Danny, Part 6 free porn video

DANNY Part Six by Roberta J. Cabot This is a story about Daniel, a guy with a unique talent and an even more unique problem: A great singing voice and the looks of his gorgeous sister, and how he and his family and friends deal with life with him having breasts. And now, it is coming close to that moment, when he has to choose the path his life would go - between being a girl or remaining a guy. Danny finds it a little more difficult to continue with the subterfuge as he suddenly finds himself going on TV. Author's Note: I started writing this December 2005, soon after I discovered the soon-to-be-defunct Fictionmania site, and I decided to try my hand at writing Transgender Fiction. And it took me this long to build up the courage to actually upload it for others to enjoy (or not - your option heheh). I recently resurrected what little I had of my old story, cleaned them up and posted them in four parts in Crystal's Storysite and other sites (BCTS et cetera). And though I am by no means a real writer, I am trying my darndest to finish the rest of the story. So starting from the fifth installment, I will continue on - I thank everyone that gave me encouragement, either through emails or comments in the sites. It is because of them that I am persevering with this. This sixth installment is due to that. Feedback would be most appreciated. Through the friends I made in these sites, I found out from them that FM was back. So everything's come full circle. Here's the story now. Feedback would be most appreciated, so I do hope people write me back. I hope you will forgive any grammatical and literary flubs that you see, and any problems in format. Further, given that this little piece had close to five years of gestation, many of the cultural referents will be off - for example, many of the songs used in the story are not current but in the story they're treated as if they were, yet at the same time other songs are really current songs. I hope you will forgive the temporal mismatch here, and try and enjoy the story despite this. Apologies also if the quoted lyrics are wrong - I got most of them off the net, or from my own memory - I didn't get them off official sources. So, here we go with Part Five. Hope you like... (Don't forget! Feedback please!!) ***** Part Six: One Meeting, Two Caramel Frappes, and Three Interviewers Equals One Big Dilemma In Part Six, Danny goes all out in his dual reality, going public in his Dannie-the-Rocker persona, super-DJ Nighthawk, AND his usual humdrum Danny Fairchild self, on both radio AND TV! Not that he had a choice about it, mind you. Gosh... Seventeen: A Meeting ***** (Danny) ***** As we went down the radio station's hallway, we saw Danielle's entire gang there, lounging around in the lobby area. Danielle probably got a ride with Joanne, and Joanne blabbed to the rest of their girlfriends, and, as these things usually go, it became another excuse to get together, supposedly to rescue lil' ole me again. Presently, they were all looking at my poster (me with the flying hair and scarves), probably wondering what was up. Anyway, we didn't stop to chat, and I just waved to them on our way to Mrs. Piper's office. It was a huge office - easily the size of my booth, the engineer's booth and the adjacent library put together. Before anything, Mrs. Piper gestured for us to sit down, took orders for coffee and phoned the nearest Coffee Bean. She even included coffees for the girls outside. Danielle and I sat down in the chairs in front of Mrs. Piper's desk. Tracey took one beside Danielle but nearer Mrs. Piper, all the while with her looking at Danielle, mouth agape. "Yes, Tracey," I answered the unspoken question, "Danielle is my sister." I performed the introductions. "Tracey, this is my sister, Danielle. Danielle, this is apparently my new engineer, Tracey, who just happens to be Mrs. Piper's... daughter." "Danielle?..." Tracey asked, still confused. "It's a long story," Danielle answered, "involving our kooky Uncle Nathan. He wanted to give us the same name given that we were twins, even if I was a girl and Danny was a boy. Plus the fact that we were Irish on our mother's side." "Notice the red hair," I said, "and don't ask me to sing 'Oh, Danny Boy.'" Tracey giggled. "Anyway," Danielle continued. "I was named Danielle" (she stressed the pronunciation) "and he," she pointed at me, "was named Daniel" (again stressing the pronunciation). "Usually, I answer to 'Danielle' and he answers to 'Dan' or 'Danny.' To minimize the confusion, you know." "But you both look the same... Twins, you said?" "We're fraternal twins," she said. "I'm a girl and he's a boy. We don't usually look this similar, though, except when one of us starts dressing as a girl when he's not supposed to." She pointedly glared at me and my outfit. I cringed a bit. "It was a mistake, Danielle. I thought I was putting on my regular clothes." "We'll talk about this later," she grated. She faced Mrs. Piper. "Hello, Mrs. Piper," she said in a conversational but cool tone. Mrs. Piper had listened to Danielle's short recitation quietly, and nodded to her. "Good morning, Danielle," she answered, equally cool. She turned to Tracey. "Aside from being Danny's sister," Mrs. Piper said to Tracey, "Danielle happens to be his manager, or the closest thing to one." She went back to Danielle. "I suppose you're here about the poster?" Mrs. Piper asked. Danielle looked to me. This was one of the times I was grateful for our pseudo-ESP thing, as Danielle instantly got the message that there were other things going on. "For starters," Danielle answered Mrs. Piper. She folded her arms and waited. My sister's so awesome. I don't think anyone can get Mrs. Piper to become this ill-at-ease. "Well," Mrs. Pier said, "let's lay our cards on the table. I'll go first." Mrs. Piper took a deep breath and began. "Late last year, as you two know, I moved into your wonderful little town, looking for a place to settle down with my little family." She nodded at Tracey. "The reason we picked your town was because it was the closest we could find to a small-town community with good folks to be around in, good weather, and had the advantages of the bigger cities - good schools, a thriving commercial and business environment, and adequate health facilities. After we had settled in, Tracey had started to acclimatize to the neighborhood. True she had some problems, but that was expected." I nodded at that, although Danielle didn't get it. "In fact, she said that she really liked it here and said that this is the place she wants to call home now." Tracey smiled at her mom and reached out to touch her hand. "But that's not what we need to talk about right now. Anyway... I was happy that Tracey was adapting, even thriving, in our new town, but I found that I had some problems settling in. Though Tracey was fine, it seems I had become too used to the big city's rat race that I found myself bored without much to do. My companies were all pretty much taken cared of, and were essentially running on autopilot, adequately run by my board of directors, so there wasn't much for me to do around here. So, I bought and took over the operations of the local mall and cineplex as well as a little run-down skating rink in town." I looked up at that. "So it was you who fixed up the rink!" Mrs. Piper nodded and continued. "These little businesses were just the ticket for me. I made them totally separate from PiperCorp. so these would eventually be for Tracey alone, if ever she would want to stay on in town. The second-to-last local company I bought was KRPQ. Little did I know about the dire straits that it was in. When I took over, I had tried all that I knew to do to keep the station afloat, but all to no avail. I was all