All (f)or Nothing

by SaltyJak

Believe it or not, there are actually some people in the world that like the idea of everyone thinking they and their best friend are in a relationship. Tootie was NOT one of those people. What started out as a dreary Friday morning has taken a turn for the strange...

A/N: Wow did that take so much longer than I intended it to! Phew! It's finally finished though... Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a cold shower.

---

Raindrops tapped against his window, leaving little rivulets on the glass as they streaked down it. He had left it open, hoping it would keep his room cool, since it was late Spring, and in Dimmsdale; that meant hot and humid. The sky outside was overcast, the sun hidden behind thick clouds pregnant with rain. In fact, everything outside was a dreary gray color, and had been like that since he awoke that morning.

For the most part, opening his window had worked. His room lowered to a nice, even temperature that kept it from being stuffy, and he was... relatively comfortable, lying on his back in his bed, which sat next to the aforementioned window. 'Relatively' because of the situation he currently found himself in. "How did we even end up like this?"

Laying on top of him, heart feeling like it was trying to beat out of her chest(he could feel it pounding against his own), was Tootie. Her chest rested on his, her arms resting on either side of him, holding her up enough to keep their faces about six inches apart. Her glasses had fallen off, where they were now, he wasn't sure. All he knew now was Tootie on top of him and those violet eyes staring at him, leaving the teen to wonder if they had always been as beautiful as they were now.

He had no idea when, but at some point, the brunet had looped his left arm around her waist, resting it against the small of her back, while his right had been raised up to thread his fingers through her hair. She felt damp, as did he, since the two teens had gotten caught in the rain on the way back to his house from Dimmsdale High, and their current closeness allowed Timmy to catch a whiff of... Some scent he couldn't place. One he had never noticed before now, maybe it was how close they were, maybe it was the rain... He could definitely smell the rain on her, but there was something else too. A flowery scent, something purple, or so his mind told him. Lavender? Or... Maybe lilacs? Some purple flower, definitely.

"T-Timmy?"

Her voice shook him from his thoughts momentarily, she sounded scared, like they were about to do something that would change everything. And he couldn't help but think of how cute it was for the girl that once terrified him to actually sound unsure, afraid even. She had spent years chasing him, forcing herself on him, kidnapping him, trying to marry him, kissing him, hugging him... And now, she had the upper hand once more, laying on top of him, pressing against him... And she chose now to be unsure? To be scared of their closeness? It was kind of funny in how ironic it was.

"Yeah?" Timmy unconsciously tightened his grip on her, realizing his voice sounded odd to his ears... because it wasn't unsure. He was positive of what- who he wanted, and she was right on top of him. He wanted to get even closer to her, wanted to kiss her, taste her... This girl, his best friend. Tootie. And he had no idea why. Were he ten, he'd think she'd cast some sort of spell on him to make him feel like this, but...

But there was no magic in this world, or he didn't believe there was anyway. He didn't understand why he suddenly wanted her as much as he did, but God did he ever want her right now, more than he had ever wanted anything in his entire life. His mind was flooded with thoughts of the girl now, every other girl he had crushed on was pushed away in favor of his best friend... Who, if they went further, if he took this just one centimeter further, wouldn't be just his best friend anymore.

And the brunet found he wasn't the least bit scared to do it. He couldn't be sure of a damn thing; if she'd be okay with it, if he liked her, if he lusted after her, if he loved her... Did he even have the right to? After how vehemently he had pushed her affections away when they were younger, how hard the two had worked to become just friends, how many times he had cruelly told her to her face that he didn't like her romantically, that he'd never like her the way she liked him, did he have the right to do this? No. No, he didn't.

But he didn't care either. Something had clicked today, some unconscious thing that he couldn't even begin to know. It was like he had been shot right in the forehead with a bullet packed with adoration for his best friend. Sudden. Out of the blue. Out of place.

"What are we doing?"

Again, she sounded so unsure, almost terrified of what could possibly follow after this moment, and it took everything the brunet had to not close the distance then and there and kiss her until... Until what? Would they go that far? Sure, his parents weren't home, so he definitely could have se- "Argh! Focus! She wants an answer!" Right, she wanted an answer... What were they doing? 'I don't know' seemed like a poor excuse for an answer, so... "Going with the moment?" he offered, his voice laden with uncertainty, matching his equally uncertain feelings for the girl.

Earlier that day...

The day had started out perfectly normal, with a sixteen year-old Timmy Turner waking up to overcast skies and an empty house, then showering, getting changed into fresh clothes(a dark blue, short-sleeve shirt, black jeans, and his pink hat), eating his breakfast, walking to his bus stop, and, upon finding his best friend waiting for him at the stop, sidling up next to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Smells like rain." he inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes.

"Bring an umbrella?" the raven-haired girl glanced over at him, while keeping her head trained toward where the bus would come from down the street, she was not missing it again thanks to her best friend distracting her.

"Nope. Figured it'd be more fun to get soaked so you can see that I've been working out when my shirt gets wet." the teen flexed his left arm, showing that, while he did have muscle, it wasn't anything to be particularly impressed by, he was more lean than muscular.

"Right." Tootie rolled her eyes and poked her friend in his side, knowing how ticklish he was and making him jump slightly. "You just wanna see what color bra I'm wearing when my shirt gets soaked, Perv."

At this, Timmy glanced at Tootie, hoping she wouldn't catch him staring and make fun of him again. She had always favored a sort of 'schoolgirl' look, and high school had only(unlike most girls) increased her confidence. It should be noted that Dimmsdale High did not have a dress code. Long as you didn't show off too much skin, you were free to wear whatever you wanted(which unfortunately meant that some people came in dressed as their favorite video game mascots, or like they were going to a cosplay convention), but his best friend was odd in that she preferred to wear clothes that would be the norm for a more... Strict learning establishment. Case in point, she currently wore a white, short-sleeve button-up shirt, with only the right side tucked into her skirt, while the purple and green plaid skirt itself ended halfway down her knees. She also wore black over-the-knee socks and black and purple sneakers, claiming that 'those shoes you wear with an outfit like this are too uncomfortable'.

Unfortunately, Timmy learned that this particular outfit of Tootie's attracted attention from basically every heterosexual male in his school, this included Francis, Remy, and the two snooty morons, Tad and Chad. He was immensely relieved to find that Tootie wasn't the least bit interested in them, his best friend deserved better. This did not, however, mean that they took the hint, so today would likely be another wonderful day of keeping Tootie's various suitors away from her. "Maybe I should get a job as a bodyguard..."

"You're staring again..." the slightly shorter girl grinned at him, pleased that; despite the two agreeing they made better friends than lovers, she could still get her ex-crush to drift off into La La Land with the right outfit.

Realizing he had been caught once again, Timmy made a sputtering sound with his lips and looked away with a shrug. "Stop being hot."

"And how exactly do you want me to do that? Get cosmetic surgery to look ugly?" she narrowed her eyes and brought her hand up to poke Timmy's cheek several times. "If I do, will you get the same done so you look like less of a stud?"

"No way. My looks are about all I've got going for me!" the brunet swatted his friend's hand away. "There'd be a lot of disappointed girls out there if I did that."

"Oh, Timmy... Such an imagination you have..." Tootie brought her right hand up to her forehead and rested the back of said hand against it, pretending to swoon dramatically. "Seriously though-" she leaned in, her face mere inches from Timmy's, ignoring the fact that such an act made her purple horn-rimmed glasses slide down her nose. "Got any lady-friends you wanna talk about? You can tell me, I'm your best friend..."

"Hah." the brunet chuckled and slid Tootie's glasses back up in front of her eyes with his index finger. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell... Not even his best friend." he stuck his tongue out at her.

"So there's no one then." she chuckled at his failed attempt at being coy.

"Wha?! I didn't say that! I've got... a few girls that like me..." Timmy blushed and looked away. "Should've known better than to try and fool her..."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you do." Tootie remarked sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "Yep, you've probably got girls lining up for a chance to be with you... Please, you're as unlaid as a pile of bricks." she quirked an eyebrow up at him now. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You..." the brunet sighed in annoyance. "Alright, so maybe I'm going through a bit of a dry spell-"

"Ah-ah! It's only a dry spell if you've actually gotten laid at least once in the past! As I said, you're as unlaid as a pile of bricks. You're no less of a virgin than I am!" Tootie smirked at him knowingly as she said this, then blushed and quickly looked away upon realizing just what she said. "Shut up."

Ignoring her little slip, Timmy looked down the street to see their bus fast approaching. "Bus is here."

"Thank goodness." Tootie shrugged out from under her friend's arm as the bus pulled up and she stepped over to the door. "Ladies first- Ah!"

"Nope!" the brunet stepped forward and shoved Tootie out of the way, quickly climbing on and striding toward the back, and the only free seat.

"Ass..." righting herself from her Timmy-induced stumble, Tootie shook her head and climbed the short staircase onto the school bus, then made her way to the back of the bus, passing by her fellow students and the open seats next to them in favor of the one that Timmy had sat down in. Upon reaching the back, however, the girl found that the space normally reserved for her next to the brunet was filled by said brunet's backpack. "Move your backpack!" she yelled in an amused tone.

"Hm?" Timmy looked up at her as if she were a stranger he'd never met before. "Sorry, this seat is reserved." the brunet turned his attention back toward the window.

