All disclaimers and warnings still apply. Oh, and the computer I'm using has no spell checker, and my beta has gone off to college. Many apologies for mispellings. I did my best to catch them.
X X X X X
Tommy and Lori crept into the park, keeping low to stay hidden by the bushes and shrubs. The gazebo in the middle of the park stood empty and dark against the blueish illumination of the street light. Mist curled around their ankles as it tended to do in Pleasantville, and they were glad of the way it muffled their footsteps on the blanket of damp leaves. They stopped behind a tall lilac bush just behind the gazebo, within hearing distance.
"Do you think he'll show?" Tommy asked in a hushed voice.
"Which, Merton or this other person?" Lori whispered back, brushing back twigs that obstructed her view of the structure in front of them.
"Merton."
"Well, it's his choice. I don't know. If he ~doesn't~ come, I think we should take this person to the Lair. I think that note sounded important, and Merton is being a sissy. I mean, sure, this must be bad if it's enough to shake him up like it has, but with us watching his back, it's not like he has anything to be afraid of. We've kicked baddie ass for him before, after all."
Tommy shifted next to her, uncomfortable with more than the cool dampness of the night. "But this is ~his~ business, and it just feels... strange. This whole situtation feels wrong. Something is just... I don't know. I've got a bad feeling. I mean, Merton looked awful yesterday after we brought up the note. He's not telling us something important. Maybe we shouldn't mess with him this way."
"Tommy, we're ~not~ messing with him. We're helping him," Lori said, scanning the park.
"If he wanted our help, he would have asked. He knows we'd be there. Instead, he specifically asked us not to - "
"It's a little late for second thoughts," she whispered suddenly, gesturing. Tommy looked to see a tall masculine silhouette crossing towards them and fell silent. The man stepped up into the gazebo, then sat down on one of the benches to wait.
"That must be him," Tommy mouthed to Lori. "The mystery man."
Lori nodded, and they settled back in wait for Merton. Tommy had a feeling they'd be waiting a long time. After all, everyone knew Merton was a bit of a coward, even though he had proven himself capable of bravery several times. Tommy knew from the way Merton had acted last night that the goth would do anything to avoid this confrontation. He'd never seen Merton that shaken and scared before, and that was saying a lot.
After about twenty minutes, he and Lori locked eyes and nodded. It was time to enact their plan, even if it was against Tommy's better judgement. After all, maybe Lori was right. They crept around to the front of the gazebo, and the man inside jumped to his feet.
"Who's there?" he demanded.
"We're here to take you to Merton's house," Lori piped up in an innocent tone. "He said to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it, but he had a lot of homework. So he sent us to come get you."
"Who are you? How did you know I was trying to talk to Merton?" the man demanded suspiciously, his hands shifting in the deep pockets of his longish jacket. The feeling in Tommy's gut that told him something was definitely not right intensified. There was... something about this man... A tinny, metallic scent that clung to him, barely detectible even to Tommy's werewolf senses yet undeniably there.
"We're Lori and Tommy, Merton's friends. We accidentally read the note you left him yesterday," Lori answered. "We asked him about it, but he wouldn't say anything, other than to ask us to get you. Who are you?"
"I'm... I'm Merton's father," the man said, voice changing from confrontational to sad and wistful in a heartbeat. Both teens stared in shock. Whatever they had expected, it was certainly not that.
"H-his father?" Lori stammered weakly.
"But... I've seen Merton's dad... you're not him," Tommy managed to get out.
"I'm his ~real~ father," the man explained, a hint a bitterness in his tone. "I left when he was just a kid. I - I don't know why. I was an alcoholic at the time and a horrible parent. So I left. As soon as I got my life back together, I realized what a mistake I made. So now... I want to see him. See what kind of man he turned out to be."
Tommy crossed his arms and tried to control the instant distrust this man aroused in him. He couldn't help wondering why this guy spilled the whole story so easily when just a second ago he looked like he was about to run away as if he was guilty of something. Not to mention that he didn't really know whether to believe this crackpot story about him being Merton's long lost father. Lori, however, seemed to take it at face value. Her expression softened.
