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#1
Old 04-18-2007, 02:14 AM

Lex Gyrie inspected his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Looked like he had some work to do. He tousled his wet hair, letting the dark locks settle messily upon his forehead like the rock stars’ latest haircuts. He wiped the condensation off the mirror with a towel to put in his contact lenses. He believed “guys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses” also worked in reverse. Girls always seemed to like guys with perfect vision and blue eyes, but he figured his weird, dark green wasn’t that bad.

He unwrapped the towel around his waist and pulled on his boxers and jeans, both purchased by his mom a year ago from Target. The jeans already had tears at the knees. He thought they looked cool even if it showed off his bony knee caps. Skinny hips were good, but skinny arms and skinny shoulders weren’t, really. “Five-foot-ten-and-a-half,” and he only weighed “a-hundred-and-forty-two” pounds. “Are you sure you’re feeding him right?” Stupid doctors. What did they care what he ate?

“Lexi!” whined an annoying voice that could only belong to a twelve-year-old who thought Jesse McCartney was the hottest boy alive. “Stop staring at yourself half-naked in the bathroom and pick up the phone! It’s your friend, the cute one!”

Lex’s full name was Alexis. You didn’t use his full name – or any variation of it – if you valued your health.

“Shut your face, Brat-git. I’m coming out in a second.”

“Mom, Lexi’s calling me names again!”

“Alexis, be nice to your sister. She’s been working on her Mesopotamia project all week.” Mrs. Gyrie continued ironing her “Pat’s Diner” uniform. She had work later.

Lex threw on a black, “Ninja Squirrel” tee-shirt before getting the phone. On the way, he paused to throw his wet towel at Brigit. She squealed and slammed her door.
He picked up the receiver in his room. “Brat, don’t you dare listen in on us, or I’ll tell Hunter you still have hot pink My Little Pony sheets. And matching curtains.”

He heard a wail through the wall, and the sound of a phone hanging up clicked satisfyingly in his ear.

“Hey, Hunter.”

“So, does she?” From the way Hunter sounded, Lex could tell he was smirking at the other end of the line.

“Yeah. And her and her friends spend their sleepovers talking about how hot ‘high school boys’ are. I think some girl named Katie has a serious crush on you.”

“Cute. I guess.”

“Don’t get too high on yourself. She’s only twelve.”

“I suggest she stick to that Ron kid from the Harry Potter.”

“Wow, you know their names.”

“Well, where I live, we have this useful thing called reading.”

“Fuck you.”

“So, yeah, as for why I called you… The party. You going?”

“Don’t know. I’d kind of like to, but it’d probably get boring after a few hours.”

“Kind of? You’d better. You’re a senior, Lex. Three more months, and you’re out of high school. It’s about damn time you got some. What do you think people are going to say if you go to college with no experience?”

“Actually, I don’t really care.”

“Right. And that’s why you still stare at Carlotta Summers ‘magnificent boobage’ during English. Come on, what else do you have tonight? Need to save the humpback whale? Rid the city of corruption? Help the Brat with her Babylon poster?”

“Fine, you win. I mean, I’m bored and a drink wouldn’t hurt.”

“That’s my boy. Pick you up from the Thatcher stop at eight-ish.” Hunter hung up before Lex could say anything otherwise. Lex didn’t like being called “boy,” but you couldn’t jab someone’s ribs over the phone. Besides, it was Hunter Brody, nationally-ranked teen archery champion. He wouldn’t feel it anyway.

He grabbed his wallet. “Mom, I’m going to Hunter’s tonight.” She was still ironing as he closed the front door behind him.

Lex walked to the bus stop four blocks from his house. Unlike most his classmates, he didn’t mind public transportation. Sure, it smelled a little funky once in awhile, but owning a car cost a little too much nowadays. He flashed the driver his monthly pass – he’d need a new one soon – and prepared for the nine-stop trip to Marshall Thatcher Academy.

