A/N: Phew! Finally finished this chapter. Again, I apologize fr it being late... Well, to me, maybe you guys and girls are okay with my update speed. I'd really like to get these out a bit more often though, which is what I'm gonna try to do, but I can't promise a whole lot. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, leave a review if you don't mind, and stay tuned for the next exciting installment, where our(heroes? Let's say heroes) finally go to the pool! Also, special thanks to everyone, and AnonymouslyKnown0 for helping to get the ideas flowing.
"This..." Timmy looked to his right at the passenger seat, or rather, the person in the passenger seat. "...is definitely a bad idea." Currently seated to his right was the girl that some might say he was currently crushing on, Vicki Valentine.
And, for what had to be the fifth time inside of a minute, the brunet attempted to avert his eyes from the vision of beauty in said passenger seat, mostly because he'd veered into the oncoming lane three out of those five times. Yes, the red-head had quickly become a huge distraction for the hormonally imbalanced teenager. The main reason being her current attire... Or lack thereof. "Then again..." The sixteen year old glanced at the rearview mirror, spying the reflection of the girl in the backseat that he thought was his best friend, who was currently engrossed with texting someone on her phone.
He thought, because after Vicki had caught the two of them, with Timmy's hands practically all over Tootie, he wasn't quite sure if they were simply 'best friends' anymore... Or... No, Tootie was still his best friend, a somewhat heated and exciting moment wasn't going to change the fact that he still trusted the girl a great deal, but it was quite obvious to the brunet(even with him trying in vain to convince himself that it wasn't the case) that the raven-haired girl still had feelings for him. Strong feelings.
Unfortunately, Timmy had yet to confront and understand his own feelings for Tootie. He knew he enjoyed the heated moment in the kitchen... Not that 'enjoyed' did the moment justice, merely gliding his fingers over Tootie's skin had easily brought about one of the most intense feelings that he'd ever felt in his short sixteen years on Earth. It was exciting, but terrifying, he knew he shouldn't have done it, but he really wanted to, and that desire eventually won out over his better judgment.
But... Was that it? Could the more hormonally imbalanced part of his brain simply want to sleep with Tootie? ...Did Tootie just want to sleep with him? She certainly seemed to enjoy the more physical aspects of their friendship, and it had been quite some time since he'd heard the raven-haired girl say a certain 'L' word she was ever so fond of saying back when they were ten...
Timmy quickly turned his gaze back to the road as he saw Tootie begin to look up, though a barely stifled giggle from behind him indicated that she'd caught him staring anyway. The teen sighed as Vicki's words echoed in his mind again: 'What are you doing?' "I don't know."
Seeing that the road ahead was mostly clear of traffic, Timmy eased on the gas pedal just a little, since the two girls in the car had yet to decide on where they'd be going for lunch. His eyes once again drifted to the rearview mirror, and his friend's reflection therein. At the moment, he preferred the red-head over her sister for who he'd rather have sitting up front with him... But that was only because it was easier for him to predict Vicki's actions than it was for him to predict Tootie's. Vicki seemed to be on her way to dozing off, and since she had no idea of the brunet's motives towards her... He was probably in the clear.
But if Tootie had been the one to call shotgun first, and thereby secure the seat next to him... Who knows what she'd do. The teen girl probably assumed that she had a bit more freedom to do whatever she wanted with Timmy, since he'd obviously enjoyed touching her, and Vicki was still under the assumption that they were dating.
Luckily for the decidedly unlucky Timmy Turner, Tootie had gone back to texting, though he couldn't help but wonder if she was really texting someone, trying to mess with him, or if she simply knew that he was checking her out, and was allowing him to do so because she knew. Of course, being that he wasn't the type to turn down free eye candy(not even when he should be paying attention to more pressing concerns, like the road), Timmy's gaze slowly drifted over his friend's delicate form, taking in minute details that he'd never once concerned himself with before today.
With the girl wearing an old t-shirt, likely one that had shrunken from being washed and dried repeatedly over the years, the teen was able to see much of her arms, all the way up to the middle of her bicep. He'd never really thought to compare Vicki and Tootie's skin tones, but it was clear that, while both were fairly light-skinned, Tootie was a bit lighter than the red-head, probably due to Vicki enjoying sunbathing more than her sister. Also unlike Vicki, Tootie had significantly less freckles, the only visible ones being those on her nose, and even those were barely noticeable.
