Author's Note: First off, Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day to everyone! It's not really a happy occasion, but you should commemorate him and everything he's done for this country. Just remember, a bullet can silence a man, but not an idea.

On a different note, I'll be jumping a few months after this chapter and there, in all likelihood, will only be about three or four chapters left. That's right, it was a long ride, but it'll over soon.

Please read and review, thank you! (And thanks to everyone that has followed me up to this point).

Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to say it (and there's a FOP marathon on today! Set your clocks for five p.m.! (EST)), I don't own FOP.

Chapter Twenty Nine: Arguments (and Flattery) Get You Nowhere

"Who were you saving the elevator for? God?" A.J. frowns, pulling open the doors. Timmy glares at him, glaring back. They still have yet to really work out their differences and Timmy's fairly certain that the only issue they stand united on is protecting Tootie.

He's pretty sure A.J.'s going to go through the roof when he finds out he rejected Trixie's generous offer. Trixie had to be their only option- how are they going to get a lawyer now? Especially pro bono like that…

And he hadn't realized until just now how much he whines in his thoughts. Perhaps it has something to do with the way Wanda recently treated him, like a child. He's regressing.

"I was thinking," Timmy fires back, folding his arms across his chest.

"I see, a new experience for you. I shouldn't have interrupted, since it'll never happen again."

Narrowing his eyes, he takes a candy bar out of his pocket and munches. Normally, he despises junk food, but he wasn't in the mood to stroll down to the cafeteria with a person he can't abide. Therefore, he'd gone downstairs, to the candy dispenser, only to discover it broken. He'd wound up searching the hospital for a Snickers, it was sad.

"I'm really not in the mood for this," Timmy retorts, shoving him out of the way. Or you, for that matter.

"In my foray across the hospital, I overhead you and Trixie. She was offering you a lawyer pro bono and you managed to piss her off, she rescinded her offer! How selfish can you get, Turner?" A.J. snaps, shoving him. So much for a truce, huh? Then again, they'd only said so because of Tootie. Otherwise, they reserve anger for times when no one else can see them.

"Like it was my fault!" Timmy retorts, realizing the inaccuracy of his words as soon as he utters them but caring little. Right now, he's far too heated to think.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, it was some other self-centered pink hatted kid screaming his lungs out at his ex-girlfriend. How stupid of me to make that mistake!" A.J. fires back, his fists trembling in anger. Sometimes Timmy's stupidity is truly astounding.

"Shut the hell up, A.J.!" He roars, blood rushing to his face. Like A.J., his fists tremble in anger and, without Tootie to act as mediator, he believes he'll kick his ass now.

"Oh, is that your witty retort?" As if I care. His attitude repulses me. He won her over and he still puts Trixie ahead. Someone needs to beat some sense into him and soon.

"No wonder you pissed her off- you aren't smart enough to think of what not to say," A.J. snaps, his blood thundering in his ears. Every muscle in his body twitches for a fight and, for the first time in his life, he isn't listening attentively to his brain, but more to the vast injustice. How dare he steal Tootie away and not be appreciative of her. What the hell's wrong with him, anyway?

Like his friend, or, at this point, ex-friend, his blood thunders in his ears. He's trying to do right by Tootie and he simply cannot see it that way. It's not his fault he ran off his mouth- he dares A.J. to date someone who lies about their preferences after he's slept with them and see how he feels.

For someone who's supposedly his best friend, he's certainly unsympathetic. What happened to the idea of friends before girls? Then again, maybe he put Trixie ahead of Chester and A.J. a great deal in high school…but that doesn't give him the right to shove him aside now!

Practically snorting steam, the two face each other, like caged bulls. Each one awaits the other to make a move and silently deems the other a coward. C'mon, strike, they seem to chant inwardly.

It's only a matter of time…

-------

Meanwhile, properly satiated, Trixie and Veronica cross over to the elevator and prepare to visit Tootie. Veronica mutters something under her breath, but every time Trixie calls her on it, she denies it. Hmm, it looks like Trixie's going to end up defending her ex-boyfriend, lest the spork Veronica hid in her pocketbook find a way embedded in Timmy's throat.

Once the elevator arrives, Trixie innately slides all the way across from her girlfriend. Veronica shoots her a nasty look, but she doubts it's for that. More than likely, it's for dating Timmy in the first place.

"I can't forgive him," Veronica announces, halfway through the ride. "I just can't."

Which is why you're contemplating pre-meditated murder, right, Ver? Calm down! I explained why he said that and you still won't accept it. Let it go, Ver.

