Thursday - New Memories Who: Dax & Asia When: Afternoon Where: the Everhart residence Warnings: Um nudity. But it's non-sexual so idk.
Dax had spent some time deciding on whether or not he wanted to bake cupcakes or buy them. And where exactly he was going to get mass amounts of booze from. His mom's not-so-secret stash had been inventoried already. He'd also convinced a neighbor to show up with a few six packs on the promise that there'd be plenty of attractive women at the party. Truthfully Dax had no idea what kind of turnout he'd get, but there were bound to be some young women there.
He had also decided to attempt to bake his own cupcakes so he could decorate them himself. It sounded fun, and if they came out tasting like shit he could just convince his mom to buy him some premade cupcakes from the grocery store.
Dax checked the instructions on the cake mix box again, and, satisfied he'd mixed everything up correctly in the mixing bowl, he poured the batter into the cupcake pan. The kitchen counter was a bit of a mess and so was he. But that was why he'd foregone all clothing save for an old holey pair of camo cargo shorts that he'd saved from his former self's wardrobe. He hummed along with a heavy metal song playing on the radio and thought that, so far, he was a damn good cupcake baker.
Asia was in the cabin that passed for a bedroom in this stupid trailer, door closed, isolated from the rest of the world by colorful pillows, posters of horses and a few current teen idols sneaking onto the walls. She had forgotten to recharge her iPod - an old model, with no hope for replacement at the moment - so it sat on the charger and she lay on her bed and cranked her CD player when she heard the metal music get louder. Did Taylor Swift have a hope of drowning out Dax's music? Probably not, but she could try.
His birthday was almost here. She should be happy he was alive to have a birthday, but all she could think of was the stranger just down the narrow corridor, who was doing God-knows-what to the kitchen. She should go out and find a card. She should make a card, to show she still cared. She didn't know if he cared what she did anymore. What did you buy a party animal for his birthday? A party animal you didn't really know very well? And with limited money? She sighed and sat up to change the CD. Shuffling through her collection, she found the Broadway soundtrack for 'Mamma Mia', something someone had given her for Christmas one year, and she placed it in the player and cranked it, loud.
Still in the kitchen, Dax slid the cupcake pan into the oven and set the timer. He arched an eyebrow down the hall at his sister's room and cringed a little. Her taste in music was marginally tolerable at best. And now it was so loud he couldn't ignore it anymore, let alone hear his favorite part of the Rob Zombie song playing on his portable stereo.
He wiped his hands off on a dish towel, noting absently that he'd need to repaint his nails black the next morning so they'd be perfect for his party Friday night, then headed down the hall and knocked steadily on Asia's bedroom door.
A knock. So, that got his attention. Did she want his attention? She wanted her brother back, but that didn't seem to be happening and this... person wasn't her brother, except he looked like him and - "What?" She had to shout to be heard over an enthusiastic rendition of 'Dancing Queen'. Why she felt the need to make him work for it and why she was doing this the day before his birthday, she didn't know. She had a headache and her own music wasn't helping. Neither were the cramps.
"Do you have headphones?" Dax shouted to be heard through the door and over all the music. He wouldn't dare enter her room without her express permission. That just wasn't his way. If he started doing that, she might get the idea it was okay to go into his room without his permission. Respect for respect.
What was he saying? Something about the phone? She hadn't heard it ring. Had someone called for her? No, that didn't make sense. She still had her crappy cell phone and her friends would use that, wouldn't they? Asia sighed heavily and rolled off her bed. She opened the door and looked up at the person who was and wasn't her brother. At least he'd knocked. She was just wearing a tank top, no bra, and a pair of shorts. A small fan whirred noisily through the music. "What?"
"Do you have headphones? If not, you can borrow mine," Dax said with both of his dark brows arched and his expression otherwise bland. Why was she so hostile? He hadn't done anything to warrant it that he was aware of. Not today at least. Oh well.
Asia closed her eyes and turned away, moving briskly to the CD player and hitting the power button. Now all that could be heard was the fan and Rob Zombie or whoever it was growling in the kitchen. God, she was starting to know their names and recognize their music. "Sorry," she said in the semi-silence, looking back to Dax. "I... have a headache and... I feel like shit..." She sighed heavily again. "I'll just... curl up in here and... melt..."
"We could go skinny dipping until the cupcakes are done," Dax suggested as he leaned against her door frame with one arm and jerked his thumb towards the back yard. Sure, he knew that probably wasn't the sort of thing siblings normally did together, but it was hot in the trailer and the oven was only making it worse. Not to mention he was completely comfortable in his own skin and didn't understand why other people weren't as comfortable with their own bodies. It just didn't compute.
