Aww. . .you guys are much too nice to me. Look at all those reviews! Love
you all! Anyway, here's some more because I just couldn't keep away from my
writing for longer than a few days. Oh, and thanks to NovaG for the base of
a line I used in here. :)
Angelina
++++++++
That night I enter the living room to find it surprisingly vacant. Scott's gone for a walk on the beach, Gordon's doing maintenance checks on Thunderbird Four with Brains, my father and Grandma are cleaning up in the kitchen and Mr. Tracy has disappeared. I wonder briefly where he is before sitting down at his desk and turning on the locator screen.
Mr. Tracy isn't really the one I'm concerned about. I haven't seen Alan since he brushed past me coldly on his way to his room, leaving a small smear of grease on the sleeve of my blouse. He spent the entire afternoon in the garage, probably reconstructing the extra racecar motor that he used to use as a spare in his racing days. It seems to be a common place to find him while he's on the island.
I watch the coloured blips with interest, pinpointing Scott's location on the other side of the island. He's stationary, so my guess it that he's sitting and watching the waves, or searching the sky for Thunderbird Five. Brains and Gordon were indeed in Thunderbird Two bay, checking out pod four and it's contents. As I continue to look at the screen, I notice two dots in Alan's room.
I recognize Alan's mark and then identify the other, one I hadn't even been looking for - Virgil's. Together. In Alan's room.
Thinking back to the time when I'd been helping my father clean Mr. Tracy's desk, I hunt for the switch to the monitors that are wired into every room of the house. They are used simply for communication - Mr. Tracy can talk to his sons, Brains, or anyone else in the villa by merely pressing a button - but I get the sudden urge to use them for other things.
I'm going to spy on Virgil and Alan, and see what exactly is going on.
The monitor turns on soundlessly, as if I have not instructed it to call Alan or let him know I'm there. I get a full view of the room's owner, and Virgil's hand as he gestures wildly. It takes a few moments for me to catch the conversation and to make sense of it, but once I do, I'm captivated and unable to even twitch a muscle as I watch the screen.
Alan glares at Virgil with eyes of stone, and I can nearly feel the arctic look from where I'm sitting. "Well, Virgil," he says softly, his tone menacing. "You aren't very loyal, are you?"
"Loyalty has nothing to do with it."
"Nothing? Not even when it's your little brother's girlfriend you're using to fill the emptiness?" Alan shoots back forebodingly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Virgil answers.
"Of course you do. You only want Tin-Tin because she's the only woman on the island and you've been jealous of me, and the fact that I had someone to love, since day one."
"I have not! I wouldn't do that to Tin-Tin, you know I wouldn't."
"Then why would you do it to me, your own brother?"
Virgil falters, trying to come up with an explanation. The one he gives isn't what I was expecting, but it makes me flush with brazen pride. "Because I love her."
"No you don't!" Alan screams, surprising me enough to evict my blush.
"Don't tell me what I feel, Alan."
"I'll do whatever I damn well please. You don't love Tin-Tin. . . you can't!"
"Why not?" Virgil wonders smugly, crossing his arms.
"She loves me and I love her!"
"Not anymore. She's with me now."
"She'll find out you're using her eventually Virgil. You don't really care about her, you never did. You're just fulfilling your needs with whoever's available - in this case, my girlfriend!" Alan yells angrily, his eyes flashing with rage.
"You don't understand, do you, Alan?" Virgil asks, his patience wearing thin. "She prompted the first kiss we shared. I didn't even touch her. She made the first move, not me."
"You're lying!"
"No, I'm not," Virgil replies calmly. "Why would I lie?"
"To make me pin the blame on her. It's not her fault you seduced her!"
"I didn't need to seduce her. She wanted me as much as I wanted her."
"You're a liar, Virgil Grissom Tracy! I hate you!"
"Hate me all you like, Alan. I'm giving you the facts."
Alan trembles visibly with fury, his fists clenched rigidly at his sides. Then, just when I think I've seen all there is to see, and that he's going to storm away or kick Virgil out of his room, my breath catches in my throat.
