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Post by afa on Jan 17, 2011 0:02:15 GMT -5
Tim knew it was silly. In fact, Morgan would probably beat him and make him return everything. But he was already at the mall, and he hadn't even known that they had a baby store there, and while he'd never been one of those 'oh em gee baby things' people he felt like getting something for Sophia and Maria. None of that matching shit, but just... a nice little gift, maybe. Something they could grow into. Basically, he'd been turned into a proper pansy because of the tiny twins, and he couldn't keep himself from at least browsing. It was amazing what they had in there, though. Everything anyone could think of, and then some. He'd never known that babies required so much stuff. Mobiles and ten different types of cribs, and a whole wall of tiny shirts and bibs and pants and socks and dresses and even a suit. What kind of person put their baby in a suit? His mother had never been so cruel. At least, not to his knowledge.
Not wanting to go too far in, he stayed near the window, peering at a selection of soothers and bottles. There was soft music playing in the background (probably designed to calm crazy women like Morgan down), but even so the place seemed eerily silent. And he could feel the lady behind the counter staring him down. What, she'd never seen an unaccompanied teenage boy in her store before? Was it so wrong that he'd come in all on his own? She probably expected him to be some sort of hooligan. He glanced over at her, grinning broadly before turning to a rack of stuffed animals. Now those could work. Babies grew out of clothes. They stopped using soothers and bottles. But stuffed animals were forever. He still had a brown teddy bear from before he could remember sitting on his bed in New York, just waiting for him to come home. He would never give it up. And he was a guy.
Of course, the whole thing wasn't as easy as simply picking a toy and purchasing it. First, he had to decide what the perfect animal-colour combination would be. Nothing too girly, in case they were tomboys, but nothing too boyish, in case they were girly-girls. He wanted it to be more unique than a simple bear, too. And good quality. Were these things even up to standard? He lifted a green lizard up, looking it over, wishing his mom were there to tell him how easy it would be to rip the thing apart. Maybe he could call her... then again, he hadn't even told her about Morgan, let alone being there while she gave birth to twins or anything yet. He highly doubted simply phoning her and asking for advice on buying baby merchandise would be as quick and simple as it sounded.
ooc Whee. Hopefully this is alright. You can just toss Mel in and surprise the shit out of him now >=D
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Post by melissawright on Jan 17, 2011 21:41:39 GMT -5
 you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Melissa started every day as she always did. A nice hot shower. She rubbed peach scented soap into her hair as she let the hot liquid slide down her body. As she showered, she thought about the reason she was here. She was still surprised she'd actually bothered coming to New Jersey after all the crap she'd gone through with her younger brother and sister. But after she decided to take a year off from school, she knew her parents took that as a sign for her to go to Jacksonville and play guardian. Which she really didn't want to do. Their parents had to be the most naive people she'd ever met when it came down to the relationship between her and her siblings. Even though Tim was only five years younger, and Becca was six, it seemed more like twenty.
And they did try to play nice in front of their parents. All three Wright kids loved their parents, and never wanted to see them upset. So they sheltered their fighting. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she finished up, turning off the water and drying off with a fluffy towel. Her apartment seemed a bit too quiet for her taste, so she had decided to go to the nearby mall to walk around. Window shopping was a hobby for her. And since she needed to pick up another bottle of painkillers, it was just the right idea. She looked through her closet for something to wear, settling on a pair of basic black pants and a flowy silk shirt. Perfect. She added silver accessories and did her makeup flawlessly. Slipped on a pair of blue high heeled sandals, grabbed her purse and out the door. She made sure she had her phone, keys and money before locking the apartment door and walking down the stairs.
Mel walked to her car, clicking the button on the keys to unlock the doors. So much easier. She got in, hooking up her iPod to the car stereo before buckling up and pulling out of the parking lot. She drove carefully to the mall, making sure that all her directions were clear before taking any turns. She found a parking spot, pulling in and stopping the vehicle. The drive went faster than she thought. Her dark brown eyes shone as she got out of her car, locking the doors and walking inside the mall. The familiar stretch of stores in front of her made her smile. She was by no means a shopaholic, but she did like coming out here and browsing through her favorite stores. She stopped by a drug store section, piking up the pills she had came out for in the first place, paying and walking back out to the main floor. Where to go next...
She headed up one of the escalators, brushing her long dark locks back over her shoulders. As she stepped off the escalator, she turned to head down one side. She watched as a woman with a toddler walked into the baby store, her eyes following briefly, taking note of a boy relatively close to the window. She turned to keep walking until her eyes shifted back. She knew who that was. What was her brother doing in a baby store!? Her eyebrows furrowed as she walked into the store and towards her younger brother. "Hello little brother. What the hell are you doing in here for? Did you knock some poor girl up?" She hadn't heard any mention of him being with any girls from her parents, and if he had done something this stupid, she was going to give him hell for it. Plus, as far as she knew, he was in quite a different kind of relationship. One she didn't approve of.
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Post by afa on Jan 18, 2011 0:48:47 GMT -5
Tim set the lizard down, turning to a purple dinosaur next. Though, that was a bit too much like Barney for his liking. He'd always been freaked out by that show as a kid, and he would never wish the same terror on Morgan's twins. Of course, considering exactly who their mother was, he really doubted they would be afraid as anything so silly as a giant fake dinosaur. He grinned. In fact, they would be the kids who ran up to that dinosaur and sacked the man hidden inside of it. He put that stuffy aside, reaching for yet another. He still felt weird about being in this store looking at toys in the first place; for all he knew, Morgan would end up giving Sophia and Maria to their adoptive parents and he would never even see them again. All they would have of him would be these ridiculous 'presents', if Morgan even let them take anything with them into their new lives. It was all so complicated.
