Tootie fidgeted slightly as she sat on the couch next to her best friend. The day continued to be one of the strangest the fourteen year old girl had ever experienced. She felt the couch depress as Chester slid a bit closer to her.
And her blond friend continued to ignore her pleas to wait until after the party to discuss their... Whatever was going on. It wasn't a relationship, not yet, and she wasn't opposed to it becoming such, but this little dance of theirs was beginning to feel more like a game of cat and mouse... And she wasn't the cat. She glanced to her right at Chester, who was looking at the TV, rather than her, but the content smile on his face made it clear he was enjoying their little game...
"When did you get rid of your braces?" she blurted out, and immediately felt like an idiot for doing so. "Oh yeah! Great job Tootie! Just tell him that you were basically sitting here daydreaming about him! Real smooth!" she did her best to ignore her subconscious at it berated her.
"Hm?" he looked at her in confusion. Either because he had gotten lost in watching the show on the television, or because he was surprised that she'd bring up his teeth, something that their group of friends knew he was self-conscious about, so it was rarely brought up. "Oh... Um- Last year, right around... Halloween, I think."
"Just in time for candy season, right?" "God, I suck at making small talk..."
"Yeah... Um... What about you?"
"...What about me what?"
"Your... braces?"
"Oh, right. We were talking about braces..." "Um... I kind of... didn't." Tootie blushed pink. "Maybe we should talk about something else." she laughed nervously, forgetting the fact that when you asked about something you had in common with someone, they tended to ask you in turn about said something.
"Uh... Yeah you did. You clearly aren't wearing braces anymore." Chester stated matter-of-factly as he pointed at Tootie's mouth, earning him a light swat.
"I still have braces... Technically." Tootie stuck her index finger and thumb in her mouth and slid them down, revealing a transparent plastic mold of her teeth that slid off with her fingers. "Vicki made me get them... she said braces made me look like a nerd. But... she did pay for them, so it's not too bad." Tootie slid the plastic mold back onto her teeth. "Won't need 'em soon, but they are way easier to deal with than braces."
"So... Vicki's not as mean as..." Chester sighed. "I thought..."
"I wouldn't go that far... Lately she's just been nicer to me and Timmy. And all nicer means for Vicki is that we usually get indifference, rather than meanness. Ugh... I hope she doesn't kill him..."
"Eh... Timmy'll be fine. He's survived this long with Vicki, I think he can handle a mall outing with her." as he finished, Chester yawned and stretched his arm over the back of the couch, letting it come to rest on Tootie's shoulders.
Tootie raised an eyebrow at this. "Really?" She felt herself suddenly get pulled against Chester's left side.
"Really." the blond kept his gaze fixed on the TV, but that confident smirk returned.
"Stop that!" Tootie pointed at him authoritatively(or so she hoped).
"Stop what?" he turned to look at her, clear and obvious(and fake) confusion on his face.
"That confident smirk! I get it, in your head, I've already agreed to go out with you, but you don't have to- Y-you're doing it again!" for the umpteenth time today, Tootie felt her cheeks heating up, though she knew by this point that there was no point in trying to hide her blush.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Chester stated plainly. "We're just two friends enjoying some crazy show about a teenager with ghost powers while we sit on the couch."
"I-! You-! You're such a-! Grr...!" Tootie lightly slammed her back into the back of the couch and crossed her arms over chest as her friend reclined along with her. "I hate you."
That was it. That last little interaction proved that she was officially the... 'girl' in this relationship, both physically and role-wise...
"C'mon now... Hate? What have I ever done to deserve your hatred?" Chester spoke with feigned sadness. Their little game was drawing to a close. Far more quickly than the bespectacled girl wanted to admit.
"How can I fall so quickly?! Yesterday, everything was fine, Chester and I were just friends like... Like AJ and I! Or Chester and Timmy! But today I'm-" Tootie had a mental war with her thoughts, a desperate attempt to give some rationality to her less-than-rational feelings.
Chester, on the other hand, was thinking much more lucidly. He didn't need to concern himself with whether or not he liked Tootie. He knew he did. And now that he had spent a bit of time around other girls(and Tootie had gotten over her crush on Timmy, for the most part), his certainty of this fact was even stronger. But... Maybe he was going about this all wrong. Something(and this he could tell, judging by her behavior now) was bothering her, eating at her, making her hesitate. This was not the Tootie he knew. "I've got an idea!" he remarked excitedly and turned to look at Tootie.
