Work Text:
*ring ring ring*
*ring ring ring*
“Hi, Pitstop Radio, how can I help you?”
“Huh? Oh, hi – um, is Mercy there?”
“Mercy is not available right now, this is Tatiana, how may I help you?”
“Who? Um…is Cheyenne there? This is Tempe – “
“Temp-e? Huh?”
“Huh, uh, yeah, uh sorry. I’m trying to…talk to my aunt Mercy? Um -?”
“Oh Temperance, her nephew.”
“Yeah! I need – “
“You know, your pops has a lot of nerve Temperance! I know he’s from an older generation, but what the hell dude!”
“HUH?”
“You should put a leash on that nasty old man! For real.”
“Wait, what? HUH! My dad?! Did I call the wrong place?
…
“…hello? Hello?!”
“Hi, Tempe?”
“Hi? Um, who’s this?”
“It’s Cheyenne?”
“Oh my god, Cheyenne! Hey, who was – “
“Sorryyyyy, that was our intern. Sorry about that, I’d have answered the phone, but I was in the tub. Is there – “
“You guys have an intern now?”
“Yeah, I really needed the help, and now especially with Mercy – “
“Yeah, that’s who I called for, where is she?”
…
“…Cheyenne? Hello?”
…
“…oh Temps, I mean she’s here but…she’s changed. You know she had her birthday?”
"What, already? I thought that she’d had a little longer! No, not until was done at school -”
“No no hun, she’s an elder now and well…well, she’s an elder now.”
…
“…is she like, okay?”
…
“…I’m not sure how to answer that. She’s here and…well, she’s not fully present. She’s different now.”
“…oh.”
…
“…she quit the militia, you know.”
“What! No way! Why?”
“You know, she won’t tell me? I mean after she became an elder it’s like…you know I’m not sure, I think something bad happened. With work anyway. I have no idea…she won’t talk about it.”
…
“So…does she…talk?”
…
“Cheyenne?”
…
“Yeah, I’m here Tempe, sorry…it’s only been a few days, but I mean yes, she does talk, a little. She’s eating. She dresses and she walks around the house. But…she’s quiet.”
…
“Hm.”
“You know, our intern – she has this dog. Ibrahim. And he won’t leave her side these past few days. It’s cute really. It seems like he’s trying to figure her out too.”
“Wow, a dog? Where did your intern get a dog? Keep a dog, you know? What about Joey?”
“You know, that dog is pretty smart. I don’t know a lot about dogs, but when Joey’s goons come by for their weekly take, he’s nowhere to be found.
…
…you know I hear he’s gotten older too. Joey?”
“Hm.”
…
“You talk to your mom at all Temps? You or Faith?”
“Oh! Well, kind of. She sends me monthly emails.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I mean, they are from her work email and from the IP address I can tell that she is at Brainia U, which is cool I guess, but – “
“But, if she’s there, could she not have just visited you?”
…
“…yeah, I mean I suppose so. But she hasn’t.”
“…hmm.”
“Yeah…well anyway, her emails are just giving me updates on the research she’s doing, which she really seems to be into. I mean, I let her know what I’m up to, and she tells me that she’s proud of me for doing well in school and she asks me to have Faith reply to her emails too.”
“Oh. Well. Alright then, I guess. Good to know she’s well.
…
…nothing about when she’s coming back? Your dad is all alone in that house, you know.”
…
“No, nothing about that.
….
…how is dad? You guys check up on him? I tried calling the other Tuesday, and the line was disconnected.”
“Your intern, she said was um, ‘a dirty old man’, what the hell was that about?”
“Oh gosh, that. So, Mercy and I, we still visit once a week, or we used to at least, until Mercy, you know…”
“But Wendy and Tatiana have been visiting him too. Doing Good Witch things to help him, I guess.”
“’Good Witch things’? Wait, is your intern a witch or something?”
“Well, you know she didn’t disclose that when we first met her, but she’s been spending her off hours with Wendy, and I suppose she’s got an interest in magic.”
