---

In the Last Chapter…

Hazelwood’s trivia team goes up against North High at Regionals, and ends up losing, which knocks Hazelwood out of the tournament. Jason gets to talk to Sammy some more, and Rose teases him for his clear crush on her. Sammy ends up texting Jason asking him out – despite him never giving her his number – and Rose whispers something post-game to Sarah, causing Sarah to call her an “Evil bitch.” Chadwick intervenes swiftly. After a final tourney game against Bancroft, Rose reveals to Jason on the bus back home that she made a deal with Sammy – if Sammy goes out with Jason, Rose would stay quiet for the game against North High. It clearly cost Hazelwood the victory. Jason has complicated feelings about it, but pushes it to the back of his mind and goes on the date with Sammy. The two find immediate chemistry, and Jason admires Sammy’s bubbly love of drama coupled with her desire to be truthful and communicative at all times. The two make out and neck in her car, but agree to do nothing more… for now.

---

It’s crazy how one little date can make you feel like a fucking champion. The next morning, as soon as I opened my eyes, I was out of bed, practically pacing around my room, feeling excited to take on the day. The last time I felt actually excited was when Metal Gear Solid V came out. I was so excited, I forgot it was Sunday, but whatever – I just knew. This feeling was going to last.

Sure enough, on Monday, I practically leapt out of bed, weirdly excited to go to school. Part of it was probably just getting to tell Rose that the date went well. I would have texted her, but, well… if me and Rose had a problem with in-person communication, texting was out the fucking window. We had one text conversation, and it lasted all of ten minutes before we took an hour-long break from each other, and then Rose called me, with an “I’m trying not to be mad here” tone, to tell me we probably shouldn’t text anymore. I couldn’t disagree. Lesson learned: me and Rose can’t text each other without violating several US treaties against using nuclear weapons.

When I was at school, I normally didn’t give a shit about what people did or looked at, but there must have been something in my energy today, because I could have sworn people were straight-up looking at me as I walked down the hallways or went to class or whatever. Somehow, people just seemed to know that something was up with me. If only they knew… Did I get laid? Nope. But I bet I could have, and I turned it down. And it made Sammy even more excited. It was like fucking Christmas. It was like how I felt with Sarah, but, like, times a hundred… not like it was a competition or anything. Plus, even if it was like a competition, Quiz Bowl was finished with the competing shit anyway.

Rose saw to that, I couldn’t help thinking with a shiver on my way to Quiz Bowl after classes. That was one thing that stuck with me. Everything else me and Rose seemed to argue away, but… it was a fact that Rose sunk our chances of clearing Regionals for good, for a fuckin’ personal grudge. I knew Rose could be a bitch when she wanted to, but damn… she was scary. 

I pushed that thought to the back of my mind when I walked into the physics room. I walked in kind of quietly, so no one really looked at me immediately, despite Jack Rose Ryan and Chadwick already being in the room. The first person to actually look at me was Jack, while he was writing something at his desk, and when he saw me, his eyes focused.

He smirked. In a factual, almost singsong tone, he blurted out, “Oh my God!” and then looked around the room in smug enjoyment as the others looked at me.

Ryan’s eyes nearly bugged out. “Woah,” he murmured on autopilot while he looked me over.

Rose slowly shook her head in disapproval while looking at me. “Zero shame,” she grumbled, then turned back to her sketching. 

Chadwick was struggling to find words, but decided to pre-emptively focus on Rose. “Rose, uh… just because of, um, the state Jason’s in, there’s no need to fight,” she replied sternly yet clearly nervously. The state I was in…?

“Yeah, unless you’re a vampire,” Jack cut in with a laugh, staring openly at my neck. “He clearly already lost a fight to one of those.”

Oh. 

Like a vampire myself, I went white, and my hands instinctively covered my neck. “I… didn’t even think of that…” I murmured feebly. “How bad is it…?”

“How bad is it?!” Ryan repeated in disbelief. “Did this happen like ten minutes ago? How did you not notice? How did your classmates not notice?!”

Oh, fuck. They totally did. Fuck white, now I was turning red. With any luck Rose would choke me until I turned blue for my insolence, then I could truly rep American colors. No wonder everyone was looking at me today. Fuck. “Uh… I haven’t, um, looked at myself in a mirror in…”

“What happens when you go to the bathroom?” Ryan challenged me, letting a chuckle fall between his words. “Do you just never look in the mirror when you wash your hands, or what?”

“Maybe he couldn’t see himself in the mirror when he looked,” Jack suggested, rubbing his chin. “My vampire theory is growing stronger by the second.”

Candy walked in behind me as Jack talked. “Hey,” she said breathlessly, politely shoving past me. “Sorry I’m late, I – why is Jason covering his neck?”

No one said anything for a long while. Ryan eventually shrugged. “Lower the hands, Jason,” he gently ordered. I complied, and Candy gave a small shriek of surprise, which got everyone – even Chadwick – laughing. 

As the laughter died down, Chadwick continued. “Um, Jason, I probably should say that… Well, Hazelwood does have rules about this kind of… you know… In future, you should take better care to not let that happen…”

“Yeah, or cover it up at least,” Ryan joined in. 

“How?!” Candy asked. “There’s no makeup in the world that could-”

“Is it that bad?!” I cut in, giving my own nervous chuckle. “I mean, at this point everyone has seen it except me!”

“You haven’t even seen it…?” Candy asked in disbelief.

“Yo, speaking of makeup,” Jack interjected, snapping his fingers at Candy. “Nurse, mirror.”

Candy smiled humorously at him and dug into her bag, producing a miniature makeup set. She opened it and retrieved a mini-mirror, handing it gingerly to me. I braced for the worst and looked into the mirror… and realized I didn’t brace hard enough. I didn’t even know that shade of purple fucking existed. My mouth hung open as I realized I’d been inadvertently showing off Sammy’s vile handiwork all fucking day.

“It’s safe to say Jason’s got a girlfriend,” Ryan laughed as I wordlessly handed Candy’s mirror back to her and stumbled over to my usual place during practice, next to Rose. 

“Yeah, or the world’s most powerful vacuum cleaner,” Jack continued to joke. The rest of the jokesters kept it going as I looked sheepishly at Rose, who was sandwiched between the wall and me. She still didn’t say anything, but without turning her head, looked at me with an unchanged stony expression. Her gaze fluttered down to my neck, then back up to my eyes. Without altering her expression, she moved one of her hands below the table and stealthily offered me a fist to bump. I tried not to make my smile too obvious as I bumped it. 

“Okay, okay,” Chadwick continued, clearly losing her own sense of amusement at the situation. “Come on, everyone. We’re not here to gawk at Jason. And Jason…” She paused and gave me a stern look. “Once is excusable, but now you know that the school won’t tolerate that kind of look. Make sure-”

“Way ahead of you,” I chuckled, instinctively covering up my neck. “I don’t like this either. Won’t happen again.”

Chadwick’s stern look melted away, and she gave me a smile full of understanding. “Okay,” she confirmed, setting the machines down. 