"An... idea? Um... Okay... what is it-Eep!" She hated that. Everytime she was surprised, Every. Time. She squeaked. That time Timmy kissed her on her birthday. That time he gave her his Crimson Chin action figure. There... there were others? Right? She couldn't remember! All she knew right now was the pounding in her chest, the hotness in her cheeks, and the lapse in rational thought and memory as she suddenly went from a seated position on the couch to a 'Why am I pinned under my best friend?!' position. "What are you doing?! Wha- What if AJ and those two walk in?! What if Vicki walks in?!"
"Then they'll walk in." Chester shrugged, a light pink dusting on his cheeks. His little plan had one more part to it, but the blond suddenly found himself wondering if it was such a good idea to go through with it...
Below him, Tootie felt just as nervous as he did, if not more. Her heart felt like it was trying to break through her rib cage! In all her wildest dreams and imaginings, Timmy never did anything like this! She always imagined it would be her that initiated this sort of closeness, pinned him to his couch, stole his first kiss-
Chester reached down and took off her glasses, placing them on the endtable next to the couch, earning him a questioning look. "Well I don't want to break them."
"Who was Timmy again?" Before she could form another semi-rational thought, Chester closed the distance between them, doing little more than bringing their lips into contact(it was their first, after all), but that brief second of contact was all Tootie needed to feel the fireworks going off in her heart. It wasn't that she hadn't felt such a feeling when Timmy had kissed her that time, but that was more like a bunch of hicks blowing up M-80s in their backyard. What she felt now... It was the damn fourth of July in comparison! "Wait!" Tootie sat up, nearly headbutting Chester, who quickly pulled away.
"What?! What's-"
Before he could finish, Tootie kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking the teen off of her so she could scramble off the couch and over to the door.
"Ow. Okay, that was-Ow..." Chester rubbed at his now sore chest. Okay, so as much as he liked the temper the small girl had, he definitely didn't like getting harmed during intimate moments. That was to be avoided. He looked up to see Tootie locking the front door, and closing all the curtains in the living room. "What... Was that for...?" the blond teen struggled to catch his breath. Tootie definitely had a lot more in common with Vicki than he originally thought.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Tootie returned to sitting next to Chester on the couch. "I just wanted some kind of early warning system in case AJ or my sister get back."
Chester took note of the fact that Tootie wasn't nearly as shy now, she even seemed... excited. Which meant his plan- "Ack!" he suddenly found himself roughly pushed back onto the couch as Tootie reversed their previous positions.
"Now, where were we again?" Tootie grinned down at him slyly.
Meanwhile, back at the plot...
Vicki sat at a bench in the mall, several candy cigarettes in her mouth, occasionally eating one and shooting her companion a glance. Much to her surprise, Timmy wasn't as horrified by her explanation as she had imagined he would be, though the red-head did subvert several... naughtier topics. Mostly because her own experience was lacking at the very best, and nonexistent at the worst. Though she wasn't an idiot, there were quite a few topics that she knew about- "Thank you, internet." -yet had intentionally avoided, mostly because they were in public. She supposed she could give him 'Part Two' later...
Still, she was impressed by how well her Twerp had taken her explanation. Though he was now seemingly deep in thought, judging by the stereotypical 'Thinker' pose he had adopted. There were a few occasions where he had opened his mouth, likely to question her on something else, only to close it and return to thinking.
"So..."
Vicki looked up as the brunet began to speak.
"Babies don't come from a stork?"
"The hell are they teaching kids in school these days?" "Ugh... No! Birds don't just fly to some baby factory and pick up a random baby whenever a man and a woman love each other very much! Your parents. Had. Sex. Nine months later, you were born. Same with my parents for me and Tootie, and your parents' parents. No birds were involved." "I sincerely hope." Vicki spat out all her candy cigarettes with an audible 'Pthah!' "These things suck. Least now I know why they stopped making them." she stood up and stretched, noticing Timmy giving her an odd look out of the corner of her eye. "Boys will be boys..."
"Where do you wanna go now?" Timmy stood up in turn, grabbing the bright pink bag containing... Vicki's nightwear.
"I... Hm... You still need to get me something, don't you?"
Timmy noticed that... there was a certain change in the way his babysitter looked. Maybe it was their little 'talk', or maybe it was his imagination, but the tension between them seemed to have dissipated, it was like she had somehow softened, or like the hard-edgedness that he attributed to her earlier was suddenly missing. "What? Carrying your things around for you and buying whatever you want isn't enough?" he smirked at her to let her know he was kidding. Of course he was going to get her a gift as well, he just didn't want her to be around when he did. Wouldn't be much of a surprise.
