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Tommy was the first to admit that he wasn't a great thinker. Oh, he wasn't as moronic as Tim and Travis, who seemed to find tying their own shoelaces a challenge. He could figure a play, work out what tactics the opposition was using and how to block them, all that sort of stuff. He reckoned his brain could handle physical thinking like that, but when it came to more academic stuff he could just about scrape together passable grades. He didn't mind that; he'd never really needed to be smart before, and after the wolf he'd had Merton.
Merton really was smart in a way that Tommy couldn't begin to understand. When the weird came to Pleasantville as seemed to happen every other week, Merton was always there with an explanation. It was almost a routine by now; Merton figured out what was wrong, and Tommy dealt with it. Tommy had reckoned they could handle anything that way, but he was beginning to realise how wrong he was.
What if the problem was Merton?
"I can't figure out what's up with him," Tommy confided to Lori as they walked between classes. "He's doesn't invite me round to the Lair any more, and he's never around at school. He won't sit near me in class, he won't walk with me in the corridors, and I haven't even seen him in the cafeteria."
"Have you tried asking?"
"Just walk up and say 'Hi Merton, why are you avoiding me?' That'd go down well." Tommy craned his head around, trying to catch a glimpse of that familiar spiky hair, unaware of the look that Lori was giving him.
"When did you last talk to Merton?"
"Monday night," he replied absently.
Lori rolled her eyes. "It's only Thursday morning, Tommy! Maybe Merton's just tired, or he caught a cold and doesn't want to give it to you."
"Maybe." Tommy sounded dubious. "Don't forget though, this is Pleasantville. People don't just get ill here, they come down with some kind of mystical fever, or get possessed." He paused, wide-eyed at the thought. "OK, that's it. I'm going to corner him in the Lair tonight and find out what's gotten into him."
"Tonight?!"
"Merton's possessed or something, and..." He trailed off as Lori stared at him. "OK, maybe not possessed, but he's acting weird. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't find out what's up?"
Lori's stare didn't waver in the slightest. "Aren't you supposed to be taking me out tonight?" she said sharply.
"I am?"
"Don't tell me you forgot."
Tommy had the grace to look sheepish. "I've been distracted. Tell you what, if Merton really is OK we'll meet you in the Factory later? OK? Cool. Hey, this is my class, see you later."
"Sure, that's cool," Lori sulked quietly to herself. "Everyone always brings their best friends with them on a date."
*********
It still felt odd though, standing at the door to the Lair without either a supernatural emergency or Merton's invitation. It took him a moment to summon up the courage to knock.
There didn't seem to be anything wrong with Merton when he opened the door. Tommy watched him carefully, looking for signs of illness, possession or other supernatural nastiness. He was gratified to see the look of genuine pleasure on Merton's face, even if is was quickly smothered by objective concern, or at least as close as Merton ever got to that. Tommy had to suppress a smile at the thought that he was one of the few people who could tell the difference between a concerned Merton and a chipmunk on speed.
"Tommy! What's up? Something spooky in town again?"
"No! I mean, yes, no I mean..." Somewhere in the careful studying of Merton, Tommy had forgotten what his plan was. Which wasn't surprising, he realised, since he hadn't actually had much of a plan beyond knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Oh, sure, just give me a second here, got to clean up a bit."
Drifting in behind his babbling friend, Tommy didn't feel the customary familiarity that he now associated with the Lair. Instead he was back to his old awkwardness, uncomfortably aware that he was intruding on Merton's territory. He settled on the couch as Merton fussed around, moving a few pieces of paper before sitting down to click away at his computer. During the whole exercise he didn't once look at Tommy.
Tommy stretched backwards, folding his arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. Something was wrong, he was sure. Merton thrived on contact, but right now he wouldn't even make eye contact. Tommy sighed deeply, wondering how on earth to ask.
"That bad, huh?" He could hear the chuckle in Merton's voice as he switched on his awful fake German accent. "Vell, tell Doktor Dingle all about it, zen."
Since he couldn't think of anything better to say, or indeed anything else at all, Tommy tried Lori's suggestion and took the direct approach. "Why have you been avoiding me all week?"
