The night is over! So … what will the morning bring?
Yesterday's Friends
They were fast asleep.
Tommy was having some bizarre dream about searching for Lil in a department store at the mall while Dil sang 'Memories' over the loudspeaker. He eventually found her in the furniture section; but before he could reach her, Phil crossed his path, angry, and attempted to lock him in a giant fridge –
"WAKE UP!"
"Coleslaw!" Tommy spluttered, waking suddenly from his dream. A body stirred beside him.
"Huh?" Lil was half asleep. She'd been resting with her head on Tommy's chest.
"UP UP UP!" demanded the intrusive voice, who had now entered their sleeping quarters, i.e. the fold-out tent. Tommy came to his senses and bolted upright.
"DIL! What did I tell you about privacy? Do I have to pull out the dictionary and – "
"Mom and dad are home early!" Dil cut in. "Their cab just parked out front!"
"What!" said Tommy and Lil together.
Dil looked helplessly to the heavens and repeated, "Mom and dad are – "
"Are you sure?" Tommy overrode him, hastily unzipping his sleeping bag. Lil did the same with hers.
"Tommy, is the Hapalochlaena lunulata neurotoxic?"
"Is that a yes?"
Dil huffed in frustration. "If you don't believe me, fine! Feel free to go back to sleep. But I'm sure you'd rather have me see you in here then them!"
Point taken. Tommy, Dil and Lil clamored out of the tent.
"How the hell do you fold this thing?" Tommy complained in a panicked voice. He had one end of the fold-out tent and Lil had the other.
"Turn it!" Lil said.
"Which way?"
"That way!"
"Which way's that way?"
"They're coming!" Dil insisted, looking out the window.
"I got it," Lil told Tommy, taking matters into her own hands. Tommy handled their next move.
"Let's go into the kitchen and pretend we've been sitting down to breakfast."
"Always making a scene, aren't you T?" Dil joked. "What's my motivation?"
"It's breakfast and you're hungry."
"That doesn't sound very creati – "
"MOVE!"
"Phil ... what are you doing?"
Kimi had spent the night on the DeVille's couch, deciding not face Chuckie until morning. Dressed in a borrowed pair of Lil's pajamas, she woke up and went upstairs to say good morning to Phil, only to find him ...
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Phil replied smartly, staying faced to the window. He was looking through a pair of binoculars, staking out Tommy's bedroom. Annoyed, Kimi stomped over and snatched the binoculars clean out of his hands.
"Hey!"
"Phil, I can't believe you! Didn't anything I said last night penetrate your skull? You have to accept Lil being with Tommy!"
"I do accept it!"
"Then what's with the creepy stalker act?"
"I was - " Phil stumbled on his words. "I was only checking up on her, all right? And don't give me another protective brother speech! I had a dream about attending an 'Over-Protective Brothers Anonymous' meeting last night thanks to you, so my skull is well aware of the problem!"
On hearing about Phil's dream, Kimi's composure changed. "A dream?" she asked, interested. "Really?"
"Yes!"
"What happened?"
"Stuff!" was Phil's initial, profound response. "I mean ... I don't know, it was weird! The meeting was being held in the school auditorium. Chuckie was there and he stood up and said 'I'm Charles Finster and I'm an Over-Protective Brother'. Then he saw me, turned psychotic and tried to kill me! And every time I tried to defend myself, he'd ... "
"He'd ... what?" Kimi prompted. For some reason, Phil wouldn't look her in the eye.
"He'd morph into you," Phil finally admitted. "If I hurt him, it was the same as hurting you, so I couldn't do it. There was also something involving Dummi Bears," he added pointlessly. "They were forcing me to do aerobics, and - "
Phil was unable to finish the story of his dream because Kimi threw her arms around him.
"Ah ... Kim?" said Phil, half amused and half suspicious. "You okay?"
"Oh, Phil! That was such a sweet dream!"
"It was?" Phil didn't see how Chuckie beating the crap out of him was meant to be sweet.
"Yes! It means you don't want to hurt me. And don't you see? If hurting Chuckie meant that you'd hurt me, then hurting Lil would be the same as hurting yourself. And hurting Tommy would be like hurting Lil, which is ultimately you! We're all interconnected!"
"Huh?"
Kimi smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Well, as long as your unconscious gets it. I gotta go use the bathroom, I'm busting!"
And with that, Kimi left the room. Phil scratched his head, wondering what just happened, then shrugged it off. At least she wasn't angry at him.