She grinned at him slyly in response. "No, it isn't." She turned away from Timmy and looked around the mall. Shopping had never been one of her favorite pastimes, she didn't have the patience to sit around trying things on, finding just the right color, waiting in line... Stealing was so much easier. However, it was also something she didn't need to do if someone was paying for all the things she wanted to get. At the same time, Timmy did need to go and do his own thing so he could pick up gifts for her... "I'mma go check out JCPenny, I guess." Vicki began walking off, only to be stopped by Timmy's fingers wrapping around her wrist, making her turn back to him with an expression showing clear amusement. "Aw... Are you getting clingy?"
"Clingy? No... I was gonna ask if you wanted some spending money..."
She was surprised that her little teasing remark didn't make him blush, considering less than a half an hour ago he was blushing bright red just from being in a store with her... "Nah, I'll take my time and just browse, meet me over there when you're done getting me my birthday gift." Again, she winked at him, and again, Timmy seemed unfazed by it.
"Alright, I'll try not to take too long. You're gonna behave yourself, right?"
"Behave myself?" Okay, that was genuinely amusing. The Twerp telling her to behave herself? "You're adorable." she rolled her eyes and walked away, laughing inwardly as Timmy hesitantly released her wrist.
"Adorable? I just don't want her getting into trouble while I'm not around..." Timmy muttered to himself as he rubbed the back of his head. She had explained to him what was going on between them, it was just a phase, hormones and... stuff. Which relieved him immensely, because the brunet was worried that he might actually have feelings for his babysitter. "Phew, dodged a bullet there!" Now all he had to do was figure out what to get the red-head... Though he did already have his own gift for Vicki, he just needed to go buy it, after having seen it in passing a few weeks earlier. What he wasn't sure of was what Chester and AJ would get for their babysitter. "AJ... he'd probably get a bell to hang around her neck..." Timmy shook his head back and forth as he ventured deeper into the mall...
Vicki's POV...
"He's into me." Vicki smirked as she looked at a clothing rack covered in t-shirts of varying colors. There wasn't a doubt in her mind of this fact, and that little lingering touch of his had convinced her one-hundred percent. Of course she had her suspicions, for a while, actually. The Twerp had been acting different around her for quite some time now... He probably thought she wouldn't pick up on it, but... "Spend enough time around someone, and you tend to pick up the..." Vicki picked up a purplish-colored shirt. Tootie's color. "Little things." She dropped the shirt with a huff and left the clothing rack.
So maybe he had saved her life more times than she could count, she had done the same for him... Okay, not as many times, but she had saved his life. "He's still beating me though... By a long shot." That was the whole reason she was doing her best to be... nice. He wouldn't accept her offer of a life debt a few years back, so this was her compromise. It took her two years to really try though.
Every day had been the same before then, she'd get up, telling herself 'Today will be different, today, I'll be nice to the Twerp'. "Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well..." As long as she started her day calling him 'Twerp', she couldn't manage it. Some part of her calling him Twerp just brought all her anger to the surface, it took a monumental effort on the red-head's part to actually try to really follow-through, to... Not be mean to him. She wasn't about to change for anyone else, only Timmy had saved her life, gone out of his way to keep from throwing her to the wolves; only he deserved a break from her usual self.
Vicki stopped in front of another clothing rack, this one covered in various types of pants. Mostly jeans, many of which already had rips in them, though she had no idea why. Who in their right mind spent money on pants that were already half-shredded? ...Someone who isn't in their right mind? "What am I even doing?" Vicki asked herself as she looked at the various pairs of jeans. A well-known fact was that Vicki had plenty of jeans, though ninety percent of them were black, and the same could be said for her t-shirts, nearly all of those were green, or light green. It took her actually standing around in a store and appreciating all the various items for sale for the red-head to realize- "I have a pretty boring wardrobe."
The red-head glanced over at a nearby mirror and was quickly proven right in her observation. Even today, she wore her usual green shirt, black jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. And of course, her hair was in a ponytail. She was a tomboy, in every sense of the word... Outwardly anyway. Vicki dressed as such because she was savvy about boys... And she supposed the entirety of the male species in general. That's not to say she didn't think she was attractive, quite the contrary, she knew she was, the soon-to-be twenty year-old simply didn't show it off, for there was no reason to. Boyfriends of the past would act like they actually liked her, but, in the same way that she had fooled so many adults, they tried to fool her. In the end, there was one thing on their minds... And that was her choice, not theirs.
