Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.


The L Word

Chapter 9

Losing It

Twenty minutes into the ride back to campus, Raven's cell phone rang. It was her mother.

"Okay. Finally a voice of reason." Raven said breathing a sigh of relief. "It's my mother."

"Hi Mom."

"Rae, what's going on there? Your father called me and said you had some pointed words for him at the house."

"So now he's telling on me?" Raven said with an air of attitude. "Yes. He did something he shouldn't have and I checked him on it."

"He told me about it. The job, the Secret Service agent, the whole thing. What ever happened to picking your battles?"

"I picked mine Mom." Raven proclaimed. "He pretended that Chelsea and I aren't seeing each other. Like what we have doesn't exist. And I'm not gonna let him or anybody else edit our relationship out of their lives like they bleep out curse words on the radio." Raven's voice was laced with conviction.

"Honey, I'm not gonna sit here and defend your father because I told him he was wrong, but do you at least understand the position he is in right now? Tonya said. "He just wants to make sure that Governor Martinez avoids scandal. The press will jump on anything they think is juicy and that could give the campaign a serious black eye."

"BLACK EYE?" Raven screamed. "NOW CHELSEA AND I ARE A… A… BLACK… EYE?" Raven was incensed. "Of all people, given what you yourself have experienced, I can't believe you would say that! "CHELSEA AND I ARE NOBODY'S BLACK EYE!"

"Rae! Chill!" Eddie whisper-yelled, trying to calm her down as he drove.

"Watch your tone of voice, young lady." Tonya' admonition was calm but stern. "You might be upset, but I am your mother. Now you need to calm yourself down so we can have a rational conversation."

"Calm down?" Raven lowered her voice but not her intensity. "Why is it that older adults always say stupid shit to piss off younger adults and then tell them to calm down?"

"Rae!" Eddie whisper-yelled in horror after her last question.

"NOW THAT IS ENOUGH!" Tonya yelled into the phone. "In your nearly 21 years on this Earth, I have never cursed at you in anger and expect the same courtesy in return. You DO NOT talk to me like that and I don't ever want to hear that from you again! Is that clear?"

"I'm not a child!" Raven exclaimed. "Don't y'all get that! I am a grown woman that picks out her own clothes, makes her own decisions and has her own belief system."

"So that gives you the right to curse at your parents when you feel like it?"

"That gives me the right to defend myself when I think I am being attacked or treated unfairly."

"What has gotten into you today?" Tonya was stunned and confused by Raven's attitude.

"Backbone." Raven answered. "I walked into my own home and felt like a goddamn stranger." She began to cry. "And I don't ever want to feel like that again." Raven continued in between sobs. "For the first time in my life I didn't feel like a Baxter."

"Raven…"

"And frankly, right now I'm not feeling like much of one talking to you either."

"Raven…"

"I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Raven, wait a minute! Ra…" Raven hung up and wept.

Several minutes went by. Eddie couldn't say anything to Raven yet. Her emotions were too raw. He had to wait for her to speak. He simply continued to drive and let her sort her feelings out. After a few more minutes, the crying ceased. The sniffling of tears followed soon after. Then all that was left was stony silence.

"Rae…" Eddie began.

"All I want to do is love Chelsea." Raven said in a monotone voice, staring out of the window at the trees whizzing by on the Interstate. "That's it."

"Your Mom said it was going to be difficult." Eddie said.

"They're my family." Raven said without turning her head.

"Family can let you down sometimes." Eddie added. "They mean well, but sometimes they get in their own way."

Raven turned to look at Eddie. "My family has never let me down before."

"I said the same thing when my father left." Eddie said. "But they are human. Just like you are. We all make mistakes."

"Thanks for the cliché, Slick." Raven deadpanned.

"As hard as you are trying to alienate everyone in your life right now, it's not gonna work with me." Eddie remarked. "I'm used to your forked tongue so I'm stickin' around."

"I don't want to alienate everybody. I want them in my life. I want them to be happy for me." Raven said. "If it were Devon or Andre or you, this wouldn't be an issue."

"But it's not any of us. It's Chelsea. And it is an issue. Don't fight so hard. You might end up hitting someone you don't mean to." Eddie laid some wisdom at Raven's feet. Then he added one more nugget. "Like your Mom."

Raven looked at Eddie and dropped her head. She realized that she had crossed the line with her mother. She was hoping that it wasn't to late to cross back over.

