Hello friends! I was going to post tomorrow but after the Twitter announcement I thought I should get one out today. For anyone who is not on Twitter, you need to get on over there, sign up and follow the official Fosters account, TheFostersABCF, because if they get up to 300k followers before the premiere, Teri's gonna join up...and let's face it, we all want a world where Polo is in charge of an un-censored, unlimited, un-vetted platform to communicate with the citizens of the internet.
Speaking of Twitter, I have to give some credit to TheTBone whose tweets inspired some of my material for Kasey's senioritis, so thanks for that, T! Finally, thanks to thesameguest who as been a gem with reading this story and helping me with it.
OK - rambling over. Let's get down to business. Here is Chapter 2!
Evan got back to the house long after the family were asleep. He was physically and mentally shattered, his body having been over-worked on a particularly busy night, but also his mind in overdrive trying to think about what he had seen. Lena getting cuddly with a young woman while pretending to be at a class. It had long morphed out of Evan's rational understanding of Lena's character. She and Stef had been fighting...she had been out so much more. He'd noticed she had been buying new clothes. No! He shook his head and settled on the couch. He wanted to sleep but he had been being plagued with insomnia recently, this latest revelation not helping him.
Knowing TV usually helped to send him off, he flicked the switch on, hoping it would help to at least bore him into a coma. Some soap re-run seemed to be on. That oughta do it. Slowly he felt his eyes going before being awoken by a phone bleep. He cursed silently as he was brought back to full consciousness. It was just an inane comment from a classmate. He focussed back on the TV and snuggled a cushion against his chest.
Just as he was drifting he was brought to attention again by the sound of a sharp slap. An irate woman who had just found her sister in bed with her husband or something along those lines. He normally wouldn't have thought twice...but not tonight. He sat up and tweaked the volume.
"How long? HOW LONG?" She shrieked.
"But Tabatha, it doesn't mean anything." he found himself being drawn in irretrievable. Poor Tabatha. He thought before shaking his head.
"It's a soap opera Evan. Get it together." He whispered reaching for the remote.
"You're my sister Jolene! You've heard me pour my heart out about my marriage!" she cried. "How could you betray me?"
"Well maybe I was sick of listening to your endless drama!" The girl flicked her hair as the older sister flipped back to her husband.
"So this hussy is your new interest in golf? A round at the club before drinks at the nineteenth hole!"
"Wow Dwighty, you got burned." Evan mumbled nibbling on his thumbnail. "Grossly burned, but burned."
He bundled his legs up.
"Tabatha - it means nothing. It's just sex!" the moustached man chased after her as the camera panned into her teary face.
"And what about us? Is that just sex?"
"Of course not, darling. You're my rock!"
"You sold your shares in Wayne's company to buy me this ring, Dwight. I thought this was forever."
"It is, babe..."
"All I am to you is some chef for hire. A trophy wife until a younger model comes along! Well I'm not going to be cleaning and cooking for you any more."
She turned back to the camera and blinked out a tear with an extended pause.
"I'll still be cooking for two though..."
He paced towards her.
"What do you mean, Tabatha?" She shook off his hand as he reached out.
"...because I'm pregnant!"
Evan gasped in line with the actors as the credits rolled.
"Son of a bitch." he cursed before realising he'd now been absorbed for ten minutes and was now full on discussing the twist with himself. He looked at the clock. It was 2am. He really should try and sleep...but then again...one more wouldn't hurt.
"See there's 3 of them right now." Kasey pointed eagerly to her laptop screen as Stef looked over her shoulder, sipping at a can of soda.
"And that's all the same actress?"
"Yes! She's amazing, right? And it's some weird biological freak out conspiracy thing. Nobody knows why!"
Stef gave her daughter a blank look as she watched the TV show clones bicker on the maximised window, Kasey enthralled.
"And how many times have you watched this episode?" She asked, expecting she would not be as surprised by the answer as she probably should be.
"This one not as much, probably only 10." Kasey stared at it oblivious as Stef squeezed her shoulder, moving to put her now empty can in the recycling.
"Exciting as it is, I'm afraid I'm about as convinced this is useful for your math homework as I was convinced that tweeting someone who plays and English teacher is equivalent to studying for your quiz. No more till your paper is done."
"Ugh." Kasey pasued the episode. "You're as unreasonable as Mama today."
"What was Mama unreasonable about?" Stef replied, her eyebrows crinkling.
Kasey shrugged, beginning to type. "She got all testy about us not being in the hallway like a second after the bell went. She was storming off somewhere and yelled at me."