She stared at him like he'd grown another head. Given how strange it was that he was alive at all, that might have even been possible. Asia wasn't sure what to think about anything anymore, especially on days when she had a headache and her period was starting. "As if I'm going to get naked in the daytime," she said, but headed toward her brother anyway. "I'll go in like this." Who cared what happened to a tank top and shorts? And it was only water...
"In your clothes?" Dax scoffed a little laugh, amused at her indignant response. "If you don't want to get naked in the daytime, why not just change into your bathing suit?" He shook his head and took a few steps down the hall back towards the kitchen. "It's okay to go skinny dipping in the daytime, you know, so long as you wear sun block. And our backyard's fenced in if you're worried about the neighbors perving on you." Which didn't exactly help since it was a six foot privacy fence, but their pool was an above-ground model with a high deck around half of it.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said, leaving her room to follow Dax, head pounding. "I can't be bothered to change. Just..." She made shooing motions with her hands at him, wondering if she should take another Motrin. "Move, let's go, please..." She wasn't too worried about the neighbors, because it wasn't as if they'd be able to easily see, but her body had blossomed in recent months and she still didn't know how she felt about it all - other than awkward.
"I'm the boss around here," Dax said in his usual lazy tone of voice as he headed through the kitchen, to the living room and the back door without picking up his pace. Her obvious bad mood wasn't affecting his mood any, but as with almost every interaction with Asia, he felt oddly compelled to see her happy. It wasn't a selfless compulsion, though. It was the same kind of feeling he had regarding his friends. Her happiness and well being affected him because she shared the same living space he did. She was also generally a nice girl and he had no reason to be mean to her.
She didn't repeat herself, though the temptation was there. A few minutes ago, she'd been lying in her hot room with a mostly useless fan and music at a volume that just made things worse. Why did she do this to herself? And why hadn't she thought of the pool? He was the boss, being technically older, and she didn't have a problem with that, though sometimes, just sometimes, she was reminded that he wasn't the same person anymore. It made her a little nervous. At the moment, she was in too much pain to care - or think about going in the pool, with Dax -- and the ambulance seemed to take forever and he wasn't breathing and -- She stumbled as she left the trailer and reached out with a hand to grab something to steady herself.
Dax heard her stumble, stopped and half turned in time to reach out and grab her with one arm so she wouldn't face plant on the deck. She was too cute to end up with a face full of scrapes, and part of him was sure he'd have to endure a lecture from their mom if anything happened to Asia. Even after a year, he wasn't sure if he liked having a family or not. "Maybe you should lie down instead of swimming. Or take a cold shower."
He caught her and she made it to the deck without injury, beyond her wounded pride, anyway. She was usually a naturally graceful person, not klutzy at all, and good at gymnastics with decent balance. Stumbling didn't happen often, and even though it was a memory that had triggered a physical reaction, it shouldn't have happened. "I hate my body," she said softly, then, "Thanks, Dax. I don't want to look at my room anymore. I want to go into the pool." Asia shook her head. She hurt. Maybe immersing herself in water would help.
"Why do you hate your body? It's yours. You can do anything you like with it," Dax said. Once his sister seemed steady, he let her go and crossed the deck to the edge of the pool. He leaned over and dipped his hand in the water. Satisfied it was a nice temperature, he grabbed the large bottle of sunblock off the patio table and started covering his arms and chest with the protective lotion. The last thing he needed, ever, was a sunburn. He didn't want to end up with leathery, prematurely wrinkled skin.
"I know," she said, watching him slather his upper body with sunblock. He had good skin. So did their mother and so did Asia, so go, genetics. She removed her shorts and kicked them away from the water, leaving her in underpants and the tank top. It'd do. "I'm having that time of the month," she said. "It hurts. Want me to get your back for you?" She'd need help with hers, too. No way she wanted to burn.
"Huh. There's got to be something you can do to make it not hurt," Dax said. He really wouldn't know about any of that, since he was a guy and didn't have that problem. He hadn't exactly had to go through puberty either. Not that he remembered anyway. "And, yeah, you get my back, I'll get yours." Carefully, Dax applied the sunblock to his face, then his neck and ears.
"I took a Motrin," she said, reaching for the bottle of lotion and applying some to her hand. She put the bottle down, rubbed her palms together and started to spread it over Dax's back and shoulders. Damn, but he was tall compared with her. He was cute, too, so it wasn't a surprise that even though he'd changed, he still had girls wanting to hang out with him. "I don't know what else to do, other than apply heat and there's no way I'm doing that in weather like this."
