The Wallflower Effect

Chapter 1: The Viper in the room.

Her name, it strikes fear into the hearts of even the bravest of men. Her deceivingly innocent beauty has been the downfall of many an unwary soul. She's not what she seems. Bakery owner by day, ruthless vigilante by night. She's... The Viper.

"Are you listening to me, Zoey? Of coarse not, you never listen when you're reading your comic books. They make you totally unreasonable." Complained Gage Prince, my best friend in the entire world,  as he poked me. I looked up from this month's copy of The Viper, my favorite comic book. I'd been sitting on Gage's sofa, cupping my face with my left arm, flipping pages with my right hand. I shifted from my comfy position, head-slapping him for interrupting my book coma.

"Absolutely not." I informed him bluntly, resuming my former position and began reading again. He just laughed at my usual honesty, and the usual aggression I displayed when someone got between me and my copy of The Viper. That was the great thing about our relationship. I could say whatever was on my mind, and Gage wasn't afraid to poke me. Or use his puppy dog eyes to beg me to go somewhere with him. Believe it or not, he was the one dragging me to go shopping at the mall. Anyone who claimed girls loved shoes had never met my dear friend Gage. On the other side of things I was the one dragging him to the town's only comic book shop for my monthly Viper  fix.

"Put the comic book down, Zoe! Seriously, I need help for this essay about a childhood experience for Mrs. Beckett's class, and you're the smartest person I know. That's kind of the entire reason you're at my house." Gage insisted.

"Let's be honest here," I began, finally giving Gage my full attention and putting down The Viper. "The smartest person you know is your mother, the scientist. You want me to help you because we've known each other since we were 12 years old. And I'm reasonable while I'm reading comic books, but when I'm reading Jane Austen, I'm a monster." I corrected him, grinning. He cocked his head to the side, furrowing his brows.

"Good point. I'm shamelessly using you for homework help, because you have a fantastic memory and I don't." He acknowledged, grinning happily. When I was 12, and had just moved in next door to him, I had to get used to how cute the new neighbor boy was. But sometimes that grin made me a little weak in the knees. 

We were both 17 now, and we'd grown so much closer than I ever though possible. No, we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. We were best friends. I wasn't shy around him, just everyone else in the world. I still wore my hair down and barely spoke unless threatened, but around Gage, I wasn't afraid to be myself. I could see why he'd want my help with the essay for Mrs. Beckett. I knew him better than he knew himself.

"I don't care. I'm shamelessly using you for your fridge. You know my mom's on this gluten-free kick, and I need my carbs, Gage! I think it's a fair trade." I half-teased him.

"Okay, then we have an agreement. Carbs for homework." Gage teased me back, his white smile and brown eyes playful.

"How about that one time you climbed a tree and a cat attacked you, and you fell and broke your wrist, and then I helped you limp home and my Doctor parents heroically saved you?" I suggested. Parents was a bit of an overstatement. More like older glorified roommates who occasionally told me what to do at this point.

"But that story makes me look wimpy, and you and your entire family look all brave!" Gage complained. Guys and their ridiculous egos.

"Fine. How about the time we took a hike together? Remember, my dog broke her leg, and you carried her five miles across the forest in winter and you basically saved her life. That makes you look really good." I offered, smiling at the memory of a very determined 15 year old Gage, who stubbornly insisted that he was an athlete and that he could easily carry a German Shepard for five miles if he made good time. Shockingly, he'd done it. That was Gage for you. Determined, capable, dependable, honorable, sweet, and the best human being I'd ever had the pleasure of knowing.

"I remember that." Gage uttered softly, gently pulling me into a hug. He knew how emotional I got about that day, and instinctively knew I needed comfort. I hugged him back, much tighter than he was hugging me. 

"Me too." I muttered, a minute or so after he'd spoken.

"It's settled then." Gage decided, not letting go of me. I was fine with that. He was pretty much my only source of comfort in the entire world. My parents were both medical doctors, I was an only child, and I was far too shy and hostile to make friends. Gage and my dog Honey were it.

"I guess I better let you get your report done. For a change, both my parents are home tonight. It's the only time that happens for like, three months, so we're all having dinner together tonight. And your mom's rule..." I trailed off, knowing that he'd fill in the blanks.

"No member of the Prince household goes to a friend's house till their homework is done." He recited his mother's rule, pouting, because he knew I was right. And unlike many people our age, he actually listened to, respected, and adored his mom. He wouldn't brake the rule and come to my family dinner, because Gage simply didn't do things like that.  Another admirable quality.

"And you know I want you there, so I better go. It's four o'clock, so you only have and hour and a half to get everything done." I reminded him, still in his arms.

"I know." He grumbled, suddenly unhappy. I turned in his arms so that I was facing him.

"Hey." I grabbed his face in my hands gently, smiling at him softly till he reciprocated with a smile of his own. "I'll see you in a little bit, Gage. Do your homework!" I kissed him gently on his cheek, and slid off his couch, walking towards the door.

"Hey Zoey." Gage called out, right before I got my hand around the door knob.

"Yeah?" I questioned him. He hesitated, looking like he wanted to tell me something, and opened his mouth to do so, before shutting it again.

"See you then." He smiled at me, but it looked more forced this time. I knew he was going to tell me something else, but had settled for 'see you then.' I wasn't worried. Gage would tell me when he was ready. It wasn't my nature to pry, at least not until I needed to, so I let it slide.

"See you then." I echoed, waving goodbye to him before I left. I'd decided that I'd let him tell me when he was ready, but regardless, I wondered what Gage was going to say to me...

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Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

~Rachael.