Tim stepped back slightly from the shelves of stuffed animals, biting his lip thoughtfully. Well, if these were going to be the twins' only connection to him, they would have to be absolutely perfect. Unique, but not too unique. Cute, but not disgustingly so. And awesome. Definitely awesome. Unfortunately, he couldn't see a single thing that fit this description, and was just beginning to think that he would have to start googling all the toy stores within a ten-mile radius when he heard a voice behind him. The very tone of it sent an uncomfortable shiver down his spine, and the fine hairs on his arms stood up, creating a tingling sensation over his body. Please no, he begged, praying silently to whatever higher power might be listening at that particular time. What was she doing here? In Jacksonville! She was supposed to be safely occupied in New York, going to school, minding her own business, giving himself and Becky a breath of fresh air - a break from her cruel, tyrannous ways.
Desperately hoping that he'd somehow misheard her call him 'little brother,' that he'd somehow imagined her voice, he turned. Slowly. Maybe she would just get bored and... go away. When he finally came face-to-face with his sister herself, however, she was still there, looking as horrible and fake as ever. At first, he simply blinked at her, his mouth drawn into a tight little frown of disbelief. There was only one explanation: he had to be dreaming. The baby store, the stuffed animals, the older sister... none of it was real. Wake up, he willed himself, knowing it was futile. He was stuck in this nightmare. "No, I didn't knock anybody up, are you stupid?" Somehow, his brain had managed to form the words and get them out without him really agreeing to any of it, and he winced, realizing it probably would've been safer to at least try to be polite. Too late now.
"Besides," he continued, "who are you to ask why I'm here? At least I live in Jacksonville, you're supposed to be in New York!" He took a half-step back, expression accusing. Under different circumstances, he would have toned it down a notch, but he was still fuming at the way she'd reacted to him being gay. She'd never given a shit about him before: what right did she have to suddenly start caring so much about who he liked or what sort of relationship he was in? It wasn't as if he could help it, either. It was just.. who he was, really. He was more hurt than angry, but there was no way in hell he would let her in on that little secret.
ooc BRING IT ONN
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Post by melissawright on Jan 18, 2011 19:43:25 GMT -5
you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mel knew that the fact she was here in New Jersey would no doubt spark some tension if her siblings knew she was here. In a way, she didn’t blame them completely for shutting her out. She wasn’t a saint herself either. When people talked about sibling rivalry, they had never seen their family. When the parents weren’t in the room, it was quite nearly world war three. But it wasn’t so much yelling or blackmail for their fights. It was more emotional drama. She did envy the bond that her younger siblings had, which was partly the reason she had been so bitter towards them when they were growing up. It was hard being the oldest sometimes. She couldn’t understand how she got pushed out of the way. For the first five years of her life, everything was perfect. her parents fawned over her, people were always asking how she was. And then Tim was born and she became old news.
She did resent it, a bit more than she knew she should. She would have been okay with everything, but then Rebecca was born the next year and she just got pushed further back into the shadows. Everyone was ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the new babies. And what could a six-year-old girl really do at that point? She had to learn to re-evaluate everything in her past. There was no way she could think of on how to even start to mend her faults. And not that her siblings would even want to agree or believe her if she tried. She did love her siblings, despite the fact they didn’t get along. It was more than just a love/hate relationship. She was sure her siblings loved her; they were family after all. But she knew they sure as hell didn’t like her. And she couldn’t blame them. She tried not to think about them as she set foot into the mall. She wasn’t going to do that today. She wanted to be out, having fun for the day.
Of course, that was shattered as soon as Tim came into view. So much for a free day of fun. And she was about 1, 000 % sure that he was not going to be happy to see her. As far as he and Becca knew, she was still in New York in school. Not out here. He’d gotten taller than the last time she saw him, which was incredibly annoying. He was taller than her. Still, she had her own intimidation factor. And wearing heels was a good idea today, just for this reason. She still couldn’t believe her own brother was involved with another guy. She wasn’t homophobic by any means, but since it was her brother, she just couldn’t get it. Her dark eyebrows rose slightly at the retort he shot her. “I’m sure you’d be quick to defend that statement. But I’m very sorry to tell I’m not stupid. Good for you, standing up for yourself.” A small smirk covered her lips. The tone was incredibly demeaning, but she was used to having that in her voice.
Ah, there it was. The question as to why she was here. Mel knew it was going to come up at some point. No doubt he’d call or text Becca as soon as they parted ways to let her know. “If you must know, I’m taking the year off. And Mom and Dad thought it’d be good for me to move out here to keep an eye on you and Becca. Trust me, it wasn’t my first plan.” She remembered the conversation she had with their parents when she came home for the summer break. They had stated quite plainly that since she’d have more time, and since they couldn’t get away from work to check up on the two younger kids, that she’d have to be the one to do it. As much as she wasn’t thrilled at playing babysitter, she was secretly a little glad to be here. Being at school showed her that every family was messed up, even more so than their own. And she saw the emotional damage that could be inflicted. She didn’t want to be hated, and she had never planned on it happening. It was a sick thought, but she actually wanted to try to fix whatever was left of the relationship between her and her siblings.
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Post by afa on Jan 19, 2011 1:36:25 GMT -5
Tim's scowl only deepened as Mel replied, and he felt a bit like a small child who'd just been told off. Yeah, yeah, he was a senior, he was supposed to be mature and all that, but what he really wanted to do right now was pull his sister's hair and kick her in the shin. Hard. All she had to do was open her mouth and his mood automatically went from sunshine and rainbows to dark, ominous thunder clouds. It didn't help that she wasn't as short as usual; he could only try to tower over her. Not that that had ever made a difference, anyway. She could defend herself - he had to give her that one. "Of course I'd be quick to defend it, Mel. I'm not going to tell you I'm gay over Christmas and suddenly be a daddy come New Year's!" God, hadn't the woman paid any attention during their two weeks of holiday? Or had her insults and general rudeness simply been some sort of automatic thing that occurred without her knowledge? Autopilot Bitch mode?
He couldn't think of anything to say to her response that she wasn't stupid. That was the problem with quick, effortless insults such as that one: the comebacks were just as easy to think up. When she congratulated him on his ability to stand up for himself, however, he let out a long breath. "What am I supposed to do? 'Oh, hey, Mel. Sure you can walk up behind me, freak the shit out of me and treat me like crap. No, don't ask me how I am or how my life is or pretend like you care. Walk all over me. I like it.'" Tim's sarcasm couldn't have been more obvious, and complimented the anger in his voice quite effectively. Why did she always walk into his life as if she owned the damn place? If she wasn't going to try to act like a human being, the least she could do would be to stay out of it entirely.
