A/N: My attempt at fluff. Enjoy! Also, I haven't done a story for this chica in a while.
A calm, cool breeze blew throughout the suburbs of Royal Woods as T.K. slowly skated home from another ordinary day from school. Normally, he would be with Lincoln and Clyde but he opted to take the long, scenic route home; it usually let his thoughts be set loose and helped him relax after the off putting lessons and horrid food. He tried to asked Principal Huggins to let him help in the cafeteria but the official wouldn't go for it.
Hmph, the old fart is SERIOUSLY missing out on the boy's taco rings. Traffic cars occasionally passed by as he turned the last corner towards the Loud House. He hopped off his skateboard and walked up the porch. Looking towards the splayed mess of outdoor toys and balls, T.K. shooked his head, "The girls should really clean up after themselves. Especially after naggin' to Lincoln and I for bein' messy." The boy grabbed the doorknob and opened it, showing him an unusual sight before him.
It was Lori and instead of having her usual frown like a crabby elderly person who is constipated to the highest degree, she had a wide, warm smile as if she is happy to see the dreadhead. "Uh...'sup Lori," T.K. greeted in mild confusion, closing the door.
"Oh, nothing bro. Just literally wanted to see my cute little adoptive brother walk through that door," Lori responded sweetly, not letting up on that smile of hers.
T.K. nodded slowly, still clearly baffled by her current emotion, "Uh...huh. Well, I'm here so...yeah. I'll be in my room if you need me." He began make his way past her before her hand grasped his shoulder to make him stop.
"Don't you wanna talk about your day with me?" Lori asked with a loving squeeze.
T.K. lowered his eyelids flatly, "Lori, it's just school. The chances of anything interestin' happenin' at school is like trying to prevent an ice cube from melting over an open fire. It's very unlikely." What this woman's shtick here? He could clearly tell that she wanted to ask him something. Luckily, due to Lori doing this from time to time helped T.K. gauged what voice and tone she would used.
"Pssssht! Anything can happen at school, Tee Kee. You just have to keep a keen eye for it," Lori winked smugly. She motioned him to the couch for them both to sit. Looking at him patiently, she awaited him to speak.
"Well, if you must know, I was talkin' to Lincoln and Clyde at lunch about me talkin' to Principal Huggins to let me help around the lunchroom," T.K. recalled with a hint of sourness.
Lori tilted her head curiously, "Well? Did he literally go for it?"
"Nope! Because he said, 'A lunchroom is not the ideal place for a bright student like yourself to take part in.' I call bull on that to be honest," T.K. scoffed as he crossed his arms grumpily. He could name five people that made a name for themselves without an education. Although they would all be rappers but his boast would be proven!
"Well, school is important for you, T.K.; however, I think you would be great in the kitchen and show those lunch ladies how to really cook," Lori reassured kindly.
T.K. chuckled with a small blush, "Heh, thanks. ...So, how was your day?"
"Oh, you wouldn't believe the day I had, T.K.," Lori began. T.K. had a sinking feeling that this was going to long and VERY tedious.
Thirty minutes later...
"It literally took us an hour and a half to get all that mustard out of Imani's hair," Lori concluded as she rubbed her temple with a irritated huff. Meanwhile, T.K. was staring off into space tiredly. Who knew that Lori, when given the chance, be able to talk anyone's head off? The poor boy stopped listening after the ten minute mark.
"She finally stopped talking," T.K. praised absentmindedly to himself. Confused, Lori raised her eyebrow.
"What was that, T?" She pried curiously.
At the sound of her voice, T.K. immediately woke up and gave a somewhat convincing smile. Think fast, boy! An angry Lori is not a good thing. Lynn would know after the baguette beating Lori put her through. "You look like that you having fun EXPLAINING your wondering social life, Lori." Out the corner of his eye, he saw a video game controller. Perfect! That's a excellent distraction from the awkwardness. "Oh, look. Video games. Ha ha ha," T.K. laughed awkwardly as he grabbed the joystick.
As he held the big, electric green button down, the silver console booted up to life as the T.V. displayed a loading screen with a picture of a highly tuned muscle car outrunning multiple police cars. "Ooh, what's this, T?" Lori inquired as she gazed the screen with mild curiosity.
"It's the Thirst of Rush: 5-1-0. The sequel of the Thirst of Rush: Nightrunners 2. It came out two months ago," T.K. responded coolly as he pressed start. As he went through the menu, a random question zipped through his mind. Well, this would be a great time to ask her. "Sooo, Lincoln said that you used to play video game when you were younger. Is that true?"
Lori sighed happily as gave a smile of nostalgia. "Yeah, I used to play A LOT of video games. So many summer nights were literally wasted from me pulling all-nighters to try and beat every video game. It was Hell for Leni to try and pry me away from the T.V. screen." The blonde let out a mirthful giggle at that memory. T.K. smiled warmly at her joy. "Well, I don't play much anymore but I do whoop Lincoln at his own game from time to time," Lori grinned cockily. This was honestly the most happiest that Lori has ever been. ...Without Bobby of course.
T.K. nodded slowly, taking it in, "Hmmm. Wanna give this one a go?"
"Uh, I don't know, Terri. That percent says that you're close to finishing the game. I literally don't want to ruin your progress," Lori expressed with a hint of worry.