"I do not understand girls."
Back at the Pickles residence …
Tommy and the others heard the front door unlock and open, followed by the sound of Stu grunting as he towed in the luggage. Then Didi called out in a shrill voice, "TOMMY, DIL, LIL! WE'RE HOME! Where are you?"
"In the kitchen, mom!" Tommy called back. They were positioned and ready: Tommy was eating cereal; Lil, sitting to his left, was eating a piece of bread with jam (despite bread being a carbohydrate, it was the first thing she could find); and Dil, sitting to Tommy's right, was eating the coleslaw he'd been craving from last night.
"For breakfast, Dil?" said Lil, scrutinising his choice of meal.
"It's an invaluable source of nutrients, Lil," said Dil, sounding like a doctor.
"There you are!"
Didi had come into the kitchen and warmly greeted them all. To Tommy and Dil's irritation, she gave them a smothering kiss and hug.
"How did you go last night? Did you have any trouble? Did … Tommy! What happened to your head?"
Tommy felt the bandaid on his forehead. He'd forgotten all about it.
"Frontal lobe lobotomy," Dil answered for him. "We thought we'd surprise you."
"I fell over and hit it on the coffee table," Tommy cleared up. "Chill mom, I'm fine," Didi was fussing over him. "It's nothing, really!"
Didi eased off. "So was that the only drama?"
"It wasn't a drama!"
It was then Didi noticed Lil's head. "Oh! Lillian, honey, you hit your head too?"
"Yeah, before Tommy hit his," Lil informed her. "He must've felt left out … "
As Didi went to fix some coffee, Lil snuck Tommy a wink and quickly brushed her foot up against the side of his shin. A bolt of electricity ricocheted up Tommy's spine at her touch, and a silent conversation began to transmit between them ...
Lil … I want to be alone with you!
Tommy ... I want to be alone with you, too!
Create a diversion!
YOU create a diversion!
"Dil, what are you humming, dear?" Didi asked her youngest son, who was shovelling a spoonful of coleslaw into his mouth.
" 'Love shack', mom," Dil replied matter-of-factly, more then aware of the unspoken words crossing between Tommy and Lil. "You know, that great hit from the – ouch!"
Tommy's foot found Dil's ankle and gave it a solid whack, shutting him up. Stu, finished with the luggage, made his way into the kitchen.
"Hey kids," he said, acknowledging his sons and Lil while performing a quick back bend. He glared at his wife. "Deed, next time we go away for one night, could you not pack everything you own? And why are there candles all over the living room?"
Tommy chocked slightly on his cereal.
"We had a blackout, Mr P," Lil spoke up.
"A blackout!" said Didi, alarmed. "Was everything okay?"
"Yes," coughed Tommy, recovering. "The lights only went out for an hour or so. We were fine … "
"More then fine," added Dil. Tommy went to deliver another under-the-table whack to him, but accidentally targeted Lil instead.
"Ow!" yelped Lil. Tommy was fast to apologise to her, while Dil chuckled heartily at the blunder.
"Sucked in, T - ouch!" Tommy corrected his mistake. "That was way hard!"
"Tommy!" said Didi, catching on. "Stop hitting Dil under the table!"
"My foot slipped," Tommy claimed unconvincingly.
Suddenly, Lil stood up and took her empty plate to the sink.
"I'm going upstairs to use the bathroom," she announced, more so to Tommy then anyone else. He got the hint.
"I'll walk you," he said, acting casual and standing out of his seat. "I gotta … get something out of my room."
"But you haven't finished your cereal," Didi pointed out, pouring Stu some coffee.
"I'm not hungry anymore," Tommy said shortly, following Lil out. As they left, they could hear Stu say something else to Didi about a stain on the carpet …
"The dumpling!" Lil hissed to Tommy. "We forget to clean it up!"
"Keep moving!" said Tommy, walking faster towards the stairs.
"He's still hungry, just not for cereal," Dil remarked to himself with a snicker, once Tommy and Lil were gone. Neither Stu nor Didi heard him, as he continued to eat his coleslaw while humming the rest of 'Love Shack'.
"Let's go into your bedroom."
That's what Lil whispered to him when they reached the top of the stairs. Tommy's eyes darkened at her suggestion. The words 'Lil' and 'bedroom' together in the same context ... how was he going to contain himself? Somewhat numb with anticipation, Lil took his hand and led him easily through his bedroom door; which Tommy made a note to close once they were inside.
