OK - I asked and you answered so I wrote in a bit of Stef/Lena's talk with Brandon. I hope it's realistic enough. I also accidentally added an entire other scene with Evan and Kasey so I'm afraid this has turned into a longer chapter than usual! Ah well - hope you enjoy nonetheless. Once again thanks to TheTBone who also helped with this chapter by suggesting the time-out sequence (by suggesting the lines you read in the preview) and I also added in a few lines of Callie/Kasey antics for OTHFAN26. I will try and squeeze in some more in a later chapter. By the way, to the guest who joked about suggesting Kasey for 1B - I can imagine the first episode now.
"Hey guys I'm back from my Spanish exchange. Did I miss much?"
Anyway, back to the AU! It's a fluffy one but the next few are quite intense.
"You are kidding me? Seriously?" Kasey asked with excitement in her eyes. She couldn't help but love the idea that Michelle had got in trouble with Stef.
"Yes, but don't make a big deal about it..." Evan whispered, still feeling guilty for his part in the uncovering. He was about to continue just as Stef walked in and he quickly snapped his mouth shut. She looked between the two, ready for a ribbing.
Kasey's smirk didn't help, illuminated by the sudden silence that greeted her. She braced herself for Kasey's arrogance regarding all things Michelle. Evan, still ashamed, buried his head in his coffee.
"Morning Mom." Kasey beamed.
"Don't start, Kasey." Stef warned just in case it got her out of the inevitable.
"Wow, that's a nice way to greet your daughter. Bad night?" she said with deliberate flair.
Stef turned and narrowed her eyes at her.
"Enough. I don't want to hear it."
"What? That you've been on my case constantly when really it's Brandon and Michelle that have been doing the dirty?" she teased.
Stef bit her tongue knowing that Kasey was justified in her dig. She had been so concerned about Evan and her getting up to no good that she had let Brandon slip completely below radar.
"Well I'm glad my not being able to trust either of you is so amusing." She responded, unimpressed as she began to fix her breakfast.
"I'll get you a coffee Mrs F..." Evan sprang up. He somehow felt as if he was responsible and was desperate to make up for it.
Stef thanked him, slightly confused, but not unhappy with the offer.
"Evan feels guilty that he woke you..." Kasey teased as Evan got defensive.
"I don't have to feel guilty to be nice, Kasey."
"Honey, it's not your fault that Brandon was doing something he shouldn't have been doing. Everyone treats him like such a golden boy!" she complained.
"Kasey...can we please just leave it."
"So I'm not even allowed to delight slightly in the fact Brandon screwed up for once?"
"It could have been us!" Evan whispered as if Stef wasn't right next to them. She just rolled her eyes at him.
"In your dreams. I would never do that in one of the family rooms - and I'm not even just saying that. It's rank!"
"But it's not like we've never snuck around. All I'm saying is give him a break."
The two continued to bicker as Stef rubbed her temples.
"Guys, really. Enough already! I will deal with Brandon accordingly, Evan you did nothing wrong and Kasey you're right - next to your brother being caught trying to get off with his girlfriend in the kitchen you are star twin of the day. Congratulations!" the words poured out of her mouth, laced with stress and she now had both her index fingers raised pointing at a speechless Evan and Kasey. "Now the next one of you say a single word about it I'm gonna put in a time out!" Stef completed her rant as the two youths looked up wide eyed.
"Mom...I'm 18..." Kasey pointed out, looking back and forth between Evan and her Mom.
"...and I'm not even your kid..." Evan added as Kasey smirked.
"Wanna try me?!" she said putting her hands across her eyes, the stress and lack of sleep the night before eating her patience.
Kasey was bright as a button and not scared to continue to make light of her brother's misfortune.
"So...how long is Brandon's time out gonna be?" She said with a smirk as Evan laughed into his coffee.
Stef peeled her hand back slowly revealing an eye and producing a tired smile.