“Hm.”
“Anyway, Wendy’s been checking up on your pop. She even let him have my dad’s cat, Angel.”
“Wendy says that animals are good for the elderly, and Tatiana agreed. Keeps them company, mental health all that.”
“Oh, that’s cool, I guess. And sorry about Koda. I heard.”
“Thank you, Tempe.”
…
“So…can I talk to Mercy?”
…
“…I just don’t think it’s a good idea right now Temperance. Sorry.”
“Oh. Okay.”
~~~
Things between Wade and the Streaker Robin have gone so well that they decided to move in together!
“Wow, that’s amazing news Wade! Robin’s lovely.”
“Thanks! We’ve got this place south of campus, and we don’t have a lot of furniture, but you’re welcome to come by some time!”
Bettina was thrilled to see her twin was in a loving relationship. And Bettina herself had never felt better!
She had grown a lot as a witch in a short amount of time. And learned a lot from her warlock boyfriend.
But she’d found out the hard way that magic came with rules.
She had tried to use a cleaning spell on the bathroom by herself. And had ended up with a bloody nose and almost passing out.
Much to Seb’s dismay.
He explained that magic used alone could be too powerful and take over the user too quickly. Traditionally, having a partner in magic kept the balance of magic in check.
Nosebleeds aside, now that she was a practicing witch, Bettina felt justified in being able to decorate with some witchy things gifted from her mother.
She wasn’t quite sure if they were imbued with any sort of power or anything. But they were charming at least!
Seb informed her that before finding a partner, that a witch or warlock's parent was their 'natural' partner in magic. Most magic users almost always had their mother as partner until they found one for themselves.
He’d warned Bettina that having a romantic partner as a partner in magic was a bad idea. That it was considered something that foolish young people might do.
But she didn’t see him complaining.
He’d also said that he and his brother had descendants who were fairies from Veronaville. But Bettina didn’t believe that for one minute.
With Wade having moved out of the boy’s house, Seb, Remy and Tempe needed to make their own fun without their live-in jokester.
The second-best choice for that was Tempe.
“Remy let’s go out! Out-out.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! But let’s not stay out too long because I’ve got an EXAM in the morning!”
“Ugh.”
Uh oh. The Snob returns.
And she still turns out to be a bummer. Rats.'
“Yeah, so, she was a bust. What an ice queen.”
“Alright, so move on then. Plenty of other girls for you to harass Remy.”
“’Harass’? You act like it’s a crime for me to talk to anyone!”
“Don’t be dramatic. Maybe just try to talk to people like they’re people? And not prey? You might have better luck.”
“You sound like dad, Seb.”
“Remy, why don’t you like *COUGH COUGH COUGH* use magic then to *COUGH COUGH* talk to girls like *COUGH COUGH* better?”
“Jeez Temps, take a second! What, is this your first time with bubble?”
“Shouldn’t try to use magic like that Temps. Always turns out bad.”
“Don’t listen to grandpa over here Tempe. I’m a warlock, and I can use magic however I want.”
“Even if – “
“THE FITNESSGRAM™ PACER TEST IS A MULTISTAGE AEROBIC CAPACITY TEST THAT PROGRESSIVELY GETS MORE DIFFICULT AS IT CONTINUES – “
On his own, Remy had been exploring the darker magics.
One of the first things that all magic users learned (sometimes by accident) was that strong emotions, especially fear, could trigger a magical response. Fear-based magic could be hard to conceal, and harder to control.
He knew that tipping the scales that way was risky.
But wasn’t just that that he was worried about. Using magic alone was dangerous. Even Bad Warlocks had partners.
A new partner was not really anything that Remy had ever had to even think about. He’d always had Seb.
If he wanted to go this way, Remy needed to find other ways to do something about it.
Enter an Evil Witch.
Sure, one of them had been hanging around campus for a while, but most people, Remy included, had ignored her.