set to throw in the towel when I heard your voice on the radio, and how the listeners responded. They even started to call in! I saw a way out for the station. It seems, with you, the station discovered its niche market." I was about to react but Mrs. Piper waved me down. "It is a fact, Danny. No need for you to say anything." She continued her story. "So it was with this new development that I started the ball rolling to get the station back on it's feet - by first securing your services, then revamping the programming using your show as the template, fixing up the office and studio, hiring new people and then getting commercials lined up. "The thing that I had failed to realize was - it seems radio is not mainstream anymore. With TV, iPods and the internet, AM radio will never make it on its own. So Tracey and I have come up with a plan. Tracey?" Tracey cleared her throat, and took over the conversation. "Mom and I thought it over, and we said that we would need four things: one - we needed to continue with the changes, which we did; two - we needed to make the AM station more than just a music station, and to start offering more than just music. That's why we revamped and updated the on-air staffing to include more hip announcers, with the intention of starting to broadcast news events, maybe talk shows and other things; three - we needed to go FM since AM, as an entertainment channel, is just not there anymore. So we will transition everything to the new FM band that mom purchased the rights to from another company that was also going under. We'll then turn the AM one to some kind of infomercial shopping station." "You mentioned four things," Danielle said. "What's the fourth one?" Tracey nodded. "I was getting to that. The fourth thing was to increase awareness of our station, and to do that, we needed to do a promotional and ad campaign blitz - ads on TV and the newspaper, posters at the mall and in the two schools, et cetera. That includes sponsoring the Rockrgrrl Evolution Concert. Mom?" "Tracey's right. We had other promotional things lined up, but with Rockrgrrl Guitars, it seemed the right thing for us. True, their campaign is national. But I was able to get them to agree to sponsor us in exchange for media coverage here in our franchise area." She took a piece of paper from her desk, which I recognized as having the same information I was reading in the booth. Mrs. Piper passed this sheet on to Danielle, and she started reading. "Wow!" Danielle said, "this is brilliant! Danny, have you read this?" "Yup," I said, "and that's the dilemma - how am I gonna be able to do the thing, and not let anyone know it's me in the band? There're interviews scheduled, Danielle! Obviously, we're gonna have to have Unlimited Bandwidth on air, and I'm gonna haveta interview them! What - have me talk to myself!?" Danielle nodded slowly. "Yeah, I finally see what you mean." "It's difficult enough to hide the fact it's me in the band, and then to hide the fact that it's me on the radio, too..." I shook my head in despair. "But, Danny," Tracey looked at me, "why do you have to hide it?" "Don't you get it, Tracey? I'm a guy!" "Are you sure you're a guy? You don't look it." I stood up, with the intention of punching Tracey in the mouth. Danielle put her hand on my arm. "Danny!" she exclaimed. "Don't!" "But..." "Tracey didn't mean anything by it. She really thinks you're a girl." "Danielle..." "Sit down!" I reluctantly sat down, and glowered at Tracey. Tracey looked at me in embarrassment at her mistake, as well as in a little bit of fear. "Tracey," Mrs. Piper said gently. "Apologize right now." Tracey looked down. "I'm sorry... I really thought you were a girl... I..." I looked at the tall transsexual, and realized how badly I flew off the handle. Tracey stood up. "I'm sorry..." She walked out of the room. "Tracey!" I said. I turned to Mrs. Piper. "Where's she going?" Mrs. Piper shrugged. "I don't know. I guess she's ashamed of herself for making the mistake. She's a transsexual, Danny..." "I knew that." "You did? Did she tell you?" "I figured it out." Mrs. Piper looked at me in the eye. "I should have known," she said. "I keep on making the mistake of underestimating you." "Where's she going?" I repeated. "I don't know. But my daughter's pretty reliable. She'll probably just walk around a bit, and maybe go home. It's not the first time she's done it. Gender identity is important to transsexuals, living lives masquerading as people of the wrong sex. To make such a mistake - it borders on the... how shall I say it... on the unforgivable. " "I'm going after her," I said, and left the room. I found her outside in the floor's lobby, behind the sliding glass door outside the office, head down and waiting for the elevator. "Danny!" Joanne and Nikki exclaimed. I raised a peremptory finger, forestalling them. "Sorry, guys!" I swiped my ID at the detector and went through the sliding glass door. "Tracey!" I said, and stood beside her, but she didn't respond. "I'm so sorry for overreacting," I said. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, that it was an honest mistake. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." Tracey looked at me with big, wet tears on her face. I reached up and gave her a hug. I had to reach a bit as she was quite tall. Tracey broke into sobs. I couldn't stand being the cause of her pain. I tightened my arms around her neck. "Please stop, Tracey. I'm so sorry." We stood there for over a minute, me not letting go. But I knew the worst was over when she hugged me back. After a while, Tracey's crying was reduced to a few sniffles, and she let me go. I lifted her chin and looked her in the eye. "It's all right, Tracey. I just overreacted. I'm sorry." Tracey smiled a small smile. I smile back, and giggled a little bit. "You need a tissue," I said. I got lucky, 'cause that made Tracey laugh out loud. I hugged her again. "Now, come on back to the office, and let's finish our meeting, 'kay?" Tracey nodded. "Okay." She got a little packet of tissues from her back pocket, blew her nose and wiped her eyes. When we went back in, my friends crowded around us. "Danny?" Nikki said. "Hi, Nikki," I said, and gave her a kiss. I turned to Tracey. "Tracey, I'd like you to meet my girl, Nikki." "Hi," Nikki said, and shook Tracey's hand. I looked around. "Janet's not here?" "No one was answering at her house," June said. "That's okay. I guess she's tired from the concert. How about the guys?" "I tried calling Morgan," Drew said, "but his mom said he was sleeping." "Same with Mikey and the others" Mel said. "Sleeping, that is." "Well, everyone needs a rest. So? Why are you guys here?" I put my hands on my hips and harrumphed. "We hitched with Danielle and Joanne," Betsy said. "Danielle said you might be in trouble?" I giggled. "I didn't send out for the cavalry. I'm fine." I turned back to Tracey. "And these," I said, gesturing to the others, "are Danielle's and my friends. This is Betsy, Joanne, Mel, Drew and June." There were hugs and handshakes all around. Tracey was looking at Drew and June. "Don't tell me you're twins, too," Tracey said. The girls giggled, but I pulled Tracey along back to Mrs. Piper's office. "Sorry, girls," I said. "We're in the middle of a meeting. Soon as we're done, we'll go and do something, 'kay? In the meantime, why don't you bug Lou in the DJ booth," I giggled. "That's always been fun for me." I gestured to the studio further down. They all giggled, and trooped down the hall to the DJ booth. Nikki gave me another kiss. "I'm all right, Nikki," I said. "I'll come get you as soon as we're done." "'Kay," she said, and joined the others. ***** (Mrs. Piper) ***** Dan and Tracey came in holding hands. Tracey had evidently been crying but she seemed fine