Although she understands her rage, it's just one word. Their actions had to have a far greater effect on Timmy than his actions regarding her. It isn't as though Trixie has gone straight again (which, technically speaking, is impossible) and she's caught her girlfriend in the act with him. Simply put, Veronica lacks empathy.

Perhaps there's a way to show her a different light on the situation, however. Before, she's only referenced Tootie, but perhaps if she tries to convince her girlfriend of Timmy's probable point of view, she'll change her tune. It's worth a shot.

"Ver, how would you feel if you found out that I cheated on you?" This analogy doesn't quite work the way I'd hoped, but maybe I can turn it around. Try to show her what it'd be like to sleep with someone and then find out they didn't feel anything when you did it. That you're doing so was a humungous lie and the intimate moment you shared meant absolutely nothing to the other person.

My God, I really do understand how Timmy feels. Ugh, that's creepy.

"You'd never do that, so I wouldn't have to worry," Veronica answers immediately, scowling. At least, I don't think she would. What's she getting at, anyway? Unless she did something with Janet…

"Let's say, hypothetically speaking, if I cheated on you with a guy (supposing I'd lied to you about my preferences and to Timmy as well), how would you feel?" I sound like one of those government therapists. Someone get me an air rifle.

Watching her face intently, she leans forward and clasps her hand, in an effort to show this truly is a hypothetical situation and nothing of this sort would ever occur. She only hopes she understands what she's trying to communicate, instead of jumping to conclusions. Unfortunately, as the past dictates, she's been known to.

"Well, for one thing," Veronica snaps, snatching her hand out of her girlfriend's, "I'd be really pissed off!

"I mean, do I mean nothing to you that you're just sleeping around with someone, not to mention that you lied to me and said you were-" She continues, only Trixie, finding no other way to silence her, clamps a hand over her mouth. The blonde girl's tempted to bite it, but stops.

Instead, she glowers at her, incredibly incensed. She did cheat on her, that must be it. Why else would she bring it up, if not to mention another affair?

"How do you think Timmy feels? In his mind, we made love and then he sees me…"

Here she falters. The next few words will be how Timmy sees this and she knows, in no way, are they pretty. In fact, she's willing to bet Veronica will be incredibly hurt, but she has no choice. Sometimes, Ver merits the cold, hard truth.

Like you did? A small voice whispers in her head and she scowls. She and Timmy had learned things the hard way, thanks to her.

"He sees you with me…" Veronica finishes, trailing off only when she realizes exactly why he called her a slut. Although she still cannot regret her actions, as they fully convinced Trixie to be with her, she loathes thinking of how she hurt him by doing so.

"Exactly," The raven-haired girl answers, pushing open the open door button when it dings at the third floor. However, unfortunately, a loud bang commences against the door, and, like magic, it shuts again, locking them inside.

"What was that?" Wrinkling her nose, the artist cranes her ears and listens intently. Something's going on out there…

Little do they know a fight brews. Finally, after being driven so far, neither party can withhold their anger nor their hatred and they begin to strike.

------

Timmy staggers back, into the metal door of the elevator and wipes his bloody nose. He hopes A.J. fares worse than him, although he can't tell, possessing two swollen eyes and a split lip. This has to be the dirtiest fight he's had in his life, although, since he threw the first nasty punch, it's technically his fault.

And, without anyone to watch or prevent them, it's no holds barred. Some of the things they say are plain insane, but, as neither of them are listening, it doesn't seem to matter. All that matters is retribution and showing the other party just how wrong they are.

When questioned about it later, both will say it was a moment of fleeting insanity. However, to the contrary, it's more a moment of crystal clarity, when both parties can see each other for whom they truly are- and to say they despise each other is putting it mildly. Everything has reached a boiling point and the pot's bubbling over.

Most of the blows, so as not to attract attention, are silent strikes. Timmy's banging into the elevator was both a reaction to being pushed as well as a loss of equilibrium. And he's sincerely hoping the voices within the elevator are not who he thinks they are…

"I'm sorry…" Timmy murmurs, wiping the blood from his face. At this point, he can scarcely see the hand in front of him, much less his friend.

Unable to resist, A.J. prods, "You're sorry that you started the fight or are you sorry you incited something with Trixie?"

"Both…kinda." Raising his head, he glowers at where he thinks he is. Whether or not he's there remains to be seen, but he's got a pretty good idea.

"Why can't you just let it go? Tootie chose me, not you." Rising unsteadily to his feet, he leans heavily on the metal door. A.J. remains stagnant, not moving to aid nor hinder him.