And Timmy noticed, much to his chagrin, that Tootie had... Curves. Nothing particularly significant for a sixteen year old, but she definitely had more curvy hips than Vicki did at sixteen, and the same could be said for her chest, her breasts being around the size that Vicki's were now. While Vicki was tall, Tootie was somewhat short. Where Vicki was more lean, Tootie was kind of filled out, though she couldn't be considered chubby or fat by any means.
"Gettin' ready to do a drive-by?" A sleepy-sounding voice drew the teen's gaze to his right, falling once more upon his ex-babysitter.
"Huh? I was... Thinking..." Timmy again turned his attention back to the road. The last thing he needed was for this outing with these two very attractive girls to end in a car accident.
"About doing a drive-by? Or... Is it someone in this car who's on your mind?" Vicki, still wearing his sunglasses, slid the eyewear down her nose, exposing her pink eyes to the brunet.
"I'm not doing a drive-by! ...Or looking at Tootie!" A pinkish tint appeared on Timmy's cheeks as Vicki's words sunk in. "I just figured I'd drive slower so you two could decide where we're going for lunch..."
"Oh right, I suppose we should figure that out." Using her index finger to push the pair of shades back up to cover her eyes, the red-head turned in her seat to talk to Tootie. "Any ideas, Toots?"
Stuffing her phone into her pocket, the raven-haired girl brought her index finger to her chin in thought. "Um... I could go for something... Oh! How 'bout Italian? Giovanni's?"
"Not with what you two are wearing..." Timmy muttered under his breath, pointing out the one reason that Vicki and Tootie's choice of attire was a hindrance to the three of them. The fact that they were both distracting him not being applicable, since he enjoyed the distraction.
"Oh, like you're all dressed up for a fancy meal yourself, Twerp." Vicki teased and rolled her eyes, her comment making the brunet look down at his own current attire, his trademark pink shirt and matching hat, and a pair of dark blue jeans.
"'Least some of us are wearing shirts..." Again, Timmy muttered, though purposefully loud enough so that Vicki could hear him.
"Keep it up, maybe I'll strangle you with the one you're wearing." That familiar dangerous edge was back in the red-head's tone, but in truth, the threat was quite empty.
Unfortunately for Vicki, Timmy knew this. "Really? I had no idea you wanted to tear my shirt off me, Vicki. Got something you wanna confess?" An approving giggle from the backseat made Timmy's previously small grin break out into a full smile.
Upon hearing this(and knowing she was blushing herself) the red-head glared at her sister, who was now trying to cover up her little giggle fit with her hands over her mouth. "Anyway... The Twerp's got a point, they're not gonna serve me at the very least, and I'm hungry. 'Sides Tootie, you know it's impolite to take advantage of a friend's generosity, even if he is a Twerp, he's still your boyfriend, and Giovanni's is expensive... Um... Why not Nasty Burger?"
"How 'bout because it's called Nasty Burger?" Tootie asked in obvious disgust.
"Y'ever been there?" Vicki raised an eyebrow at her sister.
"Well... No, Timmy, Chester, and AJ have, and Timmy got me a burger from there once..." The raven-haired girl admitted sheepishly.
Hearing his name, the teen glanced up at the rearview mirror again. "And you thought it was pretty good... 'Til I told you it was from Nasty Burger, then you just stopped eating it halfway through and threw it away." Timmy smirked at Tootie, who was now shooting him a death glare comparable to the ones he was accustomed to getting from Vicki.
"Aha! So you're just put off by the name! That's hardly fair, Toots. Why don't we take it to a vote-"
"Then again, there's also that new taco place that opened up." The brunet cut in, interrupting the girl to his right. "I think it's called-"
"Irrelevant, we're not having tacos, or anything spicy." It was Tootie's turn to interrupt, immediately shooting Timmy's idea down.
"Why not?" Again, Timmy glanced at Tootie's reflection in the rearview mirror.
"Wow, you really suck at being a boyfriend." Vicki deadpanned at the teen next to her.
"We aren't- I'm not her- That was-" The car's only male occupant sighed in exasperation, he was seriously considering smashing his forehead into the steering wheel a few times, but staved off the urge and managed to speak instead. "Would you care to enlighten me on why I'm such a terrible boyfriend then, Vicki?"
"Tootie hates spicy food. Even mildly spicy stuff really bothers her, I think she's just a wimp, but apparently her tongue has extra taste buds or something... I wasn't paying attention when the doctor mentioned what it was." The red-head spoke in a disinterested tone.
"Really Tootie?" "She never told me that... And... I never asked..." Timmy couldn't help but wonder if Tootie simply hadn't told him because she thought it wasn't important, or if it was his fault for not showing an interest in his best friend's life and asking her. It was only now that he could remember all the times Tootie had turned down spicy food he offered her.
