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"THEN, BAM! The trees looked like they moved away and Thunder had to do nothing!" you recounted, waving your hands around wildly as your younger brothers watched with starry eyes. Your other brothers, although much older, gave you the same child-like gazes as you all sat in the crowded restaurant. Since the restaurant was filled to the brim with drunken patrons that were still touchy about the Gyro-Sandman situation, you knew you wouldn't have even dared to utter a word about what you had been doing in the race.
But here you were, practically painting a picture with the way you had started describing what had happened to you earlier.
"How's that even possible?!" cried out Scott through a mouthful of 'chicken tenders'— these 'tenders' had become popular in the restaurant and Scott was the only one brave enough to try them— and fried potatoes, practically leaping from his seat as Seth tried pulling him back down. You chuckled and leaned your chin on the palm of your hand, pushing around some mashed potatoes on your plate.
"I'm not really sure myself..." George was next to pipe up about some part of the race, asking a bunch of questions that you were more than happy to answer (even though you didn't have much of an explanation). Every now and then, Bruce and Seth would ask questions of their own and after a good while of talking, they had all finished their food.
"Man, I'm stuffed," Micheal said with a gleeful sigh, "that was some great food." He patted his stomach for a moment before looking at Tom who had been staring at some waitress the whole time. As you moved your now empty plate away, Micheal gave you a soft nudge in the side, making you turn over to him with a raised brow. He shot you a look and glanced over at Tom while leaning his head toward his older brother.
While you were a bit slower to make the connection, Scott and Seth had gotten it immediately, practically announcing it to the world with the large gasp they took. George, Bruce, and Al were next to notice, and after that came you and your father. The stern look on his face was wiped clean as he looked at his son with a knowing smile. When Tom turned back around, the whole family was looking at him with smug grins.
"Excuse me, miss," called his father, making Tom flush in embarrassment before he tried pulling his father's arm down from across the table. The waitress smiled sweetly and made her way over, glancing at Tom every few moments while your father asked for the check. While the lady handed their father the piece of paper, you and your brothers whispered amongst each other, making Tom grimace.
"Have a nice day, folks!" Your father replied with a quick "you too" and you all gathered their things, Scott and Seth now onto the topic of BB guns instead of their brother's potential love life. As they got up to leave, you caught Tom's lingering gaze on the waitress as well as a frown on his face. With a sigh, you patted him on the shoulder, watching him struggle to tear his eyes away from her.
It was sad to see him like that; before the attack, Tom had his fair share of girlfriends here and there, always being the best partner he could be to them. But every time, he would get broken up with for claims of not being good enough. After the mauling, most of the women in their town wouldn't even look at him and when they did, their lips would drip with venom.
