Something Wicked This Way Comes Part 4 free porn video

Something Wicked This Way Comes 4 Ryan took one last look at himself in the locker room mirror. The uniform was supposed to look like a cowboy, or cowgirl in his case. The cowboy hat came down over his brow and he had to push it back and tie the string tight under his chin, so it didn't fall down over his face. Which was not as bad as the uniform. A western shirt, in brown and mustard yellow, with fringe on the pockets - the breast pockets. "Howdy cowpokes. Everyone ready?" Dirk, the manager, called out. He was wearing a cowboy outfit, except his was blue. Ryan guessed that was so customers knew he was the manager or head cowpoke or whatever. There was a low, unenthusiastic chorus of mumbles to the affirmative from the staff. Ryan had a quick look around. Dirk, somewhere in his thirties, was undoubtedly the oldest employee. After him, he doubted any of the others were even old enough to buy beer and maybe not even cigarettes. "Aw come on, cowpokes. You can," pronounced 'kin' like he was from out west or something, "do better than that." Dirk tapped his clipboard irritably with his pen. The pen was retractable, making it spring in and out everytime it hit the board. "Give me a real Barbecue Corral yee-haw!" The next round of mumbling was slightly more energized. Ryan even made out a couple of half hearted 'yee-haws,' from a tall girl with long blond hair. "Well, I'll take it." Dirk looked around at him. "So I want to introduce the newest member of our little family. Gang, this is Teagan," he pointed to her with his pen. "Let's give her a big howdy!" He looked around sheepishly, desperately wishing he could turn invisible. A few of the others offered nods. "Lou, come here. Teagan, this is Lou. He's going to train you on the grill. That work for you, Lou?" Lou, a tall skinny guy with his long hair in a hair net, shrugged, like Ryan did when his dad asked him if he wanted to shovel snow. Dirk continued, "Now, Teagan, I know what you're thinking." Maybe getting out of the house wasn't a good idea? "But, everyone at Barbecue Corral started on the grill. Even JH Cardiff himself." JH, the company president, was the grandson of HR Cardiff, who founded Barbecue Corral back in the 60s. Ryan seriously doubted that JH spent more than an hour on his first morning flipping burgers. And, even then, he knew that he had never been expected to clean the grease guard. Lou walked to the back and Ryan followed. "Take off that hat," he said. Then he showed him how to put on his hair net so it didn't show. "So, you been here long?" Ryan asked. "I am the second longest serving employee after Sally." He looked over at the counter where Sally was serving an early morning customer. He smiled. "Six months. Which is like a record here." They watched Sally boss around another employee. The guy with the curly hair who'd kept looking back at him. "How long has she..." "I heard two years. But you can't confirm that. It's not like anyone from then ever comes back here." The morning passed fairly quickly. Dirk came by a couple of times to check on Ryan's progress. "Everything good here?" he asked without waiting for an answer. The kitchen was cramped and they were pushed together. Ryan could feel Lou's breath on his neck and smell the mint of his toothpaste. It got busy around lunch. Tedious but not hard. Mostly, it was about timing and getting the portion sizes right. "This shit's easy. The hardest thing is to not look at the clock. We all lose our shit at some point during the day. But if you do and it's 5 to 2," 2 being when the burger flippers got their break, then you know it's going to be a good day. Crumble at noon and you're in hell." At about 10, he looked at Ryan and turned on a radio. "You cool with FMU?" Ryan nodded. Lou was seen as something of a hero to the rest of the kitchen staff. "I heard you convinced Dirk to let you listen to the radio instead of the stuff out there," and he pointed his head at the dining area. Lou smiled to himself. "Yup. On the agreement it was kept low enough the customers can't hear." "Cool." A few minutes later, Sally came over with the boy with the lazy eye. Ryan stood awkwardly. Lazy Eye was a big muscular guy who stood with his legs apart, forcing Ryan to squeeze into the corner. Sally, who was perhaps the only member of staff who didn't like Lou, grumbled about how disorganized this station was, one of the spatulas having been left in the wrong zone. Ryan was too busy being grossed out by Lazy Eye's sweaty arms brushing against his skin to care. Two o'clock. "You wanna go out back?" Lou smiled at him. He shrugged. "Yeah." He had no other plans and they only got twenty minutes besides. They walked out the back to the loading dock behind Sears. In the corner, someone had placed some old folding lawn chairs. Two guys and one girl, all of whom Ryan recognized from inside, were already milling around. "Hey," Lou said. "You cool with Teagan?" Ryan shuddered thinking of what would happen if the answer was no. No one said much of anything, so Lou started making introductions. He said their names but Ryan was so nervous he forgot them straight away. "Welcome to the shit taco," said a guy with a moustache that made him look even younger than he probably was. "Can I get a big shit taco yee-haw?" Which got middle fingers from the others. "Shit taco?" Ryan said nervously, to everyone's laughing. A black guy pointed at his shirt. "Piss yellow and shit brown. The shit taco." Which made everyone laugh. Ryan joined in. Then he offered, "I'm glad we can come hang out back here. Y'know, on breaks..." He'd just taken off his hat and hair net. Running a hand through his hair he could feel the clamminess, the sweat and the grease. "Two downsides." Moustache again. "First, the shitty Jersey weather. Too hot in the summer and you smell the grease on yourself." Which made Ryan a little nauseous. "Or the fucking cold winter." Which made a girl in a Subway uniform say, "True dat." "Then, add to that, you get to see how much of the day you've wasted in this shit hole." "Yeah," said Ryan along with the others. He nodded his head a little too vigorously. "Anyone want to vape?" Lou gave them a sly grin. He passed it around the others before it got to Ryan. "T, you in? You don't have to." Ryan eyed the little device suspiciously. Then he thought of Claire in the classroom. "Yeah, I'm totally in." He took the device and sucked on it. Moments later, he was coughing and spluttering, his eyes watering. Lou slapped him on the back. "You'll be fine. Just hold