At the same time, he was really glad he talked Chester and AJ out of putting hot sauce in her milk back when they were in middle school.
"Sorry Tootie, I just figured you weren't in the mood whenever I offered... Never knew it was because of a medical condition..."
"No!" Tootie quickly pulled herself forward, using the driver's seat as leverage as she moved up into the space between the front seats, causing Vicki to sit back down in her own seat. "Nononono! It isn't like that!" Surprising herself(and Timmy, making him look right at her), the raven-haired girl brought her arm up and let it come to rest reassuringly on Timmy's shoulder. "It's not like I'd die if I had spicy stuff, it just tastes much spicier to me, and I don't really like it. Guess... I never really thought it was all that important, so I never said anything."
"Oh, well... Alright then..." The teen; eyes still transfixed on Tootie, due to how close her face was, found that she, like her sister, had a rather unique eye color as well. Her irises were a somewhat vibrant shade of violet, not quite as striking as Vicki's pink eyes, but that may have been because of the glasses. "Have they always looked like that? Am I only noticing now because I might actually, possibly... Like her?"
"Ugh! You two... Want me to take over driving? I'm sure there's enough room in the backseat and trunk to get in a quick screw. Nevermind undressing someone with your eyes, you two are already fucking each other with your eyes..." Vicki spoke up, startling Tootie into retreating into the backseat, and causing Timmy to nearly instantly return his attention to driving down the street, a bright red blush visible on the faces of both teens. "Jeez, you could cut the sexual tension in here with a spoon..."
"S-so... Um... Have we... have we figured o-out where we a-all wanna eat?" Timmy nervously spoke up, hoping to change the subject as quickly as possible.
"I-I'm good with N-Nasty Burger. Uh... You two?" The raven-haired girl spoke up as she took out her phone and tried to look busy, hoping to make a(poor) attempt to hide her rosy cheeks.
"Th-That sounds good to m-me. Um... Vicki? Nasty Burger sound good to you?" Timmy's eyes stayed trained on the road, he was well beyond nervous now, and the last thing he needed was-
"Your face is red as a tomato..." Vicki ignored his question, opting instead to point out the obvious. "Which honestly surprises me, I'd have figured with two beautiful girls in the car, your blood would be heading somewhere... A little further south."
"For Vicki to start her teasing again..." "Rather have two beautiful girls than a couple of whiny freeloaders." Timmy; finally getting his nervousness and light stutter brought on by said nervousness under control, made a playful teasing jab at Chester and AJ. His two friends never made him buy them lunch, but they did think of him as their own personal chauffeur, one they could call on at all hours to give them a ride to... Wherever they needed to go. Sometimes school, sometimes the store, or the mall... Not to say he minded, not really, but it was nice to be able to just complain about them to someone.
However, Vicki had only heard one part of Timmy's reply, the part where he called both Tootie and her beautiful. The boy wasn't the type to miss a beat when she was fluffing her own feathers, usually he took the opportunity to throw in an insult, or at least disagree with her...
This time though... This time he'd definitely said she was beautiful... Or... He agreed with her statement, anyway. "But am I making this out to be more than it is? He really could be just agreeing with me..." After a few more seconds of thought, Vicki scoffed and looked out the window, propping her head in her hand as she leaned her elbow against the car door. "Nasty Burger's closest, both to us and your house. I suggest we hurry, your brain's clearly on the fritz." "And mine might be too, if I'm even entertaining this idea..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The brunet asked curiously as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Vicki, noticing her sudden shift in position.
"...It's nothing, just letting my mind wander..." The red-head trailed off as she finished, pretending it was the scenery that held her attention, and not the more curious thoughts blooming in her mind.
"Well that's not cryptic at all..." With a shrug, the teen turned into the parking lot of Nasty Burger. He knew from past experience that prodding Vicki wasn't the best way to extend one's life expectancy, so for now, he'd let her have her space. If she really had something important to say, she'd tell him at some point, he was certain of that fact.
"Hey!" Tootie shouted from the backseat, making her friend stomp the brake pedal and jump in mild surprise.
"Yeah, Toots?" Timmy looked into the backseat, now being able to do so without worry, since the car was stopped.
"Where're you going?" Tootie asked, a genuinely curious tone in her voice.
"The... Drive-thru? We agreed on Nasty Burger, remember?"
"Yeah, but why are you going through the drive-thru? We're not in any real hurry, why don't we eat inside?"
