Who: Spence and Greg Where: Home in Overlook When: Evening, Wednesday, October 25th Status: Complete
Dinner with his family was never a hardship. Spence had missed them all while he had been away, and as much as he could get exasperated with his mom asking how he was, he appreciated it at the same time. It had been awhile since he had anyone checking up on him, and even though he was fine, it made Spence realize how much he’d been missing while living in Virginia. As cliche as it was, there was really nothing like a home cooked meal made by his mom, so it had been hard to turn down her offer of dinner that evening. Besides, it had been a few days since he talked to his brother, so Spence drove his truck up to Overlook to spend the evening with his mom and brother.
Dinner was chicken and potatoes and Spence scarfed down about three platefuls before he finally had to admit that he was full. In response, Jessica promptly began packing up some leftovers for Spence to take home. After dinner he wasn’t really ready to head back to an empty apartment yet, so he helped his mom with the dishes and clean up before wandering out of the kitchen to find Greg.
His brother was in the den watching television so Spence walked over, bottle of water in hand, and sat down on the couch with him. “How’re you feeling?” Spence asked him. They had spoken since the accident, but Spence knew how head injuries could linger. “You going to p-play on Friday?”
Watching was a generous term for what Greg was doing with that television and he muted it as soon as Spence joined him, much more interested in actually talking to his brother. "Hell yeah," he murmured. "We're gonna whoop some viking ass." It was hard to be enthusiastic when he felt this full but Jessica had really cooked way too much and it had all been too good to actually stop eating. "But yeah it went away real fast, I could have totally played last Friday but doctors are dicks." He was pretty sure their mom had gone off somewhere to let them talk which was totally unnecessary but still kind of sweet. "So what's really news?" he asked while they had the privacy. Jessica was cool but there were still things they would always hide from her simply to protect her. She didn't need to hear about all of their screw-ups or heartaches.
Spence snorted with laughter, then realized he probably ought to defend any doctor who was just looking out for Greg's well-being. But yeah, some doctors could be dicks, especially the ones delivering bad news. Still, Spence planned on being at the football game Friday night. It brought back good memories for Spence, and sometimes he felt in short supply of those. Greg's question prompted a lift of Spence's eyebrow and he kind of wished he had a beer instead of water. "News? Not much," he said with a faint, apologetic smile. "Been thinking about that little girl who went missing. Hopin' they find her. Got some applications in around town. Talked to R-Roxy a bit last night." Spence shrugged. "That's been in, to be honest. What about you? You've got to have some crazy shit to tell me about, right?"
Greg's brows rose before he had time to think about it. "Roxy?" he asked, flopping back against the back of the couch and grinning at Spence. "I remember Roxy, never knew why you guys broke up though." He'd been small at the time and then Spence had left and Roxy just hadn't been a part of their lives anymore. It had sucked though he understood it better now than he had back then. "I always liked her but yeah, nah, no crazy news." He was lying and it was so blatant that he kinda felt bad about it, wrinkling his nose a little. "Nothing crazy I can tell you about anyway." Stupid secrets. God he hated secrets. "Except maybe... Have you ever been into a chick you're technically not allowed to be into?"
Oh, well wasn't that mysterious. Nothing crazy he could tell Spence about. Teenagers and their secrets. Spence had been there once, for sure, and it made him grin as he took another sip of water. It was difficult trying to explain why he'd broken up with Roxy, even if the excuse was pretty cut and dry for most people. "Long distance is too hard," Spence said after a moment. "A-And I wasn't sure I'd be c-coming back. It sucked, yeah, but...for the best." College, and then he'd joined the Marines and could barely function for awhile. Roxy had been better off without him, for sure. He was more than happy to change the subject but then Greg's question had Spence unexpectedly barking out a laugh. So much for changing the subject. But he couldn't answer too honestly, could he? "Yeah, I have," he said after his laughter trailed off. He didn't want Greg to think he was laughing at him. "Yeah. Why, who're you into? She taken?"
Greg gave him a dubious look at the laughter because either it meant there was a story there or he was actually laughing at Greg. Spence's next words answered that question and Greg shook his head at him in a mock disapproving way. "You first," he said since Spence had really left himself open to that one. "Tit for tat... Wow that's a stupid saying. Like a boob for a tattoo or something." And he was off topic again so he reeled himself back in and nudged his big brother. "Who was she?"
