Drag Show

[Tadhg Kelly]

Tad came into Michael's store with a hand ful of posters under his arm. He had offered to take them to Debbie's and Mikey's at the emergency GSA meeting. That had been before the dance though, and now he was sort of hoping that Brooke wouldn't be working today. After all, she had run out on him and then run off with Vinnie. He wasn't even sure they were going out anymore. Although they hadn't broken up, so there was that.

"Hello?" he asked uncertainly not seeing anyone at first. He was hoping Michael would come out so he could ask abou tthe drag show posters.

[Jame Qwilleran]

//If it's weird that I'm in here, just let me know, I'll leave!//

Jame stopped flipping through the comic book he'd just picked up and looked up at the rack in front of him, an inquisitive eyebrow raised.

"Hello?" he echoed the speaker, before poking his head out from behind the t-shirt rack that obscured his view of the front door. Ah, fantastic, so the voice hadn't been in his head. Jame took a step back to balance himself and offered a small wave to the person at the door. "Somehow I don't think I'm the one you're looking for... the person at the desk just went in back, if that helps," he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. Out of habit, he pushed his reading glasses up onto the bridge of his nose and grinned.

Jame wasn't particularly into comics. He'd read his share, but it was just a stroll through the city that had led him to this shop, where he was enticed inside by an awesome window display. One good window display deserves a customer, he'd always thought.

[brooke]

Brooke heard some muffled conversation following the ringing of the bell which hung over the door. Another customer! She had no idea where Michael had run off to, and so she was pretty much on her own for the moment. She was used to it, though. Ever since that one night when Brian had taken Mikey out and she had to close on her own, well, she'd been given a lot more trust after that point. She was determined not to let him down by looking into every little detail while she was there. This was the best job she'd ever had.

"Can I help you-" Brooke started speaking before she had even fully exited the back room, but stopped dead when she saw that it was Tadhg who had entered. "-with anything?" she finished lamely, her voice trailing away. "Uh, hey," she said. They hadn't spoken about what had happened at the dance yet, and she was still unsure as to where they stood in their relationship. Something told her that they would end up okay in the end, but she wasn't sure if not talking had eased things or made them worse in Tadhg's mind. She supposed that she'd find out soon enough...

[Tadhg Kelly]

((It's ok. . .I just might ignore JAme for a bit. . .but afterwards he can talk. . .))

"Hey. . ." Tad said giving a small wave to the other occupant in the room. Then instead of the shorter black-haired nerdy man coming to greet him Brooke did.

"I. . .yeah," he said uncertainly. "I have some posters for the show for the GSA. . .and I was hoping Michael would let me. . .put some up."

He glanced around the room awkwardly. . .raising his eyebrows at the other guy present.

"So. . .yeah."

[Jame Qwilleran]

//I see how it it. No, I'm totally just kidding.//

Jame looked from the boy to the girl and back again. Wow. Awkwardness you could cut with a knife! This could only end in tears. Or something. Sensing danger, he stepped forward again into the little hideaway formed by the t-shirt rack and some shelves. Maybe if neither of them could see him, they would forget he was there. He could, of course, just leave.

Nah.

Jame returned his attention back to the comic at hand, but kept an ear open just in case. He'd never had the chance to yell "FIGHT!' into a crowded street before, and didn't want to miss any opportunity. That girl had cheerleader strength - he could tell - and the guy looked like a bit of a wimp. It would be an interesting fight if it happened.

Man, why weren't there more certainties in life?

[brooke]

"I have some posters for the show for the GSA. . .and I was hoping Michael would let me. . .put some up."

There was a pause, during which time neither of them made eye contact. As a matter of fact, both of them seemed to be searching for some sort of distraction, but the kid who had been there a moment before had ducked away into the shelves. He could probably sense the danger.

"So. . .yeah."

"Michael's in the back, I could go..." Brooke trailed off, though. She had been about to offer to go find him, but then what? Then she'd send Michael out here to deal with Tadhg so she could stall in the back until he had left? What kind of a person was she? And what kind of way was this for the two of them to deal with their relationship problems. For crying out loud, they were almost adults!

