Warnings for this chapter: swearing, body image issues, spoilers for Turner and Hooch (1987, I think) and The Addams Family (1991)

Chapter Twelve

Meggie didn't bother going around her friend's house to wish him a happy birthday, scared that she would either see Tammy or that his mother would recognize her as being the daughter of two gay men and kick her out - from what she had heard, his mother definitely wasn't all that fond of homosexuals or the 'homosexual lifestyle'.

Instead, she decided to drop him a text on Saturday morning for him to come over later on - she severely hoped that he wasn't really going out to a wild party or anything (especially not with Tammy), since that didn't seem like his style.

Good Morning b-day boy :) wuu2 2-day? x

Not two minutes later, her phone buzzed with a reply, and Meggie dropped the book she'd been reading in bed hurriedly so that she could read it.

Thanks :) Nothing really...mom's probably got something planned. Y? wuu2 2day then?

Meggie hurriedly texted back, not bothering with proper grammar and spelling - although she usually did make a point of doing it because it seemed like the smarter thing to do, she was too tired and too worried about answering quickly that she decided to go the quick route.

Nothing either - just dance at 10 w/ Pepper.
Was wondering, u wanna hang out later? U can stay over if u want, and I have to give u ur present x

Actually, I have to figure out what to buy first, she thought to herself before putting down her phone and looking at the clock on her bedside table: it was half-eight, but she usually left at nine-fifteen so that she could meet up with Pepper on the way to their dance class.

The thought of dance classes had started to give her mixed feelings: while she loved dancing more than anything, she just felt...off about having to dance in front of everyone somehow. She knew that that was the point of dance class, but when she watched the other students free-style or do choreography, it just made her feel more and more self-conscious. They were all so good and perfect...and they didn't have scars or fat bodies like she thought herself to have either.

Meggie's phone buzzed again.

Haha, okay. So...what did u get me? How about a b-day BJ? ;)

Meggie raised her eyebrow; that didn't sound much like something Thomas would say. Her phone buzzed again, another text appearing on her screen.

OMG, I'm so sorry! May took my phone and said that, I swear :/

Oh. She smirked to herself. I see...so you don't want a b-day BJ? ;-) Kidding. And ur sister stole ur phone? Dude, ur like a giant compared 2 her x

Admittedly, the thought of her friend getting his phone snatched off of him and being unable to get it off of a girl - an older one that was tiny in comparison to him - cheered her up considerably.

Oh shut up -_- Anyway, yh I can meet up later if u want - have to ask my mom about staying over though. I'll just tell her I'm wth a guy from school or something. How about 7 2night?

Yep, sounds good. I'll c u later x

Meggie stretched her arms out before climbing out of bed; she hadn't been lying about Thomas being able to stay over, since her dads didn't seem to mind too much. Sure, at first they'd been wary of their teenage daughter having teenage boys sleep around, but after a few months of it they soon learnt that the most scandalous things that were going on between them during their sleepovers were the two of them having fights about who was going through on reality television shows or them having a fight over which Deathly Hallow was the most useful during a Harry Potter movie marathon.

Crap, it's getting later, Meggie thought, looking at the clock and realizing she still had to get washed and dressed before dance...oh, and breakfast, she noted mentally.

As she pulled on her dance clothes (old clothes that she didn't care about getting hot and sweaty in) though, she caught sight of herself in the mirror: the sight of what she thought to be flabby arms and a fat stomach made her falter.

Hmm...I'll definitely need to skip breakfast again today.

Kurt and Blaine were - in short - concerned for the well-being of their two children that weekend: Meggie appeared to be eating hardly anything at all, cutting herself regularly if the length of time she spent in her room was anything to go by, and just in a depressed mood; equally, Liam had become unusually withdrawn and quiet since he'd been sent home from school early on Friday due to being sick, and he refused to talk at all when around Meggie.

"We are the biggest fuck-ups in parenting history," Blaine moaned into his pillow on Saturday morning, banging his head into it but not doing much damage. "Both of our kids - both - are either depressed or on their way to becoming recluses, and it's all our fault."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him half-heartedly. "Are you saying that I'm a terrible parent?"

Blaine gave another muffled groan before lifting his head up. "No no no, sweetie, I was just...I mean...I'm the biggest fuck-up in parenting history...?"

His husband shook his head. "You know, I'd believe you if didn't make that last statement sound like a question. Besides, most teenagers go through stages of...of teenage rebellion and that kind of thing; it's normal." He bit his lip. "The depression and self-harm...maybe not so."

"I don't care what she says," Blaine muttered, sitting up and looking down at his hands. "We're taking her to see a doctor - they'll refer her to a psychiatrist or something, right? And then...maybe she'll get better."

"Well, we're booked to see someone on Thursday next week," Kurt said, although he didn't look too sure in himself. "And then she'll get help and be fine again. I mean...she has to, right?"

