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Tick Tuck -*- Copyright 2002 by Ellen Hayes.

Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual
persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when
used for satirical purposes.

This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and
possibly sex.  If you are legally not allowed to read materials
containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading
this.  I am not responsible.
Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it
in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally
allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish,
state, and country.

All rights reserved.  See the bottom for distribution rights.


Tick Tuck


***
10:44 22 Aug

     "You look like hell," Sabrina said by way of greeting as I sat
down.
     "Oh, thanks," I smiled.  "You look great yourself today."
     She frowned, I think because she wasn't sure whether to take that
as a compliment or sarcasm.  And I wasn't quite sure how I meant it
either.

***
11:31 22 Aug

     "Yeah, I dunno," I said to Mike, "I just, I mean, it's coming
along, and I was hoping I'd have it ready today, but I didn't.  Monday
for sure, though."
     "What're you doing tonight?" he asked.
     "Dinner with Rachel, paying back a favor."
     "The college girl?" Sabrina asked me.
     "Don't you start," I warned her, "it's paying her back for her
giving me a ride, and helping me out other times and stuff."
     "Did I say anything?" she smiled.  I didn't think she needed to.

***
11:33 22 Aug

     "So-  Uh-" Mike went, then he said, "Ah."
     I went, "Wh-" as I looked where Mike was looking, saw Dobson
sitting in a chair in OUR spot, said, "F-", then remembered that he told
us yesterday he'd watch today, and said "Oh."

***
11:36 22 Aug

     Mike had rung the bell and was getting everyone back up to speed on
what was going on.  It was a pretty high speed.  "Okay, we will assume
that Tuck's supporting character has passed out-"
     "Hey!" I protested.
     "-and that therefore you aren't screaming any more," Mike
continued.
     I said, "Oh.  Right."
     "Other than that, Amanda and Kelly being large werewolves were
menacing Kim and Jack here-"
     "It's JAMES!" James insisted.
     Mike continued, "Right, Kim and John the FBI agents," which caused
James to snort in irritation and look around for sympathy, but there was
none to be seen.  "And Am-  No, it was Kelly that had grabbed hold of
Jam-Jam's arm, the one-"
     "James?"
     "Quiet," Mike ordered.  "The one holding the gun.  And Amanda was
busy ripping Tuck here to pieces, the witness you were supposed to be
interviewing."  I whimpered a bit.  "Josh!  What DO you do?"

***
12:04 22 Aug

     Finally, I was back in the game, in my own form too.  So to speak.
"I bust through the window, in Crinos, and-"
     "Roll to change forms quick-"
     "You SAID I had time to observe what was going on through the
window," I reminded Mike, "so I have time to change."
     "So roll Wits plus Primal Urge target six, or spend a rage point,"
Mike ordered.  "You stand there staring through a window like a nine
foot tall wolfman, you're NOT going to be a stealthy observer, duh."
     I sighed, wishing I hadn't said I was observing stealthily earlier,
and rolled, and hissed, "Yesss!" when I got rather a surprising number
of successes which left Mike looking disgusted.  "Change to Crinos, jump
through the window and knock them off her, to start."
     "Which one first?" Mike asked.
     "Just body block, knock them both back," I said.
     Mike rolled, then said, "Amanda, this Crinos just blew through the
window and ran into you, knocking you into Kelly and both of you stagger
a few feet away.  Amanda?"
     "I kill whatever touched me," she said, and I chuckled because
there was no way.

***
12:05 22 Aug

     "Kim, you were sure you were going to die at the hands of these two
monsters, when a third one busted through the window and started
fighting the other two.  What do you do?"
     "I keep shooting the ones that attacked us!  Head shots!" she said
triumphantly, "They're wearing body armor under those costumes or
something, that's why Jack couldn't kill one either!"
     "James!"
     "Sure," Mike said, waving at James to be quiet.  "Are you sure you
want to do that, though?"
     "What?"
     "Shouldn't you be worried about arresting them, being FBI and all?"
     "FUCK arresting them!" Kim announced, "They fucking killed my
partner AND a witness and were going to kill ME!  Blow the fuckers
AWAY!"
     "I'm not dead yet!" whined several of the freshthings in chorus,
including James, in reference to James' expiring agent.
     "He's NOT gettin' bettah," Mike emphasized in accent.  "'Kay," he
said to Kim, "roll Dex plus Firearms, target nine for a head shot in
here.  Kelly?"
     "Nail the bitch first," Kelly grinned.  "I jump at her with my
claws out to rip her-"
     "You FUCK!" Kim cursed loudly.  "Like hell, I'm shooting her
first!"
     "Both of you roll Dex, highest goes first."
     Kim lost that one and moaned eerily as Kelly laughed.
     "Tuck?"
     "Can I stop Kelly?  Trip her or something?
     "Oooh," Mike said with a totally false expression of sympathy on
his face.  "No, you're already engaged with Amanda."  Amanda blew me a
kiss, which I took as more evidence of her corruption.
     "I can," George growled.  "I kick the door in now."  Mike checked a
scrap of paper, an obvious note from player to GM I'd missed, and
nodded.
     "Yessss!" I hissed and danced a bit.