"Glrph."
Tommy risked a glance at Merton, who seemed to have temporarily lost the power of speech. He was staring wide-eyed at Tommy stretched out on the couch, the look on his face a weird combination of near total panic and something else Tommy couldn't identify.
"I. You. Avoiding. Not avoiding, no no, I haven't been avoiding you, Tommy. I've just been busy, and I know you've had football practice and stuff."
"I had practice this afternoon, Merton. I didn't have it yesterday, or this morning, or over lunch. What is it, do you not want to be seen with me or something?" Part of Tommy hoped that it was something as simple as that. If Merton's geek friends couldn't handle seeing him with the school sports star, he could cope with that sort of weird inverted snobbery. He was supposed to be good at making friends, and if he had to make friends with every last member of the Goth Club to make Merton comfortable then he'd do it.
"You think I... oh, that is so not the case!" Merton was agitated now, practically bouncing on his chair. "Why would I not want to be seen with Tommy Dawkins, the most popular guy in school?"
"What, then?" Tommy asked reasonably. Then something about Merton's denial made him stop in his tracks. "Oh no, you didn't think that I didn't want to be seen with you, did you?"
"You? No, ha ha, that's a silly idea..." Merton trailed off as Tommy stared at him levelly. "Kinda," he admitted weakly.
"Kinda? Merton, what did I say or do to make you think that? You're my friend. I enjoy hanging out with you, we've been doing it for over a year now. Even with the wolf business, don't you think I'd have said something by now if I didn't like being with you?"
"It's not you, Tommy," Merton said quickly. Tommy frowned; Merton seemed almost desperately casting round for something to say. "It's... I know you're an up-front kind of guy, you'd say if something was bothering you, but you've got to admit that me being around doesn't exactly help your social standing."
"Since when have I cared about that?"
"You never had to care about it before the wolf, everybody loved you anyway. I just figured that maybe I should back off a bit, give you some time with your other friends."
Tommy's eyes narrowed. "Did someone on the team say something to you," he asked, a dangerous note in his voice. If T&T had been threatening Merton again...
"Nonononono. No. Definitely not. No one's said anything. It's just me, I know it's kind of silly, but I thought you might like some time to yourself. With Lori. Alone with Lori, that sort of thing."
"Huh?"
"You know, boyfriend/girlfriend, going out, having a good time, enjoying yourselves?" Merton gave him a rather sickly leer.
"How did we get onto... never mind. So, we're still friends?"
"Oh, absolutely."
"And you know I don't mind you being around?"
"Don't mind me around, check."
"In fact I like you being around, OK?"
"OK."
If Tommy hadn't been listening for it, he wouldn't have heard the short pause before Merton spoke. Despite what he'd said, Merton clearly wasn't entirely convinced. Tommy had no idea what reasons Merton might have for his reluctance, and experience had taught him that asking outright would just get him side-tracked somehow or other by Merton's amazing ability to babble. He wasn't going to be able to out-think his friend, so he'd just have to move the game to his own turf.
"That's good," he said, "because you and I are going to meet Lori in the Factory."
"What?!"
"You. Me. Lori. The Factory."
"Now?"
"Right now."
"But... but... I..."
"You don't have any homework due, your Mom hasn't grounded you, and I've got enough money for the both of us. Besides, I told Lori we'd be there."
"Busted," Merton muttered and gave Tommy an unconvincing smile. "You win."
*************
"Hi!" he said brightly as they sat themselves down. "Sorry we're late, but someone couldn't remember where he'd left his keys." He gave Merton a good-natured glare, grinning all the while.
Lori's glare was several degrees less good-natured. "Let me guess, they were in his pockets?"
Tommy laughed outright as Merton looked down guiltily. "See, I told you Lori would have found them straight away! You're the brains and I'm the brawn, but she's the common sense." He turned back to Lori. "Also the beauty, the charm, the grace..."
"And the spotter of flattery a mile off." She held his gaze for a moment, then relented. "OK, the two of you are forgiven. Provided you buy me a drink."
"Sure!" He treated her to a full-blown Dawkins smile as he slipped off his seat, then headed off to fight his way to the bar.