Taking an intimidating step forward, Alan lunges at his older brother, swinging madly for his face. The strike hits Virgil in the right eye and both men fall to the floor as I watch in horror from Mr. Tracy's desk.
My resolve to stay silent crumbles and I stand up, knocking the chair over backwards behind me. "Alan!" I scream, shocked at the violent side of him I had never witnessed before. "Virgil!"
Leaving the monitor on, I run to Alan's room and force open the door, rushing to Virgil's side. I drop to my knees as Alan picks himself up off the ground and glares at him, and then at me.
"You're going to get hurt, Tin-Tin," he growls lowly, his voice little more than a hiss.
"Don't try and make me think you're looking out for me, Alan." My eyes narrow as I help Virgil sit up, the skin around his eye already beginning to show the faint tinges of a bruise. "He was telling you the truth, and you were too stubborn to listen to him."
"Fine, then. If what he said wasn't a lie, it means you're at fault just as much as he is. How could you, Tin-Tin? I thought you loved me."
"I'm not going to fall for your guilt trip. Yes, I kissed him, and yes, he kissed me back. I did love you, Alan. But. . .I guess, well, I guess things have just changed."
"Just like that?" Alan snaps his fingers in bewilderment.
"No. It's been a long time coming."
"You're just saying that because he's pulled the cover over your eyes and you're too blind to see what he's really doing to you."
"How dare you say such a thing," I spit in abhorrence. "I am not blind, and he is not doing anything to me. He's doing more for me than you ever did!"
"That's a load of bullshit and you know it!"
"When was the last time we walked along the beach together, or - or you woke me up early to see the sun rise so we could have a moment alone? He did those things for me, Alan, and it's been a good year since you've even attempted them."
"I've been busy," he protests weakly, letting me know I've hit a sensitive point.
"Too busy for me?"
"I was never too busy for you." His expression softens slightly, his eyes losing their angry spark.
"You took me for granted."
Virgil springs to his feet, startling me. I had forgotten he was even there. He scowls at Alan and walks smoothly out of the room, heading to the kitchen to find an ice pack for his eye.
Alan watches him leave, not responding to my last sentence until he's gone. "It doesn't matter what you say, Tin-Tin. Nothing and no one can make me stop loving you."
Angelina
++++++++
That night I enter the living room to find it surprisingly vacant. Scott's gone for a walk on the beach, Gordon's doing maintenance checks on Thunderbird Four with Brains, my father and Grandma are cleaning up in the kitchen and Mr. Tracy has disappeared. I wonder briefly where he is before sitting down at his desk and turning on the locator screen.
Mr. Tracy isn't really the one I'm concerned about. I haven't seen Alan since he brushed past me coldly on his way to his room, leaving a small smear of grease on the sleeve of my blouse. He spent the entire afternoon in the garage, probably reconstructing the extra racecar motor that he used to use as a spare in his racing days. It seems to be a common place to find him while he's on the island.
I watch the coloured blips with interest, pinpointing Scott's location on the other side of the island. He's stationary, so my guess it that he's sitting and watching the waves, or searching the sky for Thunderbird Five. Brains and Gordon were indeed in Thunderbird Two bay, checking out pod four and it's contents. As I continue to look at the screen, I notice two dots in Alan's room.
I recognize Alan's mark and then identify the other, one I hadn't even been looking for - Virgil's. Together. In Alan's room.
Thinking back to the time when I'd been helping my father clean Mr. Tracy's desk, I hunt for the switch to the monitors that are wired into every room of the house. They are used simply for communication - Mr. Tracy can talk to his sons, Brains, or anyone else in the villa by merely pressing a button - but I get the sudden urge to use them for other things.
I'm going to spy on Virgil and Alan, and see what exactly is going on.
The monitor turns on soundlessly, as if I have not instructed it to call Alan or let him know I'm there. I get a full view of the room's owner, and Virgil's hand as he gestures wildly. It takes a few moments for me to catch the conversation and to make sense of it, but once I do, I'm captivated and unable to even twitch a muscle as I watch the screen.
Alan glares at Virgil with eyes of stone, and I can nearly feel the arctic look from where I'm sitting. "Well, Virgil," he says softly, his tone menacing. "You aren't very loyal, are you?"
