*
This car, Jeep actually, was crap.
It was worse than crap, except Lola couldn't really think of anything purely
low right now. Or ever. Because it was just too icky to imagine. Really. Not to
mention the moment she got into the Jeep, her ears were assaulted with the
awful noise that audiophiles liked to label as "punk". And she couldn't figure
out how to shut the damn thing off. The button that said power was her first
guess, but no the music was still playing. Damn it all to friggin hell, why
couldn't her brother have good taste in music? Newly discovered button! Maybe,
just maybe this would work. And it probably would have too had she not be
jarred back in her seat. Ah, fuck.
"Shit." So this is how Aurora
felt every time she was in a car? Or at least that was assumed, since her friend
was the Queen of Car Crashes.
Shit. Tyler was screwed. Firstly, this wasn't her car. Secondly, well, secondly didn't really matter because once her dad found out that she banged up his Beamer she wouldn't have much to think about. She checked the rear view mirror, it was a blonde.
Why the hell didn't that surprise her? Every time there was a car accident involving Chilton students, there was a blonde at the scene. She checked the rear view mirror again. Fuck, was that Dominique? She took a closer look. No, it just looked like Dominique. She got out of the BMW as the other girl stepped out of the...Jeep? Girls like that didn't drive Jeeps in Hartford.
Lola wasn't quite sure what made her screwed more- that she wasn't driving her car, but rather Atticus's and he was going to kill her, or that she just got into a car accident where her driver's license that hadn't been issued for a few more years. Not to mention the fact that she was driving a Jeep for Christ's sake. That's what came out of driving a Jeep. And to listening to punk. When she stepped out of the car, she teetered. Teetered. That was so ungraceful. Great. Next thing you knew she was going to break a heel. What would she be left with then- a cell phone that could receive calls from another dimension? Like that would do any good for footwear. The other driver, a dark haired girl around her age, looked pissed and judgmental. Great, just what she needed on her hands right now: another Thalia Haze.
The first step to car accidents - assess the damage. If Tyler were to go talk to the wobbling girl she would most likely rip into her for a good twenty minutes, and she wasn't in the mood to waste time. Of course she had to be wearing sweats right now, give the other girl as much of a chance to do the towering, beautiful blond thing. She walked around to the back of the car; thankfully, there was nothing more then a few scratches on the rear bumper. She let out an audible sigh of relief.
Her brow furrowed as she looked back at the Jeep. It was old, and it was a Jeep. It was also black. Tyler thought hard about exactly what Atticus' car looked like. She turned to the blond, "Is that a 2007?"
Is that what Atticus had said? Damn, that was old. And what did the girl care? Lola really shouldn't be complaining since they weren't talking about the accident. That was a good thing. "It's not my car." Oh wow, did Lola DuGrey just tell a truth? "But I believe it is a 2007." Not that it was important to really, anything. But whatever.
She glared at her. But if it wasn't her car then perhaps they could come to a not-tell-anyone kind of agreement, it was worth a shot. "It's not your car." it was a statement, not a question. Tyler hated thinking out loud. "This isn't my car either." she looked up at the girl. "You didn't do much damage, but what the hell were you thinking?" She looked at the blond oddly as the fact that Less than Jake was blaring out of the car speakers.
That she hated this damn car. That she was going to murder Atticus Mariano if she ever met up with him in person again. "That I can't turn off the car stereo." Lola hated relying on other people, but it was her best shot at getting some peace and quiet when she started driving it again.
Tyler nearly laughed out loud; fortunately, she stopped herself in time to not be rude. So far, the girl had done nothing to offend her, so why should she do the opposite? "Well, in my friend's car, which is exactly like this, there's a button right under the one that says 'power'. I can try to find it for you..." she looked at the girl expectantly. This girl looked a little confused by this place.
Lola shrugged, "By all means try."
Whatever shut that noise off.
