For Nova-Janna, because she asked so nicely and I made her wait so long. And Candy, too, because they're the only people who review my C/N fics.
30/Love
"A moody guy skipping stones? Call the cliché police."
"I'm not skipping stones. I'm drowning them." Oh, yes, he's definitely in a bad mood today. And now she's realizing that maybe he needs a little more time to cool off, but when she heard from Meghan that something was wrong, she just had to go find him. Damn her hormones.
"I thought you'd be down here," she's calm, as usual. She's learned that the way to talk to Squib is to not let his outbursts get a rise out of you, "Megs said you were acting kind of weird."
"Just caught me thinking out loud," he shrugs. At least he hasn't started yelling yet. Because quiet, brooding Squib she can deal with, but yelling, angry Squib makes it much harder for her to keep her cool.
"Hey, wait," she grabs his wrist, "you wanna find one that's flat," she doesn't even know what the hell she's doing now. It's like her hand has a mind of its own, "Try this," she places a rock in his hand and the touch lingers for just a moment. She doesn't know if he feels any better, but she sure does. The rock skips (symbolic? The back of Cody's mind asks) and they both smile.
She figures it's safe to approach the subject now, "Hey, shouldn't you be getting ready for the-,"
"The regionals!" He cuts her off, "I knew I was forgetting something." Maybe not.
"Whoa, easy there, Captain Sarcasm," watching her dad work, both on herself and with other people, has made her an expert at this sort of thing. Stay calm, don't react, and eventually they'll start talking. She knows it's annoying as hell for the person on the other end, but she also knows it works. "Did I touch a nerve or something?" She places her hand on his back. Purely for effect, of course.
"It's just, my parents said I had to qualify for the Canadian Junior Davis Cup, or else."
How foreboding, "Well, it's just another tournament. What's the problem?" She's seen him play, and she knows he's good, so frankly, she really doesn't get it.
"The problem is who I face in tomorrow's qualifier."
"Venus Williams?"
"Max Giroux." Meh, it was worth a shot.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," she's wondering how long it will take him to pick up on the sarcasm and explain.
"He was a tennis prodigy, like Sunny, except now he's my age. They call him The Wall."
She's trying her very best to keep a straight face, but it's just so hard. The Wall? The ominous look on Squib's face? It's all too much. She will never get these tennis players. But she also knows that it takes a lot to get Squib worked up about a match, so there must be something wrong.
"Whoa, brutal nickname."
"Appropriate nickname, because no matter what you send to him…it comes back," the sad, worried, lost puppy look in Squib's eyes is enough to dispel any laughter.
"How come no one else is freaking out about this tournament?" They've been sitting on the beach for a while now, and she's been pleased to discover that the silence is companionable. But she still needs to know what's wrong.
"Regionals are optional for them, their stellar rankings get them a buy into the Davis Cup," does she detect a note of bitterness?
"…Well, that sucks," Gee, Codes, how eloquent. "Your parents know you're having a rough time?"
When he scoffs, she guesses maybe that was the wrong thing to ask, "Son, you could be just as good as your brother if you'd only apply yourself," he impersonates his father.
So now the truth comes out. Sort of. "What's your brother got to do with this?"
He sighs and says, "Nothing," but when he turns and makes eye contact with her he quickly looks away and admits, "Everything." He stares at the ground for a few minutes more and then returns his gaze to her for just a second before looking out at the lake. "Forget it."
She can tell by the way he says it that he's told her all he wants, maybe even too much (this is Squib, after all), but that doesn't mean she's finished, "So, what happens if you don't win the regionals?"
"They'll send me to a regular school," now she knows there's bitterness in his voice. She knows he's probably exaggerating, he is, after all, a teenage boy under a lot of stress with a strange resentment for his parents, but she still feels a small pang of worry.
"Squib," she says slowly. She knows he's not going to like this, "I think I know someone who might be able to help."
"Hey, you mind if I watch TV?" She walks into the Open that afternoon. She's been bugging her dad all day to find out what went on with Squib- she's still not sure if it was a good idea to send him there- but he's choosing to be all professional and respect that whole confidentiality thing. Stupid rules.
She can tell by the way that Squib's slumped down that he's in a bad mood, but that's to be expected. And she can tell by the way that Seb's leaning forward that he's trying to make him feel better, but that's also to be expected. He's a good friend. Squib should try treating him like dirt less. When Squib doesn't answer, she simply sits down beside him and takes the remote from his hand.
"Hey," Sebastien continues as if she never interrupted them, "I know you're worried about The Wall," does everybody know about this guy but her? Squib's shaking his head angrily and Cody knows he's about to blow. Stop, she wills Seb with her mind, For the love of God, save yourself! "Francois could teach you a few tricks!" Evidently the message wasn't received.
