Witness
by Peaches the First (Peaches3 looked so unprofessional!)
AN: (grins and bows) Whew, I didn't know how making TJ a punk would go over with everybody! Glad it worked out! And, no, GMK, you're not just weird, The symbiotic relationship was supposed to sound that way! Enjoy!
3. A Slip of the Tongue
"Are you sure you're alright?" TJ asked as he sat down next to me on his livingroom couch. I could only nod miserably. I feared that if I spoke too much the tears would start again. TJ handed me a cup of hot chocolate, which, as anyone knows, is a universal cure for unhappiness. I smiled briefly as I took the mug. I never realized how warm the place where Ryan hit me was until the drink warmed the rest of my face to the same temperature.
"Thanks," I braved saying. "Are you sure your parents won't mind me here when they get back?" I asked, feeling I could get a hold on m tears.
"They don't even know I'm here half the time," TJ snorted, his blue hair falling into his eyes. I could see the chestnut roots beginning to grow out underneath. "Besides, they won't be home 'til late anyway. You said you're not staying the night... even though I really don't want you to go back there."
"I'll be fine," I insisted, "Really." TJ raised a sceptical eyebrow, causing his piercing to move a little. The little silver barbell looked good on him. Most people couldn't pull it off, no matter how hard they tried to. But on TJ, it just worked.
"You could call your dad and stay over there," TJ suggested. He sounded so worried, I smiled a little after I swallowed a mouthful of hot chocolate.
"Okay, I'll consider it," I said. "Happy?" TJ grinned for the first time in ages.
"Yup," he said. He glanced at the floor for a moment and looked at me. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Yeah, well, talk," I said. He looked a bit down again as he spoke.
"Well, me and you," he said. "We tell each other everything, right?" I nodded a bit. "Well, you know I wrote to my dad... my real dad, right?" I nodded again. "He wrote back."
I was totally struck. My voice was caught in my throat. Finally, after a minute of choking on my words, I found my voice again.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," TJ said, smiling a little. "He said the reason he never wrote back before is because his wife took the letters before he could get my address."
"Teej, that's great!" I said. I was genuinely happy for him for about three seconds.
"He wants me to move to New Orleans with him."
That stopped me dead in my tracks. TJ just... he could NOT move!
"Teej, William adopted you... isn't it illegal for you to move with Gregory? I mean... that would be like kidnapping, right?" I knew it was selfish, but I didn't care. Where would I be without TJ? It would be like Ben without Jerry, The Lone Ranger without Tonto, The Prankster Prince without Girl Who Runs With Fists!
"I don't know," TJ shrugged. "I was kind of hoping you'd give me some advice. You're good at it."
I thought for a minute.
"In all honesty, Teej," I said. "I'm happy for you..."
"But?" TJ asked, knowing there was one coming.
"I don't want..." I stopped myself. I wanted to tell him I didn't want him to move; I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if he left, but it would sound so selfish and I honestly wanted him to be happy. "I don't want to get involved." I lied finally.
"Oh," TJ said, sounding disappointed. "Well, I was kind of hoping you'd beg me to stay..."
"No, you weren't," I said. "You wanted me to tell you to go for it. I know you better then that." TJ grinned.
"You don't know me as well as you think then, Spin."
"Don't I?" I asked. "I know you better than you know yourself, Theodore Detwhieler!"
"Yeah, well, how old was I when I stopped sucking my thumb?" he challenged. I grinned back at him, though the side of my face burned with protest.
"You stopped?" I shot back. He held his hand up in mock defeat.
"Yeah, you got me!" he groaned. I laughed and TJ beamed.
"You don't know how long it's been since I've seen you laugh," he said. "I thought the world was ending." I smiled again and rolled my eyes.
"That sounded like a cheesy pass if I ever heard one," I snorted. TJ smiled and shook his head.
"Who'd be idiotic enough not to make a pass at you?" he asked. For a minute, I thought he was still joking, but one look at his face told me he wasn't.
When TJ was joking or lying, he got a little crinkle up in the corner of his eye that I had spotted the first time I met him. That was the only way to tell if he was serious or not, that little crinkle, because Teej was an amazing liar.
"Are you serious?" I asked, ready to catch him in a lie, even with the absence of the crinkle. He nodded.
"If I weren't your friend, I would be after you faster then Ashley Armbruister went down on LaSalle!" he said seriously. I smirked.
"That was, like, Mach 4," I snorted. "She's been down on so many guys people are starting to think she's her own escort service."
"Nice to see you're back to your prep-bashing self," TJ laughed, "even if you are changing the subject."
"You seriously want to talk about it?" I asked. He shrugged and nodded.
"Can you blame me?" he asked innocently. "You were my first kiss, after all."
"I can't believe you still remember that!" I laughed. I could barely remember that little "experiment" of Gretchen's, and Teej's memory was far worse than mine.