"That's just stinkin' thinkin'. Besides, I already saved before this part anywho," T.K. reassured calmly.
Lori looked towards the screen before turning back to him. "Alright, give me the controller," Lori demanded with a sigh. T.K. did as he was told and Lori selected the final event dubbed 'the Big One.' The screen soon displayed Lori, in a modified supercar, speeding away from a large group of police cars, which were also supercars to be able to keep with her. "Terri, what do I do?" Lori asked with a small amount of urgency.
"Just keep drivin', hun. Go to the highway and don't let the pigs surround you," T.K. instructed as he watched the pursuit with surprising interest. To his surprise, Lori is actually inept at keeping her distance from the fuzz. Hell, she also found out how to initate the pursuit breakers. "Oh. The square button is for the nitrous and the diamond button is for the Rush Breaker," T.K. informed, pointing to each of the button.
Lori nodded as she kept a firm glare on the screen, "Got it. Wait, what is the Rush Breaker?"
"It basically slows time down and makes the car heavier. Very useful for roadblocks," T.K explained, watching the counter for number of police cars go up.
"Authorization for use of Bull units, mission control?" One of the police officers in the game questioned
"Approved! Bull units are on the way to the rendezvous point as we speak!" Mission control responded with fiery anger in her voice. T.K.'s eyes widened while Lori tilted her head in confusion. Heavy SUV units thats claimed many first time players as they build their heat levels to be the most notorious.
"Uh, Bull units? Should I be worried?" Lori asked as she drove into another pursuit breaker to take out more cops.
"Yes! Just keep your eyes peeled for big, unmarked SUVs careenin' towards you," T.K. urged with a hint of nervousness.
"What do you mean by-AHHHHHHHH!" Lori screeched in fear as two Bull units sped towards her. The resulting crash from the bumrush caused her car to go flying over the guardrail and into the lake to end the pursuit for her. "...That was literally not fair! How was I supposed to know that was gonna happen!?" Lori heard snickering on the right side of her. She turned to her left as she saw T.K. struggling heavily to not bust out laughing. "Oh, so that's literally funny to you?!" Lori snarled, getting into T.K.'s face.
T.K. wheezed humorously, "Yeeeeessss!"
"Well, allow me to do you one better!" Lori announced confidently as she grabbed T.K. and pinned him to the couch. She then unleashed a vicious torrent of tickles to T.K.'s ribs, causing him snort and cackle uncontrollably.
"No-o-o-o-o-o-o! Staaahahahahahahahaaap!" T.K. pleaded in distress, trying to squirm out of Lori's grasp.
Lori tapped a finger on her chin in mock contemplation, "How about...NO! Besides, this rare side of you is adorbs!" The blonde increased her speed as tears began to stream out of T.K.'s eyes. As the young woman was sooo focused at the situation at hand, T.K. snaked a arm out and tickled her own ribs. "EEEEEEP!" Now the tide has turned, Lori fell back to the arm of the couch and T.K. gave his own assault to her. That scream tho; T.K. didn't even know that her voice could go that high. But his revenge didn't last that long as Lori snaked her arm out and tried to tickle the dreadhead.
To her success and surprise, it worked but the boy pushed on. Both sides eventually tried to overcome one another before they stopped from exhaustion. As they pant, the doorknob rolled and turned. They turned their heads to the door opening to Lynn Sr. walking inside from work. "Hey, kiddos. Spending time with each other?" Sr. questioned, hanging up his chef hat.
"Yeah, it was fun," T.K. replied happily, sitting up after regaining his breath.
Lori nodded with a smile, "Literally."
"That's swell, you two. Say, champ. Mind you lend me a hand with dinner?" Sr. proposed ewith a enegetic tone as he walked towards T.K.
T.K. nodded with a small smile, "Sure. I'll see what can I do." As T.K. jogged off from Lori's sight, he came to the logical conclusion that she just probably talked to Bobby earlier, given her joyful mood so he figured that she be back to her grumpy bear mood by the 'morrow. Although, there's another point that also came to mind; Lori actually has been more caring, supportive, and overall more happier as of late. Eh, there was time to worry about that later. There is meatloaf to be made!
The next afternoon...
"Uuuuuuuuuuugh! I wish there were more hours in the day so that I sleep in more," T.K. groaned tiredly with a hint of irritation. He threw this blanket off and stretched every single kink out of his body. Once fully warmed up, he slowly lumbered upstairs and opened the door to the living room. As he set the first foot, he came upon a strange and entirely weird sight before him. The living room furniture was pushed aside to have a large amount of space for whoever using it currently. He could see the marks that the legs of the lovechair, the couch, and the small table has left due to the time those objects has stood in their spots. One last thing that caught T.K.'s eye was Lori, who had on a simple white t-shirt, black leggings, and her hair was in a ponytail, was laying down a small light blue mat while humming a tune to herself. Must be a Boys Will Be Boys single. T.K. walked up to her with a confused face, clearly not grasping on WHAT is going on. "Soooo, what's all this?" T.K. questioned with a yawn as he rubbed the crust out of his eyes.
Lori's head perked up at the voice before turning to the dreadhead. "Hey, sleephead. I'm just setting up for my weekly weekend yoga session," Lori responded with a smile. She stood back up and gave a satisfied sigh, "I was literally lucky to catch Lynn and asked her to make some space before she left for the day." Looking back at T.K., she jabbed a thumb to the mat. "Wanna join? Obviously, there's room for more."