"Have you asked Mom for advice? Or the internet?" He only asked because he hated to assume. Asia was a clever girl, if young and a bit naive. She didn't seem like she enjoyed getting out very much. "I don't remember being your age. From what I've heard from various sources, I went from being a precocious little boy to being a stubborn jerk. I guess it was mostly hormones. And Mom and Dad splitting." He shrugged and turned once she was done with his back and gestured with a twirl of his finger for her to turn around.
"Of course," she replied, trying not to sound too indignant. "She went on about how it's natural and something I have to work to understand and isn't my body a beautiful thing and wow, God made me this way, so there must be a reason." Asia managed not to roll her eyes. "I Googled it, yeah, but it still hurts." She rubbed what lotion remained on her hands over her arms as she turned for him. "You weren't that precious, Dax. You were... awesome. Could be hormones. I dunno..." My stupid hormones are so effing stupid...
"I'm still awesome," Dax said with a light laugh as he put some of the sunscreen on his hands and rubbed it onto his sister's back and shoulders, making sure to get under her tank top straps. "And so are you. Nature and society are a little crueler to females, but I know you can rise above it."
He was so encouraging and so accepting of... everything, it seemed. How did he do that? Asia smiled a little, thankful that Dax was there even if they'd lost the house and their parents were divorced and Mom was a stripper and Dad was in jail... "Yeah, you're awesome and... I try." She pulled her hair forward when he dealt with the straps, then reached for the bottle and quickly smeared under the front of her tank top and her face. Wiping the remnants on her arms, she applied some more and bent over to cover her legs. "You don't remember them splitting, do you?"
"No," Dax said simply as he tugged his shorts off and started putting sunblock on the lower half of his body. Marriage wasn't something he was sure he agreed with, but she hadn't asked for his opinion on that so he kept it to himself. "Dad said I was really upset about it. I yelled at him, then stopped talking to him. Which explains how emotional he was the first time I visited him after the accident."
Asia thought about her father as she rubbed the lotion between her toes. She loved him, because he was her dad and she was his 'princess', but the whole fraud thing had her wondering what sort of person he really was and how much else had he kept hidden from his family. She tried not to think about it. "You did yell at him. I yelled at Mom, then I think I was useless and cried a lot." And stayed in her room, hugging her bears. She straightened, turned around and tried not to stare.
"He's where he needs to be." Dax shrugged and added a little extra sunblock to the tattoo at the top of his chest. It was only a few months old and he didn't need it fading already. "Dad has a good heart, at his core, but he was a parasite on our family. I don't think he knows how to not lie about the reality of most things. Unless he really is enjoying prison life."
He sounded so... old when he talked like that. Mature. And what he said about their father was -- "I don't think he's enjoying it," Asia said, looking quickly away. Dax and his lack of clothing was just -- "I don't know if I'd call him a 'parasite' but..." She sat at the edge of the pool and dipped her feet in, studiously looking at the water. "You talk about him like you know him really well, as a person, not as your dad. It's... weird."
"I don't remember tossing around the old pigskin with him. Or him teaching me how to ride a bike. Or him reassuring me that my ears are distinguished and a family trait to be proud of, versus making me look like a monkey according to some other kids," Dax said as he leaned his hip against the patio table while he finished putting sunblock on his feet and ankles. It didn't bother him that he didn't have any real familial connection to his biological father. Howard Everhart was the man who helped create his body, and for that he was grateful. But the guy wasn't a paragon of anything, so far as Dax was aware. He was an example of how not to properly care for your loved ones. "I've got pictures and the stories everyone's told me. And, most of all, I have my own experiences with the man to judge by. He meant well. He wanted us to have the best of everything. But he went about it in entirely the wrong way. On a foundation of lies."
Without real warning, Dax jumped in the pool with a huge splash. When he surfaced he pushed his dripping hair back out of his face and wiped the water from his eyes as best he could, then swam back to the side of the pool near Asia.
She looked up in time to get water splashed in her face as her front was soaked by Dax's entry into the pool. She made an indignant noise and leaned over to slap her hand across the water and catch his face, too. But she was smiling. And thinking. He made it all sound so logical, so analytical, so... not her brother. But he was, wasn't he? 'A miracle' practically everyone had said, including the paramedics, their family doctor, most of the hospital staff involved if not all of them. Half the town, probably, though she hadn't done a survey. Asia sighed, braced herself for retaliation, and quickly said something she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to: "Do you think he lied about loving us?"
"No, not at all," Dax said with a small, squinty smile up at her. He wiped his face off again, then turned and hooked his arms over the edge of the pool. "I don't think he would've done what he did if he didn't love us. He did it for the family. So we wouldn't have to worry about money or having nice things. But... let's just say Dad's a shitty chess player. He can only see one move ahead, not three."
