Title: Unconscious Grace
Author: Liat
Disclaimer: not mine
Also found at:
A/N: I won't ruin it for anyone who didn't get to see the premiere of Everwood tonight, I just want to say it was wonderful. And my story will not include any events that went on tonight, nor any from the future episodes. As you could probably tell anyway, it's completely AU.
~*~
Part 7
~*~
Dr. Brown barely restrained himself. He desperately wanted to reach out and grab Ephram's neck, wring it until all of the frustration and exasperation faded away. Instead, he settled for the little rubber chicken Delia had slipped into his lab coat that morning. Sitting there, across the kitchen table, in all his glory, was the fore-mentioned Ephram. Ephram sat, slouched down, arms crossed, brow furrowed. Tugging at the chicken, twisting it this way and that, Andy ground out,
"Ephram, I'm your father. I love you. Now just tell me what's wrong!"
Ephram stubbornly shook his head. His stance, his expression told that he had done a lot of that, shaking his head, in the past half-hour or so. Throwing his hands up, the rubber chicken flying across the room to land neatly, with a plop, in the pot of soup that was going to be dinner, Andy growled. Well, it was like a growl, but not exactly a growl. More like a cross between a sigh and a growl. Chair scraping back, Andy stood up. He stomped over to Ephram, leaned forward to slap his hands down on the table.
"If you don't tell me what's bothering you, I can't help you. And if you don't stop sitting that way, you're going to do very bad things for your posture, which was never great to begin with. Now I'm asking---insisting--- that you tell me what's wrong!"
Ephram shook his head again, leaned forward.
"Nothing is wrong, everything is just fine and dandy. Can I go to bed now?"
Gritting his teeth, Andy nodded tersely, figuring he wasn't going to get anything out of Ephram tonight. With a sigh, Ephram got up and, sliding past Andy, stalked towards his bedroom. Andy watched him go, annoyed that his son wouldn't open up to him. There was something wrong. He had been acting strangely for the past week. In fact, it was like he was regressing. Going back to the way he was when they had first moved here, to Everwood. Rolling his eyes and chalking it up to teenage hormones, mood swings, whatever. Anything that pointed away from the strong possibility that Ephram just plain hated him.
~*~
Finally in the sanctuary of his bedroom, Bright collapsed onto his bed. With a deep sigh, Bright turned his face into his pillows, breathing deeply. Trying to find any lingering traces of Ephram. Only a short week ago, they had lain right there, in Bright's bed, naked, twined together, content. Now, they weren't even speaking. He had just emerged whole and intact, surprise surprise, from another lecture. Dr. Abbot, Harold, Dad, was too astute for his own good. And as a result, Bright had a mondo headache and a pricking in the back of his eyes. He missed Ephram. Missed him so much, it hurt. It hurt to see him pass by in the hall and deliberately avert his eyes. It hurt to pick up the phone, always expecting to hear Ephram's voice, laden with undertones of desire, want, need, suggestion. Forcing back the tears once more, Bright tried to remember why they weren't talking. It was so silly, really. Not even a real fight. With another loaded sigh, Bright buried his face further into the pillows and tried to sleep.
~*~
At the same time, Ephram was lying in his bed. And much the same, he had entered the room, gone directly to the bed, bending down to press his nose to the pillow. Then he proceeded to strip off his clothes, climb into bed. Now he lay on his back, hands folded primly across the edge of the sheet resting on his stomach, staring blankly at the ceiling. That was really the only place that didn't have some reminder of Bright. The walls were littered with pictures, his desk covered in junk, some his, some Bright's. Ephram couldn't even tell the difference anymore. The pillow behind his head was Bright's. He had left it there after a sleepover. Had taken one of Ephram's by mistake. By mistake. Yeah, right. Ephram's chin quivered and he tried vainly to drive Bright and their stupid fight from his mind. With a last tremulous sigh, Ephram turned to his side, pressing his cheek to the pillow, and fell asleep.
