Tooth or Dare
Angelica beamed as she looked at Chuckie's two front teeth, already imaging all the money she'd get from just one of those lovelies. She rubbed her hands together in delight and walked towards Chuckie, who cringed.
"I don't know about this…" Chuckie whimpered, curling away from her.
"Oh, come on Chuckie… what's a tooth among friends?" Angelica said, grabbing onto his arm, Tommy snatching the other.
"I wanna keep my teeth!" he exclaimed. But when he saw Angelica wasn't moved at all by his pleas he looked at Tommy. "Please don't do this Tommy!"
"But Chuckie, we'll be rich!" Tommy said with a grin. "We'll get toys and ponies and a sandbox in Florida-"
"I don't want any of those, Tommy!" Chuckie shouted, kicking as he tried to escape the two. "I want my teeth!"
"Come on Chuckie, don't-"
Tommy stopped.
He remembered how upset Chuckie had gotten when Tommy had decided to be bad to get back Henry. He'd told Tommy about how he never listened to him and would bully him into doing what he wanted…
…and call him a baby.
Just like he'd almost done now.
Tommy stopped.
"Hey!" Angelica complained, tugging on Chuckie's arm. "What ya doing, baldly?"
"We're not going to take Chuckie's teeth! They are his teeth and it isn't right to take'em!" Tommy declared.
"What's the big deal?" Angelica complained. "They are just teeth… so he goes back to bottles and bananas for a few years?" She tugged but Tommy planted his feet. "Let go!"
"NO!" Tommy said fiercely. "Mommy says it's wrong to take what doesn't belong to you! Chuckie's teeth belong to him, not you, and you aren't taking them!"
"Oh yeah?" Angelica snapped, glaring at him.
"YEAH!" Tommy said, Chuckie caught in their tug of war but still looking at Tommy with a look of utter gratitude.
"Fine, I'll just take yours then!" Angelica roared, letting go of Chuckie and lunging at Tommy, forcing his mouth open and tugging on his tooth. Tommy thrashed and kicked in screamed. His jaw ached and he began to gag, unable to breathe as Angelica yanked on his mouth and it HURT-
"ANGELICA!"
Suddenly his cousin was off him and Tommy took several shaking breaths before the pain that still lingered in his mouth caused him to begin bawling. But then he was lifted up and saw his mommy hugging him, rocking him and telling him it was all right… and that made him cry more because he was safe. He looked down and saw his daddy holding onto Angelica's wrist, dragging her away with a look of utter anger that Tommy had never seen before! He sniffed and whimpered even as his mommy took him to the couch and hugged him close, Chuckie brought up to sit next to them because he was crying too.
Angelica was crying for a different reason as Stu waited with her at the door until Drew came to pick her up early.