Asia nodded slowly, then pushed her bottom over the edge of the pool and slipped into the water. Her tank top billowed a little, but she was still decent. She kept her head from going under and stretched her arms across the deck behind her. It was too hot, so she hooked them over the edge of the pool, like her brother. "Can you see more than one move ahead?" It seemed a reasonable question to ask. Philosophies weren't something the 'previous Dax' was necessarily noted for. That would probably be football. This Dax was different. He looked like her brother, but some of the things that came out of his mouth... And this whole... being naked around the trailer thing. It was weird. At least he still talked to her, even if the conversations over the last year had been... revelations.
"Sometimes. I try to do my best. But I don't have what most people would consider lofty goals, so it doesn't always matter," Dax said with a bright, cheeky grin. He had plans, certainly. A career goal. And now that he was old enough to do it, as of the day before, he was going to get started on making a name and real money for himself. With Sam's help, he'd be set for a while.
"You might not have lofty goals, but you have goals, right?" She pushed away from the edge and did a slow version of the dog paddle, treading water with gentle movements. She faced Dax so they could continue their conversation properly. "Do you know what you want to do with your life?" Asia couldn't help but be curious. She knew what her brother had wanted to do, but this 'brother' was a different person and wouldn't want the same things. Football was history.
"I want to have nice things, surround myself with fun, attractive people, eat delicious foods and sleep on satin sheets. I'm going to be a porn star," Dax said. He had it all planned out. He'd start small online, making sure to keep track of his revenues and expenses and giving Sam a cut of the profits. He'd pay his taxes like a good boy. And eventually he'd get noticed by a real porn director or two and make some real dirty films instead of whatever little videos he and Sam came up with. Unless, of course, Sam was in it for the long haul and didn't get distracted by side projects or non-sexual film making. In which case he'd just stick with his friend.
Asia had large eyes on her rather delicate face, but somehow, they managed to get larger with this casual announcement. She stared, because of what he said and because she could picture it, in as much as someone who hadn't had sex could do. Her brain stripped gears for a few beats then made it to first. "You're going to... be a porn star...?" Her voice sounded more steady than she thought it would, which was a nice surprise. "You're... You're... going to... be filmed... having sex with people?"
"Yeah. And get paid for it," Dax said and laughed a little at her stammering reaction. It was cute, and he was sure he was supposed to, as a big brother, feel relieved that she seemed so unsure of any sexual discussions. But really it was just adorable to him. What she did with her own time and body was her decision, after all. "I've done a lot of thinking about it. I enjoy sex, and I look good while doing it. Why not get paid to do it? Legally of course."
He wanted to be a porn star. And she'd been wondering what to get him for his birthday and should she make him a card, because it was something he might cherish, but she was just his little sister and hadn't even been kissed yet and why would something like a stupid card or present matter if he was going to -- "How do you know you look good while..." She couldn't finish the sentence and could feel the blush starting across her cheeks.
"Mirrors," Dax said. He held his breath and slid down into the water, then swam around for a little bit before coming back up for air again. The water was really refreshing and it was nice to have company while he swam. He glanced back at the house and was pretty sure they'd be able to hear the oven timer beep through the open windows when the cupcakes were done baking. Although, now that he thought about it, they'd forgot to bring towels out with them.
Asia watched her brother go under the water and felt a tightness in her chest. That moment of panic when she'd found his body in the pool, dragged him clear, tried to revive him, called 9-1-1 -- She still had nightmares about it. He surfaced and looked at the trailer - at home - no doubt thinking about his cupcakes. Dax wanted to be a porn star. He'd watched himself having sex in mirrors -- "Did the people you were having sex with know about the mirrors?" The question sounded stupid as it left her mouth, but it was out now. What was she doing? His sex life was none of her business.
"Kind of hard to miss the mirrors in a public restroom," he said with a smirk as he swam over to the edge again and hooked his arms over the side once more. He shoved his dark hair back out of his face, smoothing it all over to one side.
"You..." She sputtered. It wasn't her fault. Air left her as if she'd been punched and she sputtered as a result. She worked her lips a few times and possibly resembled a fish, gasping for air. "You had... sex in a public restroom?" Her incredulity was clearly evident. Something in her head fused and her eyes glazed over as she tried to imagine what something like that would be like. Her blush deepened. Oh, God...
"Yeah," he said and laughed at her spluttering. Their mom would probably be a little upset if she knew he was sharing this information with Asia, but he really didn't see the harm in it. Besides, she was asking and he wasn't going to lie to her about it. That wouldn't serve any purpose.
The sun beat down on the two in the pool and Asia did her best to wrap her head around the concept that her brother was an exhibitionist and wanted to flaunt himself for money in the most intimate of ways. This was nothing like the romance novels she read on the sly. "Oh," she said and decided to float on her back for a while with her eyes closed, letting the heat of the sun directly hit her face. Maybe it would burn the picture of Dax, having sex with someone in a public restroom, out of her head. Her hair fanned out around her and her face, arms, knees, toes and breasts were all that was clearly visible above the water. "Oh," she said again, eyes still closed.
