Friday
The night before had started with the two playing video games, but somehow just devolved into a make-out session, followed by roaming hands and eventual removal of clothing items, though Vicky slowed it down before it got that far, likely her attempt at getting back at Timmy for all the times he embarrassed her, or made her flustered in public.
Most males his age likely would have been... annoyed at this, but Timmy took it in stride, he was far too patient to let it get to him. What was it that people said? Longing makes the heart grow fonder? It may have held a slightly different context than this situation, but he knew better than to rush anything in a relationship, reading and watching far too many cliched romances told him that.
Vicky woke up alone in bed to the smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. She got out of bed and put her clothes (which were strewn about the room) back on and stretched, then headed for the kitchen.
"Shit!"
Vicky heard Timmy spouting expletives from the kitchen and entered. "Aw... what's the matter?" she was talking to him in that sweet voice again, the one that suggested he was a child.
"Burned myself with some bacon grease..." he wiped his arm off with a towel. "I hate cooking."
"You like food though, right?"
"I do, but I really don't like cooking, you don't have to like something to be good at it." Timmy flipped a pancake through the air and caught it back in the pan. "Even easy stuff like this, I'd rather just make something in the microwave." he tossed the pancake onto a plate.
"I hear ya, most of what I eat is microwaveable meals..."
Timmy sprayed the pan with cooking spray and poured more batter into it. "That being said, I don't really mind cooking for you."
"But you hate cooking for yourself?"
"Or anyone else for that matter."
"You're a trip."
"I guess so... Anything else you want?" Timmy flipped another pancake onto the plate.
"You're just trying to look cool now."
"Is it working?"
"Not with that apron, is that the one from your maid uniform?" Vicky grinned at him.
"N-no..." Timmy blushed and returned his gaze to the food he was preparing.
"Heh... can't fool me..." Vicky sat down at the table and began to eat, but was interrupted by her phone, as usual. "If this was a romance story, this is the part where I'd tell the author to stop making people call me and interrupt me while I'm trying to eat, or kiss you, or... do much of anything."
"Too bad it isn't, better answer it, I bet it's Chester."
Vicky sighed and brought her head down into contact with the table. "Fine... Hello?"
"Vicky?" it was Veronica.
"Yeah."
"We're still on for tonight, right?"
"Mm-hm, you and Chester gonna pick us up?"
"Yeah, he wanted me to invite AJ and Tootie, but I told him it wasn't a good idea, not with what him and Timmy have been through. And the whole 'kidnapping' thing..."
"I wanted to get my point across to him, he insulted me and hurt my sister, behavior like that can't go unchecked."
"So you kidnap him and break his nose?"
"I only kidnapped him."
"At any rate... we heard about them getting back together, did you have something to do with that?"
Vicky remembered when she found Tootie and AJ in a rather compromising position. "Nope, I just made him apologize to her, what happened after isn't my concern, though if he even thinks about hurting her again, well... I don't wanna say something that could be used to incriminate me later."
"Huh. I kinda see where you're coming from, AJ was being kinda douchey that day, I felt... something when he threatened Chester, like wrapping my hands around his neck..."
"It's normal, I felt that way about Timmy even before we started dating..." Vicky smiled to herself.
"Oh! Get this, AJ had to break the news to Trixie that he was committed to Tootie!"
"And?"
"She didn't take it well, her face was all scrunched up in anger, then she had Hans throw him in the trash."
"Hans?"
"The giant bodyguard? The one the popular kids have around their table? He seems mean, but if you're paying for his protection, he can be pretty sweet, and he always makes sure not to really hurt anyone."
"Please tell me you got pictures?"
"I didn't think to, sorry."
"Man... eh, whatever, so we'll see you...?"
"Around seven, I'm gonna pick up Chester first."
"Great, see you then."
"Bye."
Vicky placed her phone back on the table. "Did you catch that?"
"AJ broke up with Trixie?"
"Yeah, wish I could've seen it."
"Ah well, maybe someone else caught it and put it on YouTube or something." Timmy had sat down and began eating breakfast. "How's the food?"
"You already know."
"Well yeah, but..."
"It's great, you're an awesome cook, happy?"
"Yeah." he stuffed a large hunk of pancake in his mouth.
"This whole 'me being younger' thing is gonna be a pain to explain to people..."
"You could always text the info to everyone."
"No... I would still have to explain it to everyone, a text wouldn't cover it, you know how people are..."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"That doesn't mean I don't like being sixteen again though!" Vicky looked around like she was trying to appease some invisible gods.
"Just me here."
"Doesn't hurt to cover all my bases..."
"Any idea what you're gonna wear tonight?"
"Well, I was thinking I might- Hey! Nope, you're gonna have to wait and see!"