Ryan kept chuckling, keen to not let this go. “Man, this is crazy,” he marveled. “What did your parents say about that when they saw it? I mean, how did you…” He trailed off, smiling. 

I didn’t know what to say, and a silence permeated the room. From the other side of my seat, I heard Rose’s sketchbook close. “Hold that thought,” Rose ordered. “Ryan, I just remembered something important, can I talk to you in the hallway for a sec?”

“Something important?” Ryan asked.

“Hey nice, you can hear and repeat words,” Rose said defiantly with a stern face. With her eyes, she motioned to the door. When Ryan didn’t move for a second, she added, “It’ll be quick, I just need to know sooner rather than later. I’m sure Jason doesn’t mind getting an extra minute to think up excuses about his little hormone problem.”

“His hormones seem to be working fine,” Jack added dryly. “Overtime, but fine.”

Ryan seemed annoyed, but shrugged and left the room. Rose followed, looking at Chadwick on her way out and mouthing, “Two minutes.”

When the door left, Jack chuckled. “No clue how those two are such good friends,” he admitted. “Especially now that-” His back stiffed and he spared a look at Chadwick. “Well, I shouldn’t-”

“The thing with Sarah?” Candy asked.

A waft of silence passed through the room. Even Chadwick didn’t know what to say. “We all noticed she’s the only one not here,” Jack offered gingerly. 

“She is… free to make her own choices,” Chadwick replied slowly. “My job is just to-”

“Oh, totally, nothing on you,” Jack clarified, then… looked at me and shrugged.

Whatever this was, I didn’t like it. “As long as we’re starting late, I’m going to the bathroom,” I told them. A part of me still liked Sarah, in a weird way, despite all the bullshit. I didn’t really wanna be here with this stupid drama tension. I got up and made my way out of the door, entering the hallway…

…Into another miasma of stupid drama tension. I forgot how close the stairway hallway – Rose’s favorite place to confront people, I guess – was to the physics room. I almost started walking towards the way to the bathrooms in the other direction, but I couldn’t resist pausing, then getting closer, then hiding around the corner to listen in. As I got closer, the voices became clearer.

“I don’t buy it,” Rose snarled. “His parents have already been brought up several times, and one of those times, he almost started crying.”

“Tough shit!” Ryan argued back. “I’m not going to always be thinking of every single little thing whenever I ask a basic question. And if he comes to Quiz Bowl covered in hickies, I’m gonna wanna ask shit! ‘Hey, what did your parents say’ is a perfectly normal question, Rose. I’d ask that if literally anyone came in not knowing how covered their neck was, so-”

“Except me,” Rose pointed out. 

“Well, like, that’s different,” Ryan reasoned.

“Then he’s different,” Rose argued. “Get used to that. Some people have sensitive spots. Be sensiti-”

“Are the hickies yours or some shit?! Why do you give so much of a fuck how I make some jackass fee-”

“He’s not a jackass, he’s a friend. And to be honest, he’s been a better friend to me than I fucking deserve,” Rose nearly yelled, her voice beginning to quiver. A beat of silence passed between them.

“It’s your word against Sarah’s there,” Ryan said gently. “And sorry, I’m going to believe my girlfriend.”

I could hear Rose sit down. “And what about what Sarah said about me? You told me yourself the only reason she’s not here was because you refused to stop talking to m-”

“Well yeah, but you’re a friend,” Ryan admitted, then sighed. “Rose, I’m already going against Sarah’s wishes by still talking to you. I’m even not treating Jason any different, even though I should be, all because you asked me. Now you want me to remember his fucking triggers or whatever?”

Rose didn’t say anything, so Ryan continued. “He just joined, Rose. How long have we known each other? He just. Joined. And now it feels like you’re throwing everything away for him.”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Rose finally barked. “It doesn’t have to be this me-or-him shit. It’s not like he caused all this. I feel like this was a long time coming.”

“How?! Me and you were tight. You and Sarah were tight. Jack – well, I get tenth grade was a long time ago but I still haven’t forgiven him for how he treated my sister.”

“I remember,” Rose gingerly said. “And hey, I did support you back then. And I always said we should let it go-”

“When he actually apologizes, yeah,” Ryan finished. “Still though, apart from that, the group was tight. You and Sarah were always tight. And now Jason is here and everything has fallen apart. Unless you got a better story, I have to follow the evidence.”

A long beat of silence passed between them. “I… do have a better story,” Rose admitted. “It has nothing to do with Jason, and has everything to do with me and Sarah. But…” She sighed heavily. “If I tell you, you can’t say a word to anyone, even Sarah. I need you to promise me that.”

“You and… Sarah?” Ryan repeated quizzically.

Jeez, deja vu. I knew this one already, and it was clear Rose was having a hard time. If this had nothing to do with me, I could skip the rerun. Quietly, I detached myself from my post and began walking back to the Quiz Bowl room. The last thing I needed was to hear Rose crying or some shit just for a story I already knew. It was going to be neat to see how Ryan reacted…

I shook my head. Fuck no it wasn’t. It was going to be drama. I didn’t care about drama. I didn’t need to know about the drama. I was immune to the drama.

***

“Oh my God, the drama!” Sammy sang. She was grinning from ear to ear. “How did Ryan react?”

“I didn’t stick around to find out,” I admitted, looking out the car windshield. Sammy turned the car off a while ago. “I already knew the story, and-”

“Boooooo,” Sammy replied playfully. “But, like, what happened when they walked back in?”

I shrugged. “They played it cool. Honestly, if I hadn’t known about their little hallway meeting, I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Interesting,” Sammy replied thoughtfully with a grin. “They’re good actors. Very interesting.” 

I chuckled in slight discomfort. “Sammy, I-”

“Oh, come on,” she replied bubblingly, knowing what I was going to say before I said it. “It’s like a mystery we get to unravel. It’s like a TV show we get to both write and predict at the same time. Doesn’t this feel… alive?” She smiled so genuinely at me, I couldn’t help but smile back.

I couldn’t imagine her smile fading if I told her no. “Well, when you put it like that…” I gingerly said, my smile not wavering.

Sammy, surprisingly, lowered an eyebrow, the smile still evident on her face. “Ah, nah, what was that?” she teased.

“What?”

“You can do a lot of stuff, but don’t lie just to please me, Jason,” she sang. “What’s up?”

I stared at her for a bit. “Well, it’s just that… Y’know, I think I’m getting my fill of drama. It feels like this stuff is kinda… poisonous. Like, actually toxic. I mean, Rose literally sank our chances just to stick it to Sarah. Now she’s not even coming to Quiz Bowl. Yesterday I found out some shit about Jack and I don’t even know how to feel about that, so I’m just pushing it to the back of my mind. It’s all…”

Sammy’s smile was gone. “Is it too much?” she asked.

“Yeah it’s fuckin’ too much!” I roared as if it were obvious. “You wanna know the real shit, Sammy? Wanna know some real shit?”

She gave me a small, patient smile. “What’s some real shit, Jason?”