"Nope. I may be into cooking but no self respectin' brotha such as myself would consider something as frou-frou as yoga," T.K. declined flatly as he shook his head.
Lori raised an unconvinced eyebrow and smirked, "This coming from the 'self respectin' brotha' who helped Leni brushed her hair for the last two weeks after she sprained her brushing wrist?"
"That was because I wanted to help and not because her hair smelled like strawberry cream soda," T.K. defended hastily with a extreme blush that spread throughout his cheeks.
"Oh come on, T.K. Just give it a try. From what I've literally seen, you definitely need it." Lori prodded honestly.
T.K. sighed in frustration, "Fine. I'll do it."
"Yay! Do you want me to get you another mat?" Lori asked excitedly.
"No, no. I'll be fine without it. Thank you though," T.K. replied coolly
Lori shrugged her shoulders, "Suit yourself." She turned on the T.V. as it displayed a middle age male with tan skin, a black ponytail, and a well defined physique. Behind him were three rows of women with the occasion man in between. The yoga instructor wore a bright smile as he looked on to the camera
"Greetings to my students behind me and to those at home. Welcome to Richard Van Dick's Weekend Yoga and Taebo Time. I hope you all had a great week and you'll be ready to sweat off the fat and the stress of you daily affairs," Richard opened with warm smile and hand wave. T.K. tilted his head curiously. Taebo? Is that some sort of special form of Taebo? He'll just have to wait until they took a break.
"Thanks, Richie! Eee! He's so totes gorge!" Lori squealed joyfully as she clearly fawned over the well put together male.
"Now, follow me as trek on an two hour quest to obtain peace of mind...or when airtime runs out," Richard urged calmly as he stood straight. "To begin, start with the big toe stance. Simply bend over and hook your index and middle finger underneath your big and second toe. Lift your torso as your inhale slowly before holding the pose for one minute. Begin."
T.K. and Lori proceeded as they were told. Lori, begin used to this for a while, easily did this like a natural. Meanwhile, T.K. linked his fingers with his toes and bend down. That was easy part; holding the position was a bit of a step up for the little guy. Eventually, the minute was up by the sound of a bell dinging.
"Excellent, my students. Can you just feel yourself melt all that stress away? Now, lets proceed to the next pose: the chair pose. Just perform a squat and hold your arms outward from your head for one minute. Begin." Richard instructed with a soothing voice. Seriously, the man could calm babies and storms with his baritone voice.
T.K. groaned in exasperation, "Ugh, a squat? I HATE squats."
"Wait, why? Don't you exercise every week?" Lori pried in confusion.
"I do but I always do squats first to get them outta the way," T.K. explained as he crouched down. Lori nodded in response as she too crouched down. Vice versa, T.K was used to a squat even with the added difficulty of his arms raised outward from his head. On the other hand, Lori had a harder time since she rarely did a squat; however, there was those times in Physical Education with those annoying fitness grams.
Fifty-five minutes later...
'Finally another break. I just need to get through another five minutes.' T.K. thought in relief as he and Lori tried the Warrior I pose, which involved having their arms up over their heads, one leg in front of them, and one leg behind them. Lori, on the other hand, was feeling some problems. Indigestion problems to be exact.
'Ugh, I shouldn't have literally eaten that breakfast veggie wrap! Just concentrate on finishing so that you can go to the bathroom. Yeah, concentrate. Just...concentrate.' Lori thought confidently.
'Pssh! You are totes gonna fart in front of T.K.,' The other nagging voice in Lori's head scoffed spitefully. The rumbling increased as her stomach moaned in distress.
'And what makes you so sure?!' Lori argued heatedly to the instigating voice. The moaning increased in volume.
'One, I am sure. Two, I am you, dummy! You fart more than an elderly person with loose bowels!' The nagging voice snapped back. The rumbling gained T.K.'s attention; the boy searched the area for the weird noise.
'I! DO! NO-!"
FLURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP!
Both eyes widened at the ghastly sound. T.K's was of pure shock while Lori's was pure embarrassment. Shifting his eyes to her, T.K. found the mortified blonde staring at him with utmost seriousness: Eyelids almost lowered completely, her lips curved into a sharp frown, the whole nine. Along with this, her face was completely red and drenched with sweat. Anxiety sweat: the worst kind of sweat. "Was that y-"
"It was the floorboards!" Lori snapped swiftly like she actually wanted him to forget this.
"Floorboards? What are you talk-"
"IT WAS THE FLOORBOARDS!" Lori shouted angrily, increasing her volume.
T.K. sniffed the air, "My god! Is that asper-"
"IT! LITERALLY! WAS! THE! FLOORBOARDS!" Lori screeched in white hot rage, her voice going up an octave as she got up in T.K.'s face.
"Ooooooooook. Dropping the subject. Calm down, hun," T.K. reminded calmly, gently leading Lori to the couch. He grabbed the remote and turned off the T.V. "Maybe that's enough yoga for the day." Placing the remote back on the table, the dreadhead went back to check on Lori. The young woman was taking deep, relaxing breaths to calm herself down. "You good?" T.K. slowly grabbed her hand and rubbed on it to further the relaxation.