"Well... I dunno. I figured it'd make more sense to get the food and drive back to my house, eat there?" Again, Tootie's actions managed to surprise and confuse him. First she says she doesn't like Nasty Burger, then she wants to go inside the place she hates to eat?
"Ugh, I feel like a third wheel here..." Vicki groaned in annoyance. "You two could've told me this was a date, then I would've just gone over to Timmy's house and hopped in the pool by myself..."
"But then you would've missed out on a free lunch." Timmy added in helpfully, or so he thought.
"Except you two turn everything into a project!" The red-head laughed at the two teenagers, who were beginning to seem like a couple in everything but name, and to everyone except each other. "Just pick the drive-thru or eating in the restaurant so I can get some food in my belly!"
"Alright, since Tootie wants to, I guess; we'll eat inside." Turning his car back toward the building, the teen pulled into a parking space right by the door, and right next to a handicapped spot.
Vicki; now thoroughly tired of waiting, opened her door first and practically leapt out of the car, immediately stretching her arms and legs once she was out. "Sure you don't want the handicapped one?"
"No, I'm not handicapped." Timmy deadpanned as he got out himself and opened Tootie's door for her so she could as well, earning him a quick 'thanks' from his friend. "Sides, it's illegal to park in those spaces, much as I'm sure you love to do."
"What can I say? I'm a rebel... And as for your handicap? This car." Vicki tapped her fist against the old station wagon's hood. "If it weren't for Tootie, you driving this rust bucket around would pretty much guarantee that you keep your virgin card." With that, the red-head marched past Timmy and her sister, yanking the door to the fast-food restaurant open and heading inside while they looked on.
"You think she'll get refused since she's not wearing a shirt?" Tootie asked in an overly curious tone, bordering on sounding like a naïve little girl asking one of her parents how the world worked.
"Not if the employees value their lives-" Timmy froze up as he felt a light thud on his left shoulder, then turned his head slightly to find Tootie's face inches from his, her lips curled up into a cute little smile, which was soon followed by the feeling of the girl's arms looping around his left forearm. "Thank you, Universe. I wasn't quite sure if Tootie still liked me, but this? Yeah, this tells me everything I need to know..." "So... Um, nice weather today, huh?" Timmy tried to act nonchalant and indifferent about the girl's sudden closeness, but he was almost positive Tootie could see through his act. She tended to pick up on little tells he didn't even know he had.
"S'aright." The girl shrugged, tickling Timmy's arm as both of hers brushed against it. "Bit hotter than I'd like, and it's not even noon yet, which means it'll only get hotter-and I saw you staring at me in the mirror."
It took only a moment for his friend's words to sink in, making Timmy's blush return in full force as he snapped his head to the right, away from the girl who was very nearly hanging off of him now. A few seconds passed before the teen released a sigh, knowing there was no way for him to get out of his current situation. "Of course you did... How could you not?"
Tootie, picking up on the slight anguish in her crush's voice, hugged his arm a bit tighter. "So what's wrong with that? I don't mind you checking me out... I think you know that better than anyone..."
The teen let his gaze slowly drift back to Tootie, still unsure in regards to what was going on with his very screwed up emotions. "What's wrong is that I like Vicki. I asked your for your dad's permission to date Vicki. Tootie, for the past few months, the only girl I've thought about romantically has been Vicki."
"...And?" The girl raised an eyebrow at him curiously.
"What do you mean 'and'? You know what the problem is, Tootie. After what happened in the kitchen, I can't help but look at you and..." Timmy paused, wondering if it was such a good idea to tell the girl that, after eight-ish years of on and off friendship, he might actually like her... As more than just a friend. He'd have to tread carefully here, and to do that, he needed a bit of confirmation from the girl. "Do... do you still like me?"
"Is that even a serious question? You think I'd be right here holding your arm if I didn't like you?" The raven-haired girl spoke in a very matter-of-fact tone. Obviously, she was quite certain of her feelings for him.
And he had to admit, his conflicted feelings felt slightly less burdened now that he knew for sure that Tootie liked him... He still had more questions for her though... "But... But what about Chester? The deal we had? You help me with Vicki, and I help you with him?"
"Timmy, no offense, but... You're not so naïve that you think I'm incapable of lying, are you?" Tootie grinned, honestly just happy that she could be so close to her longtime crush without him pushing her away, despite him knowing that her adoration for him was still alive and well. "You really didn't think about all those times I hugged you? People who are 'just friends' don't nuzzle cheeks ya know..."