“I look at these fuckers sometimes, I see how much they fight, I see how much they pretend not to fight when they obviously hate each other, and I just see them circling like animals. Like predators confusing each other for prey. And all I see is my god damn fuckin’ parents. They’re just so quick to judge and see each other as wrong people that need fixing, and they keep wanting to win. Win, win, win. They need to win, and they keep thinking the only way to win is by pushing another person down. And, it’s like, y’know, shit guys, can’t we play a co-op game for once? We don’t always gotta go sudden death, y’know?”

Sammy definitely wasn’t smiling when I looked back at her. She sat back in her driver’s seat, looking out at the night sky through the windshield. “Shit,” she eventually admitted. “That’s a lot.”

“Sorr-”

“No. No no no, that’s not what I meant. Don’t say you’re sorry,” she clarified. I never heard this serious tone from her. “Do you ever worry that you’re toxic?”

“I used to not,” I admitted. “It’s really easy to hide it when everyone else is just on your Discord call and you don’t have to see their faces. But… yeah, during Regionals, I had this weird moment with Candy where everyone but her was shitting on Wordsworth Collegiate, and I just realized… shit, y’know?”

Sammy smirked. “Well, if anyone deserves it, it’s Wordsworth Collegiate.”

“No,” I told her defiantly. “We were all just… fuckin’ hateful. And the only thing it got us is permission to be even more fuckin’ hateful. Then, you probably remember the rest. Sarah called Rose an evil bitch, Ryan and Rose yelled in the halls, even Jack seems to have his own toxic moments.” I paused. “Even the hottest guys, Sammy.”

Despite everything, she chuckled. “You’re here and he’s not, Captain Jealousy,” she reminded me, but her joyful energy didn’t last. “It sounds like this is really getting to you.”

“It’s more like it’s just more of the same,” I told her honestly. “I go home and my mom and dad, who, like, realistically should have divorced years ago, are just yelling at each other, then they yell at me or Hailey. Quiz Bowl was neat at first, but there’s just all this yelling and anger and shit, and I just… why can’t I get a taste of something normal? For once?”

Sammy stared at me for a moment with the most intense look on her face. Then, she held up a finger and, with her other hand, pulled a phone out of her pocket. The newest iPhone – I wasn’t even shocked. Seemed like a Sammy thing. She typed for a surprisingly long time, then put her phone in her bag. Then, as if nothing happened… she smiled at me. “Good news,” she told me. “I know what we’re doing tonight. Put your seatbelt back on.”

“Um, what are we doing tonight…?” I asked hesitantly, even as I did exactly what she told me to. 

She turned the car on and smiled at me mischievously. “On our first date, you indulged me with the drama. So, I think it’s only fair that on the second date, I indulge you a little bit. I’m gonna give you a taste of something normal.”

“What…?” I asked. “What does that mean?”

“Figure it out, or wait and see,” she teased, starting to drive.

***

For the rest of the drive, Sammy eagerly talked to me about anything and everything except what her plans were. I tried maybe three times, but then I gave up. Whatever. If she wanted to keep me in the dark so bad, I’d just accept that. Sammy had plans, and my job was to accept that. Okay, I was gonna accept it.

Eventually, she started to slow the car down. I figured she was going to try to impress me with some bigger date venue or something, but she was slowing down on a residential street. “What…?” I murmured as she pulled into the driveway of a decent, if modest, house. 

When she turned off the car, Sammy exhaled slowly. “So, uh, I’m gonna be a liiiiittle bit nervous,” she confessed. “I’ve only ever brought one boyfriend back to actually meet my parents.”

“Pare-!!” I exclaimed. Holy fuck, was I stupid. I didn’t even think of that. “Uh, don’t you think th-this is a bit early for-”

“Yeah, it sure is,” Sammy replied with a nervous smile. Her eyes drifted down to my neck, bathed in the porchlight, and she sucked her lips in while taking in the sight. “And I have not made things easy for myself, oh my God. You’ve had to deal with that for a few days, huh?”

“Quiz Bowl gave me hell for it,” I admitted, then sarcastically added, “but I’m sure your parents will be much more calm and understanding about it.”

She’d already reached into a bag and busted out some kind of foundation makeup. “Tilt your head up,” she ordered, taking off her seatbelt. She began to dab some makeup onto my neck, then spread it around. “If you knew about the date, you could have come in a turtleneck or something.”

“I didn’t exactly know I was going to meet your fucking parents,” I pointed out. “If we just got burgers again, I’d be… um, I’d be cool knowing others… saw. Let them be jealous. ‘Yeah, she did that,’ and all that shit.”

Sammy paused, and smiled. “Tilt,” she ordered, and moved my face to hers. She moved forward and just like that, her lips were on mine. She remained lip-locked with me for a few seconds then slowly broke away, with her eyes fluttering open. “You’re cute,” she replied.

Kissing her was fucking intoxicating. “Cute enough to bring to mommy and daddy on the second date?” I asked, trying to make my voice not seem as breathless as it was.

“Guess we’ll have to find out,” she teased back, applying the makeup. We remained in that position for a bit longer until she was satisfied with her handiwork, then we exited the car together.

“Call me stupid, but why exactly am I meeting your parents exactly?” I asked nervously. “I didn’t think you’d want to move this fast.”

Sammy stopped and, weirdly, her smile faded. In fact, she almost looked sad. “I, uh… wanted to give you a taste of something normal,” she told me in a quieter voice than normal. Then, instantly, her vulnerable look was gone, and she was back to smiling mischievously. “Oh, and if they ask, we’ve been dating since Districts. Makes it look less weird.” She knocked and then opened the door before I even had time to reply. “Hello~! I’m home!” she called into the house.

“And you’ve brought a plus one, or so I heard!” a… familiar male voice called back? Sammy playfully ushered me into the house into some sort of coat room, just in time for me to see a familiar face… and a familiar hairline.

The last man I expected to see walked into the coat room to greet me. “Oh… wow!” Mr. fucking Turner murmured in shock when he saw me, clearly equally surprised. “Well, hello! Uh, let’s see now… don’t tell me… Jack?”

“Uh…” I had no clue what to say, so I just let my mouth run. “…Nope, Jack’s the hot one.”

“Jason,” Sammy chided me, half in annoyance, half in amusement. “Yeah, so, this is Jason, and I bet I don’t need to tell you how we met…”

Mr. Turner laughed. “Well, sorry you had to see me like this,” he said in a friendly tone, gesturing to some apron he had on. “Um…” He gestured a hand out to shake mine.

Hesitantly, I returned the handshake, and just turned to stare at Sammy.

Sammy just shrugged. “You never asked my last name,” she said playfully, then stuck out her own hand. “Sammy Turner.”

“But you always- you- You always called him Mr. Turner!”

“Schools get weird about family stuff,” she replied simply with a shrug, retracting her hand. “I’ll never have him as a teacher, but I wanted to do Quiz Bowl and he’s the teacher running it. So, I call him Mr. Turner during Quiz Bowl. It’s halfway between a way to make things less weird for the other students…”

“…And our own inside joke,” Mr. Turner finished the thought.

This was insane. “Is your mom Mrs. Chadwick by any chance?” I asked.

