Thanks a lot for the reviews so far everyone! I really appreciate them, and to mike2000, Reggie's calling out to Otto was more so a surprise. You know, like, "Otto, it's you!" That type of thing, like another one of you mentioned.
Well, Otto isn't doing anything that Reggie or the others would disapprove of, so sorry to disappoint those of you who may have been thinking that. Just a small reminder, he's jealous of Reggie and he's a bit envious of Sam and Twister. Another hint I can give is that it has a bit to do with their (Sam, Reggie, Twister) extra-curricular activities. Sorry, I know I phrased that wrong. I suck when trying to explain stuff like that. Maybe I'll just shut up and continue on with the story. lol
Anyway, for this short chapter, both Twister and Reggie confront Otto and demand some answers from him, but it doesn't turn out the way they'd hoped. Otto ends up saying a lot of harsh things to the two, especially towards Reggie. I'll probably get into what Otto's problem truly is in a flashback type situation, or either have a short chapter focused on his thoughts or something. I just don't know when I want to use that or where I want to use it.
As I write this, I keep getting more and more ideas. For the next chapter…expect some Twister x Reggie hinting. Well, more than what's been subtly shown so far, I mean. I keep getting more ideas for that too. To let them get together or not is the question. Should I leave it as Twister unknowingly pining for the girl, and nothing coming of it, or should I have her return the feelings? Who knows? Oh, and just so you know, the competing for Reggie's attention by both Twister and Trent will be inevitable.
Twister, as I mentioned, will be pretty oblivious to it since he's in so much denial over it and can't even admit to himself that the reason for his pining for the girl's attention is because he's developed romantic feelings for her, which has also been indirectly pointed out by Sam as even he's noticed Twister's strange behavior around the older girl lately.
As for Trent, well, he's probably going to be a bit more obvious about his liking towards Reggie since once person already knows about it (no, it isn't Reggie). Trent is going to show up eventually – I've already written it out, and he'll debut in chapter 9 – which means hinting.
Getting down to it, I wonder why there aren't more fics around dealing with Trent x Reggie, especially since it was so dead-set obvious that she had a thing for him and seems he could've fallen for her too. Oh, and just because I'm putting Trent into this fic, doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to let him get together with Reggie. I may not use a pairing at all. It all depends on the direction this story goes in.
Wow, that was a long A/N. Sorry about that.
Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Rocket Power. Klasky-Csupo has that honor. Enjoy the fic, and don't forget to leave those reviews and comments to let me know how I am doing or what I can do to improve. As I always say, there's always room for improvement. lol
Chapter 05: The Confrontation…
Twister finally made it to the Rocket home, but when he got there, he heard the sound of a skateboard clacking against wood, and a familiar voice root, "Whoa-ho, this move is totally sick! Whoo!"
"Ottoman?"
He rushed to the side of the house, just as Reggie was since she'd heard the sound too. She was on her way out of the side door when Twister arrived. When the two got there, they saw Otto on the half-pipe, performing one of his latest, most impressive skate tricks.
"Otto!" Reggie gasped.
Twister didn't say much of anything, and just stared in awe. 'Dude, I've never seen him do that move before! I have to get this on video!'
Twister obliviously started fumbling through his backpack for his camera, but he stopped looking immediately with what happened next. He heard a thump and a groan. When he looked up, he saw Otto lying face down on the pipe. Since his concentration had been broken, Otto beefed his landing. Twister and Reggie ran over to him as he stood up, brushing himself off.
"Are you alright, bro?"
Otto ignored Twister, and shot Reggie a look. This look made Twister shudder since it seemed so cold and harsh to him. He'd never seen Otto look at anyone in such a way. Sure he'd seen him give Lars looks of annoyance – so did he – from his somewhat constant bullying, and competitiveness, whenever they had a street hockey match against one another or any sport, actually, but never any real anger.
"Thanks a lot, Regina! I could've nailed that move! You ruined my perfect landing!"
"Sorry about your landing, but what's going on?" she asked in grave concern, ignoring the fact that he'd addressed her as "Regina". "Twist said you missed school today. You've also been missing our street hockey practices, and-"
"Why don't you just bug off!" he snapped at her.
"Otto?" The wavy-haired girl tried her best to remain calm. She knew her brother better than anyone, and knew that the real Otto would never act in the way that he was now. "What's wrong? Just tell us. What did we do to make you mad at us?"
"I said to leave me alone!" Otto spat as he picked up his skateboard. "I have to be the best, and don't worry about the game. I'm the captain, and I'll be there. I'm already a great player anyway…too bad I can't say the same for you lame-os." He stared directly at Reggie. "You think you're so great, but you're probably the worst!"