"...Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Lori informed with a blissful smile. Said smile turned to a remorseful frown as she gave an apologetic look towards T.K. "Sorry about exploding upon you, bro. It just that these floorboards are SO annoying" T.K waved a dismissive hand at the apology.
"At ease, Madam Farts-A-Lot. I'll see if Lana can check it out later on," T.K. remarked sarcastically with a cheeky grin, causing Lori to give him an unamused glare. "Alright, alright. I was playin'. Besides, YOU look adorable when you're mad. Heck, your cheeks are still red from your outburst." At this claim, Lori took out her compact mirror and inspected her face. Disheveled hair, bangs plastered to her forehead, and her cheeks were still blushing profusely. Yeah, she looked insane alright.
Lori let out an amused giggle at the hilariously horrid sight, "Wow. I literally look rabid. I'll fix myself in a bit." A buzzing sound occurred, causing Lori to reach into her pocket to grab her phone. Looking at the contact name, she let out a small but shrill happy squeal. "Boo Boo Bear? Hi, what's up? ...Oh, just doing yoga with T.K. ...Alright, I tell him now. Bobby say hi, T.K.," Lori informed sweetly, holding her hand in the bottom half of the phone.
"'Eeey, Bob-O!" T.K. greeted jokingly.
"Terri said hi, Boo Boo Bear. ...WHAT!? You'll be in town next week?! Oh, great! Oooh, can we go to that new Japanese restaurant? ...Eee, thanks, Boo Boo Bear! ...Ask him what? ...Hmm, it's literally a long shot but I'll put you through," Lori informed in an unsure tone before holding her hand to the bottom of her phone. She turned to T.K., who gave her a curious look. "T, Bobby wanted to ask you something important."
"Uh...huh. Put 'em on speaker," T.K. ordered in mild confusion. Lori pressed the button as Bobby can hear him.
"You're on speaker, Boo Boo Bear," Lori informed, holding the phone out to T.K.
"Thanks, babe. Hey, Little T. Do you and Krystal wanna go on a double date with Lori and I?" Bobby asked, causing T.K. to tilt his head in a nervously slow manner.
"A double...date?" T.K. repeated, unsure if he heard Bobby right.
"Yeah, dude. You and Krystal with Lori and I. We'll go to the Mini Golf-A-Palooza and then to that Japanese restaurant that Lori wanted to go," Bobby explained nonchalantly.
"Uhhh. I don't want us to be a burden to the both of you. And then there's the age gap..." T.K. continued in hopes of weaseling out of this.
"Chillax, bro. I saved up a ton of cash from working at the bodega. The two of you being with us is no skin off of my nose," Bobby reassured happily. Lori frowned in concern for her adoptive brother.
"Is there something wrong, T? You're not this reluctant." She wasn't wrong there but a double date is seriously sketchy. You have to engaging to your date and also be engaging to your fellow date goers; however, T.K. didn't want to kill the good times with Lori by essentially blowing her and Bobby off.
"It's just pre game jitters. ...You know what, count us in! When is it, Bobby?" T.K. asked determinedly.
"This Saturday bro! I'll leaving by three o' clock so that you three can get ready. Talk to you later, babe!" Bobby hung up as Lori gave a another warm and heartfelt sigh.
"He's soooo thoughtful and dreamy," Lori purred lovingly before she turned towards T.K. and clutched him in a tight hug. "This is literally gonna be the best double date ever!"
"Yaaay," T.K. cheered weakly, nervous of the events to come...and he was slowly losing oxygen.
Friday...
The double doors of the Royal Woods Mall as Lori and T.K. strolled inside the huge building. Various shoppers roamed the halls, perusing which business they want to make a purchase for. Lori was happy to use the excuse of a double date to find a new dress. The mall was practically a beautiful oasis of a haven to her and the other Loud sisters. As for T.K., not so much. He would only go to the mall if the game store or local skate shop has ran out of whatever he needed to buy, which was rare because he doesn't shop often. Like Lincoln, he also avoids going to the mall with the girls since they would take FOREVER! "Okay, 's has 65% off sale that's ending after tonight. Now, we'll split up and find what we're looking for. Once we do, either of us will call the other OK?" Lori explained as they both enter the St. Paul's clothing store.
T.K. chuckled as he followed her, "That's it? No other rules about informing the public about death or conducting an experiment on how fast does certain clothing materials dissolve from a non lethal acid?"
"Because I know you, T. You are literally one of the quietest kids that I know," Lori smirked as she ruffled his hair and walked away.
"Ah," T.K. nodded in agreement as he began his trek into the vast store. Fedoras, loafers, and ties as far as the eye could see. Although, T.K. is fine with looking like a million dollars, the selection that was presented before him was a bit much. For instant, a white pinstriped suit caught his attention. The boy tilted his head as he scrolled his eyes up and down the suit like if there was something crawling on it. All he needed was a huge floppy hat, platform boots with fishes swimming back and forth and he'll fit right in the seventies. "Nah," T.K. simply stated with a cringe. He moved on further down the aisle, looking for more options. Finally, at the end of the aisle, there was a simple dark royal blue turtleneck sweater. "Hmm, promising," T.K. smiled curiously as he walked to the top. Upon feeling the garment, he let out a gasp, "Oooo! Cashmere! Instant buy!" Hanging the sweater over his shoulder, he then headed to the other side of the aisle for some pants. Soon, he found some dark khaki cargo pants and hung them over his shoulder as well. "Alright, I'm set." T.K. declared confidently, whipping his phone out and calling Lori.