“Not unless she just changed her name,” Mr. Turner replied, then looked back towards, presumably, the kitchen. “Catherine, dear! Come meet Sammy’s new…” He stopped and looked at her.

Sammy looked at me and shrugged, blushing profusely. “Boyfriend?” she offered.

Mr. Turner smiled and shook his head gently. “Boyfriend!” he called out, finishing the sentence.

An older and plainer version of Sammy emerged, packing the coat room a little tightly with its fourth person. “Why, hello!” she offered in an equally plain voice. It was clear Sammy got her looks from her mom, but her spunkiness from her dad. “It’s nice to meet you…”

“Uh, Jason. Jason Unruh,” I replied quietly, nodding once in acknowledgement.

“Ooh, German,” Sammy commented lightly. “You never told me your last name either.”

“I dunno if my Quiz Bowl team even knows it,” I admitted bluntly. “I don’t like it anyways.”

“Oh, Quiz Bowl!” Mrs. Turner said with a smile. “Is that how you two met?”

“Uh, yeah!” Sammy said with one of her infectious smiles. “Remember Districts a while back? Dad was actually there. Jason here told me how good I was-”

Mr. Turner laughed. “Ah, smart move, Jason. Flattery works wonders on her.” I expected him to start interrogating her about what happened afterwards, or berating her for being too easy, but then… he turned around. “Anyways, our house is your house. I’m sure Sammy will give you the tour. Supper’s in an hour or so, if that’s not too late.”

“Um…” I didn’t know what to say. “Uh, thanks.” The two headed back in, and I just looked at Sammy. “He just… accepted it. You told him you have a new boyfriend and he didn’t even need to play twenty questions with you.”

Sammy smirked. “How’s that normal taste, Jason?” she teased, then grabbed my hand. She looked down expectantly at my shoes, and after I kicked them off, she was practically dragging me through the house, breathlessly telling me about her living room, kitchen, dining room, and then finally, upstairs. Once she got to her room, she pushed me inside and slammed the door behind her.

I whirled around to look at her, and she gave me a trademark smirk. “Don’t get too excited, this isn’t a horny thing,” she said with a chuckle. “So, uh, I basically just told my mom and dad you’re my boyfriend,” she began.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “That was fucking nuts.”

“I would have preferred ‘a dream come true,’” she teased back, then guided me to her plush bed, where we both sat down. She put her hand on mine. “But also, like… I know this is our second date. I, uh, totally get if you think I’m moving too fast, so I just wanted to say, I am totally okay with talking things out and moving at our own pace if you would prefe-”

I cut her off by moving forward, grabbing the back of her head, and kissing her deeply. Sammy seemed to accept the change of topic with grace, stopping her point entirely and moving her hands to my waist. Jeez, she was confident. I thought I was gonna shock her with this, but she still adapted immediately. Heck, after only a few seconds, my back was against the wall, not hers. 

She lifted her head from the kiss. I saw her eyes flutter open in that adorable way they did after our kisses. “So, uh…” she began shyly. “I’m guessing that means you’re cool with this? Going steady?”

“If you are,” I practically scoffed. “you’re the one that’s hot as-”

She put a finger to my lips. “None of that,” she ordered playfully, then removed her finger and kissed me again. She smiled slowly as she pulled her head back. “Remember what I said last date, the ‘make a wish’ thing?”

“I think I was the one to say i-”

“Well, I meant it,” she continued. “This isn’t me doing anything for you. You’re cute, you’re interesting, and you’re actually three-dimensional. Worst-case scenario, it doesn’t work out and we break up.”

“Worst-case scenario,” I corrected her, “we break up on bad terms and we both hate the other and try to ruin the other person’s life or something.”

She lowered her eyelids in annoyance at my comment, then sighed and held out her pinky. “Okay, here we go,” she told me. “I pledge that if we break up, since we’re in different towns and we can easily just go about our own lives, that we’ll just keep it to ‘never speaking to each other again.’ Unless you do something illegal or, like, hit me, I won’t come after you. We’ll just let each other live.”

“No hitting you, huh? Are you not into that stuff, or…?” I joked.

She chuckled. “Do the damn pinky square.”

“Fine,” I snickered, putting up my pinky and locking it with hers. She kept it locked, and started stroking the inside of my palm with her pinky. She looked from my hand to my eyes, and a smile broke out on her face. She was so smiley… it was like it was contagious. 

“You really want to be with me,” I murmured out loud. I wasn’t even saying it to her. It was like I was saying it to myself. “You really want me to be your… boyfriend.”

“Yeah,” she admitted softly. “I do.” She cleared her throat and her smile turned sarcastic. “Think you can handle that?”

“I could get used to it,” I told her. It was my turn for my voice to be soft. “I think. This is the second date. This shit doesn’t happen.”

“And yet!” she sang, letting go of my hand. “It doesn’t happen to me either, you know. I think that’s kinda the point of dating, right? We’re exploring new things, finding out what we like…”

“Yeah well, I like you,” I admitted. Cheesy as fuck.

“Yeah well I like you too,” she playfully shot back.

“Then kiss me about it,” I shot back. Wow. I never ever would have said that before. Is this what crushes do to people?

She raised her eyebrows up and down and moved in, and soon we were kissing all over again. As soon as it started though, she pushed on my chest and pulled away, lifting up a finger to make a point. 

“Oh, but: if we’re doing this, it’s official. If you’re going to do anything with Sarah or whatever, I think I would rather just keep this to friends.”

I looked at her like she was insane. “Fuck Sarah,” I told her emphatically and immediately. “Are you kidding? You’re all I want!”

“You’re a boy,” she told me with a smirk. “I know what boys are like. I’m okay with you being honest if a girl is, like, hot. I’m just laying down the rules.”

I shrugged. “Okay, do I need to lay down the rules for boys?”

“Nah, I’m good at following my own rules, don’t worry.”

I gave her a weird look. “Wait, what if I have different rules? Isn’t that just you telling me you’re deciding for both of us what we’re both okay with?”

She stopped and looked at the wall in thought. “Huh. Okay, that didn’t cross my mind,” she admitted, then looked back at me. “Uh, I’m sorry?”

“No, it’s cool, it’s just, y’know…” I mumbled feebly. 

“Wow, I totally thought I was gonna be the expert here,” she continued, then looked back at me, and unexpectedly… smiled again. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t ya?”

I could only shrug. “Uh, I dunno…”

She chuckled. “Okay, ground rules. Hit me. Let me guess, number one, no calling Jack hot..?” she joked.

My eyes left hers. “Um, actually, kinda,” I admitted. “I dunno. It feels weird knowing that even in my own group, there’s a guy you’d rather-”

A loud sigh took me out of my sentence. I looked back to see Sammy was folding her arms. “…What?” I asked, a little annoyed myself.

“You can finish your thought before I-”

“No no, go ahead,” I insisted.