Spence hesitated and drank more water, not really wanting to mention Roxy and bring up anymore awkward questions. She had a long term boyfriend and he wasn't a homewrecker. "Woman back in Virginia," he said instead, glancing at the television for a few, blank moments. "Before Molly. She was married, so... wasn't going to happen. Couldn't. I told you the tit, now tell me the tat," Spence remarked, grinning at Greg. He was much more interested in who his little brother was interested in. He knew most of the drama with Greg's ex from his mom and aunt filling him in, but he was guessing that wasn't who Greg was talking about.
Some woman back in Virginia, well that wasn't juicy gossip at all, it didn't have names attached or anything and there was no way Greg knew her even if he got a name. He gave Spence a bored sort of look as a result and shook his head again but then he sighed and flopped a little. "Bro-code. I think I have a crush on my best friend's little sister, which is like no. Total no. But she suddenly grew up and is cool and has breasts and like crazy sexy hips and I'm like okayyyyy." Bash was going to kill him if he knew. Okay, he probably wouldn't kill him but he'd flail at him and pull that upset face of his and get all twitchy.
Spence knew damn well his answer was boring, which was why he had given it. He didn't want his brother pressing Spence for details or anything, especially since Spence had no idea what he was feeling at the moment. Besides, Greg's answer was much more interesting and both of Spence's brows rose in surprise. That was most definitely a no no in the "bro code". To an extent anyway. "S-Sebastian's sister?" he asked, a grin playing at his lips. He couldn't remember her name or face for the life of him, but it probably didn't matter. "Kind of puts you in an awkward position, yeah? If it's just a crush, it'll probably go away eventually.”
Greg rolled his eyes. "Bash isn't my only friend, you know," he huffed even if he had said best friend, hadn't he? Stupid. "But yeah, Phee. She's just... She's smart and interesting and cute." He groaned and shook his head. "But yeah, it'll go away, nothing serious, I'm not like falling in love or anything." It would just really help if there were other girls he was interested in but so far he just wasn't feeling that connection with anyone. "Maybe it's not even a crush, maybe I'm just happy she doesn't hate me like I thought she did."
Love. Damn. The cynical side of Spence wanted to reassure Greg that no, he wasn’t falling in love, because seventeen was way too young for that. But… Spence was pretty sure he had been in love at that age, so who was he to downplay Greg’s feelings? “Nah, there’s a difference between relief that a friend’s sister doesn’t hate you, and a crush. Sounds like you’ve got a crush. Smart, interesting and cute. I mean, sure you mentioned her breasts and hips first, but… d-doesn’t sound like it’s all physical stuff anyway. Why’d you think she hated you?”
"I don't know," Greg said and yeah, he'd mentioned her breasts and hips first but those were hard to miss, damn it and he was a guy, a straight guy, easily distracted by the parts of the female form that appealed to him. "She just got kinda cranky when I was around, she had that look, you know? Like ugh Greg is here again look. I mean Bash and I are like one suture away from being siamese twins so I guess it gets annoying? But yeah... We're cool now though, had lunch and everything."
Spence gave it some thought but ultimately decided he didn’t want to assume he knew what Sebastian’s sister was thinking. Greg had been friends with Sebastian for years, so it was possible she did get annoyed if the guy was always around. “So what happened that made you two cool all of the sudden?” he asked instead before taking a small sip of his water. “She just stopped giving you that look and now you’ve got a crush on her?” Spence wondered if the crush had always been there, only low key.
"Yes, I always fall for chicks who don't hate me," Greg said and laughed because it did kinda sound like it, didn't it. "Nah she... We had a party at Sebastian's house, like a tiny party, just... Saving up energy for the big one next weekend, right? I don't know, we talked." Shared some secrets. "So yeah I guess she finally smiled and me and I just like whoa, you know?" He laughed again and shook his head. "There's a lot of other stuff going on though so I guess it's just like a mix of stuff. Nothing serious. Just super anti-code."
Both of Spence's brows rose at that and he chuckled before taking another sip of water. Definitely sounded like a crush. It could have just been Greg was thrilled Sebastian's sister didn't hate him, but it sounded like a lot more than that. And Spence wasn't all that convinced she had ever hated Greg, which was just Spence assuming and speculating more than anything, since he couldn't remember ever meeting the girl. "Well, it's anti-code, sure, but only if Sebastian considers it anti-code," Spence said finally. "H-He could be of the mind that... it would be okay, right? Some g-guys might not like it, but not all guys are like that. And you two have been friends for a long time, so he knows all about you. If any g-guy is going to date his sister, don't you think Sebastian would want it to be... someone he knows and trusts?"
