Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or the title of this story, which was inspired by the song Pretty Things by Oceanship.
Author's note: This is a sequel to my one-shot, Nothing Matters When We're Dancing. It's about how I imagine the friends and family of Adam and Bianca would react if they began dating. This first chapter, which is Drew's reaction, takes place pretty much right after he discovers Adam and Bianca making out on the couch. There is a lot of dialogue, so please bear with me. I appreciate everybody who reads and reviews!
"How could you do this to me!"
Adam Torres tries his best not to roll his eyes at his step-brother's melodramatic outburst. He watches in vague amusement as Drew paces back and forth in front of him, while he casually lounges back on his couch—the same couch, in fact, that he and Bianca DeSousa had made out on not even an hour ago. A small grin crosses his face; he knows he should feel bad or whatever for 'stealing' Bianca, but quite frankly, he doesn't give a damn.
"Are you even listening to me?" snarls Drew, who is practically foaming at the mouth. "Or do you enjoy seeing me in pain?"
"Oh, please, don't be such a girl," retorts Adam, and this time he actually does roll his eyes. "It's not as if you caught me making out with your girlfriend."
Drew grips his hair in frustration. "But you knew I still have feelings for!" he says in a whining tone.
Even though his brother is being a complete jackass, Adam attempts to remain calm. "You were with Katie," he points out. "You had the entire summer to make a move, but you didn't. That's not my fault."
Taking a deep breath, Drew halts in front of him. "You're not seriously going to date Bianca, right." It's more of a statement than a question.
"Yes, I am," says Adam calmly. "I like her, and she likes me back. I deserve to be happy, Drew."
"How will you be able to sleep at night knowing you're dating the girl that I'm in love with?" Drew spits.
Adam chuckles. "I think I'll be able to manage," he replies.
His brother stares down at him, wide-eyed, and protests, "You can't do this to me!"
Instead of responding, Adam merely meets his gaze with raised eyebrows. You are such a fucking hypocrite, he thinks in resentment.
"You're the worst brother ever," Drew says coldly.
Suddenly, something inside Adam snaps. He's on his feet in a flash, getting in his brother's face, and even though he's fairly smaller than Drew, he still seems to tower over him. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Adam shouts, blue eyes stormy with rage. "I liked Bianca first, but that didn't stop you from going out with her, despite the fact that she outed me to the school and was the reason I got thrown through a fucking door! And then when I liked Fiona, you nearly jeopardized things with her, and hurt me in the process of that—all because of your stupid fucking hormones!"
He pauses to breathe, panting slightly. "I really, really liked Katie," Adam continues venomously. His cheeks are flushed, and his hands are clenched into fists, and his body shakes from anger. "I fucking considered getting surgery just so that she would date me! But then you kissed her two days later, as if you managed to forget about me talking about her constantly at home. Or do you enjoy seeing me in pain?" To add insult to injury, he mimics Drew from earlier.
Drew gapes at him, seemingly without a comeback.
"So don't you fucking dare accuse me of being the worst brother ever. You clearly take the cake for that one," sneers Adam.
"You didn't seem to mind that Bianca outed you when you had your tongue shoved down her throat," Drew snaps, regaining his composure.
Adam finds himself rolling his eyes again. "Bianca and I have put the past behind us. She's changed. You, on the other hand, have screwed me over time and time again without thinking about how it would affect me. I never even got an apology. Not once! Face it, Drew. You're a selfish prick."
His brother, however, refuses to back down and takes a different route. "You and Bee are never going to last," he says maliciously.
"And what makes you think that?" demands Adam as he folds his arms across his chest.
Drew looks like a completely different person. His features are hardened, and his voice is edged with cruelty. "Oh, Adam…" He lets out a chuckle. "Bianca's a very… physical person. Let's just say you won't be able to satisfy her needs."
Flinching, Adam remains silent for a couple of seconds. Drew's vindictive, merciless words hit hard, and it feels like someone just delivered a blow to his stomach.
But soon his hurt vanishes, instead replaced with his own fury and a need to retaliate.
"You are a fucking asshole!" bellows Adam, and his fist promptly collides with Drew's left eye. His so-called brother staggers backwards, groaning in pain and clutching his face. "I am not a girl, Andrew," he says icily. "Hope that was proof enough for you."
Drew simply moans in response.
Adam crosses the room and begins to ascend the basement stairs, but he stops midway to glance back down at Drew as a thought hits him. "You know, I think it's utter bullshit when you claim to be in love with Bianca. You don't cheat on the person you're in love with."
At this point, Drew is recovering from his brother's punch, but he stiffens visibly upon hearing Adam's remark. "That's not fair. Things with Alli didn't last long, and besides, that was before I actually fell in love with her," he argues.
"Once a cheater, always a cheater," says Adam dismissively. "I know for a fact Alli was the one that ended things, and she probably only fooled around with you in the first place to get back at Bianca. Jesus, Drew, you don't know what love is. You don't hurt the ones you love. But you've hurt me, and you've hurt Bianca, and you've hurt Katie—all without remorse. Just goes to show that you really are selfish."
Drew scowls, and his brother's words seem to fall on deaf ears. "Are you fucking PMSing or some—?" He abruptly stops speaking as he notices movement in his peripheral vision. His eyes widen when he sees the person leaning against the frame of the door in the basement. "Oh, shit."
Lips pursed and eyebrows raised, Bianca DeSousa has never looked so pissed off in her life.
"Bianca, what are you doing here?" Adam asks, also caught off guard.
