Monday

"WHAT?" Angelica screams, unbelieving. "You can't be serious!"

"There's nothing we can do." Drew, her father, says. "Me and your mother both have important business trips that can't be changed or rescheduled."

"But-but-but can't I just stay here by myself? I'm thirteen years old." She pleads. "I can take care of myself."

"This isn't up for discussion." Charlotte, her mother, sternly says. "You are staying over with Tommy and Dil for the week and that's final." Her cell phone rings and she answers it. "Jonathan? … Yes I'm about to leave right now. Did you get those papers I faxed you?" She walks away from her husband and daughter.

"But they got to stay home alone when their parents left Friday, why can't I?" Angelica begs, complaining.

"That was just for the weekend." Drew explains. "If we were only going to be gone a few days we'd let you stay. But your Uncle Stu and Aunt Didi are going to be gone for the week like we are sweetie." He places his hand on her shoulder, smiling. "We don't want you to be home alone, and Tommy and Dil need someone to look after them."

"This is totally unfair." She declares, crossing her arms, pouting. He and Charlotte start to exit the house, carrying their suit cases and travel bags.

"Make sure you pack plenty of clothing and get over to their house before heading off to school today." Her dad waves, the door closing behind him. Angelica furrows her brow, frowning, still pouting.

"I have to spend a whole week with those stupid Pickles preteens." She mutters to herself. "So unfair. I'm thirteen, I should be able to stay by myself." She goes up to her room, picks out two dozen outfits, a couple different pairs of shoes (never know what look you'll need to have or when you'll need to change), a weeks worth of unmentionables (polite way of saying bras and panties), and stuffs them into a rolling suitcase, along with her toothbrush, body washes, shampoos, conditioners, and makeup.

Over at the other Pickles residence, Betty has left after making sure Tommy and Dil were up and eating breakfast. After being sure Betty was gone, Tommy gets up from the table and starts frantically pacing.

"I can't do this. I can't do this." Tommy says.

"Yo T, calm down." Dil tells his brother. "What happened to all that bravado you had last night?"

"I was just pumped up from that little speech you gave." He stops pacing and lightly hits his head against the wall. "But now that I've come back to reality, I know I can't do this." Dil gets up and grabs his brother, turning him away from the wall.

"Listen Tommy, you're a Pickles. That means you're stubborn. You'll push through this. You'll hang around Angelica and feel incredibly awkward and weird."

"This is supposed to make me feel better?" He asks with half closed eyes.

"The images will flash and it'll drive you crazy." Dil continues, taking a few steps from Tommy.

"Seriously, not helping." Dil turns back to Tommy.

"But trust me when I say that after a while, it will fade away and won't bother you any more." He reassures, placing a hand on his shoulder. Tommy smiles.

"Thanks D." They hear the front door swing open and the familiar yelling of Angelica.

"Alright you preteens, listen up!" She yells. Tommy glances towards the door to the garage.

"If I leave on my bike now, I could make it to school and be only ten minutes late." He comments. Dil steps between him and the door, arms crossed, frowning. "Kidding." Angelica comes storming into the kitchen.

"Our parents are out of town for the week and we all have to stay together so let's get a few things straight." She starts barking at them. "First off I'm the oldest so I'm in charge. Secondly, you are not to bother me at all while I'm here, no matter what the reason. Third, I am not doing any cooking or cleaning what so ever, that is you twos job. And you better not cook anything weird or disgusting."

"Ease up there loose laces, no one is in charge." Dil says. Angelica gives him a death glare.

"You better watch that tongue of yours Pickles." She threatens. "I won't let any comments about that go by unpunished."

"Whoa, where's this coming from? You were just joking about it with the rest of us yesterday."

"That was just so Susie would leave me alone. But if I hear so much as one word about it, you will pay dearly." She growls evilly.

"I understand. It's still a touchy subject for you. But it's no reason to go all agro on us. Joking and laughing is a great way to get over something and put it behind you." He gets a slight smile. "It would also help if you would buy a swimming suit that actually fits." She approaches him, looking like a lion ready to pounce.