"Well... I guess not, but... You've always been like that with me. I just figured you were an affectionate person..." The brunet glanced down at his still captive arm. He found he was oddly content to stay like this, with Tootie holding his arm like she was. While he was generally put off by Tootie's more forward advances... He could certainly get used to her being calm like this...
"Except, have I ever been like that to anyone but you?"
The raven-haired girl had a good point there. Thinking back, it was exactly why her telling him that she liked Chester surprised him. The news was very much out of the blue; she went from almost never mentioning their blond friend(unless they were all together) to talking about him at length in the span of a few days. Whether it was what he liked to do after school, his hobbies, if she could have his phone number...
A definite silver lining, the brunet realized, was that he hadn't yet told Chester about the girl's feelings, and what a silver lining it was. Either the blond would get all hyped up just to find out that Tootie didn't feel that way, or, even worse, he'd think that Timmy was now trying to steal Tootie back. "...I really shouldn't be as surprised as I am."
Tootie chuckled at the look of understanding painted all over her crush's face. "Heheh... No, probably not. ...Still, I am sorry for lying to you, even if it was just a little one. Forgive me?"
"Like she even needs to ask?" Timmy watched as Tootie's eyes widened, giving him that innocent stare and making it look like the girl would cry if he said no. "Agh... Alright, alright! I wasn't even mad in the first place, no need to give me that look..." The teen hung his head defeatedly. "So... What now?"
"Now? Now we have lunch! I'm starving too, y'know!" The raven-haired girl at last released Timmy's arm and took a step back, hard as the action was for her to do.
"No, I mean... Tootie, I still like Vicki, that fact hasn't changed." He turned to look at her now, his back to the restaurant.
"But you like me too, right?" Tootie leaned forward in a playful manner, hands behind her back.
"...I dunno... May...be?" Timmy's face flushed red as he spoke, yet was somehow able to keep from slapping his hands over his mouth this time. "I mean... I like being around you, and I trust you; you're my best friend..."
"And I know you liked what happened in the kitchen, and I know you've been checking me out since it happened..." She teased him, absolutely loving how flustered she was making him.
"I... I just don't know right now... I get that you like me, and I know I like Vicki, just like I know that I... Enjoyed what happened earlier today..." The brunet paused. He honestly wished he had more time to figure himself and the two sisters out, but he wasn't about to bug Cosmo and Wanda while they were on vacation, and time-influencing wishes had the habit of almost always backfiring on him anyway. Which brought another idea to his mind: Could he maybe just tell Tootie he needed more time to figure things out? There was no way she wouldn't eventually tell him to choose her or Vicki, and there was no doubt in his mind that choosing the red-head over her sister would irreparably damage his relationship with her... "Tootie... I know I feel... Something, okay? But... This is a bit much for me to take in right now, so... Could we maybe talk about it later?" He hated how much he was hesitating lately. Feeling unsure about everything... It annoyed the teen to no end, so he could imagine how he was making Tootie feel, or even Vicki! What with not even being able to just decide on where they'd have lunch...
Tootie crossed her arms, then brought her right hand up to her chin in thought, using her left arm to support her right. On the one hand, she really wanted Timmy to say that he liked her, all those years of chasing him were so close to paying off!
Yet, on the other hand, she didn't want to put Timmy in such an uncomfortable position as she now had. She'd been the one to listen to him gush about how he got this weird feeling around her sister, just as she'd agreed to his plan to request her dad's permission to date Vicki, and just as she knew the way Timmy's heart rate sped up when he thought about Vicki. That was one place that, to her knowledge, her older sister had her beat. If she wasn't one-hundred and ten percent sure that Timmy liked her the same way he liked Vicki, then there was little point in pursuing a relationship with him, they'd have their fun, then likely go their separate ways when what little romance there was fizzled out, and she definitely didn't want that. "Maybe... I could..." A devious plan wormed its way into the raven-haired girl's head, making her mentally grin. "You know what? I think you're right. I've... I probably need to give this a little bit more thought myself, and I'm not exactly making this easy on you, so yeah, let's take some time to figure each other out, 'kay?"
"R-really? You're okay with it?" The brunet stared at her, mouth agape and barely believing that Tootie had really said what she did.
"Well, I do have a bit of an advantage. Vicki doesn't even know you like her, but I most certainly know you feel 'something', as you put it, for me. So for now, that's good enough." Tootie shrugged and stepped toward Timmy, then passed him and pulled the entrance door to Nasty Burger open. "Seriously though, I need food, or I'm gonna collapse." She offered a warm smile to her friend as she finished, not leaving even a hint to the plan she was currently formulating.
