Chapter 10

Gossip

Thanks to the much needed aid and support of my two beta's Rogue Ranger and the real vampire. You two are the best bros a gal could ask for : )

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Tori figured out after about one week of riding with Dustin that the urge to pull her newest friend into a hug and hold him as tightly as possible was an especially insistent and difficult one to shake, occurring more often than could ever be healthy. But it was just- Dustin. And she didn't want to think of him as her little teddy bear because he was a person with feelings and not some damn accessory, but he had to go and be all cute and baffled and so heart-breakingly grateful for like, everything, and then she wanted to hug him and ward off any of his enemies with the biggest stick she could find because honestly- he was best.

And part of her (the stupid, selfish part) was sort of…glad that no one else had taken to Dustin, that no one else had discovered her magical wonder-boy. Like, she got it, honestly. They were in high school and in high school you just wanted to fit in, go with the flow because there was comfort in solidarity, it was nice to feel like you belonged and obviously…yeah, Dustin was not that.

Dustin was a unique soul who had learned his rules of social engagement from tv shows and movies (the coffee incident was just the first of many). He was honest to a fault (really had no clue when it came to censoring himself) whenever he did talk and he always, always listened. The few times Tori had steered him towards a subject he was obviously enthusiastic about (cue ninja robes) he could babble on about a mile a minute, creative and out there and dragging Tori into realms of conversation she never would have thought to see, before he eventually remembered he was shy and clammed up, not wanting to go on about himself.

Tori didn't know what had happened to Dustin in the past to make him so shut off (whatever it was it made her want to hunt some people down, exercise some ninja skill on their asses) but she was willing to wait for enthusiastic-Dustin to be full time. She was patient; she could do that. She would just make sure he knew he was wanted and that it was safe and she didn't judge him and hopefully one day they could have a real conversation. Not one where she felt like a tyrant who ruled over all; Dustin too scared half the time to give her an answer.

They were working on it; definitely getting better. Dustin was more relaxed, slowly but surely volunteering more information. That was why Tori decided to go ahead and take the plunge, steering Dustin into unexplored conversational territories.

It was gossip time.

She had a certain tan-skinned, Dustinly-protective air student she wanted to talk about.

A certain attribute, to be specific…

"So," Tori began brightly, turning off of the road from the Wind Academy onto the main highway, cruising at a safe speed. "Shane."

Shane, she liked that name. Toeing the line of overly-masculine without completely surrendering to the concept.

Beside her, Dustin gave a wide-eyed look; his half-way to panic, oh-no, you-want-me-to-pick-up-the-conversation-but-you-di dn't-tell-me-where-to-go look. And yes, that was the look. Tori had to master his non-verbals early on or else she would never understand what he was thinking.

To save him the stress Tori blithely continued, "Do you think he's cute?"

She got half of a relieved sigh before Dustin tensed up again, the question dawning on him, fingers dancing against his pant leg nervously.

He pointed to himself. "I'm a guy."

Tori smiled. "Yes."

In her peripheral she could see Dustin cock his head to the side like a confused puppy and oh- hugs.

"He's a guy."

The water student nodded an affirmative. "Also true."

This was an exercise they participated in more often than not. Establishing some ground rules for Dustin so he could understand what was going on and comfortably contribute to the conversation. It was Dustin's way of letting Tori know what he knew, but it was also his way of building support for whatever arguments he might have.

They stopped at a red light and Tori turned to see Dustin give a face that said his brain really hurt. She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing, and Dustin tapped his chin, deep in thought. "I don't think we're supposed to talk about that," he said, then thought some more. "Yeah," he nodded. "Pretty sure."

The light turned green and Tori gave a small shrug. "Just subtract yourself from the equation. Think objectively."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Dustin make his stop-using-words-I-don't-know face.

This time Tori did laugh.

She didn't have to look his way to know he was making his don't-laugh-at-my-faces face.

Tori made a left turn, trying to think out a new argument. "What I mean is that if you weren't a guy-"

"Am I a girl?" Dustin sounded half-frightened by this prospect, though he tried to muffle that fact, not wanting to offend her.

Tori gave another laugh. "No," she grinned, waving a hand at him expressively. "Think of yourself as a piece of the cosmos."

She could tell her explanation didn't hit by his confused silence.

"Can I just be a guy?" he finally asked, staring down at himself. "I think I'd be more comfortable with that."

Of course you would.

Baby steps though, baby steps. In a normal conversation most guys would have high-tailed it the moment she asked if Shane was cute.

"Okay, how about this," she began, throwing a conspiring glance his way. He loved those. "You're a guy, but all the rules about what you're supposed to talk about or not-talk about don't exist."