Greg wrinkled his nose because no, it'd be weird and he didn't want to think about it. "I don't know, he'd be weird about it, have you met Bash? He's the most sensitive nervous wreck I've ever met." He shook himself, as if to shake off the topic, then nudged his brother in the arm. "What about you? How's Roxy? You guys getting back together?" If Spence could make Greg uncomfortable, he could very well turn it back on him.
"Well, I don't know him as well as you," Spence pointed out. He was just of the mind that if Greg had a crush and wanted to do something about it, he could at least talk to his friend. If Sebastian said no, then that was that, right? The arm nudge and question prompted a mild scowl from Spence and he reached over to push Greg in the shoulder. Not hard, obviously, but enough to know his question wasn't appreciated. "Roxy's not great, with her boyfriend's niece going missing, but thanks for askin'. And no, we're not getting back together, because of said boyfriend, among other things. Jesus."
Greg had seen Roxy around when he was looking for Amelia but that hadn't registered as a link to the Lucas family, not really. So many people showed up to search because there was a kid missing. He was more interested in those other reasons Spence had because really, a boyfriend in the way was enough of a reason to stay clear but his reaction...? If he wasn't interested at all he would have just laughed it off or rolled his eyes but he got defensive. Greg tried not to grin at that, taking that little shove in stride. "I always liked Roxy," he muttered instead. "What other things are you talking about?"
It felt a bit strange to be talking to Greg about any of this. Spence was significantly older, and hadn't really been around for most of his brother's formative years. They weren't exactly close, though Spence had wanted to change that when he moved back home. Still, Roxy was a bit of a weird topic, and it would have been no matter who he was talking to about it. "The b-boyfriend being the main thing," Spence said after a moment. He shrugged nonchalantly, not wanting it to seem like a big deal in any shape or form. "But, you know, it's been y-years since we've talked. We're different people now. And I'm not exactly..." Spence couldn't quite think of the phrase he wanted, which was kind of the point he was attempting to make. "I'm not who I used to be. P-Physically or mentally or... fuck, even emotionally. She doesn't need that kind of baggage. I wouldn't want to g-give it to her either."
Greg gave him a look, a look that said he was being full of shit. "Whatever, dude," he said then, shaking his head slowly to drive the point home. He wasn't going to go raving sentimental about how his brother was fine and how any chick would be lucky to have him but sometimes a look said more than words could. "So you're just out of the game? Or are you just gonna get a crappy girlfriend who needs the baggage?"
Spence rolled his eyes, though his lips twitched with a bit of amusement. "I'm not out of the game. I'm just not looking to play right now. I just got home... I'm trying to find a job and get shit s-settled. Besides, b-bro code isn't just not dating a friend's sister. It's not stealing another bro's girlfriend. And there's nothing wrong with being single." Though Spence remembered what it was like being a teenage boy, full of hormones and surrounded by girls all day. He was sure his brother had no issue finding girls to date.
"Wait, she's dating a friend of yours?" Greg asked curiously since to him there was nothing in the bro-code about stealing girls from guys you didn't give a shit about. He might not actively do it but hey, if he was a lady's choice over what she already had then obviously she wasn't that happy in the first place so whatever. "Didn't he break the bro-code then?"
"What? No." Spence shook his head quickly. "No. I mean... just... you don't steal another dude's girlfriend. Dude code? That's just not me." At least he didn't think it was. "Look, Molly and I..." He couldn't say they just broke up, even though it felt like they had. "I'm not ready to jump into anything," Spence added with a mutter. "And Roxy's been with her guy for like...four, five years? They live together.I'm not getting in between that."
Greg's wheels were turning. He wasn't always very insightful but he'd just been privy to some big secrets that he'd somehow absolutely managed to miss for years and maybe that was why he was on high alert. Spence could have instantly told him he just wasn't interested in Roxy in that way but instead they were going in circles about girlfriend stealing and bad timings and that was interesting. Unless Greg was totally missing the same obvious shit he had with Bash. "You're not gay, are you?" he asked suspiciously, not considering that Spence didn't have the first clue why he would jump to that guess.
"What?" Spence exclaimed, giving Greg a surprised, but amused look. "Are you serious? No, I'm not gay." Not that there was anything wrong with being gay, but Spence was very, very straight. "Why would you ask me that? Because I don't want to dick over some dude by taking his girl?" Was that something Greg would do? Spence didn't think so, unless the dude was an asshole or something.
Greg gave him a puzzled look and shook his head. "No! No I just... Ugh, it's been a weird month. Finding out you're gay would be like the least weird thing right now. I just, I don't know, usually you just go like 'eh, I'm not interested' but you're kinda running in circles with this one." Maybe that was just Spence's way of talking about girls, it wasn't like they'd had a buttload of heart-to-hearts through the years. "I mean I don't care if you are gay, it's not a big deal."