Blaine looked disturbed by the notion that it wouldn't be okay. "Come on, Kurt, this is Meggie we're talking about though. Remember? This is the girl who became obsessed with Toy Story when she was five; she looked after her brother when he got hurt over the years - hell, she used to have a smile that lit up the planet."

The taller man gave a weak attempt at a smile. "Yes, I know... Hey, do you remember that time we took the two of them to Disneyland? Meggie got to meet Woody, Jessie and Buzz, and she took the dolls of them with her? And do you remember their reactions when they saw them?"

Blaine gave a light chuckle. "Oh yeah. They gave her the biggest hug I've ever seen - well, and then Woody started shaking his head at the Buzz toy she had and miming gagging." He grinned to himself slyly. "We bought her that Jessie costume to wear, and she wore it the whole trip - the hat and everything; when she met Jessie I thought that she'd start crying or something."

"She was so happy back then," The brunette sighed, smile slipping. "Her biggest worry was whether or not she was good enough to get Christmas presents."

Blaine's grin also disappeared and he looked disheartened. "Yeah, I now. It's weird how she's changed so much. I don't like it."

"Neither do I," Kurt agreed, leaning to put his head on Blaine's shoulder. "A year after that trip and she was twelve - she was already worrying about boyfriends and friends...and how she looked..."

"Children don't stay children as long as they should," The shorter man sighed, putting an arm around the other man. "At twelve I was still playing with action figures and watching Disney; Meggie was trying out make-up and throwing out what she thought to be 'childish'."

"And now there's Liam," Kurt continued. "Messing around with lighters, hardly speaking to anyone and looking like a depressed puppy. Good God, I hope that they don't stay like this for long."

"Dad? Papa?"

Kurt and Blaine both looked up from the breakfast and newspaper respectively, watching their pre-teen fidget in his seat. Meggie had, of course, gone to dance early that morning, and so it was only the three of them.

Liam bit his lip and looked down at his cereal bowl. "I know it doesn't really matter now, but...I'm sorry. You know, about being a jerk and doing bad stuff at school."

Kurt gave a small nod before smiling weakly at him. "It's okay. We forgive you - as long as you don't do it again."

"Uh-huh..." Liam bit his lip, clearly not done. "No, I mean, I just...I wanted to tell you guys that I'm sorry - for everything since September. I'm sorry for the lighter thing, and for the arguing and being rude; I'm sorry that I made Meggie and you guys upset by telling her secret, b-but I was worried..." He gave a heavy and guilt-ridden sigh. "I'm sorry for being horrible to you, Papa. I didn't really mean it: you're still my dad, just as much as Dad is."

He looked sincere - the tears gave that away - and both of the men felt a mixed sense of relief and sadness at his declaration. "Hey," Blaine muttered softly, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "It's fine. Don't beat yourself up over it, okay? We all have moments - I sure did, and especially when I was your age."

Liam gave a sniff and rubbed at his eyes furiously; now that the tears were mostly gone, it was easy to see that he looked somewhat curious. "R-Really? Like what?"

Blaine gave a small grin. "You know Aunt Sam? Well, when I was about your age we used to tease the crap out of each other; one day she called me a 'hobbit', so you know what I did?"

The brunette looked at him in wonder.

"It doesn't seem pretty bad-ass now," Blaine admitted. "But I broke the television in her room."

"What?!"

The hazel-eyed man gave him a mischievous look. "I had my football with me - I was asking her to come outside and play with me, and when she wouldn't I said that she just didn't want me to beat her, since she was a girl. So then your Aunt Sam called me a 'hobbit'...among other things...and I got so mad that I threw the football at her TV."

Liam's mouth was wide open in shock and surprise; even Kurt looked slightly disturbed by this knowledge from across the kitchen. "You broke her television because she said you were short?!" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Blaine grinned widely. "Yeah...not as good as when I found out that she had a crush on your Aunt Maddie when they went to school together, though: since she kept saying I'd never get a boyfriend and she was literally head over heels, I decided to play a little prank on her..."

"This can't be good," Kurt muttered.

Blaine ignored this. "So when we went home for the Summer after finishing school, we were having dinner with our parents...and I may have blurted out, 'How's your girlfriend? You know, Maddie?' in front of them."

Liam looked thoroughly cheered up by these stories, wheras Kurt just rolled his eyes and face-palmed himself.

"Sam went all red," He continued, shrugging to himself. "Like a beetroot! I don't think I've ever seen her so nervous! Luckily, Mom and Dad didn't pay a lot of attention at the time and told me to stop being stupid - Sam, however, was not happy." He suddenly winced in his chair. "Safe to say, you don't mess with Sam."

As predicted, Thomas sleeping around was about as scandalous as eating pizza (or not eating, in Meggie's case) and watching a movie in the living room - the rule was, of course, that when a boy slept over it was to be in the front room downstairs and not their daughter's bedroom for obvious reasons.

"So, we're gonna head upstairs," Blaine yawned, stretching his arms out; it was only nine-thirty, but he and Kurt had a television in their room (as well as laptops for such occasions) so that the two teens could have the downstairs television to themselves. "What are you guys planning then?"