"A crowning moment in my life," he laughed. I smiled and rubbed my temples as I laughed. When I looked up, TJ's face had gone solemn again. "I thought you'd stopped," he said simply. I was puzzled.
"Stopped?" I asked, truly lost as to the topic of this conversation. He took my arm and turned my wrist up toward him. Red lines ran along the vein, barely healed. I looked away, my cheeks flushing with shame. "Look, I was..."
"Spin, why the hell do you do this to yourself?" he asked sternly, the amount of worry in his voice making tears spring to my eyes. I had no answer that seemed to justify the week-old scars on my arm. "I hate it when you go on these self-pity binges! You can talk to me about anything! You should know that!"
"I'm sorry," I murmured, pulling my arm out of his grasp. He sat there looking at me with so much question and concern I felt guilty. "I'm really sorry."
"I'm worried about you, Spinelli," he admitted. "The 'little miss tough girl' act may work on some others, but I knew you back when you were innocent. How many people can say that?"
"Mainly just you," I admitted. He was still looking at me as I turned my eyes to the floor.
"I love you to much to let anything happen to you, Spin," he said quietly. I stared at him with disbelief as I, as well as he, realized what he had just said. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, scratching at his eyebrow piercing like he always did when he was nervous. "Slip of the tongue."
"No problem, Teej," I assured him, wishing it hadn't been.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" TJ asked, standing in the doorway of his house as I walked onto the porch. I smiled a bit.
"If I need anything I'll scream," I promised. He smiled nervously. It was past one in the morning. "Look," I said, pointing to my house. "Ryan's not even home." This seemed to console him a little. Ryan's car was gone from the driveway.
"Be careful, okay?" he told me, grabbing my arm gently before I turned away. I smiled again.
"You worry too much," I said. He looked at me incredulously.
"He called you a tramp and smacked you in the face... what else do you think I'm going to do but worry?" he asked.
"Well, thanks for worrying," I said as he let go of my arm. "Really, I mean it, thanks."
He looked away as I said that, sighing with disappointment. "My parents wouldn't care if you stayed the night," he told me. "You know that, Spin." I smiled teasingly.
"If I never knew better, I'd say you wanted me to stay for other reasons," I said with a sly smile. He chuckled.
"Well, a guy can dream, can't he?" TJ asked, faking defeat. His face grew serious. "Careful, Spin."
"I will be," I assured him. "See you tomorrow." With that, I walked the three doors to my house.
I wish to god that I had stayed at TJ's that night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
by Peaches the First (Peaches3 looked so unprofessional!)
AN: (grins and bows) Whew, I didn't know how making TJ a punk would go over with everybody! Glad it worked out! And, no, GMK, you're not just weird, The symbiotic relationship was supposed to sound that way! Enjoy!
3. A Slip of the Tongue
"Are you sure you're alright?" TJ asked as he sat down next to me on his livingroom couch. I could only nod miserably. I feared that if I spoke too much the tears would start again. TJ handed me a cup of hot chocolate, which, as anyone knows, is a universal cure for unhappiness. I smiled briefly as I took the mug. I never realized how warm the place where Ryan hit me was until the drink warmed the rest of my face to the same temperature.
"Thanks," I braved saying. "Are you sure your parents won't mind me here when they get back?" I asked, feeling I could get a hold on m tears.
"They don't even know I'm here half the time," TJ snorted, his blue hair falling into his eyes. I could see the chestnut roots beginning to grow out underneath. "Besides, they won't be home 'til late anyway. You said you're not staying the night... even though I really don't want you to go back there."
"I'll be fine," I insisted, "Really." TJ raised a sceptical eyebrow, causing his piercing to move a little. The little silver barbell looked good on him. Most people couldn't pull it off, no matter how hard they tried to. But on TJ, it just worked.
"You could call your dad and stay over there," TJ suggested. He sounded so worried, I smiled a little after I swallowed a mouthful of hot chocolate.
"Okay, I'll consider it," I said. "Happy?" TJ grinned for the first time in ages.
"Yup," he said. He glanced at the floor for a moment and looked at me. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Yeah, well, talk," I said. He looked a bit down again as he spoke.
"Well, me and you," he said. "We tell each other everything, right?" I nodded a bit. "Well, you know I wrote to my dad... my real dad, right?" I nodded again. "He wrote back."
I was totally struck. My voice was caught in my throat. Finally, after a minute of choking on my words, I found my voice again.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," TJ said, smiling a little. "He said the reason he never wrote back before is because his wife took the letters before he could get my address."
"Teej, that's great!" I said. I was genuinely happy for him for about three seconds.
"He wants me to move to New Orleans with him."
That stopped me dead in my tracks. TJ just... he could NOT move!
"Teej, William adopted you... isn't it illegal for you to move with Gregory? I mean... that would be like kidnapping, right?" I knew it was selfish, but I didn't care. Where would I be without TJ? It would be like Ben without Jerry, The Lone Ranger without Tonto, The Prankster Prince without Girl Who Runs With Fists!