"You better keep it to yourself" She pokes him in the chest, "or your precious little fish is going to go for a swim in the sewers." She threatens. Dils eyes go wide and he takes a step back.

"Y-you wouldn't." He says, almost disbelieving. Angelica simply leaves the kitchen to take her bags upstairs to the spare bedroom. "Wow. I didn't think Angelica could get any scarier than she already is." He turns to look at Tommy but he's not there. "Tommy?" He opens the door to the garage and sees Tommy's bike is missing. Dil shakes his head.

Sometime later, at school, Dil's walking down the hall on his hands with his shoes on them. He ends up passing Angelica who simply ignores him before reaching his locker. He goes right-side up, slipping his shoes back onto his feet. Angelica rounds the hall corner, out of sight when Dil opens his locker and Tommy comes tumbling out. "So, how long you plan on avoiding Angelica like she's some sort of horrid beast out to rip you to shreds?"

"I'm not avoiding her." Tommy asserts, standing up, wiping himself off. "I just, uh... wanted to see if I could fit in your locker. Yeah, that's it." Dil shakes his head, putting his bag in it before shutting it.

"You can't dodge her forever you know. She is spending the week over at our place after all." He reminds his brother.

"You're right." He sighs. "I need to face this... just not right now. Maybe at dinner tonight."

"How about at lunch in five minutes?" Dil suggests.

"This is something that is better dealt with in the privacy and safety of our home." Tommy says, both of them heading towards the cafeteria. They get in line with their friends.

"I've been having the weirdest day." Phil tells them as they wait in line.

"What, you mean people aren't running in horror when the smell you coming?" Lil jests.

"Very funny." He dryly replies.

"I thought so." Kimi smirks. "Besides, I can actually smell what's for lunch without actually having it in front of me."

"Anyways, people have been acting strange all day." He continues. "They keep looking at me as I walk by as if I'm acting like Dil. Uh, no offense."

"Doing something completely unexpected or abnormal is bound to have that effect." Dil proudly smiles. "I take it as a compliment."

"And you smelling clean and herbal like Lil is strange for you." Tommy grins.

"It's the only freaking shampoo I can find." Phil growls, annoyed.

"I think all the other shampoos are just hiding in fear." Kimi laughs. Everyone else does so to, aside from Phil.

"I swear, Mrs. Hawthorn actually stopped me in the hall to ask if me and Lil switched places for the day."

"Are you serious?" Lil gapes. "Why on earth would she think that?"

"Aside from the fact that I smell like you, I apparently got a 96 on that pop quiz she gave us today and you got a 78." They get their lunches and Tommy spots Angelica at the popular table indoors so he starts to head for the outside tables, the others following, sitting at their table outside.

"Whoa, a 96?" Chuckie says. "Her quizzes were always the hardest. I was lucky if I managed an 85."

"I was lucky to get an 80." Kimi adds in.

"Uhg, I forgot to do the reading she wanted us to do and didn't know half of what was on there." Lil groans.

"I didn't do the reading either." Phil shrugs. "Guess that just means I'm smarter than you." He grins at his sister. She casts him a quick scowl.

"It was dumb luck, pure and simple."

"Dinner wasn't so bad now was it?" Dil asks his brother, who was at the sink doing the dishes.

"Considering the fact that we were in here and she was in the living room, no not at all." Tommy dryly replies.

"Details." He dismissively waves. "Point is that you were just fine and the whole thing will be forgotten next week. So long as nothing else happens that is." Tommy stops his washing and looks back at his brother with a raised eyebrow. "What? I'm just saying there's that possibility. Murphy is a relentless dude after all." Tommy shakes his head and returns to the dishes.

"Yeah, and there's the possibility that time traveling dolphins will take up residence in our pool." He sarcastically says.

"That is a possibility." Dil rubs his chin in thought. "They may come back with a message for me from our alien brothers, informing me of something of great importance."

"Right. An alien spaceship will come crashing down and unless you reach it first to help the alien, the government will capture it and the ship and study both extensively, dissecting the alien." He laughs.

