"I... Umm... Is it okay with your parents?"
"Of course it is Tay! Do you think they don't want me to have friends?"
Vicky pouted playfully.
"Oh, umm... Okay. Can I borrow your phone to call my dad?"
My sister frowned in response.
"You don't have one? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Dean totally would have bought one for you."
Taylor winced a little there. I couldn't tell if it was because she didn't want to spend his money or if it was because she felt bad about not saying anything.
"I didn't really want to impose..."
"Nonsense. We're gonna go get you a phone so you can call him yourself."
"Okay?"
"Great! Now, since we don't have Dean we're gonna have to be a little more careful in our spending..."
I did my best to tune them out when Vicky started debating the pros and cons of the phones she was offering to buy. I really didn't like how much of a focus Taylor was for Vicky right then. It felt like she was taking my place.
When we got home we watched rom coms and action movies (alternating at Vicky's whim) well into the morning. Waking up to the title screen of the first Indiana Jones was an interesting way to find out you'd been up way too late. I was the first one up, which really didn't help me when I noticed Taylor cuddled up with Vicky. I knew they hadn't been that close (physically) last night, so it was probably just a bit of them moving in their sleep. That didn't stop the feelings of jealousy I was getting though.
Over the next month, we started doing movie nights almost every Friday and Taylor ended up sleeping over more often than not. I would have enjoyed it if it didn't feel like Vicky was focusing on her more than me, but it could have just been my attraction to Vicky, so I tried not to hold it against either of them.
Oh, and there was one other thing. Vicky had basically told Taylor that she needed to get contacts (or else) and I (idiot that I am) offered to just fix her eyes. It all went quite smoothly, even when I noticed the extra brain structures in her head and filed them away under "DO NOT OPEN." I did freak out a little until I noticed that there weren't really any tall, thin brunettes with curly hair among the capes of Brockton Bay. There was no way she was a Master coming to steal my sister either; I didn't really like her that much and she would've done something about that.
Through all that I did my best to keep a poker face; the public thought I couldn't do brains, but that didn't mean they thought I couldn't see them. I don't think she noticed that I noticed, but I really didn't need to spend any more time doubting myself than I already did.
We were sitting at our table again on an ordinary Wednesday (a rarity in Brockton Bay) when Vicky popped the question.
" Hey Tay, Ames, Dean's having a party Saturday at his house. You wanna go?"
"Sure."
Maybe I'll get some time alone (or at least more alone) with Vicky, `cause I doubt Taylor's gonna say-
"I guess so."
Shit. It took some effort to keep my face neutral.
"You do know I'm sitting right here, right?"
Dean had a subtle smirk that made me want to punch him. He looked at me with a vaguely accusatory expression.
Damnit, I hate it when he does that!
"Sorry! I mean, is it okay with you?"
I said her social skills had improved, not that she was the greatest conversationalist at Arcadia. Everyone knew that that was my sister.
Vicky put her hand on Taylor's shoulder. I felt a stupid pang of jealousy.
It's just a hand on the shoulder.
"It's fine Taylor, he was joking."
"Oh... sorry."
Dean looked at me, sighed, and changed the topic.
=================================================?
Taylor came over to our house early on Saturday so Vicky could get her ready for the party. Vicky had picked out one of those off-the-shoulder tops in nice deep blue as well as some black skinny jeans. Even I had to admit it looked good on Taylor. It accentuated her skinniness in a way that made her look more like a model than a high school girl. She even had the slightly odd face too! (I am not bitter).
Vicky had picked out a tempting white dress that showed a fair amount of cleavage and had a slit on one side that went all the way up to a very tantalizing thigh. It basically only covered one of her perfect legs. Her make-up was perfect and her hair was draped over her shoulders in a way that said "I don't even have to try." It was really fucking hot.
I was just wearing a simple black dress/skirt thingy that went most of the way down my thighs and didn't really show anything up top (not that there was really anything worth showing). At least I wasn't Taylor. She was flat as a board and I knew she'd stay that way (for once the ability to see all of someone's genetics was useful).