Huffing at her reflection and its judgmental sidelong glance, Vicki pressed on through the store, stopping in front of another clothing rack, and immediately blushing. Not because the rack held anything naughty(like that would've made her blush anyway), but because it held articles of clothing that she could never see herself wearing, except for a few years ago, when she had that temporary lapse in sanity. She reached out and(shakily) curled her fingers around one of the items, then pulled it off the rack to look at it more fully. Were this a cartoon, she knew her mouth would probably look like some odd zigzag as her blush deepened from pink to red, it felt like a thousand eyes were all looking at her, waiting for her to make some humiliating decision... Challenging her to do it, expecting her to chicken out...
But Victoria Valentine was no chicken.
Timmy's POV...
"So, now that you're an accessory to theft, what else do you have planned for today?" Timmy's hat spoke up, now that he was free and clear from the presence of his evil babysitter.
"It's not like I planned that, Wanda." Timmy stated in mild annoyance as he walked through the mall proper. Sometimes he wished his godmother wouldn't try to act like his conscience, he had one of those already, and it constantly reminded him of his past mistakes, having someone else to do that, only much louder and naggier, was not on the brunet's wish list.
Then there was the fact that the fourteen year-old was currently walking through the Dimmsdale mall; a very crowded place with plenty of witnesses, while talking to his hat. He'd already be screwed if Crocker were around, but luckily, he could probably just play off that he had a bluetooth headset behind his rather long brown locks. And finally, maybe he could fall back on an even better(because it was partially true) argument: He was insane.
"Yet you still went along with it."
"As opposed to what, exactly? If I paid for the food, I probably wouldn't have had enough money to get presents for Vicki from myself, Chester and AJ. Besides, I seriously doubt that people sneak out of that restaurant through the vents really often, and I'm not gonna make a habit out of it, so why does it matter?"
"It was that kind of attitude that put you in this situation, don't forget that, Timmy. You feel bad for what you did to Vicki when you were ten, so here we find ourselves, with you trying your best to make up for something she doesn't even know you did. Now, you're adopting her way of thinking, steal from whoever, and take what you want..." She wasn't intending to sound chastising toward her godchild... In truth, she was merely worried about him. Making up to someone who treated him with little more than disdain on good days, and outright hatred on bad days, then him getting 'the talk' from her, and the odd feelings that she could sense from her godchild... Vicki wasn't quite trying to corrupt him or anything, but... The pink-haired fairy wasn't sure what Timmy's once-evil babysitter was trying to do, all she did know was that... "Honey, I just want you to be careful and safe, all right? I understand making friends with Vicki, and even making sure she actually has a happy birthday, but please promise me, and Cosmo, that you won't take it too far? Make sure you know the limits of what you should do. Even if it is Vicki's birthday, you don't have to follow her orders and do things unquestioningly..."
Timmy sighed as his godmother finished. Of course she was worried about him, he understood that, and she probably understood that she sounded like a second conscience at times, but even so, she was right. "I'm not... Letting Vicki talk me into anything... She deserves a good birthday, sure, but... I can't explain it... I want her to see me as... Trustworthy, I guess? I don't really know..." Timmy pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes closed.
Much to the brunet's annoyance, he was beginning to feel... a certain draw toward the red-head that he couldn't explain. She had tried with her talk of love and kissing and... Sex... But even her explanation of hormones didn't quite appease his thoughts. When he had grabbed her wrist earlier, he felt some kind of... weird spark. Kind of like static, only... Not. It somehow felt nice to hold his babysitter's hand- Well wrist, but still. The contact between them felt nice. It brought a sense of calm to the teen even as he felt his heartbeat quicken some.
"Timmy? You're about to-"
THUD
"Ack!" Timmy fell over upon crashing into one of the many support pillars dotted throughout the mall.
"Crash into a pillar..." Wanda deadpanned as Timmy picked himself, then her back up and returned her to on top of his head.
"Right. Um... I promise... What you said. Definitely... To both of you." Timmy remarked absently as he continued his journey through the mall, making Wanda roll her eyes. "Gotta remember to watch where I'm going..." "So... what do you guys think I should get Vicki? It's gotta be... something she'll use, but... seem like gifts from Chester and AJ."
"What about you?" Hat-Wanda asked.
"What about me what?"
"What are you gonna get her?"
"I...'ve had my eye on something for a while..." A lie. He had seen it in passing many months ago during a trip to the mall with his mother, and only now realized the gift was perfect for Vicki... Hopefully.
"And you're sure it's still here? What if it's been sold since you saw it?"