now. "Tracey?" I said, got up and gave her a hug. "I'm fine, mom," she said. "I'm sorry for overreacting. I'm okay now." Tracey and Danny sat down, but Danny sat in the chair beside Tracey this time. A fact that didn't escape my notice. "Everything okay?" Danielle asked. Danny reached over and took Danielle's hand. "Everything's fine, Danielle," Danny said. He looked over to Tracey. "We're fine, right?" "Superfine," Tracey said, and giggled a bit. "Maybe I should continue this later," I said. "No, mom!" Tracey said. "I'm fine. I think we should finish this, and get it over with." I nodded, and gestured for everyone to settle down. "If you say so, Tracey. Now where did we leave off? I think Danny was talking about his, ummm, conflict of interest..." Danny and his sister looked at each other. Clearly, there was something up in the air. "Danny," I said, "We need you. We cannot get the ball rolling without you. I've laid my cards on the table. I think it's your turn." Danielle shrugged at Danny, and Danny looked at me. He took a deep breath and began his own little story. "Okay, Mrs. Piper. But it remains between the four of us. Otherwise, I'm resigning." I nodded, fearing that there were other implied threats. "I understand, Danny," I said, and turned and faced Danielle. "Danielle, I will sign any NDA you want. If you would like, I can give you a copy of PiperCorp's standard non-disclosure agreement and you can modify it as you like and I can sign." Danielle nodded and Danny continued. "Ever since I was eleven or so," Danny began, "I've always been mistaken for a girl unless I corrected them. A while back, after going to the hospital, I found out that I am intersexed, sort of. Intersexed refers to someone who has an... atypical combination of physical features that distinguish guys from girls. And it's usually connected to problems with a genetic condition. So, it seemed that there was a reason for it instead of something I was doing." He stopped there a bit, apparently deep in thought. I couldn't help but look at him in sympathy. His sister looked at him, too. Danny saw, and gave her a sad little smile. After a moment, he continued on, shaking himself from whatever he was thinking. "Anyway, the only reason I mentioned this was because my problem seemed to keep on getting worse. When I got to be part of the band, most of our audience thought I was a girl, and I think they actually preferred me as a girl." Tracey interrupted his story. "Your amazing voice was also because of your medical condition?" she asked. "Partly," Danny said. "I guess my throat surgery when I was seven had a lot to do with it, too." He then recounted an accident that happened at his Uncle Nathan's, and the surgery that he had to have and how his voice was affected permanently. "Wow!" Tracey said. I glared at Tracey. "Tracey, don't you get any ideas." "What did I say!?" "Sorry, Danny," I said. "Please go on." "Anyway," he said, "here we are. I am now a female singer, a female DJ and me - just a regular guy studying at the local high school." "How can you still pass as a boy at school given how you look?" Tracey asked. "Tracey!" I admonished. Danny smiled sadly. "It's okay, Mrs. Piper." He looked at Tracey. "It's all in how you dress, I guess, Tracey. You should see what I usually wear. The way I look today is an accident..." "You must have been picked on a lot," Tracey said. "Yes, but not as much as you might think. My clothes camouflaged my... features pretty well. And my doctor got me exempted from PE and stuff, although I had to take extra-curricular stuff like the glee club and internships to make up my unit deficiencies. In fact, that's how I ended up going to KRPQ for that internship that turned into a DJ job. Plus..." Danny looked at his sister. "I have my sister and my friends to help and protect me." Danielle reached out and touched Danny's hand. Tracey looked at them. "Wish I had friends like that," she whispered to herself. Danny touched her on the shoulder. "I think you found a couple today." He said. Tracey looked up at him. He gave her a wide smile and a wink. She smiled back a little hopefully. "Mrs. Piper," Danny looked to me. "I don't want anyone to know I'm part of the band, and I don't want anyone to know I'm the Nighthawk." I was about to speak, but Danielle beat me to it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Piper," she said. "I'm afraid that's not negotiable." "Well..." Danielle shook her head. "...all right... But what do we do about the interviews?" "Well," Tracey said, "what about we pre-record Danny's questions, and have the band answer those." I actually thought that through, but turned the idea down. "No, that's a little too complicated, and not exactly honest." "But, isn't hiding who Danny really is is not exactly honest either?" "It's not the same. And it's too complicated." Danielle shook her head. "It doesn't have to be complicated, you know. Just have someone else interview the band." "The thing is, Danielle, the advertisers asked for the Nighthawk specifically. Danny, you don't know how popular you've become." Danny moaned, and put his head in his hands. "The interview's for ten PM, Saturday night, right?" Danielle continued. I nodded. "And you have other people lined up, and not just Unlimited Bandwidth?" I nodded again. "How long will the show be?" "The video is a little over one and a half hours end-to-end, but the program's gonna run up to three hours." Danny looked up in surprise. "That's, what, one-and-a-half hours of interviews?" I nodded. "And commercials, and little features, maybe plugs for other shows, station IDs, et cetera, et cetera." "Who does the slot just before then?" Tracey answered. "We're having the new kids, Harry Seavers and Sally Marshall, do a thirty-minute pre-show." "Pre-show?" Danny asked. "What's that about?" Danielle waved him down. "Quiet, honey," she said, "We're trying to figure out what to do." Danny gave her a raspberry. We all laughed. Danny looked at his sister, smiling. "Sorry, sis. What have you got in mind?" "Well, why not just have the band come in for their interview during the pre-show, have the new guys take care of interviewing them, and then, when they're done, you switch into the Nighthawk to run the next show." I nodded. "I think that's a great idea!" "I still think my idea was better," Tracy grumbled I laughed and gave Tracey a kiss. "I'm sorry, Trace." "It's your station, after all, mom." "Don't be like that," I said and patted her cheek. "Sorry, mom..." "Okay, now you contact Harry and Sally and tell them about the plan and possible schedule change; that they're going to make the nine-thirty pre- show an interview show. And if they have questions, they should talk to me." "It's not for a while, yet, mom. What's the hurry?" "Just do as I say. That way, they can prepare for the show better." "Okay." "They're going to interview Unlimited Bandwidth in their pre-show, and introduce Danny' program. Got it?" Tracey nodded. I turned to Danielle. "Right, Danielle?" I said. "You can set that up with the band?" "No problem, Mrs. Piper. What did you originally have planned for the pre-show, anyway?" "Well, we did have a lot of station promos and specials originally lined up for the pre-show." "Why don't you just spread them over both the pre-show and the concert show? That way, the listeners will get two solid programs instead of one slopping over the other." "Sounds good," I nodded. Tracey took out her celphone and started typing a text message. "Okay. I'm texting them the info." "Oh, that reminds me, Danny - the interviews will be simulcast on TV as well." He looked up in alarm at that. "What!" "I just got confirmation that KRPX is sending a remote crew here. Especially since I let on to their manager that I'm getting the Rockrgrrl