Oh Good

[Garrett Speelers]

Garrett parked about ten feet away from his house, hoping the motor hadn't been too loud. He had turned down the music considerably so he wouldn't wake his dad up. He looked over at Faye and grinned apologetically.

"I'll only be a minute," he said, swinging his keys around his fingers until he unlocked the front door and then put them in his pocket.

He went through the little foyer and then through the living room, having to walk in the dark in hopes of sneaking into his room. He walked up the stairs and into his room at the end of the hall, grabbing his pair of jeans with some cash in them. He's take them with so he could change into them tomorrow. He was spending the night at Patrick's. He had made it back down the stairs and halfway through the living room when he felt his leg connect with the coffee table. He curse under his breath and grabbed at his leg where it smarted.

Then something he had hoped against hope wouldn't happen . . .well happened. The floor lamp was turned on with a click. He turned around to see his dad's large physique illuminated by the glow. He didn't look thrilled either. Garrett donned a deer in the headlights expression despite his best efforts. At length his father spoke, he had been staring him down for some moments.

"So imagine my surprise when a women at the Big Q asks me who my son is taking to the Homecoming dance," he began, taking two steps closer to Garrett and managing to crack his neck intimidatingly. "Do you know how stupid I felt having to tell her that my son hadn't even told me there was going to be a dance. Do you know what it felt like to have to hear from a stranger that my worthless piece of shit son was taking some girl to a dance and he hadn't even had the DECENCY to tell his old man?"

In the pause that ensued Garrett knew that to say anything would be his own death sentence. He felt his mouth open but didn't manage to say anything.

"What? What was that?" his father began patronizingly, further closing the gap between them. "No, you don't fucking know because you're an inconsiderate little shit."

He had Garrett backed up against the wall now. . .this was the usual way things went for him. With each of the last three words came a jab to his chest plate. Garrett was sick of this and besides which he had Faye waiting out in the car. He mumble something like 'you're right, dad' and tried to make his way out to the foyer.

"What was that?" His father said, grabbing him by the off white collar. "I don't think I fucking heard you."

He used his free hand to slap Garret across the face, leaving and unpleasant red hand print on his right cheek. Without leaving time for Garrett to repeat himself, he tilted his head to the side and reached under his arms, which he'd drawn in front of his chest, and gave him a shot to the gut. No son of his would back talk him, he could hear the sarcastic tones in the ungrateful bastard's voice.

Garrett grabbed at his stomach, choking back a yelp. He didn't want to make any sounds that might alert Faye to what was going on. . .although his dad was being loud enough for both of them.

[Faye Prewett]

Faye was sitting in the car, waiting for Garrett. He had just gone inside to grab some money, it shouldn't have been taking him this long. As she waited, Faye began to play with the strap on her purse, growing anxious. Garrett had seemed rather worried about going in to get money, after all, he had turned off the music and pretty much coasted his car down the street so that he wouldn't wake up his dad.

She waited some more, and then saw the light turn on. Violent silhouettes were seen through the curtains, one backing up against a wall and the other pushing (or poking, whatever) at it. Garrett! She wasn't sure what to do next. After all, it wasn't her place to get involved, but his dad was much less likely to do anything if she was there, right? She had to try...

Getting out of the car, she pretended she didn't know what was going on as she rushed up the front stairs of his house and opened the front door to let herself in. She spotted Garrett standing there, in very close proximity to his dad, and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry... I just had to use the bathroom," she said. The excuse was for his dad's benefit, hopefully to stop him from being so unreasonable. She figured that Garrett knew she was here to try and help him because she couldn't help but keep the slightly worried look out of her eyes. Then she noticed that Garrett was doubled over a little and felt fear shoot through her, hoping he was okay. She stood there bravely, wondering if her little plan would get them out of there... now.

[Garrett Speelers]

His father stopped mid motion of slamming his head into the wall: one of his favorites. He rounded on whoever the hell was in his house, his hand still pressing his son's face into the wall. He saw it was just a young girl, and so all fear that he should stop lest he get into some sort of trouble left as things began to click in his mind.