Dax relaxed with his eyes closed for a little while and thought about his party. He was optimistic that it was going to be exciting. Even if Sam was the only one that showed up, they'd have a great time and Sam would come away with some cool stuff for his YouTube channel. And likely some stuff that would get him banned from YouTube if he dared to share it.
"You're coming to my party, right?" he asked, not sure if she could actually hear him since she was mostly submerged.
He said something and the water made it echo, distorted it. Asia sighed and lifted her head, opening her eyes as she did so. Moving her head meant her floating position had ended. Her hips and legs went down into the water. She blinked at him and wondered, not for the first time, when everything had gone sideways. Was it her father being arrested? Was there something before that, which hadn't been noticed? Some clue that she - or someone - should have recognized to see this coming? The Everharts, living in a trailer in Darkwater, father in prison, mother a stripper, and the son that wanted to be a porn star. The son who wasn't the same person he'd been before he'd died.
Because he had died. Asia knew that. She'd only been fourteen-going-on-fifteen, but some things couldn't be denied or hidden and she hadn't needed the paramedics to confirm her fears. Who are you? she asked in her head. But the question she vocalized was, "What? I had... water in my ears..."
"Just wanted to know if you're coming to my party. Number eighteen, or one, depending on how you look at it," Dax said. His eyes were still closed and his head was tilted back against the edge of the pool. He drummed his long fingers on the pool wall and took in the scent of chlorine and summer air.
"Of course," she said, though she hadn't really decided, one way or the other, until she answered. "You're my brother. It's your birthday. Why wouldn't I be there?" His friends would be there, the new ones, anyway, she was sure. Including Sam Boesch, who was a weird guy and a walking canvas. Dax wouldn't have given someone like him the time of day a year ago, but that was then and this was now. If he was there, she'd deal.
"Good. Just stay away from our neighbor, Mike. He'll be on the prowl for teen girls and drunk. I'll kick him out if he acts like an ass to you." Dax had already laid down the house rules with the guy ahead of time, but once people started drinking they tended to forget things like where they were and who they were with in relation to their actions and possible ramifications.
He was looking out for her. Dax had always done that, but there were times during the year of 'New Dax' that she wasn't sure if she really mattered as much to him anymore. She still wasn't sure, but he hadn't done her any harm and here he was, warning her about Mike. Asia smiled, glad for some echoes of the familiar boy she knew. "Mike is a turd," she said. "If he tries anything with me, I'll clobber him." She doubted she'd be able to do anything of the kind on a normal day, but if he was drunk, Mike might be manageable.
"He's a turd who's bringing free beer to the party," Dax pointed out casually. He didn't really like the guy but so long as he was serving a purpose and respectful enough, Dax would gladly put up with him. "If anyone doesn't treat you or the house respectfully, just let me know and I'll take care of them."
Asia smiled a little and swam to his side, hands grasping the edge of the pool. "You've always looked out for me, Dax," she said quietly, eyes on his face. "Do you remember? I was in Grade Seven and these boys led by Wayne McDonald started picking on me after school? You scared the shit out of them and they didn't bother me again."
Dax peeked at her with one eye barely open, his head tilted in her direction. He probably should've felt badly that he didn't remember anything of his old life. That in the moment he found Dax Everhart's body, Dax was long gone. That he wasn't the brother she grew up knowing and loving. That he didn't care about her out of some twistedly selfish drive to selflessly love another human being. He wondered if she would always have this difficulty with him existing in his present state. "I don't remember."
She sighed and looked down at the water. Of course he didn't remember, but every now and then, she thought of something they'd shared, some experience that was important to both of them. Asia didn't know how long she'd keep trying, to see if she could jog his memory. It had been a year and though she didn't swamp him with attempts at shaking the amnesia - not after the initial grilling, anyway - she hadn't completely given up hope. "No. I guess you don't." She looked back at him and met the one eye that was barely paying attention to her at all. "I guess you never will... will you?"
"No," Dax replied truthfully. He knew for a fact he'd never remember playing football or beating up a brick wall after his dad got tossed in prison. He'd never know how he really got some of his little scars or why he'd had the friends he'd had. He wouldn't ever remember what his mom was like when she'd been a happy housewife raising her two kids and making sure dinner was on the table when her respectable husband got home from work. It didn't bother him, though. He was always somewhat curious about the past. The life his body had lived before was more interesting to him than what or where he'd been before he arrived on the scene. He was Dax now. End of story. "I know the docs said it might come back one day, that something might trigger it, but they're wrong. It's pointless for you to hope it'll all come flooding back."