"Well, I don't blame her. She has to put up with you at work and home, I'm amazed she's not strangled one of you yet." Kasey ignored the comment as they heard the front door click open and voices coming through it.
"This is not up for discussion, Jesus."
"Told you. Tread carefully." Kasey whispered looking up of her computer screen as Stef flicked an eyebrow.
"But you're like the only person who didn't find it funny!"
"I don't think your teacher was overjoyed either. Or the poor girl who screamed the classroom down." They heard Jesus footprints move towards the stairs but they were quickly halted by further comment from Lena.
"Uhm, nuh-uh - you're not going anywhere till we've filled Mom in. Move."
Stef sighed as Kasey smirked. "Lucky Mom." She whispered as Stef threw her a glare before Jesus slunked in, Lena looking furious behind.
"What d'you do?" Stef stood up straight, trying to look authoritative.
"It was a dare! Look, no-one got hurt."
"Jesus." Lena warned as he rolled his eyes but looking to see Stef's unimpressed glare. Feeling Lena's burn on the back of his neck he put his hands in his pockets.
"We were messing around in science class while we were dissecting frogs..."
Stef's eyes closed, licking her bottom her lip and fearing where this would go. It grabbed Kasey's attention, now fully focussed on what was no doubt about to be a hilarious re-telling.
"Jordan dared me to put half the frog in the sink of the girls behind us..."
"Nooooo!" Kasey smirked as Stef rolled her eyes, trying hard to suppress a smirk.
"He put it so it looked like it was climbing out of the plughole." Lena said with deadly seriousness, clearly furious. The look in her face didn't help keep Stef's laughter at bay.
"That was...uhm..." she tried her hardest as Kasey saved her.
"Freakin' awesome!" the teenager laughed as Jesus bit down on his tongue. "It's just like when Billy Reinhart filled the sink and put those fish in it..."
"How did he get fish in the classroom?" Stef turned to her, distracted by the logistics of the prank.
"Stef!" Lena snapped, siezing back her attention.
"Everything OK?" Evan edged in, the general commotion having awoken him from an afternoon nap to combat what turned into a full night of soapland dramatics. He was on high alert, still uneasy about what he may or may not have witnessed. He eyed Lena up and down anxiously.
"Jesus freaked out some girls in his class by sticking half a frog on the plughole!" Kasey sniggered as Evan switched his attentions temporarily due to the absurdity of the answer.
"How d'you get half a frog?"
"Did ya rippit?" Stef couldn't help herself chime in as Kasey groaned with more laughter, Jesus breaking into a full on grin.
"This is unbelieveable." Lena flapped her arms down. "Stef, can you focus - please?" There was no mistaking the tone of her voice as Stef immediately sobered. The rashness sobered Evan too. Maybe Lena was tiring of Stef's attitude which was why she was straying. There was the bickering last night, this now. He wracked his brain for more examples as they conversation around him continued.
"OK, Jesus, I'm sorry. This isn't something to joke about. What you did was wrong." She checked Lena's glare. "Very wrong."
"But it - "
"No buts, there's no excuse for pranks like that and honestly I'm getting a little fed up of you using Jordan daring you as an excuse. Understood?" He dipped his head down.
"Yeah..."
Lena's shoulders relaxed a little. Evan was still watching for subtleties in every reaction.
"Now go to your room and while we decide on an appropriate punishment." Stef finished, almost going overboard in hopes it would get her back on Lena's good side.
"OK..." he turned.
"Jesus..." Stef stopped him. "Don't you think there's someone you should apologise to?"
"I don't think the frog will be in a position to accept, Mom." Kasey whispered as Stef gave her a soft pinch.
The comment having been quiet enough for Jesus not to hear, he turned to look at Lena, who was clearly still furious but softening a little.
"I'm sorry Mama, I know it was stupid and unfair on the other kids in the class."
She nodded before tilting her head to the stairs. "OK, go on. Up." She waited until he had left before turning her eyes to her wife, still annoyed.
"Really?"
"What, honey..." she shrugged. "I'm sorry. It caught me off guard. You have to admit it's a pretty good prank." The comment didn't help calm Lena down from her frustrations.
"That is not the point, if we laugh at it he'll get the wrong signals. He'll think it's OK."
"Right, because every prankster's dream is to impress his Mom." Stef scoffed lightly. "Come on, love. Sit down. I know you must have had a long day." She pulled out the chair for her clearly tired wife.
"It could have been worse. Didn't your class put a live frog in the teacher's drawer, Mom?" Kasey chipped in.
"Ha! How did you even hear about that?" Stef gawped, but unable to hide the fondness of the memory. "I don't know who jumped higher, the frog or my teacher."