She moved her mouth around, and began speaking without looking me in the eye. “I – look. I literally said it once, and just as a matter of fact. I was being honest. I even, just now, told you you can call other girls hot. Admitting someone is attractive is so different than telling me, ‘hey Sammy, I’m attracted to this girl.’ I don’t want to feel, like, regret for being honest about how I see things. Like, am I allowed to call guys in movies hot? I don’t know. I am not attracted to Jack, Jason. I would not rather do anything with him. And, if I can be real, bringing it up with me several times, after the fact, when all I did was say it when it was on-topic, is just telling me that if I do something that even mildly annoys you, you’re just gonna dangle it over me and go all, ‘hey Sammy, remember how you annoyed me? Let me make you feel bad for it, over and over.’ Like, what the hell is gonna happen when I do something that makes you angry?” Her shoulders were rising and falling by the time she finished her rant. “Sorry, I don’t handle this stuff well, gimme just – I need ten seconds.” Without waiting for me to say anything, she opened her bedroom door and, seemingly, made a point to slowly and gently close it behind her.

Wow, clearly that got under her skin. I had no idea. Fair enough though.

…

…

Jeez, ten seconds was a lot longer than I thought.

She slowly opened the door and walked back in. “Okay, say your piece. I’m ready,” she told me in an unsteady voice.

“Uh, yeah. Fair enough. Sorry,” I admitted.

She slowly looked up at me. “What, that’s it?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think about it like that. I guess it’s more of a me problem,” I told her.

She paused, then after it was clear I said all I needed to, she nodded and gave a weaker smile. “Uh, okay, cool,” she admitted. “Wow. I totally thought you were the type to – sorry. Presumptions. Uh…” She cleared her throat and moved her body a little, loosening herself up. “Hoo boy. Okay. I’m good.”

I smiled. “Another ground rule? You’re bad at conflict, and I should keep that in mind?”

“You’re as blunt as ever,” she replied, looking me in the eye again but not smiling yet.

“You like it,” I playfully accused.

She slowly smiled again. “I don’t get you,” she admitted softly, and quickly added, “but that’s a good thing. Thanks for… listening.”

“I mean, why would I even wanna date you if, like, whenever I made you upset, it didn’t hurt me a little?”

“Huh?”

“Making you upset hurts me, and I’m, uh, sorry I did,” I told her bluntly.

She was silent for a bit. “Wow. You’re, uh, making me question a lot of my past dates now,” she joked lightly, then slowly moved in for a hug. “I’m, um, sorry too. Tell me how the Jack thing makes you feel.”

“No, I don’t wanna upset y-”

“It won’t. Just, like, tell me how it makes you feel, instead of telling me what to do. In fact, I’ll do that with any of my rules too,” she told me, pulling away from the hug and gently kissing my cheek. “Also, I wanna sit down. Let’s move to the bed, please.”

“Cool,” I flatly replied, and we moved to the bed. I sat down on it and Sammy sat down next to me. Her energy had definitely changed from peppy to, like, sad. “You good?” I asked her.

“Um, whenever I think there’s going to be a fight, I get… I dunno, the walls go up,” she admitted. “Now there’s no fight and I dunno what to do.”

“Well, I’m your boyfriend now, so, I need to, uh…” I wasn’t sure what to do. I’d never been a boyfriend before. “You can put your head on my, uh, shoulder, if you like. Just be careful you don’t get makeup from my neck on your face.”

Sammy just lowered her head, and her head began to bob. She was silently laughing.

“Look,” I chuckled, “I’ve never been a boyfriend befo-”

“No no, I know,” she admitted. “It was sweet. I’m good, I’ll get back to normal. Tell me about how the Jack stuff makes you feel.” She raised her head. “And remember: honesty.”

“Honesty. Right,” I repeated. “So, uh, I guess I’m just still really shocked you chose me, especially since this was basically a deal Rose made with you, so I guess I’m… worried? Like, what if you meet him and go, ‘oh, he’s way better.’ I mean, I guess he’s dating that alt chick… well, she’s not alt, but she has black hair, so, close enough. Anyway, I dunno, I wanna feel like the only guy for you, because you feel like the only girl for me. I just wanna feel like this is… real, and you won’t just get bored of me and realize other guys are better.”

Her head softly landed on my shoulder. “Jason,” she told me softly. “This is our second-”

“Sure, but you still called me your boyfriend, to your parents. I don’t think it’s weird if I want to feel special if you’re calling me your boyfriend to your parents, even if it is our second date.”

She paused. “Yeah,” she eventually conceded. “Okay then. Proposal: I can call guys hot, but that only means it on the outside. As long as I’m your girlfriend…” She pulled her head off my shoulder and tilted my head so she could give me a kiss. “Which I am…” She released my head. “You’re the only guy I’ll call attractive, and that means you’re hot on the outside and the inside. And as long as I call you that, it also means you’re the only guy I want, even if other guys may or may not be hot. Deal?”

“Overthinker,” I laughed.

“Compared to you, maybe,” she giggled. “Deal?”

“Yeah, okay, deal,” I told her.

“Plus, you may not find Sarah hot anymore, but you find Rose hot, don’t you?” she continued, resting her head back on my shoulder.

Jeez, that was out of nowhere. I stayed silent for a bit, which Sammy mistook as thinking. “Honesty,” she reminded me.

“Honestly, I kinda wish I didn’t,” I told her. “I mean, y’know, she may not even be into guys, and we’re already explosive as friends. Like, sure, she’s physically attra- she’s hot-”

“Nice,” Sammy giggled.

“-but I don’t think anything will ever happen. We sure shouldn’t be a couple. But sure, she’s hot. Though I bet she wants people to call her Mistress or some shit, and like, no thank you.”

“First of all, what if I wanted you to call me Mistress?” Sammy joked.

I turned my head to face her. “Then I’m sorry for your loss,” I joked, and we kissed again. “Second of all?”

“Mm?” Sammy asked absentmindedly, still enjoying the kiss. “Enh, I forgot. Would you be worried about Rose if I was into girls? Like, the same way you were worried about Jack.”

“Yeah,” I replied with zero hesitation. “But I liked the way you said the ‘attractive’ thing, so we’re good there.”

“Just like that?” she asked in slight surprise. 

I shrugged. “You’ve been good at saying things in the past. Why stop now? I dunno, I trust you.”

“…Cool,” she said with a clear smile on her face, even though I wasn’t directly looking at her. “I’m, uh, really glad I took this chance with you.”

“I’m surprised,” I told her. “I dunno what I’m doing and I probably have a billion red flags or some shit.”

“You should get tested for red-green colorblindness,” she giggled, moving her head to give me another kiss. This time, her whole body moved with her, and soon, instead of both of us sitting on the edge of the bed, I was the only one sitting on the edge. Sammy had graduated to being on all fours, kissing me like her life depended on it.

Sarah may have been a totally unpredictable weirdo, but one thing she did do was give me a good education on this shit. When Sammy had gotten on all fours, I shifted my body to meet hers, snaking my arms under hers and moving them up to her back, pulling her in. It was like some kind of reverse Nelson, except sexy… hopefully.

Sammy broke the kiss and confirmed my suspicions, giving me a smirk and murmuring, “You’re confident.” 

The comment gave me a surge of adrenaline. I never would have been the type to do this even a month ago, but I responded by only giving her a wink and then grabbing her back and throwing it against her bed. She was now laying down, and I moved myself on top of her, practically breathing heavy in the disbelief that that worked.