"Be as sarcastic as you wish, nonbeliever, but the time will come when we will live side by side our alien brethren."

"Please. Ever since that time we tried to pull a prank on you because we thought you were pranking with the whole 'aliens making contact with you' thing, I believe in them. I just don't think they're as active as you believe them to be." Tommy explains.

"Maybe. Or maybe you just fail to see all the messages they send us."

"Or maybe you're just an idiot." Angelica says, coming into the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the fridge.

"Ye of little faith." Dil says.

"Ye of little brains." She replies, mean spirited. "There's no such thing as aliens. If you ever want to stop being the weird kid at school, you got to get that through your thick skull, and stop dressing and acting like such a freak."

"Lay off him Angelica." Tommy comes to his brothers defense. "Dil has the right to believe what he wants."

"And the right to be the social outcast that he is, his only friends being your loser friends or imaginary, with no chance of any girl ever liking him." She spits. "But I guess that's the result of being dropped on his head as a baby: being a total loser and freak."

"What is with you? You've never been this mean before." Dil asks.

"You want to know what's wrong? You two saw me, that's what's wrong." She growls. "And don't think for a second that I'm not onto you, planning on using this for revenge for everything I've done to you."

"Angelica, we have no intention of using this against you. We just want to forget it ever happened, just like you." Tommy promises her.

"You better keep this to yourself." She hisses, glaring at Tommy. "Because if you don't, you will pay dearly." She shifts her glare to Dil. "Both of you and your little freak fish." And with that she storms up to the spare room, her temporary residence.

"Wow, she really is bugging over this, even more so than you are." Dil says. Tommy finishes up the dishes, drying them off and putting them away.

"I'll say. I've never seen her so mad." Tommy agrees.

"I think it would be best if we avoided her, like you originally planned to do."

"Is it Sarah?" Lil asks.

"No." Phil answers.

"How about Hannah?"

"No." He answers, getting annoyed.

"Tiffany?"

"No!" He snaps. "I'm not going to tell you who it is if you just keep on guessing randomly like that."

"Maybe if you just told me already I wouldn't keep guessing. Oh, I know, it's Jacklyn."

"Arg." Phil growls. "Ok, look. I'll give you three guesses. Three. That's it. After that I will not tell you if you're right or wrong."

"What's to stop me from continually guessing and getting on your nerves until you crack and tell me?" Lil slyly asks. Phil smirks and holds up a picture of Lil kissing a cardboard cutout of one of the Sulky Boys. Her eyes go wide and she tries to snatch it from him but he holds it away. "Give me that!" She demands, wrestling with him on the couch, reaching for the picture, Phil holding her back. They end up rolling off the couch, Lil managing to get the picture, sitting on top of Phil. She proceeds to rip the picture to shreds. "You told me you trashed this picture."

"I did." He smiles. "But I printed off another copy." He laughs. "And there are plenty more where that came from." He pulls another out of his pocket, holding it to Lil. She takes it and crumples it up. Phil sits up, pushing his sister off of him. "I'll give you three guesses, for the month, and after that you no longer ask me who it is." She glares evilly at him while he smugly smiles. "You already know all about her. Shouldn't be to hard to guess who it is."

"Three guesses a day." She counteroffers.

"Three a week."

"Two a day."

"Once a day."

"Ah, deal." Lil smiles, shaking his hand. "I'm assuming we're going with our default bet."

"Even though I'm already suffering under your tyranny, I can't pass up two weeks allowance." Phil grins. "You'll never get it right."

"Is it Kate?"

"Nope. And that's your guess for the day." He gets up off the floor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a shower to take using the shampoo and conditioner I bought today." He starts walking upstairs. "I refuse to smell like a girl, and I don't want any more teachers thinking we've switched places."

Tuesday

"Today is going to suck so much." Tommy groans. "I'm going to have to spend hours sitting there, watching Kimi, Lil, and Susie parade around in different outfits, giving my opinion of their fashion."

"You think you've got it bad?" Chuckie says to his best friend. They were sitting out in the outside commons area, during their free period. "I've got to make banana and onion smoothies everyday until Saturday. I'm going to deal with so many onions that my tear ducts are going to be dryer then the Mojave dessert."