it," he took it back and showed him, "don't suck it in." Ryan felt wobbly as they headed back inside. Lou nudged him in the arm, "Hey don't worry. I'll ask Dirk to put us on storeroom. We can keep the door open. Some fresh air and you'll be alright." The locker room was divided by a small wall into male and female. As they were heading back in the short girl whose name he couldn't remember took him by the arm and led him into the girl section. He gave Lou a worried glance, who just shrugged and said, "See you in five." "You need to get this." The girl held up a tube of some sort of cream. "For the grease," she explained patiently. "Otherwise, you get mad zits." He took it and muttered, "Thank you." As he starred in the mirror self consciously applying the cream, the short girl stood back and gave him an appraising look. "Those your work jeans?" "Uh, yeah?" She touched him gently on the shoulder. "You know, American Eagle is having a sale. In case you want something that fits better." She smiled at him in the mirror, taking back the tube before leaving, He was left staring at himself in the mirror. Turning his ass to the left, then the right. Trying to judge if he had a fat butt or not. Their day ended at four when the afternoon/evening shift started. There was a brief exchange between the two shifts in the locker room. The new shift more awake, but subdued. Ryan's shift slumped and weary, but talking excitedly. He waved goodbye at the door then headed back into the Mall. He didn't want Lou to know his dad was picking him up. His dad was waiting for him in Barnes & Noble. As he got closer, he watched him. He was intently reading a book, so engrossed he didn't see Ryan until he was almost on top of him. He looked up and smiled genuinely at him. "Hey kiddo. How was work?" "Good." Then suddenly realising he had no way of measuring if it had gone well or not. "I think." "Look at you, my working g..." His dad stopped mid sentence. Ryan wondered if he was blushing as much as his dad. "I mean, I'm proud of you." "Thanks." Ryan stared at his feet. Nope, he was definitely blushing more. "You want to get a snack? Something to drink?" He looked over at the in-store cafe. It didn't take Ryan long to think about it. Jack would be home from practice. And his teammates would probably still be there too. His new game was to asking Ryan to get us snacks. His mom pretending not to notice. "Sure." He looked up for a second, then went back to smiling at his feet. "Just maybe some place...not here, K?" His dad laughed. They went into the Dunkin' Donuts. "Go grab us a table and I'll get everything," his dad said. "You've probably been on your feet all day." He came back with coffee for himself and "a Dunk-a-ccino for you." It was hot and Ryan prayed he didn't drop it on his crotch. His dad talked about his first job. "Dragging statutes around Fountains of Wayne." And then smiled and said, "We are really proud of you, you know." He took the lid of his coffee and blew on it. "Um, yeah. Thanks." He remembered the arguments over him getting a job. "Mom isn't." His dad looked him in the eyes. "Yes, she is. She's very proud of you. The way you've," and his voice got quieter. "Handled... everything. We couldn't have expected more from you. You exceeded our expectations," he took a sip and smiled. "Sure." Ryan drew the word out. His dad kept looking at him. "We are." He poured more sweetener into his cup and stirred it with the plastic stick. Tapping it twice on the rim of the cup when he was done. "That's what moms do. One day you'll understand." Ryan just stared into his drink. That was something that hadn't even occurred to him. --- Ryan couldn't wait for the end of sixth period. At least on Wednesdays, when the drama club met. The bell rang. His English teacher said, as he always did, "The bell doesn't dismiss you. I do." He paused, looking out over their anxious faces, then smiled. "Dismissed." Then, over the noise, "Remember, we have a test on The Scarlet Letter next Tuesday. I assume that you've been keeping up with the reading..." Ryan ran to the drama building, well as best as he could in his skirt. He came into the room to find Claire sitting on the desk, criss-cross style in her pants, and her friends Emily and Maya on chairs. Maya stuck something in her pocket and gave him a look. He assumed it was her Juul. Kiko told him how she always saw them Juuling outside the dorms at night and 'it didn't smell like tobacco.' Claire smiled at him. "KoopT won't say anything. She's cool. Right, KoopT?" He felt giddy. "No, of course not. I don't care. It's fine. Seriously." Way to go, KoopT. He took out his laptop, well his dad's old laptop. He had convinced him that he could do work while he waited to be picked up. "So, I was working yesterday. On the storyboards for the third scene." When the other girls had seen his drawings, Emily, the self-appointed director of photography, decided he should work on storyboards. Which was fine by him. It was like drawing comics. The movie was going to be a retro horror, like Blair Witch Project. Except this time, the girls do the rescuing. His mother had been happy when he started on it, telling him that, 'it was good that he was making new friends.' Emily leaned over him, and he could smell the mix of her shampoo and whatever they were smoking. She didn't say much, other than hmmm and interesting, except when she came to a storyboard of a tree with a big knothole in the middle. She started laughing, "Interesting tree, Ryan." Ryan looked confused. It was a tree with a big knothole. "What?" "Claire, Maya, take a look at this." The three girls surrounded him. He felt how close they were, the fabric of his v-neck sweater brushing against the thin fabric of her shirt. Their laughter made his stomach churn. "What?" He tried not to whine. He hated his voice. "What's so funny?" Claire pointed to it. "That knothole? Um, does it look like something to you?" "Um, is it supposed to?" He felt like he wanted to run. Maya smiled. "Have you taken health class yet?" Emily snickered in a low voice. "Or a shower." "Look closer, Ryan..." It looked like the tree on the old nursery lot. That's where he got the idea from. He stared at it closely and then felt all the color drain from his face and then come right back up. "Uh, oh, I, uh..." And he snapped the cover shut and all but ran from the room, hearing the laughter behind him. He ran down the hall and out of the building. He found a bench away from the drama building and started to cry into his hands, hoping no one walked past. Not that it mattered. You