#brycemacguffin

Bryce Macguffin had a strange relationship with belief. He believed in some government conspiracies as quickly as he dismissed the existence of things like wisps, but one thing he'd never believed in was fate. Life, it seemed, was a series of unconnected moments. Things happened, people reacted, and so on and so forth. It's not to say he was wrong to not believe in fate, but it is worth noting that if he'd left his house even a moment before on this day, if he hadn't insisted on waiting for a text to hear that it was okay to go over to a friend's cottage, he wouldn't have heard the scream.

It was a scary noise, not the kind of scream one does when seeing a spider where it isn't expected - it was more like the sound one makes when their home is being broken into or when they drop a flat iron on their foot, and it elicited Bryce from his room faster than anything else had ever. With all the worrying about what was happening, he didn't have to worry about the who, at least. It was distinctly a girl's scream, and he only lived with one girl.

"Tandy?" The name he'd barely said escaped him, loudly and awkwardly and more worried than he probably intended. "Are you okay?" He hurried through the cottage to where he'd heard the sound, to the bathroom. His hand made it to the doorknob and for a moment it occurred to him that he might be bursting in on something inappropriate. What if she had fallen naked or something? The thought didn't last long though, because danger was worse than any potential embarrassment at least on his end and the instinct to help was too strong, and so he twisted the doorknob and opened the door, concern etched all over his face.

Tandy should have taken the test while Dolly was there. She shouldn't have taken it alone, but she'd been so hopeful that it would be nothing, praying that the test would tell her that she'd been worried for nothing and she could show up and surprise her bestie with a bottle of wine and a big smile afterwards... But it wasn't nothing. It was a pink plus sign, and as soon as the result had flashed in front of her eyes, Tandy had fallen to her knees and screamed. Why her? Worse, why with him ? It was a girl's worst nightmare, messing up and getting pregnant on what had turned out to be one of the worst nights of her life even before the added complication... and she didn't know what to do with herself now. She was almost paralyzed, unsure of what to do next, wishing she could wake up from this horrible nightmare.

The nightmare only got worse, though. The door flung open, and she blinked up in shock at the face hovering over her -- her roommate, Bryce or Bruce or whatever his name was. He was nice, but so quiet she hardly noticed him most of the time... so quiet she hadn't even realized he was home when she'd taken her test. She tried to open her mouth to go away, to tell him she didn't want anyone here and she didn't need anyone, either... But instead, she held up the test meekly for him to see as sobs finally wracked her body, realizing the seriousness of the situation she'd gotten herself into.

It was true that Bryce hadn't seen Tandy a lot despite their living situation, but even so he could hardly remember seeing her look so small before. The face she had wasn't one he'd seen anywhere else before, and his eyes were so locked on the horror behind hers that it was hard to even tear away from them long enough to gauge anything else about the situation but he had to. She wasn't bleeding, she wasn't naked, and she was alone, and nothing was knocked over, and so his worries were assuaged for a moment when he considered that perhaps he'd imagined the whole thing and that the worst thing about this situation was that he'd invaded someone's privacy. It wasn't until she held up the test that it truly hit him what was happening. His jaw dropped slightly and he felt like an intruder in this moment that was clearly traumatic and that she was going through, apparently, alone.

There were a million questions that came to mind, but the only thing he wanted to do was hug the girl. They weren't close enough for that, or for him to know if she even liked being touched, or if she preferred alone time or company, and he didn't know how to proceed. They weren't friends, they weren't anything to each other, but she was scared and if he could do anything to make that better right now, he would. "Hey, it's okay," he heard himself say as he lowered to the ground besides her. If she wanted him to go, he'd go, but right now maybe what she needed was to not feel alone. "It's all okay, and if it isn't okay, it will be." He bit his lip, the guilty thought of asking who the father was flashing through his mind when he was almost positive he could guess if he really tried. Instead he settled for asking "Do you want to talk about it?" in a quiet voice, waiting to see how he could be most useful to her in this situation.