"They're already sandier, with how heavily you were sleeping this morning." Kimi jests, her and Lil joining them at the table. "Almost didn't make it out of bed."

"I would have woke up on time if you didn't turn off my alarm clock." He pointedly tells her.

"Maybe next time you'll think twice about hiding my DB CD." She bites back.

"DB?" Tommy asks. Lil leans over and whispers to him.

"Dummi Bears." Lil whispers. "She uses that in public so people won't know she still likes them." Tommy understands, saying a silent 'oh'.

"You played the Happy Song for three hours straight! It was driving me crazy!" Chuckie exclaims. "I'm already suffering enough, having to do both my shifts and your shifts at the Java Lava for a whole month. I'm surprised I didn't end up throwing it away."

"If you did that, I'd have to get into your Armadillo Dave comic book collection." She passively says.

"You wouldn't." He gasps.

"And neither would you."

"So the whole thing is moot." Tommy says, "So how about we get back to the part where I was complaining about being Lil and Kimi's fashion slave?" He humorously asks.

"It's your own fault bro." Dil says, joining the group, his clothes inside out. "I warned you and you didn't listen." Tommy just rolls his eyes. Dil looks around. "Where's Phil?"

"Right here." Phil announces, joining the group. "Felt a real ripe n' loud one coming." He grins.

"Aw, gross." Kimi blanches, along with Lil. "You're going to make me lose my lunch."

"Made a comment about it and Lil told me if I was going to let it rip I had to go into the restroom. And it was a real good one." He laughs.

"I'm… sure it was." Lil says, disgusted.

"That one could have knocked a whole flock of buzzards off a gut wagon." He continues.

"Ok Phillip, that's enough." She rigidly says. "Remember our bet."

"Aw come on. You mean I can't even talk about disgusting stuff?"

"Please, no." Kimi gags. "I'm trying to keep my lunch down."

"Me and Chuckie feel your pain." Tommy sympathetically says.

"Not Chuckie. He's getting double allowance this month." Phil states, pointing his thumb over at Chuckie. "Speaking of which, how about we hit the arcade after school? I wanna avoid my mom as much as possible."

"Can't. Doing my double shifts to get my double allowance." Chuckie tells him.

"Tommy?" Phil hopefully says.

"I'd gladly be a slave to the arcade, but unfortunately I'm already Lil and Kimi's slave to fashion." Tommy jests.

"Guess it's just you and me Dil." He tells Tommy's little brother.

"I'm stoked you're inviting me along, but I already have plans to help the squirrels in our backyard with a little spectral problem." Dil explains.

"Looks like your on your own Phil." Lil states, as everyone gets up from the table, save for Phil, and starts heading to class, save for Lil who lingers behind. "It's not Nicole, is it?" She asks.

"What?" Phil asks, confused.

"Who you based your fake girlfriend on."

"Oh. No way. Chuckie's the one who likes her, not me. And that's your guess for the day." He stands. "Better luck tomorrow." Then they both head towards class.

"You mean Phil isn't using Wally as the source for his fake girlfriend?" Kimi asks from inside a changing room.

"Nope. And we have our usual bet going, and he'll win if I can't guess who it is by the end of the month." Lil explains, checking herself out in the top and skirt she had just put on.

"I'm still hung up on the whole 'Phil having a fake girlfriend' thing." Susie says, holding up a stylish shirt and jeans to herself, looking at her reflection in a mirror. "What do you think Tommy?"

"That looks nice, but those jeans would go better with the top Lil has on, along with that belt at your feet." Tommy critiques, pointing to said belt, sitting in a chair off to the side. "The fake girlfriend thing was mine and Dil's fault. But it does keep their mom distracted from learning about the bet and grounding them." Susie hands the jeans and belt to Lil and she holds them up to herself.

"Wow, you're right. That looks totally cute." Lil smiles.

"You should definitely try that on." Susie tells her. Lil nods in agreement and heads into a changing room, Kimi coming out in a short skirt and a top showing half of her stomach.