It took Tommy a while to get served. The Factory seemed unusually busy for a Thursday night, and half the teenagers in Pleasantville appeared to be trying to get to the bar at the same time as Tommy. Eventually through a combination of his native charm and simply being bigger than most of them, he collected his drinks and headed back.
He was heartened to see Lori and Merton deep in conversation as he returned. Lori seemed to be laying down the law to Merton, which was just fine by Tommy. She always seemed to be better at getting through to Merton than he was, and Merton sure needed getting through to tonight.
Tommy hovered back a bit to allow Lori to finish what she was saying. With his wolfy hearing he could just barely make out her words. "It doesn't really matter what you think," she was saying, emphasising her words with a hand chop that had Merton flinching back. "Tommy's decided you're his friend, and you know what he's like. Nothing and no one is going to make him change his mind, especially not you."
Merton looked like he might be about to argue the point, so Tommy moved up and deposited three cokes on the table. Merton shut his mouth with an audible snap as Tommy distributed the spoils of his raid. While that wasn't a good sign, Merton did at least relax a little, making brief eye contact with Tommy. It wasn't much, but Tommy chose to be encouraged all the same. He gave his friends a wide grin as he sat down.
They talked over stupid nothings, the way that they always did. It wasn't quite like normal, Tommy and Lori both had to keep dragging Merton into the conversation, but it was the closest he'd been for several days and Tommy was grateful to his girlfriend for the effort she was putting in.
After a while, once Merton seemed to have settled down to the idea of being with them, Tommy let himself relax. Now Merton wasn't likely to run off while his back was turned, he could treat this as a normal night out. Idly he noticed the music playing, letting his mind wander out onto the dance floor. Why not, he thought to himself.
"How about a dance?" he asked. He looked between Lori and Merton, making it clear that Merton was invited too.
Lori gave him possibly her first genuine smile of the evening. "I thought you were never going to ask," she said.
Merton smiled too, but shook his head. "I'll sit this one out. You love-birds get out there and show 'em how it's done," he said.
Tommy frowned, noticing the sharp glance Lori threw at Merton. Something was up — normally Merton would be the one dragging them out onto the floor, eager to bounce around in what he fondly believed were cool moves. Tommy didn't want to push, though. He'd only just got Merton back into being sociable, and calling him on it wasn't going to help. Instead he converted his frown into a smile, nodded at Merton and stood with Lori.
The two of them danced up a storm to the fast beat. Both skilled athletes and good enough at reading each other to be ready for the moves, Tommy and Lori put on quite a display until the final chords hit. To the applause and whistles of their fellow dancers, they leaned into each other for the following slow number.
"Are you wearing scent?" Tommy asked after a while.
"A little. Do you like it?"
"It's nice. Subtle."
"Subtle?"
"With half the girls in school, I have to stop myself sneezing when I just walk past them. This is just right."
"Thanks. I think. Is your nose really that sensitive?"
Tommy laughed. "I couldn't find you in a dark room or anything, but it is sharper than normal. Usually it's more of a pain than a help."
"I bet."
"Listen, Lori, thanks for talking to Merton for me."
"No problem. He's my friend too, you know."
"It was so weird in the Lair, I couldn't get him to open up to me at all. There was something he was holding back."
"Merton's got... there's a few things he needs to sort out for himself. Just leave him to it, he'll be back with us before you know it."
"Maybe, but he's a friend. It doesn't feel right leaving him hanging like that." Absently, Tommy glanced over to where Merton was seated.
"Tommy, the last thing a girl needs to hear when she's slow-dancing is..." Lori trailed off as Tommy stiffened in her arms. His whole attention was on the table where Merton was being talked to by Mike Higgins, Pleasantville's lead goal kicker and one of Tommy's nominal friends on the team. It didn't look like Merton was enjoying the experience at all.
Tommy didn't even think about it. He headed straight over to where Mike was looming over Merton, Lori trailing along behind him. He arrived at the table just in time to catch Mike saying, "So just back off and we won't have to have this talk again."
"Here's an idea," he said grimly. "Why don't you back off, unless you want to be having that talk with me too?"
