Timmy awoke at seven A.M. the next day, he wanted to make sure everything was ready for Vicky's birthday, Vicky, on the other hand, hadn't even stirred when he wriggled out of her grasp, she had stayed up until three in the morning playing video games and watching TV, even after Timmy went to bed at eleven. He made his way downstairs and looked outside, it was now raining, hard, there was a particularly violent storm raging outside, a side effect of the day being Vicky's birthday. He turned on the weather channel to see what they had to say.
"Once again on June thirtieth, a freak storm has quite literally come out of nowhere and drenched the city of Dimmsdale, this strange phenomenon happens every year around the same time, but our experts can never track it, the day before registered as a beautiful sunny day, but the storm appeared at around midnight and will likely continue until eleven fifty nine tonight."
"Guess no one has made the connection yet..."
Timmy went into the kitchen and began preparing everything, the cake, some candles from his last birthday, and the gift, of course, nothing too extravagant, he was too lazy to clean things up, and Vicky likely wouldn't want anything to out of proportion.
"At least, I hope so..."
After about an hour, he felt everything was set up well enough, he had made breakfast for the two of them, bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice, well technically he didn't make the orange juice... but anyway standard big, nice breakfast. He ran upstairs to wake Vicky, only to find the bed empty.
"Vicky?" he called and received no reply. He checked the bathroom, no Vicky, then his closet, (which in hindsight was kind of a weird place to check) then downstairs again, still no Vicky. He then noticed a cool breeze coming from the direction of the back door and made his way towards it. It was open.
"Vicky?" he again called going outside, the storm had let up slightly, it was no longer as windy, but the rain was still coming down in sheets. Standing amid the falling water was Vicky on the deck that he had built by the pool, the one she had made him build a few summers before. "You know, this is a good way to get sick, standing out in the rain..."
"Nah, I'm fine. I don't get sick that easily. I've always liked the rain, I wish it rained more often, really."
"Okay... well breakfast is ready, so whenever you want to come in..."
"Wait!"
"Hm?"
"Come over here, stand with me for a little while."
"In the rain?"
"Yes. In the rain."
Timmy was sure that he and Vicky were likely to get sick, but it was her birthday...
"Okay..." he was already soaked, so it didn't matter very much if he stayed out longer now. He moved toward her and stood next to her, then felt her arm wrap around his shoulder and pulled him into her so they were leaning on each other. "Y'know, this is nice actually, but... shouldn't you have put more clothes on?" Vicky still wore her normal sleeping clothes: the tank top and shorts combo; but Timmy could see the goosebumps appearing on her exposed skin, and the fact that the rain was making her clothes stick to her... and the fact that Vicky didn't wear a bra to bed...
"You should admire the scenery, Timmy, it doesn't rain that often in summer, but my chest is still going to be here tomorrow."
"Wha- Oh! Uh... sorry, got... distracted." he blushed bright red.
"Let's head inside..." Vicky moved toward the back door. Timmy followed and then sneezed once.
"Wouldn't it be ironic if I got sick after telling you that you would from being in the rain?"
"It would be funny too."
"Me being sick is funny to you?"
"Oh lighten up, at least I'm here to take care of you if you do get sick."
They ate breakfast in relative silence and, when finished, Timmy took care of the dishes.
"You want cake now or...?"
"After all that? No, I'm stuffed... it can wait..."
"Open your present then?"
"Nah, that can wait too."
"After all the fuss you made to open it last night, you don't want to now?"
"Nope. The day's turning out fine so far, I can be patient."
"What should we do then?"
"I can think of another birthday present that would be nice..."
"I know what you're referring to..." Timmy blushed slightly, he was getting used to her flirty comments.
"Relax, I'm kidding!... For now... I guess we could just stay in and watch movies..."
"Kinda boring don't ya think?"
"Maybe, but I'm perfectly content just spending time with you."
It still occasionally surprised Timmy that this was Vicky, there was never anything to indicate that she was like this when he was growing up, and now, after they had been together for only a few days, she was like a completely different person. Though he hoped that some parts of the old Vicky stuck around, her acting all sweet and nice all the time seemed... weird.
He put the cake back in the fridge and followed her into the living room, she still hadn't bothered to get dressed, her hair was still wet from the rain and it hadn't been put into her characteristic ponytail.
"Have I ever told you that I like your hair like that?"
"Not so directly, it was the night we started sleeping together, you said it was beautiful..." she had clasped her hands together over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes.
Timmy simply looked at her.
"So you like my hair down, I'll make a mental note of that."
The hours passed by in relative silence, a comment here about a movie, a giggle there during a funny scene, all very boring compared to the events that had been happening over the past few days. That is, until there was a series of knocks at the door.