"Any idea as to who it is?" Kimi asks, checking herself out, doing a quick twirl. "Tommy?" She looks at him expectantly, who involuntarily swallows and blushes because from his vantage point he caught a glimpse of her purple panties, which in turn cause the image of Angelica to flash before him.

"Those seem a little... revealing, don't you think?" He nervously says, trying to keep himself calm and his face straight. She giggles in response.

"I know." She grins. "Just thought it'd be fun to see how you reacted."

"Quite teasing the poor boy." Susie lightly scolds, while sifting through the pile of clothes on the floor. "He's already your fashion slave. Cut him some slack."

"All I know is that it's not Wally." Lil says, still in the changing room. "He really brought Petunia to life, but his descriptions were a bit too vague. It could be anyone." Kimi sifts through the clothes and Susie goes into a changing.

"What about you Tommy?" Kimi asks. "Any ideas?" He doesn't respond and she looks back to see him looking away, his face red as a cherry. She then realizes, squatting the way she was, she was giving him a full view of her panties. She quickly stands up, blushing herself, holding the skirt down. Grabbing the nearest pair of pants, she quickly retreats into her changing room.

"Come on Tommy. You've got to at least have an idea of who it is." Susie says. Lil steps out in the pants and belt on now, checking herself out in the mirror.

"Well? What do you think?" Lil asks. She looks over at him, he managing to push his blush down just in time.

"Like I thought, those pants do look better with that top."

"I already knew that." She smirks, posing. "I mean about who Phil based his fake girlfriend on."

"I... don't really know." He scratches the back of his head. "I mean if you can't figure out who it is, what makes you think I can? You know him better than any of us."

"True." She nods. "I guess I'll just have to keep guessing and try to narrow it down."

"Instead of guessing randomly, how about thinking about the people Phil knows and see if any of them fit close to Petunia." Susie suggests.

"It's worth a shot." Lil agrees. Kimi steps out of her changing room, wearing the small shirt she went in with over an undershirt, and the small skirt over the pair of pants she randomly grabbed.

"What do you think guys?" She asks, striking a few poses.

"Wow, that looks great on you." Lil comments, with a hint of amazement.

"You'll definitely turn some heads with that." Tommy grins, giving her a thumbs up. Susie pokes her head over the changing room wall.

"Woo Wee! Girl, you are looking fine in that." Susie tells her. Kimi twirls, admiring herself in the mirror.

"I'd say having Tommy as our fashion slave is working out quite well already, if he's able to manage to pick out such a hot outfit as this." Kimi smirks.

"And the one he picked out for me is really cute." Lil agrees.

"Whelp, sounds like my services are no longer required. I think I'll be on my way." Tommy says, standing.

"Ah, ah, ah." Kimi tsks her finger at him. "Part of being our fashion slave is picking out an outfit for yourself."

"You have got to be kidding me." He groans.

"Come on Tommy. You want to look your best, don't you?" Lil asks, smirking.

"No, not really." He shrugs.

"Well too bad, cause we say you have too." Kimi tells him, poking him in the chest, a big grin on her face. "And we're going to help you pick it out."

Dil was relaxing on the couch, watching T.V., when the door opens. He looks over the back of the couch and sees Tommy standing there, all dressed up. He raises an eyebrow at him, snickering.

"Dude, Tommy, did you just get back from a hot date or something?" He asks him, trying not to laugh.

"Go ahead, laugh it up." Tommy dryly replies. "This was Lil and Kimi's idea. Apparently, part of being their fashion slave includes letting them pick out an outfit for me."

"And you decided to wear it home because?" Dil snickers some more. Tommy sighs.

"When I stepped out of the changing room, Lil swooped in and stole my clothes, running out of the store with them." Dil bursts out laughing, no longer able to control it. "Yeah, yeah. It's hilarious."

"Seriously? They stole your clothes?" He laughs some more. "Wow, they're gonna have a lot of fun at your expense."