"Who the fuck are you?" he had demanded immediately.

Then he turned to his son, who was looking at Faye worriedly. Why did she have to come in? He tried to speak with his eyes, telling her to leave, but doubted it would work.

"Is this the little tramp you didn't bother to damn well tell me about?" he asked, latching on to some hair, turning him towards Faye and pointing at her. He walked over to Faye, taking Garrett with him and pushed her back towards the door.

"You get the fuck out of my house!" he shouted at her, shoving her back out the open door.

Garret rounded on his dad, yanking his hair out of his grip. That would hurt later. . .

"What the hell is wrong with you? She's not a tramp. You leave her out of this, damn it," he said, surprising himself as he always did when he attempted standing up to his father.

For which he often received, as he did now, a sharp blow to the face. He staggered back ward a few steps, and realized they were both at the door. He turned to Faye, grabbed her hand, and ran for the car. He stuck his keys in the ignition without waiting to see if his dad was following them, and pushed hard on the gas. He waited until he had put some distance between him and the house before turning to Faye (keeping an eye on the road of course).

"Did he hurt you?" he asked quietly.

(Erica is that all right i didn't know how you wanted his dad to handle it.. . .more violently? Or just sort of shoving around. . .i couldn't give him a solid reason for hitting her. . .but the shoves were supposed to be rough. . .))

[Faye Prewett]

"Who the fuck are you?"

“I’m Faye, who the fuck are you?” she replied boldly. She wasn’t scared by his actions, but instead found herself extremely angry. More angry than she had ever felt about anything in her entire life. What right did Garrett’s dad have to treat him like that? Nothing he could have done was worth this sort of physical and emotional abuse.

"Is this the little tramp you didn't bother to damn well tell me about?"

Faye’s face lit up with indignation which quickly disappeared as Garrett was grabbed roughly by his hair and turned to face her. She couldn’t believe that this was really happening… that some people actually lived like this. How did Garrett come home every night? How did he stay here, living with this abusive man? It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.

"You get the fuck out of my house!"

Faye hadn’t expected for him to lay a finger on her, but he did. Garrett’s father pushed her backwards roughly toward the open door, and a number of things happened at once. Faye stumbled, still in her heels and homecoming dress, and tripped as she crossed the doorway, her right heel breaking as it got caught. Loosing her balance, she fell to the ground hard, scraping her arm on the pavement and hitting her head gently on the door frame against which she’d pushed. Her leg would bruise later, and her ankle hurt from twisting as her shoe broke, but there was no permanent damage done. She sat there in shock for a moment before quickly picking herself up off the ground, about ready to go back into the house when Garrett was shoved out as well, and the two of them sprinted for his car.

She sat there in stunned silence as they drove away. She took off her shoe, looking down at the broken heel. They had been brand new.

"Did he hurt you?"

Faye looked down at herself and realized that her arm, where she had scraped it, was bleeding, and that her dress was torn down her right leg. Her ankle was sore, nothing she couldn’t walk off, and her head hurt. All in all, nothing major was wrong, but enough little things had occurred to make it count.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Just a few scrapes…” of course it was a little worse than that, but she didn’t want to say anything to make him feel worse about the situation. Normally she would have been a little upset about her new dress, but that seemed so unimportant right then. “Are you alright? I... I'm sorry... I just wanted to help," she said, hoping she hadn't just caused him more trouble. After all, she hated to admit it, but it seemed like whatever his dad had been about to do before she walked in had been worse than what had actually happened, so hopefully she had helped him out a little, for now.

[Garrett Speelers]

"You sure," Garrett said, looking back ahead of him. "You fell pretty hard back there."

“Are you alright? I... I'm sorry... I just wanted to help."

He swallowed a moment, uncomfortable with having someone else see what life at the Speelers house was like. He didn't want her to see the shame on his face, or the marks that were so common for him by now. He sported bruises like some kids sported jewelery.