Tyler stepped around the girl and leaned into the Jeep. As predicted, there lay the button. She pressed it and the music stopped. She smiled, content with herself until she saw a familiar looking sweater in the backseat. Why was some girl she'd never seen before driving her ex-boyfriend's car. She knew he fooled around with a lot of girls, but surely he never actually let them use his car.
"Thank you," there was a phrase Lola rarely heard coming out of her mouth. "Next time I'll ask Atty for a manual." This part was more muttered. She almost wished he'd call. At least to say that 'hey- the portal's so and so, hop in'. It'd be nice.
"Atty?" Atty? For the love of god, Atty? "You mean Dodger? As in Mariano?" Who the hell was this girl?
Dodger? Was that the lame ass nickname Atticus had said he had? Lola believed it was. "You know him?" Well, wasn't this interesting? Atticus hadn't mentioned anything about a brunette. Well, then again, Atticus hadn't mentioned much of anything at all.
Okay, so obviously this girl didn't go to Chilton. "Yes." So who was she? Tyler was getting sick of asking this question, "Who are you anyway?" she knew that it sounded lippy, but it wasn't like she owed this girl any favors, she did just rear-end her father's car after all.
"Lola…" Saying the next part was going to kill her since she obviously couldn't say it was DuGrey. Too many questions, too little reasonable answers. "Gilmore." It was true. Except there was a hyphen and a DuGrey after it. And she wasn't sure how well the girl was associated with Atticus, so it was better to sell herself off as a distant relation.
"Gilmore?" she looked at her skeptically, "Um, I didn't think Dodger had any..." she looked Lola up and down, there was no Gilmore blood apparent in that girl. "Cousins?" Surely he didn't have any relatives close enough that would come to visit. Tyler knew that his mother was an only child, as was his grandmother. And to say that Atticus was a hospitable person...would be an extension of the truth.
Lola was almost tempted to say 'fifth', just to piss the girl off. But that would imply something that would even make her shudder. "Distant." What? Should she have gone for something less question asking? Lola Danes? Lola Mariano?
Tyler simply raised her eyebrows and looked at the girl. She was lying. But what could she do? "So, now that you're done conflicting injuries to my car I guess we can move on with our lives?" she continued staring. There was something odd about Lola Gilmore.
"Yes we can," Lola was inwardly relieved. Now all she had to do is tell Atticus to take out a few hundred dollars from her bank account so he could fix that front head light next time he called.
Tyler turned to walk away, "I'd be really careful with that car. I'm pretty sure you're the only girl he's ever let drive it." she smiled. "Have a pleasant day, Lola."
"You too," Lola rolled her eyes. Whatever. Now onto Dominique's, so she could explain how she lost Atticus to another dimension. That was going to be one lovely conversation.
*
Dominique was summoned from her room and was told that she had a visitor waiting in the foyer. She closed her book and upon assuming that it was Lola DuGrey, checked the mirror beside her door. Girls never made Dominique worried. Lola however, she was different. Perhaps it was the same competition that she often found between her and Tristan. Maybe not. At any rate, Dominique was sure she wouldn't be around long enough to take any real attention away from her.
Lola had the urge to rock on her heels as she waited for Dominique to appear in the foyer. However not even she was graceful enough to accomplish such a task in three inch heels. Plus it would never do for Dominique to see her in such a maladroit state. Not that she cared, it was just…an image. She had an image to uphold and around girls like Dominique, and herself, it was important that you kept it. Now that she had rationalized herself to that point, she wondered how attached Atticus was to his car. Hopefully not too much.
She stood on top of the stairs. Lola was standing in the foyer, waiting. Luckily, her brother had places to be once again, although that never completely stopped him from showing up in the most awkward of times. Like the time he walked in on her and...well, names didn't really matter. Sex was really just a game when it came down to it. At least, that's what she had always told herself. So who was she to doubt her own personal message? It was right. That was just the way it was. "You're back." it was stating the obvious but she really had no other idea of how to greet this girl. Perhaps from this visit, she would learn a little more than the simple fact that she was apparently her niece.
"So I am," that was stating the obvious. Now how did one go about telling someone that someone had fallen through dimensions? "Atticus is kind of gone." That was a start.