Mike looked up to see Tommy and Lori behind him, both looking pretty angry, and backed off. "Hey Dawkins," he said, raising his hands placatingly. "How's things?"
"Things are pretty much as they were this afternoon, except that someone seems to be picking on my friend."
Mike looked at Tommy narrowly, but apparently decided not to follow whatever line of thought had occurred to him. "OK," he said, "I'd better be getting back to the guys." He exchanged a meaningful glance with Merton, then turned back to Tommy. "Enjoy yourself."
Tommy just nodded, eyes not leaving Mike until the other boy had vanished back into the crowd. Then he leant down to talk to Merton as quietly as he could in the Factory. "You OK?" he asked.
Merton gave an affirmatory nod but didn't say anything. He looked withdrawn again to Tommy's practised eye, more withdrawn than Tommy had ever seen him. He was definitely not OK, not in Tommy's book.
"What was all that about?" Tommy asked. He didn't expect a useful answer, but he had to try.
"Nothing important."
"Anything I can help with?"
That actually earned him a snort. "I may not have all your... advantages, Tommy, but this I can cope with. Just ignore him. Go, dance some more with your girlfriend. The one you need to grovel to for dragging her off the dance floor."
Tommy knew that Merton was just trying to distract him, but unfortunately he had a point. Lori was due some serious Dawkins grovelling for that stunt. He turned back to her, ready to apologise for spoiling the dance, but was stopped by the strange look on her face. He got as far as "Uh..." before she gave him an oddly sad smile and waved away his incipient apology.
"It's OK, Tommy, I really ought to be going anyway. There's a History paper with my name on it, and it's not going to write itself."
Tommy looked at his watch and frowned. "It's early yet, can't you stay a while?"
"Yeah," said Merton quickly, suddenly full of energy again and looking unaccountably nervous. "You don't have to go just yet, do you? I mean, I'll even help with the paper if we keep you out late."
Lori grinned. "Tempting as the bribe is, my parents are watching out for this one. You two stay and hang out with each other, have a good time. It might be easier than you think." She directed that last comment at Merton, which was just as well because Tommy had no idea what else she could mean by it. Then she turned and left before either boy could bring out another argument to stop her.
Tommy turned to Merton. "Have I just been stood up?" he asked, looking completely confused.
Merton actually paused for a second in astonishment. "No," he said carefully, "I think I can safely say that Lori doesn't see it that way."
Tommy waited for a moment, but Merton clearly wasn't going to elaborate. "And?" he prompted.
"And so I don't think you've been stood up."
"I got that," Tommy said, rolling his eyes. "I was hoping you were going to tell me why."
"And spoil all the fun?"
"Merton! I'm serious. I've done something or said something... or not done something or not said something that's got Lori upset with me, and I haven't a clue what it is! Help me out here."
"Ah, that would be part of the female mystique," Merton told him, relaxing back into his seat with a grin. "You have transgressed the unwritten rule, so of course a girl won't talk to you about it."
"As opposed to a guy," Tommy muttered under his breath, "who won't talk to me about anything. So why are you sure she hasn't stood me up?" he asked in a more normal tone of voice.
It was Merton's turn to roll his eyes. "No tears," he said, ticking the point off on his fingers. "No screaming, not that Lori screams but you know what I mean. No loud, attention-grabbing exit. No threats against yourself, your pets or your firstborn. And... stuff."
"The stuff being?"
"Private. Look, don't sweat it, Tommy. Either you'll figure it all out yourself or Lori will forgive you anyway. You know what she's like."
"You know, sooner or later someone is going to tell me what's going on."
Just like that, Merton's good mood evaporated. Tommy kicked himself.
"You don't want to know, Tommy. Trust me."
And that, Tommy thought, was the end of that. Merton wasn't going to tell him, and he should just be happy that his best friend was talking to him at all. Even if for the life of him he couldn't imagine what had made Merton avoid him in the first place.
So he talked about anything and everything else. He told Merton what football practice had been like, he solicited Merton's opinions on what to do for his English term paper, he shared the latest gossip going round the seniors, and slowly dragged Merton back into a more sociable mood.
