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Black and White By: Light Clark Synopsis: Alyssa and Noah had been friends ever since they were kids, but high school was complicating that. She was one of the popular girls, and he was a 'nerd'. Unfortunately for the two of them, things only got more complicated from there. Warning: This story is 'technically' set in the Whateley universe. It uses no characters or places from that universe; just borrows a few terms and general thematics. It is certainly not canon. Note: This is a rerelease of an older work, so it may seem familiar. However, it has been heavily edited since its first publishing, so it is substantially different from its original release. Chapter 01 "Hey, Noah. Ready for that test in math?" I asked as I walked past the table where my childhood friend and his buddy Heath were sitting. "Yeah, it should be easy. How'd the shopping trip go?" Noah responded brightly, a warm smile on his face. Doing a little twirl, I showed off my current outfit, a pair of denim shorts and a teal tank top, both of which were so small that they'd been difficult to squeeze into. In spite of that, it wasn't like they were particularly revealing or anything. That was just the fashion. "See for yourself." At the completion of my spin, both boys were staring. That was hardly an uncommon occurrence for me, though. Looking like I did, it was rare for guys not to be staring at me even when I wasn't showing off. "Looks like it went great," Noah managed to maintain enough composure to compliment. "Thanks," I chirped happily at the compliment, before offering a quick wave and turning to go. "See you two in math." The boys waved back as I hurried away to find my own group of friends to sit with before class. They'd undoubtedly be waiting for me with some nonsense problem that was the end of the world to them. I wondered if it would be boys, clothes, or weight this time. It always seemed to be one of those three. My friends, as befitted a popular clique, had our own table even though there were usually only three of us in the mornings. Ruby was the bottle blonde of the group, sporting a voluptuous figure, to go with her bleach blonde hair and brown eyes. She was the one usually complaining about her weight as she tended to be a little thick and loathed having to exercise or diet. No one else really noticed when she put on a couple pounds, though, especially not the boys who were far more concerned with staring at her impressive bust, but she fretted over it constantly anyway. Liz was the group's athlete, with short brown hair and a slim toned physique. She was usually the one complaining about clothes as she struggled to find things to allow her to compete against Ruby and me with her more modest curves. It was in complaining about boys that the two found most of their common ground. As I approached, I noticed that the two girls looked quite excited about something. I supposed that meant that today was one of those rare days when something really good had happened to one of them, and they were too focused on that to worry about anything else. It would probably still be related to one of the three things, though. I couldn't remember the last time it wasn't. "Ally! Guess what!" Ruby called when she saw me. She didn't wait for even a breath before squealing in glee, "Parker asked me out!" "Wow!" I exclaimed, excited for my friend, though, not particularly by the news itself. "He's a sophomore isn't he?" "Junior," Ruby corrected proudly. "He's going to take me out friday night. He even told me to wear something fancy." Liz sighed wistfully. "Older boys are so dreamy. He's got like a car and everything." "I know!" Ruby tittered excitedly. "Plus I get to rub it in Christa's face, the skinny bitch." "More like scrawny," Liz added, following Ruby's lead in the conversation. As my friends talked, I slid into a seat quietly, noting to myself that I had forgotten about one of the pair's other daily topics - insulting other girls. Admittedly, Christa was in fact a skinny bitch who often tried to spread nasty rumors about Ruby just because the girl wasn't built like a model. Of course, the real reason wasn't Ruby's weight but Christa's petty jealousy which was where the bitch part really kicked in. "No kidding, she's like totally flat," Ruby continued the bashing. "But we are so going to have to go shopping again. I need something super hot to make sure Parker knows he made the right choice." "Definitely," Liz agreed, nodding quickly. "You know, Parker is friends with Trent." She paused for a moment to sort of swoon. "Think you could get him to hook Trent up with Ally or me? Then we could double date!" "Hold on Liz, they only just got together. It's a little too early to be asking favors like that?" I cut in, hoping to temper the brunette's excitement. I had absolutely no interest in dating Trent, and I certainly didn't want to put up with the two of them trying to force me into doing so. Liz pouted. "Oh come on! He's like ... the hottest guy ever." "We wouldn't want Parker to think Ruby is too pushy and dump her, though," I countered. "Yeah!" Ruby jumped in defensively. "You can get your own boyfriend!" "Fine!" Liz grumbled, sinking further into her pout. "You should get back together with Luke," I suggested, trying to cheer my friend up a little. "He's cute and you two were great together." Liz rolled her eyes. "Please. We're in highschool now. No way am I dating a freshman." "We're freshman," I pointed out. "Yeah, but we're girls. We're supposed to date guys that are older than us, silly," Liz stated matter-of-factly. "Fine, not Luke then," I conceded, not wanting to argue about it. "I'm sure you could get Trent on your own if you tried." Liz huffed incredulously. "Yeah right ... maybe you could, but no way could I compete with all those gorgeous upperclassmen he's got fawning over him." "Speaking of you ..." Ruby began leadingly, glancing toward me. "Have you found anyone you like yet, Ally?" Mere mention of that topic was enough for me to feel my cheeks heating up. "No ..." "Oo you're blushing!" Liz teased. "Who is he?!" "He's no one cause there's no one I'm interested in," I corrected firmly, forcing away the moment of embarrassment. Ruby sighed. "You better pick someone soon or people are going to think you're going out with that dweeb, Noah." "Ew, that would be social suicide," Liz remarked. "In fact, you really should stop hanging around him already. I know you two were friends like a million years ago, but we're grown up now. It's time to move on." Wincing slightly, I shook my head. "I've told you two not to make fun of him like that. He's a nice guy. Besides, I'm not interested in dating. All boys are interested in is getting me to put out. No thanks." Ruby shrugged. "You're loss. Boys are awesome - sex is too." "Well if you're not going to use it, you should lend me your body so I can go seduce Trent with it," Liz remarked. I forced herself to laugh at the joke. It was common for the two of them to joke about borrowing my body or parts of it. Liz and Ruby were both quite pretty in their own rights, but I was gorgeous, tall, slim, busty, with flawless features, deep blue eyes, and long golden hair, all courteous of a nice growth spurt over the last year or. I certainly wasn't going to complain about it, but I'd never really been comfortable with all the attention it garnered - or the little comments from my friends like the one Liz had just maid.. "Well if we're borrowing stuff, I'd like to get on it too, so I don't have to start a diet. I need to lose at least five pounds by friday," Ruby joined in. "I'm counting on you two to make sure I stick to it this time." "Aw, but you're always such a bitch when you're trying to lose weight," Liz groaned. "Yeah well, you'll really see how bitchy I can be, if I don't lose