Until he needed her help.
“Hello. You’re glowing girl, I have to say.”
“Well. Charmed.”
“You don’t know me, but I think you know how to get me in contact with…the right kind of people.”
“Hm. Is that so?”
“Yes. I can do this all night, you know.”
“Oh really…”
Remy wasn’t the only magic user on campus to come to know the Evil Witch.
How was Bettina going to do anything fun with magic if there wasn’t a little risk involved?
“Um, hi!”
“…huh?”
“Hi, yes! You there! You’re a witch as well, yes?”
“…yes – “
“Great! I have a question for you! I need your help, and what I’d like to do doesn’t exactly fall within ‘Good’ magic.”
…
“…come closer.”
“Yes, so I – oh!”
“*tsk* as Good as they come, I see. What’s the trouble? Drop your lollipop in a puddle?”
“Ah, ha, heh, no…I’d like some advice, help really, with some friends of mine…
…
…he’s into her, she’s not interested, or she’s kind of interested, but she won’t – “
“Oh. Love spell. And not even for you, but a friend? My goodness, how…sweet.”
“Uh, ha, yeah…so – “
“I can help, but Evil magic requires something in return.”
“…oh. Like, money?
“No. Not like money.”
Whatever the Evil Witch and Bettina agreed on for ‘payment’, Bettina had provided it.
And with that, had a plan. She just needed to wait.
Magic aside, life continued as normal for the girls.
“Uhhhh…..Faith? I think the computer, I think I broke - ”
“WHAT!”
“Um! Nevermind! I got it!”
Bettina most certainly did not ‘have it’.
“Temps! You’re in luck. Bettina busted our computer, and I know how much you love busted computers – “
“No, you can’t bring Tina Sell?! Can you just mosey to our place and take a look?”
After Faith and Temps greet each other in the typical sibling way…
…Tempe heads inside to take a look.
As the more reasonable of the two roomies, Bettina is at least supportive of Tempe’s interests. A little computer-tech based compliment and he’s happy to fix their ancient desktop.
“Faith, you talk to Mercy and Cheyenne lately?”
“Hm? No. You?”
“Yeah, uh, aunt Mercy had her elder birthday?”
“What, already? Dang, she’s getting old. She okay?”
“Hm, not really, not by the sounds of it. She sounds kinda…well, you know how dad got.”
“Well, that sucks. She’s got Cheyenne at least.”
“Yeah, but I feel bad for her. If she’s like dad at all, that’s kind of tough.
…
…you reply to mom’s emails at all? She just sent one this morning, but I haven’t gotten back to it yet. Your computer is fixed now, by the way.”
“Gosh Temps, you know you could try wearing some earth tones, white really washes you out – “
“Faith, can you be real for a sec? You need to reply to mom’s emails.”
“UH, okay, what’s your deal? You’re so grouchy.”
“I can’t be the only one replying to her. She just wants to know that you’re okay. You could try showing some interest in her research.”
“What? I don’t give a damn about her ‘research’. We know she’s on campus, and she could visit us any time she wants, and she doesn’t. Like, who cares.”
“Whatever. Just reply to her, okay? I gotta go.”
Tempe wasn’t the only one who had an opinion about who Faith should be talking to.
“Betteens, you’re my best friend right?”
“…what’s this about Faith?”
“NOTHinggggg….
…
“…it’s just that if it were old timey times…do you think I’d be a prima ballerina, or do you think I’d be the star of a vaudeville troupe? Because, if I’m being totally honest – “
“Faith, if I’m being totally honest, Skylar is a model citizen and totally a good match for you!”
“Um, what? What made you think of that?”
“Faith, if you’re the star, you need a crew, yeah? Every act needs its curtain riggers. He’d be a good supporting cast. Um, backstage guy or -”
“Jeez Bettina, you’re really stretching this analogy…”
Speaking of romantic interests…Tempe was giddy to have Tina Sell around as much as possible.