could always see some girl crying, which was getting less weird. It was his chance, for once, to not be weird and he fucked it up. He wasn't any good at drawing. He wasn't good at anything. Why did he think he could be? He wandered around for a while, looking down. He could feel everyone's eyes burning a hole through him. They all thought he was weird anyway, the day student, the scholarship girl. He felt it every time he took out his old phone and this stupid old laptop. He knew he should go back, that if his mother found out, she'd yell at him. But, if he went back, they'd laugh at him. Or kick him out. And then he'd have to explain why he wasn't doing it anymore. He'd just have to keep lying and hope they didn't check his computer. Which he was pretty sure they were doing. He went to the library and did homework for the next two hours. And twenty minutes. Until his father came for him. "Hey, Ryan," he said, arms at his side. He always did that, unless someone was watching. "How was movie club?" He stared ahead, figuring he'd say something or, even worse, cry if he looked at him. "Drama club. Fine." "Did they like your storyboards?" "Uh huh," he lied. "That's great." His dad didn't push him any further. He plugged in his earbuds and listened to Drake. "In My Feelings." (Look the new me is really still the real me/I swear you gotta feel me before they try and kill me) It was already dark as they pulled onto the Turnpike. Ryan could see his reflection in the mirror. He pushed his hair behind his ears, hating how big they looked, his stupid nose was and how dumb his freckles made him look. It was no wonder Claire and the others didn't want to be his friends. --- "So, thank you for letting me sleep over, Mr. Koopman," Harper said as they walked to the car late Friday afternoon. "I really appreciate it." Ryan's father smiled. "You're welcome Harper. We're glad you could make it." -- When Ryan had asked at dinner, he'd hope his parents would say no. No such luck. His mother smiled. "I think it's a great idea. You'll have someone to hang around with all weekend." "I hang out with Logan and Miley." "Skyping and playing Overwatch is not hanging out. It is hiding out. Hanging out involves human contact." Miley had been busy the past couple of weekends and he and Logan texted, but they hadn't hung out, in person, since Thanksgiving. "I think this will be good for you. Besides, she let you sleep in her room when we had that bad storm." I only asked her because you asked me to, he thought to himself. "Uh huh." His father continued. "And don't you have off from work this weekend?" Dirk had asked her to give up a shift to Terrell, 'since it's the holidays and he asked for extra shifts to buy presents. You don't mind being a good teammate, do you T?' "I'll come get you two. If you want, we can stop at Freehold," the mall, "on the way home." ---- So here they were. "I mean I was going to go home this weekend, but then my mom said they had stuff on Friday and Saturday and so I couldn't because I'd be all alone. And sometimes you get bored of being at school every day all the time, y'know?" Before anyone could respond, she continued on. "Which is why it's so cool that I have Teagan now. Being a day student and all." She put her arm around Ryan and pulled him in, which made his father laugh. "And she's so nice. Everyone likes her." Ryan's father looked at him and smiled. "So, where are you from, Harper." "I'm from Gladwyne. It's north of Philadelphia." Ryan saw his dad get a look of surprise, then smiled. "I know where Gladwyne is. I went to Drexel." Harper smiled. "Cool. I like it there." The look of surprise returned. "Oh, you've been there? For what?" Harper, blithely unaware. "My grandpa went there. And he always talks about how he worked his way through school and how they gave him a great education and how grateful he is. So, last year, he gave some money and they named a lab after him and so we went there for the ribbon cutting." Ryan didn't know how much you had to give to get a lab named after you, but he knew no one in his family ever did. They went to the car and Ryan's dad took Harper's bag and threw it in the trunk. She thanked him and said, "Teagan says you're an engineer. What kind of engineer are you?" "Electrical." He smiled, seeming to enjoy the attention. Whatever. "Oh, that's really interesting. What sorts of projects?" With that, Ryan heard his dad explain more of what he did than Ryan was pretty sure he had ever done for him in his life. He just sat back and listened to his father and Harper, and wondered if anyone would notice if he put in his earbuds. As they got near Freehold. "So, do you g..two want to go to the mall?" Ryan, who had been mostly silent, grumbled. "Is it home or is it doing something?" Harper looked confused and Ryan's dad groaned. "Really, Teagan? In front of your friend?" Harper looked uncomfortable. "Um, it's none of my business but I can't go anywhere. What's it?" Ryan looked at her. "It is Jack. My former brother," which got a groan and another exasperated 'really?' Harper looked at him like she wanted to ask, but would wait until later. His father looked over at him. "Your brother is at basketball tryouts. Do you want to go to the mall or not?" He looked at Harper. "We can go tomorrow. If you want," he said. Harper smiled. "OK. We can definitely do that. I'm sure you're tired too, Mr. Koopman. Besides, I want to meet your mom." Ryan and his father exchanged smiles and shrugged. An hour later, they pulled into the driveway. "We're home," Ryan's dad announced. "Anyone here?" Ryan's mom came in. "Hi honey," she said, giving him a kiss. She looked Harper up and down and Ryan couldn't tell what she was thinking. "You must be Harper," she said, offering her hand. "I'm Ryan's mom, Diana." Harper grinned broadly. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Koopman." She looked around. "You have a beautiful home. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it." Calm down, Ryan thought. It's just a sleepover. Ryan's mom smiled. "Thank you, Harper. That's very nice. And I'm glad that Teagan decided to invite you. Would you two like a snack before dinner?" Before Harper could answer, Ryan said quickly. "No. That's OK. We'll just go to my room." He felt Harper looking at him. "I mean so Harper can put her stuff down. Once we've done that, we'll come back down. Right, Harper?" She smiled. "Um, OK." They went into Ryan's room and she looked around. At the Dr. Who poster. And the Buzz Lightyear figure. And the blue sheets, pillowcases and blankets. "This is an interesting room," Harper said. "Huh?" He looked around. It looked kind of boring to him. "What's so interesting?" He plugged in his phone at his desk. "No, I mean it's cool that your mom lets you let it look like this. Jennifer," he guessed from the sneer that that was her mom, "would absolutely have a stroke if I put up a Doctor Who poster. Or, god forbid, wanted blue sheets." She fluttered her hand in front of her face and acted like she was about to faint, which made Ryan laugh. "I'm sure Diana would be happy to take all this down," he grinned. She plopped on his desk chair and picked up the Switch, flipping it around in her hands. She looked at the poster. "10 or Smith?" "Huh?" He was busy taking stuff out of his backpack. She looked at him. "10 or Smith?" She pointed at the poster. "Who's hotter?" When he didn't answer, she said, "Oh god. Not Capaldi. I mean, if you're into old guys, that's your right. But he's like my dad's age." He thought about it for a second. It'd never even occurred to him to think of those actors in that way. Mentally he flipped a coin. "Matt Smith, I guess." That was clearly the wrong answer. She twisted her face. "Yuck. How could you? 10 is totally hotter. Matt Smith? Gross." "Tennant always made those faces." And he contorted his into a pale imitation. "But, whatever, if you like guys like that...." She stuck out her tongue then started taking her stuff out of her bag. "This is much cooler than being at school, Teagan." He couldn't imagine anything less cool than this. "Seriously? You get to be by yourself. No parents. You can stay up as late as you want." "No, you can't. There's a curfew. And the dorm advisor's always there so it's not like you can do whatever you want. And you have to make plans to leave. And you don't see your friends..." He almost said something else and then remembered how everyone kind of moved away from her and how she was always available for Skype. "Uh, OK. But at least you don't have Jennifer," he joked. She laughed and then his phone buzzed. He wasn't able to move quickly enough and she saw the screen. "Who's Logan?" she asked with a big grin. "Gimme that," he said, feeling his face flush and grabbing the phone. He typed, "Cnt tlk. Ltr." No emojis, in case Harper looked. She grinned even wider. Like her face was about to split. "Who's Logan?" she said, drawing out the 'o.' "No one. He's no one. He's a friend. From middle school. Who I play video games with." Very convincing. I'd believe that. Then, without thinking, he added, "And stuff." Harper's eyes widened. "And stuff? What kind of stuff?" Ryan glimpsed himself in the mirror. He was beet red, almost purple. "Have you kissed him?" Hearing no answer, she said loudly, "You have!" "Shhh," he hissed. "They don't need to hear you! Come on." She giggled and bounced on the chair. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. That's just so cool. I mean, you kissed kissed, right? Not like-" And she made a peck in the air. "Yes, we kissed kissed. At a party. But it's no big deal." Come on, it was just Logan, he thought. Although he remembered the feeling. But, it was still...Logan. "Have you ever kissed someone?" She got quiet. "Not yet. No." Then she got defensive. "I mean, that's what sucks about Muirwood. You don't get to see boys...." Ryan felt about six inches tall. "I didn't mean it that way. It wasn't even really a party. We were playing Dungeons and Dragons," and Harper made a face. "I know. And then we played spin the bottle and it landed on him and..." Ryan conveniently left out seven minutes in heaven, not wanting to make it worse. On him or Harper was up for dispute. "Uh huh," she smiled. "No big deal. Uh huh..." "You CANNOT tell anyone," he said, the way he said 'cannot' scaring him. "Promise!" She just grinned. "C'mon, promise," he whined. "I promise," she smiled. "But you have to tell me about it." "I dunno. One minute, we were sitting there and the next minute, his tongue was in my mouth and mine was in his..." Harper's eyes widened, enough that it looked like they would take over her face. "And he put his hands on my hips..." He smiled at the thought, then shook his head. "Did it feel really good?" "It was Logan," he said, thinking that would satisfy her. Except she didn't know Logan. "And?" He was officially purple now. He couldn't speak. He just nodded. ----- "So, Harper, how do you like Muirwood?" Ryan's mom asked as they ate dinner that night. Usually, on Fridays, his mom was too tired from the week, so they'd just eat pizza or Chinese or whatever his mom picked up on her way home from work. Today, however, she decided to make baked ziti and sausage 'since we have a guest.' Harper smiled. She had been smiling ever since Logan texted. It was getting on Ryan's nerves. "Oh, it's fine," she said. "I mean, I like it. Especially since Teagan started. She's really cool and fun." Jack smirked. "Oh, she is really cool and fun. She's the best big sister a guy could ever have." "Thank you for your input, Jack," his father sighed. Harper's eyes darted around the table, trying to figure out what was going on. "What? I just love my big sister. And she loves me." Yes, she'd love you under the wheels of a truck. Harper looked at Jack and said sweetly. "So few little brothers appreciate their big sisters." Jack scowled slightly and slumped slightly in his chair. "So," Ryan's dad said with the hint of a smile, "what's it like being at an all girls' school? I mean your friend here isn't the talkative sort." His eyes flickered towards Ryan. "So I'm glad you're here. I mean, do you find there's more, I don't know, camaraderie or something?" Harper thought for a second. "You mean, 'cause it's all girls and stuff? I guess. I wouldn't know really. I've only gone to all girls' schools. My dad thinks it encourages girls to participate more and stuff in class. And do more STEM and stuff." "Interesting," Ryan's mom said. "I went to all girls' Catholic school and camaraderie isn't the first word that comes to mind. Some of the girls could get kind of nasty sometimes." Ryan looked at her. He knew that she had gone to all girls' Catholic school but she had never discussed it with him. Even when he started at Muirwood. "Plus," and she smiled, looking at Ryan, "do you miss having boys around?" Without saying anything, she shot Jack a warning look. Harper smiled. "Um, it's cool not having them in class. But, we have them around sometimes. Like we have mixers and stuff with boys' schools. Next month, we have the winter mixer with Bernards Prep." Ryan slumped in his chair. Shit. She said