~*~
The next day brought cheery sunshine and a cool front. Spring had faded to summer, bringing along with it relentless heat. School would be out in two more weeks and there was a restlessness about the town. Children were starting to get antsy, anxious for the school year to end, anxious for summer camp and swimming and sleeping till noon. At 9:30 in the morning Delia bounded into Ephram's room, pulling back the curtains and squealing,
"Saturday, Ephram! Wake up sleepy head!"
Ephram grunted, flipping onto his back and pulling his pillow over his head. Delia giggled and went to the bed, climbing on. She sat on Ephram's back, jumping up and down and beating his back like a drum. Ephram groaned, shifted, trying to throw Delia off. Leaning forward to shout in his ear,
"Dad said to wake you up! We've got stuff to do! Get up, get up!"
Ephram growled,
"I would if you'd get offa me."
Delia scrambled off the bed and dashed out of the room, yelling to Andy that Ephram was awake. Heaving a sigh, Ephram got out of bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. After a long, hot shower, Ephram joined Andy and Delia in the kitchen for breakfast.
"How'd you sleep, Ephram?"
Ephram glanced at his dad as he heaped a plate full with eggs, mini biscuits, and vegetarian sausages. He shrugged,
"Fine. Why?"
Andy shook his head,
"No reason, just wondering."
Rolling his eyes, Ephram took a seat at the table. Breakfast was strained conversation between Ephram and Andy for the first few minutes before they gave up completely. After that Delia was perfectly content to fill the resulting silence with her mindless chatter. Once breakfast ended, Ephram was helping clean when the doorbell rang.
"Would you get the, Ephram?"
Sighing, Ephram wiped his hands and went to the door. Without a thought he swung it open and was surprised to find Amy standing there. Ephram crossed his arms, suddenly aware that he was bare-chested. Amy smiled and averted her eyes. She said softly,
"Hey, Ephram."
Ephram squirmed uncomfortably, his face an unflattering shade of tomato. He stammered,
"Um, h-hey Amy."
"Are you busy?"
Ephram shifted feet and shook his head,
"Not at the moment, but in, like, an hour Dad's dragging Delia and me shopping."
"Oh."
She finally looked up at him, trying to keep her eyes on his eyes. No where else. When her vision strayed to Ephram's abs, she mentally chided herself, and said, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes,
"So, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Ephram looked around, nodded. He let her in, then held up a finger for her to stay there. He dashed to his room to pull on a shirt. When he emerged, Amy was sitting on the couch, hands clasping her knees, biting her lip nervously. She looked up when he sat down in a chair across from her. Smiling, she said, letting go of her knees,
"I came here because I sort of have a.concern."
Tilting his head to the side, Ephram tried to focus on Amy, not on the fact that her hair was the exact shade of Bright's. That her eyes were flitting around the room in her anxiety, just like Bright's did. That her hands were clenching into fists and unclenching, just like Bright's did. Hat her left foot was jiggling up and down in a nervous tick, just like Bright's did. Shaking his head, he brought himself back. He peered at Amy politely and waited for her to continue. She hesitated a moment, then said softly,
"Something's wrong with Bright."
Ephram frowned, his heart starting to race as all kinds of horrible scenarios raced through his minds. He tried to keep the worry, the tremble out of his voice,
"What do you mean?"
"He's.different. I mean, usually Bright's so.jolly. You know?"
Ephram sighed, relieved that Bright wasn't in danger, or something. He nodded. Eyeing Ephram suspiciously, Amy continued.
"Well, I noticed that you two haven't been talking lately. And I thought that maybe it had something to do with that. Because you have gotten to be really close friends. And he's just been so mopey lately and, if you ever tell him I said this I'll kick your ass, but it breaks my heart. So I was just hoping that you could resolve whatever you two aren't talking over."
Ephram sighed again, but not with relief this time. He closed his eyes for a minute, then looked back at Amy.
"It's kind of complicated, Amy." At her desperate look, Ephram rushed to add, "But I'll think about it. Well, I have been for a while now, but I'll do something about it, okay?"
Smiling, Amy stood up. She took a step towards Ephram, who had stood up, too. She hesitated a minute before reaching out and hugging him. She whispered,
"Thank you."
Smiling half-heartedly, Ephram walked her to the door.