Over three years of rides taught Lex to recognize people. There was the college student who never unplugged his iPod and the businessman with the pleather suitcase. Wednesdays, two old ladies got on the bus as it wound through Historic Quarter and got off at Whole Foods one stop later. Sometimes, Marla Santiago, a mousy girl he went to elementary school with, took five stops to Porter Magnet School. She always had the better grades, but he was the one attending the suburban private school on a $14,000 scholarship. All because he could run really fast. Weekend rides could be either more exciting, more annoying, or both. Today, two kids and a frazzled mother came on at Museum Circle. He turned to the window when one put gum in the other’s hair.

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#2
Old 04-18-2007, 02:16 AM

Lex waited ten minutes for Hunter to even show up. He amused himself by counting the birds that flew past Thatcher’s ostentatious clock tower, the only structure he could see above the rows of neatly cultivated trees.

“Hey, kiddo,” Hunter called from the rolled-down window of his champagne Audi sedan. He wore a dark green Dartmouth sweatshirt with a pair of baggy jeans, complemented by a hemp necklace from Antigua.

“You got in?”

“Hell no, stupid. decisions aren’t until April. This is my brother’s.”
Hunter was one of the guys that looked like their dog. With his shaggy blonde hair and dark brown eyes, he mirrored his golden retriever, Nelly. Lex had to agree with his little sister a tiny bit. After all, who didn’t like golden retrievers?

Hunter entered Thatcher halfway through sophomore year. He used to attend Baxter-Springdale, an all-boys’, boarding school in Maine. No one knew why he left. It didn’t seem like grades. He did fine at Thatcher. Rumor had it that he got in a fight with another kid and gave him a bloody nose.

During the twenty-minute drive to Kyle Ashcroft’s house, they talked about music. Hunter demoed Coldplay’s new album, but it didn’t live up to Lex’s expectations. They parked on the road because the driveway was already full. A good sign, Lex hated being first to any sort of event.

“You know, Lex, if you had a car, we wouldn’t be late all the time.”

Lex was too busy eyeing a certain sable-haired girl shuffling friends out of a minivan to hear him.

“Oh, fuck no. Give it up already.”

“What?”

“Don’t think I don’t see you staring at her.”

“I’m not staring at anything.”

“For the last time, Adrianne Goldwater will not get with you. You went out freshman year, and she dumped you after two dates. Two dates. Freshman year.”

“Dude, let it go. I’m over her.”

“Which is why you’re facing the window – which offers perfect view of her nice round ass – while you’re talking to me.” He unlocked the car doors.

“Listen, man. You don’t like her because she’s smart. Or because she’s hot. And you certainly don’t like her because she’s nice to you. You only want her because she dumped you. I’m not going to let you ruin tonight. We’re here to have fun, not rekindle lost relationships.”

Inside the house, Lex immediately gravitated towards the dining table loaded with assorted snacks and drinks. More of the latter, though. It was his first time in Kyle’s house. It had a huge foyer complete with staircase, tile floors, and miniature fountain. He could see a pool out the kitchen window. Even this early into the evening, he didn’t want to risk going upstairs, so he grabbed a handful of Cheetos and wandered through the living room, weaving through guys drawn in by a big-screen TV.

There was a flat-screen downstairs in the den. Hunter waved to him from a red plush couch. How ironic. To his left sat none other than Adrianne Goldwater.

Tonight, Adrianne reminded Lex of the Italian girl in The Matrix Reloaded except with a little too much makeup, especially around her eyes. She had on glittery blue eye shadow and dark lipstick. It matched her low-cut BCBG top which revealed just enough to keep a guy interested. He skirt was so short it might as well not be there. However, it did flaunt her legs and her tight black boots that laced up the sides of her shins.

“Adrianne,” said Hunter. “This is my friend, Lex. He’s on the track team.”

“I think I know him.”

“Why don’t you get to know him better? I’ll go get some drinks.” Hunter got up, but not before whispering to Lex over the blasting Jimmy Eat World, “I’m just doing you a favor for tonight, so don’t get too attached.”