something. She wasn't supposed to say anything, even though she didn't know that. Regardless, he hadn't planned on going. His mother kept smiling. "Oh really? There's a mixer coming up? See, once again, Teagan is being little miss quiet, isn't she?" Ryan wondered if he could go into the bathroom. And sneak out through the pipes. "We had no idea. I had no idea, Jason. You?" He laughed, "It's never come up. Not on any of the trips down. Or back." "Um, yeah. I guess I just forgot. Um, so there's a dance in January. At school. I thought they'd put in the email blast." "Thank you for the update, Teagan," his mother said drily. Then turned back to Harper. "So, Harper, tell me about the dance." Harper smiled, unaware. "It's really cool and fun. You get all dressed up and everything. They even let all the high school girls wear makeup, not just the juniors and seniors...." Jack pounced. "Teagan has just been dying to wear makeup! That's all she talks about. That's just so cool!" Ryan kicked him under the table. Harper looked excited. "I'm sure if you wanted makeup tips, Teagan or I could give them to you." Jack glared at her and she continued, looking at Ryan's mom, who held back laughter. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Koopman. I didn't mean to offer to teach Jack unless you gave us permission." Ryan grinned from ear to ear. "I don't wanna wear makeup!" he yelled. His father smiled. "You don't have to wear makeup. Unless you want to..." "Shut up! I don't wanna wear makeup!" "That's fine," his mother said grinning. "Besides, you're too young, regardless. Maybe in a couple of years. So, anyway, this dance..." With that, Harper and his mother were off to the races, discussing the dress code and boys and everything. --- Harper had joked that the parka he was wearing looked silly above his thin legs. He didn't disagree, but it was December and it was cold. The skateboard park was mostly deserted that time of the year. He could see Alice and Mary sitting at the top of the largest ramp. Below them Elliot and Hands were mucking around on their boards. Logan hadn't arrived yet. "Teagan!" It was Alice who saw them first. She was wearing purple Doc Martens and a red and black striped scarf. "Hey, Mary. Hey, Alice." His head bobbed up and down. He noticed how Harper had gone silent next to him. "This is Harper." The wind was cold against his face. He imagined his skin had turned pink. "Hi Harper." Mary moved aside to let them sit down, Ryan first and then Harper. "So do you go to Teagan's school?" "Yeah..." Then she went off a mini history of Muirwood and the labyrinthine network of friendships and alliances they had to navigate every day. Ryan leaned back, letting them talk over him. Logan didn't arrive till nearly half an hour later. His hair looked different. Did he cut it or just comb it? He looked a little like Daniel Kaluuya... "Hey." Logan stood at the bottom of the ramp looking up at them. "Hey." Ryan was acutely aware of the girls exchanging glances. "Um..can we...uh...talk?" Logan looked relieved. "Yeah... yeah. That sounds good." Ryan got up and headed down the ramp. He'd never really walked down it, just rode, and he didn't realize how steep it was. He moved forward faster than he expected, having visions of crashing into Logan's arms. Thankfully he was able to stabilize himself after a few seconds. He was sure his ears were burning bright red with embarrassment just at the thought. He didn't dare look around in case he saw the faces of Harper, Alice and Mary. They walked a little way away. Not so far as to make it look like they were hiding. But enough that their every move wouldn't be watched. They hoped. "So-" Logan scuffed the rubberized asphalt with his sneakers. "So," Ryan looked at him, wishing he'd return his gaze, "what are we going to do?" "Um..." "That's helpful. Dick. You know they think I'm your girlfriend," his voice rising at the end. Unsure whether it was a question or a statement. "I know." Finally, Logan seemed animated. "I've told them we're just friends but y'know how girls are..." He trailed of at the end. Ryan nodded emphatically. "Harper's exactly the same." "Who?" Logan looked startled. "Harper. My friend. From school," and he indicated back to the girls. He was pretty sure he had told Logan about her. He looked back at them, getting the impression they'd only just looked away. "Oh," Logan returned to looking at the floor. "She's sleeping over." Which earned him a look. "Besides, we are just friends...but..." He watched Logan closely, trying to interpret his expression. "But Elliot and all of them know you as my girlfriend." He had to look away when he said 'girlfriend'. And he'd never seen Harper so excited. Plus, having his classmates at Muirwood think he had a boyfriend wouldn't hurt. Even he knew that. "Look," Ryan glanced over to where the others were. The girls had gone down to join the boys and, once again he got the impression they'd been looking right up until he turned around. "Come here." He took Logan's arm and walked him back about three feet. So there was nothing in between them and the rest of the skate park. Logan looked startled but followed. Ryan took his hands. "No holding my hand in public," he said firmly, "or trying anything like this." "What are you..." Logan was silenced by Ryan's mouth on his. It wasn't like the other kiss. There were no tongues for a start. Ryan moved Logan's hands so they sat on his hips, but apart from that he didn't move. In the back of his mind, Ryan was wondering how long he should keep this going for? As they walked back to the others, they found it hard to look at each other. "Remember," hissed Ryan, "no holding hands!" He briefly looked over and saw that Logan suddenly looked self-conscious about what to do with his arms and hands. The group were trying hard to pretend they hadn't seen what happened. Although Harper was doing a poor job of hiding her joy as she improvised talking to Mary about something. After about an hour of pretending to skateboard, when it had become so cold they couldn't hide it anymore, they went to the pizza place. They boys walked in front while Ryan waited back with the 'other' girls. Every now and again, he'd glance up to see either Elliot or Hands slapping Logan on the back. Occasionally they'd break out into laughter. Ryan thought he had a pretty good idea who they were talking about. --- If he'd thought the fake kiss would shut up Harper, he was very much mistaken. They sat on the edge of his bed flicking through old yearbooks. Harper had insisted they find all Logan's old