“It’s okay.” Bryce’s words bounced around in Tandy’s head for a few seconds, but the weird part was, she knew he was right. She’d had weeks of putting this off to start to wrap her head around what might be growing inside of her body right now, and at the end of the day, it wasn’t even the thought of a baby that she was dreading. It was the thought of who it belonged to, how small and stupid and insignificant she felt to the baby’s father -- because the test confirmed what she’d been worried about, the test proved there was a baby on the way, now -- that had her screaming in agony. If it had been anyone else -- Eli, Robbie Liddell, hell, even Dawn... so many attractive guys in this town who hadn’t treated her like garbage -- she might almost be happy right about now. Instead, she’d wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, to let her frustrations out... and Bryce had caught her, leaving her feeling small and embarrassed all over again. 

“Do you know how to make a good cup of tea?” Tandy asked weakly, not sure what else to say to this guy who lived under her roof but was practically a virtual stranger. She should be calling Dolly or Dawn or Tawny and updating them on what she’d just found out, but... telling them would make it real. Realer than it already was, at least, and she wanted to just have some calm, to really process it, before that moment came and she had to start really considering what to do. “Maybe without caffeine? I haven’t really... researched what I am and am not allowed to have at this point,” Tandy admitted, biting her lip. She was usually so confident, but this was new territory for her, and she didn’t know what to do. “And I’m sorry for yelling like that, or scaring you. I just... didn’t think anyone was home to hear me. You won’t tell anyone, right?”

Bryce grinned a little awkwardly at her request, but nodded. Thankfully, tea was his drink of choice, but the truth was that even if he didn't know how to make a cup of tea, he'd Google it or something to be able to do it for Tandy right now. They might not be friends but she deserved at the very least a modicum of human kindness. "No caffiene is probably a good call. You can't go wrong with herbal teas there. Do you like chamomile?" he asked hopefully, since that was the flavor he always had the most of at any given time. He shook his head immediately at both her apology and her question. "No, don't say sorry for that. It's okay, really, I'm just glad you're not hurt. And this is your news. It's not my place to tell anyone," he answered honestly. It was Tandy's business and Tandy's business alone. And, well, probably the business of whomever the father was, but that information wasn't his business either. Getting to his feet, Bryce offered Tandy a hand so that they could rise and head to the kitchen.

As they waited for the water to boil, it occurred to Bryce with minor amusement that this was the most amount of time he'd ever spent with his roommate. They weren't the kind of people that ran in each other's circles, he supposed, and as he packed his tea infuser with tea leaves and poured the hot water in, he wondered idlly if they'd have ever talked if it wasn't for this. He poured a cup and looked up at her, nodding his chin as he asked, "Do you like honey or sugar or anything?" He poured himself a plain cup and placed it to the side, waiting for more infomation so he could finish Tandy's drink however she liked it. "I know it's probably a dumb question, but do you want to talk about...anything?" he asked, handing over her cup and sitting across from her, wondering if it was better to talk to her about it or to leave her alone. He had a feeling he'd find out sooner rather than later, because from the little he knew about Tandy, he knew she wasn't shy about what she wanted.

Tandy didn’t really speak as she watched Bryce shuffle around the kitchen, her arms folded protectively over her stomach -- because now, she was almost positive there was something inside of there to protect. She just had to go to a doctor to find out for 100% sure, but she was beyond late on her period, she’d been feeling so off moodwise, and there was a pregnancy test to confirm her worst fears. Or... some kind of fears, at least, because as much as she loved family and as much as it was weirdly easy to picture being a mom, there were plenty of things still scary about this equation. She let her mind start to wander, barely even noticing Bryce was talking to her until she felt his expectant stare on her, and she shook her head to clear it as best she could. “Honey would be nice, please,” she said meekly, trying to keep her stare from glazing over and getting vacant this time, especially since Bryce seemed to want her to talk about what was going on.

“I shouldn’t have made Dolly leave; you shouldn’t have to deal with this,” Tandy murmured, staring into the finished cup of tea miserably. “This is my problem, mine and... Ajax’s,” Tandy muttered darkly, not sure why she’d let the name slip past her lips. But all of Walt would know soon enough, wouldn’t they? Her stomach would start growing and growing, and Ajax may have been stupid enough to call her the wrong name, but he wasn’t stupid enough to not at least ask who the father was if she got pregnant. Was he? The fact that she didn’t know if he’d even care about her having his kid or not made her eyes well up with angry tears, and she buried her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes for a moment. “I just... it’s weird, I haven’t even admitted this to my best friend, but if it were anyone’s but his I think I’d... want it, you know? But it is his, and I don’t want anything to do with him ever again, and now I don’t know what to do.” She stirred her tea idly, bringing it up to her lips and blowing on it to cool it off before putting it back down without a sip. “What would you do?"