"How many kids do I have in this house?" Lena shot back. So far it seemed the ear-bashing she had got from Jesus' science teacher had been the only form of discipline over the whole incident and that was not helping her mood. She hated her kids getting into trouble at school, it always seemed to rub off more on her than on them.
"I'm sorry honey." Stef tried to work her back down. "It's not like we're not going to punish him. I'll make sure he doesn't see the funny side."
"Right, but now he'll think you're just doing it because I'm making you. Why do I always end up being the bad guy in situations with the school?"
"Because Meana Stef doesn't rhyme..." Kasey tried to lighten the mood.
It didn't work.
"Kase..." Evan scolded her, the tension in the air ringing louder to him than the others with his recent thought trains.
"You know what, you handle it." Lena flashed a look at Stef before turning to glare at her daughter who quickly tried to lose her gaze in her laptop screen. "I have to get ready for class. At least there I can have some adult company." She pulled he hair up, striding out of the room and leaving Stef with a groan.
"Do you have to always make things worse?" She turned her frustration to Kasey who was armed for her defence.
"I told - "
"Do not finish that unless you wanna be cut in half and left in the sink." Stef warned, pointing her finger at her daughter. "I guess I better do some damage control. Another fight is the last thing we need right now." She grumbled heading to the door as Kasey quickly saw her opportunity to return to her program, quickly stifled by a "Do not put that show back on till you've finished your paper. I'll know." Just as Stef was disappearing. She grumbled something to Evan about she didn't have to go all 'monitor' on her but Evan was too distracted to fully take it in. He was still recounting any recent signs of tension. Stef had definitely seemed a little different. There had been a lot of discussions about whether Lena should be taking the evening classes...there had been a few cases of Stef's off the cuff comments provoking harsher reactions than the usual eye-roll. What if they were growing apart? He felt his palms sweating and turned to Kasey.
"When was the last time your Moms had sex?" he blurted out as Kasey spluttered out a mouthful of water he hadn't even noticed her drinking.
"Dude!" She wiped the result off her lip and the table edge it caught. "What the hell kind of question is that?"
He was too distracted by his concerns to fully process her discomfort.
"I mean, are you sure they're happy?" He looked to where they had left and back to Kasey, his eyes wide. "Sometimes people drift apart when they're unhappy."
"Yeeeah...I'm pretty sure they're happier than I am having this conversation..." She winced.
"I'm serious, Kasey. You know lonely women make good lovers."
"Evan!" She slapped his arm. "What are you even talking about?"
He heaved out a sigh and began to chew on his lip, his hands tapping on the table. Could he say it?
"I think your Mom may be having an affair..." he whispered gravely, his eyebrows diving up.
Kasey's face dropped in confusion and held his concerned eyes in her own before breaking into laughter.
"You are not serious? Which Mom?" She chuckled, his reaction not impressed at the apparent mockery.
He paused before dropping his voice even quieter.
"Lena..."
Kasey laughed even harder, the sight of his bulging eyes making it even harder to suppress it.
"Oh baby, that's the most stupid thing I've ever heard. Moms are more in love than anyone I know."
"Lots of people fall out of love, Kasey! It starts with a little neglect and the next thing you know they're taking your sister to the country club pretending to be golfing with their buddies!" His voice ramped up with anxiety, the one hour nap apparently not being enough to counter-act the over-tiredness.
Kasey's eyes crinkled. "What the hell are you talking about?" She smiled, unsure where this rant had sprung from. "Lena would never cheat...you do know that?" She replied plainly, surprised this really did seem to be a genuine concern.
"Yeah well Tabatha didn't think Dwight would either, and now she's 7 months pregnant and she may not even get to keep the house because of the pre-nup!" He added, Kasey trying desperately to follow his exasperated delirium.
It took her a moment of gawping before her mouth stuttered open. "Evan...have you been watching late night soaps?" She squinted as he turned, his back straightening to take up a more defensive pose.
"Like one or two...but that is not what this is about..." Kasey slapped a palm on her forehead
"This is exactly why we stopped you watching Downton after work. You get way to absorbed in those shows when you're tired."
"Hey!" He pretested, his tone shifting to familiar territory. "I had every right to be upset about what happened to Sybil - and for the tenth time, Kasey - Downton is not a soap it is a serial drama!"
She rubbed her temples, forgetting how tough it could be to handle an over-tired Evan.
"OK, this is so not a conversation I am going to have twice in one lifetime." She moved her hands to grab his shoulders. "Sweetheart, I promise you. Lena is not having an affair. You're more likely to have an affair than either her or Mom. Why would you even think that?" She squinted, starting to be concerned about what could have given him such a crazy idea.