"Damn... I don't know what to wear! Do I just wear casual clothes? Should I dress up a little?" "C'mon..."
"Just wear what you want, we're not going to a fancy restaurant... I hope... So just dress casual."
"If I come out of my room to find you in an elegant dress, I'm gonna be pissed."
"I won't wear an elegant dress... maybe a little black one, if you're lucky..."
Veronica's House...
"Why do we always hang out at my house?" Veronica stood in front of a full-length mirror in her walk-in closet, she held a shirt on a hanger in each hand, trying to figure out which would be better to wear.
"I dunno... because your house is nicer than mine?"
"I've never seen your house, it can't be all that bad..."
"Trust me, it is."
"Why? Are you embarrassed that your house is smaller than mine?"
"Well... that's not it entirely... but it is part of it."
"So tell me what it's like."
"Um..."
Veronica threw her shirts aside and sat down next to Chester on her bed. "Come on..."
His girlfriend was rather good at coaxing information out of him, what she couldn't bring out verbally, she could usually coerce him to reveal physically.
"I... live with my dad... in a..."
"...Chester, come on... you can tell me."
"We live in a trailer, in the old trailer park not far from where we went to middle school." Chester blushed and scratched the back of his head, he didn't meet Veronica's gaze.
"That's it?"
"Huh?"
"You're embarrassed about that? What's the big deal? Living in a trailer doesn't make you a bad person... I like you for you, not whatever your financial situation might be."
"Oh... I just thought... since you're rich and have a big fancy house... if you found out about me being poor..."
"You're stupid."
"Huh?"
"Just what I said, you're stupid." she moved over to sit right next to him and pulled him into a hug with her right arm. "I already told you, I'm not like Trixie, I don't care about how much money you have, or how popular you are, I care about you." she leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on his lips.
"You think Timmy and Vicky have something similar to what we do?"
Veronica thought back to some of her and Chester's more 'intimate' moments. "Nah... they're probably too prudish about kissing and all that."
Timmy's House...
Timmy once again had Vicky pinned to the couch in the living room and was trailing kisses up her neck, occasionally giving a light nibble at her neck, eliciting a moan of pleasure from Vicky.
"Timmy... Stop!" the words may have said to 'stop', but her voice indicated otherwise.
"Heh... that sounded convincing..."
"How do we keep ending up in these situations?"
"Spur of the moment?" Timmy shifted position so Vicky was on top of him. "Oh, and because I love you, there's that." her decrease in stature caused him to realize that he could easily lift her and move her should he want to, also, Vicky told him once that she preferred to be on top. "Better?"
Vicky giggled. "Much. You think we should check on Tootie?"
Timmy slid his hands up Vicky's bare thighs (she was still wearing her black sleeping shorts) and up to her waist, where they came to rest. "I'm good here." he was beginning to wonder if Vicky enjoyed teasing him like this, he could still fluster her with the right actions, but she had begun to catch on and tried to give him a taste of his own medicine, wearing clothes like she was now, being more forward with her affections... of course, he wasn't complaining, who in their right mind would?
"I am too..." she smirked at him. "But she's in a delicate place right now... despite what we walked in on, so I just wanna make sure she's okay."
"Fair enough." Timmy reached over to her back pocket and felt around.
"So why is your hand on my ass?"
Timmy pulled his hand back and revealed he was only grabbing her phone, despite what it may have seemed like at first. "Give her a call."
Vicky took her phone and called Tootie.
"Hello? Vicky?"
"Hey Tootie, just wanted to make sure you were doing okay."
"You know I'm in school now, right?"
Vicky looked at the clock to reveal it was ten-forty-three. "I do now."
"Where's Timmy? He was only suspended until today, is he okay?"
"He's..." Vicky looked down at her boyfriend pinned beneath her. "Indisposed."
"That... that doesn't have any sexual undertones, does it?"
"No... I mean, I am straddling him at the moment, but we still have our clothes on."
"More information than I needed, yeah, I'm fine. Me and AJ are... fine... for now. I'm still being wary, just in case."
"Good, I raised you right then."
"You like singing your own praises, don't you?"
"Perhaps..."
Tootie laughed at her sister's comment. "Any idea what happened to Chester and Veronica? They didn't show up today either..."
"Probably skipping school to do... 'things' with each other."
"You mean...?"
"Well, they are together... I wouldn't be surprised if they are doing that."
"Aren't they a little young for that?"
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones Tootie, after what me and Timmy walked in on between you and AJ?"
"I... have to go, bye!"
Tootie hung up on her, if Vicky had been in school with her sister, she would likely be laughing at her blush.
Vicky tossed her phone behind her, causing it to hit the floor and create another break in it. "She's fine, sounds like Chester and Veronica are skipping school today."
"Ah crap..."
"What?"