"Can I use your cell phone?" Raven asked. Without hesitation, Eddie pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. Raven took a deep breath and dialed her mother's cell phone.

"Hi, Eddie. Have you talked to Raven today, she…"

"Mom? It's me."

"Why are you calling me from Eddie's cell phone?"

Raven paused for a moment. "I didn't think you'd answer your phone if you saw it was me." Raven said in a meek voice.

It was Tonya's turn to pause. "Sweetheart." Tonya said in a 'You silly girl' voice. "I will always answer a call from you."

Raven began welling up. "I'm sorry I yelled and cursed at you. It wasn't you."

"Apology accepted." Tonya said. "My little drama queen." Tonya teased, earning a chuckle out of Raven amidst sniffled tears. "I know you want everyone to be on board with you and support you. It's gonna take time. Just remember, honey, we're not the enemy."

"I know." Raven whispered. "I just get so…"

"Frustrated. I know. Your father does that to me too. Give him time." Tonya decided to change the subject. "Now, I assume Eddie is with you. Isn't he going back to school soon?"

"Saturday. But he has someone occupying his time now." Raven perked up.

"Who?"

"Remember the girl Gina I told you about?"

"The one that you wanted to slap the shit, I mean, the taste out of her mouth?"

"One in the same. We've actually become friends with her. She's alright."

"Well good for him and good for you! But what about that funny feeling you had about her?"

"Just me being peculiar I guess." Raven responded. "You know… Gina has a lot in common with us…"

Gina was straightening up her room, eagerly awaiting Eddie's call. She could not believe that she had fallen that fast, that hard for a guy. She knew that he left for school on Saturday and wanted to spend every moment she could with him. He had called her earlier in the day and told her that he was coming to see her. Her mind wandered as she thought about their first dinner, first kiss, first movie night and the first time they made love. She let her mind ponder the possibilities of the second taste of all four. She was in the middle of that train of thought when a knock on the door interrupted her.

Must be Eddie! She thought to herself as she skipped over to the door, then took a second to calm herself down. She opened the door.

"Hey Gina. How's my girl?" Gina found herself wrapped in a tight bear hug. Right dialogue, right physical greeting, wrong person.

"Katie!" Gina exclaimed half-heartedly. "When did you get back?"

"Yesterday." Katie said as she released her hug. "You look great."

"So do you." Gina said. Katie Allen was about 5'2", athletic build with lean runner's legs. She ran cross-country in high school. She had shoulder length brown hair that one would find up in ponytail as often as it was down. Soft brown eyes drew you in to her cute-as-a-button features. She was once described as a dark-haired version of Hayden Panettiere.

"You didn't call me this summer." Katie said as she slowly paced around Gina's room.

"My internship and my parents breaking up and everything. I'm sorry."

"You're supposed to be my best friend." Katie said. "I thought we were close." Katie sat down on Gina's bed.

"Want something to drink?" Gina offered as she reached into her refrigerator for a bottle of juice.

"No. I want you to respond to what I just said." Katie said with emphasis on the last four words.

"You're my best friend. Of course we're close." Gina said.

Katie stood up and walked over to Gina. "That's not what I meant." Katie purred before planting a kiss on Gina's lips. Several seconds later, Gina pulled away.

"Don't… do that again." Gina practically growled as she glared at Katie.

"I saw you last night with that black guy." Katie said. "Looked like he was gonna have a very good night."

"What does his color have to do with anything and it's none of your fucking business anyway." Gina said as she continued to glare at Katie. "What do you want?"

"I want you." Katie said, wasting little time in revealing the purpose of her visit. "You and I…"

"Had a thing for a month at the end of the semester. It was fun at the time, but that's it. That's all it was, a good time." Gina said. Her gray eyes began to darken.

"Quiero que tu me haga el amor mientras nuestros cuerpos permiten." Katie said. "I bet you used that line on him too."

"What part of none of your fucking business do you not understand?" Gina's impatience with Katie was growing.

"Why are you being like this?" Katie asked.

"What did I tell you back in June? I told you that I had a good time but I didn't want to do it anymore and I was into guys. I also told you that I still wanted to be your friend."

"And I told you that I wasn't taking no for an answer." Katie said playfully.

"And I told you that was the only answer I had." Gina said sternly. She then softened her voice. She took Katie by the hand. "Look Katie, there are plenty of other girls out there for you. I just… I just want to keep your friendship. We've been friends for three years now. I don't want to lose that.