***
12:09 22 Aug

     George mimicked a John Woo classic maneuver as he mimed cocking a
large autopistol, put it to the back of Amanda's head, and his hand
jerked as he yelled "BOOM!"
     "Amanda, you are, I hate to say it, immensely dead at this point,"
Mike said, and Amanda said, "Shit!" and kicked at the ground as she sat
back upright, no longer needing to 'play unconscious'.
     "After your ears clear, though," Mike went on, "you can hear sirens
in the background."
     "Leave NOW," George suggested.
     "You have to come with us," I told Kim, "you are in danger here
from the police-"
     Kim snapped back, "I have to report-"
     "DAMN your reports, woman!" I yelled.  "This is beyond paper!  Your
mission is over, your packmate is dead, and the authorities are coming
and they will throw you in a cage for your part in this!"
     "And what the fuck are YOU doing?" Kim yelled back.  "Who do you
think you are, that you, you, you can just play vigilante like this?"
     "The ones who saved your life?" I reminded her.
     "Leave NOW!" George insisted again.  "Grab her," he said and
reached out and grabbed Kim's arm.
     "The FUCK!" Kim shrieked, pulled away, and mimed pulling out her
own gun and shooting George in the head with it.
     Mike described, "BOOM!  It hits the thing grabbing you in its face,
and it snarls in pain and rocks back, and as it comes forward again, it
never did let go of your arm Kim, you get the impression that you didn't
do much more than piss it off."

***
12:12 22 Aug

     "Because you're one of us," I said, ignoring the policemen who had
already gone catatonic as George carefully anaesthetized the screaming
one with a foot to the head.  We had a little more time to talk with Kim
than I'd thought, but it was a little hard remembering that No One Sees
A Crinos And Stays Sane.  "That's why you can see us, and why they," I
pointed at Mike, who was playing the scenery, "can't.  Your own reaction
shows your heritage."
     "How do I get through this?" Kim asked desperately.  "I can't just
explain all these dead bodies and me being alive?!"
     That was a very interesting question that I did not have much time
to think about an answer for.
     "You don't remember anything," George surprised me by growling at
Kim, before he turned to Mike and said, "After I say that, twice for
emphasis, I hit her in the back of the head to knock her out but not
kill her."
     "What?"
     George rolled and Mike rolled and Kim gibbered until she was
shushed because she was unconscious.  "Get her paper, Tuck," George told
me, "Monkeys have paper urine-marks, find one!"
     That boggled me for a few tenths of a second but I quickly said,
"I, uh, look quickly in her pockets for a business card or someth-"
     Mike interrupted, "Yeah, got one-"
     "Good," I counter-interrupted.  "I take it with me, make sure it
doesn't look like someone was rummaging in her pockets, and then," and I
hit George on the arm and motioned at the door, "and then we get the
hell outta here!"
     "You're just LEAVING ME HERE?!" Kim squalled.
     "Can I explain?" I asked Mike
     Mike thought about it and shook his head.  "She's unconscious, she
has to figure this out herself.  You-  ALL OF YOU BE QUIET!" Mike
yelled.  As we quieted down, Mike nodded at Dan, who nodded back.
     "Kim, when you wake up the first thing you see is a paramedic, and
about the fourth thing you see is someone that might be your partner
being zipped up in a body bag.  Or, someTHING."
     "Oh my God no," Kim sighed.
     "Your boss, Special Agent in Charge Ratcliffe," Mike said, and
pointed to Dan, "is here, and..."
     "What happened?" Dan demanded angrily.  "What the HELL happened
here!"
     Kim looked very distressed, but if I said what was patently obvious
to me and George (and probably everyone else, since that's how it
usually happened when I was on the spot, anyway) Mike'd hurt me.

***
12:15 22 Aug

     "So, I get off?" Kim asked.
     "You do for a while," Mike said, "but even once you get done with
all the CAT scans and psych evals, you're really on probation now, and
you KNOW they're watching you closely at work, to see if you go crazy
again or start passing out or whatever.  But you're being more subtle
about it, and the rest of the pack is helping you out when they can, so
you're still there, two years later, when-"  Mike then rang the bell.
     Everyone sighed with relief and mild irritation, and started
stretching as Mike started scribbling.  When he got done, he said,
"Okay, Tuck gets two, Kim gets two, Kelly and Amanda you each get, oh,
three again-"
     "Man!" George complained.
     "Shut up George, you get three too," Mike grinned.
     "Three what?" asked Dobson and I almost screamed because I'd
forgotten he was there.

***
12:17 22 Aug

     "And," Dobson said, "this is what it is like?"
     "Well," Mike said, "they hardly even started arguing with each
other, that can get pretty intense when they're all using their own
characters, the ones they want to play together instead of the
adversarial ones, the 'extras' I gave Amanda and Kelly and Dan this
time.  Other than that..."  Mike shrugged, and when Dobson looked at me
I shrugged too.
     "_I_ thought it was pretty good," Kim said as she gave Mike an
ambush hug from behind.  "But don't you think I should get more
experience points?"
     "Nope."
     Kim leaned over and did something obscene to Mike's ear that I
couldn't watch.
     "How about," Mike said, sounding a little out of breath, "I take
you to dinner tonight and you do that then?"
     "Mmmm," Kim breathed into his ear, and mumbled something that could
have been, "And do I get more experience points?"
     "And if you don't stop trying to bribe the storyteller," Mike said,
"I'm going to turn Tuck AND George loose on you at the same OW!  Jeezus
woman!" he complained as he held his head.
     "You WORM!" Kim snarled as George and I started laughing.
     "Kim, if I start rewarding YOU for acting like that, the rest of
'em'll be all over me for the same thing!  You don't want that, do you?"
     "Oooh baby," I said and made smooching noises and Kim whirled as I
ducked.
     "I never dated one of my own players before," Mike explained to
Dobson as I fended Kim off.  "Which is probably a good idea, now that I
think about it."