"I don't think it's unique or anything. Even if they have sold it, I'm sure they'd have another to replace it... Maybe." Okay, he hadn't thought of that. The little necklace he was sure she'd like was pretty, and how was he to know if someone would've picked the thing up and bought it? And suppose it was unique? Then what could he do? "Okay, worst case scenario, I might need you guys to wish it up, but hopefully it'll still be there."
"But! You can't wish for things like that! It's stealing!" Wanda exclaimed rather loudly, though Timmy's fellow mall-goers ignored his talking hat, thankfully.
He knew that was coming. "I meant for it to be in the store! Of course I'm going to buy it! Why else would I have dipped into my savings?" Timmy quieted down as he entered the familiar jewelery store and walked over to the counter, feeling a wave of relief come over him as he spied the cause of his mini mental breakdown.
Sitting in the counter's display case was a pink, square-cut gemstone on a silver chain. The same one he had seen before... or was it? He supposed it didn't matter. What did matter was the price... For it had been marked down, from an even hundred to a far more affordable thirty. Not to say Timmy wouldn't have paid the full price for the necklace, but he couldn't help but inwardly smirk. Maybe the Fates had conspired in his favor for a change?
"Can I help you?" a rather bored-sounding voice shook him from his admiration of the small jewelery piece, and he turned his attention to its source as a magazine was lowered to reveal a blonde woman in... either her late teens or early twenties, probably not far from Vicki's age, if he had to guess. Her face matched her voice quite well, that is to say, bored, though her blue-gray eyes were vibrant, the eyes of someone who dislikes their job, but is probably more fun outside of work. Her hair was somewhat short, not quite reaching her shoulders, yet long enough in the front to cover her right eye, and she wore a plain, black t-shirt, pinned upon which was a nametag, revealing the girl's name as 'Heather'.
"Um... Hi." Timmy waved at the girl, who loudly popped her gum in response. "I was... hoping to purchase something?"
"Shocker." Heather deadpanned, then pulled out her gum and stuck it somewhere behind the counter. "You know what you want?"
"The... This one..." Timmy pointed out the piece he had been staring at, then returned his attention to the blonde woman. "Is the price tag on here correct?"
"Not like it'd matter if it wasn't." the woman shrugged, clearly not caring if she made a sale or not. "If it says thirty, I have to sell it to you for thirty, no exceptions." Heather walked over to where the aforementioned necklace was and slid a small door open to retrieve it, then took it out, removed the price tag, placed it in a small velvet box, and wrapped a small green ribbon around said box. "Thirty."
Timmy shot the girl a bemused look as he took the money out of his wallet. "How did you..."
"Hm? Know it was a gift? You're easy to read, no offense." Heather took the money and pocketed it.
"She's allowed to do that?!" "What do you mean... easy to read?"
"Well... You came in here and immediately locked on to this little thing, and... you've got the look about you." she slid the box over to him, sending it off the counter and into the brunet's waiting hands. "I hope she likes it."
"Um... Th-thank you!" Timmy blushed as he pocketed the little box and dashed out of the store.
"Hm." the blonde relaxed behind the counter and leaned on her elbow, while supporting her head with her hand. "To be young and in love..." She snickered at this, then sighed. "Teenagers..."
Timmy stopped at a pillar and leaned against it to catch his breath.
"Why did you run out of there like that?" Wanda spoke up.
"I... don't really... know..." the brunet spoke between gasps for air. Actually, he did. The apparently psychic girl freaked him out. And he had 'the look' about him? What on Earth did that mean? "Okay..." Timmy sucked in a large breath of air and stood up straight. "Just need to get two more gifts from Chester and AJ now..."
"Any ideas for what you want to get her?"
"Well... Maybe-"
"Ooh!" Cosmo exclaimed, interrupting his way into the conversation. "Why not wish yourself into Gah again?! That way, you'd be a hunky Norwegian model, and it'd make Vicki happy!"
"...Cosmo, no." Timmy spoke plainly. "This is a gift from AJ to Vicki. AJ can't turn me into a Norwegian model, no matter how much science he has. Thank you for offering though. No... AJ would... he'd get her something practical, something she could use... C'mon, think like Brainiac..."
"Why not wish for it?" Again, Cosmo tried to help.
"Ahm... Probably not the best idea... I don't think my brain can handle thinking like a supercomputer... Oh! I've got it!" adjusting his backpack's shoulder strap, Timmy darted off deeper into the mall...
At Timmy's house...