"I knew it was something important," she whispered to Tommy from the corner of her mouth, too low for the man to hear. Then she went on more loudly. "Well, we'll take you to Merton's house, okay?"
The man smiled, and it made Tommy's hackles stand on end. "Thank you."
X X X X X
Merton heard them coming down the stairs and closed his eyes as a wave of anticipated dread filled him. He knew it was Tommy and Lori, come back from their meeting with his father. How much would he have told them? Surely he wouldn't have admitted to abusing him. Bragging about beating a child to near-death was not something sane people did. He wasn't even sure that his father ~was~ sane, trying to contact him as the man was, but a slip-up like that would just be utterly stupid. But then, what would his father have said?
The door opened. Merton didn't jump and gave himself a silent congratulation, heavily tinged with sarcasm. He didn't turn towards the door, though, just sat rocking gently in his cushy computer chair, facing his wall of books.
"Hey, Merton," Tommy called. "Come out, man."
Time to bite the bullet. Slowly, he got up and turned around. Then gasped and took a rapid step backward, so his scars were pressed against his bookshelf. Behind Tommy in the doorway stood a terribly familiar figure, one he'd hoped he'd never see again. Lori stood directly beside his father, looking both smugly pleased with herself and sympathetic. He knew his fear showed on his face, because Tommy frowned and glanced back at the man with poorly concealed suspicion.
There was a very long, very tense silence as Merton stared at his father and the older man stared right back. Mr. Dingle had hardly changed. Even the more plentiful lines on his face didn't seem out of place; they were in the same places as when Mr. Dingle's face had been contorted in fury. Merton knew that face too well. And his eyes hadn't changed at all. They still held that cruel, calculating spark and... something else. Something that made Merton want to run very far away and hide.
"Merton," croaked Mr. Dingle at last, sounding as if he was choked with emotion. He opened his arms wide, an invitation. "My son."
It was too much. The fact that his friends would do this to him, betray him by letting a monster as evil as any other they'd fought into his own bedroom piled on top of years of fearing this man and the last twenty-four hours of mind-wrenching emotional torture. That Mr. Dingle would attemp to pull off a melodramatic, made-for-TV-movie sort of tearful reunion was the funniest thing that had happened all day. Merton let loose one giggle. Then another. And then they wouldn't stop coming. The three newcomers across the room all stared in bewilderment as Merton's sides began to ache. He doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand and wiping the tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes with the other.
"Merton, are you okay?" Tommy asked, taking several steps towards him, but Merton ignored the advance. Instead, his hysterical mirth died down as sudden rage heated his blood, burning away the fear as he stood to fix his eyes on his father.
"Just like that, huh?" he asked, a humorless smile curving his lips. "Just like that. Do you actually expect me to come over there and give you a hug, for Christ's sake? Are you really that stupid? Or do you just think ~I~ am?"
Mr. Dingle's arms fell slowly to his sides, a look of hurt playing over his features. "No. No, I suppose not. I - I came to apologize, Merton. For... well, everything. And if you'd just let me explain - "
"~No!~" Merton shouted, and Lori and Tommy jumped in surprise at his vehemence. "I don't want to hear any explanations or excuses or reasons! I never want to hear from you again! Get out! Get out of my room, get out of Pleasantville, and get the ~fuck~ out of my life, where you belong!"
"But-" Lori said, looking alarmedly from Merton's livid face to Mr. Dingle's dejected one.
"Lori," Tommy stopped her with a warning in his tone. He turned to Mr. Dingle and said, "You should probably leave."
Mr. Dingle gazed at Merton for a long moment, a uninterprettable emotion lurking in his eyes. Then he nodded sadly, turned, and left without a word. Merton watched him go, not for a moment believing that he'd go with that little of a fuss. He'd be back, and he'd be angry. Merton's fury lessened as some was transmuted to fear once more. He'd just made his father's wrath worse. As soon as he was alone, Mr. Dingle would return and there would be no witnesses. Shit.