"Gone?" Well. Huh. Dominique had been speechless before but never...thoughtless? Right. "We should sit." she walked to the bottom of the stairs, still trying to grasp onto a train of thought.
Lola didn't really need to sit. It wasn't all that shocking to her. Nothing really was at this point. "But not exactly on the disappeared side."
"Well what side exactly is he gone to then?" Ugh. The last thing she needed was another bitchy DuGrey on her hands. "Surely he hasn't ran? Although apparently that's expected of Marianos."
She was half tempted to jump to their defense. Weird. Especially since what she said was true. "No he hasn't ran, I've talked to him. But he kind of went to where I came from." Not kind of. He was where she came from.
"And that would be where?" She was getting impatient, she knew something strange was going on, she wanted to know what it was. Funny that even in three-inch heels she wasn't as tall as Lola. Of course, the other girl donned a pair of her own.
"Hartford," Lola paused. Must get this out. No matter how ridiculous it sounded if you weren't living it. "In 2028. It's like this alternate reality."
Right. Okay. She looked puzzled, "How did he get there?" then she doubled back, "You're from an alternate reality?"
Oh, so now she was a freak. "We have no clue. And yes. Don't ask, because I can't really explain how this works."
"Okay..." it was a drawn-out reply, and she mulled thoughts over as she did so. "So I guess I should just skip the questioning and ask you if you're hungry?" Dominique wasn't one for things of the science fiction variety.
"No, Atticus fed me before he…left." An apple was all she needed. All the…worrying, was that what she was doing?…was ruining her appetite.
She started to walk into the living room. It was painful to stand on the uncomfortable floor of the front foyer. "So..." Dominique was terrible at prying. Well, no. She was terrible at very few things actually, she just hated prying. And if she hated doing something, she rarely practiced it. She sat down on a rather large couch. "How is it a different reality exactly? I mean, what's different about it?"
Lola followed her. She was getting really tired of doing that. "Well you don't exist, for one. And neither does Atticus. Instead of Rory and Jess staying together long enough for that lovely conception, they broke up. Jess dated Paris Gellar, and later impregnated her during the last year of college. Rory met up with Tristan in college and they fell in love. Got married. Had a kid. Resented each other. Got divorced. A real modern day fairytale. And I exist in that one, whereas I don't in this one."
"Aw, I don't exist? How sad." She wasn't really all that sad. As much as it appeared to outsiders that she believed that the world revolved around her, that was merely a façade. "Strange. One small event...big consequences." she tilted her head, "You sound a little bitter about your parents, tell me, how is my brother at being a father?" she leaned back, this could be interesting.
Lola hadn't really thought about it before. It was just accepted that she loved her father. She hadn't thought of how he was as a parent since she had to stand before a judge for her custody hearing. "He's fine. Good as any. He goes away sometimes for business, but we keep in touch. And when he's home, we have dinner together." She shrugged. "He's involved."
Well, that was nice to hear. Dominique guessed it made sense; he was after all, her most involved guardian. "That's good. He's always had responsibility problems so I guess you were good for him." This really was too much for her to get a serious grip on. If she even believed it at all. "And there's no Atticus huh? I hope there's some bothersome guy to keep you in line over there." she laughed. Every girl needed one guy, no matter what the reason.
"Atticus's brother, actually." Well Dallie tried at least. He rarely ever succeeded. If ever.
"God. Hopefully he isn't much like Atticus..." she thought for a moment, "Don't listen to him when he tells you to call him Dodger. Please?" She smiled devilishly.
"I haven't. Actually I've been calling him 'Atty'," He loved that. She could tell. "But I didn't believe people actually called him Dodger until the brunette did."
"The brunette?" Dominique thought hard, "What brunette?"
"The one who's car I hit with Atticus's," Lola thought about it. She hadn't gotten her name. "She never told me her name though."
"You crashed his car?" she laughed internally, that was priceless. "Was she about 5'6"? Long brown hair?" she rolled her eyes, "Attitudy?"