Tootie released a sound somewhere between an 'Mm' and a whine as she separated her and Chester's lips from each other with a low smacking sound. "Hah... You're not a... very good listener..." the raven-haired girl looked down at Chester, who was now grinning quite confidently, likely because his hands were beneath her skirt... and halfway up her thighs.
"Sorry. Blood's goin' somewhere else. Somewhere not my ears."
"I had almost forgotten how much of a perv you are..." Tootie got off Chester and slid over to the other end of the couch to grab her glasses. "Now that we got that out of our systems-"
"I didn't get anything out of my system... In fact, I think I got something in my system..." the confident grin remained on the blond's face as he looked at Tootie.
The girl shook her head at this, but smirked as well. Some part of her brain kept telling her that they should... take things slow at first, maybe go on a date or two, have dinner, see a movie... Wait for her sister's consent... Yet Chester's sudden and completely unexpected kiss, coupled with him taking control(again, at first) had thrilled her. She found herself not caring about waiting, nor taking careful steps in the relationship. Here was a guy, a very close friend, who was very much willing to give her affection, and Tootie knew better than to pass up an opportunity being handed to her on a silver platter.
However, that didn't mean she was about to go screwing around before Vicki even knew that she was in a relationship. Unlike Timmy(who she knew had paid no attention in class when their teacher went over... certain parts of the human anatomy), Tootie was well aware of the consequences of going too far too fast in a relationship. Fourteen was not a desirable age to have kids at... Not to mention that she had a similar frame of mind to her sister when it came to sex. Make him work for it.
Temperance was key here.
"Then I suggest you endeavor to get it out of your system." Tootie stood up and pulled the curtains apart, illuminating the living room with the afternoon sun. "We've had a bit of fun, now we have to make sure everything goes off without a hitch."
"Can we have fun later?" Chester sat up and looked at Tootie excitedly, not unlike a dog whose master was holding a treat in front of it, though he kept his tongue in his mouth.
"I will... consider it." In truth, there was nothing for the raven-haired girl to consider. They would have fun later, most definitely. And as long as she could control herself(and Chester could control himself) everything would be fine... Just... Fine.
"You wanna call them then?"
"What are you in such a rush for?" Tootie shot him an accusing look. "We don't even know when AJ and those two will be back, and Timmy needs to pick up gifts for my sister from himself, you, and AJ. Knowing Vicki, they'll be lucky to not end up in jail by the end of the afternoon!" Tootie chuckled, finding the idea of her best friend and sister sharing a jail cell to be amusing.
"Well then... Maybe just check up on them to make sure neither one has ended up six feet under, courtesy of the other? I mean, Timmy's my best friend, so obviously I don't want anything to happen to him, but Vicki's your sister. I'd like to... be able to ask her if me and you is... Okay, y'know?" Chester rubbed the back of his head nervously, clearly on edge now that there was more blood rushing to his brain, rather than his 'head'.
"Isn't it a little late to ask her permission? We already made out, and you have trouble keeping your hands to yourself..." She hadn't pegged Chester to be all... Official like this. He was usually pretty laid back, but asking Vicki's permission to date her? "Would it really make you feel better if I called and checked up on them?"
"Yeah..." the blond replied sheepishly.
"Fine. I'll give Timmy a call." Tootie grabbed her phone and looked out the window, keeping an eye out for AJ and the two popular girls... "They sure have been gone a while..."
Thump
A light weight on her shoulder alerted her to the fact that her new boyfriend didn't have much comprehension of personal bubbles. "And I just called Chester my boyfriend. Great." "Something wrong?"
"I just-" Chester stopped as Tootie's finger came to rest on his lips.
"It's ringing."
"What's up, Toots? Everything okay?" as he spoke, Timmy looked over a book he had gotten for Vicki, thinking it'd be the type of thing AJ would pick up for her... Considering he'd normally get her nothing.
"Um... You tell me? You two have been gone for a couple hours now... You both still alive?"
"Let me check." Timmy held the phone between his shoulder and head and checked his pulse. "Seems like it. And Vicki's off doing her own thing, so I'd guess that's she's fine... How are you and Chester doing?" Timmy grinned slyly as he wrapped the book in some colorful tissue paper he bought, following it with a green stick-on bow.
"Wha-What's that supposed to mean?! Chester and I are just fine! We're waiting for you to get back!" at this, Tootie felt Chester wrap his arms around her midsection, while keeping his head right where it was on her shoulder. The action made her glare at him, and mouth the word 'Stop!'
