“Because I’ve been to the shelters, I’ve walked the streets and seen what the Merchants and Chosen are doing out there.  I want to resolve this thing with Dinah.  Whether I like it or not, I know that the fastest way to get to that point where everything’s okay again is working with Coil.”

Alright so she did repeat it in dialogue, but at least she gave the abridged version.

Lisa spoke, “I want her back on the team, obviously.  If we’re voting, that’s where my vote is going.”

“Mine too,” Alec said, “You’re wound up, Brian, maybe it’s Taylor being gone, maybe it’s Aisha and your dad getting attacked, maybe it’s the general situation with the city, but it’s getting miserable to be around you.  

This sounds… familiar.

There seems to be some paralleling going on here.

• Brian here is Clockblocker – wound up, situation involving his dad, hostile to the “newcomer” (a returning newcomer in Taylor’s case, but still).
• Taylor is Weld. Coming into the team with good intentions, to a hostile-to-lukewarm reception.
• Alec is Kid Win. The seemingly laid-back one who probably feels like the fifth wheel of the team.
• Lisa is Vista. The understanding one who tries to help mend relations with Taylor/Weld.
• Aisha, if she’s Imp, is Flechette. The other newcomer, who is somewhat more welcomed to the team.
• Rachel is Shadow Stalker. The hostile, aggressive one.

Taylor was always the one who was on the same page as you, she’d be someone you can work with and talk to, at least.  You’ll be happier in the long run if she’s around.  And we’ll be happier if you’re not so fucking crabby.  ‘Sides, if she’s giving up her pay, then it doesn’t even cost us anything.”

He has a point there. I mean, she does still require some food and such, but yeah.

Lisa had convinced me.  I would only solve this by getting in Coil’s good graces, talking to him as someone he could respect and listen to.

Hm. Succeeding at that seems a little far-fetched knowing his current attitude towards other people, but I suppose that makes sense.

I couldn’t do that without convincing these guys to let me back on the team.

Ah, right, yeah, let’s get back to that.

“No,” I answered Brian, “You’re right.  It’s not that easy.  But if you’ll have me, I’m willing to work my ass off to make it up to you.  I’m pretty good as a member of this team, you know it.  If you want to monitor my every move, fine.  Any restrictions you want to put on me, fine.  I’ll even give up my pay from Coil and any jobs we do.  Whatever you want.”

Sounds good, although giving up the money might only cause him to wonder more about your motivations. Granted, you just told us about your intentions re: Coil and Dinah via narration, so I doubt Brian’s about to make you repeat it in dialogue.

He shook his head, then asked me, “Why?  Why come back?”

In which case… what are you going to say here? That they’re your friends? That you had fun? That you have nowhere else to turn?

That you have a plan to make things better?

Nobody answered that statement.  I felt dumb for saying it, however true it may or may not have been.

Alec added to his earlier comment, “I don’t ever pay attention to that team drama shit, and I picked up on the fact that she liked you.  It was so obvious it was irritating.”

Hah, nice.

And hell, even Rachel knew about it. Practically suggested Taylor should go up to Brian and say “hey wanna fuck?” too.

It was strange, Alec was standing up for me.  He was insulting me while he did it, but he was still backing me up.

“That could have been an act,” Brian stressed.  “And even if it wasn’t, it doesn’t mean anything in the end.”

Brian is being stubbornly skeptic, and while he has the right to be, it’s getting thin. It’s down to Taylor being either genuine or an utterly amazing actor. Either you should consider whether you’ll let her back on the team, or you should point her towards Hollywood or Broadway.

“You don’t really believe that,” Lisa replied, “You’re pissed at us.  I don’t blame you.  I’d be pissed at us, too.  But you’re only calling her a liar because it’s a hell of a lot easier to be angry at her if you think the person you befriended was a fake.”

I like that Lisa’s including herself here. She’s very much aware that Brian has beef with her too, even if he doesn’t know that, and she’s also implicitly allying herself with Taylor.

And yeah, this sounds about right. That’s what I meant by “stubbornly skeptic” – Lisa’s (Wildbow’s) just better at actually explaining things than like that than I am. What I meant was essentially that he’s being reluctant to believe her because he doesn’t want to believe her.

“Bullshit,” Alec retorted.

“What?” Brian turned toward Alec.

“I said bullshit,” Alec repeated himself.  “Taylor said it herself, she sucks ass when it comes to lying and being smooth.”

And yeah, if she was as fantastic an actor as Brian would have it, and was lying now, she would’ve had a better lie earlier, or she would be pretending to be a bad liar by telling a lie that did a worse job at convincing them than what she could really come up with… which sounds quite convoluted.