~*~
"Monday?" Bright scrunched his nose up, thinking. "What time?"
Colin answered on the other end of the phone,
"7?"
Bright frowned,
"Damn. You know I can't Colin. My Dad's really anal about missing 7th Heaven. It's our "family night". How's Tuesday?"
Colin rolled his eyes,
"7th Heaven? Please, Bright. Gimme a break!"
"I can't, Colin. It's been like this forever, you know it has."
Colin sighed,
"I know, I know. I guess Tuesday's okay."
"Okay, so see ya at school."
Colin nodded,
"Sure thing, man. Oh, and hey, cheer up, will ya? You're bringing me down."
Bright smiled,
"Yeah, yeah. Bye, Colin."
Hanging up, Bright, turned to stare at the picture on his desk. He, Amy, and Ephram had gone to a picnic site in the woods one day, bringing a camera with them. After lunch, they had been fooling around with a football, Ephram and Amy versus Bright. Even with 2 on 1, Bright was kicking their butts. In the picture, Ephram had tried to tackle Bright, jumping onto his back. It hadn't worked and Bright had ended up basically giving Ephram a piggyback ride. Amy had thought it was so funny, she had snapped a picture.
"I know you miss him."
Bright started, swinging towards the doorway. Amy was standing there, leaning against the jamb, watching Bright. She walked inside, sitting next to Bright on his bed. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said,
"I wish you two would make up."
Bright jerked in surprise.
"What?" his voice sounded unnaturally high and it cracked nervously.
"Well, it's obvious, Bright. You don't have to pretend."
Bright's eyes flicked to the picture on his desk.
"What's obvious?"
Amy lifted her head to look at Bright weirdly,
"That you two are fighting!"
Bright stared back at Amy, uncomprehending, then he started to laugh,
"Oh!"
Amy squinted,
"What did you think I meant?"
"What? No, nothing! I just didn't know what you were talking about!"
Amy shook her head,
"You and Ephram both. You guys are hiding something from me, aren't you?"
Bright made his eyes widen with shock,
"What? No! Of course not! What would we be hiding?"
Amy shook her head again, watching Bright suspiciously,
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."
Bright looked back at the picture, his leg started to jiggle nervously as Amy left the room. His fingers itched to grab the phone and dial Ephram's number. Chewing his lips, Bright stretched his hand out, hovering over the phone. With a little sigh, Bright lifted it, hesitated briefly before dialing Ephram's number.
~*~
Ephram sighed. He was the only one that ever answered the phone. Vaulting over his bed, Ephram grabbed the phone on the 5th ring.
"Hello?" he said breathlessly.
A pause, then, "Ephram?"
Ephram's expression hardened and he said,
"Hello, Bright."
Bright sighed,
"Ephram, can we talk?"
"You got me on the phone right now. Talk."
Bright's was hurt by the emptiness of Ephram's voice.
"I mean in person. Face-to-face."
Ephram sighed, sitting on his bed. He rubbed his forehead, his expression relaxing. He started,
"Bright-"
Andy appeared in the doorway.
"Let's go, kiddo."
Ephram held up a finger,
"One minute, okay?"
Andy sighed, left the room. Ephram continued,
"I cant today."
Bright's face fell. Then Ephram said,
"But what about some time tonight?"
A smile bloomed and he said,
"That's be great. Do you want me to come to you?"
Ephram glanced around,
"No, not here. Will anyone be at your house?"
Bright glanced at the calendar over his desk. Saturday.
"Nope. Amy's got a date and my parents always go out Saturday night."
"Great. So your house. 6:30 okay?"
Bright nodded enthusiastically, then remembered Ephram couldn't see him nod.
"That's perfect. See ya then."
Ephram hung up, smiling, then went to find his Dad and Delia. Rubbing his hands together, he thought they'd better get the errands done quickly. He wanted plenty of time to make himself look scrumptious for tonight.
~*~
As Bright hung up, he cheered silently. He danced a little jig as he exited his room, then almost broke his neck going down the stairs when he thought he could jump the last 7 steps at once. Rubbing his butt, Bright walked towards the kitchen, cheerful for the first time in nearly a week.