"I'm supposed to be in school today! My suspension is over!"
"Oh right... Tootie mentioned that... no worries, I got it covered!" Vicky got off Timmy and pried her phone out of the hole in the floor it was now embedded in. "What kind of excuse should I use? Sudden onset of a terminal illness? Dead parents? Maybe... nuclear apocalypse? Oh! You were attacked by the abominable snowman!"
"How about something mildly believable?"
"You're no fun!" Vicky whined at him.
"Vicky." he looked at her with a bored expression.
"Fine." Vicky dialed the number for the school. "Hello? Yes my name is Vicky. I'm Timmy Turner's babysitter, he won't be able to make it in today... Hm? Oh, I got a late start, I was up all night taking care of him, seems he caught that stomach virus that has been going around. Oh, I know, one can catch it very easily if they aren't careful... Yes, hopefully he'll be well enough to come in Monday... Okay, you have a nice day too. Bye!" Vicky hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket. "Happy?"
"Using the old stomach virus excuse, eh?"
"Usually works." Vicky shrugged her shoulders.
"Whatcha wanna do now?"
"Well... we can't really go anywhere, I don't want us to get carried away and not be here when Chester and Veronica show up... we could stay here and watch movies?"
Timmy fell back into a laying position on the couch. "Sounds boring..." he then smiled at her and motioned for her to come over to the couch. "Good thing I like being boring with you."
Vicky blushed and smiled at his comment. "You keep being sweet like this and you'll give us both Diabetes..." Vicky sat down in front of him on the couch. "I'm glad I don't have that, don't know if I'd be able to deal with it."
"I'd help you..."
"Heh... I can always count on you, right?"
"Of course. Now how about we try finding that Indiana Jones movie again?"
"Sounds good."
Some time later, at Dimmsdale High...
Tootie sat at the lunch table that she normally did, though it felt much emptier than before, seeing as how only her and AJ were there.
There had been a lack of Trixie in school lately, Tootie was there when AJ told her things weren't gonna work out and was dating Tootie, and she watched as Trixie had a small meltdown, then ordered the ogre that was her and the popular kids' body guard to 'deal' with AJ, unceremoniously dumping him in the trash.
Tootie was tempted to help AJ, but she couldn't, she was unable to breathe. From laughing too hard. It might not have been nice, but he deserved it after what he did.
"Tootie?"
Things were on the upswing now though, she was happy, Chester was happy, and her sister was happy, true it was because Vicky was dating Tootie's best friend and long time crush, but she was over that, life is too short to hold grudges like that, especially against your own sister.
"Tootie."
Obviously Timmy was happy too, she found it kind of odd that Timmy threw AJ a box of condoms, but she supposed he was just looking out for them, though the night didn't progress that far, much to AJ's chagrin, which Tootie rewarded by turning the collar up to eleven and shocking him, he learned his place after that.
"Tootie!"
"Hm? Yeah?"
"Drifting off there?"
"Just thinking about our 'date' tonight... I figured fishnet tights, a whip, six-inch heels... Hell, maybe even I'll get dressed up."
AJ was still getting used to the idea of this 'new' Tootie, he was surprised that she was into all that BDSM stuff, though even more surprised by the fact that he himself liked it. "I really hope Vicky didn't take a picture of us the other night... it might be kinda..."
"Awkward? Don't worry, she didn't, though I think she got a good laugh out of it." Tootie began searching through her purse.
"Good, I'd prefer she not have anymore ammo to use against me-"
BZZTT
A close look at AJ's shirt collar would reveal that he still wore the shock collar under it, Vicky still had the key, and she had 'forgotten' to give it to Tootie, not that it mattered, she probably wouldn't have taken it off even if Vicky had given her the key. Tootie giggled evilly. "That is just too much fun!"
"C'mon babe... can't you wait until we're home before-"
BZZTT
"Nope. Besides, you know you love it!"
Back at Timmy's house, six o'clock-ish...
"Alright, I'll admit, it was much better than I expected." they had been able to find, and just finished watching, the movie Timmy had mentioned earlier. "I expected it to be crap because the series has been kinda tired lately, but I guess I was wrong."
"Yeah, it's too bad Harrison Ford is getting too old to keep playing Indy, I don't think there's anyone that could replace him, I wish he was young again, like when the older movies first came out." Timmy thought for a second about what he said. "Oh shit." There was a barely audible poofing sound.
"Did you hear that?" Vicky looked around the living room.
"Uh... no? What- what did it sound like?"
"Sounded like... eh, nevermind, just my imagination or something..."
"Really gotta stop throwing the word 'wish' around, not that making Harrison Ford younger is necessarily a bad thing..."
Vicky stood up from the couch and stretched. "We should probably get ready for this whole double date thing..."
"You don't sound very excited."
"Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of PDAs, why go out and do something like this when I can show you how much I love you here, in private?"
"You could've, y'know, canceled?"
"Eh... part of me wants to try this out, even while the rest of me tells me not to."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I'll do my best to not make you uncomfortable tonight. You take the lead, if you wanna be romantic, we will. If you'd prefer we act like just friends, that's fine too."
"I... wow." Vicky sat back down on the couch.
"What?"
"You're just... you make it seem so easy, I've always been so slow to trust people, friends, boyfriends... but with you... You never push me into anything, you let me decide what is and isn't okay... I- I don't deserve someone as sweet as you..." a tear fell from Vicky's face, followed by another, then another.
"Ah crap... this, I wasn't prepared for..." Timmy knew he wasn't particularly good at comforting people, all the times this came up in movies or books didn't help him, it was like he had a mental block when it came to being empathetic. "Um... Vicky... Don't- don't cry... c'mon, you aren't that bad, just- Ugh... I suck at this..." he settled for wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, she shook with sobs in his grasp. "You need to stop beating yourself up, I don't care about what happened in the past..." Again he was talking to the vulnerable Vicky, the one that she had hidden all these years and would only show to him. "C'mon... you know I hate to see you cry..." Vicky's likely imbalanced teenage hormones were only exacerbating the situation. Another con to making her younger.
After some time, Vicky's sobs lessened, then stopped altogether and she pulled away, wiping her face as she did.
"Are you okay? Like, really okay?"
"Yeah... thank you... Let's go get ready." Vicky went ahead and climbed the stairs to Timmy's room.
"I hope she is... if only I was better at comforting people..." ironically, he didn't wish for it this time.
"Uh... Timmy?"
"Coming!" he ran up the stairs. "What's up?"
Vicky stood in the doorway to his room, looking at an orange cat sporting an eyepatch. "What is that?"
"A cat..."
"Yeah, no shit." she rolled her still puffy eyes. "Where did it come from?"
"My parents. They got me a cat once, this is him, Jimmy."
"I've never seen him before..."
"Well he's always been here, maybe he was in some other part of the house when you slept in here?"
"Huh... is he friendly?"
"Yeah, of course! Long as you aren't Cosmo..." the comment about Cosmo was muttered.
"What?"
"Ah nothing! Yeah, he wouldn't hurt a... well, he probably won't hurt us." Timmy hesitantly walked over to the orange cat and extended his hand to pat the cat's head. He stopped short, expecting to have it ripped off, when the cat continued staring at him, he rubbed the cat's head, eliciting a quiet purr from it. Timmy breathed an audible sigh of relief. "See?"
Vicky cautiously walked over and mimicked what Timmy had done. The cat seemed friendly enough, despite wearing an eyepatch and having marks on his body that looked very much like tire tracks.
Cosmo watched the spectacle before him and began crying, then swam into his little castle, followed by Wanda, who just rolled her eyes.
"Alright." Vicky stood up. "Be right back." she grabbed a few bags from the mall shopping spree and headed for the bathroom.
Timmy watched her leave. "Cosmo, Wanda!"
Wanda poofed out of the fishbowl. "Just me honey, Cosmo is... having a hard time right now... what do you need?"
"Advice."
"No wishes this time?"
"Nope, I want this date to go alright, but I don't know what to wear..."
"Are you going someplace fancy?"
"Well no, but-"
"Just dress casual. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill, and remember to pay for her food. As long as she has a nice time, you should be fine. Now stop overthinking this and get ready!"
"Alright, thanks Wanda."
"Any time Timmy, I'm really happy you found someone, even if that someone is Vicky, the person who used to torture you on a nearly daily basis."
"I guess that's love huh?"
"Yep, it surely is." Wanda returned to the fishbowl.
Timmy moved to his closet and began searching through it. "Maybe... black this time?" he took out the unused black shirt and held it out before him. "Yeah. Black." He searched more and found a pair of black jeans. "Eh... too much black." He swapped the black jeans for his more usual blue ones, then looked in the mirror. "Hm... to hat, or not to hat?" he experimentally took the hat off, then put it back on.
"I say wear it."
Timmy jumped and looked in the direction the voice had come from. Vicky stood in the doorway wearing a red, midriff-baring shirt, black jeans, and black sandals with a fake white flower on each.
Timmy stared at her for several seconds with his mouth hanging open. "So I guess I don't need to ask if I look good. You should wear the hat, I like it."
"O-okay." his brain was apparently doing its best to form words, but rebooting and talking could not be done at the same time, apparently.
"Y'know... you should take a picture, it'll last longer."
"I just- You never really wear makeup..." she had on a light amount of bluish-purple eyeshadow, and red lipstick.
"Well... I mean- I usually don't care to put it on, that's all... Does... does it look okay?"