"Loyalty has nothing to do with it."
"Nothing? Not even when it's your little brother's girlfriend you're using to fill the emptiness?" Alan shoots back forebodingly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Virgil answers.
"Of course you do. You only want Tin-Tin because she's the only woman on the island and you've been jealous of me, and the fact that I had someone to love, since day one."
"I have not! I wouldn't do that to Tin-Tin, you know I wouldn't."
"Then why would you do it to me, your own brother?"
Virgil falters, trying to come up with an explanation. The one he gives isn't what I was expecting, but it makes me flush with brazen pride. "Because I love her."
"No you don't!" Alan screams, surprising me enough to evict my blush.
"Don't tell me what I feel, Alan."
"I'll do whatever I damn well please. You don't love Tin-Tin. . . you can't!"
"Why not?" Virgil wonders smugly, crossing his arms.
"She loves me and I love her!"
"Not anymore. She's with me now."
"She'll find out you're using her eventually Virgil. You don't really care about her, you never did. You're just fulfilling your needs with whoever's available - in this case, my girlfriend!" Alan yells angrily, his eyes flashing with rage.
"You don't understand, do you, Alan?" Virgil asks, his patience wearing thin. "She prompted the first kiss we shared. I didn't even touch her. She made the first move, not me."
"You're lying!"
"No, I'm not," Virgil replies calmly. "Why would I lie?"
"To make me pin the blame on her. It's not her fault you seduced her!"
"I didn't need to seduce her. She wanted me as much as I wanted her."
"You're a liar, Virgil Grissom Tracy! I hate you!"
"Hate me all you like, Alan. I'm giving you the facts."
Alan trembles visibly with fury, his fists clenched rigidly at his sides. Then, just when I think I've seen all there is to see, and that he's going to storm away or kick Virgil out of his room, my breath catches in my throat.
Taking an intimidating step forward, Alan lunges at his older brother, swinging madly for his face. The strike hits Virgil in the right eye and both men fall to the floor as I watch in horror from Mr. Tracy's desk.
My resolve to stay silent crumbles and I stand up, knocking the chair over backwards behind me. "Alan!" I scream, shocked at the violent side of him I had never witnessed before. "Virgil!"
Leaving the monitor on, I run to Alan's room and force open the door, rushing to Virgil's side. I drop to my knees as Alan picks himself up off the ground and glares at him, and then at me.
"You're going to get hurt, Tin-Tin," he growls lowly, his voice little more than a hiss.
"Don't try and make me think you're looking out for me, Alan." My eyes narrow as I help Virgil sit up, the skin around his eye already beginning to show the faint tinges of a bruise. "He was telling you the truth, and you were too stubborn to listen to him."
"Fine, then. If what he said wasn't a lie, it means you're at fault just as much as he is. How could you, Tin-Tin? I thought you loved me."
"I'm not going to fall for your guilt trip. Yes, I kissed him, and yes, he kissed me back. I did love you, Alan. But. . .I guess, well, I guess things have just changed."
"Just like that?" Alan snaps his fingers in bewilderment.
"No. It's been a long time coming."
"You're just saying that because he's pulled the cover over your eyes and you're too blind to see what he's really doing to you."
"How dare you say such a thing," I spit in abhorrence. "I am not blind, and he is not doing anything to me. He's doing more for me than you ever did!"
"That's a load of bullshit and you know it!"
"When was the last time we walked along the beach together, or - or you woke me up early to see the sun rise so we could have a moment alone? He did those things for me, Alan, and it's been a good year since you've even attempted them."
"I've been busy," he protests weakly, letting me know I've hit a sensitive point.
"Too busy for me?"
"I was never too busy for you." His expression softens slightly, his eyes losing their angry spark.
"You took me for granted."
Virgil springs to his feet, startling me. I had forgotten he was even there. He scowls at Alan and walks smoothly out of the room, heading to the kitchen to find an ice pack for his eye.
Alan watches him leave, not responding to my last sentence until he's gone. "It doesn't matter what you say, Tin-Tin. Nothing and no one can make me stop loving you."