Adrianne kept her eyes on Hunter until he disappeared up the stairs, whereupon she finally turned to Lex. “So, what’s up with you?”

Lex felt himself slide towards the middle of the couch, the suede compensating for Hunter’s lost weight. “Not much.”

She raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied with his inability to converse. “So, track, you did that in ninth grade, too, right?… Are you on varsity now?”

“Yeah, I do distance, placed second last year in the Private League.” She seemed to like that, so he continued. “I got seventh at States last year, one place too low to for Nationals.” She didn’t like that as much.

“Well, life’s not all sports.” She fumbled with her hands, as if looking for something to do. Lex wished he had a drink to give her. Where was Hunter? “You know, I don’t think I’ve had a class with you recently. I remember you totally hated Thatcher at first. Is Mr. Piazzo still your least favorite teacher?”

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#3
Old 04-18-2007, 02:18 AM

Holy crap, she remembered. “Piazzo’s not that bad anymore. He just gets me a lot on the dress code. Still, I’d rather have him giving me detentions than grades. I’m happy to say his class is the only D on my transcript.”
She gnawed her lower lip. “Well, colleges don’t really count freshman grades.”

“Well, my other grades got me a scholarship to U. Pitt.” She smiled a little.

“What’re you going to study?”

“I don’t know.” She quit chewing her lips and pursed them like a flower.

Not a good answer, either.

“Well, a lot of people don’t know. It doesn’t seem like you’ve been doing too bad since freshman year.”

“I guess not. How’s your life treating you?”

“I applied early action to Stanford.”

“Did you get in?”

She raised an eyebrow, smirked, and leaned over a bit, the couch more than willing to bring them closer together. Lex stopped breathing so he could hear what she whispered in his ear. “Don’t tell anyone, okay? I’m trusting you with this.” Oh man, she was going to tell him something secret. “But no, I didn’t.”

“That’s too bad… I’m pretty sure you’ll end up somewhere good, though.”

“It doesn’t matter, if Stanford doesn’t want me, I’ll try Columbia. My dad went there. Besides, Manhattan is more fashionable than any part of San Francisco.”

Should not have started discussing college. It had a way of killing conversation.

“So,” she muttered, trying to fill the silence with something other than the Newfound Glory. “You know the Spring Fling is on Saturday, right?”

“The what?”

“Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes. “The Spring Fling? It’s a dance. Our grade sponsors it, so if it goes well, we’ll earn enough to make prom totally awesome.”

“Well, um, guess I know now.”

“I was thinking, I was a bit of a bitch in ninth grade. I mean, I just finished a month-long stay in Paris. You weren’t that boring or anything, I swear. I was just kind of immature. You want to give it a second try?”

“Yes.” Wait. What did he just say? Oh, shit. Hunter was going to kill him.

“Great, then take me to the Spring Fling. Remember, a week from now, 7:30 PM in the Field House.”

Oh, yes. Hunter was definitely going to kill him. The other boy had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching them long enough to elicit a disdainful expression. He sipped quietly from a plastic cup of Miller Lite.

“Lex, we’ve got to go.”

“Dude, I didn’t even get a beer. We haven’t been here for more than–!”

“If we don’t leave now, you’re going to miss the last bus.”

Liar. The buses ran until midnight, but Lex knew Hunter was his only ride to the stop. If he didn’t go now, he wouldn’t go ever. “Well, I’ll see you at school, Adrianne.”

Shewaved back courteously. “See you.”

Hunter slammed the door of his car and gunned the ignition while Lex’s legs still hung out the passenger side. “Dude, are you trying to kill me?”

He didn’t say anything but rather veered the car left onto Montgomery Pike.

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#4
Old 04-18-2007, 02:20 AM

“Really, you can’t be serious. Why the fuck are you so angry? You told me…”

“I told you to watch it.”

