I'm back! Woo-hoo! Let's not waste anytime!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters or the show "The Fairly Odd Parents". Don't sue me.
Tootie stared in shock at the cafeteria doors, still swinging back and forth from when Veronica stormed through them, nearly shattering the hinges in the process. Chad was helping Trixie to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to help her walk out of the cafeteria. She smacked his arm. "What the hell is your problem?! I'm not crippled, you idiot, I'll walk myself to the nurse! I can handle myself, thanks!" And as if nothing had happened at all, as if no brawl had just occured, as if she hadn't a damaged piece of skin on her body, she flipped her hair haughtily and quickly strutted out of the cafeteria.
The cafeteria doors swung yet again as she left. Tootie could do nothing but stare at it. The teachers had managed to settle everyone down and coax everybody to continue eating their lunches before returning to their jobs of strolling around the cafeteria. Although everyone seemed to be acting normal, it was a no-brainer that they were all talking about the fight between Trixie and Veronica, who'd been best friends forever. What would happen now that the queen bee lost her best friend? Or as Veronica herself put it, her "flunky"? And was it true that it hadn't been Veronica sleeping around, but Trixie? (DUH!) And most importantly, how was Trixie going to take out her aggression? And for how long?
"Well, it's official." Taylor said, cutting into Tootie's thoughts. She started.
"Huh? What happened?"
Taylor shook his head and laughed. "You were really zoned out there, huh? I mean, you were all, 'Huh? Wha..?' " he laughed. Tootie grinned and hit his arm. "You're such a bully, you know that?"
"Maybe you should get Veronica to take me out. I'm sure she could handle any bully. Plus every member and alumni of the WWF. At the same time."
"Quit avoiding my question. What's official?" Tootie ignored him.
"Nothing." Taylor shook his head. After a slight pause, he stood up. "I'll be right back."
"Where're you going?" Timmy asked, his voice still full of awe. Apparently Tootie wasn't the only one who was still in shock at the major event that had happened.
Taylor didn't answer his question. He just got up and repeated, "I'll be right back," before jogging out of the cafeteria.
Trixie was almost at the nurses office, and she was nearly trembling with fury. How dare she, that stupid---that little--- She let out a low growl and thrashed her fists in the air before catching herself and retaining little left of her dignity.
"Trixie! Trix!"
Trixie spun around, trying not to let her fury show. As soon as she saw Taylor, there was no fury to hide. "Hello, Taylor." she smiled, the natural flirt in her coming out again. "Come to walk me to the nurse? How sweet of you!" She tucked a strand of his curly blonde hair behind his ear before linking her arm through his. Quickly, he laced his arm out of hers and took a small step back. The instant he did so, he found he felt a slight feeling of intimidation sweep through him. He shook his head, and spoke. "Actually, no. No, that's not what I came for."
A dark look swept across her face, and this time, Taylor felt a slight bit annoyed. He cringed as Trixie's sickly sweet voice cut though his thouhts, "So what did you want, darling?"
"First of all, don't call me darling!" Taylor gasped, a horrified expression on his face, "Geez, my mom calls me that!"
Trixie blinked, an unreadable expression on her face, followed by an I'm-trying-not-to-laugh look. Taylor sighed, "And second, I just wanted to tell you that we're not going to prom together." Taylor said. Any trace of happiness that was on Trixie's bruised and bleeding face was gone in an instant, and a dangerously familiar look of fury replaced it. "What?" she growled, "What do you mean we're not--"
"I mean just what I said!" Taylor raised his voice and spoke slowly, "We're not going...together! I, however, am still going. You, on the other hand, go if you want. But you're sure as hell not going with me!"
"You stupid bas--"
"You know what? Just stuff it, Trixie!" Taylor snapped, glaring at her just as hard as she was at him. "You're spoiled, you're selfish, you're obnoxious, and most of all, you're a manipulative, self-centered bi--" he hesitated. His mom had raised him better than to call any girl such a thing. Sorry, mom, but you'll understand. he thought, "You're a bitch, Trixie!" he yelled in her face.
Trixie gasped and reached out to slap him. He caught her wrist just in time. "And, if you even so much as look at me again, I'll file so many restraining orders you won't even be able to leave your own house." he said in a mock cheery voice. Trixie simply glared at him before letting out a low growl, spinning on her heels, and stalking into the nurses office.