"I'll get it." Timmy rose to his feet and walked to the front door, the rain had gotten worse since the last time he had looked. He opened the front door without thinking to look and see who it was and was met with a very strong kick to his chest, hard enough to instantly floor him.
"Oh, hey Twerp! What's up? Just came by to wish my favorite girl a happy birthday!" it was Ricky, of all the people it could have been, Ricky now stood in his front doorway, he looked a little worse for wear than the last time Timmy had seen him, his stubble was significantly thicker, there were some holes in his vest, and his jeans were torn at the knees, and, due to the rain, he was quite soaked.
"And everything was going so well..." Timmy said as he tried to get some air back into his lungs.
"So is my girl here or...?"
"She's not your girl... now I suggest you get out of here before you regret it..." Timmy was wheezing slightly, apparently Ricky could deliver one hell of a kick.
"Well Twerp, I'll commend you for growing a spine but-"
Before he could finish, he was aware of a sharp pain in his jaw, accompanied by a cracking sound that could only be bone breaking. He stumbled back and fell down the front stairs into the lawn.
"Ooh... staring with the rough stuff right off the bat, eh?"
It was Vicky who had hit him, he hadn't even noticed her approach. She now rubbed he fist, a scowl on her face directed at Ricky.
"I hope you've written your name on a tombstone, because I have every intention of making sure that your death sticks this time." and just like that, old Vicky was back, the Vicky that made kids shiver with fear in the night, the Vicky whose very presence brought with it lightning, the Vicky that Timmy feared he was going to spend the summer with, only this time, she was protecting him. For a few fleeting seconds, Timmy felt sorry for Ricky, for 'waking the dragon' as it were.
"Whoa, baby, let's not be so hasty, you wouldn't kill a guy on his birthday... would ya?" as he said this, he held his jaw and pushed it back into place.
"You think that'll stop me? I don't know why you're still alive, but I will kill you, I've never been more adamant about anything in my life."
"Oof... That's harsh babe, I thought we had something special."
"I'm gonna give you one chance, one. Get out of here and never come back, it's far more than you deserve but it's my birthday, so I'm in a merciful mood."
"Fat chance, I'm leaving now, I only came here to wish you a happy birthday, but I will be back, and you will regret not ensuring I was dead." with that, Ricky stood up and turned to leave, heading out towards downtown Dimmsdale.
Vicky slammed the front door shut, shaking the whole house, she looked at Timmy, the scowl still on her face for a moment, before fading into a look of worry.
"Are you alright?" she walked over and helped him up.
"I'll live, hopefully..." he rubbed at his chest. "I really hope I don't have any busted ribs. Are you okay?"
"He didn't hit me..."
"I know, but are you really all right? He's back, and he's gunning for us..."
"What can we do? He isn't normal, I broke his jaw and he shrugged it off like it was nothing..."
"He may be magic born, but we have Cosmo and Wanda, and each other... though I wasn't much help right now..."
"You let me handle him-"
"No! I can help, I will help! You are always looking out for me, I need to look out for you... You can't be my knight in shining armor, not all the time anyway, I need to be yours as well..."
Vicky sighed in exasperation. "I just don't want you getting hurt on my account..."
"I don't want you getting hurt at all! And he is more than willing to hurt both of us, you because of what you did, and me to get to you." his voice was raised now, he wanted her to understand the gravity of the situation and how dedicated he was to Vicky. "Look..." he stopped to think for a moment and calm down. "If we're gonna get through this, we have to stick together."
"We are together..."
"I mean always, where I go you go, and vice-versa..."
"I've been inviting you to take showers with me..." there was a bemused tone to her voice.
"This is serious Vicky! He could kill us! We don't need to shower together or go to the bathroom together, but we should leave the house together and stick close to each other while we're out."
"I was just joking..." she almost sounded hurt by his snapping at her.
Timmy noticed a downcast expression on Vicky's face, realizing he may have overdone it.
"Vicky, look at me..." she looked up at him, she seemed to be on the verge of tears, her eyes were somewhat wet and puffy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound cruel or yell at you, but..."
"I'm scared Timmy..."
"You? Scared?" Timmy asked with genuine disbelief. Few things scared Vicky, though it seemed that death was a very real fear, first during the avalanche, now with the reappearance of Ricky.
"Don't tell anyone."
"I won't." who would he tell anyway?
Wanda suddenly poofed beside them.
"I have some bad news, you two..."
"What's up?"
"Timmy wished for Ricky and we made him but..."
"But?"
"The only one who can truly get rid of him for good is Vicky, I'm sorry Timmy, but this is one situation where you'll have to sit on the sidelines..."
"What?! Why?!"