"Okay? It looks better than okay..." "You look great! Well, better than great, you're..."
"I'm?"
"You know..."
"Yeah, but I still wanna hear it..."
"Beautiful." he was blushing now.
"There we go! Made him blush!" It had become a competition to her in some regards, who could make the other blush more, and she prided herself on the few times she could get him to blush, he was still winning by a long shot, after all. "Glad you like it, turns out I didn't buy a little black dress, so this'll have to do."
"I'm not complaining." "I'm gonna go get ready." Timmy left his room and made for the bathroom.
Vicky sat on his bed, and was soon joined by Jimmy. "Uh... hey there..."
"Mrow?"
"Yeah... I don't speak cat."
"Mrow."
"Hm... I wonder if..." Vicky extended her arm and moved the eyepatch on Jimmy's head. "Oh! Yeesh... sorry." she moved the eyepatch back.
"Mow..."
"I can't believe I'm sitting here making conversation with a cat..."
Jimmy released an annoyed huff and jumped off the bed, then left the room.
"Sometimes I wish I could talk to animals..."
Cosmo raised his wand and received a smack from Wanda, who nodded back and forth furiously when he looked at her.
Timmy returned a few minutes later, wearing the black shirt he never wore, the blue jeans he always wore, and the pink hat she requested he wear. 'How do I look?"
"Mismatched as all hell."
His face fell, but he looked at her to see her grinning at him. "Hah-hah, I figured I'd try something new for once, hence the black shirt."
"You look fine, I'm just messing with you."
"I know." Timmy walked over and stood in front of her, he leaned forward to kiss her but his lips connected with her hand.
"Sorry, gonna have to wait, I'd rather not have to reapply my lipstick."
Timmy crossed his arms and pouted, then a look of realization came over him. "How about an Eskimo kiss?"
"Feeling affectionate tonight?"
"I'm doing my best to keep from tackling you and kissing you."
"Then I guess I better oblige you." she pulled him over and rubbed her nose against his.
They stayed like that for several minutes, her forehead against his, before being interrupted by Timmy's phone indicating he had a text.
Be there in 5
"It's from Chester, said they'll be here in five minutes."
"We better head downstairs then, huh?"
Chester's POV...
"Picked me up kinda early, don't ya think?" Chester wore a black jacket now, but the rest of his outfit was the same as what he normally wore.
Veronica glanced over at Chester. "Figured it'd be better to get everyone early, just in case." she wore white jeans and a pink t-shirt, her hair up in a ponytail, like usual.
"I just hope those two are ready when we get there."
"If not, we'll just wait for them in the house... or we could stay in the car and maybe..." she winked at Chester.
Car. That's what she called the vehicle she showed up in, but that didn't really do it justice, it was a truck. In every sense of the word, Earth Destroyer or something... Leather seats, five miles to the gallon, a flat screen TV for each passenger, and the driver, to give it a dangerous edge, the wood finish was made of some kind of ultra-rare, nearly extinct tree. It was a glorious machine of war, for the upper class.
"I'm all for that!"
They stopped in front of Timmy's house and veronica honked the horn, which sounded more like the foghorn of a large ship.
"No sign of 'em, maybe try again?"
"I could, but at the same time... we have some alone time at the moment..."
"Good point!" Chester pulled Veronica out of her seat and onto his lap.
Timmy's POV...
"Hear that?"
"Sounded like a frickin' aircraft carrier honked in your front yard!"
"Must be them." Timmy stood up from the couch and looked out the living room window to see a large truck parked outside his house. "Yeah, gotta be them."
"Then let's go." Vicky stood up and ushered Timmy over to the door and out into the relatively pleasant night air.
Timmy looked over to the passenger window to see Veronica on Chester's lap, being a couple, evidently. "Wait!" he put his hand out to his right to stop Vicky, and his hand landed on her chest.
"Really? Can't you wait until after dinner?"
Timmy looked at her, then to his hand and pulled it away. "Er... sorry... But look!" he pointed to the passenger window of the car.
Vicky looked to see what Timmy had seen. "Ah... gotcha... C'mon, time for a bit of fun!" Vicky began crouch-walking toward the car, followed by Timmy.
"What're we gonna...?"
"Shh! Turn on the camera app on my phone." she handed her phone to Timmy.
He began fiddling with it and found the aforementioned app, which revealed the last few pictures she had taken, the first was of Tootie and AJ in a compromising position, the one she had sent him. The next was of herself, after she had gotten younger, likely so she could see how she looked now. "Did I ever tell you how pretty you are?"
"What? Did you find the camera?"
He could tell from her shaking voice that she was embarrassed again. "I mean without makeup. Don't get me wrong, you look good with makeup on, but you look so much more... beautiful without it... I can't really explain it."
