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All the windows in the kitchen were open, the sweet smell of turkey billowing out the window. It made Tamara's mouth water, but she knew better than to mess with it.
It was still cooking, and they had guests coming. She peeked at the mashed potatoes in one pot and gave them an experimental stir. Then she checked on the gravy.
"Hey, Tom? Could you come take over while I change really quickly?" She shouts down the hall past the kitchen, hearing the sound of house slippers as he pops in.
"I got it. Take your time." He gently shoves her into the hall. She smiles and turns toward her room. Passing her parents' room, she tries to ignore the nausea. She locks her door just in case. That feeling of fear never goes away.
Her blue hoodie and jeans are abandoned in favor of one of the dresses she wore only for birthdays or big school events. She didn't really bother with anything else, just shrugged on some shorts and left her hair up. She padded back down the hall in her own house slippers, moving over to set the table.
She had already checked five times since they started making dinner, but she was still anxious. Tamara was very anxious. The only friends she'd had since middle school were Ell and Matilda. This was the first time she had anyone new over in years.
Even Tom didn't really bring anyone over. It was usually his bandmates (very rarely), Edd, and Matt. The last two happened to be siblings of Tam's friends, which worked out nicely.
Tamara double checked the spot set out for her new friend and said, " Friends plus one," she asked to bring. While Tam was worried, she trusted it wouldn't be a big deal. With their parents out for a few weeks on a "work trip," it's not like the company wouldn't be nice.
She holds her hands at her stomach, fiddling with her nails as she stares through the table. Her friend seemed so put together and above it all. Would she even like the setup? Would she like the food? Would she just up and leave in the middle of it?
She jumps at the feeling of her brother's hands on her shoulders, looking back wide-eyed. He attempts a tone of reassurance. "You're gonna do great. Just treat her like you do Ell or 'Tilda."
Tam groans, head dropping to her hands. "That's the problem. She's nothing like either of them. She's very outspoken and loud and... None of this is gonna meet her standards, I know it."
Tom sighs, turning the younger woman to face him. "If she doesn't like it, that's her fault. But I'm sure she'll see how much effort you put into this and she'll like it. You've said really nice things about her up until now."
Tamara can't make eye contact, choosing to nod as she looks at the floor. In the end, her brother is right; her friend would just flat out be an ass if she reacted like that. It's hard to compare people's behaviors to determine whether it's right or wrong when you've had very little experience with anybody.
Tamara sighs, nodding, letting her brother have the satisfaction of being right. He smiles, pats her shoulder, and puts his hands in his hoodie pocket. "She doesn't smoke, does she?"
"No, Tom. I don't smoke with anyone but Ell and Matilda."
"I still don't like that."
"I know."
"But I still trust them to take care of you. I'd rather you smoke with them than anyone else." He ruffles her hair, and she whines. Tamara shoves his hand away, frowning.
"I'm going to set up the food on the table. You should get changed." She grumbles, arms crossed. Her brother shrugs and walks down the hallway towards his room, which is just in front of hers.
The turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, tea, corn, rolls, and Mac and cheese were set out along the middle. Tam took a step back to admire her handiwork, but frowned when she remembered all of this had to be eaten before their parents came back from their trip. Maybe she could pass off a couple of containers to her friends' families?
A knock rings out close by, the doorway to the hall meeting the front door. Tamara peeks out of the dining room window, noticing the familiar brown-red color of her friend. She walks slowly to the door, willing the shakiness in her hands to cease. She takes a deep breath, opening the door.
"Tamara!" Yells a familiar feminine voice, caked in a Norwegian accent. Toned arms wrap around her neck, and she giggles at the weight. She smells of vanilla, honey, and slight cigarette smoke.
"Hi, Tori. Please, come in." She guides her in, watching as a slightly taller boy follows in behind her, wearing a red hoodie. He looks almost identical to her, save for the length and shagginess of their hair and muscles.
"Oh, sorry, I should introduce you. This is my lame older brother, Tord. You mentioned you had a brother, so I figured he'd fit in. Our friends from back home bailed on visiting, and he's got no one else to hang out with. They could have a playdate or something."
Tam looks between the two, but is unable to deny the wolfish smile she has. "My brother isn't the most sociable, but he's very welcoming to my friends. I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Good girl," Tori says, winking. Tam looks away to avoid getting her flush called out and brings the two into the dining room.
"My brother is sitting at the head of the table, and this seat is mine. You two can sit in those two seats." She says calmly, watching as Tori puts her purse in the seat closest to Tamara. "He'll be back in a second, he's busy. I'll be right back." She waves awkwardly and speed walks away.
Tom is in the hallway, adjusting the collar of his nicer shirt. He sees the way his sister looks and immediately pauses. "Tam?"
"Her brother is here. I'm not upset, I'm just really nervous. I need you with me." She tugs his wrist, and he follows with a lighthearted sigh. He stops in the doorway, eyes widening. Tamara doesn't notice.