Because the three of us were going together I didn't get to have Vicky carry me. Instead we had to ride in mom's SUV and Vicky just made small talk with Taylor the whole time. I told myself that Taylor was Vicky's pet project. It made me feel better.
We got there about half an hour late and the party was already in swing. Vicky said it was what you're supposed to do, so I went with it. Taylor looked even more unsure of herself than usual. As we walked in, I noticed that Dean had finally managed to get Shadow Stalker to show up to a party. She had a friend with her, some redhead, who was pretty obviously flirting with Dean.
When I turned to look at Vicky, she looked ticked (yay!); but Taylor looked terrified. Her eyes flitted from Shadow Stalker to the redhead to Dean and back again before finally coming over to Vicky and me.
"I... I'm gonna be out back" was all she got out before she practically bolted towards the door. I noticed she took the long way around. It looked like she really didn't want Dean to see her reaction (or maybe it had something to do with the redhead?).
After this, Vicky looked confused and angry at the same time. She looked between Dean and where Taylor had exited from, obviously trying to decide who to go after (literally or metaphorically, take your pick). I knew she wasn't gonna be happy with Dean for letting a girl flirt with him (even without his power it was obvious), but I also knew she wasn't going to let Taylor wander off like that. I just waited for her. With one last look at Dean, she huffed and started to follow the path Taylor took.
=================================================?
It was while before we found her. Dean's house wasn't exactly an estate, but it was very much the typical size for an obscenely rich family. We had at least an acre of space packed with people to search through and it wasn't exactly empty. We started looking closer to the house, but she wasn't next to the fire pit, on any of the furniture, or hiding in some nook. Then Vicky figured it out.
There was a small gazebo sitting way out in the farthest corner of the Stansfield property. Nestled in between some trees and at the top of a hill, it was a nice, private spot. When we got there Taylor was sitting on the ground on the other side of the nearest wooden column. Her back was to the party and she had her knees pulled up to her chest with her face buried in between them. She was sniffling quietly, and when Vicky and I came around in front of her it was pretty obvious she'd been crying.
We sat down on opposite sides of her and Vicky put an arm across her shoulders.
Taylor jumped a little at that.
"Hey, Tay, it's ok...Whatever it was, it's okay."
Taylor looked at her hesitantly and nodded.
"I'll tell you, just... just give me a minute, to put it all together."
I wasn't sure how much time passed, but when she finally did speak the bass line thumping from the house was a little different. I wasn't sure if that meant is was new song or not; they played a lot of similar songs at these parties, but that was really the only measure of time we had. I couldn't really pull out my phone. That'd be a bitch move; Vicky wouldn't like that.
When she finally did speak, her voice was rough and pained.
Maybe this is what they mean when they say someone sounds haunted?
"It... I... did I ever say how I got the transfer?"
"No, you didn't. Does it have something to do with those girls back there?"
Vicky's voice was gentle and more soothing than normal. I did my best to focus on how Taylor felt; ignore how much I wanted Vicky to sound like that for me.
It mostly worked.
Taylor started speaking again, "They were... They bullied me."
Vicky stayed silent. Laughter and shouts drifted up the hill to our little enclave. Taylor flinched. Little blips of the melody escaped the house whenever someone moved in or out, and cheering punctuated success and failures in some dumb, little lawn game.
"I used to be friends with one of them. The redhead. Emma. We were... She was my only friend. I stayed with her and her family when my dad was... when he was still grieving."
I felt I could understand, a little, where she was coming from. They were like sisters.
"I came back after summer camp and she said she didn't like me anymore. That she hadn't for a while. When-"
A small hiccup interrupted her.
"When I got to high school she just bullied me and she just wouldn't stop. Her friend, the other girl back there, she was the physical one. The stuff that only happens to guys in all those teen movies, that was what she did."
Vicky and I glanced at each other; her face was tight and her eyes were wide in surprise. We knew Sophia was a bitch, but I didn't think she'd straight up attack people.