But that didn't mean he was letting Lori and Tommy off the hook easy. Oh no. His eyes narrowed as the blonde girlcame to stand beside her boyfriend on the other side of the desk. They had the decency to look ashamed.
"I told you not to," he said accusingly.
Lori looked down and shuffled her feet. "We were trying to help."
Merton laughed hollowly and saw them both wince at the sound. "Somehow, I doubt that."
"We didn't ~know~ it would be your father," she replied defensively. "You weren't particularly helpful last night, you know. And this situation wouldn't go away on its own, you know. At least now he's gone."
"You really think that?" Merton asked, trying not to let his fear show and knowing he was failing miserably. "You don't know anything about it. You don't know anything about ~him.~"
"That's because you never told us!" Lori snapped.
"And suddenly I have to tell you everything?" Merton shot back, gearing up for a fight and welcoming the release of tension.
"Guys!" Tommy interrupted, and Lori, at least, subsided. Merton just glowered mutinously at him. "Fighting doesn't help anything. Merton, we're sorry we got involved when you told us not to. Right, Lori?"
"Right," Lori agreed readily and sighed, looking down at her feet for a moment before meeting Merton's eyes. "But I really did just want to help you. And don't get mad at Tommy; he didn't really want to come with me."
Merton didn't say anything for a beat. He was quickly losing what feeble control he had over his emotions, which roiled in his mind and heart like a storm.
"I - want you guys to leave. Now," he bit out, his throat thickening.
"Are you sure? What about - " Tommy began, but Merton cut him off with a sharp gesture.
"Please," Merton interrupted sharply. "Just go."
Tommy scanned the shorter boy's face, then sighed and nodded. He turned to go, tugging on Lori's arm. The girl didn't move. Tommy pulled a little harder, but she shrugged his hand off and stuck her chin out defiantly, staring angrily at Merton. She advanced two steps to put her hands flat on the computer desk and leaned over into Merton's personal space.
"So that's it? We don't even get to find out what the hell is going on?" she demanded loudly.
Merton scowled at her. "You're hardly one to talk. You took it upon ~yourself~ to stick your nose in, I don't owe you a freaking explanation."
"Maybe you wouldn't if we'd never spoken before now," she replied heatedly. "But we're your ~friends~, Merton. God, sometimes it's like we might as well be stangers for all I know about you. You know all about Tommy and me, you know our pasts and our secrets backwards and forwards. But you! You just hide it all inside, and then you act like a spaz and freak to cover everything up. You hold us at arm's length, and I'm sick of it!"
"What the ~fuck~ do you want to know?" Merton shouted back, Lori's outburst enough to make him lose it. "What sort of secrets do you want to hear, huh? Do you wanna hear about my ~father~?" He spat the word as if it was a curse. "Do you wanna hear how he kicked the shit out of me ~every day~ until he just took off? Do you wanna see the scars? Is that the past you wanted to know about, because we're ~friends~?"
Merton's voice cracked on the last word, and he fell silent. Both Tommy and Lori looked shellshocked, too stunned to say anything. That was fine with Merton because it gave him the opportunity to brush the corners of his eyes before the hot, shameful tears fell. He also needed a kleenex so that he wouldn't have to embarrass himself further with a pathetic sniffle, and he really, really needed to be alone.
"Go," he pleaded in a watery voice. "Please, just go."
Lori bit her lip, uncertain. For guidance, she glanced back to Tommy, who hadn't moved during the brief but revealing confrontation. Now he slowly shook his head and began to walk around the desk towards Merton. That was all Lori needed. She was at Merton's side in a heartbeat, and enfolded him in a tight hug. She tried to ignore how Merton flinched and tensed. Tommy joined them. Merton, at the center of the group hug, gave a strangled laugh that almost turned into a sob. So much for avoiding melodrama.