"Oh, Tam, you're back! You must be her brother then, ja? You have the same eyes." Tori is incredibly vibrant, immediately rushing into conversation as they had already known each other for a while.
"Yeah, it was an accident when we were younger." He rubs the back of his neck nervously, looking between his sister's friend and her brother. He knows him. Not by name, God no. He's never talked to the dude, but he remembers getting his ass beat by him in junior year.
Tom had been waiting outside for his younger sister, who was in her freshman year. As he waits, a boy his age that he's seen around approaches him. He doesn't have more than a second to respond before he's grabbed by the front of his hoodie and socked in the face.
He can barely register the fight, if you can call it that, as the other boy pummels him into the ground. It's not like he couldn't fight back; he had decent muscles from being the one to carry around his band's equipment. The problem was that there were people around them, and his lap was being straddled. Any movement would worsen his situation, so he tries to block the punches as best he can. It lasts maybe 10 minutes before a relatively identical girl grabs him by the hood and drags him off. "Come on. We've got places to be. Don't waste your time beating up some guy."
Her voice is scolding, but the accent is one he can't place. He just watches as they walk off in the opposite direction from where he needs to go. When his sister comes to the gates, he's brushed himself off. He knows his face looks more fucked up than normal, and he brushes her off when she tries to ask about it. Tamara should know better by now when it was getting harder to tell what was from home and what was from school. Questions are dangerous, and danger might mean separation. They were all the other had.
Tom is thrust back into the presence by Tamara's worried tugging on his arm. "Tom? Tom, just go sit down. But yes, this is my friend Tori from my camera class and her brother, Tord. He's about your age."
He nods, moving to sit at the head of the table. "Nice to meet you, Tori and Tord. Tamara has told me a lot about you, Tori." He manages to shake his sister's hand across the table, which seems to calm his sister down a little.
Tamara smiles gratefully, breathing out a huge sigh of relief. "Please, feel free to help yourselves. Take as much as you'd like." Her voice is shaky enough to catch the attention of Tori, but across the table, her brother doesn't seem to notice all too much. He's busy staring at Tom. She tries to settle the worried feeling in her gut as she scoops up some Mac and cheese and takes a roll.
She's always been known to be a nuisance about food, too picky to be allowed to eat with the rest of the family, and usually had to rely on herself for anything. She internally goes over what she'll say if Tori comments, but the other girl doesn't bother and loads up her plate. "You're transfers from America, ja? Why are you celebrating Thanksgiving in February?"
Tom and Tam share a look before Tom speaks up. "Our parents don't usually celebrate, but Tamara thought it would be nice to celebrate with her new friend. Since they were out of town, we figured now might be a good time."
Tamara blushes bright red, trying to avoid eye contact. She moves around her Mac and cheese with a spoon, nodding along to what her brother says. "You're also from out of the country. I thought it'd be nice to share something from home."
Tori waves a hand, saying something Tam couldn't process all the way about her being a sweetheart as she takes a bite of her food. "We've never really been to America. We will be there one day, more or less."
Tamara raises an eyebrow, confused by her wording. She's learned not to ask any questions, seeing how Tori has reacted to others. "The scenery isn't really all that great, so our camera class is harder than it would be if we were back home." Her voice is a lot softer, shrugging.
"You know, you never told me what you're doing for our next project. Childhood memories. Kinda insensitive, don't you think? Can't even visit Norway quickly just for photos." Tori smiles, attempting to make small talk. Tamara is unsettled by the topic of childhoods, thinking for a quiet and awkward moment on how to navigate.
"I've been mostly taking photos of things my brother and I do. It's mostly just photos of Susan and the garage for band practice. We could take a photo tonight to add?" She does her best to navigate around it, but she can tell Tori knows something is up. Tamara has always trusted her brother to cover up for all their home issues, but with these two over, she's starting to realize it might be hard to keep it from her. She focuses on her food and kicks Tom under the table.
He coughs into his hand, smiling as he picks up the conversation as well. "What's in your project, Tori? I never really hear anything about anyone else's projects but Tamara's."
Tori beams at the attention, brushing her hair over her shoulder before glaring at her brother. Tord sits up suddenly, as if scared of the young woman. "Just photos of our engineering projects that we've done together, old drawings from our younger years, stuffed animals, the like. It's so shocking that you don't have much related to your history, considering you've lived here so much longer."
Tam shuffles uncomfortably, and Tori eases up a little. "We're just not sentimental people. If it's not usable, it's either given away or sold. It's a wonder we have much at all." She forces a giggle, earning a suspicious look from Tord.
"Better topic, how did you two meet?" He takes a chunk out of a turkey leg, moving his gaze from Tamara to Tom after he finishes speaking. Tori smiles, letting Tam speak for both of them.
"I'm just taking my last class to graduate and picked a camera one. I walked in and just sat at the only occupied table. Our teacher paired people up, and she kinda just picked me up then and didn't really let me go." Tord snickers, causing Tori to glare at him.