That would be the one. "Yes. She said it wasn't her car that she was driving either. It was BMW. And she knew how to turn off Atticus's stereo."
Of course. Because everyone knew, well, everyone that knew anything about Atticus knew, that only one girl had ever been 'honoured' enough to drive with him in his car. From Hartford anyway, perhaps there were others. Knowing him there probably were. "Tyler. Tyler Hunter." she smiled knowingly, "Lucky you. That girl's insufferable."
"I got that vibe from her," Lola agreed. "Don't tell me Atticus had the bad taste to date her?"
"Hm, date." she cringed. "Well, they did date. I believe they were even official...for about a week." she smirked. "Atticus doesn't have good taste when it comes to much of anything. It's surprising he's the person he is though. Of course, I don't let many onto my real opinion of him." she looked pointedly at Lola. "He's got...commitment problems though. Lots of little complexes running through that boy."
"It's heredity. All of it. Complexes, bad taste," Lola stretched out her arms. "Horrible hair style. All of it."
"Oh, you mean you don't like the hair?" Dominique broke into a grin, she never felt this comfortable around anyone. She was actually letting her guard down, "Just because I've seen wild animals that are neater..."
Lola laughed and immediately covered her mouth. "Someone seriously needs to tell him that if he's going to spend that much time on his hair, that he should make it look better not worse."
"I couldn't agree more." She stared at Lola, thoughts of Atticus mesmerizing her mind. Her eyes cast a faint happiness, not often seen on the features of Dominique. Whether the cause was from being with someone who she could actually be herself around, or the boy running through her mind, there was suddenly something different about Dominique DuGrey.
It would be mean to comment on that look to Dominique's face when Atticus was mentioned. Lola couldn't help but hope she didn't get the same love stricken look when she was talking about Dallie. Not that there was any reason for her to. "But other than that, he's…good." Not the best word to use. "I don't want to say 'nice', because that's not true. But there's something."
She nodded. "I don't know what it is about him...girls turn stupid around him. It's like he has some sort of power over them." she smiled and looked away, "most of them. You'd think that with Rory as his mother he wouldn't be the way he is...I don't think anyone expected him to turn out like Jess. Even if he was around." It was funny that now that she was trying not to hide from a new-found ally the first thing she did was pretend that she wasn't part of Atticus' following. And in a way, she believed herself; he was part of her following. Not the other way around. It was funny how when you told yourself things like that you began to believe them after a while.
"Well no one expected me to turn out like Tristan. I guess that makes Gilmore a recessive gene," Lola bit her lip. "It's the Mariano in him. Everyone follows the enigmatic."
Must have been a little Gilmore in both, considering that Lola just used one of his all-time favorite words. It was suddenly stupid that Dominique was remembering all these things about him. She was losing focus. And losing focus would get her nowhere. "Must be it. Perhaps that's why you have such a following yourself Lola. I'm sure there's been more than one guy." she smiled, "I know your part." Yes, she did. She played it well herself, actually. Everyone could try it; few could pull it off correctly. And from what she had seen, she was sure that Lola did a fine job.
There had definitely more than one guy. Ever since she was fourteen- or maybe it was thirteen, and she had she on the lap of an eleventh grader's lap at a party that she shouldn't have been at in the first place. But she was rich and had quickly discovered the appeal she held to the male gender. With the help of strawberry flavored vodka, and her own pheromones, she had gotten a little power hungry and ended up on a bed, straddling a seventeen year old whose name she had just learned five minutes earlier. "However right now it includes figuring out how to switch dimensions with my deranged brother." She looked over at Dominique. "Have any ideas where to start?"
"Well, I'm no good at science. At all." she looked at Lola, "But I might know someone who is. I guess it's worth a shot."
At this point anything was worth a shot. "You do the driving, and I'll do the explaining."
Well, it wasn't much of a plan, but at least they were making progress. And in Dominique's mind, progress was better then nothing. She stood up and grabbed her keys off the coffee table. "After you."