TBC!
Review? Please?
X X X X X
Tommy and Lori crept into the park, keeping low to stay hidden by the bushes and shrubs. The gazebo in the middle of the park stood empty and dark against the blueish illumination of the street light. Mist curled around their ankles as it tended to do in Pleasantville, and they were glad of the way it muffled their footsteps on the blanket of damp leaves. They stopped behind a tall lilac bush just behind the gazebo, within hearing distance.
"Do you think he'll show?" Tommy asked in a hushed voice.
"Which, Merton or this other person?" Lori whispered back, brushing back twigs that obstructed her view of the structure in front of them.
"Merton."
"Well, it's his choice. I don't know. If he ~doesn't~ come, I think we should take this person to the Lair. I think that note sounded important, and Merton is being a sissy. I mean, sure, this must be bad if it's enough to shake him up like it has, but with us watching his back, it's not like he has anything to be afraid of. We've kicked baddie ass for him before, after all."
Tommy shifted next to her, uncomfortable with more than the cool dampness of the night. "But this is ~his~ business, and it just feels... strange. This whole situtation feels wrong. Something is just... I don't know. I've got a bad feeling. I mean, Merton looked awful yesterday after we brought up the note. He's not telling us something important. Maybe we shouldn't mess with him this way."
"Tommy, we're ~not~ messing with him. We're helping him," Lori said, scanning the park.
"If he wanted our help, he would have asked. He knows we'd be there. Instead, he specifically asked us not to - "
"It's a little late for second thoughts," she whispered suddenly, gesturing. Tommy looked to see a tall masculine silhouette crossing towards them and fell silent. The man stepped up into the gazebo, then sat down on one of the benches to wait.
"That must be him," Tommy mouthed to Lori. "The mystery man."
Lori nodded, and they settled back in wait for Merton. Tommy had a feeling they'd be waiting a long time. After all, everyone knew Merton was a bit of a coward, even though he had proven himself capable of bravery several times. Tommy knew from the way Merton had acted last night that the goth would do anything to avoid this confrontation. He'd never seen Merton that shaken and scared before, and that was saying a lot.
After about twenty minutes, he and Lori locked eyes and nodded. It was time to enact their plan, even if it was against Tommy's better judgement. After all, maybe Lori was right. They crept around to the front of the gazebo, and the man inside jumped to his feet.
"Who's there?" he demanded.
"We're here to take you to Merton's house," Lori piped up in an innocent tone. "He said to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it, but he had a lot of homework. So he sent us to come get you."
"Who are you? How did you know I was trying to talk to Merton?" the man demanded suspiciously, his hands shifting in the deep pockets of his longish jacket. The feeling in Tommy's gut that told him something was definitely not right intensified. There was... something about this man... A tinny, metallic scent that clung to him, barely detectible even to Tommy's werewolf senses yet undeniably there.
"We're Lori and Tommy, Merton's friends. We accidentally read the note you left him yesterday," Lori answered. "We asked him about it, but he wouldn't say anything, other than to ask us to get you. Who are you?"
"I'm... I'm Merton's father," the man said, voice changing from confrontational to sad and wistful in a heartbeat. Both teens stared in shock. Whatever they had expected, it was certainly not that.
"H-his father?" Lori stammered weakly.
"But... I've seen Merton's dad... you're not him," Tommy managed to get out.
"I'm his ~real~ father," the man explained, a hint a bitterness in his tone. "I left when he was just a kid. I - I don't know why. I was an alcoholic at the time and a horrible parent. So I left. As soon as I got my life back together, I realized what a mistake I made. So now... I want to see him. See what kind of man he turned out to be."
Tommy crossed his arms and tried to control the instant distrust this man aroused in him. He couldn't help wondering why this guy spilled the whole story so easily when just a second ago he looked like he was about to run away as if he was guilty of something. Not to mention that he didn't really know whether to believe this crackpot story about him being Merton's long lost father. Lori, however, seemed to take it at face value. Her expression softened.