"This is ridiculous," she said, with a deep sigh. "Do you want to talk or something? Because this... this isn't going to work," she said, motioning between the two of them with her hands. She was more frustrated with herself for their lack of communication than she was with Tadhg, though. She just wanted to fix things so her life wasn't so screwed up any more.

[Jame Qwilleran]

Oh no! It isn't going to work - are they gonna break up? Zee oh em gee. Jame thought, the voice in his mind sounding like it had come straight from his sister's mouth. It was all he could do not to laugh. Shortly after he mastered the urge, he felt bad. There was something going on in these people's lives, and he was laughing about it. What kind of a person was he?

High school drama, diaf, the sister in his mind piped up again, and Jame bit his lip, stared at the comic and thought of things that weren't hilarious.

[Tadhg Kelly]

Tadhg shrugged helplessly at her. He really didn't want to say some of the things on his mind. About how she had left wihtout giving him time to speak. . .about how she had opened up to Vinnie and not him, even tough he was supposed to be her boyfriend. He shouldn't let these thigns bother him, he kne, but he couldn't help but feel hurt.

"Talk about what?" he asked, in a would-be-casual voice. "I. . .you walked out. . .and you went off to talk to Vinnie instead."

[brooke]

"Talk about what? I. . .you walked out. . .and you went off to talk to Vinnie instead."

Brooke opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. What could she say to that? She hadn’t realized that Tadhg had seen Vinnie drive her home, and while it hadn’t meant anything and nothing had happened she still hadn’t been ready to have to explain herself. She realized that her silence was only incriminating her, and so she shook her head slowly before responding.

“I walked out because I needed to leave… I felt horrible, like everything was my fault. I couldn’t stay there any longer because I probably would’ve exploded in guilt and self-pity,” she said, knowing that her best bet at this point in time would be the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help her god.

“And I didn’t go off to talk to Vinnie. I went off to drive myself home, and Vinnie came up to find me. He insisted on driving me home because I was in no condition to get behind the wheel of a car, and he was probably right. I was pretty much a wreck,” she admitted, blushing slightly. “I just… I figured I’d screwed up big time, and you’d never want to talk to me again.”

So this was it. Either they would realize that both of them had overreacted and fix things, or they'd realize that they would always feel awkward about that night and never be able to move past it. She was afraid, mainly because anything that had gone wrong had been because of her. The kiss, the I Love You fiasco, the panicked leaving before either of them had a chance to really come to terms with the situation... it had all been her. If Tadhg wanted to break up with her, she would only have herself to blame.

[Tadhg Kelly]

"How do you expect for things to get worked out if you don't stick around to talk about it?" Tad asked. "I just. . . if you were a wreck you should've come to me. I offered to walk with you. I hate that you feel like you needed Vinnie -or anyone else- to take you home . . .because of me."

God this was turning out much differently than he had though it would that first day. Sure he knew not all relationships were easy, but he hadn't thought his woudl be too difficult. But here they were, not having spoken in a few days and now brooke was saying she thought he never wanted to speak to her again. He hadn't thought he'd co meoff as that kind of guy. They were supposed to be a couple. . .

[brooke]

"How do you expect for things to get worked out if you don't stick around to talk about it? I just. . . if you were a wreck you should've come to me. I offered to walk with you. I hate that you feel like you needed Vinnie -or anyone else- to take you home . . .because of me."

"It wasn't because of you," she said quickly, before anything else could distract her train of thought. They weren't talking things out so much as arguing, which was never a good sign. Not for such a relatively new relationship. This wasn't at all how she had planned on this conversation going, but she would have to roll with the punches, as it were. "I had such high expectations for the night, that I really didn't know how to react to the whole situation. I over-reacted. I panicked. And I ran." She had thought that this had been obvious, but she felt the need to state it anyway, because it gave added meaning to her following statements. "It was my fault, and I'm so sorry for not staying," she said, looking Tadhg in the eyes to prove that she meant every word of it.