***
12:19 22 Aug

     "So," I continued explaining to Dobson as I packed my stuff up,
"last year we were playing swords and sorcery, this year it's modern
angst combined with the supernatural, we've played secret agents before,
and Star Wars..."  That one had been incredibly wild, especially after
we stole the first Death Star-
     "So, you can do anything, play anything, at all," Dobson said
eventually.
     "Yep.  It's a lot like creative writing, except collective, really.
The only limits are the ones you agree to."  That was where the fun
really was, we'd found out.
     "This is interesting..."
     Pause.
     "Wanna play?" I asked with a grin.  "I bet we could fit you in to
the regular group," I added, ignoring the horrified looks from those
people that had heard me.

***
12:21 22 Aug

     "He said 'no' though, right?" George asked.
     "Well," I said, carefully not smiling, "that's what he SAID, but he
seemed like he was thinking about it, which is why I left it open if he
changed his mind-"
     "Tuck you DORK!" George almost screamed, and then I had to laugh.

***
14:03 22 Aug

     I'd had a strange idea in physics, so instead of going right to my
locker, I went right to Dobson's office.  Well, right to the secretary,
who called him, and did NOT say that I wasn't in trouble like I'd
specifically asked her to.  She wasn't as smart as the old one, the one
that had quit; I wondered if she had a new job or something, or if she'd
want to come back here again since Nickerson was-
     "What now?" Dobson asked me, sounding tormented.
     "I'm NOT in trouble," I insisted, "I had a question."

***
14:05 22 Aug

     "So Kelly and I WERE supposed to be paired up with other people," I
mused as we looked at the assignment listing and I memorized a few
social security numbers.  Those bimbos had actually failed to disable
the logging, too, so it was plainly obvious who had done it.  It would
have been better for them if they'd just lied to us verbally and left
the records unchanged.  Then again, they weren't cheerleaders because
they were clever.  Which was going to be too bad...
     "What are you plotting?" Dobson asked.
     "Me?  Plotting?" I lied.
     "I recognize that look," he claimed.
     "Oh, I was just thinking of something else...  Hey, you're not
going to pull me and Kelly apart, are you?" I asked when I thought of it
suddenly.
     "It's not-"
     "Oh come on!" I protested, recognizing that look.  "I mean, we're
already taking the abuse for the problem, the last thing either of us
needs is to deal with someone else jammed up with us.  I mean, did Kelly
look like she was having fun with us today, or what?"
     "You still have some events-"
     "And I'd already rather be with Kelly at 'em than with someone
else," I said.  "She's cool, I mean she reads books, likes computers,
loves playing those roleplaying games-  She even likes Chinese food, I
mean, come on!" I begged.  "Besides," I mentioned, "look down there at
the bottom; you had more girls come in as freshthings than you had
juniors to assign them to.  Putting Kelly with someone else would only
make things worse."
     "What if her parents complain?" Dobson asked, trying to ignore my
overwhelming arguments.
     "She's not going to say anything to them, because then she'd have
to admit that no one figured it out for three or four days because
every one of my friends thought she was a guy.  And she thought _I_ was
a girl.  And she's, I mean, she was completely embarrassed and upset
when she found out what had happened.  Lots worse than I was," I said.
"Hey, why don't you ask KELLY what SHE wants to do, huh?"
     The pain of my victorious logic upon him was almost more than he
could bear, but I had no mercy.

***
15:11 22 Aug

     Ricky finally came running up to the car and threw himself inside,
making me automatically check behind him for pursuit.  I didn't see any,
though.  Maybe he was just disliking the rain.
     "It's FRIDAY!" he yelled at me.
     "YES!" I yelled back, and we started celebrating right then.

***
15:14 22 Aug

     "Holllidaaaay," I sang enthusiastically,
     "It can be-e so-o nice.
      Holiday!"
     Ricky grooved childishly in the shotgun seat, and even Stella
seemed like she preferred singing to screaming.

***
17:50 22 Aug

     "Yeah, it would be easier," I said.  "But I mean, I can stay and
finish cooking it, I just don't want to eat too much here before I meet
her, 'cause you know how it is when you go out to dinner with someone
and they don't eat?"
     "Well, alright," she said, "but you know you're more than welcome
to eat here..."
     "I know!" I smiled, because it seemed like the kind of thing that
Sabrina would say while smiling.  "And, really, I appreciate it."

***
19:17 22 Aug

     "Hello?" I called as I opened the door to Rachel's house, and she
was already sitting on the couch, looking dressed up enough that I
guessed she was ready to go.  She smiled and waved at me as she got up.