"Back off, Sebastien," Squib jumps up from the couch suddenly, "I'm warning you."
"Warning me?" Now Seb's standing, too, "Blowing off the regionals? Ignoring the learning opportunity of a lifetime?" His voice is getting louder, and Cody decides that maybe she'd better step in.
"Hey!" Now she's standing as well, although it really doesn't make much of a difference. She's still not even in their line of sight. She never noticed how tall they were…Bigger fish, Cody! "Are you guys okay?" Well, obviously not. But she couldn't really think of anything else…
"It's like I don't even know you anymore," Sebastien spits at him. Okay, now they're just ignoring her.
"Maybe you never did!"
"Did you ever try talking?" Cody tries to mediate again, "It's like yelling, but quieter!"
"I've got a better solution," Squib says, and he looks really angry but at least he's acknowledged her presence, "I'm out of here," okay, not really the result she was hoping for…
"Yeah, great, go hide in your room," Seb mocks him. Sometimes she thinks these two are worse than chicks.
"That's not what I meant. I mean I'm outta here, as in out of Cascadia, as in I quit." He storms out of the Open, and Cody turns to Sebastien, looking worried.
A few minutes later, the two are sitting face to face.
"I knew something was wrong," Seb informs her, "but typical Squib, doesn't say a word."
"But I thought you were his friend," she knows Squib has this whole trust issue kind of thing going on, but she assumed at least Sebastien would be allowed in.
"It's a guy thing, okay?" He shrugs. "So, what do we do?" A part of her knows he can't be serious. It's Squib- he's broody, temperamental, and has more mood swings than a sixteen-year-old girl going through PMS- in a matter of hours this will all blow over. But another, bigger part of her is worried that he just may be serious this time.
"Guess what!" Adena enters the Open all excited about something, but Cody's just not in the mood.
"Not now, Adena," she leaves.
She finds him at the backcourt, hitting balls into the net, "Well, if it isn't Mr. Congeniality," she's cooled down by now, but she can tell he hasn't. Hopefully her newfound information will make him feel better. He says nothing and hits about five balls dangerously close to her head. She wonders if it was on purpose; they'll talk about that later. For now she just wants to get him back to normal because, as much as she hates to admit it, she kind of misses the old Squib. Sure, he may have been annoying at times, very annoying, but he's a lot more fun to talk to.
"New technique?"
"Something like that," he obviously doesn't find her amusing.
"I could be wrong, but wouldn't that be considered cheating?" She's trying everything she can to lighten the mood because, truthfully, this new Squib is kind of freaking her out.
"The rules don't matter anymore, I'm quitting tennis," she can't help but roll her eyes. She's realized by now that there is nothing to be worried about, because this is simply Squib being Squib. All she has to do is keep her cool, and he'll be good as new. "Your dad suggested it," is he trying to justify himself to her?
"Oh, please," she can't believe he fell for it. Actually, she kinda can, "He was testing you."
"Then I guess I failed," Gee, what a downer!
When he starts using his tennis racquet as a golf club, she decides it's time to end the insanity, "For what it's worth, The Wall's pretty relieved."
"Relieved?" He blows it off, but she can tell he's intrigued, "Why?"
"I did some research; he sucks against a fast serve. You've clocked in at a hundred miles an hour," she can't tell if he looks surprised because of her info on The Wall, or because she actually knows a tennis stat.
"Around there," he says, "How'd you find out about the wall?"
"I'm a faculty brat, remember?" She can't keep the small hint of pride out of her voice, "I have access to all the profiles." She knows that normally Squib would be impressed with her sleuth work, but then she remembers that this isn't normal Squib.
"Sucks at good speed, huh?" She thinks maybe she's got him hooked.
"Yeah, he blotched a game against Tim Mooney last year because he couldn't break his serve."
"I'm no Tim Mooney," he says.
"Give me a break. You're serve is faster and you have way better footwork," she realizes how very odd those words sound coming out of her mouth. "You'll blast The Wall off the court."
"In another life, maybe," what the hell is wrong with this kid!
"Squib, is there anything you wanna talk about? Because I-," she knows it's not the best approach before she even says it, but now she's getting desperate.
"Cody," he cuts her off angrily, making his way toward her. She knows it's supposed to intimidate her, but it doesn't. "You're probably the nicest person I know," she knows she shouldn't be flattered, given his angry tone, but she can't help it! He's still doing the whole towering over her thing (not very hard, with her height), but she's waiting for him to realize it has no effect on her.