"May I ask for who?" Tootie crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her friend expectantly.

"Pretty girls."

"You won't find one prettier than yours truly. Move the backpack." she grabbed the top of the seat next to her as the bus hit a bump in the road.

"Mm... Sorry, don't think so. Find another seat." Timmy absently waved at her dismissively, intending to seem like he wanted her to go away.

"You're really gonna do this?" Tootie frowned at him. "I don't wanna make a big deal out of this, but you do know who my sister is, right? You honestly think I didn't inherit her temper? We do have the same parents..."

Rather than respond, Timmy shrugged indifferently.

"Fine." "Time to fire up the rumor mill." stepping toward the brunet, Tootie dropped her backpack next to his, then unceremoniously plopped down onto her friend's lap, leaning back to rest her head on the back of the bus seat. This did not have quite the intended effect though, for Timmy brought his head forward in response, letting it come to rest on her shoulder.

"Thanks! Needed a headrest." the teen made himself comfortable, slightly nuzzling his head against Tootie's, then wrapping his arms around her midsection to keep her from falling off his lap, should the bus go over any more bumps.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she looked around the bus, rather than at Timmy, keeping watch in case any of their fellow teens chose to look back and give them some disparaging remarks.

"Little bit. So how is Vicky?" his question was met with a ponytail to the face as she quickly turned her head to face him. She had started wearing her hair like that the year before, forgoing her pigtails for something just a little less girly. It was longer than Vicky's had been, while not quite reaching as far down her back as Veronica's now did.

"She's good. Going to medical school, believe it or not, said being a doctor is her 'calling'." Tootie made air quotes. "Mom and Dad are happy I'm sixteen, since it means they don't need to have Vicky watch me, and they're finally willing to trust me to take care of myself. Still don't trust me to bring any boys over though-"

"Which would only be a problem if you were actually seeing anybody." Timmy interjected.

"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too."

"Only if you ask really nicely." the brunet teased.

"Ugh... Can you two get a room already?"

Timmy and Tootie looked around the bus. That had definitely been Chester's voice, but... Where was he? The two looked over the seats ahead of them, no blond locks of hair that could be their friend's...

"Down here."

"Huh?" the two teens looked down to find their blond friend looking up at them from beneath the bus seat in front of them.

"Chester, I hope you're not looking where I think you're looking..." Tootie spoke in a low and dangerous tone.

The blond answered not with words, but with a sly smile... One that quickly vanished beneath Timmy's heel as the brunet stepped on his friend's face. "And you call me a pervert..." Timmy lifted Tootie off his lap and placed her down next to him on the seat, barely leaving room for their backpacks.

The raven-haired girl smoothed out her skirt and placed her hands palms-down on her lap to keep Chester from getting any more of a free show.

"Mmph! Alrigh! Move ur foot!" the blond tried to speak over the shoe heel planted on his mouth.

"That's what you get." Timmy stated rather simply as he removed his foot from his friend's mouth.

"Blagh! Guess I'm just lucky that the bottom of your shoe is clean..." Chester awkwardly stood up from beneath the seat and leaned against it in front of his friends.

"What are you even doing? Would it really be so hard to just come down the aisle and talk to us?" Tootie asked, her voice marred by annoyance at her friend's pervy nature.

"If I had, I wouldn't have been able to catch you two acting lovey-dovey, nor would I be able to get a look at your-"

"Chester." Timmy growled out while glaring at his friend.

"Alright, fine... Didn't even see all that much anyway... Lighten up." the blond stuck his hands, palms up, in the air in front of himself. "So when are you two just gonna give in and screw each others brains out?"

"It's not gonna happen." Timmy and Tootie deadpanned at their friend.

"Right. That's why you two always have your hands all over each other, like at the bus stop, and just now when you-" he pointed at Tootie. "Were sitting in his lap. Naw, you two definitely don't like each other like that..."

"Good, I'm glad you finally realized that." Timmy nodded happily, then turned his attention back to the window.

Sighing in annoyance at his friends' near-constant denial of their relationship, Chester opted to change the conversation. "So, you guys heard from AJ recently?"

"No, not since a couple weeks ago. College life must be rough." Tootie shrugged indifferently. Honestly, she didn't miss AJ all that much. Sure, he had gotten into college at fourteen and pretty much skipped high school entirely, but the guy was just too arrogant at times, even Timmy and Chester's relatively laid-back attitudes couldn't lessen their friend's big-headedness once he found out he had been accepted to a cushy Ivy-league school. He bragged about it nonstop all summer, and Tootie found she was actually somewhat relieved that he was gone.

"Yeah, hope he still finds time to take it easy, that computer of a brain of his is bound to short-circuit from all the knowledge he tries to cram into it. Maybe we can all get together for Spring break or something..."

"I wouldn't count on it." Timmy spoke up, feeling like joining the conversation at last. "Knowing AJ, he'll just find an excuse to study while on vacation. Remember when we all went to Baja last summer and all he did was study for his freshman year in college?"

"When he wasn't bragging about getting into college at such a young age..." Tootie added in.

"Exactly. Face it Chester, AJ's a prime example of a workaholic. He doesn't make time for fun anymore..."

"You sound like you miss him." Tootie nudged the brunet with her shoulder.

"Of course I do, I'm pretty sure we all do, but what can I say? Friendship is a two-way street, it can't work unless both sides pitch in, and sometimes... People drift apart." Timmy spoke wistfully. "Eh... Maybe we'll hear from him later in the week."

"Hope so." Chester stretched his arms over his head, making his fingers brush against the ceiling of the bus. "You two still have Crocker for homeroom?"

"And Algebra." the brunet stated boredly.

"And English." followed by Tootie in the exact same tone.

"And Biology." Timmy spoke once again. "Let's face it, as long as Tootie and I share a class, chances are we're gonna have to deal with Crocker."

"...Don't you both have all the same classes?" Chester asked, already knowing the answer.

"Don't remind me... Being Timmy's friend can be a real pain in the ass..." Tootie facepalmed.

"Sure it's not 'friends with benefits'?" Chester asked with a sly grin.

"Okay, I'm two seconds away from kicking you in a very sensitive place." the raven-haired teen narrowed her eyes at the blond.

The light-hearted teasing, followed by slightly less light-hearted threats continued for the rest of the ride to Dimmsdale High, and even into the hallways of the school, until the trio had to part and head to their own lockers.

"That was your fault. You know that, right?" Timmy glanced over at Tootie, who walked next to him down the hall, since their lockers were only a few paces away from each other.

"How do you figure?" she replied in a sugary tone, knowing that what her friend said was true, yet still wanting to play the part of the oblivious friend.

"Because you felt the need to sit on my lap on the bus?"

"Hey, you're the one who wouldn't move his backpack. Where was I supposed to sit? On the floor?" she stopped in front of Timmy's locker, rather than her own, and began spinning the combination lock's dial.

"Tootie, you don't know my-"

Ker-Chunk

Timmy was cut off by the sound of the lock unlocking, making the brunet sigh. "Of course you do."

"Uh-huh. Remember that I used to have a crush on you. And that you have the same lock from middle school. How do you think I got all those gifts and love letters into your locker? Ghost powers?" the bespectacled girl reached into the now open locker and pulled out a box of pens and pencils, then pulled out a neon purple pen. "Hope you don't mind sharing your locker space with me."

"I want a divorce." Timmy deadpanned.

"Overruled. Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

"Do I at least get shared custody of your locker, since you have shared custody of mine?"

"I will consider it."

"Guess that's the best I'm gonna get..." Timmy stepped forward, then turned to look at his locker, side-stepping to the right toward Tootie and pushing her out of the way with his shoulder. "'Scuse me!"

"Ah!" regaining her balance for the second time that day, Tootie scowled at her best friend. "You just love to tempt fate, don't you? I'm beginning to see why my sister thought you were such a pain in the ass when she babysat you..."

"Yep, turns out Vicky wasn't evil at all, despite everyone elses' reports to the contrary. I was just such a rambunctious scamp that I alone made her dislike children." Timmy's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"And suddenly it all makes perfect sense..." Tootie walked a few feet away, stopping at her own locker this time and unlocking it. "You do the homework for Algebra?" she stuck her head into her locker, pretending it was more of an intricate cave system than a nine inch-deep hole in the wall.

"Well, considering someone was hanging out with Trixie and Veronica, rather than helping me with it at my house like she said she would, no, I didn't." Timmy glared at as much of Tootie's head as he could, which amounted to little more than him angrily staring at her neck.

"Ooh... Temper temper..." the raven-haired girl's voice echoed out from her locker. "Good thing I found time to do it then, huh?" she pulled out the aforementioned homework and tossed it to Timmy, causing the paper to glide over to the brunet and land at his feet. "I swear, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that I'm carrying you through that class."

"Forgive me for not caring about how to find x and y. I'm never gonna use numbers and letters to figure out how much money is in my bank accountant, so I really don't see the point of learning Algebra." Timmy slammed his locker closed, more for effect than out of anger, picked up Tootie's homework, then walked over next to her locker and peeked in, trying to see what was so interesting that she needed to jam her entire head into it. "You almost done?" his voice made her jump, evidently not realizing how close he had gotten. "Crocker's gonna mark us late. Again. Which means we're both gonna have detention. Again. You stuck in there or something?"