***
20:05 22 Aug

     "Yeah, I mean, it's interesting, but..."
     "But what?" I asked, stopping the salad-poking I was doing.
     "Well, I mean..."  Rachel thought for a minute.  "I thought I'd
have a lot more friends when I got to college, you know?  But it's kind
of hard to meet them sometimes, and..."  She sighed, and looked around
the restaurant a bit.
     "Well, I mean," I started.
     "Oh no, I don't mean you!" she said.  "I was, I mean..."  She
sighed.  "Guys."
     "Oh.  Uh..."  I couldn't help much on the guy thing, since all the
ones I knew that I wasn't dating myself were seventeen or younger.
     "So, I dunno, it's not as cool as I thought it would be," she said,
and shrugged, kind of sadly.

***
20:11 22 Aug

     "Well, I mean, I could ask," I said.  "He's liked classical stuff
before, or at least he's got it programmed into his car stereo.  So he
might be interested in a recital or something."
     "Oh!  Do you ever see that band any more, that one we went to see
together that time?"
     "Uh, wh-  Stepwise Pagoda?"  She nodded, but I had to admit, "No,
it's been a long time.  Maybe we could find out where they're playing?"

***
20:59 22 Aug

     "Maybe next weekend," I said, hanging up the pay phone.  "Amanda's
not home, and I don't remember Jack's number, but I could call later and
ask, you know?"
     "Okay, that would be neat," she said, her head bobbing as she
smiled back at me.  "So, uh, what now?"

***
21:39 22 Aug

     When I saw the minor stack of CD's she'd gotten, and realized that
I hadn't heard of even one of them, I realized that I'd really have to
investigate Rachel's music collection at some point.
     But not tonight; I didn't feel like spending six hours draped over
a CD player when I might be able to sleep instead.

***
22:19 22 Aug

     "I really had fun tonight," Rachel smiled as we let go of the hug.
     "Me too!" I assured her.  "And don't forget to come Sunday evening
about six, okay?  I dunno what I'm fixing, but it should be decent."
     "You cook great!" she assured me, which made me feel better.

***
22:45 22 Aug

     "It wasn't a DATE date," I counter-complained back at Brian, "we
just wanted to talk and stuff.  Maybe if you tried that once in a while,
the girls wouldn't keep projectile vomiting whenever-"
     "Eugene," Mom warned sternly.

***
23:05 22 Aug

     *Now,* I thought, *do I try to sleep, or stay up tonight?*
Weekends were usually better than school days, but I wasn't quite sure
I'd be safe tonight, and I still had to go to therapy tomorrow.

***
23:19 22 Aug

     The fourth time I yawned, I decided to at least have the nightmares
early tonight, and if I was very lucky I'd not have one and be able to
get some sleep.
     Amy and Susan had both sent letters, though, and I'd have to answer
them soon, and I had a date tomorrow night too.

***
06:00 23 Aug

     "That's IT, motherfucker," I snarled, "you are OUTTA here!"  I was
going to finish that MacinAlarmClock thing this weekend for sure, now.
This was no longer to be tolerated.  Especially since I'd been enjoying
the best sleep I'd had since Susan left.

***
09:00 23 Aug

     I beat the alarm clock for a while in frustration, then when I had
to pause because I'd hurt my hand I remembered I had to go to therapy.
"Stupid fucker," I snarled at the alarm, and then got up.

***
09:55 23 Aug

     I was a bit early, and my shoes were doing well, so I spent some
time inking over the logo on my shoes with a laundry marker.  It's the
little things that tend to be the problems, and I felt a bit pleased
that I'd remembered this tiny potential before it turned into an actual.

***
10:02 23 Aug

     "So how was the first week of school?" Sheila asked.
     "Oh, God, I wanna go on vacation again," I moaned.

***
10:09 23 Aug

     "Are you still dating Travis?"
     "Yeah," I said, still feeling uncomfortable about talking about it.
     "And how are you two getting along?"
     "Oh, just fine," I said, wishing I wasn't smiling.
     "Okay.  Do any of his friends or family know that he's dating you?"
     "Uh.  I don't know... we ran into some girls from his school, uh,
Thursday night, we went out to a movie and then out for fast food
afterwards, 'cause we both had to go to school the next day.  We didn't
say anything to them about, you know, us..."  Of course, he'd introduced
me as 'Valerie' which I wasn't going to mention.
     "How do you feel about that?" she asked.
     "What?"

***
10:12 23 Aug

     "Is Travis good looking?"  It was an odd question, but it didn't
seem like a trap, so I nodded. "The kind of a guy that girls generally
find attractive?" she asked.
     "I guess so..."  I was wondering where she was going with this.
     "Did the girls you met give the impression that they were surprised
to find him out with another boy instead of a girl?"
     I almost smiled when the answer came to me.  "No, not a bit.  I
guess it's 'cause he's got a reputation for being shy around girls, or
something."
     "Why do you say that?"