it," Ruby warned. "You look great, you really don't need-" I tried to be supportive. Ruby cut her hands across in front of her to silence us both. "Not another word. I'm on a diet and that's final." *********************************************** *********************************************** The room for my math class was mostly empty when I arrived. Not a surprise given how early I was. Most of my fellow students weren't usually all that punctual to their classes, after all. However, there were a couple of kids already there, namely Noah and a girl named Jessica, whom he appeared to be helping with a problem. Seeing that brought a soft smile to my face. Noah was such a nice guy, always willing to help people out. Not wanting to disturb the two, I just quietly found my seat. As I did, I considered getting a little last minute studying in, but like Noah, I didn't think this test was going to be much of a challenge. I was fairly smart and always made sure to keep up on my work, so I was pretty sure that I'd do fine. "Got it?" Noah asked after a little while of lecturing. "Yeah, thanks," Jessica replied before quickly returning to her last minute studying. "Good, let me know if you have any more questions," Noah told her, before turning toward his desk. As he sat down next to me, he offered a soft, "Hey," in greeting. Looking up at him, I smiled. "Hi there. Get Jessica squared away for the test?" "Hope so," Noah answered, scratching absently at his chest. "She's always panicking that she's going to fail then ends up doing completely fine. I was mostly just trying to calm her down so she isn't too nervous during the test." "That's nice of you," I told him. "Or are you trying to soften her up before you ask her out?" Noah chuckled. "That would probably be my only chance, but no." "Why not?" I inquired. "She's cute." Noah shrugged. "Just not my type, I guess. Of course, if you really want to talk about asking people out, we can always discuss your dating life." Groaning at the mere mention of that topic, I rolled my eyes. "Ugh. Please don't. I already spent half the morning getting grilled by Ruby and Liz about that. You'd think girls thought that it was impossible to live without a man to hold them." "Guys really aren't any better," Noah pointed out. "Heath is constantly talking about how much he wants to 'score with some hot chick' and about how we really need to hurry up and find girlfriends before people decide we're gay for eachother." I giggled at the description. "Sounds every bit as bad. Oh, by the way, sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel our movie plans for tonight. Ruby needs to shop for a new dress for her date on friday." "Really? You'd think that girl had enough dresses, already," Noah commented before shrugging. "I don't mind, though. Who's she going with anyway?" "She got Parker Olsen to ask her out, and you'd thinks she did but apparently not," I informed him. "I think she's looking for something especially slutty, so that Parker knows he's not going to have to wait long for her to put out." Noah nodded. "Parker's one of the better looking guys in school so congrats to her. Should warn her to hold off on putting out, though. He's got a rep for dumping girls the moment they give him what he wants." I sighed helplessly. "Of course he does ... I'll try, but she's probably not going to listen." Noah shrugged. "Well that's all you can do. Up to other people to listen to advice. Stupid free will and all that. I'd try to talk to her myself, but she hates my guts." "She does not," I insisted. "Yeah, she does. If you weren't her friend, she'd probably have Parker beat the crap out of me for ruining her top a couple weeks ago," Noah countered. "She would not ... That wasn't even your fault. Someone else shoved you and it spilled your tray," I argued weakly, even though, I knew that that Noah was probably right. Neither Ruby nor Liz had much concern for people they deemed below them socially. Noah rolled his eyes a bit at that. "Whatever you say, Ally. I'm honestly surprised they haven't forced you to stop talking to me. It's gotta be bad for their rep having you seen with a nerd like me." "You're not a nerd," I countered, but it sounded every bit as weak as my last attempt. "Yes, I am," Noah stated somberly. "Honestly, I don't even know why you still hang out with me." "Alright, that's enough," I snapped, having had more than enough of this from Ruby and Liz. I didn't need Noah feeling down about it too. "We're not getting into this again. Just because I ... ahem ... grew, doesn't mean we can't be friends anymore. I like hanging out with you, plus you're nice and don't treat me like meat. So, unless you decide you hate me or something, we're staying friends. Got it?" Noah chuckled. "Got it." *********************************************** *********************************************** A loud crash distracted me from my lunch and the half-heard conversation Liz and Ruby were having about which shampoo was better for split ends. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw the reason for the disturbance and immediately frowned. Several chairs had been overturned, along with more than a few trays of food that were now on the floor. At the center of the mess was Ben, a boy who until this year had gone mostly unnoticed. Over the summer, he had manifested as a mutant, a low-level energizer that could shoot little spark bolts from his hands. No one probably would have known except his eyes had changed in the process to look like twin starbursts, something that instantly marked him as a mutant to anyone that got a decent look at him. Anti-mutant sentiments were pretty strong in town, and it doesn't exactly take much to get high school students to pick on someone. Life had gotten pretty bad for Ben after that. "What? Can't you freaks even walk without tripping over yourselves?" sneered today's bully, a husky senior named Steve. Ben didn't even try to respond. Instead he just started gathering up what of his food hadn't been ruined, intending to continue on his way. Naturally none of the teachers that watched the area while the students ate moved an inch. They'd undoubtedly side with Steve and claim the Ben just tripped if anyone brought it up. It had happened before. "God was a schizo," Ruby remarked, getting me to turn back around. "Being a mutant must like mess up your brain or something." "It sure messed up his eyes. I wonder how he even sees out of them," Liz added. Ruby shrugged. "Probably can't. That's why he's always tripping over everything." "He didn't trip. He was pushed," I stated, quite sure that was how things had gone. "Well, whichever. He's still a mess," Ruby continued dismissively. "I can't believe he even still comes to school. It's so obvious that he's not welcome." "Yeah, you'd think his parents would have just moved already," Liz noted. "My dad and his buddies have been trying to get them to leave for weeks, but they just refuse to budge. This town is for humans not those freaks." Suddenly, I stood up, grabbing my tray. "I need to go talk to my english teacher about my paper. I'll talk to you guys later." I didn't even wait for an answer before walking away. *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 02 "Hi, sweetie, how was the movie?" my mother, Beth, asked me as I came in through the front door. "Didn't go. Ruby has a date on Friday so we had to go shopping to find her a dress," I told her, coming over to sit on the couch. My mother was seated in her chair, a stiff-backed old thing that no one else in the family could stand, but she, for some reason, loved. There wasn't much of a family resemblance between us. My mom was short and very skinny, a fact that was emphasized whenever I was around her. The one big similarity was that we were both blue-eyed blondes, but she had always had