"Aw c'mon!" Tootie pulled her head out of her locker. "I thought you cherished our special detention time as much as I do?!" she exclaimed in mock-offense.

"Tootie. You know Crocker knows we're friends. He makes us sit on opposite sides of the room for detention."

"Ah, I suppose you're right. We'd better get going then." having grabbed everything she needed, Tootie shut her locker and led the way to their homeroom, only to be stopped by Timmy's hand on her shoulder.

"Wait a sec."

"What? You just told me to hurry so we aren't late, and the door's right there! This couldn't wait until after we got into the room?"

"We're already late." Timmy held out his right hand, which bore a watch, indicating the time as ten past eight. "Now we need an excuse for why we're late."

"Hmm... Good point... Oh! We'll say you collapsed from heat exhaustion, and I, being your bestest friend for evers, dragged your fat carcass all the way here, at which point you regained consciousness. Then after I tell the story, you thank me profusely and say you owe me a life debt for getting you to class, even if we were late!" Tootie beamed at Timmy, a wide smile on her face.

Stifling a fit of laughter, the brunet shook his head at Tootie's outlandish story. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"It's very easy when your sanity is compromised." Tootie responded all-too seriously and shrugged. "Oh! I've got a better one!"

"This should be good." Timmy deadpanned and looked at his watch, which now read the time as eight-fifteen.

"It is! We'll say that we were on the way here, and you suddenly shoved me against the locker and started kissing me! I, being a frail little girl, could do nothing but submit to you and wait until you were done, at which point we headed to homeroom as if nothing had happened!"

Timmy responded with little more than a look halfway between quizzical and horrified.

"See? It's perfect because of all the sexual tension people claim they feel between us!"

"Oh yeah, that'll keep you out of trouble alright..."

"Right? Don't I just have the best ideas-"

"And meanwhile, I will get taken away in handcuffs for sexual assault."

"I... Hm. Good point. Well then what should we-"

The door to their homeroom suddenly flew open, making a red-faced Crocker appear behind them and begin shouting. "Turner! Valentine! Are you two trying to make me stay and watch you for detention?!"

"Eep!" Tootie shrieked and leapt at Timmy in surprise, being that she was the one standing in front of the door to their homeroom when it burst open. Unfortunately(for the rumor mill) this made the brunet catch her in his arms and hold her more like his blushing bride than his best friend.

"...Hey Mr. Crocker! Nice day today, isn't it?" Timmy shot his teacher a wide grin, hoping to change the subject away from him and his best friend being late.

"Actually Turner, it isn't. The skies are looking particularly overcast, which is a rarity for this part of California, at least, during this time of year, which means that the odd weather pattern we're experiencing can only be the work of-"

"Fairies?" Timmy interjected in a fake interested tone.

"I- Why... Yes! You think they might be to blame too?" Crocker's anger gave way to genuine enthusiasm at the thought that one of his students might actually have interests similar to his own.

"What else could be to blame but fairies?" Timmy asked in a completely serous tone.

During this admittedly frightening exchange, Tootie remained held up by her friend, and looped her right arm around the back of his neck to make it easier for him to hold her up. "What- What is he doing?! Why make nice with Crocker? All he does is give us 'F's!" She wanted to hit Timmy, to knock some sense into his clearly senseless head, but doing so might cause the brunet to drop her, which would be uncomfortable, so, trusting her friend's less-than sound judgment, Tootie stayed quiet, finding that she enjoyed being held, if only a little.

"Well Turner, I'm honestly impressed that you're as interested in the magical world as I am! A!" reaching into his back pocket, the neck-eared teacher produced a white paper with a bright blue 'A' on it, and handed it to Tootie, since Timmy was preoccupied with holding the girl up.

"Um... Thank you?" the brunet looked at the paper quizzically, then equally so at Tootie, then back to Crocker.

"In fact... Ms. Valentine, you get an A too! Your tutoring and association with Turner has clearly had a positive impact on his intelligence!" Crocker produced another sheet of paper with a bright blue 'A' on it and handed it to Tootie, placing it on top of the fist one he had given.

"Okay...? Thanks, I guess?" Tootie looked at the paper her teacher had given her, a duplicate of the one Crocker had given Timmy, and a legendary item among their classmates, being that only AJ had ever gotten them(and Timmy, on the extremely rare occasion).

"Welp, we better get to class!" Timmy strode past Crocker, still carrying his best friend bridal-style, into their homeroom.

"Yes, very well Turner, Valentine... What was I mad about again?" their teacher muttered to himself as he sat down at his desk and checked off his last two students as 'present', rather than 'tardy'.

The brunet made his way over to Tootie's desk and his own, gently placing her down in her seat, then sitting down himself, all the while ignoring the snickering and teasing remarks from a few of his fellow teens. He counted himself lucky that most people his age simply didn't care about the rumors that he and Tootie were dating.

SCREECH

Tootie chose to make it quite clear that she didn't really give a damn about the rumors either as she slid her desk next to Timmy's. "How'd you do that?!" she spoke in a hushed tone just above a whisper.

"C'mon Toots, give me a little credit. I do notice things, but even this one's way obvious. Crocker's been on my case about fairies since elementary school, we needed a way to avoid detention, and this was the best idea I could come up with on the fly. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em... Or at least pretend to." the brunet glanced over at the girl and winked.

For the rest of the day, both teens were genuinely surprised by the lack of teasing remarks toward them. Tootie for sure, considering her little slip of jumping into her best friend's arms, but the only people that actually brought it up were Chester(who likely found out from one of their homeroom classmates), Trixie, and Veronica(which was understandable since the two girls were Dimmsdale High's gossip queens/information brokers).

Of course, this had to end sometime, and Fate dictated that lunch was that time.

"So, you two finally going steady, or you gonna just deny it to the grave?" Veronica sat down across from them at their lunch table, eyes half-lidded and grinning at the two friends like she knew some Earth-shattering secret that they didn't.

Timmy took the time to chew his food and swallow it before speaking. "I'm gonna have to go with... Option Two."

"Ditto." Tootie nodded her head.

"Why bother asking them?" Chester sat down next to Veronica, making the blonde girl jump slightly in surprise before leaning her shoulder against his.

Unlike the imaginary romance that their friends claimed existed between Timmy and Tootie, Chester and Veronica were an item, no question about that. But they didn't make any attempt to hide it either, they didn't really kiss or even hug in public, but neither passed up the opportunity to sit with the other, or lean against each other, like they were doing now. Were it not for the fact that Chester, Timmy, and Tootie had made friends with the blonde and her best friend, Trixie, the idea of the two blondes dating would probably be downright scandalous in Dimmsdale High, but most knew better than to cross the two wealthiest girls at the school. Which meant that Chester and Veronica's relationship went mostly unnoticed, and unspoken.

This did not mean that Chester, Trixie, or Veronica would give their two friends the same respect.

"These two will never admit it, no matter what. Although... maybe they don't have to!" the blond snapped his fingers and smiled at Timmy and Tootie. "They sit next to each other in every class, they can barely keep five feet apart from each other, nevermind keep their hands off one another, then there was that incident this morning when Tootie-"

"Chester." Timmy shot his friend a dark look.

"Anyway, you both always eat lunch together, and finally, you two have 'study-dates'." Chester used air quotes. "Need I present more evidence to the jury?"

"Not if you wanna live." Tootie growled out. Okay, so all of that stuff was true, fine. But that did not mean she, nor Timmy wanted to be reminded of it every chance their friends got.

"Study-dates?" Veronica gasped out dramatically, ignoring her raven-haired friend's growing annoyance. "So these two hang out at each others' houses late into the night solving quadratic equations?"

"Probably more like 'insert tab A into slot B', but yeah, pretty much." Chester shrugged and shook his head with a grin plastered on his face.

"You guys reading an Ikea manual over here?" Trixie Tang sat down on the other side of Veronica with her own lunch.

"And the Trinity is complete." Tootie facepalmed while Timmy giggled.

"Nope, just another day in the life of the two most oblivious people on the planet." the blond pointed at Timmy and Tootie with his left hand while hooking his right arm around Veronica's shoulders.

"Ah! My favorite soap opera! So what's happened so far?" Trixie beamed at Chester and Veronica.

"Not much, other than what I'm sure you've already heard." Veronica spoke, turning her attention away from the two not-lovers and over to Trixie.

"I would do fucking anything to get out of this situation right now..." Tootie whispered to Timmy.

"C'mon, you're not having fun?" the brunet looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "It's just a little harmless teasing between friends, what's wrong with that?"

"It's annoying."

"So is nearly every guy we know hitting on you."

As if to prove his point, a one Remy Buxaplenty walked over just as Timmy finished, making a beeline for Tootie. "Hello Ms. Valentine, might I ask how this wonderful day finds you?" At this, a thunderclap sounded from outside, loud enough to rattle the cafeteria's large windows.

"Fine." Tootie remarked disinterestedly. If there was one thing she didn't need right now(besides the teasing remarks about her relationship with Timmy) it was a snobby moron who thought the girl had forgotten about how much of a snobby moron he was when they were in middle school.

"Turner, would you mind sliding over so I may have a moment with the lovely Ms. Valentine?"

Timmy had to admit, Remy was going out of his way to be polite to him, and under normal circumstances, the brunet would respond in an equally polite manner, believing that one should treat people as you yourself wanted to be treated...