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine," he assured her, wiping at his face with his suit jacket. He had felt tears as he left the house; it was a reaction to the blow his dad had given him before running. "That sort of thing happens all the time. It's not your fault. I'm just sorry he turned on you. He must have been drinking tonight: I've never seen him hit women."

He tried to keep his voice light as he spoke. This wasn't the first time this had happened to him after all, but it was the first time anyone besides Patrick or ((the late)) Jack had seen it, and he wondered what he must look like to Faye. Pathetic? Weak? Pitiful? God, he didn't want her to pity him. But he liked her, and he feared this might ruin any chance he'd had with her.

[Faye Prewett]

"You sure? You fell pretty hard back there."

Faye nodded hesitantly, still a little shaken up over what had just happened. Literally. Faye was a little surprised to see that her hands were shaking a little, and she could feel how nervous she’d been back then catching up with her. “Yeah, I… yeah.”

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine,"

As Garrett wiped at his face Faye was sure that he was upset, which only made her upset in turn. She couldn’t help but blink back a few tears of her own, mainly built up from the shock. She wasn’t in too much actual pain other than the stinging of her cut and the slight ache of her ankle. Hopefully Garrett didn’t see because he was too busy wiping away his own tears.

"That sort of thing happens all the time. It's not your fault. I'm just sorry he turned on you. He must have been drinking tonight: I've never seen him hit women."

The casual way which Garrett spoke these words hurt her more than anything else. She couldn’t imagine getting used to something like that to the point where he could say it happened all the time, and not to worry. Overwhelmed by everything that was going on inside of her right then, she reached over and wrapped her arms around Garrett in a loose hug, careful not to obstruct his driving. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, as she couldn’t find the right words to say.

[Garrett Speelers]

Garrett was surprised by the hug and immediately tensed up as he always did after an outburst from his father. He shied away from his brother whenever he tried to hug him too. He let himself relax after a few seconds, glad for the comfort in all actuality. He was so sick of having to constantly pretend everything was all right, having to act strong and indifferent.

They were at. .. (wherever it is they're eating) and he pulled the car over to park. He attempted to smirk at Faye, but the sigh he let out was a little shaky. He did, however, return the hug. He brushed her arm as he did so though and saw the blood on his hand. He frowned and turned her arm over gently to look at her elbow. . .or whatever, pulling away slightly.

"Damn it," he said, glad for a distraction from his own pathetic-ness and pain, but upset it had to be this at the same time.

He opened the glove compartment where he kept all sorts of medical supplies. He often ended up needing them more than he cared to admit. He pulled out some neosporin and the big ass band aides.

"You should probably put some of that on," he said, not wanting to freak her out by cleaning up her cut. Some people were weird about the whole blood thing.

[Faye Prewett]

Faye felt Garrett tense up under her touch and she felt a pang of remorse. She knew that it wasn’t Garrett’s fault, but she realized that he must not get very many sentimental gestures like this. She couldn’t imagine growing up with an abusive parent… without the love and kind gestures, simple things like hugs. That could really mess up a kid when it came to coexisting with others on a personal level.

When he relaxed as she hugged him she felt that remorse ebb away. Once they pulled over at the Diner, he even returned her hug. It felt good, like they were connecting without saying a word. She was grateful because she really didn’t know what to say to him. She didn’t want to seem condescending, nor did she want to seem like she was pitying him. She just wanted him to feel comfortable around her, no matter what.

"Damn it,"

Faye blushed, realizing that he had blood on his hand. She hadn’t realized it was bleeding that much. “Sorry,” she said, careful not to lean her arm against his car seat. “It’s nothing,” she added, so that he wouldn’t worry about her. Garrett reached into the glove box and pulled out a first-aid kit. She wondered how many times he’s had to use it that he had it at the ready.

"You should probably put some of that on,"

“Thanks,” she said, biting her lip a little as she put the Neosporin on his arm before applying the band aide. It stung to touch, but felt better once it was done.

“So, are we going in?” she said, wondering if it was possible to pretend that whole thing never happened.