Eventually after they had both laughed themselves silly at something Becky had supposedly done, not that either of them believed that Merton's sister would invite social death like that, Merton turned a proper smile on Tommy. It felt good to see that smile, Tommy thought. He had missed it over the last few days, and he couldn't help smiling broadly in return.
"Drink?" he asked, indicating the glasses that had stood empty for the last half hour while they had talked.
"Great," Merton replied, nodding vigorously. "I'd better go make room for some more though. You know. I need the little werewolves' room."
Tommy laughed out loud again and headed over to the bar. He idly watched Merton make his way to the rest room as he waited to be served, not consciously intending to track his friend but somehow needing to be reassured that Merton hadn't run off and wasn't being threatened again. He grinned again when he realised what he was doing. Pack instinct, Merton had once called it; looking out for his friends was more Tommy's way of thinking of it.
Instinct or not, Tommy was suddenly very glad that part of his attention was on Merton when he noticed Tim Eckert also heading to the rest room. Tim was acting casual, suspiciously so, and Tommy had a bad feeling about what was going to happen when Tim met Merton.
Even abandoning his usual politeness, it took Tommy long moments to make it over to the toilets. He slipped inside quietly, wanting to be certain what was happening before he flattened Tim.
"...keep your paws off Tommy," Tim was saying, "or we'll make sure you regret it." The bulky boy was leaning in threateningly, but to Tommy's surprise Merton got straight back in his face.
"Has it occurred to you," he spat out, "that Tommy makes his own choices? He's the one who dragged me down here tonight, he's the one who's stuck around."
"He's the one who's wondering why everyone keeps threatening his friends," Tommy added, leaning against the wall in an apparently lazy pose that fooled no one. He kept his voice mild, but his eyes were flashing; if looks could kill, Tim would have been in serious trouble.
"He's also talking about himself in the third person," Merton muttered quietly, taking a half step back from Tim out of the line of fire.
"Tommy." Tim was clearly caught on the hop by Tommy's presence. Not the smartest cookie in the jar to start with, he couldn't seem to come up with anything better than a weak smile.
"Tim," Tommy said in flat acknowledgement. He nodded very slightly, but his eyes never left Tim's, intimidating the hell out of his bigger team mate. "You got any answers for me?"
"Ah, no?"
Tommy just stared at him for a moment longer, hoping that Tim would crack under the pressure. Unfortunately, Tim seemed to be too stupid to take the hint. Admitting defeat, Tommy asked, "Don't you have somewhere else to be right now?"
Tim wilted under Tommy's continuing gaze, and headed rapidly for the door. He paused before he left, looking back and Tommy and Merton and chewing his lip. For a moment Tommy thought he might get some sort of explanation, but then Tim shook his head and left.
Merton sighed in relief, but tensed up again as Tommy fixed him with the gimlet glare. "Spill."
"It's private, Tommy."
"Not when it involves me it isn't. Why is everyone warning you away from me?"
"It's nothing to do with you-know-what," Merton said quickly, "don't worry about that."
"Is this why you've been avoiding me all week? Have they been threatening you before tonight?"
"No, no, I told you before, that was just me being stupid, OK?" Merton rolled his eyes at Tommy, who realised that his hands were clenched into fists and tried to calm down a little. It wouldn't do for him to lose it and wolf out now, he couldn't guarantee not to go after half the team. "Look, Tommy, maybe it'd be easiest if we kept apart for a day or two, let them forget about it."
"Let them think they've won? Not happening. Are you done here?"
Merton grimaced and looked around the toilet. "Yeah," he said, "I'm all done."
The two boys left the rest room together, but when Merton started to head back to their table Tommy grabbed his wrist. "This is what I think of their warnings," he said as he dragged Merton out onto the dance floor.
"Great," Merton grumbled, "rub their noses in it. That'll really get them to let go." Tommy smiled; Merton didn't look nearly as annoyed as he was trying to sound. In fact he looked oddly pleased, something that made Tommy feel a bit easier about pressuring his friend like this.