Well, she'd asked, hadn't she? And his answer wasn't really a surprise, but to actually be told directly, without hesitation and very succinctly, that her efforts were pointless... and that he didn't seem to care about it, one way or the other? Between that and her headache and her cramps, hanging out in the pool with her brother wasn't so much fun anymore. She shouldn't have asked. She shouldn't have. They were getting along well enough, except for the shock of his career goals, and now? Asia knew she was going to cry and that was the main motivating factor for getting out of the pool. "Your cupcakes," she said, and tried to pull herself onto the deck.
"You want to help me decorate them once they've cooled off?" he asked, oblivious to her emotional distress. And as if on cue, the oven timer began beeping from the inside the house. Dax easily lifted himself out of the pool, ignoring the ladder, and turned to Asia with his hand held out to her. "Need help?"
He was so graceful and he didn't seem to have any emotional baggage and everything was easy for him, wasn't it? She swallowed, hesitated, then accepted his hand. "Yeah," she managed to choke out. "Thanks." She was talking about the assistance out of the pool, not the cupcakes. She didn't know if she'd be able to keep herself together to decorate them or not, but then, if she didn't help him, they would have one less new memory together that someday - maybe - might mean something to him.
Dax lifted her up too easily out of the pool, like she was a toddler who only weighed twenty or thirty pounds. Then he looked around the deck and the patio furniture for something they could use to dry off with, at least enough to get in the house without dripping all over everything or slipping on the linoleum in the kitchen. "Towels would've been smart," he commented with a wry twist of his lips.
One second she was still in the water and the next, she was airborne. Her feet weren't in contact with anything for a breath and then they were on the deck. She gasped and grabbed at him, for something to hold on to, to get her balance. Him. Dax. Or... whoever he was. And his completely naked body. "Yeah," she said, against his chest. "Towels would've been... a good idea..." She tried to catch her breath and not think about how unnaturally strong he seemed to be.
Dax patted her on the head affectionately. She was adorable when she wasn't being bossy, not that he could fault her for asserting herself. "Here's the plan. I'll try off as best I can with my shorts, then go pull the cupcakes out of the oven and grab a towel for you." The oven had stopped beeping, but it would kick back into your-food-is-ready mode in a minute or two. He extracted himself from Asia's grasp, grabbed his shorts from the deck and dried his feet and legs off as best he could before heading into the house.
He patted her on the head and took charge. Other than the head -pat-thing, that was Dax. Only this wasn't Dax, was it? "Okay," she said quietly, not trusting her voice and looked around the yard to see if anyone was paying attention. She didn't look at the naked body near her. No one seemed to be around. Good. Asia stood and shivered a little, even though she wasn't cold, as she waited for the towel. Why was everything so strange now? And why did it have to be happening to her?
Dax quickly freed the cupcakes from the oven and put the second tray in, then reset the timer. Then he got two beach towels from the linen closet and wrapped one around his waist. "I got black, red and white icing. The white's the regular kind, but the red and black are in tubes so we can make designs with them," he said as he emerged from the trailer again and handed the second towel to Asia.
At least he was wearing a towel now. That wasn't nearly as distracting as being naked. Asia glanced at him as she accepted the towel, her face mostly composed in something that didn't look like it was about to burst into tears. You're such a stupid ninny, she thought. Towel over her arm, she grabbed up most of the material in her tank top, exposing everything but her breasts, and wrung it out. There was no point dripping everywhere and no point changing. The wet top would keep her cool. She dried her hair with the towel then wrapped it around her waist, too. He genuinely seemed to want to involve her with the cupcakes. She didn't know why, but she'd take it. "Sure. That sounds cool."
"Just no hearts or flowers or anything," he teased her, since he was pretty sure she wouldn't do that to his cupcakes. He already had a few designs in mind, but he wasn't he most talented artistically speaking and two heads were often better than one.
Asia didn't think she was very good when it came to art, but she worked hard at all her courses at school and that included drawing. Besides, this was cupcakes, not the Mona Lisa they were going to work on here. She made a face and lifted a hand to smack his arm. "I don't do hearts and flowers," she said with mock indignation. Well, not much...
"Not a romantic, huh?" Dax said with a smirk and as he rubbed his arm. Somehow he doubted that very much. He headed back into the house and to the fridge to grab a cold drink without waiting for her response.
She sighed. She was a romantic. A hopeless one, it seemed. Nothing ever happened to her and certainly nothing like anything in the books she read - and hid - ever happened to her. Asia climbed into the trailer - home, this is home - and closed the door. The heat from the oven closed in on her. "Do we need to tip the first batch onto a cooling rack?" she asked, moving to the fridge to get a drink for herself.