Bryce bit his lip, but his musings of how to best phrase the notion that she wasn't alone fell to the ground with a crash like broken glass when he heard the name Ajax. Ajax . He'd known Tandy and Ajax were sleeping together, it wasn't exactly a secret, but he hadn't even considered that Aileen's Ajax could be the father of Tandy's baby. Not that he was Aileen's Ajax anymore, but that's how Bryce had thought about him for so long that even now that Bryce and Aileen were finally giving dating a try, his first thought when he heard the name Ajax was to think of the red-headed girl he was so fond of. His second thought was about this red-headed girl and the way she'd said Ajax's name, the way it made her cry. Brycec stayed silent and listened so he could absorb everything she was saying, nodding as she went to let her know he was paying attention, and he definitely was. A million questions were racing through his head, among them 'What had Ajax done to Tandy that made her so mad?' and 'She wanted this baby, to an extent, but what would that mean for her life?'. There was so much to consider, he didn't envy the sudden hundreds of weights of responsibility that had fallen on her shoulders.

Her question gave him pause and he let out a breath. "There's so much that this affects, it's hard to know where to start," Bryce answered carefully. "But, for starters, I know Ajax. Not personally," he admitted, "but he dated a friend of mine. I know he isn't the brightest or the most reputable. He's not who anyone would chose to have a child with, but it isn't about him. At the end of the day, it's about yout. If you want a baby that never knows its father, that's your right to decide as the mother. A lot of happy and healthy people were raised that way and if you have the means and the support system, it's an option. If you want to wait before having a child, that's your right to decide, too. There are tons of options, and everything else, from the father to your friends to your school or professional life can adjust to what you choose." He took a sip of his own tea and put it back down. "It's a lot of big decisions and I wish there was a way to make them easier. You don't have to decide anything immediately though, you have time," he tried. "And right now, you can just do what you need to do, whether that's absorb or rant or rest." He paused then cracked a nervous smile when he realized how much he'd been talking. "I'm sorry the first time I talk to you is me basically lecturing you," he said, looking down at his tea. "And I'm sorry for everything that's happening. And for not saying congratulations yet. I wasn't sure if it was, you know, appropriate."

“Believe me, I know,” Tandy muttered darkly, her shoulders tending when Bryce mentioned that Ajax was his friend’s ex. Even though she knew the whole thing wasn’t Aileen’s fault by any means, it was easier to harbor a grudge against the other girl than to blame herself. She’d gone into everything with Ajax no strings attached, and she’d done her part of the deal — Tandy hadn’t gotten attached emotionally to the demigod at all. He was the one who’d broken their pact; using her as a substitute for an ex that he couldn’t have? That was a big fucking string, even if it wasn’t tied to her she’d still gotten tangled in their knots. “And it’s fine, it’s not a lecture,” Tandy said, lifting her tea up to her lips and taking a deep sip of it. She suddenly didn’t want to talk much more; she didn’t want another man in her life who cared more about Aileen Dunbroch than they did about her. “It’s kind of nice hearing someone say all the same things I’m thinking, at least it makes me feel like I’m kind of doing something right here.” Letting her tea rest on the table, she hugged her arms around her stomach again, surprised by how nice it felt to hear Bryce congratulate her. Her ill will of a few seconds earlier — were those the kinds of moodswings she had to look forward to now that she was pregnant? — evaporated, and happy tears welled at the corner of her eyes now instead. “You’re the only person who’s said that. Everyone else just made me feel like a fuck up, whether they meant to or not.” It wasn’t a fair thing to say, not when she’d been stressed and no one else even had confirmation yet, but Tandy had needed to hear it more than she’d realized. “If I do decide to have it, I know he or she is going to be one hell of an amazing baby.”

