Chapter 9 - Angst

Freya is more than happy to drag Luke into her games of House, though what he thinks of the whole matter remains to be seen.

Actually, I suppose him smacking those dolls together answers it pretty well. Freya swiftly follows suit.

Leda reminds us all why she never actually became a model (though, to be fair, in most magazines that expression would probably be par for the course).

Meanwhile, Kyle grows into a toddler. He looks a little more like Leda now, which reassures her that they won't have to face any awkward questions about his parentage once he grows up. Like the rest of the children, he has Leda's bright blue eyes.

His father is notably not at the aging ceremony.

Joey went to work at 7am and was scheduled not to arrive home until 1am. However, an emergency kept him at work late, and thus he didn't make it home until 5am instead. He groans, rubbing his head and remembering all of the hangovers he had as a teenager, which now seem far less painful.

Is it really worth it to be an astronaut, he wonders, to work only one day a week and to work for eighteen hours on that one day? He climbs into bed with a sigh and sleeps until noon the following day.

Speaking of the following day, it's Freya's birthday, and she's decided that if she wants to have cookies for breakfast, then she can, dang it. While she's at school, Joey coordinates yet another birthday party, though this time only invites Jarred and Luke, as he is now quite conscious of just how small the house is.

This doesn't seem to help matters, actually. Jarred blows up at his father for getting in his way, and Freya lingers quietly to the side wondering how she's actually going to get to her cake.

Jarred counters by stealing a piece of cake from the fridge to block Freya's path once more.

But finally all goes well, and Freya blows out the candles and everyone cheers and is happy.

What Luke wasn't aware of was that Freya knew it was HIS birthday as well, and surreptitiously asked her father to pick up an extra cake.

"C'mere," she coaxes, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward the counter.

"Wait, what's going on? I don't get it."

Freya grins, positioning him in front of the cake. She's now a few feet taller than him, but she also knows this shall be remedied momentarily. She finds herself wondering if he'll grow into a super-attractive teenager. Maybe they could even...hook up at her party? It's kind of weird to be thinking about it, since he's not only her best friend but also still a child, but she entertains the thought regardless with a shiver. "This is yours. I thought you might...wanna share it."

Luke looks inordinately pleased, thinking this is the best party he's ever had.

"A-PHOO!"

And then he grows up! He grows into...

...a...very portly guy with bad hair and weird fashion sense.

Freya stiffens and stares at him for a long moment before quickly averting her eyes. All right. So maybe that was a bad idea. "...er, happy birthday, Luke."

"Thanks! You too!"

As Jarred runs off, Freya scurries to her bedroom to fix the current fashion don't she is wearing. The fact that she can't actually see anything is a problem as well.

Much better.

There are still hours to kill, and so the family drags themselves downstairs.

Yes, even Abracadabra.

Joey begins wondering if he should begin locking the doors and windows at all times.

As it is, Leda takes herself to the computer to work on her novel, and Luke has a brief bout with his insanity as he decides that she is blocking the path through the wall that he wants to take. He grows incredibly angry.

Until he decides that he's fat and takes over the treadmill instead.

Freya occasionally glances up at him while she reads Kyle a story. Why he wants to work out in his current attire she has no idea. Then again, Luke's always been a little strange. She shakes herself and turns her attention back to Kyle.

The weights are next, this time in his swimsuit. The entire room agrees later that evening that they really didn't need to see that.

However, Joey comes over and even helps train him for a time. He watches, both terrified and mystefied, as Luke grows better and better at what he's doing until he appears to have mastered these weights.

A much slimmer Luke thanks Joey for his help.

"Y-you're welcome. You sure got the hang of it quickly."

"Yeah, well...comes with the territory." He eyes Joey meaningfully before he grins, exposing his fangs. "I'm out of here. Thanks again for the party. See you later, Freya!" As he runs off, Joey shivers. Yes, he's definitely locking the doors and windows tonight.

As the weekend begins, Freya finds that Luke is more and more distracted every day. He doesn't seem to have a desire to hang out with her anymore, and it confuses the heck out of her. Did she scare him off? Was the party crossing her boundaries? She doesn't know. At the same time, she needs something to keep her distracted.

Realizing that her parents are both incredibly busy lately, she decides to take a little more care of Kyle.

He's a precious child, relatively quiet already and so smart that it makes her beam with pride, as if he's her child instead of her brother. He goes through books like tissues, for example, and mastered the family's peg box at an extremely early age. She finds herself feeling more and more motherly toward him every day.

INTERMISSION: Leda decides that the best way to wake up your lazy teenaged daughter is to go in her room, turn on all the lights, and read aloud at her desk.

"Oh my God, Mom, I hate you."

BACK TO THE STORY.

After Luke shrugs her off Monday at school, Freya calls him up at the end of the day. "Luke, what's up? You've been like...super busy since Friday night or something? ... Yeah? I mean, I have other friends too, but I guess I just sort of miss you, you know?"

"... Wait, you...what?"

Freya corners Leda later that evening at her computer. "Mom...what do you do when your best friend gets a girlfriend?"

Leda pauses at her key clacking, staring at the screen for a long moment before she looks up at her daughter and searches her eyes. Freya holds her gaze for just a moment before she looks away. "Well...you try to be happy for them. You realize that you're going to miss them, but you also realize that they're growing up, just as you are."

Freya nods mutely.

Leda learns from that action alone all she needed to know. "Of course...if you care for them as more than a best friend, then it's never easy to be happy for them, is it?"

"..." Freya removes her glasses and wipes carefully at her eyes, trying not to smudge her makeup. "I really liked him, Mom. Luke is just so...DIFFERENT, you know? So inspiring. I feel so vibrant when I'm around him."

Leda takes her hand. "Dearheart, it's not going to be easy, and you're in your right to be sad. But you can't build your life around him either. You need to...grow a little, you know?"

"You're right," Freya says without pause. "I mean, I already thought of that, and I can just...find someone else to hang out with, I guess."

"Are you close with anyone else in your class?"

"Well...there's this guy...oh, but he just graduated before the weekend. I can't invite him over to hang out. That'd be weird!"

Leda clicks her tongue. "Suit yourself, Freya."

The next afternoon, Freya invites him over anyway.

"Hey Donald, what's up?" Freya asks tentatively, searching his face for any signs that he's weirded out by his former classmate inviting him over to her house.

On the contrary, he seems pretty pleased. "Not much! I was kind of surprised to hear from you, not gonna lie. Always thought you and Luke were joined at the hip."

Freya decides that conversation should end promptly.

Like a good father, Joey comes out to check on them, feigning interest in the chess table. Freya is vaguely annoyed by this and leads Donald inside.

She took lessons from Jarred in proper hang-out activities and dates, of course.

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I really was planning on Luke and Freya getting together, actually...and then the day after their birthday he hooks up with this chick named Miki instead. Much sadness for all. However, it opens up a plot with even MORE drama, so I'm not complaining. 8D

Also, I decided that the tips of Freya's hair weren't enough blue, so I went ahead and gave her blue highlights as well. I have no regrets.