"Wasn't supposed to mean anything." Timmy shrugged to himself as he looked at the other gift he had picked up, this one would be from Chester. A little-known fact was that the red-head liked video games, and had a particular interest in survival-horror, so Timmy grabbed exactly that. The only difficulty he had experienced had been in purchasing the game, since he was too young. Were it not for Wanda's intervention(pretending she was his mother), he probably wouldn't have been able to get her gift. He wrapped this one in differently colored tissue paper form the other, and gave it a different bow as well, then stuffed both into his backpack(Cosmo). "'Cept that a certain mutual friend told me you had the hots for him..." Timmy grinned evilly, realizing that for once, he was in the position that Vicki loved to be in. Teasing her sister and his friend.
"It isn't like that! I didn't- I mean, not at first! And Chester was just so... Just- Please don't tell Vicki! Please? Wait until you two get back from the mall, okay? I need to-"
Timmy leaned up against a pillar and stuck his hand in the air, making a motion like his hand was a sock puppet as Tootie rambled on needlessly. What did he have to gain by telling Vicki about Tootie and Chester? Truthfully, he was happy for his friends. Surprised by the turn of events? Sure, but happy. This meant Chester would finally stop trying to woo Trixie and Veronica(and complain to Timmy when his attempts failed), and it meant that Tootie... Well, had someone else to chase. Someone who might actually enjoy the raven-haired girl's advances. "Tootie."
"And that stuff in the closet? I'm serious. I'm over you... But! I don't want to stop being friends, either! I- ah... Um..." Tootie looked at Chester, hoping he'd back her up, only to find the blond trying to stifle a fit of giggles, earning him another glare, and a light elbow to the gut.
"When did we go from talking about her and Chester to me and the stuff in her closet? I really need to pay attention to conversations more..." "Tootie. I'm not gonna tell Vicki anything. I know better than that. You forget you're talking to your best friend here? ...So is Chester behaving himself?"
"What are you? Her big brother or something?" the blond snatched Tootie's phone away, hearing Timmy's mocking remark, and began defending himself equally mockingly.
"So it's true then? Tootie and Chester are now... Tootie and Chester!" Timmy laughed at his poor attempt at a joke. "Ah... Seriously though, I'm happy for the two of you, really."
"So... we're cool then?"
"Why wouldn't we be?" Timmy asked absently as he pushed off the pillar with Vicki's bag I hand.
"Well... Because you and Tootie... And... Hey, don't look at me that way... I know what you said, but I just want to make sure Timmy's okay with it, okay? Huh? Yeah, I'll ask... Sorry about that dude, guess I'm just... covering my bases, y'know?"
"I give you full permission to date my sister." Timmy broke out into a full-blown grin.
"Huh?!" Chester held the phone away from his ear, giving it a very confused look.
"Sorry." again, Timmy laughed to himself. "Just had to take advantage of the big brother comment."
"Ha ha... Anyway, is Red- I mean, Vicki still with you? Tootie wanted to check in, make sure she's okay... Don't give me that look!"
"Ah... to be young and in love..." Timmy muttered to himself. "I left Vicki in JCPenny so she could... Shop? I think she's shopping... If not, she's likely stealing... Which might make this a very interesting mall outing indeed."
"You-you don't sound very worried about that... Are you feeling okay?"
Timmy noticed the concern in his blond friend's voice. "I'm alright, today has been... Odd. Nothing I can't handle though. We should be back... Um... Hopefully within the next hour or so, I'm gonna go see what Vicki's doing, then we should head out. Everything over there all set?" Timmy slowed his pace as he saw the JCPenny sign come into view.
"Hm? Oh... Yeah! No worries, dude! It's nothing extravagant, but I think Vicki should like it... You uh- You get that thing I told you to get?"
"Yeah, I got your gift for Vicki, even managed to get something for- Or is it from...? Anyway, AJ won't get murdered either, so you're both good."
Chester breathed a sigh of relief as he walked over to the couch and sat down a bit closer than necessary to Tootie. "Thanks Timmy, I owe ya one."
"Eh, don't worry about it, you've already helped set up the party, and you're actually staying, despite knowing who the woman of the hour is, so we're good... I'm almost back at the store now, so I'll text you guys when we're on our way back, cool?"
"Yeah, alright. We'll see you when you get back, catch ya later." Chester hung up the phone and handed it back to Tootie.
"See? I told you they were fine." Tootie placed her phone on the endtable next to the couch.
"Alright, so you were right." Chester leaned into her, letting his head come to rest on her shoulder, mostly because he knew it would irk the girl.
"So... say Vicki doesn't give you permission... To... y'know... What then?" allowing herself to relax at last, Tootie leaned toward Chester, letting her head rest against his.