"I honestly have no idea. I'm just following the box instructions, which are actually for a regular cake. They don't look burnt though. Smell pretty good." Dax took a long swig of his cold drink and peered down at his vanilla cupcakes. They were a nice golden color. "Do you have cupcake baking experience?"
Asia moved to stand beside Dax and gave the cupcakes a critical look. She wanted to move on, get passed this horrible feeling. She also wanted to make her period go away forever and meet a unicorn, but those were fantasies. "They look fine and they smell great." She sighed a little, trying not to get all sad again. "Yeah, we've made cupcakes before, Dax..."
"Then you're one step ahead of me since you remember how it's done." Dax smiled down at her and took another swig of his drink. He reached over and poked one of the cupcakes gently. Still warm enough that it was too soon to put the icing on. He didn't want it to melt off and look gross. Then a song came on the stereo that he really liked, so he crossed to the other side of the sink and turned the volume back up to the level it had been before they'd gone swimming.
He knew she had a headache, but he still cranked the music. Of course. He didn't have a headache. She reminded herself that he'd helped her out of the pool and got her a towel as she said, "We should turn them out of the pan in a minute onto a rack and let them cool before we do anything with icing."
"Aye aye, Captain Cupcake," Dax said and saluted her. His hair dripped down his nose, so he pulled his towel off and rubbed it over his hair again, more thoroughly this time. He didn't want to drip chlorinated pool water onto the cupcakes, after all. That would be pretty gross.
She barely had time to make a face about the salute, in a sisterly fashion, before he was naked again. She blushed and pretended to be concerned about the cupcakes, turning to face the counter and cover them with her upper body, arms up. "Hey, shaggy dog, do that someplace else and maybe... put some clothes on?"
"Oh, sure," Dax said with a warm smile. He'd already forgot his promise to his mom, which didn't involve the pool at all but did involve the kitchen. He headed back into his room and put on a pair of black cargo shorts that had at one time been full length pants. Thrift stores could be great places to find cheap clothes that didn't leave you not wanting to modify them just because of the price. When he entered the kitchen again he grabbed his drink from the counter and finished it off. "Should we be racking the cupcakes yet?"
He left the kitchen and she relaxed a little. Dammit, he was her brother. Why did he have to be so cute? I'm going to die an old maid... While he was out, Asia pulled out two racks and set them up on the counter. At his question, she nodded. "Yeah, I think they're ready. You wanna do it or should I?"
"You can get this batch. I wasn't really sure how easily they'd pop out of there, even in their little paper cups. I'll get the next batch," he said. The only cupcake cups he'd been able to find were pastel pink and blue, for baby showers presumably, and a set of red, white, and blue ones. He'd gone with the patriotic colors since they seemed like a lesser of three evils.
Especially since the Fourth of July was just a few days away, the patriotic colors were a good choice. Besides, baby colors didn't suit Dax. At least, Asia didn't think so. She tested the edge of the pan with her fingers. Working one cupcake at a time, she pulled at the edges them lifted each one from the pan in their little cups, setting them on the rack.
"I'm getting a new tattoo for myself for my birthday," he said as he leaned against the counter and watched her. The tattoo itself was simple, but he still wasn't sure about placement. He'd tested out a few locations with washable marker, but they all seemed equally good to him. "My name in a simple font. Something to mark the occasion."
That wasn't really a surprise. He liked tattoos. Her 'previous brother' hadn't been interested in them. As she placed the last two cupcakes on the rack, she asked, "Your first name or your whole name?" She knew tattoos hurt and that some people got a buzz out of the pain. She wondered if Sam did. She wondered if Dax did...
"The whole thing." He figured he might as well go all the way. So long as he didn't get his social security number tattooed on himself anywhere, he'd be okay. "I'm thinking about getting it on one of my arms. But if I do that, I'll have to get one on my other arm eventually to balance it out."
Bending over to look through the glass and check the next pan in the oven, she said, "Then get it tattooed someplace else and you don't have to think about it right now." She frowned slightly. "Did you set the timer for the second batch?" She tried to imagine getting a tattoo and what she'd choose to have inked on her skin if she did.
"Yeah, I set the timer," he said and checked it. Still ten minutes left to go. Not long enough to bother taking another dip in the pool or to take a shower to rinse off the sunblock and chlorine. He'd already considered finding another place to put his tattoo, but he didn't want any on his back. He didn't want any more on his torso at all, really.
He addressed the question about the cupcakes, but didn't comment on the tattoo. "Good," she said, straightening. "I guess getting a tattoo on your leg would mean you'd feel compelled to put one on the other leg, right? To make it balanced, like with your arms?"