pictures. "Oh, he's so a-dork-able!" she actually squealed in delight. "And he's black, which is, like, really cool." He almost laughed at how serious her voice had gone. He hadn't really thought about how lacking in diversity Muirwood was compared to here. He guessed Harper's other schools were similar. He was about to say something when he heard. "Knock, knock girls." He looked up to see his brother grinning in the doorway. On one side was Billy and on the other the redheaded kid from soccer practice. "What. Do you want?" It was considered the greatest of transgressions to butt in when the other sibling had friends over. Whatever else happened, they held a thin truce as far as friends were concerned. One kept in place by the threat of mutual destruction. Jack's grin got even wider. "We want Coke and pizza rolls." Ryan looked at him with contempt. "And this is my problem why?" "Well," Jack stared without blinking. "We want you to get it for us. You know mom won't let me use the oven." Harper looked between the two siblings. All Ryan knew was her brother was much older, like seven years, and was at college somewhere. Ryan blinked at the brazenness of the request. "So microwave them." He grinned and eyed the yearbook. "Microwaved pizza rolls suck ass." Ryan had to agree. But he wasn't making them in the oven. Meanwhile, Jack's two friends smirked, like he was NigaHiga or something. "Not my problem." He thought about threatening to kick his ass, but then remembered the last time he'd tried that. He had no burning desire to be humiliated in front of an audience. He tried to think of way out that saved face. "Besides why are you bothering me? Where are mom and dad?" He just smirked. "You know, mom is at grandpa's. And Dad's in his office working on that report. Besides, I like the way you make them. Like mom," he said, adding emphasis to the word 'mom'. "Too bad. No." Jack walked over to the bed and looked at Harper, then Ryan. "Oh, you're looking at Teagan's yearbook? Can I see?" Ryan felt a trickle of fear run down his spine. Harper gave him a look, clearly aware there was subtext but not being able to figure it out. Jack made a grab for the book but Ryan pulled it away just in time. He knew what he was looking for. He'd been careful not to show Harper that page. The one with 'Ryan Koopman' on. He'd even concocted an excuse that this Ryan was a cousin, and that Teagan hadn't been able to make it the day of the photographers due to illness. But that wouldn't work with Jack and his two friends there. "Fine, you little shit. I'll make you your pizza rolls." He stood up and staring daggers at his brother. He looked at his friends. "Isn't Teagan such a sweetheart? Such a nice girl." The other two started laughing, like the Beavis and Butthead laugh his father used to annoy his mom. "Thanks Teagan, you're such a sweetheart." The other two creased up at that one. He didn't need to look around to know Harper was stunned. "It's OK," he said, not looking at her face. "Mom doesn't want him using the oven. Says he's way too young. Would probably burn himself." He knew it wasn't wise to rile his brother any further, but couldn't help himself. Jack turned to Harper. "She's such a great sister." All the way down the stairs, he was aware of them behind him, sniggering and muttering. They turned into the living room and he headed to the kitchen. When he came in they were sprawled across the couch. Feet and legs reaching right out. He had to climb over them to place the snacks down. They sent him back several times for ice. And chips. And cookies. After the fourth trip, they seemed to run out of ideas. He crossed his arms, facing Jack who in the armchair. His legs dangling over the arms. His two friends were on the couch. "Are you OK now?" Jack grinned and waved his hand, as if dismissing him. "We'll let you know if we need anything else. You can go back to your...girl things. Your nails or whatever." As he turned, he felt a sharp, hard slap on his ass cheek. He turned again to see the redhead grinning. "What the f..." "Thanks." The redhead smirked, the other two collapsing into laughter. Ryan had to go sit in the bathroom for five minutes to compose himself. --- "So, what about this one?" Harper was clicking on links on a store website, showing Ryan dresses. Not that Jack had his password, but he reminded himself to clear his browser history before he went to bed. The dress came to the top of the model's thighs. And her shoulders were bare. "I dunno. It's really short." Harper looked at him. "Oh, please Teagan. You have amazing legs." Thanks for reminding me. He clicked on a long one, with sleeves. "What about this one?" Harper looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Um, no." "Why? What's wrong with it?" "You're not religious." Oh. That explained it. "Also no one wears anything like that. You'd look weird," she said, with finality. "Can I wear pants?" he asked hopefully. "I mean, it would be something different. Since I usually wear skirts." Another eye roll. "No." Then a confused look. "What's wrong?" "Nothing," he said, alternating looking at the floor and a spot over her left shoulder. "Nothing's wrong." "Why are you acting this way then?" "What way?" He shifted to her right shoulder. "I dunno. Like all weird and stuff..." Before she could finish, he snapped, "I'm not weird." She looked at him and a smile crept across her face. "Are you nervous?" "No." His voice went up in pitch, which grated on his ears. "I'm not nervous. I just..." She grinned. "Have you never been to a dance before?" "I have." In seventh grade. As a boy. "This is different," he conceded. "It's high school and..." She looked at him. "It will be totally fine. And fun. If a cute guy asks, you'll dance." That didn't make him feel better. "Or we'll dance in a group and stuff." He nodded. He had no other choice. He was going, even if he didn't want to. ---- Ryan found himself sitting in the passenger seat of a convertible with the top down. A pink convertible. A tall blond guy with vacant eyes and a perfect smile was sitting next to him. He tried to ask what was going on, but when we opened his mouth, he sighed. "I love hanging out with you." He looked down at himself and he was wearing a skirt that barely covered his you know what and a pair of really high heels, the kind that Harper kept telling him would look really great with his legs. The guy kept smiling at him, not saying anything. He tried to call out but couldn't make a sound, the guy just staring ahead. Suddenly, he found himself outside the car, balanced precariously on the