His expression became slightly confused when she told him she was taking the year off. Well, that was unexpected. He almost asked why, but caught himself just in time, not wanting to seem too interested in her personal affairs. Tim did care about her, in a way, but over the years he'd taught himself to maintain a certain air of indifference toward his older sibling. When she mentioned it being mom and dad's idea, however, he did groan. "Seriously? How could they possibly see that as a good idea? Me and Bex are fine on our own." He glanced away, thinking. "They're probably trying to make us all get along or something like that," he decided, speaking mostly to himself. A sly trick, indeed. As far as he was concerned, though, Mel was the only one who needed to change. She'd had it in for him from the start. Becky, too. He returned his gaze to her face, not quite as mad but still fairly wary of her. "And you actually agreed? I know you don't like us, but what could you possibly gain from trying to force yourself into our lives? Weren't the first fourteen years enough for you?"
It was then that Tim realized they were still standing in the baby store next to the shelves of stuffed animals. His eyes flickered to the woman behind the counter, who did not seem very pleased with their presence (so much for disproving the teenage hooligan theory). If they were going to do this, they might as well take it elsewhere. Unfortunately, Tim couldn't think of a good way to get Mel to move. He didn't want to touch her. She probably carried diseases or something. On the other hand, he couldn't very well ask if she minded going for a walk while they had one of their classic arguments.
ooc Mom and Dad are going to get a very long, angry, detailed phone call about why Mel belongs in New York and should never, ever set foot in New Jersey ever again.
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Post by melissawright on Jan 19, 2011 19:24:35 GMT -5
you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mel couldn’t really blame her brother for the look of pure hate on his face. She hadn’t exactly been nice to him. Okay, that was a lie. She’d been about the bitchiest person she knew while they were growing up. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stood in front of him. He hadn’t changed much since Christmas. His hair might be a bit curlier, but overall, he looked the same. She couldn’t help from letting a little bit of regret into her eyes as he spoke. Although she hoped he didn’t see it. If she showed really any bit of weakness, she was sure he’d happily jump on it and beat her down. It wasn’t often either of her siblings got the upper hand. And she knew that if she ever gave them the chance to tower over her, they’d take it in a heartbeat. “All right, all right, don’t get all flustered. I was just checking.” She knew her response to his news wasn’t exactly the best. This was her little brother after all.
She didn’t know how to handle his news. She had gay friends, and she had nothing against how they wanted to live their lives. But since it was her own family, for some reason she just wasn’t sure how to deal with it. In a way, she thought it was just the notion that her brother was old enough to handle his own life, including the relationships that came with it. Even if it did deal with other male. But she had to remind herself that he was a senior in high school, and that the next year he’d be college bound. As far as she knew at least. She listened as he retorted, her dark eyes rolling. She guessed she couldn’t blame him for that either. She could have asked how he was instead of starting off with an insult. But after so many years of taunting, it was hard to let it go. She almost wished she could restart and walk in again, asking how he was and how school was. Not being the normal Nazi leader as he expected her to be.
Mel sighed lightly as he stopped talking. She could hear the underlying resentment in his voice. Not that she didn’t expect it. She knew how terrible she was to him when they were younger. And she knew he’d been enjoying his time away from her while they were at school. Both him and Becca. Although, he seemed to tolerate her a bit more than Becca did. Her sister pretty much hated her to the core. Which was understandable. She was a bit surprised at the slightest change in his expression when she mentioned school. She never thought he’d actually care. She’d nearly given up on either of her siblings caring about anything that went along with her life. She doubted they’d ever care. She looked over at his groan when she mentioned their parents. She shrugged in response. “I was going to somewhere near home, but apparently they thought otherwise.” She chose not to respond to the second half of his statement, not wanting to get into a full-fledged argument in the middle of the store.
She just nodded as he spoke again. Their parents knew that there was tension between the kids, but not enough to know how to help. She winced visibly as he shot out that he knew she didn’t like them. She knew she had that coming. “Look… I know you think I don’t like either of you. And I know I don’t deserve to have you believe anything else but that. But one of the reasons I am here is because I’m sorry for the way I treated you both.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized that this was quite possibly the first time she’d ever apologized to her brother face to face. And she even shocked herself by saying it. She followed his eyes to the woman at the counter. Oops. So much for being quiet. She looked back at her brother before speaking again. “Maybe we should get out of the store before they toss us out.” She stuck her hands down into her pockets, moving out of the store and to a bench close by. She half expected Tim to stay in the store and not follow her. But after having apologized, she figured he might follow.
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Post by afa on Jan 22, 2011 14:03:26 GMT -5
Tim surveyed Mel's stance coolly. Who did she think she was, standing there like she was the boss or something? Maybe she thought she was the boss, which made absolutely no sense, since she obviously wasn't. She was just a twenty-two year old girl who had nothing better to do with herself than follow her younger siblings to New Jersey and babysit them. He rolled his eyes at her words. Typical, trying to make it look like he was the one overreacting. "Oh, gee, I'm sorry, I thought you were just being a bitch," his voice was low enough that the woman at the desk would have to be an owl to hear it, but still loud enough for Mel to get the picture. It was also still dripping with sarcasm, just to make sure she picked up on it.
Usually, Tim wouldn't have been quite so mean. But he was still super pissed at how she hadn't been able to keep her opinion about him being gay to herself over Christmas. He would've thought that, as they got older, they might have somehow learned to get along. Or at least tolerate each other. Now, however, he wasn't sure if that would ever happen. He wasn't about to be straight just so she would like him; she would have to change her opinion, or they would be stuck in this ridiculous battle for the rest of their lives. Once he'd finished speaking, he raised an eyebrow, noting her sigh. Either she was getting tired of him, or he was wearing her down. Probably the former. When she mentioned she'd been planning to live closer to home, he shook his head. Why hadn't she stood up for herself? Said no? It wasn't that he didn't want her around, really, he just didn't want her attitude around. He didn't want to have to deal with her judgement and criticism more than absolutely necessary. He wanted to be able to go the mall, walk into a baby store, and not have to worry about her seeing him and harassing him. Was that really too much to ask for? "Oh, well. Welcome to Jacksonville, I guess," he mumbled, looking away from her. He wasn't going to pretend like he was happy about it.