TBC.
Author: Liat
Disclaimer: not mine
Also found at:
A/N: I won't ruin it for anyone who didn't get to see the premiere of Everwood tonight, I just want to say it was wonderful. And my story will not include any events that went on tonight, nor any from the future episodes. As you could probably tell anyway, it's completely AU.
~*~
Part 7
~*~
Dr. Brown barely restrained himself. He desperately wanted to reach out and grab Ephram's neck, wring it until all of the frustration and exasperation faded away. Instead, he settled for the little rubber chicken Delia had slipped into his lab coat that morning. Sitting there, across the kitchen table, in all his glory, was the fore-mentioned Ephram. Ephram sat, slouched down, arms crossed, brow furrowed. Tugging at the chicken, twisting it this way and that, Andy ground out,
"Ephram, I'm your father. I love you. Now just tell me what's wrong!"
Ephram stubbornly shook his head. His stance, his expression told that he had done a lot of that, shaking his head, in the past half-hour or so. Throwing his hands up, the rubber chicken flying across the room to land neatly, with a plop, in the pot of soup that was going to be dinner, Andy growled. Well, it was like a growl, but not exactly a growl. More like a cross between a sigh and a growl. Chair scraping back, Andy stood up. He stomped over to Ephram, leaned forward to slap his hands down on the table.
"If you don't tell me what's bothering you, I can't help you. And if you don't stop sitting that way, you're going to do very bad things for your posture, which was never great to begin with. Now I'm asking---insisting--- that you tell me what's wrong!"
Ephram shook his head again, leaned forward.
"Nothing is wrong, everything is just fine and dandy. Can I go to bed now?"
Gritting his teeth, Andy nodded tersely, figuring he wasn't going to get anything out of Ephram tonight. With a sigh, Ephram got up and, sliding past Andy, stalked towards his bedroom. Andy watched him go, annoyed that his son wouldn't open up to him. There was something wrong. He had been acting strangely for the past week. In fact, it was like he was regressing. Going back to the way he was when they had first moved here, to Everwood. Rolling his eyes and chalking it up to teenage hormones, mood swings, whatever. Anything that pointed away from the strong possibility that Ephram just plain hated him.
~*~
Finally in the sanctuary of his bedroom, Bright collapsed onto his bed. With a deep sigh, Bright turned his face into his pillows, breathing deeply. Trying to find any lingering traces of Ephram. Only a short week ago, they had lain right there, in Bright's bed, naked, twined together, content. Now, they weren't even speaking. He had just emerged whole and intact, surprise surprise, from another lecture. Dr. Abbot, Harold, Dad, was too astute for his own good. And as a result, Bright had a mondo headache and a pricking in the back of his eyes. He missed Ephram. Missed him so much, it hurt. It hurt to see him pass by in the hall and deliberately avert his eyes. It hurt to pick up the phone, always expecting to hear Ephram's voice, laden with undertones of desire, want, need, suggestion. Forcing back the tears once more, Bright tried to remember why they weren't talking. It was so silly, really. Not even a real fight. With another loaded sigh, Bright buried his face further into the pillows and tried to sleep.
~*~
At the same time, Ephram was lying in his bed. And much the same, he had entered the room, gone directly to the bed, bending down to press his nose to the pillow. Then he proceeded to strip off his clothes, climb into bed. Now he lay on his back, hands folded primly across the edge of the sheet resting on his stomach, staring blankly at the ceiling. That was really the only place that didn't have some reminder of Bright. The walls were littered with pictures, his desk covered in junk, some his, some Bright's. Ephram couldn't even tell the difference anymore. The pillow behind his head was Bright's. He had left it there after a sleepover. Had taken one of Ephram's by mistake. By mistake. Yeah, right. Ephram's chin quivered and he tried vainly to drive Bright and their stupid fight from his mind. With a last tremulous sigh, Ephram turned to his side, pressing his cheek to the pillow, and fell asleep.