“I did. It’s just a dance, a school dance. If you were going to get so pissed, why’d you make me come in the first place?”

“I was trying to help you.”

“And you did. You got me a date. Wasn’t that the point?”

“No, no, no.” They both jerked forward as Hunter screeched to a halt, just barely following the universal, navigational law of “red lights mean stop.”

“Look, I don’t want to bother explaining it to you because you can be such a dumbfuck, so I’ll just come right out and say it. She. Is. Using. You.”

“And how would you know?”

“She’s on the rebound or something. Casey McVeigh told me Adrianne got dumped last week, so, to her, any date is a good one. Casual as Spring Fling is, you don’t go stag unless you’re a freshman or a loser – of which you might just be the latter. For God’s sake, I’m pretty sure she was trying to pick me up before you came along.”

Hunter ran a stop sign. Lex was thankful that suburbanites didn’t come out at night.

“You know why she broke up with you in the first place? Anne Riley said Adrianne said you were a ‘dimwit,’ so she dumped you and hooked up with this junior.”

“Well, it was after she dumped me, so, it’s not like she didn’t have a right…”

“It’s not just that.” Hunter sighed. “I know the way she thinks. Our moms are in the same book club thing. Adrianne likes her presents shiny, shinier than you can afford. She’s going to use you for this dance, and that’s it. You couldn’t and still can’t buy her chocolates and jewelry. She broke up with you because you’re a scholarship case.”

Cocksucker. Lex cringed. Bastard. Who did he think he was? “You know, this time I really mean it when I’m calling you an asshole. Just because I don’t have an Audi doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself around Thatcher girls.”

Montgomery Pike was painfully long tonight. Lex began to suddenly loathe the looping Parachutes. Hunter slowed down and stopped the car on the street next to the bust stop. “To be honest, you can’t handle yourself. I’m protecting you. After a break up, you’re totally pathetic, and it blows to hang out with you.”

Hunter hit the unlock button, and Lex silently opened the door, more than ready to go home.

Hunter put the transmission in park, slumped over the steering wheel, and sighed a little. He looked tired. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Hey, I probably overreacted, right? I still don’t think going out with Adrianne is smart, but it’s not like I can stop you. I’ll make up for yelling at you. There’s an archery tournament at Thatcher next Saturday. It’s not school-based – my club’s holding it –, but I want you to come. It’s in the morning, well before Spring Fling.”

“Whatever, man.”

Lex closed the door, but Hunter didn’t leave. The champagne Audi stayed parked at the corner until the bus headlights came into view, and the clock tower struck ten.

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#5
Old 04-18-2007, 02:21 AM

Damn, Lex did not realize archery was so boring. People spent as much time retrieving their arrows as shooting, maybe more. He’d been avoiding Hunter all week, but guilt finally nagged him into watching the Saturday tournament. He didn’t quite understand the rules, but Hunter seemed to be doing all right so far. He had at least three bulls’-eyes. Lex couldn’t help but think, even in his maroon and grey Thatcher polo, that Hunter looked like an English noble on a hunting trip, like those in his history book.

It was unusually hot for a March morning, and the bleachers offered no shade. Attendance was so sparse that sitting in someone’s shadow was impossible. Maybe he should get a soda. The tower struck twelve. It didn’t look like the tournament would end any time soon. Hunter wouldn’t notice. He’d be too preoccupied with out-shooting everyone else. Lex chose to go to the Field House. The machines were cheaper there.
So much for choice. The machine only offered a few blue Gatorades, bottled water, and a single Diet Coke. Much as Lex didn’t like Gatorade or water, he couldn’t take the last of anything, so he pondered not getting anything at all. Still, it would be a waste since he’d walked all the way down here.

“Hey.”

He turned. “Adrianne?”

“What’re you doing here? I had tennis practice.” She wore cream shoes and skirt. Her white baseball cap had Thatcher’s crest emblazoned on the front, and her straight black ponytail fell through back and swung as she moved. She wore every button on her pastel pink, polo shirt collar open.
“I, um, came to watch some stuff and maybe run a few times around the track after the archery tournament’s over.”