***
10:15 23 Aug

     "Are you still having sex with him?"
     "Uh, yeah... I mean, if we have time, like this week we didn't."
     "Thursday?"
     "Yeah, and Tuesd-  Oh, Susan..."  I sighed.  "Susan tracked him
down Tuesday, and caught him after his school let out, we were supposed
to go on a date that night but Susan caught him first..."
     "'Caught' him?  What did she do?"
     "Oh, she said she took him out for coffee or something, took Mike
along as a chaperone or something.  She said she wanted to meet him, and
I didn't think there was any time left before she left for college so I
said no, but she stayed an extra day so she could."
     "What did she think?"
     "About Travis?  Uh, she said she thought he was nice, I guess..."
     "How does she feel about you dating another guy?"
     "Um...  I don't know, really," I admitted.  "She said she's okay
with it, but...  I think it kind of makes her uncomfortable.  Travis
said she was okay, when they were out for coffee Tuesday, though.  Or
maybe it was an early supper.  So," I explained, "it wasn't like she was
nasty to him or threatened him if he dated me any more, or anything. She
said she just wanted to see what he was like, and then when she did she
said he was okay, told me to be careful and all that, and then she and
Mike went home, I guess."  I shrugged.  "Anyway, the date was kind of a
bust, we just went to his place and sort of talked and cuddled for a
couple hours."
     "That was a bust?"
     "Well, I mean," I said, feeling a little defensive, "it, I mean, we
really like talking, but we had planned to go see a movie and then I was
too tired, and we'd both eaten already, and we were even too tired to
have sex or anything, so... I mean, I liked it, don't get me wrong,
but... I dunno, I felt kind of bad about not DOING something, you know?"

***
10:19 23 Aug

     "Does he usually start it?  Or do you?"
     "Uh... I think I do, usually..."  *Did Travis ever start anything?*
     "How do you feel about that?"
     "Um, I dunno," I shrugged.
     Pause.
     LONG pause.
     "Why do you always do this to me?" I finally asked.
     "Because, you're here to talk about your feelings, and I can help
you sort them out," she said calmly, like she did this every day.  Well,
I guess she did.

***
10:26 23 Aug

     "Have you told your parents yet?" Sheila asked.
     "About-  NO!" I squeaked.  "Jeez no!  Dad would COMPLETELY freak,
and I don't even, I mean I couldn't even GUESS at what Mom would do to
me!"
     That did not look like a good answer, from what I could tell of
Sheila's thoughts, which was very little.

***
10:43 23 Aug

     "Oh, and my Little Brother, the one at school?  Kelly?" I said, and
waited until she nodded.
     "How are you and he getting along?"
     "Kelly's not a guy, Kelly's a girl," I announced.
     "I thought you said Kelly was a boy?" Sheila asked.
     "Ah, well, that's what we thought-  And I mean, all my friends too,
it wasn't just me," I said.  "She's pretty... I mean, people at school
are calling us Chris and Pat, like on Saturday Night Live?"
     "Oh," she said.  "Did they run out of girls for her to be paired
with?" Sheila, ever the innocent, asked.
     "Let me explain," I said, unable to completely repress a snarl.

***
10:48 23 Aug

     "And so, it's already making the rounds at school," I sighed.  Then
I remembered what Ashlee was going to get Monday morning, and smiled for
a second.
     "What?"
     I lied, "The principal knows what happened, I talked to him
yesterday, and I've got a feeling that he's going to do something to
punish them."  I didn't care if he did, really; we had something far
more effective than detention.

***
11:04 23 Aug

     Running away to Travis' house was looking better and better all the
time.  Maybe then I wouldn't be sitting here in a parking lot like a
target, too shook up to drive, every damned Saturday.
     Finally, I shook myself and started the car.  At least I had some
programming I could do.  That made sense, even if it was a Mac.

***
13:14 23 Aug

     The phone flashed and Arrakis said 'doop' and told me it was Mike,
so I flicked the switch and said, "Yo?"
     "Tuck!  Get over here, we're playing-"
     "I'm in Deep Hack Mode, Mike, is this important?"
     "Doing what?"
     "The MacinClock Two, Alarming Version.  Got done with Kelly's."
And I'd had to re-un-pack ol' Gallifrey and set it up again, but at
least it hadn't died from the shock of moving.  That thing was almost as
old as I was.
     "Did you eat?"
     "Fuck eating, Mike, I'm in Deep Hack!"
     "I'll be over at six thirty to make sure you eat," he said.
"Later," he said, and hung up.
     *Fuckhead,* I thought, and mode-switched back into Deep Hack.

***
18:32 23 Aug

     My doorlight flashed, so when I got to a breakpoint, I stacked my
brain into the file, pulled the headset off, and went to go see what
Mike wanted.  "What?"
     "Did you eat?"
     "No I was OH SH-"
     "What did you forget?" Mike asked as I ran back in to put on some
shoes hastily.
     "Date tonight," I said.
     "With-"
     "Yeah!"
     "When?"
     "NOW!"
     "Whups, maybe you ought to call?" Mike suggested, so I leapt for
the phone.

***
18:35 23 Aug

     Mike was kicking me in the leg, so I grabbed the mute switch and
looked up and asked, "What?!"
     "Ask if me and Kim can go with you two," Mike said.
     "What?"
     "I am so sick and damned tired of gaming right this instant...
I've been doing it almost continuously since Friday after school, and I
think I'd rather watch you two making moo-cow eyes at each other than
deal with those dorks a minute longer.  I told 'em I had a date anyway,"
he shrugged.
     "Uh," I said.  Then I turned back to the phone.  "Uh, Travis?"

