"Okay, first stop: Dimmsdale Hardware, get Tootie her keys, then the mall to do... whatever. Sound like a plan?"
"Yep!"
"I guess so."
"Love the enthusiasm Timmy..."
"Sorry... it's just... nevermind. It's stupid..."
"Well then, sounds important."
"It's really not." Timmy looked out the window, hoping that Heather would drop the issue.
"Timmy. Spill or I swear I will turn this car right around!"
"You're no good at that."
"Timmy c'mon, just tell us." Tootie joined in now, prodding at him from the front passenger seat.
"Ugh... all you women are gonna be the death of me..." Timmy released a loud sigh. "This is the first time since we got together that... Vicky and I have been apart..."
"Whoa... you two use the bathroom at the same time?" Heather joked.
"No... but... ever since Ricky showed up... I'm just hesitant to leave her alone, y'know?"
Heather and Tootie both seemed to consider what he said before Heather spoke up. "Sounds like you're clingy..."
"Maybe... a little."
"I think it's sweet, he just doesn't want Vicky to get hurt..."
"I didn't say it wasn't sweet, I said he was clingy."
"Whatever. Timmy, you need to relax, I doubt anyone is going to go after Vicky while we're gone."
Timmy didn't answer and continued looking out at the passing scenery, he wasn't convinced, despite Tootie's assurances. What if one of his enemies came back? What if Ricky somehow found a way to come back? Sure, Vicky had Cosmo and Wanda, but...
"Hey, Earth to Twerp, come in Twerp."
"Please don't call me that."
"Vicky calls you that."
"Yeah, Vicky. Last I checked, you aren't her."
"Struck a nerve?"
"No... I just don't want you to make a habit out of it. Timmy is fine, just like Heather is fine, and Tootie is fine."
"Oh, Tootie is more than fine..." Heather winked at Tootie, making her blush.
"If you two are gonna... 'do stuff', can you give me a warning?"
"Calm down, I'm not gonna do anything like that in public, besides, we're here."
Timmy looked out the window to see that they were parked in front of the Dimmsdale hardware store.
"So, anyone wanna come in?"
Timmy spoke up first. "I'll hold down the fort, I don't need anything in here anyway... unless... hm... maybe I could build one of those wrap-around decks for the loft..."
"Um... I don't think we can fit that much wood in my car..."
"Don't bother, he's off in his own little world now... I'll stay here too, I'm still kinda sore from the sunburn..."
"Alright, you two crazy kids have fun!" Heather shut the door, then opened it a second later. "But not too much fun, it's really hard to get stains out of the seats." she shut the door and quickly walked into the store, keeping Tootie from voicing any protests, Timmy was still distracted with the idea of now wishing for some kind of porch/balcony.
"Ooh... she knows just what to say to get me all... I don't know! What's up with her anyway?" Tootie looked over at Timmy. "Hey!"
"Hm? Oh, you say something? I was thinking of how I might build a porch for the loft."
"Why?"
"...Why not?"
"Won't it get all snowy during the winter? You'd have to brush it off... and what if it got icy? You could slip and fall... maybe off the porch and down five stories into the street! Or-"
Timmy tuned her out now, listening to her paranoia talk could make a saint want to drink.
"Timmy? Are you even listening?"
"Define listening." Timmy shot her a wry smile.
"Ugh! You should take these things more seriously! Here you are worrying about someone hurting Vicky, yet you don't have a care in the world about the dangers of building a porch five stories up!"
"You underestimate my carpentry skills. Which may or may not exist... So how are things with Heather?" Timmy decided it would be more prudent to change the conversation, rather than make himself look foolish.
"Fine..." Tootie turned her attention to the radio and began searching for something she liked.
"Doesn't sound fine..."
"I'm not sure, that's all..."
"About...?"
"Me, Heather... you..." the last word was mumbled.
"Me?"
"I didn't say that! I said... Moo."
"..."
"..."
"No you didn't. You still aren't sure about us, are you?"
"I-"
"Tootie... we have to find a way to get past this..."