Bryce was used to only being around people he'd known his whole life that reading Tandy's reactions was no easy feat. It felt like she went through emotions so much faster than he did, and he didn't know if he was helping or making things worse as he went along. He did smile just a little when she said it wasn't a lecture, though; even if he wasn't doing this right, at least he wasn't doing it so wrong that he was making her feel trapped in some mansplaining of pregnancy. Just when he thought he was getting a footing on her feelings, she was hugging herself and crying and he was thrown for a loop all over again. As she spoke, though, he thought he understood her pain, at least a little. There was a lot to dislike about the situation, but the situation was still a baby . She probably even kind of loved it already, whether she ended up having it or not. "I'm sure that people just don't want to say the wrong thing," he tried, "especially in tough situations. But you have a lot of people that love you and they'll be happy with whatever makes you happy, you know. Your dads, and your family, your friends." He didn't know much about Tandy, but he from what he'd heard about her dads and her family and from all the times he'd seen her going out with friends, he knew that she seemed like one of the least alone people he'd ever met. "And I know I'm only your roommate, but I know enough to know that if you decide it's time to be a mother? You're going to have one happy baby. Because you're smart and you're brave and you, um, know how to keep a bathroom clean," he smiled, hoping the anti-climatic compliment would cheer her up a little bit more.

Tandy nodded solemnly; there was only so much that could be said about the topic before it felt like she was going around in circles. She'd been thinking on this non-stop for weeks, ever since the time for her period had come and gone, and she just nodded weakly. What could Bryce say that she hadn't already thought for herself? She'd be shocked if he said anything at all that was new to her, but it was kind of sweet of him to try, at least. "My friends and family are pretty great, huh? Even if my sister says she won't touch the baby until he or she is five," Tandy said with a watery chuckle. The tightness in her chest felt a little lighter now; she was past the worrying, and into the acceptance phase. Barring a miracle when she went to the doctor, this was happening -- in some form or another, there was a decision to make, but for now she was content to imagine this baby as a real, concrete thing unless she decided otherwise. "And hey, maybe now Ajax will actually learn my name," she said with a roll of her eyes, unable to resist one more jab at the only dark shadow hanging over this. "Apparently he doesn't appreciate my bathroom cleaning skills as much as you," she added, trying to brush away her bitterness with weak jokes and hollow smiles. "I had no idea you noticed, I clean the sink drain with old toothbrushes like, twice a month."

Bryce kind of laughed at the mention of Tandy's little sister - Tawny? - being reticent to hold the baby. "She seems like a smart girl based on the robot war comments I've seen her make, she'll come around to holding a baby before that . They're nicest to hold when they're still small and don't kick you for holding them, or at least that's what I think," he admitted. Being one of the four largest clans in Scotland meant there was always a baby to hold at any given time, and before long they were toddlers who talked back and stole pastries and played with weapons when they shouldn't. His brow wrinkled at the comment about Ajax, though. "I'm sure he knows your name," he tried, although he wasn't too sure at all. He didn't have much against Ajax but he'd always considered the giant guy to be a little bit on the slow side. It kind of sounded like Tandy just wanted him to notice and appreciate her and Bryce wondered if she was in love with her baby daddy, though this probably wasn't the right time to ask. "Of course I noticed. I clean sometimes too, but compared to how often I had to clean in my high school cottage, this place is a godsend. And I kind of assumed it wasn't Eli or Winter," he said, though he didn't know much about the other two roommates they had at all.

"When it's yours, it's probably nicest no matter what stage of life its in," Tandy said wistfully, hoping she was right. Or maybe hoping someone would tell her she was wrong; as sure as she seemed that she could do this in the moment, she could wake up tomorrow entirely over her head instead. Her mood soured again when Bryce insisted that Ajax probably knew her name, though. "You don't get it -- he does know my name, but he called me Aileen when we were... you know," she sighed, shaking her head. "But I don't want to talk about it. It just kind of... spoils things, that those are the circumstances that this baby was made under, you know? But it's fine. I'm fine." She drained the last sip of her tea, standing up from her chair and saying, "I kind of think I need a nap before I call Dolly and tell her what happened. But um, thank you. For listening and stuff," Tandy said, crouching slightly to give him an awkward side hug. "We should, I don't know, actually talk again sometime. I can tell you all about the things I do to clean the baseboards when you're not home," the redhead joked weakly as she gave a small wave and retreated to her room to cry again.