She slowly got up, walked round to Kasey tapped her off her stool and moved it towards the wall.
"Ho...you are kidding right?" Kasey said through a laugh.
Stef stared at her unyielding.
"10 minutes."
"But I haven't had a time out for like 10 years..." Kasey protested still finding the humour in it.
"Maybe that's where I've been going wrong..." she replied calmly guiding her daughter into the chair.
"Oh fine, I'll play your game, but only because..."
"No talking Kasey." Stef said giving her first genuine smile of the morning. Kasey shook her head and rested it back against the wall.
Stef returned to her seat and raised her blue mug to her lips.
Evan looked between Kasey and the now more relaxed looking Stef with slight confusion.
"Uhm...shouldn't you set your watch then Mrs F? How will you know when ten minutes are up...?" he asked innocently. She plonked the mug down and pointed at him.
"Ten Minutes!"
Kasey laughed in the background.
"but...I..." he stuttered unable to suppress his own smile.
"I'm not getting up again. Move, over there. Go!"
Evan slipped off his stool and dragged it towards Kasey who was averting her eyes trying not to laugh.
He nudged her with a smirk as he pulled up next to her.
"No touching!"
The two sighed as Stef continued to enjoy the silence.
"What is going in in here?" Lena asked playfully. "You two look like you're in a time out!"
"They are." Stef said bluntly to Lena's confusion.
"Uhm Stef..." she began
"They're adults...I know...but I needed some silence." she whispered with a desperate smile.
"Okaay...everything OK, hon?" Stef looked at her and sighed before opening her mouth.
Kasey clocked on pretty fast.
"Oh my God, you've not told her yet?" She said with a giggle.
"I didn't want to wake her. And sssh!" Stef turned to Kasey before back to a expectant Lena.
"Uhm...had a bit of a problem with Brandon last night."
"A problem? What kind of problem?" Lena replied with concern.
"Well..."
"The kind where he was caught half naked with Michelle in the kitchen." Kasey interjected. Lena's face dropped horrified. Stef slapped the table.
"Restart!" Stef scolded turning harshly to her daughter.
"Totally worth it..." Kasey said under her breath as Evan rolled his eyes.
"OK, I think we should talk over here." She said standing up and guiding Lena out. "You two don't move. I can still see you!"
After Stef had filled Lena in on the details, they discussed it and brought Brandon downstairs. They began their talk reviewing the events of the night and making their disappointment known. So far they had done most of the talking but Brandon had been surprised by the calmness they had delivered it with - mainly coming from Lena. She had tried to get past her disappointment using her studies of adolescence and maturity.
"So you see Brandon that is why we really need you to work with us here. We understand that at the age you're at this is difficult and we understand we need to give you more freedom." She continued.
"But that doesn't mean free reign to screw each other anywhere in the house!" Stef was slightly more agitated. Lena threw her a small look.
"What your Mom means is that this isn't your house - it's ours. I mean what if one of your siblings had walked in on that?"
Bandon screwed up his face. "What, you mean that would be worse than my Mom?"
"Well it would be better for me..." Stef mumbled as Lena gave her another side glance. Stef took it as a cue to get more serious. She heaved a big sigh. "Brandon our point is that no matter how old you are this is a family house."
"Yes! So you keep saying. I get it. But you won't even let us in our room!"
Stef furrowed her brow. "No - and we never have. But that's not stopped us being quite liberal and supportive. You know we don't condone it even though we know it's inevitable. I don't understand why this is suddenly an issue? Is it because of Michelle? I don't remember this ever being a problem with Talya?"
Brandon looked down at his feet. This was different from Talya. He was a grown up now and more importantly Michelle was.
"Look Brandon, we're not saying that we don't want you to feel mature or that we don't trust you to make your own decisions about sex. We just ask that you respect us and your siblings while we're sharing a house - and if you don't then be prepared to face consequences. Is that too much to ask? I mean we're not even talking about your bedroom here! It's not like you had her in there when we were all out - we're talking about the kitchen! Even when you're in your bedroom your siblings are right down the hall - in the kitchen any one of us could have walked in."