So … here was his room!
Exactly as he'd left it. Except ... there was Lil! Definitely not something he was used to seeing in his room. She was standing in front of him ... smiling and looking so cute in those pajamas ... waiting for him to move. Why was he nervous? Surely he was past nerves by now? Obviously not. Thankfully, his brain and body disconnected and the next thing Tommy knew, he was pulling Lil towards him and kissing her like he was never going to kiss anyone ever again.
They ended up tumbling unceremoniously onto his bed, replaying where they'd been last night: Lil lying beneath Tommy and Tommy feeling as if he were going to explode. Especially when she ... oh god, she's lifted her knees up again!
"Lil!" Tommy half breathed and moaned, breaking the kiss. "I have to ... I mean ... "
Lil looked up at him, curious. Her lips were very swollen. On noticing this, Tommy lost his train of thought and started kissing her again; then forced himself to stop. Again. Focus, Pickles!
"Are you ... do you think we're moving too fast?"
Maintaining her curious expression, Lil asked, "Why? Do you want to slow down?"
"No, not really," said Tommy blatantly, and kissed her again, before pulling back and saying, "It's just that ... I've never felt this way before ... and ... " Lil smiled.
"I've never felt this way before either."
"I mean ... I feel crazy!"
"Me too!"
"But that's not the only thi – whoa!"
They'd switched places. Lil spun Tommy over so that she was now on top of him. The rest of their conversation continued with designated periods of fervent kissing:
"Lil, I want you to know ... " Kiss " ... even though I feel insane ... " Kiss " ... that if you want to tell me to stop or slow down ... " Kiss " ... you can ... "
"Tommy ... " Kiss " ... its okay. I trust you ... " Kiss " ... I've never been like this with anyone else ... "
"I've never ... " Kiss " ... been like this ... " Kiss " ... with anyone ... " Kiss " ... else ... " Kiss " ... either ... "
"Then ... " Kiss " ... stop ... " Kiss " ... worrying ... "
"But ... " Kiss "... Lil ... " Kiss " ... Lil, stop! ... "
Tommy needed them to stop. One: he could hardly catch his breath. Two: he still needed to clear something up, and Three: well ... what was happening in his sweat pants needs no explanation.
Kimi had finished in the bathroom and came back to see Phil, except he wasn't in his bedroom anymore. Wondering where he could be, Kimi was about to turn and walk away when she looked out the window and saw them: Tommy and Lil together in Tommy's bedroom! Jackpot! She knew she shouldn't, but the temptation was too great to pass up ...
Just a quick peek Kimi reasoned, grabbing the binoculars Phil left on his bedside table. Just to make sure they really are together!
Rushing to the window, Kimi put the binoculars to her eyes and witnessed the part where Tommy and Lil had just come in through the door. She saw a clear view of Tommy, who appeared to be just standing there for some reason ... staring at Lil. What is he waiting for? Christmas? Then, like one of those wildlife documentaries, Tommy charged forward and –
"YES!" Kimi squealed to herself in triumph. "I knew he liked her! I knew it!"
"Kimi?"
Kimi dropped the binoculars at the sound of Phil's voice. He was standing in the doorway, gob smacked.
"Phil!" said Kimi with a glib tone, after wheeling around to face him. "Er ... where have you been?"
"You've – been – spying!" Phil gloated, savouring the moment. "And after everything you told me!"
Uh oh! Kimi thought to herself. I better do something, quick. If he sees what's going on over at Tommy's place, he's likely to declare war!
"What I said still stands!" Kimi defended, making sure to block the window as much as she could. Phil, however, knew she was hiding something from him.
"What's going on over there?" he demanded, trying to sneak a look. Kimi wouldn't let him.
QUICK!
"Phil, kiss me!"
"Kiss you? AGH!"
Imitating what Tommy had done to Lil (and what she did herself last night, come to think of it), Kimi leapt onto Phil – with enough force to trip him back onto his bed.
"Kimi! What are you – "
Kimi silenced Phil with a long, drawn out kiss – though he still managed to cut a word in.
"Something's going on over there, isn't it!" he fought back. "That's why – "
She kissed him again – harder! And this time, it paid off. Phil mumbled something about Kimi being a "dirty cheat", before all his muscles readily melted to jelly, and he surrendered to kissing her back.
Phew! Saved.
"Lil," said Tommy, choosing his words carefully, "we're not about to, um ... go all the way here, are we?"