Taylor smiled, satisfied and began to walk back towards the cafeteria. A quiet voice called out. "T-Taylor?"
He turned around, surprised to see Veronica, her face soaking wet with tears. He instantly understood that even though Trixie had been playing the victim, the true victim was Veronica. She was the one who'd been manipulated the most. Everyone else had it easy compared to her. He knew that she wasn't truly as mean as she had to pretend to be, so he wanted tosay something nice. He opened his mouth to say something.
Veronica blinked and let out a watery gasp as more tears started to flow. She turned and started walking away at a very fast pace. "Huh? Wait!" He jogged after her, prompting her to move a bit faster. "Veronica, wait! What's wrong?" He knew that was the stupidest thing to ask. She'd just started --and ended (to do both is very impressive)--World War III, that's what was wrong. Veronica walked into the girls bathroom.
"Veronic--" the door slammed in his face. He let out a slightly frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Why am I so freaking nice? he mentally whined, making sure the coast was clear before walking into the girls bathroom. He could hear her crying. "Veronica?"
Instantly, the sniffling stopped. "Veronica, I know you're in here. I walked in the girls bathroom to help you. So I think you could at least let me help you!" he reasoned, whining just a little bit. He walked along the row of stalls (which wasn't a very long walk, with only three stalls and what not) and sure enough, there was Veronica, sitting in the corner. She was hugging her knees, and her wet eyes were a light shade of red. "What's wrong with you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Taylor sighed and sat down next to her. "I'm only trying to be nice."
"You risk getting suspended. To help me. Again, what's wrong with you? I don't deserve to be helped. I'm a horrible person." she sniffed and rested her head on her knees. It was then that Taylor noticed that her skirt was ripped, and spotted with blood. " For thirteen years I was Trixie's best friend. I always did what she told me to do. She always had this kind of power. Ever since we were five years old."
"But that's not your fault. Just because she was a bully doesn't me--"
"It means that I was too! I was a nice person. But I wanted to be like her so much. And after a while, I noticed that she was rubbing off on me. I started getting jealous. Over everything. Especially her. I wanted to have her life, have what she had: everybody noticing her, everyone telling her how great she was. She always got so much positivity and I got the negativity. Even from her." She stopped.
Taylor had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he listened to her. Maybe he was wrong, but she didn't seem like the kind of person to open up this much to someone. Or maybe, he realized, nobody ever gave her a chance to. She looked so weak, small and confused. And when he thought about it, this was how she always looked. When she was with Trixie, she might've worn the haughty smirk and fake confidence, but she never looked truly happy, did she?
"After a while, I let my jealousy get the best of me,"she continued, wiping tears from her eyes,"By the time I was eight, my parents were truly worried about me. I never talked about anything other than Trixie. They tried to take my mind off of her by talking of other things, but I'd always find some way to relate it to Trixie..."
flashback
"Oh, look, Veronica, isn't that polar bear beautiful?" her father smiled, lifting his eight year old daughter onto his shoulders so that she could see over the crowd at the Dimmsdale Zoo. Her mother reached up and fixed the hem of Veronica's pink shorts to cover her leg.
"Daddy! That bear is white! Look at it, oh my goodness! That's amazing! Trixie would love it, I can't wait to tell her about it!"
Beneath her, her parents exchanged worried looks.
end flashback
flashback
Veronica stood with her mom in Girls Clothing 'R Us. Her mom held up a pair of jeans.
"Oh Veronica, these are adorable! You'll be able to catch frogs with Tad in these! You always mess up your clothes jumping in that creek. These pants will be perfect!" her mother smiled at her daughter affectionately, referring for the play-date she and Tad's mother had set up for the two children at one 'o clock.
Little Veronica put a finger to her mouth and stared at them ponderously. "Hmm...nah. I don't like those."
"You don't?" Her mother said, surprised.
"No." Veronica held up a pink and white skirt, covered in bows, lace and frills. "I want this instead, please mommy?"
"You do?" Veronica's mom was absolutely dumbfounded. "But honey, you've never liked pink. Or lace and bows. And you've certainly never liked skirts! Besides, you can't go frog catching with Tad in those."
"But mother,"Veronica whined, "I don't even like frog catching!"
"I thought you loved it."
"No! Frogs are icky and gross!" Veronica made a face, "Besides, I'd rather date Tad, not catch frogs with him, ew! Besides, what would Trixie think?"