"I knew it was something important," she whispered to Tommy from the corner of her mouth, too low for the man to hear. Then she went on more loudly. "Well, we'll take you to Merton's house, okay?"
The man smiled, and it made Tommy's hackles stand on end. "Thank you."
X X X X X
Merton heard them coming down the stairs and closed his eyes as a wave of anticipated dread filled him. He knew it was Tommy and Lori, come back from their meeting with his father. How much would he have told them? Surely he wouldn't have admitted to abusing him. Bragging about beating a child to near-death was not something sane people did. He wasn't even sure that his father ~was~ sane, trying to contact him as the man was, but a slip-up like that would just be utterly stupid. But then, what would his father have said?
The door opened. Merton didn't jump and gave himself a silent congratulation, heavily tinged with sarcasm. He didn't turn towards the door, though, just sat rocking gently in his cushy computer chair, facing his wall of books.
"Hey, Merton," Tommy called. "Come out, man."
Time to bite the bullet. Slowly, he got up and turned around. Then gasped and took a rapid step backward, so his scars were pressed against his bookshelf. Behind Tommy in the doorway stood a terribly familiar figure, one he'd hoped he'd never see again. Lori stood directly beside his father, looking both smugly pleased with herself and sympathetic. He knew his fear showed on his face, because Tommy frowned and glanced back at the man with poorly concealed suspicion.
There was a very long, very tense silence as Merton stared at his father and the older man stared right back. Mr. Dingle had hardly changed. Even the more plentiful lines on his face didn't seem out of place; they were in the same places as when Mr. Dingle's face had been contorted in fury. Merton knew that face too well. And his eyes hadn't changed at all. They still held that cruel, calculating spark and... something else. Something that made Merton want to run very far away and hide.
"Merton," croaked Mr. Dingle at last, sounding as if he was choked with emotion. He opened his arms wide, an invitation. "My son."
It was too much. The fact that his friends would do this to him, betray him by letting a monster as evil as any other they'd fought into his own bedroom piled on top of years of fearing this man and the last twenty-four hours of mind-wrenching emotional torture. That Mr. Dingle would attemp to pull off a melodramatic, made-for-TV-movie sort of tearful reunion was the funniest thing that had happened all day. Merton let loose one giggle. Then another. And then they wouldn't stop coming. The three newcomers across the room all stared in bewilderment as Merton's sides began to ache. He doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand and wiping the tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes with the other.
"Merton, are you okay?" Tommy asked, taking several steps towards him, but Merton ignored the advance. Instead, his hysterical mirth died down as sudden rage heated his blood, burning away the fear as he stood to fix his eyes on his father.
"Just like that, huh?" he asked, a humorless smile curving his lips. "Just like that. Do you actually expect me to come over there and give you a hug, for Christ's sake? Are you really that stupid? Or do you just think ~I~ am?"
Mr. Dingle's arms fell slowly to his sides, a look of hurt playing over his features. "No. No, I suppose not. I - I came to apologize, Merton. For... well, everything. And if you'd just let me explain - "
"~No!~" Merton shouted, and Lori and Tommy jumped in surprise at his vehemence. "I don't want to hear any explanations or excuses or reasons! I never want to hear from you again! Get out! Get out of my room, get out of Pleasantville, and get the ~fuck~ out of my life, where you belong!"
"But-" Lori said, looking alarmedly from Merton's livid face to Mr. Dingle's dejected one.
"Lori," Tommy stopped her with a warning in his tone. He turned to Mr. Dingle and said, "You should probably leave."
Mr. Dingle gazed at Merton for a long moment, a uninterprettable emotion lurking in his eyes. Then he nodded sadly, turned, and left without a word. Merton watched him go, not for a moment believing that he'd go with that little of a fuss. He'd be back, and he'd be angry. Merton's fury lessened as some was transmuted to fear once more. He'd just made his father's wrath worse. As soon as he was alone, Mr. Dingle would return and there would be no witnesses. Shit.