darker, dirty blonde hair and gray-blue eyes, even when she was young, instead of my much brighter and more vibrant coloration. While our appearances may not have been close, we certainly were. Unlike with my friends, I felt like I could talk to my mom about anything. "I hope Noah wasn't too upset," my mother commented. "He seemed fine with it. We just rescheduled for tomorrow," I answered. "Honestly, I think I was more upset by it than he was." Beth tilted her head to the side as she regarded me. "Why would you be upset?" Sighing, I let my shoulders slump. "It's nothing really, just ... with Ruby dating Parker now, she and Liz are acting a little crazy." "I remember being pretty excited about new boyfriends when I was your age," my mom noted. "Well if that was all it was, that'd be fine, but they're trying to push me into it too, and I'm just not interested," I explained. "Boys are idiots." "Aren't you a little old to be saying things like that? It's like you're six anymore," my mother teased with a grin on her face, before suddenly shifting to a more serious look. "Wait ... is this a prelude to you telling me you like girls? It's okay if you do." "Mom! Jeez!" I exclaimed defensively, blushing. "That's not what this is about! I'm not into girls!" My mother raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, sorry, I just wanted you to know it would be okay if you were. As for the boy thing, if you don't want to date yet, just let your friends know. I'm sure they'll understand." "Ha! I doubt that," I scoffed. "If it were up to them, I'd be on a double date this Friday with Ruby and Parker." "Well then I guess you'll just going to have to stick to what you want even when they try to push you away from it," my mom advised me. The very idea of doing as my mother instructed had me rubbing at my temples. "Well, remember you were the one that told me to do that when I come home crying about Ruby and Liz not wanting to be my friends anymore." *********************************************** *********************************************** "You alright?" I asked as Noah and I sat down in the movie theater. The movie wasn't due to start for a while, so they were free to talk while they waited. "That's the fourth time I've caught you scratching since we met outside." "Just been itchy today. It's no big deal," Noah replied, forcing his hand to stop scratching at his chest. Momentarily suspicious, I glanced over at the boy to check him over. Noah was a pretty average looking guy, with brown hair and eyes, and build that was a little on the short side for his age. Nothing seemed out of place, though, so I shrugged it off. "If you say so." "Oh, hey, since Ruby's got her date Friday, you wanna hang out with me that night?" Noah offered. "I was thinking pizza and some video games." "Mmm pizza. Not going to get that for a while what with Ruby on her diet. She says she can smell it on us when we eat it, if you can believe that," I replied, giggling softly at the absurdity of the claim. Noah joined in with a chuckle. "Well, then all the more reason to come over! You can go home right after and wash the stink of cheese and tomato sauce from you, before she gets a chance to find out what you did." "That is tempting, but I'll have to be back home by like nine or so, and my mom and dad won't be back till ten," I told him. "Ruby wants Liz and me home in case her date goes badly and she needs a shoulder to cry on and some ice cream to devour." "We can make it an early night. You can just come by my place right after school and I'll get my mom to drive you home at nine," Noah suggested. "At least half your night will be fun that way." That plan brought a smile to my face. "Thanks. I'll probably just be sitting alone after that anyway. I really doubt Ruby's date is going to go badly. They'll probably be out super late." "Well, if you want, I can lend you my computer and use my dad's laptop, and then we can keep playing even after you go home," Noah offered. "Then you won't have to sit around with nothing to do." "Really? I thought you were like attached to that thing?" I questioned in surprise. "You're not going to die without it, are you?" Noah laughed. "I get how you might think that, but I think I can manage with my dad's laptop for a night. It's not the worst computer ever, just close to it. I'll pick mine back up on Saturday." "Thanks, Noah," I told him sincerely. "And here I thought I was going to have a junky weekend." "Well glad I could save you from that," Noah responded warmly. "I mean ... what kind of friend would I be if I let you have a terrible weekend?" Shrugging, I looked down at the sticky floor of the theater. "I don't know. Ruby wouldn't care. She's the one that wants both Liz and me sitting around doing nothing, after all." "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Noah apologized quickly. "I'm sure she's just nervous and wants her friends' support. Like, remember how nervous you were when you got the lead in the play sixth grade year?" "Yeah, you gave up your part to work on costumes, so you could be there for me between all the scenes," I reminisced, remembering how big of a help it had been to know Noah was right there behind me, cheering me on. "Well that's what you're doing now, giving up some of your Friday night to be there for Ruby," Noah explained, smiling reassuringly. At that moment, the lights began to dim, so I just offered a quick nod of understanding. I didn't turn my attention to the screen right away, though, choosing instead to look at Noah for a few more seconds in the dark. There was one big difference, between that long ago play and right now. Ruby had asked, practically demanded, Liz and I wait for her. I'd never asked Noah to be there for me. He'd just done it. *********************************************** *********************************************** Sitting at my own table, I watched as Noah introduced his new friend to Heath. For the first time since the school year had started a month ago, Ben was actually smiling, if a bit nervously. I was glad to see he finally had some people willing to look past what he was and be his friends. "Ally!" Liz hissed, startling me from my watching. "Huh?" I mumbled uncertainly as I turned to my friends. Waiting for me was a view of Ruby frowning my way. "Weren't you listening?" "I asked you which of these you like the green or the red," Liz added, shoving her phone toward me. Looking down at the phone, I flipped between the two pictures of evening gowns that were on it. Homecoming was a little over a month away, and all three of us were all expected to get new dresses. Even Ruby was going to, in spite her having just bought a new dress for her date. "Uhm ... the red one I think will look better on you. It goes really well with your hair," I finally responded after a few moments of careful consideration, sliding the phone back to the brunette. "Thanks!" Liz chirped. "What about you? Find any dresses you like yet? I did catch you looking at that blue one while we were shopping the other day." That comment prompted a shrug from me. I had liked that dress from the shop, but it was way out of my price range. I didn't even really want a new dress, anyway. "Nothing has really caught my eye yet." "Well, I know what I'm getting," Ruby announced, gesturing in an exaggerated manner toward herself. "There's this killer black gown at that bridal shop, Genevieve's, that will make it hard for Parker to even stand up to dance with me." "Genevieve's? They don't have anything for less than like two thousand there. How are you going to get the money?" Liz asked. Ruby grinned. "My daddy's going to get it for me, after I explained how important my first high school dance was to him." "God, you're so lucky. I wish my dad had that much money," Liz grumbled. "Well you guys better pick something soon. You've