"...I know."
The driver side door suddenly opened. "I'm back!" Heather handed Tootie the keys. "Whoa. You guys do something while I was gone? If I had a knife, I'd be able to do some serious tension cutting in here..."
"It's nothing." both teens answered simultaneously.
Heather rolled her eyes and started the car. "That was convincing..."
Back at the loft...
Vicky finally awoke and stretched. "What a nice nap!" she wrapped the blanket around herself and looked around. "Right, got the house to myself today..." Vicky made for the kitchen, only to trip and nearly fall over. "What the?!"
Righting herself, Vicky looked at the floor where she tripped to see a large green snake curled up on the floor. "Cosmo?"
The snake turned its attention to Vicky, then waved its tail in greeting. "Hi Vicky!"
"What are you doing?" a bemused smirk now adorned Vicky's face.
"I was sleeping!"
"On the floor. In the form of a snake."
"Yep!" Cosmo responded like it wasn't unusual at all.
"Where's Wanda?"
"I dunno!"
"Okay..." Vicky was struggling to keep a conversation going, she had never really gotten a chance to talk to Cosmo and now she knew why: he was an idiot. "You... know when she'll be back?"
"Nope!"
"Okay then, good talk." Vicky returned to her previous quest: getting food from the kitchen.
As she searched the cupboards, she realized that all they had to eat for breakfast were Timmy-O's, and those were for pack-mules. "I wish I had a real breakfast..."
A plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice appeared before her. "That'll work, thanks Cosmo!"
"Pudding!"
"...Yeah..." "It's gonna be a long day..."
At the mall...
"So, what do we need here?" Tootie looked at Timmy and Heather.
"Well, Vicky asked me to get her some candy."
"What kind?"
"She told me to surprise her..."
"Shouldn't be hard, Vicky likes both chocolate and fruity candy, just don't get her anything licorice-y, she doesn't like it."
"Alright, I'm off then. Call my phone when you guys are ready to go." Timmy left the two girls and made for the candy store. "I'd better get something substantial... why don't I ever just wish for this stuff?"
"Whaddya wanna do 'til he's done?"
Tootie shrugged her shoulders. "We could get something to eat... since we already went shopping..."
"You went shopping, I just helped."
"Right... sorry... we could go shopping for you! If you want..."
"Nah, I'm good. Any games you wanna get? You do have a twenty year old with loose morals accompanying you."
"Sure, video game store it is!" Tootie grabbed Heather's hand, leading her deeper into the mall.
Roughly an hour later...
"Alright. Chocolate, gummy worms, nerds, more chocolate... something in here has to be what she had in mind..." Timmy looked at the large bag of candy he held. "Hope I don't give her Diabetes with all this..."
"Timmy?! Is that you?"
He knew the voice, but he couldn't quite attach it to a face, it was definitely female... maybe if it spoke more, he'd-
"Like, oh my God, how are you?!"
Ah, there we go. Veronica.
"Who?"
And... Trixie...
"Trixie! It's Timmy! We go to school with him, remember?"
"No."
"He used to come over and ask you out a lot?"
"Hm... a lot of boys did..."
"I was the one with the buck teeth and pink hat."
"Oh! Tommy! I remember now!"
"It's Timmy."
"Whatever. What brings you to the mall?"
"Just picking up some things..." "Should I? Yeah, I should" "...For my girlfriend."
"You have a girlfriend?" Timmy noticed the disappointment in Veronica's voice.
"I guess Vicky was right..." "Yeah, we've been together about a month now."
"Oh really? And just who is this girl?"
He couldn't tell if Trixie's words were laced with disbelief... or jealousy. "I'd... rather not say..."
"Oh? Embarrassed of her, are you? Is it that nerdy-looking girl? The one you and your friends sit with?"
"No... Tootie and I are just friends, that's it."
"So who is it then?"
"It really isn't any of your business, Trixie. Why do you even care? I spent years chasing after you and only recently realized that I was being stupid, I've moved on..."
"But Timmy, don't you want to be friends?"