Tommy didn't let Merton get too far away as they bopped around the club. They weren't exactly dancing together, not like he had been with Lori, more sort of going round as a pair having fun. Except without quite so much of the fun: Tommy was aware of the stares they were getting, and of the effect they were having on Merton. His normally exuberant friend was clearly feeling the disapproval, and couldn't ignore it enough to let go like he usually did. While this made for better dancing, Tommy could feel his own annoyance growing and it wasn't long before only stubbornness was preventing him from biting the head off everyone nearby. Something had to give.
The something turned out to be Travis Eckert. He seemed to have worked himself up into a frenzy, but even so Tommy was surprised when Travis came up and grabbed his arm.
"What do you think you're doing?" Travis bellowed, distress written all over his face.
Tommy really couldn't care less. "Dancing," he said mildly, albeit through clenched teeth.
"With him?!"
"With you right at the moment, but yeah. You got a problem with that?"
Travis snatched his hand away abruptly. "But he's gay," he wailed.
Tommy stopped dead. He looked from Travis to Merton, who seemed to be trying to shrink into himself as the whole club turned their attention onto the dance floor. "That's what this has been all about?" he asked gently, not wanting to spook his friend any further. "You couldn't just tell me?"
Merton opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, for once lost for words. Eventually he just shrugged and looked away, cheeks colouring in embarassment.
Tommy grasped his shoulders, forcing Merton to make eye contact again. "After all we've... all I've trusted you with, I'm not going to be a jerk about this. OK?"
Merton nodded, giving Tommy a weak and wobbly smile, but Tommy wasn't fooled. It wasn't all OK with Merton; whatever was going on in his friend's weird head, being gay was only part of it.
Turning to Travis, Tommy switched to a more forceful attitude. "And what the hell did you think you were doing?" he asked.
Travis didn't seem to know quite what to do. "I... we... Mike only found out this morning, and we know how the little geek is always hanging round you. We just wanted to make sure that he knew what would happened if he tried anything on with you."
"And you couldn't have warned me about what you were doing, just in case I had an opinion on the subject? God save me from friends," Tommy muttered. Then it hit him.
The problem unfolded in his head just like when he figured out the opposing team's tactics on the football field. The fact that Merton had been avoiding him for days before his team mates found out, Lori's cryptic comments, Merton's weird behaviour all evening and one hundred and one little things that had happened before this ever started suddenly fell into place, leaving only one possible conclusion: Merton had a crush on him.
Of course, being Merton he had promptly taken something kind of flattering to Tommy and blown it up into a drama of epic proportions. He had convinced himself that Tommy would be disgusted, or that Tommy needed protecting from him, or something like that. Even now that his sexuality was out in the open, he was still unhappy enough to go and do something stupid because no matter how smart Merton was, he wasn't smart in that way. This was Tommy's kind of thinking, and he knew exactly what he needed to do. Exactly what he wanted to do, now that he thought about it.
"Travis," he asked seriously, "have you ever known anyone make me do anything I didn't want to do?"
Travis thought about this in his usual painful way before breaking out into an embarrassed grin. "Yeah," he said, "even that time when coach... I guess we should just have told you, huh?"
Tommy nodded. "Just as long as you understand that this is all my idea," he said, then kissed Merton hard.
For a moment, he was afraid that Merton was going to pull away, try to make a joke of it and bury the whole thing under another pile of denial. Then he felt Merton relax into his embrace and practically suck Tommy's tongue into his mouth. It was right, that was all Tommy could think. He was relieved to find that he liked kissing boys — or at least kissing Merton — as much as he liked kissing girls. He wasn't completely sure that he was in love with his best friend, but not enjoying kissing him would have been kind of problematical under the circumstances.
Eventually they had to breath, and Tommy pulled back. He searched Merton for any signs of distress, aware that the whole club was watching them but unable to make himself care about that in the slightest. The only thing that mattered was Merton, who was standing there with his eyes closed, flushed and panting, a huge grin plastered all over his face. Feeling a warm glow in the pit of his stomach at the sight, Tommy decided that if he wasn't in love right now then he didn't really want to be. Seeing Merton so happy was enough.
"Now if you don't mind," he said, raising his voice so that the whole of the dance floor could hear but never looking away from Merton, "I'm going to take my boyfriend home and make out with him while he's still too shocked to talk."