Tim was a bit confused to see Mel wince. After all, that was a full-fledged sign of weakness, and had he not been so damn curious about her change in behaviour, he would've pounced on it. As it was, he actually let her continue. Once she'd finished, he stood there for a moment, staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He was wary of her, definitely, and more than a little suspicious. What did she have to gain from forming an alliance now? Had mom and dad put her up to this? Threatened her somehow? Did she have a darker motive, a hidden agenda, or was she - Melissa Wright, his older sister who had never expressed any love or appreciation toward him before - trying to apologize? It looked like they would be talking for a while, after all. When she suggested that they leave the store, he simply nodded, following her slowly.
Tim was still mulling over what she'd said as he sat down on the bench next to her. His eyes were fixed on the mall map across from them, and a minute passed before he gave her any attention at all. When, finally, he returned his gaze to her face, his eyes were still uncertain. "You're out here because you're sorry?" He studied her, then continued: "why? How can you suddenly want to... want to..." he bit his lip, not quite sure where he'd been going with that, "I dunno, want to apologize? What's changed between now and Christmas? What's going on?" Something serious must have happened, otherwise he wouldn't be sitting next to her, trying to control his shock.
ooc Way to interrupt Tim's roll of meanness >=o
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Post by melissawright on Jan 22, 2011 23:33:33 GMT -5
you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mel was starting to think that coming to the mall probably wasn’t her best idea. If she hadn’t seen Tim, she might have just stayed with not contacting either of her siblings. Just kept tabs on them out of sight, the way their mom and dad had thought. Just looking at the expression on Tim’s face told her that she should have stayed home. She was used to getting the icy glares from her younger brother. The looks that quite nearly said drop dead. She supposed on some levels he’d be happy if that happened. Both him and Becca. They’d be sad for maybe a week at most, but then decide, oh wait, she’s not here to make our lives hell anymore, let’s party! Not that she could blame them. She liked to think she meant something to her siblings, besides the hating. Her eyebrows knit together as he muttered, easily hearing the bitch part. “Yeah, that’s me. Your awful bitchy sister Timothy.” She wasn’t inherently bitchy, but some things just got to her in enough ways to make her snap.
She honestly didn’t like being viewed as a frigid bitch all the time. She wasn’t really even that mean under normal circumstances. Her siblings would never believe that though. They’d never be able to see her more than the awful sister they knew growing up. But when she was on her own, she was the nicest person anyone could ever meet. She would act silly, make jokes with her friends, sit around and watch movies, go out for drinks… anything. She was a fun person to hang out with, never afraid to be daring and do stupid things for fun. It was a side she doubted her siblings would ever see. And even if they did, they’d never believe it was actually her. They would think she was faking it, being someone she wasn’t. In their minds, she was no better than any other fake prissy girl in the streets. Someone that wasn’t worthy of having anything good in life. She supposed in some ways, she wasn’t worthy. She’d neglected having the good family she could have had, ruining it in every way she could have.
Mel was a bit surprised when he actually spoke without a hint of criticism or sarcasm in his voice. A statement that was almost… genuine. She couldn’t stop the puzzled look on her face from showing. “Uh, yeah… thanks.” Well, that just felt incredibly awkward. It was weird having a civilized conversation with her little brother. It didn’t happen. Ever. The only time it possibly could have happened was when she talked to him when he was a baby. Where he couldn’t form sentences yet. And even if they did have conversations, it was usually either yelling, or using snide remarks and sarcasm. Nothing nice included. It was even worse whenever she was around Becca. Tim seemed to stand her in certain circumstances, but when she was with her sister, there seemed to be nothing but angry sparks in the air. And whenever one of their mouths opened, spiteful things flew out. There was never anything nice to say. Which she regretted. She had always wanted a little sister she could be a role model for.
She was still surprised he had bothered to follow her out of the store at all. But she was sure that if anything, at least the cashier was thrilled to have them out. She looked down at the floor for a few seconds as Tim sat next to her. She didn’t like the feeling of being more vulnerable around him. It wasn’t something she was used to. She looked towards him as he started to speak, trying to absorb every word. She knew he’d have questions. It was completely understandable. She sighed, turning to face him. “One of my close friends at school lost her younger brother. I had to see all the pain and suffering she went through. I realized that if anything happened to you or Becca with the way things are between all of us now.. I don't think I could forgive myself for having it end on a bad note." She looked back down at her hands. If she ever lost one of her siblings without trying to get along beforehand, she'd be miserable. "I don't expect you to believe everything I'm saying, nor do I think it'll change a whole lot. But I'm trying."
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Post by afa on Jan 27, 2011 0:53:31 GMT -5
Tim had never been a fighter, but when it came to Melissa, he could rarely keep his cool. She was the only person he would've ever called a bitch face-to-face, and in this case, he didn't even feel bad about it. If she was going to act like one, she deserved it. He pressed his lips together, watching her. Okay, maybe he felt a bit bad. "Yes, Melissa, I know who you are. Believe it or not, gay people do know what 'family' is." To tell the truth, Tim still wasn't quite used to thinking of himself as 'gay.' It was almost strange to be defending it, to have to think about what it meant and why it was causing problems. From his point of view, he was simply a guy who liked someone, just as anyone else would like anyone else, and he couldn't figure out why Mel was so opposed to it. Maybe, if he'd been more sure of himself, he wouldn't have found it so difficult to know she disagreed. But it was kind of new to him, too. And, though the two of them had never really seen eye to eye, he wished she would support him at least a little bit.