***
18:52 23 Aug

     "I'll keep a watch on him," Mike assured Dad.
     "You're not doing something nefarious, are you?" Dad asked me,
glaring through his glasses.
     "Me?  How could you ev-"
     Mike elbowed me in the side and reminded me, "Just answer the
question."
     "No!" I said with as much outraged innocence as I could force into
my voice.
     "Mmmmm," Dad said, still suspicious.
     "Kim will be there," Mike said, "and she's bringing a friend for
Tucker to meet, to see if they get along."
     "What?!" I asked, suddenly paranoid.  "You didn't tell me OW!"  I
kicked Mike back but he blocked it and then I grabbed him and pulled us
both to the floor, which hurt an awful lot when he whapped me with a
forearm in the tits but I managed to have a seizure with the pain
instead of freezing, which kept Mike from getting a headlock on me, and
then Dad said, "Okay, have fun tonight," with a chuckle.  "When's the
date?"
     "OhSH-" I said as I let Mike out of the scissors I was forming,
because I couldn't run for a car if my legs were crushing Mike into
paste.

***
19:14 23 Aug

     "Kim wants to know what you're wearing?" Rachel asked, holding her
hand over the phone and looking as baffled as I felt.  "Oh!  For the
date, she said," she added, and nodded, looking happy that she finally
understood things.  I wished I did so I could have that look on my face.

***
19:22 23 Aug

     "Augh!" I mentioned as I shredded the fine nylon weave for the
third time that night.  "What dumbass came up with a leg covering that
can be destroyed just by putting it on?!"
     "Huh?" Rachel said as she poked her head in.
     "I HATE HOSIERY!" I screamed in frustration.
     "Oh, yeah," she nodded, "everyone does."
     "Then WHY do you WEAR it?"
     Her head cocked sideways as she said, "You know, I've wondered
about that but I'm still not sure..."

***
19:32 23 Aug

     I was actually ready, having run down to the next-to-last pair of
stockings but stopping there, and I'd even remembered to grab one of the
few clean dresses left for tomorrow morning, and I was now thinking
about sitting down on the couch to watch television with Rachel for a
bit, when someone knocked at the door.  I flew at it and yanked it open
and it was Mike and Kim.
     "We gave you an extra ten minutes to get ready," Mike lied with a
smile on his face.
     "Liar," I said, then turned back to Rachel and said, "We'll see you
tomorrow at my house a little before six, right?" and waited for her to
nod before I flew out to my car, since I was hoping I'd be staying later
at Travis' place than Mike and Kim would be welcome.

***
19:49 23 Aug

     "I'm so sorry," I said into Travis' chest, trying to be loud enough
he could hear me.  "I just got wrapped up, and then Mike was wanting to
get out, you could have said no if you wanted," I said as I looked up.
     "Yeah," Kim said from behind me, "I mean, we just thought we could
enjoy a little dinner or something with you two, since we don't see as
much of Valerie as we did over the summer," she smiled.
     "And if we're intruding or something, we can go to dinner by
ourselves, no prob," Mike added.
     I turned my head and confirmed, "You WERE going elsewhere after
dinner, right?"
     "Oh no!" Mike said, "We were gonna come over and watch movieoof, I
mean," he switched almost smoothly to avoid another elbow of Kim's,
"yeah, after dinner we were going to go rob this gas stowch!  WOULD you
stop?" he asked Kim.
     Kim smiled benignly at us, so I smiled back, as Travis chuckled.

***
20:24 23 Aug

     It wasn't Marciano's, but Teller's was still quite nice plus being
sort of a change of pace, and somehow Travis had gotten a four-place
table reserved for eight-thirty, so we just had to stand around and
mingle in the crowd for a while.  Kim and Mike were holding hands, but
I was backed up against Travis while he rested his arms around me, so I
was pretty happy with the evening so far.

***
20:38 23 Aug

     "Come on," Kim said, and tilted her head, so I grabbed my purse and
gave, or took, or exchanged, a kiss with Travis before heading off to
the bathroom with Kim.

***
20:43 23 Aug

     "Besotted, is the word," Kim sighed as she checked her face.
     "Be-what?"
     "Never mind.  You two are still doing okay, I can tell," she
nodded slowly to herself.
     "Yeah," I admitted, feeling my ears flush a little.
     "Val, don't worry about it," she said as she patted me on the
shoulder.  "Seriously, all me and Mike wanted to do was get out of that
nest of geeks for a few hours, and since you two were going out, we
thought maybe we could make a foursome of it.  I think Travis is
alright," she said, answering the question I was afraid to ask, or at
least the one uppermost in the stack at the moment.  "If only you two
didn't look so SICKENINGLY cute together," she grinned.
     "I'm sorry!" I protested.  "It's, it's fun, I like it..." I trailed
off, torn between the embarrassment and the liking of it.
     "Yeah," she smiled some more, but the smile sort of faded as she
said, "I just wish I was comfortable enough with Mike to do that."
     "Mike?  You're scared of MIKE?!  WHY?!"
     "Because, Val, he's a guy," she said simply, like that should
explain it all.  She shook her head a bit, then said, "Let's save that
for later, okay?  We'll have a nice dinner and chat," she smiled at me.
     "I wanna hear about Mike," I told her.  "Is it-"
     "No, he hasn't DONE anything, except geek out a few times, which
you do yourself..."  Kim sighed, and hugged herself gently.  "It's just,
he's a guy and they still scare me, even Mike."
     "Oh..."
     "I know, I know, I shouldn't be scared of Mike, he doesn't even
drool like George does, but-"
     "That's not George's fault, he-"
     "Shut," Kim said, "up.  I know, and I like Mike a lot, but
sometimes I just wish I felt more comfortable being with him, like you
do with Travis."
     Pause.
     "I, I mean, if there's anything I can do to help..." I said lamely.
     "I know, and thanks, I appreciate it," she smiled.  "Let's get back
before they start smooching each other instead of us."
     "He better not!" I said indignantly, hoping Kim would chuckle a
bit, which she did.