He doesn't speak for a few moments, so she steps in, "…And?"
"…And I want you to get lost."
Ouch.
His intimidation tactics may not work on her, but that?
That hurt.
She doesn't even know why she's trying anymore. He was a total jerk to her, and obviously just wants to be left alone. But there's just something that makes her want to help him. She finds him on the beach- they seems to meets here a lot. It's night by now and she's slipped on a sweater but he's still in his T-shirt. It makes her wonder how long he's been out here, and if he's cold.
"It's past ten, you'll get busted," in true Cody and Squib fashion, she ignores the real issue for as long as she can.
"They can't suspend me if I quit," she knows by now that he's really not quitting, but just the fact that there's a part of him that wants to so badly makes her sad. She sighs and crouches down near him. She knows he'll either accept what she says next or tell her to get lost again. She hopes it's the first, because she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle getting shot down by him once more.
"This isn't about Sebastien, Francois, or Cascadia, is it?" He turns to look at her, but his gaze is open and slightly curious, not angry as it has been of late, so she continues, "It isn't really even about The Wall."
He looks away again, shaking his head, "Look, it's late, I'm tired…" but he doesn't leave, so she thinks that maybe a part of him wants her there. She simply continues staring at him, and she wonders why she feels what she does. He's not open or trusting, not even a little bit. And most of the time he's a real jerk. But he has, on (rare) occasion been almost sweet to her. He's not pouting anymore, just sitting, and Cody thinks that under this moonlight he looks kind of beautiful.
"What?" He catches her staring, but she won't look away now.
"It's about your brother, Squib," now he gets up to leave, but she knew he would when she brought up Ryan.
"Enough already! Can't anyone just have a private life around here?" He turns to walk away but she knows she can't let him leave.
"I checked Ryan's record," she calls to his retreating back, and he comes to a dead stop. "His last match was against The Wall."
He finally turns to face her, and now his voice is defensive, "So?"
"The one before he died," a part of her wants to stop, because she knows this must be paining him, but she also knows that she can't. He has to face this.
"That's right!" He starts toward her again, but this time it's not meant to be angry and intimidating. It's raw, and hurt, and all those emotions she's rarely ever seen on him before. "And Ryan lost! What about it?"
And she feels a strange almost-love for the boy before her, because she knows he's going through so much and he's got no one to talk to. So she'll do the talking.
"Only that none of us can imagine how hard it must be for you to play him," they stare at each other for a long moment, "or not to," she finishes. He looks down at the ground quickly and walks away. She doesn't know if she got through, but a part of her thinks she may have.
When she saw Squib walk onto that court, she was so relieved she almost fainted. He's been dominating all game, and every time he hits that ball she feels an odd surge of pride. She doesn't think that anyone in these stands, not even Sebastien, knows just how hard this is for him right now.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer says, "match point for Mr. Furlong versus Max 'The Wall' Giroux." Cody doesn't realize until much later that she was actually forgetting to breathe during those few seconds that dragged on. She knows he thinks that no one's noticed, by about halfway through she faintly made out the name Ryan written in white on his racquet. She doesn't know if it really was Ryan's or if he wrote it there himself, but it makes that strange almost-love swell again.
He lifts up his racquet, staring down his opponent, and in one quick second, it's over.
He did it.
And Cody doesn't think she has ever been more happy in her entire life.
"Okay, okay," Squib cries as his fellow students carry him into the lake, "I'm not going anywhere! I'll stay here with you losers! Just put me down!"
"See if you guys can skip him like a stone," Cody calls. She hopes he'll get it. His cries of protest are to no avail, and his final scream of "NO!" can be heard just before he hits the water. Cody has to laugh at the sight of the top ranked tennis players in the country have a splash fight.
"You'll pay for this!" He shouts as she snaps a few pictures, pointing directly at her.
"Yeah, right!" She calls back. As she takes more photos, she smiles.
He's back.
I wondered that day what Squib really felt. He admired his brother so much that…that maybe the only worse than losing to The Wall was… beating him
I included Cody's final words of the episode, because I think they just sum up the entire Squib-Ryan dynamic perfectly. Also, there are one or two lines in here that aren't exact, but I just couldn't make out what they were saying!
Two things:
I am SO sorry this is so long! But the episode just had SO much C/S! I apologize to those who found it boring!
I know, I got real sappy during that last beach scene, but I couldn't help it! That's got to be one of my favorite C/S scenes of all time, because they rarely get the chance to actually talk about issues. I think the next time they talked like that wasn't until ep24. The episode in general is just so heavy, and I love it, because every couple needs a chance to talk like that.