only got a month left," Ruby informed them. I had to suppress the urge to laugh at that warning. As if a month could possibly be described as 'only' in this situation. Obviously, I couldn't exactly get a dress the day of, but a week would be plenty of time. I'd probably have to get something cheap and simple, anyway. "Maybe we should go look this Friday since Ruby will be busy," Liz suggested. "No! You guys have to be there to help me get ready!" Ruby blurted. I blinked in surprise at that claim. "Wait, we do? "Of course," Ruby answered as if that fact should have been obvious. "I'm sorry. I told Noah I'd hang out with him that night," I explained. "I've already had to cancel on him once this week. I don't want to do so again." "Well you're going to have to," Ruby told her. "I'm more important than him anyway." Eyes narrowing ever so slightly, I shook my head. "You don't need both of us to help you get ready. Liz can help you." "This date with Parker is a really big deal, Ally. I need you guys with me," Ruby pleaded. "Please?" I sighed in defeat. "Alright. I'll push it back a bit so I can help you get ready. I'm sure Noah will understand." *********************************************** *********************************************** "Couple hours late? That won't be a problem," Noah agreed without so much as a complaint. "Are you going to need a ride both ways then? I'm not sure my mom can do that." I shook my head. "No. I'll be at Ruby's house. She doesn't live far from you, so I'll just walk. It's no big deal." "Oh, how about I walk over there and meet you? That way we can walk to my place together," Noah suggested. "You don't have to do that," I told him. "It's bad enough I'm pushing it back without making you walk all that way for me." Noah waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I'd rather spend more time hanging out than less. A little walk isn't going to kill me. Well at least I hope it doesn't or I'm in even worse shape than I thought." I giggled at the joke. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You sure you want to do it, though? I really can manage by myself." "Shush, it's already been decided," Noah hushed my complaints. "If you keep asking stuff like that, I'll start to think you don't want to spend time with me." "Well that's certainly not true," I replied with a smile. "I was pretty annoyed when Ruby sprung it on me that I had to help her get ready. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do. It's not like she can't dress herself." Noah shrugged. "She's probably just nervous. He's good looking, older, has a car, I can see why that would cause some anxiety." A little dubious of that claim, I scrunched my face up a bit. "I guess. I don't really see it honestly. I mean he's tall, but he's kind of husky and not very bright." "He is a linebacker for the team, so husky is no surprise. Those guys are big," Noah commented. "Besides, don't girls like big, strong guys that can keep them safe and warm?" "That is the dream," I admitted. "Not sure I'd feel all that safe with Parker, but he's probably got the other attributes down." "Well, nobody's perfect, Ally," Naoh remarked. I sighed. "I suppose you're right. I'm probably being hard on him because Ruby's always talking about him. Once the date's over and everything goes fine stuff will get back to normal." "That's the spirit!" Noah exclaimed. "So what about you? What's going on in your life?" I asked, wanting off the topic of Ruby's date. Noah rubbed his chin in thought for a bit. "Well, lets see. I finally beat that dragon boss. I helped Paul with his history project. I made friends with Ben. Oh, and I learned how to make banana nut bread." I laughed at that odd list, especially the final item. "Sounds delicious. How are things going with Ben? That 'fall' he took during lunch the other day looked pretty bad." "He's a little skittish and shy, but I think he fits in well," Noah replied. "It'll probably take a little bit before he really feels at home, though. Plus, hopefully now that we're his friends, he'll get picked on a bit less. Most of the bullies leave us alone, thanks to you - not that that will help him and his family with all the other assholes around." "I don't really do anything," I mumbled modestly. "Most of them just leave you alone because they figure they've got no chance with me if they mess with you. What they don't seem to understand is they'd have no chance regardless. Like I'd date some guy who has to beat up on smaller guys to make his dick feel big." Noah chuckled. "Yeah that really doesn't seem like your style. Still, it keeps them away from us so I count it as a positive." I smiled warmly. "Well then I'm glad I could help." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 03 "That would be Noah," I announced when I heard the doorbell ring downstairs. It was followed a moment later by the sound of talking as Ruby's mom answered the door. "But you can't go yet. I'm not finished getting ready," Ruby protested. While I really wanted to go, I had to admit that that was indeed the truth. The blonde had been taking forever to get ready for her date, with over an hour just for a shower, then another for hair. The three of us were now only just in the midst of make up. "He walked all the way here to get me. I'm not going to make him wait. And besides, you look great," I assured Ruby. Ruby pouted, doing her best sad puppy dog eyes. "Please." "Alright, one last little touch up, but then I'm going," I told her. That little touch up took me another ten minutes before I was finally out of Ruby's room and on my way downstairs to where Noah waited in the living room. "How's she look?" Noah asked, rising from the couch to greet me. "She looks amazing, not that she'll admit it. I wouldn't be surprised if she took another shower and started from scratch," I replied, a touch annoyed with my friend. "Well that's good," Noah noted, before moving over to open the door. "You ready to go then?" "Definitely," I assured Noah, immediately walking through the door that he was holding for me. "Thanks." Noah bowed his head slightly as he followed behind me. "My pleasure." After that, the two of us set off down the road, strolling along in the waning light of day. The neighborhood was well lit, so it wasn't like night would actually hinder our travel anyr. What was of greater concern to us was the low heavy clouds that hung overhead. "Uh oh," Noah mumbled, staring down at his arm. "What's wrong?" I asked, peering at that arm, but not seeing any cause for concern. "I just felt a raindrop," Noah answered. As if on cue, several more drops fell, creating a light drizzle. "I guess our evening stroll just turned into a run. Come on!" I called, breaking into a jog. A moment later, Noah broke into a run catch up quickly before making sure to keep pace. As we ran, the rain worsened from drizzle to full on storm, lightning cracking off in the distance. It wasn't so bad, though. While the rain was cold, the day had been warm, making for a pretty fun little run. "You were a lot easier to keep up with when you were shorter than me," Noah huffed over the sound of the shower, panting a bit for air. At those words, I slowed my pace a bit. "Sorry. It's kind of fun, though. We haven't run about in the rain since we were kids." To emphasize my point, I put a sudden stop to my running for a second, using the water to skid along the sidewalk for a few feet before jogging again. "True," Noah replied, taking my lead and performing a little hop. He came down in the beginning of a puddle, splashing water all around him, which included me. "Hey!" I exclaimed in mock anger, searching for a puddle of my own to splash in. I found a nice one a few paces up the sidewalk. "Let's see how you like it." The two of us hit the puddle at the same time, splashing each other and everything