Okay, before this chapter I need you, yes you, to answer a question. Have you gone on playlist to listen to the chapter song? this is important information for me to knwo, because i need to know how often to put the songs in order, and if that's really necessary. So if you could review or PM and tell me, that would be fantastic.
Chapter Song-Look After You by The Fray
i do not own WordGirl. Nor do I want to, the show is fantastic how it is.
It had been nearly five minutes since me and Chuck had tied up Two-Brains. I'd headed back outside to wait for the others and had been glued to the same spot by the door since.
Sirens were coming from all over the city. The loud noise they provided pierced the wonderful silence I was used to. My thoughts had been trailing all over the place. There was the constant worry for Tobey, Scoops, and Violet accompanied with the confusion over what to do with Dr. Two-Brains. We very well couldn't keep him here, and killing him was, decidedly, not an option. We could keep him as a sort of prisoner, but that may not do us much good. Sure, he knew the trade secrets of the big bads but there was little-to-no chance he'd share them. We could use him as leverage but there was no telling whether that would have any effect.
So there were no options and I'd just added another problem by taking him.
I couldn't help but sigh in relief when I heard a small clatter from around the corner. Scoops slid into the opening first, pulling Violet along by her hand. Tobey followed, holding a piece of cloth to his upper arm. I cursed quietly when I saw that it was stained with blood. Opening the door, I urged them in, placing a protective arm on Tobey. He gave me a lopsided smile.
"What happened?" I asked. I closed the door behind me drowning out the, now, barely audible sirens.
"Well some of the cities finest police thought we would be more helpful dead. They shot at us, and while Scoops and Violet could duck down, I had to keep my eyes on the road. One of the windows busted and a shard of glass slashed open my arm," He explained. I rushed him to the bathroom and washed out the bloody rag he had been holding. His injury looked painful but it wouldn't need stitches. I washed it as best as I could and rummaged through the medicine cabinet for bandages. I was pleased to find a package of gauze and medical tape. I dressed his wound as well as I could.
"It'll heal quicker if you refrain from moving it too much," I told him. He pulled his shirt sleeve down, pushing his glasses up his nose. The gesture was cute.
"When did you get medical training?" He asked. I shivered, thinking about the old days. The days when people had been so badly injured, whether by gun shot or knife. Of course, I'd shown up with the intention of saving them, but had never been in time to keep them from pain. On the rare, but horrible, occasion I'd arrive too late to save a life. The police then proceeded to make me inform the family of their death. The family would always ask me why. Why I hadn't saved the person they loved. It was my job, wasn't it?
"Things used to be pretty bad around here," I responded, staring at the tiled floor.
"They still are," He whispered. That snapped me back from the pity party in my mind. I had to do anything I could to prevent the atrocities I'd witnessed from happening again.
"We need to figure out what to do with Two-Brains and what our next course of action is," I said. Tossing the bloody rag into the laundry basket in the corner, I headed out of the bathroom. It looked as if Violet and Scoops had started the discussion without us. I sat down next to Violet at the kitchen table and focused in on their conversation.
"He doesn't have any use here. There's nothing for him to do but give us information and do you really think it's likely he'll do that?" Scoops said. It looked as if he and I were on the same page which wasn't the greatest thing in the world. We both thought I was an idiot.
"Well we should at least try to get him to give up information. There's no harm in that," Violet said.
"Except wasting our time," Tobey commented.
"Well we still need to know what we're doing next. We should wait until the buzz slows down outside before making the next move. Things have to be a little insane out there right now," Violet said. I nodded in agreement.
"So we could take shifts. Two of us devising a plan, and the other two getting information from Two-Brains. That way we can make sure we get enough done in the next few days," I opted. No one argued and Tobey and Violet created a schedule for us. For the rest of today Violet and Scoops would be interrogating Two-Brains while Tobey and I discussed a new plan. After this we split up, Violet and Scoops heading to the supply closet Dr. Two-Brains was being kept in and Tobey and I heading to the sitting room. We plopped down on one of the couches and spent the next two hours discussing who to attack, when to do so, and how we would. The end result had us either fighting Lady Redundant Woman at her home during the night, or tracking down the Birthday Girl and putting her in a temporary deep sleep. We'd give the sheets of paper with our plans to Violet and Scoops tomorrow and let them make changes.
It was time for dinner and Chuck had finally prepared his famous sandwiches. We sat down and ate together. Violet and Scoops had zero news except that of Two-Brains' refusal to cooperate. Tobey and I decided that they needed a break, so we were all off duty for the rest of the night. Once we finished our dinner Chuck went to close up shop and Violet and Scoops escaped to their room. I speculated whether the others had spent more time with Tobey previous to my arrival, or if he'd been alone often because I seemed to be the only one with him most of the time. Once we were seated back on our couch I decided to ask him.
"Before I came here, where you alone a lot?" I asked, getting straight to the point. He considered this for a second.