"Didn't you say you would try not to embarrass me tonight?" she looked back at him with pink cheeks.
"I am trying." he looked back at the phone and checked the last picture it showed. It was of him, sleeping in his bed. Judging from the angle and position, she was in bed with him too when she took it. It reminded him of the conversation he had with Cosmo, when he had been trying to encourage him to take a picture of Vicky, even if she was asleep when he took it. He never did get up the courage to do it, afraid she'd react badly to it, or call him a pervert or something.
Finally he handed the phone back to her, the app loaded up. "Here."
Vicky looked at the screen to see the pictures that were in memory. "Did you... look at these?"
"Didn't have much choice, they popped up when I turned on the camera app."
"Oh... um..." Vicky was rapidly turning redder and redder. "That was..."
"Nevermind that, do your thing." he flashed her a smile that made her heart flutter.
"Right." Vicky slowly and carefully stood up and leaned over to the window, then knocked on it, bringing the phone in front of it as she did. She heard a squeak from inside the car, presumably from Veronica, and took a picture.
Vicky grinned evilly at the photo, showing a clearly surprised and red-faced Chester and Veronica. "Yeah, that'll do."
Veronica hopped out of the truck and glared at Vicky. "What are you doing?!"
"Taking pictures for photography class." she lied.
Chester hopped out now and glared at Timmy and Vicky, both were snickering at the little 'joke'. "Dude?! What the hell?! I'm trying to have a romantic moment with my lady..."
"Which is why I couldn't resist embarrassing you two!" Vicky interrupted.
"So what? You're gonna use it to blackmail us or something?"
"Pfft! No... maybe a week or two ago, but I really just wanted to see you two flustered! I find that taking a picture of people in such a compromising position tends to be more effective than just finding them in it." Vicky deleted the photo, then the one she had of AJ and Tootie. "There, gone. Calm down."
"Good, you two pranksters ready to go?" Veronica deadpanned at Vicky, then looked at her more closely and her eyes widened. "Are- are you younger?! And... shorter?!" Veronica realized she was almost the same height as Vicky now.
"Perhaps..." a sly grin adorned Vicky's face.
"How?!"
Chester looked at Vicky and realized it too. "You look like you did back when we were all ten!"
Timmy decided to interject and put this conversation to rest before it got off the ground. "Vicky likes a certain brand of drinks that gets water from 'secret springs' all over the world, the combination of which, in her system, caused a sort of 'fountain of youth' effect, so now she's young again... and before you ask, yes, really." he was getting good at telling this lie, but he still wished he could just tell people he had fairies, remembering all these lies was becoming a real pain.
"So... you're just... younger?"
"Uh-huh."
"You're gonna have to tell me what you drink, for future reference of course." Veronica said.
"Of course."
"So... now is everyone ready to go?"
"As ready as we're gonna get."
"Fantastic. Everyone get into the tank."
Timmy laughed at Veronica's joke. "Where'd you get this thing anyway?"
"My parents. They insisted I have a car that would keep me safe in case I drove through a war zone. The fact that everytime I start it, I cause the planet to die a little more is just a bonus."
"Well, it's nice, despite that."
"Not so nice on gas, I'm lucky to spend less than a hundred dollars everytime I need to fill up..."
"Good thing you're ridiculously wealthy then, huh?"
"There's always that." Veronica looked at Vicky. "You look nice."
"Thanks, you too."
The girls had opted to sit up front, with Chester and Timmy in the back seats.
"So, how are things going with you two?" Chester whispered to Timmy.
"Why are we whispering?"
"So the girls don't hear?"
"Alright... well, things are good, great even. How about you?"
"Same, I think... I think I love her..."
"Really?! Good! Good for you!" Timmy wasn't whispering as quietly anymore.
"Dude! Shh!"
"Oh right, sorry..."
"But you... I can't believe how lucky you are, much as I can't believe that I think you're lucky to go out with Vicky... she's hot! Like, really, really hot!"
"Thanks... but hands off, she's mine."
"Hey, it's just art appreciation, no intentions behind it."
Vicky suddenly reclined her seat back, slamming it on Timmy's legs. "Whatcha talkin' about?" she wore a sly grin that indicated she already knew.
"Ow... mind not doing that next time?"
"You'll be fine, least I don't enjoy hurting you like Tootie does."
Her statement carried a double meaning, intentional or not. Partially because Tootie had hurt Timmy by dating AJ, and partially because she was into that kind of thing.
Timmy leaned forward and whispered into Vicky's ear. "Chester thinks he's in love..."
"Oh, is that all?"
"Uh-huh."
"So have you told her?" Vicky looked over to Chester.
"Told her what?" Chester asked nervously.
"In case you haven't put two and two together, Timmy just told me the news."