"I didn't feel that I needed anyone else to take me home. I wanted to go on my own because I'm stubborn. Vinnie just convinced me of otherwise. But I never intended..." she let her words trail off. She knew that she'd done nothing wrong in talking with Vinnie, but could still sense the betrayal that Tadhg felt because of that simple conversation and innocent car ride home. "I should've stayed and talked, but I didn't. I... I didn't come to you because I was embarrassed by how badly I overreacted to the whole thing. I hadn't meant to cause a scene."

Brooke realized that she was just rambling now, but she had to make Tadhg understand where she'd been coming from that night. The more Tadhg talked, the angrier he seemed. No, anger wasn't quite the emotion... frustrated? Disappointed? Whatever it was, it wasn't good, and Brooke was afraid that by leaving him back at the dance she had set in motion something she couldn't fix, and that thought scared her. Brooke didn't want to lose Tadhg, because he was the best thing she had going for her in her life. She needed him.

[Tadhg Kelly]

"That's just it though," Tad said defeatedly. "You shouldn't have to feel that way."

He sighed and cast a glance around aimlessly. ..he just wanted, if nothing else, a temporary distraction.

"I can't help but feel this is my fault too. You wouldn't have been such a wreck-- if -- Look I think you should know the reason I couldn't say it back. It's not you, it's not because I don't. I just don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I mean, I'm only 17, and I know that's not a good reason, but I don't exactly have the best examples for me. My mum and Brandon said they loved my dad, but they both left. . .and God, I know it's not a very good reason, but I just figured you should know why I was being such an idiot."

[brooke]

"No, I completely understand," she said after Tadhg had gone through his long, rambling explination about why he hadn't said 'I love you' back. He wouldn't even say it now, she noticed, but didn't say anything. She really didn't want to push the subject a whole lot. "It's the exact opposite with me. I think I've just gotten so used to hearing it and saying it that it's become second-nature to me. I think I'm too comfortable with it."

Neither of their reasonings sounded valid, really. As a matter of fact, this whole thing was getting pretty ridiculous. What were they even fighting about anymore?

"So... what now?" She was all too eager to forgive and forget just so that they could be a couple again. She really wanted to fix this.

[Jame Qwilleran]

Jame rolled his eyes. He'd put the comic back on the shelf about two angst-filled minutes ago - and now this back and forth was getting annoying. Didn't these people get that life was entirely too short to waste arguing? If they both liked each other, they should just enjoy that until some real problem got in their way, as opposed to what it was they were arguing about now. And then, without meaning to, Jame sighed exasperatedly.

Shit, Jame swore in his head, but then decided, to hell with it. He turned around on his heel and looked at the both of them in turn, shaking his head.

"I'm tired of this whole thing! You're both retarded for each other! Forget about the shit that happened and do what you're supposed to!" he said, in a perfect imitation of Brodie Bruce from Mallrats. As he waited for their reactions, he couldn't help but congratulate himself mentally. This was the first time he'd been able to work that quote into a normal conversation.

[brooke]

Brooke was about to say something else when she heard a sigh come from the boy who had been looking at the comics just a few feet away from him. Was he sighing at them? She wasn't sure until he had turned all the way around to face the two of them, looking from Tadhg to her before just shaking his head. Yes, yes he had been listening to their conversation, and realizing that made her see how pathetic their little arguement was.

"I'm tired of this whole thing! You're both retarded for each other! Forget about the shit that happened and do what you're supposed to!"

Brooke started to glare at him. "Excuse me, but I don't think this is any of your... wait, was that from Mallrats?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. It was kind of hard to get angry at the boy for two reasons. One of which was that he had just quoted an amazing movie, and the second of which was that he was right. She just sighed a little, shaking her own head and waiting for Tadhg's reaction.

[Tadhg Kelly]

Tad was thrown off a little by the outburst of the until now silent bystander. He hadn't known exactly what to say anyway, and coudlnt' help but grinned embarrasedly at the guy's words. Sure he recognised the quote, and it applied here rather well. Well at least in his case it did. He smirked half-heartedly. He was ready to just forget this whole ordeal.

"The little stoner's got a point," he said imitating Alan Rickman and quoting Dogma in return.

"Not that I'm implying you're a stoner," he added hastily. "He's right though. . .this is stupid. Any chance you'd want to just forget this ever happened?"

Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

[brooke]

"The little stoner's got a point,"

Brooke couldn't help but feel all of her sadness and frustration melt away, especially after the Alan Rickman quote. It was kind of funny how serious they had been only a moment before when now they were laughing over movie quotes. She was immensely grateful for that nosy boy right now.

"He's right though. . .this is stupid. Any chance you'd want to just forget this ever happened?"

Brooke heaved, yes, heaved, a sigh of relief. "Forget what ever happened?" she asked, smirking slightly. She hoped that they could really put this behind them, and that things could get back to the way they had been before. Feeling that it was appropriate to 'seal the deal', in a way, she leaned in and gave Tadhg a quick kiss. It felt good to know that they were on good terms again.

"Thanks, mysterious comic book store guy," she said, turning to the boy who had butted into their conversation.

[Tadhg Kelly]

Tad grinned and let out a sigh of relief, putting an arm around BRooke's shoulder after she kissed him. He looked over at the guy who had a Mallrats outburst.

"That sound like a super hero name or somethign," he added.

[Jame Qwilleran]

Jame watched the quickest make-up he'd ever witnessed with a satisfied smile on his face. It had felt good. It wasn't just that he'd quoted Mallrats - he'd actually helped them. Fantastic.

"Thanks, mysterious comic store guy."

He'd just begun to put his hands on his hips in an imposing way when the other guy mentioned the superhero-like title.

"Oh, it is a superhero name, you just didn't give me time to find a phone booth to change in. I have a cape and everything," Jame replied matter-of-factly.

[Tadhg Kelly]

"I bet you do," Tad said. "Every good comic book store super hero has a cape. You just have to be sure to watch out for plane engines."

An obscure Jason Lee reference, but one nonetheless.

[brooke]

"Oh, it is a superhero name, you just didn't give me time to find a phone booth to change in. I have a cape and everything,"

Brooke had to laugh at the mental image she just had. It was pretty much what you'd expect, but just picturing this guy running into a phone booth and coming out looking like Superman or something, well, it was way beyond amusing.

"I bet you do. Every good comic book store super hero has a cape. You just have to be sure to watch out for plane engines."

"Ah, yes. Plane engines, the eternal downfall of the flying superhero." Just then, a thought struck her. "Oh, right, the posters! I'm sure Mikey won't mind. I'll go put one up awhile."

[Michael Novotny]

Michael walked out of the backroom carrying a large box stacked with the latest Fantastic Four comics. He noticed that little rocker kid who seemed to be hanging out more and more often at the store. He gathered that he and Brooke were dating, and nodded at themm. He smiled politely at the other kid in there. He didn't know this guy yet, but if he came back again, Mikey'd make it a point to find out who he was.

"I won't mind waht?" he asked, plopping the boxes on the ground and lookin gover at Brooke.

[brooke]

"Our school is trying to shut down the GSA, and Tadhg's organizing a Drag Show to help raise funds and awareness. He was wondering if you wouldn't mind hanging up a poster in the window," Brooke said, filling in her employer on what they had been talking about.

She hoped that he hadn't heard their arguing, or else she was sure that she'd feel quite ridiculous. She hated it when others saw her vulnerable moments, and the idea of losing Tadhg after everything they'd gone through recently had almost sent her over the edge. She made a mental note to stop being such a spaz in the future.

[Michael Novotny]

Michael spared a glance at the fliers for the drag show. It was unorthadox, but he had to hand it to these kids: they had balls. This was something that would never have been spoken of when he was in high school.

"Yeah, sure go for it," he said, beginning to put the comics on display. "Wait. . .you guys haven't told my mom about this yet, have you?"

[brooke]

Brooke looked over at Tadhg to see if he knew anything about Debbie. "I know I haven't, but I'm not sure about any of the others that know about it," she offered, knowing that it wasn't much help. As Michael began to set up the newest Fantastic Four comics she shook her head a little.

"Sorry! I got distracted, here, let me set up some over here," she said. They always had two displays for the newest things like this because they always sold out the fastest. She couldn't believe that she had almost stood there and watched Michael set up the new comics! She had a job here, after all, she couldn't slack off just because friends stopped by, what would Michael think of her then?