I couldn’t help but ask, “was that okay?”

“”Depends on what you follow it up with,” she told me in a sultry voice, giving me a wink of her own.

I giggled and went in, kissing her and pressing my clothed body against hers. I always thought I was gonna be a loner all throughout high school and just be content with hanging out gaming with the fellas, and yet, here I was. More than a full year of high school left, and I had a hot-ass girlfriend, that went to another school, how scandalous, and she made it official, on our second fucking date. And! And: we were kissing, and now grinding, on her bed. Holy shit.

I was already hard when she was kissing me on all fours. Now I was throbbing, and I think Sammy was able to tell, or feel, it. Her hands traveled almost clumsily across my back, pulling me in and exploring my back as much as she could. I wasn’t exactly the fittest guy in the world, so it’s not like my back was particularly muscular or whatever, but the way her hands needily touched and felt up every part of my back regardless made me feel like a fucking stud. Even while kissing her, I practically chuckled in realization – that was the reason I was confident. It was practically a new feeling, and it was coming out only with Sammy.

I was fully comfortable.

I broke off the kiss, breathing heavily and keeping up grinding against her. I don’t know if either one of us realized when we graduated to grinding, but she kept up her efforts too, grinding herself right back against me. She looked into my eyes needily, and I can only imagine the look I gave her right back.

“Fuck…” I grunted.

“Yeah…” she murmured right back, and her eyes flickered down. “Hey Jason?”

“Yeah Sammy?” I nearly moaned.

“I kinda really wanna see it,” she replied, almost shyly. “I kinda really wanna fucking see it…”

“I kinda really wanna see you too,” I replied.

She bit her lip. “Get up,” she ordered, and I complied. My heart was leaping in my chest. Sure, I may have seen a girl naked before, but this time was different. I was going to get to see… my girlfriend naked. I got up and off the bed, letting her occupy my full attention. She sat up and took a breath before slowly lifting her shirt, allowing me to see her pale midriff coming into view.

She hesitated for all of a second to look me in the eye before fully committing to it, taking her shirt off completely and throwing it across the room. I wasn’t expecting the throw, and my eyes followed the shirt as it landed behind me.

“Don’t you want to look at me instead?” Sammy nervously teased me.

“I just wasn’t expecting you to thr-” My voice caught in my throat as I looked back at Sammy. She was shirtless. She was sitting there, in just her bra and pants, looking at me with a clearly flushed, flustered face. Her turquoise bra stared back at me, covering a pair of breasts I couldn’t take my eyes away from. “Jeez…”

“What?”

“You are so… How the fuck am I even with you? You’re… fucking gorgeous,” I managed to say.

She broke a nervous smile, clearly waiting for me to say something. “Heh,” she chuckled breathless. “Be a good boy and I might even take this off…”

“Well, since you’re being such a good girl,” I countered, smiling at her and beginning to grab the hem of my shirt. Jeez, no wonder she looked nervous. Taking my shirt off in front of her felt weirdly terrifying. I couldn’t help but avoid eye contact with her and began to take my shirt off. Mirroring her, I threw my shirt at the wall past her head, and slowly opened my eyes.

Sammy didn’t even bother to try to catch my shirt, and it slid down the wall to land on top of her head. The whole time, she was looking at me. “Wow,” she murmured. “I like what I’m seeing.”

“Ditto,” I replied, trying to sound confident again. 

She grabbed my shirt from on top of her head and threw it so it could join her shirt. “I guess it’s my turn again, isn’t it?”

I swallowed. “Guess so,” I nearly whispered.

“Unless you, uh, wanna take it off for me,” she offered, blushing another shade of pink.

My heart was beating faster. Neither of us said anything for a few seconds. “Come here, S-Sammy,” I told her.

She didn’t care that my confidence wasn’t there. What we had here was better than confidence. The shared nervousness felt so real, and so… we just needed it so badly. She was still pink even as she got up and stood in front of me, her chest nearly meeting mine. Her shoulders were slightly rising and falling with her breaths again, but this time it was for a completely different reason.

“I th-thought you had a lot of experience with guys,” I tried to joke. “You look so…”

“Y-yeah,” she admitted. “I dunno, this feels… well, what about you? Did you feel like this with Sarah, or…”

I shook my head slowly. “Never,” I told her, and knew it was truthful. “Not like this. It feels…”

“Yeah…” she echoed softly. “Well, w-we’re here now… may as well…”

“I mean… first of all-” I launched forward and kissed her. Our arms enveloped around each other and pulled each other in instantly. This kiss wasn’t like the others – it was hungrier. Sammy even let loose a small moan into my mouth – my open mouth. We began grinding up against each other while standing up and our tongues began to encircle each other. It was clumsy and desperate and beautiful – it felt so different from everything else I had experienced. Sammy felt so different, but so good too. 

Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore, and reached around her back to undo her bra. I pulled the straps closer together and pulled them apart… and felt resistance. I broke off the kiss and tried again, pulled them closer together even more this time. No dice. I moved the straps in a circular motion, then pulled hard. “Oh, c’mon,” I begged. “Don’t ruin the moment like this.”

Sammy laughed, despite still being pink. “Don’t worry, I can – hey, don’t pull so hard, you might break it,” she laughed. “Here, here. We’ll get used to it.” She reached behind herself.

“What was I doing wro-”

“Later,” she laughed. “I’ll tell you later. For now, um… enjoy,” she bashfully finished, and effortlessly undid her bra strap. Showoff. She looked me right in the eyes and bit her lip, slowly peeling the bra off of her chest. In an agonizingly slow fashion, her tits blossomed into view. As soon as I saw her pink erect nipples, I couldn’t help it and exhaled sharply.

Her blush only deepened further and her shoulders hunched in. “I know, I know, my nipples are small,” she mumbled. “I don’t really know why they’re like that, but I th-”

“You’re perfect,” I told her. Despite my breathlessness, it was the most confident thing I’d said in a while. I only took my eyes off of her cute little nipples to look her in the eyes. “You’re fucking perfect.”

“Well, I don’t kn-”

“Shut up,” I ordered, closing the space between us. I cupped one of her breasts and gently teased her adorable small nipple between my thumb and forefinger. Sammy closed her eyes and couldn’t help but give me another moan, leaning against me. I moved my head in and began to kiss her again, never once letting go of her nipple.

Sammy moaned into the kiss, and desperately, without even thinking or hesitating for a second, moved her hand up to grip and stroke my cock overtop my pants. She broke the kiss and moaned, “You make me feel so good, Jason… I want you, I fucking want you…”

My cock was jumping at her touch. Her hand felt so good, even with my pants in the way. Her other hand was desperately gripping my shoulder, and she was kissing me like she needed my kisses more than oxygen. I leaned into the kiss and moaned back into her mouth too. Fuck, this felt good. This felt perfect. Sammy was fucking perfect. 

I broke the kiss. “My perfect girlfriend,” I moaned. “God, I fucking want you.”