She missed the concerned look on her mother's face at the mention of Trixie, and held the skirt up to herself. "Does this make my thighs look big? Trixie says that skirts can do that if they're not the right palette for your skin."...
end flashback
Veronica shook her head. "I was so determined to be like her that I wanted to be her. And she knew it. When I was ten, I refused to be called anything but Trixie. Otherwise, I went into hysterics. I was diagnosed with acute schizophrenia, and went through therapy until I was twelve." she said, an ashamed look on her face. "And then, there was Tad. He was the only one I could talk to about anything. When we were with Trixie, he'd act snobbish and everything, but we all did. It was part of our act. Chad and Trixie were the only ones who weren't pretending.
"But back to Tad. I could always talk to him. He was my true best friend. But I didn't want to admit it. I couldn't bear the thought of anybody other than Trixie being my best friend, because I knew how mad she'd get. But I don't know why I cared. She never cared about me anyway. To her, I was just another person to add to her list of friends. Her popularity posse. That's it." her voice cracked on her next words. "She didn't even know my name."
With a clearing of her throat, she continued, "Tad knew my name. He knew everything about me. My name --even my middle name!--my birthday, my favorite color--my passionate hatred for anything pink, frilly or girlie--he knew that I was a tomboy, and would rather spend time catching frogs than shopping for girlie crap. And most importantly, he knew my pain. He knew what I was going through, and how I was literally ripping in half on the inside. How I couldn't even tell what I wanted anymore--if I now actually liked being the prissy bitch Trixie'd turned me into, or if I still wanted to spend my time catching frogs. I couldn't even find me anymore. I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know who I was.
"And I remember how I knew everything about him too. When I was with him, I didn't even think about Trixie. She never crossed my mind. I could just be me. I found me. I knew exactly what I wanted. But the thing was...as soon as I wasn't around him...I'd forget. Not on purpose, but..it was just that "Trixie-like" mentality, you know? It was like his house, or anywhere I was with him had an anti-Trixie sheild. I would forget about her, and about all the influences and holds she had on me. I'd remember what I wanted. But then, the sheild would be gone. And what I wanted wouldn't matter anymore. And it'd get blocked out. And I could talk to him about anything. Especially during my counseling. He went with me to every session for support. And he still treated me like a regular person despite it." she stopped.
Taylor looked up when she stopped. "It's ok. You can keep going if you like. I don't mind."
Veronica stared at her hands. "When we were 12 I started to like him. But I didn't want to admit it. Even though I didn't act like it, I wasn't too interested in dating. And it felt so wierd to like my best friend. But when we were 14, I could actually face it. I never said anything. I guess that's a good thing because that was the year he and his family moved to the U.K. We promised to keep in touch. And we did, for a while. E-mails, and letters, and we talked on the phone for two hours everyday. But then, I remember one day, he didn't call. And I didn't get any e-mails or letters. They all just stopped. Just like that. I only got his answering machine. But he never called back. He didn't respond to my e-mails or letters either.
"And I felt worthless because of it. I remember thinking, 'My best friend in the whole world doesn't even want to talk to me anymore. I must be some kind of trash.'"
"That's not true."
"No, but that's what I thought." Veronica cut in. "He was my best friend. No...he was my only friend."
Taylor looked down at his own hands and sighed.
"When Trixie first made me start "fasting", I wanted to call him. Because I realized that Trixie knew it was anorexia. She knew it'd hurt me. I was her, remember? So I know how she thinks. That's the only good that came from my schizofrenia. She was thinking, 'Maybe I can get things so bad that she'll be stuck in the hospital, at least until after prom. Then I'm guaranteed to win Prom Queen.' And when I realized that was what she was thinking, my paradigm changed. I realized she was jealous of me. She was afraid of me. She was afraid of losing to me, and of losing me. And it made me realize she wasn't this sweet, innocent little porcelain doll that you had to oblige to all the time or she'd shatter. She's nothing more than a jealous, controlling, self-centered, ugly disposition in a beautiful body. And I wasn't afraid of shattering the doll anymore. There are so many in the world, breaking one won't matter. So I broke her." She gestured towards her cuts, "I got cut by the glass, but I broke her. And I don't care what anyone thinks." Despite that, tears started rolling down her face again.
"Then why are you crying?" Taylor said softly, wrapping an arm around her in a small but comforting hug.
"Because I'm happy. I can be me again. And even though Tad isn't here, I know what I want."