“Hey, isn’t Hunter in that?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s he doing?”

“All right, last time I saw. Then again, all I know is the closer to the middle you shoot, the better.”

She giggled a little. “Well, tennis makes even less sense.” She slid a dollar into the vending machine and purchased a water. “You want something?”

“What? Oh, no. I’m fine.”

“Where are you going after this?”

“Nowhere that I know of. Hunter will probably take me home if I ask him.”

“Nowhere, huh? Well, ask him after he’s done. What’re you doing in the meantime? I don’t suppose it’s too exciting if you’re down here getting a drink.”

“It’s not. Why? Want to do something?” He smiled, hoping for one in return.

“Kind of.” She grinned. She was gorgeous when she smiled. “Want to help me carry this stuff to my car?” She kicked the Jansport backpack at her side.

“Sure, I guess.” Lex threw it over his shoulder. She picked up her racquet bag.

“Here, I can get that for you.”

“You would? Thanks.” She dropped it in his hand. “Such a gentleman.” She popped open the trunk of her minivan. “It’s my mom’s. She won’t get me a car until I get into college. I think it’s totally unfair.”

“On the bright side, you can fit a lot more people into a minivan.” He carefully placed her stuff inside, and she sat, letting her legs dangle out of the trunk. “I don’t get a car until I pay for it myself.”

“Do you have a license?”

“Yeah. And no insurance.” He sat down next to her. After all, they would be going to Spring Fling together.

“You know, owning your own car isn’t everything. It doesn’t matter how much money a guy’s got as long as he’s sweet and cute.”
Hunter must have been insane. Adrianne was fine. She liked him. When he waved to her in the hall, even when she was surrounded by friends with perfect hair and Kate Spade bags, she always waved back.

“I can’t wait for tonight. I bought the cutest top at Express.” Lex gulped as she rested her head against his shoulder. “It goes real well with that grunge style of yours.”

“I’m really excited, too.” He put his arm around her shoulder. Normally, he wouldn’t have pulled this sort of thing, but hey, they both had only three months left. Less, even. Time was pretty important at this point.

“Yeah, I bet you’ll look great.”

“You, too, silly.” Oh, my God. Lex thought he would piss his pants when she wrapped her arms around his neck. He’d never noticed how long her eyelashes were. She smelled like sweat and patchouli.

However, she tasted like vanilla lip gloss. Without warning Adrianne leaned over to kiss him, something he wanted but never got freshman year. She’s good, he thought. Maybe, like Hunter said, it’s because she’s got a lot more experience. He decided to ignore that idea and just focus on how good it was.

Lex knew well enough not to just stick his tongue in her mouth, so he just held her lips in a kind of oral embrace. Soft, though. Soft. He couldn’t help but smile a little, and he felt her lips part, too. He broke for a little to straighten his back. He cupped her cheek in his hand as he kissed her again, firmer this time. She came up for air and then closed in again. Again, again.

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#6
Old 04-18-2007, 02:22 AM

“Well, then, I was going to see if you needed a ride home. Guess not.”

Adrianne fell back from the kiss, primly crossing her legs and folding her arms in her lap. Hunter assessed them with a raised eyebrow, leaning on his compound bow which he had neither unstrung nor taken apart.
He fumbled with the buckles on his arm-guard. “I’m not here to disturb you, Lex. I just need to know if I’m taking you home because I’m taking off now. The bus only runs every hour on weekends, but I’m sure you know that.”

Yes, but maybe Adrianne could give him a ride. Even if she couldn’t, the bus was always there from five in the morning to midnight. He didn’t really have to go, did he? What was waiting at home? Brat was having a This-Stupid-Mesopotamia-Project-Is-Finally-Over Party with a bunch of her friends. The best thing he could do was physics homework. The clock struck two.