"I came over in hopes of having some late night fun," she replies, but she quickly averts her attention to her ex-boyfriend and glowers at him. "I discovered you two in mid-argument. You have a lot of fucking nerve, Drew Torres."
The jock opens his mouth, though he soon shuts it again. He is speechless, once again.
Head held high, Bianca struts over to him until they're nose-to-nose. "I can't believe you cheated on me," she says fiercely, disgust evident in her tone. "And just so we're fucking clear, you little douchebag, Adam is ten times more man than you'll ever be."
Not waiting for Drew to formulate a retort, she joins Adam on the steps. Bianca wears a totally transformed expression when she looks at him, and a soft smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she takes her hand in his. "Let's go up to your room, Adam."
As Bianca starts to lead him away, Adam looks at his dejected brother one last time. "Don't fucking talk to me until you've gotten a serious reality check and you're ready to apologize, got it?"
And with that, the new couple exits the basement, leaving Drew to himself.
Now that there's nobody else around, Bianca lets out a giggle. "You do have a bedroom, right?" she says flirtatiously.
"Of course," smirks Adam. He takes the lead and guides her up another flight of steps, but despite his confident exterior, he's freaking out on the inside. I've never had a girl in my room before, he thinks anxiously, and he can't help but allow Drew's words to invade his mind.
"Bianca's a very… physical person. Let's just say you won't be able to satisfy her needs."
Adam wonders exactly what Bianca is expecting them to do. Sure, making out with her is an out-of-this-world experience, and he could do that for hours. But does she want something more? His brother's implications scare the shit out of him. Bianca knows about his situation; he's just assumed until now that what they could do intimately was already clear to her. Maybe not…
He halts in front of his door, the blood roaring in his ears. "My room's a bit messy, I've gotta warn you," he says with a nervous laugh. His fingers tremble as he opens the door and flicks on a light. "It's really not much…" It's true; his bedroom is quite simple. There's a queen bed, a closet, a drawer, a mirror, and clothes, along with various other items, decorating the floor. Adam turns to Bianca, awaiting her judgment.
"A typical boy's room," she teases, an affectionate smile adorning her face. "Though I gotta say, your bed is really nice. Bigger than mine, anyway." Bianca wastes no time in lying down under the covers and getting comfortable.
Adam stares at her, a blush heating his cheeks.
His girlfriend—God, he'll never get tired of thinking or saying that—pouts up at him. "What, aren't you going to join me?"
"Sure," he answers apprehensively. After making sure his door is closed and locked, because he doesn't want to imagine what would happen if his mother caught him with a girl in his bed, Adam slides in next to her. He turns to face her, placing a hand on her waist, and smiles slightly. "Happy now?"
That affectionate smile of hers returns instantly. "Very." Bianca leans forward and kisses him.
Flushed with desire, Adam kisses back. However, when she runs her tongue across his bottom lip and tries to deepen it, he reluctantly pulls away.
"Did I do something wrong?" she says in confusion.
"No, no, not at all… Um, Bianca, how long were you there during my fight with Drew?" he mumbles. He doesn't really want to talk about it or relive the ugly encounter he just had with his brother, but he knows it's necessary.
Realization dawns on her face. "Long enough," sighs Bianca.
"Well, uh… sorry about never telling you about Drew and Alli. It happened like right around the time Alli came back to Degrassi."
Bianca appears to be briefly annoyed, but she shakes her head. "Don't worry about it, Adam. You and I weren't close when it happened, so it's not like I blame you or anything. It's Drew's fault, not yours," she affirms.
A small smile sneaks its way back. "I guess it was a blessing in disguise. If I had found out, then I would have dumped his ass, and I wouldn't have reconnected with you."
"Look at you being all positive," chuckles Adam. "Kind of like when I was shot. We bonded after that, too."
"Ugh, let's save all prom-related stuff for another day," Bianca grimaces.
Adam plays with her fingers. "So, um, did you hear what Drew said about, uh…?" He trails off, feeling nervous and awkward.
"About me being physical?" she finishes quietly.
Wordless, he nods his head.
She sighs again. "For the record, Drew and I never even had sex, so I can't believe he even pulled that card in the first place. After, um, being with Vince… that kind of ruined sexual stuff for me, at least for awhile. So trust me, I'm not going to be like your idiot brother and cheat on you. I am honestly fine with just making out, if that's all you want to do." Even though it obviously pains her to bring up Vince, Bianca offers her boyfriend a small, reassuring smile.
"Seriously, thank you for that. I'm more comfortable about being transgender than I used to be, but after incidents like the one that just happened with Drew, I still get insecure sometimes. It was really comforting to hear that," Adam says with a contented grin. This time he is the one that draws her closer for a kiss.
"God, I can see myself falling in love with you," he breathes as they both pull away for air, nuzzling her neck. He then realizes what he's just said, and he internally panics. In that moment, Adam wants to run away. Or just die right here, right now—yeah, that would work, too. Jesus, he can't believe he actually voiced that. Now he's probably scared her away.
Instead, something wonderful happens. A miracle.
Bianca meets his gaze with the big, soulful brown eyes that make him feel alive. "I guess we'll just have to see where the future takes us," she whispers back, beaming as she takes his hand and squeezes it.
Adam isn't naïve. He knows that this newfound relationship is going to see its fair share of troubles, what with the world set against them. But her words make him feel warm inside, like he's invincible. Like they're invincible.
And for once, Adam believes that happiness is possible.
