"What do you mean? No! He hasn't lived here for nearly three months."
"Listen, here. I don't give a good damn! I drove the kid for nearly three hours- and now it's two in the morning. This is the address he gave when I asked him. Man- just- hell, I don't know! But he can't stay in my cab, and I'm going home."
"Well, What do you think I should do?! I can't just leave him out here in this neighborhood hood! He's soaking wet! He'll get-"
"That's not my problem. Bye." Then the sound of a door slams, and I think the car is moving.
I squeeze my eyes shut a little more.
"Grayson's, for the love of god! Wake up!"
"Go 'way." I mumble, turning an digging my face into something warm and soft.
"If I didn't know you were gay, I would think you were trying to hit on me." My blood instantly drains from my head, and I pull my eyes open. "As it is, Gray, you deserve a freaking ass beating." Micheal. I sober up a bit.
"Oh... hi?" I send her a small smile, and she sighs hugely.
"Come on, stand up. You're making me miss my party." She tells me, and then I realize that I am laying half in her lap, on a bench.
"S-sorry." I mumble, and push myself up. "Umm- I didn't-"
"You can explain when you are less inhibited." She tells me, and then her arms wrap around me in a tight hug. "But right now, you are going to go inside with me, and you are going to go to bed."
"You don't hav-"
"If you so much as dare to finish that sentence, I will castrate you." My hand instantly flashes down to shield myself.
"You are far more intimidating than you were three months ago."
"Yeah? Well, three months ago, I wasn't contemplating your murder, asshole."
"I-Micheal... I'm sorry."
"I know you are, you butt." She leads me inside the house, and quickly leads me through the people and into the kitchen. My fingers tighten around my bottle of vodka. I don't know how I managed to obtain and keep it to myself- but I did.
"Why is there a party?" I ask, confused. There were hardly ever parties around this area. It was just a prayer for trouble.
"It's Layton's birthday party." She tells me, and then we are inside the house and she is leading me between the loads of people in multiple states of dance/drink/flirt.
"I really should go..." I mumble, and she looks at me, before half dragging my ass up the stairs.
"Do you know where Layton has been the entire party?" She snaps, and pulls me into a spare bedroom, that, fortunately, isn't occupied. "He's been holding up in his room- he feels like shit. He thinks that it's his fault you took off like you did! He hasn't been dancing or anything since you left. He said, and I quote- 'I don't deserve to be happy and have fun because I made Gray feel worse about himself than he did.' He thinks he is the reason you ran away, and it's tearing him ups inside!"
"That's crap." I mumble, my head slowly becoming more and more clear- "What the hell?"
"Yeah, What the hell, you drunkard! You forget, your body becomes regulated in this town- passed city limits. You are losing the alcohols levels that could have very easily killed you. I give it about thirty minutes before you are totally sober."
"Oh, crap." I groan, looking down to the bottle of vodka... that should keep me at ease until morni- "Hey!" I cry when the bottle is suddenly whipped out of my hand and slung across the room and into a wall.
"You Listen here, you bloody ass! You may be upset about some things- and I don't blame you after all!- but you have never ever in all the time you spent here, ran away from your problems. Even on those fast legs. And to hell and back if I let you start now! Screw the rest- explain. Now!"
I flinch at the tone in her voice- the almost not noticeable but still there hiss. She never used to talk to me like that.
"He was right." I mumble, and then everything stops. Everything is quiet.
"Who was right?" Her voice, barely loud enough, breaks the silence and I feel my heart skip a brat before I slow myself to say his name. To tell the truth to her after I had kept it hidden, kept my secrets about how much every person in that school made me feel so... unworthy of everything.
"Layton... and, just everyone. They all said that I shouldn't stay in a place that I don't belong. I was stupid to stay in the first place- for years, Micheal, I pinned after a strait boy, got the crap beat out of me, was made fun of, and made a fool out of myself for trying my so hard to compete with guys that will always be better than me, and failing every single time." My mind suddenly fills to the brim with the pain and anger and just pure... hurt of it all. And then it starts to spill, and I can't contain it.
"Do you know how bad that makes a person feel? How completely shit like it is to want to just fit in. I never wanted to be the best- I just wanted to be average among the people that I felt so strongly about. Even if there weren't many- it's a hell of a lot more than I have now. But at least I fit in somewhere!" A shaky sob escapes my lip, and I find myself on the floor, clutching my knees.
"Do you know how terrible it is to always come in last?! No matter what? With school work, sports, friends, even relationships; crushes. I was always the last one on the list- for everything. You know that- you saw it! I was like the ugly fucking duck in that school, and I never was going to turn into no damn swan. So I left, I ran away. At least I could do that in the end instead of forcing myself to put up with it all!"
She is quiet, and when I look up st her, her face is blank. Then it slowly transforms into one of sadness and discontent. I immediately regret saying anything.
"You are right." She whispers. "Everyone treated you like a disposable freak. I tried to protect you- because I thought you needed someone to at least- and because we were friend. But I couldn't be with you all the time. Those people mush have had plenty of time to get to you."
"Yeah..."
"So, why don't you prove them wrong?" She asks, and grabs my arm, pulling me to my feet. "Show then how much you are really worth."
"I can never compete with them." I shake my head.
