How Green Becomes Wood

"You all said it wasn't going to be fun," Sloan groaned, shutting her eyes, "Now when my mom kills me I can't even go out saying it was a great night. I just. I want to be mindless. I don't like Crystal at all, she's horrible, but at least she gets to be free to be stupid and free." She opened her eyes and turned to look at Xander, "Have you ever read The Great Gatsby?"
 
"No," Xander said calmly. "I think I was supposed to once as an assignment and never did. I don't think being mindless is all that cracked up to be, but I get what you mean. And Emily? You caught her cheating on you? That sucks worst of all, but you know, she can go," he proceeded to very calmly and politely detail exactly what kind of vacation Emily could have.
 
"Daisy, in the Great Gatsby, has a daughter, and she says how much she hopes her daughter is a beautiful fool, because it's the best thing a girl can be. Because you're free! You don't have to spend so much time---thinking! And worrying. And feeling." She looked back out the window, rubbing her finger against it, "My mom always tells me to smile more, and she wants me to straighten my hair, and probably wants me to get a nose job... Do you know my mom had a nose job? She had that done at eighteen, and she gets botox and lip fillers... Her hair is..." She trailed off, "When I caught her with the boy, she said it wasn't a big deal because since I'm not... out, and we couldn't be a couple in public, we weren't really a couple or exclusive at all. It's not like, she was able to say she had a girlfriend. She said. So the boy didn't even know about me."
 
Xander's jaw tensed, but he took a deep breath and made himself relax, taking the time to glance around the road and ensure he was still driving safely. Now was not the time to get angry. After a minute, Xander said, "I think your mom is too scared of what everyone else thinks. Not worried, scared. And, yeah, you'll have to deal with that for a while, but soon you'll be on your own and free to do your own thing. I bet she'll be jealous when you're out doing what you want and being successful and happy while she's still stuck in her beige, botox world. As for Emily... it shouldn't matter if you're out or so deep in the closet you're discovering new fantasy worlds, that's not an excuse to play around behind your back or the back of the guy she's dating. Who you're with ain't no one else's business. If she thought it wasn't fair that she didn't get to go around announcing who she's with, then she should have made a clean break. Instead, she just acted like a selfish asshole to both you and the guy. It hurts like hell, but you're still better off without her, and better now than later."
 
"If I was a fool, it wouldn’t be so hard," She said quietly, still staring out the window, "I kinda feel bad for her, you know, because I know what they say about high school boys, and so I know that he won't--" She cut herself off and laughed, knowing she shouldn't finish that sentence, but then shut her eyes and rested her forehead against the glass again, "I don't even like Student Council, did you know that? I pretend to because it's good on paper and it makes me look good. But it's boring."
 
"Fools still get hurt, it usuallyjust takes longer," Xander said quietly. He glanced at Sloan. "You're a good kid. You'll make it out alright. Just gotta hang on a little longer."

He pulled into the driveway of his home and got out of the car, hurrying around to Sloan's door so he could help her out if needed. "Come on. Let's go inside. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

Inside, Alec had woken up to find his brother missing and was currently pacing around the living room and kitchen and trying not to panic.
 
She only stumbled a little bit getting out of the car, but more so because she wasn't used to the height of this car compared to hers or her parents', since her car was shorter and her parents drove a ridiculous SUV, and she was in big shoes, but she righted herself fairly easily and followed after him, trying to be sly about wiping her eyes.

"The car is pulling up now," Dark pointed out to Alec, because there was no chance either he or Daizi were going to sleep while their teenage son was away from home. Both he and Daizi had, of course, tried to explain the situation as they knew it to Alec, but it was difficult when they didn't have many details. "You need not worry, I would not have allowed him to leave if I thought there was true danger."
 
Alec hurried to the window to watch. "I know, but... I know," he said worriedly. He frowned as he watched Xander walking toward the house with Sloan following. "Sloan's crying. What happened?" Then his eyes darkened. "Tonight was that party." Then he realized he probably shouldn't have said that since Dark and Daizi didn't know, but he didn't care.

Xander opened the door and made sure Sloan was in before touching salt and kicking off his shoes. He noticed Dark and Daizi waiting and went to Dark first, holding out the keys. He met Dark's eyes briefly. "Thank you," he said softly. Then turned toward the kitchen. "I'm going to make hot chocolate," he said more loudly for the other's benefit.

Alec stayed where he was, inching closer to Sloan but keeping back. He wanted to wrap her in a hug, but that didn't seem to be the answer right now. He looked to Daizi for help.
 
"What party?" Daizi asked, but although they didn't know the details, neither she nor Dark really believed Sloan just happened to be having car problems that late at night, and the only person she could think to call was Xander, so the question was more of a reflex than anything.

Despite her state, Sloan still remembered the rules of the house, and she carefully took off her shoes, stumbling slightly as she did so, but she steadied herself before touching the salt so she didn't spill it, but she didn't say anything when she came inside. Now that there were so many people around, she couldn't even bring herself to look at any of them for the shame and embarrassment.

"You can go sit down on the couch if you like, Sloan," Daizi said gently, "and you don't have to worry. Whatever happened tonight, we aren't your parents, it's not our job to lecture you, okay?"

"...okay..." Sloan mumbled, and did as she was told, feeling stupid in the outfit she was so excited about earlier that day.
 