"And... You're really okay with this?" The brunet moved toward the door Tootie held open for him, clearly intending that he go in first.
"Yes!" The girl laughed at Timmy's overly cautious behavior, giving him a light kick in the rear as he passed her. "Just buy me lunch already!"
Inside Nasty Burger...
"Um... Miss?" The cashier shot the red-head before him an odd look. In truth, he probably should've refused to serve her, considering her attire, but the manager was out at the moment, and business had been pretty dead today, so he figured: why not overlook a rule or two?
That being said, he was beginning to wonder if serving this girl was such a good idea. She'd been contemplatively staring at the menu above him for close to ten minutes now, and while she was the only customer, he ran the risk of getting chewed out by either his manager or a supervisor if he didn't deal with customers in a timely fashion.
"Hm... What are they waiting for...?" Vicki muttered under her breath, though unfortunately still loud enough for the lanky, dark-haired cashier behind the counter.
"Uh, what was that? I couldn't quite-" The cashier began to lean forward to try and hear this odd woman better.
"I'm ready to order, but I'm waiting for my sister and this guy she likes." Vicki cut him off. Were she still a teenager, she might think the blue-eyed guy to be cute, though the thin strip of facial hair on his chin made him look a bit stupid. Yet... he seemed somehow familiar, she'd certainly seen him somewhere... "Maybe one of the kids I used to babysit?" Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the door she had come in through open again, making her turn her head and watch as Timmy and Tootie finally came into the restaurant. "Took you two long enough. Order your food so I can stop standing here like an ass."
"Right... Um... Ladies first?" Timmy offered to the raven-haired girl, eliciting a facepalm from Vicki.
"Great, forty more minutes of these two going back and forth, telling the other to go first... Shit, I'd rather hang out with Heather than these two..." However, much to Vicki's surprise, Tootie took Timmy up on his offer, responding with nary more than a small smile as she stepped up to the counter. "Something happened." The red-head turned her attention to Timmy, noticing a somewhat glazed-over look in his eyes. The telltale sign that he was deep in thought about... Something. Usually something important, in her experience with the brunet's mannerisms. "You gonna propose to her or something?"
After a few moments of silence, Timmy glanced around at his surroundings, realizing that Vicki had asked him something, and he'd completely missed it. "Sorry... What? I was... N-nevermind, it's stupid. What were you saying?"
"I asked if you-" Vicki sighed tiredly, for once not quite feeling up to teasing the boy. "Forget it, I wanna ask you something."
The teen raised an eyebrow in curiosity, expecting Vicki to ask her question, but opted to speak up when it was clear she wasn't going to. "Alright... Shoot."
Leaning a little bit closer to the brunet, the red-head pointed past Tootie at the cashier she'd kept waiting for so long. "That guy seem familiar to you? I could swear I've seen him somewhere, but I can't quite place him..."
"Why am I not surprised..." Timmy mumbled to himself, not realizing that Vicki's current proximity meant she could easily hear him.
A fact the girl was keen to remind him of by roughly pinching his cheeks with both hands and pulling on them, eliciting a loud cry of pain from the teen. "Remember who you're talking to, Twerp."
"Ah! Ow! Le-lemme go! I was just saying that you barely remember most people you meet, unless there's a good reason for you to! Ah, Vicki...!" Timmy's hands fell over his tormentor's, pushing her hands closer to his cheeks so she at least wasn't stretching them.
"And I'm well on my way to forgetting that you want to be friends with me!" With the teen keeping her hands pinned at his cheeks, Vicki began twisting the skin she was pinching back and forth, earning more whiny cries of pain from her target. "Now tell me if you know who he is before I rip your cheeks off!"
Looking past the raven-haired girl who was currently making a valiant effort to order her food amid the loud commotion behind her, the cashier glanced back and forth between her and the strange fight going on behind her. "Um... You wanna help that guy out or...?"
"Hm?" Tootie looked over her shoulder at Timmy and Vicki, briefly scoffing at their behavior before turning her attention back to the menu. "Nah, he's just messing around, and she won't really hurt him... Probably." The girl looked at the cashier's nametag, indicating his name as 'Chip'. "...Your last name wouldn't happen to be Skylark, would it?"
The dining room of Nasty Burger suddenly fell silent as Vicki slapped her hand over Timmy's mouth, silencing his cries as she looked over her shoulder and shot the cashier a glare that could turn anyone's spine to ice. Very brittle ice. "Skylark? Chip. Skylark?" With her annoyance focused on someone who she felt was more deserving of it, Vicki released the brunet and turned completely around to face the pop-star she once had a massive crush on, her mouth twisted into a murderous grin.