Katie sat motionless for several moments. She then stood up. Gina stood up facing her. Without warning, Katie's open right hand struck the left side of Gina's face with a loud smack.

"You teasing BITCH!" Katie said. Gina turned her head around just in time to receive another slap across the face. Gina's cheek turned crimson as a result of the two slaps. Gina bent over and held her face until Katie got within striking distance.

Gina then delivered an uppercut slap from her prone position that sent Katie collapsing onto the bed. Gina quickly pounced. She jumped on top of Katie, straddling her and began punching her in the head. Katie threw up her arms trying to defend herself.

"I… will whip… your ass up in here!" Gina said in between punches.

Katie managed to reach up and pull Gina's hair hard enough for her to stop punching. Katie scrambled to get out from under Gina. Once on her feet, Katie went for another slap, but Gina dodged it.

"BALL YOUR FIST UP! STOP ALL THAT BITCHSLAPPIN', BITCH!" Gina screamed as she delivered a right cross that knocked Katie backwards but not off her feet.

Katie turned and headed for the door but Gina caught her at the door. Gina used the door as a tag-team partner as she grabbed Katie's hair and attempted to slam her into it. Katie's quick reflexes allowed her to get a hand up in time to absorb the majority of the blow. Gina was pounding Katie with blows. Katie got Gina off of her long enough to open the door and fall out into the hallway.

Gina jumped on top of her and continued her assault but Katie quickly flipped her and began raining shots down on Gina.

"I'LL FUCK YOUR TEASIN' ASS UP!" Katie screamed as her onslaught continued.

Seconds later, Gina flipped Katie and got the advantage.

"CRAZY ASS BITCH! FUCK!" Gina screamed as she swung at Katie.

Just then the elevator doors opened. Raven, Chelsea and Eddie heard the commotion down the hall. When they turned the corner and saw the melee, they broke out into a sprint toward the action.

"GINA!" Eddie screamed as they approached the two. He ran up and pulled Gina trying to get her off of Katie. She had grabbed one handful of Katie's hair and one handful of her jacket and wouldn't let go.

"CHELS, GRAB HER!" Raven yelled as she tried to pry Katie away from Gina.

"KATIE, LET GO!" Chelsea said loudly as she grabbed Katie around the waist.

"FUCK YOU!" Gina screamed at Katie as Eddie finally managed to pry Gina loose. Eddie picked her up and put her over his shoulder.

"FUCK YOU HARDER, BITCH!" Katie screamed. "GO BACK TO THE BARRIO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!"

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Eddie yelled to Chelsea and Raven as they began to drag Katie toward the elevators.

"I'M MORE SUBURBAN THAN YOUR FAKE WANNABE MIDDLE CLASS ASS!" Gina shot back at Katie while suspended in mid-air desperately trying to wriggle out of Eddie grasp. ¡SI ALGUNA VEZ LE AGARRO EN EL CAMPUS SOLO, LE JODERE ¡PUEDO PROMETERLE ESTO, HEMBRA!

Translation: (If I ever catch you on campus alone, I will fuck you up! I can promise you that, bitch!)

Eddie carried Gina into her room and slammed the door behind them as Katie's screams began to disappear down the hallway as Raven and Chelsea took Katie out of the building.

"I'M GONNA FUCKIN' KILL HER!" Gina fumed. "SLAP ME IN MY OWN FUCKING ROOM? I DON'T THINK SO!"

"Gina. Calm down." Eddie tried to use a soft approach still holding her.

"CALL MY SISTERS AND JUMP YOUR TIRED ASS!" Gina continued to scream at Katie as if she were still in the room. ¡HAGALE ANDAR CON UNA COJERA DE MIERDA PERMANENTE¡HEMBRA ESCANDELOSA!

translation: (make you walk with a permanent limp! scandalous bitch!)

Eddie decided to change his approach to get Gina to calm down.

¡GINA, CERRADA JODER Y CALMA JODER ABAJO O LE LLEVARE ALREDEDOR HASTA QUE TU SE GRADUE!

translation: (Gina, shut the fuck up and calm the fuck down or I will carry you around until you graduate!)

Gina froze in place. Eddie could feel her muscles begin to relax. He slowly lowered her to the ground. When her feet touched the floor, Eddie took her by the arm and sat her down on the bed. Well, she can fight. I know that much. And she's stronger than she looks. Eddie thought. What the hell do I say to her?

Raven and Chelsea stood silently at the entrance to the building and watch Katie hop into her car and drive away.