people and Unlimited Bandwidth over for the live interviews. It seems they've agreed that it's gonna be KRPQ's show. So you be sure to be in your best duds, okay?" "But Mrs. Piper!" I looked at her... I mean, him. And I thought it through. Oh, no... "I didn't think of that... That could be a problem..." Danielle looked at me, and then looked at Danny a little thoughtfully. "Hmmm... yeah.... Well, don't worry, Danny. We'll figure something out." Danny moaned. "That's what I'm afraid of." Tracey looked at Danielle. "What does he mean?" she asked. Danielle giggled. "It's nothing, Tracey. Just a little private joke. Now, I think we need to get out of here, and leave your mom to her work." We all stood up. Danielle reached out to shake my hand. "Thank you, Mrs. Piper. I'd appreciate it if you can email over that NDA form, and if that poster can be taken down." "Right away, Danielle. I'll make sure that poster's replaced with something that meets with your approval." I gave her a smile so she'd know I wasn't being catty. "Tracey, can you do me a favor and if you can take Danny's poster down as soon as you can?" "Sure, mom," Tracey said. "And, Mrs. Piper," Danielle said, "I think we need to come to a more permanent arrangement, given all that you're planning for Danny and your station." "I understand. And thank you." She nodded. "'Kay, let's get outa here, Danny." She picked up her purse and proceeded to walk out the door. Danny picked up her... I mean his backpack and jacket. "C'mon, Tracey," he said. Tracey turned to me with a question in her eyes. I made a shooing gesture. "Go on, honey," I said. "Go enjoy yourselves. I'll hold down the fort." She gave me a kiss and made to follow Danielle and Danny. I watched them file out, all with such energy. Oh, to be young again. The arrangements for the show next weekend weren't what I originally planned, but I guess they're okay, given the alternative was that the station would have lost Danny altogether. That Danielle is a very bright and sharp young lady. Shrewd negotiator. But I already knew that. Those two are quite a pair. I'd best be on my toes, or better yet, maybe I should hire her as well. But those two are tied at the hip. Two for the price of one. But maybe I don't want both... And I was glad that Tracey is getting along with the twins. Maybe I should move her to Danny's school. I'll ask Tracey later about that, if she'd like to move schools. But right now I need to think up a way to get Danny to agree to let people know who he really is. And Danny will only agree to it if she agrees. The key is the sister. I can only imagine what kind of numbers I can get for the station if people knew who the Nighthawk really was. ***** (Tracey) ***** I walked behind the two. They looked so incredibly like each other, though you can see a bit more masculinity in the way Danny walked and talked, and that paradoxically made him sexier than his sister. I can only think that it gave Danny an earthier aura than his sister, and therefore a sexier one. Not by much, I guess, but just enough that you would notice it when the two are together. Couldn't be just that, though. I continued to try to figure out why that was, and I had to come to the conclusion that it was Danny's outfit - he was wearing a simple pale-rose short-sleeved crew-neck cotton tee over designer mid rise hipster bootcut jeans, plus a pair of high-fashion tan wedge-boots with big buckles. The combination was both simple and yet oh-so-sexy. His sister probably helped pick his clothes - I can't believe a guy can have such good taste. She turned profile as she talked with her sister. I mean "his" sister. She... he had his hands on his hips, legs a littler farther apart than a girl would. If you knew he was a guy, you'd probably think he was just being a guy, but in his apparent girl-persona, it just gave him that touch of rebelliousness and tomboyishness that made him the tough-but- sexy bad girl that guys seemed to find so attractive. At least I was. With him in profile, I couldn't help but notice the curve of his breasts. "Are your boobs the real thing?" I blurted out, and I was immediately embarrassed. Why did I do that? Stupid, stupid! The two of them looked at me with faint smiles. "What do you think?" Danielle said. "What size is he, anyway?" I said, and I blushed crimson with shame. I just wanted to sink into the ground. Danielle looked at her brother, giggling. "What are you now, Danny? Thirty-two C?" Danny waved at her dismissively. "Oh, shut up," he said to her. "Wow," I said. "You're a C-cup?" Danielle giggled again. "Actually, we both are." She stuck a pose. Danny grabbed her by the hand and dragged her along. "Okay. Enough. Let's get the girls and get out of here." She nodded, giggling. "Where are we going now?" "We're gonna be visiting a new friend. Let' go, Trace." I felt wonderful that I was being included, but I faked nonchalance. "Sure." When we were back in the lobby, there were introductions all around again. I went to the posters against the wall and reached up a bit to take down Danny's poster. "Must be nice to be that tall and all," Danny said dryly. "Here," I said and handed it over to Danny. "You can keep it if you want." "Ummm..." "You're taking it down?" Betsy said. "Can I have it? ... That is, if you don't want it, Danny." I looked to Danny. He shrugged. "I guess..." "Yayyy!" Betsy said, and grabbed it before anyone could say anything else. She hugged it against her like a schoolgirl with an enormous book. "Wait!" Joanne said. "No fair! I wanted it, too!" Mel said. "Me, toooo!" Drew and June said simultaneously. "Sorry, girls," I said. "I only had the one." "But... but..." The girl, Mel, was overreacting. But I would find out later that she was someone who collected a lot of concert memorabilia, and she wanted the poster for her collection. But what I think the real reason was is that it was a picture of Danny. I looked at all of them. "So. I suppose all of you want Danny posters, then?" They all nodded, with Mel nodding emphatically. "I have an idea." I went back to my mom's office. "Mom, can I use your computer and printer for a few minutes?" Mother looked up at me from the papers she had on her desk. "Sure, honey. I needed a break, anyway. What are you up to?" "Danny's friends want copies of his picture. I want to print up a few for them." "That's all? All right." She got up. "I'll get out of your way, then, and see about the coffee we ordered earlier." "Thanks, mom. Won't take more than ten minutes." She gave me a kiss as I sat down at her desk, and she walked out of the office. Reaching into the lowest bin, I brought out a fresh package of 8R inkjet photo paper. I popped the paper into Mom's printer and booted up her computer. I logged on to the office network and searched for my home computer's shared net drive. I quickly found Danny's picture file which I had optimized last night for inkjet printing, and printed a dozen copies. Once done, I shut the printer and computer down, grabbed a black marker pen, and went to the front. I found mom and the others drinking coffee and having a laugh at one of mom's stories. I've heard all of them before, so I tuned her out while I handed the girls the pictures I printed out. "Danny?" I said. "I was thinking maybe you could authograph the pictures for your friends." "Oooh!" Joanne squealed comically. "Autograft pitchers!" Everyone laughed. "I hope one of them's for me," mom said, and handed me a tall decaf cappuchino. "Oh, I printed up copies for us, too, mom." I gave Danny the marker. Danny took the pictures and marker from me with a comical flare, and wrote a personalized dedication each, and simply signed it at the bottom with "Dannie." On mom's picture, he wrote, "to my best boss in the world. And I'm not