Teenagers, man... (Jeremy, Lydia, Anna, Aly)
Jeremy had spent most of his life as a hunter, so it might have seemed strange that he was so incredibly fond of children. In fact, he was great with kids, and his nieces and nephews were among his favourite people on the planet. He did, however, find Lydia and Anna's teenage squabbles tiring at times. He had to mutter under his breath that they would grow up eventually.
Jeremy had stopped by the Kemps for a visit and he had found his brother Peter was out helping some sort of creature with some weird supernatural business Jeremy didn't necessarily agree with. Jeremy had spent the afternoon with his sister-in-law Aly instead. He adored Aly. They understood each other in an odd way.
Things had gotten more chaotic when the kids arrived home from school and Aly had gone into mother-mode, setting out snacks and ordering the kids to do their homework. Jeremy had sat in awe at the woman who somehow managed to handle eight kids without looking tired or screaming at them.
After about an hour, Jeremy heard a shrill yell from the third floor. "I'll go!" he called to Aly and then he raced up the stairs to find sixteen-year-old Lydia in the hallway looking menacing.
"Uncle Jeremy!"
"Are you alright?" Jeremy asked, worried. "What happened?"
"Anna ruined my bathroom I was studying on the balcony and I didn't know she snuck in there!" Lydia looked like she might just murder someone. "She got her goth shit all over it!"
"Ew," Jeremy opened his mouth in horror.
Lydia arched an unamused brow at him. "She dyed her hair black. And it's everywhere."
Jeremy looked relieved as he stepped into Lydia's room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Anna? Can I come in?"
A moment later the door opened and Jeremy was staring at his fourteen-year-old niece who had indeed dyed her white-blonde hair raven-black, the dye still coating her head. She had dyed her forehead, her hands, her neck, and much of Lydia's bathroom black too. "What?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking like she dared Jeremy to say anything.
"I...heh. Did you parents know you were going to do this, Anna?"
"Too late now," Anna said with a air of superiority. "I can wash it out in two minutes, but it won't matter if you make me wash it out now."
"And is the dye permanent?" Jeremy asked.
"Hell yes," Anna hissed. "I'm making a statement."
Jeremy leaned against the doorframe. "And what statement would that be?"
"That she's gross and lame?" Lydia growled from behind him.
"Fuck off, Tithead!" Anna yelled back at her older sister. "You dye your hair! You want to be blonde so no one has to think you might be smart. Oh no, you have blonde hair and big boobs, who needs brains?"
"Girls-" Jeremy started, but they were on a roll.
"You're just jealous because you're flat as a tack. And at least I don't look like I left my brains in a cemetery!" Lydia yelled back, despite the fact that it didn't make much sense. "Are you going to change your name now? Raven McDarkheart? Draculass BleedingSoul, Loser McFugly? GOD I hope you don't think you're showing up at college with me looking like that!"
"As if I would want to be anywhere near you!" Anna shot back. Then she ran her fingers through her dye-soaked hair and she jumped towards Lydia, smearing the dye across her clothes.
"Augh, this is Max Azria!" Lydia wailed, staring in horror at the black handprints on her clothes. "Why would you do that?!"
"The fact that you just whined about a label should tell you that," Anna grumbled at her.
Jeremy just stared between them and then he felt relieved when Aly showed up a second later and took control of the situation. "What on Earth is going on here!? Anna, what did you do to your head?"
"I dyed my hair," Anna explained as if Aly was an idiot for asking. "I need to wash this out now, thanks." And she closed the door behind her, locking it.
"She ruined my clothes!" Lydia said, pointing to them. "And she dyed my bathroom goth! Why does she have to be such a bitch!"
"Lydia, that's enough," Aly said sternly. "Go change now and we'll do our best to salvage the clothes. Don't call your sister names. And, Anna!" Aly called through the door. "You're grounded and you're going to clean every last inch of that bathroom with your new free time!"
"You're not my mother!" Anna yelled back, just before the shower started and anything Aly said back would be drowned out.
Aly sighed heavily and Jeremy stared at her, his eyes huge. "Welcome to parenting teenagers," she said with a weary smile.
"They were so terrible to each other!"
"It won't last. I was pretty horrible to my brother Brian too, and he was terrible back, though he never grew out of it. They will."
"But she said you're not her real mother!"
"And she's right, in a way," Aly said calmly, leading Jeremy away from the bathroom. "I'm not her birth mother. She's testing limits, and from this she'll learn that this earned her a grounding. As long as she doesn't starve herself into a mental institution she's doing better than I did when I was a teenager."
Jeremy made a face and then he reached out for Aly's hand. She smiled warmly at him and he was glad she seemed okay. "I just had no idea what to say when they started screaming at each other."
"You should see Peter," Aly said with a chuckle. "He looks like he's between two lorries that are racing towards him from opposite directions. He has no idea how to handle his sweet little girls hurling vitriol at each other. He'll learn, and they'll move on. Teenagers always do."