"I'm not--" Spence let out a laugh before he rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm not gay, Greg. I know it wouldn't be a big deal if I was, but I'm not. What's been so weird about this month?" He would rather talk about anything else but Roxy or his love life - or lack thereof. There had to be a reason Greg had brought it up. It couldn't be just because Spence was 'running circles' around Roxy.
Greg piped down because he really couldn't tell Spence shit right now and it sucked. He wasn't a secrets kinda guy so keeping one was getting really annoying. Keeping two? Even worse! "Between the bus crash and Phee," he said with a shrug but the frown said there was more and he knew it. "There's some stuff I'll tell you later, okay?" It wouldn't be a big deal if they were just his secrets but these did not belong to him and he wasn't about to break the McCarthey kids' confidence.
Spence eyed Greg curiously for a moment, wondering if it was his duty as big brother to try and force the information out of him. But… that wasn’t really his style, and if Greg was keeping secrets, then it wasn’t Spence’s business, unless those secrets could hurt someone. “If you’re sure,” Spence said. “But you can t-trust me with stuff, just so you know. There’s no one I’d go running off to tell.”
Greg thought for a second that maybe it wasn't a bad idea to tell Spence everything, like a safety net for when Bash actually went to break the curse, someone who knew where they were going, someone the cops might actually listen to. Whether Spence would believe him was a totally different question and he made a soft sound in his throat as he considered. "Bash is just going through some shit, I can't really talk about it yet, but I will tell you some time soon, okay?
For a moment, Spence studied Greg carefully, but then gave a small nod. "Yeah, okay. Just... if it's anything dangerous... you should tell someone." Teenagers could be stupid as hell, even when they thought they knew everything. Especially when they thought they knew everything. He certainly didn't want Sebastian to get hurt, and he definitely didn't want Greg to get into trouble for keeping secrets. "But I'm around if you need me to be." Sometimes a sibling was beneficial when going to parents was out of the question.
Greg could feel the scrutiny in his brother's gaze and he tried not to squirm under it, giving Spence a lopsided grin. "You'll be the first person I call," he promised. Better Spence than his mom. He trusted her and he knew she'd be cool with helping but he really didn't want to worry her. He hadn't really denied that it could be dangerous because one of those secrets definitely was. Witchcraft, curses, demons... Maybe Spence deserved to know some of it, even if Greg wasn't going to tell him everything. "Just... There's a lot of bullshit you hear in town and... some of it is true so watch your back, okay?"
That, on top of everything else, had Spence worried only because Greg was most definitely hiding something. But he sipped his water and maintained a fairly calm expression. He didn't think Greg would come out and tell him everything right now, but Spence could get a picture of what this was all about. "What kind of bullshit are you talking about?" He wanted to know that much at least, and maybe the answer would start moving some of these puzzle pieces around so he could make sense of what his brother was talking about.
"You know," Greg muttered. "The stuff nobody believes in but aunt Holly. Supernatural shit." He grinned a little, ready to tell Spence he was just joking if his brother reacted badly. Some people knew, others didn't. It wasn't like he could whip up a magic trick to make Spence believe like Bash had with him and he didn't want his brother to think he'd lost his mind.
Spence was quiet again for another moment, his thoughts working to form something coherent in response. It wasn’t that Spence didn’t believe, but he wasn’t sure if he did either. It really depended on the situation… the explanations… evidence. Sure, a lot of stuff he had heard about in town was ridiculous and laughable, but some of it? Some of it made him think. “Are you going to tell me which parts are real?” Spence asked pointedly, lifting a brow. “Or do I need to guess.”
Greg wasn't sure how to tell him without actually spilling secrets but he also didn't like leaving Spence in the dark. "Just assume it's all true and watch your back," he said, wrinkling his nose to the point where he really felt the stretch in his facial muscles and had to stop. "Like demons are real and ouija boards are dangerous and a lot of those places people say are haunted are actually haunted? So yeah just... be safe."
Spence cocked a brow, his expression incredulous as he stared at his brother. What was he supposed to do with that? Sounds good, thanks for the advice!? It felt much more complicated, and a little unbelievable. Spence wasn't sure he believed in God anymore, and weren't demons part of that particular package? He thought Ouija boards were bunk, but at the same time, there was a tiny part of him that had no desire to mess with one... just in case. It was a confusing sort of feeling. "Greg," Spence began slowly, "please tell me you and your f-friends aren't doing anything stupid."
