eyes light up like he's won the lottery, and I can almost instantly see the scheming and machination behind them. But then it's gone, and he's just smiling at me. Admittedly a little more broadly than usual. "And how can I help you there, my hopelessly inept big brother?"

I glare at him, but, tragically, he's not far wrong. My track record with this kind of thing is notoriously...well, lousy, and I have no desire to mess this kind of thing up again. "Well...there's someone I want to ask out. But...it's complicated."

Dil looks at me suspiciously. "It's not Chloe, is it?"

I roll my eyes at him. "No, it's not Chloe. She's yours, I get it. Only you could keep up with her, anyway." I sigh. "It's Kimi, actually."

His eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. "Oh."

"You see what I mean by complicated."

He nods, but doesn't make eye contact with me - lost in thought, he seems to be focussing on a world over my left shoulder. "Well...what brought this on? I didn't think you liked Kimi...that way."

I shrug, trying to find the right words. "Well, neither did I. But...lately, whenever we're around each other, I get this weird feeling...kind of...fluttery. Like I don't trust myself to speak. And she's really pretty, and...funny. There's lots of things. I just never used to notice about her, but now it seems like they're all I can think about."

Dil smiles. "Ah, the buttery crush. A popular flavour this year."

I glare at him. "Is that how you were with Chloe?"

Dil shakes his head. "I never felt...fluttery, with Chloe. I just felt really strongly for her. She understood me like no-one else did, or does. And I'm the same for her. After that, dating is just a nautral step."

I contemplate this. "I feel very strongly for Kimi, as well. I mean, we've been friends for like...forever."

"Which gives you a good head-start." Dil pauses in the conversation. "Are you sure you want to...risk, I guess the word would be - your friendship with Kimi over this? Have you given any thought to what might happen between you if you don't work out?"

I'm about to assure Dil that yes, I've thought about it, when I suddenly realise that no, I haven't even contemplated the possibility. The idea that things wouldn't work out between Kimi and I had not even come to my mind. "I...dunno. I don't think we wouldn't work out...I mean...I think we're really similar. And I think...sometimes, when we're around each other...I think she feels the same way about me that I do about her. She gives me these little smiles, or these looks - looks that make me think that maybe she feels like she wants to try being with me like I want to try being with her."

Dil stares at me for a moment, and I can see his mind racing behind his eyes. Flashes of various emotions overcome his face but are gone before I can comprehend what they were, and I am nearly in awe of the speed with which my brother's mind works. Finally, he bows his head and looks back up at me, his expression clear. "Do either of you have a date for the prom yet?"

I shake my head. "I don't. I'm pretty sure she doesn't either."

Dil nods. "Ask her to that. Trust me."

--
Phil
--

"I still say you cheated."

"I did not cheat, Phil. You just can't run fast enough."

I try to roll over to face her but my muscles groan in protest. "Alright, maybe I'm not as young as I once was."

She barks out a short laugh. "We're only sixteen, Phil. A bit young to be chucking the whole 'I'm old' excuse around, don't you think?"

"My creaky bones and I will get back to you," I inform her, before finally just flopping back onto the grass and giving up on this whole moving pretense. "So, did you end up deciding on whether or not to go to the prom?"

She groans. "No. Mom and Dad really think I should go, but I'm not very keen on the idea myself. It's all a bit...cheesey, really, isn't it?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," I tell her. "I never got the whole concept of dances and things. That and I don't have a date."

She chuckles. "Me either. Want to just save the trouble and go as friends?"

My heart leaps. It's an in. I can go to the dance with her as friends, and then, while we're there, ask her if she wants...to be more than friends. Sort of. I'll work on the wording later. There's that whole crush-on-Tommy issue I have to work around, but I'm more than willing to try.

I manage to keep my voice from cracking as I respond, "Sure. Sounds like a plan. Want me to pick you up from your place?"

--
Tommy
--

"You haven't asked her out yet, have you?" Dil asks me, chuckling.

I fume quietly. "No, I haven't. I can't quite seem to find the...right way of doing so."

"Saying 'Kimi, I want to go to the prom with you,' strikes you as too cliche, huh?"

I glare at my little brother. He shrugs it off, looking quite resplendent in his suit. "You've got it easy. You have a date for the prom by default."