kidding." Everyone giggled, except for mom. "I don't get it," mom said plaintively. And we laughed some more. On my picture, he wrote, "Stop being so testosteroney! Which, by the way, is the real San Francisco treat." (Phoebe and Chandler) I didn't know how to react, but when I looked at Danny, all I saw was an expectant look. I laughed, and felt flattered that he tried to think of a joke that the two of us could share, given our similar... predicaments. On June's, Drew's, Joanne's and Mel's pictures, he wrote quotations from rock-n-roll people and movie lines: "Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together, I guess" (Elvis); "Do you like having a good time? Then you need-a-good-watch!" (Rocky Balboa); "I look like I am hung over. It's like a head full of ideas, an exploding head." (Bono); and "I always listen to 'NSYNC's Tearin' Up My Heart. It reminds me to wear a bra." (Britney) Everyone couldn't stop laughing at that last one. On Betsy's big, mounted one, he wrote a quotation, from someone I never heard of: To my angel - "music is well said to be the speech of angels" (Thomas Carlyle) Betsy read the dedication, gave Danny a kiss and cried. She rushed to the bathroom. Danny wanted to follow, but Nikki stopped him. "Give her room, Danny," Nikki said. "She's just being her usual Emo self." Danny nodded reluctantly. For the picture he gave Danielle, he put another quote: "The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend" (Cali Rae Turner) And to the one for Nikki, he wrote a quotation from Shakespeare: "I love thee, I love but thee with a love that shall not die, till the sun grows cold, and the stars grow old. Nikki gave him a big and sloppy kiss. "I love you, too, baby," she said. All the girls, even my mother, went "awww..." Danny sure is a well-read girl, ummm guy... Joanne pushed me into the little van's front passenger seat. "Sorry, Tracey," she said. "You're too tall. And us tall girls get to sit in the front." She looked at her watch and turned to the others as they were just settling down in the back. "So where to, guys? Lunch? It's twelve-thirty now, you know" "Twelve thirty?" Danny mumbled. "Damn. No time to go home and change." He tapped Joanne on the shoulder. "Joanne? How about you guys drop Tracey and me off at the college and you go on ahead for lunch. And we'll meet you guys later. There's a nice fifties-style ice-cream parlor at the mall. I went there once a month or so ago. Pretty nice place." "Can't we go with you?" Mel pouted. "I don't think so, Mel. Sorry." "'Kay, Dan," Joanne said. "Ice cream parlor at the mall at three, then." "Cool, Joanne. Thanks!" He gave Joanne a kiss on the cheek. Joanne smiled. "No prob." She turned the van at the next corner. The girls quizzed Danny and his sister about the meeting they just had, and everyone was hanging on their every word. They were all excited about the upcoming show, but were wondering how we would manage the interview of the band. "Well," Danielle said, "it was my idea to allow the other announcers to take care of the interview with the band, and then, after the band, Danny can take over. Haven't worked out the details, yet." "So that no one will connect the Nighthawk to the band?" Mel said. "Well, duh," Danielle responded, and Mel pouted. "Oh, Mel, I'm sorry," Danielle gave her a hug. "I didn't mean anything." "But that's it, isn't it?" Joanne said. "So no one will know who Dannie from the band and Danny the Nightwalk really are." "What's your point, Joanne?" Danielle asked. "I think it' gonna be harder and harder to keep Danny's real identity under wraps. Especially when people see him on TV. As it is, there are too many people that know about him." Danielle thought that over. "Well," she responded, "Lou Jefferson and Dennis Oldfield are the only people from the station that know and have actually seen Danny, and I don't think they'll blab." "You're forgetting Goodwyn the night security guy," Danny said. "And him, yeah..." "... and me and my mom," I interjected. "Okay, you and Mrs. Piper..." "...and the band and the gang, of course," Betsy contributed. "Of course..." "...and my Glee Club friends," Danny piped in. "Huh?" "And your folks and mine?" Nikki said. "Wait, wait!" "And I think Mrs. Sparks, though I'm not sure," Danny said. "All right, already! You guys have made your point." This was greeted with silence. After a minute, Danielle cleared her throat. "Well," Danielle said, "the NDA will take care of everyone at the station." "NDA?" Mel asked. "Non-disclosure Agreement." "Ahh." "And I'll take care of the gang," Joanne said. "... I'll take care of my folks," Nikki said. "... and I'll take care of Mrs. Sparks, Fallon and the Glee Club," Danny said. "...and I'll talk to my folks," Danielle said. "So how's that? I think we have it well in hand." Joanne frowned. "Well, barely..." "Joanne..." When Joanne stopped at a red light, she turned to face the backseat. "Guys," Joanne said, "one of these days, it'll all come crashing down, and things will catch up to us. I think we have to come clean one of these days." "But Joanne," Danny said. "Just my opinion, Danny. I'm not forcing anything. I just think we should plan for it, for a way to manage your - what do we call it - your 'coming-out'... thing." Danny looked worried. "I hope this planning session doesn't involve another sleepover." Everyone giggled at that. Wonder why. What did they mean, sleepover? Hmmm. "Well, okay," Danielle agreed. "But for now, let's just do this. Danny?" Danny nodded glumly. "Joanne," he said, "I agree. I mean, in principle. But, for now, let's just do this. I'm just not ready yet." Joanne craned her neck to look at Danny. "That's totally okay, Danny. We can do it any way you like. I just don't want you hurt." The light turned green and Joanne goosed the accelerator. "Thanks, Joanne." "'S'ok, Danny." Then she smiled a sly smile. "Besides..." "What?" "I think another sleepover's overdue. Don't you think?" And everyone giggled, except Danny. I think he was moaning. Eighteen: Two Caramel Frappes ***** (Danny) ***** The van stopped at the college's front gate, and Tracey and I got out. Nikki and Danielle had to go down as well so I could step out. "You gonna be okay?" Nikki asked. "Sure, Nick - stop worrying." "I don't know about this, Dan," Danielle said. "I mean, what if that girl you're meeting suddenly decides to do something, like try and off herself? What's worse is that what if the reason she does is because of something you said? You need a professional with you." "Danielle," I sighed, "I know all that. One of the big reasons I'm meeting up with her is to see if she does need professional help. You know, it might just be something as simple as loneliness." "As simple as loneliness..." Tracey murmured. I turned to her. "Tracey..." She smiled brightly at me. "I'm fine, Danny." I gave both Danielle and Nikki a kiss. "So, I'll see you later then?" "'Kay." "See if you can bring the guys later, okay?" Danielle pouted. "What for?" "Nuthin. Only if they want." "'Kay." I waved as they drove off. "Okay, Tracey. Let's go find the caf?." We walked down the cement path that cut through the grassy knoll in front of the main admin building. Most of us around these parts were proud of our little community college. The curriculum and the teaching staff were pretty good, and a lot of people from the surrounding communities use the college like a prep school. I looked around and noticed the kids, probably mostly out-of-towners. I spied the caf? as we rounded a little grove of trees and led Tracey to the place. Most of the people were sitting at the tables outside, and the ones inside were couples or little groups chatting, a few working away on their little laptops and netbooks. I wondered if any of them were Val. The barrista