"Well..." the blond moved his hand up and interlaced his fingers with Tootie's. "Asking permission is just a... form... formal..."
"Formality?"
"Mm! That reminds me!" Chester moved his head up next to Tootie's, then planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "I love that big brain of yours too!"
"L-love?!" Tootie mentally screamed as she blushed pink. "What- What do you think you're doing?!" Without pulling away(much as her body tried to will itself to), the bespectacled girl looked at Chester like he had just grown three heads.
"...Complimenting you?" the blond shot her a quizzical look. "Did I... do something wrong?"
"You can't just... throw around the 'L' word like that! We haven't even agreed to a relationship yet! And we're like fourteen! How can either one of us know about love?! I mean, I like you, I really like you, I think I might kind of... Maybe..." Tootie's once pink blush darkened to red, she was almost positive her glasses were fogging up, making her take them off once again and wipe them on her shirt. "So maybe I love you too!" at this, the fourteen year-old girl's eyes went wide as she slapped her hands over her mouth, knocking her glasses out of them and onto the floor. "Did I really just say that?! Why would I- How can I be so stupid?!"
"...I was just saying it in a kind of... Friendly sort of way... Like, you love your closest friends..." the blond looked away shyly now. He certainly hadn't expected to get a confession out of the girl... He hadn't even been trying to get one in the first place! And in all honesty... He wasn't all that surprised by her confession. This was, after all, the girl that once said her love for Timmy burned with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns... Apparently when she fell for someone, she fell hard and fast.
"Could... we maybe... forget about this little... thing?"
Chester looked at Tootie, like really looked at her, and saw how terrified she suddenly was. "Oh... I get it... She thinks I'm gonna get scared away by her saying she loves me... Even over something as simple as a little slip of the tongue?" Sliding forward on the couch, the blond pulled Tootie's hands away from her face and held them in his own, watching as the girl before him continued to look at him fearfully, like their relationship had already been completely destroyed.
And he smirked at her. "You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to scare me off."
Back at the mall...
"Wonder if I should text her..." Timmy took out his phone as he wandered the clothing store he had left Vicki in. Despite her rather striking features, the brunet had yet to spot the birthday girl after about fifteen minutes of wandering the store. Not to say he was worried(okay, maybe a little), but he found himself hoping that she hadn't gotten caught trying to steal something...
"Dammit!"
Timmy stopped as he was passing a changing booth. The whispered curse that came from inside sounded suspiciously like-
"Why can't I find his number in here?!" Vicki sighed. "Because I've never had any reason to call him before now..."
"Vicki?" Timmy thought to himself. "Why's she looking for me? And what could she need me for...?" Walking back over to the changing room door, Timmy knocked on it.
"Be out in a sec!" she was using that sugary facade again.
"Vicki? It's me, Timmy, are... you alright in there?" he frowned to himself slightly as he realized his voice sounded concerned. Surely she couldn't have hurt herself in the changing room?
"...I'm alright. I was... just looking for your number in my phone... Guess I don't have it..."
Timmy pulled his phone out of his pocket and began texting. Unlike the red-head in regards to his number, Timmy did indeed have Vicki's phone number in his phone.
You do now.
A notification several seconds later indicated he had a text message.
Smartass.
The brunet rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone as he leaned up against the door frame of the changing room. "So what'd you need?"
"Your eyes... And your opinion."
Timmy noted how the second part was a bit hesitant. "'Fraid I'm pretty attached to my eyes. And as for my opinion... On what, exactly?"
"I want to... Know how I look." she stopped and thought for several seconds. "Don't get me wrong, I know I look goddamn amazing, but I... want a second opinion. To be sure."
"...You're... not wearing anything... naughty, are you?" Timmy felt his cheeks heat up ever so slightly.
"No! You think you're getting a free show in the middle of a clothing store?!"
"No! I- I was just making sure..." Timmy looked away, feeling somewhat ashamed, mostly because if Vicki had been wearing something naughty... He probably wouldn't have complained too much.
"You're a perv."
"I am not! ...What's a perv?"
Ignoring his question, the red-head continued. "And when I come out, you'd better not laugh at me!"
"No promises..." Timmy muttered under his breath.
"Huh?!"
"I said 'alright'! We really need to get back to my house for- I'm hungry." Timmy gave himself a mental pat on the back for his own quick thinking. "Almost ruined the surprise..."
"Too bad! Now..." shoving the changing room door open, Vicki stepped out and stood in front of Timmy, hands on her hips. "How do I look?"