Nonetheless, Adrianne made his decision for him. “I need to get ready for the dance tonight. Why don’t you go with Hunter?”

“But, Adrianne…”

“Come on, both you and I need to be ready for this.”

Lex forced a smile, “Okay. See you then.” She gave him a quick peck on the nose before closing the trunk. Lex followed Hunter to the familiar champagne Audi.

“I’ve got to make a quick stop before we go to your place.”
Lex nodded but stayed quiet. The car probably needed gas. It would be best to let Hunter do what he wanted. They cruised down Westchester Street. No sudden stops today. The buildings mimicked a quaint colonial town except the houses said “Manhattan Bakery” and “J.Crew.” Weird, this was the opposite direction of his house.

Hunter pulled into the Wachovia parking lot. “I’ll only take a minute.”

Lex fiddled with his seatbelt. He kind of wanted to walk to the bus stop and take public transport home, but Hunter would flip if he disappeared. He wasn’t too bad today. His driving proved it. It meant he couldn’t be that mad, right? He opened the glove compartment and found the car manual, some quarters, and a U2 CD. He browsed the manual. What was so great about an Audi, anyway?

Hunter entered the car wordlessly, and they began driving.

“Did you lose your brain-cells this week? This isn’t the way to my house.”

“I know. There’s something I want to get from home.” They didn’t talk as they rolled down Baker Street, and the radio remained off.

Hunter’s house was only two stories high, but it was intimidating. Colonial-style like most of the homes here, it had a stucco front and an indoor, two-car garage. Lex had been inside a few times, and he knew that through the double front doors lay a marble foyer with a skylight and, beyond that, a dining room with chandelier next to a family room with a black leather sofa set and oriental carpeting.

“Stay out here,” Hunter said, turning off the car. He took his bow and quiver from the back seat and entered the house via its unlocked front door. Lex heard barks and a “Good girl, Nelly, good girl.” It made him smile. Hunter seemed fine with things now. Lex liked how Hunter always was reasonable if you gave him time to cool off.

Hunter came back with his hands in his pockets and opened the car door.

“I want to talk to you a little before, you know, Spring Fling.”

“Um, all right.” Lex got out of the car, and they sat on the curb. Hunter pulled something from his khakis’ pocket. “Got you something, kind of my way of saying good luck with this Adrianne stuff.”

“Hunter… this… this is a hundred dollars.” He unrolled the wad of bills – two twenties and six tens. “What’s this for? Bus fare?”

“No, idiot. I told you, Adrianne likes a boy who can pay for her jewelry – not to mention her Spring Fling tickets. Think of this as a starting bonus or something, until you can get a job to support this bad habit of yours. She’s like crack for you, man.”

“No, it’s okay. She likes me even without the money.” He shoved it back.

“That’s what you think. At the very least, I sure as hell don’t need the cash. I’m not going to the Fling.”

“You’re not?”

“Don’t you listen? Stag at the Spring Fling is for freshmen and losers.”

“Why didn’t you look for a date? It looks like you could have afforded it.”

“I didn’t think I’d be getting a hundred dollars.”

“Huh?”

“Well, I guess you didn’t see, and I forgot to tell you, didn’t I? It’s prize money from the tournament. I got second. I could’ve – should’ve – gotten first, but that slut – and the way you’re totally falling for her – was on my mind the whole time. You can be really distracting, you know?”

“Hunter, if you earned it, it’s yours.”

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#7
Old 04-18-2007, 02:24 AM

“Therefore, I can do what I want with it. Including give it to you.” Hunter rolled his eyes and reached into his other pocket, taking out a badly rolled joint and a lighter. “Hash and tobacco. My brother went to Paris for a semester and fell in love with it.”

“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“Man, you really don’t listen, do you? I said it’s my brother’s. I only do it sometimes – after finals, after big tournaments - before anything really important.”

Lex figured it was better not to ask. Hunter took a puff and let the tendrils of smoke roll through his nostrils. “I don’t want to try any.”