"Aw, come on!"
"What? No secrets between friends. And Vicky's a very close friend."
"What are you three talking about?" Veronica looked back at Timmy, Chester and Vicky.
"Pie eating contest. Eyes on the road." Vicky interjected.
Veronica returned her gaze to the road.
"You should tell her." Vicky was whispering now as well.
"I... I don't know. What if she...?"
"Boring."
"Huh?"
"You're boring. This soap opera romance crap? Boring. She's obviously crazy about you, so man up and tell her."
"I will... when I'm ready-"
"Tonight. Or I will."
"I thought dating Timmy would make you nicer..."
"I am nicer! I didn't blackmail you, I haven't threatened you with any weapons..."
"But you still wanna tell Veronica I love her."
"How is that mean? Sounds like I'm trying to help you get your relationship to the next level."
"Maybe he doesn't want to?" Timmy interrupted.
"Oh! Good point!" Vicky looked over at Chester. "You afraid to go there?"
"No! Of course not! We already...!" Chester slapped his hands over his mouth.
"Oh dear. Did you hear what I just did Timmy?"
"Indeed. It seems my friends are all growing up, brings a tear to my eye..."
"Maybe this double date thing was a bad idea..." Chester rubbed the back of his head.
"Too late to back out now."
"You two are enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Oh yeah, better than sitting around watching TV like we planned to."
"Hey, you guys decide where we're going to eat?" Veronica called back to them.
"What? You two haven't?" Vicky sat up and looked at Veronica.
"Not yet. I was thinking the Pine Barrens."
"The what now?"
"Oh, it's a place that tried to feed off the success of places like the Outback Steakhouse. They serve all kinds of things there."
"What are the Pine Barrens?"
"Some big wooded area in New Jersey or something, it's apparently haunted."
"Jersey?" Vicky asked with annoyance. "If I catch even a whiff of anything that has to do with the Jersey Shore, I'm gone."
"Don't worry, they don't have anything like that." Veronica laughed. "So is everyone decided?"
"Sure."
"Yup."
"Sounds good."
"Great! It's where I was headed anyway, we should be there in about fifteen minutes, so long as traffic isn't too bad."
Vicky reclined her seat and let it fall onto Timmy's legs again, though lighter this time. "So, you gonna tell her?"
"What's the rush? It's not like you guys have said 'I love you' to each other..."
"Yeah, about that..." Timmy scratched at his nose with his index finger and turned a barely noticeable shade of pink.
"What?" Chester looked between Timmy and Vicky. "You- you have?!"
"Don't act so surprised! I've liked Vicky for a long time, me admitting I love her isn't that much of a stretch... is it?" Timmy looked back and forth between Chester and Vicky.
"I don't think so." Vicky spoke with a somewhat sultry tone and caressed Timmy's cheek.
"Aren't you guys... kinda young to be throwing the 'L' word around?"
"Lesbian?" Veronica interrupted.
Vicky deadpanned at Veronica. "Yes. We're talking about lesbians..."
"Oh... I'll just focus on the road... not really my forte, y'know?"
Apparently Vicky had succeeded in making Veronica uncomfortable, just as well, they didn't have to worry about her hearing something now, mostly for Chester's sake.
"So, what's it gonna be?"
"Fine! I'll tell her!"
"Good, tonight."
"Yeah, tonight. You two are evil..."
Timmy and Vicky looked at each other, then back to Chester. "Yep."
After several more minutes of Veronica driving, and Timmy and Vicky teasing Chester, they arrived at the restaurant.
"So what do they serve here? I didn't even know this place existed." Timmy asked Veronica.
"You know the Outback's menu? Just take that, and take out all the Aussie themed names. I did say they were basically riding on the Outback's coat tails..."
"Then I already know what I'm getting." Timmy spoke up.
"What's that?"
"Cheeseburger and fries."
"That's all you ever get!" Chester shoved his friends shoulder lightly.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but so do you."
"Well, yeah but..."
"And I'm pretty sure that I distracted you just the other day by claiming there was a giant cheeseburger in the mall..."
Veronica looked back at Chester with disbelief, then began giggling, apparently at the scene playing out as she imagined it.
"Fine, fine. Just trying to get you to mix it up..."
"Trust me, I've had enough 'mixing' for the week..."
Chester thought about the past week's events. "Yeah, good point."
Dinner was a thankfully uneventful affair. Timmy had a sneaking suspicion that a waiter bearing the name Heather would come up to their table when they sat down, but it ended up being a girl named... Susie? He couldn't remember, she wasn't familiar though.
Both he and Vicky kept winking at Chester and gesturing toward Veronica, much to his annoyance. His only response was to direct a swift kick toward Timmy. It was his only response because he missed Timmy entirely and kicked Vicky instead, obviously forgetting her long legs.