Dustin thought about this, mulling over it slowly before it was eventually allowed with a nod. "Okay."

"Great," Tori chirped; now they were getting somewhere. "Now, do you think he's cute?"

There was a pause, and then: "You know I'm a guy right?"

She could feel her eye twitching but Tori refused to shown any other signs of tension, letting out a slow breath before saying, "We've covered this."

"No, just-" Dustin sighed, his I'm-disappointing-you-but-the-rules-Tori-the-rules one. "I'm not a girl. I thought this was what girls talked about to other girls."

Tori sent him a comforting smile. "Those rules don't exist either."

Really Dustin, get off of cable man, live a little.

Someone had watched one too many of those sleepover movies. Which were wildly inaccurate, in Tori's opinion.

There was another uncertain pause from Dustin's side of the van, but this one was more comfortable, considering. "Okay," he said eventually. "Sure."

After a few seconds Tori realized that this was actually his way of answering the question, as opposed to accepting the rules don't exist.

"Sure?" she echoed.

Dustin shrugged. "I guess he's cute."

It was a legitimate answer, not forced because she asked him; this was him giving her query some thought, going back to whatever references tv had given him and coming up with a conclusion. It wasn't exactly the most enthusiastic of conclusions, but it was honest.

Tori's smile widened. "You guess, or you know?"

Dustin tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Not really good at that 'knowing' thing."

His tone was part-bashful, part-embarrassed, indicating another problem of Dustin's - very low self esteem.

He wasn't dumb; he just…tended to focus on other things. Like, his mind moved faster than everyone else's, so while they were stuck back on whatever subject they were talking about his brain had already abandoned that track and moved onto something new. The upside: super creativity and unique approaches to problem solving. The downside? Major lack of focus, so he missed a lot of things. Add to this the fact that he knew he was missing out on whatever the rest of the group had picked up on…

His extreme focus was reserved for things he was really passionate about, like riding or ninja school or food. Tori was convinced he was a chef-in-training or something because his food skills were ridiculous; sometimes, when she picked him up for training, he brought her homemade peanut butter banana muffins or stuffed French toast sandwiches or pecan maple Danishes or-

Point was, when Dustin was really good at something he owned it, completely. And when Dustin didn't, he had trouble paying attention, which had eventually morphed into the belief his intelligence was below that of his peers, so he felt like less and apparently whoever he had been dealing with in the past had taken advantage of this feeling of low worth, so much so that it wasn't just hypothetical in Dustin's mind, it was a fact.

It was- she would work on it. They would work on it. Because Dustin wasn't a project, he wasn't a pet, he was a person and he deserved to feel good about himself; he should always feel good about himself.

Tori backpedaled, steering away from dangerous waters. "Alright, alright; 'guess' works for me."

Dustin looked down from the ceiling and shrugged, then paused and looked at her, his turn to ask questions. "Why are we talking about cuteness?"

Tori had to stifle a laugh. See, that would have probably been the first question on any other guy's mind. Providing that he actually stuck around after her initial query.

"I just wanted your opinion," she chirped. And you know, hopefully get the ball rolling so that Dustin would talk about the epic man-crush he had on Shane. Or maybe it was hero-worship? She wasn't sure.

Hence the conversation.

Of course, it didn't hurt that she had taken a liking to the air student herself…

Dustin gave her an uneasy look. "Why?" he asked. "Are we going to have to do this about other guys?"

They pulled up to another red light and Tori could see him eye window thoughtfully, as though he was considering jumping out.

Tori waved no. "It's just him."

The earth student sighed and leaned back in seat. Crisis avoided.

And now for the interesting stuff; she pressed onward. "Do you like him?"

Which was asked more for his reaction than the obvious answer, because she knew, YES, Dustin was a major fan of Shane and all Shane-related objects. Seeing as he constantly referred to the air students as "Shane and all those other guys" and didn't even know the names of half the people in his own elemental group.

The reaction she got was immediate; Dustin blinked and sat a little more upright, like he was nervous, and oh yes, she could feel the bromance.

"Yeah, he's cool," Dustin mumbled, trying to play it off.

Tori allowed herself an all-knowing smirk. "Just cool?"

"Yeah well," Dustin fidgeted and sunk down in his seat, the perfect example of bashfulness. Tori wanted to hug him (and would have, if it didn't mean possibly crashing her van). "He's the one that recruited me."

Tori was still reveling in the cute vibes so it took her a moment to process what he'd said; discovery and hidden pieces finally clicking into place. "So that's how you knew him."