He could not be happier to have a girl give him some positive attention.
“Gee Temps, you’re so sweet! You’re like, a sweet little dude!”
“Thanks!”
“And my coding program for class looks bomb! I’ll get an A for sure.”
“No sweat! And…huh…listen, I was thinking – “
Tina Sell was happy to have someone do as much of her computer science homework as possible, so that she could focus on other interests.
It *did* mean having to hang out with her #1 fan and computer geek though.
But she didn’t seem to mind.
Tempe was pretty cute, for a nerd!
“You’re amazinggg, thanks buddy!”
“Ha, oh wow…ha…uh…buddy? Like, love buddy?”
“Hey Remy!”
“Hey Temps.”
“Sooooo…I’ve been seeing Tina for a while now…I should ask her to be my girlfriend, right? I feel like the time is right.”
“Uhhh…”
It was no secret that Tina Sell had been spending a lot of time at John Choi’s dorm.
And it was apparent to anyone who was paying attention…
…that Tina Sell really only had eyes for one man.
With their senior year soon ending, the boys spent their free time soaking up all collegiate fun they could.
“So, after graduation, we got plans? I’m moving back to Pitstop Valley with Bettina. I could get a job as a teacher. Schools are always desperate.”
“Well, me and Wade might crash at his parents’ while we get things sorted out. But there should be a place we can rent together in town.
…
You know, I’ve got an idea for an electricity generator powered by a bicycle? Seems pretty straightforward, and Wade says he can power the bike, while I use its output to charge my server. Something about anaerobic exercise being good for endurance or something, whatever.
I mean I’ll need to get a job too, but there will be tons of time after work to work on my game.”
“Tempe, UGH. Really?”
“What!”
“Ya’ll are lame as hell! You want to move to Pitstop Valley? Not me. I’m going to go where the winds take me.”
“Downtown, Strangetown, whatever town I want.”
“Um, with what money bro? Are the ‘winds’ going to provide that too?”
“With my royalty checks, fool. For my writing.”
“Sounds cool Remy!”
“…whatever. Idiot.”
“Fuck off.”
“…you guys think that Wade misses us? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Dude, Wade’s so typical - he gets a girlfriend and then we never see him.”
“I mean, I don’t know…”
“Last I saw him, he seemed pretty happy to me.”
“I do miss seeing Robin around though, not gonna lie.”
“…well, I miss Wade.”
With careful study and timing, Bettina found the right moment to enact her ‘Evil’ plan on Faith.
It started innocently enough.
“Hey Faith!”
“Have you been using some new shampoo? You smell great.”
“Well, I did find an old bottle of Pert at the pool locker room, in the shower…”
“Thanks! I’ll even let you borrow a squirt!”
“…thanks…
…
…hey, is someone outside in the front?”
Oh? Who should happen to be by the girl’s house? Why, it’s Skylar!
…and also some dormie neither of the girls knew. Faith went to the front to check it out.
“Hey! Oh, hi Skylar! Who’s this guy?”
“Faith! You know I saw Bettina earlier today, and then I had the urge to go come over to your place?”
“Skylar! That’s such a coincidence? I was just thinking of you, just now?”
Random dormie had some thoughts about Faith.
“I mean, I don’t know why, but I felt like I had to see you?”
Random dormie: *AGGRESSIVE BARF NOISES* “UGH, Faith Springs-Eternal?!”
“That bitch is nuts!
”
Faith and Skylar felt compelled to show each other some affection…
…and let it be known that they liked each other!
And then they proceeded to go straight to Faith’s bedroom.
“Hey Skylar! Heading to Faith’s bedroom?” *wink”
“Uh, Faith? Bettina? Um, I feel…lightheaded?”
“Bettina I also feel…weird.”
“Catch you lovebirds later! Byeeeee!”
After some sweet nothings that neither one of them seem to recall saying…
…the pair got to gettin’.
“Wow Faith, I thought that you were kinda frosty towards me since the last time we talked…”
“Skylar! You’ve got the completely wrong read on me!”