"You were just too sweet to leave behind, and you're a great partner for projects." She smiles, and Tom notices as Tord flinches, likely from his foot being stomped on under the table. Tamara has started finishing up her plate and grabs another roll. Tom has finished up his mashed potatoes and gravy, along with his corn. He's trying to focus on his turkey now.
Tord is incredibly distracted, but he's managing to wolf down his food. Tori is really the only one who hasn't made much progress since she started talking, but she still barely has anything left. "So, Tom. You're in a band. Do you do live shows?" Tori starts.
He looks startled by the question, waiting for a second. "Yeah, I play out and about sometimes. We usually get gigs in underground bars, so that's probably why people don't usually hear about us. I play bass guitar." Tori beams, and Tam nods.
"He's very good. Been playing for forever." She adds in, finally finishing her plate and setting down all her utensils. This is usually how it goes, unfortunately. It's always a tense wait for everyone else to finish. Because she's incredibly picky, Tamara has very few choices to pick from. Even though there are two food choices she likes, it would be selfish to hog them. Tori notices, mostly because she has studied this habit of hers from across the lunchroom for the past two months. Especially when she's unaware. Just makes it better, in her professional opinion.
She's not said a word, figuring through her investigation (she refuses to call it stalking despite Tord's admonishments) that Tamara wouldn't respond in a way that would benefit her. She loves this kind of chase. Loves noticing all of Tam's nervousness, her hesitancy, and reading deeper into all her odd ways of speaking about their past. She categorizes it all in her head, knowing her debrief with Tord later will mostly be her.
"So, Tam. Is it usually just you and your brother? I never see you with anyone else, even at lunch or in the halls."
"I have friends. We just aren't able to hang out very often at school. Different career paths, different classes, and schedules. They both have older brothers who hang out with my brother, too. There's just... not a lot of people at school to hang out with, I guess."
Tori smiles. "Unfortunate. You're such a sweet girl." Tord raises an eyebrow, stiffening as he watches his sister with the other girl. Tom also looks weirded out, sharing a look with Tord. Tam just smiles awkwardly, her tooth gap showing.
"You know, why don't I take everyone's dishes if you're done with them?" She says, smile tight. Everyone hands her their plate, and only then does she notice everyone has finished. She feels less embarrassed about finishing early, and she leaves the room to put the dishes in the sink.
When she returns, the state of the room is incredibly tense. Tom and Tord looked as though they had been arguing, but Tam had never heard anything, and Tori looked too pleased for it to have been an argument. "Hey, Tam, why don't we go check out your room? Tom tells me you've got some cool things lying around."
Tamara looks bewildered, trying to convince her not to go back there, but Tori is only trying to serve as a distraction. She manages to drag the brunette away, giving Tord and Tom ample space. "So... uhm. How have you been?"
"Don't do that shit. I don't even know you. We're only on good terms because your sister makes mine happy." He snarls, baring his teeth at the other. He watches as Tord's arms go up in a surrendering position.
"Look. I get it. Guy kicks your ass once for no reason, and you become defensive forever." His tone makes Tom want to finally pin him down and beat his face in, but he doesn't want to alert his sister. "I didn't even mean it! Like I said, no reason." Tom decides he hates this response.
"You're lucky I care about her too much to beat you to a pulp here and now. The last thing she needs to see is me stoop down to your level. Understood?" Tom hates the grin on the horned boy's face. Much to Tom's surprise, he nods.
"She's sweet. My sister enjoys having her around, and my sister hates everyone. I have absolutely no ill will towards any of you. Not anymore at least." He attempts to joke, but immediately shuts up when the other glares. "You won't like it at all, but we'll need to learn to get along. I'll do whatever I need to make it up to you. I just wanna make my sister happy."
"Get along isn't a very clear line, so I'll make it clear myself. We are not friends, I'm kind for the sake of my sister, and I don't ever want it to be more than that." Tom's voice is low and threatening, making Tord act strangely. He thinks he hates him.
"Got it."
"I'm glad we've come to an agreement then."
As their conversation ends, Tamara and Tori return. Tori has this odd grin on her face, and his sister looks flustered beyond belief. "Tam said she doesn't mind if I spend the night."
"I did!?" Tamara yelps before a muscled hand clamps around her mouth.
"You did. Tord, you can go home now. Have another playdate some other time, ja?" Tord scowls at her words, murmuring something about 'respecting your elders' as he heads towards the door. Tom rubs his sister's shoulder, trying to discern from facial expressions alone if this is something he should be worried about. He walks towards the door, overhearing part of their conversation.
"Remember to keep your hands to yourself, Tori."
"I'm responsible. I know what not to do. Work on our project yourself without me for a night." She condescendingly pats his face and shuts the door, leaving him to walk home alone. She looks concerned as she turns around to see Tom. She eyes him warily before shooting past to return to Tamara's side. "Come on, I'll help you with the editing for your project. I know this one by heart."
Tom feels worried about who his sister has roped herself in with, but he likes seeing her happy. She hasn't been this vibrant since... ever, he doesn't think. He locks the front door and heads into his room, slightly able to hear their giggling through the wall.