Tim could tell he'd thrown his sister off with his words. He'd surprised himself a little, actually, especially since she hadn't done anything to redeem herself in the past few minutes. When she thanked him, he shrugged. "Don't get too excited, I was just being polite," he told her, but his heart wasn't in the words. He didn't want to have a giant argument in the middle of this shop, or anywhere, really. He wanted her to keep her distance. Sure, she could live in the city all she wanted, but that didn't mean she could be a part of his life. Not that she was trying to. She was only here because of mom and dad, and they'd probably both bribed and threatened her in order to make her come. It was still quite awkward not to be yelling at Melissa or storming off, but it seemed like both of them were actually tired of doing that. Instead, they were more or less standing around, not quite sure what to do with themselves.
Now safely out of the store, Tim found it difficult to actually look Mel in the eye without trying to be aggressive. It almost felt like they'd discovered some sort of level ground; a connection. A tentative peace, even. The more she spoke, the more he believed that she'd actually had some sort of awakening. He'd always known she wasn't a complete bitch; she was a Wright, after all, and in the real world she'd always seemed more than able to make friends and keep them. However, it seemed that the minute she got within a ten-foot radius of either him or Becky, she became possessed by some sort of inner hatred or distaste. Was she seriously trying to change that? To give her good side complete control? I really have to stop thinking in superhero terms, Tim decided, forcing himself to focus on what she was saying.
When she mentioned her friend's brother dying, Tim's eyes instantly softened. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a sibling, even Melissa. Instantly, he could see where she was coming from, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt as if he could talk to her. As if he could open his mouth without somehow managing to offend her or set her off. "That's awful," he breathed, referring to her friend's loss. He, too, looked down at his hands. "It kind of sucks that it took.. something like that, though. For you - us - just, to realize..." he drifted off, struggling with his words before looking back over at her. Hopefully, she could understand what he meant. "To realize how stupid all of this is, you know?" His lips twisted in what could have been a smile, but his gaze still held the same uncertainty as before. He'd never really spoken to Melissa as a sister before. At least, not the way he usually spoke to Becky as a sister. It was like trying foreign food for the first time: you weren't really sure how it would taste, but you felt like you should give it a go.
At Melissa's final words, Tim nodded, face serious now. Obviously, they weren't going to suddenly start getting along: they'd had years of doing exactly the opposite. But he did believe her. Despite their differences, he knew Mel, and he was absolutely certain she wouldn't just make something like that up as part of an evil, master plan. "Okay," he replied, taking a deep breath, "and what about... me and Carter? Because that's not going to change any time soon." He wasn't sure if she'd only been against it because she was against everything he did, or if she actually had a real problem with the whole relationship. All Tim could be sure of was that he wouldn't let Carter go. Not for her; not for anybody.
ooc Dear Tim.. you have just entered the Twilight zone. Keep your hands and feet in the vehicle at all times, fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride.
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Post by melissawright on Jan 30, 2011 10:35:02 GMT -5
you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mel knew that she was probably shocking the hell out of her baby brother. If they were all still living at home, she would have never let guard down. She wouldn’t have even paused to thin about what she was saying. But this wasn’t home. This was now full on reality of being on her own for a few years. It had opened her eyes to a lot of things she never thought she’d have to see. She couldn’t help from rolling her eyes as Tim spoke. “I know that you nitwit. I never said that you didn’t know what family was.” She still had a hard time believing that Tim was gay. Even though she had made it her job to make his life hell while they were all home, she still paid attention to what he did. He was always hanging out with a bunch of girls, flirting occasionally. He had guy friends too of course, but there weren’t any hints that showed he liked them. It was something completely out of the blue for him to say over the break and it threw her for a complete loop. She didn’t expect anyone, especially him, to be that person.
She did want him to be happy, and if this was the best way for it to happen, there really wasn’t a whole lot she could do. Despite how she felt about it. She just nodded a bit when he said he had just been polite. She believed it, even though she couldn’t hear any bite behind the words. She knew he was already confused as to why she was even bothering to act somewhat nice to him. She was sure if their parents saw this, they’d have a field day. The kids were finally getting along! Sure, it was true to an extent. They weren’t yelling or getting in each other’s faces, but the was enough tension in the air to cut with a butcher’s knife. Not exactly the best environment. After seeing what her friend went through, she was sick of the fighting. It had brought her immense happiness when they were younger, being able to do the slightest bit of anything and having both her siblings react more than necessary. But now, she wished that she had been at least a bit nicer to them.
Mel knew that all siblings fought, it was just part of the genetic code. But she hadn’t fought. She had dictated. She was the nightmare her siblings couldn’t wake up from. And she resented treating them like nothing more than a dust bunny shoved under the couch. Tim had always had a thicker skin than their younger sister, and her insults hadn’t gotten to him as easily. But with that, it made it easier for her to try to explain herself now to him, and having Tim being more receptive to what she was actually saying. If she was sitting here with Becky right now, well… that’s just it. She wouldn’t be. Her sister would already be gone, not wanting to been within a mile radius of her. She supposed she deserved that, and part of her almost wanted her siblings to get angry. She wanted to make it up to them somehow, and she knew there was a lot of underlying resentment in their skin. But Tim was taking it all in stride, a bit easier than she expected him to. She expected at least some sort of retaliation.
Then she saw the expression in his eyes as soon as the words about her friend’s brother slipped through her lips. She hadn’t exactly wanted to talk about this in public, mostly because thinking back on it made her want to curl up into a ball and not talk to anyone for a while. She listened as her brother commented on her small story, swallowing slightly at the latter half of his statement. “Yeah… I know,” she managed to choke out. She didn’t want this to have been the reason for her to try to patch things up. But maybe it was her sign. The sign to tell her that she needed to try to make up with her siblings before the worst could happen. For all she knew, she could be happy at school, doing well in classes, getting into the social scene, and then get the call from her parents. That she only had one, or at the worst, no more siblings. She blinked back a few tears as she tore herself away from that scenario. The last thing she wanted right now was to cry in the middle of the mall. She glanced back towards her brother, hoping he didn’t see the traces of the tears.