After a few rings, she answered. "Hello?"
"I'm ready. How everything on your end?" T.K. heard her gave out a frustrated groan.
"Ugh, not so good. I literally can't find a decent dress. Look, just come down to the dress aisle. I'll find one soon enough." T.K. managed to suppress a groan. Soon enough in T.K.'s mind that meant 'I will take me ALL day!'
"Alright. I'm on my way." T.K. replied with a flat tone as he hung up. He slowly trudged to the aisle that Lori is at with a unhappy glare. He saw traces of her large perm zipping back and forth, confirming her location from behind the tall shelf. He walked down one end of aisle, "Alright, woman! What is your mal- WHOA!" In front of him, a huge plie of dresses was bigger than him and behind it was Lori, who had a angry pout and her arms were crossed. T.K. walked up to her with a concerned frown, "Are you ok?" If he didn't chose his words carefully, she might go postal on him.
Lori gave a irritated huff as she glared at the pile, "No, I'm literally not. I've spent the last fifteen minutes looking for an ideal dress for our double date. That pile over there is for dresses that are either not my taste or out of this fashion season..."
As T.K. slowly tuned her perturbed rant out, he spot one dress in the shelves, which was saying much as it was one of the few that Lori didn't deem unworthy of her time...or she didn't even check. The bust was a light black, along being sleeveless and shoulderless. Beginning at the waistline, it fanned wide in a bowl shape, with the hem ending presumably at the top of the knees. It had a pattern of spots of different sizes and colored in the same shade of blue that Lori usually wears. Talk about a coincidence, huh? Walking over to the dress, T.K. picked up and head back to the blonde, who was still ranting. "How about this?" He gave her the dress for her to inspect. The sooner he can convince her, the faster he'll be able to go home.
Slowly, Lori gave it a scan with her keen eyes. "Hmm, I loved the color but the waistline shape is a bit odd." Oh no, that's a small sign that she gonna disregard the dress and it he'll be back to square one. Maybe...
"How about you go and try it on. You can't discredit a dress unless you gave it a wore," T.K suggested hastily, dragging Lori to a dressing room. He opened the door for her and motioned her in.
"Alright, alright," Lori answered, walking in and shutting the door. After some sounds of a zipper and cloth dropping to the ground, Lori walked back out. It did helped her look even better but T.K. felt that something was still missing. "So? How do I look?" She posed by placing both hands on her hips, leaned on one foot with the other providing support by the toes, and a smug smile with a wink.
T.K. walked around her, peering at every aspect of her in order to find one discrepancy. Face? Nope, blemishes are nowhere to be found. Feet? Naw, nails were actually done rather well; the girl actually got some practice in for her pedicures. Hair? ...THE HAIR! That's it! "Hmm, maybe ask your mom to help you with your hair?"
Lori held a thick strand of her golden locks with a puzzled look, "My hair? What's wrong with it?"
"There's nothin' wrong with per say but you do want to look your Sunday best right?" T.K. piped with a smirk. Lori snapped her fingers in comprehension.
"Ah, I get it! Besides, whether it's Sunday, Friday, or even Tuesday: I always look my best," Lori claimed smugly as she made another pose that included duck lips. Looking to her left, her eyes sparkled at a pair of light black leather zip up high heeled sandals on display. "Oooo, these will literally look great with the dress bust!"
"That means you'll buy the dress?" T.K. inquired with a hopeful smile.
"Yep," Lori responded with a smile and a nod. T.K. silently thanked every deity for that simple answer. Smirking, Lori walked over and pinched his cheek in a teasing manner, "Who knew that someone like you would literally be an fashion aficionado?"
"Well, it not much but that knowledge clearly came from Leni. Now, let mosey outta here!" T.K. boomed, pointing confidently to the exit.
"AHEM!" The two turned their heads towards the manager; a posh, well dressed man who had a stern look as he tapped his foot rapidly. "I suppose that you will be cleaning all of this up?" T.K. and Lori laughed in embarrassment as they began to quickly clean up the huge pile before them.
Saturday night...
T.K. was perched again the wall coolly as he waited on Lori to finish getting ready. He had his dreads in a medium length ponytail that stood high from the back of his head. Along with that, he was dressed in his turtleneck sweater, khaki pants, and his low top sneakers that were made out of leather. This is it! All of the time spent mentally preparing himself boils down to the date. It could go swimmingly without any mishaps...or it could crash and burn like a horrific stock car accident. No, there's no time to wuss out. Besides, what could happen in a double date? Footsteps creaked the stairs as T.K. peeked with one eye opened; it was Lincoln, who was coming to check on the skater. "So, dude. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be. You know, I'm actually lookin' forward to this! With confidence, I can honestly say that the four of us will have a great time!" T.K. claimed with a determined smile.
Lincoln hung an arm around the dreadhead with a happy smile of his own, "Glad to hear it! Although, Lori and Bobby can be a little lovey dovey at times and their PDA can make a normal person dry heave, they are really fun to be around." T.K. nodded in response.