[Garrett Speelers]

"Don't mention it," Garrett said clearing his throat awkwardly.

“So, are we going in?”

Garrett hardly ever acted on impulse, but he felt the desire to and he followed through, forgetting about uncertainties and regrets. He leaned across the armrests and reached his hand around her face to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers slide to the back of her head and their lips to meet in a kiss. He couldn't help himself, she had been there for him and she was attractive and he couldn't help but feel something.

He pulled away and opened his eyes slowly, he had closed them during the kiss.

"Uh. . .if you want to. . . ." he said laughing sheepishly.

[Faye Prewett]

"Don't mention it,"

Faye smiled, glad that she had decided to come with Garrett despite all of the drama. Even though she hadn’t liked what she had seen, it had given her a glimpse into the life Garrett led on a day-to-day basis, and it helped her to understand him a little bit better – at least where he was coming from. That was a plus, even though that plus was surrounded by a swarm of negatives.

Faye was just about to reach over to open her door when Garrett moved in towards her. In one smooth motion he moved a strand of hair out of her face while resting his hand behind her head, pulling her in for a kiss. She wasn’t shocked, though, because it felt right. They had made a connection in the past few minutes, and she felt surprisingly close to him as they sat there, after only one very informal ‘date’. Closing her eyes gently, she kissed him back, lips curled up slightly at the edges in a small, satisfied smile that she just couldn’t hold back.

"Uh. . .if you want to. . . ."

Faye laughed a little too, pleasantly surprised by what had just happened. “I’m suddenly starving,” she said, deciding that saying anything was better than having a silence that filled the car all too quickly. She got out of the car, wondering how silly she must have looked. She was holding her shoes since one of her heels was broke, her dress had a ragged tear down the right leg from her fall, and her arm was bandaged up with just the tiniest hint of red showing through. So much for homecoming… "I'm a wreck," she pointed out, laughing a little at herself as she shook her head.

[Garrett Speelers]

"Yeah," Garrett gave an awkward chuckle at her words, retrieving his money from his jean pocket and then locking the door behind him. "Sorry about that. . ."

Most of his bruises were emotional or covered by his clothing or hair -- except for the nose. He had a nice bruise around his nose and left cheek and a slight trickle of blood that had dried on his upper lip, but he was sure it was different for Faye, who wasn't used to this sort of thing.

He could tell that she was trying to laugh it off and he was grateful for that, but he felt partially responsible. If he hadn't stopped at his house. . . but he was here now and she had kissed him back just then, so he shouldn't keep doubting himself.

((Are they at the Libert Ave. Diner? You said 'diner'))

[Faye Prewett]

((ooc- Oh… didn’t even think about that. I just assumed, since we all used to go to ‘the diner’… meh. Doesn’t matter, really. Except… maybe for Garrett’s sake it’s best if we just made it a random diner. Lol))

"Yeah, Sorry about that. . ."

Faye just shrugged again. She knew that Garrett felt bad about what had happened, even though none of it was his fault. After all, she didn’t have to come in the house after him, that had been her prerogative. She hoped that he wouldn’t let that ruin things between them.

Things between them… that was weird. After all, there wasn’t officially anything going on between them. They had kissed, yes, but what did that mean? It wasn’t like he had asked her out or anything. Still… the idea of having a boyfriend was nice. Especially because of the way Garrett had flinched away from her initial hug back in the car. It was obvious that he didn’t get the sort of caring that everyone deserved. The sort of caring that, in lieu of a mother, a proper girlfriend could provide.

Not to mention the fact that he was sweet, and funny, and, to put it bluntly, hot. She just hated the fact that his father, for no apparent reason, hated her now.

“Two, please,” she said to the waitress who was standing at the door, waiting to seat them. The two of them got some odd looks, especially Faye, whose dress was obviously ripped and the bandage obvious on her arm. She tried not to be self-conscious about it, though, for both of their sakes. She didn’t want to make Garrett feel any worse.

((ooc- are we actually posting this, or are we doing one of those ‘then they went to the diner’ things.))