He stared at her skeptically. "Is... she up to something?"
Veronica cast a sidelong glance at Trixie, one that was clearly unsure about what her friend was proposing.
After giving it some thought(and ignoring the voice in his head that told him this was a bad idea), Timmy spoke up. "Sure... I guess... We should all hang out some time! I'll let Chester, AJ, and Tootie know!"
"Great! Here's my number... and Veronica's..."
Veronica turned a slight shade of pink at this, but no one seemed to notice.
"What about Tad and Chad?"
"You really want their numbers? They're both idiots."
"You guys have a falling out?"
"Trixie? Tad and Chad are-" Veronica spoke up, only to be interrupted by an elbow from Trixie.
"Yeah, those two can get kinda weird at times, always needing the other to do things, dressing the same... it's kinda... unnerving."
"I didn't think you'd see it the way we do... alright, I gotta get back to my friends, I'll see you around?"
"Yep! You can count on it Timmy!"
"Cool, bye Trixie, Veronica."
Veronica watched Timmy leave before turning her attention to Trixie. "Why did you elbow me?"
"Because you were speaking out of turn. I don't want him to know that Tad and Chad are still our friends, he doesn't like them and they don't like him. Getting those two involved will just complicate things."
"Complicate what, exactly?"
"Simple, I'm going to find out who this girl is that Timmy is seeing, break them up, then he'll come crawling back to me!"
"You want to go out with Timmy?"
"Of course not! I can do much better than him any day of the week! I just want him to start paying attention to me so I can go back to rebuffing him like I used to. Jeez Veronica, get with the program..." Trixie shook her head and shrugged, then walked away, turning only to motion for Veronica to follow her.
Veronica watched her 'friend' walk away, there were times when she wished that she could be as free-spirited as Timmy. He never seemed to let things bother him, one of many traits that attracted her to him. There was also the fact that he was kind, cared about his friends, and wasn't afraid to stand up to bullies like Francis. But as much as she liked Timmy, she didn't want to ruin things between him and this mystery girlfriend, assuming she really did exist.
"What can I do though? If I stand up to Trixie..." she stopped the thought there, it was hard enough to worm her way into the popular kids' group, if she confronted Trixie... or worse, went behind her back and told Timmy of her plan... she'd be alone. Trixie would drag her name through the mud and back again, just to prove that no one could mess with her.
"Veronica! Are you coming? Or would you prefer to play statue all day?"
"C-Coming Trixie!" as she ran to catch up with Trixie, a final thought crossed her mind. "Am I just a clone of Trixie? Can't I think for myself?"
Back at the loft...
Vicky huffed as she sat back down on the couch.
After breakfast, she had decided to take a shower.
And was now bored.
"I am so bored."
See?
Wanda had come back while she was in the shower, apparently she had gone shopping in 'Fairy World'.
When she told Vicky this, she received a skeptical look. "There's a world just full of fairies somewhere?"
"Yep! It's where we come from!"
"I don't think I'll ever get used to all this..."
"Timmy did."
"Timmy was eight when he got you two, I'm twenty, my imagination is... a little more grown up than his was. Timmy worried about things like the boogeyman, or math tests and he wasn't privy to the real world and its problems. I, on the other hand, worry about things like ex-boyfriends coming back to murder me, or a psycho abducting Timmy so he can show the world that magical creatures exist. Forgive me for being slow to accept things like magic and fairies and Santa Claus."
"I understand. As long as you approach it with an open mind, everything will fall into place and make sense... eventually. Besides, he worries about you."
"I know..."
"Do you? He may not have seemed it, but he was actually very hesitant to go out with Heather and your sister, not because he was afraid you'd be jealous, but because he doesn't like leaving you alone; that's why he left both Cosmo and I here."
"Wanda, I know. I know he cares, and I know how much he cares, really. And I care about him, that's why I was so worried when Ricky came back, that's why I asked him to move in here with me, and that's why I won't let anyone or anything keep us apart!" Vicky let out a little more emotion than she meant to during her speech, but hopefully she got her point across.