Unfortunately, this was Remy. And the waspy teenager only had one thing on his mind(or maybe he didn't, Timmy didn't really care). "I'm afraid not, Remy my good man. You're intruding on a private matter." Timmy didn't even bother looking at him.

"Turner, I am afraid you're mistaken, for I'm only intruding if Ms. Valentine feels that that is the case. Tootie, may I ask-"

"Not in the mood, Remy." the girl in question muttered out.

"Ah, very well then. Perhaps later. Farewell, Ms. Valentine, Turner... Other people." with that, Remy returned to his own table occupied by Tad, Chad, and a few other teenagers that Timmy didn't quite recognize, but assumed were about as equally unpleasant as Buxaplenty.

"You want me to kill that guy?" Trixie spoke up, earning her surprised looks from all of their table's other occupants, even Veronica. "What? Oh... Well, not me personally, but I could hire someone to... y'know..." she dragged her thumb across her neck while making a slitting sound.

"And suddenly the reason that no one teases Chester and Veronica about their relationship comes to light..." Timmy chuckled. "Remind me not to piss you off..."

"I give special privileges to my friends." Trixie smiled. "So let me ask then, are you two...?"

The brunet glanced at Tootie, who was once again looking pretty uncomfortable... "But why? We aren't together, we're just really close... Why should that bother her?" Smirking despite his friend's uneasiness, Timmy put his arm around Tootie and leaned toward her while pulling the girl into a side-hug. "Tootie's like the sister I never had, but always wanted!" he felt her tense up in his grip, likely because he was once again being overly affectionate and only fueling more rumors. "But seriously? No, there's nothing going on between us. Truth be told, I just suck at Algebra, and needed her to tutor me a bit."

"Ahem..." Tootie cleared her throat loudly, but at last relaxed in Timmy's grip, since he was doing his best to quell the rumors surrounding their admittedly close relationship.

"Okay..." Timmy rolled his eyes. "A lot. I'd have to agree with what she told me earlier, she's pretty much carrying me through the class. Just don't have the aptitude for it, maybe a... mental block or something." he rapped his fist against the side of his head a few times.

Trixie looked at the two embracing teens quizzically for several seconds, not quite ready to believe them, yet at the same time not about to call them out as lying about whatever was between them. "Eh." she shrugged. "You two would make a really cute couple... But unless Timmy's really big on the idea of making out with someone he sees as a sister, I can see the point you're trying to make..." "And I know better than to try and push two people together..."

"You're not serious, are you?" Chester and Veronica spoke in disbelief.

"I am. We're supposed to be their friends, yet all we've done lately is tease them about how they must secretly be together. Peer pressure is not the way to get something you want to happen, to happen. What we're doing is coercive, in a way, and friends don't coerce each other." Trixie crossed her arms and nodded her head, ending the conversation.

"Alright...?" Veronica looked at Chester in confusion, only to be met with a look that suggested he was just as confused by the turn of events as she was.

The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch, and eliciting a pair of relieved-sounding sighs from Timmy and Tootie, who quickly stood up from the table to get to their next class.

"Phew..." Tootie began, whispering once again. "Remind me to thank Trixie later..."

"What for? Rumors are just rumors, Toots. We know they're not true, so what's it really matter?" Timmy looked down at his friend, hoping that her uneasiness had faded a bit.

"I know... It's just annoying, that's all..." she looked up to meet Timmy's blue eyes, the same eyes that had once made her fall head over heels for the brunet. She wanted to tell him that it might be a good idea to stay away from each other for a few days, work with other people on school projects, sit next to different people, not be as physical with their platonic affection for each other...

Problem was, if they did do that, it would only increase the rumors, people would think they were really trying to hide their imaginary relationship, after almost having been found out... Except... That wasn't the only reason, and it certainly wasn't the most important one, to her. Truth be told, avoiding Timmy wasn't what she wanted at all. Deep down, Tootie was terrified that she'd slip up somehow and ruin the friendship they'd worked so hard to achieve, that everything they'd worked for, it would be all for nothing. And the idea of avoiding her best friend was too close to that prospect. She'd rather deal with a runaway rumor mill than risk losing Timmy as a friend.

"Heehee! Maybe you're right..." Tootie smiled and leaned toward the brunet as they walked toward the exit of the cafeteria. "Oh, and Timmy?"

"Hm? Yeah, Toots?" he looked down at her again, and felt very suddenly uneasy, though it wasn't because of their closeness, it was more because the bespectacled girl was grinning at him mischievously.

"Sorry."

"Sorry? For wha-Ack!" Timmy found himself roughly pushed to his right, away from Tootie, and towards a stray banana peel, just in time to think: "I deserve this." The brunet slipped on the banana peel, sending his right leg forward out from under him and into the air as the rest of him quickly followed, making him land flat on his back.

Tootie, barely containing a fit of laughter, stepped over to the now floored Timmy and quirked an eyebrow down at him as he in turn frowned up at her. "That was for the two times you pushed me this morning."

"Fair enough..." Timmy stuck his hand in their air towards Tootie. "Help a friend up?"

"Not like you deserve it." Tootie muttered, but pulled Timmy to his feet regardless.

Meanwhile...

"So why did you give up on what was essentially your favorite non-TV soap opera?" Veronica looked at Trixie as she stood up to leave the cafeteria.

"Hm? I didn't give up on anything." Trixie grabbed her backpack and adjusted the shoulder strap. "You know what happens when people write in to the studios that film soap operas with a really popular suggestion?"

"...Not really..." the blonde rubbed her chin in thought, and both were tuned out by Chester, who couldn't possibly care less about soap opera-talk.

"They take literally as long as possible to do it, just to tease us!" the raven-haired girl stomped her foot petulantly.

"So... what does that have to do with Timmy and Tootie?"

"Simple. I say we ease off the teasing and hint dropping. Let them figure each other out. You really want them to get together? Ignore the elephant in the room. Oh, and FYI, the elephant in the room is-"

"Their relationship, yeah I got that." Veronica deadpanned. "...You're so evil!"

"Me? No... I prefer... Devious." Trixie smirked.

"Ack!" A yell from across the cafeteria drew the attention of the three remaining friends to Timmy, who laid on the floor with an arm outstretched at Tootie, who was evidently trying not to laugh at her fallen friend.

"You sure those two aren't just going to kill each other before they hook up?" Chester looked at Trixie quizzically.

"Um... Probably?" she honestly wasn't sure herself now...

As for the not-lovebirds, Timmy and Tootie were delighted(though they didn't show it) to find that, not only had the light remarks from strangers died down after lunch, but neither Chester nor Veronica said so much as a word to them regarding their not-relationship... Until the end of the day when Chester caught the two in front of Timmy's locker, with Tootie searching through it for something.

"Do I have to say it?" the blond looked at Timmy slyly, while Tootie jumped in surprise at hearing his voice, banging her head as she did.

"Might as well get it out of your system." Timmy crossed his arms and shrugged indifferently while leaning up against the wall of lockers.

Scratching his chin in thought for a few seconds, mostly because he wanted to follow Trixie's suggestion, the blond teen spoke. "Doesn't Tootie have her own locker?"

"Yep." Timmy nodded.

"And yet she's using yours?"

"Mm-hm." another nod.

"Why?"

"Reasons."

"Uh-huh? You two do realize that you're acting like a couple in pretty much every way except for the more physical parts of such a relationship, right?" Chester looked back and forth between Timmy and Tootie, who still had her head hidden in Timmy's locker.

"You're just jealous." Timmy shrugged again.

"Damn! You finally figured me out!" Chester spoke with mock-anger. "I thought what you and I had was special, dude! And then you drop this relationship you have with Tootie on me?!"

Playing along, the brunet smirked at his friend's antics. "I'm sorry man, but... I wanna see other people! It's... It's not you! It's... me..."

"Dammit Timmy... I wish I could quit you..."

"Okay." Tootie stepped back from Timmy's locker and shut the door. "You two are scaring me now."

"I won't let you take him away from me!" Chester shouted defiantly, wrapping his arms around Timmy, who rolled his eyes.

"...Actually, I like where this is going..." the raven-haired girl smiled(in a purposefully creepy way) and brought her left arm across her chest to support her right, which held her chin, leaving her to pose in a way that suggested she was viewing a priceless work of art, rather than her two friends.

"Okay. I'm gone." Chester pulled away from Timmy with a blush and waved. "Gotta go." the blond quickly scurried down the hall and out the front doors of Dimmsdale High.

Timmy watched him leave, then turned back to Tootie, an impressed look on his face. "Not bad. Acting like your a fan of... Whatever that's called. Ended his teasing pretty quick..."

"It's called yaoi. And who's acting?" the bespectacled girl winked at her friend and grinned.

"Nope, not going there." "You all set to go? We're gonna miss our bus at this rate."

"You don't want to talk about the homoerotic subtext between you and Chester?" Tootie began, only to find her best friend quickly making his way down the hall, away from her. "Hey! Get back here!" she raced to catch up with Timmy, and matched his pace when she did. "I was kidding! Jeez, thought you both were too..."

"You're lucky we're friends." the brunet looped his arm around Tootie's shoulders. "I'd hate to have to kick your ass."