"Exactly. And I'm not getting a tramp stamp, either," Dax said with a haughty air. He thought they looked generally bad on women, but always ridiculous on men. And there was just something undeniably attractive about the unmarred expanse of someone's back.
Asia looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "What the heck is a 'tramp stamp'?" She wasn't fluent in 'tattoo jargon', though with the change in Dax and his interest in them, she'd read up on it all. Google was her shiny, virtual friend.
"A tattoo at the lower back, just above the buttocks. Usually had by slutty women," Dax said as if he were reciting a definition from a dictionary. He dropped the professor-like demeanor quickly, though and smiled down at his sister. "Not really a connotation I want to think about every time I check out my ass in the mirror or photographs."
"Oh," she said. "No, don't get one of those." She tried not to think about the term 'tramp' being associated with Dax at all, even though he wanted to be a porn star and that wasn't exactly something the guidance counselor would recommend as a career. "I wouldn't want one of those. I'd want something --" Pretty... "-- nice, and not in that... location..."
"Oh yeah? If you decide on something before you're eighteen, Sam's dad can hook you up. He does great work," Dax said and pointed to the scrolling words 'April May June' below his neck. He somehow doubted that Asia had missed Sam's tattoos as well, which were more fine examples of what Mr. Boesch could do with his little gun.
She dutifully looked at the tattoo below his neck. It was beautiful, but not something she would have chosen. "I was thinking," she said idly. "About maybe getting one when I turn sixteen. But I dunno. I know there's legal issues and I don't know what I'd get, anyway..." She was sort of thinking about it, but was sorry Dax mentioned Sam. She had trouble not thinking about the boy as it was. You're an idiot...
"It's all about parental permission if you're under eighteen. And Mom? Is a grade-A pushover now. Here's the trick to getting what you want out of her if she tries being stubborn: emotional blackmail." Dax paused as the oven timer beeped its shrill beep. He turned the timer off, grabbed the pot holders and pulled the second tray of cupcakes out of the oven. "Either bring up my death or mention something about getting Dad's help. Instant green light."
Asia wasn't sure how to react to Dax's intimate knowledge of the art of Wrapping Your Parents Around Your Finger. Sure, sometimes she did it herself, but it was for going shopping or hanging out with friends, not for something like a tattoo. For her, that was Something Big. "I'll remember that," she said as the second pan was pulled out. "I don't know what I'd have done, though, or where I'd put it..."
"Just remember it's for life. And it'll be on your corpse after you're gone too, if that sort of thing matters to you," Dax said as he leaned over the fresh cupcakes and breathed in the yummy scent. Two dozen was going to have to be good enough for his guests. If he had a really large turnout, he'd get people to pool together for a few pizzas to make up the difference.
"Yeah, I know. That's one reason I haven't really done anything about it. That and the pain..." And the whole... being like her 'new' brother. She wasn't sure if it would be a good thing or not, on so many levels. The aroma of the cupcakes was distractingly good. "Now I'm hungry, dammit..."
"No touching my cupcakes. Not until the party anyway," Dax said with a wag of his finger. Looking at the clock on the oven he guessed it had been long enough for the cupcakes to cool off enough for him to get them out of the pan. Once they were also cooling on a rack, he put all of his dirty dishes in one side of the sink. "We need a maid."
The wagging of the finger was amusing and had her smiling, but the mention of needing a maid was just-- Asia laughed. "Oh, yeah, like that's going to happen," she said between giggles. "We have trouble affording groceries some weeks, so good luck with that. And no, I'm not putting on a maid outfit and vacuuming." She scanned the cupcakes and decided she'd treat herself to something later. "So, do we tackle the dishes now?" If they worked together, it wouldn't take as long.
"We?" Dax took that as an offer of physical labor on her part. He liked that very much, as it would make things easier on him. Sure, there were only a few bowls, the pans and some utensils to wash, but Dax didn't enjoy scrubbing anything clean except himself. Even then he wouldn't have minded a helping hand. "How about you wash and I dry? By the time we're done it'll be icing time."
"Yeah, 'we'. Duh. That's what I was talking about." She reached for the yellow, rubber gloves and pulled them on with a snap. Holding her hands up, she grinned and said, "Fashion statement!" then fixed the sink so it would fill with water and started the tap. "Give me a sec to get some soapy water going..." Her head started bobbing a little to the music, even though it wasn't really her thing. Did she know the artist? Not that it really mattered.
"Take your time, top model," he said with an amused shake of his head. He fished a clean towel out of one of the drawers near the sink and grabbed the drying rack from the top of the fridge. Then, with his part temporarily done, he leaned back against the counter and silently began plotting ways to ensure he got what he wanted for his birthday.