around us as we laughed at the childishness of it. The rest of the run home was full of such splashes and slides. Finally, though, we found ourselves in Noah's house, sopping wet and out of breath. Noah shivered a bit. "Brr, AC is cold when you're wet." "Well maybe you shouldn't have been hopping in ... puddles ..." I began only to trail off when I looked at Noah. The boy's shirt was plastered to him with water, his arms folded in front of him from the cold. That served to only highlight the way the shirt clung to his chest - a sight that was more than a bit shocking to me. Two small mounds with puffy nipples, stiff from the cold, rested there, impossible to miss with the shirt clinging to them like a second skin. "What?" Noah asked, peering at me in confusion. It took me a couple of blinks to get my brain to accept what I was looking at. "Are those ... breasts?" I questioned, pointing toward his chest. Looking down, Noah turned bright red and raised his arms a little so that they would cover the bumps. "They're nothing!" "They aren't nothing!" I countered, quite certain of what I'd just seen. "I know what breasts look like, Noah." "Stupid rain," Noah muttered before looking up. "Fine, they're breasts." "But how?" I questioned in disbelief. Noah was a boy. We'd bathed together a few times as kids even, so I knew that for certain. Noah shrugged. "I don't know. At first my chest was just a little itchy and a little sore. I thought it was like an allergic reaction or something. Then it started getting puffier ..." "Why didn't you tell me?" I pressed, surprised Noah would keep something like this from me. I'd never known him to keep anything from me. "I didn't want anyone to know. It's embarrassing, and they'd make fun of me," Noah mumbled shyly. "Boys aren't supposed to have boobs." I gave Noah a sympathetic look. "I wouldn't have made fun of you. You know that, right?" "You looked like you were about to faint from shock just a moment ago," Noah pointed out. "Well, I was surprised," I argued defensively. "That's not making fun of you." "It sure felt the same," Noah huffed, a hurt expression on his face. Reaching out, I rested my hands on Noah's shoulders. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Forgive me?" "Yeah," Noah agreed with a simple nod. As the apologize drifted away, an awkward silence started to stretch between the two of us as we stood. I had no idea what to do in that situation, and it seemed Noah didn't either. That left me just sort of fidgeting a bit as I tried not to look at him, or specifically his chest, too much as my mind started racing with possibilities. "Is it just your chest?" I finally asked after several seconds. "Does anyone else no?" Noah tilted his head from side to side uncertainly. "I don't know. I think so, and no, no one else knows." "You should tell your mom. Maybe she can take you to a doctor that can help," I suggested. Noah shook his head. "I don't want to go to the doctor." "Why not? They might be able to fix things," I pointed out. "Because I'm scared," Noah admitted. I furrowed my brow in confusion. "Scared? Of what?" Shoulders slumping, Noah looked away nervously. "Scared that it means I'm a mutant." For the second time that day, I found myself too stunned to speak. I knew quite well that some mutants changed a lot when they manifested, so it seemed completely possible that breasts could be a side effect, and possibly a lot more than that too. Worse than just whatever changes were in store for Noah was the fact that, if anyone in school found out he was a mutant, it would be really bad for him. Ben and his family were all but completely ostracized by the town, and the same would probably happen to Noah too. Words may have failed me, but I managed to find another form of communications that didn't. Using my hands, which were already on Noah's shoulders, I pulled him toward me, wrapping him in a tight hug. At first, Noah was shaky and resistant to the embrace, but it didn't take him long to relax in my arms. "Ally, I don't know what to do" Noah told me. "If people find out ..." In that moment, my memory flashed back to the last time Noah had been in my arms shaking like that. We'd just been little kids then, six years old and at the county park. Some of the older kids had convinced us to go into the woods, then ran off and left us there alone. It had been dark and there were all sorts of terrifying sounds coming from all around us. Noah had been frozen with fear, unwilling to move an inch. I'd tried to go get help, but Noah had started crying the moment I tried to leave his side. I'd come right back and ended up holding him the entire time until our parents had finally found us. I hadn't left him then, and I wouldn't leave him now. "It's alright. You don't have to go through this alone," I reassured him. "I'll always be here for you." *********************************************** *********************************************** I awoke to the sound of my name being shouted. Sitting up, I was momentarily confused as I found myself in a place other than my bedroom. It took a moment before I finally recognized the guest bedroom at Noah's house. The two of us had stayed up into the wee hours of the night researching mutations to figure out if Noah was mutating or not. Unfortunately, short of seeing a doctor, which Noah was justifiably afraid to do, there didn't seem to be any way to know other than if the person started to exhibit significant physical changes or manifested a power of some kind. Noah hadn't shown any powers, and while breasts certainly seemed significant, apparently teenage boys could develope slightly in that regard, usually only temporarily, so it wasn't conclusive proof of mutation. "Ally!" came the shout again, clearly Noah, and he sounded scared. Hopping out of bed, I hurried out of the room toward the sound. "Noah?" I called, using the name as a question. It didn't prove necessary, though. Noah was easy to spot. He was in the living room, floating about a foot off the ground. "Ally?" Noah repeated my name, this time more quietly. "I'm ... I'm ..." "It's alright, calm down," I directed gently, approaching Noah slowly so as not to spook him. "But I'm ..." Noah trailed off again. I nodded. "Floating, yes I see that. Can you control it?" "I don't know!" Noah exclaimed, looking down at himself. "Once everyone in town finds out about this ..." "The best way to avoid that is to try to figure out how to set yourself back down," I told him, still using the calm gentle tone of voice as I tried to get Noah to focus. "If no one sees you flying, they won't know you can do it." Calming a bit at the words, Noah nodded. "I'll try," he mumbled. It took him a couple of moments to gather himself for the attempt, but he did. Slowly he drifted to the ground until he was once more standing on it like a normal person. "Thank God," he breathed in relief, once his feet settled down. "See, no reason to panic," I assured him. "We can just keep it a secret." That proved to be the wrong thing to say. "Keep it a secret?!" Noah spat incredulously. "You saw some of those things we read. I'm a mutant. I'm growing boo- err ... you know. What if I keep changing? People are going to be able to tell!" I winced at the claim, having to admit, at least to myself, that Noah was probably right about that. We could keep the flying secret, but if he kept changing, and there was no reason to believe he wouldn't, it wouldn't take long for people to notice something was up. Once they did, whether he could fly wouldn't be important. "We don't know if you'll change any more, and even if you do, it won't change anything between us," I told him, moving close enough to pull Noah into a hug. "I'll still help, so there's no need to panic." Noah leaned into the embrace. "I've talked to Ben about some of the stuff they've done to his family. They broke all the windows in his house, slashed the tires on his parents' cars, and his dad's boss is just looking for an excuse to throw him out on the street. I can't let that happen to you or my parents because of me." I smiled softly at that. Even as scared as he was Noah was still worried about what this would mean for those around him. That was just so like him. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me," I promised. "I want to help, and I'm sure, once we tell them, that you're parents will too." "Tell my parents?" Noah questioned. "They'll think I'm a freak." I shook my head. "No they won't. Besides, better we tell them than they figure it out by seeing your ... uhm ... new assets." *********************************************** *********************************************** "Well that's a little hard to deny," Noah's mother, Linda, breathed as she sat there staring at her son floating a few inches off the ground. Meanwhile, Noah's father, Andrew, was completely speechless. "There's more than just that," I noted, nudging Noah gently with my elbow. "Show them." Noah's cheeks were burning bright red as he reached up to lift his shirt up. "Are those ...?" Noah's father gasped, getting an embarrassed nod from his son before Noah yanked his shirt back down. "Unbelievable." "We did some research and we think they might be part of his mutation," I explained, trying to keep Noah's parents from staring at him too long. The last thing he needed was to feel more like a freak. "We think a doctor could probably tell for sure, but ..." "Any doctor in this town would make sure that his being a mutant got around somehow," Noah's father finished the thought, knowing full well how the town operated. "We'll have to take him into the city," he continued his line of thought. "That way it won't get back to here, whatever they find." Noah appeared to be about on the verge of tears between the staring and the conversation. "I'm sorry ..." "Aw, honey, it's alright," Noah's mother reassured him, rising to walk over and give him a hug. "We're not upset, right Andrew?" "Of course not," Noah's father answered. "We're just worried about how others might react. We want you safe." "See? I told you they'd want to help," I remarked to Noah just a bit smug about being right. Noah's father pulled back a little bit from her hug to look at her son. "You thought we wouldn't want to help?" "I ... I didn't want you to think I was a freak," Noah mumbled. That comment had his mother pulling Noah right back into the hug. "Honey, we love you. We wouldn't think that." "It's not surprising that he's scared. We have this other mutant at school and well ... things haven't been going well for him and his family," I explained. "The Rutgers boy? Yeah, I've heard about some of the things they've done," Noah's father noted gruffly. "A little house damage isn't that big of a deal. We'll manage just fine." "I'll be doing my best to keep him out of trouble while he's at school," I added. "I'm not like queen there anything, but I have a little sway." Noah's father nodded. "I'm glad to know that at least someone will be looking out for him." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 04 "And he is such a good kisser," Ruby told Liz as I sat down at our table on monday. As I did, the two girls both turned to look at me, Ruby with an offended look on her face. "Well look it is. I tried to call you Saturday and you didn't pick up." "Oh, sorry, Ruby," I apologized. "Noah had a sort of family emergency Friday night, so I ended up spending most of the weekend with him helping out. The date went well, though, right?" Ruby held the guarded expression for a just a moment before her glee bubbled to the surface. "It did! Ugh, he is just so amazing! You would not believe how much of a difference a couple of years makes. We could go wherever we wanted, he could actually buy nice things, and he was an amazing kisser. It was just ... wow. I was tempted to let him take me right there." "Wow, sounds ... virile," I remarked a bit surprised by just how enthusiastic the blonde was. "I'm really happy it went well, though. It's really awesome that you've got someone that can make you this happy." "It's even better than that! She found me a date too!" Liz blurted. "Parker's friend, Brayden apparently said I was cute, so we're going to double date next Friday! He's a total hunk too." "Not as much of a hunk as Parker!" Ruby shot back playfully. I blinked in surprise at the news. "Wow ... that's awesome." "What would make it perfect though ..." Liz paused for dramatic effect. "Would be if you'd let Trent take you out with us. Just think all three of us out together with new boyfriends. It would be amazing!" "We've talked about this, I'm not -" I began, really not wanting to get into this conversation again. I had enough to worry about with what had happened with Noah over the weekend. "Interested," Ruby finished for me. "We know, but come on. He's like the hottest guy in school, and Parker said he's totally into you." Anger suddenly flared in me at the pressure as my eyes narrowed. "Enough! Even if he was the hottest guy in the world, I still wouldn't be interested. Just drop it already!" After my outburst, the table fell silent. Ruby and Liz shared a look as the silence slowly built to ever increasing heights of awkward. Along the way, I cringed, as regret seeped into me over what I'd said. "Alright, well we're going to go watch the boys at morning practice," Ruby finally announced, rising with Liz in tow, both wearing hurt expressions. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" I tried to apologize. Ruby shook her head. "No it's alright. We get it," she cut me off, her passive-aggressive tone making it clear that they did not get it and were not planning to forgive it easily. "But ..." I started to try again, but the two just turned and walked away, leaving me alone at the table. "I did say this would happen ..." I mumbled sadly to myself, not at all comforted by the fact that I'd be right. *********************************************** *********************************************** "So how'd things go with the doctor?" I asked, knowing that the answer couldn't be anything good. Noah had invited me over to his house because he'd been unwilling to even discuss it over the phone. Sure enough, even the mention of the doctor had Noah looking down at the ground, a faint flush on his cheeks. "He thinks ... " he trailed off for a moment before continuing more forcefully. "He thinks I'm turning into a girl!" Even having an idea that might be what was happening, I was still surprised by the outburst. I did my best to keep it off her face, though, other than just a slight widening of my eyes. It didn't matter how it made me feel, I needed to stay calm for my friend. "I'm sorry, Noah." Noah let his head fall into his hands. "What am I going to do? There's no way I can hide turning into a girl from everyone. I've apparently already shrunk two inches and lost a bunch of weight. Then there's these..." He cupped his chest for emphasis. "... and the doctor says there's ... stuff going on with my hips and ..." He didn't need to go on for me to get the gist of well else in that area was changing. For my part, I had no idea what to do or say. I'd tried to prepare myself for this possibility, but it hadn't worked. What could I possibly say to comfort Noah in a situation like this? It seemed so futile, but I had to do something. "So we won't hide it," I finally announced, knowing that it was the only way to handle this situation. I also knew that it wasn't going to be something Noah liked. "Everyone in town is going to hate me!" Noah protested. "Not everyone," I assured him, coming over to slide an arm around Noah's shoulder. "I'm not going to hate you, boy or girl, mutant or not." In that