"As if you could!" Tootie said with a chuckle. "And I'm pretty sure it's you who's lucky we're friends."

"Heh... I'll admit to that." using Tootie to keep his balance, Timmy kicked his left foot forward, kicking the school doors open to see Chester waiting in front of the door of their school bus.

"Hey! Move your asses!" the blond waved at them, gesturing for them to hurry up, then quickly climbed onto the bus.

"Well, at least he got the driver to wait for us..." Timmy muttered as he and Tootie quickened their pace and got on the bus, making their way to the back, and their seat from earlier that morning to sit down.

"You're both welcome!" Chester peered over the back of his seat at his two friends.

Tootie frowned at the blond now. "Chester, I feel the need to remind you that you spent most of this day either being a perv, or teasing us about our nonexistent romance. At this point, everything you do is damage control."

"Well I- ...A fair point. What've you two got planned for the rest of the day?" Chester opted to change the subject, rather than risk drawing more ire from Tootie or Timmy.

"You genuinely interested, or just looking for more ammo to tease us with?" the brunet narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"C'mon now... Would I do something like that? ...The answer is yes, but not right now. Seriously, what're you two gonna fill the rest of the day with? Maybe we can all hang out?"

"'Least he's honest..." Timmy thought to himself. "Tootie's coming over to hang out-"

"We are studying, since you felt the need to call me out on not helping you this morning." Tootie cut in adamantly. "And, just to clarify, Trixie and Veronica are my friends too. I can hang out with them whenever I want, just like you can hang out with Knucklehead here." Tootie nodded toward Chester. "One of the perks of not being in a relationship."

"Except you said you'd come over and help me, remember?"

Both teens looked at Chester, hearing that he was giggling at them again. "What?!"

"Lover's quarrel... Oh man... you two make it so easy! I wish Veronica was here to see you two..." the blond wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

"You know what? Me too! Then you'd have something to preoccupy yourself with that wasn't us!"

"Now now... Remember your blood pressure..." Timmy rubbed Tootie's shoulder in a poor effort to get her to calm down. "She's right though, Chester. AJ and I used to argue like this all the time, and I wasn't dating him."

"AJ didn't have a crush on you." Chester winked as he stood up from his seat and made his way toward the front of the bus, seeing that they were at his stop. "See you!" the blond waved and got off the bus, making Tootie sigh once more in relief.

Which didn't go unnoticed by her brunet-haired companion. "So... everything okay with you today?"

"Why do you ask? All that crap just gets annoying at times..." Tootie slumped down into the seat, making her look even shorter than normal, though in reality, she was only a few inches shorter than Timmy.

"Annoying, annoying, annoying... She sure is getting annoyed a lot lately..." "Well... This isn't the first time we've heard it, but it seems like it's really getting to you today... It's not um... that time of-"

"No!" Tootie's cheeks pinkened, there weren't many things she felt she couldn't talk to Timmy about, being that he was her best friend, but 'Shark Week', as Chester had once inelegantly put it, was one of them. "It's just... -sigh- It's nothing."

"Sounds more like 'something'. You realize when you say 'nothing' like that, with that look on your face-" the teen pointed at his friend's face, which bore a worried-looking expression. "You might as well be screaming that something's eating at you. So c'mon, tell me. If you can't tell your best friend what's wrong, who can you tell?"

"There's Vicky." Tootie deadpanned, at Timmy, and herself, to some extent, considering her sister wasn't exactly good at concepts like 'feelings' and 'emotions'.

"Ah... But Vicky's not here, is she?" the less-prominently buck-toothed teen again put his arm around Tootie's shoulders, this time pulling her right up against him. "But I am, so...?" He knew almost instantly that with the way he was holding Tootie, and the way he was looking at her while holding her, he was probably treading the line that they had agreed on years ago, but if something was bothering her, he couldn't just sit back and let her stew...

"I-It's not just how annoying everyone is by insisting there's something between us when there isn't..." for some reason, Tootie felt like she needed to look away, like she couldn't quite face her friend's scrutinizing gaze, even though it wasn't scrutinizing at all, it felt like it was. "But... Earlier, I thought that maybe we should try to... avoid each other for a bit, work on our schoolwork with other people, not sit so close to each other..."

"Oh... So... would you prefer..." Timmy began to move his arm from around her shoulders.

"No! I don't-" Tootie nearly shouted, shocking herself and making Timmy jump, yet keep his arm where it was. "What am I doing?" She felt like she had six years ago as she stared at the brunet's eyes. Like she'd get lost in them if she stared for too long...

"You don't...? Tootie? What's up?" for a second, Timmy was worried that there was something wrong with his friend, the way she was just staring at him blankly...

Refocusing her gaze on Timmy and snapping out of her trance, Tootie spoke. "I... Don't want to screw up what we've worked so hard to achieve. I know I screwed up so many times when we were younger, and it nearly prevented us from becoming friends, like we are today. I don't want to go back to that, to even... go anywhere near that..." "Wait... which 'back then' am I even talking about? Do I not want to go back to having a crush on him? That one, right? Or... do I not want to risk our friendship? Which is it?"

The brunet watched Tootie's violet eyes dart around in her head, obviously deep in thought over something, but what?

A low squeal from the bus tires alerted the two friends, making them look around and realize that they were at their bus stop. "We'd um... Better go...?"

"Yeah..." Tootie responded in an unsure tone as she moved off the seat, followed by Timmy, then both got off the bus.

Timmy looked at the girl who was his best friend, seeing that she was still deep in thought, and whatever it was, she wasn't about to share it with him... And that... "Kind of hurts? Why?" "You're still comin' over, right? Or... You want me to walk you back to your house?"

"Hm? N-no, I'm coming over..." Tootie stopped and thought. "I just-" as she opened her mouth to continue, the sky apparently decided that now would be a good time to open up, instantly drenching the two teens in cold-ish rain.

"Fuck..." Timmy looked up at the sky and sighed. "Really couldn't wait until we got back to my house?"

"Whoever you're talking to? I don't think they can hear you..." happy that her friend's focus was off her and how unsure she was about what exactly she wanted out of their relationship(though she was certainly not pleased at the cost of the change of focus), Tootie took off her glasses and wiped them on her shirt, which was now becoming quite transparent. "Ugh..." the girl groaned as she slipped her glasses back on, only for them to get covered in raindrops again. "Looks like your wish came true..."

"Wish?" Timmy turned his attention from the sky and back down to Tootie. "What wish- Oh." the brunet giggled as he looked a bit lower, seeing that, beneath her white button-up, which was now soaked and clinging to her skin, Tootie wore a plain black bra. "Hey, I never wished for that, it was you who insinuated I wanted to see what color bra you were wearing. Though now that I do see it..." he smirked at his friend, who raised an eyebrow at him as she put her hands on her hips. "Well... I'm not complaining."

"Can we go before we get sick?" Tootie stepped toward, then past Timmy and continued down the sidewalk, where she was quickly joined by said teen.

"You know that's just an old wives tale, right? A little rain never killed anybody."

"You'd rather stay out here getting soaked?" the girl quickened her pace, seeing Timmy's house come into view.

"Not like I'm the only one getting a bit of eye candy..."

At this, Tootie couldn't stop herself from looking over her shoulder at the brunet, noticing his now soaked shirt clinging tightly to his skin... Accentuating every faint curve of his chest muscles... "Hah. Don't flatter yourself." "Please don't! You're killing me here!" The girl really was beginning to think that hanging out with Timmy was an absolutely terrible idea. The feelings she had pushed down, strangled the life out of, or so she thought, were trying their damnedest to bubble back up to the surface, and the rain wasn't helping in the slightest to cool the fire rekindled for her best friend...

Catching up to her, Timmy grinned, finding that he had managed to turn the tables on the girl. "Yet you're staring..."

"H-how could I not?! You look like you're smuggling raisins under your shirt!" Tootie blushed again, though this one was a bit harder to see in the rain.

"And if you didn't have the luxuries of a bra, you would too... Well, maybe some fruit a little bigger than raisins... Anyway, the rain's cold, I can't stop my body from getting goosebumps! ...But at least now I know for sure that you were staring." Timmy responded slyly as the two came to his front door.

"That-! That doesn't mean a damn thing! I was... Appreciating your physique, that's all!" Tootie sputtered out. "You- you're clearly a well-built male specimen, so my brain... is telling me that it'd be a good idea to admire you, because... you'd produce healthy offspring if we were to... Y'know... I-it's just hormones!" over the course of her poor attempt at justifying her staring, the blush on Tootie's face had progressed from a barely-there pink to a significantly more obvious red.

"Really?" Timmy leaned toward the girl, making her lean back, then take off her glasses and wipe them off again as she saw that they were beginning to fog up. As she did, the brunet noticed an odd feeling surge through him, not unlike a quick little jolt of electricity. "She's cute." That's what it was. Well, sort of. He had always thought Tootie was cute, but that was more about her mannerisms and how she dressed. Right now, her being soaking wet and totally flustered made him see her in a slightly different light. He felt a sudden appreciation for her looks that he didn't before, and caught himself as he realized his eyes were beginning to roam over her body. "Oh wow..."

"R-really." Tootie stammered out as she put her glasses back on, though her blush did not subside in the slightest.

Her voice snapped Timmy out of his little trance. "If you say so, Toots." he pulled away and unlocked his front door, then stepped aside. "Ladies first?"