"'Preciate the tip. Sooo, they use tongue?" T.K. smirked jokingly. Lincoln sticked his own tongue out in disgust and pushed him away.
"Eww, seriously?!"
T.K. cackled successfully as he waved his arm dismissively, "I'm just messin' with you!"
"Here's the lady of the hour!" Leni announced from the top of the stairs. She stepped aside for Lori, who began to make her descent downstairs. Taking the dreadhead's advice, she had Rita and Leni fixed her hair, which looked longer and wavy. Also, she is wearing the dress and the heeled sandals. The boys were awestruck to say the least. The girl looked positively lovely!
"Whoa," Lincoln and T.K. declared absentmindedly.
Lori simply giggled at their reactions, "So, I take that you two literally like this?"
"Yeah! Lori, you look beautiful!" Lincoln commented with honest praise.
T.K. nodded, "And you took my advice too! Your hair looks great normally but now: it's chic."
Lori had to stifle another giggle from the boy's choice of words, "You've been reading through Leni's magazines haven't you? Because there's no way that you literally knew that word all on your own."
"...NO!" T.K. refused, blushing crazily as the redness betrayed him. At this revelation, Lori and Lincoln laughed themselves silly. "Ha, ha, ha. Now, what's takin' Bobby so long!?"
Still reeling from their laugh attack, Lori crouched to T.K.'s height and hung an arm around him affectionately, "Sorry about that. To be honest, I find it cute that you're literally beginning to be in touch with your feminine side." T.K. mumbled something in response; as much he won't admit it, he has slowly but surely been more and more into some of the activities that goes on in the house. A knock on the door gained everyone's attention, prompting Lincoln to answer it.
Opening the door, Bobby was there with a bouquet of flowers. He was dressed in a green long sleeve button shirt, dark navy blue slacks, with black loafers. What can he say? The man has to look good for his babe. Standing along side him is Krystal, who was wearing a shoulderless periwinkle dress with white, elaborate tribal patterns and periwinkle short heeled pumps. Her hair was also done up like Lori but in a neat, cute bun. "Boo Boo Bear!" Lori rushed her man and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Bobby quickly did the same gesture.
"Hey, babe! I got you those red roses down at the flower shop that you like," Bobby reminded warmly as he handed her the roses.
Lori gleefully took the flowers and inhaled the scent, deeply taking in the earthly essence, "Ahhhh, just like I remember how they smelled. Thanks!"
"No prob, Babe! T, I went and got Krystal with the directions that you sent me. Although, her father is insanely scary. He glared at me for the entire time," Bobby winced nervously, performing his crazy long handshake with Lincoln.
T.K. rolled his eyes dismissively, "It's fine, Bobby. The glarin' is probably directed at me. I tell ya, that old man needs to find a hobby. No offense, Krystal. By the way, you look very fierce!" Yeah, T tries to not be over at the Reyes establishment much. He already knew that from the first time he met Krystal; the poor girl has be steadily trying to her father to sit down and squash this unneeded beef.
"Awwwww, thank you, Terri! Mama helped me pick out this dress. I was lucky to find this in my color," Krystal commented joyfully, spinning around majestically.
Lori's lips curved upward warmly, "Well, the tribal marks really help out the ferocious factor while literally remaining adorable!"
"Thank you, Lori," Krystal grinned as she blushed heavily.
"Alright, lets get this show on the road!" T.K. shouted happily, walking out of the door. Bobby, Lori, and Krystal cheered before following him as well. Lincoln hung at the doorway as he saw them all off.
"Have fun, you crazy kids!" He shut the door and went to attend to his own business.
Thirty five minutes later...
"Welcome to Mini Golf-A-Palooza! Is this everyone playing?" A chubby male worker asked, looking over the four date goers. T.K gazed upon the various and zany structures inhabit the many courses. Windmills, small replicas of major cities like Los Angeles, New York, and there's even a large clown head with his tongue sticking out for the ball to roll up. Yep, this is gonna be interesting for the dreadhead as this is Lori's domain. He has never played a round of golf...or mini golf in his life.
"Yep, Me, my girl, her adoptive brother, and his girl. Two small and large clubs please. We'll be play the full course." Bobby informed, handing the vendor one twenty and ten dollar bills.
The chubby vendor took the money with a thankful smile, "Thank you, sir!" He walked away to get the items.
"Well, I have an idea. Instead of couples, how about an ole fashioned boys versus girls? Just to keep things interestin'," T.K. explained, wagging his eyebrows snidely.
Lori gave a mock gasp of shock, "You sneak! How could you tear Bobby Boo Boo Bear and I apart!?" She tried to hide her smile as she kept playing dumb.
"Eh. Anything to win since this IS your game," T.K. reminded knowingly, walking over to Bobby. "Besides, with Roberto by my side, I'll know every move that you can think that you can do!" He stuck his tongue out playfully.
"Well, well, I'LL know every move that you'll do thanks to Krystal!" Lori mocked with a knowing smile herself. She walked over to Krystal's side and clutched her close.
The vendor walked back outside with four clubs, two longer than the other. "Here you go! Enjoy yourselves!" The four received their clubs for battle and headed down to the first hole.
Ten minutes later...
"Now, T.K., this is just mini golf. You don't need to go all out. Just a small but firm swing will do it," Lori explained cautiously, standing aside with Krystal.