“Well, if I didn’t – "
“THE FITNESSGRAM™ PACER TEST IS A MULTISTAGE AEROBIC CAPACITY TEST THAT PROGRESSIVELY GETS MORE DIFFICULT AS IT CONTINUES. THE 20 METER PACER TEST WILL BEGIN IN 30 SECONDS. LINE UP AT THE START. THE RUNNING SPEED STARTS SLOWLY, BUT GETS FASTER EACH MINUTE AFTER YOU HEAR THIS SIGNAL – “
“Hey! What the HELL?!”
“REMEMBER TO RUN IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND RUN AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. THE SECOND TIME YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE A LAP BEFORE THE SOUND, YOUR TEST IS OVER -”
“Hey GI Joe, what the FUCK?! Get out of my HOUSE!”
“…that was so weird? How did that coach get in my house?! What the fuck – “
“Faith…I don’t mean to be weird myself, but how did we end up in the bed? Did…did I mean to take my clothes off?”
“What! You…wait…um, I also don’t remember how I got in the bed.”
“You don’t?!”
“No! Do you? Did I – “
“I don’t know?! Um, did you feel funny just earlier – “
“You know, yeah? I don’t know, like I was dreaming – “
“Dreaming, yeah! Like an out-of-body experience.”
“What! Me too! It’s almost like – “
“…were we under, uh, a spell or something? Like – “
“Bettina.”
Both parties, upon reflection, recalled a similar floaty and distant feeling. A sure sign of outside magic working on their deeper impulses.
“Bettina! The traitor. Why did she – “
“Sorry, traitor? Was I…don’t you like me Faith?”
“Ohhhhh, Skylar…I’m sorry, I…I don’t know I feel like I’m…I feel like I’m shy actually – “
“Well, that’s not true – “
“Ha, no really! I don’t know…I do like you…”
“Really?”
“Yeah…”
“Then, what’s the issue? I’m happy to take things slow. If you like me back.”
…
“Skylar, I’m actually really shy, I think. I talk to people…but really, I don’t know, I want to be myself. I feel like a lot of the time, I put on a show for everyone. And I mean, it like, works…I mean, for losers…
…
…I don’t know! You caught me off guard, you’re always nice to me…I don’t know…I was just scared I guess. But I do like you.”
“I like you too Faith.”
Having difficult conversations seem to be a theme in Faith’s growth.
On Tempe’s advice, Faith finally decides to reply to her mother’s emails.
“Ugh.”
Speaking of people planning to move to Pitstop Valley after graduation – Seb and Wade keep a regular gym date to hang out and catch up. Even though the best gym on campus lacks a roof for protection from the elements.
“Did you mean to do that?”
*hrugh* “No.”
*huff huff huff* “How’s things going with Robin? You all set to graduate?” *huff huff huff*
*huff huff huff* “Oh - *huff huff huff* - yeah! It’s kind of nice having another Kinesiology major to work on final projects with.” *huff huff huff*
“And we will try to find a place for ourselves in Pitstop Valley, if there’s something affordable.”
*OOF*
“…sounds great!”
And Remy of course, plans on making his way as a writer.
“…can always write romance novels if it comes down to it – “
“Why don’t you come with us to Bettina’s hometown? You could be an English teacher, with your skills and all.”
“No way. I’ve got way more interesting things to do. Hope ya’ll get a phone – I’m calling every Tuesday.”
“…I’ll miss you Remy.”
“Aw, Sebby, you will? You wanna kiss on it?”
“Ha! Fuck off.”
~~~
That’s all that we have for the Pitstop Valley kids. Will there be any ramifications for Bettina dabbling in the dark arts? Will Faith and Skylar work out? Will Tempe make the best video game ever, or will he get distracted by Girls Who Don’t Care? Will Seb loosen up? Will Wade and Robin put clothes on?
Until next time, Carry On, Woman!