"Thanks..." "This is my chance! I can just leave, forget about today, forget about... whatever I feel! At least that way I won't ruin things between us..." Despite her thoughts telling her about how much of a bad idea it was, Tootie found herself in Timmy's living room a minute later; arms crossed, still dripping wet, but thankfully not particularly cold. "Parents still out on... business?" "Smooth, Tootie. You know they are... They always are!"

"Yeah, really important business meeting in Miami." Timmy's voice dripped with sarcasm as he came into the living room from the kitchen holding a couple of towels. "Here."

"Thanks." Tootie took the offered towel and dried herself off as much as she could, though without a change of clothes, she was still fairly damp. "Hey, I'm... sorry... About your parents. By now I know better than to bring it up..." she handed the towel back to him.

"Because I'm really thin-skinned, right?" Timmy chuckled at how sheepish and careful Tootie was trying to be, considering there were very few touchy subjects between them, and his parents' absence was not one of them. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" the brunet stepped forward and felt Tootie's forehead, tossing their towels onto the couch as he did. "Maybe you were right about people getting sick from the rain... You feel a little warm..."

"I'm not warm from a fever..." "Quit it!" she lightly swatted his hand away. "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings by bringing up your parents, that's all! I'm fine, let's- Let's just get our homework done so you don't fail Algebra!" turning away from Timmy with a huff, Tootie made her way over to the stairs and up them. "You coming?" she called down as she continued to ascend them.

"You never had a problem with me touching you before..." "You don't want anything to eat or drink?" Timmy walked over to the stairs and leaned on the railing to look up at Tootie, netting himself the same view that Chester had likely gotten on the bus that morning.

"No, just-" Tootie spun around to look at Timmy as she reached the upstairs landing, just in time to see him quickly look down, finding the first three stairs oddly more interesting. "I'm surrounded by perverts."

"Sorry, wasn't thinking!" the brunet smiled up at her cheekily.

"You look sorry." the raven-haired girl stated rather sarcastically. "Just get up here already!"

"Y'know..." the brunet stepped around the railing and began ascending the stairs. "The more we hang out, the more I realize you're basically 'Vicky Lite'. Telling me what to do, yelling at me for the smallest little slip-ups..." Timmy stopped in front of Tootie, on the top stair before the landing, making her seem just a bit taller than him now.

"Yeah, well... It would've been nice to get some of the looks in the family, rather than just the brains..."

"Uh... What?" this was a new topic for them. Tootie had never brought up her looks before, and if he took into account the way his best friend dressed... He had always just assumed that she wasn't self-conscious about it. Vicky certainly wasn't. The girl(well, woman) dressed like a tomboy pretty much all the time, except for a few rare occasions when she wanted to look 'cute' for a guy(not like those relationships ever got off the ground anyway). He supposed that Tootie was partially right then, were Vicky not so unapproachably abrasive(Hell, even though she was), the red-head would definitely be easy on the eyes. "I guess you're right, Vicky's kind of pretty..." Timmy rubbed the back of his head.

"See? Meanwhile, all I got was the brains... The only reason guys like Remy ask me out is because of outfits like this..." the raven-haired girl remarked sadly and swept her hand in the air over her clothes.

"Pfft. Who cares what those idiots want or think? Not like you're gonna start dating any of them, right?" Timmy stepped up the last stair, reaching the landing and walking past Tootie.

"First of all, dating them isn't the point, and I'm pretty sure I just made it clear that I care..."

"And why's that?" the brunet glanced over at her from in front of his bedroom door and opened it.

"Because I'm a girl, it'd be nice to get paid a compliment now and again." she stated matter-of-factly as she followed Timmy into his room. "Ugh... it's an oven in here..." Tootie began fanning herself with her right hand.

"Well, it's been pretty sticky and humid all day..." the brunet strode over to his bed and leaned over it to open the window. "Shouldn't take long to cool off in here, now that the humidity's finally broken." Laying down on his bed, Timmy's eyes fell on Tootie again, seeing that she was just awkwardly standing in the middle of his room like she was lost. "Something up?"

"Would you-" she felt her cheeks heating up again, and her mind screaming at her to not got through with what she was about to. "Um... Can you promise not to freak out if I ask you something?"

"This should be interesting..." "Only if you sit down." Timmy moved his legs back toward the window to give her some room on the bed.

"Okay..." hesitantly, the raven-haired girl stepped forward, each step taking what felt like an eternity, before finally sitting down on the very edge of Timmy's bed with her hands in her lap and looking down at them, rather than the bed's other occupant.

"So...? What's up?" the brunet nudged his friend with his foot when it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything.

"I- um... I was wondering-"

"Tootie? You keep stammering like this and we won't have time for our homework..." Timmy smirked, hoping that his attempt his best friend on was working.

"I-! Just gimme a sec!" she blushed again, now glaring at Timmy and his sudden onset of impatience.

Sitting up in bed, Timmy once more leaned in close to Tootie, now bearing a sly grin. "How many secs do you want?" "I am so gonna regret that..."

"Wh-what?! He- He did not just-!" "I- Y-you-! And-" Tootie stammered, finding that she couldn't come up with an adequate response to Timmy's statement. "Augh! You are such a pervert!" she shrieked and pushed the brunet away with all her might, which would've worked, had he not looped his arm around her waist. The momentum from her push did cause him to fall backward onto the bed, but it also sent Tootie down right along with him, making the girl stick her arms out on either side of Timmy to keep from crashing into his forehead with her own.

For several seconds, neither teen made a sound, the only noise in the room being the pitter-patter of raindrops splashing against the window. "You okay?" Timmy finally asked, seeing the clear and obvious worry on his friend's face, he assumed because she was under the impression that she had finally crossed the unspoken line and screwed everything up.

The girl on top of him nodded, making her glasses slip down her nose and off her face, lightly bonking the brunet on his nose when they did.

"Ow..." the teen rubbed his nose as he heard Tootie quietly stifle a laugh, then gently picked up the offending eye wear and placed it on the windowsill. "You can still see me, right?" he teased.

Another nod.

"Good." he took the opportunity to appreciate the view now. "Have her eyes always looked like that?" To Timmy, they seemed to be almost brilliantly violet now... Had they always been? Had he never noticed because she always wore her glasses... Or had he never seen Tootie in that light until now? "Wait, now? So... do I like her then?" He felt his cheeks heat up, and knew he was blushing. A stray lock of hair swung down near her left eye then, and he brushed it away, merging it with the rest of her hair and unconsciously threading his fingers through her raven locks. "Right... that's how we got here..."

And so, Timmy Turner found himself in his room, on a rainy Friday afternoon, beneath his best friend, Tootie Valentine, both having slowly fading blushes on their faces and being just one, single step away from-

"Going with the moment?" Tootie asked in a bemused tone, repeating what he had said.

"It was the best I could come up with." Timmy shrugged and smiled up at her. "So... What were you gonna ask me?"

"I... I honestly can't remember..." She really couldn't. Her mind was so flooded with euphoria at how perfect this moment was that Tootie found there was only one thing she could focus on, and that was musing on whatever the best way was to prolong it for as long as possible.

"Well... Mind if I ask a question of my own then?"

"No..." "He hasn't pushed me away yet... so he must want this too, right?" If there was anything she could do to make this little moment between them last forever, Tootie knew she'd do it without a second thought. There was no question in her mind that her feelings for Timmy had returned now, except this didn't feel like just a grade school crush anymore...

"After everything I've said to you, all those cruel, hurtful things; pushing you away, flirting with Trixie right in front of you at times, telling you I... I would never like you the way you liked me..." the brunet felt the guilt of his actions come back in full force, hitting his heart like a Mack truck. "I know I don't deserve a friend as great as you, and you... You're amazing for putting up with me for as long as you have..." he trailed off, feeling his confidence slowly slipping away. "What if she says no? You honestly think she won't after the Hell you've put her through?" His conscience berated him, calling him out for(and making him remember) every cruel thing he had done to Tootie, this girl who was still his best friend, despite it all. "Tootie, I- Would you...?" the brunet sighed in aggravation. Much as he wanted to, he couldn't ask her, the words just wouldn't come. "Hell with it."

The girl on top of him shot Timmy a quizzical look before squeaking in surprise as he flipped her off him and onto her back, then moved over her and quite unexpectedly(for her) roughly crashed his lips into hers.

For a split second, Tootie couldn't form a single coherent thought, and merely stared at her best friend with wide eyes and mouth agape(or it would've been, had her mouth not been covered by Timmy's). After that second, her brain seemingly kicked into overdrive as it was flooded with half a million questions, all of which were subsumed beneath a single thought. "Oh right, I'm supposed to kiss him back." And kiss him back she did, with all the passion and fervor that several years of repressed sexual tension entailed. Her hands roamed over his body, her left eventually finding it's way into and entangling itself in his hair, while her right trailed up his chest, over his arm, and eventually interlaced its fingers with the brunet's left hand.

Timmy, meanwhile, honestly had no idea what he was doing, merely hoping that he was doing it well as quickly swiped his tongue across Tootie's lips, and lightly squeezing her hand in his own as her lips parted, bidding that he deepen the kiss.