“She lied well enough when she was keeping her undercover act a secret.”

“I didn’t lie, exactly,” I said, quiet, “I just didn’t tell you.”

Yeah, surprisingly enough there were pretty few situations that caused her to have to actually lie.

The Undersiders kinda dropped the ball on trusting her that much in the first place, although it’s unclear how much Lisa manipulated the others into doing so. It’s worth noting that it was Brian’s idea to show up in civilian clothing on the rooftop in 2.6, as a “token show of trust”.

“Yeah!” Aisha added.  Brian gave her an annoyed look.

Oh cod, and her too. Forgot about that detail. I doubt Brian’s gonna like having to let his sister know about that awkward situation.

I looked at him, then looked down at the ground, feeling heat spread across my face.  The flush in my cheeks made the side of my face throb.  I hated feeling humiliated, felt way too many ugly emotions rising in a long-conditioned response, a spark of anger at the forefront of them.

Uh-oh.

Somehow I think Taylor would agree with those of my friends who despise cringe humor.

Stiffly, I replied, “I… let Brian know I was interested in him.  Romantically.  It was the truth.”

“Ahhhh,” Alec responded.

How long do you reckon it’ll take before Alec lets either of them live that down?

Though he does seem to be taking it a bit more maturely than I was expecting for now.

…how about Aisha?

“I knew it!  Totally knew it from the second I saw you at his apartment!”  Aisha cackled.

Pfffahahaha

I stole a glance at Brian and saw his expression hadn’t changed in the least.  When he spoke, he did it with a small shake of his head, “You could have been doing that to get me to let my guard down.”

I mean… just look at how red Taylor is right now. She’s either telling the truth or a fantastic actor.

“I can vouch-” Lisa started to speak.

“Taylor can answer for herself,” Brian cut her off.

Well, there went that way out.

I floundered for an answer.  I got the distinct impression that they wouldn’t be satisfied if I couldn’t provide one.  A knot of ugly emotions gathered in my stomach, building as I felt the condemnation of these people I’d been so close to, not so long ago.

Yeeah, fighting with former friends is not exactly a nice feeling.

Realizing that much gave me an idea.  It wasn’t much, though.

I turned to Brian, “You remember when we were on the way to your apartment, what happened?”

“Which?  That thing with the bully, or-”

After that… Hm. I suppose that could be a pretty good thing to prove the genuineness of her change of heart, as long as it doesn’t get Brian thinking that Taylor was trying to abuse his trust even more.

Bit of a double-edged sword, I suppose.

“After that.  The, um, awkward conversation.”

“Hey, dork,” Alec cut in, “He’s not the only one you have to convince.  You can’t omit details and leave us in the dark here.”

Welp, looks like this is about to get a little awkward… they didn’t tell Alec and Rachel (or Lisa, maybe, but I assume she knows anyway) about what happened at the mall, huh? Which means they’re gonna have to do that now of all times.

He folded his arms, “Is that all you came to say?”

I drew in a deep breath, then sighed, “And I’d like to be back on the team if you’ll have me.  Please.”

I think he might want an apology, Taylor.

I wouldn’t fault him for that.

His eyebrows rose, “I seem to recall you leaving in a huff after our last conversation with Coil.  What’s changed?”

“You have to understand, I was angry at myself as much… more than I was angry at you guys.  For letting that thing with the little girl happen, for not connecting the dots.  But I’ve thought about it, talked to Lisa, and I’m open to talking about it if you’re willing.”

Sometimes we make rash decisions while angry, even if that anger isn’t directed at those it’s taken out on.

“And why should we believe you, in all this?” he challenged me.

Aaand there’s the hard part.

Lisa, you got anything? A voucher for the change of heart?

Barring Lisa and Aisha, every set of eyes on me was glaring.  I climbed to my feet, flinched a little as Bitch shifted position, fearing another attack.  My cheek was radiating pain, like someone was driving a nail into it.  My shoulder didn’t hurt half as much, but it wasn’t exactly fun, either.

“I-I changed my mind after we raided the fundraiser and talked to Coil.  I went home, and when I started thinking about sending that email to the Protectorate, I realized I couldn’t.  It would have meant explaining things to my dad and leaving you guys.  I couldn’t do either.”

Good. Put every card on the table. Face up.

No more secrets.

“That wasn’t all that long ago, and it sounds pretty thin to me.”

I raised my arms, in a bit of a helpless gesture, then let them flop back to my sides.  “It’s the truth.  I’m not good at this, at talking to people or convincing them.  All I can do is tell you how things were from my perspective and hope you’ll see I’m sincere.”

Yeah, I mean, it happening recently is kind of just… a coincidence.