Meggie gave a shrug. "Up to Thomas: it's his birthday."

Thomas went red. "Well...that's not fair! Don't put me on the spot like that!"

She grinned. "Fine. We'll probably end up watching a couple of movies: Tom can't escape from my collection of favourites, even on his birthday."

An hour later, and the two were settled on the couch and watching the opening to Turner and Hooch - they'd watched some television shows but now there wasn't much on apart from late night movies and reality TV shows.

"So... This is a film about a dog?" Thomas asked, looking somewhat doubtful that this was going to be of great interest to him.

"Yes, Hooch," Meggie said obviously - as soon as she said that, Thomas saw the exact reason she had wanted to watch it.

"Really, Meggie?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She pretended to look offended as Dalton wondered in and made a bee-line to sit on the couch with them. "What?"

"You're making me watch a movie because it has Tom Hanks - a young Tom Hanks from the eighties - in his underwear?! Really?"

She went pink but smirked to herself as she patted Dalton's head. "Pepper is the same...besides, he was hot back then! I mean, look at that ass in those pants! You can see everything-"

"I'm straight," He reminded her, gagging slightly. "Look, maybe you two find it nice, and that's cool...but boobs are kind of more my thing, in case you didn't know already."

However, the movie wasn't all that bad really: once the dog got involved, Thomas found himself thoroughly amused by the whole film - maybe because it reminded him of his own dog back at home as well as the dog sprawled across he and Meggie's laps.

And then it happened.

"No! No! WHAT THE HELL!"

Dalton gave a whine and Meggie looked at her friend sadly. "Shh," She scolded half-heartedly, although she looked just as upset as he did. "You'll wake my dads up."

"But...the dog got shot!" Thomas exclaimed angrily, his grip on Dalton's fur tight suddenly. "Not only did he get shot, but he's just died! A-A-And now Tom Hanks is crying like a baby, God dammit, and...who the hell came up with the idea to kill the dog?!"

Meggie wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "Yeah, but look: one of the puppies looks just like Hooch! He's got a second Hooch-"

"But he should have the real one," Thomas muttered, looking quite put out as he sat back on the couch as the credits started to roll. "Stupid gun. Now what are you gonna make me watch? Better yet, can I choose?"

She rolled her eyes but passed him the remote control anyway. "Fine, but I have to agree."

Thomas looked at the movie listings before brightening up slightly. "Hey, how about The Addams Family? That sounds fun."

"You like The Addams Family?" Meggie asked in shock, eyes wide. "But...surely your mother...she seems...and she wouldn't even let you watch Harry Potter because she thought it was evil..."

He gave a small, shy grin. "The internet is a great place."

The teenage girl suddenly lit up as well. "Is it the one from 1991? The one with Anjelica Huston and-"

"Raul Julia," Thomas finished, nodding.

"Oh, I love that one!" She agreed, nodding as a sign to put it on quickly. "Raul Julia...God bless his soul, he was so talented...and such a fantastic Gomez too! Have you seen the other film they did: The Addams Family Values?" When he nodded, she looked about ready to explode with happiness. "Oh my God, I love it so much! You know the nanny, Debbie? She's played by Joan Cusack, who was Jessie in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and-"

He gave a laugh, cutting her off. "I think you're about to have a heart attack or something; calm down just a little, okay?" She went red. "You're like a walking Wikipedia on actors, you know that, right?"

"I just...I like certain actors and like to read up on them," Meggie muttered, but she still gave a smile.

As the movie started, neither one of them was aware that they moved closer together so that Meggie was leaning on Thomas, her head on his chest, and his chin resting on the top of her hair.

I would like to apologize for my lack of updates - I owe you all an explanation (this will be posted on all of my other stories when I get around to updating them too):

For those who don't know, I suffer from (what I perceive to be severe) depression and self-harm. It's been a very stressful time lately for me: trying to find a job to keep my dad happy, having a lack of sleep, worrying about my results, worrying about dance, worrying about college, wanting to update but having writer's block and many other things. My parents are also under the impression that I have some kind of body dysmorphia because I can't bear to look at my own body or face, which can make it quite difficult to get through the day. I'm currently on 40 mg of Fluoxetine a day (anti-depressants, two 20mg pills a day). I think it's important to also mention that I'm at the point where I have to keep my interests under lock-and-key because I'm scared of being judged for them: these include Hotel T, Toy Story and many other things, for example. To make matters worse, I am no longer seeing my counsellor weekly (or at all for that matter) and the lack of support from her has definitely made me feel much more down.

I want to thank all of you who have been supportive either of me or of my work over the past years: I'm trying hard to become a better writer and keep posting updates, but sometimes it's just too much and I have to go away for a little while to calm down.

And yeah, I know...kinda shitty ending but it's been a whole month since I updated this one, so...I hope you enjoyed it somewhat. Review if you want, I love them!