Chapter One: Here Comes Trouble

Airports are noisy places. The Sacramento International Airport was no exception; though an argument could be made that it was the noisiest airport in the continental United States. In this airport, there was no god. Chaos and atrocity reigned supreme, going unchecked by all that had the power and being furthered in its quest by the TSA agents. At least, that's how it felt to Tommy.

There was a slight chance that Tommy was merely being dramatic, but as they wrenched their suitcase from the baggage claim where it had been tightly wedged between two golf bags, they figured not. They fought their way back through the crowd, struggling to breathe a little with the press of people around them. They spotted a gap in the mass; ignoring their untied shoelaces they made a break for it. Tommy may have been on the shorter side, but they were surprisingly fast when unimpeded. The exit was in their view, streaks of daylight streaming through, the sound of rushing cars and elated greetings to loved ones could be heard from just beyond. Tommy was five feet from sweet escape.

The doors began to slide closed, causing a spike in Tommy's heart rate. They picked up their pace, nearly knocking over a plastic plant in their haste. With a triumphant grin and a loud cry of "YES," they made it through the doors and out to pick up/drop off area. Tommy turned their head back to give the airport a smug smile and hitched their backpack higher on their shoulders.

"Tommy!" a masculine voice called, catching Tommy's attention. Anxiety settled in the pit of their stomach, and they took a deep, steadying breath before glancing over to where their father was waiting. He stood with the driver's side door open, waving both hands above his head and smiling widely. Tommy waved back weakly.

He's still got that shitty truck, they noted dully. Their steps were a lot more unhurried as they made their way to their father's car; but they had forgotten about their untied shoe. Just as they reached the side of the car, their foot got caught on the loose string and they pitched forward with a small shriek, feeling a small pop as their prosthetic detached.

"Tommy!" their father called again, rushing to their side. He reached out to help Tommy stand.

"I'm fine, dad, get off!" they said, waving him off. A flash of hurt on his face, but Tommy couldn't bring themself to care.

"Your leg-" he started, extending it to them delicately. "Do you- you know, need help?"

"No." Tommy snatched it from him, pulling up the leg of their sweatpants and sighing in relief to find the sleeve hadn't moved.

"Sir, you can't park here!" an airport employee called. Tommy's dad turned on them harshly.

"My daughter needs to put her leg back on! Are you blind?!" he practically growled, and the employee backed away. Tommy doubted the worker got paid enough to deal with him. They looked up and saw a few people staring, and blushed furiously. They attached their prosthetic and stood gingerly, still a little unused to the sensation of it. They wobbled, just a bit, and their father reached out to help again. Tommy pushed his hands away, blushing furiously.

They turned to reach down and grab their suitcase, only to find their father holding it. They grabbed it from him, opening the back door of the truck and tossing it and their backpack in roughly. Tommy climbed into the passenger seat, closing the door roughly. Their father was already behind the wheel, ready to go.

"So how was your flight?" he asked, pulling out into the traffic.

"Fine."

"Are you tired?"

"Yeah."

"Do you wanna get something to eat? There's this new burger joint downtown-"

"I'm not hungry." Tommy's father chewed his lip.

"Okay," he said slowly. "You know, your mom left her drum kit here when you moved. I put it in the basement, the piano too, but you can play them if you want to. I'll even get the drums painted green, how about that? Green is still your favorite color, right?"

"Yeah it is. Thanks, I'll make my way down there once my stuff is unpacked."

"It all got here two days ago, I unpacked some of it for you. I didn't know where you wanted your posters and pictures though, so I left them for you."

Tommy gritted their teeth, trying to bite down the anger that he'd gone through their things. "Thanks, dad."

"Willadean is going to be very excited to see you. Her moms, too."

"Yeah, I told her I was coming."

"Jason will be over the moon."

"Jason?" Tommy asked, sounding more shocked than they intended to. Their hand reached up to their neck, clutching onto the small metal dragon hanging from a chain there. "Jason Scott?"

"What other Jason? He missed you a lot, you know. I catch him looking up at your window sometimes. He keeps hoping you're gonna come home." Another surge of anger rose in Tommy, so strong they practically saw red.

"Yeah, I'm sure he did," Tommy spat out sarcastically. They saw their dad raise his eyebrows in the corner of their vision.

"Sweetheart-"

"I'm tired, dad. Jet lag and all that. I'm gonna take a nap." Tommy turned on their side, pulling their legs into the seat to curl up in a ball. They heard their dad sigh, and he spent the rest of the drive in silence. Tommy spent it staring out the window, chewing on their necklace chain, hoping against all odds the heartbreak would heal before they saw Jason at school on Monday.

There was something rather peaceful about February afternoons in Angel Grove, especially on fridays. Peaceful, but exciting, a sense of adventure sitting just below the surface of the chilly weather and the quiet dim of the neighborhood.

Maybe it's just because the school year is half over, Tommy mused lightly as they lay on Willie's porch swing, arms tucked behind their head, one foot on the porch to make the swing sway ever so gently. Tommy adjusted their sunglasses, blowing a bubble with their gum and turning to look in the driveway again. Still not back. They sighed.