"Keep it down you freak." Angelica orders, coming down the stairs, glaring at Dil. "It's bad enough that I have to be in the same house as you. I don't want to hear that grating sound you call a voice." She reaches the bottom of the stairs and notices Tommy. "Nice get up. Dress a loser up and they're still a loser." She heads back up the stairs. "You better keep the noise down, or else." She threatens, before turning the corner.

"Harsh." Dil simply says. "She's not letting go of it any time soon." Tommy lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "How you holding up there T?"

"I'm good." Tommy answers, knowing what Dil was asking. "Better than yesterday."

"See, I told ya bro." He smiles. He starts snickering again. "But seriously, they stole your clothes?" Tommy groans.

"I'm gonna go change."

Wednesday

Angelica had grabbed her lunch tray and headed over to the popular table.

"Angelica. Cute outfit." Savannah greets.

"What, this old thing?" Angelica smirks, gesturing to her clothes. "I got it on sale weeks ago." She dismisses, sitting down.

"You definitely pull it off." She compliments in her pseudo sweet tone.

"Thanks. And I love your outfit. Is that from the new LaMarr summer line?" She asks, taking a drink.

"Isn't even publicly available for another week." Savannah gloats. "I even got the limited LaMarr white bikini." Angelica starts, almost doing a spit take. She grabs a napkin and wipes her mouth.

"Y-You mean the one with silver trimming?" Angelica asks, a little nervous about the unexpected reminder of that bikini.

"That's the one." She haughtily responds. "And speaking of swimming, word is that your cousin recently got a swimming pool." Angelica casts a quick glance over at said cousin, who at the same time glances at her and their eyes meet. She looks away.

"It's just a rectangular hole filled with water. Pathetic really." She dismisses.

"As unimpressive as it may be, the fact remains that virtually no one here at school has a pool, aside from your cousin." Savannah explains.

"That's not true. There's... uh..." Angelica taps her chin in thought. "Well there's... um, no... uh... what about... no... didn't, uh... no he didn't... how about... no... Huh. I guess no one else does have a pool." She shrugs. "Still, I don't see why Tommy having a pool matters at all."

"Well, as you know, summer is less than a month away. And as much of a generous service it is on my part to let the little people bask in the perfection and epitome of beauty and popularity that is me at the public pool; being able to relax and enjoy a pool in privacy would be most beneficial" She gets a smirk, "for the both of us." Angelica raises an eyebrow at this.

"Do tell."

"You are the newest addition to my inner circle of teenage popularity." She starts to 'sweetly' explain. "As such, that makes your position the weakest and more vulnerable." She 'sympathetically' places a hand on Angelica's shoulder. "Now, I'd hate it if anything were to happen that would cause you to lose such a status." Angelica frowns, understanding the veiled threat. "However, I can guarantee a stronger and more secure position." Angelica shrugs off her hand.

"Let me guess, in order for you to do that, you want me to convince Tommy to let you use the pool."

"Just me and the few select within my inner circle." Savannah takes a bite of her food while Angelica contemplates her predicament.

"Why don't you try to convince him yourself?" Angelica asks, wanting to avoid talking to her cousin, let alone trying to get him to do a favor for her.

"I would, but ever since your 13th birthday, I doubt he'd do anything for me." She tells her. "Unlike us popular kids, who would have forgiven and forgotten such an incident by now, he probably hasn't. Otherwise, I would have done so myself." Angelica sighs in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose briefly.

"Alright." She sighs again. "I'll talk to him and see what I can do."

"I know you won't disappoint." Savannah smiles triumphantly.

"I can't believe your chores for this week included vacuuming the house." Tommy says, while in the process of vacuuming the living room.

"Maybe mom and dad thought it'd be another punishment for catching the school copying machine on fire." Dil says, lounging on the couch, watching Tommy vacuum, twirling a pen, grinning. "Don't forget, you'll also have to get the stairs." He laughs.

"Fun." He dryly responds. He starts vacuuming behind the couch when Dil accidentally flings the pen and it hits Tommy in the head. He stops the vacuum and picks up the pen. Something clicks and he glares over at his brother, who was smiling sheepishly.

"Uh, incoming?" He sheepishly laughs.