Mel knew that if he saw that, she was done for. That was the ultimate weakness, and there was no way he could leave it alone. She sighed lightly, running her hand through her hair and leaning back against the bench. She listened as he spoke, figuring that might come up sooner or later. “I doubt it would. I can’t promise that I understand any of it, because I don’t. I just…” She paused, trying to find a way to make her words work. “I just never saw you as that person. Not with all the girls you hung out with when we were younger. I’m sure he’s a very nice guy.. and I do want you to be happy. But it’s going to take time for me to be used to it.” That was best she could offer him at the moment. She knew that whomever Tim ended up with, male or female, would be someone that made him happy, and that was really what mattered. But she needed time to digest that her brother was, in fact, gay. It had shocked her to no end when he came out over break, and she was still trying to wrap her mind around it.
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Post by afa on Jan 31, 2011 5:29:27 GMT -5
Tim let out a long sigh. "Whatever." Mel wasn't even worth coming up with some sort of flashy, clever comeback. Maybe if he stopped talking to her, she would just go away.. unfortunately, his tactics didn't work, and they carried on bickering for the next few minutes. Then again, when had he ever been able to get rid of her? She'd been there for as long as he could remember, buzzing around him like a wasp, looking for the most opportune time to sting. He couldn't deny that he hadn't been just as bad, but he could trace most of his un-brotherly behaviour back to the instinctive need to retaliate. He couldn't believe his parents had orchestrated such a ridiculous plan. They could have very well started world war three, for all he knew, depending on whether or not his sister had an evil hidden agenda. If he were lucky, she would be just as interested in avoiding him as he was in avoiding her, and they would be able to reach some sort of agreement.
Tim gave Mel a searching look when she nodded to his statement, then glanced away, mouth drawn into a tight little line. These awkward silences were almost worse than the fighting: the calm before the storm, so to speak, unless a miracle were to happen. All Tim knew for certain was that he was incredibly on edge. He didn't know what to expect. The atmosphere was definitely very strained, especially without the comfort of being angry, and he almost felt as if something big were about to happen. He maintained his wariness as Mel led him from the store, not wanting to let his guard down and somehow give her the upper hand. However, as they sat on the bench, he became more and more certain that she was telling the truth. Especially when she mentioned her friend's lost sibling.
Once she'd replied to his statement, Tim watched his sister. Okay, she actually seemed... upset. The stony indifference had completely disappeared from her expression. In fact, she almost looked normal, and he almost forgot about all the horrible things they'd ever done to each other. Though she was quite a bit older than him, he felt his protective nature begin to take over, just like it always did when Becky was upset. He had never seen Mel look sad before. She was still guarded, but she wasn't trying as hard as usual to hide it, and for a moment he thought he saw tears forming in her eyes. "Mel, are you cr-" he stopped himself, pausing to control his disbelief, "are you okay?" Had she been anyone else, he would've put a reassuring hand on her arm. As it was, his simply slid his hands under his legs, not wanting to push it.
Tim's question about Carter had certainly been a weighted one, and he watched Mel intently as she replied. He could feel his stomach twist with familiar resentment at her words. Was it so damn difficult to just accept it? At least she had the decency to say she would try this time. Swallowing his disappointment, he nodded slowly, looking down at the dirty floor tiles. "Yeah, I hung out with girls. I still do... that's why I was in there," he gestured toward the baby store, realizing he'd never really talked much about Morgan to anyone before. "I even had a few girlfriends. It's not that I don't like girls, I just..." Now, it was his turn to find a way to make his words work, and his forehead creased in thought. "I like Carter better." His eyes flickered to her face, curious about how she was reacting to all of this. "It's not just some random, experimental thing, either, if that's what you're worried about; I've known for like two years." He looked away yet again, sliding his feet forward.
When Mel mentioned she was sure Carter was a nice guy, it was all Tim could do to keep from rolling his eyes. "Maybe if you'd started caring earlier, you would know for sure what kind of guy he is." They'd only been best friends their entire lives, but Mel had always been too wrapped up in her own little world to really pay attention to that. Still, he knew he'd been a bit harsh. After all, she was trying now. But a simple 'sorry' couldn't completely erase years of being treated like he didn't matter. Just like it would take her time to get used to the idea of him being gay, it would take him time to get used to the idea of getting along with her. Knowing he'd gone and made things tense again, Tim gave his sister a semi-apologetic look, forcing a small smile onto his face. "Well, I am happy."
ooc oh, it's fine =P your awesome post totally made up for the four days of terrible Tim/Mel withdrawal
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Post by melissawright on Feb 2, 2011 22:00:46 GMT -5
you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mel started to feel awkward. This was so weird. She never talked to Tim like this. Like he was an actually human being. It was an odd feeling. The only people she ever really talked to like this, were their parents and her friends. She’d never been really civilized with her siblings. She never saw the point in it. So sitting here with Tim, and having a relatively heart-to-heart conversation was a little startling. She didn’t even know what else to say to him. it was evident she had shocked him enough with just being in town and talking to him at all. And she knew it was just as weird for her to actually run into him at the mall of all places. Their parents would have had a field day to know that their children were attempting to get along. She felt a little bad making their parents have to watch her fight with the younger Wright kids. No parent should have to watch their kids fight constantly without making up.
She didn’t even think that Tim would be this relatively calm about her now living in Jacksonville. She figured he’d kept repeating for her to get lost and never come back. Although, as soon as that thought popped into her head, she nearly cringed. She didn’t want him to hate her, even though she was sure he did anyway. Nothing could fully erase the damage she had inflicted when they were younger. She knew Tim was expecting her to call out ‘psych, I really don’t care about you at all!’ But that wasn’t true. She did care about him. she wanted him to be happy and have a good life, regardless on whether or not he wanted her in it. Which, at this point, she doubted. Why would he ever want her to be around again? In his eyes she was pretty much the devil. But now, after telling him why she was here, all her guards were down. It was all she could do from outwardly showing how upset she was at the thought of loosing her siblings.