But that didn't mean he was letting Lori and Tommy off the hook easy. Oh no. His eyes narrowed as the blonde girlcame to stand beside her boyfriend on the other side of the desk. They had the decency to look ashamed.
"I told you not to," he said accusingly.
Lori looked down and shuffled her feet. "We were trying to help."
Merton laughed hollowly and saw them both wince at the sound. "Somehow, I doubt that."
"We didn't ~know~ it would be your father," she replied defensively. "You weren't particularly helpful last night, you know. And this situation wouldn't go away on its own, you know. At least now he's gone."
"You really think that?" Merton asked, trying not to let his fear show and knowing he was failing miserably. "You don't know anything about it. You don't know anything about ~him.~"
"That's because you never told us!" Lori snapped.
"And suddenly I have to tell you everything?" Merton shot back, gearing up for a fight and welcoming the release of tension.
"Guys!" Tommy interrupted, and Lori, at least, subsided. Merton just glowered mutinously at him. "Fighting doesn't help anything. Merton, we're sorry we got involved when you told us not to. Right, Lori?"
"Right," Lori agreed readily and sighed, looking down at her feet for a moment before meeting Merton's eyes. "But I really did just want to help you. And don't get mad at Tommy; he didn't really want to come with me."
Merton didn't say anything for a beat. He was quickly losing what feeble control he had over his emotions, which roiled in his mind and heart like a storm.
"I - want you guys to leave. Now," he bit out, his throat thickening.
"Are you sure? What about - " Tommy began, but Merton cut him off with a sharp gesture.
"Please," Merton interrupted sharply. "Just go."
Tommy scanned the shorter boy's face, then sighed and nodded. He turned to go, tugging on Lori's arm. The girl didn't move. Tommy pulled a little harder, but she shrugged his hand off and stuck her chin out defiantly, staring angrily at Merton. She advanced two steps to put her hands flat on the computer desk and leaned over into Merton's personal space.
"So that's it? We don't even get to find out what the hell is going on?" she demanded loudly.
Merton scowled at her. "You're hardly one to talk. You took it upon ~yourself~ to stick your nose in, I don't owe you a freaking explanation."
"Maybe you wouldn't if we'd never spoken before now," she replied heatedly. "But we're your ~friends~, Merton. God, sometimes it's like we might as well be stangers for all I know about you. You know all about Tommy and me, you know our pasts and our secrets backwards and forwards. But you! You just hide it all inside, and then you act like a spaz and freak to cover everything up. You hold us at arm's length, and I'm sick of it!"
"What the ~fuck~ do you want to know?" Merton shouted back, Lori's outburst enough to make him lose it. "What sort of secrets do you want to hear, huh? Do you wanna hear about my ~father~?" He spat the word as if it was a curse. "Do you wanna hear how he kicked the shit out of me ~every day~ until he just took off? Do you wanna see the scars? Is that the past you wanted to know about, because we're ~friends~?"
Merton's voice cracked on the last word, and he fell silent. Both Tommy and Lori looked shellshocked, too stunned to say anything. That was fine with Merton because it gave him the opportunity to brush the corners of his eyes before the hot, shameful tears fell. He also needed a kleenex so that he wouldn't have to embarrass himself further with a pathetic sniffle, and he really, really needed to be alone.
"Go," he pleaded in a watery voice. "Please, just go."
Lori bit her lip, uncertain. For guidance, she glanced back to Tommy, who hadn't moved during the brief but revealing confrontation. Now he slowly shook his head and began to walk around the desk towards Merton. That was all Lori needed. She was at Merton's side in a heartbeat, and enfolded him in a tight hug. She tried to ignore how Merton flinched and tensed. Tommy joined them. Merton, at the center of the group hug, gave a strangled laugh that almost turned into a sob. So much for avoiding melodrama.
TBC!
Review? Please?