heels and hoping he wouldn't pitch forward. He had never worn any heels before, much less these, which made him stand on his toes like a ballerina. He found himself moving. He wasn't pitching forward, which was good. But his joints felt stiff, like when he had the flu and kept lurching to the bathroom to puke. Next, a voice - "Come on, Ken, let's go swimming!" He thought he recognized the speaker, but couldn't quite place her. It didn't really matter since, in a matter of seconds, he was naked. He looked down at himself. He had blonde hair that kept falling in his face. And tits, big tits. And slender hips. And no vagina. He tried to scream again and all that came out was 'party dresses are fun!' Then another voice that he recognized. "Not now! We're going swimming!" And he found himself in a bikini, that somehow made him feel more naked than before. His head turned suddenly and he looked at the guy, who was naked. With no balls or dick or anything, which made Ryan feel a little better. Ryan sat down quickly and suddenly felt hands on his back, clumsily rubbing him. The first voice, but squeakier. "Oh, Ken, thank you for putting sunscreen on my back." What the fuck? What the fuck was going on here? The second voice. "I love you." The first voice. "I love you too." Then, suddenly, he found the guy leaning into him and kissing him. Or banging his lips into his, which hurt. 'Get off of me! Get the fuck off of me!' he tried to scream. No sound came out until he felt pressure on his back. "I love romantic music," he heard himself say. No, I don't. I don't love romantic music. Or this guy. The first voice - "Me too!" Then, suddenly some strange K-Pop song started playing. Ryan still didn't like romantic music and, even if he did, this wasn't what he'd classify as romantic. Before he had time to think, he found himself in a short sparkly dress. And heels. "Let's dance," he heard the second voice say. And then he was dancing with the guy, both of them moving stiffly, Ryan feeling himself list from side to side, like when he was on that fishing trip with his dad and his cousins. He kept expecting to fall over but somehow maintained his balance. Ryan woke, sitting bolt upright in his bed. It was still dark outside and the clock on his phone said 4:12am. Over on his desk, he could see his laptop wide open. Some cartoon was playing. It took a moment before his eyes could focus. As they did, he heard Harper mumble something, then roll over. She was sleeping on the floor in his dad's old sleeping bag. Jack must have turned it on, he supposed. He got up carefully and went around Harper. When he reached the lap to he turned off the Barbie cartoon. Damn, it was Netflix. It'd show up in his 'continue watching' for ages, which was probably part of Jack's plan. With the laptop closed, he became aware of the pressure on his bladder. As quietly as he could, he left the bedroom. The house was completely silent. Jack's door was open slightly but, apart from a gentle snoring, there were no signs of life. Running a hand through his messy hair, Jack thought of the dream he'd just had. Clearly, Jack had played a prank on him intended to embarrass him in front of Harper. The sound from the cartoon must have gotten into his dream. He sat down on the toilet. Putting his head in his hands, he felt his hair fall down over them, creating an extra barrier to the world. Then he heard to sound of pee against the inside of the toilet and let out a sigh. It was a few moments later when he tasted it. Cherry? There was something on his lips. Finished, he jumped up and turned the light on. For a moment he was blinded, but that didn't last. Pushing his shaggy hair out of the way, he looked at his face. Makeup? Pink lip gloss?! He grabbed some toilet paper and began wiping it off. After splashing his face several times, he stopped. Holding his blonde hair back, he looked. His skin looked pink and soft. Despite the slightly large nose and ears, it was clear he was looking at the face of a girl. In a moment of frustration, he knocked the toothbrush holder off the sink and listened as its contents hit the floor. He held his breath, expecting to hear one of his parents to call out. Nothing, or no one, came. Creeping back to his room, he saw that Harper had turned over, but otherwise was showing no signs of waking up. As he curled up in bed, he looked over at his laptop. The green light glowed as it recharged itself. --- He was on his way to science, books and laptop held tightly to his chest. He kept his eyes low hoping that, if he couldn't see them, they wouldn't bother him. "Hey KoopT," Claire said with a nod. "Oh, hey, Claire," he mumbled into his chest. "Are you coming today?" He had to walk quickly to keep up with her strides. "We need those storyboards." He felt his face flush. "You...I mean...you want me?" She looked at him like he was slow. "Yeah, of course." Then, she paused. "Why?" "You were all laughing," he said. "And I thought..." his voice petering out. She laughed. "It was funny. Can you imagine the stroke Schwartz would have if he saw those?" Claire touched his arm and he willed himself not to jump. "You have to see what Emily draws. Seriously though, you wanna come back, come back." "I want to come back. You're sure they're OK with me?" "Yes," she huffed. "You're totally fine. Relax." And with that headed off in a different direction. --- Ryan stood in front of Miley's front door for a few moment. The last time he'd been over, it was just after the change had started. Olivia and everything seemed so far away now. He held his breath, counted to ten, then pressed the doorbell. As with all those months ago, Miley's dad answered. He looked at Ryan for a few seconds. Ryan could almost hear the whirring of his brain. Then, understanding spread across his face, and Ryan had to look away. "Miley, your, uh, friend is here," he yelled up the stairs. From somewhere distant, he heard her voice. "Who?" Her dad looked at him for help. "Teagan," he muttered, staring at his feet. Miley's dad nodded and gave him a not unsympathetic half smile. "Teagan," he yelled. Then he paused. "Come in. It's cold outside." There was the sound of feet running down the stairs. Then he saw her face, red and slightly out of breath. "Hey, T!" Her happiness at seeing him improved his mood, if only by a fraction. Hands stuffed in his pockets he gave her a smile. "Hi." Her dad rolled his eyes. "OK, I'll leave you two to this fascinating conversation." He paused and said, "Hey, uh, Teagan. Can you wipe your feet?" and then he smiled at Miley. "Thanks." Ryan