behind the counter noticed me. "What'll you have miss?" "I'd like a caramel frappe, please. Grande." The guy nodded. "Tracey?" "The same, please , but just a tall decaf one." He repeated the order. "Two caramel frappes, one grande and one tall decaf. That'll be eight-twenty please." I handed over a ten-dollar bill and the guy handed me the coffees and my change. We went outside and sat in the wonderful, early afternoon sunshine. "Wish I ordered a sandwich as well, or something," I said. "I'm starting to get hungry." "Why didn't you?" Tracey asked. I shrugged. "I guess I can wait until later." "Listen, Danny," Tracey said. "I have to agree with Danielle. What if we say the wrong thing? We might make it worse with this Valerie person." Danny nodded. "I know, but what would you suggest? Bring a suicide prevention specialist with us? The girl trusts us. Least we could do is talk to her first before bringing in other people." Tracey shrugged. "It's your call." I raised my face towards the sunshine, smiled at the wonderful warmth, and sipped my cold frappe. "You're sure you're a guy? You must know how gorgeous you are." I smiled sadly at that. "Not something I do deliberately, you know." Tracey giggled. "You got some... on your lip." I took my paper napkin and wiped the offending foam off. "If I could look half as natural and as gorgeous as you..." "If I could give it to you, I would." "Sorry, to be such a basket case, Danny. I just hate being a freak..." I grabbed her hand. "You are NOT a freak. Okay? Stop talking like that!" She nodded sadly. "Tracey! You're not a freak, okay?" We stayed like that for a while. "Ummm, excuse me?" we heard someone say. "Would one of you happen to be Danny from the radio station?" We turned around. Standing beside our table was a tall, thin girl, almost as tall as Tracey, with straight black hair and no makeup. She was wearing a simple t-shirt, jeans, and trainers and carrying a little backpack. "Are you Valerie?" I asked. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry, but you're the only redhead here so I assumed..." I stood up and gave her a hug, never giving her a chance to pull away. I read in one of those suicide prevention pamphlets in school, depressed people didn't want to be hugged, but I figured that everyone needed a hug. She didn't put her arms around me, but I could feel something in her give. I felt the little shudders, and knew she was crying. I pulled back, got some tissues from the dispenser on the table and dabbed at her tears. "I didn't know if I should have come," she said. "I'm glad you did." I gestured at Tracey. "This is my producer, Tracey. She was the one who answered your call." "Hello, Valerie. Remember me?" "Hi," she said, and they shook hands. I gestured and we all sat down. "Coffee?" "I don't drink coffee, but thanks, anyway." "I drink lots, myself." "Yes, I know," she giggled, pointing at my ginormous frappe. "Val," I said, "I just wanted to meet you, and talk to you..." She nodded. "... and see if I could help in any way." "You already did." "I'm glad." She gave us a sad little smile. "I'm sorry about your sister," I said. "S'ok. Not your fault." "If it were my sister, I'd probably feel just as bad." "Are you and you sister close?" "We didn't used to be. But now we are." "Sisters are like that..." I looked away. Sisters... I caught Tracey's eye, and we looked at each other. Do I tell? What would it accomplish? And wouldn't it just be another person on the list of people who knew that I had to keep tabs on? Tracey shrugged, seeming to say that it was my decision. She turned to Valerie and smiled. "You should see them together, Valerie. They're twins! And they act so much alike." "That must be fun," Val smiled. I made a decision. I read in that same pamphlet that one of the most important things was to establish trust. And, as I have learned, one of the things you can do to earn someone's trust is to share personal stuff, even secrets. I just hope this girl will keep my secrets... secret. "Actually, Val," I began, "Tracey's right - my sister and I are twins. But we aren't sisters." "Huh?" "Yes, she is my sister. I am her brother. Danny is short for Daniel. We're fraternal twins." She looked at me like I was crazy, and after a beat, she stood up. I grabbed her arm. "Val, please! I'm telling you the truth!" "You're fooling with me, you're..." "Sit down, please." She sat down reluctantly. "I want to tell you a story..." and I told her about me and my sister, my problems with my looks, about how she lent me support, even if in the beginning I thought she was just being selfish. I talked about my Halloween, about my friends. I talked about my hospital stay, and how I found out about my medical condition, about having breasts, and how I became a DJ on KRPQ. I even demonstrated my Brad Pits and Bimbo Betty voices, and they laughed. Throughout my story, Tracey listened as avidly as Val, and at the end of the story, they were both very quiet. "I'm so sorry, Danny," Val said. "No need to be. I'm doing okay medically. No cancer, or possibility of cancer, or other problems like that despite being intersexed. I have a lot of friends that are helping and supporting me. And we have fun most of the time. I think I'm happy. Most of the time, anyway." I laughed. "You're lucky, Dan." "I know." "But why are you telling me all this?" "I want to be truthful with you, Val, and to let you know about me, about who and what I am, so that you will trust me and allow me to help you." She looked me in the eye. "Val? Can you let Tracey and me help you?" "You already did, Danny." "Oh, Val." I gave her another hug. I asked about her family, and she said that because of this morning, she mustered enough courage to call them. Her dad was a corporate lawyer that frequently worked on weekends and one of the family rules was that no one should call him except in emergencies. Shaking, she called up her dad. When he heard her voice and the crying she had tried to hide, he offered to come over. In fact, she's expecting her dad, even her mom, to arrive tonight. "Oh, Val," I said, "that's great!" Another hug moment. "When they arrive, be sure to tell them how you feel. And ask them how they feel. Be yourself, and don't hide anything. I think that if you do, it'll be a start for your family to get past Tess's death. Get some kind of closure." "I'm scared, Danny. What if they get mad or something." "I'm pretty sure they won't. But... would you want me around? Like, just in case?" She bit her lip and looked away. "Nahh, I'll be okay." I wasn't that clueless, and picked up on the hidden signals. "How about this - I'll give you my celphone number..." I picked up a napkin and quickly scribbled it down. At least, this way, I don't openly contradict her, yet allow her the feeling of assurance, of someone being there to help. I handed her the napkin. "Now, don't share this with anyone, okay? Call me tonight if you want to talk, or whatever, or if you want me to come over or something." "Okay, Danny. Thank you." "Oh! Wait... you can't call me tonight. We have a gig tonight. Text! Text me. My celphone will be in silent mode, but I promise I will check it during our breaks." She nodded. "Contact me anytime. I might not be able to answer right away all the time, but I'll definitely answer. That's a promise. Okay?" She gave me another hug. In turn she scribbled her own celphone number down, and I put the tissue in my pack. "I can't help but wonder why you're doing all this for me," she said. I smiled. "I guess it's my way of paying it forward. But really, I'm just a sucker for the ladies." Val laughed. "You know," she said, "when you told me your name was Dannie, I had assumed that you meant you were also the singer from that concert the callers were talking about, not