"I don't know," TJ shrugged. "I was kind of hoping you'd give me some advice. You're good at it."
I thought for a minute.
"In all honesty, Teej," I said. "I'm happy for you..."
"But?" TJ asked, knowing there was one coming.
"I don't want..." I stopped myself. I wanted to tell him I didn't want him to move; I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if he left, but it would sound so selfish and I honestly wanted him to be happy. "I don't want to get involved." I lied finally.
"Oh," TJ said, sounding disappointed. "Well, I was kind of hoping you'd beg me to stay..."
"No, you weren't," I said. "You wanted me to tell you to go for it. I know you better then that." TJ grinned.
"You don't know me as well as you think then, Spin."
"Don't I?" I asked. "I know you better than you know yourself, Theodore Detwhieler!"
"Yeah, well, how old was I when I stopped sucking my thumb?" he challenged. I grinned back at him, though the side of my face burned with protest.
"You stopped?" I shot back. He held his hand up in mock defeat.
"Yeah, you got me!" he groaned. I laughed and TJ beamed.
"You don't know how long it's been since I've seen you laugh," he said. "I thought the world was ending." I smiled again and rolled my eyes.
"That sounded like a cheesy pass if I ever heard one," I snorted. TJ smiled and shook his head.
"Who'd be idiotic enough not to make a pass at you?" he asked. For a minute, I thought he was still joking, but one look at his face told me he wasn't.
When TJ was joking or lying, he got a little crinkle up in the corner of his eye that I had spotted the first time I met him. That was the only way to tell if he was serious or not, that little crinkle, because Teej was an amazing liar.
"Are you serious?" I asked, ready to catch him in a lie, even with the absence of the crinkle. He nodded.
"If I weren't your friend, I would be after you faster then Ashley Armbruister went down on LaSalle!" he said seriously. I smirked.
"That was, like, Mach 4," I snorted. "She's been down on so many guys people are starting to think she's her own escort service."
"Nice to see you're back to your prep-bashing self," TJ laughed, "even if you are changing the subject."
"You seriously want to talk about it?" I asked. He shrugged and nodded.
"Can you blame me?" he asked innocently. "You were my first kiss, after all."
"I can't believe you still remember that!" I laughed. I could barely remember that little "experiment" of Gretchen's, and Teej's memory was far worse than mine.
"A crowning moment in my life," he laughed. I smiled and rubbed my temples as I laughed. When I looked up, TJ's face had gone solemn again. "I thought you'd stopped," he said simply. I was puzzled.
"Stopped?" I asked, truly lost as to the topic of this conversation. He took my arm and turned my wrist up toward him. Red lines ran along the vein, barely healed. I looked away, my cheeks flushing with shame. "Look, I was..."
"Spin, why the hell do you do this to yourself?" he asked sternly, the amount of worry in his voice making tears spring to my eyes. I had no answer that seemed to justify the week-old scars on my arm. "I hate it when you go on these self-pity binges! You can talk to me about anything! You should know that!"
"I'm sorry," I murmured, pulling my arm out of his grasp. He sat there looking at me with so much question and concern I felt guilty. "I'm really sorry."
"I'm worried about you, Spinelli," he admitted. "The 'little miss tough girl' act may work on some others, but I knew you back when you were innocent. How many people can say that?"
"Mainly just you," I admitted. He was still looking at me as I turned my eyes to the floor.
"I love you to much to let anything happen to you, Spin," he said quietly. I stared at him with disbelief as I, as well as he, realized what he had just said. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, scratching at his eyebrow piercing like he always did when he was nervous. "Slip of the tongue."
"No problem, Teej," I assured him, wishing it hadn't been.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" TJ asked, standing in the doorway of his house as I walked onto the porch. I smiled a bit.
"If I need anything I'll scream," I promised. He smiled nervously. It was past one in the morning. "Look," I said, pointing to my house. "Ryan's not even home." This seemed to console him a little. Ryan's car was gone from the driveway.
"Be careful, okay?" he told me, grabbing my arm gently before I turned away. I smiled again.
"You worry too much," I said. He looked at me incredulously.
"He called you a tramp and smacked you in the face... what else do you think I'm going to do but worry?" he asked.
"Well, thanks for worrying," I said as he let go of my arm. "Really, I mean it, thanks."
He looked away as I said that, sighing with disappointment. "My parents wouldn't care if you stayed the night," he told me. "You know that, Spin." I smiled teasingly.
"If I never knew better, I'd say you wanted me to stay for other reasons," I said with a sly smile. He chuckled.
"Well, a guy can dream, can't he?" TJ asked, faking defeat. His face grew serious. "Careful, Spin."
"I will be," I assured him. "See you tomorrow." With that, I walked the three doors to my house.
I wish to god that I had stayed at TJ's that night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~