“I… fucking want you too, Jason,” she moaned, almost out of control. “Anything. Anything you want. I’ll do it. Tell me what you want, and I’ll-”

“Aaaaaaalrighty!” Mr. Turner’s voice called up the stairs. “Supper’s in five!”
We jumped so hard we almost hit the ceiling. “Holy shit,” Sammy exclaimed fearfully, grabbing my back and holding me close for support. We both looked at each other and just… started giggling. Laughing. We held each other close, and laughed, and then kissed.

“This means you have to put a shirt on,” I realized out loud disappointedly. 

“You too, y’know,” Sammy countered. She looked at the floor at her bra, then at her shirt… and slowly smirked. She made a show of going for her bra then stopping, then going for her shirt instead. “It’s thick enough,” she remarked. “No one but you will know.”

Wow. That was… weirdly hot. “Going braless to supper?” I asked in shock.

“And you won’t get to do aaaaanything about it,” she noted smugly. She started to put her shirt back on but before she could, I closed the space between us and cupped her breast again, beginning to play with her nipple as I did the last time. It was clear that she wasn’t just playing this up – Sammy sighed and leaned back against the wall, her arms going limp, not even bothering to put the shirt on. She wasn’t bothering to do anything, except for enjoying the feelings.

“Jasonnnnnn,” she practically whined. “I need to – we need to go downstaaaaairs…”

“Then tell me to stop,” I teased, never stopping.

“Oh my godddd,” she moaned. “You are fucking dangerous. You weren’t supposed to have this much control over me this early,” she joked, then gently pushed me off. Even then, she bit her lip and her eyes fluttered open. “You’re such a jerk. I’m going to be thinking about that the whole night, you know.”

“Good,” I countered, and resigned myself to finding my shirt. It was a fucking shame, but eventually, the both of us were fully dressed – well, Sammy less so, but no one had to know – and ready to go back downstairs. The only evidence of our encounter was Sammy’s last remnants of a blush, but when she entered the kitchen, it was clear her parents were none the wiser. 

“Ah, there’s the happy couple!” Mr. Turner teased as we entered the room. The Turners had a table set in their kitchen, with a tablecloth and forks and knives and napkins. Whatever food they made sat in little dishes at the center of the table. Some of the food was even still steaming. “Woah…” I mumbled. “Uh, jeez, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

Everyone paused. “What do you mean?” Sammy asked from beside me.

“Well, y’know, the table’s set like it’s a big event or something!” I reasoned.

Sammy looked back at the table. Her parents’ eyes followed, then they all turned back to me in unison. Mr. Turner shrugged. “This is just what we do!”

Jeez. That’s crazy. “You… like, you set the table like this every night?”

“We do!” Mrs. Turner confirmed with a smile. “So, tonight we’ve got pork tenderloin – oh dear, Sammy, I’m so sorry, we forgot to ask if your fr- if your boyfriend has any dietary restrictions!”

“Or if he”s Jewish,” Mr. Turner admitted, scratching the back of his balding, balding head.

I had to chuckle. “Uh, no. I dunno what tenderloin is, but I’m, uh, sure it’ll be great.”

“Oh, good,” Mrs. Turner said with a sigh of relief. “Well yes. Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Feel free to take a seat!” With that, the other three began to move to the table, sitting down and beginning to dole the food out.

It was a scene straight out of a movie. It didn’t even look real. It was too… picturesque. Slowly, I approached the chair and sat down, feeling like I was being inducted into a cult or something. Almost immediately, Mr. Turner addressed me. “Alright Jason, can I start you off with some mashed potatoes?”

“Um, yeah… please. Yes please.”

“Great,” he replied with a smile. Bro was smiling about giving me potatoes. Sammy didn’t even ask, and smiled at me as she served me some kind of sliced pork. 

“Green beans?” Mrs. Turner offered to my right. Jeez. It was like I was a king. I never even had to ask, let alone serve myself. It was… surreal. 

“Uh, yes please,” I mumbled. “Thanks, everyone. This is…”

“A new experience,” Sammy giggled.

“I was going to say, ‘really kind,’” I shot back. Wasn’t untrue though. This still didn’t feel real.

“Ah, not at all,” Mr. Turner said, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s literally the least we could do as parents.”

Sammy coughed loudly. “So how was work, dad?”

“Hm? Work?” Mr. Turner asked, clearly not used to the question. “Uh, fine I guess. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, you know,” Sammy replied.

Mr. Turner shrugged with a smile. “No I don’t, but hey. Um, it was alright. It’s getting to that time of year, so you know how it can be. A lot of paperwork here, a few late nights there. More importantly, how are…” He pointed with both fingers at both Sammy and me. “…you two doing? We didn’t invite Jason here just so I could talk about me.”

Sammy giggled and swallowed her mouthful of green beans. “We didn’t invite him at all, dad; I did.”

“Then that settles it,” he replied with a stupid smile. 

“We’re good!” Sammy replied diligently. “We haven’t gotten to see each other a lot because the drive can be long and pre-calc is kicking my butt. But a week or so ago, we got A&W and then just sat in my car and just… talked. We talked for, like, hours. It was so nice.”

I smiled, but not for the reason she thought. We did a lot more than just talk, Sammy.

Mr. Turner smiled alongside her. “Ah, life chats,” he mused. “Sounds lovely. Those are always some of the best dates. Catherine dear, do you remember when we…”

As Mr. Turner kept talking, I felt a foot find mine, then start stroking up and down my ankle. It wasn’t sexual at all, but it was… affectionate. Sweet. I looked from Mr. Turner to Sammy to see her, looking at me, smiling like she was witnessing something sweet. I gave her a confused look in response and she just put both arms on the table, leaning in, smiling at me like… like she really liked what she saw. She just sat there and chewed, looking at me like I was her favorite thing on the menu tonight. It wasn’t sexual either, but it was… real.

Fuck. I felt myself blush. I chuckled and looked away, then looked back. I met her smile with one of my own.

***

“…And he did manage to do it,” Jack noted emphatically, then paused. “But… he forgot he was still wearing the hat.”

“Noooo~!” Candy practically shrieked, covering her mouth. “Did you tell him?”

“Yeah I did, Candy,” Jack replied with faux sureness, “and then he kicked my ass and never spoke to me again.” He laughed. “Fuckin’ nope I didn’t tell him! I said as little as I could and got the fuck outta there!”

All of us around the table laughed, although Chadwick slipped in, “remember Jack, you are still on school property, no need to use that language.” Even so, she said it as she was laughing.

“Right, right, my b,” he replied casually. “Anyway, that was my weekend. Who hasn’t gone yet?”

Today was an odd day at Quiz Bowl. Chadwick ran out of questions and forgot to order more, but since we were all there – even Sarah showed up – we decided to just shoot the shit together. It made me realize that I hadn’t really gotten to talk to most of the Quiz Bowl people outside of… well, outside of Quiz Bowl.

“Ryan and I had a date on Saturday,” Sarah murmured cutely, looking at the floor and letting how pleased she was color her face. 

Ryan smiled smugly. Rose yawned silently. Candy said nothing. Jack looked around, expecting someone else to reply first, and almost unnoticeably shrugged to himself. “Ooh aah!” he replied in an interested tone, despite the silence beforehand. “What didja two do?”