"Still had to ask her out at some point..." he sing-songs. "Look, just go over there and ask her to go with you, and segue that into asking her out. It's not hard. It's like ripping off a band-aid."

"I took a layer of skin off doing that once."

Dil growls in the back of his throat. "You know, with you as a brother, it's amazing I turned out to be the optimist I am."

--
Kimi
--

"Do my eyes decieve me? Is Kimi Finster putting on make-up!?"

Part of me feels like I should be offended but for some reason I just laugh. "Well, as long as I'm going to this thing, I might as well look nice."

Chuckie sits down on the bathroom bench, next to where I'm looking at myself in the mirror. "So, who are you going with? Or are you heading out stag tonight?"

I sigh in frustration with my hair, before turning to face my big brother. "I'm going with Phil, if you must know."

He quirks an eyebrow. "Phil? Really?"

"Just as friends," I assure him. "Phil's nice. We're best friends but - "

"He's not Tommy." Chuckie cuts me off.

I glare at him. "I can't believe I ever told you about that."

He shrugs. "I'm a big brother, and therefore trustworthy. I wouldn't tell Mom. She'll have you married off in about five minutes."

I groan. "I don't know what it is. I'll never be able to tell Tommy I have feelings for him at this rate."

"Why not?"

"Whenever I get around him, I go...I dunno how to phrase it. I get nervous, and freeze up, kind of. I find it hard to talk or anything. Not like with Phil - Phil I'm happy to go to prom with because I know I'll have a good time. Phil and I have fun. It's what we do. I think that if I liked Phil like I like Tommy, we wouldn't have as relaxed a friendship as we do."

A brief flash of confusion crosses Chuckie's face, and he seems to be trying to work out a math problem or somethng. He eventually gives up and turns back to me. "If you say so," he shrugs. "Either way, Tommy's a great guy. I hope the two of you do get together."

I sigh and think of the boy in question for a moment. Brave. Strong. Friendly. Pretty much everything a girl could want. It's amazing he's not been snapped up already, and I'm not about to wait any longer.

Soon, I promise myself.

"Kimi," there's a call from downstairs - Dad. "There's someone at the door for you."

--
Phil
--

I smooth imaginary creases out of my suit as I get out of the car. I've borrowed Dad's for the evening - my ute probably isn't the best thing to take a girl to the prom in. At least, not if you want to impress her. I grab the wildflowers off the front seat and take several deep breaths.

It's Kimi. It's just Kimi.

Just wonderful, perfect, funny, fun, easy-going, beautiful, amazing, indescribable Kimi.

I'm so screwed.

I walk carefully up the footpath to her house, trying desperately not to trip over. Probably wouldn't be a good move at this juncture. I finally reach the door without incident, and raise my hand to knock.

Within seconds, it's answered by her. I feel my breath catch in my throat: she's breathtaking. Literally. In her blue dress, long and flowing but very snugly fit regardless.

I'm not going to last the night.

"Good evening, my fair lady," I improvise wildly, trying to sound as suave as possible. "Shall we make our way to the ball?"

She chuckles, but there's something about her eyes...something which has me feeling nervous. "Phil...I need to talk to you."

Nerves just became alarm bells as she pulls the door shut and stands with me on the front step. "What's up?"

"The most incredible thing happened today," she begins. "I wasn't expecting but...I'm sorry, but I hope you'll understand -"

And I do. Before she can even form the words, I know exactly what has happened.

"Tommy asked me out. Asked me...to be his girlfriend."

I nod. "Oh," seems to be all I can say.

"I'm really sorry, but as we were just going as friends..."

"It's alright," I rush to assure her. "Go, have a good time."

She smiles at me softly and, despite the fact that the world just turned upside down in thirty seconds, I feel a rush of affection for her. "Thanks, Phil," she says, reaching out and clasping my arm. "You're a good friend."

"Only the best will do for you," I try to joke, but I feel a crack in my voice that I have to fight off.

"Did you want a ride? We can all head off together -"

"No," I tell her. Part of me feels repulsed by the very idea of being around her and Tommy together. They should be alone. This is their first date, after all. "No, have a good time. I'll see you there, though."

She nods and smiles at me again. "Thank you," she repeats, and goes inside.

I turn to walk down the footpath, and it's only as I reach the car again that I realise the flowers are still in my hands.

--

there's more to come. for the moment, please review.