made a performance of stamping his feet. Then made a more awkward one of taking off his shoes. Not sure of the best course of action he didn't sit down, instead half squatted as he tried to unknot wet shoelaces. He was only too aware of Miley and her dad watching him. "We're gonna go up to my room, OK?" Miley asked her dad. For a moment he looked taken aback. "Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. Of course. Go...have a good time..." Then he walked away. Quickly. Ryan followed Miley up the stairs. All the while she talked. "I hate it. I have to go to school on Monday. Christmas is Tuesday and no one will be there anyway, but I still have to go. It's so unfair." She looked back and he nodded his head, unsure of the correct response. "Do you have to go?" "Um, Thursday was the last day." Miley's eyes narrowed. "A lot of people have to head home. And I guess the airports are mad busy. Harper's in Florida already?" "Who's Harper?" Miley's tone was suspicious. Miley closed the door and he sat on her bed. After she'd sat down at the opposite end he pulled his legs up so his knees were under his chin. "She's my friend. At school." "Like a girlfriend?" Suddenly it seemed very important to Miley to minimize the window that was open on her computer. "No. She's just a friend. Who's a girl." He looked at her, wondering if she could see the pleading in his eyes. If she had, she didn't let on. "Oh. Do you have a lot of...friends there?" He felt like he was being accused of something, but he didn't know what. "No. Really just Harper. Everyone else is, like, really stuck up." He figured that now wasn't a good time to bring up Claire. "What was I supposed to do? Never talk to anyone?" He watched Miley for a few seconds. She stared down, picking at the patchwork quilt that covered her bed. "No. Sorry." There was a long pause. "I just haven't seen you for a while." "We text everyday." Now, it was his turn to stare at the quilt. He took a deep breath. "And it was Thanksgiving, and then school, and Harper had to come stay." He saw her pout and his voice trailed off with, "I mean she invited herself..." After a moment, he spoke again. "I don't want to talk about her." He didn't. "I came over to see you. How's everything, um, going?" She shrugged. "Good I guess. I made honor roll." "Cool." His head bobbed up and down. For about an hour, they played Mario Kart. He initially intended to let her win, at least the first couple of times, so she'd be in a better mood. But she'd shown him that she didn't need his help and, apart from the time she'd dropped the control, hadn't lost a game. He was becoming desperate to prove himself. Facing his seventh loss in a row, he threw down his remote, crossing his arms. He hoped doing so in an exaggerated comical fashion, complete with "hmmph," would disguise his real frustration. From the look on her face, it hadn't. She smiled. "I'm glad you came over," she said, appraising him as if he was a used car. He smiled, tucking his legs under him. "Me too." Then, "So, why did you come over?" "I-I... to, y'know hang out..." He could feel his cheeks getting warmer. "Oh. It's just usually I come there. Why today?" She didn't sound upset. More firm, almost like an adult. It made him feel small and childish. "Diana is being crazy AF." Her expression seemed to suggest she thought they were now getting somewhere. "There's a dance. At school. With Bernards Prep. A boys' school." And he suddenly felt the need to scratch the back of his head. "So, y'know there'll be boys there. And stuff." Miley shrugged. "So don't go. Don't say anything and she won't know." He let out a big sigh. "Harper blurted it out. While she was staying over." He noticed her suppress a smile. "Oh. So, I guess you have to go then." She looked genuinely sorry for him. "Just 'cause you're there doesn't mean you have to dance. You walk in and then you leave and hang out in an empty class or something." He picked up the control and looked at the paused screen. "It's worse. Everyone gets dressed up." "In a dress?" She inched a little closer. "Yeah. A dress. Which means this," he gestured towards the whole of his body. "Everyone sees all of this..." "Oh, yeah." Miley put a hand on his arm. It sat there for a moment while they both looked at it then she pulled it back. "There's something else you want to say..." He nodded. He didn't want to, he needed to. Why he needed to, he couldn't say. "What?" Her hand went back to his arm, more confidently this time. "Um, it's about Logan..." "What about him?" She sounded a little far away. It reminded him of the way his mother spoke to clients on the phone. "OK, so, like, we were at a party...and, they started playing spin the bottle...and the bottle landed on Logan...and...he and I...kissed...." He watched her, she didn't look happy but she hadn't pulled away or started shouting. "And now his friends think I'm his girlfriend." "That's you?" He was shocked and she continued. "I heard this girl Alice in my bio class talking about Logan and this girl from," and she put on a nasty version of Alice's voice, "some girls' school who was totally all over him at the skatepark." Ryan felt nauseous which was exacerbated when she said. "So are you?" She still hadn't moved her hand. "No... no." "So why didn't you say something?" She stared at him intently. "Because you like being part of a group." He felt like she was discussing a science project. He shivered, feeling cold despite the heating and his sweater. "But... you don't like it. Him." He nodded his head. There was silence. Then, before he realized what was happening, she'd leaned forward and was kissing him. At first, he pulled back, but after a few seconds he started kissing her back. He pushed himself into her, but she pushed back. They kept kissing and he fell off the bed onto the floor, with a thump. "Is everything OK up there?" Miley's father yelled. Ryan groaned, his head hurting, watching the door intently. Miley shushed him. "We're fine," she said, holding back a laugh. I just knocked... something... onto the floor." Then he saw her look down at him, grin and then start kissing him again. A couple of minutes later. "Dinner's going to be ready soon," her dad yelled, as they sprung apart. "Does your friend want to stay?" Miley looked at him. "You could y'know." It was only later that he realized how odd he must have looked. Like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. "I, I, I've got to go. My mom..and...she's expecting me." Once again, he ran down the stairs, crammed his feet into his shoes and exited the house.