"Just the way it is sport, he is literally a male version of Vicky, born from magic of course. That's probably why the person Vicky had take care of him didn't succeed, it needs to be Vicky."
"Well shit." Vicky's voice cracked when she spoke. "So what do I need to do? Shoot him? Hit him with a car? A destined battle in the rain?"
"I don't know unfortunately, though I'd guess maybe the last one, sounds pretty epic... and cliché."
Vicky's phone suddenly rang ad she answered it.
"Happy birthday sis!"
"Oh! Tootie, thanks!" she put on a facade, she didn't want Tootie worrying on her vacation. "How's the vacation?"
"Oh it's alright... I wish you were here..."
"I had to take care of Timmy this summer, you know that."
"I know, how is Timmy?"
"He's fine."
"You're not being too hard on him, right?"
"No I'm not, I told you he's fine."
"Hmm... can I talk to him?"
"Sure." she handed her phone to Timmy, winking as she did.
Timmy nodded in understanding. "Hello?"
"Timmy? How are things?"
"Well enough, I suppose..."
"Vicky's not giving you a hard time is she?"
"No not especially... how are things with you?"
"It's nice here, my parents dote on me a little too much, but the resort is nice."
"Where are you anyway?"
"Oh! That's right! I never told you... we're in Tibecuador. I haven't seen your parents, but Tibecuador is pretty big, so it's not that surprising, well it's nice to know that you aren't miserable, I guess Vicky really has mellowed out."
"Yeah, I'd say she has." thoughts of the past weeks activities swam through his head.
"Can you put Vicky back on?"
"Sure." he handed the phone back to Vicky.
"How are mom and dad?"
"They're fine... you want to talk to them?"
"I'll pass this time, Toots. Thanks again for calling."
"Thanks for keeping your promise, I'll admit, I was worried for Timmy."
"Why on earth would you think that?" Vicky was using her sweet persona.
"That doesn't work on me, Vicky."
"Whatever, I told you I'd be nice, well as nice as I can handle."
"Alright Vicky, have a good birthday, well, what's left of it. I'll try harder to keep in touch..."
"Me too, love you Tootie."
"Love you too, Vicky." with that, she hung up.
"Since when do you throw that word around?"
"Well, only to Tootie, and you, of course."
"Hate to bring it up, but we have to figure out what to do about Ricky, the only advantage we have is that everyone we care about is, coincidentally, out of town."
"Small miracles, I suppose."
Meanwhile...
Ricky continued walking toward downtown Dimmsdale, when he noticed a familiar white van.
"Ah! I know that van!" he walked over to it and opened the back door, surprising Crocker who was looking through a set of binoculars at the Turner house.
"Who are you-" Crocker began yelling until he realized he recognized the boy who let himself into his van and sat down.
"Surely you recognize me, son."
"You're not my father, Ricky."
"Well not genetically speaking, but by law, I am."
"I thought you were dead, my mother searched for you for a while..."
"Yeah, well I took a cruise to the bottom of the ocean, no big deal."
"And you're still alive...? Tell me, you don't have... Fairy Godparents by any chance, do you?" again Crocker seized at the mention of fairies, smashing his knee into his keyboard.
"No, created by fairies and magic, I don't actually have fairies."
"I have to study you! Then I can prove the existence of fairies and people will stop thinking I'm insane!"
"It's too late for that, I'm afraid, and besides, you don't study shit until you help me get revenge on the twerp and Vicky. Then maybe, maybe you can have a look at what makes me tick."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I intend to kill them of course, they tried to kill me, and I'm gonna make damn sure that I succeed in killing them."
Crocker contemplated this. He wasn't sure if he wanted to kill anyone, especially a kid, Timmy was only fourteen, Vicky twenty, could he go through with this, just to the end of proving the existence of magic in the world?
"Alright, but what's to stop them from coming after us?"
"They won't, Vicky is afraid of me, and besides, I can't be stopped, after what Vicky tried a few years back, I'm sure of it. We have another thing going for us too: Vicky's afraid of me, Timmy's one line of defense is weakened, well other than the fairies." as he said this, he rubbed his jaw and felt a crack, wondering what it was, he reached into his mouth and felt around before pulling out a bloody tooth. He gazed at it for a few seconds before a look of fear crossed his face, then he quickly hid the look behind his sly smile again.
"Everything all right?"
"Yep, just haven't flossed in a while."
A thought appeared in the back of Ricky's mind, how did this happen? She had hurt him, he thought he was fine, it didn't even hurt when she punched him, but sitting in his hand was his tooth, covered in blood.
"It's just because I haven't been taking care of my teeth, that's all..."
Still, there was a definite spark of fear buried deep in Ricky's psyche now.