"Oh, yes you can. You're coming with me. And your not leaving until I'm done with you." Then she takes me down stairs and outside. A few minutes later, we are at her house.
"Micheal..." I say worriedly.
"Give me a week. That's all I need,"
"... Okay?"
————
The next morning, well , actually, it's only five hours later, Micheal and her four sisters are dragging me outside.
"What are we doing?!"
"You can swim right?" Annie asks, and I nod, and then I'm thrown into the lake in the back yard. "Good!" She cheers, as I force my way to the surface. This isn't just any water!
"It's an epsom spring lake!" Rilly shouts with glee. "It'll get you all clean!"
"I can barley move!" I complain,
"Yeah, well you have to swim two laps around the lake. And if you don't, I'll bite you." Micheal says, and my eyes widen when she suddenly flashes her fangs at me.
"It's easier if your naked." Annie chirps, and I frown at her before slowly managing to peel my ruined shirt off of me and tossing it onto the ground.
"Good boy!" Rilly coos. I swear, I never thought of them as more snaking until now. I sigh.
"The epsom only gets thicker as the sun comes up. Which means it's harder to swim in. I suggest you take those sweats off, too." Micheal says cockily, and I nearly growl at her before kicking my damn sweats off under the thick liquid. I toss them with my shirt and take a breath before I start to swim.
By time I get done with the two laps, and then am thrown into a shower stall to get the salty like grime off me, I feel thoroughly scraped.
"Oh, you're not done yet, boy-0." Jason, Micheal's young brother says, and then he does the unthinkable- he sprays me, literally, with a warm, honey like substance, all over my chest, so that it is practically dripping down my- shit!
"Jason! I'm fucking naked! What the hell?! I just got done getting washed up and you- oh, no! No no no! You are not! OUCH!" I shreek.
"Do you want my sisters to do it?! They would make it a hell of a lot worse!"
"Why is it being done in the first pla- OUCH! What the hell- man, I took you to get ice cream! A lot!"
"And then you ditch me out of no where! A lot!" He shouts back at me, and I frown, only to be turned around and sprayed all over my ass, hot was sliding into my crack. "And yes, this has to be done. You're really feminine, so you need to embrace that. The reason you didn't fit in with the football players- it's not be cause you're human. It's because you don't like football. You and I both know it. It was just one more way you tried to fit in."
My mouth opens in protest, but I bite my lip. This fifteen year old is smarter than anyone gives him credit for.
"Fine." I frown.
———
Three hours later, I am plucked, showers and moisturized. Then Annie tends to my 'untamable black mop', and I'm forced into skinny jeans and a baby blue knit sweater that refuses to stay properly on my left shoulder, and hugs my right one like a it's long lost lover.
"My god! I knew it! Didn't I tell you?! He's such a freaking twink!"
"Now it's time to call in the big guns. MOM!?" Rilly screeches. My eyes widen. Their mom is a dancer- like a professional ball room dancer. And she is beautiful, but scarily tall- like almost a foot and a half taller than me.
"Yes, baby- oh, my, Grayson! Don't you look handsome!" My face goes bright red, and I mumble a thank you.
"So, at you ready to start your leasons?" She asks me, and I look over to the six kids, easily looking at me with a self satisfied look on everyone of their slithering yellow eyes.
"L-lesson?"
"Yes, dear. You have to learn how to be graceful, or at least less ditzy around the halls, so your gonna learn how to dance. It's the easiest thing in the world! Just you watch."
——
Four days later;
"Owwwwww..." I groan, and slowly slip into the epsom water.
It's late. Really late. I think maybe twelve o'clock. But I am out here, practically drowning myself.
"Don't get all nervous. You've been doing amazing." Jason says, and sits behind me on the Dock I lowered myself from. He gently starts to massage my shoulders. "I know how hard it must be on you, everything has changed so quick. But it's all for the better."
"I could hang myself for every time I heard that today." I groan letting myself sink further.
"Just relax. You're fine. And you should be proud of how well your doing. I know you're a nervous wreck facing everyone tomorrow- but, Gray, you're so beautiful. And you are worth much more than you think. I wish I could make you understand..." I look up at him, and my had reached from the dock where I've held myself, up to his sweet face.
"Hey... thank you." I whisper and he nods slowly. Then, he belly flops in the deck and presses his lips to my cheek.
"You're welcome." He says, and then his cheeks flush as his eyes meet mine. "That damn Layton better take care of you when he finally realized how amazing you are, or so help me..."
"So help you...?"
"I'll use my snake to choke him to the point in which he is no longer a concern, and then I'll take you for myself." He tells me, and his face reddens.
"Do- do you like me like that?" I ask, confused. I always saw him as my little brother.
"It was you who made me realize that I was gay two years ago." He nods. I shake my head slowly. I never knew it- god, I never even knew that this boy was looking st me like that, and now I feel guilty, and like a really crappy person in general.
"I know it hurts to want something you don't have... I'm sorry." I whisper, truly feeling bad about it all.
"It's okay. At least I got to see you naked a few times." I laugh at him, and toss a hand if epsom at him. He dunks my head under the surface of the liquid, and then pushed me softly. "You need to go shower off. And get to bed. Tomorrow, we show the world what it's been missing, Grayson."