"You added that to your chore list, didn't you?" Tommy asks, with a smile and a raised eyebrow, holding the pen up.

"It was more of a... contribution to an already exquisite piece of literature than an addition." Dil explains. "There's a huge difference really."

"How does a three second head start sound?" He offers, his smiler bigger.

"It sounds like five seconds you would need in order to catch me." Dil retorts, with a grin of his own. Tommy jumps over the back of the couch, Dil quickly moving out of the way. "You ain't catching this Alien!" He taunts, quickly running away into the kitchen.

"You're not going to get away from this Hunter this time!" He declares, getting up from the couch and proceeding to chase Dil. A sock ball comes flying towards Tommy and he quickly ducks underneath it. "Your acidic alien spit isn't going to work on me." They play Mutant, Alien, Zombie, Hunter for a while, playing several rounds. They were in round nine, tied 4 to 4, deciding one final round to see who wins the day. They had ended up in the back yard, Tommy was chasing Dil with a sock bomb. "Electric bomb." Tommy yells, throwing it and Dil dives into the pool to escape it but it ended up in the water with him. Dil pops his head up, grinning.

"Ha! You missed!" He brings up his dart gun and shoots Tommy. "I win!"

"I don't think so." Tommy grins back. "I called that out as an electric bomb. Look where you are." He points out. Dil looks to see the sock bomb in the water with him. "I win."

"Nicely done bro." Dil congrats, getting out of the water. He extends his arms. "How about a celebratory hug?"

"No thanks. I rather like staying dry." He chuckles. "You better get yourself changed and dried off."

"Come on, just one hug?" Dil starts to walk towards Tommy.

"You hug me, and you're gonna get it." Tommy warns, backing away.

"Pleeeeeaaaaasssseeee." He begs, walking faster towards his brother.

"Don't make me shoot you." He holds up his dart gun.

"That's a price I'm willing to pay for brotherly love." Dil claims, running after Tommy who runs away, shooting his gun at him.

"Stay away, you evil water beast!" Tommy laughs. He runs into the house and runs right into Angelica, knocking them both to the ground. Dil takes advantage of this and tackles Tommy, giving him a big wet hug.

"Watch where you're going dunderhead." Angelica growls, Tommy not hearing her.

"Feel the love Bro!" Dil exclaims. "Feel it!"

"Ok, ok. I feel it." Tommy laughs, shrugging Dil off of him.

"Ahem." Angelica clears her throat, her arms crossed with a light scowl, both of her cousins looking up at her.

"Sorry A-cup. Are we in your way?" Dil humorously asks, standing up along with Tommy, who nervously swallows, unnoticed by Angelica. Her eye twitches at Dil's jibe, and she has to restrain herself from hurling a string of insults and threats at him.

"No." She replies, trying to keep a calm, steady voice. "I just need to have a word with Tommy, alone." Dil and Tommy exchange glances, Tommy's worried, Dil's intrigued.

"Sure." Dil shrugs, walking past her. "I need to go dry off and change anyway." They watch Dil leave the kitchen before Angelica turns back to Tommy, trying her best not to give him a death glare. Tommy proceeds to close the sliding glass door and head towards the fridge.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Tommy asks, grabbing a soda, offering his cousin one which she accepts. She opens her soda, taking a drink and looking away from him.

"Yes... ahem, well..." She starts slowly, leaning against the counter, Tommy leaning against the fridge. "This isn't easy for me to say."

"It's ok. Take your time." He says, his worry being replaced by curiosity. Angelica gives a frustrated sigh.

"I... realize that I might have been a little... harsh towards you and Dil after... well after last Friday."

"That's putting it mildly." He dryly says under his breath. Though Angelica still hears him.

"This is hard enough as it is without your witty remarks Pickles." She growls and scowls at him. He raises his hands in defense.

"Sorry, sorry. Please, continue." Tommy apologizes. Angelica sighs, looking away again, taking another drink.

"After... well after what happened, all of you seeing me... exposed... I've just been feeling upset and confused." She starts to explain. "It's one thing that the others saw it, but you and Dil... you guys are family and that... that just makes things weird."