"Not to mention they did!" Stef commented. "I saw more than I ever wanted to last night and you barely had your shirt off. And poor Evan - what if he had come up ten minutes later?"
"I understand that - and I'm sorry. It's not like I want you to catch me. I mean, the last thing I want is to be worried about that during it." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as his voice trailed off.
"So you understand why we're upset?" Lena added.
Brandon sighed. "Yes. And I'm sorry. I'll apologise to Evan too - I realise we put him in an uncomfortable position."
"Good." Lena said. "Now, regarding your punishment..."
Brandon looked up at them about to protest but he could see it would be a losing battle.
"Hey do you think they'll ban Michelle from the house?" Kasey whispered to Evan as she strained to hear round the corner. Evan lingered a few feet away, arms folded and nervously looking around.
"Kasey! You really shouldn't be listening. How would you feel?" He rubbed his palms on his jeans.
Oh Brandon has revelled in my getting into trouble tons. Not to mention narced on me several times! He used to get me into trouble all the time in middle school till Mom got fed up of him tattling."
Evan rolled his eyes as Kasey sprung back towards him suddenly.
"Shit! Silence." she bound over to the kitchen table causing Evan to run up and leap onto one of the stools. He lost his balance and it dropped beneath him, he just managed to steady himself on the table to avoid dropping with it. Kasey just about made it onto a seat and opened her book to hide her smirk at Evan's clumsiness. Stef and Lena walked in looking unimpressed.
"They not teach you how to sit on stools at college, Evan?" Stef snarked. "And if I recall, Kasey I had a similar talk with you about eavesdropping as I did with Brandon about tattling."
She looked over the top of her book at Lena and Stef's glares.
"Or do you always read upside down these days?" Lena commented lifting Kasey's badly positioned book out of her grasp and handing it to Stef. Kasey smiled guiltily.
"Well?" she asked expectantly, slightly excited.
"Oh so you couldn't hear everything then?" Lena replied, eyebrows raised.
"No. Evan kept whining about how I shouldn't be listening so I couldn't hear anything."
Stef let out a small laugh and glanced at a bashful Evan."'Well' nothing. It's none of your business."
An offended look glanced across Kasey's face.
"So is Michelle still allowed around here or what? Is Brandon grounded?"
Stef shook her head. "We decided not to ground Brandon anymore for things like this."
Kasey looks even more dumbstruck.
"You still threaten to ground me all the time!"
"We said Brandon." Stef clarified with a smile to tease her daughter.
"Uhm, hello - double standard much?" she complained.
"Uhm, hello - boyfriend living here much?" Lena replied calmly pointing at Evan.
"Well fine." she huffed. "But you know if that had been me you'd have gone ape. And probably dragged Evan out by his hair." Evan shuffled nervously at even the suggestion.
"Yes. I would have." Stef squinted. "So don't. We handle you all differently according to your needs so quit whining. Besides, he is being punished, not for having sex but for his lack of respect."
"Which brings us onto you two actually." Lena added, reminding herself of something else they'd discussed. "We want you to keep this to yourselves. We want it to be forgotten and we don't want everyone dragging it up so no-one else is to know about this - OK? Kasey?"
Lena stared at her daughter having already recorded Evan's immediate nodding.
"Do I have a choice?" she queried, knowing the answer.
"Nope. Not unless you wanna see how double we can really make our standards." Stef threatened. "As in you'll see double." She smiled as Kasey squinted at her with a sarcastic grin.
"Anyway, what are you guys going to be up to today?" Lena asked.
"Was gonna shoot some hoops with Jesus. Get him outside the house a little from moping in his room."
"OK - and you Kasey?" Lena looked across at her.
She shrugged. "Stuff I guess."