"Alright," T.K. nodded, winding back to putt. He gave it a whack, sending the ball down the straight path; however, as it just about crossed the end, a large toy mallet smacked it right back to where T.K. was standing. This drew a deadpan reaction from the boy as he squinted his eyes and his lips curved downward heavily. "You're jokin', right?"
The reaction caused Lori, Bobby, and Krystal (to a lesser extent) to laugh at the boy's misfortune. "Ah, the mallet. It literally always catch newcomers off guards. Now, everyone: watch a pro at work," Lori instructed cockily, walking up to the tee as T.K. walked back to the group. Over time, she made the hole in less than two attempts. Bobby and Krystal had a bit trouble but they made to the hole as well. Meanwhile, T.K. was STILL trying to get past the friggin' mallet! Here he was on attempt number 15!...Oh lord.
'You know what! Screw this! Lets add a little power to this game!' T.K. smirked confidently, rearing back further than he can care. On the third hole, Lori was about to putt before looking up towards T.K. She let a gasp of horror at the boy's carelessness. "T.K., do-!"
WHACK!
The resulting, powerful swing sending the ball reeling at dangerously high rate of speed. Seeing the ball barreling towards her, Lori let out a scared yelp and ducked. "Guys, duck!"
"Babe? Is everything o- WHOA!" Bobby bellowed, ducking also with Krystal. The ball bounced all over the place: replica landmarks, the miniature pirate ships, and the giant lizard monster in little Tokyo. Finally, the ball bounced down to the first hole and dropped in.
"FINALLY! 'HO YEAH! GET SOME!" T.K. cheered victoriously, pumping his fists in the air. As he celebrated, someone cleared her throat, cutting his celebration short. Turning his head, T.K. saw Lori, Bobby, and Krystal giving disapproving glares. Not the best way to make an first impression on a double date. Tugging his collar with a nervous chuckle, "Sorry, everyone."
Five minutes later...
"Well...that happened," Lori began flatly, perching herself on her club. She and Krystal watched as Bobby and T.K. tried to catch up to where they at. They were a hole ahead of them anyways. It gives time time to have a quick chat about anything.
Krystal rubbed her head sheepishly, "Yes, Terri's more mellow and usually doesn't let things like this get to him."
"Hm. This is literally a step up from football. He can't carry the ball and run to the hole," Lori joked with a smile, drawing a laugh from Krystal. "Say, Krystal. What's it like being alone with T.K.? If you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, not at all. Terri's is a huge sweetheart. Mama loves him like if he was her own son. Papa is like I said before but I feel him slowly coming around to tolerating him, so it's a start," Krystal answered, clasping her hands together at her chest.
"That's good. That's good. Does he help you with learning more English words?" Lori pried, happy that T.K. is keeping his end of the relationship strong.
Krystal nodded, "Definitely! He even made little notecards for me to practice anytime. To think that he know this much about the language, I didn't even knew that he was a mute when he was younger." ...That caught Lori off guard. A mute? Well...that explained why the boy didn't talk much for the first few times that she talked to him. ...Even if their relationship wasn't as good.
"What...what do you mean that he was a mute?" Lori questioned in concern, putting one hand on her hip.
"Weell...I don't know if Terri would be OK with me telling you this," Krystal warned shyly, tapping her index finger together.
Lori clasped Krystal's shoulder softly, her concern for T.K. growing greater and greater. "Krystal, please? I will literally not tell anyone else. Please, scout's honor?"
Krystal sighed, "Very well. As I said, T.K. was a mute. The reasons that I remembered is the insane crime rate that Dallas had at the time, the fact that he was overweight too, not to mention his parents were at each other throats constantly, and he also saw a dead body..."
"HE SAW A DE-!" Lori stopped herself while looking towards the boys, who were looking at her in concern. Laughing nervously, Lori waved dismissively at them, "Hehehe, don't mind us, boys. Continue with your play." Shrugging, the males resumed play. Taking a deep breath to soothe her nerves, Lori looked back toward Krystal. "A dead body!?"
"Yes, it was slowly rotting away and his friends peer pressured him into looking. It's a wonder why so much has to happen to a kind boy like him. I asked him if there's anything that I can do but he says not to worry about it," Krystal sighed sadly. Lori felt her mood changed from shock to pity. In a short life like T.K., the boy basically went the human equivalent of Hell.
"No, there's something that you already doing: you basically being there and being his earpiece for his spoken thoughts. And maybe...there's something that I can literally do," Lori countered determinedly, clutching Krystal's left shoulder lovingly. Krystal's lips formed a convinced smile at the blonde's vigor.
Thirty minutes later...
"Thank you for choosing our restaurant. Here are your seats and please wait for a waiter to assist you," A Japanese female greeter informed while holding a list. The four dategoers proceeded to their seats with guys pulling the chairs out for their girlfriends. This eating establishment was a nice mixture of modern and vintage Japanese decor. Paper lanterns hung from the ceilings, anime and martial arts posters of old and new hung along the walls, and there was an elaborately designed dragon to greet any newcomers or regulars.
"Well, the atmosphere is pretty welcomin'," T.K. complimented, sitting in his seat.