“I knew you wouldn’t, so I didn’t offer. Let me finish this, and I’ll drive you back in time for whatever with Adrianne.”

Lex lay down in the grass he knew a housekeeper mowed. The sky was still clear, and the sun was still there. He squinted his eyes against it. "So, we just stopped by your house just so you could have a smoke?"

"Basically." He seemed pretty content, trying to blow some smoke rings. Lex twitched. "Come on. It was a considerably large tournament, and I need a break. I know you hate smoking since your dad got lung cancer, but I swear I don't do it that often...”

He flicked the lighter a couple times, trying to make the largest flame possible.

“…You know how I only do it when I have something important to say? Well, you ever really learn why I was kicked out of B.S.?”

“Baxter-Springdale? Yeah, you got into a fight with another kid. Broke his arm.”

“No, not exactly. Actually, not at all.” He breathed in again. “Lex… I got expelled for giving my boyfriend head in the library after-hours. Last time I heard from Kyle, he was at a military academy outside Philadelphia.”

“You’re gay? Bi?”

“No, just gay. Girls don’t interest me. Specifically little whores like Adrianne.”

Thankfully, a cloud floated over the sun, and Lex sat up, giving his eyes a rest. “You could’ve come out at Thatcher, you know. There are a couple gay kids here. You could’ve found a new boyfriend.”

“You’re missing the point. My parents wanted me at Thatcher so they could keep a closer eye on me. Keep me from doing stuff like that all together. That said, why the hell would I ever want to go out with some cross-dressing theatre kid who goes to Drac Ball in a corset?”

“Well, in that case, five months, and you can have as much as you want.”

Hunter shrugged and let some smoke trickle across his lips.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner, though? Thought I’m your best friend. You know I wouldn’t have told anyone. Come on, it’s not like I care – unless you start hitting on me or something. I’m not stupid. It’s not like gay people don’t have preferences. Me, I don’t like blondes.”

“… Right, that’s usually the way it works, Lex. Usually.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Hunter threw the unfinished joint into the road, and a BMW ran it over.

“Damn you, Lex. You’re a fucking idiot sometimes, but I like you. I like you a lot – yes, in that way and for a very long time –, but you’re my best friend, and because of that, I’m giving you a hundred dollars so you can be happy with that slutty girl you like. Okay?”

Holy fuck.

Lex's heart was beating like it did after difficult track meets. His stomach hardened like a pebble. His mouth as beginning to dry, and that familiar carrot-like taste emerged from the back of his throat like it did when he forgot to breathe properly when he ran. Maybe it was the smoke. Hunter shoved the bills into Lex’s lap, but Lex couldn’t move his arms to give them back.

“Come on, Lex. A hundred bucks. At least take it because I got it for you.” At that moment, Nelly pushed past the housekeeper who had been sweeping the staps, ran out the front door, ran out to the curb, and proceeded to lick Hunter. “Not now, girl. Real bad timing.”

He really did look like his dog – playful, sweet. Lex kind of wanted to pet him on his shaggy blond head. Brigit was right about some things. Hunter was pretty hot considering that he was, well, a guy.

“If you really want, you can borrow my car, too. Just don’t get pulled over because I know you don’t have insurance.” He tossed Lex his keys.
Lex missed and had to look for them in the grass.

“You know, Lex, I know this whole Adrianne thing means a lot to you, and this is really sudden, but, is there some chance, any chance in the world, that we could go to the Spring Fling together?”

“What?”

“What about your parents?”

“Screw my parents?”

“What about Adrianne?”

“You little fucker, didn’t you hear a word I’ve said all week? For once in your life, screw Adrianne, and go out with someone who really cares about you.”

Hunter smiled and drew Lex in for a kiss and ran his fingers through Lex’s hair. He tasted a little bit like smoke, but Lex concluded he was better than Adrianne. A million times better.

“Yes.”

 


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