The table shook slightly and he looked at Timmy, who still wore a smug grin, but shrugged his shoulders at the shaking of the table when Chester grinned at him.
"That's weird... I know I kicked him..." Chester thought.
Vicky leaned over to Timmy and whispered something to him, Chester couldn't hear it, but the shrugging of Timmy's shoulders at whatever Vicky had said to him, coupled with Vicky's sudden glare in Chester's direction, told him exactly what he feared. He hadn't kicked Timmy, he had delivered a rather hard kick to Vicky, most likely her shin.
Vicky leaned back in her seat, and Timmy looked at Chester with genuine pity. He probably wasn't going to survive the night.
Veronica accidentally spilled her drink when the table shook. "Damn... I'll be right back, better wash it off before it sets." She stood and walked off, leaving Chester at the mercy of a dragon.
"So... which one of you kicked me?" Vicky smiled evilly at the two friends at the table.
"Um! Wasn't me!" Chester immediately yelled out defensively.
"Oh? So it must have been my boyfriend?" Vicky pulled Timmy, still in his seat, close to her.
"I dunno... but it uh... it wasn't me! Nope, no way!" Chester laughed nervously.
Timmy watched the scene unfolding before him with mirth. Annoyance too. Annoyance that his friend would so quickly throw him under the Vicky bus, (though he couldn't really blame him for still fearing Vicky) and mostly mirth because of Chester's reaction, it was quite funny to see him sputtering like he was. "I think I'll play along..."
"But Vicky! It wasn't me! I-"
"Oh no. You're not getting out of this one! When we get home..." Vicky smiled at him like a predator might smile at its helpless prey.
God she was a good actor, and she had instantly picked up on his game. He kept up the facade, but smiled inwardly. "I am pretty lucky."
Veronica returned, at last, from the bathroom. "Well, the stain is gone, but my pants are wet, you guys ready to head out? I already paid."
"Ah crap... babe... I was supposed to pay for you!"
"Next time Chester. Or... maybe you can repay me at my house?" Veronica winked at her boyfriend.
Chester smirked at her. "Sounds good to me!"
"Shit. So did I..." Timmy whispered to Vicky.
"You're worried about that? Seriously?"
"Well, it's just that, I'm supposed to pay for your dinner... like in movies and stuff?"
"Don't worry about it. Yeah, it would've been sweet, but you know what's better than you paying for my food?"
"What?"
"Someone else paying so you don't have to! You know how much I hate to spend money? Well I don't want you to either. If someone wants to pay for us, I say take advantage of the situation... Even if they're friends."
"Hey! You two coming? Or would you rather stay here and cuddle?"
"We'd better go, sounds like those two are thinkin' with their hormones tonight..."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to keep them away from each other for too long..."
Some time later, Timmy's House...
"That was nice, we should do this again!" Veronica exclaimed.
"Sure, anytime!" Vicky looked at Veronica, then to Chester, and smiled evilly.
"Shit! She knows!" "Well, we should really be going, right Veronica? Heheh... See you around Timmy!"
"Um... okay... I'll see you two around... I guess. Gimme a call later Vicky!" Veronica drove off.
"Those two are gonna have the blondest kids, and I'm not just talking about the hair color." Vicky started for the door, followed by Timmy.
He noticed she walked with a slight limp. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just fine." she looked back at Timmy with a pained expression on her face. "Kind of..."
"Alright." Timmy offered her his shoulder and opened the door. "Come on."
"Hey, I'm fine!"
"Then you should be 'fine' with me having a look at your leg, right?" Timmy let her down on the couch.
"Whatever..."
Timmy rolled up her pant leg to find her shin very bruised and slightly bloody. "Looks like he got you pretty good... You want me to kick his ass?" Timmy went to the kitchen and returned with some bandages.
"Nah, just an honest mistake on his part, I'll get him back- AH!" she winced as he dabbed some alcohol on the cut.
"Sorry... just don't want it to get infected..."
"You worry too much, nobody gets infections as often as the media would have you believe..."
"Doesn't hurt to be careful." he began wrapping her leg with the bandage.
"Thanks..."
"No problem." he kissed her bandaged leg.
"I'm pretty sure that doesn't work..." Vicky blushed slightly.
Timmy got up and sat next to Vicky on the couch, then pulled her into him and into a kiss. "How about that?"
"Now your talking!" Vicky pulled him into a kiss this time.
A/N: Alright, this chapter took forever, well, technically it took a few days, but still, that's forever to me. Next chapter for this will be the last one, I wanna focus on my other stories, especially Summer, since I've been neglecting it, now I just have to hope my muse will allow it. Thanks for the reviews, as always, and a special thanks to grifisme and Samuel Sadi for ideas and encouragement when I was feeling down.