~*~
The next day brought cheery sunshine and a cool front. Spring had faded to summer, bringing along with it relentless heat. School would be out in two more weeks and there was a restlessness about the town. Children were starting to get antsy, anxious for the school year to end, anxious for summer camp and swimming and sleeping till noon. At 9:30 in the morning Delia bounded into Ephram's room, pulling back the curtains and squealing,
"Saturday, Ephram! Wake up sleepy head!"
Ephram grunted, flipping onto his back and pulling his pillow over his head. Delia giggled and went to the bed, climbing on. She sat on Ephram's back, jumping up and down and beating his back like a drum. Ephram groaned, shifted, trying to throw Delia off. Leaning forward to shout in his ear,
"Dad said to wake you up! We've got stuff to do! Get up, get up!"
Ephram growled,
"I would if you'd get offa me."
Delia scrambled off the bed and dashed out of the room, yelling to Andy that Ephram was awake. Heaving a sigh, Ephram got out of bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. After a long, hot shower, Ephram joined Andy and Delia in the kitchen for breakfast.
"How'd you sleep, Ephram?"
Ephram glanced at his dad as he heaped a plate full with eggs, mini biscuits, and vegetarian sausages. He shrugged,
"Fine. Why?"
Andy shook his head,
"No reason, just wondering."
Rolling his eyes, Ephram took a seat at the table. Breakfast was strained conversation between Ephram and Andy for the first few minutes before they gave up completely. After that Delia was perfectly content to fill the resulting silence with her mindless chatter. Once breakfast ended, Ephram was helping clean when the doorbell rang.
"Would you get the, Ephram?"
Sighing, Ephram wiped his hands and went to the door. Without a thought he swung it open and was surprised to find Amy standing there. Ephram crossed his arms, suddenly aware that he was bare-chested. Amy smiled and averted her eyes. She said softly,
"Hey, Ephram."
Ephram squirmed uncomfortably, his face an unflattering shade of tomato. He stammered,
"Um, h-hey Amy."
"Are you busy?"
Ephram shifted feet and shook his head,
"Not at the moment, but in, like, an hour Dad's dragging Delia and me shopping."
"Oh."
She finally looked up at him, trying to keep her eyes on his eyes. No where else. When her vision strayed to Ephram's abs, she mentally chided herself, and said, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes,
"So, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Ephram looked around, nodded. He let her in, then held up a finger for her to stay there. He dashed to his room to pull on a shirt. When he emerged, Amy was sitting on the couch, hands clasping her knees, biting her lip nervously. She looked up when he sat down in a chair across from her. Smiling, she said, letting go of her knees,
"I came here because I sort of have a.concern."
Tilting his head to the side, Ephram tried to focus on Amy, not on the fact that her hair was the exact shade of Bright's. That her eyes were flitting around the room in her anxiety, just like Bright's did. That her hands were clenching into fists and unclenching, just like Bright's did. Hat her left foot was jiggling up and down in a nervous tick, just like Bright's did. Shaking his head, he brought himself back. He peered at Amy politely and waited for her to continue. She hesitated a moment, then said softly,
"Something's wrong with Bright."
Ephram frowned, his heart starting to race as all kinds of horrible scenarios raced through his minds. He tried to keep the worry, the tremble out of his voice,
"What do you mean?"
"He's.different. I mean, usually Bright's so.jolly. You know?"
Ephram sighed, relieved that Bright wasn't in danger, or something. He nodded. Eyeing Ephram suspiciously, Amy continued.
"Well, I noticed that you two haven't been talking lately. And I thought that maybe it had something to do with that. Because you have gotten to be really close friends. And he's just been so mopey lately and, if you ever tell him I said this I'll kick your ass, but it breaks my heart. So I was just hoping that you could resolve whatever you two aren't talking over."
Ephram sighed again, but not with relief this time. He closed his eyes for a minute, then looked back at Amy.
"It's kind of complicated, Amy." At her desperate look, Ephram rushed to add, "But I'll think about it. Well, I have been for a while now, but I'll do something about it, okay?"
Smiling, Amy stood up. She took a step towards Ephram, who had stood up, too. She hesitated a minute before reaching out and hugging him. She whispered,
"Thank you."
Smiling half-heartedly, Ephram walked her to the door.