"This class she's going to...I caught her ditching. If it even exists!" He whispered the final word as if it was the scandal of the century. "She was at the park with some pretty young thing. She even had a baby!" He continued his hushed tone. The sweet conspiracy theorising in his eyes was far too determined for Kasey to maintain her attempt at taking it seriously.
"Oh my God..." Her face dropped as Evan's eyes bulged again in anticipation of what horror she may have just remembered. "Do you think Mama got this girl pregnant?" She whispered as Evan slid off his stool, Kasey biting her lip into a smile to hold back her laugh. It was clear this was playing on his mind more than she ever believed it could. She reached forward to grab his hand.
"Honey, seriously. It's not happening. Moms fight all the time, it just makes them stronger. Trust me."
"So the lying about class, erratic behaviour and extra time she's been taking on her appearance is just coincidence?" He pulled his hand away to fold his arms.
"Taking more time on her appearance?" Kasey asked back confused.
"Haven't you noticed how much hotter she's been dressing?" He replied earnestly, the wheels in his brain still spinning.
"Woah, no. No, no." Kasey waved a palm at him. "You did not just call my Mom hot."
"I didn't mean hot like I want to - "
"Woah! No more. Seriously." She shook her head with a wince.
"But didn't you notice she always re-does her make up before class?"
"No...not really."
"Or that she always changes her clothes..."
"Yoh-kay. You are fixating way to much on my Mom's appearance. Is it just Lena you stalk or do you monitor Mom's too?" She replied in disbelief at the direction this was taking.
"Well Mrs F can work her - "
"Gahhhhh!" Kasey threw her hands up. "Rhetorical. Question. Stop. Please!" She gave him a light pat as Evan's chest deflated in pure innocence.
"What? So I notice things. You have to when you work with people" He replied. "I mean I just like to -"
Not particularly wanting the hole to get any bigger Kasey put one hand softly on Evan's arm and the other placing a finger over his lips.
"Honey." She whispered. "Please just stop talking - and listen to me very carefully. Neither of my Moms is having or ever would have an affair. They are as solid as they come. I'm sure that you just misinterpreted. OK? You're over-worked and tired and have been letting these stupid TV shows affect your rational understanding of the world. Right?"
Evan let out a sigh as his girlfriend freed his mouth to gently rub his other arm.
"I guess." He conceded, unable to deny he preferred that outcome.
"Now if I were you I would drop this before either of Moms hear it. If your approach is anything near the train-wreck of an explanation you just gave me, Mom will eat you alive." She squeezed his arms softly as he nodded. She gave him a kiss on the lips, instantly calming him. They had a moment to enjoy it before Lena came returned down the stairs.
"You and Mom talk?" Kasey edged, hoping for an answer that would quell Evan's irrational concerns.
Lena simply let out a sigh as she pushed in her earrings.
"For now." Was her short reply. "I'll see you guys after my class. I may be a little late back, I think we've got a discussion after it." She kissed Kasey's head with a goodbye before heading out.
She could see the worry was returning to Evan's eyes.
"Drop it." She whispered. "You're wrong." Gathering up her laptop she ran a hand down his chest before heading up to check on Stef.
Evan collapsed down onto her vacated stool with a deep exhale.
He hoped she was right.
So, what did you think of Chapter 2? I probably also should have thanked my old flatmate who genuinely did the frog thing. Same flatmate who inspired my washing machine explosion story in Fostering Fun. Wow that was a fun house! Anyway - Anyone got any theories yet? Can anyone believe what Dwight did to Tabatha? Will Kasey ever be able to finish her episode of Orphan Black? (Yes that's what that was and if you don't watch it, you should, because it's frickin' awesome and Tatiana Maslany is the queen of clonedom! I mean really. That chick's talented as hell. Sorry...fangirl moment. Right, predictions! (for this story...not OB...). Reviews! I'd love one if you can :)
Next Chapter Preview: Lena and Stef reconcile, Lena is suspicious of Kasey and Evan and Evan is suspicious of a mysterious phonecall Lena receives.
Look I really don't want to talk about that here. Stef or one of the kids might hear us. Yes, yes. Look I will tell her, I promise. I just need a little more time."
This was worse than Evan had even anticipated. Tell her what? Was she going to leave her for her? What would happen to the kids?! His mind roared again.
"Alright. Love you too. Goodnight." She loved her? This was even worse than he thought. His mind wandered as he realised she was hanging off he quickly panicked and spun on the spot.