Sensitive

(Friday Afternoon)

"Another comedy?" Mal asks as she looks through the movies' list.

"Mmm," Lonnie complains. "I'm not really in the mood."

"Isn't that what comedy is for?" Mal counters.

"I'd just like something that doesn't have so much drama."

Mal gives her a look, "Are you sure you want to watch a movie right now?"

"Okay." Lonnie settles, "So long as it's a cartoon, the drama can't be that bad."

"One cartoon coming up," she announces.

As Mal looks through the movies, Lonnie notices the water bottle, "That's not water." Mal gives her a dumbfounded look. "Oh. Right." Lonnie notices the deep red, "What is it?"

"Juice," Mal immediately lies.

She makes a displeased noise, "Juice wouldn't be that thick in color."

"Fine," Mal bypasses. "Blood, then."

"Really?" Lonnie inquires.

"No."

She shakes her head, "Then what is it?"

"Okay, Lons," Mal turns to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "One thing I really hate is when people ask questions they already know the answers to. It's a big time waste."

Lonnie is quiet for a moment, before she meets her green eyes, "Is it wine?"

She grins, "There you go." before she grabs her water bottle. "You're smart. You know it. I know it." Mal gives her a look, "So, why do you always have to act so dumb?"

"It's just sensitivity" Lonnie quietly defends. "If I was wrong…"

"You don't need to be sensitive with me," Mal lets her know before taking a drink. "I'll let you know if you're wrong. Right now." She faces her again, "Your so-called sensitivity is just a tiny bit annoying to me." She looks her over and smiles, "But I like the red."

"Well," she hesitates, "I know you don't like pink."

Mal moves Lonnie's hair behind her hair, "How sensitive of you." before she places her hand to her cheek and meets her eyes; however, the moment is ruined by the loud banging of the sewing machine, and Mal lets out a loud breath as she turns. "Evie. You mind?"

"You wanted me to be quiet during the movie," Evie partly smiles.

"You know what I meant," Mal irritably responds.

"Do I?" she tilts her head. "Because, I recall that you were telling me that I needed to be quiet so that you could hear the movie." She grins, "There's nothing to hear right now."

"If I turn the stupid thing on, will you be quiet?" Mal proposes.

Evie's eyebrows raise as she evenly answers, "Yeah."

Mal presses play and then Lonnie leans on her, before Mal wraps an arm around her, "How many movies is this now? Four?"

"Five including this one," Lonnie corrects.

"Right," Mal remembers, and when the movie comes to a part without dialog she comments, "I like this. You make a good pet."

"More like a free roaming, aloof cat," she slowly thinks.

"Not a cat," Mal disagrees. "If I had to draw you as an animal, it would be a dog. A black lab, probably."

"I like the animal," Lonnie notes. "But why black?"

"Your hair color," Mal continues to look at the screen. "You probably noticed, when it grows out it's going to be black again. That spell didn't change it forever."

"Yeah," she answers. "I did. I'm going to have to dye the roots and slowly get it back to my natural color."

"Or," Mal suggests, "I could just spell it back to black if you want."

Lonnie makes an unsure noise, "That's really nice of you, but I don't want to risk using magic now that my mom's home."

"Hmm," Mal contemplates. "Suit yourself."

When Chad opens the door his eyebrows furrow in confusion, "Mom? Dad" before he looks between them. "What are you doing here?"

"You have a game tomorrow," his dad smiles.

"And," his mom places a hand on his dad's shoulder, before she places one on Chad's as well and meets his eyes. "We need to talk to you about that video."

Chad frowns, "Do you want to come in?"

She smiles, "That would be nice." and Chad steps aside to lets them through.

He gestures to the table, "Have a seat." before he notices his roommate's grey eyes staring at them. "Why don't you take that book somewhere else?"

"Why?" Hayden smiles. "This looks like fun."

Chad points to the door, "I said go, you sociopath."