"Uh... N-no, I'm- I'm Chip... Um... Sobchak! Yeah! Chip Sobchak! I've... heheh... Been told I look... a lot... like..." Chip shrank back behind the register as Vicki stepped closer. He was completely overcome with terror as the memories of this woman came flooding back. The last time they'd met, she kidnapped him, and his terror only grew as he realized there was absolutely no way she didn't know that 'Icky Vicki' was a song he'd written about her. "Ohgodpleasedontkillme!"
Vicki; feeling downright gleeful at how fearful she made Chip with nothing more than a glare, reached over the cash register and curled her fingers around the twenty-something year old's shirt collar, pulling him up from behind the counter until his face was mere inches from hers. "Gotta say, Chip. This is the last place I expected to run into you... How's that singing career going?"
"N-not uh... Not well... I'm ah... Kind of in a bit of a songwriting slump right now, just um... Trying to make ends meet...?" Chip's voice raised several octaves in the span of his sentence, nearly reaching a high-pitched squeak as he finished. He audibly gulped under Vicki's scrutinizing gaze, hoping against hope that she wouldn't kill him... Much as he probably deserved it.
"Hmph." After a few seconds, the red-head stood up straight and frowned, releasing the ex-pop star and causing him to drop onto the floor, landing on his rear-end. "...Were I still sixteen, I might be tempted to shove the business end of a spatula up your ass... But knowing your career's over... Well, I think that's more than I could've hoped for, so how 'bout you just take our order?"
"I- Uh... I can d-do that..." Chip pushed himself up off the floor and straightened his shirt collar out. "What... What can I get you three?"
A few minutes later...
"Was that really necessary?" Tootie asked as she poked at her cheeseburger with a plastic fork, evidently still debating whether or not she wanted to eat it.
"Huh?" The red-head glanced to her left at her sister, mouth agape, as she had been about to take a bite out of her own burger. "Was what really necessary?"
"I think she means making Chip crap his pants." Timmy spoke up before taking a sip from his drink.
"Oh that..." Vicki nodded in understanding. "Yes, it was necessary. That jackass made money off of a song that made me internationally known as a cruel, heartless person-"
"Not to mention he insinuated that you were Icky!" Timmy interjected in an almost gleeful tone. Not because he thought Vicki was Icky, but because he really, honestly enjoyed watching Vicki scare the Hell out of the once-popular singer... Actually, he got a thrill out of watching her scare most people, the fact that it was Chip was just a bonus, really. He was also pretty happy that neither the red-head nor Chip seemed to remember any involvement he had in that song.
"Right?" Vicki smirked at the brunet diagonally across from her, happy that he was taking her side in this situation. "See? Timmy's got my back on this one. You have any idea what that kind of attention can do to an insecure sixteen year old girl?"
Tootie rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of her sister's statement, but the brunet couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt upon hearing his ex-babysitter's words. "It... Did it really bother you that much?"
"What? No!" Vicki laughed off Timmy's concern. "C'mon Timmy, do I really look like some delicate little flower? I know I'm like, an eleven in terms of looks-"
"And so very modest." Tootie deadpanned sarcastically.
"Aw, that's sweet of you to say, Sis!" The red-head responded in stride, feeling far too pleased with herself to let Tootie's sarcasm get to her. "But no, that moron's song didn't bother me that much, I even thought it was catchy, for a little while. Still, he used my name without permission, my likeness without permission, and both were used to make me out as being this evil heartless bitch! That's slander, no two ways about it." The pink-eyed girl shrugged as she finished, then bit into her burger.
"Isn't it only slander if it turns out that whatever you're being accused of isn't true?" Tootie questioned, knowing full well that said question would probably draw Vicki's ire to her.
"Well, since we're not in court, and I'm not as well versed in the legal system as I used to be, I couldn't tell you for sure one way or the other, but he'd have to prove that I was indeed 'Icky', at the very least. I know Timmy doesn't think that, so do you?" The red-head smirked at her sister, waiting for Tootie to misspeak, not unlike a viper waiting to strike its prey.
"Yeah, I'm not stepping on that bear trap." The raven-haired girl shook her head back and forth. "And how exactly do you know that Timmy doesn't find you 'Icky'? He may have pointed out that the song suggests you are, but that doesn't mean he doesn't think you are."
"I already know Timmy won't call me icky; reason number one being that he values his life too much to say something like that to my face, and reason number two being... I mean-" Rather than continue speaking, Vicki gestured at herself with her hand, specifically her bikini top and lack of a shirt. "Nevermind him, you really think anyone could find me icky while I'm dressed like this?" Though her body was predominantly facing Tootie, Vicki glanced to her right at the brunet with a grin, knowing she was right.