Realising what Tommy was talking about, Lil's eyes opened wide. "All the way? You mean … have sex?"
At least someone was blunt about it Tommy thought. It's not like it wasn't a valid observation. They were on his bed! Among other things ...
"Yeah," Tommy gulped, and tried not to think about sex. Tough call! A teenage boy not thinking about sex when he was on a bed with a girl was about as probable as Chuckie taking up nude bungee jumping. "Not that I'm saying I want to. Today, I mean! Not ... ever. When you're ready."
"Well," said Lil, with a sly smirk. "We probably shouldn't have sex yet, seeing we're only fifteen, got together last night and your parents and brother are downstairs."
"I was thinking the same thing," said Tommy, running a hand through her hair.
"I guess you're right, then. We should slow down a bit, huh?"
Tommy smiled, and kissed her - more gently then before. He figured their 'craziness' earlier was because they'd been friends for fifteen years - and, considering the amount of time, who knows how long their feelings had been bottled up? Evolving ... growing stronger ... until BAM! Imminent explosion.
On that thought ...
"Champ, have you seen the – "
"DAD!"
Tommy had failed to shut the door all the way – a humiliating mishap! Stu's jaw dropped at the much unexpected sight of his son and Lil tangled on Tommy's bed. An awkward silence followed, until Stu cleared his throat and said almost normally, "Never mind. I'll ah, go ask the governor ... I mean, your mother!"
And he left on that note, after which Tommy groaned and sunk his head into Lil's shoulder. Lil, on the other hand, was having a small giggling fit.
"It's not funny!" said Tommy, extremely embarrassed.
"Oh, c'mon!" she teased. "Lighten up. At least now we won't have to tell everyone we're officially together. Once your dad tells your mom, the whole street will know."
"Yeah, except once my mom finds out she's going to give me a sex education lecture from one of her Lipshitz books!"
Lil laughed. "So drag Dil into it! Having him suffer with you won't make it so bad, right?"
Since Stu walking in on Tommy and Lil more or less killed the mood, Lil decided she better head home. She and Phil were doing "some family thing" that day anyway. Tommy, wanting to avoid his parents (and wanting to spend as much time with Lil as he could), walked her to her house – after Tommy spent a solid five minutes in the bathroom, of course.
"Interesting night," said Lil as they walked.
"Very interesting," Tommy agreed, hoisting her sleeping bag over his back. He would've liked to have added "the most amazing physical experience of my life", but he didn't want to over do it. It wasn't long before they were on Lil's doorstep.
"Wish you weren't busy today," Tommy told her, putting her sleeping bag on the porch. Lil sighed.
"Me too. Family days are mondo lame! But … maybe I can see you late this afternoon?"
That brightened him up.
"Yeah, cool! Give me a call or come over."
"Okay."
They stood there for a while, gazing … taking it all in. That one night really had changed the course of their lives. It was a little sad to be saying goodbye, even though they'd be seeing each other again soon. But after today, they'd be known as boyfriend and girlfriend. They would've moved well and truly on from being 'just buds', never having another a moment like this again. Yesterday they were friends, and today and every day after … nothing would be the same.
Lil moved in and kissed Tommy before saying, "I figured I better do that before Phil or someone realises we're here!" Tommy grinned.
"I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about you." Lil grinned back.
"I know what you mean."
Speak of the devil, Phil opened the front door.
"Lillian!" he said merrily, still dressed in his bed robe. "And T! Good to see you!"
Tommy and Lil stared at Phil, perplexed. What was he so happy about? He was aglow, and his hair was suspiciously ruffled …
"Lil!"
"Kimi?"
Kimi was now at the front door, much to Tommy and Lil's surprise. Her hair was also suspiciously ruffled …
"What are you doing here?" said Lil puckishly, her eyes darting between Kimi and her twin.
"C'mon, Lil!" said Kimi, not answering Lil's question and grabbing her by the wrist instead. "We are long overdue for some major girl talk! Excuse us, boys."
Lil gave Tommy one last look, before being torn away by Kimi. Tommy was now left to deal with Phil, who'd stepped out onto the porch. Not knowing if Phil knew about him and his sister, Tommy, as a result, began feeling increasingly uncomfortable. His dream about the giant fridge readily came back to haunt him. Phil seemed to read his mind - or part of it, at least.
"It's cool, T," he said steadily. "I know about you and Lil. Drop the silent treatment!"