Aileen knew it was still early in the night, but she was already well drunker than she'd planned on being for Halloween. Whoever was mixing drinks at this house party really needed some training from the bartenders at Le Pub or something, because they'd gotten her completely sloshed without her even tasting a thing. She smoothed down the skirt of her Velma costume, her eyes blinking as she tried to regain focus on the room around her, and finally she spotted a familiar face - Bryce MacGuffin, who she'd known for as long as she could remember. She bumped her way through the crowd until she got to her friend, throwing her arm around him drunkenly and slurring, "Hiiiiii! You're out so late, who knew you were so fun?" Aileen leaned against him for support, sure that the room was going to start spinning any second and hoping that he wasn't here with anybody who was going to be mad at his brand new arm-accessory.

Bryce loved Halloween. Not only were the costumes always fun to look at, but you always had a few people try to convince you that ghosts were real and boy was that fun to shoot down. Dressed as the Grim Reaper - complete with the medicine mask that he'd let hang around his neck as he got to a party and started drinking - he made his way through the crowd, looking for Archie or Aileen or someone. He smiled gratefully when he saw one of his favorite triplets, but his smile faded slightly when he heard her. "You sound like my dad," he joked, though his dad's hard-to-understand dialect was more endearing than drunk-girl speech. "The night is young and you're already so sloshed, who would've thunk it? What'd you do, chug a bottle?" He put an arm around her as she leaned on him, wondering if this was when he should try giving her coffee.

Aileen furrowed her brows together... or she tried to, anyway; her face felt fuzzy, too, and she wasn't sure that the motion came across as she'd intended for it to. It was stranger, though; usually Aileen was much better at gauging her alcohol intake for this, it was strange to be so out of it so quickly. She'd been so tired lately, too, though, with or without the alcohol, and she found that same feeling of exhaustion creeping up on her, too, mingling with the confusion and the haziness of the night. Later, she'd probably decide this was her worst Halloween of all time, but right now all she could focus on was moving her lips and her tongue in conjunction to actually fumble out a reply to Bryce. "No, I didn't -- I didn't even drink that much," Aileen protested meekly, resting her head on his shoulder as she scooted closer to him, glad that he was strong enough to keep them both upright. "Mmmh, you're comfy, I could take a nap right here and then rally," she giggled feebly.

Bryce let his mind get cynical and skeptical all the time for fun, but when it came to his friends from the clans, it was hard to imagine anything bad happening to them. He knew, realistically, that Aileen was a bartender and knew her liquor - he knew even more realistically from hanging out with her that she could out-drink him with her hands behind her back. She had to be wrong about how much she'd drank, because this was Aileen, and this was Walt - people didn't go around putting weird stuff in other people's drinks here like they did in the episodes of Law and Order he loved so much. "How much is 'that much'?" he asked, almost with a laugh before shaking his head. "No, come on, we're going to get you some coffee. And then you're going to sober up a little and get me on your level." He led her to the kitchen in this house, but leading her there was harder than he'd expected - it felt like holding a tall doll in his arms, and he found a clear seat at a table and helped her into it. "Wait there, and keep talking to me," he suggested, looking around for something to make coffee with.

Aileen nodded, although the motions that she intended to be a quick agreement felt sluggish, like her head was in a vat of jello that she was trying to shake it up and down through. "Like... two? Three? I remember..." She blinked, wishing she could rub her eyes to try and see straight, but if she let go of Bryce she might just sink down to the floor and take a nap right there, and that didn't seem like a very good idea, people had probably spilled beer or even puked all over it in the past. "I took one shot for me, one for Elly, and... and not one for the other one," she slurred, not even being able to recall her own third triplet. Her legs felt stupidly heavy as Bryce led her away from the noise of the party, and as soon as she sat down, she slumped. It wasn't as warm or secure as clinging to her friend had been, but it would do. "Why are there two of you? I always knew you wanted to be more like us," she joked weakly as she finally rubbed her eyes, trying to clear away the double vision that had just kicked in. It was hard to open them again once she was done, though, so Aileen rested her elbows on the table and her head in her palms instead, listening to the far-away sound of Bryce making coffee for as long as she could.