Mel knew that if she broke down in front of Tim, it might send him over the edge. She could tell he was already having some issues trying to figure out if she was being sincere or not. If she started to cry, well… that just wasn’t going to happen. She heard him speak, knowing what he was going to say before cutting off the word. Well, so much for trying to hide that from him. she just shook her head, taking a deep breath to collect herself. “Yeah… I’m okay… thanks Tim.” It was hard showing so much emotion around him. especially after everything they’d gone through at home. Although, he seemed to be taking it in stride, and actually believing her. If this was happening with Becky, her little sister would immediately think she was faking and either leave or snap at her. Maybe if she could prove to her brother that she wasn’t pulling any pranks and that she was definitely being serious, he could help her convince Becky of that. her sister had seem less than agreeable in their last online conversation.
She could tell he was a little less than happy with her response to his new relationship, but seeing as she was still trying to understand it, she couldn’t be perfectly thrilled about it. She just listened to Tim talk, trying to take everything in. she glanced back to the baby store as he gestured toward it, her eyebrows rising slightly. She still had no idea why he was in there to begin with. Must be a friend perhaps with a kid? Well, she didn’t ask. It was tough enough apologizing for her past with him. If she started to ask about his private life with school and everything, it might be a bit too much for that particular moment. “No… I’m not worried about that. although… if you’ve known it that long.. why did you even hide it? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to admit to it?” she didn’t know the protocols for coming out, seeing as she’d only liked the opposite sex. But in her mind, if she ever did switch sides, she’d want to come out and just get it over with. That way there was no speculation or whispers about it.
Mel winced visibly as he spoke again. Okay, yes that was true. She rally hadn’t paid much attention at all to Tim’s social life, much less the people he spent time with. “Okay, okay, yes. I could have been more observant, I know.” She knew she had seen Carter before, but she couldn’t remember what he actually looked like. She brushed her wavy hair back from her shoulders as they sat there. She was coming at a loss for words. She smiled softly as he said he was happy. Against her better judgment, she reached out to lightly pat his hand before retracting her own hand. “I really am glad you’re happy… and I’m sorry it took this long for me to try to be a positive part in your life.” She sighed, looking down at her lap. She was returning to feeling a bit awkward. She offered up a small smile, debating heading out to give Tim some time to think. She turned slightly, pulling a small pad of paper and a pen from her back, jotting down her apartment address. “I have a feeling I’ve overwhelmed you a bit. I should probably let you get back to shopping… here’s my address in town if you ever want to stop by..” She held out the paper, interested in seeing if he’d actually take the offer.
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Post by afa on Feb 8, 2011 23:25:06 GMT -5
It wasn't that Tim had changed his opinion of his sister in a heartbeat. To tell the truth, he was too shocked by what she was saying to do much of anything besides play along. It was like a game, a competition in which the two of them had to see who could be nice the longest. Except this game had no time limit - it could go on forever, which actually sounded very frightening and stressful. Oddly enough, however, Tim didn't give up. At least, not completely; he was still treating her way more like a sister than he could ever remember doing before, and that was huge. Briefly, he wondered how Becky would be reacting to this. Would she buy it? He'd always been the more gullible of the too (hence his being Pinky while she was the more genius Brain), but he was quite certain he was smart enough to know when Mel was trying to fool him. And this was no trick. Knowing this couldn't quite curb his natural fight instinct, though, and he had to work surprisingly hard to keep his tongue from going off on a rampage of insults. Especially when she started crying. That was like telling someone who had been living in the desert without water for a week that they could have a drink - more than tempting. Miraculously, he remained in control.
"Okay," he nodded, figuring he should be glad that she was all right. Was she really his sister? Maybe she was some sort of alien disguised as his nasty older sibling... maybe New York had been invaded; maybe his whole family were now aliens disguised as humans, designed to kidnap him and take him back to the mothership so that his organs could be used for sinister alien activities. Oh dear God, he thought, almost believing it for a second. Luckily, he reminded himself of reality before he started hyperventilating, and therefore saved himself much embarrassment. "It's no problem, really." He would have added that he was just being his regular self, but he was certain she knew that. After all, while he'd never quite gotten on with her, he'd seen her with other people. Becky had been convinced that she was simply putting up a front to hide her cruel ways, but Tim had always had a sneaking suspicion that, while they got the bad Mel, the rest of the world got the good. Both were his sister, but one was a person he would actually be proud to consider a sibling. To think that her better half was finally winning out actually made him feel quite excited.
Tim was thankful when Mel didn't ask any questions about why he'd been in the baby store. He figured he would have to tell someone about Morgan soon, especially since he'd been spending more and more time with her, but now definitely wasn't right. It would likely be easiest to tell Mel, though. He wasn't quite sure why. When she asked why he'd hidden how he felt, Tim automatically smirked. Oh, wouldn't she just love to hear that one. "It's a really long story. I just... I guess... I've never met a guy besides Carter who..." This was just fucking awkward. "I didn't want to freak mom and dad out for nothing." He eyed her, still a bit amused. Was this really happening right now? "To tell the truth, I wasn't even worried about telling them. I didn't really think about it until after I started.. er, dating him. I mean, they've always been really supportive. I didn't even consider how you'd react. That was the biggest shocker." Tim rarely considered Mel when he thought about his life, which seemed odd now. For example, upon first thinking about going to Jackson, he'd been crazy worried about leaving Becky but had never once wondered how it might affect Mel. Probably because she'd never expressed any desire to have him around in the first place.
Scratching the back of his neck, Tim watched as Mel spoke. Well, at least she was owning up to it now. He supposed he wasn't entirely innocent in this, either. "Oh, well," he shrugged. The more they talked, the more eager he was to just start over. To forget all the mean things they'd ever done to each other and, for once, be legitimate siblings. As she patted his hand, he glanced at her, grinning again. And so began yet another awkward relationship. "It's fine. I mean, it would've been better if we did this," he gestured between them, referring to their 'heartfelt' conversation,"like ten years ago, but it's not like we can change that." He shifted a bit, watching as she took a pen and paper out and began writing. As she explained what it was, he raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised by the offer. "Oh, sure, yeah," he nodded, taking the paper and staring at it for a moment without really reading it. Then, folding it and placing it in his pocket, he looked back up. "Before you go, have you uh.. talked to Becky? About you being here, or anything?" He wasn't entirely sure what their little sister would think of this. Especially if she knew he hadn't just punched Mel in the face and booked it out of there.