"I guess I was. It never bothered me though," He said. I knew I was going to bait him with my next statement and took the chance to examine his reaction.
"Is my being around you this much bothering you then?" I asked. I saw his face turned a bright shade of red before he could attempt to cover it.
"Not at all. I enjoy your company very much," He said. I couldn't help but smile, because I also enjoyed being around him. He was still smart, but that was no longer his most appealing trait. He was now caring, chivalrous, genuine, and all around good. There seemed to be no arguing that the boy sitting next to me was best described as heroic, so much that it made up for any childish thing he'd done in the past.
The others had also grown much over the years. Violet became more focused and outspoken. Scoops had become an amazing strategist. Everyone had grown up, except for me.
Time had had the opposite affect on me. My ego had grown immensely over the years, so much that when all came crashing down I was completely broken. I became a coward and selfish. There was nothing to justify my mistakes so all I could do now was try and fix them.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Tobey offered. I rolled my eyes.
"No," I said.
"No?" He said with mock disappointment, "That's it? No witty remark? I'm ashamed."
"What can I say; today knocked the wit out of me."
After that we sat in silence for a few moments until something in his expression reminded me of something important.
"Tobey, where's your mother?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Who knows," He said.
"So you don't know where she is?" I asked in shock.
"She left town a while ago, it wasn't a big deal. But Becky, what ever happened to your dad?" He asked. Wait, what?
Oh, crap.
What happened to my father?
With my big return, there's no way he could be safe right now. Hell, maybe they even took him before I'd shown up in town.
Guilt overtook me. He was probably expecting me to show up and save him, but the entire time I'd been making crazy rebellion plans with a bunch of other teenagers. How could I have forgotten my own father? How incredibly selfish was I?
I stood up and headed for the door. I needed to find him and rescue him from whoever was holding him captive and I needed to do it now. But before I could reach the door handle Tobey stepped in front of me.
"Becky, please don't do something that will get you killed," He begged. I pushed him out of the way.
"Please," he begged, stepping in my way again. I shoved him harder this time.
"Tobey you know you can't stop me and I don't want to hurt you. So can you make this easier on both of us and just let me go."
"I'm not letting you go on a suicide mission, "He shouted. Anger flared up inside of me and I couldn't decide whether it was for him or myself.
"I need to! It's my father, "I shouted back.
"We'll find another way to do this, just please don't rush out there right now," He pleaded.
"Don't you get it? I forgot about him! He hasn't passed my mind since I got here! What kind of person forgets about their own father, when there's a good chance he's in danger? " I yelled. Tobey had no response to this but to grab my arm. I shook off his hand.
"How selfish am I? It's all about me! Everything's my fault! I joined the rebellion to get rid of my own guilt! I constantly wonder how my return changed everyone else! I never stop worrying what other people think about me!"
I was rambling incoherently now, but I didn't stop. My selfishness had reached a new low. So I continued yelling about my self centered thoughts until I was nearly in tears. When I started crying, Tobey embraced me. It was a small comfort, but I'd never lose the feeling of weakness I had in that moment. Everyone in the apartment had most likely heard my breakdown. They'd never see me the same.
"Do you want to know why I've always loved you?"Tobey asked. I looked at him in astonishment. He grabbed my hand and led me to our couch.
"You've always been so brave. Disagree if you want, but you are. The way you put your life on the line for the good of others, the way you'd rush to the rescue no matter what; you're the most courageous person I know. You also have one of the purest hearts. Even through all you've seen, all you've had to do, you still can't find it in you to kill. While I'll admit your ego needed shrinking when we were younger, it does not now. Feeling guilt, even displaced, is not selfish. Imagine a world with no guilt," He said.
"Imagine a world based on guilt," I said, his words still not sinking in all the way.
"We're living in it," he said with a sad smile.
Wow. I'd accepted the fact that Tobey had feelings for me, but I'd had no idea to what level. He saw the good and bad in me and still loved me.
Loved me.
That was going to take a little getting used to.
And where did that leave me? Of course I'd accepted having feelings for him, because some part of me was rejoicing right now. But I didn't know what I wanted to do with those feelings yet. Well I did know what I wanted to do right now.
I leaned forward to kiss him, and not on the cheek this time. He seemed surprised at first, but that didn't last too long. My entire body was tingling with happiness. There was something undeniably right about kissing him. He was comfort in the dark times and a friend in the lighter ones. He had become my confidante in the past few days. And back when we were children I'd always harbored a respect for him. My annoyance could have easily been hidden admiration.
There was no telling who pulled away from that kiss first, but it sure wasn't the last one we shared. I'd ended up on his sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped around me. We kissed and joked about old elementary school stories. He told me about the arguments he had with his mother before she left and I told him about TJ's bitter feelings toward me once he'd found out that I was WordGirl. I learned all about Tobey and his past and he learned about mine. I made a promise to myself that I'd be more focused in the morning, but for now I relaxed and stayed in the moment.