It didn't seem like a normal recruitment tactic but, well, Victor and Teagan didn't seem all that normal anyway, and the mystery of Dustin's Shane-worship had finally been solved. Shane was a good guy, he had…well, whatever he had done had gotten Dustin to the school, and he was still a good guy so he looked after Dustin and-

Oh the stories she could write about these two. They were so damn cute.

She should really stop thinking that. Maybe replace cute with "manly."

Yes, they were so damn manly.

Dustin was still fidgeting nervously, looking out the window because his skills at downplaying things were nonexistent. "Yeah."

And hey- idea. Yes, there was a very wicked idea here.

She cast a nonchalant look Dustin's way, innocently suggesting, "We should talk to him."

The new reaction was even better than the last one.

Dustin panicked and latched onto the seat rest, wild eyes staring at her beseechingly. "About his cuteness?" he asked, color draining from his face.

Tori couldn't help it, she laughed, giving Dustin's arm a comforting pat. "No, I think we'll try a different topic of conversation first."

The earth student turned bashful, knowing he'd overreacted and feeling stupid for it; diverted his eyes to the window. "Yeah, that'll probably be better."

The hand on his arm gave it a squeeze, trying to employ those mannerisms she knew he perceived as comfort; trying to keep him from feeling bad.

"Don't worry Dustin," she said, smiling. She steered him towards more stable ground, changing the topic back to Shane. "We're too awesome for him not to like."

She could tell Dustin wasn't really feeling the notion himself but he believed in her, and he managed to give a smile back. "Yeah, we are aren't we?"

They are. Fact.

They pulled up to another red light and Tori was struck with an idea, sharing it immediately with an enthusiastic clap. "Our Friday thing should be a thing," she decided.

Dustin very appropriately made his I-don't-know-what's-going-on face.

Her smile widened. "Our made-up Friday thing," she elaborated, referring to the conversation they had with Dean. "We could make it a thing."

Dustin held perfectly still, facial expression firmly in place and eyes wide, waiting for her either to explain or condemn him for not understanding what she was getting at.

"A real thing," she said, making sure her tone was just as cheerful and patient as it was before and she wanted to hug, she did, but this was something they needed to get done before the light turned green and she needed to make sure Dustin was with her on this.

Based on the steadfast blank look adorning his face, the earth student was most surely not.

"With Shane," Tori coaxed and she finally got a reaction, Dustin making a new omg-heart-attack face. She continued before he could protest. Because he actually might this time. "Yep, that settles it; I'll take care of all the arrangements, don't worry about a thing."

Oh this was exciting. Tori had…well, she had a lot of acquaintances from the beach and from school that she liked to talk to and she had some friends, but nothing like she had with Dustin. Despite the lack of communication and the sometimes tip-toeing, they had something special, and Tori couldn't wait to expand that. Shane was a good guy. In Dustin's world, he was probably the best guy. Therefore it was only logical for him to be added to their little group. Clearly, this made the most sense.

Dustin was not agreeing with this conclusion though; wearing his nope-I-am-still-very-worried face but not (and this was the important part, because otherwise she would have called it all off) protesting. He wanted to do it, she could tell, he just- he was concerned.

But Tori knew, deep down, that he wouldn't have to be. Because if anyone would be okay, it would be Shane. The guy had stood up for Dustin; clearly that required some kind of good guy initiative and if he really was sucky Tori would be able to figure it out on Friday and-

Wait. Shoot, she was missing a piece to the puzzle here.

What she had walked in on had clearly been Shane standing up for Dustin, not- not like he was being bullied she didn't think, because one of the other students would have interceded before that and Tori was pretty sure Dustin was Teagan's favorite and that would not stand, not at all so…

Uncomfortable conversation, maybe. And then Shane stepped in upon seeing this and-

It made her wonder what they had been talking about. Dean and Dustin.

"Dustin?" Tori kept her tone light, not wanting to startle the earth student with a sudden emotional one-eighty.

His head snapped up; he'd probably been focusing on his lap while his fingers ran through his hair nervously; trying to convince himself the world would not come to an end because of a yet-to-be-had Friday thing.

"What did Dean say?" she asked, trying to keep her undying urge to know from leaking into her voice. "Before Shane and I showed up?"

Dustin went from worried to quiet and ashamed, almost folding in on himself when he replied, "He asked if I hit you."

Wait and-

"What?"

Tori couldn't help but sound mildly enraged as she pulled to the side of the road, somewhere in the suburbs and parked the car, giving Dustin her full attention. She wasn't sure if she was missing a few sentences or some context because Dustin could do that, unintentionally; he just gave her the things he had funneled from the situation which sometimes- yeah, that left out a lot.