Bryce snorted at the triple shots for the triplets. Granted, he thought it was adorable - he'd always been a fan of the Dunbroch sisters, all three of them - but he doubted he'd ever get drunk enough to forget their names and they weren't even his sisters. "Was it three shots of everclear or something? Dang," he muttered, more to himself than to Aileen as he got her situated and tried to help out. Coffee helped him when he was drunk, at least, and whether it was a placebo or not he wasn't sure. He found a coffee maker and got to work, snorting again at the two-of-you comment before thinking that that was really weird. A really high level of drunk. And Aileen wasn't even watching him anymore, covering her eyes. "I'd have five of me. It'd be great, you'd be so outnumbered," he joked, hurrying over while the pot warmed up. "Are you still awake, Ails?" He wasn't totally sure what to do when a friend was this drunk. "Do you want to go home, maybe? Take a nap and rally? It's early, there'll still be party when you're done, but if the coffee doesn't perk you up, I don't think you're really in the partying state, lassie."

Aileen loved Halloween and hated to admit defeat, but she had always prided herself on knowing her own limits and on this night she'd somehow barreled right past them into a total state of incoherence. She whined, no real words coming out, unable to quite process everything Bryce had just said to her at all -- but she had made out the word home, that much she knew for sure. "Home," she nodded miserably, the smell of the coffee he'd so kindly made making her stomach swoop dangerously, like it wanted to eject everything that was inside of it. "Just... five minute nap here, then I'll walk," she murmured, not sure if Bryce could make out the words uttered between the palms her chin was resting on. It was the best she could do, though; everything else seemed too difficult, like it was asking too much of her in this state, and she let her elbows slip downwards as her head softly thudded against the table, her brand new pillow, instead.

Bryce kept a hand on her shoulder, leaning close to try to hear her over the party. She nodded, and that was probably a good sign - he knew Aileen, he knew she knew above all how to take care of people, including herself. He couldn't quite here what she'd muttered, but her head fell softly towards the table and he felt his heart stop in his chest for a second. Did she really just fall asleep right there on the table? She must have been more far gone than he'd thought. "Ails? Aileen?" he asked nervously, his joking demeanor that was so easy to keep with her slipping away as he shook her and got no response. He couldn't just leave her there. Looking around, he took a deep sigh before realizing what he'd have to do. Bracing himself, he pulled her chair out and held her, eventually cradling her in his arms, glad both that he'd inherited some of his father's strength and also that Aileen was quite thin. He took a breath before fighting his way out of the party, his oldest friend in his arms. Home. He had to get her home.

Aileen was slipping in and out of dreams -- or maybe the jogging and jarring motions were part of reality, and the blackness was where the dreams should have been. She really didn't know; she didn't know much of anything, except that someone was saving her from herself. Tomorrow, she'd kick herself for getting so drunk. Tomorrow she might even wonder if someone had slipped her something to get her this way, because the fact that she felt completely drowsy, like she didn't want to imagine having to wake up again, was so not a familiar sensation to her. Right now, though, she didn't wonder anything except maybe when she'd stop being jostled around and could just fall deeper and deeper into the slumber that had ruined Halloween night.

Bryce looked at his childhiid friend and could only assume she was knocked out. It was something to behold and something to worry about a little, too, but then again he worried about most things. Getting her home at least had been easier than he hoped, though getting her in bed was no easy feat. It was worth it when he'd managed to tuck her in and her face looked more peaceful than it had. If she was going to be passed out for Halloween, at least itd be in the safety of her own home. The urge to sing an old Scottish lullabye was strong but he ignored it, choosing instead to make himself at home in a nearby seat. "If you need anything, I'm right here," he promised, though he wasn't sure if she'd heard him. He hoped she had. He hoped she knew he was there even though her eyes seemed close and even though she must be the most woozy person on the planet right now - he hoped she knew she wasn't alone.

Bryce looked at his childhiid friend and could only assume she was knocked out. It was something to behold and something to worry about a little, too, but then again he worried about most things. Getting her home at least had been easier than he hoped, though getting her in bed was no easy feat. It was worth it when he'd managed to tuck her in and her face looked more peaceful than it had. If she was going to be passed out for Halloween, at least itd be in the safety of her own home. The urge to sing an old Scottish lullabye was strong but he ignored it, choosing instead to make himself at home in a nearby seat. "If you need anything, I'm right here," he promised, though he wasn't sure if she'd heard him. He hoped she had. He hoped she knew he was there even though her eyes seemed close and even though she must be the most woozy person on the planet right now - he hoped she knew she wasn't alone.