"Sure," Jeremy agreed, since he had no idea. His upbringing had been so vastly different than this. He hadn't known his siblings when he was little, and he had taken care of his mother from an early age. He felt like acting like a little bitch was almost a privilege and he wished he could show his nieces that. Instead he would listen to Aly, and stick it through like the rest of them.
Jeremy had stopped by the Kemps for a visit and he had found his brother Peter was out helping some sort of creature with some weird supernatural business Jeremy didn't necessarily agree with. Jeremy had spent the afternoon with his sister-in-law Aly instead. He adored Aly. They understood each other in an odd way.
Things had gotten more chaotic when the kids arrived home from school and Aly had gone into mother-mode, setting out snacks and ordering the kids to do their homework. Jeremy had sat in awe at the woman who somehow managed to handle eight kids without looking tired or screaming at them.
After about an hour, Jeremy heard a shrill yell from the third floor. "I'll go!" he called to Aly and then he raced up the stairs to find sixteen-year-old Lydia in the hallway looking menacing.
"Uncle Jeremy!"
"Are you alright?" Jeremy asked, worried. "What happened?"
"Anna ruined my bathroom I was studying on the balcony and I didn't know she snuck in there!" Lydia looked like she might just murder someone. "She got her goth shit all over it!"
"Ew," Jeremy opened his mouth in horror.
Lydia arched an unamused brow at him. "She dyed her hair black. And it's everywhere."
Jeremy looked relieved as he stepped into Lydia's room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Anna? Can I come in?"
A moment later the door opened and Jeremy was staring at his fourteen-year-old niece who had indeed dyed her white-blonde hair raven-black, the dye still coating her head. She had dyed her forehead, her hands, her neck, and much of Lydia's bathroom black too. "What?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking like she dared Jeremy to say anything.
"I...heh. Did you parents know you were going to do this, Anna?"
"Too late now," Anna said with a air of superiority. "I can wash it out in two minutes, but it won't matter if you make me wash it out now."
"And is the dye permanent?" Jeremy asked.
"Hell yes," Anna hissed. "I'm making a statement."
Jeremy leaned against the doorframe. "And what statement would that be?"
"That she's gross and lame?" Lydia growled from behind him.
"Fuck off, Tithead!" Anna yelled back at her older sister. "You dye your hair! You want to be blonde so no one has to think you might be smart. Oh no, you have blonde hair and big boobs, who needs brains?"
"Girls-" Jeremy started, but they were on a roll.
"You're just jealous because you're flat as a tack. And at least I don't look like I left my brains in a cemetery!" Lydia yelled back, despite the fact that it didn't make much sense. "Are you going to change your name now? Raven McDarkheart? Draculass BleedingSoul, Loser McFugly? GOD I hope you don't think you're showing up at college with me looking like that!"
"As if I would want to be anywhere near you!" Anna shot back. Then she ran her fingers through her dye-soaked hair and she jumped towards Lydia, smearing the dye across her clothes.
"Augh, this is Max Azria!" Lydia wailed, staring in horror at the black handprints on her clothes. "Why would you do that?!"
"The fact that you just whined about a label should tell you that," Anna grumbled at her.
Jeremy just stared between them and then he felt relieved when Aly showed up a second later and took control of the situation. "What on Earth is going on here!? Anna, what did you do to your head?"
"I dyed my hair," Anna explained as if Aly was an idiot for asking. "I need to wash this out now, thanks." And she closed the door behind her, locking it.
"She ruined my clothes!" Lydia said, pointing to them. "And she dyed my bathroom goth! Why does she have to be such a bitch!"
"Lydia, that's enough," Aly said sternly. "Go change now and we'll do our best to salvage the clothes. Don't call your sister names. And, Anna!" Aly called through the door. "You're grounded and you're going to clean every last inch of that bathroom with your new free time!"
"You're not my mother!" Anna yelled back, just before the shower started and anything Aly said back would be drowned out.
Aly sighed heavily and Jeremy stared at her, his eyes huge. "Welcome to parenting teenagers," she said with a weary smile.
"They were so terrible to each other!"
"It won't last. I was pretty horrible to my brother Brian too, and he was terrible back, though he never grew out of it. They will."
"But she said you're not her real mother!"
"And she's right, in a way," Aly said calmly, leading Jeremy away from the bathroom. "I'm not her birth mother. She's testing limits, and from this she'll learn that this earned her a grounding. As long as she doesn't starve herself into a mental institution she's doing better than I did when I was a teenager."
Jeremy made a face and then he reached out for Aly's hand. She smiled warmly at him and he was glad she seemed okay. "I just had no idea what to say when they started screaming at each other."
"You should see Peter," Aly said with a chuckle. "He looks like he's between two lorries that are racing towards him from opposite directions. He has no idea how to handle his sweet little girls hurling vitriol at each other. He'll learn, and they'll move on. Teenagers always do."
"Sure," Jeremy agreed, since he had no idea. His upbringing had been so vastly different than this. He hadn't known his siblings when he was little, and he had taken care of his mother from an early age. He felt like acting like a little bitch was almost a privilege and he wished he could show his nieces that. Instead he would listen to Aly, and stick it through like the rest of them.