"There was another one, a cutesy girl who just did pranks. They sucked but... it wasn't as bad as what Emma did. She took everything I'd ever trusted her with and... she just used it. Things I said back when we were close, things I knew would never go further..."
I could understand what she meant. I couldn't imagine I'd last long if Vicky did the same thing to me, even though I knew she wouldn't. Vicky was just too nice.
"They backed off last November" When Sophia joined the Wards. "I thought that they were done, that I was safe again. I made a friend too. Things were getting better"
She gave a sad, bitter smile at that. Vicky squeezed her shoulder.
"When I got back after the break I knew it wasn't over. I had known that... but I guess I hoped... I just hoped they were done. As I made my way to my locker there were whispers and giggles following me. There was this... this awful smell once I got to my hallway. I knew they wanted me to look, that I was playing right into their hands, but I had to see it. I wanted to know what was worth laying off on me for so long."
Vicky and I knew it wasn't whatever had happened, but we couldn't really say it. Even if it was really tempting.
"Before the break, they must have raided all of the bins in the girls' bathrooms. I still can't believe they went that far just to fuck with me... When I opened my locker it was just... stuffed full. Hardly any room left. The whole thing smelled like... I can't even describe it."
I knew that smell. Rotten flesh from some homeless guy's foot, a few expired blood bags, that one woman's asshole after a shit ton of drug use. It was never a nice thing.
"I bent down to throw up and someone pushed me in. They shut the door and locked it. I was in there for a while and then..."
She bowed her head.
Shit, that must have been her trigger event. Certainly fits the trauma.
"The hallway wasn't empty. Not at all. There were people all around, but they didn't do anything... I lost it in there. Whenever it was that someone opened it all I did was fight, and scream and... I don't really know what happened after that. I woke up in the hospital, in the psych ward. Dad had talked to the school and they were gonna pay for it all. They didn't really offer him much more so he threatened to go to an old media contact."
She paused. I couldn't tell if it was nerves or if she was just gathering her thoughts.
"I told him about it all. He... he had a hard time hearing about what Emma did; he and her dad were old friends, but they hadn't really talked much in a while... I had some notebooks that said a lot about what happened. He said he'd see about getting them published. That was when they finally did something, pushed the transfer. I had to do some tests and some makeup work while they got everything sorted out, but that was all it took. They didn't give a shit about what happened until it was gonna hurt their image."
The end of her story hung over us, stifling any conversation. I was shocked, honestly. Shadow Stalker wasn't a normal Ward. Vicky and I both knew she was on probation from her violence as a vigilante. Even then, I didn't think she'd do something like this.
How did she get away with it?
Vicky looked furious. I could tell she was torn between staying here to comfort Taylor and going to yell at Dean for not noticing a fucking psychopath. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she decided what we were going to do.
"Look... let's just go back to our house. We can have a girl's night in, like we normally do. We'll get some pizza or some ice cream and we'll sit on the couch together and watch some romantic comedies. You don't need to deal with this right now, okay Tay?"
She nodded as she leaned into Vicky. I smothered the pangs of jealousy I was getting. Taylor needed this right now.
"Alright, let's go home."
=================================================?
The next few weeks were... interesting. Vicky and Dean had a fight and another breakup, but this one was different. Vicky had told me once that she always went back to Dean because he was so understanding because of his power (and that had hurt to hear). After what happened with Sophia, she didn't think he really understood that much even with his power. They were over.
In their normal breakups one of them would be angry at the other for some reason (I tried not to pay close attention; it usually made me depressed) and they'd fight it out until one of them would back down (usually Dean). The problem here was that Dean wouldn't back down. He always played to his name, and he thought that good teammates stuck up for one another (never mind the fact the Sophia would never do the same for him).
After their big fight Taylor had to stop Vicky from going out and making Sophia admit it. I knew what would happen in that situation (a shitton of broken bones) and it looked like Taylor had the same mental image. For once I actually liked something she was doing with Vicky. I never would have gotten her to stand down, but Taylor just kept telling her that it was all behind her. She said that she wanted to move on.