Immediately after getting back to their childhood home, Tommy had run upstairs and dropped their bags on their bed. They'd sprinted down the stairs, back out the door and across the street, sending their father a hurried farewell over their shoulder. He hadn't time to protest before Tommy was standing at the Millers' door, smiling brightly when Willie's moms had opened the door. Mrs. and Mrs. Miller had pulled them into a massive hug, placing kisses atop their head and leading them into the kitchen for snickerdoodle cookies and chocolate milk. The three of them made small talk until it came time for school to be let out, and then Tommy had moved to the porch to wait for their best friend.

The crunch of tires pulling into the gravel driveway alerted Tommy to the return of the darling Willadean, and Tommy almost jumped up to greet her before deciding to wait on the swing for the drama of it. Willie got out of her car, pulling out her backpack and binder and walking up the pathway. Her head was down, focused on finding her keys in her pocket. She didn't see Tommy waiting for her. She stopped at the door, still searching for her keys, not noticing Tommy five feet to her left.

"The door is unlocked," Tommy smirked. Willie screamed and whirled around, hand on her heart as she took in the sight before her. Tommy blew a bubble with their gum calmly.

"You-" Willie spoke, pausing to take a breath. She gave Tommy a pointed glare. "You bastard."

Tommy broke out into raucous laughter, falling off the swing. Willie's own joyful laughter rang out, and she stepped over to help her friend off the floor.

"You said you wouldn't be here until tomorrow!" Willie accused.

"I lied," Tommy said, speaking around their dying giggles. Willie pulled them into a hug, Tommy returning it happily.

"I missed you so much."

"Missed you too, Will."

"What's with the Morrissey record?" Tommy asked, pulling it off the shelf and setting it on the table, then going back to the shelf.

"Oh, I think that's mama's."

"I've never heard her listen to him."

"Neither have I, but mom got it for her for their anniversary, so I guess she does."

"Weird," Tommy muttered, pulling out a Bowie record and setting it into the player immediately.

"So do you just have the leg, or did you get crutches too?" Willie flopped onto her bed, patting the spot beside her for her dog to jump up.

"I have a wheelchair, for like, midnight trips to the bathroom and stuff. It got sent ahead, my dad put it in my room for me." Tommy put the needle down, and Let's Dance played in the room. "They had me on crutches for a while, but I think they got tired of me complaining about them digging into my armpits."

"You did it just to get a chair, didn't you?"

"Why Willie, I'm offended at the accusation," Tommy said airily, climbing over Willie's legs to get to the cushioned window seat beside her bed. Willie scoffed. She opened her mouth to say something else, when Tommy got distracted by a red truck pulling into their neighbors driveway. The passenger and back doors opened, four teenagers piling out onto the cement. Tommy examined them, recognizing Kimberly Hart, a girl that had been on the cheerleading team when Tommy had moved. She was a little snotty, as far as Tommy recalled. Billy Cranston, who they remembered kids used to call Billy Crams-tons, also climbed out. He'd been in every advanced class Tommy ever had, and was probably the sweetest person they had ever met. Zack Taylor came out behind him. Tommy didn't remember much about him, just that he was funny. The second girl Tommy didn't recognize, but she must have been dating Kimberly, because she wrapped an arm around her waist and they kissed. Tommy couldn't help but be a little relieved to see high school kids out of the closet.

Finally, a blond boy climbed out of the driver's side. He turned to his friends, all laughing and smiling together, and Tommy felt their heart break all over again. They grabbed their necklace lightly, fidgeting with it as they watched the sunlight dance in his hair.

"Shit," they whispered, but Willie heard them. She sat up to look out the window. "Is that him?"

"Yeah," Willie nodded. "That's him."

"He got hot."

"Tommy!"

"What? I hate him, I'm not dense!"

"Well, that I don't believe."

"What, that I'm not dense?"

"No, that you hate him." Willie lay down on her bed again. Tommy sighed, gnawing on their bottom lip and messing with the ring on it. "You couldn't hate him if you tried."

"I wish I could," Tommy grumbled miserably. They noticed what they were doing with their lip, and stopped immediately. They watched as Jason and his friends went into his house, then turned back to Willie. "Since when does he hang around with Kimberly Hart and Billy Cranston?"

"Since just after his accident. I think they met in detention. He asks me to eat lunch with them every day."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, but it's weird." Willie scratched the top of her dog's head lightly, looking up at Tommy with worried eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Me?" Tommy asked, waving their hand dismissively. "I'll be fine."

"You can always come over here if you need to, you know that right?"

"Just like old times?" Tommy smiled.

"Just like old times." At Willie's affirmation, Tommy turned and looked out the window back to Jason's house.

Not just like old times, they thought sadly, their smile fading slightly. They plastered it back on, turning and facing Willie again, pushing all thoughts of Jason away.

"Some things never change, huh?" they teased. Willie made finger guns at them.

"I got you, pal. Always have, always will."

"Of course you're always Will, you'd have to change your name otherwise." Willadean groaned, and Tommy cackled.

"Kids! Dinner! It's dumplings!" Willie's mama called from downstairs.

"From the place by the nail salon?!" Tommy asked excitedly. Willie nodded. "Fuck yeah!" Tommy scrambled to get out of the window seat, tripping over Willie's legs and falling off the bed in the process. Willie laughed loudly, and Tommy flipped her off, laughing into the carpet.

"Come on, trouble, let's get some mcfrickin dumplings!" Willie helped Tommy stand, the both of them pleased to find Tommy's legs still firmly in place. They walked down the stairs with the dog trailing behind them, neither of them sparing Jason Scott another thought.