“Oh, it was so cute!” Sarah gushed. “We started by going for coffee at this adorable little cafe his sister recommended. The vibes were – ugh – impeccable. Then we decided to go for a little walk around the town and just, like, play tourist? We went into little shops we never even knew existed around here. Then we finished it off by going to this bowling alley and playing three whole games. After that, we just hung out at my place and talked until he had to go home. It was so cute~!” She spared a glance at me. “He’s the best guy I’ve ever been with.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle through my nose at the absolute pettiness. Holy shit, Sarah. Unfortunately, a few people – Chadwick included – looked at me after that one. Rose noticed, and sat up straighter in her chair.

“Why’d-” She began with clearly too much urgency to her tone. She coughed quietly and recovered. “Why’d you say you ‘finished it off’ by bowling if you did something afterwards?” she asked Sarah.

“Um…” Sarah replied awkwardly, looking around the room. “…Sorry?”

Rose shrugged. “Just saying.”

“Sounds very lovely,” Jack replied diplomatically, shooting Rose a kind of knowing smirk. Though knowing Rose and Sarah, maybe it was less knowing than he thought. Or maybe he knew about them too, I didn’t care. “That covers both of you, huh?” His eyes scanned the room. “I suppose that just leaves the non-gaming gamer.”

“Rose didn’t answer,” I pointed out.

“I already said I didn’t want to say,” she pointed out. “C’mon, Jason. Listen more.”

I smiled at her. Even the way she dressed me down was getting more friendly. She didn’t quite smile back, but her face was “friendly neutral” and she gave a shrug in response. 

“Are you joining her?” Jack asked.

“Nah, but, uh…” I scratched the back of my neck, and felt a blush coming on. It’s not like they didn’t know I was seeing someone after my little hickey episode, so… fuck it. “I, uh, had a date too.”

Okay, now Rose was smiling, though it was possible that wasn’t just motivated by her altruistic desire to make me happy. Her eyes flickered to Sarah’s face, who, hidden behind Ryan, had lost any trace of amusement. “A date, huh?” Rose piped up. “Who with?”

As much as Rose was enjoying Sarah’s unamused expression, I wasn’t, and wanted to do… something for them. I gestured to them and with as humorous a tone as I could manage, replied, “Well, unlike these two I don’t have the good grace to date within my own circles,” in a joking tone. “Or even my own school.”

“Ooh, she goes to another school?” Candy egged me on supportively.

“So we don’t know her?” Jack added.

“Uh, you might? Remember Sammy, the-”

“The chick you hit on at Districts?!” Jack nearly exploded. “It worked?! Holy shit, dude – no offense, I thought she was just going to assume you were the biggest creep on the planet.”

“Jack!” Mrs. Chadwick admonished him, clearly shocked by his outburst. “Just because you say ‘no offence’ doesn’t mean your words can’t be hurtful! That’s not nice to say about someone’s romantic partner. I expected better from you!”

Jack looked back and forth between her and me. “Oh wait, no, sorry, I just meant – well, you know.” Wow. Chadwick got through to him. Bro actually blushed. I wasn’t even that offended, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to milk this for what it was worth.

“Clementine will remember that,” I teased him, and he nervously shifted around a little in response. His blush remained. Okay, that was good enough. “Nah, but it’s cool,” I added, then nodded. “Yeah. Uh, at Regionals she and I talked a bit more and, uh, yeah. Here we are.”

“Damn, dude,” Jack murmured. “Again, sorry for what I said earlier, but that’s some fairy tale type stuff right there!” He held out a fist which I bumped. “What did you two end up doing?”

I couldn’t help but smile. Not just smile, but laugh a little too. “Uh, nothing,” I nearly mumbled. “Just… nothing. We hung out at her place, we…” Nope, definitely not. “Talked a bunch, and then her parents made us supper. Like, an actual sit-down supper, with a tablecloth and everyone sitting down, and people talking and sh- and all that.”

Ryan chuckled. “Uh, yeah, we know what a supper is, dude,” he told me as if it was obvious. 

Rose locked eyes with me. Again she didn’t smile, but her expression was soft. “That must have been really nice,” she said with no edge to her voice. She understood it. 

“I don’t get it. It sounds normal,” Sarah argued.

“Maybe it being so normal was what was nice,” Candy pointed out.

“Yeah,” Jack chipped in. “Like, it’s nice when your girlfriend’s parents treat you like you’re in the family. That kinda – what’s the word – nonchalance, boom – it can feel nice!”

I thought Jack didn’t get it either, but when I looked at him, he winked at me and his confident smirk, for a second, turned sad, then went right back to normal. My look focused on him, and he shrugged. I looked back at Rose, who was looking intently at me. I blinked once, then twice. Oh no. Oh fuck.

I coughed and hid my face away. No, I didn’t wanna cry. Not here, not now, and not after what I just said. Running out of the room would have been a disaster though, so I just buried my face in my hands and began to breathe. In and out. Fuck. Torturingly, this wasn’t like something that just happened in the space of a second. This was happening in real time, and it had been like twenty full-ass seconds, and no one was talking anymore. 

I heard the noise of a chair moving on the floor, then felt a hand rubbing my back. I peeked out of my hands to see Rose of all people, sitting next to me, rubbing my back supportively. “Give him some space guys, alright?” she ordered the others.

Of all people, Ryan replied immediately. “Yeah, of course,” in this ‘playing it cool’ voice that still had… care. “Hey, uh… I’m really happy you got to have a date like that, dude.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thanks,” I told him, my face still in my hands, my voice above a whisper. The silence was getting to me, so I just… babbled. “And, like, the whole time it was just like, y’know, asking about each other’s days and shit. It was weird, but like, a good weird. And every time Sammy talked, or gave her opinion, her parents just… nodded, and told them their thoughts, and like, agreed with her. At one point her mom said she was proud of her. Fucking God, can you even imag- oh. Uh, sorry, Mrs. Chadwick.”

“Under the circumstances, don’t worry about it,” she replied quietly. “But maybe I should talk to you after Quiz Bowl.”

I shook my head, even with my hand covering my face. “Don’t worry, it’s not like that. Nothing illegal. My parents aren’t, like, evil, they’re just… not nice, I guess. It was just nice to get… a taste of something n-” My voice caught in my throat. Push the tears down. Tears down. Tears down, Jason. I cleared my throat. “Something normal. Sorry, what a friggin’ way to bring down the mood.”

“You’re not bringing down the mood at all,” Sarah replied immediately, care reflected in her tone. “We’re all here for you, Jason.”

“Yeah,” Candy chimed in. 

“Dude…” Jack piped up. “You deserve to feel like people support you like that. We don’t care if it’s family or Sammy or us.”

“You know what’s funny about that?” I replied shakily. “Sometimes I f-feel like… like you guys are m-my…” I cleared my throat. Tears down. Tears down.

Rose froze her hand on my back. “We are your family, Jason.”

I threw my arms onto the desk and buried my face in them. And the tears didn’t stay down.

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