moment, Noah snapped, tears suddenly falling from his eyes. As they did he pressed himself against me, clinging tightly. I just let him cry, hoping that he'd feel better after he did. If I tried to stop him, it would just call attention to a display that was decidedly girly and upset him further. Eventually the sobs stopped, although, Noah didn't pull away. "I don't think I can do this, Ally, changing into a girl, being a mutant, it's too much." "I can help you with the girl stuff you'll need to learn, which honestly isn't that much, and I'll do my best with the mutant stuff too," I told him. "Besides, being a girl or mutant doesn't mean you have to stop being you. Noah finally pulled away, seeming to have found his resolve in those words or somewhere in the midst of the tears. "You're right. It's not like I can change it, anyway. I just have to face it and make the most of it." I smiled at that show of determination. "Exactly. Who knows, you might even like it. You never were one of those musclebound, macho meatheads." "I doubt it, but who knows," Noah muttered. "Thanks for being there for me, Ally. You're a good friend." "So are you, Noah," I replied. "So ... where does this girl education start anyway?" Noah asked. Glancing down at Noah, I looked him over for a moment. "Hmm, well you don't exactly need girl clothes, but we could probably start there. I doubt you're interested in or ready for makeup, boys, or feminine hygiene." Noah scrunched up his face in disgust. "Definitely not. How are we going to do this, though? I don't have any girl clothes, and no way am I fitting into your stuff." "Yeah, definitely not," I agreed, smirking in amusement at the mental image that idea conjured. "You're not too far off from my mom's size, though, so I think her stuff would probably fit. It's not going to be the height of fashion, but it should work for explanations until you get some of your own clothes. You could keep wearing the stuff you have, too. There are a few girls at school that rock the tomboy look." "I'll keep that in mind, but for right now I'm supposed to be facing it, so I think I'd better tackle the girly stuff before I fall back on comfort," Noah decided. I nodded in agreement. "Good thinking. Ruby and Liz have dates Friday night, so why don't I grab some of my mom's things and we can do another hang out night?" "Sounds great," Noah agreed. *********************************************** *********************************************** "I guess they're still mad at me," I sighed as I plopped down into my seat at the otherwise empty table. I could always talk to some of my secondary friends instead, there were plenty of people that liked me, but I figured I could use the time to think. "I wonder how I can get them to forgive me," I mused, doubting that Ruby and Liz were interested in an apology. I could accept the date with Trent, but that would just be letting them bully me into it, and I didn't want that. Since they weren't willing to listen, it seemed like I was just going to have to wait for it to blow over, however long that would take. Deciding to focus on something else, I turned my gaze toward Noah's table. He, Heath, and Ben were there, talking and laughing. For someone who had found out that he was a mutant and changing into a girl, he seemed to be in surprisingly good spirits. Noah never was the type to let something keep him down for long, though, and he certainly wasn't the type to let his problems bring his friends down. As I watched, I wondered how his being a girl would change things. Our relationship aside, teenage boys weren't typically all that accepting of girls as 'just friends'. I didn't think something like that would be a problem with Heath and Ben, but one never knew. Maybe if Noah ended up pretty cute he might even end up dating one of them. That idea didn't sit well with me at all, though. "Just because he's going to be a girl doesn't mean he's going to be into boys," I reminded myself. That idea did make me wonder what Noah was going to end up looking like once it was over. It seemed he was going to be short, even shorter than he was now. Would his face remain the same? Would he keep the same bright smile? I ended up just sitting there for a while, looking at his face and wondering how much of it would remain. He really wasn't bad looking or anything, maybe a little kiddy but that was cute. It would be a shame if the changes ruined that. Shaking my head, I cleared away the daydreams. "I'm sure he'll look just fine," I mumbled, knowing that how he looked wasn't really going to be the issue. The real issue would be how people reacted to him being a mutant. Judging by how things had gone with Ben, and the last mutant to manifest in town before him, things weren't going to go well. I probably needed to start thinking about what I could do to help mitigate it. The easiest idea was to just make it clear that we were friends and that I wouldn't like it if anything happened to him. It seemed to have worked so far with Ben, but I wondered how many people my popularity could really protect before people started turning on me too. Sure, I was pretty, but so were several other girls in school, and I wasn't exactly making a lot of fans at the moment with my refusal to date. "I promised to be there for him, so that's what I'm going to do," I told myself. There was no way that I was going to abandon Noah, even if it made everyone hate me. I'd make it work. "Promised to be there for who?" a male voice asked, apparently overhearing my remarks to myself. Looking up, I was treated to the sight of Trent Young, widely accepted hottest guy in school. It was easy to see why. The seventeen year old stood an impressive six-four with sandy hair and piercing blue eyes. He had the easy smile, strong features, and impressive build one expects of the starting quarterback, which of course he was. Truly, he was the quintessential hunk, who a freshman like me should be getting all weak-kneed just by being graced with the privilege of his company. "Uhm ... no one ... just a friend that is having a rough couple of days," I stumbled over my answer a bit, a little embarrassed at being overheard. That could have been very bad, if I'd let slip more information. "Ah, well, hopefully it works out for them," Trent replied, sliding into a seat next to me. "I'm Trent by the way." "Oh, I know. I'm Ally, err Alyssa, whichever," I responded nervously. Trent smiled warmly. "Ah, I see my reputation has preceded me. Yours has as well actually. My buddy Parker's new girlfriend has been telling me all about you." "Of course, she has," I sighed in annoyance. Naturally, Ruby wouldn't take no for an answer. Letting his gaze trail along me, Trent nodded slowly. "She had a lot of nice things to say, and I must admit I was intrigued, especially when she told me you said you weren't interested. I hope I haven't offended you somehow." Slouching slightly under the scrutiny, I shook my head. "N-no nothing like that. My friends have been trying to push me to date, and I'm just not ready for that, so I sort of took a stand on it." "Ah I see," Trent remarked knowingly. "Well you are in highschool, now. It couldn't hurt to try some new things. It's your choice, though." "Exactly!" I blurted. "Ruby just doesn't seem to get that. She thinks that just because she's going out with Parker that we all need to hook up with people, and Liz is just going along with it." "Liz ... she would be Brayden's date for this Friday, right?" Trent asked. I nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, that's her. They're good friends, but I just wanted them to not be so pushy about this." "I take it that's why a pretty girl like you is sitting by herself?" Trent inquired. Blushing slightly, I looked down and away. "You're pretty perceptive." "Not really. I just actually listen, unlike a lot of men," Trent admitted smoothly. He paused for just a moment before continuing. "I have to confess, something. I sort of came over here to try to convince you to go on that date with me. I know you and Ruby are sort of arguing about this, but I hope you wouldn't let something like that keep you from having a good time with me, and I promise to make sure you have a good time, too." My blush only intensified at Trent's promise. "I ... uhm .. I'm sure you would, but I'm just not ... ready for that. Sorry." Trent shrugged. "It's alright. It just isn't the right time for you. It was still nice talking to you, Ally." I nodded bashfully. "You too, Trent." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 05 "Hey! I brought the .... clothes ..." I began as the door opened only to trail off at what I saw beyond it. Standing in the doorway was Noah, except his hair was long, reaching to his chin, and was pure ink black. To add to that, his eyes were ice blue a harsh contrast to his usual warm brown orbs. He had an embarrassed look on his face as he hid off to the side of the door to make sure no one could see him from the street. Catching myself, I stopped staring and stepped inside, so that Noah could close the door. "What happened?" Noah shook his head. "I don't know. I was just getting up to throw away some trash when a little ball of black light appeared in my hand and exploded. Next thing I know the trash is gone and my hair and eyes were like this." "That's a little more than flying," I commented, frowning at the news. "We'll just have to not tell anyone. If people in this town found out about that, things could get real bad real fast. Do you think you can control it?" Noah shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. What if I accidently hurt someone?" "I know you won't let that happen," I assured him. "You're going to have to practice to get it under control is all." "Right, okay, just control it," Noah agreed, nodding slowly. Now that Noah didn't seem quite so worried, I reached out to fiddle with his hair. With the longer hair, and subtle shifts in his build and face, he really did look like a girl now. "Unfortunately, I think this means we're going to have to let people find out sooner about your change. We could probably hide the hair, and I doubt many people know what color your eyes are, but it's probably not worth the hassle given that it wouldn't buy you much time. I guess it's a good thing we're getting started with clothes today." "Yeah ..." Noah mumbled, reaching up to toy with the hair as well. "It's pretty different from what I'm used to. Does it look bad?" I shook my head. "Not at all. You're right that it's different, but it's a nice color. Kind of a bad length right now, though. You'll want to get it cut or I guess let it grow out if you want to go with long hair." Noah scrunched up his face at the idea of long hair. "Ew, no thanks. I'll get it cut." "You're mom's pretty good at that stuff. You should probably let her do it rather than risk someone in town. They might shave your head or something else gross," I warned. Noah shuddered. "Yeah, definitely don't want that." With the hair issue out of the way, I held up the bag of clothes that I'd brought. "So, I scrounged through my mom's clothes for anything that looked like it might possibly be worn by a teenager. There wasn't a lot, but it should be enough to try some stuff on. As for underwear, rather than give you used stuff, I had my mom take me by the store to pick up a few things." "Underwear?" Noah repeated the word with trepidation. I nodded. "Yep. Honestly it's the biggest difference between boy and girl clothes that I know of, and you're definitely going to need a bra. Boy's clothes might be baggy enough to hide them, but girl tops tend to be thin and tight." "Great ..." Noah sighed. "Well ... let's get this started then." "Sure, just take off your shirt and we'll get started with the bra," I directed, grabbing a little white bra out of the bag. Noah folded his arms protectively in front of his chest. "Take of my shirt?" That rather girlish act of self consciousness prompted me to giggle. "Come on, it's not like I don't have them too. I've even seen yours before!" "Alright," Noah sighed, reaching down and quickly tugging off his shirt. In spite of my nonchalance, I was actually surprised by the sight that awaited me. Without the camouflaging nature of the baggy shirt, Noah's upper body looked just like a girl's, although, admittedly, a small- breasted one. He was notably slimmer than I was even, with soft pale skin, and narrow shoulders. His breasts weren't large, but they were perky and capped by distinctly female nipples that were stiff in the air. Looking at him, I found it very hard to believe this was my childhood friend. "Uhm ... right," I muttered, shaking myself free from the stare. "So bras are pretty complicated. There are two sizes, the band which is the number, and the cup which is the letter. You're pretty thin and not all that big so you'll probably be like a thirty A or something. We'll have to measure you, but for now we'll use this to explain the mechanics." As I finished, I walked over and handed Noah the bra, helping him get it on and the hooks done. "Alright, so once you have it on, you want to kind of take your hand and scoop your breast into the cup. It will help the fit, make them look a little bigger, and make sure they aren't getting pinched anywhere." Noah followed instructions, carefully adjusting his first bra. Altogether, he didn't do a bad job of it. When he let his hands fall, his chest looked well-situated, filling the bra nicely. "How's it look?" "C-cute," I stuttered slightly at the sight, immediately diving back into my bag for more clothes. "Alright let's keep going." *********************************************** *********************************************** "Is something wrong?" Noah asked, looking away from the movie to peer at me in concern. The sound of that question got me to jump in surprise pulling my gaze up from Noah's outfit to look him in the eye. "No," I answered hurriedly, shaking my head and turning back to the movie. Beside me, Noah merely shrugged and turned back as well. Since Noah and I had stopped with the clothes, I had had a hard time not looking at Noah. To help him get used to them, Noah had stayed in the last outfit that he'd tried on, a skirt and blouse combo. As he sat there watching the movie, knees together as per my instruction, there was no way to tell that he wasn't a girl. It really weirded me out. He was supposed to be a boy,at least for a little bit longer, but he looked just like a girl. "Thanks for coming over, by the way," Noah spoke up again, turning to me with a smile. "You've been really great about this - making me feel normal even though I'm not." "Oh ... uhm ... you're welcome," I responded uncertainly. "I don't really think you aren't normal, at least not any less normal than I am. Everyone's got a weird thing or two about them, right?" Noah nodded. "You're right, my weird things are just a little more noticeable than most ..." he conceded, leaning against my shoulder. "People are going to notice on monday, aren't they?" "Yeah," I confirmed reluctantly, sliding an arm around Noah to rub his far shoulder. "But it'll be okay. You look so different, it'll probably take everyone most of the morning just to figure out who you are." "I guess this is really different, huh," Noah remarked, looking down, and tugging at his blouse with one hand. "It's not as embarrassing as I thought, though. They're just clothes, and they fit better than my old stuff." I laughed lightly. "Just wait till you get stuff that's actually your size, and not my mom's. Everything you're wearing is pretty baggy on you, even the bra is probably too big, at least in the band, since I didn't think you'd be so s