~*~
"Monday?" Bright scrunched his nose up, thinking. "What time?"
Colin answered on the other end of the phone,
"7?"
Bright frowned,
"Damn. You know I can't Colin. My Dad's really anal about missing 7th Heaven. It's our "family night". How's Tuesday?"
Colin rolled his eyes,
"7th Heaven? Please, Bright. Gimme a break!"
"I can't, Colin. It's been like this forever, you know it has."
Colin sighed,
"I know, I know. I guess Tuesday's okay."
"Okay, so see ya at school."
Colin nodded,
"Sure thing, man. Oh, and hey, cheer up, will ya? You're bringing me down."
Bright smiled,
"Yeah, yeah. Bye, Colin."
Hanging up, Bright, turned to stare at the picture on his desk. He, Amy, and Ephram had gone to a picnic site in the woods one day, bringing a camera with them. After lunch, they had been fooling around with a football, Ephram and Amy versus Bright. Even with 2 on 1, Bright was kicking their butts. In the picture, Ephram had tried to tackle Bright, jumping onto his back. It hadn't worked and Bright had ended up basically giving Ephram a piggyback ride. Amy had thought it was so funny, she had snapped a picture.
"I know you miss him."
Bright started, swinging towards the doorway. Amy was standing there, leaning against the jamb, watching Bright. She walked inside, sitting next to Bright on his bed. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said,
"I wish you two would make up."
Bright jerked in surprise.
"What?" his voice sounded unnaturally high and it cracked nervously.
"Well, it's obvious, Bright. You don't have to pretend."
Bright's eyes flicked to the picture on his desk.
"What's obvious?"
Amy lifted her head to look at Bright weirdly,
"That you two are fighting!"
Bright stared back at Amy, uncomprehending, then he started to laugh,
"Oh!"
Amy squinted,
"What did you think I meant?"
"What? No, nothing! I just didn't know what you were talking about!"
Amy shook her head,
"You and Ephram both. You guys are hiding something from me, aren't you?"
Bright made his eyes widen with shock,
"What? No! Of course not! What would we be hiding?"
Amy shook her head again, watching Bright suspiciously,
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."
Bright looked back at the picture, his leg started to jiggle nervously as Amy left the room. His fingers itched to grab the phone and dial Ephram's number. Chewing his lips, Bright stretched his hand out, hovering over the phone. With a little sigh, Bright lifted it, hesitated briefly before dialing Ephram's number.
~*~
Ephram sighed. He was the only one that ever answered the phone. Vaulting over his bed, Ephram grabbed the phone on the 5th ring.
"Hello?" he said breathlessly.
A pause, then, "Ephram?"
Ephram's expression hardened and he said,
"Hello, Bright."
Bright sighed,
"Ephram, can we talk?"
"You got me on the phone right now. Talk."
Bright's was hurt by the emptiness of Ephram's voice.
"I mean in person. Face-to-face."
Ephram sighed, sitting on his bed. He rubbed his forehead, his expression relaxing. He started,
"Bright-"
Andy appeared in the doorway.
"Let's go, kiddo."
Ephram held up a finger,
"One minute, okay?"
Andy sighed, left the room. Ephram continued,
"I cant today."
Bright's face fell. Then Ephram said,
"But what about some time tonight?"
A smile bloomed and he said,
"That's be great. Do you want me to come to you?"
Ephram glanced around,
"No, not here. Will anyone be at your house?"
Bright glanced at the calendar over his desk. Saturday.
"Nope. Amy's got a date and my parents always go out Saturday night."
"Great. So your house. 6:30 okay?"
Bright nodded enthusiastically, then remembered Ephram couldn't see him nod.
"That's perfect. See ya then."
Ephram hung up, smiling, then went to find his Dad and Delia. Rubbing his hands together, he thought they'd better get the errands done quickly. He wanted plenty of time to make himself look scrumptious for tonight.
~*~
As Bright hung up, he cheered silently. He danced a little jig as he exited his room, then almost broke his neck going down the stairs when he thought he could jump the last 7 steps at once. Rubbing his butt, Bright walked towards the kitchen, cheerful for the first time in nearly a week.
TBC.