***
21:18 23 Aug

     "Julia would like this place," Kim mentioned.
     "Oh, darn, I was supposed to call her next time I went here-  Oh,
hey, do you remember a girl Rachel?" I asked Travis.
     He thought about it, which made me think about it, and then I
wasn't sure they'd ever met.  Mike, ever unsure of how far away the next
famine was, continued stocking up just in case it was soon.
     "Um, well, she's a friend of mine, not nosy like these two," I said
as I lifted my legs way up, "and she is like mondo bored, and she..." I
heard swooshes from under the table, which made me smile until Mike slid
down in his chair and kicked upwards, "Uh!  She'd like to come do stuff
with us, like music and concerts and dancing and stuff?  Plus," I added,
"if you know any really mature single male friends who would get along
with a college lady, we could arrange a meeting?"
     "She wants you to hook her up with Travis' friends?" Mike asked in
disbelief.
     "Uh, well, she-  Ow!  She didn't SAY that, no," I admitted after
being prompted in the shin again, "but, she said she's having some
trouble meeting guys, and so I figured maybe she could widen the
potential dating pool a little.  If you knew anyone," I said to Travis.
     "Hah," he said skeptically, "she probably wants to meet me too.  I
think everyone else has."
     "Well, we did run a special in the first school paper this year,"
Mike said, counter-kicking me enthusiastically until I stopped trying to
silence him.  "So everyone at school knows, plus their parents, the
school board, and Sixty Minutes called the other day about a special
segment," he said enthusiastically.
     "How can you say stuff like that with a straight face?" Travis said
as he chuckled a little.
     "Lots of practice," Mike and I said at the same time.

***
21:52 23 Aug

     I waved at Mike and Kim as they drove off, leaving me and Travis
stuck to each other again and by ourselves.
     Heh.  That's probably why I had a smile on my face.

***
22:35 23 Aug

     "Mmmmmmmyeah," I said as Travis began nibbling on my neck.
     "You're insatiable," he growled into my ear.
     "Do you want me to stop?" I asked, disengaging from him in case he
meant it.  I wasn't sure, but-
     "Val, no," he said softly, and smiling at me.  He held out his hand
to me.
     "Are you sure, I mean, I can stop or whatever," I said, trying to
make sure.  "I don't want to pressure you."
     "You're not pressuring me," he assured me.
     "You're sure?"
     He nodded.
     So I took his hand, and we pulled each other close again.

***
23:17 23 Aug

     "Travis?" I asked again, softly, but he didn't respond this time
either, so I just got into bed, shedding the towel, and wriggled and
twisted until I had his head carefully placed against my chest.  Being
there and feeling his hot breath against a nipple was not quite what I
could call 'arousing', but I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

***
00:04 24 Aug

     I could, I guess, have just left quietly and not woken him up,
because it was time to start leaving if I wanted to get home in time,
but I knew he'd hate himself if I did, so I shook him gently and called
to him until he woke up, then I said, "Travis, I have to go soon."
     "Oh no," he said as he sat up, accidentally impaling a large spike
through one my nipples.
     I managed not to scream, but I had to wait to kiss him into silence
until my body unfroze, but after that I got busy with the business of
consoling him for me letting him sleep after sex again.  I don't know
why he was so paranoid about it, or maybe 'ashamed' is a better word,
but he sure was.  I knew if I'd been doing all that work, that I'd be
tired out myself.

***
00:21 24 Aug

     "I dunno, maybe page me after school or something?" I suggested.
     He nodded, then stopped but looked like he wanted to say something.
     "What?" I prompted eventually.
     "Are, I mean, I'm..."  He took a breath, then tried again, "Are,
are you... happy?"
     "What?"
     "I mean, it seems like all we do is go eat, then come here and..."
     "Well..."  I thought about how to phrase an answer for what seemed
like a very long time.  "I like it, yeah, but if you want to do
something else, that's okay too.  I just..."  I shrugged helplessly.  "I
miss you over the week, when we don't have time, and I, I... really like
having sex with you," I said softly, looking down because I felt
embarrassed.  "And so it's like, there's only so much time we have
together, and I want to spend SOME of that, well, in bed with you.  But
I mean, we don't have to all the time or anything..."
     "I just wondered, if maybe you wanted to talk sometimes or
something, except I get like tired out after-"
     "I know!  And I told you, I like it-"
     "Yeah, but you said we only have a little time together, every
week," he said, "and I feel like I'm wasting it if I'm sleeping."
     I definitely had to ask Mike something tomorrow.  "But I like it
when you sleep next to me," I said.  I did, too.

***
00:56 24 Aug

     I was going to be glad to get to sleep, and I'd be more glad if I
didn't have to get up at nine to go out with the girls again.  At least
I'd managed to not leave the breasts at Rachel's like I almost did.
*Maybe I should make a lockbox for the car or something,* I mused as I
opened the front door and went inside.