"Alright, alright! I'm not looking to separate you two!" Wanda put up her hands in defense.
"Er... sorry." Vicky blushed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Guess I get kinda carried away when it comes to our relationship..."
"Speaking of that... I've told Timmy, so I feel I should tell you too. You really should consider-"
"Is this about sex?" Vicky whined.
"Protection." Wanda deadpanned.
"I thought so... Do you two really want a... grand... godchild? God-grandchild? What would I call that anyway?"
"No! That's the point of this conversation! I don't want you two to grow up too fast and have to take care of a child!"
"...You don't think I can handle a kid, do you?"
"What? I- No, that's not what-"
"I bet I could handle a kid really well! How dare you not have faith in me!" Vicky was just messing with Wanda, true to her nature and having great fun doing it too.
"I just think-"
"That Timmy isn't grown up enough either? I think we'd make great parents!"
"Vicky I-"
"...I'm telling!" Vicky reached for her phone and began dialing Timmy's number.
"No, wait!"
"It's ringing..."
"Hello?"
"Guess who..." Vicky grabbed her shoes and put them on.
"Finally awake, huh?"
"A girl like me needs her beauty sleep."
"Aren't you worried about getting more beautiful? What if your beauty divides the universe by zero?"
"Like that wish you made to extend summer?"
"...Good point. Anyway, what's up?"
Vicky grinned at Wanda, who was now furiously shaking her head back and forth. "Nothing."
Wanda breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the couch.
"Okay... well, I got your candy, kind of a mixed bag of everything..."
"Thanks..." Vicky trailed off slightly.
"So what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine, why do you ask?"
"You sound... I dunno, different. Is it something between you and Wanda? Or Cosmo?"
"No! Everything's fine with us. I just..."
"Uh-huh?"
"I... kinda..."
Timmy considered interrupting her, but felt it would be better to let her finish.
"Imissyou." Vicky blushed as her mouth betrayed her, revealing that she wasn't as tough as she made herself out to be.
"Um... what?"
Vicky sighed. "I... don't like being here. By myself. With you not here. With me."
"Um... okay... Can you give the phone to Wanda?"
Vicky looked at the phone incredulously, as if Timmy would be able to see her bewildered look through the phone.
"Don't look at me like that. Just put Wanda on the phone real quick."
"Wanda? Timmy wants to talk to you."
"Hm?" Wanda took the phone from Vicky and held it upside down. "Hello?"
"Phone's upside down." Vicky remarked plainly.
"Oh! Hello? Timmy?"
"I wish Vicky was here."
"'Kay!"
"Wha?"
Wanda raised her wand, which emitted the usual sparks, before letting out a poofing sound, causing Vicky to disappear in a cloud of purple smoke.
A second later, Vicky appeared in the Dimmsdale Mall, a meter above Timmy, causing her to fall and land on him with an 'Oof!'
Timmy lifted himself from the faceplant induced by Vicky and looked at her. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Owie... remind me to kill Wanda when we get back..."
"At least you landed on something relatively soft..."
"Silver linings..."
Vicky proceeded to get off Timmy and offer her hand to help him up, which he accepted. "So, you missed me, eh?"
"I..." Vicky's cheeks turned pink yet again. "I did..."
"Aw... you're so cute when you're all flustered!" Timmy stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
"Alright c'mon..." Vicky turned redder.
Timmy showed no intention of moving.
"Seriously... people are staring..."
This was, of course, not true. People in Dimmsdale were far more concerned with their own problems than whatever a couple of teenagers were doing. She had mostly just said this to get Timmy to stop his current PDA. It wasn't working.
"For the record, I missed you too."
Vicky slowly, almost reluctantly, returned the hug, for the moment, they were in their own little world, so they didn't notice the black haired girl, or her blonde haired friend, watching them from some distance away.
A/N: A wild Trixie Tang appeared! Trixie uses Nasty Plot! Also, credit goes to grifisme for the idea that will be stretching across the next few chapters.