"What the fuck just happened?" Chelsea asked incredulously as she rubbed her side just below her left breast.

"I have no idea!" Raven said. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I think she caught me in the ribs. I'm okay though. You?"

"Broken nail but otherwise I'm okay." Raven offered. "I'd sure like to know why they were scrappin' like that!"

"I've only seen girls fight like that over a guy." Chelsea said.

Raven looked at Chelsea to respond but couldn't. It was time for another vision.

(VISION)

"How do I do it?" Gina asks herself out loud as she softly wept as she spoke on the phone. "How do I tell him that? Just because his best friends did it doesn't mean he'd understand it with me."

(END OF VISION)

"Rae? What is it?" Chelsea asked.

"Chels… They weren't fighting like that over a guy." Raven said ominously.

"You saw it in your vision? What were they fighting about?"

"They were fighting over a girl."

"What? Who?"

"Each other." Raven stood in semi-shock. Chelsea looked at Raven in complete befuddlement. "I think Katie and Gina…"

"NO! Wait a minute!" Chelsea interrupted. "What did you see in your vision?"

"Gina was talking to someone on the phone saying that she doesn't know how to tell HIM and that just because his best friends are doesn't mean he'll understand about her." Raven recounted her vision. "Him is Eddie. His best friends are us. And what we are is…"

"What do we do?" Chelsea wondered aloud.

"Sit tight and hope she comes clean." Raven suggested. "It was hard enough telling you about Jake and the ribs. I don't want to think about telling Eddie about this." Raven exhaled.

"Come on. Let's go check on them." Chelsea said.

"Gina?" Eddie started. "You want to talk about this now?"

"What I want to do is tear her a new asshole. That's what I want to do." Gina said with a cold, calculating calm.

"What did she do to piss you off that bad?" Eddie asked.

Part of me wants to tell you, but I don't want to lose you! I just met you! Gina thought.

"Don't worry about it." Gina said flatly.

"Don't worry about it? You were about 10 seconds away from a manslaughter rap!" Eddie exclaimed, then softened. "What happened between you two?"

Eddie please drop this and just hold me! Gina pleaded with Eddie in her mind.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Gina raised her voice.

"But if you hold it in…"

"I know exactly what would happen if I hold it in!" Gina lashed out. "Look, I know you're trying to help, but you've known me all of two days, you don't know everything about me so just let it go and I'll handle it myself!" Now please, just back down.

"I can't let you do…"

"CAN'T LET ME DO WHAT? HANDLE MY OWN BUSINESS!" Gina was once again at full boil. "MIND YOUR BUSINESS, EDDIE! AS A MATTER OF FACT, WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE!"

"You really want me to leave?" Eddie asked.

No. I really need you right now. "I think that would be best." Gina said with no emotion. Eddie stood up and turned for the door. Gina felt herself welling up and turned her back to Eddie.

"I'll call to check on you." Eddie said as he turned to look at Gina. All he saw was her back.

"I'll be fine." Gina said using every ounce of strength to hold back her tears.

Eddie opened the door, dropped his head and slowly walked out of the room pulling the door behind him. Just then Chelsea and Raven came down the hallway.

"How is she?" Raven asked.

"She… told me to mind my business… asked me to leave." Eddie said dejectedly. "I'm going home. I've had enough drama for one day."

"Eddie, wait." Raven said. "You pulled me up earlier when I was down. I'm not about to leave you in the dirt. Come on." Raven tugged on his arm to lead him into their room.

"No. Rae. Just let me go home stare at the wall and listen to Sade for a while." Eddie said.

"Okay, first, stop stealing lines from Boomerang. Second, you are not going home to sulk, you are staying here with us…"

"And third, if you're good, I'll let you see Rae in her bra and panties again." Chelsea slid in a zinger trying to get a reaction out of Eddie. Raven scrunched her brow as she looked at Chelsea with her mouth open in shock.

"All right. You had me at bra and panties." Eddie said as he walked over and stood in front of their door.

Raven whispered in Chelsea's ear. "Too bad you won't be seeing my bra and panties or what's underneath for a while."

"Its gettin' hot in here, so take off all your clothes, I am gettin' so hot, I wanna take my clothes off." Chelsea whisper-sang to Raven, reminding her of her anniversary night show.

Raven looked at Chelsea as she opened the door and mumbled. "Ya nasty."


Chapter 9 is done. Chapter 10 is next. PLEASE REVIEW.