Alec went and fetched the warmest, fluffiest blanket they owned and presented it to her. He wanted to fuss, but he had the feeling that would cause Sloan to either shatter into a million pieces or get mad and run out before she was ready. So, instead, he gave her a blanket to hug her in his place and went to the kitchen.

Xander stood staring at the pot of milk warming on the stove. It was starting to steam, but he wasn't adding the chocolate pieces like he was supposed to. Alec moved up beside him and touched his arm gently. Xander jumped and looked at him. He blinked, coming back to the present moment, and added the vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate to the milk to melt.

"There was another girl there," Xander said as he stirred. "She's in our math class. Said she wanted to invite me to the party but was scared to. Said she was glad I came. I told her I'd be back later, and I don't think she was sober because she believed me. Didn't look so good." He gave the thoroughly mixed hot chocolate a few more stirs. "Maybe I should have tried to get her out, too. Maybe I shouldn't have left her."

Alec put a hand on Xander's shoulder and turned him around to give him a hug. Xander leaned into him, hugging his brother tightly. After a minute, Xander gave a nod and straightened. Together, they scooped up the chocolate into mugs and carried them out to Dark, Daizi, and Sloan.
 
"...thank you," Sloan murmured first to Alec, pulling the blanket around her, and then again to Xander when he brought her hot chocolate.

After sitting for some time in strained silence, Dark asked, "Where do your parents think you are right now?"

"I told them I was staying the night with a friend from gymnastics." She told them, feeling with absolutely certainty that after this was found out about, she'd never have anything close to a social life again.
 
Alec looked between Dark and Daizi. "She can stay with us tonight, right?" he asked. "I mean... she made a mistake, but does she really have to tell her parents about it?"

Xander sat in the corner farthest from Sloan, turning the mug around in his hands. "Her mother will give her hell if she has to go back now," he said flatly. "She's already visited hell tonight. Do we have to make her live there?"

Alec looked at Sloan more closely, worried. "You aren't hurt, are you? No one... did anything or gave you anything that you wouldn't want?"
 
"She can stay here," Daizi said without taking much time to think about it, "We can figure out what to do about her family in the morning." It didn't quite seem like the right thing to be complicit in a lie, and she didn't particularly want to cause a feud with her neighbor by harboring her prodigal daughter, but at the same time... Daizi knew better than anyone there what it was like to live with strict, judgemental parents. And sending Sloan back to them now wouldn't help anyone.

Sloan, meanwhile, shook her head at Alec's question, but didn't look up, "Nobody gave me anything. Or did anything... invasive. Nothing that wouldn't happen on a crowded subway."
 
"Okay," Alec said, relaxing only a little. He remembered what had happened to Daizi on a crowded subway while pregnant, so that didn't give him much comfort, but at least he knew it wasn't horrible. Bad, and emotionally traumatizing, but at least not what it could have been. "I'm sorry, Sloan. I don't know what happened, and you don't have to tell us, but I'm sorry that your fun night out got ruined."
 
"I don't really want to talk about it now." Sloan said, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "I'm sorry."

Daizi listened carefully to her and then turned, tugging lightly on Dark's sleeve. "Go get her something to change into," she told him, and might have gone herself to get it, but if it was her, and she was this teenage girl after a rough night, she'd probably want her adult man teacher not looking at her, either. Then, taking a breath, said, "You have nothing to apologize for."
 
Alec shook his head. "No, not one thing. You don't owe us anything, either." He hesitated, lost, and decided to try doing what usually seemed to work and forced himself into silence. He always wanted to say something, to say the right thing to make the pain easier, but sometimes, there was nothing to say.

Xander got up and went upstairs to his room. It took him a minute to locate his music player, and after a bit of fiddling, he found the folder he'd made of bands Sloan had mentioned in the past. He'd looked up a bunch of songs and downloaded them, but most of them weren't his style. He kept them mostly because he forgot to take them off, but maybe they'd help. He brought it down with his headphones but didn't give it to her right away. He'd wait until after they got her settled in for the night. Maybe a bit of music would help her feel a bit more at home.
 
Sloan sniffed slightly and wiped her face again, so Daizi walked over to her, gently lay her hand on her shoulder, and said, "It'll be okay. I promise." Then, with a sigh, she headed to the stairs, "I'm sure you don't want to be crowded by your friends' parents. Just let someone know if you want something, okay?"

Sloan mumbled something in response, and waited until after Daizi was out of earshot to say, "i always forget how nice your parents are."
 
"Yeah, they're the best," Alec agreed. He handed her a tissue. "Would you like a hug? If you don't want to be touched, I understand, it's just... crying people trigger the desire to hug them in me."

Xander rolled his eyes. "And you say I'm rude."
 
"I'm okay," Sloan told them, inhaling shakily, "I'm being silly and dramatic... It's not even that, that this pig grabbed me!" She stopped, remembering there was a baby in the house, and with great effort quieted herself, "If it was just that, I wouldn't mind so much. It's... I don't know. All of it."
 
"Sloan," Alec said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're not being silly, and you're not being dramatic. Someone invaded your personal space in a way you weren't okay with, in a way you never said you'd be okay with. It's understandable that you'd be shaken up. But you said it's more than that. What else is it that's bothering you? What is 'all of it'?"
 
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