The black haired guy laughs, "Okay." before he stands from his bed. "It looks like I'll have to find another entertaining room to read in." He pats Chad's shoulder, "It's okay. I know how much you like your privacy." before he turns to Chad's parents. "He used to have girls in here all the time." He grins as he makes quotes with his fingers, "Studying."

Chad's mouth gapes before he faces his roommate, "Leave."

After the guy goes Chad lets out a breath of relief, before his dad questions, "Is what he said true?"

He nearly rolls his eyes, "Okay. You really need to know that he only said that, because he has the hardest time getting fun and thinks it's funny to make a bad situation even worse."

"So, you didn't do that?" his dad slowly asks.

Chad is quiet for a moment, "It doesn't matter. I'm dating Audrey now." before he goes over and sits down across from them. "So… The video?"

"Yes," his dad nods. "It was very short, so we don't want to assume anything."

"Now is the time to give us context," his mom informs.

Chad shakes his head, "I don't understand. What needs to be explained?"

"You can't possibly believe that was acceptable behavior?" his dad asserts.

Chad gives a look, "It was just a joke."

"Sweetie," his mom frowns, "breaking the law isn't a joke."

Chad's mouth slowly gapes in realization, before he lets out a breath and he dad adds on, "You're going to be king one day. You need to take the law seriously."

It takes a minute for him to comment, "It's not like I kissed him or anything."

"No. We know," his mom quickly reassures, before she takes her husband's arm. "We would just like to know how this… this joke came to you in the first place."

Chad looks down, "I don't know." before he glances over them and eyes the their reflection in the window. "Ben's my friend, we're close, and… he said fuck you." They don't speak, and Chad sighs before facing them, "Does there need to be a reason? I was completely buzzed. I wasn't thinking. It just came to me."

It takes a moment for his mom to inquire, "Why do you think it came to you?"

He shakes his head in near frustration, "I don't know." and he can feel the tears start to intrude his eyes. He takes a deep breath to calm them, "It's just… we've known each other for forever, and there's not a lot of boundaries now, I guess." He gulps, "But it was wrong." before he faces his parents. "Both legally and spiritually. God would not want me to joke about homosexual sex as much as you would because of the law." He feels the tears intrude again as his breathing becomes faster, and he looks down, "It was also disrespectful to Ben. He may be my friend, but he's also my king and I shouldn't have impacted his reputation like that."

His dad carefully comments, "You didn't make Ben drink. The actions he took that night was on him, not you."

"But we're glad to see you take the law seriously," his mom inputs, before she hears him sniffle. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Chad breathes. He hasn't even started crying yet. The runny nose is more likely a withdrawal symptom. "It's nothing. I think I'm just coming down with something."

"Will you still be able to play tomorrow?" his dad questions.

"Oh, yeah," Chad faces them. "It's not a big deal. I'll just take some medicine before the game. It'll be fine." He looks between them, "I really am sorry. It was stupid for me to post that video." and then his eyes shift. "Or even joke about it in the first place." He meets their eyes again, "I'm sorry."

His dad smiles, "You owned up to your mistake, and now you get to learn from it. That's what's important."

"And no matter what happens," his mom lets him know, "we will always love you."

Chad tries to smile, "Yeah. I know."

His mom smiles back, "We were just about to grab dinner. Do you want to come with?"

Chad shakes his head, "No, but thanks." as his eyes drift to the table. "I already ate, and if I'm really sick I should probably get a lot of sleep for that game tomorrow."

His dad nods, "In that case, we'll see you there." before he stands up and offers his wife his hand. Chad watches as she takes it and then stands.

Her smile widens, "Good night, and make sure you do rest."

Chad nods, "Don't worry. I will." before he faces them. "Have a good night too." His parents walk to the door, and after Chad watches them leave he immediately gets up from his seat and rushes over to his bedside table. He takes out the orange bottle and pours the pills into his hand, staring at them for a minute, before he puts all but one back and takes it.

- Next Up: Mal's revenge on Chad