ooc awww sibling loooove
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Post by melissawright on Feb 15, 2011 23:57:39 GMT -5
you heard that i was trouble ,
BUT YOU COULDN'T RESISTJ U S T T A K E A B I T E L E T M E S H A K E U P Y O U R W O R L D- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mel knew that everything that was happening was weird for Tim. It wasn’t exactly normal for her either. She never sat down and had heart to heart chats with her siblings. Heck, she hardly did that with her parents. It just wasn’t something she did. She did with some of her friends, but that lasted all of a few minutes usually. It was never a conversation that lasted this long. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that her little brother actually seemed to want to work on their dysfunctional relationship. She knew Tim was taking a huge step just agreeing with her at all about anything. He normally never took her side, and it was a weird feeling when he did. She was so used to getting ganged up on by him and Becky. It was a nice feeling having one of her siblings actually talking to her and wanted to try to get along. Not to mention she was extremely grateful when he didn’t burst out laughing when she’d nearly cried. Or make fun of her some other way for showing real emotion in front of him.
But he hadn’t. If anything, he just acted concerned. It wasn’t something she was used to. It was almost as if he was protective, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe that. He couldn’t feel that way so soon. If anything, she should be the one who was protective. He was her little brother after all. And she definitely didn’t want anything bad to ever happen to him. Not that she had ever shown concern before. She smiled softly as he stated it was no problem, collecting herself. She was thankful he was being so cool about this. She couldn’t even think of what he might have done if she’d actually cried. She never lost her cool around people like that. Definitely not around her family. Hell, her own parents had maybe only seen her cry once or twice, not including when she was an infant. And she had only cried once around one of her friends. She hated looking vulnerable. So whenever she felt depressed and wanted to cry, she waited until she was alone in her room with the door locked.
Mel was glad at least that they were having a normal conversation. Finally being able to hang out without getting into verbal fights or even slapping. She liked being able to feel like she actually had a really cool little brother. She would be the first to admit it was still weird to get used to, but she liked that she was now going to be able to get along with him. She listened as he tried to explain his feelings for Carter and how he handled his sexuality. She wanted to understand this, she really did. She wanted him to know that she really did want to be happy with his decisions and that she was proud of him. She nodded every now and then as he spoke, hoping she looked interested. She was, of course, but she wanted him to believe she was. “Well, you know Mom and Dad. No matter what we ever do, they try to be as cool about it as possible. And I’m not really surprised my reaction didn’t pop into your head.” After being at school and not being around home as much, she had a feeling that neither of her siblings would ever think about what she thought about anything.
She just wanted her siblings to be happy with her. She wanted to be the role model they needed. She smiled lightly as Tim stated ten years ago would have been the best time for them to have started to get along. “I know… I’m sorry that I was such negligent. I should have tried to be a better sister to both of you.” She knew she’d have a lot of making up to do to make them think she was actually trying. But at least this was a start. She was happy when he took the paper from her with her address, still not convinced he’d ever stop by anyway. She winced slightly as Tim mentioned their sister. “Yeah… she knows. We had an online conversation not too long ago. Let’s just say she’s less than thrilled that I’m this nearby.” She knew that Becky was the one she really neeed to get through to. She wasn't the best sister, and she knew her little sister had suffered the most out of the entire family. And she didn't want Becky to feel like she could never trust her again.
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Post by afa on Mar 2, 2011 11:14:21 GMT -5
As he sat there, it occurred to Tim that he barely knew Mel at all. She had been his sister, living in the same house as him for his entire childhood, eating the same food, going to the same family dinners, sleeping in a bedroom just down the hall. But who was she, really? As far as he'd always been concerned, she had been a nuisance; a person to either avoid or make fun of. Certainly not someone to go to when he needed to talk about something. He had always just assumed she didn't have a nice, comforting side. Maybe he'd never really thought about her being an actual person before. Sitting here on this bench, he reflected, was like sitting next to a stranger - an acquaintance, at best. Not a sibling. He felt stiff, gripping the edges of their seat with his hands, almost afraid to look at her for fear of breaking the spell. What if he touched her, and she suddenly turned back into a monster? If they were going to do this 'trying' thing, it would take a long time for the idea of them having a relationship to sink in.
As he began talking about Carter, Tim was paying attention to how she reacted. Over Christmas... well, he didn't want to think about that, but her face only displayed a somewhat interested look now, which relieved him. For some reason, discussing this with her was easy, though he knew she disapproved. In fact, it was almost less stressful to tell her how he felt knowing she wasn't one hundred percent supportive, though he couldn't quite figure out why. Maybe it was because he didn't have to worry about how he acted, or what he said. If she was going to try to be his sister, she would have to get used to the real him sometime. He nodded as she pointed out that their parents were fairly easygoing. "Yeah," was all he said, feeling that the topic had almost run its course.
Tim had glanced away for a moment, thinking, but caught Mel's smile out the corner of his eye. He returned his attention to her as she spoke, allowing himself a small grin. "Well, we didn't exactly make it easy. I guess all of us have try a bit harder..." he rolled his shoulders in a sort-of shrug, looking back down at his lap and chewing on his lip as she mentioned her conversation with Becky. He'd known, of course, that their younger sister was more of a fighter. She wouldn't let Mel back in half as easily as he had, and he expected she wouldn't be too pleased to learn that he'd actually sat down and had a civil conversation with their lifelong nemesis. It was all so much to think about. Hopefully, Becky would come round and they could all be friends. And then pigs would fly, and unicorns would be real, and Tim would finally get that Hogwarts letter he'd been coveting. He sighed, turning to Mel. "We'll have to work on her, I guess. I can try to convince her to give you a chance, but if she finds out I'm on your side she definitely won't listen." He smirked, comparing their current situation to some sort of battle strategy. You go to the mall for baby clothes, you come back with a sister and a plan.
ooc SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG I LOVE YOU AND UM I LOVE YOU. I feel like this thread will be ending soon, so we should probably start thinking about the next step in this epicness. HAVE I MENTIONED I'M SORRY AND I LOVE YOU?
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