"Remember you gotta do that math work. You were bitching about it all last night. May as well get it done." Evan commented innocently but was met with a slightly betrayed look from Kasey.
"OK Dad!" she joked with a slightly surprised and mocking grin.
Lena and Stef exchanged an impressed look as Callie walked in.
"There a reason Brandon is vacuuming the living room?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He's being punished for getting caught sneaking Michelle in for some...OW!" Kasey exclaimed as Stef thwacked her with her book.
"Kasey! That was literally like 2 minutes!" Stef scolded.
"You said you didn't want everyone knowing - I didn't think that included Callie!" Kasey protested, genuinely as if it had been a misunderstanding.
"Why...What...?" Stef stuttered trying to process her daughter's logic. "Callie, Jesus, anyone in this household or at school or anyone in the freakin' country, OK? Nobody."
"Okaay! I'm sorry. Keeping secrets is hard." She responded, her palms raised in defense.
"Says the girl who kept her boyfriend secret for 2 months." Lena teased as Kasey smiled cheekily.
"Yes Brandon got into some trouble last night but we would appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself, unlike some people." She stressed throwing a glance at a still defensive Kasey. "We don't want everyone going on about it." Stef turned her attentions back to Callie.
"Idiot!" she laughed in response rolling her eyes at Brandon's sloppiness.
"I'll fill you in lat..." Kasey began before clocking Stef's glare. "I'm going to do my homework before I get beaten again." Kasey quipped hopping off her stool.
"Good plan." Stef commented.
"Don't wanna incur the wrath of Mrs Hannigan." Callie added through a smirk as Kasey laughed.
"Oh you're lucky you're out of range." Stef whispered with mick malice as Lena grinned.
"The sun'll come out..." Kasey sang quietly as she tried to leave speeding up her movement as she passed Stef.
"You're not!" Stef scolded lunging forward and grabbing the back of her shirt to pull her back and playfully spank her a couple time with the book.
Later that night Jesus slumped into the kitchen. Brandon was scrubbing it down thoroughly.
"Are you cleaning the kitchen?" he asked, noticing the disarray it seemed to be in.
"Uhm yeah...Moms are making me. It's a long story." he replied.
Jesus nodded, only part listening. His relationship with Brandon had become more strained as Michelle had slipped more into their life. She reminded him too much of Porter and the humiliation he inflicted on him. Tonight though, he could tell he was even quieter than other recent times.
"Everything OK, bro?" Brandon asked, ceasing his vigorous scrubbing.
"Yeah." he mumbled in response, filling a glass of water.
Brandon furrowed his eyes a bit at Jesus' clamminess.
"You sure...?" he stared at him until Jesus couldn't avoid eye contact and forcing him to divulge.
"It's just...this homework for science. I can't...never mind. I'll sort it."
Brandon wasn't used to seeing Jesus so subdued but he knew the root.
"You know, I may like his daughter...but it doesn't mean I don't think Porter is a dick." he assured him as Jesus laughed timidly into his drink.
"I just know he's going to rip it apart - and it makes me perform even worse. It's like I do badly because he wants me too." he almost instantly regretted admitting it and tried to make his exit. He just wasn't comfortable talking to Brandon about him, no matter how easy Brandon tried to make it.
"Well...I can't help you with Porter...but I can help you with your homework?" he suggested.
Jesus looked up at him slightly surprised.
"Won't Moms be pissed you're not doing your chores?"
"Don't worry, I'm in enough trouble. Besides, you can do it here and I can talk you through it while I work." He gave him a toothy smile and Jesus nodded and bound up the stairs to retrieve his books.
Chapter 19 Preview: Porter drives a desperate Jesus to take some bad advice from a boy in detention.
"You're mine, Foster." he whispered. "Detention for the rest of the week. If you want we can get some flashcards. I'll make sure they're bright and colourful with minimal words."
Jesus took another deep breath before standing up and walking quietly towards the door.