He had to admit, he much preferred this dynamic to their old one, with her affections being just shy of suffocating before, his once proud(if a little awkward) friend was now shy and demure, letting him set the pace of their current interaction. Just as he wanted, the brunet got the chance to taste his friend, finding her to be... kind of sweet, actually. If he had to describe her taste beyond that... Well, he couldn't. How exactly could you describe the taste of the first person you kissed? He had nothing to compare her to, as she had always been the first and only girl he'd ever kissed, though this was certainly the first time he had kissed her like this... He pulled away, panting heavily, learning firsthand that breathing through his nose wasn't quite adequate, and looked down at Tootie to find that she was in a similar state.

However, seeing Timmy pull away immediately made Tootie think she'd done something wrong. "Crap! Did I already screw this-" her thoughts were interrupted as he leaned back down, having caught his breath, and began planting feather-light kisses on her neck. "N-nope... We're good..." she shuddered as he steadily moved lower, stopping at her collarbone and lightly nipping at it, making her squeak cutely, then sliding his left hand out of her grip, and his right out of her hair, before both came to rest on the top button of Tootie's shirt.

Timmy considered undoing it, and almost did, but took pause and looked up at Tootie. "Um... If you feel like we're... going too far..." Yes, he liked being the one to set the pace, but he also wasn't about to push Tootie into something... That he himself barely knew anything about.

"N-no, it's fine..." moving her hands down to her shirt and pushing Timmy's away, she undid the first button... then the second... then the third... and so on until she was completely unbuttoned. Once finished, she brought her arms up over her head to let them rest on the pillow she was using. "I-it might be good if you took off-"

Before she could finish, the brunet speedily lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it at his bedroom door, then leaned over the raven-haired girl again, and slipped his hands into her now open shirt to part it, revealing the skin on her abdomen to be much paler than the rest of her, which made sense, Tootie didn't sunbathe half as often as her sister did. Once again, Timmy felt he wanted to taste her, and returned to her collarbone to plant a kiss on it, followed by another, this one a bit lower, and another, this one on the very top of her left breast, eliciting a shuddering breath from the girl. He paused again, pulling away to bring his head up to meet her gaze, then leaned in and let his forehead rest against hers. "I-um... Are you sure you want to...?" He was beginning to feel just the slightest bit light-headed. Of course he wanted to go further, he wanted to get as close to Tootie as he possibly could, but if she didn't want to... Then he was perfectly content to just stay like this for hours too. Everything about the moment, the smell of the unknown purple flower, the scent of the rain on her perfectly smooth skin, his heart nearly beating out of control, and the rising heat he felt in his stomach... It felt perfect to him. And it made him wonder if, just maybe- "Do I... Love her?" He knew that they had a special relationship; he was so much closer to Tootie than he was to Chester or AJ, and he had known them for a few years before he met her...

Tootie quirked an eyebrow at Timmy, just slightly confused by his nervousness, then leaned up so she could reach the clasp of her bra and undo it. "Is that even a question?" She lowered the left strap of the bra off her shoulder, followed by the other, but left the bra to simply lay over her breasts as she looped her arms around the back of Timmy's neck. "Timmy, do you think I'd still be here if I wasn't sure of what I wanted?" She smiled at him shyly now, impressed with herself for being able to speak without stumbling over her words.

Glaring down at the annoying piece of black fabric separating him from seeing even more of the girl, Timmy groaned and pushed himself up, making Tootie unhook her arms from around his neck. "Ngh... Hold that thought."

"What's wrong?" Tootie sat up as he moved off her, causing her bra to slip right off, though she quickly noticed this and covered herself with her right arm.

The brunet answered her query by shutting his bedroom door and locking it. "That." he turned back to face her. "Maybe I should move a dresser in... front..." Timmy trailed off as he watched Tootie slide her bra off his bed with her hand, while still keeping herself covered with the other, then kick her sneakers off, one at a time.

"Not gonna keep me waiting, are ya?" the raven-haired girl spoke in a sultry tone and grinned, her eyes half-lidded and inviting him back over to her.

"Gah..." Timmy practically whined out and blushed. She was teasing him! And obviously enjoying it! The brunet dropped down onto his rear end with a thump and yanked off his shoes, followed by his socks and belt, then stood back up to undo the button on his jeans, unzipped them, and slid them off, leaving him in just his boxers.

"I'm kinda surprised you can still blush, what with most of your blood going to..." Tootie pointed at the obvious tent raised in the brunet's boxers, even as she blushed herself. "Tell me, is it hard to walk around with that?"

She began giggling at her joke and covered her mouth with her hand, allowing Timmy a more than welcome view of her chest. As a sixteen year-old male, Timmy wasn't exactly a stranger to breasts(that's what the internet was for, after all), and Tootie had never been particularly well-endowed. Hers were small, probably just a little bigger than an A-cup, each topped by a dark-ish pink nipple. Thinking back, he realized that, at sixteen, Vicky's had been bigger than Tootie's were now, even though she was sixteen herself. This being said, it was the first time he had seen a pair of them in real life, and they fit with the girl's stature, being somewhat small herself.

"Maybe we should go camping, I had no idea you were so good at pitching a tent-Ah!" Tootie was cut off by her friend suddenly tackling her, pinning the girl beneath him again and recapturing her lips with his own. "Mmph..." against her better judgment, she pushed Timmy away, wanting to ask him another question(read: tease him some more). "So... do I actually turn you on this much, or is it all the sexual tension between us?"

Panting lightly again, Timmy opened his mouth to speak, wracking his brain to attempt to form a coherent thought. "I think-"

"Or!" she smirked as she interrupted him, earning her an annoyed glare. "Does this have something to do with what you said earlier, when you said I'm like the sister you always wanted?" Realizing her hands were still on Timmy's chest, she began tracing little circles on his skin, giggling as he shuddered from her hitting a ticklish spot.

"Why... Why would you say that?" he shot her an odd look.

"Hey, I'm just repeating what you said." Tootie shrugged her shoulders, making her shirt slip off them. "Not like it seems to have affected 'him' very much." she grinded against his erection, bringing forth an almost pained gasp from the brunet.

"The one time you choose to be as evil as Vicky... And it has to be when we're about to have sex...?" again, Timmy rested his forehead against hers, that last action from Tootie had nearly sent him over the edge. "...Have... I mentioned... How hot you are?"

"Once or twice." Tootie brought her right leg out from under Timmy and wrapped it around his waist, followed by her left. "Now come on... How long are you gonna make me wait...?" she very nearly whined out. "Wasn't eight years enough?"

Seeing his opportunity to turn the tables on her, Timmy grinned and pushed her legs apart, unhooking them from around his waist. "Oh, don't worry, Toots... I'm gonna take my time..." Moving a bit lower, the brunet kissed her neck and sucked at the sensitive flesh, relishing in the taste of the rain, and Tootie's skin.

"Y-you'd better not leave a m-mark..." she stammered out breathlessly, burying her fingers in his hair again.

"Now who's turning who on...?" Timmy pulled away, satisfied with the light reddish mark he left on the side of her neck. "How else are Remy and the others gonna know that you're mine?" Moving even lower, Timmy planted the occasional kiss every few centimeters, purposefully lingering a little with each peck, until once again coming to her left breast, this time covering the nipple with his mouth and lightly sucking at it, eliciting a low moan from the girl and making her squirm beneath him.

"I knew you were a perv..." Tootie managed to gasp out as she continued to dig her fingers into his hair.

Pulling away from her chest with a light smacking sound, the brunet again grinned at her. "Guilty as charged... But you're a tease." Sliding his hands down her waist, Timmy hooked each index finger into her skirt and pulled, sliding the fabric down her legs and finally off, then tossing it away, leaving her in just her white button-up(barely), her thigh-high stockings, and a pair of black panties that would have matched the bra, were Tootie still wearing it. Leaning over her once more, he pressed his lips against the skin between and just below her breasts, then repeated the action from before as he steadily planted kisses lower and lower, eventually reaching her navel and sweeping his tongue over and around it.

"Ah!" Tootie squeaked out and shuddered as Timmy teased and tickled her. What they were doing now... It was so different from any of her fantasies. She had been too young and naïve to know anything about sex at ten, and by the time she was sixteen, Timmy and her had agreed to be just friends, so something like... like what they were doing now had never even crossed her mind! It was amazing and terrifying at the same time, and she couldn't even begin to calm her now racing heart. A strange, steadily rising and intense sensation was building up in her, just below her navel, and right about where her... Most private place was. The feeling was... warm, and kind of... tingly, she supposed. "Timmy... I-" she suddenly stopped, gasping as she heard a low 'fwipping' sound, and looked down to see Timmy sitting up and smirking at her evilly while spinning her panties on his index finger. "I... Um... I don't like that look you're giving me..."

At this, the brunet's evil smirk turned into a full-blown grin as he tossed her underwear away, one Tootie wasn't completely sure if she should like, or be frightened by.

"What... Whatcha thinking about...?" the raven-haired girl unconsciously brought her legs together, crossing them and blocking Timmy's view of her... lady parts.

Lowering himself down once more, Timmy gently pushed her legs apart, revealing the pink folds of her vagina, which bore a light dusting of black hair at the top, which, upon seeing it, made the brunet think: "Peach fuzz."