Dustin flinched, thinking the anger was directed at him and before Tori could reassure him otherwise the floodgates opened.

"It's just-" he began, sounding panicked. "I was walking along and I wanted to go get changed and then he showed up and he was 'Hi' and I was all 'Hi' and I figured we were good but then he asked if I hit you and I told him we don't spar with water students until later but then he just laughed because it wasn't about the sparing I guess but he wouldn't explain it and then Shane showed up and they had an angry-grrr-stare contest and then you showed up and is 'hit' slang for something? Like a high five? Because I think Dean wants to 'hit' you but I don't know if that's good or that's bad or-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Tori said, grabbing the sides of his arms so that he will look at her, his eyes having wildly avoided her side of the van during his entire explanation. "Slow down tiger, one thing at a time," she coaxed, tone soothing. Dustin risked a peak at her, still uncomfortable and upset. "What were his exact words? About the hitting thing."

She had a feeling she already knew what it was, and Dustin didn't disappoint her.

"You hit that?" he said, trying to copy Dean's tone and mannerisms. "And then he nodded at you like-" He gave a jerked nod, trying to emulate the confidence and ego of Dean he just didn't have, and Tori glowered, glaring in the direction of the Wind Academy.

"That son of a-" She turned her attention back to Dustin who had broken into medium freaking out, scared, and she rubbed the sides of his shoulder. "First of all, you didn't do anything wrong, and I'm actually kind've glad you don't know what 'hit' is slang for." He gave a slow nod and eventually relaxed when she didn't get mad at him, and she continued, "And second of all Dean is a jerk so not-liking him, or anything that he says? That's okay. Do not waste any time on that guy alright?"

Dustin nodded slowly, relieved, and the tension in his shoulders let up minutely. "Okay."

She couldn't believe- Okay, now she got it. Dean had been using Dustin to get to her and Shane had stepped in, further supporting the good-guy-feels emanating from his person.

"Are you mad?"

It was asked so quietly Tori wasn't sure if she was meant to hear it, but when she looked at Dustin he was fighting for eye contact, full attention on her.

"Because people think I hit you?" he elaborated and then the eye contact was broken and he focused on the hands in his lap.

Tori wanted to say she was proud of him, because she knew it was hard, but wasn't sure if she could, if it wouldn't be belittling and she knew what she should say but she didn't want to cut off Dustin. He looked like he still had more to say.

"I know that-" he began then flinched and Tori found herself leaning forward and pulled herself back. No interruptions, it was Dustin's turn to have the floor. "I know I can be difficult and that like-" He shrugged but it wasn't nonchalant, he just wanted to seem nonchalant. "Most times I'm like a charity case, or a project or something. That's what girls like and if people think I hit you to be friends with me-"

There were so many things she wanted to say. Important stuff; affirmations they were fine, he was fine, but she focused on what was needed to be disabused at this exact second.

"No one thinks that," she blurted, and he looked up, startled, but she just held onto his gaze. "It's a euphemism, and a stupid one but no one thinks that and it's not bad and you-" She finally gave in to the all-encompassing desire and threw her arms around him, leaning forward and hugging him close. "-are not a charity case and I would be mad that you think so little of me but I know-" She pulled back to look at him, his eyes wide in surprise and shock, confusion. "I know what it's like to be scared. But we are friends Dustin. Not because I want to 'fix' you, but because I want to get to know you and spend time with you." She gave his arms one last squeeze before sitting back in her seat, looking at him smugly. "And that's just something you're going to have to deal with, okay?"

And then, wait for it, wait and…she got a smile. A real, slowly put on, bashful, legitimate Dustin smile. Not forced. Not laughing even though he didn't get the punchline. It was a Dustin smile, the third she had managed to coax into existence and she smiled right back, owning the world.

"Okay," Dustin echoed back, smile timidly growing. "I can work with that."

"Good," she chirped, putting her van into drive and pulling back onto the road. "Because you're gonna have to."

"Eh, could be worse."

She couldn't- wow, she almost hit something and Dustin didn't even look mildly apologetic when she threw a playful glare his way. He just shrugged, innocently, and Tori grinned.

This was the start of many magical things.

She could feel it.

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Endnotes:

Tori/Dustin good times for the win! Fear not, there is more next chapter. And we might even see some of that "Shane" guy we keep hearing so much about

Double rainbow thanks to Rogue Ranger and ValkyrieNyght for reviewing last chapter. You two already know how much I hearts you, but just to reiterate (because it never hurts) thank you for the lurve.

Until next time.