"Oh ... oh!" said Tommy, not knowing quite what to say. He half expected Phil to challenge him to duel at any moment, knowing how protective he was of his twin.
"Have to admit," Phil went on, "when I first found out, I wasn't, like … ready to break into song or anything. But," he shrugged, "I … you're all right, T. Just don't go changing into a jerk."
Tommy smiled gratefully, feeling very relieved. "Thanks, Phil. And I won't." Hearing Phil say he was fine with him and Lil being together meant more then he knew. On another thought, Tommy couldn't help but ask: "So, you and Kimi, huh?" He gave Phil a nudge. Phil actually blushed.
"Cha … yeah! Who saw that transpiring?"
"Not me. Does Chuck know yet?"
"Er ... "
For some reason, this question caused Phil to turn very pale. Then Tommy realised Phil was looking over his shoulder and up the street, to where Chuckie himself was heading towards them. Phil ducked behind Tommy and whispered fearfully, "Oh yeah, he knows! I'm a dead man ... "
Chuckie approached them, his expression hard to read. It seemed as if he were restraining himself. "Good morning, Tommy. Phil ... "
"Hey, Chuck," said Tommy, stuck in the middle.
"Hey, Chuck," whimpered Phil, still using Tommy as a human shield.
"Listen, Phil," Chuckie began, wanting to get what he had to say off his chest. "I ... I've been doing some serious thinking, and ... well, I'm sorry about last night. If Kimi and you want to go out, then ... I guess I'll have to accept it."
"So ... " said Phil, treading carefully out from behind Tommy " ... you're not going to waste me?" Chuckie sighed.
"Unfortunately, no. In fact, I'm not even going to ask why you were both in the garden last night ... "
"Garden?" Tommy inquired, puzzled. Phil rubbed the back of his neck.
" ... and," Chuckie continued, "I'm not even going to ask if Kimi staying the night at your place meant something more then I'd like to imagine! She did sleep on the couch, right?"
"Duh!" Phil answered quickly. Chuckie had that murderous glint in his eye again.
Things remained cool between Phil and Chuckie for some time after that day, but at least a truce had been made. Once Phil and Lil left for their family outing, Tommy walked Chuckie and Kimi back to their place. It appeared the course of all his friends lives had changed after that fateful Valentine's Day.
"Chuckie, why didn't you ever say anything about having a crush on Angelica?" Tommy interrogated, happy to have a chance to finally bring up the subject.
"Yeah!" Kimi butted in. "What in sanity's name happened between you guys?"
"Ah ... you see ... erm," Chuckie spoke nervously, then abruptly changed the subject. "Well, when were you going to tell me you had a crush on Lil?" He leered and pointed at Tommy.
"I didn't know I had a crush on her 'til last night!" Tommy rebutted.
"A likely story," said Chuckie, not convinced. "So I'm guessing you had a good night then?"
"The best," said Tommy, thinking warmly of Lil for what must have been the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. "And Phil sounds like he had a pretty good night, too," Tommy added, winking at Kimi.
"I should hope so," said Kimi, winking back. "Chuckie, would you stop looking at me like that? I slept on the couch!"
Chuckie had been giving his sister a reproachful glare, remaining concerned about her sleeping over at Phil's.
"Nothing happened," Kimi reinforced. "Phil spent the night dreaming about you attacking him and aerobics-crazed Dummi Bears, so take a chill pill!"
"Funny. I had a dream about Phil shoving me into a fridge," Tommy related. "You dream about anything, Chuck?"
"I think so ... " said Chuckie, trying to remember. "Something about naked bungee jumping ... go figure."
Apologies for the late update. Hope you liked the ending! I've really enjoyed exploring T/L. When are those two getting together on the show? Are the creators trying to drive me mad? Seriously. P/K was an unexpected surprise. I didn't expect to be writing about them, but they fitted in nicely. Would've liked to have extended C/A, but I didn't want to deviate any more from T/L. And Dil! He was one of the easiest to write. Not sure what that says about me :)
Other random things I want to mention:
- What happened between Chuck and Angie? Go read my new fic 'Flavour Of My Life'
- Is there such a thing as Pina Colada lip cream and does it lure boys? I don't know ...
- A Hapalochlaena lunulata (say that ten times real fast) is a Blue Ringed Octopus, and yes, they are neurotoxic
- I am not affiliated with Mr Bean, Monopoly or the songs 'Memories' and 'Love Shack'
- Nobody was neutered in the making of this fic
Thanks again (and again and again) for the reviews!