Greg shook his head vehemently, eyes widened. Shit, it did sound like they'd been conjuring some bullshit demonic entities or something, didn't it? Well, technically Bash's boyfriend had but Greg hadn't been involved. "No, dude, no," he said in a rush. "Nothing like that. Just... Some kids got into trouble and we found out there are actual witches and shit. Didn't do anything stupid though, just stood on the sidelines like... Fuuuuuuck." That was neither informative or reassuring he realized and sighed. "I'll tell you everything really soon, okay? But nobody's in danger now or anything like that."
Actual witches. Greg said it so matter of factly, and calmly that Spence was trying to figure out if his brother was bullshitting him for fun or not. He wanted to laugh, but also didn't, just in case Greg was serious. Spence didn't want his brother to think he was blowing him off or anything. He rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb as he thought about it, and then finally he nodded. "Yeah, you're going to have to tell me everything, because to say I'm confused right now would be an understatement. Just... be careful... if I get a whiff of you and Sebastian doing anything s-stupid, you know I'm going to do what brothers do and tell on you to mom."
Greg wondered if letting Bash do that damn ritual and not telling every adult in the vicinity about it was stupid and it probably was but... It wasn't something they decided to do for the hell of it. He didn't know enough yet to make any sort of decision and he wouldn't let Bash go alone so that was a start. Hunter would probably come too so that made three of them and one of them could wait somewhere and call if things got too weird. It was a lot of 'ifs' and it made his head hurt. "I'll tell you everything and I'll try not to be stupid." It was the best he could do.
Spence nodded, exhaling softly because he couldn't really ask for much more than that. Sometimes being a stupid teenager in Point Pleasant was a hell of a lot more dangerous than being a stupid teenager anywhere else. "Well... k-keep me updated and I'll watch my back for... witches and things. Are they pretty easy to spot? Warts and the like?" He was making fun, but not in a malicious way. It just felt natural to tease Greg about... well, anything and everything, really.
Greg shook his head with a little laugh. "Don't judge people based on their looks, you'll find some of the witches are really pretty." That was probably saying too much and he hoped Spence wouldn't put two and two together. It did go for Reagan Kelly too though and Zania Castell was hot, even if she was a little scary. "And they're not all ladies either," he added knowingly and it was kind of amazing how many witches he knew about by now.
"Oh, okay," Spence said with a laugh of his own. "Pretty witches. And male witches. I mean, I figured there would be." Some of the Six were men, right? Although as far as Spence knew, they hadn't been real witches. Just accused of witchcraft. Taking another sip of his water, Spence was trying to figure out how and why Greg knew all this stuff. Or believed it. "Sounds like you're becoming quite the Point Pleasant Encyclopedia of W-Weirdness."
"Hah, yeah that's me," Greg snorted and shook his head. "Honestly I don't know half of it, I'm still learning... And yeah I know I sound like I caught the family crazy but Aunt Holly wasn't all wrong." He'd never quite thought she was wrong, maybe a little crazy and ready to embellish an already strange story but who could blame her with the way Kevin had disappeared and his friend had gone completely nuts.
Spence really had no idea what to say to that, because his brain was being pulled in two different directions between believing and skepticism. It was starting to give him a headache. He still thought about Kevin a lot, and what happened to him, like so many other people who just seemed to vanish into thin air in this town. Like Amelia Lucas. "Well, now you've got to keep me in the loop, since you're piqued my interest. And don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Weird s-shit can be dangerous sometimes."
It was getting really hard not to tell Spence everything and Greg scrounged his face up for a few seconds as he resisted the urge. "I’ll tell you soon, okay?" He said then, pouting at his brother. "And yeah I’ll be really careful, promise. You’ll be the first person I call." It didn’t make it easier that he’d always wanted to be closer to his big brother. Now that he was home and they were both older the chance was there and Greg felt like he was squandering it.
“Soon,” Spence agreed, nodding. He reached over to grip Greg’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Just be careful.” He knew he’d said it several times already, but sometimes it felt necessary to drill it into Greg’s head. Spence didn’t think his brother was stupid, but teenagers could make rash decisions sometimes without thinking things through. He motioned to the television then and smiled. “What’re we watching?” He could have left, he supposed, but he was there to spend time with his family, and that’s what he wanted to do.
Greg relaxed a little, nodding at his brother with a smile. Yeah he'd be careful but he was also really thankful for the out. It was getting tempting to spill all the secrets and he'd beat himself up about it if he did. "Well, let's see," he murmured and reached for the remote. There hadn't been anything super interesting on but he'd eaten too much and it was nice to veg out and be braindead for a bit.