***
06:14 24 Aug

     I saw the flashing for a while before I realized what it was, and
then I panicked because it was school and obviously Mike was here to
pick me up and I hadn't even gotten up yet or anything so I had to run
out to his car to explain before running back-
     It was Kim, outside the front door, when I opened it in a rush, and
then I just said, "Uhhhh," as I tried to remember-
     "Can, can I talk to you?" she asked solemnly, and her voice told me
she needed to, right away, so I nodded and ushered her into the house
and up to my room.
     Then, I had to go piss before the valve popped under the pressure.

***
06:18 24 Aug

     "So, what's up?" I asked Kim gently as I sat down on my bed.
     "It's Mike," she moaned.
     "Mike?!  MY Mike?!"  I couldn't imagine Mike doing anything that
would cause Kim to be in THIS kind of state.  Not MIKE.
     "Last night," Kim started to blubber, "after we left, he, he..."
     "He WHAT?" I asked, desperate to get the rest of it.
     Maybe I said it too nasty or something, because she gave up trying
to talk for a while and just fell against me, crying.
     I desperately wanted to toss her down and interrogate her until I
found out what she was talking about, but that would have been a bad
idea, so I simply hugged her and bit my fingers to keep myself quiet.

***
06:22 24 Aug

     "And, and, I said he could touch me, and and and he did, and then,
then, then I, I," Kim sniffed which almost put me over the edge, "I-  I
mean he was NICE about it and stuff but it was like all I could do to
keep from screaming, he-"
     "Why?"
     "Because it wasn't him doing it!" she wailed.
     "What th-  Oh, it was-" I stopped when she was nodding, and then I
frantically grabbed for my trash can as she retched.

***
06:25 24 Aug

     "Kim, I need to know this," I said when I couldn't stand it any
more, "so just nod or shake your head, okay?"  She nodded.  "So, last
night, it wasn't MIKE that made you upset, directly, when you two were
necking, it was that other time, right?"  She nodded.  "So, it's not
Mike being out of control or something, something like that?"  She
nodded again.  "Okayyyyyy," I breathed as my world settled back into
place.
     "Yrrghhhh," Kim growled before she retched again.  I hadn't smelled
it on her breath, but you could definitely tell she'd been drinking by
what had come up.
     "Water," I ordered, and had her drink some out of my cup so she'd
have something to barf up.  Which she did, almost immediately, but it
didn't sound quite so painful as the dry heaves had.

***
06:36 24 Aug

     "I mean," she sobbed quietly into my neck, my arms across her
shoulders, "I KNOW he's nice, but it's like every time he touches me I
get sick!"
     "I know," I said, feeling kind of sick myself as I held her close
and rocked us a little.
     "An' I HATE myself for it!"
     "You don't need to do that, Kim, it's okay, it's not your fault," I
argued gently.

***
06:59 24 Aug

     She'd agreed that she would like a coke, so I had her stay
upstairs, using the excuse that I wasn't sure who was up, and went to
get her one and do something else.
     "Hello?"
     "Mike, it's Tuck, break.  Psych problem with Kim, can you come over
here?"
     "Uh," he said, still sounding somewhat thick with sleep.  "Why?"
     "You and her got it on a bit last night, and she's freaking out
over something that happened before, that last night triggered," I said.
"Not you directly."
     "I KNOW that, Tuck," he said.  "She was upset last night but she
said she'd be okay...  Um, you sure it's a good idea for me to come over
there and talk to her, I mean, NOW?"
     "Yeah, at least for a bit, okay?  You remember how to get the house
key, right?"
     "Uh, yeah...  Okay, uh, fifteen minutes okay?"
     "Yeah, it's not that time-critical, but it, I think the earlier the
better, okay?"
     "'Kay."

***
07:19 24 Aug

     A soft tapping at my door told me that either Mike was here or Mom
wanted to see if I was awake, so I carefully shushed Kim and went to the
door, where I got lucky and it was Mike.
     "Oh no," Kim moaned when I opened the door.

***
07:22 24 Aug

     "Kim, I understand, really," Mike said.  "Or as much as I can
without it happening to me, I mean.  So, I know you don't, I mean, you
can only stand what you can stand, right?  So we just keep working on
it, if you want to I mean."
     "I DOOOOOO!" Kim wailed, almost directly into my ear, which hurt.
"I keep wanting to and trying to but like last night I just urggh-"  I
let go of Kim and dove for the trash can again as she let out something
between a groan and a retch.  Unfortunately Mike had the same idea at
the same time with an opposing vector and so our heads ran into each
other at a considerable velocity.
     "Ooooh time OUT," Mike snapped as we recoiled and I started cursing
softly.  "Ow, shit that hurt," Mike sighed.
     Kim giggled a little bit, so I opened my eyes and looked at her,
and she looked a little bit amused, which is a lot better than 'vomiting
over emotional trauma' any day.  I just wish it hadn't hurt ME so much.
     "It s-s-sounded like a cartoon," Kim admitted, like she was afraid
we hadn't noticed yet or something.
     "Do you hear the birdies flying around and chirping too?" I asked
at the same time Mike started cheeping and making flying bird motions
around his head.

***


Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back
in. - Will Rogers


Distribution:
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+ ==[--------   Ellen Hayes   @>--,--'---      ellen@barkingduck.net +
PGP DH/DSS keyfing: 33D4 156A AE39 53E2 0313  6714 2878 56A8 61B0 9CDC
+ http://www.barkingduck.net/ehayes -=[1990]=- vicki .sig virus 11.4 +


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