this!" Tracey and I gave each other a look. Val picked up on it. "What!?" Val said. "Val, I gotta tell you something else..." She looked at me, then Tracey, and then me again. "I. Don't. Believe it!" I shrugged. "I'm afraid so..." "Shut up! It can't be! Seriously?" I nodded. "Seriously..." "Shut up!" So I proceeded to tell her about Dannie and Unlimited Bandwidth as well... Damnit! After my little story, Val was looking at me with eyes as big as golf balls. "Wow!" was the only thing Val said after my second little story. "Thing is, Val," Tracey said, "Danny's trying to keep his identity secret." "Oh! You can count on me, Tracey. No worries... but... wow!" I scratched my head a little sheepishly. "What about the band, and the interview next week?" I groaned. "I know, I know..." Tracey and I left Val at around three. We invited her to go with us to the mall but she begged off, saying she wanted to straighten out her room before her folks came by at six. Tracey gave an open invitation to visit the station, and we exchanged hugs. "Thank you, Danny. Tracey." I smiled. "No prob. Remember to text me tonight, whatever happens, okay?" "I will." "You're sure you don't want me around later?" I said. "I'm sure." She leaned down and gave me a peck. "And your secrets are safe with me. No worries." We watched her walk away back to the women's dormitory. It was on the campus grounds so we knew she didn't have to walk far. She kept turning around and waving at us. As for us, we had a little further to walk since the bus station was on the other side of the campus. When we got to the bus stop, there weren't any people there so we had the bench all to ourselves. I looked at the sign and noticed that the next bus that would be passing nearest the mall was due in thirty minutes. "Thirty minutes, Tracey, so I guess we make ourselves comfortable." "Thirty minutes? Damn." She took out her celphone. She mumbled something into it and shut it off. "What was that about?" "Nuthin," she smiled. After five minutes had passed, a banana-yellow Toyota FJ Cruiser with a white roof and black trim pulled up while we were chatting. A man in a business suit got out, went to Tracey and gave her the keys. Tracey mumbled her thanks, and went to the driver's door. "Come on, Danny," Tracey waved. I looked at the car, and then at the guy in the suit. I was confused but got up from the bench and got into the car. "Tracey?" I said after I closed the passenger door. "I called the office and asked mom's driver to bring my car over. Better than waiting for the bus for half an hour. Hope you don't mind?" "Mind? Why would I mind?" I rubbed the dash and smelled the new-car smell. "Great set of wheels, Tracey. How new is it?" "Mom got it for me when we moved here. But I haven't had much of a chance to drive it around. Not too many places to go, yet. And no friends to drive with. Besides, I just got my license." I keep forgetting Tracey's filthy rich... I tried to hide my smile. And I knew Tracey's a newbie driver - that much was obvious, given she was driving five miles an hour down a wide but empty road. "Don't you think you should speed up a bit?" I said. "What? Oh!" She goosed the accelerator and, after an initial jerk, we were driving at a more normal pace. "Well," I said, "hang around us long enough and you'll get more than enough driving practice. Pretty soon, you'll get sick of us bumming rides. Your brand-spanking-new car won't be that brand new anymore." Tracey laughed. When we got to the mall, Tracey drove to the basement parking for employees. She pulled up at a reserved parking spot and got out. I noticed that she parked in the General Manager's parking spot. I put on my jacket, grabbed my pack and followed her out to a service elevator. The elevator opened to the main floor of the mall. We went to the escalators and proceeded to the second floor. I pointed to the ice cream parlor. "Pop's Chocklit Shoppe" the sign on the glass said, just like Archie's favorite hangout in the comic (there was a little "R" in a circle right beside it so I knew the owner got some kind of permission to use the name). We pushed the doors open and we found the girls sitting at a table by the glass window. It was a very nineteen-fifties style fastfood-type place. It's like I was in a re-run of Happy Days or something, complete with waiters and waitresses wearing little paper hats and little aprons. Apparently, none of the guys were able to go, as the only ones there were the girls from this morning - Nikki, Danielle, Bets, Joanne, Mel, Drew and June. I stood by the only empty seat. Tracey signaled for me to take the only vacant chair and looked around for one for herself. Nikki and Danielle leaned over and gave me hugs, and I waved to the others. As I settled down, someone cleared her throat. "Ahem!" I looked up. "Someone's taken my chair," Janet said. "Janet!" I exclaimed, got up out of the chair and gave her a hug. "Hey, sexy," she said, looking me up and down. She made a patting gesture for me to keep my seat, and got another for herself, putting it between Tracey and me. "Don't rub it in," I grumbled as I sat down again. "It was a mistake. Anyway, Janet, this is Tracey Piper, my new producer at the radio station." They shook hands pleasantly. "So," Janet said, "the girls have been telling me about next Saturday? That's great!" "We do have a problem, though," I frowned. She nodded. "But it's not as if it's going to be the first time..." "Janet!" "Kidding, kidding," she giggled and gave me a kiss to placate me. "You know, I feel like a fish out of water here," Tracey said. "S'ok, Trace. You'll start to feel at home after hanging with us for a while." Tracey smiled as Janet gave her a casual hug, the first time I saw her smiling unself-consciously since this morning. And whatever happens, I am happy that Tracey now has her "posse." I giggled at the thought and everyone looked at me quizzically. "What's so funny?" Betsy asked. I shook my head and signaled a waitress for a menu. I looked the menu over and went all fifties. "I'll have battered onion rings to start, and then an order of mini burgers and French fries, a strawberry-banana malt, a regular cherry-coke and a banana-boat sundae. You, Tracey?" She looked through the menu. "I guess I'll have a small bowl of chili, crackers and a small strawberry malt, please." "Comin' up," the waitress nodded and walked to the kitchen. She was even chewing on gum. Talk about atmosphere. "So!" Janet rubbed her hands together. "What's the plan? Mweheheheh..." "Oh, Janet," June said. "We're being serious." "Sorry!" She rubbed her hands together again. "So," she whispered in a ridiculously low voice. "Seriously - what's the plan? Mweheheheheheheh..." Everyone burst out laughing. "Okay," Danielle said. "The plan. It's going to be on TV, right? So people will see. So we need a disguise. An outfit that'll make him look different from his everyday self but similar enough to how he looked like in the concert last night. I had the idea that we'd have Danny in costume again." "Dannie the rock star rides again! Yay!" Mel cheered. "Shhh!" Joanne hissed and clapped her hand to Mel's mouth. "Don't make a scene, Mel." "Mmmphgggph..." Mel mumbled. "Eeep! Sorry, Mel." Everyone giggled. "How about the outfit itself," June asked. "Simple enough to pick out, I think," Drew said. "Something sexy, but not too sexy. It's on public TV, after all. And we need to keep her red hair, of course." "Wig!" June said. "Right, June. Danielle, you still got that wig from last Halloween?" "I think so." "We'll need that. But we need a different hairdo, I think." "I'll take care of that," Joanne said. "Danielle, the wig's not synthetic, right?" "Yes..." "'Kay. I'll pass by your place and get it. I'll have it fixed up." "So, who'll be in charge