Reggie was speechless. She had never been spoken to so harshly before in all of her life, especially from him. She and Otto were like two peas in a pod, a team. "Team Rocket", as Otto would call it. A part of her, the Regina side, wanted to break down and cry for her feelings being genuinely hurt. The possibility of her own brother hating her was painful, but the other part of her, the Reggie side, wanted to beat Otto senseless for being such a jerk.
Twister was equally surprised over the malevolence in Otto's voice. He too couldn't say anything at the moment. He glanced over at Reggie, wondering if she was going to counter in any way, but her look of astonishment mixed with distress was too much for him. It looked as if she wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say or either couldn't. Twister, on the other hand, could keep quiet no longer.
"Dude, what's your malfunction?!"
Otto stepped up to the taller boy. "What's it to you, traitor?!"
He ignored the "traitor" comment and continued on. "Why are you acting this way? Why are you being way more competitive than usual? How can you just insult us like that?"
Otto sighed. "Just leave me alone."
He started to walk off, skateboard in hand, but Twister stepped right in front of him; something he'd never really done before. Normally, Twister would go along with pretty much everything Otto said, even if he didn't fully agree with it. If Otto did something that bothered or annoyed him, he would generally just brush it off and let it go, most of the time, but this time was different for some reason. He couldn't let it go. He refused to let Otto have his way for once.
"Get out of my way, Maurice!" Otto growled, his left fist clenched.
"You're not leaving until you apologize for the things you said to Reg!"
"Why the hell should I?! I was only telling the truth! She does think she's best, and I'm here to prove her wrong!"
He tried to walk past Twister once again, but he held the boy in place.
"Let go of me!"
"No, not until you apologize to Reggie!" Realizing what he said, he hastily added, "And to me an-and to Sam!"
Otto narrowed his eyes in disgust. "I don't got to do anything!" he shouted at him. He then muttered, "Some best bro…nothing but a traitor, sticking up for her…"
"Best bro? Best bro?! You have some nerve!" Twister argued back, something else he'd never really done before, as it was pretty much a rarity.
This was the first time for as long as he'd known Otto where he actually wanted to hit him for his actions. Even more than the time Otto called him a "mug" for defending Reggie when Otto was giving her a tough time when they participated in the Junior Waikikamukau games that were held in New Zealand a few years back. This was also the first time he felt the need to fully argue back. The insults towards Reggie were just unforgivable to the redhead.
"If you were my best bro, you would've told me what was bothering you instead of treating me like crud! A real best bro wouldn't insult his best friend and call him a 'lame-o'! A real best bro wouldn't act so selfish! I know you want to keep working hard to be the best surfer and the best skater and skateboarder in all of Ocean Shores, but it's not all about you, bro! We're all supposed to be a team – me, you, Reggie, and Sam – and lately I think you've forgotten that! Even my real brother wouldn't treat me the way you are right now, and he is a jerk!"
The look on Twister's face was a mix of true disgust, confusion, and slight anger, his anger showing most as of the moment. Reggie looked over at Twister, studying his face. His demeanor and the expression he wore, to her, made him look remarkably like Lars.
Otto just stood there, scowling, Twister's grip still tight on his right shoulder.
"Now apologize to Reggie…Oswald!" Twister ordered through grit teeth.
To both Rockets, the boy looked like he was ready for a fight, or was trying to avoid one. Neither had ever seen Twister this upset before.
"If you don't apologize to the Squid, or me, at least apologize to her. She didn't do anything to you! You guys are family! Family shouldn't treat family like that!"
"I told you that I'm not going to apologize for telling the truth about her, and you should talk! You and the Squid are just like her, especially you! Always showing me up, always-" he stopped abruptly and pushed Twister away. "You know what, I don't even care anymore! I'm out of here!" Finally breaking free of Twister's grasp, he hopped onto his skateboard, and took off…
x x x
Author's Note
There you are, the end of the chapter. As for the Lars/Twister reference, this is just my personal opinion when it comes to looks. Sure they don't look particularly alike, but when Twister gets mad, to me, he seems to be a bit like Lars. One incident that comes to mind, was that tie when his cousin, "Little Scotty" called him "Cousin Squid". He was really tweaked and he even looked like he wanted to hurt the kid. Hm, maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but I still feel that, at times, Twister resembles Lars a bit.
Oh, one more thing…I apologize for the move Otto was trying to perfect. Since I'm not a skater, I couldn't really describe anything or even make something up. So, once again, I truly apologize for my lack of skateboarding knowledge.