"Angelica-" He starts, but Angelica holds up her hand, stopping him.

"Let me finish." She growls and scowls again. Tommy shuts his mouth, holding up his hands in defense again. She takes a deep breath, calming herself down. "I know I'm not the nicest cousin around, and I tend to pick on you and your los... your friends. And I know that you would never use something like this against me. But I know that if this had happened to Kimi, Lil, or even Susie, I would hold it over their head as long as I possibly could." She pauses to take a drink of her soda. "I guess that I was just... paranoid that you would decide to drop your nice guy act and do what I would do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm... I'm s... sor... That I'm sorr..." She struggles to say the word, until finally, "sorry for the way I've been acting." Tommy places his drink down and walks up to Angelica, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looks up to see him softly smiling.

"It's alright Angelica. I understand." He removes his hand. "You were buggin' over what happened. To tell you the truth, I was kind of buggin myself. You don't need to apologize."

"Thanks Tommy." Angelica smiles back at him. "Honestly, I didn't think you'd accept my apology so readily."

"After a heartfelt speech like that?" He quizzically laughs. "I think you've eared it. I know how tough it is for you to admit to any wrongdoing or faults. And I gotta admit, that was one wicked dive you did." He grins.

"Of course it was. I told you guys I could dive better than Susie." She claims. "So, now that we got that behind us, do you think I could ask you a favor?" Tommy's smile quickly falls into a frown.

"Really?" He says, dumbstruck. "You went through all of that, the apology, the heartfelt speech, just so you could ask me a favor?" He lets out a frustrated sigh. "I should have figured there was an ulterior motive to this." He looks up at her. "You really had me fooled there."

"Really, I meant what I said. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." Angelica assures him.

"Uh huh." He says, arms crossed, not convinced. "How about we skip to the part where you tell me what you want."

"Fine. Don't believe me." She huffs.

"What do you want Angelica?" He asks impatiently.

"Well, you see, Savannah heard how your pool had been finished and-"

"Let me guess." Tommy interrupts her. "She wants you to convince me to let her and her friends use the pool."

"Just her and the select few that are within her inner circle." She tells him.

"And you'll become part of her inner circle if you manage to convince me?"

"Please Tommy." She pleads. "This is my chance to get a more influential and permanent position of popularity."

"Uh huh." He dryly says.

"Imagine what I could do for you and your loser fri- I mean your friends." She promises.

"The answer is no Angelica." Tommy picks up his soda. "I don't like Savannah or her friends. They're uncaring and mean, even more so than you can be at times." Angelica scowls at that insult towards her. "You remember what she tried to do to you on your 13th birthday." He takes a drink of his soda and starts to walk out of the kitchen. "You're family Angelica, and as such you're welcome to use the pool, despite your attempts to manipulate me. But Savannah and her so called friends are not welcome." With that, he leaves Angelica to fume in the kitchen, not giving her a chance to respond with a counter argument.

"Whoa, harsh dude." Dil says to Tommy, getting out of his eavesdropping position by the doorway, following Tommy to the couch. "You shut her down so readily even after she goes through the trouble of apologizing."

"False apology." He responds. "She didn't mean a word of it."

"Sincere or not T, Angelica almost never apologizes. And when she does, she struggles just to say the words." Dil sympathizes with their cousin.

"I'm not going to let Angelica manipulate me into letting someone as mean and cold hearted as Savannah into using our pool." Tommy says.

"Looks like you are capable of dropping your nice guy act." Dil simply states.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He looks crossly at his younger brother.

"Your cousin has been traumatized and embarrassed, given you what may or may not have been a sincere apology for her recent behavior, and turns to you to help her with her current social standings and you just flat out say no." Dil shakes his head. "For shame."

"Were she asking to let anyone else use the pool, I'd more than likely agree. But I'm not going to agree to let someone who lacks a conscience or any sense of morality use our pool."

"Alright. No final decision yet. Sleep on it and we'll continue on the morrow." With that, Dil leaves his brother on the couch to head to his room.