of the outfit?" Mel asked. Janet nodded to Danielle. "Let's leave it to Danny's manager." I was a little puzzled by Janet's vaguely resentful tone, or maybe impatient is a better word to use. Then again, it may just be my imagination as everyone didn't seem to notice anything wrong. Danielle was clapping in glee. "Danielle..." I growled. "Peace! Peace!" she said. "I won't go overboard, Danny. I promise. It'll be understated but sexy. Conservative but hip." "Not too conservative," Janet said. (There it is again - that tone.) "Of course," Danielle giggled. "So, girls. Shopping?" "Sure!" "Yeah!" "So - outfits for Danny, June and Janet. And the boys, as well." "And what a coincidence!" Betsy giggled. "We happen to be in the mall, too!" Everyone laughed. "You're forgetting about the program itself," Tracey said. "And it's supposed to include interviews." Tracey was looking at me. "Like a disguise, hmmm." "What're you thinking, Tracey," I asked. "Well, your look seems to be well in hand. And I trust you guys'll be able to wing the interview itself. Now, assuming you can pull all of that off, what about the, ummm..." She pointed at her throat. "What?" "She means your voice, Danny-boy," Janet said. Her tone was starting to get to me. Must be my imagination. Yeah. "The Brad Pits and Betty voices," Tracey asked, "did you really make them up from scratch?" "Yeah?" "Do you think one week is long enough for you to make up a new voice?" "Sure, but I'm gonna need some sorta starting point." "I have the concert on DVD at my place. We can listen to your interview, and let's try for something as close to that but different enough from your regular voice." "Is that even possible? I wasn't trying to change my voice when I was being interviewed. So, doesn't that mean I sounded like I regularly do in the interview." "Ummm, I hate to say it, honey," Joanne said, "but that's not true. When you're in girl mode, you sound a lot like Danielle, not Danny..." "I do?" I didn't know that. "Yeah, Dan," Mel said. "You do." I didn't like that. Does this mean that, when I'm in the band, I sound like Danielle? If that's true, then no wonder people thought I was a girl. But I didn't want to believe that. "That's not true," I said petulantly. "Yes," Janet said. "You do." What's with Janet! "You guys can work on Danny's voice later, Tracey," Danielle said. "Right now, we have a mission! A mission to shop!" The waitress took that moment to come back with our order. "Here you go, girls," the gum-chewing waitress said. She put our food on our table, and Tracey was looking at my big order with unbelieving eyes. "What!" I exclaimed. "I was hungry!" Nikki pulled Tracey aside. "Get used to it, dearie," Nikki said. "Dan has a bottomless pit for a stomach." "Nikki!" I said. "Oh, Danny. You know I love your tummy." She suddenly leaned down, pulled up my shirt and gave me a tummy zerbert right there. My girlish giggles filled the restaurant. "Nikki! Quit! No! Quit it! Nikkiiiiii!" Everyone in the place broke down in laughter, and I blushed crimson. "Nikki," I grated. Nikki saw my angry face. "Oh, Dan! I'm so sorry. I was just joking..." Seeing her remorseful face, I couldn't stay mad. I pulled her to me and gave her a kiss. "I'm sorry, Dan. I didn't mean it, I..." She just didn't want to stop talking. I tried to give her another kiss, but this time I tried to make this one just like the ones I got from Janet and the girl from Foxtails last night. The main difference this time was that I was the one who was kissing, and Nikki the one being kissed. It was the same but different... I guess I'm not saying it right. I guess, instead of feeling like I was melting into another's arms, it was like the reverse. I felt powerful... like I was the one in control, yet not. Like I want to dominate her yet protect her. Powerful, heady stuff. I tightened my arms around her. I was her defender, her protector. And, in a deeper, more primitive way, it was like I owned her. This must be how it is to be in love. I felt so turned on, I couldn't believe it. When we broke, I saw Nikki's face, blushing. I could feel how warm she was. How soft. And as we looked into each other's eyes, I felt the tension go out of her, and she slumped into my arms... she had fainted. I was still embarrassed. I shouldn't have kissed Nikki in front of everyone. At least not that way. I surreptitiously looked at Nikki, and she seemed totally relaxed. So I faked a nonchalance that I didn't feel, and concentrated on lunch. Actually, I was a little scared. My mind went back to that day, so many months ago, when Dr. Roberts and I talked about my... condition, about Batch Fourteen, about pheromones. Ever since then, I have had a strong suspicion that people weren't behaving normally around me. And it was my secret fear that it was the pheromones. But I tried not to think about it. If it were the pheromones, how can I trust the people around me. Was it me they were reacting to, or was it the pheromones? Were what they seemed to be feeling genuine? In a way, it was like what I would imagine to be a superpower - like x-ray vision or something, but I couldn't bear it if it were affecting the people that were close to me - Danielle, Morgan, Nikki... Especially Nikki. What would I do if it t urns out Nikki wasn't really in love with me? As I ate one of my mini-burgers, Tracey looked at me, mouth agape. "I can't believe how much you eat..." "Shut up and eat your chili and crackers." "Like I said, Trace," Danielle said, "get used to it. That's just the way he eats." Mel giggled. "Danielle's the same way." Danielle elbowed her. "Ooof! Hey!" I was subtly grateful for these shenanigans. It put our relationship in familiar, non-threatening patterns - predictable, friendly and... painless. I smiled at everyone's antics, and hoped that this would always be the way it would be. "Now, tell me if you guys are done already," Danielle said. "We DO have to do a bit of shopping." "Ummm, Danielle?" I said. "Do you mind if I give that a miss? I want to, ummm... Change clothes! Yeah, that's it! I need to go home to change out of these clothes." Danielle smiled and patted my cheek. "You don't have to invent excuses, Danny. I know how you feel about shopping." She gave me a peck on the cheek. "How about this - you and Tracey work on that voice thing, and we'll do the shopping, and we'll just surprise you with what we get later. Okay?" I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Danielle." "No prob, little brother." She stood up and got her things, and the other girls did, too. "Let's meet at the house later so we can get you ready for your gig. Okay?" "Okay." She held out her hand palm up. "Credit card, please," she dimpled. I got my backpack and fished out my Mastercard gold picture-credit card. "Don't go crazy with this, okay?" "Whatever do you mean, my darling brother?" She leaned down and gave me a sisterly kiss on the cheek and hugged Tracey. "Let's go, girls. Shopping!" I looked at Tracey. "Whew. We just barely escaped that one." Tracey was following the girls out with her eyes, a wistful look on her face. "Tracey? Did you want to go with the girls? 'Coz it's okay if you do." She looked back at me. "Nahhh, that's okay. Besides, we have to work on your new voice, remember?" She giggled. I went with Tracey back to their condo unit. And what a condo unit! Tracey and her mom occupied the whole top floor of the building. Their place was easily as large as our entire house, first and second floors combined. Being the good hostess, she took my jacket, and directed me to make myself at home in the living room area. It was styled in fifties retro-chic, a sunken living area, with couches sculpted onto the sides. A big pile of throw-pillows made them super-comfortable, though. I dropped my pack n