"Th-That's not fair!" Timmy nearly yelled as his cheeks turned cherry-red. "I- I wouldn't be checking you out so often if you were wearing a shirt!"
"Oh my..." Vicki grinned at the teen evilly as she turned away from her sister to face him instead. "Now this is interesting... I was only teasing, but you're saying you have been checking me out? Tootie, are you hearing what I'm hearing?"
"Dammit, me! You just couldn't keep your fat dumb mouth shut, could you?!" Timmy mentally screamed at himself. While it was certainly true that he liked both sisters, the last thing he needed was for them to start fighting in the middle of Nasty Burger, or worse, for them both to simply kill him! "Uh- No, I wasn't- I was just saying that you- I mean, I- I... Should just shut up now..." The brunet butted his forehead against the table several times, then simply let it rest on the table, his eyes squeezed shut for his inevitable demise.
"Oops. Think I broke him, Toots?" Vicki chuckled as she turned her attention back to her sister, who was currently sipping from her straw calmly, relatively indifferent to the situation at their table.
The girl responded to her sister's question with a shrug. It wasn't as if she didn't know that Timmy liked the red-head, though Vicki herself obviously still didn't. Tootie also knew that her older sister was very likely just teasing the brunet, considering it was one of her favorite pastimes. Placing her drink down onto the table, the younger Valentine released a sigh. "Vicki, since Timmy's buying us both lunch, don't you think you could try being a little nicer?"
"Ugh..." Vicki groaned loudly and dramatically. "You just love to ruin my fun and get all 'serious'." She turned away from Tootie once again to face the brunet, whose head still remained down on the table. "Jeez, Twerp, lighten up. I'm just messing around, I know you can't control your hormones. If I'm being honest, I'd be insulted if you didn't stare now and then. It's kind of... An ego boost, really." Vicki extended her leg under the table, giving Timmy's left leg a gentle nudge.
With the realization that he was once again making a huge fool out of himself, Timmy leaned back and sighed, using both hands to rub at his temples. "Never thought hanging out with the two of you would be so stressful..."
"Really? You thought spending time with your girlfriend and her sister; who was also your babysitter and tortured you on a daily basis, would be a calming experience? You can't seriously be that naïve..." The red-head took another bite of her burger as she finished.
"No, I just figured you'd lighten up on the teasing a bit, that's all..." Timmy admitted in a somewhat sad tone.
"Ah... C'mon, don't get all..." Vicki huffed and rolled her eyes. "Leave it to the Twerp to take all the fun out of teasing... Suppose I should try being a little nicer, since he doesn't hold a grudge for all that crap I put him through... Fuck, do I actually feel bad?!" "Look, I'm sorr- ...I'll try to be nicer, alright?" The red-head felt her cheeks heat up; apologizing wasn't exactly something she was all that familiar with.
"Wow, Sis! You almost had it there!" Tootie beamed at Vicki excitedly, taking the opportunity to get in some teasing of her own.
"Shut up..." The older Valentine's blush darkened a little, making her attempt to hide it by bringing her hand up to her face and leaning on her elbow. "I'm not used to apologizing or being nice, but since it was his idea to try and be friends... I'm trying, alright?!" Vicki quickly turned back to face Tootie as she finished, her blush now rivaling the one Timmy's face bore a few minutes ago.
"Aw... I know!" Tootie smiled at her older sister sweetly, then scooted her chair a bit closer to her. "But being nicer is a gradual process, so remember, baby steps, Sis." With that, the raven-haired girl leaned over and looped her arms around the red-head, hugging the very rarely hugged girl.
"What're you-?!" Vicki stared down at her sister with a look of utter shock, though her lips were beginning to curl up into a slight grin. "Tootie, lemme go-" The red-head cut herself off as she began to giggle and try to push her sister away, though to no avail, as anyone who knew Tootie knew that there was no escaping one of her hugs. Once she had you, all you could do was wait it out. "Quit it! You-Your hair is tickling me-e-e!"
As this scene played out, Timmy did little but stare. He knew that he'd meant to say something, but the thought had evidently been lost somewhere between going from a thought to actual words, leaving the brunet to simply watch with his mouth slightly agape. His gaze slowly drifted downward, briefly settling on Vicki's chest, before falling on Tootie, who, upon noticing his stare, winked at him and smirked slyly. "...You know what? Fuck you, Universe."