Bobby nodded in agreement, "Same here, bro. It feels like I'm actually in Japan. So, T, what was it like living in Dallas?" That question caused Lori's eyes to widened from her boyfriend's unintentionally rude question. She gave Bobby a jab to the ribs with her elbow. "Ow! Babe!?"
"Boo Boo Bear, I don't think that T.K. literally would want to reopen that old wound," Lori hissed in a warning tone.
"No, no. Lori, it's fine. If he wants to know then he wants to know. Besides, it's old news," T.K. reassured, taking a deep breath. "Well, my time in the city wasn't all sunshines and rainbows. Heck, I don't any kid had it good in that crap hole that was going through a record breakin' crime activity rate. Although, my grandma did her best to shield me away from my parents' insane dislike for each other. Shoot, my memory is hazy but I think that my mom tried to actually stab my dad," That drew gasps from the other three. "Yeah, it was a low point. On top of that, I was puttin' on more weight than usually due to me stuffing my face at every givin' moment. I thought that this 'eternal Hell' was finally over after my mom ditched us, my pops moving us to Royal Woods, and me finally losing all of that weight; however, one random shooting that claimed my father later, I was back to square one ONCE again. Luckily, your girl, her siblings, and everyone else gave me reason just to keep going." As he finally finished, he scanned the gazes on Lori, Krystal, and Bobby. The two girls had heartbroken, down right looks of pity for the boy's lifestory while Bobby had a look of pure appall. Lori...was not entirely convinced from what T.K. has spilled on the table. All of that nonsense and you mean to tell her that the dreadhead doesn't look worse for wear?! She can't questioned him now 'less she want to cause a scene.
"...Dude," Bobby spoke softly, shaking his head. Meanwhile, a waiter came by with a stack of menus with some fortune cookies.
"Good evening, everyone. Here are your menus and fortune cookies!"
An hour and a half later...
"Thanks for everythin', Bobby!" T.K. shouted at the car pulling away while Lori walked in quietly. The car honked in response as T.K. closed the door. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he looked towards Lori, who was just standing there and she was hugging herself. "Well, this double date was a success if I do say so myself. Ain't that right, Lori? Lori? Lorraine?" In a instant second, Lori swiped him up and hugged him to her chest.
"...How? How c-could you literally go through all of t-that and not give up? Every misfortune, tragedy, and mishap that you e-endure you tell me that you just literally kept g-going?! I'm sorry, Terri but I literally refuse to believe any of that!" Lori denied, black runny tears began to stream out of her eyes as she increased her vice grip.
T.K. wiggled in her anaconda-like hold as he tried to grasp what she saying, "Lori. Lori! I-I can't breathe!" As he told her that, he was suddenly pull away from her. Lori held him in front and gave a stony, hard glare.
"Not once that you ever came across the thought of literally doing...it?" Lori interrogated ominously, keeping her glare PRECISELY on T.K.
To say that T.K. was entirely confused was a horrific understatement. What brought this type of emotion from the poor blonde? And WHAT the hell question is she asking?! "I'm entirely lost on graspin' what in the WIDE WORLD OF BLUE HELL are you tryin' to ask?!" Immediately, Lori pulled him close to her face, getting very, very, VERY angry at the boy's naivety.
"DO NOT LIE TO ME, TERRENCE! HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT!?" Lori screeched as T.K flinched and covered himself. While doing this, the dreadhead thought long and hard about the question. It? What could that possibly mean? ...Oh. Oh...my...God!
"Whoa. WHOA! No! NONONNONONONONNONONO! Lori, yes, I have been terribly depressed but NOT...to the point of me killin' myself! I would rather deal with my problems and face them head on than to pull that cowardly mess! No disrespect to those that sadly have but I would rather not," T.K. replied honestly. At this the two gazed at each other in eerie silence, waiting for either side to falter. Finally with a trembling lip and tear filled watery eyes, Lori was the first to break. She dropped the boy to his bottom roughly as she cried once more, muttering apology after apology.
Sighing, T.K. quickly went to the kitchen to get a few napkins for Lori. Coming back, he found her on her knees, blubbering incoherently. Gently grasping her chin, T.K. stroked her cheeks and lower eyelids to cleanse her face of any mascara tears. Finally done, he tossed the ruined napkins aside and gave her a big hug. "Lori, I understand why you asked me that but nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever push me to that point. Now, can we change the subject please? I feel bad for makin' you cry."
Lori's lips curved into a small smile as she let a soft giggle, "Yeah. ...Sorry for pushing it too far but you know I was just only concerned about you. Honestly." She stood up and fixed her dress and hair. Once again, she grabbed T.K. into another hug, but this one was more gentle. "Thanks for coming with us tonight, T.K. I know that you're literally not used to things like this but...I really appreciate you for at least trying." Puckering her lips, she smooched the boy on the cheek in pure gratitude. This notion caused the skater to blush from the love. Setting him down, Lori pulled his kissed cheek affectionately, "Good night, Terr Bear." With a warm giggle, the young woman began her trek upstairs to turn in for the night.
Standing there dumbfounded, T.K. gave a goofy smile as he rubbed his cheek. "Heeeeey!"
A/N: Ahhh! That was fun to write. Hope you've enjoyed that folks. Things aren't lookin' on my end but that's another story for another time. See you soon!
I'm a neuro-net processor. A learning computer! :)