"She may have, but I still don't think you're right for her," A.J. replies, folding his arms across his chest. His face sports a few bruises, but, for the most part, he's unharmed. He's much better at defense than Timmy is at offense.

"You're just jealous," He scoffs, wondering who on earth could be pounding on the door. Hmm…someone might be locked in there, come to think of it. When he landed on it, it might have triggered a mechanism preventing their easy exit.

"That may be so, but I still don't think you're doing right by her. You keep letting Trixie get in the way of everything." Just like when we were kids. Only, I was foolhardy enough to think it amusing that you wanted to launch a balloon war against Tootie for absolutely no reason.

"Um, hello? Right here!" Trixie snaps, pounding her fist against the wall. Unfortunately, no one else hears her. Or, if they do, they delegate her to an unimportant role.

However, Trixie Tang is not the type of person to sit around and be ignored. She'd sooner scream 'fairy godparents' at the top of her lungs than let someone block her way out of a tight, confined corner. In fact, she's half tempted to, just to get their attention.

"It's not as though I asked for her to be gay, damn it!" Timmy snaps back, pounding his fist against the door where Trixie has her head. When she gets out of here, to pay him back for the headache he's given her, she's going to give him a piece of her mind.

Oh, really? You didn't go and say, "Gee, wouldn't it be awesome if the girl I'm sleeping with turned out to be gay?" That's such a surprise. I thought every guy's dream was to have a gay girlfriend!

Sometimes, Timmy, your stupidity is truly astounding.

"What on earth did you see in that moron?" Veronica mutters, pounding her own fist against the door in vain. Unless she can magically bend steel, pounding on the doors alone won't alert them. Why do boys have to be so stubborn?

"It's more of what he saw in me than what I saw in him. I was just trying desperately to pretend I was straight…and he tried so hard to impress me…" Trixie trails off, thinking of the times when she thought she'd had everything she'd ever wanted. A nice boyfriend, a rich family, and…the lies she couldn't deal with. Perhaps truth really does make all the difference.

"I'd be jealous…but I have you now and he doesn't." She smirks, entwining her hand with her girlfriend's. The latter smirks in response, but releases her hand in order to bang on the door again.

"This is Trixie Elizabeth Tang, Timmy Turner, and if you don't open this door right now, I'll make sure you never have kids!" With that, she throws her entire weight against the steel door, only to discover it's not there when she finishes her lunge.

Instead, Timmy, amused, catches her before she hits the floor. It's on the tip of his tongue to say something inane and probably corny, but he bides his tongue. Now is not the time nor the place.

Veronica, glowering at the pink hatted boy, strides out of the elevator. Her arms fold across her chest as she recalls with scorn the times it sincerely appeared as though Timmy and Trixie were an item. Now, of course, she knows they were together, at least, in Trixie's mind, in title alone, but he bugs her, nonetheless.

And she wants an apology for calling her a slut! No one pushes her Trix around, but she isn't going to stand for it either. Well, as long as it's one to one instead of her against an entire school.

Trixie, smiling weakly, shoves him away and stands on her own.

"Er, thanks…" She mutters by way of gratitude. Timmy nods curtly, his eyes on Veronica's heated gaze. If looks could kill, he'd be buried by now.

"What are you two doing here? I thought Timmy managed to butcher things so badly, you'd never talk to him again?" A.J. inquires, his eyes on Trixie (since, after all, Timmy and Veronica are glaring at each other).

"I'm here to prove I'm not a slut," Veronica snaps, retorting out of the corner of her mouth. Her face is held taut.

"By what? Sleeping with someone else?" Timmy counters, folding his arms across his chest.

"We were here to rescind our previous position, but if my girlfriend and my ex-boyfriend don't stop looking like they're going to lynch each other before sunset, I don't see how that's possible," Trixie replies coolly, situating herself between them. They glare at each other over her shoulders.

A.J. adds to the group glower, his eyes on Timmy. It'd be just like him to screw things up just as they turn around.

Through gritted teeth, Timmy mutters an apology. He doesn't truly mean it, but if it means having Vicky locked up and Tootie finally happy, he'll do it. Although he'd still love one last shot at Veronica…

Through equally gritted teeth, she reluctantly accepts it, although she's fairly certain he doesn't mean a word of it. Trixie wants her to be civil to him, so that's what she'll be. However, he has to be civil in return, otherwise she could really give a rat's ass.

All four sighing in relief, Timmy gazes beyond Trixie and wonders just how Tootie'll react…when she has to tell the lawyer everything that happened.