"Uh... T-Timmy? Could you maybe not look..." she began to close her legs again, even with Timmy's head there. "Stop looking down there!" Tootie mentally screamed. However, the brunet must've noticed this, for he moved his hands up to the inner part of each of her thighs, keeping her from closing her legs anymore. "Timmy- Ahn...!" the girl cut herself off as she felt Timmy press his lips against those of her entrance. "S-stop it..." she curled her toes inward as Timmy brushed his tongue against her now, barely entering her as he flicked his tongue in, then quickly retreating and pulling back out. She let out a hot breath as she arched her back slightly, no longer having the presence of mind to close her legs. She had a feeling she'd pay for teasing him earlier... But this pleasure she was feeling now... it was torturous!

Enjoying the sounds he was bringing out of her, Timmy hooked his arms around Tootie's thighs and pulled her closer as she in turn tried to push herself away from his assault. "Oh no you don't..." He glanced up at her to see her chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath, her right arm thrown over her eyes, realizing she couldn't get away, while her left had a fistful of his bed's sheets in a deathgrip, nearly ripping them.

Refocusing on his current task, the brunet slid his tongue forward, and into her, this time for an extended stay as he swept it against her inner walls, savoring the taste that, as when he had kissed her mouth, he couldn't quite describe, other than mildly 'sweet'. Again, this evoked a seemingly pleasurable response in Tootie as she squirmed, squeaked, and whimpered at each brush of his tongue inside her, and he occasionally felt her walls tighten around it. This all came to a head as he pulled his tongue out of her and redirected it(and his attention) to the small, pink, knob-like protrusion at the top of her vagina. He was well aware of what this was, and quickly brushed his tongue onto, over, and around it, turning the girl's low squeaks into slightly less-modest moans, making her sit up and wrap her arms around the teen's head, pressing his face against her. Just before it seemed like she was going to squeeze his head hard enough to make it pop, Tootie let out a final, breathy moan and fell backward onto his bed, slick with sweat and rainwater, looking and panting more like she had just run a marathon than had an orgasm.

"Hah... Hah... W-wow..." Tootie spoke, each attempt at a word coming out as more of a pant, trying in vain to catch her breath.

"So..." Timmy began as he leaned over the girl, his face now a few centimeters from hers, and letting his forehead come to rest against hers again. "Was it good for you?"

"Th-this is your...?" Tootie took pause, she wanted to ask if it was his first time, and was almost positive it was, Timmy and her were nearly always together... But what if it wasn't? Had he been with other girls before? Trixie maybe? Veronica? She was actually afraid that she wasn't his first! "I'm being ridiculous..."

"First time? Tootie..." he smiled at her knowingly. "You said yourself that I'm as unlaid as a pile of bricks... Yes. This is my first time... Isn't it yours?"

"Y-yeah, but... That was..."

"Amazing?" he interrupted her and grinned cheekily.

"Well... Yeah, actually... How can you-"

"Internet." As embarrassing as it was to admit to his best friend that, yes, he had looked up porn once or twice in the past, he nearly laughed as he realized that, for once, his internet excuse was actually completely true.

Tootie chuckled, then, looping her arms around the back of Timmy's neck, pulled him into another kiss, this one less forceful than the rough one he had surprised her with. As she did, her hands roamed over his back, moving down until coming to the waistband of his boxers and slipping the thumb and index fingers of each hand in, then sliding them down, at which point Timmy shifted his legs out of them and kicked the boxers away. Once more, Tootie wrapped her legs around Timmy's waist, raising herself up off the bed just enough for his erection to press against her entrance.

Looking down at her as he held himself up, the brunet couldn't help but appreciate the beauty beneath him. Her hair was a mess from sweat and rain, her cheeks were flushed pink, the sleeves of her shirt remained on her arms, though they had slipped down to loosely cling to her from being damp... he could feel her thigh-high socks, also damp, and slightly cool on his skin. And then... his gaze met hers, and those beautiful violet eyes, just slightly wet with tears, seemed to almost sparkle in the dim light coming through the window.

Lowering himself a bit, Timmy entered her slowly, not meaning for it to be teasingly, but abruptly stopped as Tootie hissed and tightened her legs around his waist. "Y-you okay?" he barely managed to get out, as her action only ended up pushing him deeper inside her.

"Yeah... j-just... go slow..." Tootie gasped out. She had heard it would be uncomfortable at first, but the boy on top of her was a bit above average in terms of size.

"O-okay... Does it... Hurt?" "Smooth, Me..."

"A... a little..."

Slowly leaning down, Timmy lowered himself and Tootie down so she laid on her back on the bed, no longer having to hold herself up with her legs, though she didn't move them from around his waist. Figuring this to be one of the few times that 'fast and quick' wasn't preferred, the brunet slowly and gently inched his way into her, pausing at every whimper and whine, until he felt her right arm move from his neck and her hand grab his chin, making Timmy meet Tootie's gaze again.

"Stop. Stopping." she very nearly growled out at him, thinking he was being teasing again, rather than careful.

"S-sorry... You said for me to go slow..."

"I know, but... Hurry up too! Or do you like teasing the both of us?!" she pulled him down with her legs, forcing Timmy a bit deeper into her. "Ah!"

"I'd say there's no pleasing you, but... Well..." he chuckled breathlessly, then thrust the rest of the of the way into her, making the girl nearly squeeze the life out of him and cry out. "Sorry again..." Timmy pecked her on the lips.

"F-fuck..."

"You're telling me... It's kind of a tight fit down-"

"Timmy." Tootie cut him off and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Sorry..." he grinned at her again.

Loosening her grip on the brunet, Tootie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you look sorry..."

"You alright to keep going?" he asked her seriously now.

"Yeah..." Tootie nodded weakly.

Gently, Timmy flipped his and Tootie's positions so that she was on top again, and brought his right hand up to caress her cheek, then slid it into her hair, enjoying the slight coolness of the still damp raven locks in his fingers. His left, meanwhile, slid over her hip and down the small of her back, eventually coming to rest on her right buttock, squeezing it lightly, making Tootie quirk an eyebrow up at him. "You've got a great ass."

Butting her head lightly against Timmy's at this comment, Tootie chuckled. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't a 'new' observation?"

"I never said it was. You think I wasn't occasionally checking you out during all those years we were just friends? If that's the case, then you don't know me at all, do you?" Rather than wait for an answer, Timmy thrust into her again, eliciting another moan from the girl, which was quickly muffled by the brunet covering her mouth with his own.

Finding the pain beginning to subside and turn more toward pleasure, Tootie began to match her friend's pace, meeting each of his thrusts by pressing down on him in turn, and feeling the heat and tingly sensation from before turn into more of a coiling feeling, one that was steadily becoming tighter and tighter, growing ever closer to a breaking point that she knew the both of them desired. "Timmy... I... think I'm... Ah..."

"Yeah... same here...Ngh..." While he didn't know it, Timmy felt the same way that she did, like there was a coiled spring in his gut and privates that was being twisted more and more toward snapping. Not in the sense that this would be his first orgasm(internet, duh), but it would be the first with another person. And that fact somehow excited him to no end, he just wished there was some way he could tell her without sounding corny...

Feeling like she was on cloud nine and might float away at any moment, Tootie hooked her arms back around the brunet's neck, pressing herself against him hard enough that it almost hurt. "Timmy..." was about all she could get out before the teen in question crashed his lips once more into hers, both hitting their climax at the same time.

For nearly a minute, the two barely moved, doing little more than end their kiss so they could both catch their breath, then Tootie dropped down onto Timmy, laying her head on his chest, which in turn made the brunet wrap his arms around the girl, his best friend, Tootie.

"So... heheh... so that's what it feels like when... eight years of sexual tension finally... breaks..." the raven-haired girl nuzzled her head against her friend's chest. "Vicky's gonna kill us both if she ever finds out we did this... before even going out on... a single date..." she spoke between ragged breaths.

"...You were thinking about Vicky while we were having sex? ...That's so cool! So was I..." Timmy joked, pulling Tootie up to his level and pecking her on the lips again.

"You're an idiot." the girl deadpanned.

"Only sometimes." the brunet pulled a blanket around himself and Tootie and held her close, sighing contentedly, now that the room was cooling off. "Or are we the ones cooling off?"

Feeling her heartbeat finally return to a normal rhythm, an idea came to the raven-haired girl's mind, one that she was sure she should just forget about and bury, but... "Timmy?" she made sure to look him right in the eyes, into those blue orbs that made her heart flutter.

"Yeah Tootie?" he focused on her violet eyes, having a good feeling about what the next words out of his friend's mouth would be.

"You... know I love you, right?"

"You've only been telling me you do for the past eight years... But... Even after everything I've done... you still do?"

She giggled, rubbing her nose against his. "Told you already, you're stuck with me..."

"Phew... That's a relief." the brunet tightened his grip on her. "It'd be really awkward if you didn't, since I love you too."

She couldn't believe it. She finally had everything she ever wanted, right in her grasp, and she was emotionally right back where she had started eight years ago, knowing she'd follow Timmy to Hell and back, if only he would ask...

"So... you wanna sleep over tonight? My parents probably won't be back until Sunday... Eh?" Timmy shot her an expectant smile.

"Pfft. You just wanna screw my brains out..."

"Yeah, I will admit to that... But... I really do wanna spend time with you too. So...?"

"Well... I think I'll have to go with... I'd love to."